"Hey… uh… Mister Ingo," Malon asked shyly, "How much farther is it? Until we reach the lake, I mean." Ingo sighed and looked up at the sun. It was still high in the sky and probably would be for a great many hours. That meant he'd be stuck with these kids for a great many hours. Knowing these two, they'd still be reluctant to leave once the darkness was complete and the Stalchildren were out. "Ugh," Ingo moaned tentatively, "Not long, less than an hour." Looking down he caught a glimpse of her pouting face, "A lot less than an hour," he amended, "Probably." That drove her to smile. Malon turned to her friend and said excitedly, "See! I told you. It won't be long now." Ingo sighed again and rubbed one calloused hand across his face. To the best of his memory, her friend had never asked how long it would be. But Ingo made certain not to comment, because that would ultimately lead to them wanting to talk to him. And that was definitely something he didn't want them taking an interest in. If he had to babysit them all day like this, at least he could do it without being bothered to entertain them as well. Ingo sighed, thinking of what the rest of the day had in store.


Link marched across the hills, staring ahead wonderingly. Each hill they crossed seemed to bring them tremendously closer to the lake. As they crested one of the taller hills, Link was sure he'd seen the sparkling blue surface. However, it still seemed like the trek was taking forever. He managed to not ask Ingo, though, because he could see the man's near-permanent grimace growing deeper and angrier every time Malon did just that. As Link walked though, he couldn't stop wondering how much longer the walk would be. He was still feeling kinda tired from the dungeon, and Link could feel a slow burning beginning to start in his legs. By the time he could definitely see the lake in the distance, Link was trudging along. Malon was babbling excitedly beside him, explaining just how fun it was all going to be. After a while the words had all faded together and become a sort of constant buzzing. Link focused himself on staring ahead at the lake. It actually seemed to be growing closer by the minute, now. If he kept on staring at it, then maybe the whole thing would leap closer and they would arrive this minute. Link sighed disappointedly when it didn't, then chuckled softly to himself. Just yesterday he'd been fighting for his life, now his biggest problem was how long it took to reach the lake.


Malon gazed ahead expectantly. The lake was within sight now and any minute they would arrive. Malon could hardly remember the last time she'd been to the lake. It had been years ago, when she was only seven or eight. All she could remember was playing in the water while her dad and Ingo went fishing. She'd gotten sunburned, but still the memory was a happy one. She couldn't wait to get back there and relive that. "Hey… Mister Ingo," she asked tentatively, "Do you think I… uh… me and Link could… try fishing with you?" Ingo looked down at her with a strange look on his face. A long moment passed in silence until finally Ingo said, "Fine… sure you can." Malon smiled brightly and thanked him enthusiastically. She could remember watching him fishing with her father and it had looked like a lot of fun. And now she'd be able to take part in it! Malon felt so happy and excited that she was almost ready to burst. Now the lake was even closer than before, seeming right at hand. "Link!" Malon shrieked out happily, "I'll race you to the lake! Ready… Go!" She started running even as the boy was still digesting her words. It didn't take long, though, because he caught up to her quickly. Malon pressed herself into running, struggling to outrun Link. "Hey!" Ingo's gruff voice called out from behind them, "Stop that! Come back here!" They kept running though, neither willing to give up even a miniscule advantage. In the end Malon reached the lake first, but only by a matter of much disputed inches. Link still asserted that he had won, though, and they settled down to arguing over the victor.


I hope you enjoyed this, I'm thinking about making it a little bit longer and adding some semblance of a plot. Maybe five to seven chapters instead of four. A plot means conflict which might detract from the absolute innocence I'm going for, but it might make it more realistic. Let me know what you think.