Chapter 7: Marth's secret
And thus the three Hylians and the Lylatan went to build their new home and build a new future for Link, Zelda, and therefore, Impa. Impa appeared to be pretty skillful with wood. And Fox and Link, combined with Zelda's magic, were able to put down a pretty good house to live in. It had indeed gotten to be a wooden treehouse, nestled in a huge tree. Zelda had to adept a lot to her new environment, but she managed and soon, she was hunting bounty rewards together with Link. Fox had no experience with 'ancient' weapons and decided to use his wits and cunning at the marketplace, trying to evade the soldiers who thought he was a prince. While in the town, Fox noticed papers hanging on the buildings notifying that a reward would be given to the one who had information about the whereabouts of Princess Zelda. Most people didn't bother to search. They knew their princess had been grounded and were happy that she had escaped. Zelda was loved among the people of Hyrule and they sure wouldn't turn her in. The only problem were the bounty hunters and bandits who were all too keen to capture the princess. Fox used his cleverness in selling and buying stuff in towns all over Hyrule. The good thing was that Hyrule wasn't so big, so he travelled to the Gerudo Fortress, Kakariko Village, Castle Town, Kokiri Forest, Goron City and Zora Hall to earn money. He was pretty good at it all too. One day, Zelda decided to visit her best friend Malon. Against all protests of Link, she changed into her Sheikah suit and went to the ranch. Instead of using the regular entrance, she used a whip to climb up the roof of one of the buildings. Zelda had been practicing using the whip for some time. She saw it as a handy rope and she was quite skillful with it too. Had she used the regular entrance, she would have seen the rough men with shining metal in their hands. The men had seen her, though and waited patiently for their prey to enter one of the houses. When Zelda sat on top of one of the wooden buildings, she saw Malon at work at the stables. She was taking care of one of the horses. A beautiful red-brown horse with white manes. Zelda skillfully jumped from roof to roof, using her whip whenever necessary. When she reached the roof of the stables, she let herself slide down softly, bending deeply through her knees when she hit the ground not to make any sound. Malon had not noticed her. The red-haired ranchgirl was too busy with her favorite horse. Zelda pulled off her mask by pulling the lower part, which covered her nose and mouth, down and by pulling the upper part, which held her hair together, up. She released her long, blonde hair by shaking her head. "Hi, Malon." Zelda said casual. Malon startled and swiftly turned around, only to cast a huge smile upon seeing her best friend alive and well. "Zelda!" she said surprised. "Goddesses, it's been such a long time." she said as the two hugged each other. "It indeed has." Zelda said laughing. "I heard your father has put a price on your head. Are you alright?" Malon asked worried. "I'm fine. Remember that stud from the tournament?"
"You mean Link?" Zelda nodded. "I now live with him in a treehouse somewhere in the forest. It's a real shame we share it with two other people." Zelda said with a smirk. Malon smiled. "Is it true that your father doesn't allow you see him?" Zelda nodded. "How romantic!" Malon said enthusiastic. "A forbidden romance..." she sighed. Zelda chuckled a bit. Malon had always been a bit of a dreamer. Even more than Zelda herself. "Talking about romances..." Malon started, drawing Zelda's curiosity. "Yes?" the princess asked with a low voice. "I... ehm..." Malon said as she started to blush a little. "I've got a boyfriend..."
"You have? That's great! What's his name? Is he cute? Sweet? Is he rich?" Zelda asked enthusiasticly. "It's a prince..." Malon murmered just loud enough for Zelda to hear it. "A prince?" Zelda said, her mind figuring something out. "Yes. His name is Marth." Marth! So that's what been going on. Zelda's instincts had been right! He was indeed in love. And with Zelda's best friend! Outside of the stables, half a dozen of men gathered, armed with a variety of weapons. They planned to capture Zelda and claim the reward. They had seen her going into the stables and surrounded the entrance to the wooden building. "He's really sweet." Malon said, smiling. "I don't doubt it. The odds were high I would get married to him. An arranged marriage." Zelda said. "An arranged marriage!? What is this? The Dark Ages?" Malon said indignant. Zelda shrugged her shoulders. "Fortunately that didn't happen. I'm really happy for you, Malon." Zelda said. "Thanks, Zel." Malon replied. "I think I'll be going or else Link'll get worried. Give my regards to Marth." Zelda said before she hugged Malon a second time. "I will." Malon said. Zelda exited the stables, followed by Malon. As soon as Zelda stood a couple of meters from the stables, the bounty hunters swiftly surrounded her. This took the two girls completely by surprise. "Good day, princess." one of the men said. "We're coming to take you home. Don't force us to be violent. It's nothing personal."
"Great." Zelda said through gritted teeth. "I suppose you all have a death wish." The men started to laugh. "Funny, little princess. You shall come with us. Even if we have to use force." one of them said. Zelda walked to the wall and leaned against it. She moved one hand through her hair, holding one arm behind her back. "I don't suppose I could give you some kind of other reward? A few moments of pleasure perhaps?" It took Zelda a lot of effort to stay calm, but she had to do this or else she would lose her freedom. Malon figured Zelda wasn't going to do anything like that, but the ranchgirl wasn't really sure. "Well..." one of the men said, walking to Zelda. The princess moved both her arms behind her back and gave the man her most seductive smile. "It will... benefit us both..." Zelda said with a voice barely hers. "I say we take her right here." another man said. "Yeah." the man who stood in front of Zelda said. "I go first." Zelda swallowed. What had she done? If she wasn't able to fight her way out of this, it would surely happen! The man stepped close to Zelda and started to kiss her. What!? No one was allowed to do that to her! No one, except Link. Only the person to whom she had given her heart. And that was most certainly not that filthy man who was kissing her at that moment. "Pig!" Zelda said, moments before she hit him between the legs with her knee. The man groaned and collapsed on the ground, which was a signal for the other man that the party wasn't going to get started. "I want that bitch alive!" one of the men yelled. With a two-handed sword drawn, he walked to Zelda and said: "I think I'm going to torture you a little before I hand you over to your sweet daddy. I like a screaming woman."
"You have to get me first, dickhead." Zelda said, revealing three knives in the hand which she had been holding behind her back all the time. She made an elegant turn with her body and threw the knives straight in the man's chest, making him fall down. In a rage, the man who was now closest to her charged her. He slashed his sword in her direction, but Zelda caught the blade with two hands at the flat part. "Nice try." Zelda said, in one spinning move kicking against the blade with her one foot and kicking the man in his face with the other. She landed on her back as the man's body turned around and fell down on his stomach. Zelda kicked her legs in the air and swiftly put them on the ground again, forcing her body to follow the movement and making herself standing up again with her knees bent. She stood up straight and awaited the last two men. Little did she know there were three of them. The last one appeared from behind the princess and grabbed her at her arms, turning them around. "I've got her." he said. The two other men came closer. One of them grabbed Zelda's chin. "What a shame we have to bring you back to your daddy. I would have loved to keep you as my little pet." He ran his thumb across her lips, but Zelda opened her mouth and bit it. With a scream, the man removed his hand and slapped Zelda hard in her face. "You little witch." he said, looking at his sour thumb. It wasn't bleeding, though. Zelda hadn't gotten the time to make it bleed. "Step away from her now!" Malon ordered. Unnoticed, she had gotten a hayfork from the stables and was pointing it in the direction of the men who were holding Zelda. Her shaking hands revealed that she was scared and it didn't go unnoticed by the three men. The one who had slapped Zelda walked towards the ranchgirl. "You know what we do to defenseless little girls like you?" he said threatening. "Stand back!" Malon ordered, walking backwards herself. The man grabbed the hayfork and pulled it out of Malon's hands. "We rape them before we cut them open!" he said, grabbing Malon's arm roughly. Suddenly, the nighing of a horse could be heard. Zelda saw a white horse running towards the scene at full speed. It carried a figure she knew far too well. Marth. He was followed by his cape which was flying behind him. He had his sword in his hand and made a motion to dismount his riding horse. Instead of dropping himself on the ground, he held himself tightly to the horse's side with his free arm. Zelda was amazed by the horseriding skills of Marth. He just held his sword in one hand and managed to hold on to side of the horse while it was at full speed. The horse ran in a straight line, straight to the group of men. The one who was holding Malon turned around, but too late. Marth's horse raced past him and with a swift strike, Marth cut the man's head off. Marth let go of the horse and it walked further, being an obstacle for the last two men. Marth rolled over the ground and stood up, a few meters away from Malon. The ranchgirl walked to Marth and he wrapped his arm around her, not taking his eyes of the last two men. He was panting and Malon swallowed as she closed her eyes. It barely reached her mind that she was safe. She was still thinking what would have happened would Marth not have shown up. "Better let her go, fella's." Marth said pointing his sword at the men. "You really expect us to let go of such a reward? It has gotten even more for just two of us to share." the man who held Zelda said, not really caring for his fallen comrades. "I see." Marth said. "It's been a while since I have seen such scum as you. Three days perhaps?" Marth said, not letting go of Malon. "But the thing is..." he said, twirling his sword between his fingers. "You don't stand a chance." He slashed his sword down and a needle of ice shot from it, towards the man who held Zelda. The object struck him in his neck. It didn't go really deep, but, as the man reached for it to pull it out, he noticed that his body started to freeze over. He was forced to let Zelda go and she made use of it. She kicked the second man in his stomach and, as he bent forward, groaning, she used the same leg to kick down onto his head, striking him down on the ground and knocking him unconscious. She hit the surprised man who had been holding her with her elbow in his face, knocking him to the ground. The man wanted to stand up with his half-frozen body, but Zelda revealed a knife from her belt. "I've kept this one specially for you." she said, grabbing the knife at it's blade and positioning her arm to throw. "No, Zelda! Don't!" Malon yelled. The ranchgirl ran to her friend. "Don't." she repeated. Zelda looked at Malon, then at the man and then at Malon again. She closed her eyes, looked down and sighed. She put the knife back where it once had been. "You're right, Malon. I don't know what had gotten into me." She turned to the man. "Get out of here." she ordered. The man quickly stood up and removed the small icicle. Immediatly, the effects of the object were weakening and he was able to run. And running he did. Zelda and Malon walked to Marth. "Hello, Marth." was Zelda's simple comment. She was affraid Marth had come to take her back to the castle. "Hello, Zelda. Shouldn't you be with that blond-haired peasant of yours?" Marth said with a grin. Zelda looked at Marth with a questioning look in her eyes. "I'm not stupid, Zelda. I know about your little relationship with him." Marth said, answering the unasked question. "You're not going to take me back to the castle?" Zelda asked, still not trusting the Human prince. Marth shook his head. "Why should I? I know what it is to be in love. Now go. I want some time alone with my girl." Zelda smiled. She turned to Malon and said: "I'll keep in touch." Malon nodded. Zelda put on her mask again and used her whip to climb up on one of the wooden buildings. She waved one more time before she jumped off of it on the other side, leaving the ranch at the same time. "A strange girl..." Marth muttered as his view remained fixed at the empty spot on the roof. He turned to Malon. "Why did you come, Marth?" Malon asked as if nothing had happened. "I had a little present for you and I wanted to give it to you." Marth answered. "A gift?" Malon asked curious. "Yeah. You'll see."
"You know how curious I can get?" Malon said, crossing her arms. "Yeah, I know." Marth said with a chuckle, walking to his horse. "Tell me, what is it?" Malon asked, following him. "I'm not saying." Marth said, who started to run, knowing his girlfriend far too well. "Oh, you!" Malon said as she started to chase Marth around the ranch.
And thus the three Hylians and the Lylatan went to build their new home and build a new future for Link, Zelda, and therefore, Impa. Impa appeared to be pretty skillful with wood. And Fox and Link, combined with Zelda's magic, were able to put down a pretty good house to live in. It had indeed gotten to be a wooden treehouse, nestled in a huge tree. Zelda had to adept a lot to her new environment, but she managed and soon, she was hunting bounty rewards together with Link. Fox had no experience with 'ancient' weapons and decided to use his wits and cunning at the marketplace, trying to evade the soldiers who thought he was a prince. While in the town, Fox noticed papers hanging on the buildings notifying that a reward would be given to the one who had information about the whereabouts of Princess Zelda. Most people didn't bother to search. They knew their princess had been grounded and were happy that she had escaped. Zelda was loved among the people of Hyrule and they sure wouldn't turn her in. The only problem were the bounty hunters and bandits who were all too keen to capture the princess. Fox used his cleverness in selling and buying stuff in towns all over Hyrule. The good thing was that Hyrule wasn't so big, so he travelled to the Gerudo Fortress, Kakariko Village, Castle Town, Kokiri Forest, Goron City and Zora Hall to earn money. He was pretty good at it all too. One day, Zelda decided to visit her best friend Malon. Against all protests of Link, she changed into her Sheikah suit and went to the ranch. Instead of using the regular entrance, she used a whip to climb up the roof of one of the buildings. Zelda had been practicing using the whip for some time. She saw it as a handy rope and she was quite skillful with it too. Had she used the regular entrance, she would have seen the rough men with shining metal in their hands. The men had seen her, though and waited patiently for their prey to enter one of the houses. When Zelda sat on top of one of the wooden buildings, she saw Malon at work at the stables. She was taking care of one of the horses. A beautiful red-brown horse with white manes. Zelda skillfully jumped from roof to roof, using her whip whenever necessary. When she reached the roof of the stables, she let herself slide down softly, bending deeply through her knees when she hit the ground not to make any sound. Malon had not noticed her. The red-haired ranchgirl was too busy with her favorite horse. Zelda pulled off her mask by pulling the lower part, which covered her nose and mouth, down and by pulling the upper part, which held her hair together, up. She released her long, blonde hair by shaking her head. "Hi, Malon." Zelda said casual. Malon startled and swiftly turned around, only to cast a huge smile upon seeing her best friend alive and well. "Zelda!" she said surprised. "Goddesses, it's been such a long time." she said as the two hugged each other. "It indeed has." Zelda said laughing. "I heard your father has put a price on your head. Are you alright?" Malon asked worried. "I'm fine. Remember that stud from the tournament?"
"You mean Link?" Zelda nodded. "I now live with him in a treehouse somewhere in the forest. It's a real shame we share it with two other people." Zelda said with a smirk. Malon smiled. "Is it true that your father doesn't allow you see him?" Zelda nodded. "How romantic!" Malon said enthusiastic. "A forbidden romance..." she sighed. Zelda chuckled a bit. Malon had always been a bit of a dreamer. Even more than Zelda herself. "Talking about romances..." Malon started, drawing Zelda's curiosity. "Yes?" the princess asked with a low voice. "I... ehm..." Malon said as she started to blush a little. "I've got a boyfriend..."
"You have? That's great! What's his name? Is he cute? Sweet? Is he rich?" Zelda asked enthusiasticly. "It's a prince..." Malon murmered just loud enough for Zelda to hear it. "A prince?" Zelda said, her mind figuring something out. "Yes. His name is Marth." Marth! So that's what been going on. Zelda's instincts had been right! He was indeed in love. And with Zelda's best friend! Outside of the stables, half a dozen of men gathered, armed with a variety of weapons. They planned to capture Zelda and claim the reward. They had seen her going into the stables and surrounded the entrance to the wooden building. "He's really sweet." Malon said, smiling. "I don't doubt it. The odds were high I would get married to him. An arranged marriage." Zelda said. "An arranged marriage!? What is this? The Dark Ages?" Malon said indignant. Zelda shrugged her shoulders. "Fortunately that didn't happen. I'm really happy for you, Malon." Zelda said. "Thanks, Zel." Malon replied. "I think I'll be going or else Link'll get worried. Give my regards to Marth." Zelda said before she hugged Malon a second time. "I will." Malon said. Zelda exited the stables, followed by Malon. As soon as Zelda stood a couple of meters from the stables, the bounty hunters swiftly surrounded her. This took the two girls completely by surprise. "Good day, princess." one of the men said. "We're coming to take you home. Don't force us to be violent. It's nothing personal."
"Great." Zelda said through gritted teeth. "I suppose you all have a death wish." The men started to laugh. "Funny, little princess. You shall come with us. Even if we have to use force." one of them said. Zelda walked to the wall and leaned against it. She moved one hand through her hair, holding one arm behind her back. "I don't suppose I could give you some kind of other reward? A few moments of pleasure perhaps?" It took Zelda a lot of effort to stay calm, but she had to do this or else she would lose her freedom. Malon figured Zelda wasn't going to do anything like that, but the ranchgirl wasn't really sure. "Well..." one of the men said, walking to Zelda. The princess moved both her arms behind her back and gave the man her most seductive smile. "It will... benefit us both..." Zelda said with a voice barely hers. "I say we take her right here." another man said. "Yeah." the man who stood in front of Zelda said. "I go first." Zelda swallowed. What had she done? If she wasn't able to fight her way out of this, it would surely happen! The man stepped close to Zelda and started to kiss her. What!? No one was allowed to do that to her! No one, except Link. Only the person to whom she had given her heart. And that was most certainly not that filthy man who was kissing her at that moment. "Pig!" Zelda said, moments before she hit him between the legs with her knee. The man groaned and collapsed on the ground, which was a signal for the other man that the party wasn't going to get started. "I want that bitch alive!" one of the men yelled. With a two-handed sword drawn, he walked to Zelda and said: "I think I'm going to torture you a little before I hand you over to your sweet daddy. I like a screaming woman."
"You have to get me first, dickhead." Zelda said, revealing three knives in the hand which she had been holding behind her back all the time. She made an elegant turn with her body and threw the knives straight in the man's chest, making him fall down. In a rage, the man who was now closest to her charged her. He slashed his sword in her direction, but Zelda caught the blade with two hands at the flat part. "Nice try." Zelda said, in one spinning move kicking against the blade with her one foot and kicking the man in his face with the other. She landed on her back as the man's body turned around and fell down on his stomach. Zelda kicked her legs in the air and swiftly put them on the ground again, forcing her body to follow the movement and making herself standing up again with her knees bent. She stood up straight and awaited the last two men. Little did she know there were three of them. The last one appeared from behind the princess and grabbed her at her arms, turning them around. "I've got her." he said. The two other men came closer. One of them grabbed Zelda's chin. "What a shame we have to bring you back to your daddy. I would have loved to keep you as my little pet." He ran his thumb across her lips, but Zelda opened her mouth and bit it. With a scream, the man removed his hand and slapped Zelda hard in her face. "You little witch." he said, looking at his sour thumb. It wasn't bleeding, though. Zelda hadn't gotten the time to make it bleed. "Step away from her now!" Malon ordered. Unnoticed, she had gotten a hayfork from the stables and was pointing it in the direction of the men who were holding Zelda. Her shaking hands revealed that she was scared and it didn't go unnoticed by the three men. The one who had slapped Zelda walked towards the ranchgirl. "You know what we do to defenseless little girls like you?" he said threatening. "Stand back!" Malon ordered, walking backwards herself. The man grabbed the hayfork and pulled it out of Malon's hands. "We rape them before we cut them open!" he said, grabbing Malon's arm roughly. Suddenly, the nighing of a horse could be heard. Zelda saw a white horse running towards the scene at full speed. It carried a figure she knew far too well. Marth. He was followed by his cape which was flying behind him. He had his sword in his hand and made a motion to dismount his riding horse. Instead of dropping himself on the ground, he held himself tightly to the horse's side with his free arm. Zelda was amazed by the horseriding skills of Marth. He just held his sword in one hand and managed to hold on to side of the horse while it was at full speed. The horse ran in a straight line, straight to the group of men. The one who was holding Malon turned around, but too late. Marth's horse raced past him and with a swift strike, Marth cut the man's head off. Marth let go of the horse and it walked further, being an obstacle for the last two men. Marth rolled over the ground and stood up, a few meters away from Malon. The ranchgirl walked to Marth and he wrapped his arm around her, not taking his eyes of the last two men. He was panting and Malon swallowed as she closed her eyes. It barely reached her mind that she was safe. She was still thinking what would have happened would Marth not have shown up. "Better let her go, fella's." Marth said pointing his sword at the men. "You really expect us to let go of such a reward? It has gotten even more for just two of us to share." the man who held Zelda said, not really caring for his fallen comrades. "I see." Marth said. "It's been a while since I have seen such scum as you. Three days perhaps?" Marth said, not letting go of Malon. "But the thing is..." he said, twirling his sword between his fingers. "You don't stand a chance." He slashed his sword down and a needle of ice shot from it, towards the man who held Zelda. The object struck him in his neck. It didn't go really deep, but, as the man reached for it to pull it out, he noticed that his body started to freeze over. He was forced to let Zelda go and she made use of it. She kicked the second man in his stomach and, as he bent forward, groaning, she used the same leg to kick down onto his head, striking him down on the ground and knocking him unconscious. She hit the surprised man who had been holding her with her elbow in his face, knocking him to the ground. The man wanted to stand up with his half-frozen body, but Zelda revealed a knife from her belt. "I've kept this one specially for you." she said, grabbing the knife at it's blade and positioning her arm to throw. "No, Zelda! Don't!" Malon yelled. The ranchgirl ran to her friend. "Don't." she repeated. Zelda looked at Malon, then at the man and then at Malon again. She closed her eyes, looked down and sighed. She put the knife back where it once had been. "You're right, Malon. I don't know what had gotten into me." She turned to the man. "Get out of here." she ordered. The man quickly stood up and removed the small icicle. Immediatly, the effects of the object were weakening and he was able to run. And running he did. Zelda and Malon walked to Marth. "Hello, Marth." was Zelda's simple comment. She was affraid Marth had come to take her back to the castle. "Hello, Zelda. Shouldn't you be with that blond-haired peasant of yours?" Marth said with a grin. Zelda looked at Marth with a questioning look in her eyes. "I'm not stupid, Zelda. I know about your little relationship with him." Marth said, answering the unasked question. "You're not going to take me back to the castle?" Zelda asked, still not trusting the Human prince. Marth shook his head. "Why should I? I know what it is to be in love. Now go. I want some time alone with my girl." Zelda smiled. She turned to Malon and said: "I'll keep in touch." Malon nodded. Zelda put on her mask again and used her whip to climb up on one of the wooden buildings. She waved one more time before she jumped off of it on the other side, leaving the ranch at the same time. "A strange girl..." Marth muttered as his view remained fixed at the empty spot on the roof. He turned to Malon. "Why did you come, Marth?" Malon asked as if nothing had happened. "I had a little present for you and I wanted to give it to you." Marth answered. "A gift?" Malon asked curious. "Yeah. You'll see."
"You know how curious I can get?" Malon said, crossing her arms. "Yeah, I know." Marth said with a chuckle, walking to his horse. "Tell me, what is it?" Malon asked, following him. "I'm not saying." Marth said, who started to run, knowing his girlfriend far too well. "Oh, you!" Malon said as she started to chase Marth around the ranch.