Chapter 4: An Unlikely Pair


"Zelda, wait!" Link ran in after Zelda, leaving Malon standing in the waiting room, alone. Sighing, she turned and walked out of the palace calmly, smiling at the guards who manned the drawbridge. They were the kindest and most mature of all the guards. It seemed to Malon that the farther away a guard stood from the castle, the more dangerous he was to her.

Malon was nearing the front gate when she remembered that Michael had closed it...but where was Michael? There was no sign of him now. Shuddering, Malon stepped cautiously toward the door in the stone wall, hoping Michael wasn't waiting inside to ambush her or something...she swung it open, and there was nothing except the ever-glowing torch.

That's when it hit her. He had probably run away, knowing what a high price he would have to pay for attempting to rape her and lying to Link. Prince Link, thought Malon bitterly, if he accepts Zelda's offer. Which doesn't seem too likely...

Malon began to pull herself up on the ladder when suddenly the door behind her opened and she was yanked brutally down. She whirled around and came face-to-face with...Michael? No, it wasn't him. He had green eyes, and whoever this was had deep brown ones.

"Um, can I help you?" asked Malon nervously, feeling uncomfortable in this tiny space so close to this unknown guard.

"What happened to Michael? Huh?" When she didn't say anything, the guard held up his spear threateningly. "Can you answer me, bitch? Where'd he go? He's gone! We know you told on him with your little friend Link, but Link isn't on the best of terms with Zelda right now, is he?" Malon stared in horror at the man. "How did you know?" The guard laughed maliciously. "We have our ways."

The guard grabbed Malon's beautiful red hair and yanked it as hard as he could, bringing Malon to the ground and causing tears to well up in her eyes. "This is gonna be great, wench. I'll get revenge for my brother and I won't even get in trouble for it because you don't know who I am!"

Gasping, Malon sputtered, "You just told me you're his brother!" And the man laughed cruelly.

"The palace people don't know that we're brothers, honey! So just come here..." The guard held Malon's wrists while he pulled her skirt up and, in almost the exact same way Michael had, removed his armor.

It was coming back...the feeling of helplessness, the dreadful fear, and then Malon was screaming for mercy as pain worse than she had ever known before exploded in her body. She felt as though she was being split in half...she was screaming, crying, begging the man to stop, but he didn't, and then....

It was over. Malon was lying on the ground in a crumpled ball, and Michael's brother laughed cruelly as she sobbed. Finally, Malon got up and started to crawl up the ladder, but the guard pulled her down again. "Where do you think you're going, wench?" Malon felt panicky as the man lifted her skirt up again...and then...

"The first time was for my brother, but this time it's just for me and you not bein' polite enough to ask if you can go home!" And then he lifted her up to him, and Malon wanted nothing more than to control this, to stop this....

"No..." He lifted her up farther... "Please...stop, no..." And this time Malon couldn't even scream, she felt so weak and helpless. And when it was finally, finally over, the man let her go, and said evilly, "NOW you may go home, you little whore."

Malon crawled up the ladder slowly, sobbing and thinking of all the horrible things that could happen now...what if...what if she got pregnant with this unknown man's baby? Malon walked home, tears streaming down her face, but no one seemed to notice her tears as she walked through Hyrule Castle Town and back home to the ranch.
~~~

"Go away..." Sighing, Link sat down next to Zelda and rubbed her back slowly, trying desperately to think of something he could say. They were getting nowhere.

"Zelda, it's not that I don't love you. I do love you! I love you a lot! It's just...well...first of all, I'm already engaged to someone, in a way." Zelda sat up abruptly and stared into Link's eyes.

"What?" she whispered, looking stricken.

"Yeah...it was an accident, really."

"An accident? How can something like getting engaged be an accident?!" Link sighed and told her about Ruto and the Zora's Sapphire, and how he was technically engaged to her. Zelda just laughed.

"But then you're not really engaged, Link, because you didn't know what it meant at the time!" Link sighed.

"Yeah, I know, but I still feel sort of responsible. And Zelda..." Link's voice trailed off. Then he said, "Look, I just don't feel ready for marriage. Not with you, not with anybody. I'm fifteen years old! And you're sixteen! I want some time to, I don't know, grow up! Have some adventures...um..."

Zelda smiled at him, looking amused. "You've had your fair share of adventures, Hero of Time." And then, more thoughtfully, she said, "You're not in love with me, are you, Link?"

Surprised, Link stared at her. "What are you talking about? I just said I love you!"

Zelda shook her head. "That's not what I meant. There's a difference. I love my father, for example, but I'm obviously not in love with him." And then she looked straight into Link's eyes in a way that made him feel she could read his mind. "Are you in love with me, Link?"

He stared back at her, unsure of what to say, and then, finally, he said, "Zelda, I don't know what I want. I don't know if I'm in love with anyone right now."

Surprised, Zelda said, "But what about Malon?"

Link shook his head. "I'm not in love with her any more than I'm in love with you." Then, realizing that sounded a little harsh, he added, "Zelda, I just think I'm too young to make a decision like this right now. Maybe in a few years..."

Zelda sighed. "You're right, Link. Maybe you are too young for this sort of thing. It must be an awfully hard decision with so many girls around you..."

Link realized with a start that Zelda was absolutely right. Images of Saria drifted through his mind. "You're the lucky one, Link." Malon, who was such a dear friend but who he had no interest in...Ruto, his accidental fiance...just thinking of her made him smile to himself. She may have been odd-looking to some people, being blue and all, but one of his best friends had green hair and he didn't mind. And Nabooru...she was absolutely gorgeous.

And Zelda...Link found himself staring into her eyes once again. She was so obviously so in love with him...it must have killed her to find that he didn't love her the same way. Sighing, Link stood up and said, "I'd better get going. I left Saria at Lon Lon Ranch and she's going to be really mad at me for leaving her behind!" Zelda nodded silently, and Link left, wondering what he should do.
~~~

Malon sat in a ball in one of the empty stalls in the stable, sobbing hysterically. For the first time in her life she was glad her father was asleep and not awake to see her tears. She wondered when Link would be back. It would have taken some time for him to soothe Zelda, but then, what had just happened to her must have taken some time too...

The stable door opened and Malon immediately stopped sobbing, trying to be as quiet as possible in case it was her father.

"Malon? I'm back! Where are you?" It was Link! Malon stood up and ran over to him and threw her arms around him, tears forming in her eyes again. When she finally pulled away, Link stared at her, surprised, and said, "Malon? What's the matter?"

And Malon told him, in hysteric fragments, all that had happened to her. By the time she was done the two of them were sitting on the floor of the stable, and Link looked once again as though he could kill. But then his face softened and he held Malon silently and whispered, "It's going to be okay" over and over again until Malon had stopped crying and was just sitting there, numb.

Finally, she spoke. "Link," she said, avoiding his eyes, "I just...I didn't want my first time to be like that...I wanted to stay a virgin until I was married..."

And Link put his fingers deftly under her chin and whispered, "Malon, you're still a virgin."

She looked up, her large eyes looking at him hopefully, and said, "What?"

Link, no longer whispering but still very quiet, said, "Well, you are. You didn't want any of that to happen, so...to me, you're still a virgin."

His words echoed in her mind. "To me, you're still a virgin..." And then she turned and looked straight into his eyes and said, "Link, I know I'm nothing special. I'm not a princess, or a Sage, or...I'm just an ordinary farm girl with a lazy father." She paused, not knowing what to say next, and then, "And...I know you don't love me, but, I love you so much, and I...I..."

But her words were drowned out as Link leaned forward and put his lips over hers, silencing her. Surprised, she froze and didn't move until she realized that Link was kissing her, and then she was kissing him back.

And then he was unbuttoning her cotton blouse and pulling off his tunic and pushing her skirt aside and it was all a bit fast but she didn't complain...and then there was nothing but him and her, together as one, in a constant rhythm, and this time, thank the Goddess, it didn't hurt at all...

Neither Link or Malon noticed the flicker of green light that seemed to be humming as though it were mad...
~~~

"Brandon, wake up! Wake up, will you? It's almost time to go to on our picnic!" Ruto smiled to herself as she gently nudged Brandon. The poor thing was going to be so confused when he regained consciousness...when Ruto had transformed him into a light molecule, he had been knocked out by the time she materialized him again, and she had quickly carried him to the area where he always sleep. Hopefully he would believe her when she said it was all a dream...

"Ruto?" Brandon mumbled sleepily, opening his eyes. He stared at her for a moment before a look of bewilderment came over his entire face. "Wait! We already went on the picnic! We were swimming in the water and then you came out of the rock and then we were going really, really, fast..."

Ruto smiled at Brandon. "Brandon, what are you talking about?" Then she grinned even wider. "Brandon, you probably just had a really weird dream or something. Don't worry about it! Now let's get going!" Shaking his head, Brandon got up and followed Ruto, completely in shock. The dream had felt so real...

But soon they were at Lake Hylia, lying in the sun together, and then Brandon frowned and said, "Oh, darn it, I forgot the fish! And he was just about to dive into the water to go to Zora's Domain when Ruto put out a hand and said, "Brandon, don't bother. We can go fishing at that fisherguy's place if you want. I've never done it before, and it looks like it'd be fun."

Brandon nodded, smiling, and was just about to start swimming toward the "fisherguy's place" when he was struck by a sudden thought....

"Ruto," he said, turning around slowly in the water, "how did you know I wanted us to have a picnic here?" Ruto smiled, but was it just Brandon's imagination or did she look a little nervous?

"Brandon, you told me yesterday that we were going to have a picnic." Brandon nodded, but then he frowned and said, "No I didn't. I just invited you to come swimming with me."

Sighing, Ruto said, "Well, when you were dreaming you said something about a picnic, remember? You said something like, 'We already went on the picnic!' or something like that."

"But I only said that because you said, 'Brandon, it's almost time to on our picnic!'..." Brandon frowned even more deeply and furrowed his brow, trying to remember.

Out of desperation, Ruto said, "I just knew, okay? Remember how I told you I'm a Sage and all?"

"Yes..."

"Well, one of my abilities is to read people's minds. So I knew you wanted to go on a picnic."

"Oh, now I get it. And you didn't want me to know...don't worry, Ruto, I won't tell anyone. You can trust me."

Ruto smiled at Brandon. "I know I can."

There was a long pause, and then Brandon said, suddenly panicky, "Ruto, do you always read my mind? Like, do you know what I'm thinking right now?"

Ruto grinned at Brandon. "Don't worry! I don't read people's minds all that often because I think it's rude to invade people's privacy." Sighing, she sat back and tried to relax. She couldn't really read minds; Impa and Nabooru, the Sages of Shadow and Spirit (though Ruto had always thought of them as Sages of Death and Life), were the only two who had that ability. And Zelda, who had a little bit of each person's ability as the leader of them all.

"So, you wanna go fishing?" Ruto asked, smiling.

"Oh yeah! Race you to the fishing house!" And Brandon began to swim rapidly toward the fisherman's fishing place.

"Hey, no fair! You got a head start!" But Ruto dove into the water anyway and attempted to catch up with Brian. Then, without really thinking about it, she turned into a blue light molecule that blended in with the water and caught herself up with Brandon so that she was right behind him, then swam as fast as she could.

"I won!" Ruto grinned triumphantly at Brandon, then started to run into the fisherman's house when Brandon tackled her to the ground.

"That's not fair! You're a Sage! The Sage of Water! You can probably swim extra fast as another one of your abilities or something..." Brandon smiled at Ruto and ran into the fishing house, yelling triumphantly, "I won! I won! I said it was a race to the fishing house, not just the grass around it!" And then there was a muffled yell from inside that didn't sound anything like Brandon's voice, and a loud gunshot, and then...silence.

Panicking, Ruto yelled, "Brandon? Brandon!" She ran desperately into the fishing house and screamed at the sight she saw.

Brandon was lying on the ground in a pool of blue blood (Zoras have blue blood), a single bullet through his middle. And there, pointing a gun at Ruto, was the fishing man. He shook his fist at her warningly.

"I've seen you people out in the water before! You just stay away from me, or I'll shoot! I don't know what you are, but you're freaks of nature! You're half fish and half human and half God knows what! Just get out of here or I'll kill you!"

That's when Ruto realized that there wasn't another bullet in the man's gun, or else he would have shot her by now like he did Brandon.

"I'm not going to hurt you," she said, putting a hand up calmly. The man was still visibly shaking, and he didn't lower his gun.

"I'm just going to take my friend here and then I'll get out of your shop..." Ruto bent down and tried to check Brandon's pulse, but she couldn't find one. Panicked, she touched Brandon's arm and turned him and her into a light molecule.

She could hear another yell from the fisherman as she whisked Brandon away...
~~~

Nabooru lay in her hidden temple sanctuary, buried under a mountain of silk blankets and pillows. Turning over, she noticed Michael, still asleep, and grinned to herself. He had been very experienced, very experienced indeed...Nabooru was pleased.

She turned to the entrance to her temple and walked outside slowly, enjoying the morning sun. Her journey to town to find a man had been easier than she would have expected so early in the day, but then, guards were on duty day and night.

She lay down in the soft desert sands in her light silken clothes, enjoying the sensation of being one with the earth. But then, she would love feeling like she would was a part of everything...she was the Sage of Spirit, was she not?

A sudden noise behind her made Nabooru whirl around, but it was just Michael, wearing all of his armor. Nabooru chuckled.

"Really, Michael, there's no need to wear those heavy garments," said Nabooru, tossing her thick hair. "I would think you'd know by now that I prefer being able to actually see your face."

Michael tried to smile, but he was too amazed. He still couldn't believe his good fortune. He had been panicking less than an hour ago about being executed or fired or something to that effect, and then along comes this stunning young woman telling him she wants him to come back to her house with her...

There had to be a catch. There almost always was. And as though she had read his mind, Nabooru said, "There's no catch, Michael. I'm a Sage; I have no interest in doing anything to harm you or get you in trouble."

Under his breath, Michael muttered, "You're certainly interested in other things..."

Nabooru said, "I'll pretend I didn't hear that." Then she smiled at Michael again, and it was the most wonderful smile he had ever seen. "Michael, I don't want to argue with you. Let's just have some fun, all right? I want you to enjoy yourself."

Sighing, Michael sat down next to Nabooru. He just couldn't help but feel there was some kind of catch...
~~~

"Yes, Your Majesty. It seems that the Hero of Time has turned down the Princess's offer of marriage."

"It wasn't meant to be an offer! I can't believe Zelda actually made it into one! I don't care whether or not the Hero of Time wants to marry her! He'd be the best king for this country and that's all that matters to me!"

"The Princess thought that Lin-sorry, the Hero of Time would say yes."

"Yes, obviously...there must be something we can do, Impa. I'm not getting any younger, and if I died tomorrow, the next King would be my head attendant, would it not?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The King sighed. He couldn't stop thinking of the Head Priestess's prophecy... "If the Hero of Time does not become King, Hyrule will become a horrible thing."...

But then, the Head Priestess had been wrong before. The King's only question was, what if she wasn't this time?
~~~



Next Chapter: Saria gets pissed (and I mean REALLY PISSED); Malon's all happy but Link doesn't know what he was thinking; we find out whether Brandon's dead or alive (this actually plays a big part in the story later on, believe it or not); Nabooru gets mad at Michael; Zelda prays to the Goddesses about Link.

Hee hee hee, I love how this is all one big soap opera with all the different points of views and story lines...
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[ Click here to report possible abuse to staff ] 1. A Knock at the Door2. Seductress3. A Long Way to Town4. An Unlikely Pair5. Wanted, Dead or Alive6. Betrayal7. A Meeting of the Sages8. A Not-So-Secret Engagement9. A Birth and a Death10. Just by Chance