A. N. As I said in the last chapter, if by the slightest chance of fortune you like this story, please, check out my other fic called Tales of the Middle Ages. I'm sure you'll like it better than this one, and it's not as long as it may seem.
Well then! This is the third chapter of the fic that returned from its exile in the lost archives of FanFiction.net's Zelda category. I hope you like it; but if you don't, keep in mind that this was my second fic ever written, although I have corrected and revised it many times now.
The road to Hyrule Castle
Link stirred lazily in the impromptu bed he had arranged the night before. Noticing the chill air about the house he wondered if Malon had already gotten up and had opened a window. With small shivers, he threw his blanket to the end of the bed and sat on the floor. Yawning he gazed round him expecting to see his friend preparing some breakfast. The light that entered from the small windows was very dim and the whole house was covered by twilight. Standing up he looked for an open window, but could find none. Wondering at the chill air inside the house, the young knight walked for the stairs and sat at the beginning of the case. He suddenly remembered Talon and the dead Hylian of the day before. Concerned, he stood up and climbed the stairs to see if Talon had come. He stood before the door and slowly turned the knob. Pushing the door slightly, Link peered his head inside the room. He saw no sign of Talon, but instead he saw his daughter lying peacefully on the bed. He could not help but to stare at her, contemplating the young woman in awe. He thought of her to be quite beautiful, he always had thought so anyway. Her hands were clasped before her head and a blanket covered her body from the waist to her feet. Her fiery red hair was spread about the pillow and some strands covered her face, hiding from the knight's sight her straight and thin nose. Her forget-me-not blue eyes were gone under her soft eyelids that ended in her long lashes and her pink lips where motionless in her mouth.
The Hero of Time closed the door quietly after a short while and went down the stairs. Noticing yet again the cold air about him, he made it to the entrance door. Out of his own folly, he opened it and a freezing current blew at that exact time, and snow poured into the house like water to a jug. Link was thrown back and landed in his back. The cold snow smote his hands and the chill wind slapped his face as the knight tried to get up and close the door. He stood on his feet and delivered a mighty push to the door. The wood slid across the floor and snapped close at its lock. The wind blew furiously and bellowed, as if angry at his abrupt throw out.
Link paced back and sat on a chair, breathing heavily, his hands still hurting by the cold and his face reddened as if blushed. He tried to rub his limbs against themselves and against his knees.
"Going out to greet the sun?"
The young knight turned his face to the door at the end of the staircase and noticed his friend laughing merrily at him. He brushed off the snow in his head.
"I tried to, but the wind said he isn't home."
Malon went down the stairs and took out a pan from a pantry next to the table.
"It's lucky we have some dried fire wood. Otherwise you'd have to go out and pick some."
Link laughed and said: "I suppose you'd have me go all the way to town to buy some."
The girl laughed in her turn and Link felt delighted at her expression. After having some eggs to eat Link brought up the issue of Malon's father and the body.
"Your father hasn't returned yet from the castle," he said as he sipped from his tea cup. "I'm getting worried."
"Maybe he'll return later at midday," replied the young woman. "How could he cross the field if you weren't even able to open the door." She laughed. "He's probably still asleep in the inn."
"Maybe," Link said gazing at the window. The snow fell heavily and was carried away time and again by the furious wind. "But I'm going to go look for him when the storm passes."
"I'll go with you," said Malon. "It's been a while since I go to town." She smiled mischievously at Link. "In the mean-time, sing another of your songs!"
The loyal groom from Hyrule Castle gave a hoarse shout as he charged at the great White Wolfos that had sprang in front of him moments ago. His Hylian sword flashed in the light as it hewed off one of the creature's paws. With a terrible howl, the wolfos opened its huge maw and bit the Hylian's hand. The sword fell from the imprisoned grasp as the groom cried in pain; but his voice only uncovered from the snow about him more of the fell creatures. With a wince, the Hylian wrenched his hand away from the hewn wolfos; and blood was spilled yet again over the white snow that covered the plains. Drawing his knife with his left hand, the groom looked hopelessly about him, and his hope was not lifted; the wolfos were closing about steadily. And out of them sprang suddenly another of greater size, its red paws as bloodstains and its black eyes as jet. It stared evilly at the youth for a while ere it howled again. And at that moment the horde of creatures leaped as if coordinated and they bit off the Hylian's throat with sheer cruelty. His cry was lost amidst the snow.
"Good grief!" said Malon gazing at the castle that rose some miles to the north. "I never noticed how far away we were from the city. How long should it take us to reach it?"
"Perhaps a few hours afoot," answered Link. "That's what it took me to get to the ranch. But I daresay the way would be shorter if it weren't for the snow. Honestly, I don't remember having ever been through such a great winter. Back in the Lost Woods it could get cold enough. But this is really out of my custom.
"Yes," said Malon thoughtfully. "'Tis said that the coldest winter ever been was a few dozen years ago, during the beginnings of the Fierce Wars. I once read that the snow got so high that the drawbridge barely peered above it, full drawn and all!
"Now there's something we don't get to hear a lot," Link said with a laugh.
"What? A bit of lore about the old days"
"My dear red-head again using her book-language in front of me and talking about very thick snow. So tell me, mistress Malon, when are you going to join the wise-society of History?"
"It's not book-language," the young woman said with a slight blush. "I happen to like lore of old. Need I remind you that it was you who gave me those old scrolls about the Hylia?"
"Oh, all right," said the young knight smiling mischievously. "But you know, if you like it so much, why don't you share it with your friends at the market? I'm sure they'd love it."
"Don't you dare say a word about this!" Malon replied smiling in her turn; Link would never do anything mean to her. "Or else, I'll tell everyone about your songs!"
Link laughed merrily at this back-fire. "Fine, my lips are sealed – Lore-mistress!"
"Don't be so mean!" she said. And they both laughed again.
There was a silence for a while in which the friends remained in their own thoughts. But the knight began to feel a bit awkward after a short while, and he tried thoroughly to come up with some conversation. It was not common, however, for him to be shy in the presence of his friend; but Malon had long ago stopped being the little child he had met at the market one sunny day of spring, and he often had wondered about his feelings towards her.
The young woman gazed once again at the castle. She sighed then and said to her friend as if trying to break the silence: "Now, really, I want to hear more of your songs. And don't tell me they're not good; I saw your face when we were singing last night." She took his hand and waved it. "Come now! Let's have one!"
Link seemed rather shy about this, but he replied nevertheless: "All right, if you want to sing (as you often do) I'll sing with you. But it'll have to be one that we both know."
"Oh! Come on!" she said earnestly. "I want to hear one you made. I really like them." Secretly, the young woman wished for Link to had written a song for her.
Her plead was granted, and after a very annoyed "All right" (which contained great satisfaction for him), the young knight began to sing, and she hung onto every word he spoke:
Dear lover,
Will you not hear to my song?
Dear lover,
Will you come out here to gaze?
The wind is cold
The sun is gone
The air about
Is stiff and old.
Dear lover,
Will you not come out to me?
The heart alone
Bereft of joy
Is not in bliss,
It turns to stone.
Dear lover,
Will you let it become so?
Beneath the tree
I see a light
I hear a voice
That wanders free.
Dear lover,
Will the voice be of your own?
Link went quiet, and she remained wordless too. But at length she said to him: "'Tis beautiful, Link. Who were you thinking of when you made this?" Hope hung about these words; and he perceived it.
"I, I think about lots of things," he stammered not daring to tell the truth. "These words just come out when I'm doing nothing. And I like them and put them some music to them."
Dropping her smile slightly, she nodded in silence at his answer.
After an hour or so, the friends could see the castle becoming taller and taller before their eyes. The torches lit besides the gate shone and flickered in the twilight, and the snow had started to pour again. The knight and his friend tightened their cloaks and continued with their trip. An elegant brooch kept his cloak about, and his sword and shield lay on his back with the heavy raiment concealing them. His tunic that he had worn for so many a year he had given up for a more Hylian-like fitment, and about his new clothes of thick cotton his chain mail hung lightly and represented no burden for him. His boots he had chosen not to lay down, and they continued to be a very useful pair of shoes: light and durable.
About them the silence was thick, as it is often when snow covers the fields about. The small crippling sound that came from beneath their feet as they broke through the snow was heard now and then, and they had both remained in silence for a while. In her purple and hooded cloak, and with a small lamp hanging at her belt, Malon would be easily mistaken by a poe in the twilight. But the knight would think of her raiment as very solemn, indeed he would wonder about it.
"Why are you dressed like that?" he asked noticing also a small gem that served as her brooch. "You usually don't wear those kinds of clothes."
"Is there anything wrong with wanting to look good?" she replied amused. "Or do you think that a ranch-girl has no need to look pretty?"
"It's not that," Link said trying to look unimpressed, though reddening. "I just wanted to know why are you wearing such an elegant outfit."
"Do you like it?" she asked, her eyes shinning.
"Er, it's pretty, yes," he said awkwardly. He knew not were did she want to go.
"And do you think I'm pretty?" Even she blushed at her question. What was I thinking? she thought terrified.
Link stared at her with strange eyes. What is she thinking? he wondered. But he decided to answer as truthfully as he could. He looked upon her and he saw her red hair peering from under her hood, as if a cap. He smiled; he had always thought that her most interesting feature was her hair. Next, he saw her face and eyes, and they still shone with an unknown hope for him. Moving away from her gaze, he looked at her whole figure again and saw the contrast between the violet cloak and the white surroundings. He thought of her to be indeed very beautiful. "Well, I've always thought that you are pretty," he said unsurely, wondering about that question again. He then felt terribly awkward. "So, yes. Yes, yes, indeed. I think you're pretty."
A strange sound reached their ears suddenly: roars and noises of tearing. They both gazed at the point to the east whence the sound had come with slight relief. But they quickly forgot about everything. "Did you hear that?" Malon asked, and Link nodded.
"Something like that it was, what I heard yesterday," he said. "But this is much clearer."
With a snap, the snow before them broke as they ran through it to the spot. The roars fell down into growls, but the awful tearing noise still rang; and though Malon could not guess what might it be, Link shivered at the memory of the last time he had heard a noise alike.
During a winter when the wolves attacked Kokiri Forest.
After an exhaustive run, the friends began to see what peered above the snow: half a dozen white wolfos tearing and biting at a red body with a heavy raiment still on it. Realizing what it was, the young woman let out a scream, and the creatures turned to them and sniffled the air about them. With a howl, one of the beasts spun round and trotted away, jumping over the snow and running over it as if it was hard ground. The remaining five looked at the Hylians evilly and growled, and they drooled disgustingly over the fallen groom.
Standing in front of his friend, Link drew his sword; but the Hylian blade barely shone in the spread light of noon.
"Link!" Malon called in fear, but with courage drawn from unknown places of her heart she overcame the desire to run away. She stood valiantly behind her friend and remained motionless. And a humble desire woke in her heart: to not appear as a defenceless maiden before a valiant knight. "Do you have another blade?" she asked in a whisper, trying to sound brave; but she only managed to stir pity in the knight's heart.
"No," he said sternly, but he felt rage against the beasts that dared to threaten the young woman. "But don't worry. Just stay behind me. We cannot leave this Hylian lying there, being wolf-fodder. Please, be brave."
"I don't want to run," she said quietly and proudly. "But I would feel better if I had at least a knife with me." And she drew closer to him.
The wolfos did not hesitate overmuch. They sprang and charged at the friends at the same time, as if coordinated. The first fell as it landed in the knight's blade. But the others scratched and bit, amidst howls and growls, and another wounded Link in his shoulder. But he quickly hewed at the beast and it fell with its head opened by its jaw. One of the creatures whined and fled as soon as the second had fallen, but the remaining two leaped with huge force and landed over the knight and the young woman; and one of these remaining beasts bit Malon with its red maw and her blood stained its fangs. She cried in pain.
At the same moment a blind rage seemed to overcome the knight at the sound of her pain, and for a moment he felt strength enough to kick the wolfos off him. As the creature fell into the snow, the sword shone and flashed with light and it hewed the beast that had hurt his friend. The wolfos fell headless as the last one attempted to stand up and run; but it quickly was struck by the lighting of Link's sword. The beast fell dead along its kindred, but the knight continued stabbing and hewing at these two creatures until their blood formed a small mire in the snow and their flesh was all torn and formless. And when his madness passed and Link had beheld his doing, he stood horrified at his deed; and he turned immediately to Malon, who lay in the ground with her wound bleeding steadily. Tears began to blur his sight.
"Malon!" he called desperately. "Malon! Please, wake up!"
The young woman opened her eyes slightly, and she smiled at her friend. "There's no need to yell," she said trying to laugh. But she winced, and the young knight noticed the wound on her shoulder. "I'm all right, Link," she said, looking at his tears. "Just help me get up."
Gently, Link rose her from the ground, and she leant on him with pain. "I'm all right," she said again trying to sound cheerful. "I'm not going to die, really. And the castle is not too far away. I'll hold on till we get there."
"Don't say anything about dying," he said. And to her surprise and joy, he set his arms about her and held her for a while. And she raised her arms as she could, and they stood in each other's arms for a blissful moment amidst the snow and the cold wind. Time seemed to freeze with the air, and not a sound rang about them. Only the snow kept falling over them.
Leaning painfully but happily over Link, the young woman lifted her head once more after an hour of steady walk and sighed in relief. Not a mile ahead stood the mighty Hyrule Castle before them; and the torches besides its gate flickered in defiance to the cold, and atop the walls the guards keeping watch already had spotted them. With many metallic noises, the drawbridge was lowered and many soldiers came out to help them. Among them was a healer to Link's relief, and he bade Malon to lie on the bier they had brought forth and to rest. With another sigh, she lay down on it and let the guards take her to the inn for the healer to mend her wound, although she rued secretly to be apart from the young knight.
When she had left, Link thanked the guards and asked leave to the captain to follow his friend to the inn.
"Nay," he said to his great surprise. "Although it is your dear friend, we are holding a council with the princess in short time. Although I would let you stay with her all you want, you must obey your lady's word."
Noticing Link's frustrated gaze at the party carrying Malon's bier, he added: "I am sure that our princess Zelda will not hold us for long, Link."
"I'm sure too," he said. But he thought that any time away from his friend was exceedingly long. "But there's something I need to talk about with her; and the sooner the better, for I'm very ashamed of it" He still thought about the madness that had overcome him with the wolfos. And the mere thought of the mire of blood made him shiver.
A. N. Again, please leave your comments, suggestions, ideas and critics (but not flames) in a beautiful review. Also, please check out my other fanfic (I'm sorry, but I think that the other one is much better than this one and that it has a more original idea). ^_^ See ya!