After seeing Link off, I managed to make my way back to Kakariko Village despite feeling unbearably sleepy. My head was still throbbing from the wound and all I wanted to do at this point was to crawl into my bed and sleep.
The sun was gone by the time I made it to the front gate of the village. I had just approached the stairs leading to Hyrule field when a guard stopped me.
"Halt! Where do you think you're going young lady?"
"Home." I responded curtly.
"Well I can't have you wandering around Hyrule field on your own at this time of night. Don't you know that the stalchildren roam the field at night?"
"Look guy. I'm tried, I'm hungry and I just want to go home to the Castletown so I can sleep. Just let me go. I'm more than capable of getting past the stalchildren." I argued, showing him my sword and shield as if to prove myself worthy of the challenge.
"Calm down kid. I never said that you couldn't leave. There's a caravan that will be leaving soon so just hang tight until they get here."
I would have bum rushed the guard when I had the chance, but I was too tired due to the day's excitement. So I obeyed him and sat down near the gate, resting my head against the wall while I waited for the caravan to arrive. Shortly after I had sat down, a girl with long red hair approached the guard and quietly began talking with him. I closed my eyes for what seemed like just a second and before I knew it I had drifted off.
Darkness. All of the land was covered in thick darkness. The only sliver of light left peaked out through the temple, the direction in which the blue haired woman ran off. I found myself running after her, as if my legs had a mind of their own. Although my vision was blurred, I could make out the figure of the woman, still holding her large book. She was reading from it, unintelligible chants coming from her mouth. I watched as the darkness began to retreat and felt relief wash over me.
The relief was short lived. Seconds after the darkness began retreating a new veil of evil began painting the sky. A tall, dark figure emerged from the temple, seeping the land with its evil with each step that it took. It's hand began to glow and it shot a beam of darkness at the blue haired woman, sending her crashing towards the earth. It then focused its attention on me. It stared at me for but a moment before it lurched its entire being at me…
"….wak….up…..WAKE UP!"
My eyes shot open and I sprang up from my spot against the wall, my heart racing from my nightmare. A girl about my age was standing next to where I had just been. It was the same girl I had seen right before I had fallen asleep.
"Finally! Come on! You were waiting for the caravan right?" She asked, tapping her foot impatiently.
"Yeah -"
"Well then lets go! They're going to leave without us!" She grabbed my wrist and pulled me down the flight of stairs leading out of the village.
At the end of the stairs waited 3 men equipped with cheap swords and 2 women, accompanied by a horse drawn carriage. The carriage had two horses pulling it with a lantern hanging from it, providing a little bit of light. There was a foal tied up to the back of the carriage, whining and tugging at the rope in an attempt to free itself. The men and women had crammed the cart full of their belongings, as well as 2 small children who were sleeping soundly inside.
"Is this everyone now?" one of the men asked me impatiently.
"Yup! We're the last ones!" the girl answered for me.
We made our way to the nearby stream so that the horses could have a drink before their long journey. The caravan was on its way toward a neighboring country and was making a stop in the Castletown on its way. When we grew closer to the stream, it had occurred to me that the girl was still holding onto my wrist, humming softly as we walked. My cheeks began to grow warm as I tried loosening her grip.
"How is your head?" she asked, her hand still clamped around my wrist.
"Its okay." I responded.
"Are you sure? You seem kind of out of it and your bandage has a lot of blood on it…"
"I said I'm fine." I snapped back.
I knew that her concern was coming from a good place, but I just really wanted to be left alone to my thoughts. The last few developments of my dream had left me a bit disturbed. I had never had dreams that continued over several nights. Plus, there was something really strange about them. While I was dreaming they just felt too…real.
"My name is Malon by the way." the girl said, finally letting go of my wrist. She extended her hand out to me.
"Kai." I said, shaking her hand.
"Thats a strange name." she giggled. "Where are you headed to on your own anyway?"
"Just going home. What about you? Traveling with your family?" I asked, nodding towards the men and women by the carriage.
"Oh no! I don't even know these people! I'm actually trying to find my dad." she said bashfully.
"Did you get separated from him?"
"Well - not exactly. You see, my dad runs Lon Lon Ranch so he's always coming into town to make deliveries. I decided to help him out this time since he had deliveries in Kakariko and the castle. He was supposed to meet me at the front gates in Kakariko at sunset, but never showed up. So instead of waiting around for him like always, I decided to go look for him myself. I figured he's probably still in the Castletown goofing off as usual." she sighed.
Suddenly, I knew exactly who she was talking about. She had to have been talking about Talon, a plump, lazy man with a bushy mustache. I had seen him almost every time I made a delivery to the castle and every time I saw him he was sleeping soundly next to his milk crates. I hadn't realized that he actually owned the ranch. I had assumed that he was just some hired help since he put in so little effort.
"I think I know exactly where he is." I sighed.
"Realy?! Oh that's wonderful! Could you take me to him?" she pleaded.
"Sure." How could I say no? I was going to the Castle in the morning anyway and it couldn't hurt to bring her along.
After the horses had their fill, the caravan finally departed. The men led the carriage, walking a little ways ahead while the women walked along side it. Malon and I decided to go on foot behind the carriage so that the younger children inside had enough room to sleep. Malon chattered away as we walked, telling me all about her life on the ranch. I listened politely, nodding and giving my input when it seemed appropriate, but my true thoughts laid elsewhere.
What could these reoccurring dreams mean? Why did they plague me every time I slept? Were the goddesses trying to send me a message? Who was that strange woman and what did she want from me? My mind was racing with the possibilities, to the point where I had completely tuned out of our conversation.
"Hey! Are you even listening to me?" Maion said, snapping me back to reality.
"S-Sorry. There's just - a lot on my mind right now."
"I asked you if you have ever ridden a horse before." she pouted.
"No, never."
"What?!" she was so shocked, you would have thought I had said that I had never seen the sun before.
She grabbed my arm again and approached the foal tied to the back of the carriage. It was still thrashing about, unsettled by the fact that it was tied up.
"That lady over there told me that her name is Epona. She's really pretty, but the lady said that she's still really wild and hard to tame. She's only about 3 years old so she's still a little too young to ride, but I think it would be okay for one of us to ride her. We're still kids so our weight shouldn't be too much for her to handle."
"And how are we supposed to ride her? You just said that she's still not tamed." I pointed out.
"Lucky for you my dad has a ton of horses on the ranch, so I have lots of experience with them! While you were sleeping back at the village, I managed to figure out a way to get Epona to calm down. Even though she's wild, she's actually a really sweet horse. Just watch."
Malon stepped in front of me, softly singing the melody she had been humming earlier. Almost instantaneously, Epona stopped struggling and began to approach Malon. It was as if the song had tamed her instantly! Malon giggled as she caressed the young foal's neck, praising her as if she were a dog.
"For whatever reason, she really likes this song. My mom used to sing it to me when was little." She said sadly. "Give it a try! I bet she'll let you pet her if you sing to her."
"I don't think -"
"Oh come on! Don't be a scaredy cat!" Malon taunted, trying to get her way.
Her last comment nipped at my pride, so of course I had to prove her wrong (even though the wild horse did intimidate me). I took a deep breath and sang softly. I didn't know the whole song, so I just repeated the parts that Malon had just sung. And wouldn't you know it, the horse actually came up to me! I was afraid that she would revert to the wild foal I had witnessed earlier, so I continued to sing as I stuck my hand out to her. She gave it a few sniffs before nudging her nose into my hand.
"Oh!" I cried, taken completely by surprise.
"I knew she would take a liking to you!" Malon cheered happily.
I let Epona warm up to me for a little bit longer before Malon convinced me to try to mount her. Still intimidated by her wild nature, Malon helped me climb onto Epona's back. When I initially swung my leg over her back, she violently resisted. I latched onto her neck and sang the song to her again, stroking her back as I tried to calm her down. After struggling for a few minutes, Epona finally settled down and submitted. Before I knew it I was riding a horse for the first time in my life!
"I-I'm doing it! She's actually letting me ride her!" I cried, exhilarated by the experience.
Malon giggled at my excitement and gave me some riding tips as she walked along side me. However, our fun was short lived as the carriage came to an abrupt stop and the men up front began speaking quickly to one another in hushed voices. I immediately jumped off of Epona's back and saw the two women rush to the back of the carriage, quickly ducking inside.
"Girls! Come inside, quickly!" One of the women whispered urgently.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"They've spotted a herd of monsters up ahead!" the younger woman responded.
"Great. Just what we need." I muttered under my breath as I hurried to the front of the carriage.
"Wait! What are you doing?!" Malon cried, running after me.
"Get inside! It's dangerous!" I ordered, drawing my sword from it's sheath.
"That's what I should be saying to you! I know you think you're miss tough girl with that sword of yours, but you're still hurt! Let the men handle this!" she pleaded.
I was about ready to put my sword to her throat, thinking that maybe threatening her to go to safety would work, but it was already too late. Hands began shooting up from the ground, and a stalchild began clawing its way out of the earth. One of the men spotted us and rushed to Malon's side.
"What the hell are you two doing out here?! Get inside before you get hurt!"
"I can help you! I've fought foes like this before, I know how to defeat them!" I argued.
Another sent of hands shot out of the earth inches away from Malon, causing her to shriek and run to my side. I wasted no time hacking away at the monster as is emerged from the ground, cutting off as many bones as possible.
"Here! Take my shield! Use it to protect us from their attacks! I'll hold them off with my sword!" I shouted, thrusting Link's deku shield at Malon.
Although it was clear that she was terrified, she nodded and guarded my backside as I fought off the advancing stalchildren. By this point, the men were too preoccupied to worry about us and were engaged in combat as well. One man managed to sever the head from a stalchild, but it continued its attack.
"Wha-what are these things?! They don't die even when the head is cut off!" he screamed, trying desperately to protect the carriage from the mob of stalchildren.
"You have to keep attacking until you sever all the limbs from the body! That's the only way to kill them!" I yelled as I tried to set an example.
The men glanced my way, observing as I slashed off the arms, legs, and head of the stalchild in front of me. The head rolled to the ground, slowly turning black until it finally crumbled into dust. Baron had taught me all about the stalchildren during our many late night training sessions. He was adamant about me learning about monsters and their weaknesses.
'Knowledge is the most powerful thing you can equip yourself with in battle.' He would always say.
"There's more coming!" Malon quivered.
I turned in her direction and saw more hands shooting out from the earth. I looked to my right, where the men were still fighting, and saw even more hands clawing their way out from the ground. I was usually able to slash through the stalchildren with ease, but my head injury was making it difficult to fight like I normally did. Malon was putting on a brave front, blocking the stalchildren's attacks coming from behind with Link's shield as I tried to keep them at bay. If it hadn't been for her, I would have taken a lot more blows.
"Damn it. Why are there so many out tonight?" I muttered to myself.
It was strange to see this many stalchildren grouped together in one place like this. Whenever Baron and I ventured out into the field at night they usually travelled in small packs no bigger than 4, but this one had to have had at least 20 of them.
"STALFOS!" one of the women screamed from inside the carriage, pointing in the direction that I was facing.
In the distance, I could see the figure of a large skeleton was racing toward us. Despite the fact that it was equipped with a huge sword and shield, it was approaching at an alarming pace. The men attempted to come to our aid, but the stalchildren had them surrounded. It raised its sword at me and I braced myself, preparing to take the monster's blow. But before the stalfos was able to bring it's sword down, I felt myself being pushed out of the way.
"No!" I cried, knowing that it was Malon who had pushed me to safety.
I watched in horror as the stalfos brought down the hilt of it's sword on Malon's head, easily knocking her out. It picked up her unconscious body up from the ground and let out a bloodcurdling cry before darting away. The stalchildren responded to its cry and retreated back into the earth.
My heart was racing with fear and adrenaline. I grabbed Link's shield from where Malon dropped it, panic washing down my spine as I ran back to the carriage. The only thought racing through my head was that we had to save her. I knew of countless tales of travelers being attacked and devoured by stalfos. Surely it would do the same to Malon if we didn't act fast.
"They kidnapped her! We have to go after her!" I explained urgently as I rummaged through the carriage, looking for more weapons. The only useful items I could find were a satchel full of deku nuts and a few deku sticks. I climbed out of the carriage, weapons in hand, ready to pursue the stalfos, but the men only looked at me with remorse.
"You don't truly believe that we can really take on that beast do you?" one man asked softly.
"Of course we can! If we all fight together then -"
"There will be no more blood shed tonight. That was a stalfos that took that girl! We ain't risking our lives for a child we don't even know." the other man snapped, ripping the satchel out of my grasp.
"I'm sorry lass, but he's right. Going after that girl would be suicide. All we can do now is pray for her soul's safe journey to the underworld." the first man said.
I was silent, shocked by their cowardice. How could they stand by and do nothing when they knew of the fate that would befall Malon? They claimed that they didn't want to save her because she was a stranger, but I knew her no better than they did yet I still felt compelled to save her. Did they have no conscious?!
"Come child, there is no use dwelling on a hopeless cause -"
"But its not hopeless! There's still time to go after her! A girl is about to be eaten alive and all you can do is think about yourselves! Your strength is far greater than mine yet you choose to do nothing! If none of you cowards will take action, I will!" I sneered, enraged by the lack of empathy the men had towards the situation.
I charged at one of the men, snatching the satchel out of his hand and leaped onto Epona's back. This time she did not resist me and I cut her rope free from the carriage.
"Thief! That horse belongs to us! What do you think you're doing?!" the younger woman cried out.
I kicked at Epona's sides, causing her to stand on her hind legs for a moment before taking off. The men lunged at me, but were too slow for the young horse and came crashing into one another. I didn't want to go back to my thieving ways, but they had left me no choice. I had to save Malon.
I followed the tracks of the stalfos, heading west as fast as Epona could carry me.
"Malon! Malon! If you can hear my voice answer me!" I cried out into the dark of the night.
My heart pounded against my chest, slowly filling me with dread with each passing moment. If I didn't hurry she would be devoured before I could reach her. I kicked at Epona's sides, urging her to go faster. The horse whinnied in protest, but sped up nonetheless. Despite that fact that she was young, that horse sure was fast. The carriage was far out of sight and we were headed so far west that I was beginning to lose my bearings.
"AHHHHH! LET ME GO! DON'T TOUCH ME!" I heard Malon's screams off in the distance.
I kicked at Epona's side once more and raced in the direction of the screams. The moonlight pierced through the clouds, breaking through the night's darkness and illuminating the earth. Now that I could finally see clearly, I realized that we were heading towards the entrance of the Gerudo Desert.
"Fool! This is not the child that the master seeks!" a voice hissed.
I jumped off of Epona's back and sprinted in the direction of the voice. I spotted the stalfos but saw that it was speaking to someone, or something. I hid behind a nearby boulder and peeked around to see a huge poe conversing with the stalfos. Malon laid limp in its arms; it must have given her another pop to the head.
"But this child came from Kakariko Village, the same place the child he desires went to!" the stalfos argued.
"You brainless sack of bones! This child does not possess the scared power in which the master seeks! This girl is useless! Dispose of her and bring me the child that bears the scared power!"
The stalfos obeyed, dropping Malon's body to the ground and raised its sword above its head. I could stand by no longer. I drew my sword and raced towards Malon, thrusting my sword over her to block the attack. I barely made it in time, the stalfos' curved sword came down on top of mine merely inches away from Malon's head.
"You again?!" it snarled at me.
"K-Kai. You came to rescue me?" Malon whispered, the commotion finally rousing her back to consciousness.
"Run! Get away from here!" I yelled, pushing the stalfos back with all of the strength I had.
I had told her to run, but all she could manage to do was crawl to safety. She was weakened by the beating to the head that the stalfos had given her. Distracted by my concern for Malon, the stalfos seized the opportunity by bashing me in the head with it's huge shield and knocked me to the ground. It laughed menacingly at my pain as it advanced towards me. Thanks to my adrenaline rush, I was able to pick myself up off of the ground and readied myself for the next attack.
The stalfos charged at me, swinging its curved sword wildly. I jumped out of its path, striking its legs as I passed. One leg crumbled to the earth, the other was severely cracked. I found an opening when its back was turned to me and attacked its exposed spine. The monster let out another bloodcurdling scream, piercing my ears and making them ring. Encouraged by the effectiveness of the last attack, I went on the offensive once again.
But before I could strike, a hand clasped around my neck and threw me to the ground.
"You have displayed great strength for one so young. Could it be that you are the one my master seeks?" the big poe mused as it hovered over me.
I attempted to pick myself up from the ground, but the big poe whacked me in the head with its lantern. I collapsed, my head throbbing with intense pain as I felt blood pouring down my face. I tried searching for Malon but she was nowhere to been seen. I prayed to the goddesses that she was able to escape.
My vision began to blur, the big poe transforming into a fuzzy blob above me as it grew closer. It reached down, grasped my neck with it's decomposed hand and began dragging me towards the desert entrance. I struggled against its grip, but was too weak to break away. I could feel myself succumbing to my injuries, slowly slipping out of consciousness, but I willed myself to stay awake. If I passed out now, I would have been done for.
Just as it seemed that all hope was lost, the screeches of the stalfos rang through the night. The big poe halted and turned back towards the commotion. Whatever it saw must have made it panic, for it dropped me and began to flee. I laid on the ground, unable to move and watched as several kunai pierced the fleeing poe. It let out a horrific howl as it collapsed to the ground and burned into a yellow flame.
"Kai?" a familiar voice called out to me.
I turned my head towards the voice, but could only see the blurred figure of my savior. Relief washed over me at the realization that I was safe and I finally allowed myself to lose consciousness.
