Chapter 3: Lon Lon Ranch

Link, Kai, Cecily and Sari headed over to a tree house that was built in the back of kokiri forest. As they walked over Link couldn't help but think about what Kai had said. Ganondorf wiped out my tribe! While Link was thinking about what Kai had said, he failed to notice that they had already arrived until Kai called his name.

"Link, Link!"

"U-uh, yes Kai?"

"We're here."

"O-oh, great." Kai looked at Link sceptically, then sighed.

"Listen Link, I know what I said earlier might have shaken you up, but just remember that it all happened 100 years ago, and I'm over it." Link still didn't look convinced so Kai tried to change the subject. "You know what? Enough about me, how about you? What did you do before you came here?" it seemed to work.

"What did I do before I came here?"

"Yeah."

"Well believe it or not, I was actually part of a pirate crew!" I think it may be best not to tell him who I really am, I mean I'm not technically lying. Kai seemed to buy it though.

"really!?"

"Yeah! And my captain's name is Tetra. She is the same age as me. She can be bossy, but she is kind natured at heart."

"Wow! Do you have any family? Ah, sorry! That was insensitive of me!"

"No, it's okay. In fact, I do have some family, I have a grandma and a little sister."

"Wow!" Kai looked at Link in awe as Link told him about his family and how the pirates helped him in getting is sister back. "Wait, so you had to fight a giant bird called the Helmaroc King to get your sister back!?" Link nodded with a smile. "That's…so….COOL! I wish I could go on adventures like that. Hey, maybe we'll have our own little adventure on the way to Hyrule castle!" Kai ranted on and on about how awesome Link's life sounded while Link just blushed in embarrassment at all the compliments he was receiving. Cecily was smiling at Kai's antics while Sari looked bored until she couldn't take it anymore.

"Hey lover boy! Are you going to come in or what?" realising that the two fairies were waiting on them, Link and Kai headed up and into the treehouse. When they walked in Link noticed that the tree house only consisted of one room with a bed put against the wall under the window, a dresser was against the wall next to the entrance with all types of accessories and a table was situated in the centre of the room with 3 stools situated around it. On the other side of the room where the bed was, was a prep area for food.

As Link looked around the tiny abode, he felt an odd sense of familiarity and comfort. He didn't know why.

"Well? What do you think?" asked Kai.

"It's a nice little house." Link felt oddly at home here. Kai was grinning from ear to ear at Link's comment.

"You know, this house originally belonged to a kokiri that left the forest a long time ago and since it had been vacant for such a long time, the kokiri folk let me live here." Kai started to prepare tea for the two fairies and himself. "Do you want some rose tea?" he offered to Link.

"Rose tea? What's that?" Kai then dropped the tea pot in shock, but then hurriedly went to clean the contents he spilled. Cecily calmly fluttered over to Link to explain what rose tea was.

"Rose tea is made using rose petals and hips, it's generally good for the health and it tastes absolutely beautiful."

"Oh, then I'd love to have some rose tea Kai." Link said just as Kai finished cleaning up the spilt water. Kai acknowledged Link's answer and started to prepare the rose tea. Kai went and grabbed two medium sized tea cups for Link and himself, then grabbed two tiny doll sized tea cups for his two tiny companions. After the tea was brewed, Kai went ahead and poured the tea in each of the cups while being careful with the tiny cups. With a quick thank you everyone had a sip of their tea.

"Mmmm, Kai this is delicious!" Link exclaimed.

"Thanks, I aim to please." Said Kai with a smug expression. Link then frowned. Kai noticed his change in expression. "What? Is it something in the tea?"

"What? No, no. it's just that while we're sitting here sipping tea, many lives are at stake with the growing darkness and all." Link stated in frustration. Kai took a sip of his tea then finally responded to Link's frustration.

"What if there is no darkness?"

"What?"

"I mean think about it. What if it's just stray monsters?" Link thought about what Kai had said.

"I still reckon we should make our way to Hyrule castle to check things out." By then Link had finished his tea and just sat there with his hands clasped together. Suddenly Kai stood up, this made Link also stand up. Kai walked over to a chest that was hidden in the corner of the room and he gestured for Link to come over. Link did so with a look of confusion on his face. Kai gestured for Link to open the chest. When Link opened the chest, he saw a small sword with a golden hilt with a ruby gem placed in the middle.

"K-Kai wha….?"

"This is the Kokiri sword, it's been in the house since moved in so I didn't bother with it." Kai explained. Link took hold of the sword, getting used to its grip. "you needed a sword so I thought that this sword would be perfect for you." Link reached down into the chest and grabbed a wooden scabbard with metal engravings on the ends. He then sheathed the sword and slung it on his back. He then turned around and faced Kai.

"Thank you, Kai, I mean it." This shocked Kai.

"Why would you thank me? I'm the one that wants to go with you!" Link merely shook his head. "Unfortunately, I don't possess a shield so we'll need to go to the shop to purchase one." Kai stated in disappointment.

"You can purchase shields?"

"yeah, of course you can." Link would have been surprised at the fact, but then he remembered the phantom hourglass incident and decided to drop it. Kai walked over to the dresser and picked up a satchel with a rupee sign stitched on it. He then walked back over to Link and gave him the bag. "Here you go Link, this satchel should have about 120 rupees. This should be enough to buy a shield and some other supplies." Link took the bag questioningly.

"Aren't you coming with me?" Link asked. Kai shook his head.

"I need to prepare things for the journey here, so I'll meet you at the entrance of Kokiri forest."

"Wait a minute, I don't know the area of the forest! How will I know where to go?"

"Sari will guide you." At hearing her name Sari floated up to the two boys.

"I will be doing what now?" Sari questioned.

"I need you to guide Link to the shop and then guide him to the entrance of Kokiri woods." Answered Kai.

"Why do I have to guide him?"

"Oh, come on, please?"

"Sigh…fine." Kai smiled at this.

"Guess I'll meet you at the entrance then." Link confirmed and with that, both Link and Sari headed off to the shop as Kai started to prepare for their upcoming journey.

As Link climbed down the ladder, he could hear Sari grumbling.

"Sorry about making you come with me." Link apologized.

"Nah, it's fine." Sari responded as Link reached the ground and started to follow Sari towards the Kokiri shop. "Besides, it was that dweeb that asked me, not you." After walking for a few minutes Link and Sari had finally arrived at the shop which was a small, little building. On top of the roof, Link spotted a young girl with shoulder length light blond hair wearing a green dress and boots with a green head band sitting there. When the duo entered, the shop wasn't that big, the items were placed on shelves behind the counter and the shop attendant was a short boy with the same outfit link adorned and had blue eyes and brown hair which was tucked under his hat.

"Welcome, what can I get you today?" asked the shop keeper with a bored expression. Link smiled at the shopkeeper.

"Hello, I'd like a shield please."

"Sure, that'll be 40 rupees." Link then paid the little Kokiri 40 rupees, but when he was handed the shield, he looked confused.

"Um, excuse me?"

"Yeah?"

"This isn't a shield, it's just a piece of tree bark." Link stated.

"You get what your given, kid." this annoyed Link.

"No, I want my money back!" the shopkeeper gave an exasperated sigh, then looked up at Link with the same bored expression.

"Listen kid, a long time ago the Hero of Time himself used the same type of shield, so if he could use it, you can use it." The shopkeeper started to tick Link off. Let's just say after a bit of 'convincing' from Sari, did Link end up getting the shield for free.

"I can't believe you threatened him with the sword, he was just a kid!" Link complained. Sari just scoffed at him.

"Come on, you got the shield for free didn't you, what are you so upset about?"

"The fact that you threatened a CHILD!" Link then gave Sari a dirty look and crossed his arms.

"Okay, okay, I promise I won't do it again."

"Good." Up ahead Link and Sari could see Kai and Cecily waiting for them at the entrance of Kokiri forest. Unlike the other tunnels that Link had encountered, this one was a lot bigger. When Kai saw them he immediately smiled and ran up to him.

"You made it!" Kai exclaimed while jumping up and down. Link laughed at his antics.

"Well of course I did, I had Sari's help after all." Link then looked at Sari with a thankful smile on his face. When she saw this, she turned her head away in embarrassment. This made Cecily and Kai laugh.

"S-shut up!" Sari cried out in embarrassment. when their laughter had finally ceased, Link addressed to Kai.

"Should we get going now, Kai?" Kai looked at Link with excitement gleaming in his eyes.

"Heck yeah!" Link, Kai and the two fairies then headed through the tunnel leading out of the forest. The tunnel was relatively short and opened to a small area with an extension bridge leading to another tunnel. Link took in all his surroundings as the group walked across the bridge and into the other tunnel.

After a few short minutes of walking, they finally made it through the dark tunnels. The group was met with light and had to wait for their eyes to adjust to the light before they could continue. What Link was met with wasn't like anything he had seen before, he had only seen Hyrule castle, but not the land itself. Link was awed by the scenery, it was just as the legend had said. Link was greeted with a huge field of Lush green grass with a few trees here and there with a clear blue sky. In the distance, Link could see the mountains the legend mentioned.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Kai said as Link became mesmerized by the land's beauty.

"Yeah." His sightseeing moments where short-lived though when a large owl perched it's-self on a large branch growing out of a tree that was situated on the side of the entrance to the forest. When Link saw the owl, he had a look of amazement planted on his face, but Kai on the other hand just groaned at the owl.

"Oh no, it's that annoying owl." Kai grumbled to him-self. Link looked at him in confusion.

"That's not any way to speak to an old friend now, is it?" Link jumped back in surprise, the bird had just spoke! The owl eyed Link carefully making him nervous.

"Sorry Kaepora." Kai apologized to the owl. Link could only watch as Kai and Kaepora had a conversation with each other. Kaepora suddenly looked back at Link causing him to flinch.

"Ah, how rude of me, I haven't introduced myself properly to you, I am Kaepora Gaepora, but you can just call me Kaepora, young one." Link hurriedly stood up strait to introduce himself.

"My name is Link!"

"Link?" Kaepora then had a sad look in his eyes.

"Um, yes." The wise owl then looked off into the distance as if he were recalling some fond memories. Kai decided to say something.

"You know, Link, Kaepora has been around for a long time, even when the Hero of Time was around!"

"Really!?"

"Yeah!" Seeing Link's amazement gave Sari an idea. She flew up to Link's face.

"hey, Link! Did you know that Kai was in love with the Hero of Time?" Link gave a surprised really, as Kai listened to the lies Sari was telling Link.

"I was not in love with the Hero of Time! I only admired him for his bravery and courage!" Kai exclaimed. He then made a grab for the green fairy, but missed as she flew further away from the young fox boy. Kai then started to chase Sari, Cecily then chased after them, yelling for them to stop. Link could only watch with an amused grin as he saw Kai and the two fairies chasing each other.

"You are not really from this time, are you?" the question was so sudden that Link had choked on his own spit and ended up in a coughing fit. Once he got his breath back, he looked up at Kaepora surprisingly.

"How did you know?" Kaepora just chuckled at Link's response.

"By your reaction, of course." Link smacked his forehead at his own stupidity. He just got played. "Tell me boy, why do you keep this fact a secret?"

"You already know the answer to that. If people knew who I was, it would interfere with the past thus, changing the future." Kaepora remained silent as both he and Link looked at Kai and the two fairies.

"I found that boy, you know, he just appeared out of nowhere, badly injured." Link remained silent, Kaepora continued, "I found him collapsed just outside of Gerudo valley, he had nowhere else to go….so I brought him here, to Kokiri forest. All the Kokiri welcomed him with open arms. He was so quiet back then."

"Of course, he practically lost everything important to him." Link then looked up at Kaepora questioningly. "Why are you telling me this?" Kaepora looked at Link with a serious look in his eyes.

"I am telling you this because you are his friend." Link thought about the word 'friend'. Kai then came back, covered in sweat with Sari in his hand and Cecily fluttering behind him.

"What did I miss?" Kai asked while panting. Link only shook his head and smiled.

"Nothing." Kaepora give Link a knowing look. Kai only cocked his head in confusion. "Well, we should get going, it was nice to meet you Kaepora!"

"It was a pleasure to meet you as well."

"See ya old owl!" Kai said as the two fairies bid their farewell.

"Link, Before you go," Link stopped for a moment, "If you are heading to Hyrule castle, it would be wise to head to the temple of time first. It should be situated just outside of town." Link thanked the owl and headed off to castle town with Kai and the two fairies in tow.

As the group made their way through Hyrule field, Link couldn't help but take in all the scenery as they walked. Kai just kept on chattering about random things to Link with Sari occasionally telling him to shut up. 3 hours had passed and the group were starting to get tired of walking and they were losing sunlight fast.

"I'm so tired!" Kai complained as he collapsed onto the ground, taking off his boots and rubbing his sore feet. Link mimicked Kai's actions and started to rub his feet as well.

"I agree, I'm not used to walking such large distances." Link glanced up at the sky and could see the sun setting over the horizon. "It's getting dark, we need to find a place to stay for the night."

"But where? The closest town is miles from here." Cecily could then see some light in the distance.

"What about over there?" Link, Kai and Sari looked over at the shining lights in the distance, when they looked closer, they could make out a house.

"Hey, if we go there, I'm sure they would let a bunch of kids stay the night." Sari commented as she fluttered towards the house on the hill. Link, Kai and Cecily followed in pursuit.

By the time, they reached their destination, the sun had completely set and the stars were visible. Now that they had a closer look, Link realised it was a ranch and not just a house. He looked up at the sign which read Lon Lon ranch. Kai's ears then twitched as he tried to pick up on a noise he heard, he then realised it was someone singing.

"I can hear someone singing." Kai stated, Link was about to respond to him, but Kai put is first finger up to his lips, signalling for him to be quiet. Kai then headed toward the singing with Link, Sari and Cecily following behind him. Eventually Kai reached a small field with a fence surrounding it, when he looked closer he could see a few horse jumps and in the centre of the field he could see a beautiful young woman with waist-long light red hair wearing a dress that was purple waist down and on the upper half was white, the woman also wore ankle long boots. Kai made his way over to the young woman and tugged on her dress to get her attention.

"Excuse me, miss?"

The woman stopped her singing and looked down at Kai, she then screamed and hit Kai on the head with her fist.

"Aaaaah! Monster!"

"Ow!" Kai coward back in pain while rubbing his sore head. Before the woman could hit him again, Link quickly intervened by stepping in front of Kai to block the blow. Sari and Cecily quickly fluttered over to Link and Kai to illuminate some light so the woman could see who she had just hit. When she saw them, she realised it was only just a couple of kids, she brought up her hands in front of her mouth.

"O my Nayru, I'm so sorry for hitting you, are you alright, little ones?" Kai just rubbed his head, knowing Kai wasn't going to respond, Link decided to answer the kind woman.

"Yes, we're alright." The woman gave them an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, I thought you were monsters, but you're both just normal Hylia- "she stopped talking when she saw Kai's fox ears, the woman quickly grabbed Link and ran inside, locking the door once she was in, after a few moments Link and the woman could hear banging on the door.

"Hey, let me in!" Kai's voice was muffled by the door, Link turned around to the woman and calmed her down by explaining what Kai was.

"A kitsune?"

"Yeah, he won't hurt us." The woman was still sceptical of Kai, but unlocked the door anyway, letting him in. when Kai entered the building, the woman got a better look at him and realised he was only a child." She slowly approached Kai.

"Listen, I'm sorry about hitting you earlier. I thought you were a stray monster." Kai merely smiled at her.

"It's okay, all Hylians react this way to me; heck, when I first met Link, he pulled on my ears real hard." The woman laughed, then turned towards Link.

"So, your name is Link, is it?"

"Yes ma'am." Link responded.

"My name is Malon, I get my name from my great grandmother." Malon then turned back to Kai. "And what's your name?"

"I'm Kai and these two fairies are Sari and Cecily." Kai replied happily. Malon looked at the two fairies.

"It's nice to meet you." Malon greeted to the fairies.

"Like wise." Both Sari and Cecily responded.

"So, tell me, what are you two young ones doing all the way out here?" Asked Malon. Link and Kai glanced at each other before Link answered Malon's question.

"you see, we're heading to castle town." Malon gave Link an odd look.

"Castle town? Whatever for?"

"Uh…" Kai decided to intervene.

"To go sight-seeing of course!" Kai exclaimed. "But we don't have anywhere to stay for the night and it's really cold outside." Kai did a fake sniffle to add effect to his sob story. Luckily, Malon bought his sob story.

"Oh, you poor thing!" Link raised his left eyebrow at Kai while he gave Link a wink, then turned back to Malon with a sad look. "A little girl like you shouldn't be traveling all the way to castle town."

"Wait, what?" Kai could here Link and Sari snickering behind Malon and glared at them.

"U-um, you see miss, I'm actually a boy." Malon gave Kai a look of disbelief, when she turned to Link for confirmation and he nodded, she turned back to Kai with her hands over her mouth.

"W-well, no matter what gender you are, I couldn't let two young boys stay out there with the monsters, so you both can stay here for the night." Kai's face brightened and he gave a small celebratory 'yes', then ran up to Link and high fived him. Link too, was happy that they had found a place to sleep that night. Sari and Cecily flew around their heads in glee. Malon smiled, but then heard their stomachs growling.

"I guess it's dinner time!" Malon announced.

"Oh, boy am I hungry!" Kai called out, but Link grabbed his arm before he could run off to the dining area. Kai gave him a confused look.

"That's okay, we're grateful enough for you letting us stay here. We don't want to cause you any more trouble. Besides, we have our own food."

"It's no trouble at all." Malon assured Link.

"Yeah, it's no trouble at all!" Kai agreed. Link gave him a look.

"Think about it this way, it'll be my way of apologizing for hitting the both of you earlier." Malon suggested. Link was hesitant, but then agreed to her offer.

After dinner, Malon showed Link and Kai to where they would be sleeping for the night. In the room, there was a dresser placed against the wall next to the door with a mirror situated on top of it. There were also two beds placed on each side of the room with an end table next to each of them.

"Wow, I've never seen a room this big." Kai looked around in awe, Link thought it was odd that Malon had so much space.

"Malon, do you live alone?" Link asked.

"Eh? Oh, no I don't. I live with my husband, but he's currently on a trip to Hyrule castle to deliver some of our products." She then smelled Link. "Seems like someone needs a bath." Link blushed at her comment. Malon giggled. "I'll get one prepared for you, but we have a limit on how much water we can use so you and Kai will have to bathe together, I hope it's not a problem."

"Why, are you having water troubles?" Link asked. Malon shook her head.

"No, it's just that there is only enough water to have two sets of baths and I would also like to take a bath. Besides, both you and Kai are boys and there is plenty of room to share, so no problems."

"Come on Link, it'll be fun! I haven't bathed with anyone in ages!" Kai said as he tugged on Link's hand, urging him to follow. "And besides, last time I tried to get Sari and Cecily to bathe with me, they just hit me." Kai added as he recalled the memory. "Hey Sari, Cecily, let's go take a bath together!" Sari and Cecily looked at Kai with disgust in their eyes.

"Ew, no you pervert!" both fairies yelled as they hit Kai.

Kai shuddered at the memory. Link just rolled his eyes as he let Kai drag him by the hand while following Malon to the bathing area. The room wasn't too small and the bathtub was a decent size. Malon left two towels for Link and Kai to use once they were finished. Kai took off his cloths and then did a bombie in the bath tub, spilling water everywhere. Link got soaked in a matter of seconds.

"Ugh, come on Kai. This isn't a pool!" Kai only looked at Link with confusion written on his face.

"What's a….pool?" Link smacked his forehead. Of course! How could I have forgotten that in this time they don't have pools!? Kai just cocked his head to the right in confusion. Link decided not to explain it to him. he took off his cloths and laid them out to dry, then joined Kai in the spacious tub, Malon was right; there was heaps of room. Kai was practically swimming in the bathtub while Link watched him, amused. Link then noticed how Kai's tail seemed to swing from left to right when he got excited. Kai noticed Link staring at him, so he smirked at Link.

"What is it Link? Are you jealous of my luxurious tail?" Link only got up and walked over to Kai, he then pushed his head under the water. When Kai resurfaced, he started a coughing fit.

"ugh, s-sorry *cough* *cough* I won't do that *cough* again."

After the bath, Link and Kai got ready for bed. Malon let them borrow some of her husband's cloths while theirs were out to dry. Since it was night time, they had to wait till morning for their cloths to completely dry. Link slept on the left bed and Kai slept on the right. Sari and Cecily slept in a basket that was placed next to Kai on the end table. Kai fell asleep almost right away and started snoring, Link on the other hand took a while to fall asleep, with all that had happened, Link had a lot on his mind. He eventually fell asleep into a deep abyss of dreams.

AN: whew! That took me a while to write, well I hope you enjoyed it! Oh by the way, in case some of you were wondering, kitsune means fox in Japanese. Adew!