Goddess Send

Act 3

Stupid Guards, an Ominous Princess, and Fun on the Range

A/N: Hardly any changes other than the opening and ending. This chapter did reeeeeal well with keeping the story straight. Enjoy all :)

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"Perfect…" Link chuckled with a hint of evil poking at the edges, "It's three o'clock. The guards should be pretty tired right now…" Link glanced up at the sky, "And the moon is covered by clouds! This should be easy" He took hold of the vines but was stopped.

"Link." Malon said quietly.

"Hmm?"

"I want you to have this…" She took his hand and placed a red orb inside of it, "It's my lucky charm. My mother gave it to me, and I take it with me everywhere. Maybe it'll help guide you past the guards." She smiled weakly, obviously worried about the little Kokiri.

Link stared at the gem for a moment, then clenched it in his hand tightly, "Got it," He said as he slipped it into his pocket, "I guess you won't be here when I get back?"

Malon shook her head gently, "Nope. I'll be back at the ranch. Make sure you come by when you're done seeing the princess. And tell her that Malon said hi."

Link was puzzled by this last comment, wondering if Malon knew the princess personally, but waved it off, "I'm going to get going then." Link took hold of a vine and began pulling himself up to the top of the stone outcrop.

"Good luck!" Malon cried out as Link disappeared into the night.

Link dropped into a roll. There was a guard on top of the gate that had already almost seen him, so he had no choice but to take the low road; or so he thought. Further up the path, the moon had broken through the clouds for but a moment, it's light glinting off the armor of two guards standing in the corners of the direct path up to the castle, "Figures. Here I was hoping I could just come in through the front door." Link brooded humorously. He dropped to his stomach and began slowly crawling up the hill that overlooked the main path.

"I'll bet there's one right up… shoot" Link ducked back down as a guard looked at where he previously was, then took his gaze elsewhere. "I hate it when I'm right…" Link sighed, moving sideways along the hill, making sure to keep just out of range of the other guards, "This is definitely going to be harder than I thought…" He found his hand drifting to his pocket, "Heh… Doesn't matter. I'll still make it, no matter what!" he said as loud a whisper as he dared, then crawled forward, onto more level land, "Navi…" he whispered once more, "Go distract that guard. And make sure you alter your color to yellow. Otherwise, they might come looking for me because you're a blue fairy."

"You do know it's not that simple, Link." Navi replied.

"Well, do it anyways!"

Navi sighed, then flew out of his hat, a heated yellow light flowing from her, "You're lucky I'm not like other fairies…" she snapped quietly, then flew up to the guard, bobbing up and down in front of him as Link picked up the pace of his crawl.

"Hey-what-get lost you stupid fairy!" The guard shouted.

Link cursed silently at how loud the guard was, but was relieved when no other guards called to see what was wrong, "They must be deaf too-" Link froze as his arm snapped a tree branch. "Shit…" Link cursed again as the guard spun to face the sound. In desperation, Link rolled so his back-and dark brown shield- faced the guard, then curled up as tightly as he could.

"Hmm…. I don't remember seeing that rock before…" Navi had hidden behind the guard to block out her light, hoping the guard would just pass it off… The guard took a few steps to examine the 'rock' then nodded, "Guess I'm just tired…" he sighed, then turned back to the fairy- "Where'd the fairy…" He shook his head, "Bah, who cares. The damn thing is gone."

As quietly as he could, Link rolled away from the branch, watching as Navi flew down from high in the sky to evade the guard's eyes again, "Thanks Navi." He smiled as the fairy nodded, then quickly flew back into his hat, "Let's keep going…"

As soon as he was clear, Link shot to his feet and went into a full out run; the guards were more spaced out the closer to the castle he got, leaving plenty of room for error. Despite the extra room, he was still amazed at how many guards had been posted, "There's at least thirty men here… wonder if they have any families that miss them twenty four hours a day…" Link wondered, then cackled, "Their loss."

This comment upset Navi, the fairy showing her irritation by slamming her fist into Link… Just as he was making his way up a stone wall, "Yeow!" He yelped, took a moment to look, then continued climbing as fast as he could.

"Huh- Hey!" a guard shouted, "Hold it!" he ran to the wall just as Link pulled himself up.

"What's wrong?" Another guard called out.

"There's someone going into the castle! Watch the gate! I'm going after him!"

"Shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh- ow! Knock it off Navi!" Link cried, edging towards the castle moat. He looked behind him, then back at the flowing stream, "Don't think I have a choice..!" he had to use ever last bit of willpower to not cry out in shock when he hit the frigid water, then had to use even more willpower than was in his body to dive down and hug the wall, hiding in the shadows once more.

Above him he could see the tops of the guards helmets, and could vaguely hear their voices, though he couldn't understand them. After a few moments, the helmets disappeared… then just as Link was about to rise back up, another guard looked right down at him, I'm screwed… he stared up at the guard, resisting the urge to let out bubbles for air…

But apparently the goddesses were on his side, because the guard shook his head, then walked back to his post. Link was overjoyed, as well as dying for air. But he knew he couldn't chance it. He floated up a ways, then began swimming as fast as he could down to the other side of the moat, breaking the surface with a huge breath, gasping for the air he had forsaken for the past minute and a half, "Thank you, Din!" he shouted weakly, immediately ducking back down for a moment. Keep quiet, you idiot!

Once he was sure it was safe, he pulled himself onto the walkway that surrounded the moat, immediately freezing when he heard a loud noise, "Wha… wait…" he relaxed, "Snoring…" He followed the sound to a small alcove, where a large man lay in front of several boxes with a horned animal on the front of each, "That must be Talon…" And that must be the milk he was delivering. He walked up to the man, "Hey. Talon."

No use.

"Talon!" Link shouted, kicking the man in the stomach gently.

Nothing.

"Hmm" Link hummed as he thought. What can I do that won't hurt him… his thoughts traced back to something Mido did to him a few times, Got it! He knelt down and took Talon's nose, tightening his fingers to cut off the air flow.

It took longer than Link had planned, but the man finally shot to his feet, gasping for air, "What in tarnation!?" What tarnation was, Link hadn't a clue, though he was glad when the man stopped flailing around and took notice of the child, "Well hello there…"

"Hey" Link said simply.

"Now what's a kid like you doing in the castle?" Talon asked, eyeing Link suspiciously.

"Malon sent me. She's really worried about you" Link replied.

"Malon sent you?!" Talon had suddenly begun to sweat profusely, "Oh no, now I'm going to get it! I never should have left Malon at the ranch!" Talon cried as he took off into a run, whining as he continued around the moat.

"Uh…" Link clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, "Guess that takes care of one problem." He smiled, then looked across the moat, eyeing an opening that could lead him into the castle, "There's a hole over there, but… I don't think I can reach it." He looked around for something to help him, then noticed the milk crates again, "Hmm." He nodded in agreement with himself, "That'll work.

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"What a pain in the neck…" Link groaned as he spied around the third patch of hedges; a pair of guards stood in a pile of rupees. Why there were rupees there, Link had no clue. However, he couldn't just walk around them like he did with the other guards. These guys weren't moving. And they hadn't moved once in the past five minutes, "These guys are definitely better trained than those other idiots."

He took notice of Navi floating high above him, "Something wrong, Navi?"

"There's a large wooden plank up here. You might be able to crawl across it." Once again, Link was happy to have his fairy around.

Maybe I misjudged her.

"Nice." Link hopped onto the hedge, then gently got on his stomach and began crawling along the board, praying to the goddesses that nothing gave away his position.

They weren't with him this morning.

"What was that?" one of the guards asked when the board above him creaked.

"What?" the second guard looked at his partner.

Oh shoot.

"I think someone's above us." The guard walked toward the grass, looking at the board. No one was there.

"Well?" The second guard asked.

"Go check back there."

Oh crap! Link was hugging the wooden pillar that held up the wooden plank. "Now I'm definitely screwed." He whispered.

"No, you aren't," Navi flew out of his hat and ran right into the first guard.

"Hey! Get lost!" the guard shouted, turning away to smack the annoying fairy as she continued to 'peck' him.

Link took this as a chance to get away. Just as the second guard came around, Link darted around the other side of the pillar, behind the first guard, then flew behind the next set of hedges. Navi followed close behind Link once he was clear, "Navi…" Link breathed, "You're a real lifesaver."

Navi was beginning to like the kind comments, I knew he'd warm up to me.

Link let off a sigh, then peered around the greenery; There were two guards here as well. They weren't standing still, but they weren't patrolling nearly as slowly as the previous guards, "Damn…" Link sighed again.

Navi didn't scold him. Rather, she followed suit, "This is going to be hard as hell."

Link looked over the situation. The first guard might end up catching up to the second guard, giving me a chance to- damn it! He just about shouted aloud when he saw the first guard turn and go the opposite direction, giving Link no time to slip behind both guards.

"What can I do…?" He decided to check other options, his eyes dancing over each section of the garden before stopping on a window, "I wonder…"

"Got an idea?" Navi watched curiously as her companion pulled out his slingshot, "Wait, you aren't going to-"

"Nah. Take a look at that window. I don't think it'll break easily with those metal bars keeping it stable." Link loaded a seed into the rubber band, then fired the seed, watching it ricochet off the wall a few yards in front of him onto the wall to his left, then land right next to him, "That should work…" He waited for the guards to look in the opposite direction, then ran to the hedge near the wall in front of him, ducking down to check his shot.

"If I hit that window just right, it should ricochet right into one of the guard's helmets." Link explained to his still confused fairy.

"But if you do that, they'll know you're here!"

"In a way, yes…" Link grinned as he took off his hat and placed it over Navi, "When the seed hits the guard, you'll be right by the hedge over there, with my hat visible to them. When I say go, you take off, and I'll hide right here." Though he couldn't see the fairy, he knew she understood, "If all goes well, they'll run right by me, giving me the chance to hightail it to the next part of the garden. After I'm through, go back over the hedges and meet up with me."

"Ok" Navi mumbled from under the hat.

Link stuck out for a moment, aimed, "Fly true" then fired, watching the bullet go exactly where he hoped; off the window and right into a guards helmet. I guess I'm a better shot than I thought. "Navi, you ready?"

"What in Din's name?!" the guard shouted, looking around for the perpetrator who had shot him, "Hey!" he shouted as he saw a green hat sticking out of a hedge.

"Go!" Navi took off full speed, and Link huddled himself into a corner, almost loosing a laugh as the two guards flew past him in chase of the fairy phantom. As soon as he was out of earshot, he hopped to his feet and ran through the last garden and into the courtyard.

"Whoa!" Link said in amazement. He'd never seen so many flowers in one place, and they were arranged in the shape of three triangles, the top one orange and red flowers, the left one green and yellow, and the right one blue and violet, "The Triforce… pretty fancy" he chuckled as he meandered into the beautiful grove. Around the perimeter of the garden stood large fountains pouring out crystal clear water that glowed in the morning light, "Quite the beautiful place…" Link's gaze finally caught a blonde haired girl standing in front of a window directly in front of him, "Huh… oh!" he nearly forgot about the princess.

He passed a hand through his hair, hoping to make it look a little better, Stupid hat. Always messes up my hair. After a moment of fighting it, he left the golden locks alone. They aren't getting any better. He stepped forward, "Um… Princess Zelda?"

The young woman turned, a look of shock dawning on her, "Who… Who are you? How did you get past the guards?" the girl backed up against the window. She had a purple and white cap, and her dress was white, except for the front, where it draped from her chest down in a wide pillar of purple, the Triforce sowed into the fabric near her knees.

My hair must be bad. Link sighed, though he perked up when he heard Navi fly up to him, dropping his hat back on his head.

"They… never caught me…" she breathed as she floated back into the daylight.

"Oh? What's that?" Zelda leaned forward, "Is that…. A fairy?"

Link and Navi looked at each other, then back to Zelda, "Then are you… Are you from the forest?"

"Um… Yeah." Link nodded nervously.

"Then… then…" the girl stuttered, "You wouldn't happen to have… The Spiritual Stone of the Forest, would you!? That green and shining stone…"

It was Link who was now hanging back a bit, She sure is energetic! "Uh…"

"Do you have it?" Zelda leaned even closer.

"Um, yeah. I do…" Link dug into his pocket and pulled out the stone.

"Just as I thought!" Zelda giggled happily.

"I had a dream…" Zelda began…

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The young lad and the well built woman stood outside the castle, "Take a good look at that mountain." Impa pointed, "That is Death Mountain, home of the Gorons.

They hold the Spiritual Stone of Fire."

"Death… Mountain?" Link stuttered. Why use such a terrifying name? Why can't it be Happy Mountain, or Mount St. Lovely…?

"At the foot of Death Mountain you will find my village, Kakariko. That is where

I was born and raised. You should talk to some of the villagers there before you go up Death Mountain." Impa looked down at the boy. "The song I just taught you has some mysterious power. Only Royal Family members are allowed to learn this song. Remember, it will help to prove your connection with the Royal Family. The Princess is waiting for you to return to the castle with the stones." Impa nodded, then backed up, raising her hand high, "All right. We're counting on you!" She shouted than thrust a deku nut to the ground, disappearing in the wake of the flash.

Link stared at the huge mountain, a large ring of smoke spinning around its peak, "Great…"

"Shall we get going, Link?" Navi asked nervously. She too was a little hesitant to head straight for the large, ominous mountain

"No" Link shook his head, then turned to face the large stone wall in the distance, "Let's head to the ranch and see Malon and her dad first." Link took a step then suddenly stumbled, "Oh shoot…"

"What's wrong?" Navi floated to his knee, "Did you hurt yourself?"

"No… I just remembered I never told Zelda that Malon said hi…"

Navi slapped herself, then Link.

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The air seemed to be fresher here, almost crisp to Link as he walked up the grassy path, stopping once he reached two large buildings, "Wonder where Malon is?" He could hear through the door to his left an occasional snore, "Talon must be in there." Link walked up to the door. He'll know where Malon is.

As Link opened the door and peered inside, he immediately slammed the door as hard as he could and put his back to it, "Oh shoot!" He said, sweat rolling down his face in waves.

"What's the matter?" Navi asked, floating up to the door. She heard a noise she thought was familiar… kind of like…

"There's….a bunch of cuccos in there… a lot of Cuccos…."

Navi held back as much laughter as she could, "They're not ALL violent, Link."

"Navi, I'd love to believe you, but I've had a traumatic experience. There's no way I'm going to-"

"GET IN THERE!" Navi shouted right in his ear, practically blowing him and the door down.

Every cucco was eyeing Link curiously, "Um…" he stood up and put his back to the wall, "Nice… Cuccos….." He then noticed Talon staring at him with a humorous grin on his face, "What?"

"Afraid of cuccos, are ya?" He asked, picking up one of the birds, "There's nothing to be afraid of. So long as you don't hurt them, they won't do anything bad to ya," He held the cucco out to Link, "And even if you do upset them, they don't hold grudges."

"I-I beg to differ." Link stated as he slowly took hold of the cucco. It's so soft… He looked into the cucco's eyes, They're black… He looked at the other cuccos. Every single one has black eyes… "Huh…" He placed the cucco down, then turned back to Talon.

"I can't thank you enough for waking me up at the castle, kid. Malon gave me a good talking to, but she let me off after making me do extra work today." Talon laughed, making Link wonder who was in charge in the family, "How'd you like to play a little game?"

Link perked up at the offer, "A game? What kind?"

"See these three cuccos here?" He pointed at the three that sat behind him. Each one had slightly glassier eyes compared to the others, almost like they were about to cry, "These here are super cuccos. I'll toss them into that pack o' other cuccos there and you'll have to find them. If you find them in a minute or less, I'll give you a prize"

"A prize, huh?" Link chuckled, "All right. Go for it." He didn't have any doubts. All he'd have to do is look at the eyes, then he'd win for sure.

"All right then!" Talon turned, grabbed, then threw the cuccos in with the other feather piles, "Go!"

Link dove right into the pile grabbing one of the cuccos he had watched, "That's one!" He shouted happily, setting it down, smiling as it obediently waddled back to Talon's table. He looked around, gazing into every cuccos eyes, "Got ya!" He shouted as he grabbed another.

"Well I'll be! That's two in less than ten seconds!"

"Make that three in fifteen!" Link laughed as he held up the last cucco.

"Well, tarnation!" Talon whooped, "That's the fastest cucco rustling I've ever seen! Not even Malon can catch them that fast! Come over here, boy!"

Link obliged, setting the cucco down on the table before plopping to the floor in front of Talon. "Kid, you gotta tell me. How'd you know which ones were which so well?"

Link smiled again, "Look at their eyes. They're eyes are different from the other cuccos, more rotund, and glassy."

Talon grabbed on of the supers, then another, "Well! I'll proudly say I'm impressed. How'd you like to marry Malon?"

Link's eyes widened. Malon had only partially covered the concept of marriage, leaving him rather… hesitant to answer, "Uh…" Link looked at the ground, "Heh… sure, why not" he chuckled nervously, immediately lightening up after hearing Talon's howls of laughter.

"I'm just playing with you, there, kid. You and her are far too young to think about things like marriage." Talon stood and walked over to a wooden chest, "Here's your real prize," He opened the chest, reavealing a bunch of ice with glass bottles, "A bottle of Lon Lon milk! This stuff here is packed with all sorts of nutrients to help a kid like you grow strong" The bulky man laughed again as he handed Link the bottle, "You can keep the bottle too. We've got plenty more. Why not take a swig now? Can't say I can fill it up again without chargin' though."

Link stared at the white liquid, weighing whether he should drink it or not in his mind. So this is milk, huh…? He popped the cork, put his right hand to his hip, then brought the glass to his mouth, taking a long drink.

"Now that's the way to drink milk!" Talon chortled at Link's pose, "You must have been drinking milk for a while to do that!"

Link corked the bottle, leaving another gulp or two of milk in the bottle. He was blushing mildly at the comment, "N-no, I've never had milk before. This is my first time." He explained as he wiped his mouth.

"Really?" Talon tilted his head, "Guess you've got a drinkers spirit in your or something, kid." Talon then shook his head, "I can't always be calling you kid, can I? I can't remember what Malon called you…" He began eyeing Link's fairy, "What's yer name?"

"Link Kokiri" he replied. He was getting used to using a last name.

"Kokiri, huh? That explains the fairy you've got there, then. Still, Link's an odd name." Talon commented, still watching Navi, "Hope you don't mind if I forget and call you Fairy Boy every now and then."

For a split second, Link glared at the man, but in that same half second he switched to a grin, "Go for it. Malon calls me the same thing, so I'm kind of used to it." Link then asked, "By the way, any idea where Malon is?"

"She's probably out in the field with that horse of hers, Epona. I'll bet she'd be mighty excited to see ya after telling me so much about ya."

"She was talking about me?" Link asked excitedly, immediately backing down from the sudden burst.

"Yep. She sure seems to like you, Fairy Boy. Better go find her before she gets lonely," Talon rose his eyebrow at Link after his little outburst.

"Uh… Sure." Link nodded before walking out the door.

"I've got a good feeling about that kid…" Talon mused before dozing off.

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As Link walked out towards the field, he heard an unusual sound, "Singing…?" He asked, panning his gaze along the field until he spotted Malon's shining red hair, "I never knew she could sing…" He had liked her voice, but her singing sounded like someone else entirely. It was… Beautiful…

He crossed the distance between them in a sprint, sliding to a halt in front of her, smiles on both of their faces, "Hey there, Malon!"

"Oh, Fairy Boy!" Malon giggled, "How'd you like the castle? Did you say hi to the princess for me?"

"Oh, heh heh, yeah, I did" Link laughed nonchalantly.

He hid a flinch as Navi flew under his cap and punched his head, "Liar…"

"So what did you think of her?" Malon leaned forward playfully, "Was she cute?"

"Eh… she was…" Link turned away from her, a cute smile appearing on Malon's face.

He liked her. She decided.

"She was odd. Really odd. She was talking about visions and stuff, and practically blew me and Navi away." Link turned back to Malon, though he was looking up, "Speaking of which, Navi did you actually catch all she was saying?"

The fairy poked her little head out of the front of Link's cap, "Sadly, not all of it… Though most of what she said was similar to the Great Deku Tree's story, so we didn't really miss much. You do remember what she said about that Ganondorf guy, right?" Navi knocked on Link's forehead.

With a flick of his finger, Link shot Navi back into his hat, "Yes, I remember."

Malon stared into his eyes intently. "Um…?" Link backed up a few steps, "Something wrong, Malon?"

The red headed girl giggled once more, "Why don't you tell me what happened in the castle?"

Link let out a relieved sigh, "Sure." He noticed a bench a few yards away under an awning, "Why don't we sit down there?"

Malon nodded happily, taking his hand to lead him over. He didn't understand the feelings that were rushing through him again… What is this…?

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"Wow! So you're going to save the world? That's so cool!" Malon cried out giddily, "Wish I could come along!"

Link looked at her with a smug grin, "I don't know if you could take the punishment I go through."

"Oh what do you know!" Malon huffed, "You've only been in one place that was dangerous"

"Three, actually" Link corrected, closing his eyes as he spoke, "Though the third one wasn't exactly dangerous," he was obviously talking about his time sneaking into the castle.

"E-Either way, I'm tough! I can take a lot of punishment!"

"Have you ever fought a stalchild?" Link sat up then leaned towards her.

"Um… no, I-"

"Have you ever sliced a keese in half with a sword, just as it was about the latch onto your neck and suck the life out of you?" He leaned even closer, their foreheads practically touching.

"No, I haven't but-"

Link practically forced her onto her back as he pressed his head against hers, "Have you ever had to force one of your own bones back into position?"

"No!" Malon cried weakly, "I haven't!"

Link shot back to a normal sitting position, his arms crossed and his eyes closed, "Then you aren't fit to come along." He finished with a nod.

Malon wiped her forehead as she sat up, "You're mean…"

"Life's rough. I just went through a lot as a kid, so I'm pretty much built to take this kind of stuff." Link nodded again.

"But you're still just a kid. And kids shouldn't be out risking their lives" Malon countered.

"Pheh" Link snorted, "This is far less dangerous than dealing with the antics of the Kokiri"

Malon stared at him for a moment. I can't tell if he's actually serious about that or not. She waited another moment, then stood up and stretched, "Well, enough lounging. I'd better get back to my chores."

"Hey, wait" Link stood up and grabbed her right shoulder, "Anything I can help with?"

Malon's grin answered Link's question.

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"Come on, Fairy Boy! It's not that hard!" Malon shouted as Link held onto his mount's hair for dear life.

"That's easy for you to say! I thought-gah- Epona was calm!" Link shouted before being bucked off, "Haa- ack!" he groaned. That's tough…

Malon ran up to him with a callously smug grin on her face, "How do you expect to save the world if you can't even ride a horse?"

Link flew to his feet, "Who said I'd have to ride a horse in order to save the world!?" he replied angrily, though as soon as he had said it he fell back into a sitting position, "Man…"

Malon kneeled down, her grin widening even further, "What's the matter, tough guy?"

"I'd rather not say…" Link groaned, rubbing his legs, "I hurt in places that I probably shouldn't mention around a girl…" He at least knew that from watching the other Kokiri be idiots, though he didn't fully comprehend why.

"Oh, that. You'll get used it," Malon turned and walked away slowly, "Fun's over, Fairy Boy. Now we need to do some more chores."

"More…? What else is there to do?" Link asked, struggling to get up.

"We need to change the horse feed, refill the water troughs, feed the cuccos, milk the cows…"

"Great…." Link sighed before falling over again.

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"Ugh!" Link moaned as he fell onto his bed. Talon had been kind enough to let Link use the bed in the smaller stables. Apparently since they upgraded the main stables, the backup had been set up as a guest bedroom of sorts. Though he had made it clear to Link that once in a while cows were kept in the "guest bedroom." Link just prayed that if he did come back to rest-as Malon and Talon both had said he could come back any time- he wouldn't be stuck with any cows. They smelled bad enough when he was watching Malon milk them. He'd hate to sleep with one.

He wasn't quite ready for bed despite the time, "Eleven-thirty. I've been working all day, and yet I'm not that sleepy…" Link said to himself…

"Can't get to sleep?" Navi popped out of his cap to stretch her wings a bit. She had hid in Link's hat all day to escape the sun, though she was quite ready to go to bed.

"Nope… Just wondering about something…" Link looked at his fairy, "Whenever I'm around Malon, I get this weird feeling. It's a happy feeling, but still weird… I never felt it when I was with Saria or any of the other Kokiri girls."

Navi's glow intensified, "Oooh! Link's got a girlfriend!"

Link shot up, "No I don't!" he then stalled, thinking about it, "Wait… Malon didn't say much about them… What's a girlfriend?"

Navi lost all motor skills. She dropped to the ground, bouncing lightly before coming to a rest. "Uh… Navi?" Link leaned down to watch her, being blinded as she suddenly flashed with energy and shot right up to his face.

"All right! Since the Great Deku Tree wasn't Great enough to teach you this, I'll be courteous enough to tell you the secrets of life."

"Why do I get a bad feeling…?" Link immediately shut up when he noticed Navi's death glare. He settled himself into the bed, put his hands behind his head and laid down, "All right. I'm ready to listen."

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"Wow. That's…" Link took a moment to look down at his waist, "Interesting…"

"You're taking it far better than other Kokiri I've seen…" Not like many of them ever did learn about this, but…

"Well, it's not all that surprising." Link sat up, "I mean, sure, I thought that was only to go to the bathroom with…" he kicked his legs over the bed and let them dangle, "But, it's still not something that would truly shock me."

"Really? You're definitely tough, Link. I'll give you that"

"Of course, I'll never look at a girl the same way again" Link added in, "Hey Navi"

He'd better not-

"Do fairies have the same parts girls do too?" A long branch of silence filled the room. Maybe that was a bad… thing… to ask…

"Link…"

He immediately tried to correct himself, "Di-Did I say something? Did I? I don't think I did- Well, good night Navi!"

"Oh you're going to sleep?" a voice came through the door before three knocks, "Well, good night then."

"Hu- Malon?" Link sat up, "No I'm awake!"

"Oh, can I come in then?"

"Sure!"

The door swung open, but what came in first were two dinner plates, "Glad you're still up. I'm still a little hungry" Malon explained as she closed the door behind her, "And I was wondering if you would like to help me finish off the leftover food."

Link smiled happily. He wasn't feeling to brave when they had had dinner, so he denied the offer for seconds for manners sake. Though, that was several hours ago. He was now coming to the point where his stomach would start groaning, "Gladly."

Malon hopped up onto the bed, then handed him his plate; beef and chicken stir fry with cabbage, carrots, and mushrooms. Link wasn't accustomed to the meat, but he had quickly adapted to their respective flavors.

He lifted up his fork, then turned to Malon, "I never did get to tell your dad how good of a cook he was."

Malon stared at him, her right eye brow raised, "Um… What?" Link asked, taking a bite of beef.

"I wouldn't trust dad with marshmallows over a campfire, let alone over the stove." Link didn't know what marshmallows were, but his look of confusion led Malon to continue, "I'm the cook here."

Link blinked. She cooked it? "But you're just a kid. I thought you said the parents take care of the kids…"

"It's kind of reversed in this family," Malon sighed, "Ever since my mom died, dad has become lazy. Mr. Ingo and I do all the work around here. He's even starting to slack off on his work when he's out delivering milk, like he did at the castle…"

Link finished his last piece of chicken before saying, "Well, whenever I come back here, I'll help out as much as I can, ok?"

Malon looked at him and smiled, "Thanks, Fairy Boy."

"Sure thing" Link replied. Something was on his mind… Something he dreaded, "Hey, Malon…"

"Hmm?"

"How'd you hear me say good night to Navi earlier? I said it pretty quietly."

"Oh" Malon giggled. Link had a feeling he'd start to enjoy that giggle. "I have pretty good hearing. My dad says that my hearing is up to par with the horses."

Navi knew what Link was getting at, "You didn't… hear our conversation, did you, Malon?" The blue fairy asked, her glow dim in fright.

"No, I didn't." Malon leaned forward towards Link, "Why?"

"Nothing, no reason." Link answered.

"You keeping a secret from me?"

Navi pitched in once more, "No! It was a secret that the Deku Tree entrusted me to tell Link and Link only once he had talked to Princess Zelda."

"Oh, ok then. I won't go between you and your deity" Malon smiled, finished her food, then got up and headed for the door, "Well, good night, Fairy Boy." She nodded, and then made her way out.

"Night, Malon!" the Kokiri and fairy both said before settling down. Another thought had been troubling Link, "Hey, Navi…" He didn't wait for his partner to respond, "After we get some rest here, let's head back to the forest."

"You want to tell Saria about how you're going to save the world, right?"

"Yeah…" Just before she spoke again, he started, "And I do care about Saria… I just don't care about the others." Link snorted.

"Yeah, sure…" Navi yawned before settling down at the foot of the bed, "Good night, Link…"

"Yeah… Night…" Link fidgeted slightly, then slowly drifted to sleep

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A/N: Bit of a fun fact, but I have absolutely NO idea what that lucky charm of Malon's was supposed to be initially. I had some plan for it, but I lost it during the four year hiatus between chapter 4 and 5. Once my coworker joined on, we started brainstorming and came up with something I don't believe has been done in a full start of the game to the end fanfiction of Ocarina of Time... can't WAIT to get to that part. There's a teaser for ya i guess for things to come. See you all next time! :D