Spring came late to Hyrule that year. Winter hung on so tightly that when the season of flowers said to its predecessor, 'it's my turn,' Demeter's wrath grew insubordinate. The cold continued in a frigid rainfall that drilled the land in the following months, so the fields were always wet and smelled of fresh cut grass. The early spring rainstorms were a double-edged sword for the ranchers and farmers in Ordona, which sliced through many of their seasonal plans.
On one hand, the cold rain brought on strong, hardy crops that farmers sold in the markets. The grain and hay sold to the ranchers were fed to the animals who grew strong, as if they were beaten and frozen by the downpour, and lived. Horses and mules pulled twice their load, cows gave twice as much milk, and goats did all that and more. The farms and ranches who managed to endure the rain basked in the wealth that came with the torrent; for these agricultural denizens, rupees fell from the sky.
On the other hand, the storms brought debt and hardship to many. The rain beat down on the land and fields, and almost everyone had to make repairs daily on their own ranches. Those whose ranches were in less than stellar condition, or couldn't afford the repairs, were all the worse off for it. They were attacked on all sides by the horrible weather, the rising costs of maintenance, banks and money lenders, and the recent string of thefts that plagued the province.
The season was especially hard on the Romani Ranch, whose owner had passed away a year ago and left no one to run it but a sixteen year old girl, her little sister, and the temporary ranch hand.
A dirt path led to a decrepit barn, with splintered boards nailed unevenly against the gaps in the walls where drafts entered through. Next to the barn was a tiny house in even worse shape. Patches of the roof that had blown off in the storms were covered with tarp to keep the rain from falling in. A few gangly horses walked through a weed-ridden field where a young girl with red hair was squatting in the bushes, carrying a bow in hand. She had her eye on a large balloon that was weighted down to keep from floating away. She lifted her bow and was about to fire, when Talon's cariage bumped down the road. She turned and saw them coming toward the ranch, then darted inside the barn. Link and Malon could hear her shouting, 'They're here! They're finally here! Hurry, Cremia!'
"Dad," Malon asked anxiously. "Can we get out here?"
"Calm down, let's just get there first."
The carriage pulled up as a young woman, fleshed out with curly auburn hair and a dirty apron, stepped out of the barn. She was followed by the girl who'd called after her. Talon stepped off the carriage and approached the woman.
"Mornin' Cremia. Sorry we're so late, but we got caught in that dadgum rain."
"Not at all, sir," Cremia replied with a big smile as she wiped her hands on her apron. "You're quite early, in fact. I wasn't expecting you for another hour."
Link and Malon climbed out of their seats. Malon's foot caught the step and she nearly fell, but Link thankfully caught her. They stood behind the carriage and waited for the adults to finish.
"Where's Fado? I didn' see him as we were pullin' up."
"He's out back getting firewood. Seems like we're lighting a fire every night just to keep warm. I wish spring hurry up. It's been cold for far too long."
"It looks like its been awful hard on ya," Talon said, looking back at the shoddy barn.
"It has," she sighed. "We've lost another cow to the cold, and another of Fado's goats. It's bad enough without those thieves we've been having lately. They took another one of our cows just the other night."
"Daggunit!" Talon shouted angrily. "If I ever git my hands on those bloomin' thieves! Cremia, you know if there's anything I can do to help, you can always ask."
"Thank you, Talon. You and Ingo have always been so good to this ranch. I wish we didn't have to impose, but its so hard with just Fado and I."
"Actually, Cremia, I had a favor I wanted ta ask ya."
"Anything. I'd be happy to repay your kindness."
"I won't be able to go to Ordon this year, since I'll be workin' the festival in Hyrule while Ingo watches the ranch. I brought Link and Malon with me, and I was hopin' you could help 'em with the business that needs to get done in Ordon."
Cremia's grin spread from cheek to cheek.
"I thought I saw those two on your cart. Where are they? I want to give them the biggest hug of their life!"
They peeked out excitedly from behind the carriage and ran toward Cremia.
"There you are!" She laughed as she squeezed them tightly.
"We missed you, Cremia!" Malon giggled with her arms around Cremia's shoulders.
"We almost didn't get to see you," Link smiled.
"I missed you guys, too. We haven't had a chance to see you since last fall. I'd be happy to help them with whatever they need, sir."
"Malon here's pretty handy when it comes to fillin' out orders," Talon explained. "She can read an' write better than her ole man, that's for sure. And Link here's gotta lot of muscle for a little guy, so he's pretty good with the heavy liftin'. They won' need much help except with the official stuff."
"You can count on it, Talon. I'll see to it that they get every crate of milk of yours sold."
"I ain't askin' for miracles, girl."
"Neither am I," she winked. "Romani, why don't you go play with Link and Malon, so Talon and I can make arrangements?"
The girl with the bow in hand stood behind Cremia the entire time, peering out intensely at Link.
"We can talk while we work," said Talon. "Let's start by grabbin' some hammers and fixin' up that barn of yours!"
"Maybe we should start by moving your boxes from your carriage into ours?"
"That's probably a better idea. Point the way, and I'll take us there."
Talon climbed back into the carriage, and pulled Cremia up into the seat next to his.
"I'll see if Fado can help. Have fun, you three."
Talon whipped the reins and set the horses at a light trot toward the other end of the ranch. Link and Malon were left standing awkwardly with Romani.
"We haven't seen you in a while," Malon pointed out.
Romani stared at her without a word, so Link and Malon looked nervously at one another. Now that they were alone with her they were at a loss of what to do.
"Will you guys practice with me?" Romani suddenly asked, holding out the bow. "I only have this one, and another one in the house, so we'll have to take turns."
"Okay," they agreed immediately.
Romani lead they way as she shuffled toward the weighted balloon from earlier. She stopped about 50 feet in front of it.
"I'll go first, so I can show you how to do it."
She pulled an arrow out of the quiver on her back, drew it back on the bowstring, and fired. It hit the balloon straight on, and it popped with a loud bang.
"Wow! I wanna try!" Malon jumped up and down. "Me next!"
"I'll blow up some more balloons. Take these."
Romani shoved the bow and quiver into Malon's arms then raced towards the house.
"Wait!" Malon shouted after her, waving the quiver in the air. "How do I put this on?"
"Let me," Link offered, taking the quiver and undoing the strap. "Put it through your arm, like this."
"Thanks." She fit her right arm through the strap, then Link buckled it back in place.
"Is it just me, or does Romani seem distracted? Normally when we get here, she runs toward us and starts calling you 'Grasshopper.'"
"I hate that name," grumbled Link. He sat down on a patch of the driest grass he could find.
"Seriously, though. She usually doesn't care what we do, as long as we're together, but she seemed like she really wanted to play bows and arrows. It's not like her to tell us what to play."
"I don't know. She seemed normal to me,"
"Oh, never mind," she groaned, and decided to admire the bow instead. "I wonder if they sell these in Hyrule, too."
"Don't say that," Link whined. "Of course they do. Hyrule sells everything."
"I wish we could go to Hyrule instead."
Malon sat down next to him.
"At least Talon is letting us go to Ordon by ourselves."
"Not really. He's just making us go with Cremia. I was excited at first, but we're still going there to work. That's no fun."
"At least it's Cremia and not Ingo like last year."
"Good point."
"And maybe there'll be more stories about Hyrule to hear when we get there."
"Do you think that story Dad told us was true?"
"I don't know. It's sad to think that those horsemen killed so many people. I don't think I want to believe it."
Link laid down in the wet grass and looked up into the sky. Malon followed suit, laying down next to him.
"I hope it doesn't start raining again before we can have fun with Romani," she thought out loud.
She looked over at Link and waited for his response. When he didn't answer, she continued, "Dad and Cremia said they were gonna do some work before we leave for Ordon. I hope that doesn't take too long."
Malon cast a long glance over the Romani ranch, examining it. The barn and house were bad enough, but the brown grass in the field was unfit for grazing, the trees were dark and limp, and the weeds and bushes were overgrown. Just from what she could see, a lot of work must've been needed just to keep this poor ranch up and running.
She stood up, undid the strap of the quiver, and dropped the bow onto the dewy grass. Link sat up and said, "What're you doing?"
"I'm going to go help Dad and Cremia."
"What? Why?"
"Look at this place, Link. Cremia's got it so hard here, she can barely run this ranch by herself, and it looks like it's gonna fall apart. You heard her talking about all the stuff that's happened to them over the winter, right?"
"But what about Romani? You just said you wanted to play with her, and it's been so long since we last saw her."
"I know, but I'm going to feel bad about playing the day away while Cremia's working so hard. Dad said we're supposed to be working, so that's what I'm gonna do!"
"I guess so."
"You take this," Malon gave Link the quiver. "Romani still needs someone to play with, and she likes you more than me, anyway."
"Are you sure you don't wanna play, Malon?"
"We'll have plenty of time to play in Ordon. I'll see you later!" Malon ran off in the direction her father had driven the carriage, leaving Link sitting in the middle of the dry pasture, holding the quiver in both arms.
"Now what?" He thought out loud.
"Help please," a voice squeaked behind him. Link turned around and saw a huge bundle of weighted balloons. Romani was carrying so many that only her tiny legs poked out underneath. Link briskly stood up, dropped the quiver and ran over to help Romani, taking half of them.
"Thanks, Link," she exhaled loudly. "Where'd Malon go?"
"Um, she said she wanted to go help Talon and Cremia."
"Really?" Romani held her head low.
"She said she really wanted to play, but she felt bad about playing while Cremia and Talon are working."
"It's not playing!" Romani stamped her foot, dropping the balloons. "It's practicing!"
The balloons floated upwards a ways before their weights brought them drifting slowly back down.
"Sorry," Link said sheepishly. "At least I'm still here, right? And Malon said we'll have plenty of time to pla- I mean practice, in Ordon."
"I can't go," she grumbled.
"What? Why not? Cremia always lets you go with us to Ordon. That's not fair!"
"It's not that my sister won't let me go. I can't leave the ranch."
Romani's voice dropped to a whisper.
"Not tonight."
"What do you mean?"
"Tonight is when they come."
"They? Who's they?"
"The ones who steal all the cows."
"The thieves? How do you know they-"
"No, not them," Romani cut him off. "Them."
"Who's them?"
"Where's the quiver?"
"What? Oh, it's over here."
He dropped his balloons, and picked up the forgotten quiver.
"Help me set the balloons up, and I'll tell you who they are."
"Okay," he murmured.
They took the balloons and walked around the perimeter of the ranch, dropping a balloon behind them every few feet. When they finished, the ranch was covered with targets, waiting to be popped with arrows.
"Perfect! Now we can practice. Do you still have the other bow?"
"I think it's back where Malon dropped it," he pointed to their first spot in the pasture. "I'll go get it."
"Never mind," she shook her head. "I'll get it later. We'll use mine for now. Hand me the quiver."
Romani took the quiver from Link's hand and pulled an arrow from it. She took one step forward, nocked the arrow onto the bowstring with her right hand, and pulled back on it as far as she could. A stillness surrounded Romani as she took her stance and aimed for one of the farther targets. She closed her right eye and released. Just like before, the arrow sailed through the air and popped the balloon.
"Pretty cool, right?" She smiled. "It's really easy with a little practice. I bet you'd be better than me."
She handed him the quiver and the bow.
"Remember how I held it? Hold the bow in your left hand, and put the arrow on the notch."
Link took the bow into his left hand, just like Romani said, but it felt shaky and uncomfortable.
"You don't look so good holding it like that. Hold it tighter."
Link tightened his grip on the bow. He did his best not to show his discomfort, and lifted the bow towards the closest target he could find: a balloon floating in front of a nearby tree. He pulled an arrow out of the quiver, held it in his right hand, and clasped it onto the noticeable nick carved in the center of the bow.
"Keep your eye on the target," Romani said confidently. "Pull the string back with the arrow, and fire!"
He swallowed hard, pulled on the string as hard as he could and released. The arrow flew slowly, wobbled in the air, then and fell limply several feet in front of the target.
They stared at the fallen arrow for several seconds before Romani burst out, "What was that?! You did everything I said. What happened?"
Link looked at her and shrugged.
"Maybe you just need to practice. I wasn't very good the first time, either. Try again."
Link lifted the bow once more, aimed at the same target, and tried again, with the same result.
"Keep trying, Link. I know you'll get it!"
After emptying, refilling, and emptying the quiver again, Link still hadn't hit the broad side of the tree. All of the fired arrows laid pathetically on the ground in front of them. None of them got close enough to hit the balloon, and some hadn't even made it halfway. Romani sat on the ground, stupified.
"Well I'm obviously not an archer," Link suggested, scratching his back. "Maybe we can find Malon and see what she's doing instead."
"I don't get it," Romani cupped her chin in her tiny hands. "You did everything exactly the way I said. We even tightened the bowstring and everything. "What could be wrong?"
Link heard the sound of wood clunking on the ground, followed by a mumble of annoyance. A tall man with a crew cut, a white tunic and a green waist belt, was carrying a bundle of firewood over to the tiny house. A terrier nipped his heels and yapped loudly.
"Hi, Fado!" Link called out, waving his hand up high. The man looked up, attempted to wave back, and lost the load in his arms. The dog darted out of the way as the wood clattered to the ground, yipping as it went. Fado groaned and bent down to pick up the logs. Link ran over to help.
"Sorry I made you drop the firewood," he said, filling his arms with as much wood he could carry.
"Oh, you didn't make me drop it. Thanks for helping."
They carried the wood together to the house and placed it by the front door.
"Didn't expect you to be here with Talon today."
"Malon's here, too. Talon's letting us handle the business in Ordon while he goes to Hyrule."
Fado scratched his head.
"Aren't you two a little young to be going to Ordon by yourselves?"
"Malon's two years older than me. She can write really well, and Talon says I'm stronger than most kids my age."
Link flexed his little arms and grinned.
"And we're going with Cremia, too, so she can help us."
"How old are you now?"
The terrier came back and sniffed Link's feet. He picked it up and held it in his arms.
"I'm nine years old, sir."
"Already? Seems like yesterday you were only five or six."
Cremia's voice rang out.
"There you are, Fado!"
She walked over quickly to where they were standing.
"I went to look for you near the chopping block, but I couldn't find you."
"Sorry about that, Ms. Cremia. Guess I got a bit distracted."
"No worries. Talon and I need your help getting his milk boxes onto our cart so we can take them with us to Ordon. Then we're gonna see what we can get fixed around here."
Cremia noticed Link standing to the side with the dog in his arms.
"Uh oh," she smiled. "Looks like one of them got out. Where's Romani?"
"She's over there."
He pointed to where Romani was still sitting deep in thought. She still hadn't noticed any of them.
"I think she's mad because I can't fire arrows very well."
"She doesn't look mad to me. Why can't you fire arrows?"
"I don't know," Link's voice lowered as he spoke. "Romani's been helping me, and she's really good at it, but I can't hit a target no matter how hard I try."
"Can't be," Cremia grinned. "Not everyone can be a marksman, but anybody can fire an arrow."
She took the dog from Link's arms.
"Fado, take this rascal back to the racetrack where he belongs, then go find Talon and give him a hand if you can. He isn't too far from the track. I'll be along in a bit."
Fado took the dog and walked off. Cremia took Link by the hand walked over to where Romani was sitting. When she noticed them approaching, her head snapped up.
"What's going on? I thought you had to work today."
"I'm gonna help you out," Cremia said, then stooped down and picked up the bow.
"Here, Link. Go get some of those arrows, and show me what you're made of."
Link took the bow, picked up a few arrows, then took his stance where he had before. He hadn't minded when it was only Romani and him, but now with Cremia watching him intently, he felt nervous, and it showed; his hands trembled, and so did the bow and arrow with them. He pulled back with all his might and let go.
The arrow flew three quarters of the way toward the target before it flopped to the ground. Link and Romani both turned to see what Cremia thought, but she said nothing for a few moments. She stared at the bow in Link's hand with an analytical look on her face.
Finally, she said, "Try it again."
Link grew more frustrated with every second. He took another arrow, notched it again, and fired again, and the result was the same. This time, it took longer for Cremia to respond, but when she did she spoke with more certainty.
"One more time, Link. I think I know what the problem is, but I want to be sure."
By now, Link's face was burning red. All he wanted was to quit, stop humiliating himself, and do anything else, even if that meant working instead of playing. Anything was better than having Cremia watch him fail over and over.
"Just let me hit it once!" He thought to himself. "Just once, and I'll never touch another bow in my life! I hate this so much!"
He took a deep breath and notched one more arrow against the bow. The bow shook more heavily now than ever. He tried to focus on his target, pulled back on the string as hard as he could, and squeezed his eyes shut.
As he released the arrow, it scraped roughly against his right hand, making him drop the bow. The arrow fell to the ground and the bow snapped back and struck Link square between the eyes.
"Aagh!" He cried out, slapping his hands over the spot. Romani and Cremia ran to him.
"Link! Are you ok?"
Romani bent down to see, but Link turned away, rubbing the spot hard.
"Let me see, Link."
Cremia lightly put her hand on his shoulder. After a moment of hesitation, Link turned around and lifted his face toward her, but kept his gaze to the ground. She lifted his bangs out of the way and pressed her cool slender fingers against his forehead.
"Ow," he mumbled.
"It's a little red," she declared. "But that's about it. It won't even need an ice pack. You'll be okay."
Link sniffed and wiped face face with his sleeve.
"But it looks like more than just your forehead was hurt," she said soothingly, and wrapped her arms around him. Link tried his hardest not to meet her gaze. Tears welled up in his eyes.
"Link, look at me."
He stared hard at the ground, a pained frown on his face, then looked up at her. Romani hid behind Cremia and watched in silence.
"I know it's hard, and not everyone gets it the first time, but you can't give up."
Cremia clasped her hands on his shoulders, looked straight into his eyes, and spoke so seriously that Link's hurt pride quickly dissipated.
"Sometimes, it's so hard to run this ranch. There's so much that needs to be done that I never even knew needed to be done. My and Romani's are gone now, and sometimes it feels like I've been left with a burden that I cannot bear alone. There are times I'd like nothing more than to give up. But then, I remember that I'm not alone."
She released his shoulders, reached over to Romani, and held her tightly.
"I have my little sister, and Fado, who's been such a huge help. And I have Talon and Ingo who've looked out for us, and I have Malon and you, Link. I don't know what I'd do without you guys."
Link looked thoughtfully at the ground. Cremia put her hands on his shoulders again.
"The point is, no matter how hard it is, there will always be people who want to help you, and you'll never be alone. But they can't help you if you give up, so you have to always try your hardest, and rely on the ones you love to make it through."
She started laughing, "I'm sorry. I know this doesn't have much to do with archery, but I can't help it. Try once more, but this time, hold the bow in your right hand instead of your left."
"But that's the wrong hand!" Romani interjected. "If he does it with his right hand, it'll be even worse than before."
"Maybe," Cremia smiled. "Maybe not."
Link didn't understand why Cremia wanted him to use the bow with the wrong hand, and he felt a little embarrassed hearing her talk like that, but he appreciated what she said, and was willing to try again.
He picked up the bow with his right hand. To his surprise, his grip was much steadier now. He took the arrow, aimed, licked his upper-lip, and fired one last time. The arrow flew swift and true to its path, pierced the balloon, and stuck itself in the tree behind.
"Holy cow!" Romani shouted, running over to the tree. "I've never seen an arrow fly so fast! Cremia, how did you know?"
"I did a bit of archery when I was your age. It wasn't much more than playing around, but I still learned a thing or two."
"I don't get it," Link said, gaping. "How did I get so good just by switching hands?"
"I noticed your grip on the arrow was much tighter than it should've been, but it was when you let go of the bow that I knew for sure. Link, did you know you're left-handed?"
"No," he said quietly. "I didn't."
"Look at this thing!" Romani shouted. She placed a foot firmly on the tree and yanked at the arrow as hard as she could, with both hands clasped tightly around it.
"I don't think I can get it out! It's in way too deep!"
She gave one last hard yank, but her foot slipped off. She yelped and fell flat on her back.
"I wouldn't bother," laughed Cremia. "You won't get it out any time soon. Don't fire any arrows at the trees Link, unless you want to lose more of them. I need to go back and help Talon, so you two have fun, okay?"
She walked back toward the racetrack where Fado and Malon were now loading milk boxes from one wagon to the other. Malon could be heard shouting, "Dad! You fell asleep again!" Romani picked herself up off the ground and approached Link.
"That was awesome!" she exclaimed. "You're a better shot than I am! Have you ever done archery before?"
"Um, no."
"You should be showing me how to shoot! You're amazing, Link!"
"I don't know about that," he mumbled, blushing.
"Now that you've gotten the hang of it, let's make it more interesting."
"How do you mean?"
"Hit as many of the targets as you can in two minutes."
"Two minutes?! But there's so many balloons, and they're all over the place! That's not nearly enough time!"
"You don't have to hit all of them. I have a timer we can use. C'mon, let's go get the rest of the arrows."
After retrieving the arrows, and after Romani retrieved her timer, they decided to make the ranch's main entrance as the starting point. They stood under the main gate, Romani holding the timer in one hand and raising her other up to signal. Link had the quiver strapped on his shoulder, and held the bow tightly in his right hand. He leaned forward, ready to make a mad dash.
"On you mark… get ready… Go!"
Link took one step, tripped over a rock, and fell flat on his face. Romani jumped up and down.
"Get up! Hurry up! Don't waste time!"
He picked himself off the ground without bothering to brush the dirt off, and launched forward. He took off toward for the first target. Without stopping, he aimed and fired, then ran off for the next one before the balloon even popped.
"Keep going! You're doing great!"
It wasn't long before every balloon laid in tattered remains across the pasture. Romani clicked the timer's button on the last balloon's pop, and ran towards Link, who had fallen onto his back into the grass. Breathing heavily, he gasped, "How did I do?"
Romani glared at the timer, and said nothing.
"Well?"
"Two minutes and thirty-seven seconds."
"Aww, I didn't make it in time."
"Link, I can't even hit half that many targets in that much time!"
She threw her hands in the air.
"I was just kidding when I said to do it in two minutes! You're the best archer I've ever seen, and you're just a kid like me! I bet you could outdo any of the Royal Knights at Hyrule City! Are you sure you've never tried archery before?"
"I was just doing it with the wrong hand a moment ago. Yes, I'm sure."
Romani frowned, "I don't believe you."
"I swear I've never done it before! Today was my first time!"
"But you're so good at it! How is that even be possible?"
"How should I know?!"
Link laid on the ground and stared up at the sky. The clouds had grown darker, and hung ominously over the ranch.
"I just don't know," he whispered.
"Looks like it's going to rain again," Romani said with a twinge of irritation. "We'd better pick up the balloon pieces or else Cremia will get mad at me. We can go hang out at the racetrack after if you want."
He agreed, and stood up. They went together to fetch the arrows, but not before the rain fell for the second time that day. The rain had soaked them to the bone by the time they finished gathering the arrows and throwing away the broken balloons. The others barely finished packing the milk when the rain began. Malon joined Link and Romani in the house while Cremia, Fado, and Talon brought the animals into the barn, then raced into the house.
"What do we do now?" Malon asked, wringing out her wet hair. "We can't do any renovations in the rain."
"That rain is going to keep us from going anywhere," Cremia said, shutting the door tightly behind her. "And it doesn't look like it's stopping anytime soon. I think we're stuck here for the night."
She went to work setting buckets under the leaks in the roof.
"I think I can make it back to the ranch okay."
Talon grabbed a towel from one of the shelves and started wiping down his arms.
"A little rain never hurt nobody. Sorry we didn't get to fixin' up the place any."
"There's no way I'm letting you go back out there. It's too long of a trip back, and you'd catch a cold before even you made it halfway. You're staying right here."
"I can't stay here tonight! I gotta head for Hyrule City tomorrow mornin', and there's no way I can make the trip from here."
"Let's just see what happens with the rain," Fado interrupted, looking out the window. "I'm not so sure it'll rain like this the whole day through."
"In the meantime," said Cremia, "There's not much to do except make ourselves comfortable. Fado, can you get a fire started while I see what kind of grub I can cook up?"
"Good idea." Talon rubbed his empty belly. "We didn' have anything for breakfast this mornin' before we left, and it's past lunch."
A loud growl suddenly filled the room, and everyone looked for its source. Link turned bright red, slapped his arms around his stomach and backed away, making everyone laugh.
"I'll help you, Cremia!" Malon volunteered.
"Then let's get to work. We've got three hungry men who need feeding!"
Cremia and Malon marched into the kitchen together. Unfortunately for the others, there wasn't much to do. Fado retrieved some of the driest firewood from outside and built a little teepee of wood in the fireplace. The fired roared and warmed the house, leaving Fado nothing to do but sit at the table and twiddle his thumbs while staring at the clock. Talon sat back in the rocking chair, and in no time at all, was snoring loudly. Link and Romani sat on the carpet in front of the fire, watching the flames crackle and burn in silence.
Outside, the rain crashed against the bush and weed-ridden ground. It beat down against the few trees standing in the pasture and anything else sitting out in the open. The dirt path suffered the most; each giant drop of rain splashed more mud up until the dirt path was a thick, slopping river. The rain quickly filled the buckets Cremia had set out, so Link and Fado worked together to empty them outside while Romani cupped the dripping water from the leak in her hands, until they brought the emptied bucket back and moved onto the next one.
Malon popped her head out from the kitchen door.
"Cremia says lunch is ready."
Link put down the last bucket underneath the last leak and stretched. He yawned while Romani poured the water from her hand into the bucket. Malon walked out of the doorway and approached her snoring father.
"Darn it, Dad, you fell asleep again." She grabbed one of his giant hairy arms and struggled to pull him out of the chair, but to no avail.
"We can't start eating without him," Romani said as she wiped her wet hands on her dress. "He's the one who was saying how hungry he was."
"Don't worry. I know the one thing that always wakes him up."
Malon grabbed a large towel and wrapped it around her head.
"You guys can start without me. I'll be there in a minute, and so will Dad."
She opened the door and stepped outside, closing it behind her.
"What did she mean by that?" Romani asked Link.
"I'm not sure. You and Fado can go. I'll wait here for her."
"She said not to wait, though."
"It's okay. You go ahead." Link sat down in the chair across from Talon and watched the door.
"Let's go, girl," Fado stood up from the table. "I bet you're just as hungry as the rest of us."
Romani looked back at Link one last time before following Fado into the kitchen. Link listened to the sounds in the kitchen, of plates clattering and Cremia saying loudly, "Now now, Fado. Children first." The front door opened wide, and Malon came in with a cucco in tow. Link backed away instinctively.
"What's that for?"
"I just said, to wake up Dad. I thought you would've started without me."
Link took another step back. Malon held the cucco next to Talon's head and gently pulled it's tail feathers. The cucco shrieked loudly, and Talon jumped up in his seat.
"What in tarnation?!"
"Dad, you fell asleep again! This is the third time today!"
"What? Oh, right right. Sorry sweety. I just ain't as young as I used to be. I get tired so often nowadays."
"Well, come on. It's time to eat. I gotta take this cucco back to the barn. I'll be there in a minute."
Malon, still with the towel on her head, went back outside with the cucco under her arm. Talon slowly rose from the rocking chair.
"I tell ya, Link," he groaned. "Sometimes I don' know what to do 'bout that child. She's more of a woman than she lets on."
Link shrugged.
"Never mind, boy. Let's go eat."
Link and Talon joined the others in the kitchen, and Malon soon followed. While they ate at the table, Romani chattered away about Link's archery feats, and the others listened intently. Link sat silently eating his food and paid no attention. Whenever anyone tried to ask him anything, he didn't respond.
"We couldn't even pull the arrow out of the tree," Romani recalled. "He'd fired so hard that it won't come out!"
"Now how'd a nine year old boy manage that?" Fado scratched his head.
"Wow, Link!" Malon exclaimed. "You never told me you were an archer."
Link stared emptily at his food.
By the time they finished lunch, the rain had slowed to a light drizzle and the clouds dispersed; not completely, but enough for Talon to go home. He prepared for his trip back while everyone huddled around his carriage.
"Please be careful on the way," Cremia urged him. "The rain makes that path very dangerous sometimes."
"I'll be fine. I made it through the rain gettin' here an' I can make it back."
"I can escort you back to the gate," Fado suggested.
"It's a bit of a walk back."
"I'll be alright."
"Take these with you."
Cremia presented a large blanket and a basket full of bread and cheese. Talon took both gratefully.
"Thank you, mah dear. Wish I could've done more to help while I was here."
"It's no trouble. You've done more than enough. I'll take good care of your kids while you're in Hyrule."
"I'm glad ta hear it. Link. Malon."
He put his two giant hands on each of their shoulders.
"You two take care of each other, an' make sure you finish what needs ta get done in Ordon, ya here?"
"Yes, Dad."
"Yes, sir."
"'Specially you, Link. It might seem a long way off, but your gettin' to be a man. Take care of Malon while it's just the two of you, got it?"
"Yes, sir."
"Alrighty then. Best be on my way."
"Good luck, Mr. Talon!" Romani waved goodbye.
"An' good luck to the rest of ya."
Talon climbed up into the driver's seat, took hold of the reins, gave a strong "Hyaah!" and set off.
"Bye Dad!"
"Take care, sir!"
They waved and shouted goodbye as he drove farther away, with Fado sitting in the passenger seat. When he approached the main gate, Talon dropped him off and continued on his way. While Fado walked back, shielding his head with his hands, Link and the girls waited for him.
"Link, Malon?"
They both turned their heads towards Cremia.
"We had a few setbacks this morning, so Fado and I will have to work for the rest of the day. We won't be able to leave for Ordon until tomorrow morning."
"Aww. I was hoping to see Ilia tonight."
Malon folded her arms and pouted.
"How early do we have to leave?" Link asked.
"First thing, bright and early."
He groaned. It would be the second morning in a row he'd wake up especially early.
"Nothing like working on a ranch, huh?" Cremia ruffled Link's hair.
"Will you guys be okay working in the rain?"
"We'll be okay, but you three need to stay inside while we work. I know it's boring, but I don't want any of you getting sick before we leave. I'm sure you can find something to do."
Fado came up the path and reached the house.
"Time to go back to work while we still can," Cremia told him. "I want to get as much done before the rain comes back."
She and Fado headed into the barn while Link, Malon, and Romani walked back into the house.
"Link, you have to tell me what happened!"
"Huh?"
He noticed the anxious look in Malon's eyes.
"When you were shooting, how did you do it? I don't know much about archery, but even I know its way too hard to hit that many targets in that much time. There's no way a kid like you could do it! It's a lie, isn't it?"
"Um, no?"
"No way! That can't be true!"
"It's true!" Romani blurted.
Malon turned her attention to her, while Link's gaze went to the fireplace. He slowly approached it and watched the flames dance before his eyes.
"I saw him do it with my own two eyes!"
"Yeah right!" Malon argued back.
"Why would I lie? Link can do it, I know he can! If it was a lie, I'd have said so!"
"Why would you do that?"
"Because I hate him!"
Link, who'd ignored their arguing until then, looked over at Roman with a blank look on his face.
"I hate you, Link!" she repeated. "When Cremia works on the ranch with the stuff that she won't let me do, I have nothing to do but fire arrows. I've gotten so good at it because of all the time I spend on it. But you!"
Romani stood as close to Link as she could and glared at him. When he tried to back away, she followed him.
"You say you've never done a bit of archery in your entire life, and all of a sudden you're better at it than anybody, including me! It's not fair!"
She started crying, and wiped her eyes with her balled-up fists.
"It's not fair, I tell you!"
Link opened his mouth, but all the came out was a garble that neither she nor Malon understood.
"Forget it! Just go away!"
Romani took off upstairs and slammed the bedroom door shut behind her. Malon watched her go.
"Great, Link. Look what you did! Couldn't you at least have said something, like sorry? Link?"
Malon turned around just in time to watch Link collapse to the floor. She gasped, knelt down, and started shaking him by his shoulders.
"Link? Are you ok? Wake up, please! Link! LINK!"
His blue eyes laid wide open, glazed and unfocused. Link made no sound, and moved only when Malon shook him. Malon felt her stomach quiver, stood up, and slammed the front door open.
"CREMIA!"
Cremia exploded out of the barn.
"Malon! What's wrong?!"
Malon ran over to Cremia and grabbed her apron, bursting into tears.
"It's Link! I don't know what happened! He just fell down on the floor in a heap! His eyes are open so I thought he was faking, but he won't move or say anything! I think something's wrong with him! What do we do?! Please help him!"