The Tale of Time

by Lamberblamber

After the death of his parents in the Great Hylian War, Link is raised by Saria in the Kokiri Village. Not long into his 10th year, he discovers he is a part of a great destiny, a destiny in which he his not alone. Through some dreaded twist in fate, Link meets a boy who seems to be his dark half incarnate, a boy whose role in the fate of Hyrule is as uncertain as his origin.

3. The Truth Revealed

Chapter 3
The Truth Revealed.

Link walked slowly and solemnly through the forest, inching further and further away from his home with every step he took. As he made his way through the towering trees and over the dark mossy surface of the forest floor, he saw that the trees began to get slightly smaller and less dark.
" Hello!" Link was startled when Dink jumped out from behind a tree in front of him. Link scoffed and shoved Dink in the shoulder for scaring him.
" Where have you been?" Link asked him. " I've been walking through this forest for ten minutes already!" Link said to him as he joined him in a slow walk.
" Sorry, I had to make sure that no one followed us, you know, make sure we were all alone." Dink explained. " Hey! And check out what I got!" Dink said and turned around to show Link his back. There was another Kokiri Shield on his back also, only his was darker and the painted emblem of the Kokiri Emerald on its face was black instead of red.
" Well, another dark and depressing addition to your already dark and depressing outfit" Link grinned.
" So, did you see what a great hider I am? Oh wait, you couldn't see me at all!" Dink laughed. Link smiled. " Man, I was there that whole time, and she didn't see me at ALL! It was sweet." Dink was quite full of himself. But Link wasn't really listening to him. He was thinking about everything that had led up to this day. He had lived his entire life in the Kokiri village, he had never left. But he always knew that there was something more to this world. Now to be leaving everything and everyone that he had ever known, it was almost too much. " Link, hey Link!" Dink yelled at him. Link roused from his day dream and shook his head.
" Huh, what?" Link asked him. They both stopped walking.
" You haven't been listening to a word I've said, have you?" He asked him. Link scratched his head.
" Sorry, I was just thinking.." Link answered, and they kept walking.
" Yeah I know. You do that a lot, lucky for me" Dink grinned.
" A lot has happened in the past few days." Link began. " First I over hear a strange conversation, I move out of Saria's house, I actually am asked to do something by the Great Deku Tree himself. That alone is something rare. Then I meet you, fight a ton of evil monsters and one giant creepy bug in the dungeons of the Deku Tree, the Deku Tree dies, and then I'm sent out of the forest for the first time to see a princess, of all people." Link caught his breath.
" Wow. Yup, that's a lot." Dink stepped in front of him and began to walk backwards. " I mean, just meeting me was a lot. I hear I'm a lot to deal with, being a mischievous dark half and all." He said. " Heh, and I'm the one stuck with you!" Dink laughed as he stepped back beside Link. They walked and talked through the woods for another half an hour until they came to a large meadow.
" Roomy" Dink said as they stepped out into the tall grass.
" It's so much brighter out here, I don't think I've ever seen so much sun in one spot." Link said as he shielded his eyes from the sun.
" Tell me about it. I'm really used to the dark, obviously. I notice when there's a sudden change in lighting." Dink said to him. Link stopped near the edge of the tree line and looked around. There was something familiar about everything around him, it was like a strong breeze had blown a sudden shock of familiarity into his mind, like he'd been here before, and he had. This was the meadow that he was found in as a baby, that meadow where he heard his mothers voice for the very last time. Link stood quietly, almost not daring to breath for fear of losing this feeling of remembrance. " Come on, Link! Daylight's a-waste'in " Dink said to him. Link roused from his deep thought and shook off the feeling, and they kept walking.
" Ah, that sun feels so good." Link said as he closed his eyes and looked up with his arms spread out. " Even more so after being stuck in that cold mist for so long." He said.
" Yup, nice and toasty" Dink replied. Soon they were on the other side of the meadow though, and had to re enter the forest for a short while. They decided to make up a game to eliminate the silence. Whoever could hit the most tree trunks before they exited the woods and could keep track of how many they hit, would be the winner. They walked quickly through the trees, touching every trunk they could as they went. Sometimes they would touch the same tree at the same time, and Dink would yell. " Hey! That one counted as mine!" they thought it better to put a bigger space between them as they ran. Soon they reached the end of the trees, and stopped in a hurry at what they saw on the other side. It was a sight that neither of them had ever seen. They thought that the forest meadow they were in earlier was large, this, however, an open space so large, that they couldn't see the other side. It was Hyrule Field, a vast green land full of rolling hills and well used trails. A warm, sweet breeze suddenly fell over them, and they took it in slowly and peacefully.
".. Wow.." Link finally said to break the silence.
" Yeah.. Wow" Dink replied.
" That's a big field.." Link said
" Yup, a very big field." Dink repeated. They were both silent again. " So, who won?" Dink turned to him and asked.
" I don't know. How many trees did you get?" Link asked him.
" I don't remember." Dink shrugged his shoulders. " How many did you get?" He asked Link.
" I don't remember" Link replied and shrugged his shoulders too. " Who cares? Let's go!" He said, and took off into the field.
" So are we racing now?!" Dink yelled after him. Link didn't hear him, but kept running. " Ugh.." Dink sighed and took off after him. Link ran as fast as he could through the grass, over the hills, and down a few trails. He took a trail until he came to a place where there were rocks scattered around in the grass. He turned off the trail and started running down a steep hill, a slope that had rocks all along it. Link tried to avoid the big ones. Paying too much attention to a large boulder off to his side, he tripped over a stick, fell, and rolled down the rest of the hill, hitting the bottom very hard.
" Ooouuch.." He lay face down in the grass at the bottom and groaned when he finally stopped rolling. Sitting up, he felt a scrape on his elbow and picked the grass out of it.
" Hey, are you alright?" Dink asked him. Link looked up and saw him jogging down the hill towards him.
" Yeah, I'm fine.." Link started to say, but was interrupted by Dink.
" H-Hey! Ouch! What the heck?!" Dink felt his elbow. He held it up to look at it, there was a fresh scrape on it identical to Link's. " Where did that come from?!" Dink yelled. Link saw the scrape and held up his elbow to see his scrape again. He saw that they were exactly the same. Dink looked up at him and saw his scrape. " Ok, that's weird." Dink said.
" Remember what the Deku Tree said..?" Link asked him. Dink recalled what the tree had told them.
" Yeah, that thing about us being eternally tied, or something." He said. " I though he said that just to scare us." Dink said, looking back at his elbow and rubbing it again.
" Well it worked. Even more now that we know it's true.." Link said. Dink looked up at him.
" Well try and be more careful next time, geez! The fun hasn't even started and I don't want to be all banged up before it does!" Dink jokingly shoved Link in the shoulder. They both looked at their elbows again just to be sure. " Hey, look at that!" Dink said quietly as he looked up from his arm and pointed behind Link. Link turned around and looked. Standing on the hill behind him was a huge brown and white animal.
" A horse!" Link whispered. He had only ever seen a horse as a baby, and of course he didn't quite remember them, but he heard people in the village talking about them before. The horse saw them and turned to run away.
" Come on!" Dink said and ran up the hill to follow it.
" Dink! Wait!" Link said to him and followed. They huffed up the hill and emerged on the top. Both breathing heavily, they stopped and gazed at the sight before them. Above the hill the land flattened into a vast plain, on which were hundreds of horses of all sorts of colors. They both smiled as they saw Stallions, Mares, Foals, and Colts galloping around in the grass. Not to far from the group of horses was what they thought was a large Ranch. It was surrounded by an enormous natural wall of dirt almost all the way around it, on one side they could see a tall wooden wall, and over the dirt fence they could see a few roof tops.
" Wow, lookout!" Dink said to him and shoved him behind a large boulder in the ground next to them.
" What are you doing?!" Link yelled.
" SHHHH!" Dink put his finger to his lips.
" What are we hiding from?!" Link quieted his voice to a whisper.
" There's someone out there!" Dink said hunkering down behind the rock next to him.
" So! Maybe they can tell us where the castle is." Link told him.
" We'll find it ourselves, we don't need any help!" Dink said back. " Besides, I don't like the look of 'em" Dink jerked his head towards where the horses were. Link slowly peeked his head over the rock to see the person. " What are you doing?! They'll see you!" Dink tried to stop him, but Link was already looking out.
" Geez, Dink! It's only a girl!" Link said to him.
" What?!" Dink asked him, and peeked his head over the rock to look also. " Hey, it's just a girl." Dink said. " Who cares! Why would we want her to help us?!" He said, and sat back down.
" Whatever." Link sat back down next to him. " Let's just go then. We'll find the castle on our own, however long it takes, which could be days!" Link said to him and started crawling back down the hill.
" Oh wait wait wait!" Dink said, pulling Link back by his boot. " I have a better idea." He said. Link sighed and sat back down next to him.
" What?" Link asked him.
" ..C'mere" Dink said with an up-to-no-good smirk. They both peeked over the rock at the girl again. " You see that girl over there?" Dink asked him, still smirking.
" Uh, yeah." Link replied, he knew that Dink was trying to sound all sophisticated.
" How much you wanna bet we can steal a horse right out from under her little nose?" Dink asked him. Link was shocked at this idea.
" Well, we could. Or we could walk over there and ASK her for one!" Link rolled his eyes at him.
" You see, it's doing things like that that won't ever get you anywhere! If you want something, you gotta grab it before someone else does!" Dink told him.
" Dink, it's stealing! And I am NOT a thief!" Link argued with him.
" So what! Look at all those horses out there! Do you really think she'll miss ONE?!" Dink asked him.
" That's not the point!.." Link started to argue more, but Dink shoved his head down below the rock in mid sentence.
" Shoot, she saw us!" He hissed as he hunched down next to him. " Alright, just stay quiet until I've got her distracted, then you go down and around this hill and grab the first horse you see. Got it?!" He explained. Link sighed in disagreement.
" H-Hello?" They heard the girls voice on the other side of the rock. " Who's there? Is there someone there?" She said.
" Ok, shhhh!" Dink whispered to him. Suddenly he jumped up from behind the rock. Link heard the girl gasp. " HI!" Dink said to her. Getting a better look at her, Dink saw that she was kind of cute. She was wearing a white dress with little blue designs on the edges of the sleeves and the bottom. She had long red hair and blue eyes, and wore a bright yellow handkerchief around her neck. Dink was a lot more nervous talking to her now, and spoke very fast and jumbled. " I'm Dink, what's your name? I'm from the forest, it's really dark in the forest, a lot darker than here. I like horses, do you like horses? I've never ridden a horse, have you? Of course you have. Are all those horses yours? Huh? Huh? Say something!" Dink laughed jumpily. There was a pause.
"..hi.." The girl finally said. " I'm Malon. You like horses?!" She exclaimed. Dink sighed with relief that she didn't run away in utter terror from him.
" They're like, my favorite animal." Dink told her. He gave a slight kick to the side and hit Link in the leg, signaling him to get moving. Link looked up at him angrily and started crawling down the hill. He heard Dink and Malon's voices become quieter and quieter as he came to the small valley between the two large hills. He walked through the bottom until he couldn't hear them at all anymore, and began walking back up the slope. As he reached the top, he looked over to where he came from and saw Dink and Malon still talking almost two hundred feet from him. He looked up and was startled to see a horse right in front of him, just staring at him.
" Um, hey there, little fella.." He said to it awkwardly. Actually, the horse was quite large. Link slowly walked up to it, but it stepped backwards with every step forward Link took. " Come on, now! I'm not going to hurt you or anything" Link said to it. He reached forward and stuck out his hand so that the horse could smell him. He stood nervously for about a minute until the horse slowly stepped towards him and started sniffing his hand. " There, see? I'm not so bad.." Link said. The horse lifted his head back up and continued staring at him. " Um, you want some.. Uh, grass..?" Link asked the horse as he looked around for a nice tuff of grass to pick. He found a tall patch of crabgrass right in front of him and ripped out a handful. " Here you go." He reached out with the grass in his hands. The horse stepped closer to him and sniffed the grass in his hands, Link smiled and also stepped closer, and slowly reached up with his other hand to grab the horses mane while it ate the grass. He reached his hand away from its mouth after it had finished the grass and stroked its neck. " That's a good horse." Link smiled at it. He was quite proud of himself. " I got this. No problem" Link said to himself. He reached over the horse with one hand and grabbed its mane with the other. " OK.." He said, and yanked himself off the ground by the horses hair. The horse suddenly gave a " NEIGHHH!" in pain. It reared up and took off running with Link still hanging on to its mane and trying to get on its back. " Oh no! OH NO! Stop horsey! STOP!" Link screamed at it while still holding on for dear life. The horse ran towards Dink and Malon at full speed and Dink saw them over Malon's shoulder, who was still talking at the time and didn't hear anything. Dink winced and began to sweat.
" What's wrong, Dink?" Malon asked him.
" UM, oh.. Nothing! Absolutely nothing. I'm totally fine, why wouldn't I be?" Dink said anxiously.
" No, I don't think you are. You're acting really weird.." She said to him. Dink kept taking glances at Link on the horse. Still coming towards them, but now in a zigzag pattern through the grass.
" Uh, no I'm not! Why would you think I was acting weird? I'm not acting weird." Dink said. Suddenly he saw Link slip from the horse slightly. Dink grabbed his head with his hands and gasped. " NO!" He yelled. He thought Link was going to fall and be trampled by the horse.
" WHAT?!" Malon started to turn around and look, Dink gasped and grabbed her shoulders. He quickly pulled her towards him and away from seeing Link on their would-be stolen horse. Link looked over at them as the horse turned a different direction, and saw to his shock and surprise, that Dink and Malon were kissing. Link gasped and his jaw dropped. How could Dink be kissing a girl at this time?! This was a life or death situation for him, and for that matter, Dink as well. And he wasn't even going to break the cover to save him!
" DINK!" Link yelled at him. Malon broke free from him and turned to see who was behind her. Dink almost didn't realize what he was doing, and was in a daze with a goofy smile on his face.
" Oh my goodness! Dink!" Malon saw Link clinging to the stallion with all his strength as the horse ran around at full speed. She turned back to Dink and shook him out of the daze he was in. " Dink, your friend needs your help!" She said to him.
" Huh?.. OH! LINK!" He came to and ran to help Link. Malon followed him.
" What's his name?!" Malon asked Dink while they ran.
" Link! His name's Link! Why does it matter?!" Dink answered her. Malon almost completely stopped running when she heard his name. Dink looked behind him and saw that she had slowed down. " What are you doing?! Come on!" He yelled at her. She realized what needed to be done and kept running. They stopped right near the area where the horse had now begun to run in large circles.
" Link! You need to jump off!" Malon said loudly and slowly so that Link could hear her.
" WHAT?!" Link yelled back. " ARE YOU SERIOUS?! I'LL BE KILLED!" Link yelled.
"Yeah!? Are you serious, he'll be killed!" Dink mimicked Link with the same tone.
" No you won't! just do as I tell you!" She told him. Link's arms were now in terrible pain, and he felt like the horses hair was slipping from his grip. Malon looked over at Dink, he was grabbing his arms and doubling over in pain. " Dink?! What's wrong?!" Malon asked him. " Are you alright?!" She asked. He quickly stood back up and let go of his arm.
" Yeah! I'm fine, help Link!" He told her. Dink was now feeling the same pain in his arms that Link was. They burned and ached, and it felt like the skin was being burned off of his hands. Malon continued to talk Link into his rescue.
" LINK! You need to pull your feet up and put them flat on the side of the horse! Like you're going to stand on it!" She said. Link listened to her now. He took a deep breath and found the strength to pull his legs up. Once he had them firmly placed against the horse's side, he took a deep breath, ready to push off onto the ground. " JUMP!" Malon yelled. Link closed his eyes, clenched his teeth, and kicked away from the still galloping horse. Malon and Dink both watched nervously as he flew from the horse and hit the ground hard. He tumbled through the grass until he finally hit a mound of dirt and stopped.
" Ugh.." He lay on his back with his eyes still closed and groaned as Malon and Dink came running up to him.
" Oh my goodness! Are you okay?!" Malon asked him as she fell on her knees next to him. He opened one eye and squinted at her. He only saw her silhouette in front of the bright sun behind her.
" I feel great.." Link moaned. Dink scoffed at him as he stood over him and crossed his arms.
" You're crazy." He said. Malon helped him to sit up.
" What on Earth where you doing?!" She asked him. " You could have been killed, you know?" She said. Link looked at her, and then up at Dink. Dink shook his head behind Malon's back and tried to signal him not to say anything about trying to steal a horse.
" Um.." Link began. " I was.. Uh.." He stuttered. " Trying to.." He said. Dink butted in.
" Trying to learn how to ride a horse!" He said. " You crazy little sucker, he was talking about horses the whole way through the field. Weren't you?" Dink stared at him and nodded his head. Link didn't want to lie to her, but he also didn't want her to think he was a thief. So he agreed.
" Uh, yeah.." Link said to her. Malon smiled at him.
" Well, that proves everything!" She said. Link and Dink both had very confused looks now.
" Proves what?" Dink asked her. Malon looked back at him, then back at Link, then back at him.
" Wha-?" She stuttered. Link and Dink knew what she was all confused about. " Y-you both.. look exactly the same almost!" She exclaimed.
" Yeah, we're um.. Twins.." Link told her. She looked back at him.
" Twins? Hmm" She said critically. " Sure," She said.
" Come on." She said as she helped Link onto his feet, and started walking through the field. " Follow me." She said. Link and Dink glanced at each other, shrugged their shoulders, and followed. Malon was a safe distance in front of them, so Link thought now was a safe time to privately talk to Dink.
" Why didn't you tell her?! We were already busted!" He asked him quietly.
" She doesn't suspect a thing! Besides, I had it all under control." Dink told him.
" Yeah, I saw you! Giving her a big fat kiss while I was dangling from a speeding horse trying to keep from getting my head stepped on!" Link growled at him. " You had it TOTALLY under control!" He said.
" Listen. I only did that to try and keep her distracted.." Dink began. " And I really didn't realize that I was doing it until.. I was doing it.." He looked at the ground and scratched his head. Link scoffed. " Hey look, if it makes you feel any better, I'm sorry. Alright?" Dink stepped in front of him to stop him. He held out his hand. " Friends?" He asked. Link sighed and raised an eyebrow at him. He reached his hand out and grabbed Dink's.
" Yeah, I guess." He slightly smiled. They kept walking through the field to wherever Malon was leading them.
" Good. I'm glad that's over." Dink grinned.
" Are you guys coming?" Malon yelled back at them. They now saw that she was taking them to the Ranch in the field with the dirt walls.
" Yeah, hold your horses." Dink said back, and chuckled at his pun that he had just realized he said. Link rolled his eyes and he and Malon both laughed at him. They reached her waiting at the gate to the Ranch, which was just a very large gap in the dirt wall with a wooded sign over the top which read: Lon Lon Ranch.
" Well, come on then!" She said to them as she ushered them through the gate and began walking beside them. They walked up a slow climbing dirt ramp covered in grass and all the way through the dirt wall on either side of them. Coming into the Ranch, there were buildings on either side of them, rather than dirt. There was a large area past the buildings that was fenced in with a large, black, wrought iron fence, and there were more horses inside it. " We mostly just keep the newborn horses and their mothers in there." Malon explained as she noticed them looking that way. They came to the fence and noticed also that there was a well used track all the way around the large oval-shaped fence perimeter. " Here is where we hold our horse races every year." Malon said. " The horse races are usually nothing too special, it's mostly just for fun. But we never drive our horses too hard, we love our horses." She said.
" We?" Link asked her. They both looked at her waiting for an answer.
" yeah, my dad and I silly! You didn't think that I ran this place all by myself, did you?." She told them. " We also hired a man to help us out a little. His name's Ingo, but I don't think he's here right now." She told them. Link and Dink were both confused.
" What's a dad?" Dink asked. Malon turned and stared at them in shock.
" What do you mean.. what's a dad?!" She exclaimed.
" You're joking, right?" She grinned until she saw that they were both serious. Link had lived with the Kokiri since he could remember, and he never heard anything about moms or dads. Dink only knew what Link did and only had his memories, so he didn't know either. Malon was confused until she remembered what Dink had told her. " Oh, that's right!" She recalled. " You are both from the forest. I forgot." She laughed. " Well, you were raised in the forest anyway.." She said as she put her arms over the fence and looked out into the field.
" What are you talking about? You aren't making any sense" Link said to her. Then they heard someone walking behind them. Malon turned around.
" Daddy!" She exclaimed as she ran up to the man and hugged him. He wasn't a very tall man, and he was slightly heavy. He was wearing a red shirt that was rolled up to his elbows, and a dirty pair of blue overalls. He had a gentle and loving look on his face, which was partially covered with a bushy brown mustache and large eyebrows. He didn't have much hair on his head though. It was quite bald on the top, with a band of hair around his head. He also had what looked like a ponytail tied up in the back.
" Hey, Malon!" He smiled and hugged her back. " Did you have a nice day today?" He asked her.
" Oh, yes daddy!" She said, and smiled at Dink as she looked at him out of the corner of her eye.
" Who are your friends?" Her dad asked. Malon became suddenly very excited.
" Oh! Where are my manners?!" She said to herself. " Dad, this is Dink. He's from the forest!" She said. " Dink, this is my dad. His name is Talon" She said.
" Very nice to meet you, Dink." Talon said as he held out his hand.
" Yeah, it's nice to meet you too." Dink said and shook his hand. Malon then stepped slowly over to Link.
" This is my dad, Talon." She said to Link. Then she paused. Talon and Link waited for her to introduce Link. " Dad, this is Link. He also came from the forest.." She said to him. Link held out his hand and waited for Talon to shake it. Talon just stood and stared at him, he seemed surprised to see him.
" Um.. It's nice to meet you.. Sir.." Link said nervously. Dink looked awkwardly from Link, to Malon, to Talon, wondering what in the world was going on.
" ..Link?" Talon finally repeated. Link didn't say anything. Talon looked into his eyes. Link began to tremble as he stared and stared. " Oh my word! It IS you!" Talon exclaimed. He grabbed Link up off the ground and hugged him tight as he shook him around. Link looked down at Dink and Malon for help, but they were both laughing.
" I'd prefer the handshake.." Dink whispered to Malon, still both giggling. Talon set him back down. Link could see that Talon was crying.
" Link.." He said again with a smile. Link chuckled nervously. " I just cannot believe it's really YOU! I mean, we thought we'd never see you again.." He wiped a tear from his eye. " And here you are.. At my Ranch, all grown up ten years later" He was still smiling a big, toothy smile. Link and Dink still didn't know what was going on, and Talon could see the confused looks on their faces. " You don't remember me, do you?" He asked Link. Link shook his head "no". Talon smiled and put his hand on his shoulder. " Come with me you guys." He said to them. He turned with his hand still on Links shoulder and began walking towards one of the buildings behind them. Malon and Dink followed. They entered the building on their right, and Talon shut the door behind them as they came in. " Sit down, everyone." Talon said to them as they approached a large wooden table. They all took a seat. Malon sat very close to Dink, and it made him a little nervous, but he didn't object. Everyone was silent for a moment.
" So.. Um.. What's this all about?" Link asked him. Talon was still smiling as he began to talk.
" Exactly how old are you, Link?" Talon asked him.
" Uh, I'm ten." Link replied.
" And your name is Link, right?" Talon asked. He already knew the answer, but it was just for explanation purposes.
" ..Yeah.." Link said. Talon continued.
" Well, I just happened to know of a certain baby boy who's name was Link, that disappeared off of the face of the Earth ten years ago." Talon said. Link and Dink both had to think about that one for a second, but then they realized what Talon was trying to tell them.
" A-are you trying to say that.. Y-you think that I'm that same baby boy?!" Link asked him.
" There was and still is only one person by that name in Hyrule, and I'm looking at him." Talon pointed at him.
" So.. What you're saying is.." Dink began.
" I'm a.." Link said quietly. " Hylian.." He finished. Dink and Malon looked at him from across the table.
" a Hylian..?" Dink whispered to himself. " Wow.." He said.
" I cant believe this, I just.. How can it be? How can I be.. A Hylian?" Link set his head in his hands and stared blankly into the air. They all were silent for a long time. Link felt like he had been lied to all of these years. Had Saria just not known of his true heritage when she found him? Or had she kept it from him just to keep him from leaving the forest?. Link now knew why Mido had hated him so much, he had been free from Mido's hand his whole life there, but Mido and the rest of the Kokiri were the only ones who knew it. This is what Saria had meant when she said that she always knew he would leave the forest some day, and why she didn't try to stop him. Dink didn't quite feel the same as Link did. How could he? He hadn't gone through all that Link had. He hadn't been the one found in the meadow as a baby or the one who had had the biggest secret of his life kept from him for ten years. But in a way, he did feel a loneliness, not only because he was a part of Link, but because he was his friend, and even though he was a dark being, he did feel upset that Link was so uneasy. Link finally felt the need to know more, and began to want to know things about his old, and somehow new life.
" So, I have a, um.. A mom? And a dad then?" Link asked Talon. Dink also was naturally curious and looked up at Talon. Malon looked over at her dad, the smile faded from Talon's face when Link asked this.
" I don't feel that I should be the one to tell you that, Link. I'm sorry." Talon replied. Malon, Dink, and Link all held their heads down.
" So you mean, there are other people who knew us?" Dink asked. He suddenly realized what he had just said.
" Us?" Talon was confused. They all looked at Dink, who was now a little nervous. " You know, you two do look a lot alike, now that I notice it." Talon said. " Actually.. You look almost exactly the same!" He said. He looked from Dink to Link. " Who exactly are you?" Talon asked him. Malon, Talon, and Link all stared at him.
" I'm.. uh.." Dink started. " Uh.. His, uh.. Twin.." Dink said. He was going to say friend, but remembered that Link had already told Malon that they were twins. Talon raised an eyebrow to him.
" Twin?" He repeated. Dink was very afraid of what would happen if they knew who he really was. " Now, I'm pretty sure that Darin and Anya didn't have two boys.." Talon thought.
" Who?" Link asked him. Talon caught himself with a slip of the tongue, but he thought that now he had already said it, he might as well tell him about them. He almost totally forgot about himself being suspicious about Dink.
" Uh, Yeah." He began. " Darin and Anya.. Your mother and father." Talon said. Link smiled. He really did have parents, and now was very anxious to meet them.
" Really!? I have parents!? Where are they? Can I see them?!" Link was very excited. Talon almost began to cry again, but held it back.
" Now, I know I let that little bit of information go, but I REALLY think that someone else should tell you the rest." Talon explained to him. Link was a little disappointed. Dink silently sighed with relief that Talon had forgotten about him, and was very quiet for the rest of their talk.
" Can I tell him a little, daddy?" Malon asked her father. Talon looked at her, and they both seemed to be giving each other silent signals about something.
" Um. I suppose, sweetheart" Talon said to her. Malon almost squealed with delight as she situated herself on the chair. She loved to tell stories, but to be telling something that really happened to a person that was actually involved, but didn't know it, was something she had never done.
" Alright, I'm going to put it like a story, okay? Just so it sounds more interesting." Malon told him.
" She's a very good storyteller, believe me." Talon smiled and leaned back in his chair, ready for the story. Dink also leaned in to hear everything, and they listened as Malon began to talk.
" I remember the greatest horseman in Hyrule." She began. " He was brave and strong, and took care of hundreds of horses on his Ranch near the Lake. He was married to one of the most beautiful women in all of Hyrule, and they both enjoyed the company of a perfect little baby boy, that Darin was very excited to one day have take his place as Rancher. Perhaps someday, He would also take his place as the best Commander of the Kings royal army, ever." She said. Link and Dink both smiled in astonishment to learn that their father was so great. Malon continued. " His wife had no small accomplishments, either though. She helped tend to all the horses, and if no one tells you different, she was better at horse care them than Darin was. She also came to a much smaller Ranch every week to help it get on its feet as well. The little Ranch was called Lon Lon Ranch." Malon smiled.
"Hey, that's this ranch!" Link smiled as he remembered the sign they had passed under to get here.
"Sure is" Talon also smiled.
" Anyway.." Malon was a little irritated that her story had been interrupted. Everyone looked back to her.
" Sorry, Malon.." Link smiled. Malon continued her story.
" Anya went to visit Lon Lon Ranch every week to help Talon and Mariette Lon Lon train their horses. She got a call one week to come over quickly, only this visit wasn't to help a hurt horse. This call was different. It was five days until the great battle and Darin had not been called to the castle yet. Anya readied Tyron, her favorite horse, and rode as fast as she could for our Ranch. She had been called because Mariette Lon Lon was having a baby. Anya already knew that she was going to, and she was going to come at the time that the baby arrived to be a midwife. But something was wrong. Anya arrived and immediately began to help Mariette with her baby. It was very agonizing for her, but Anya comforted her as best she could. After an hour of pain, she finally had a baby girl.." Malon was now looking very sad, and Talon himself had silent tears in his eyes as he listened. Malon continued. " Everyone was very happy about the baby, especially Mariette. Anya cleaned up the baby at a nearby table. As she wiped her face clean, she heard Mariette talk behind her.
" Anya.." Mariette said.
" Yes, Mariette? What is it?" Anya asked with a smile.
" I want to name her.. Malon" Mariette said quietly.
" Okay." Anya said as she finished wrapping the baby in a blanket. " But why don't you greet her with her name yourself" Anya turned to hand Mariette the baby girl. " Here you are." Anya said to her. Mariette didn't answer. " Mariette?" Anya tried to speak to her, but Mariette was gone. She had died doing what she had always wanted to do. She died as a mother. Anya held the girl and began to cry, she had lost her very dear friend, and she felt for the family that she had left behind. She cried as she held her lost friends child close, and wiped the tears from her face. She held up the baby. " Malon your name shall be, little daughter of Mariette Lon Lon." Anya said softly." Malon explained to them. Talon wiped his face and sighed at the remembrance of his lost wife. Link and Dink now felt differently about Malon. " You see, I never knew my mother either. And I know how you feel." She said to Link. Link stared at her thoughtfully. They were all silent for a moment.
" So, what happened next, Malon?" Talon asked her. Malon took a breath and went on with her story, and Talon also tried to calm his feelings of sorrow to listen as well.
" So, Anya entreated me to my father. And after the burial of my mother, she went back to her own child and husband." Malon paused for a moment. "Now, to make something clear, no one really knows exactly how these next few parts went, but there's been many tellings of the story so I'm just going to tell you what I've heard." she said. Everyone nodded quickly and quietly as Malon resumed her story. " Five days later, Darin and his friend Idien are called to the castle by the King. They journey half a day to their camp site under the old Plateau near the borders of the forest. Unbeknown to the reason they had been called, they had taken Anya and her son with them. They got up very early the next morning and rode to the castle without waking Anya or Darin's son, and after the long horse ride to Castle Town, they got to the castle and had a meeting with the King. They discovered that what was then called the Western Provinces had declared a sudden and fierce battle on the Kingdom. A war had been raging between the Kingdom of Hyrule and the Western provinces already, but all the battles had been to the far north and east of this area of Hyrule until now. The enemy was already marching to battle when Darin and Idien had left their tent that morning, and Darin learned that their huge army would be passing directly through the area of the Plateau that Anya and her son were still asleep in." She explained. Everyone was now staring at her in great anticipation. Malon continued. " Darin left the meeting quickly and rode for an hour back to his tent. He woke Anya and his son and put them on Tyron to send them to the safety of the Forest Provinces. By this time, I'm sure they could see the approaching force rising over the hills to the west, so Anya and Darin said their goodbyes, and Darin kissed his son farewell. She took off towards the forest trail and entered the forest wall as Darin rode back to the Castle and reached it to find that Idien and the King, along with the other high ranking officers, had already assembled an army in front of the wall. Their were Zoran and Gerudo Archers atop the wall, large strong lines of Goron soldiers, many legions of Gerudo Horseback Archers, and the most proud force of Hylian knights and soldiers that Darin had ever seen. He told Idien and the King that his family was safe, and they waited for the sound off to call them into the battle. As the Army of Hyrule awaited their fate, Anya had entered the clearing of a forest meadow." Malon said to them. Link brought to recollection the Meadow in the forest that he and Dink had walked through earlier this morning, and wondered if that was the same meadow that Malon was talking about. Malon continued. " The King had sent a messenger to alert the Forest Provinces of the battle, but Anya discovered as she cautiously continued through the meadow, that the messenger had never made it that far. She found the Hylian soldier lying dead in the grass in the middle of the clearing. She did not know that it was a messenger from the King, and she didn't really care who it was at the time, all she knew is that the killers could still be lurking about. Frightened, she pushed Tyron to a full charge through the meadow." Malon paused and looked at Link, then to her father. Her story had been a great one until now, now that she had reached a part that was not hers nor her fathers to tell.
" Yeah, and?" Dink wanted her to continue on. She hesitated.
" Um," Malon began. " Yeah, she kept riding through the field. She never did make it to the Forest Provinces, though. Most people figure that she headed to the Kokiri Village and gave her baby to them to keep him safe. But no one really knows." Malon said. Talon nodded at her and agreed.
" Why didn't she ever come back to get me then?" Link asked her. Malon looked at him and tried to come up with an answer.
" Well.. I guess the dark magic of the forest kept her from entering the village." Malon replied. That answer really didn't make any sense to Link, but he didn't argue. He did feel that she was leaving out a big part of the story, but he just didn't know what. " Anyway.. Back at the battle field, the King had shouted for his force to charge into battle. It raged on for an hour, they were horribly outnumbered, but they fought as well as they ever could. It wasn't enough though it seems, they were at the brink of defeat, and the King feared that he was soon to lose his Kingdom forever. All seemed lost until they heard a cry from atop the wall. A cry that pulled their hopes from the deep pit of despair and sent them soaring. The Forest Provinces, with their vast numbers of knights on horseback and skilled swordsmen, emerged from the forest wall and charged with all speed to the Kings aid and to the aid of Hyrule. Within half an hour, they had destroyed the remaining enemy force and had driven off the survivors into the harshness of the dry, unforgiving Gerudo Desert. They won their freedom that day, and had ended the long era of the Great War." Malon and everyone else at the table smiled at that thought. Link wondered what had happened to Darin, his Father. Had he been lost in battle? Or had he gone on with his friend Idien and the King into victory? They all listened as Malon finished her story. " Darin, Idien, and the King, enjoyed the triumph of the Kingdom of Hyrule and the new found freedom of its people. Anya met up with Darin after the war, and they now stay together forever." Malon was still smiling. It was not a joyful smile, but a sad and loving smile. Link and Dink sat and though about the long story they had just heard. Link's parents were great people. The fact that he even had parents was a thought to ponder, now that he knew he wasn't a Kokiri. They were both still very thoughtful about everything he had done today, and Link was overwhelmed with excitement at the thought of meeting his real parents. About two hours had gone by, and they could see the sun through the window about to go behind a tall mountain.
" It's getting late daddy, should I make some supper?" Malon got up from her chair and asked. Link looked out at the setting sun and saw the night sky beginning to cover the field, and remembered the reason he had come this way. They still had to get to the castle.
" Well, it was very nice talking to both of you, and thank you for everything." Link said. " But we were headed for Castle Town, and should probably keep going that way." He said.
" Nonsense!" Talon said to them. " It is at least an hour and a half's journey to the castle from here, and thats on horseback. And besides the point, I absolutely insist that the both of you stay the night!" Talon smiled. " it would be an honor to have Darin's son stay at my Ranch." Link looked at Dink, who looked at Malon, and then back at Link. He gave a smirk of approval and nodded.
" Well, I suppose." Link grinned back at Talon.
" Great! I'll make something good!" Malon giggled.
" And if you're both heading for Castle Town, I'm going there myself tomorrow to deliver some milk to the Royal Family. I can give you both a ride, if you want. How does that sound?" Talon asked.
" That would be great! Wouldn't it, Dink?" Link asked.
" Yeah, great." Dink smiled.

CHAPTER4
A Destiny for the Better
And
A Destiny for the Worse

Later that night, everyone had had a nice supper and more great conversations about everything that had gone on that day. It was about midnight and Malon, Talon, and Link were all asleep. Dink, however, just couldn't seem to fall asleep and got up to go outside. He quietly shut the door behind him and stepped out into the starlight. Gazing up into the glittering dark, he began to think about how the rest of his life would be. He had heard Link's story, and knew that whatever awaited him in that castle was something great. But what about him.. All he was, was Link's dark half, he wasn't even supposed to exist. Would he ever feel really happy about his life? Or would he always feel this fear and hatred inside him. He didn't know what he hated, or why he hated it. But he always seemed to feel this bubbling anger building up inside him, just waiting to be set loose on whoever unleashed it. He did know what he was afraid of, though, and he would always be afraid of it. Death. Not just the thought of dying, but the thought of being tied to someone else's fate. To just be as healthy as can be, somewhere doing his own thing, and suddenly somewhere Link is pushed off a cliff.. And that would be the end. Dink shivered and sat on the ground beside the house. He had mixed feelings of terror and anger. Just today, he had to hide from Link's friend, lie to a girl about who he was, and then lie to her father about who he was. He could not tell anyone anything about himself, and he hated the thought of being alone.
" This is what it's like to be someone's evil half.." Dink thought aloud to himself, and looked up at Link's window. " The Deku Tree said you had a great destiny.. One for the better of Hyrule.. Does that mean mine will be for the worse?.." He asked. " I can't live this way.." He said. He got up and began walking towards the Ranch gate. He turned and looked back up at the two-story house. He thought about Link and Malon, still sound asleep. They would wake up to find him gone and never know where he went or why. He smiled as he remembered the kiss that he had stolen from Malon, and the time that he and Link had spent together as new friends. They had battled monsters together, and discovered new things about their past. He now had to put that all behind him. He didn't want to spend the rest of his life worrying about what might happen to Link and always keeping Link away from anything risky. If something was going to happen, he was just going to let it happen. He didn't' want to worry about it. He sighed and turned away from the house and down the dirt ramp, gone out of Link's life.. For now.

The next morning, Talon awoke early to load the milk onto the wagon. He made a large breakfast of eggs, bread, jam, and ice cold milk, and called the kids down to eat.
" Good morning young farmers!" Talon said to Link and Malon.
" Good morning, Mr. Lon Lon." Link yawned.
" Please, call me Talon." Talon smiled at him. Link smiled and nodded.
" Morning, Daddy, or are you going to tell me to call you Talon, too?" Malon laughed. Talon chuckled at her.
" Very funny, Malon. But when it comes to my own daughter, I prefer "Daddy" He said. Malon gave her dad a hug and laughed.
" Oh goody! Eggs and bread! My favorite!" Malon giggled as she turned and saw the table. She sat down and waited for everyone else. " This is a rare thing, Daddy." She said. Talon turned from the stove and looked at her. " usually I'm the one up early and making breakfast." She smiled. Talon and Link both laughed.
" Well, it is also a rare thing to find a long lost child appear on your doorstep. I figured one rare thing deserves another, right?" He said with a smile as he looked at Link. Malon giggled.
" Well, we're all ready to eat, but where is your friend, Dink? Does he usually sleep all day?" Talon asked Link. Link looked up the stairs, expecting Dink to come running down at the smell of food, but he couldn't hear any noise coming from up there.
" I'll go wake him up." Link said as he got up from the table and trotted up the stairs.
" Dink.. Such an odd name. Such an odd boy too, though." Talon said to Malon as Link entered the upstairs.
" Well I like him.." Malon said.
" Do you now?" Talon smiled at her. Malon blushed bright pink and stared down at her plate, trying to hide her smile from her father.
" Dink, breakfast!" Link said as he knocked on Dink's door. There was no answer. Link opened the door and looked at Dink's bed, the blankets were bunched up and he couldn't see Dink's head from behind them. He also couldn't tell whether or not Dink was even under them, they were so poofy. " Dink, can't you smell that? It's breakfast time, come on, get up!" Link walked over to the bed and yanked off the blankets. He was shocked to find that Dink wasn't there, the bed was empty. Link looked around the room and ran back down the stairs. Malon and Talon both looked up at him as he stepped off the stairs.
" Well, where is the sleepy head?" Malon asked him.
" Um, I think maybe he got up really early and went outside." Link said to them. They both looked at him awkwardly.
" He wasn't in bed?" Talon asked him. Link shook his head. " Well, I got up at about five o' clock this morning, and I didn't see him. Maybe he snuck past me when I had my back turned." Talon looked at Malon, who shrugged her shoulders and nodded.
" Yeah, he's really good at things like that. I'll go look outside." Link said, and ran to the door.
" Wait!" Malon got up and walked over to him, grabbing a shawl from a hook next to the door. " I'll come and help look." She said.
" Okay, come on." Link opened the door and walked out.
" Be right back, Daddy!" Malon smiled and waved at her father.
" Hurry back, it'll get cold!" Talon yelled as she shut the door behind them.
" DINK!" Link shouted. They both stood at the door and looked around as Link's voice echoed through the Ranch. The air was crisp and a little chilly, but the sun was bright and warm. There were large patches of fog floating smoothly over the large fenced area to their left, and steam began to rise from the dewy rooftops of the barn and chicken coop.
" DIIINK!" Malon yelled. " Where in the world could that boy be?" She said. Malon walked across the path and to the second building, Link stood and continued to scope the area. Malon opened the door to the building which was the stable for their horses, and called for Dink. " Dink? Are you in here?" She asked. There was no answer. " Hey, Link." Malon peeked her head from behind the open door. " Come here, I want to show you some one." She said.
" What about Dink?" Link asked her.
" Oh, he couldn't have gone far. He probably heard us yelling, maybe he'll show up." She smiled. " Come here.." She said again. Link took one last look around the field and the fence and walked over to the building. Malon stepped inside and waited for Link to come in after her. She shut the door behind them and walked over to a stall near the large door for the horses. She peeked over the door to the stall and waved Link over. Link walked over to the stall and looked at what was in it. It was a small, brownish-red foal, with a beautiful white mane and tail. It had black rings around all four legs and its face. After the rings, the rest was white.
" Nice horse." Link said. Malon smiled.
" Her name is Epona." Malon told him. " And she's not just a nice horse.." Malon said. Link looked at her. " This is Tyron's daughter." She smiled at him.
" Tyron, my mother's horse? This is his daughter?" Link smiled, he was shocked but very excited to hear this.
" Yep, I forgot to tell you last night that after.. Um.." Malon caught herself about to tell him that his parents were dead. Link waited for her to finish her sentence.
" After what? What happened?" Link asked her. Malon wasn't going to lie to him, but she wasn't going to tell him about them either.
" Well, let's just say that Tyron's line has been in your dad's family for over a hundred and eighty years. I figure that his line should stay in your father's family." She said.
" What are you saying?" Link asked her.
" What I'm saying is, Epona is yours now." She smiled at him. Link was very excited, and he looked like he was going to explode.
" Really?!" Link said quietly and almost squeaky. Malon giggled at him.
" Yes, really." She laughed. Link suddenly remembered Talon.
" B-but what about your dad?" He asked her.
" Oh, don't worry about him. Epona is mine, well, was mine." She said. " He actually wanted me to give her to you last night, but it got too late." She smiled. Link was once again jumpy with excitement.
" She's so small." Link smiled.
" She's only three weeks old. You want to see her daddy?" Malon asked him.
" Y-you have Tyron here?!" Link stepped away from the stall. " He's here?" He repeated.
" Yep. Idien, um.. Let us borrow him.." Malon told him. Actually, after Idien had left Anya and Darin's Ranch, he had given all their horses to Talon. Including Tyron. But Malon wasn't going to tell Link that. " Anyway. He's over here.." She said, and walked over to a stall across the building where there stood a magnificent brown stallion. " Here he is." She smiled and patted the horses face. Link gazed at the enormous horse and imagined his mother riding him, galloping through the field, wind blowing through her hair. The horse lifted its head quickly and whinnied when he saw Link. Link smiled and touched the horses nose. It stepped forward and nudged Links face, he seemed to be very happy to see him. " I think he likes you." Malon giggled. " Maybe he remembers you." She said.
" Really? You think he does?" Link asked her.
" Sure. I think horses have good memories." She said. " Talk to him." She told him. Link turned back to the horse.
" Um, hi Tyron.." Link said awkwardly. The horse lifted his head and whinnied again. Malon giggled.
" Keep talking, I think he likes your voice." She said. Link smiled.
" Hey, boy! Do you remember me? It's me, Link" He said. Tyron was very excited, and started licking Link's face. " Oh, that's sick." Link laughed and tried to step away from the horse. Malon kept giggling as she watched.
" I've never seen him this happy" She said. " Here, give him a carrot." She said as she handed Link a long, fat carrot out of a bucked. Link took it and held it out to the horse.
" Here you go, take it!" Link was still trying to avoid Tyron's huge tongue. Tyron backed off and almost inhaled the vegetable from Link's hand. " Wow, he was hungry." Link said. Tyron finished eating the carrot and sighed. He kept staring at Link. Link saw the horses big brown eyes, they seemed sad, but happy. " You are my parents favorite horse." Link said quietly. Malon looked at him and felt very sad for him, she wished she could tell him the truth. They were both silent for a moment.
" We should see if Dink is back yet.." Malon finally said. Link looked at her, and then back at the horse.
" Yeah.." He said. " So long, boy." Link patted the horses nose again. Tyron stared at him as they walked away from his stall. They stopped by Epona's stall as they walked out, she was now awake and stared up at them. She also had big, beautiful, brown eyes. " See you later, Epona" Link said to her.
" Goodbye, girl." Malon said as they walked away. Link turned and took a last look at Tyron, who was still gazing at him sadly. Link sighed and walked out the door after Malon. She shut the door behind them.
" I still don't see him anywhere.." Link said. Malon stepped beside him. " DINK!" Link yelled again for him. There was still no answer.
" Maybe he's already inside. Come on." Malon said, and walked back to the house. She opened to door to see that Talon was still sitting at the table waiting for them. But Dink wasn't there.
" No luck?" Talon asked them.
" No." Malon replied.
" He's not in here yet?" Link asked him. Talon shook his head.
" Nope. No one's come in or out since you two left." Talon told him.
" Okay, this is staring to get serious.." Malon was getting worried now. " Where could he have gone?" She thought aloud.
" We'll all go and look for him." Talon said. " But after breakfast. He couldn't have gone far." Talon said. " Now come and eat." He said. They both sighed and sat back down at the table. After breakfast, they all piled into Talon's wagon to leave. " We'll make a circle around the corral and along the wall and keep our eyes out, then we'll stop by the cow stables and take a peek. Okay?" Talon told them as he took up the reigns to the team and turned his head back towards them. They nodded their heads.
" HIPPIP!" Talon shook the reigns and shouted. The team started to pull the wagon and it jerked forwards. Link gasped and grabbed hold of its edge, he had never been in a wagon before, and was a little nervous. " You okay back there?" Talon asked them.
" Yeah, we're fine." Malon said. She looked over at Link, who grinned slightly with a worried look. " Don't worry, wagons are very safe, especially when my dad's driving, he's the best." Malon told him. They heard Talon chuckle in the front of the wagon. Link laughed. They drove around the horse track all the way to the other side where the cow stables were built into the dirt wall. Talon stopped the wagon and jumped off. Malon and Link followed, both very anxious and hopeful to find Dink just sitting on a crate in there. They walked over to the door and waited for Talon to unlock it. Then they realized, if it was locked Dink couldn't even get in. they all sighed in disappointment and turned back to the wagon. Malon was very worried, and looked like she was going to cry when they sat back down on the seats in the wagon and it started to move again. Link stared out of the window opening in the wagon as they rolled along. Where could Dink be? Why would he leave like this? They finished their encircling of the oval fence and began to ride towards the Ranch gate and out into Hyrule Field. Malon and Link both gazed out of the back of the wagon over the milk crates and took one last quick look around the Ranch, keeping a close watch for Dink, but they didn't see him anywhere.
" So.." Malon tried to start a conversation. She hated the tense silence. " How long have you known Dink?" She asked him. Link turned his gaze from the back of the wagon and looked at her as they left the dirt ramp and entered Hyrule Field.
" Only about a day.." Link told her. Malon was surprised.
" Really? You both seemed like you've known each other for years." Malon said. Link began to think about that. Maybe he had known Dink for years. Maybe every time he got angry, or felt fear, or felt hate. That was Dink. Dink was everything evil about Link, everything dark and frightening. Maybe that's why Dink seemed to know him so well. " How did you meet him?" Malon asked him. Link remembered yesterday morning in the woods.
" In the forest. I was sent to get something for Saria.. My.." Link thought about what exactly Saria was to him, now. A guardian? A foster mother? Or just a friend. Malon waited for him to finish. " My friend." He said. " I met him while I was getting something for a friend in the woods. He was just running through the trees, and he popped out of the bushes in front of me." Link laughed. " We saw each other and screamed, we were so jumpy." Link smiled. Malon chuckled at the thought. " We hid behind the trees from each other and started asking each other's name's. Neither of us wanted to say ours first.. I finally stepped out and told him mine.." Link said.
" What a shock it must have been to see that you both looked so much alike." Malon said. Link gasped and realized what he had just told her. He had just admitted that they had been lying about being twins, and Malon knew it. She raised an eyebrow to him. He turned his head away from her to hide his guilty expression. She didn't seem to mad, though. " Don't worry about it." She said to him. He turned back to her. " I knew from the start that you two weren't twins. It wasn't a big secret that your mom didn't have two sons, and I knew it as soon as Dink told me your name." She said.
" Sorry we lied to you.." Link apologized. Malon sighed.
" To be totally truthful with you, we haven't been telling you the entire story, either." She told him. Link wondered what she was talking about. " But my dad meant what he said when he told you that someone else will tell you the rest. It's not either of our places to tell you the whole truth." She said. Link thought about it. She may not have been totally truthful with him, but at least he knew he would learn the truth sooner or later. But the secret that he and Dink had held could only be told by them, and since he knew that the truth would eventually be told to him, he would have to tell the truth concerning him and Dink.
" I suppose I should tell you the truth about Dink and I. Since our story's been proven a lie." Link said. He paused, and all that could be heard was the creaking of the wagon and the trotting of the horses hooves on the dirt as they continued to ride towards Castle Town. " Dink.." Link began. He wondered about the best way to break this kind of news. " Dink is my.. Um.." He paused again. " Dark.. Half.." Link finally told her. Malon glanced at him awkwardly, wondering if he had said what she thought he had said.
" Dark half..?" Malon repeated. She looked a little frightened. Link nodded.
" He's your dark half?" She asked again. She was very confused and stared blankly into space pondering what "dark half" could possibly mean. " Like, literally or figuratively? I mean, he's not really YOUR dark half, he's just like, your look alike that causes a lot of trouble, right?" She asked him. Link shook his head.
" No.. he's literally MY dark half. The evil part of ME.." Link said. " He's the image of the hate, fear, and anger in my heart. He's everything dark that has built up in the back of my mind." Link said. It seemed like he was almost explaining all this to himself. Even he didn't quite yet understand everything about Dink. He remembered the time they were walking through the forest and Dink showed him his new Kokiri shield. He had also noticed, he just remembered, that Dink had also had what looked like the Sacred Kokiri Sword strapped to his back as well, only his was black. Was Dink acquiring every item that he himself was? Was he really that much a part of him that even his possessions were duplicated with evil incarnations? Malon was still in wonder at what Link had just told her about Dink.
" wow.." She said to herself. " This sort of thing must not happen every day. I mean sure, I've seen my share of fairy's, magic, and strange creatures of all kinds. But this.. I'm sure even the Great Fairy's throughout Hyrule would be shocked." Malon said. " How did this happen?" Malon asked him. Link remembered what exactly the Great Deku Tree had told them about how Dink was created, and what he had said about the dark man from the desert. That man was real and he was out there somewhere, Link didn't want to tell Malon about that man.
" Um, someone told us that.. Somehow, while I was dreaming some kind of dark power had gotten into my head and given me a look into the near future. But while it was inside my mind, it accidentally unlocked all the evil and darkness in my heart and made it so complete that it was almost a totally different person. But not all the way, Dink is still tied to me in some ways.." Link told her.
" In what ways?" Malon wondered.
" Well.." Link began. He took a glance at his now scabbed elbow and remembered how Dink soon was also cut after he got scraped. " We share the same injuries, every bruise and scrape.. Even and especially fatal ones " Link told her.
" So.. If you, um.. Die. Then, Dink.. He dies too? Soon after you, right? Is that how it works?" Malon wondered.
" Yeah.." He replied.
" That's an awful thought.." Malon said quietly. They were all silent for the rest of the trip. Link kept his eye out for Dink along the way, hoping that maybe he might somehow find him just walking alone through the grass as they passed, but he never saw him.