Author's Notes: WOW! You read it! And reviewed! I…I feel so loved! (Dances around strewing flower petals.) I vow to try my hardest to complete this story and to try to make it good! Kudos to all who read the prologue, and extra-special thanks to all who reviewed! Oh, this fic may contain spoilers later on, in case you're interested. I have no idea where this is going, and if it starts to look like romance, it is no guarantee that it will become one.
Disclaimer: Default Standard Disclaimers Apply. Don't own. Don't sue.
Chapter 1: Trespass
Link and Epona camped there that night. Link had just collapsed in exhaustion, leaving no hope of continuing that night. In the morning, Link woke up disoriented, and it took him a minute to realize where he was. The first thing he thought was that he definitely had to get Epona to the ranch tonight. The next was that they would be riding all night: he had slept late this morning. The last was that he had neglected to wash off the bloody tear tracks on his face. Well, that last was easily rectified. Pushing himself to his feet, Link strode past Epona, who woke with a soft whicker, and over to the pool. He knelt down, and stopped when he saw his reflection. Link gazed into the crystal surface of the water, and a stranger, who was by some strange occurrence himself, gazed back. The stranger looking back at Link had sun-gold hair that draped a child's face. Fair skin and a smooth complexion gave the owner of the face a perpetually innocent appearance. Vibrant blue eyes completed the picture. Link knew them…and yet, he did not. For one moment, as Link looked at his reflection, he saw two people. The boy he was, and the man he should have been.
Shaking himself out of his reverie, Link dipped his hands in the water and washed his face. The shock of the cold water was welcomed, but could not dispel the gloomy thoughts Link was feeling today. It had been a while since he had really thought of his first adventure, when he was introduced to time travel, the Triforce, and his destiny. He never forgot it, the battles, the temples, the Sages…and the way he knew, as an adult, that this was how he was meant to be. Link sighed as he scrubbed the scarlet streaks from his face. He didn't blame Zelda for sending him back. She had made a mistake with the whole "get the Triforce" thing, and had admitted it. But, in correcting that mistake, she had made another one by sending him back. Ever since then, he had felt…incomplete. A part of him still longed for the feeling of being an adult. That was why…
Link started as Epona bumped him with her muzzle. Smiling, Link turned away from his solemn contemplation and focused on the present. "Ready to go, Epona? I want to get to the ranch tonight." Epona snorted. "I'll take that as a yes." Eager to be moving again, Link climbed up on the pair started off. It took all day to reach the ranch, as Link had thought. The sun had been down for a few hours already by the time they got there. The place was closed up, both to keep outsiders out and the horses in, although trespassers and excapees rarely occurred. Normally, Link would have waited until morning to enter. Link didn't want to be seen, just to slip in, make sure Epona was comfortable, and slip back out.
It was easy to get in, and Epona, sensing her rider's tension, walked quietly, even though she didn't understand why he seemed so stressed. After all, this was home. There were no enemies here. It was a warm night, and Epona would be fine outside, Link thought. Dismounting, Link led Epona to the corral. He was almost there when the worst possible thing happened.
Link doubled over in pain as suddenly as he had the previous evening. He fell to the ground, gritting his teeth against any cry that tried to excape his throat. Epona reared, neighing as loudly as she could. There were friends nearby, and they could help her master. As Epona had hoped and Link had dreaded, lights came on in the house where Malon and her father, Talon, slept. The last thing Link saw before he lapsed into unconsciousness, were two shadowy figures racing towards him.