The cold night winds howled against the sturdy farmhouse of Lon Lon Ranch. The torrential downpour of rain had not dissipated for hours, which had made work in the fields twice as cumbersome. The thick mud and puddles of water made the simple act of walking a chore unto itself. Elsewhere in Hyrule, even the oldest of citizens struggled to recall a storm that compared to this one.
Ingo and the farmhands had already left for the safety of their homes in Castle Town and Kakariko Village several hours ago. There were still plenty of chores that had been unaddressed, but they would have to wait. With little to occupy their time, Malon and Talon were still awake at a very late hour. Even Talon, as often and as comfortably as he slept, had difficulty sleeping through such a noisy storm. Every time he became sleepy, the booming thunder would inevitably stir him awake. After a while, he reluctantly resigned himself to getting no sleep for the time being. Malon was also unable to sleep, though the noise didn't bother her that much. She was awake more out of concern than anything else.
"If the ranch floods, what will happen to our house? Even worse, the animals are so vulnerable..."
Thunderstorms were far from unheard of, but floods were not very common in Hyrule. Thankfully, Malon had gone her whole life without seeing one, and Talon had not seen one since he was a teenager. Still, Malon and her father had plans in place for such an event. She ran through a laundry list of items in her head to try to ease her concerns. She recalled a drainage canal that they had dug several years back, which could help out a little. Talon had moved their pigs from their pen into the stable, which had a better roof and was on somewhat higher ground. It would be uncomfortable for them to do so, but leaving them elsewhere wasn't an option.
Malon had taken the liberty of rearranging the supply building so that their most valuable wares were off of the ground, and their most durable supplies were at ground level. It was practically a foregone conclusion that anything on the floor would be drenched with rainwater, so the milk - their most valuable commodity - was quickly moved. Before he had left, Ingo had also brought every cucco from their coop into a spare room inside the farmhouse. Malon and her father could hear their muffled clucking from the other room, which only made it more difficult to sleep.
With the others having departed for the night, Talon and his daughter waited inside the resilient farmhouse, not certain if the storm would let up anytime soon. Talon paced about impatiently as his daughter tried to peer through a window.
"Do you think we've done enough, dad?" Malon asked, almost interrupted by a crack of thunder. The noise echoed far into the distance.
"There's not much more we can do, Malon," he replied, trying not to sound grim. "We just have to wait and hope for the best. I think we'll be fine."
"I hope you're right," she replied, as she turned her attention back outside. The unrelenting rain continued to pound against the windows, streaking down the panes. It was nearly impossible to see through them at this point, but she could barely focus on anything else.
Neither the sudden lightning strikes nor the ear-splitting sound of thunder seemed to startle her. When she was younger, she was uncomfortable in storms, but over time she stopped fearing them. At this point, she could only wonder if Link would have to journey out into this dreadful weather on another diplomatic trip. It had been a few days since she had visited his house, but the rain had persisted almost as long.
"Staying up and watching this isn't going to do much good. I just need to get my mind off it for a while," she thought to herself, as she got up from her spot.
The farm girl removed a small photo album from a nearby drawer and sat down in her favorite chair in front of the crackling fireplace. Were it nor for the storm, this would be an ideal evening for her. She carefully opened the old book and slowly flipped through the pages. She and her father weren't exactly professionals with a pictobox, but the moments they captured were a joy to remember. She grinned as she looked through images of her family on the farm. The first time she learned how to ride a horse, multiple birthdays for Talon and herself, and photos of them goofing around with Link.
Malon even found a lone photo of her mother from before she was born. She could only recall a little bit about her, but everything she could think of was wonderful. Talon approached her and sat down in a nearby chair, noticing the photos in her hand.
"Oh... a picture of mom," he paused for a second, trying to control the lump in his throat. "She was a really special lady," he said, almost overcome with fond memories.
Malon nodded silently, fearing that if she tried to speak, her voice would be heavy with emotion as well. "I miss her a lot, dad," she said anyway.
"I know, Malon. I'm... sorry," he said, trying his best to console her. "I know that you didn't really know her that long, but she was just like you. Strong, friendly, helpful..." his voice trailed off and was almost covered by another crack of thunder. "Not a day goes by that I don't wish that she was still with us."
"Thanks, dad," she said as she gave him a hug. She didn't know what else to say, unfortunately. She desperately tried to recall more about her mother, but so many of her memories had faded with time. Her mother's song was one of the few things that she could easily remember. She knew that every time she sang, a part of her mother was still with them.
Talon eventually drifted off to sleep in his chair, but Malon stayed awake a while longer. She searched through the rest of the collection, hoping that another picture of her mother would surface. To her disappointment, she found only a small handful of them, most of which were in less-than-ideal shape. After she had looked through every photo, she picked up a book and aimlessly flipped through it. It was the most boring book she could find - basic procedures for farm work that she had mastered many years ago. Malon didn't need the lessons, but the plain book was perfect for putting someone to sleep. Despite the uninteresting reading material, the periodic claps of thunder kept her awake for most of the evening anyway.
Minutes turned into hours, and it eventually became borderline impossible for her to keep her eyes open. Before she slipped away to her room, she peered out the window into the storm. It had not visibly let up, but from what little she could see, the field was still free from flooding. Even so, she figured that their buildings would probably be damaged at least a little. Judging by the position of the moon, she supposed that it was almost 1 AM already. She shook her head, knowing full well that she would be exhausted the next morning, even if she fell asleep immediately after her head hit the pillow.
"If the storm doesn't let up, I don't think we'll be able to do much tomorrow anyway."
Just as she was about to step into her room, she heard a loud whinnying outside. She gasped in horror. "Did the horses break out of the stable? Maybe the storm panicked them..." she thought as she raced down the stairs and grabbed a rain cloak.
"I know that I locked that door up tight... how could this happen?"
She stepped out into the cold rain and looked around. The downpour limited her visibility, but there were no signs that any horses were loose. She slogged through the thick mud over to the stable, and pulled at the door. It was still locked, and wouldn't budge. She unlocked it and looked inside, thinking perhaps that a horse was in distress inside the building anyway. But there were no signs of trouble; every horse was relatively calm, and were only slightly agitated by the storm.
Malon left the stable, locked it once more, and ran to the entrance of the farm as she heard another whinnying. She tried to shield her face from the constant barrage of water, and could only see clearly for a short distance in front of her. As she neared the front gate, she noticed a silhouette appearing in the darkness.
"Must be Epona..." she muttered. "Link! What are you doin' out here?" she yelled out. "This weather is-" she stopped as the figure came into better view. It was Epona, but her saddle was empty.
Malon's heart skipped a beat, and her thoughts raced. It was so rare for Epona to be out on her own, especially late at night or during a horrible storm. Malon clasped her hand to her mouth and tried to suppress the worst possibilities that entered her mind.
"Epona..." she said, feeling rather silly for trying to speak to a horse. "Where is he? Is he alright? What happened to Link?"
The powerful horse reared up onto her hind legs and neighed loudly at the mention of Link's name. She had a frantic look in her eye and stomped around impatiently. Malon supposed that Epona wanted to her to come with her, and hoped that her intuition was right. She climbed atop the horse, and Epona immediately galloped as fast as she could towards the south.
The horse moved with such reckless speed that Malon was almost thrown off of the horse. She maintained her grip on the reins and could only guess that Epona was traveling to Lake Hylia. Epona raced furiously through the downpour, bounding over any obstacle that stood directly in her path. A less experienced rider would have surely been unable to remain in the saddle. As they neared the entrance to the lake, a look of shock crossed the farm girl's face as she thought of what she might find.
The lake was slowly rising, but had not yet become a danger to the nearby buildings. As Epona circled the edge of the lake, Malon looked around frantically for any sign of her friend. By the time Epona had reached the opposite side of the lake, she had spotted nothing out of the ordinary on the shore or in the lake itself.
"Epona, there's nothing here. Where is Link?" she asked, again feeling rather ridiculous for trying to converse with a horse.
Epona stomped around and pointed herself directly towards the lake. Malon froze for a second before she peered out into the lake. She had trouble seeing at first, but the rapid lightning flashes illuminated the area enough for her to spot something on the water's surface. Her eyes widened and she could feel her blood run cold.
"No... no... no..." she repeated to herself as she quickly dismounted her companion and stepped out to the water's edge. She took a second look, and her worst fear was confirmed. It was Link, floating on his back in the water.
Malon discarded her rain cloak and boots before she ran as fast as she could into the water. She dived forward and paddled furiously, putting every possible ounce of strength into each stroke. She was by no means a professional swimmer, but she was skilled enough. As she swam, she tried to calm her nerves, lest they disrupt her movements. Every small distance she swam felt like it took an eternity.
Her adrenaline helped push her through the chilled water, and she ignored the possibility of catching an illness from the cold. It would be a very small price to pay if it meant helping her friend, and she wouldn't be able to forgive herself if she failed.
"Halfway there... just gotta keep moving no matter what..." she said to herself, determined not to let either of them succumb to a watery fate.
Her heart was pounding wildly and she could feel that her arms and legs were beginning to ache already. The farm girl's swim strokes were not synchronized, which caused her to become fatigued even faster. It had been years since she had taken a real swim at all, and never had she pushed herself to move this quickly. Although she felt like she was moving at a snail's pace, she was actually moving quite fast. Within moments, she had reached Link. His face was above water- a promising sign.
"Don't... worry, Link..." she said between heavy breaths. "I'm going to... get you out of this..." He gave no audible response. She wrapped one of her arms around his torso and underneath his arms and began to swim away with an unorthodox stroke.
As difficult as it was to swim through the chilled lake before, this time it was even more challenging with Malon carrying both of them. With only one free arm, her pace was far slower, and she struggled to keep both of their heads above water. Even when she knew that she was slipping below the surface, she paddled on as hard as she could, hoping that the next meter would be the shore. As she slipped below the surface again, she held her breath and reached further into the murky water to paddle on, with no idea of how close she was to the shore.
With a burst of energy, she was able to bring herself and her friend back above the surface. Her vision blurred with the constant splashing of the water and downpour from the sky. "No... I'm not done. I'm not going to go out like this...!" she shouted defiantly in her mind, as if to challenge the lake itself.
Her arms and legs almost felt like lead at this point. Her movements were becoming more and more undisciplined, but it was enough to keep them moving in the right direction.
At long last, they reached the forgiving sand of the shore. She switched from swimming to walking as she sloshed through the sand and water, and set Link's body safely away from the edge of the lake. For a moment, she collapsed next to him in exhaustion, coughing up some water onto the ground. She recovered quickly and leaned over him. Link's torso was stained with crimson blotches, which made her stomach churn.
Malon pushed the shock out of her mind and looked to see if his chest was rising and falling. It was difficult to see for sure, but she doubted that he was actually breathing. She placed her ear next to his chest and listened for a heartbeat. It was there, but it was faint and almost inaudible over the sound her own pounding heartbeat and the thunder in the distance.
In desperation, she recalled the lessons her father had taught her, and she began to press his chest repeatedly in the right spot, hoping to bring his breathing back to normal. Over and over she pushed, her movements becoming increasingly erratic and nonrhythmic. Every so often she would stop and listen for breathing once again, but she still had trouble hearing anything. Between compressions, she exhaled into his mouth. Still, there were no obvious results.
She shook her head furiously as she continued, unwilling to consign Link to such a fate. "You're not going to die... you're going to be fine... you're not going to die..." she repeated, refusing to let the worst happen. The thought of her best friend dying in her arms- dying at all- was absolutely horrendous.
Malon continued the procedure, even as her adrenaline was starting to wear off. Her arms were practically dead weight by now, and she could barely keep them from trembling.
Suddenly, Link's body jolted, and he coughed up a copious amount of water. He was finally breathing, but he fell back into a daze as soon as he came to.
"Oh, thank goodness!" Malon exclaimed, exhaling heavily. "You're alright. I was so worried about you... let's get you out of here."
For a moment, she paused and wondered if she ought to move him at all, but the risk of him catching a serious illness in such terrible weather meant that he would have to get to someplace warm and dry soon.
His body was heavy as she lifted him onto the saddle. He was too out of it to move much, but her reserves of adrenaline and years of rigorous farm work had given her the strength she needed to lift him. As soon as she was settled behind him in the saddle, they proceeded back to the ranch, careful not to let Link fall off in his confusion.
"Just hold on, Link..." she muttered into his ear, hoping that he had not completely lost consciousness. "We're almost there. We're going to get you fixed up."
Still, Link gave no noticeable response. He was up and at least passively aware of his surroundings, but he was obviously still bewildered. The rain had only abetted slightly since they had left the lake, but Malon could not have been less concerned about that at present. All that mattered was finding safety at the farm.
Minutes later, they finally reached the ranch. Malon dismounted Epona in such a hurry that she almost lost her footing. She grabbed Link and pulled him down as gently as she could, hoping not to cause any further injury. Link was still conscious, but could not stand on his own. The young farm girl carried him to the front door of the house and pounded on the door without stopping until Talon answered. His momentary shock upon opening the door subsided and he helped his daughter carry the injured young man.
"You're going to be alright," Talon said. "How did this happen? I've never seen him in such awful shape."
"I'm not sure," she replied. "I found him in the water... he's bleeding pretty badly. Do you think he'll be alright?"
He gasped as he saw the blood stains across the young man's tunic. "I'll have a look at him. See if you can find the medicine."
They set the injured swordsman on one of their spare beds, and Talon went about removing Link's soaked outer shirt while Malon rifled through their belongings for their limited collection of first aid supplies. Talon winced as he noticed several large wounds on Link's chest.
"I've got it, dad," Malon said as she hauled the supplies from a cupboard. She set the small case down on a nearby table and began removing some of the contents: healing salve, bandages, disinfectants, and so forth. They had previously used this kit many times to treat injuries of limited severity for them and their animals, but as they looked over their scattered supplies, they agreed that it wasn't nearly enough for this.
"This is very serious," Talon stated. "It's beyond anything either of us can treat. We'll need a doctor... I'll look for one in Castle Town- I'll be back as fast as I can. Just keep him stable and comfortable."
Without another moment of hesitation, the old rancher bounded out the door and into the rain, leaving Malon to take care of Link alone. She recoiled at the sight of his battered body- it was far worse than anything she had dealt with on the ranch. Malon knew that Link had been wounded countless times over the years, but this was the first time that she had ever seen him struggling for life. She turned her attention to his face, which was relatively free of wounds.
She looked into his half-closed eyes, hoping that he might be able to focus on her. "Just hold on, Link..." It was clear that he wasn't fully aware of her presence.
Her experiences with first aid were mostly limited to helping the animals with cuts and whatnot. This was way out of her league. In the meantime, she lightly dried him off and kept pressure on his worst wounds with clean cloths. It was obviously painful for him, but it had to be done. She also tried to keep his body from moving, gently restraining him if he attempted to toss and turn.
She felt sick at the thought of losing him. Over and over, she had to look away from the wounds that she had to address and reassure herself that he would be fine. Every so often, Link's body would thrash about as he coughed. It was a horrid sight.
Without a doubt, this had been the longest half-hour of her life. Thankfully, Talon finally returned, and a young man appeared behind him. He sported a plain, albeit rain-drenched white coat and carried a sizable bag of medical gear.
He set about examining and treating Link within seconds of stepping inside. "What happened to him?" he asked, not looking away from the hero.
"We aren't sure. I found him like that in the lake..."
Even he was visibly unnerved by some of Link's injuries. In a flurry of precise techniques, he cleaned, disinfected, sealed and dressed the wounds all over Link's torso. It was difficult for Malon or Talon to keep up- it was a whirlwind of motions. All throughout the treatment, the doctor remained silent and focused on the young warrior like a hawk. He was both quiet and intense, only speaking to request that one of them hand him another medical item.
After much time had passed, the doctor took a step away from the young man and exhaled deeply.
"H-how is he, doc?" Talon asked, looking over the man's shoulder.
"These wounds are significant... but he should be fine," he replied, placing some of his equipment away.
Malon and Talon breathed a collective sigh of relief and inched closer to Link. He was no longer slipping in and out of consciousness. The swordsman looked at the two of them in a fog, obviously not sure what happened.
"...Link? How do you feel?" Malon said, staring at him closely.
He looked around the room before focusing on her. "I'm fine, Malon... I think. How did I get here?"
The sound of his voice brought a small grin to her face - it was the first sign of his recovery. "I found you in Lake Hylia. You were unconscious, but I got you out... we were able to get a doctor for you," she said nervously.
"Just in time, too," the doctor added. "There's no telling how much longer you would've lasted."
Link was quiet for a moment, still trying to piece together what happened in his mind. "Thank you, sir." He looked to the doctor and shook his hand as firmly as he could.
"The bleeding has stopped and your condition should remain quite stable," he said before handing a small bottle to Talon.
"Ensure that he applies this disinfectant to his wounds every 2 hours. Is there anything else you need, sir?"
"No," Link replied. "It hurts... a lot. But I think I'll be okay. I've survived worse."
"In that case, I will let myself out. Please do not hesitate to find me again. Stay safe." The man stepped out quietly, leaving Link alone with the two ranchers.
He looked at the young woman next to him, still stunned at what happened to him. "...You saved my life, Malon. Without you, I wouldn't have made it. And Talon, I... I really can't thank you both enough."
Malon's face turned red as she smiled slightly. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes, which she tried to wipe away discretely.
"Don't mention it. You're like family to us!" Talon exclaimed. "I'd hug ya right now, but I don't think the doc would want that."
"Anytime, Fairy Boy. You're going to be okay now. You need to get some rest," she stated as she covered him with an extra blanket.
Link grinned widely as he calmly looked around the room. His expression changed drastically when he noticed his pile of gear next to the door. Something was missing, and he could feel a chill run through his body as he tried to sit up.
"No... I can't rest now... they took my Master Sword."
