CHAPTER 7

When Malon had led him to a small stable not far from the pen, Link found himself overcome with nerves. As he neared the front gate, Malon held him back for a moment, giving him a look that seemed to inaudibly apologize for what he was about to see.

She shut her eyes, then let him open the door. While some of the stalls had horses that were resting from good exercise or just wanted some solitude, one in particular made his mouth fall open. Tucked in a far corner was a mare with a brownish-red coat and a mane that turned from black to silvery-white.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl for him. "I don't believe it." he said, his voice barely a whisper, as he slowly moved toward her, "Epona...she's still alive?"

"Yes." Malon answered, solemnly, "After the attack on Hyrule Castle, she came straight here. When she arrived without you on her back, I feared the worst had happened."

Link walked just in front of the mare's stall, but upon closer inspection, he noticed something was wrong. His seemingly-loyal steed did not seem able to recognize him even as he stood right in front of her. On closer inspection, he noticed that her eyes were clouded.

"She's-"

"Blind." Malon finished, sadness twinging her voice, "She's not been the same since you disappeared. She'll eat just fine, but she mostly just stays in here." She forced some hope into her tone. "But maybe if you let her know it's you…"

Link's eyes never left the horse, then he slowly raised a hand. Before he could stroke Epona's muzzle, though, he began to hum a simple song loud enough for them to hear. He had heard Malon sing it to the horse before he left for Castletown. It had a calming effect on horses, but he remembered Epona flocking towards it anytime it was sung, hummed, whistled, or played by any instrument.

Epona's ears swiveled on hearing the song and she tossed her head in surprise. Link paused, but did not withdraw as he continued humming it. The mare seemed to have been surprised-frightened even-thanks to her blindness, but seemed to settle in near-human awe as she began to recognize the song and who might be playing it.

Epona's nostrils dilated as she breathed in the familiar scent, then she tentatively inched her head closer until Link's palm rested on her muzzle, lightly scrubbing the short, velvety fur as he greeted his old friend.

"Epona," Link said, letting himself smile fondly, "It's so good to see you again, old girl."

With energy that surprised both him and Malon, Epona suddenly swung her head forward, thumping Link right in the chest. He caught himself by hugging her around the muzzle, stroking her thick neck affectionately as she nuzzled closer to him, like a human hugging a beloved friend or relative.

Malon approached him, holding a bridle out to him with a rope attached to its side. "Take her for a walk." she said, "I think you two need a little catching up."

As Aria looked around at the horses, trying to find one fit for their journey, she saw her father exit the barn with an old-looking horse, taking it by its reins and walking around the enclosure. He never walked too fast or roughly pulled it along, but instead was very gentle and patient with the beast.

"That's my uncle's old horse, Ma says." Leon commented, "I almost never see her out and about. Most days she never leaves the stable." On seeing the confused look she was giving him, he filled her in. "She never lets anyone approach her 'cept my Ma and your Pa. Learned that the hard way when I was growin' up. Got a horseshoe-shaped bruise on my chest when I tried to saddle her."

Aria winced, but then something nudged her right in the back. She stumbled forward and turned in surprise. With quiet that surprised Aria, a horse had snuck up behind her, its fur a patchwork of rich-red and white.

"Rhiannon!" Leon said in a mock-scold as he patted the horse's shoulders, "You sneaky so-and-so! You know you shouldn't sneak up on people like that, girl!" Aria's mild indignation seemed to show, for Leon shrugged. "Horses. They're like people, ya know? And last I checked, people love messin' with each other. Anyway," He cleared his throat and introduced, "Aria, meet Rhiannon. Rhiannon, meet Aria."

The horse nudged Aria's shoulder with her snout, as though impatiently making some kind of suggestion. Aria ran her hand up and down the mare's snout, enjoying the feeling of its short, soft fur beneath her hand. Rhiannon seemed to like it. She edged closer to get Aria to scratch higher parts of her snout, then for no real reason, snorted to give Aria a faceful of air. While Aria was quick to try and wipe her face, she was quicker still to laugh at the horse's antics.

"I think she likes ya, cousin." Leon commented, trying-and failing-not to laugh, "Reckon she might let you ride her if ya want."

"Really?" Aria asked, not even attempting to conceal her excitement.

"Sure. Stay right here and I can get her all saddled up for ya." He then jogged out of the corral and towards a nearby shack. Only a few minutes later, and he returned with all the necessary equipment-blanket, saddle, reins, stirrups, everything. A few minutes more and Rhiannon was all fitted, resembling many of the horses Aria had seen in the books she read.

"All right, then." Leon said once he had finished, "Now, have you ever gotten on a horse before?"

Aria opened her mouth to answer, then closed it as her gaze shifted to the side and warmth flooded her face. All her life, she wanted to ride atop the back of a majestic steed, but she didn't even know how to get on. She almost felt like a child.

"Hey," Leon said, bringing her back to the present, "It's never too late to learn something new. Now, let me show you how ya do it."

Walking Epona around the corral was a pleasant affair, and one Link had needed for years. It pleased him to see that the blind mare showed no weakness in her stride and that he did not need to goad her into a turn. She had walked this course to the point that she no longer needed her eyes to walk it.

He had reached the corral gate where Malon was waiting for him, a nostalgic smile on her face. Taking the rope on the bridle, she gently took Epona from Link and tethered her to the outer gate, where the blind mare set to grazing on a patch of fresh grass.

"It's been so long since I've seen the old girl so content." Malon commented, "Yesterday, she wouldn't so much as leave the stable."

"Seeing a friend can do that." Link half-explained, "Nice to know she still held on to some of her old strength, too."

Malon nodded in affirmation, then looked out at the corral and her smile grew to the point that Link could have sworn it almost split her cheeks. "I don't believe it." she said, "Your little girl's on Rhiannon of all horses!"

Link looked to see Aria atop a young horse whose fur was a patchwork of reddish-brown and white, Leon following at her side, showing her the basics of riding. She handled it pretty well until she tried going at a trot. Link could see her visibly bouncing on the saddle and trying hard to stay comfortably-seated.

"Rhiannon?" Link asked, "What? Is she a problem horse?"

"Oh, not at all." Malon assured him, "She's a friendly horse, even if she gets kind of frisky from time-to-time. I'm just thinking that this is the hand of fate at work here."

"How so?"

"Well, Aria is your daughter." Malon explained as Aria managed to stop Rhiannon to regain her balance and nerve, "But what she's riding is Epona's own kin. Her grandbaby, in fact."

Link looked to his old friend, still grazing, then back at the mare his daughter rode. On one hand, he felt sorry for not being there for his horse through hard times from supposed loss of rider to the birth of her new family. On the other, he felt a sense of pride-she had endured much without him, bore foals who grew up to have foals of their own, and had not lost much of her strength.

Link entered the corral and approached Rhiannon, who turned her great head to investigate as he drew near. From atop the horse's back, Aria also seemed curious as to how the two would get along. Gently, Link offered a hand to the mare, who sniffed it cautiously, then moved in closer to let him stroke her muzzle, eyes closing lazily as Link ran his hand up and down her head.

"We'll take her." Link said over his shoulder, "She should serve us well on our journey."

The next few hours consisted of helping Aria get used to riding on horseback. She managed to maintain her balance and stance on Rhiannon up to a canter. Even then, it proved a trying task and, on more than one occasion, she almost fell from the saddle. Wanting to test the horse for himself, Link managed to shoo his daughter out of the saddle. When Rhianna took off at a gallop around the corral, Aria was impressed. Having never seen him ride a horse in her life, she was taken aback at how good a rider her father was. It was as though he had done it his whole life.

Lessons ended when it started to get dark out. By that time, Epona and Rhiannon had been returned to the stables and Malon was shepherding them both indoors while Leon shut the gates. In her own words, Monsters roamed the land in low light and had tried to steal livestock in the past.

As they settled back into the cozy indoors of their house, Malon brought a bundle of items from upstairs. One had been a bag of food-assorted vegetables, dried meat strips, and cheese. The other had been two bundles of cloth. They turned out to be fresh clothes: a forest-green blouse for Aria and a sky-blue tunic for Link.

"I thought they'd do you better for the travels." Malon explained, "Your clothes are already starting to fall apart." Indeed. New clothing was a rare commodity for them, so Aria and her father had washed their clothes frequently and stitched any holes or tears that came up. "These cloaks should also help fight off the cold." She added, indicating a pair of pitch-dark capes topping off into hoods.

"Thank you, Malon." Link said, warmly, "I wish I could stay. I really do. But…"

"I know, Link." Malon finished for him, "Now get to bed, both of you. If you're leaving at first light, you'd better get to bed now."

Without another word, all of them set off to their respective rooms. Before Aria closed her door, however, she saw her father pause at the door, running his hand along the wooden threshold into the room. He seemed to be looking at it like some old friend that he was parting ways with again.

When he looked at Aria, he seemed to snap out of it and he slumped into his room. The instant the door slammed shut, Aria knew questions would never be answered. She flopped onto her bed and let herself drift off atop the soft mattress and feather pillow.