Along the side of the path that goes around the central fountain in Castle Town stands a shop. A shop to which the words famous and infamous equally apply. Once upon a time, this shop was the most expensive one in the land, with goods so overpriced that Link could never afford a single item even if he had been holding the plethora of rupees he was forced to leave strewn about Hyrule.
But then Link stepped in. Oh, why did he have to step in? Somehow (perhaps the shop was going out of business due to never selling a single item), he was able to bankroll a business partner to the tune of only 1,200 rupees (a small percentage of what any item went for in the shop), and this partner was able to purchase the shop and the goods inside. Instead of being the most expensive shop, it became the cheapest of any in Hyrule, and Link found himself going there many times after it was open. But all of this came at a price, of course.
Which Link is reminded of as he approaches the shop. Despite the fact that he had produced all of the money to acquire this store, his "partner"'s picture was the only one to grace the entrance. A boy of perhaps seven years, with his dark hair pulled back in a Japanese-style ponytail. Now, this wasn't necessarily a problem for Link, who didn't really have (or want) anything to do with the day-to-day operations of the shop. What was a problem was what this shop turned into after Malo took it over. Link always thought that it wouldn't be so bad this time every time he entered since he knew what to expect, and every time he was wrong. The collected experiences of each time he had been in the shop fill his head at the moment, and he takes a deep breath preparing for the worst. And then, grudgingly, he turns the knob to open the door, and walks inside.
***
The music is the first thing. It always is. A disgustingly upbeat tune, complete with whistles and other cheesy sound effects, that words in this case mercifully can't accurately describe. Unfortunately, words are also part of this despicable ditty.
"We're smart! We're smart! We bought it at Malo Mart!"
Two "customers" stand directly in front of Link, but instead of doing the normal things a customer would in a shop, they are dancing and singing.
"We're smart! We're smart! We bought it at Malo Mart!"
The lights are punishingly bright, which makes seeing the two women at the side of the store, and the old women near the counter, sadly much too easy. Like the ones in front of Link, they are dancing and singing, as brass synthesizers intone a Caribbean-style melody.
"We're smart! We're smart! We bought it at Malo Mart!"
Even the shopkeeper is getting in on things, preferring to dance at the front of the store instead of actually doing his job. Not that his services are being requested. In other circumstances, his appearance might have seemed weird. He wears a blue t-shirt and a yellow tie on top of a gray dress shirt, and on top of that is a red vest with two more pictures of Malo on it. His matching red hat has some flashing lights on it, and is topped off with a rotating bell from an old phonograph machine. How any of this was possible might be the first question one asked, again, if the circumstances were different.
But for Link, they sadly aren't, and his groan makes it quite well known that he would like to get out of this store as soon as possible. He necessarily sidesteps the customers in the middle of the store, and moves next to the old women to approach the shopkeeper.
"Yeeeeesssss?"
Did he have to do that every time?
"Is your boss in?"
"Hmm."
Wonder why he can't hear anything in this store.
"Malo, I need to speak with him."
"Oh, yes!"
Finally. Link was hoping against hope that Malo would actually be here, but this would at least save him a trip to Kakariko, which he had been hoping to avoid. Since he was here already, after all. Unfortunately, the shopkeeper didn't move or do anything else to go get Malo, but instead decided to keep on dancing. Which meant Link would have to ask him again, apparently.
"Where he is?"
"Who?"
"Malo, the guy you work for."
"Oh, no! He's not here today."
Unbelievable.
"Of course not."
Link turns around to walk out, but the shopkeeper isn't finished.
"We have a special on magic armor. Only 598 rupees! You'll buy it if you're smart."
Sure the magic armor looked nice, and there's no question that it blocked most attacks somehow. But it also cost Link loads of money, as it seemed to derive its power solely from rupees. Truthfully, Link had amassed so many hearts on his quest that he rarely had need for it. And the various potions were much cheaper and easier to carry. But this was during his quest. Now, he had absolutely no use for it.
"Thanks, I already have some. It eats my money and now it's a large paperweight."
Link continues his walk toward the door, determined not to be stopped again while sidestepping those same customers.
"Thank you for your patronage?"
With a shake of his head, Link grabs the doorknob, opens the door, and walks outside.
***
The best way to describe the town of Kakariko is with a comparison to an old west town, as a few modest-looking houses line a dirt road that runs down the middle of it. However, it differs with the large mountain plateaus that surround most of the city in its background.
Link approaches one of the buildings as a quiet dusty wind blows through the town. He walks up a few wooden steps, to find that this building also has pictures of the same kid on the outside. He tries the doorknob of the mostly metal door, but it is locked. However, considering it is still daytime, he is unperturbed. He knocks loudly on the door a few times.
"Who is it?"
A boy's voice calls from inside, although Link wonders why he had to ask.
"It's Zant, King of the Twilight. Open up."
After a moment, we hear the lock slide open, after which Link again reaches for the doorknob, opens it, and walks inside.
***
Thankfully, this Malo Mart branch is much more modest than the one in Castle Town. Only a few items appear for sale in the center of the store, which sit behind a long counter a short distance from the door. The rest of the building stretches out behind this display, but appears unused. Despite the relative paucity of accoutrements in this building, it is still very easy to miss the boy in charge, whose head indeed barely makes it over the counter in front of him. His clothes are similar to his brother Talo's, and he looks up at Link while attending to an item.
"We're closing up, Link."
"That's nice. I'm not here to buy anything."
Link begins to pace around the room as best he can while avoiding eye-contact, while Malo stops what he is doing to look at Link.
"Oh. You want your cut."
Link turns to look at Malo again, and offers an uncomforting smile.
"If you wouldn't mind."
"Business has been slow. I might be a little short this week."
This wasn't what Link wanted to hear. He draws his sword slowly, and begins to inspect the tip of the blade as he continues to ominously move around the room.
"Malo, Malo…it disappoints me to hear you say that. I just paid a visit to your Castle Town branch, and it appeared quite prosperous."
"In case you haven't noticed, there hasn't been much of a market for hero-related items lately."
A weak argument that Link sadly expected.
"Which is why I urged you to start offering other supplies. Which is how your store became more successful than before. Which is how you now have locations throughout all of Hyrule."
Link stops and turns to face Malo, and his voice uncharacteristically rises as he does so.
"And that doesn't even mention how you got started in the first place. You paid all of zero rupees for this store, and moved in only after I saved this village from the Twilight. Not only was I your only customer back then, but I paid for your Castle Town store out of my own pocket. And this was while, oh yeah, I was busy saving the world from certain doom."
Link raises his sword above his head, and at this point seems mad enough to strike.
"So if you'd like to go back to that nightmare!..."
Despite this display, Malo remains almost motionless, staring at Link the entire time. Just as suddenly as he angered, Link calms again, and replaces the sword in its sheath.
"I'm not trying to be unreasonable. I only want a fair share from a business whose success I am uniformly responsible for."
Malo studies Link for a moment, while still refusing to move. After a few seconds, he suddenly tosses a small bag to Link, which makes a clanking sound as he catches it. This appeases Link, who nods and smiles as he moves to walk out the door.
"I look forward to our continued work together."
"I could take you in a sword match anyway."
Maybe Link wasn't supposed to hear this mutter, or maybe he was. For a second, he appears ready to take action on this statement, and turns to smile at Malo. With little to prove, he turns around again, and walks out.
***
As Link descends those creaky wooden steps, he notices someone standing in front of him. A girl of about 12. It's true that the children of Ordon returned home after the ordeal three years ago, but Kakariko had become something of a second home to them during that time. Malo of course had his business to attend to, but the other children had befriended the towns elders, along with the other denizens of the sleepy village. It would eventually seem perfectly natural for them to return to Kakariko, even if only for a little while. And like it or not, old habits would seem hard to break.
Which was the reason for the girl standing in front of Link. The aforementioned Beth, who always used to take up position right in the middle of the road for some reason, and is doing it again right now. Even though she is facing away from Link, her usual clothing is still apparent, which appears similar to the other children of the town but with purple capri pants in place of a skirt. Her short blonde hair barely reaches past her ears, and it features a solitary red hair clip.
As Link gets closer to Beth, she turns around and greets him with an almost flirty smile.
"Hey, Link. Is Malo giving you trouble again?"
Link smiles at this, and reaches to touch the top of his sword.
"Nothing I can't handle. You don't ever get tired of standing out here?"
It is now Beth's turn to smile, as she has indeed spent quite a bit of time at her current location.
"I love the smell of the air on a beautiful day like this. It's much better than standing inside all day like most people."
Beth looks down at her sandaled feet before looking at Link again.
"Link, can I ask you a question?"
And another one, no doubt. Link nods.
"I'm kinda not sure what to do. You know Prince Ralis?"
She of course needn't have asked. Despite Hyrule's relatively small size, there was still enough room for two "kingdoms", somehow. While Zelda was in charge of the mainland, the Zoras controlled the waterways and the north, as their bodies had uniquely adapted to life underwater. An unfortunate consequence of Zant's visit was his "demonstration" of the Zoras' former ruler, Queen Rutela. Thankfully, Link didn't know any more details. This of course left her only son in charge after her death, which he still was after being restored to the throne, partially thanks to Link. Like the other children, Ralis too spent time in Kakariko during the crisis, as he was recovering from a near-fatal condition. And had thus spent time around Beth.
"I've gone to Zora's Domain to visit him, and he's always been very friendly. But he seems kinda distant like he doesn't know why I'm there. And then here there's Colin, who I can tell is kinda interested. I know he saved me that one time, and I can't forget that, but..."
Those darned bokoblins had charged into Kakariko, and with Beth's penchant for standing in the middle of the street, had almost kidnapped her. Colin was able to push her out of the way just in time, but this led him to be captured instead. Which of course meant Link had to save him, which he did. But that wasn't important right now. As it turns out, Link is uniquely qualified to comment on the situation.
"You have to understand that Prince Ralis has a duty to the Zoras, and this will end up coming first despite what he may feel for you. Still, it's going to be tough at your age for a while, until the guys mature a little bit."
"What would you do if you were me?"
Link smirks at the question, more from the difficulty than for another reason, before replying.
"I don't know. I don't think I can answer that because I don't know who's going to be better for you. I'd say, don't think about where they come from, or what you think you're supposed to feel. Understand who they are inside, and the choice shouldn't be too hard."
The vagueness of this answer doesn't seem to be what Beth is looking for, but she'd understand it eventually. Still, Link tries again.
"Or, just ask yourself: who do you like yourself better around?"
***
Another beautiful forest spring sits quietly in the dusk, but this one's appearance is slightly different from the one in Ordon. Instead of an isolated glade, this spring sits on the corner of a forest path, as the path bends around to other locations. A small waterfall crackles a bit, and maybe an animal sound emanates from somewhere, but the scene is otherwise quiet.
Until some footsteps can be heard approaching. Horse's hooves, to be more specific, as Link rides his galloping horse through this glade on his way back home, apparently. However, as he rounds the corner and passes the spring, he pulls his horse to a stop, dismounts, and returns to the spring on foot.
Something caught his eye. He is certain he had been mistaken, but wasn't going to risk this no matter how strange it might seem. As he walks, it quickly becomes obvious that he was right after all. There, in the middle of the spring, is another green and black glowing Twilight portal. His look turns astonished.
Wait, is she back? Where is she?
Link turns around to quickly search the area, but outside of his horse, he is alone. He turns back to look at the portal again, wondering what is what doing out here. Before he can think much more about it, a large reddish-pink arm shoots out of the portal suddenly, grabs a surprised Link, and pulls him inside.
