Everybody: The sick! It hurts! It's so hard to write good when the used tissues fall onto the keyboard… It kinda ruins the mood. XD
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Malon eventually found the next page to the story. For some reason, the aspect of a princess finding love without the usual prince charming hit her fancy and lulled her into a sense of wonder. The desire to read peaked to its fullest, but for some reason, she waited. The shadow would come back, and maybe she could convince him to read if she read for him again.
That was a fine plan. There was just one problem. The shadow had not been back for days, and neither had Link. Link hadn't come back for supper, he didn't spend the night, and he didn't help Ingo the next morning.
Malon woke early to find her house empty, and a note upon the inside of the front door. Ingo had left with Talon for the trip because the cargo was some of the only good and drinkable milk that they had. The trip could make or break them.
No more than the note had been read, Malon dashed out of the door the paper had been posted on. She wanted to get out of the house before the shadow crept up on her. As soon as both feet were out the front door, she stopped. There was no reason to avoid him because he wasn't there.
Her foot felt much better by now and the sickness had mostly went away. Chores were easy, for the most part. Epona's partially open stall loomed amongst the impatient horses stomping in their own. Malon had an easier time taking care of them when they were outside than her father or uncle. It was time to let them out.
After taking care of the tiny herd, she walked to Epona's large front and center former boarding place. As she neared it, her hand barely settled on the wooden door before it opened in front of her. The open stall was like her heart. Spacious and waiting for one thing, safe and secure…but empty in the mean time… It depressed her to think of Epona gone forever. She will be back. I know it. Epona would never leave me. But.. What if it is my fault…
Was the shadow's presence her fault? His being there was the only reason that Epona had fled. But why did Epona not come back? Even for Link himself, the Hero? Epona will come back.. She has to…
By late noon, the stall was scrubbed clean. Freash bedding had been placed on the floor and the large round water container that kept the door from closing inward was filled to the brim, which required several trips to the water pump. The stall looked ready for the most experienced race horse to occupy.
By the time Malon had finished Epona's welcome home gift, it was time to do chores all over again. The extend of the work combined in such a short time span exhausted her, and she barely made supper for herself and her returning family. The conversation at the table was very brief, mostly about how unsuccessful they had been. Link was not mentioned, they could not blame the Hero.
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Time drug on. Neither Link nor the Shadow Boy returned for months. The farm calmed down to the way it had been before. On the first month, Malon stayed awake extra hours every night to watch every shadow that appeared to move in her room. She thought she heard singing from under her bed when she got tired enough.. Dreams of princesses, wild horses, and Link fighting the shadow filled her dreams on the second month.
On the third month, she still held strong. Some of the pages of the diary that survived the shadow's furious rampage had nothing to do with the awkward love of a princess. She read these pages, the ones that were completely unrelated. Most of them described the daily life of royalty. It seemed luxurious, and the princess wanted more than what she had. The castle of jewels, servants, admiration by all, power, and a life of luxury was not enough to sooth the depth of fire in her heart for something a princess just couldn't have: true companionship.
It made Malon's heart tinge with the pain she had learned to forget over time. She lived in a ranch and worked hard for herself and her family. The princess did not work for anything but all of Hyrule and lived in a fully stocked castle. They did not have the same worries or environment, but they were both put into a position without a true friend to know personally well or depend on.
The princess had a prized cucco. It was hatched by a farmer that was within the city. The chick was born bald without any hint of feathers and had to be helped out of the egg to survive, which usually means the chicks will not survive anyway. They say the farmer was to trade a dozen of his best day old chicks for a hen who laid green eggs that hatched into green pocket cucco.
The farmer was very poor with many children. They had little, and had only 14 chicks. Only 12 hatched on time, so the straggling bald chick would have to do. Upon the trade, the owner of the large green egg laying cucco became furious with the farmer. Their friendship ended, and the trial became so popular that it went to the court of the King for a final judgement.
The young princess was with the King, sitting quietly to the side. She loved her people and wanted best for them, but the most she could do was charm the King into fair judgement. The idea of a farmer who was just doing the best for his family, risking everything, pulled on her heart and made her open her arms wide. Lace and satin rustled as she stood to speak with a rare melodic voice that lasted only through childhood.
"If this is all over a poor cucco chick, I will give each of thee a yellow ruby to complete the deal. But in exchange, I shall aquire the ill fated chick." The King could deny his daughter nothing, so the deal was made. She took the cucco chick as a beloved pet and companion. Most who know of the bed time story say that her grace, innocence, and will power flowed from her gentle touch into the dying animal to rejuvenate it.
The cucco knew nothing but the princess, gaining the name "Kaydel." She was touched by no other, no servant or saint. Kaydel was very ugly and straggly, but eventually gained dark brown plumage unevenly spaced. It looked more like cucco vulture. By the second molting, the cucco became a pretty earth tone of roasted hazel with brilliant gold tips on each and every feather.
The eggs it laid were quite large for a cucco, but the princess thought nothing of it as the bird was fed the finest grain to make it fat and durable. It wasn't long before Princess Maya accidentally dropped one of the eggs. No liquid seeped out of the shattered shells… Instead, a shiny yellow tip poked out, glinting in the morning light of sunrise. The cucco laid yellow rubies!
Kaydel was sacred to the princess. The secret was to be kept at all costs. Amazingly, the cucco lived for seven more years after princess Maya's 9th birthday. And 6 years after her birthday, she left Hyrule castle. The cucco was taken with her, but the eggs were hidden so the princess carried no more than what she came with. Some where, the eggs were still hid. But where?
Malon could hardly imagine a year's worth of eggs filled each with yellow rubies. After the forth month was up, and the fifth month of going without a shadow watching over her had came to be, Malon was finding it easier to imagine that amount of rubies. The farm was doing poorly. Any more, and it would be gone forever. They had only but two horses left now and three cows that the farm depended on.
Then, there was one horse left. I have to leave… Something has to be done, there is no other choice! I can't just sit here and watch the Lon Lon Ranch perish! Nothing had ever happened to Malon before. There had never been a reason to push and strive any harder than she already did. Finally, that time came..
A note on the front door was left.
Please don't worry about me, I'll be ok. I took Chargo with me because he is strong and fast, and don't worry about him bucking me off. He doesn't buck me, remember? I have a way that is worth trying to save this ranch. I'll miss you both, take care and don't fight!
A horse was missing from the stalls.
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Wow.. I was talking to my friend on the phone: "So, what are you writing about?" Dark Link. "You mean the albino child who stayed under the tanning bed too long and gained super powers and depression?" … (I love my friends…)
I know this chapter was kinda.. "blah." I don't like writing detailed filler, so I briefed the required information up. XD I promise that it gets much better though. Sorry for the wait, also. I was and still am quite sick with a friend who is over every single day to do nothing but use the internet. The internet actually SHUT OFF from constant usage. - -