Chapter 10: Future Father-In-Law of the Hero?
Link and Malon made their way through Kakariko Village, heading towards one of the newer parts that had been built while Link had been gone. Malon had informed Link that when he had vanished, her father had come back to the ranch to help her with the daily tasks. Life on the ranch had returned to some semblance of what it had been while Link was sleeping in the Temple of Time. But once they'd hired on Joseph, her father had started helping out less and less. He'd told her that he'd wanted her to learn firsthand how to run the ranch. And then, about 6 months ago, he'd packed up his things and come back to Kakariko. He'd gotten himself a small house in the new section of Kakariko, and Malon had heard that he was enjoying himself.
She hadn't gotten to see her father since he'd left the ranch. Joseph had kept her on the ranch, and eventually she hadn't complained much. But now that they were here, she wanted to see him so badly. He was her father, after all, and she was a daddy's girl. He'd been all she had for so long.
"Link, you don't need to look so nervous. You've met my dad already, and he really seems to like you." Malon said, nudging Link's side with her elbow.
"Yeah. You're right Mal…Malon. This is…this is going to be fine." Link said, stumbling with his words. His fear was evident in his eyes.
"Link, I'm serious. My dad isn't going to kill you. He's told me on multiple occasions that he really likes you." she told him, hoping to reassure him.
"Really? He said that?" Link asked, perking up slightly.
"Yes Link. He said that."
--Flashback--
"Hey Malon." her father said, walking up to her. She had just said goodbye to Link, who had stopped by for a visit. Apparently, he was headed off to the desert.
"Hi daddy." she responded, not bothering to turn around.
"Link just leave?" he asked.
"Yeah." she told him, staring at the ground.
"You know, Malon. I like that kid. He's doing something for the good of everyone else. Doesn't even seem to care about himself. I just hope he makes it back okay."
"I do too, daddy. He's really important to me. My first friend."
"You keep telling yourself that, Malon. But just so you know, he's the only guy I'd ever approve of. Remember that." her dad said, his face the model of seriousness.
"I'll remember that, daddy." she said calmly. Inside, though, she was jumping for joy.
--Flashback—
"Okay, Mal. Then hopefully he still does." Link said, exhaling.
"Come on, scaredy cat." she cried, grabbing his hand and dragging him down the street. Her dad hadn't told her much about his new place, and she hoped that his neighbors would be able to point them in the right direction.
She walked her way through the streets, pulling Link along behind her. She was looking for some sort of store whose owner could point them in the right direction. She saw a fruit stand nearby, and headed that direction. The owner was sitting in a chair out front, rocking back and forth, waiting for customers to stop by.
"Howdy folks." he said, when they were close enough for him to realize they were headed his way. "What can I do for you?"
"I'm actually looking for someone. I was hoping that you could at least give us a general idea of where to be looking." Malon said, as Link looked over the selection of fruit. He picked up a bunch of bananas, turning them over in his hand.
"Who are you looking for?" the old man asked.
"I'm looking for my father. Talon. He used to run the ranch out in the field, but he retired and moved out here."
"Talon? You're his little girl? Talon's told me a lot about you, missy. Him and I, we're good friends. We get together a lot, play some chess. Old man stuff." he said, grinning. "Let me just close up and I'll take you over that way. He'll be real glad to see you."
"You'd do that? But it's so early." Malon told him.
"Well, I don't usually get a lot of business during the day." He responded, picking himself out of the chair and pulling down the screen to protect his business.
The old man started walking off down the street, and Malon, grabbing Link's hand once again, followed after him. They walked for the next 5 minutes, Malon asking the old man about her father and how he was doing in Kakariko. According to this man, her father's friend, he'd kept a lot to himself lately. Hadn't even come out of the house for the last week.
Finally, they arrived at a small, quaint looking house. Their guide pointed at it, saying "This is the house you're looking for. I'll just be heading back now. You say hello to your father for me."
Malon pulled Link up to the door, ignoring the fear that was evident on his face.
"Malon. Are you sure we can't leave? What if your father changed his mind?" Link asked her, slightly trembling in his place.
"Link! I have not seen my father for almost 6 months. So shut up, and just deal with it. Or you can find somewhere else to sleep tonight!" she yelled, finally loosing her patience with him.
He gulped, but was otherwise silent, allowing Malon to knock on the door.
Slowly, the door creaked open, the figure behind it hunched and slightly pale. He immediately brightened up, seeing the two of them standing in his doorway. Malon lunged forward, wrapping her arms around his frail frame.
"Daddy!" she cried.
"Malon! This is quite a surprise! What brings you here? And who's your friend?" Talon asked, peering at Link.
"Daddy, you know who this is. It's Link."
"Link? What happened to you, m'boy? Malon told me that you'd just up and left. This true? You just leave my girl to fend for herself?"
Link held his hands up in defense, hoping that Talon wouldn't attack. "Never, sir. I would never willingly leave Malon. I got forced into another adventure."
"Ah. Off being a hero again, were you? I suppose that's a good reason. Just try not to vanish again."
"I won't." Link said, relaxing now that he knew Talon wouldn't kill him.
"Now, Malon. What brings you all the way out here? And what about the ranch? Joseph running things while you're gone?"
"No, daddy. Joseph isn't with us anymore."
"You fired him?" Talon asked, surprised. Joseph had always been an exemplary worker.
"No, daddy. He was a bad man. Link had to arrest him. He was working for Ganondorf." she told him.
Talon was confused, but decided not to press the issue. If Link was convinced of it, then there was no reason to say anything about it.
"Well, let's not worry about that. Come in, come in. I'll put some tea on. You two can tell me everything that I missed out on."
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"It was really great to see you, daddy. I'll definitely be stopping by a lot more often." Malon said.
"You're more than welcome here any time, dear. And you too, Link. You take care of Malon for me, okay." Talon said, pointing his finger at Link.
"I will Talon. Mal, can I talk to your dad for a minute?" Link asked, looking her in the eyes.
"Sure Link." she responded.
"In private, Mal. Please?" he pleaded.
"Okay. I'll just wait right outside. Be quick, though." Malon told him, closing the front door behind her.
She sat down on the small bench across from her father's house, watching for the door to open and for Link to step outside. She glanced down the street, worrying that someone was going to bother her. She wasn't scared that she'd get hurt, but rather didn't want to have to hurt anyone else. She knew how to take care of herself, and she did carry that dagger that Link had given her. She'd grabbed it right before she'd left the ranch.
From around the nearby corner, Malon made out a figure walking down the street near her. She glanced worriedly as the figure came closer. Moving under the torchlight, she could see that it was a man that was making his way towards her, and she saw that she had been noticed. He also looked to be quite drunk, if his staggering about was saying anything.
When he opened his mouth, her fears were confirmed. "Hey baby. How's about you come back with me to my place? I'll show you a good time."
"I don't think so, bud." she responded, reaching for her dagger. Before she could grab it, his hands were around both of her wrists, pinning them to the wall behind her.
"It wasn't really a question, bitch. I was just trying to be nice." He spat, glancing down, trying to check out her body.
"I told you no, jackass." she said, bringing her forehead into his face.
Son of a…" he screamed, reeling back and clutching his face in agony. "I'm going to fucking kill you, bitch! But not until I have my fun."
"Not gonna happen." said a voice behind him, right before a fist connected with the drunk's cheek, forcing his head to snap around to the side. Malon could hear bones snap from the force of the punch, and the man crumpled to the ground, his neck snapped.
From his position on the ground, the man's eyes glanced around fearfully. It was clear that the punch hadn't killed him, but Link doubted that he'd be moving anything below his neck. Crouching down, Link brought his face as close to the drunk's as he could.
"How about you remember this lesson the next time you try speaking to a lady?" Link said.
The man could only moan, but Link took that to be his answer. Standing up, he wrapped his arm around Malon's waist, and before they left, knocked on Talon's door. When he answered, Link informed him of what happened. Talon thanked Link for protecting his daughter, and promised to do something in the morning.
"Come on Malon. Let's get you home." Link said, dragging her away from the man on the ground.
"Link, you didn't have to do that. I can take care of myself." Malon told him, looking up at him.
"I know you can, Mal. But he threatened to kill you. He threatened to take you away from me. I just snapped." Link said, smiling at her.
"It's okay, Link. Just try not hurt anyone else too much, ok?"
"Well, Mal. I can't promise anything."
"Oh, fine, Link. That's ok. At least I'll know that I'm safe."
"I love you, Mal."
"I love you too, Link. Even if you are crazy."
Link just laughed as the headed back to the ranch.
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Malon opened her eyes, letting the glare from the window blind her. As soon as her eyes adjusted to the brighter light, she got up and walked over to the window. Peering out, she squealed. Rushing over to the bed, she jumped the last 5 or so feet, landing square on Link's chest. His eyes shot open as the air rushed from his lungs.
All Link could do was stare at Malon as he gasped for breath. The look on his face told Malon all she needed to know, and she spoke up, stopping him from saying whatever he was about to say.
"Oh, don't give me that look." she said, bending over to give him his customary good morning kiss. "You weren't complaining about me being on top of you last night, were you?"
That shut him up.
"Guess what, Link. It snowed! It really snowed! Go look!" she cried, shoving him out of the bed.
He made his way over to the window and glanced outside, before turning around and coming back to the bed. He grunted as he wormed his way back under the cover, closing his eyes once he was situated.
Malon, however, wasn't going to let that slide. Moving from where she sat on the side of the bed, she positioned herself on his chest, and began bouncing up and down.
"Wake up. Wake up. Wake up." she said, not stopping even when eyes opened again.
"Yes, Malon?" he asked, watching her continue to bounce. She did, after all, still sleep naked.
"It's winter! Why aren't you excited?" she asked.
"Winter isn't really my thing, Mal. I'm not a fan of the cold weather." he informed her.
"But why?" she whined, never stopping her bouncing.
"I'm just too used to the warm. It didn't usually snow in the forest when I was growing up, and then I was asleep for 7 years. My adventure never coincided with winter, and a lot of the Temples were in the warm areas. The forest, the mountain, the desert. Hell, even the graveyard was unusually warm."
"I guess you've got a point there." she said, ceasing her bouncing and thoughtfully rubbing her chin. "Well, we're going to fix that, fairy boy. Go get bundled up. We're going out."
"Do we have to, Malon? Can't we just spend the next 3 months inside, just you and me." he asked, hoping this would tempt her enough.
"As wonderful as that sounds, Link, you're not going to change my mind. Now. Go. Get. Bundled. Up." she said, glaring at him until he hauled himself out of the bed.
"Fine. Fine. Just give me a minute." he grumbled.
Malon went over to her closet, opening the door to look for something warm to wear out. Her eyes landed on a large black jacket, stuffed with cucco feathers and lined with wool. Her father had given it to her when he'd decided it fit her, and said it had belonged to her mother. She hasn't had a chance to wear it yet, and decided that today would be a great day to break it in.
Slipping into a pair of jeans and her warm boots, she grabbed her jacket and walked downstairs to wait for Link.
She didn't have to wait for long, as Link joined her 5 minutes later. He was sporting a dark green hooded sweatshirt, embroidered with a golden Triforce over his heart. On his head, he was wearing a beanie, whose color matched his sweatshirt. He had also put on a pair of jeans and his boots.
"Are you ready to go, Mal?" he asked, staring at her.
"Yes. But I don't want to go far. Let's stay inside the ranch. The wind can pick up suddenly, and then we'd be blind. So lets just stay close to the house."
"Fine with me, Malon." he told her.
"Now come on. I love the snow, and you love me, so therefore, you have to love the snow too." she said matter-of-factly.
"So that's your reasoning?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "Can we just get this over with?"
Opening the door, Link stepped outside, shutting it only when Malon followed him out. He let her get ahead of him, and then stooped over, scooping up a handful of snow. He grinned as he molded the snow into a ball. Closing one eye, he took careful aim at Malon's retreating figure. Tossing his arm forward, he let the snowball fly. He couldn't help the feeling of victory when the snowball landed square on the back of Malon's head, shattering into a million flakes of snow.
Link didn't have the time to stand around and celebrate, however. As quickly as she could, Malon had thrown together a snowball of her own, letting it fly towards the spot where Link had been standing seconds before. Link had already rolled out of the way, his months of adventuring coming back in an instant. He dove behind the wood pile, scooping up snow as he moved.
Malon stared at the wood pile, waiting for Link to pop up. The moment she saw his hair starting to lift up, she let the snowball in her hand go, aiming it at the spot where Link's head would be once the snowball made it that far. Her aim was spot on, and the snowball nailed Link right on the nose. Immediately, he dropped back down.
"What the! What's the big idea, Malon?" Link called from his hiding place. If only he could get her to drop her guard, then he could get her back.
Link peered out from around the woodpile, watching Malon where she stood close to the door. She started to stare closely at the woodpile, leaning forward to watch for Link. Link decided to try and fake her out, moving first to the left side of the pile and acting like he'd be coming out. He grinned when a snowball launched towards the side of the woodpile, then jumped out from the right side of the woodpile, throwing the snowball that he'd prepared. He watched as the snowball sailed towards Malon's face, breaking right on her forehead. Malon fell to the ground, clutching at her face.
"Ah! What the hell, Link! That really fucking hurt!" Malon cried.
Link immediately abandoned the snowball he been putting together, rushing to Malon's side and yelling apologies.
"Malon, I'm so sorry! Are you okay? Please forgive me!" Link begged, hoping that Malon hadn't suffered any serious damage.
"Link. It's alright. I'll be okay soon." she muttered.
"You will?"
Suddenly, Malon's face rose to look Link in the eyes. He couldn't help but notice the evil glint in her eyes, before his entire vision went white. He lost all feeling in his face, since the cold from the snow that Malon had shoved in his face had numbed the nerves.
"I'll be just fine, Link." she said, grinning. "Payback's a bitch, Link. And don't always fall for the damsel in distress."
"I'll remember that, Mal. Can we go in now? I'm s...s...s...so cold." Link said, his teeth chattering.
"Sure, Link. You've endured more than enough for me. We can go curl up next to the fire together."
Link continued to shiver as he made his way to the house, pausing at the door to sneeze. Shaking his head, he opened the door and headed in, making sure that Malon was inside before closing the door again. Unfortunately, his sweatshirt and pants were soaked, and so he headed up to the bedroom in order to change into something dry and warm.
He headed back downstairs in a plain white t-shirt, along with a pair of green cotton pants. He sighed, since the pants were incredibly warm. He was feeling a little better already. Peeking into the kitchen, he caught sight of Malon standing at the stove boiling water. She hadn't changed yet, mainly because Link had rushed upstairs as soon as they'd come inside.
"Malon, you can go change now, if you want. I'm sorry I rushed up right away, without checking if you wanted to change." Link said, wrapping his arms around her from behind.
"It's okay Link. You were soaked. Just watch the water for me. I was going to make some hot tea for us." she responded.
"Okay Mal. I'll watch it. Just go get changed." Link said, giving her a gentle push towards the bedroom.
As Malon walked upstairs, she could hear Link sneeze again. "I hope he's not getting sick. I'll have to check on him again later." Malon thought.
When Malon came back downstairs, she found Link pouring the hot water into two cups. He was shivering as he moved around, looking through the cupboards for the rest of the tea ingredients.
"Malon." He called out, hearing her footsteps on the stairs. "Can you start a fire? I'm freezing over here. Is a window open?"
"No Link. All the windows are shut. I'll start a fire, you just come out here and sit down. Let me take care of the tea." she said, walking into the kitchen and maneuvering Link out over to the couch.
She placed the palm of her hand across Link's forehead, taking quick stock of his temperature.
"Ah Link. You've got a cold. I'm sorry. I made you go out with me, and now you're sick because of it."
"Malon, it's okay. I'll be fine, I can still be useful." he said, sneezing once again.
"No, Link. You lay down. I'll be taking care of you until you get better." she commanded, forcing him back down to the couch.
"Yes doctor." he grumbled, pouting.
"Stop being a baby. I'm going to make you some soup." she told him.
Malon made her way back into the kitchen and put some more water on to boil. While she waited, she whipped together two cups of tea, stirring some honey into one cup. That one was for Link, just in case his throat came under viral attack. Walking back out to the couch, she sat down on the couch with Link, waiting as he maneuvered his head into her lap. She handed him the cup of tea, and then absentmindedly stroked his hair.
"You shouldn't be out more than a couple of days, Link. You just need some rest. Looks like you get to stay inside after all." she said, speaking more to break the silence than anything else.
"What about the animals, Mal?" he asked her.
"Not much changes. They're just going to need some extra hay to keep warm. Everything else runs pretty much the same."
"Oh. Got it. I'm sorry I can't help you, Malon."
"It's okay, Link. You just need to get some rest and get better. That's all I want from you. For now, at least." she said, winking at him.