DA HA! THE STORY LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVES!!!!!!! DA HA HA HA HA!!! Hope it was worth the wait!

Disclaimer: Zelda+Owning=Not me.

Chapter 4

"Well, that's kind of a coincidence," I murmured after a moment of silence. Link and Malon turned to look at me. "I come back, and the next day, evil is afoot." Link shrugged.

"I doubt it has something to do with you. No offense, but we've had evil for a long time before you ever came here," He joked. I half-smiled.

"True. But then again.who would send someone to kill you, Link?"

"Both of us. And pretty much anyone who used to work for Ganondorf."

"Or still is." Malon said softly. "He's not dead, you know. Just.put away." Link nodded.

"As much as I hate to say it, this calls for a trip to Zelda." He said mournfully. Malon grinned and punched his arm.

"Aw, you know you love seeing her," she joked. Link gave her a look of long suffering.

"Again with the hitting."

"What should we tell her?" I asked.

"What happened. Someone was sent to kill you two." Malon said.

"You know, he never said that he wasn't trying to kill you too, Malon," Link pointed out. Malon shuddered.

"I have enough of skullkids trying to kill me, thanks," she muttered.

"Well, anyway.think you can saddle up two horses for a trip, Mal? I'll take Epona," Link said. Malon nodded.

"Think we'll need to spend the night?" She asked.

"Even if we are, Zel will provide clothes and what not.she's a sucker for playing hostess." He shrugged.

"Sounds great. Ev, wanna come help?" Malon asked, nodding at the barn. I nodded and followed her in. There were about seven different horses inside, six with a brass nameplate on the stall door. The seventh unnamed one was in the far back, a tall black one. I wasn't sure if it was a mare or stallion. I walked slowly over to it, cooing softly. It stared me in the eye, not blinking or moving at all. I carefully reached out to rub its nose, and it nudged my hand as if in response. Malon let out a low whistle. I turned to look at her, and the horse, jealous that my attention was diverted, nudged my shoulder.

"That horse.we just got her in four days ago, and I can barely control her. But.looking at you two, you'd never know she nearly snapped the neck of the poor boy who delivered her." She tilted her head to one side in thought.

"Could.I ride this one?" I asked slowly. Malon frowned.

"Ev, she's being nice now, but it might be a different story once she's saddled up.I haven't been able to even put a harness on her." She cautioned.

"Can I try?" I asked. Malon sighed and nodded. Malon handed me a harness, and I slowly opened the stall door and went inside, the mare watching me the whole time. Malon told me what to do without getting too close, and in a short amount of time, the mare was completely equipped and ready to go. Malon shook her head in amazement.

"I swear, Ev, I'd never believe it if I didn't see it. It's like she was waiting for you." She said in disbelief.

"Does she have a name?" I asked. Malon shook her head.

"Since you're the only one she's being nice to, I think it's fitting you name her," she said. I thought a moment.

"What about." A thought crossed my mind, and I swallowed hard, but followed it. "How about Aliya?" Malon smiled.

"That's pretty! What's it from?" She asked.

"Um.it was my mother's name." I said quietly. Malon was quiet for a moment.

"I think it's most fitting, Ev." She replied. I nodded, then turned to grin at Malon.

"Shall we go out before Link wonders what happened to us?" I asked. Malon nodded and grinned back, climbing on the back of the stallion she had chosen to ride named Etan. I followed suit and cautiously mounted Aliya, but she held steady and started to walk out of the barn almost before I signaled her to, like she had read my thoughts. We both rode out and met Link outside, and the three of us left the Ranch, traveling at a fast trot. Malon told Link about the oddness surrounding my horse, and he accepted the information in thoughtful silence.

It was a few hours at that pace of riding before we got to the drawbridge outside the town surrounding Hyrule Castle. The last time I had seen the town was when I had first come to Hyrule four years ago, but then it had been a burned out ghost town. However, as we crossed the bridge and into the town, the difference between my memories and the town I saw now was staggering. Even at the brink of night, people were selling, buying, laughing, arguing, and some were even dancing. A riot of colors met my eyes, and somehow it was even more busy then a modern day city back in the United States. Malon and I followed Link through the streets, still on horseback, across the town and up a small path. After a short distance, we came to a gate that had been built since I'd last been here, with a guard in front of it.

"Identify yourselves," he commanded.

"I'm Link, the Hero of Time. I seek entrance to the castle," Link replied formally. The guard nodded and Malon and I.

"And those two?"

"The red head is Malon of Lon Lon Ranch, and the brunette is Evalyn, a.traveler." Link replied. The guard banged his spear on the ground, and the gate opened by some unseen mechanism. The three of us rode through, the gate closing creakily behind us.

As we rode up the road, we passed several pairs of guards, but none of them gave us any trouble. In fact, a couple of them greeted Link as we went by.

"Friends of yours?" I asked. Link shrugged.

"They seem to think so, anyway."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"He means that there are a few of those unknown souls who want to grab some of the glory that surrounds the infamous Hero of Time," Malon said in a mock-serious tone. Link scowled at her.

"That's not it!" He protested.

"Then what is it, O Wise One?" Malon replied, raising an eyebrow and grinning. Link shrugged.

"I dunno, maybe they.I dunno." He trailed off.

"Admit it, you're famous!" Malon prodded.

"Just because I'm the Hero of Time, chosen only once a generation and I've protected Hyrule a couple of times doesn't mean I'm famous!" Link protested.

"More then a couple of times." Malon replied.

"Name three."

"The time you saved Hyrule, the other time you saved Hyrule, and the other time you saved Hyrule, and the other time, and that other time.oh, wait, you only said three."

"Hey, could you manage to generalize that a little more?"

"Okay, the time you and Evalyn protected Hyrule from both Ganondorf and Rauru."

"That's one."

"Then the time when you awakened all the Sages in the first place."

"That's two."

"And the time with that mask."

"That wasn't Hyrule. That was Termina."

"What's Termina?" I put in.

"Another country, a ways from here," Link answered.

"Fine, but what about the times with those oracles."

"Again, not Hyrule."

"Well, fine then, but still, you've saved a ton of different countries, how am I supposed to keep them straight?" Malon said exasperatedly.

"Wow, Link, didn't know you got around so much," I laughed. Link glared at us and would have replied, but we had arrived at the castle.