Disclaimer: You know the drill. These people, places and things are not
mine.
Author's Notes: Whew! I apologize profusely for the incredibly long wait, but with all that's been happening, I never seemed to find time to write. Combine that with the lack of motivation from FF.net's recent down time, as well as the fact that school is getting really tough, and you've got your explanation. Anyway, chapter five is finally here. And it's a doozy.
Malon's Quest- Chapter 5.by Illjwamh
Link stared up at the behemoth, the giant stalchild that stood before him. Normally, this would not be a big deal for him. However, he was so exhausted that one tiny mistake would be the end of him. He drew his sword and his shield, and stood ready for the beast to attack him. When it didn't, he decided to make the first move. He lunged at it with his sword, but in his current state he was slower than usual, and the thing managed to dodge. As he went by, it hit him on the back with a large, bony bludgeon of a hand.
* * *
Malon lay on her back with her hands behind her head, gazing at the stars. She could see why Link loved to sleep outdoors, it truly was beautiful. The only thing wrong was that she couldn't quite seem to get comfortable. No matter what Link said, she would always prefer a bed to the cold, hard ground.
Resolving to keep her mind off of that subject, she refocused her gaze on the stars and let her mind wander to thoughts of Link's adventures. He'd once told her about a time when he found a secret cave under the field, and it had tunnels going off in all directions. She wondered if she would discover anything on her quest, something that she could tell him about someday. Without even realizing it, she started to drift off to sleep, still thinking of all the wonderful things yet to come.
* * *
"That should hold you!" Link yelled at the stalchild. He had finally succeeded in cutting one of its legs off. "Now for the other one!" As he prepared to attack, it swung out a massive arm. Rather than block with his shield, Link used his sword, which cut the creature's arm off. Link smiled. "Finally!" One massive, clean strike through its midsection was all that was necessary to finish it for good. When it fell apart, Link collapsed to the ground, exhausted. He fell asleep within seconds.
* * *
The next morning, Malon woke up to a beautiful sunrise. After a quick breakfast, she woke up Epona and climbed on. The two of them resumed their journey toward the edge of the field. They could see the river in the distance.
"We should be there in about a half hour or so," Malon said. "Do you think you can swim across with me on your back, Epona?" The horsed neighed and nodded its head in response. "Then let's get moving!" Malon said.
She was correct in her estimation, for it took them only a half hour to reach the eastern bank of the river. It wasn't very wide, so it wouldn't take them very long to cross.
"Are you ready, girl?" Malon asked. She got another affirmative nod. "Let's go, then." They prepared to jump into the flow of water, but were interrupted.
"Well, well, well. Looky what we've got here." The sound of the voice made Malon shiver, for she knew all too well who it was. She turned around slowly and to her horror, saw just what she had been expecting: Sinjo on his horse with four other riders accompanying him.
* * *
"Almost there," Link said to himself. The battle with the giant stalchild had slowed him down, not to mention the fact that he went to sleep. So when he woke up, he quickly ate and set off running with renewed energy. He'd been doing just that all morning. After a few more minutes, he finally reached the fork in the road that would lead him through the large stone canyons into Gerudo Valley. Taking the west fork, he continued up the path.
'It really has been a while since I've been here,' he thought to himself as he crossed the little brook. 'When this is all over, I have to bring Malon back here and show her that it isn't such a bad place.'
When he reached the end of his thoughts, he had arrived at the bridge that crossed the river gorge. Jogging across it, he entered the builders' camp. It was much larger than it had been in the days of Ganondorf. It was almost a miniature village. He didn't even bother to meet up with his old friends, and barely responded to people who greeted him. He had a specific tent he was headed for, and he would not stop for anything until he got there.
* * *
"What do you think she's doing, Sinjo?" one of the men asked. The black clad leader laughed eagerly.
"I'd say she was trying to get her father back." He pointed to her back. "Look! She brought weapons! Were you planning on fighting us?" Malon couldn't move or speak. She was frozen with fear.
"Let me take care of her," one of the men said. He hopped off his horse and started walking toward her.
"Wait!" called Sinjo, holding up a hand. "That's a nice horse. I'd like to keep it." Two of his other men nodded, and pulled things out of their belts that looked like poor imitations of Link's hookshot. They both fired at the same time, and little nets shot out, ensnaring Epona. Fortunately for Malon, Epona reared and threw her off before she became entangled herself. That's when Malon got her speech back.
"You leave her alone!" She shouted. Sinjo just smirked.
"Or else what? I must say, you don't look very threatening down there." Malon stood up, still shaking, and slowly drew her sword.
"Look!" one man said. "She is going to try to fight!" All the men had a good laugh, that is until Sinjo silenced them with a wave of his hand.
"That's enough," he said. "We have things to do, and we need to get this horse back to the hideout."
"What about the girl?" asked the henchman who'd started to attack her earlier.
"As much as I hate to deny you the pleasure of killing her, Dingard," Sinjo said, "We don't have the time. I'll let the river finish her off for us." He held up his hand as he had done back at the ranch, and once again Malon found herself flying backwards. This time it was straight back, however, and she fell into the rushing water. She heard the men laugh tauntingly and ride off before she was swept downstream, all the while keeping a tight grip on her sword. If she survived the river, she would definitely need it later on.
* * *
Link entered the tent he was headed for, only to find it empty. He cursed, and then dashed back outside and stopped the first carpenter he saw.
"Excuse me, do you know where Gilu is?" Link asked.
"What? You mean that guy who's always running all over the place?" Link nodded. "Yeah, he's always out at this time, but he should be back in, oh." he looked at the sky, "Actually, he should be back any minute."
"Great," Link said. "I'll just go inside and wait for him, then." So he entered Gilu's tent once more and sat down to wait.
* * *
Malon tried as best she could to fight the current, but it was simply too strong for her. And from the roaring sound that was continually getting louder, she knew she was headed for a large waterfall. After the incident at the ranch, Malon was terrified of falling, and she knew in the back of her head that there was no way to survive one like this.
Her mind raced, trying to think of any possible way she could save herself. That's when she noticed the heavy weight still on her back. Her shield! She'd forgotten about it since she couldn't hold it at the same time as her sword. If she could somehow get to it.
With great difficulty, she managed to put her sword back into its sheath.
"Now for the hard part," she said to herself. She unstrapped the shield and maneuvered so she was holding it in front of her, just as she saw the edge of the waterfall. She closed her eyes tight.
"I hope this works." Working against the water flowing rapidly all around her, she positioned herself so that she was kneeling on the inner part of her shield, holding it in place. Then she went over.
Her eyes went wide and her heart stopped as she saw just how long the fall was. Worse yet, going over the edge had turned her, so she was now descending sideways! The shield would offer no protection like that, and she only had a few seconds to adjust her fall. It seemed impossible, for the shield was catching the air, and turning in any direction didn't appear to be an option. She kept at it, though, and at the last possible second she found herself upright. A sharp pain rattled her knees and lower legs, and water splashed up all around her.
* * *
"Where is he?" Link asked out loud as he stood up abruptly. He had been waiting for Gilu for over ten minutes, and the runner had yet to return home. Just as Link was about to go outside and inquire again as to the athlete's whereabouts, he heard footsteps approaching the tent. "Finally," Link breathed out in a sigh of relief.
Gilu entered his tent as casually as he ever would, but he jumped when he found someone already there.
"Who are you?" he demanded. His eyes eyed the intruder warily.
"You don't remember me?" the stranger laughed. Gilu took a closer look.
"Kid?" Link nodded. "Link, it is you!" He smiled and embraced his old friend. "But what are you doing here? Fancy another race?" Link shook his head.
"Sorry, not this time old friend. I need to ask you a favor." Gilu arched an eyebrow.
"A favor?" Link nodded again.
"I need to borrow your boots."
"My boot?" Gilu asked, confused. "Why? There's nothing special about them." He looked down at hi feet, but Link shook his head.
"Not those boots," he said. "I need to borrow your other boots." Gilu looked shocked for a moment, then narrowed his eyes.
"How do you know about those?" he asked.
"I've been all over this land," Link replied. "There isn't a lot in it that I don't know about." Gilu chuckled in astonishment.
"Huh? Well Whaddya know?" He asked no one in particular. He then turned his attention back to Link. "Yeah, I guess you can use them." He walked over to the back of his tent and picked up a small, locked box that Link had previously not noticed. "I don't really need them anymore anyway. They were just for when I was starting out. Besides, any boost I need I can get from that bunny hood you sold me. Do you remember that?" He brought the box over to Link.
"Yeah, I remember. You sure were excited about it." The two men laughed slightly as they remembered old times.
"Well anyway," Gilu said, opening the box, "Her you go. Just take care of them. I want them back in one piece." He reached into the box and pulled out a beautifully made pair of boots. The design was nearly identical to Link's boots, but they were of a more golden brown leather, and seemed to give off a faint glow.
"The Light Boots," Gilu stated. "Guaranteed to make you run faster, and tire slower. I hope you put them to good use."
"Oh, I will," Link assured him as he took the gift. "And I want you to hang on to these for me," he said, removing his own boots and handing them to Gilu. "Consider them to be collateral." Gilu laughed.
"These things for my Light Boots? Are you serious?"
"You bet I am," Link said. "Those Kokiri Boots are the toughest in the world. They can last through anything. I wouldn't trade them in for all the desert's gold."
"Okay, then," Gilu said. "I'll take good care of them. You just be careful out there, all right? I want you to be able to come back for them." Link just laughed.
"When have you ever known me to not come back from anything?" he joked. Then he put on his new boots. He was glad Gilu didn't ask any questions about why he needed them.
"You're right," Gilu said. "Well, you'd better be going I bet, right?" Link nodded. "I'll be seeing you, then."
"So long for now," Link said. "And thank you." He gave a slight bow, and then turned around and walked out the door. As soon as he was outside, he took off at a run. With the Light Boots on, he was out of sight in under a minute.
Gilu reentered his tent after waving goodbye to his friend and sat down.
"That kid's so fast anyway," he thought aloud. "I wonder what he could possibly need those for?"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Whoa! How long has it been? No, seriously, I lost track! I apologize profusely for the long wait, but as I explained above, there were extenuating circumstances. Hopefully the next chapter won't take half as long.
Author's Notes: Whew! I apologize profusely for the incredibly long wait, but with all that's been happening, I never seemed to find time to write. Combine that with the lack of motivation from FF.net's recent down time, as well as the fact that school is getting really tough, and you've got your explanation. Anyway, chapter five is finally here. And it's a doozy.
Malon's Quest- Chapter 5.by Illjwamh
Link stared up at the behemoth, the giant stalchild that stood before him. Normally, this would not be a big deal for him. However, he was so exhausted that one tiny mistake would be the end of him. He drew his sword and his shield, and stood ready for the beast to attack him. When it didn't, he decided to make the first move. He lunged at it with his sword, but in his current state he was slower than usual, and the thing managed to dodge. As he went by, it hit him on the back with a large, bony bludgeon of a hand.
* * *
Malon lay on her back with her hands behind her head, gazing at the stars. She could see why Link loved to sleep outdoors, it truly was beautiful. The only thing wrong was that she couldn't quite seem to get comfortable. No matter what Link said, she would always prefer a bed to the cold, hard ground.
Resolving to keep her mind off of that subject, she refocused her gaze on the stars and let her mind wander to thoughts of Link's adventures. He'd once told her about a time when he found a secret cave under the field, and it had tunnels going off in all directions. She wondered if she would discover anything on her quest, something that she could tell him about someday. Without even realizing it, she started to drift off to sleep, still thinking of all the wonderful things yet to come.
* * *
"That should hold you!" Link yelled at the stalchild. He had finally succeeded in cutting one of its legs off. "Now for the other one!" As he prepared to attack, it swung out a massive arm. Rather than block with his shield, Link used his sword, which cut the creature's arm off. Link smiled. "Finally!" One massive, clean strike through its midsection was all that was necessary to finish it for good. When it fell apart, Link collapsed to the ground, exhausted. He fell asleep within seconds.
* * *
The next morning, Malon woke up to a beautiful sunrise. After a quick breakfast, she woke up Epona and climbed on. The two of them resumed their journey toward the edge of the field. They could see the river in the distance.
"We should be there in about a half hour or so," Malon said. "Do you think you can swim across with me on your back, Epona?" The horsed neighed and nodded its head in response. "Then let's get moving!" Malon said.
She was correct in her estimation, for it took them only a half hour to reach the eastern bank of the river. It wasn't very wide, so it wouldn't take them very long to cross.
"Are you ready, girl?" Malon asked. She got another affirmative nod. "Let's go, then." They prepared to jump into the flow of water, but were interrupted.
"Well, well, well. Looky what we've got here." The sound of the voice made Malon shiver, for she knew all too well who it was. She turned around slowly and to her horror, saw just what she had been expecting: Sinjo on his horse with four other riders accompanying him.
* * *
"Almost there," Link said to himself. The battle with the giant stalchild had slowed him down, not to mention the fact that he went to sleep. So when he woke up, he quickly ate and set off running with renewed energy. He'd been doing just that all morning. After a few more minutes, he finally reached the fork in the road that would lead him through the large stone canyons into Gerudo Valley. Taking the west fork, he continued up the path.
'It really has been a while since I've been here,' he thought to himself as he crossed the little brook. 'When this is all over, I have to bring Malon back here and show her that it isn't such a bad place.'
When he reached the end of his thoughts, he had arrived at the bridge that crossed the river gorge. Jogging across it, he entered the builders' camp. It was much larger than it had been in the days of Ganondorf. It was almost a miniature village. He didn't even bother to meet up with his old friends, and barely responded to people who greeted him. He had a specific tent he was headed for, and he would not stop for anything until he got there.
* * *
"What do you think she's doing, Sinjo?" one of the men asked. The black clad leader laughed eagerly.
"I'd say she was trying to get her father back." He pointed to her back. "Look! She brought weapons! Were you planning on fighting us?" Malon couldn't move or speak. She was frozen with fear.
"Let me take care of her," one of the men said. He hopped off his horse and started walking toward her.
"Wait!" called Sinjo, holding up a hand. "That's a nice horse. I'd like to keep it." Two of his other men nodded, and pulled things out of their belts that looked like poor imitations of Link's hookshot. They both fired at the same time, and little nets shot out, ensnaring Epona. Fortunately for Malon, Epona reared and threw her off before she became entangled herself. That's when Malon got her speech back.
"You leave her alone!" She shouted. Sinjo just smirked.
"Or else what? I must say, you don't look very threatening down there." Malon stood up, still shaking, and slowly drew her sword.
"Look!" one man said. "She is going to try to fight!" All the men had a good laugh, that is until Sinjo silenced them with a wave of his hand.
"That's enough," he said. "We have things to do, and we need to get this horse back to the hideout."
"What about the girl?" asked the henchman who'd started to attack her earlier.
"As much as I hate to deny you the pleasure of killing her, Dingard," Sinjo said, "We don't have the time. I'll let the river finish her off for us." He held up his hand as he had done back at the ranch, and once again Malon found herself flying backwards. This time it was straight back, however, and she fell into the rushing water. She heard the men laugh tauntingly and ride off before she was swept downstream, all the while keeping a tight grip on her sword. If she survived the river, she would definitely need it later on.
* * *
Link entered the tent he was headed for, only to find it empty. He cursed, and then dashed back outside and stopped the first carpenter he saw.
"Excuse me, do you know where Gilu is?" Link asked.
"What? You mean that guy who's always running all over the place?" Link nodded. "Yeah, he's always out at this time, but he should be back in, oh." he looked at the sky, "Actually, he should be back any minute."
"Great," Link said. "I'll just go inside and wait for him, then." So he entered Gilu's tent once more and sat down to wait.
* * *
Malon tried as best she could to fight the current, but it was simply too strong for her. And from the roaring sound that was continually getting louder, she knew she was headed for a large waterfall. After the incident at the ranch, Malon was terrified of falling, and she knew in the back of her head that there was no way to survive one like this.
Her mind raced, trying to think of any possible way she could save herself. That's when she noticed the heavy weight still on her back. Her shield! She'd forgotten about it since she couldn't hold it at the same time as her sword. If she could somehow get to it.
With great difficulty, she managed to put her sword back into its sheath.
"Now for the hard part," she said to herself. She unstrapped the shield and maneuvered so she was holding it in front of her, just as she saw the edge of the waterfall. She closed her eyes tight.
"I hope this works." Working against the water flowing rapidly all around her, she positioned herself so that she was kneeling on the inner part of her shield, holding it in place. Then she went over.
Her eyes went wide and her heart stopped as she saw just how long the fall was. Worse yet, going over the edge had turned her, so she was now descending sideways! The shield would offer no protection like that, and she only had a few seconds to adjust her fall. It seemed impossible, for the shield was catching the air, and turning in any direction didn't appear to be an option. She kept at it, though, and at the last possible second she found herself upright. A sharp pain rattled her knees and lower legs, and water splashed up all around her.
* * *
"Where is he?" Link asked out loud as he stood up abruptly. He had been waiting for Gilu for over ten minutes, and the runner had yet to return home. Just as Link was about to go outside and inquire again as to the athlete's whereabouts, he heard footsteps approaching the tent. "Finally," Link breathed out in a sigh of relief.
Gilu entered his tent as casually as he ever would, but he jumped when he found someone already there.
"Who are you?" he demanded. His eyes eyed the intruder warily.
"You don't remember me?" the stranger laughed. Gilu took a closer look.
"Kid?" Link nodded. "Link, it is you!" He smiled and embraced his old friend. "But what are you doing here? Fancy another race?" Link shook his head.
"Sorry, not this time old friend. I need to ask you a favor." Gilu arched an eyebrow.
"A favor?" Link nodded again.
"I need to borrow your boots."
"My boot?" Gilu asked, confused. "Why? There's nothing special about them." He looked down at hi feet, but Link shook his head.
"Not those boots," he said. "I need to borrow your other boots." Gilu looked shocked for a moment, then narrowed his eyes.
"How do you know about those?" he asked.
"I've been all over this land," Link replied. "There isn't a lot in it that I don't know about." Gilu chuckled in astonishment.
"Huh? Well Whaddya know?" He asked no one in particular. He then turned his attention back to Link. "Yeah, I guess you can use them." He walked over to the back of his tent and picked up a small, locked box that Link had previously not noticed. "I don't really need them anymore anyway. They were just for when I was starting out. Besides, any boost I need I can get from that bunny hood you sold me. Do you remember that?" He brought the box over to Link.
"Yeah, I remember. You sure were excited about it." The two men laughed slightly as they remembered old times.
"Well anyway," Gilu said, opening the box, "Her you go. Just take care of them. I want them back in one piece." He reached into the box and pulled out a beautifully made pair of boots. The design was nearly identical to Link's boots, but they were of a more golden brown leather, and seemed to give off a faint glow.
"The Light Boots," Gilu stated. "Guaranteed to make you run faster, and tire slower. I hope you put them to good use."
"Oh, I will," Link assured him as he took the gift. "And I want you to hang on to these for me," he said, removing his own boots and handing them to Gilu. "Consider them to be collateral." Gilu laughed.
"These things for my Light Boots? Are you serious?"
"You bet I am," Link said. "Those Kokiri Boots are the toughest in the world. They can last through anything. I wouldn't trade them in for all the desert's gold."
"Okay, then," Gilu said. "I'll take good care of them. You just be careful out there, all right? I want you to be able to come back for them." Link just laughed.
"When have you ever known me to not come back from anything?" he joked. Then he put on his new boots. He was glad Gilu didn't ask any questions about why he needed them.
"You're right," Gilu said. "Well, you'd better be going I bet, right?" Link nodded. "I'll be seeing you, then."
"So long for now," Link said. "And thank you." He gave a slight bow, and then turned around and walked out the door. As soon as he was outside, he took off at a run. With the Light Boots on, he was out of sight in under a minute.
Gilu reentered his tent after waving goodbye to his friend and sat down.
"That kid's so fast anyway," he thought aloud. "I wonder what he could possibly need those for?"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Whoa! How long has it been? No, seriously, I lost track! I apologize profusely for the long wait, but as I explained above, there were extenuating circumstances. Hopefully the next chapter won't take half as long.