Both Kaepora and Malon were speechless after that.What were they to say after that?After all that had happened.To say it was awkward,was a tad bit of an understatement.Not a word was released from Malon's mouth,and not a whisper was sent from Kaepora's beak.Just a pause,just a pause.They had nothing to say,no sentances,no paragraphs,no words for what had happened through the course of last night.And then,one of them decided to break the silence.
"Your......your the same owl I helped last night aren't you",Malon asked trying to spark a conversation."Um oh uh,yes young lady",Kaepora responded,breaking from his train of silence."And might I add you are very kind.I can see why everyone in the Castle Town and Kakariko say your the nicest girl in Hyrule",Kaepora added as Malon gave off a quick blush."Um excuse me if this sounds a tad rude Mr.Kaepora but um........your a um.....talking owl.Why,or should I say,how is that"?Malon asked,finally getting the question that had plagued her mind all morning off of her chest."Hmm,it's a long story.But well,since you asked.....",Kaepora began.
"As you may have already guessed,I am no ordinary bird",Kaepora started."For I am what some call a spirit guide,however i'm not quite an ordinary case.You see,spirit guides are usually restricted to the land of the dead,and am only able to communicate with their assignments through extremely vague dreams and telepathy.Extremely vague",Kaepora stressed."But,I am what they call a special case spirit guide.A special case is usually a guide assigned to special people,people tied to the destiny or fate of our universe.Now,in these special cases,curtain rules that apply to regular spirit guides are discarded and are sometimes dismissed altogether.And sometimes some new rules are also applied.That is what being a spirit guide for a special case is all about",Kaepora said.
"One of the most common broken rules about us special cases is that we can,and usually must,reside in the physical realm.This allows us to have more direct and face-to-face contact with our assignments.That way,if something large is at stake,or if a paramount emergency occurs,the spirit guide will no longer be constricted and will actually be able to help.And help my assignment is exactly what I am set out to do",Kaepora finished.Malon quickly stood up,and took a breather after listening to the long explanation.Although she was extremely interested in the owl's story,she couldn't help but feel a bit relieved that he was done.
"Well Mr.Kaepora,if your a special case spirit guide,whom is your........assignment"?Malon asked curiously."Heh,heh,I believe he's someone you know very well Malon.Very well indeed",Kaepora replied,seeing the girl almost giggle in the ironic twist just delivered to her."Fairy boy",Malon said quietly,as the pieces quickly scattered together through her head."So your Link's..........spirit guide"?Malon asked,still bewildered by the paranormal-esque material Kaepora had told her earlier."Oh yes,i've known that young lad since he first left his home in Kokiri Village to set of on his journey.The same journey that gave him the title of Hero of Time.The same journey that had made him a man.The same journey that had saved Hyrule from a miserable fate",Kaepora said proudly,as if he were talking about one of his own offspring.
"Okay,that makes sence",Malon replied."Oh but there's one more question I have to ask you Mr.Kaepora.How did you get injured"?Malon asked,now refocusing on the owl's wounded wing and his bruises."Hmph,well you see,on my way to the castle,I spotted a frog smack in the middle of Hyrule Field.Now,remember that frogs are only spotted on Lake Hylia and Zora's River.I was obviously confused by this,and decided to get a better view of both locations.However,I was very far from both of those places,and either of them would have been a two day trip.Needless to say I hadn't the time for that,so I decided that if I were to fly high enough I would be able to view all of Hyrule,including both of my target locations",Kaepora said.
"However,when I got about halfway up,I was caught off guard when a large blizzard erupted in the clouds.I suppose I was hit by some of the soccer ball sized hail,but at the moment I was too focused on my observational task to really notice the pain.When I made my decent,I luckily landed on your rooftop Malon.It's then that I took note of my injuries,and well.You know the rest of the story",Kaepora finished.
"Oh,that's too bad",Malon replied sympotheticly."So that's why you have all of those bruises",Malon said."Yes,yes I suppose it is.Well Malon,it's been really nice meeting you but....",Kaepora was quickly interupted."Excuse me Mr.Kaepora,but you can't leave yet",Malon said."Listen,Malon.I appreciate your concern,but I have some urgent matters to attend to",Kaepora was once again interupted,only this time Malon looked a bit more stern."Look,i'm sorry Kaepora but i'm not letting you leave until you've properly healed.If you try and fly to Hyrule Castle now you'd probley arrowhead into the ground about one fourth the way there",Malon said,alot more sternly than before.
"(sigh)I suppose your right Malon.However,as soon as my injuries pose no threat I must leave.As i've said it's a matter of extreme importance",Kaepora replied,loosening up Malon a bit."Okay then.Well we better get going back to my house now,that was a long night",Malon said as she started exiting from the cellar.Kaepora followed close behind her.
"Excuse me Malon,but can I ask you a question"?Kaepora asked."Sure,go ahead",Malon replied."You are the solitary owner of this ranch,correct"?Kaepora asked as he planted himself on Malon's shoulder.That caused her to tumble a bit,but she quickly regained her balance."Why yes Kaepora,I own this ranch.Why do you ask"?Malon said curiously."Well,I was thinking.If Ingo is such a prude jerk then why don't you fire him"?Kaepora asked.Malon paused in mid-stride.Her face turned from a cheery morning like mood to a stone-like frown.It was really taking her a long while to think of a answer."Well um,I suppose um.Oh,well even though he is the creep of creeps he does have a strong work ethic.He works very hard,even in the days where he had owned the ranch",Malon replied in a fakeish kind of defensive manner.
"Malon,Mr.Ingo I believe is getting to be quite old.He's already fourty-eight,and i'm pretty sure that there are young men and women in both Kakariko and the Castle Town that could be doing twice the work as him",Kaepora said.Malon once again paused,but this time with a look of confusitory sadness on her face."I....I really don't want to talk about this anymore Kaepora",Malon replied,now looking a bit more rickety and flinchy than before."If only Mr.Kaepora knew",Malon thought,"About............my father".
~~Ten Years Earlier~~
Malon scampered through the upstairs hallway,carrying a tray of tea and cookies to her father's bedside.She was very nervous,and scared,and worried about her father Talon.About two weeks ago,her father had become very ill.She found out only when Talon had passed out in the middle of work one day."Dawmit father"!Malon thought out loud."If only you weren't such a workaholic,maybe you wouldn't have gotten so gravely sick".It was true,he had got it two weeks ago,and had worked for two days without telling Malon anything about it.But then,his fatigue caught up to him.
A doctor from Hyrule Castle Town had visited the day after the incident,and what they found out devastated both Malon and her father.Talon had Vunn Brachison Cancer.It was a disease discovered by a scientist named Vunn Brachison only about fifty years ago.The deadly thing about the cancer is that it would start almost out of nowhere,without any warning signs or preliminary effects.It would just begin,totally out of thin air.Another deadly thing is that it was an extremely fast acting disease.Anybody to catch the deadly virus would usually die within days,weeks if they were lucky.People with vulnerabilities to the disease were usually workaholics with labor characteristic jobs,like farmers.The disease was thought to be dead about fifteen years ago,until about two months ago a knight of the famous "Zelda Warrior Squadron" was killed by it.
Now Malon's father had been forsaken with the disease.Malon's father,who had comforted her when her mother had died when she was five.Malon's father,who had raised her as a single parent all of those years.Malon's father,who had protected her from everything he could.He was going to die,within hours.All Malon could do was be with him when he passed on.To know that she had been there when her father ascended to the heavens.To see with her own eyes her father's final moments.
Malon quickly wiped the tears from her brow and opened the door to her father's room.He truly looked sick,sicker than she had ever seen anything.Since yesterday,when he entered the final stages of the cancer,terrible things were happening to his body that no one should go through.He was as white as snow,and bags of skin drooped from his eyes as if he had been awake for days.He had been vomitting for what seemed like every five minutes earlier that day,but the barfing problems had seemed to stop about two hours ago.Worst of all,as the countdown to his death become lower and lower,a terrible stench started immeting from his body that just became worse and worse.Never had Malon seen anyone so sick,but now she was seeing it,and it was her beloved father Talon.
She went to her father's side and placed the tea tray gently on the cupboard next to Talon's bed.Talon slowly noticed the presence of his daughter and turned over to see her hunched over,worriedly,with a tray of tea and crackers beside her."Than.....thank you Malon(cough)",Talon said weakily as he shakily reached over for the cup containing his favorite kind of tea."Malon(cough)why don't........you stay here.......with me(cough)",Talon said as he took a tiny sip of the watery liquid.
"Malon,my dear daughter",Talon began."I've raised you to be such a fine young woman.You are,and always have been the sunshine of my life",Talon said.Tears began dripping down Malon's cheek during Talon's pause,and she was only a few seconds away from all out sobbing.She held back though,to hear her father,for perhaps the last time."The months I spent away from you,my beloved daughter,were some of the worst of my life.When that honorable Link fellow told me that I could come back to the ranch,I was beyond overjoyed.There's really no way to explain how I felt when I heard that happy news",Talon paused.He looked at Malon and smiled.He then continued.
"You know,I always thought you should have married that nice young man",said Talon.Malon let off a fake chuckle before returning to her father's words."You are the reason I got out of bed anymore after your mother died.If it weren't for you,I just don't think I could of bared her death.You(cough)............gave me something to live for Malon",Talon concluded.Malon looked at her dying father,watching as the last bits of energy from him was being drained away by the vile cancer.Then,all of a sudden,Talon started into an intense coughing fit.A few strands of vomit flew out of his mouth and hit the floor and his face grew even more pale than before.Then,he slammed back down onto his pillow,and closed his eyes.....
"Father!Father!Please......come back",Malon cried as she smacked a light tap onto Talon's chest.Then,his mouth slowly went open."I......love you Malon.I.....I am about to.......to go",Talon struggled to say as his time grew thin."No!Please don't go father!You can fight it!You can fight the cancer",Malon shreiked as the tears poured out of her eyes like a leaky faucet."I'm sorry Malon............but my time is up.I love you...........goodbye.........my daughter",Talon finished as the final trickle of life inside him sapped away,like a child drinking the last drops of milk through a straw."Goodbye.......father",Malon replied as she wiped the oncoming tears from her eyes.Her father was gone,never to be seen again alive.He was......dead.
~~One Week Later~~
Malon was still devastated from her father's death,and had been in a terrible depression since the tradgedy.She would just lie there in bed and stare at the cieling.She cried for hours and hours on end,and sleeped only about two hours through the whole week.Ingo occasionaly would come into her room with food and water,and would usually tell her to quote en quote,"Shut the hell up and quit crying".Although on the surface that would seem cold hearted and mean,anger and grumpiness was Ingo's way of dealing with grief.He too did miss Talon to some extent.However,Malon would have to get out of bed very soon,weither she liked it or not.
"Hey Malon,get your ass out of bed"!Yelled a groggy Ingo."Today's the day",Ingo finished.Malon slowly lurched up,wiping the tears from her neck that had come from her most recent crying fit.Slowly she got up and into her slippers."That greedy bastard",Malon whispered as she crept over the door.It was true,for this was the day Ingo had set for him and Malon to look at Talon's last will and testament.He was only too ancious to see what goodies Talon might have left him."I hope he dosen't get jack shit",Malon once again whispered as she exited into the hallway.
"You know I heard that you witch",Ingo said disgustedly."I'll let it slide cause your upset,but don't ever say anything like that about me again".Malon let off one last tear before she replied,"Yes Ingo".The grumpy man let off a smile before saying ,"Okay then,let's go check out your dad's will",Ingo said before almost skipping down the rest of the hallway.Malon could only be violently disgusted at the inconciterate man as she unhappily walked downstairs to her father's last written document.
She got into the kitchen only to see that Ingo was already eying the papers.When she got to the table,Ingo could only acknowledge her presence with an impatient grunt."So your finally here huh?I thought this day would never come",Ingo squeled as if he were a small boy getting a birthday present.Malon let off one last tear before walking up to the table and begun the examination of her father's last will and testament.
Malon saw that Ingo had already skipped all of the pages up to the "And to Ingo" section.Malon felt like punching him in the face,but if the tides of fate marched against her Ingo might end up the owner of the ranch.She prayed to the goddesses that her father did not give the ranch to Ingo.Anyone else in the world but Ingo."Okay let's get this over with.I'll flip it to your part of the will",Ingo said as he turned several pages forward.
Malon sat down in one of the chair and took her reading glasses out of her pocket.She then started to read."And to Malon,my loving daughter.I give all of undying love to you.For you were the best thing that ever happened to me Malon.The amount of earthly possesions I can leave you is limited,for I lived a very simple life.I did not live the life of the rich,but of the life of a farmer.A simplistic non-materialistic farmer.However,I will leave you my most personal possesions that bear with it a large emotional significance.In the event of my death,I leave you my father's amulet.It is a familly heirloom,of great sentimental value,which I know leave to you".
"I leave you all of the dishes and silverware I own,as well as cabinents,shelves,and furniture.I also leave you with three fourths of the money in my bank account.Now lastly,but certainly not least.I leave you the deed to Lon Lon Ranch".Malon almost jumped up in shock.What she thought was most definitely left to Ingo was being left to her,and in turn she was now the greedy bastard's boss.She was..........Ingo's boss.She almost let off a somewhat evil chuckle,as she looked over at Ingo with a devilish grin."Payback time",she almost thought.The first thing she was going to do after reading the rest of the will was fire that idiout to kingdom come and find someone from either Kakariko or Castle Town to take his place.
"What the hell or you so happy about you wench"?Ingo asked grossly."Oh,is that any way to talk to your boss Ingo"?Malon asked cockily."Boss"?Ingo asked,now with a terrified look on his face.Slowly,he looked down at Malon's page of the will.He scanned through it,for anything that would verify what Malon had just told him.He then stood back up in terror. "It's true.The ranch......it does belong to the wench"! Ingo thought.
"Ingo,your f......",but before she could finish Ingo had already let off a panicy statement."Wait!Wait!We haven't looked at my part of the will yet",Ingo said as he franticly started looking for his page.When he started reading it,he quickly scanned through it for anything about him and the ranch."One fourth of the bank acount..................half of the farming equipment.........and,oh.Heh,heh,heh".Ingo stood up once again,only this time he was dealing the devilish grin."Read it and weap bitch",Ingo said.Quickly Malon started reading the last sentances of Ingo's page.
"......and Ingo for your years of loyal service I give you............permission to live at the ranch.............till the day you expire",Malon read,as all of the excitement of owning the ranch flowed out of her,like a waterfall on a stormy day.The only thing she wanted to do,and had to do with her power,was now out of her grasp.The vile Ingo's role in her life was now far from over,and she would have put up with him for who knows how many more years.
~~Present Day~~
"Excuse me young lady,but are you alright"?Kaepora asked as Malon grappled back from her memories."Oh um,yes Kaepora.I guess I just.............spaced out for a minute there",Malon replied as she quickly picked herself up and started heading twords her house."So when do you think i'll be able to head out for the castle",Kaepora asked,as if trying to change the subject."I would probley give you at least a week before you can go out again",Malon replied."A week!Oh(sigh),very well",Kaepora said.
Kaepora,who was hovering a bit over Malon's head,flew downward and perched onto the young woman's shoulder.It wasn't as hard as earlier so he caused the young woman no disturbance.The awkwardness that had completely engulfed them earlier seemed to all but dissapear.The reincarnated sage now found no problem in conversating with the farm girl,even after breaking one of the rules of a special case spirit guide."Divine Law Nayru 14:10 .The special spirit guide may not reveal themselves or their powers to anyone,with the exception of their special case or those who closely tie to the special case's destiny".
The ranch was exceptionally beautiful that morning ,even with the abundant creepiness that filtered through the land.The horses prodded around freely in their pen,grazing around in the reletively small area like a glorious open field.The chickens clucked around close in their pen,flapping around their fluffy feathery wings to keep themselves occupied.The cows trodded around the grassy plain,hunting for a good spot to stop and feed off the basic foilage that covered the field.All seemed peaceful at Lon Lon Ranch that morning ,almost like it was the last time that it would have peace for a long time.
Malon opened her door to find a very hungover Ingo with his head bopped on the kitchen table.Not suprising to her,as she had seen Ingo like this many,many mornings,but she saw that Kaepora was a bit nervous about it."Don't worry,he just has a hangover.He couldn't hurt a fly in his state",Malon said,comforting the wise owl a little bit."You can go ahead and sit....errrrrrrrrrrrr....perch at the table.I'll get you some food in a jiffy".
Kaepora flapped off of Malon's shoulder and perched his talons on the top of one of the kitchen chairs.At his angle,the hungover Ingo was straight in front of his.His eyes were droopy and bloodshot,and cold sweat beaded from his forehead.Kaepora had sometimes seen people in this kind of condition after huge parties in Kakariko and Castle Town,in which they had gotten extremely drunk and the next morning were as sick as dogs.Kaepora even felt a bit sorry for the brute,for his pulsing migraine,his nausea,and his weakly state.That was until Kaepora remembered the night before.
"Breakfast's ready Kaepora"!Shouted Malon from the stove.Kaepora turned his head to Malon who was bringing two plates to the kitchen table.She placed both of the platters on the table and sat down in the red chair next to Kaepora's."Oh um,i'm sorry I couldn't find you anything better Kaepora,but this is the only food I could find for your curtain,ahem,criteria",Malon apologized.Kaepora looked down to his plate and found a large pile of bird seed clustered on the platter."(laugh)Oh that's quite alright Malon,I quite enjoy chicken feed actually.But what about Ingo,dosen't he want any food"? Malon looked over to Ingo,who had just seeped a couple of trickles of vomit from his mouth."I don't really think he wants to eat anything right now Kaepora",Malon replied.
~~Later that Day~~
Kaepora was very tired.Being a nocturnal animal,he was very sleepy from staying up all day.It was now only about four hours till dusk,and the two hour nap he had taken earlier that morning just wasn't enough.He looked around for anything he could perch on that would be suitable for sleep.Somewhere that was uniluminated and quiet.That's when he thought of Malon's room,her closet to be exact.So,with all his remaining strength,he flew up to her upstairs-bedroom,went in,and slipped into her dark closet.
The bird,the wing,
the song shall sing
Of the tale of the one,
far beyond the sun
"What the Din was that"?Kaepora thought,still with his eyes shut tight."It sounds very haunting,soothing yet creepy at the same time",Kaepora added.
The bird,the wing,
the song shall sing
Of the tale of the one,
far beyond the sun
"That sounded a bit louder that time",Kaepora thought."I better check out what's going on".Kaepora then opened his eyes only to see the strange situation he was in.He was purched on a very wierd and menacing looking tree branch,and below him were eerie purple clouds,that appeared to be the ground it was so dense.The sky was the darkest shade of black,devoid of any stars or a moon.The only light in this place was the strange glow coming from the cloudy mist below him.Then he spotted a figure off in the distance.
The bird,the wing,
the song shall sing
Of the tale of the one,
far beyond the sun
"So your the one rattling that creepy poem"? Kaepora asked.There was no responce from the figure,only eerie silence.The figure then vanished,and instantaniously reappeared about fifty feet closer.Kaepora could now make out the physical features of the figure.He(or she)appeared to be a large Garo,perhaps a Master Garo.It wore a white cloak,with splotches of grey all over it.It's eyes were different from most Garos too.While most Garo's had small beady white eyes,his were two small upsidedown triangles that were glittery and shiny.
The bird,the wing,
the song shall sing
Of the tale of the one,
far beyond the sun
The Garo once again vanished and reappeared about fifty feet closer.Kaepora was starting to feel a bit scared.This whole dream he was in,it was just so cryptic and spooky.Chills shivered up Kaepora's spine,and he started to lightly tremeble."I....if you do not tell me who y....you are I will b..be forced to.....to.....do something",Kaepora barely stuttered out.There was still no responce from the mysterious Garo.
The bird,the wing,
the song shall sing
Of the tale of the one,
far beyond the sun
Finally,within an instant,the Garo was right in front of Kaepora's face.The owl tried to fly away and escape,but some wierd force was keeping him utterly restrained to the tree branch.He couldn't move.
THE BIRD,THE WING,
THE SONG SHALL SING
OF THE TALE OF THE ONE,
FAR BEYOND THE SUN
Kaepora then awoke,with a look of pure horror on his face."What a dreadful dream",Kaepora thought."And that strange poem?Whatever does it mean?The bird?The song?The once beyond the sun?What is that about"?Kaepora wondered.He shook his head and looked around,it appeared to be dusk,and the sun had just buried itself under the horizon."Hmph,well seems as though I have to get up now",Kaepora said to himself.
~~The Next Morning~~
"Ahhhhh,the sweet taste of cricket",Kaepora thought to himself as he chomped on an unusually large insect."Hmm,it appears as though dawn draws near",Kaepora added as he saw the sky grow lighter and a few trickles of the sun sprout from the horizon.It wasn't beautiful like the last morning though,as the skies were full of clouds and mist.As Kaepora took a closer examination of the horizon he saw that the clouds truly did totally dismiss any chances of clear sky.As a matter of fact,it almost seemed as if as soon as the sun would fully rise,it would be blocked out by the gray nimbus.
"Hmm,strange.It seems as if the clouds are trying to block out the sun.Almost like they're being.........controlled",Kaepora."Oh I shouldn't be so ridiculous.It's just a coincidence",Kaepora said outloud.He then realized once again what time it was.Almost dawn,and he had to get back to bed.He was very tired,mostly from the fact of his handicap and how he had to walk around on the ground with his talons.Very hard to do,and very strenious on his legs as well.His body was made to fly,not walk.Also,Kaepora noticed that it was probley going to rain.He'd have to find a sleeping spot that was sheltered.That's when he noticed a large tree with a hollow crevice in it.It was a bit small,but it would do.So Kaepora slowly trodded to it,crawled inside,and slowly drifted to sleep.