I'm really sorry about the huge wait for this chapter but school started and I couldn't keep up the same schedule. I've got it worked out though. Updates won't come quite so frequently as before, but you'll never have to wait so long as this.

It's going to be back to one update per month for a little bit, then every other week until the end.

Link woke with sunlight in his face and a light sprinkling of dew across his body. There was nothing out of the ordinary about this. Despite the glare in his tightly shut eyes and the slight chill in his bones, Link continued to sleep. Even as he started to slowly awaken, Link found nothing out of the ordinary. One of his arms was dead numb beneath him, and ground was hard beneath him. A stream of drool tickled its way out of his mouth's corner. His consciousness returned slowly. Link inched his way back into the world and finally opened his eyes.

This was the first moment of confusion that struck the boy. Instead of grass or dirt or stone even, Link found himself looking out across a flat expanse of aged wooden boards. He could clearly see the cracks between them and the swollen places where they'd soaked up the dew. Sitting up slowly, Link looked around, trying blearily to understand his surroundings. There were greyish brown walls all around, with strange tools and pieces of equipment hanging from various iron hooks and rings. Link didn't recognize any of them so he moved on. Looking up, Link found himself staring through a gaping hole in the ceiling.

Staring up through the ruined roof, Link felt the memories fly back to him with a jolt. For one hazy moment, Link was looking at the glowing blue light again. Everything was weightless and the air so thin he could hardly breathe. A fit of panic struck Link as he stared up at the mysterious light. He had to do something, but what? Link couldn't think of anything that would possibly deter the menacing thing in the sky. It was obviously more powerful than him and would probably shrug off any attack of his.

Link snapped back to the present and found himself standing at the edge of the wooden balcony. As he looked down to the dirt and hay covered floor below, Link realized that this was a barn and that he had been sleeping in the loft. Link's thoughts flitted back to Romani for a moment, but they flew back to the present as Link felt his balance slipping. The ground charged up at him like some great beast and Link landed flat against it. The air was knocked out of his lungs upon impact and Link lay there like a sack of flour for a few minutes.

"Oh there you are," a voice said from somewhere nearby, "Romani said you'd be somewhere in the barn."

Link couldn't find the strength to do anything but groan.

The voice laughed weakly and said, "I guess I should thank you for helping with… whatever happened last night…" Her voice trailed off with a tone of obvious discomfort.

Finding some meager strength, Link rose off the ground and stood as tall as he could. There was Cremia, gazing up at the missing roof with a disturbed look on her face.

Feeling unsure of what to do or say, Link headed outside. The door creaked loudly as Link opened it, but Cremia didn't even stir from her trance. Link watched her for a moment before ducking outside. The light was even brighter outside as Link stared out across fields of waving green grass. The whole expanse seemed to be empty for a few moments as Link observed. In the distance, a horse reared up and Link could just see its head peek over the crest of a hill. However, it disappeared immediately after that and was gone.

A shrill cry of laughter went up from beyond a hill and Link ran over in that direction. He could hear a voice nearby, speaking excitedly of some grand adventure. Link recognized the voice at the same moment he reached the hilltop and he stopped. Looking down the side of the hill, Link saw Romani, running around with a wide grin on her face.

She paused at the sight of him and exclaimed, "Oh! You're finally awake! Romani was worried you'd sleep all day."

Link chuckled as he approached, his feet carrying him surely down the steep hill. "No way, I'd never miss a whole day just for sleeping."

"Didn't think you were like that," She said happily, "How about now? Do you want to play with Romani?"

Although Link was sure Tatl would give him an annoyed stare or some sort of lecture afterward, Link accepted the offer. They went off quickly, Link following Romani back toward the house. She ran inside and returned with a short bow.

Romani explained that they were going to go play bows and arrows. She showed him to an isolated place near the edge of the farm where she'd set up some targets. They were made from the rounded bases of trees, all painted up with targets. Looking at them, Link figured that they'd been there for a while. The paint looked old and was broken up in many places by arrow scars.

Romani went first, thinking to show Link how it was done. She took aim and loosed several arrows on the targets. The shafts stuck in with a resounding thud, quivering as they settled. She stepped aside at that, with a satisfied grin at her accomplishment. Two of the arrows had hit dead center while the other strayed by a mere two inches.

Stepping up to the mark on the ground, Link jovially drew his arrows. He stuck two into the ground at his feet and nocked the third with a weighty assurance. Drawing to string back past his ear, Link took a moment to settle himself and loosed it. The arrow flew and landed Beside Romani's own, staking a third claim for the bull's eye.

He fired the other two with similar skill, though a sudden breath of wind threw the third off course. It swerved through the air and landed near the edge of the target. Link groaned as he saw this and he heard Romani exclaim.

"Ha! I knew it! I knew I'd get a better score!"

"Score?" Link asked, turning toward her.

"Yeah, it's got points. The closer you get to the center, the better score you get." Romani explained, "Romani got a twenty eight, but you only got twenty three points because of your last arrow. You really had Romani worried for a second, though."

Link looked back at the target for a long moment before nodding. What she'd said had made a little sense, in that she'd won and he'd lost, but he didn't really understand the idea of points. It didn't matter though. They both collected their arrows after that and went about thinking of what to do next. Link suggested they try riding horses but Romani said that Cremia didn't want her riding the horses without her. Romani wanted to try exploring the swamp but Link didn't think that would be a good idea.

In the end, they agreed upon hide and seek. Romani decided that she would count first while Link found a place to hide. As Romani stood by the targets, Link ran off in search of a hiding spot. It wasn't until Romani finished counting, though, that Link realized what kind of a disadvantage he was at. He had no idea of where the good spots were.

Link was tucked behind the house, listening to the approaching sound of Romani's voice. It seemed that she would come over the hill at any moment. Link did all he could and retreated from the house. He dropped down behind the barn, hoping to conceal himself behind one of the crates there. Link could still hear Romani's voice, though it was slightly muffled by distant now.

He still didn't have a proper hiding place. The crates wouldn't protect him for long, especially not if Romani came around the other side of the building.

Something suddenly occurred to Link. He didn't know where the thought came from, but he began to slide the crate aside. The crate moved to reveal a broken section of the barn's wall. He wasn't able to see far beyond the gap, but Link could hear Romani's voice growing nearer by the second. He crawled inside with the silent speed of panic and drew the crate back over the hole.

Link sat there in the grey light, pinched between the wall and some piled canvas sacks. They bulged outward against him and left Link with very little space. However, it occurred to Link that he was absolutely and totally hidden. There was no way for Romani to stumble upon him so long as he stayed here silently.

His eyes bulged as he saw Romani crouched beside him. She wasn't saying anything, just staring at him with a strangely contented look in her eyes. It was at that moment that Link realized it wasn't Romani. He didn't know what alerted him, but Link knew this was someone else entirely. Someone he'd known a long time ago… Someone…

Staring at the silent girl, Link searched desperately through his memories for some clue as to who she was.

Malon.

Link felt his mouth go dry as he stared at her. This was Malon. He could almost remember her, a long time ago. A long long time ago.

"M… Malon?" Link muttered, his hand shaking, "Is that you?"

Malon looked at him and smiled. She opened her mouth slowly as if she was going to saw something difficult.

"Hey! Is that you Link?"

Link felt something crawl across his skin as he blinked and Malon was gone. However, in her place, Link saw Romani illuminated from behind by morning sunlight. He stared at her for a few seconds until she spoke again.

"Wow! It is you! I wonder, how did you find Romani's secret hiding spot?"

Still feeling slightly numb from the sight, Link tried to explain. He said that he hadn't really known it was there, he'd just had a hunch. Almost like a half forgotten memory of something he already knew. It was like suddenly remembering where something was after having lost it.

Something strange came over Link and he found himself asking, "Have you ever lost anything, Romani."

A half shrouded thought in Link's mind continued with, "…or anyone?"

A look of entranced clarity came over Romani's face as she stared at him. A half formed word touched her lips before emerging suddenly as, "I… yes… My parents… they're lost, somewhere. My mom and my… and my dad."

Link started to respond, feeling a thousand words buzzing in his mind all at once. "Me too, a long time ago. I lost…" Malon Malon Malon Malon "…someone." The buzzing was all gone. The memory and the image, the name and the girl all flitted from his mind.

He could still feel the loss though.

"My dad…" she muttered, "He was the one who built the targets for me, and my bow. He taught me all about… and now he's…"

Link listened as she told him all about her parents, recounted memories and expressed the feeling of loss he knew all too well. Link tried to tell her about his loss too, but there was nothing to be articulated except that never ending void. The big empty spot right at the edge of his consciousness, floating at the corner of his eye.

After a while there was nothing to be said and they sat in silence, feeling simultaneously grateful for the company and disheartened by the reopening of their respective wounds. Romani suddenly leapt forward and wrapped her arms around him, hanging there with her head over his shoulder. Link held her too and he felt some of the weight lift.

It was quiet for a long time while they stayed there together. Eventually they left the hiding place, sliding the crate back in front of the hole as they went. A hush still hung over the pair as Romani turned to him and said with a small smile, "Do you want to play something else now?"

Feeling the heavyheartedness evaporate, Link asked, "Like what?"

"Tag, maybe?"

"Sure, do you want to go first?"

Romani shook her head and said, "No, you go."

Without any warning, Romani took off running. She had disappeared around the edge within a few seconds, leaving Link to grin before running after her.

It was surprising how fast the girl could run. Even as Romani went up the side of a hill, Link couldn't catch her. If he'd stopped to think, Link might've realized that part of this problem was due to the heavy backpack he carried. However, he didn't.

Romani reached the top of the hill and shot down even faster than she'd already been going. Link tried to go down just as fast, but something caught the edge of his boot and sent Link rolling down the grassy slope.

For a few moments, everything spun and shook. Link felt a rock jab suddenly into his ribs and he groaned at the pain. After that, he quickly came to a stop at the foot of the hill. Everything swam around as he lay there, staring up at the sky.

Somewhere near the edge of his vision, Link could see a large smudge moving around. It was approaching him and Link could hear it saying something. Link tried to focus on it and the smudge eventually became Romani. She was asking if he was okay.

"Ugghh… yeah…" Link groaned out, trying to pick himself up, "I… I think so."

Despite a violently dizzy head, Link managed to pull himself into a kneeling position. He saw now that his backpack had fallen open during the descent. All of his equipment lay scattered around him on the grass.

"What's this?" Romani said inquisitively.

Link looked up at her and saw that she had his ocarina clutched in her hands. Romani was looking at the instrument curiously, turning it over in her hands.

"It's a… an ocarina," Link said, coughing, "It makes music."

"Really?" She asked, excited, "Will you play something for Romani?"

"Sure," Link said, accepting the instrument as she handed it to him. Link looked down at it as he stood. He wondered what song she might like. He knew a few, and enough non-magical ones to have a choice between them.

Before he knew it, Link was readying himself to play Epona's song. He didn't know why he chose that song, but something told Link that Romani would like it. He fitted his fingers over the right hole and blew into the ocarina, producing a shrill whistle. Link cycled through the notes as Romani watched, mystified.

The song ended, and Link found himself staring straight at Romani. It was quiet again, and Link was again being sucked in by her eyes.

Something bowled into Link, knocking him over and causing Romani to jump back in surprise. Link felt the ocarina fly from his hands as he landed on the soft ground. He found himself staring up at a horse.

In a sudden moment of realization, Link recognized Epona. She was standing over him, shoving her nose down into Link's midsection and nuzzling him affectionately.

"Epona!" he exclaimed, trying to stand up as the horse continually pushed him over.

"You know her?" Romani asked, excited.

"Yes! I lost her a few days ago!" Link revealed, barely able to keep the excitement back, "I never thought I'd see her again."

"You should take her then. She's so shy with everyone else that she must be yours. Cremia is amazing with horses and she could barely get her to stop running away."

"Thank you!" Link exclaimed, patting the horse with one hand and trying to collect his things with the other.

Romani paused and looked up at the sky.

"You should go now," the girl said, as if something had come over her, "There's not much time left. No more to be wasted. Come back… when you can."

Link was startled by the change but agreed solemnly. He really did have to go.

"I will," he said, pulling himself onto Epona's back, "as soon as I can come back."

"Bye Link," Romani said, her normal cheerfulness returned.

"Bye," Link said, setting Epona to take off at a run.

Don't forget to review and let me know what you think.