Chapter 10
Request
"Malon? ...Malon, dear, wake up."
"...Hmm?"
Malon opened her eyes to see her mother, Catria, sitting over her on her bed. "O-Oh!" she stammered, "Good morning, Mom."
"Good morning, dear."
Catria rose to her feet, allowing Malon room to uncover herself from her sheets as she sat up in bed.
"Did I oversleep my morning chores?" she asked.
Catria chuckled, "No, dear, we're going to the Wilkshire Arena today, remember?"
Malon froze.
Without another word, the girl rushed out of her room to get herself ready and presentable for the day ahead.
For several years now, Malon and her parents would venture to the Wilkshire Arena to sell milk, apples, and other edibles during the events held there. They were allowed to do this thanks to a contract signed by both Talon, owner of Lon Lon Ranch, and Williamson, owner of the Wilkshire Arena. Talon would be allowed to sell his goods, but he would only get fifty percent of his own profits, with the other fifty percent going to Williamson. Malon's task for the day was selling bottles of the ranch's famous milk to the event's patrons.
Talon let out a sigh as leaned to stretched his back, having finished loading the cargo onto the freight wagon they would be taking with them.
"Sorry for sleeping in," Malon called to him as she watched from around the horses.
"Oh, it's no problem," Talon told her, "I thought it'd be nice to let you sleep in for once."
Malon turned to look at the two horses that would be accompanying them. "Ready, Epona?"
The brown and white steed let out a soft nicker as if in response.
"That's good," the girl chuckled, "It's gonna be a long road ahead, but if anyone can make it, it's you." Suddenly, she heard a snort come from the black and gray horse on the opposite side of Epona. It almost seemed like it was in response to the attention Epona was getting.
"That's not to take anything away from you, Bullet! You're one of our most dependable horses!"
"She's talking to the horses again." Talon told Catria as she approached.
"Talon," she spoke, "I'm gonna sit in the back with Malon."
"Oh, okay. Be careful back there."
Preparations were concluded without a hitch. Malon took her usual spot in the freight wagon, but was surprised to see her mother join her.
"You're sitting back here?" she asked.
Catria clumsily made her way over to a crate close to Malon, and seated herself. She gave a confirming "Yep" followed by a sigh.
The red-head's face lit up, "Then can I sit up front with Daddy?"
"No. There's something I want to talk to you about on our way to the arena."
The countryside of Hyrule required much caution to traverse, the roadways were mostly open, allowing travelers to be easy pickings for any monsters or robbers. It was for that reason Talon decided to purchase a gun to protect he and his family during their treks across Hyrule Field.
"Do you remember what we talked about at Dozla's place?"
Malon's heart sunk. "Yes, Mom."
"You told me that there was someone you already loved, but I still don't know who it is. Can you tell me?"
The girl could feel her breath pause in her throat; she tried to keep her emotions within, even as guilt tugged away at them. "...You won't be mad at me, will you?"
"I promise."
Malon lowered her head before she started, "There's this boy who lives at the place across the field..."
"A boy?"
Malon nodded, "His name's Link. I've been seeing him at the apple tree furthest away from the ranch since he came here almost two years ago."
"What's he like?"
"...He's a great listener. And fun to talk to." Malon's lips curled into a smile as she continued, "He's cute, too."
"And you love him?"
Malon took a deep breath, "...Yes...I do..."
A moment of contemplative silence passed by.
"Mom?"
"Yes?"
"Could you keep this a secret from Daddy?"
"Why?"
"Because it would break his heart to see that I'm-...in love, with a slave. Especially after he's been searching for a groom for me. All he wants is for me to be taken care of... If he found out...I'm afraid of what might happen."
"Well, you know you're going to have to get married eventually."
"I know... I just don't know what to do..."
Linkle sighed as she opened the door to her room. She proceeded inside, her footsteps slow and careful - the moonlight pouring through the window on the far side of her room was her only source of light, after all. She approached her bed and froze at the sight of a lump beneath her green sheets.
Someone was in her bed.
Linkle looked over at Falla's bed. The sight of her friend sound asleep counted her out as a suspect. But then...who was it?
Slowly...carefully, Linkle peeled her sheets away before she froze again.
This person...was her?
Yes...it was her... She was looking at herself. Only...she was smaller, and her hair, shorter and unbraided. It was as though she was staring at a past version of herself.
Linkle was taken from her shock-induced stupor by the sound of weeping.
Seated on the far side of her bed was the familiar sight of the shadow from her nightmares.
Linkle's face hardened into a frown. The shadow wouldn't get the best of her this time. Not now, or ever again.
Just then, her younger self opened her eyes and sat up. Watching her look around, it was clear to Linkle that the girl probably couldnt see her. Her gaze locked onto the figure seated at the edge of her bed.
"Hey," Linkle's younger self called, thinking it was one of the other girls, "are you okay?"
The figure turned to look at her, prompting the girl to pause.
"...Brother?"
Linkle watched on, her face having softened to a saddened exoression. She knew very well that what she was watching was her very first nightmare that involved this strange figure.
"Why?" the figure spoke, it's voice laced with sadness.
"Why what?"
The figure turned to look at her, "Why did you have to be born?"
The girl froze.
"If it weren't for you," the figure continued, "I could've left with that girl. I'd be free right now."
Linkle watched on, remembering in clear detail everything she was seeing - how the figure fine-tuned her mind into the deteriorated state that festered her mind for nearly two years; how he made her hate herself so much.
"You really think these people care about you?!" the shadow shouted at Linkle's past self as the girl held back tears, "If these people knew what you did, they'd hate you too."
"No!" Linkle shouted, having had enough of what she was hearing.
Her past self jumped, startled. "Who are you?!" she asked.
"I'm you." Linkle explained, "That thing is lying! None of the other girls hate you - they'd never hate you!"
The girl sniffed, "But-..."
"And who cares about your past?! They don't! What matters is who you are now!"
"She wrong!" the figure cut in, hoping to regain the emotional hold it had over the girl. The creature's skin went from black to pale, it's darkened tunic, to the tan the girl had seen her brother wear just days prior. "Who are you going to beleive?" it asked, "This stranger? Or your big brother?"
Enraged, Linkle shoved the shadow off of her bed. The second it hit the floor, everything paused.
She pulled back. She looked over at the girl to see that she was frozen, too. In fact everything seemed to come to a full stop, even the very air around her.
Then, a pillar of light descended upon the bed, centered around her past self, who was still seated, half-submerged in her sheet. To Linkle's shock, the girl turned to look at her.
"Wake up." she said with a smile.
Linkle blinked, "What?"
"Wake up, Linkle."
"Linkle, wake up!"
Just then, Linkle felt herself shaken awake. She sat straight up, and head-butted Falla by accident.
"Ow!" she shouted as she stumbled to her feet. As Linkle blinked the pain away, she could see that the other girls were crowded around her, as they seem to do with everyone the want to wake.
"Are you okay?" one girl asked.
"M-hm." Falla nodded.
"I was talking to Linkle, not you."
"What's going on?" Linkle asked.
"You were mumbling in your sleep." Aesha told her.
"You weren't dreaming about that creep, were you?"
"Creep? Oh! No, I was-...uh..."
"That's okay." a girl told her, "You don't have to say if you don't want to.
"Come on." Aesha suggested, "We're about to get started on our escape plan. Maybe it'll take your mind off of whatever you were dreaming about."
The girls gathered near the center of the room, forming their usual circle as they began to discuss what they considered to be their most important topic yet.
Aesha took a deep breath before she started, still coming to grips with the idea of she and her peers attempting an escape.
"Before we escape," she began, "we need an escape route - a path that'll take us out of here without being seen. But before we can establish one, we need to familiarize ourselves with the layout of the outside area."
"Aren't we already familiar with it?" asked Shyla, "We've been looking out that window for two years now."
"Surveying the area's a lot different from just looking at it. I'm sure you know we can't make any mistakes or overlook anything here. If we mess up, we're done for. Besides, all we can see from here are the two other buildings, and the fountain. And on top of that, this house isn't wide enough for us to see what's behind either of the buildings from the windows in the other rooms."
Meanwhile...
*knock knock knock*
"Come in." James called.
Charles walked into the room.
"You never came back yesterday." James told him.
"No, I didn't. I wanted you to calm down first."
"Doesn't matter. I've decided what we're going to do with the girls in the east wing."
"What are we doing?"
"...Close the door..."
Charles complied, though with hesitation, and a sliver of fear for what he was about to hear.
James, seated on the edge of his bed, as usual, leaned forward and said in a low voice:
"We're going to kill them..."
Charles froze, his eyes widening in shock as his mind processed what he had been told. "James," he said, "you're gonna do what?"
"We're going to kill them." he repeated, his voice still low, "I was gonna let everyone else know later, but I wanted to tell you first."
Charles took a deep breath to calm himself, "You can't be serious. If anyone finds out about this-"
"How'll anyone find out?"
"...Even if this was okay, how do you plan on pulling this off without getting caught?"
"Don't worry," James said, "I thought this through. We're gonna round up the girls, and take them north toward the mountains. I'll let them off and fire a shot to attract some monsters, and then I'll leave them. And in the morning, I'll have the security team up there search for any survivors, and if they find any, I'll take care of them myself."
Charles could only stare in shock at what he was hearing. At this point, he thought, James had surely lost his mind.
"Of course," James continued, "this means I'll have to call them away from the mountains before I go out there."
"When do you plan on doing this?" Charles asked.
"Tomorrow."
Charles sighed.
"You sound worried." James told him, "Don't - we're gonna get this done, explain it away as an accident, buy some more girls, and we're gonna start all over."
Malon stiffened as she felt the wagon come to a complete pause. After a few moments of silence, Talon opened the exit to the enclosure.
"We're here." he said, "Let's start unpackin'."
Malon watched her mother pick up a crate and leave outside as her heart beat apprehensively. She had asked her mother not to tell her father about Link, but the woman dodged the question almost effortlessly. She took a deep breath to try to calm herself.
"Malon?" Talon called, causing her to jolt.
"Yes, Daddy?"
"C'mon. We've got some time on our hands, but we shouldn't hang around out here for too long."
The noon sun shone brilliantly in the sky. A more poetic individual would consider it symbolic of how Malon's secret feelings for Link had been brought out into the light. The very thought of it kept Malon from focusing on anything else.
Telling her mother was a dumb thing to do, Malon came to think. She knew her mother would tell her father at the first given opportunity. And then what would happen? Her father would certainly be against her acting on her feelings for Link. Would he tell Thomas about them seeing each other? Or forbid Malon from going to the field without supervision? Or perhaps-
Malon bumped into a Human girl from behind.
"S-Sorry!" she stammered as the girl turned to face her.
"Watch where you're going, you dumb Elf!" the girl yelled.
When Malon and her parents ventured to the Wilkshire Arena, one of the adults would accompany Malon, and they would sell milk, apples, and sometimes apple pie to the live audience, while the other parent sold the items at a stand within the arena built for them after the initial deal was made for the family to sell during events. The purpose of this stand was both the sell to anyone inside the arena's interior, and for either Malon or the other parent to refill of whatever they were selling once their surplus ran low. It was agreed by both parents that Malon was, under no circumstances, to work at the stand out of fear of her having a negative altercation with a Human.
On this particular day, Talon worked the stand, while Malon and her mother were to sell milk and apple pie to the live audience.
With the planned event just over an hour away from starting, Malon found herself sitting in one of the seats, the possibility of her father finding out about Link still weighing her down.
"Malon."
The girl's immediate reaction was to look up at her mother when she spoke. But shame diverted her gaze - shame that she had gone against her parents wishes by falling for Link.
"I'm not gonna tell your father about that boy you've been seeing." Catria told her daughter, "So don't worry about it for now."
Malon could swear she was able to fly into space with the weight her mother lifted from her shoulders.
Catria continued, "Come on. People are about to start coming in to fill the seats."
Malon had never been truly interested in the usually violent events that transpired in the arena. The main reason she accompanied her parents to these events was solely to help them. Even now, she paid no attention to what was going on center stage, even as the crowd went silent as the event started.
That was...until she heard a familiar voice.
"Good morning, everyone!" Thomas's voice rang out, "Before we get started, I wanna thank you all for being here today."
As the Human continued, Malon had turned her full attention toward him. What was he doing there? Why was he opening the event?
"For those of you who don't know," Thomas spoke on, "My name is Thomas Grimshaw, and I own a facility a few ways away from this very arena. There, I take misbehaving Elves that were given to me by slave owners, and I make sure they never act out again. To this day, there hasn't been a single slave I haven't been able to tame. Here today, for an hour, I'll be showing you all how I came to be known as the Elf Tamer. But before we get started, I'll let you all know: while I'd be able to tame any of these slaves under normal circumstances, for entertainment's sake, I'm gonna limit myself to ten minutes; I'm gonna give myself ten minutes to tame each slave. Now who's ready to get started?!"
Malon nearly dropped her basket as she stopped herself from covering her ears over the loud cheer of approval.
"I've never seen a slave before!" a young boy nearby said with elation, "This is gonna be fun!"
Slaves... Malon thought to herself as her heartbeat began beat apprehensively once again.
What if Link was brought there?
"HEY!"
Malon jolted as she turned to look at a large man seated behind her.
"Get out the way, you Elf bitch!"
"S-Sorry!"
Malon tried as best as she could to watch what was happening as she sold milk to the event's patrons. She could see that, before the first slave was introduced, another man was brought out. The first slave Thomas used was a young girl. Malon couldn't see her face from where she was, but she saw how the girl stood tall as she came further into the light of the stage, almost dignified in her approach as rope entrapped her wrists in front of her, near waist level.
"You may begin on the count of three." the other man announced to Thomas, "One...two...THREE."
Thomas wasted the first few seconds of his time closing the distance between he and his slave even further.
"You have a chance to avoid what's coming." Thomas told her, loud enough for the audience to hear.
"No." she told him, with the same volume he used.
Thomas smirked at the girl, before he proceeded to vanish from her view as he moved to stand behind her.
By now, Malon had paused once again. She watched as Thomas pulled back, and gave the girl her first lash.
Even from where Malon was, she could hear the sudden shout of pain from the first victim of the day's "entertainment".
"You brought this on yourself." Thomas told her, making sure the audience heard him. The second lash sent the girl to her knees. Thomas wrapped an arm around her body, and lifted her to her feet, pulling her body against his as he spoke. "Still not giving up?" he asked.
The girl shook her head in defiance. "No!"
Thomas leaned forward, and spoke into her ear, this time, lowering his volume to a hush. "You're a woman, and I'm a man. You'll submit to me eventually. It's only natural."
The girl gritted her teeth in anger. Not a second later, she was released, and lashed a third time.
Malon turned away. She couldn't bear to watch any longer.
For what felt like forever, Malon tried her best to ignore the girl's screams, and later, her crying and wimpering. The entire time, those she walked by in the aundience shouted at the poor girl, demanding she give in, and at Thomas, cheering him on as he continued unleashing pain upon her.
"Time!" the other man announced.
By now, the girl was lying on her front, sobbing as she tried to withhold her voice.
"Look at her cry!" an older man told the children next to him, "A few more lashes and she would have cracked!"
Malon watched as two Human emerged from within the arena to reteive the girl. How can anyone derive any kind of pleasure from the pain of another? How?
"I know it's hard to listen to." her mother whispered as she approached, "But try to focus on what you're doing. It'll take your mind off of this."
For the next near-hour, Malon followed her mother's advice. Or at least she tried to. If it wasn't the screams of agony, or the sickening sound of cheering and jeering whenever a slave gave in, it was the growing concern of what was to come.
Where was Link? Was he there? Would she be forced to watch him suffer, too? Her fears felt like the were gnawing at her very sanity.
"I hope you've all been having fun!" Thomas began, "Because this'll be the last slave of the day! I guess you'd call this one our 'main event'! This next one is a boy who came from Faron. He's like a wild, belligerent beast! He even attacked his master's daughter!"
The sound of gasping, and vocal expressions of anger and disbelief rang out through the open space. Thomas listened on with delight; he was drawing the ire of the crowd, just as he had planned.
"A lot of you have seen this boy before. He's the one I used to advertise this event!"
Malon gasped, realization striking her with the sudden impact of a hammer.
"Thomas has been taking me to some village." she remembered Link telling her, "All the people do there is beat me..."
The girl's body went completely stiff, as if she had instantly frozen.
"In fact," Thomas began with a scheming smirk, "taking him into the village was his idea! He said no one could break him!"
Catria happened to look over at her daughter when she paused, she wasn't close enough to speak to her, but she could see the look of absolute dread on her face as she watched on, as if she was expecting something.
By now, the crowd was buzzing, some on their feet. They shouted for Thomas to bring the slave out to the arena floor, and to beat him within an inch of his life.
"Bring him on out!" Thomas shouted above the noise.
From within the arena, Link walked into the open wrapped in chains, accompanied by four Human guards as the audience erupted with all kinds of negative reactions. Upon a closer glance, Malon could see that he had also been muzzled, like an animal.
"Look at that punk!" Malon heard one man say, "I'd whip that boy's ass!"
"That scrawny little shit's the one you guys told me about?!" another man laughed, "No wonder he attacked a girl! He's not taking on a real man!"
"Remove the chains!" Thomas directed. He watched on with the excitement of a child awaiting a present as Link's restraints were cast away, aside from the rope that kept his wrists tied together at waist level. He approached the boy, and spoke in a low voice.
"Ready for your beating, you little bitch?"
Link bared his teeth as his face twisted into the fowlest of grimaces. This brought a cocky half-smirk to Thomas's.
"That's what I like to see." he said, "Don't disappoint me."
"You may start on the count of three!" Thomas was told, "One, two, three!"
Thomas spent a few moments looking down at Link, who refused him even the respect of eye contact. He dropped his whip, reached back, and punched the boy in the face.
Malon's hands flew to her mouth as she gasped, dropping her basket of milk in the midst of her reaction, causing a few of the bottles to crack open.
Wasting no time, Thomas followed up with a second blow that sent Link to his rear. Thomas took a split second to soak in the sudden satisfied erruption of the crowd before he rose a leg, and kicked Link in the side of his head, following with another to the face that sent down to the ground.
"You can stop this!" Thomas told Link, trying to yell over the roar of the crowd, "You know what you have to do!"
Link rose to a seated position, his head lowered as blood flowed from his nose and a busted lip.
Thomas turned to retreive his whip, and with no wasted motion, lashed the boy across the face.
As Malon watched on in horror, she couldn't help but think back on what Link had asked her in their last meeting.
"Kill me."
It was a very strange and alarming request for her to hear from him at the time, and, admittedly, she even questioned his sanity for a split second. But seeing this; seeing the torture and punishment Link was being subjected to...not to mention how humiliating this must be for him...
Did he know this was going to happen? Or had he been put through this already?
Now that she knew why Link wanted to die...would she kill him if he asked her to again? Or would she deny him his wish, and let him be subjected to more of this treatment?
Link collapsed, and fell flat on his face after another lash to the back. The boy couldn't tell which feeling was more intense: the pain from his beating, or his bitterness at being placed in this situation to begin with. He had no intention of giving in to Thomas, yet not surrendering was what the man wanted. But not letting him have his way would mean he'd have to bend his will, at the cost of his dignity, the only thing the world had yet to take from him.
He was in an impossible situation. And he had no way out of it.
Thomas watched as Link rose to a knee. With a scheming smirk, he drew close, and leaned toward him. "You're being very stubborn right now." he told the boy, "These people want to see you give in. Why don't you just give them what they want so we can stop all this?"
No answer. The boy persisted in his mulish behavior as he leaned his head down, allowing the blood flow from his nose and lips to the dirt ground beneath.
The malevolent simper spread even wider across Thomas's visage, "I bet your sister wou-"
Without warning, Link kicked his front-most leg, and rammed the top of his head into the sneering face above. The blow knocked Thomas off his feet, and onto his rear.
The audience roared in outrage as Link rose to stand on his feet.
As the boy looked down at him, Thoma felt at the wet feeling on his face, and found that he was bleeding from his nose.
Just then, he felt a tap on his shoulder.
"It's time!" the timekeeper shouted over the noise as two men entered the field to retrieve Link.
Thomas watched the boy as he was led away, and listened as the audience continued to rain obscenities upon the boy all the while. A smile spread across his face.
This boy...he's gonna make him rich!
"Hey!" Franklin called as he approached Thomas, "I don't think we're gonna be able to send everybody home with all this noise going on!"
"That can wait!" Thomas told him, "Help me get inside!"
As Link was manhandled into the arena, Malon watched on in absolute shock. She didn't think even Link would do something so brazen as to strike a Human. Her mother neared her, and snatched her by her forearm, startling the girl.
"Let's go!" Catria shouted at her over the ongoing sound of the audience.
Meanwhile, Franklin paused upon returning to the stadium's interior with Thomas with a sigh.
"That was a nasty hit you took." Williamson told the latter, "You gonna be okay?"
"Yeah," Thomas answered, straightening his body, "I just wanted to sell that head-butt and rile the crowd up a bit."
"Sounds like they can't be riled up any further."
"Hey, could you go out there and send them home? I wanna keep this act up a bit."
"Sure, sure." Williamson walked past the two before pausing at the door. "Oh, and by the way. If you ever want to hold an event like that again...anytime."
A smirk wormed it's way across Thomas's face, "Let's talk about it when you get back inside."
"Is everyone here?" James asked.
"Yeah," an employee answered, "That's everyone."
"Good."
James rose from his bed as he continued, "As I'm sure you all know, things have been pretty chaotic here in the last few days. But I think we can use this as a learning experience going forward. But for now, for those of you who don't know, the plan is to start over - we need a fresh start. I've had a day to think about it. The point of treating these girls the way we've been treating them was so that they'd be more receptive to their jobs, which would better the experiences of our customers. But due to recent events, we have a problem. The girls now fear harsh punishment in the event of failure, which is going to hurt their morale, which means we won't get the customer satisfaction that we want. And therein lies our biggest problem. We can't sell the girls away, because they'll tell others about their experiences here, which could cause an even bigger problem for us at any point in the future. And we can't keep them here when we go out and buy some new girls, because as we've all seen, they don't know how to keep their mouths shut. So our only solution is to get rid of them."
"You just said we can't do that," one employee said.
"No, I said we couldn't sell them. What we're doing is making sure they never tell a soul about what they've seen here. We're getting rid of them. Permanently."
Silence ensued, passing seamlessly through air thickened by the dark implications of James's words.
"So, what," an employee finally spoke as a half-serious joke, "we're gonna kill them or something?"
"We're not gonna lay a finger on them. Up north is Death Mountain. We've been in Hyrule for centuries, but it's one of the places we've barely touched since we've been here, outside the excavating and mining companies, along with the occasional transportation of anything they find there. There are still monsters scattered about. It's why I've hired a second security team to patrol the northern edge of the property. What we're going to do is gather the girls, take them to the foot of the mountain, and leave them there for the monsters to find."
Silence filled the air once again, any possible response stiffled by disbeief in what was happening, and even more so in what was apparently about to happen.
"I need one of you to ride north and tell the security there that they can all go home for the day at sunrise. The less people who know about this, the better. And tonight, I need some of you to ready some horses and a freight cart so we can load the first batch of girls tomorrow morning. And if anyone asks, tell them that we're selling the girls for extra money. That concludes the meeting. Does anyone have any questions?"
"I'm not sure about this." a worker told James, "We're not supposed to kill any slaves under eighteen."
"If it bothers you, you don't have to help. But what I told all of you doesn't leave this room."
Silence...
"Look," James continued, "I know something like this is hard for some of you, but remember what we're working for. We're trying to restore the estate to what it once was. We all knew this wouldn't be easy. Nothing worth achieving can be acheived without risks. And this is one risk we have to take. Tomorrow...we leave this mess behind us."
"You gonna tell me why we had to leave so fast?" Talon asked his wife, "I didn't even have time to give Williamson his cut of our profits."
"I'll tell you when we get home." Catria answered, "I'm gonna go sit in the back with Malon."
The early afternoon sun shined down on the family as they rode home. They were making good time, due mostly to how brief the day's event was, in comparison to the others they were more accustomed to.
The inside of the tarped wagon was a sharp contrast to the outside, and a more accurate representation on Malon's mood.
Link... Did he really endure such punishment everyday?
"...Kill me..."
Link had asked her to end his life the last time they spoke. He wanted an end to his suffering; to finally find the peace that simply being alive denied him.
And she wouldn't give it to him.
She...his only friend...he needed her, and she refused him help.
But would death really be the best way out?
"What would you know?!"
Link was right...she didn't have a single clue what it would be like to walk in his shoes; to be a slave to a man who treated his property worse than the dirt he walked on. It must be torture...
But if Link asked her to kill him again...would she be able to do it?
"Malon."
The poor girl jolted, her mind snatched from the depths of her thoughts by her mother.
"Yes, Mom?"
"That boy...the last one... He's the one you like...isn't he?"
Malon felt even her racing thoughts come to a halt with the rest of her body. She took a deep breath before she answered, "Yes, Mom."
Catria sighed. Not out of frustration, but because she simply could not come up with the words to console her pained child.
The family returned to the ranch with plenty of daylight to lose. Talon and Catria unpacked in silence, obvious questions waiting to be asked by Talon, and anticipated by Catria.
"Where's Malon?" Talon asked.
"I sent her inside. I felt she needed the rest of the day to herself."
Talon let out a quiet sigh. "So what happened out there?"
"The event today was put on by Thomas."
"Thomas from across the field?"
"Yeah."
"So he's into show business now, eh? What was the show like?"
"He took a bunch of slaves, and beat them until they gave in to him."
Talon paused.
"Not all of them gave in." Catria continued, "It was tough for her to watch."
"I'm sure it was... Where is she?"
"I'm not sure. She's probably in the house."
The pair finished unpacking in the same dim silence as when they started. Catria left for the their house to look for their daughter, while Talon left to return their riding equipment to the stables. He put everything in its proper place before he was startled by the sight of crimson among the bundles of hay.
"Malon?" he called as he squinted into the darkness.
"I'm over here." the girl called back. She was seated between two stacks of hay when her father found her. The two met eyes when the latter approached her, but the weight of her day brought her head back down. Talon sat next to her, the sound of rustling hay being the only thing that filled the silence until he gathered the nerve to speak.
"I heard you had a rough day today."
"Yeah." Malon nodded, "I mean, yes."
"Your mother told me what happened."
Malon froze, "She did?"
Talon nodded, "I'm sorry you had to see those slaves go through all that."
"Oh..."
A few moments of silence passed by...
"If you want," Talon spoke up, "you can stay here when we head to the arena from now on."
"No!" Malon's voice rose, "I-I mean, no, that's okay. I still want to help out."
"Alright, well, just think about it for now, and let me know next time we head out. Okay?"
"Okay."
Talon reached over, pulled Malon into a one-armed embrace, and sighed. He guessed he could only protect his daughter from this world for so long.
"Anytime you feel uncomfortable with anything or anyone, or if you need my help, you come find me, y'hear? I'll always be nearby."
"Okay."
Talon eventually left to return home, leaving Malon alone with her thoughts.
The girl sighed. Despite her appreciation for her father's offer, her situation was one that he would never be able to help with. No matter how much she wished that weren't the case.
No... She would have to take matters into her own hands...
Thomas sat down on his leather sofa and sighed, looking to process the day's events in his mind.
This little project of his and Franklin's went on without a hitch. As promised, Williamson paid them back all of the money it took to put the event together, and to top it off, they made more money than any of them anticipated, having accumulated over several diamonds' worth in Rupees due to ticket sales. After the event, the two parties formed a handshake deal, that consisted of a second event the next week, with the Wilkshire Arena helping with the event's promotion. Williamson was even looking to have the event promoted in the Hyrulean Chronicle, the newspaper with more eyes on it than any other in Hyrule, which would be sure to bring their exploits to new eyes.
Of course, this meant Thomas would have to pull more than one all-nighter to mass produce tickets for the future event.
He sighed again. He should probably hire someone to do this for him. Perhaps an add in the local papers-
*knock, knock, knock*
Thomas paused. A visitor? At this hour? Perhaps Franklin left something there. It wouldn't be the first time, after all.
The man opened the door and froze.
Malon looked up at him, her hands clasped nervously in front of her as she took a deep breath.
"I need to talk to you."
To be Continued!