Chapter Five
Malon
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Link watched the water drop from the ceiling of his cell. There was little else to do. He lay on the stone bed, his back stiff. His forehead still throbbed from his scar, split once again when Talon had punched him. It had been chaos afterwards.
Talon had lunged at him, scattering the children in fright. People had looked up, bewildered, and wondering at the commotion. They had both crashed to the ground, Link hitting the back of his head hard. Talon was screaming incoherently as he tore out clumps of Link's hair, then proceeded to add to the bruises on his face. That had actually worked to Link's advantage. When some men dragged Talon off of him, Link had stood shakily, but his face was a mess and his hair dyed with blood, so no one had recognised him.
"Murderer!" Talon had kept spitting the word out in amongst his incoherent ramblings. An accusation that grave could not be ignored and so Link had been taken into custody. The next night Fran had scrambled in through the Guardhouse, frantic with concern, and shaking with fright. Link had disappeared and Fran was worried sick. When he had heard about the commotion the day earlier his instincts told him that it was Link.
Fran had stood outside the cell, holding onto the bars tightly, his hair ruffled, his clothes a mess. "What," he had asked, "is going on, Link?"
And so Link told him.
2
It had been many summers ago…
"Zelda has really taken to him," said Malon. "Don't you think?"
Link watched as Cyle Narawan, one of the young noblemen of Hyrule, kneeled theatrically in front of a giggling Princess Zelda. Cyle's hand reached to his scabbard, paused and then, with a wink, pulled out a rose. Zelda giggled even harder and Cyle grinned back at her.
"I suppose," Link said.
Malon chuckled. "Are you jealous, Link?"
Link turned his full attention to Malon and smiled. "No," he said. "I don't believe I am."
Malon glanced at Zelda out of the corner of her eye. The Princess was shrieking now as Cyle chased her around Lon Lon Ranch. Turning back to face Link, Malon chewed the inside of her cheek, her forehead creased in thought.
"You know," she said, idly putting her hands behind her back and sighing with a dramatic flourish. "I wish someone would bring me a rose."
Link digested this, deep in thought. He gazed off into the distance and then nodded. "To feed your cows, you mean?"
"Link!" Malon shrieked, lightly slapping on his shoulder.
Link laughed. Malon laughed. The Princess laughed. Cyle laughed.
Oh, to be twenty three summers old again…
They had planned a trip to Death Mountain, an expedition. An adventure, Malon had called it.
The night before the big trip, Link had laid in the hay in one of the stables. He was looking up at the glinting moonlight, while Malon lay on her front, her chin resting on her hands. Her heels kicked the air playfully.
"I always dreamt," Malon said slowly, her eyes shining. "That a knight would come on a horse and one day take me away from here."
Malon giggled – a nervous, yet somehow endearing sound - as if she realised how silly she sounded.
"Well," Link said, thoughtful once more. "I think Cyle only has room for Zelda on his horse."
She gave a small smile, but didn't give into the tease this time. She pressed her lips together, looking pensive. "Don't you ever think of … you know, settling down?"
Link didn't answer. He just gazed at the moon as if he had not heard her.
Malon sighed. "Link. Didn't you have any dreams when you were younger? Hopes?"
Link turned his head and looked directly at her. Malon was taken aback by how much he had changed since first meeting him.
"I only wanted to feel like I belonged." He said it with an intensity that surprised her.
She picked up a straw from one of the hay bundles and started chewing it. "But didn't you..?"
"I was the Kokiri with no fairy. Everyone else had one. Everyone."
Malon waited for him to continue.
"It used to make me weep," he said. "Of course, I was only ten then." He smiled ruefully.
Malon smiled back. "But for a ten year old that could feel like the end of the world."
"Exactly," Link said.
"Here on the Ranch," Malon said. "There was just Pa and Ingo."
"Oh, so you must have felt the same?"
Malon thought a bit. "And there were my Cuccos."
Link fought back a smile.
"And my horses."
Link was grinning now.
"Oh…and mustn't forget my cows."
He was laughing now and Malon was glad. "Link," she said. "Do you feel like you belong now?"
The Hero of Time looked at her. "What…at this very moment?"
Malon shrugged. It wasn't really the question she was asking. She had meant in general.
"At this very moment…yes, yes I do. Very much."
Things had gone wrong. A wizard, a madman had interrupted their trip. Wanted the Triforce of course. He had kidnapped Zelda and Malon. Talon had found out when Link and Cyle returned to the Ranch for more weapons. The trio had battled through a hidden dungeon that the wizard had created from magical energy. Finally they had found their way to the two girls.
Picture the scene…
Magma rolled slowly in front of Link, in hot, lazy waves. The heat shimmered in the air, distorting the young Hylian's vision. On the far side opposite him hung Malon and Zelda from two ropes. The wizard, old and toothless, cackled from a raised platform. His arms raised, he was literally sucking the life out of the Princess. Malon was unharmed.
In an alcove to the right lay Talon. He was shaking from fright, more for Malon than for himself. In an alcove to the left lay Cyle, unconscious. Beside him was a lever for the wooden, magic-charmed platform underneath. The magic had made the platform soft and yet magma resistant. Cyle managed to drag the lever partway, before he had been stopped somehow. Now, the platform only extended so far, beneath Zelda, but not Malon.
Link looked up. Malon was tied higher than Zelda, and the Princess was slowly fading away, her hair turning grey, her face lined with wrinkles. She had been tied so that she was facing away from him and Malon towards him. Link raised his bow and his heart quaked. Malon was in the way of Zelda's rope. The only way to save Zelda, would be to shoot through Malon.
"Do it, Link!" Malon screamed. "The Princess is more important!"
The Hero of Time, who had faced down Ganondorf and then Ganon himself, shook with fear. Link looked at Malon. Her eyes were glistening with terror, but her back was straight and her face set. She was ready. He had never felt more proud of her than he had at that moment. "Do it," she pleaded.
Link pulled back the drawstring. The bow stretched, the arrow aimed. He gripped it harder to keep himself from shaking. His teeth chattered and he bit his lip so hard it split, filling his mouth with the salty taste of blood. He almost whimpered, but forced it back. He was the Hero of Time. He had the Triforce of Courage. And yet, even all this couldn't stop his vision blurring as tears pooled in his eyes. His soul felt as though it were being shredded apart.
He peered down the length of the grainy wooden shaft of the arrow, its metal tip in line with Malon's throat.
A heartbeat.
"Do it," she repeated.
Zelda's head slumped.
"Do it."
Another heartbeat.
"Do it."
Zelda faded.
"Do it."
"No," he whispered. At the very last moment he jerked the bow up and released the arrow. He let the bow clatter to the floor. Smooth and quick, he reached back for his boomerang and flung it at the lever.
The arrow sliced through Malon's rope a split second before he heard the boomerang clang against the lever. The arrow clattered against the rock ceiling, missing Zelda's rope. He reached down for his bow to save the Princess, safe in the knowledge that Malon would land on the platform below.
Only the platform hadn't budged.
The scream that would haunt his every night tore through the cavern. Link heard Talon howl in rage and pain and he dropped to his knees, stunned. He looked towards the left alcove.
Cyle was awake. He was hanging on to the lever. He had stopped the lever from moving.
Zelda spun on the rope as the wizard laughed at Link's predicament.
He had stopped the lever from moving.
Cyle whipped his own bow out, aimed it at Zelda's binds and let free the arrow.
He had stopped the lever from moving.
Talon was weeping. The steam from magma lava had clouded the ranch owner's view and to him it had seemed Link had let Malon plummet to her doom, just so he could get a clear shot at Zelda's rope. Either way, Link could not win.
He had stopped the lever from moving.
Zelda landed in a heap. Cyle pulled free a green-tinted magic arrow, then readied his bow. The wizard howled in rage as the arrow went straight through his heart.
The bastard had stopped the lever from moving.
Cyle hookshotted across to Zelda. She stirred in his arms before slowly awakening. The colour was returning to her face and hair. "What happened?" she said sleepily.
"I saved you," he said with a gallant smile.
Zelda gazed up at that smile, her expression dreamlike. Her own mouth started to spread in a slow grin. "You did?"
She sat up, as Cyle held her. "Where's Malon? And why is Talon crying?"
Cyle cocked his head towards Link. "Ask your hero."
3
Three summers passed since that fateful day and Link found himself in Zelda's chamber
"Marry you?" Zelda folded her arms across her chest, while Link found something interesting to gaze at on the floor.
There was a moment's silence as Zelda continued to glare at him. Finally Link spoke. "Zelda…you've grown to become my best friend. No. You're more than that. I…" His voice trailed off. He wasn't good at expressing his feelings.
"Link," she said, her tone laced with sadness. She didn't really know how to say what she wanted to. She decided to go straight to the point. "I'm going to marry Cyle."
Link growled in anger. "The murderer, you mean?"
"Link!" she said sharply. Zelda sighed. Link had taken Malon's death too hard. "Link," her voice was softer now. "It was an accident. You were trying to save me. It's no good blaming Cyle. He's a good man."
"He's a good man," Link mocked.
She slapped him, her eyes angry.
"His word over mine is it?"
Zelda stayed silent for a moment. Then she said, "I think you should go."
"He's a murderer. He's scum. You'll live to regret marrying him."
The words were said with such ferocity that Zelda was at a loss for words for a moment. Then the heat rose to her voice. "You know something. The prophecy says that every hundred summers an evil rises and every hundred summers someone 'good' comes to stop it. Well, hey, here's an idea. Why don't we just get rid of the alleged good guy and maybe we won't have to suffer the evil every generation, would we? After all, if one doesn't exist, then the other surely can't. Maybe, the evil only exists because of the good. That just makes the good just as bad as the one he fights, I think."
Link was stung. Zelda flushed with guilt.
He walked up to her. "You're making a mistake."
Link left and had not seen Zelda ever since.
4
Fran stood open-mouthed as a teary eyed Link finished his story. "We're going to need a lot of help."