Yay! This chapter is longer than my last two! Oh, and sorry if I get anything wrong, I've never played Majora's Mask before, so I don't know a whole lot about it.

Many thanks to my friend Sokkashot on deviantart, who came up with the character Kia.

"Termina field is a lot bigger than it looks, huh?" Link said to no one in particular as he wiped the sweat off his brow.

As he expected, no one answered. Zelda was a few feet behind Link, looking just as tired he was. Ganondorf was considerably ahead, but even he was beginning to wilt a little bit.

"Isn't there a town somewhere around here?" Link groaned.

Link was only answered by his stomach. He clutched it and groaned again. If Navi were here she would be scolding him for not being better prepared.

"Navi…"

You never realized how much you would miss something until it was gone.

"I wonder where she is now."

He heard a small moan behind him and a thump. He looked back to find Zelda collapsed on the ground .

"Zelda!" he shouted as he ran up to her. "Are you alright?"

"Link…it's so hot out here…" she sighed.

"Ganondorf!" Link shouted. "Zelda's collapsed!"

"So?" he shouted back.

"So come help her!"

"I'm not helping some pampered princess walk just because her delicate little feet aren't used to so much hard work!"

"Jerk," Link said under his breathe. "Don't worry Zelda, I'll help you."

She shook her head.

"Link, I can't…"

"Rrrrg! If only there were a town somewhere around here!" Link said through his teeth, slamming his fist into the ground.

He sat there for a minute, staring at the ground, trying desperately to think of something. Ganondorf wasn't going to help them. He would probably get tired of waiting for them and leave, anyway.

Just as he was about to give up, Link heard the muffled sound of footsteps slapping the ground. He jerked his head up, expecting to see Ganondorf. Instead he saw a funny little man coming towards them in a white running suit.

"The…jogging man? What's he doing in Termina?"

The man, in fact, looked like a duplicate of the man Link had often seen running laps around Hyrule field. He flailed his arms and shouted.

"Hey! Hey! Over here!"

The man looked in Link's direction and changed his course.

"Why hello there. Are you in need of some assistance?" the man asked as he stopped in front of Link.

"Yes. We need to know where the nearest town is. Please, it's very important," he pleaded, looking down at Zelda.

The man nodded his assent and closed his eyes.

"Hmmm, yes. Well, the nearest town is Clocktown, but there's a village that's closer to where we are now. I don't believe it has a name. It's mostly a traveler's town. Not many people live there."

"Thank you. Thank you. Which way is it?"

"East," the man said jogging away. "It was nice meeting you."

"Um, but I already know you."

"Pardon? I've never seen you before."

"N-never mind."

Perhaps the jogging man from Hyrule had a twin brother?

Yes, that had to be it.

Link waved goodbye as the man headed back the way he had come. Carefully, he slung Zelda's arm around his shoulder and grabbed hold of her waist with his other hand.

"Come on Zelda, we can make it. There's a place close to here where we can rest."

She nodded wearily.

"Thank you Link. I'm sorry for being so weak. I'm ashamed to be the Princess of Hyrule."

"Don't be!" Link said, smiling as they shuffled along. "You can't be good at everything."

Eventually, Link and Zelda caught up with Ganondorf, who was standing on a small hill overlooking a long stretch of the field.

"You sure took your time," he said.

"No thanks to you!" Link practically shouted. "You could have carried Zelda easily."

"I'm not inclined to carry around spoiled brat like her."

"Nor would I desire to be carried around by the likes of him," Zelda whispered to Link.

Link bit back his comment and turned eastward. Without a word he began shuffling down the hillside. He swung his head around to look at Ganondorf, who was still staring off into the distance.

"Are you coming or not?" he grunted.

"Sure," Ganondorf said without looking at him.

Link clapped his hands together, his face bright.

"Alright! Food!" he laughed, digging into the thick slab of meat in front of him.

"My sentiments exactly," Ganondorf said, though, with considerably less enthusiasm.

"Thank you for carrying me all the way to this inn, Link," Zelda said, genuine gratitude on her face. "I don't know what I would have done without you."

"Dun menshun it," he mumbled, his mouth full.

"Disgusting," Ganondorf said, sighing. "You have no manners, child."

Link swallowed.

"I'm not a child!"

"You are to me," he sneered.

Zelda shook her head. It couldn't be helped.

"Excuse me, miss, did you order the fish?"

Zelda glanced up at the waitress. She looked about fifteen, with long red hair pulled into two pigtails at the base of her neck. It was an unusual hair color for a Hylian, but then, this was an unusual part of Hyrule. Zelda could have sworn she had seen some familiar faces among the people wandering in the village.

"Yes, ma'am," she answered.

"So polite," the waitress winked. "If you need anything else, just call for Kia, m'kay?" She pulled a slip of paper out of her apron, which covered her dark purple tunic and some of her blue tights. After placing the paper on the table she disappeared back into the kitchen.

"What a nice waitress," Zelda said.

Link nodded his assent and Ganondorf chewed his meat moodily.

"This place is too crowded," he complained.

"Hey Zelda, what did she put on the table?" Link asked, leaning towards the paper.

"See for yourself," Zelda shrugged, taking a bite of her fish.

Link snagged the paper with his fork and plucked it off the tongs, inspecting it closer.

"It looks like it's the bill for our meal."

Ganondorf snatched it from his hands.

"It looks like a pretty hefty bill, too. I almost feel sorry for you, having to pay for all that."

"But, I thought you were paying for it."

They stared at each other for a moment.

"Now listen, fairy boy, you're always carrying a sack of rupees with you, aren't you?"

Link took out his bag and shook it. It was empty.

"I'm just a child. I don't have that much money! Why don't you pay for it? After all, you're the adult here."

"What about the princess?"

They both looked at Zelda. She nearly fell out of her seat.

"I don't have any rupees! I've been in hiding for seven years! Since when did I have any money?"

They were all silent for a moment. Wordlessly, Ganondorf stood up.

"What, you're just going to leave without paying?" Link said a little too loudly.

"Shut up," Ganondorf hissed. "We are leaving without paying."

"We can't do that!" Zelda gasped. "That's wrong!"

"Is something the matter here?"

A thin man approached their table.

"I am the manager. If you have any problems, please tell me."

Ganondorf hesitated. If they caused a scene here, they may miss the opportunity to find out more about the mysterious figure that had stolen the Triforce.

The manager looked down at the slip of paper lying on the table, then up at the three.

"Ah, I see. Can't pay the bill, can we? Well, it looks like you three will be washing dishes in the back."

Ganondorf fingered the hilt of his sword.

"I would never do something so degrading," he growled.

"Well, then, if you refuse to pay the money, I'll just have to add the extra expenses onto the rest of my customers' bills."

This got the attention of the crowd. Some started to stand up.

"He trying to incite an angry mob," Zelda whispered.

From the corner of her eye she saw their waitress, Kia, peeking around the doorway to the kitchen, along with several other kitchen staff.

"Run," Kia mouthed.

"Ganondorf," Zelda said, "I know you and Link can fight off these people, but we shouldn't."

Ganondorf began to unsheathe his blade.

"Please? Listen to the voice of reason."

He stopped, then stared at Zelda and smirked.

"And I suppose you fancy yourself the voice of reason?"

Without warning he slammed his sword back into his sheath and grabbed Zelda from her chair. Swinging her over his shoulder, he leaned across the table and snagged Link's collar.

"What are you-?" Link gasped, but had no time to finish as he was dragged across the table when Ganondorf bolted for the door.

The stunned crowd had no time to react as Ganondorf lumbered out the door with Zelda hanging over his shoulder like a rag doll and Link in tow.

"Ow! My legs-ow! Work perfectly fine-ow! You know! OWCH!" Link choked as he was dragged through the dirt, his collar practically strangling him.

"No time!" he replied, still running.

Once the three were a safe distance away, Ganondorf stopped, dropping Link and setting down a very shaken Zelda. He slumped against a tree, panting.

"I haven't run like that in years," he gasped.

"Getting too old for this?" Link grinned, more than happy to take a jab at the Ganondorf, now that he was exhausted.

"Shut up, kid."

They all sat there, putting themselves back together, when Zelda looked up, panicked.

"I hear something. Do you think someone followed us?"

"Impossible," Ganondorf snapped. "Do you think anyone could possibly catch up to me at the speed I was going?"

"I could," said a singsong voice.

Ganondorf stiffened. From behind a tree peered a familiar red head.

"Kia?" Zelda asked.

"That's me. Oh, and there was no need to run so fast. Nobody but me could catch up to you," she said cheerily.

"But, why did you follow us?"

"I was…curious. You seem like and odd trio of adventurers. Unless, of course, you're family?"

Zelda and Link scooted away from Ganondorf.

"No," they said quickly. "Never."

"Sorry," she said, her hands raised. "Didn't mean to offend anyone."

She stepped out from behind the tree and sat herself in between Link and Zelda.

"I've been wondering why you would come to this little village instead of Clocktown and I want to know where you're going," she said, looking around the group.

"After all, you do kind of owe me."