Chapter 6 – Hero or Cowboy?
Link had planned to leave Castle Town as soon as he could so that he would arrive at Lon Lon ranch by sundown, but instead he decided to rest for a little while. He spend that day playing in the shooting gallery and doing some bombchu bowling, and since he was pretty good at both, he managed to fill up his wallet to the point that not a single rupee could fit in it. However, the one thing that caught his attention was that, unlike the first time he came here, the Happy Mask Shop was closed, and there was only a little parchment nailed on the door that read: "Gone to find new masks to make more people happy! The owner"
"That's odd, I thought everything would be the same and only I and Zelda could affect the course of time" he thought
After that little event, Link kept on spending more and more rupees on the different games that the market offered. He didn't notice it was already night until the owner kicked him out of the Treasure Chest Shop when she discovered the Lens of Truth that Link was using to win every time. It was around midnight and Link felt very tired. He wasn't exactly sure of where to go; there weren't any inns in castle town, and Lon Lon ranch was too far away. Then he remembered that the Happy Mask Shop was closed.
"I guess no one would get angry if I spend the night in there" he thought as he walked towards a window on the west side of the Happy Mask Shop
He used his sword to break the lock that kept the window shut, and then he climbed into the shop. It was the same building, but it sure wasn't this empty the first time he visited it. There was absolutely no trace of the masks guy in there; no masks, no furniture and no nothing. However, there was a note on the floor, next to a strange symbol that had been carved on the wooden floor.
"Majora is calling me… Termina, I must go to Termina. I must destroy the mask… NO! I must protect it! Yes! I must unleash its power and let it free to rule the world…Oh please Farore, forgive me, for I no longer control myself… "
Link read the note, which had been apparently written in a rush, and wondered if it could have something to do with the sudden disappearance of the owner. He turned the note and noticed the same strange symbol that was carved on the floor, on the backside of the paper; the only difference was that it had a small title beneath it: "Majora" it read. The symbol looked like a face, and for some reason Link couldn't help but look at it in its "eyes". He then realized he had wasted some precious "sleep time" and threw away the note while he looked for a comfortable place to lay his head. Link didn't sleep very well that night, mostly because of the rough, wooden floor, but also because of the voice that haunted his dreams, the same one that had talked to him a few days ago.
"Wake up hero… the time has come; you must face your destiny. Termina is waiting for you, you must save it. Do that and you'll be rewarded with a power beyond any other. A power that makes gods shiver and cry. A power that will make ANYTHING possible. A power that only you can control…" the voice said
"Poor Link, you're so desperate for your love. You want little Malon to love you…but it just C-A-N'-T be. She is too young, too immature. But you don't have to worry about being lonely, you can be with the princess…Yes, you want that don't you? And she wants that too. But you're too much of a coward to accept it! However, that can be easily solved… let me in Link, let me give you the power you need to do what you want… "
"Who's there?" Link shouted as he woke up from his nightmare
"Just a bad dream… I guess I better get going before someone finds me here" he said
When Link got out of his temporary refuge, he noticed it was very early in the morning because the shops had not opened yet. He then started the trip to Lon Lon ranch since he didn't want to waste any more time. He traveled very swiftly this time, although it was not the most pleasing trip, since he spent all of it trying to make some sense to what the voice had said. He eventually arrived at Lon Lon ranch when the sun was still up in the sky, and as he entered through the gate, he instantly heard the soft chanting of Malon, who, as always, was singing Epona's song in the middle of the field. He went straight to her and she greeted him with a big smile.
"Grasshopper!" she said as she hugged him
"Hi Malon" he said while he blushed a little
"Thanks so much for finding my dad! You're great Grasshopper!" she said
"It's okay, it was nothing really" he said
"But I must give you something as a reward for being a true hero! I know! Come with me! I was about to eat something when I saw you, but now we can eat together! And I'll make you whatever you want to eat! She said as she grabbed his hand and ran with him to the house
"Okay…" he said, as he got redder and redder
As they entered the house, they found a totally beaten up Talon lying on the floor.
"Dad! What are you doing on the floor?" said Malon as she let go of Link, and helped Talon to get up
"I was just trying to count my cuccos when I accidentally stepped on one and then all of them attacked me!" he said
"But you don't have any scratches on you" Link said
"Well hello Link! I didn't think I would see you so soon! You must have come for that bottle of milk I promised you" said Talon
"Not really, I just wanted to… see if you had found Malon. I wasn't sure if you two had found each other" Link said
"Well thanks a lot kid. Say, isn't he a true hero Malon?" he said
"Yep, Grasshopper rules!" she said, very enthusiastically
"So, could you help with my cucco problem Link? If it's not too much to ask" Talon said
"No problem" said Link as he started to count all the cuccos
"I'll go prepare the food!" said Malon as she went to the kitchen
Link finished the task after only a few minutes, which left Talon quite impressed.
"Well aren't you full of surprises! You're not only a hero, but also a magnificent cowboy! Say, wouldn't you like to live here at the ranch? You would help us out a lot! And you could even marry Malon!" said Talon
"I…don't… I mean…" said Link who was caught totally by surprise and started to blush.
"Just kidding, just kidding. You two are way too young for those things; but I really meant it when I said that you could help us out a lot if you lived here. Especially because Ingo has become a little lazy and we need a new helper…"
"Well, I don't know, I had never thought about living like a cowboy…" said Link
"Don't worry; you don't have to decide right now. Besides, you would have to ask your parents first" said Talon
"I don't have parents…" Link said
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know" Talon said
"It's okay, I never met them; so it's not like it really hurts or something" he said
"Well then you should take my offer! A kid like you shouldn't be out on its own" he said
"I'll think about it" Link said
"The food is ready!" shouted Malon, and both Talon and Link ran to the kitchen
The three had a nice meal while Talon told them how he had passed out when he saw a flock of cuccos flying towards him with their sharp beaks ready to strike, and how they must have thought he was dead, which was the reason why they didn't massacred him. This made the kids laugh until they bellies hurt, and they weren't able to eat anything more. Afterwards, Malon and Link spend all day playing with the horses and feeding the cows. It wasn't until dinner that Link had to take the difficult decision he had been avoiding all day.
"Come on Grasshopper! Its dinner time" she shouted as she ran towards the house
"Great, more food!" thought a very happy Link as he followed Malon
They sat on a table that was in the kitchen, as they waited for Talon to serve them their plates.
"What are we going to eat?" asked Malon
"Wolfos hamburgers!" Talon said
"You hunted a Wolfos?" asked Link, very surprised
"Don't be silly! We bought the meat at the market" said Malon
"Then why is it called like that?" asked Link
"Because daddy always puts the lettuce and the ketchup in a way that makes the meat look like a wolfos!" she said
"There you go kids. Enjoy" said Talon while he served them their hamburgers
"Well, it tastes awesome!" said Link after having the first bite
They spent the next hour chatting and laughing while they enjoyed their delicious hamburgers. Link felt completely relaxed and happy that night; something that was not very common in his life. Everything was perfect until Talon made a question which would affect the life of the hero for many, many years.
"So Link, have you decided to take my offer?" asked Talon
"I…" murmured Link
"What offer?" asked a very curious Malon
"Oh, I offered Link to give him a job in the ranch, and a new home of course…" said Talon
"REALLY? Grasshopper that's AWESOME!" shouted an ecstatic Malon as she ran towards Link, and caught him in a tight hug
And that was everything Link needed to be sure about what was the right choice. Apparently Talon was totally convinced that he would be a great help to the ranch, and Malon was more than excited by the idea of having someone to be there for her, to play with her, and to be her best friend.
"Okay…" he thought
"I take your offer, I'll be the best cowboy ever!" said Link, provoking Malon to be even more happy
"Good choice! Now, I'll show you your room"
That way the life of the hero drastically changed from what it was supposed to be. He will no longer be the hero who saved entire realms and killed infernal monsters. He will no longer have to travel miles and miles through barren lands and life-threatening dungeons. He wouldn't have to face everything alone anymore. Now he would have a home, a place where he could live in peace and not worry about the troubles of the world. A place where there were people who cared about them. He had, for the first time in his life, a family.
However, he knew he wasn't exactly fulfilling his duty of protecting that land of Termina from whatever evil was haunting it. He would have to explain himself to the princess since he was, in a certain way, breaking a promise. He had told her he would go to Termina, and that he just had a little thing to do at Lon Lon ranch, and then he'd start his journey. Obviously, the truth was different. He had indeed thought about going to Termina to look for Navi; and his first plan was to just say goodbye to Malon and then embark on his journey. But he hadn't expected Talon to offer him a life in the ranch, a life with the girl he loved. This changed his plans entirely because, even if he had implied that the first thing in his mind was to go to Termina to look for Navi, the truth was that he was losing the faith in that search. There was something that kept telling him that looking for Navi was a futile action. She was gone and she wasn't going to come back to him anytime soon. Therefore, the first thing in his mind now was to make Malon fall in love with him again. Moreover, he did want to rest for a while, and a new quest wasn't exactly resting. All of that was what convinced him to take Talon's offer and live as a cowboy. Besides, what better way to conquer Malon than to spend all day with her? Right?...
