Malon's
Journal
23rd Day of Din's Second Month
Obligatory Disclaimer: Nintendo
owns all of the characters; I only owe this fic.
Author's Notes: Mille grazie for the reviews,
guys! ^_^ Here's chapter 3. Took me a
while to get this written out; it was like pulling teeth. Hope I did well.
Please let me know what you think.
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23rd day of Din's
Second Month; 1:51 pm.
Hello, journal.
The rumors of The Great Impa are true. I can now affirm them. She's tall and athletic; she possesses this silent and serious aura that is so arresting, one cannot help but feel intimidated beneath her red-eyed stare. However, after spending just a little over two hours with her, I discovered she's not that bad (even if she didn't smile once). Well, I didn't spend them with her, per se… I just gave her a tour of the ranch and gave her information on the horses or whatever else she asked of me.
Dad and Mr. Ingo were also there but they were quite nervous before the Sheikah of Kakariko. They stammered and chuckled nervously amongst themselves. Ingo even tripped once! Hah! Me? I was seemingly calm. Because of that, Impa decided it best that I gave her the tour of Lon Lon Ranch.
Not only that, Link recommended me.
Yes, he was there too. Remember when I mentioned it yesterday?
Anyway, we were traipsing about the corral in the center of the ranch, looking at all of the horses, trying to decide on the perfect one to add to the Royal Family's collection. Impa had made some offhanded comment about there being many fine horses here and how well they were being raised and treated. I was so honored!
Link smiled and added his two rupees. "When it comes to horses, no one in Hyrule knows more about them than Malon here."
"Is that so? Then I'll highly value Miss Malon's opinion. I'm sure that whatever she picks will be perfect for her Royal Highness," Impa said.
I'm sure that my face turned about as red as my hair. I know that it felt as hot as the sun currently lingering up in the sky, that's for sure. I humbly bowed my head and uttered sincere words of thanks to the silver-haired woman. I stole a quick glance to Link. When I did, he smirked and winked at me. I blushed again but I didn't smile. Memories of yesterday came flooding back and I suddenly felt incredibly shy around him. I averted my gaze and stared down at my muddy brown boots.
I felt his gaze leave me. I couldn't help but wonder how he looked. Was he still smiling? Was he frowning? Was he pensive? I couldn't tell…
Impa pointed out she liked a horse Dad called Opal because of his rich, dark chocolate skin. Though I love all of the horses on this ranch very much and I hate to see them go, I had to come to terms with reality and agree with Impa. Opal was perfect---well, second to Epona, of course. He was just the type of horse suitable for the Royal Family: tall, strong, swift, and full of stamina. He was also very tame, unlike Epona. Only Link and I could tame her.
Link…
While the preparations to have Opal transported to the stables at the Castle were being made between the three elder folk (Impa, Ingo, and Dad), I noticed Link was off in the corral with Epona. I watched him mount her and trot around the pen like a professional. Often, he'd stop and whisper some soothing things to her. He'd pet her and stroke her beautiful mane gently. In return, she'd nuzzle his hand.
It was the perfect scene…
And I realized I was staring at him again!
Like before, Link noticed me and smiled. His sapphire eyes glistened as he spoke. "Hey Mal', wanna go for a ride?" He patted the space on Epona's back behind him.
It was then I pictured myself wearing some outlandish but gorgeous gown, the kind only Princess Zelda herself would wear. Link was in his usual garb. My arms were wound tightly about his thin waist and we were riding into the sunset over Lake Hylia's shore…
Journal, am I going insane?
I think I am because I never ever thought I'd see my friend Link in that light. No pun intended.
I couldn't face him after thinking of him like that. I blurted out an apology and ran here, to my room. I didn't look back.
Because if I did, I'm sure I would have seen the look on his face. And that, dear Journal, was what I feared the most.
' Malon
23rd day of Din's
Second Month; 2:39 pm.
Second entry for today…
Ever since I ran away from Link after he had asked me for the ride, a sense of guilt has been eating away at my stomach from the inside out. I should have been more courteous toward him---or, at the very least, told him that I wasn't interested because I had something else to do. But nooooo… I had to run away.
Hmph. Well, I'm going to patch things up with him by apologizing to him and telling him part of why I was behaving that way. Link would understand. He's indulgent like that.
Okay, wish me luck! [picture of a four-leaf clover]
' Malon
23rd day of Din's
Second Month; 4:56 pm.
…
I tried my very best but even
still, that wasn't enough.
I tried to talk to Link but I couldn't.
It wasn't because I stalled because of a fear of rejection, or that some other emotion of mine had gotten in the way.
I couldn't talk to Link because he wouldn't let me.
When I went to speak with him, I found him in the corral. Impa had gone back to the castle some time ago; Link stayed behind to tend to his beloved horse Epona. He was brushing her mane when I mustered the courage to walk up to him.
"Yeah?"
Can you believe him? That's all he had to say! Not even a "Hey" or a "Yo" or anything like that.
I took that with a grain of salt (or, should I say, tried to look as if I did). "I wanted to talk to you…"
"Oh really? After all this time, huh?" he said, almost bitterly.
Although I probably knew exactly why he sounded that way, I wanted to make sure. I furrowed my eyebrows. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh come off it, Malon," he said exasperatedly. He began to walk away from Epona, from myself. I followed him. "These past few days, you've done nothing but avoid me," he went on to say, "or don't tell me you didn't notice that either?"
"I noticed it…"
"So you *have* been avoiding me intentionally then."
"No. It's not like that, Link."
"Then what's it like, Malon!? Huh!?" he practically shouted in my face. It startled the cuccos nearby and Epona neighed loudly in response. It took all of my Farore-given courage not to burst into tears. "I've been nothing but your best friend these past years. We promised to tell each other everything and you've kept it until now. Can't you at least tell me why you're treating me like this?"
"I…can't." I really couldn't. But I really wanted to.
All of the emotion he had displayed during his brief flare-up melted away after that. He stared at me for a long time, quietly, indifferently. It was the first time during the seven years that I've known him that I couldn't read his face. I was never an expert at reading Link's face, honestly. When he'd stop by the ranch sometimes, he'd smile brightly and warmly---minutes later, I'd discover that he had felt saddened by something that had happened to him or someone that he knew. Other times, it'd be the other way around. Whether I was right or wrong, I was always able to read some kind of emotion on his face. But at that time… There was nothing. I was at a loss.
He broke his stare away from my own as well as the silence with a soft, "Fine."
Before I knew what he was doing, he was walking again, away from the corral, from myself.
I called after him but he wouldn't listen. I ran up to him and pleaded with him… Nothing. Heck, I even tried latching onto his arms, only to have him actually shove me away. I lost my footing and fell unceremoniously onto a haystack. He didn't even look to me to see if I had hurt myself. It was then that I realized that he was finally leaving me.
Why? Because I couldn't come to terms with the fact that I was falling in love with my best friend.
I hate myself.
' Malon
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