A/N: Woohooo...wow, did this take a time to get out. Sorry for the delay. Had a run-in not only with life, but a bit of writer's apathy. Not quite writer's block because I knew what I wanted to write, but I just couldn't force myself to do it. Anyways, as always, much love to Tori for the beta-ing, and who also pointed out that I accidentally omitted a scene from chapter two. I fixed it, so think of it as a bonus for waiting so long, and not because I'm a flake who can't remember her own chapters. And if you happen to see anything, or comment on anything, please drop me a line. Thanks for reading!
Malon held her breath for the seemingly thousandth time. Her entire body tensed, the blood pounding in her ears. When the person passed by without glancing in her direction, she sagged against the building, releasing her breath in a loud whoosh. Gritting her teeth, she pushed herself off the wall, knees threatening to give out under her full weight. She demanded that they hold, and somehow they did.
Stables, stables, where are the stables? she asked herself. Chewing on her lower lip, she stayed deep in the shadows, praying no one else would pop up and scare her out of her skin. The scent of manure and hay reached her nose. Found you! Malon caroled silently, adding, I hope, as an afterthought.
There was only one building large enough to act as a barn, and she dashed across the empty street to it. After a quick search, she found the doors, both old and badly warped. She let her head tip back and let out a quiet groan. Figures, just absolutely figures! she thought. Oh well, here goes nothing....
Her hands gripped the door, and she paused, trying to discern if anyone was inside. Only deafening silence filled her ears. She began to tug open the doors, wincing every time the wood groaned in protest. When a crack large enough to let her slip through appeared, she ducked inside.
A thick blanket of darkness smothered her sight. There were few streetlights working outside, and none of the light leaked into the building. Malon froze, hundreds of thoughts flying about her mind. What if there was someone inside? What if she ran into them in the dark? The ideas made her skin crawl and the fine hairs on her neck and arms stand up. Hugging herself, she took deep breaths, each exhalation shuddering out of her body. Her thoughts turned to Lure, and Link, both of whom were depending on her. She took a hesitant step in, hand tentatively reaching out in the thick dark.
Hot flesh met hers. Malon started to scream, but something struck her hard. She fell to the floor, instinctively curling up in a ball, breath coming in gasps. Something soft touched her face, and she flinched away. The touch returned, more insistent than before. She lifted her hand to strike at it, but stopped, her mind recovering from the shock and starting to function. Shaking fingers met velvet skin. A warm breath bathed her hand, and she nearly cried. Feeling weak and rubbery, she slowly stood up and touched the soft hide of a horse. She leaned on the animal, breathing deep its scent.
Soon the animal shifted away from her, forcing her to stand on her own. Malon inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly. Once she was sure the urge to faint was gone, she wondered how she was going to find Epona out of the animals that could be in there. "I don't suppose that if Epona's in here, she could answer me?" she said, feeling a small, shaky grin turn up the corners of her mouth.
The horse butted its head hard against her, almost knocking her over again. Ignoring rational thought, she decided to obey the animal. She turned and walked back to the door, reassured by the sound of hoof beats following her. At the crack between the doors, faint sallow light trickled through. Malon turned and was rewarded by the sight of a chestnut head topped by a flaxen forelock. A slightly hysterical giggle burbled up inside her, and she covered her mouth with her hands. Epona nibbled her sleeve, then stomped impatiently, demanding the Hylian to let her out. "Now I know why Link talks to you so much," Malon said. "It's almost as if you understand us."
Epona returned her questioning stare, the sulfuric light reflecting in her warm brown eyes. Shaking her head, Malon tugged open the door further, allowing enough room for the horse to pass. She reached out her hand to grab a hold of Epona's mane and lead her to Link and Lure, but the horse danced out of her reach and bolted past her, leaving Malon to watch her race away.
* * *
"Did you hear that?" Lure asked, hand instinctively reaching for his sword's hilt. Link almost slipped from his grasp, and he quickly readjusted his hold on his friend's shoulders.
Anju clenched her teeth, willing away her anger. She knew the Guardian was wound tight and hypersensitive, but if he kept jumping at imaginary noises and giving her heart attacks, she'd have to kill him. Refusing to answer yet again, she kept winding the bandage around Link's torso.
"Maybe I should check it out," Lure said.
"Move, and I'll glue you to the floor," Anju snapped. "You need to keep holding him upright or we're never going to get this done."
"Sorry," Lure said.
Anju tied the two ends of the bandage together, making sure the knot was snug. "There, now we won't have to worry so much about infection. You can set him down."
Lure obeyed. Relieved of his burden, he let out a breath and stretched. "I wish Malon would get back here."
"Someone else is with you?"
Lure nodded. "Malon. You remember her, don't you?"
Anju smiled. "Yes. She's the redhead that was always glued to yours and Link's side when she visited the castle."
"That'd be her. And despite what that old adage says, I don't think age has slowed her down any. In fact I think it's had a reversed effect on her."
Anju laughed, glad for a break in the tension that threatened to suffocate them. She glanced back at Link and instinctively jumped. His eyes were open and unfocused, staring at the ceiling as if he saw through it. He blinked his eyes, then turned his head, meeting Anju's gaze. She shivered. His pupils were dilated, and it felt like he was looking past her face, into the dark recesses of her soul. He blinked again, and the spell was broken. She pushed past Lure and knelt by Link's side. "How do you feel?"
Those unnerving eyes turned back to her. "Thirsty." His voice was raspy, soft.
"We don't have any water-," she was interrupted by Lure jostling into position next to her.
"You're awake, that's great," the Guardian said, forgetting to keep his voice lowered. Anju winced, eyes instinctively flitting towards the door. She glared at the man, who mouthed 'sorry'.
Link squinted his eyes, trying to bring them into focus. "Why are you two here?"
"If that isn't the stupidest question of the century," Lure said. "To save your pathetic hide, that's why."
"Save me?" Link tried to sit up and stopped with a sharp intake of breath. He let gravity push him back to the ground. "That hurt."
"I hope loss of intellect is a normal aftereffect of getting beaten," Lure said to Anju.
"You shouldn't have come here," Link said.
"So we should've let you stay here and die?" Lure's voice sharpened, annoyance starting to creep into his words.
"Yes, and I wouldn't have let them kill me."
"Of course. So you let them do this to you because you have a masochistic sense of pleasure. Right."
Link rubbed his forehead. "What I get off on is not the topic of this conversation."
"Could've fooled me," Lure muttered.
The look Link gave him brought a laugh to Lure. Trying to cover his lapse of seriousness, he said, "So why did you let yourself get beaten to pulp, since you believe we came here to save your butt for no reason."
"I didn't say no reason. Stop putting words in my mouth."
"I'd like to put a gag in your mouth, is what I'd like to do."
"What is your problem?"
"My problem is that you were half-dead when we found you. We go through all this to save your worthless hide, and you thank us by telling us that we shouldn't be here!"
Link flinched at Lure's rising tone. He tried to sit up again. He didn't like Lure towering over him, it made him feel at a disadvantage. After some struggling, he was sitting on his own and wishing he wasn't. His back felt like someone had spilt poison on his skin, burning away at his flesh. Stifling a gasp of pain, he looked at Lure beneath hair he was too tired to push away. "I'm not ungrateful. I don't want you to get hurt."
"So it's all right if you get hurt? Aren't we being selfish."
Link took a deep breath, forcing away the urge to erupt on his friend. He knew Lure was worried, and that he wasn't being very gracious, but it was hard to keep that all in perspective while his back throbbed and his nerves grated with every sound. "Listen, they aren't going to kill me. Not yet, anyway. They know that just by my being here I'll attract the rest of them."
"The rest of them." Lure sighed, his fingers absently running over his sword's hilt. "Sometimes I wish I could kill them myself so this would all be over with."
A pained smile crossed Link's face. "True."
"So why didn't you put up a fight?" Lure asked.
"A fight?"
The look Lure gave Link told him exactly what he was trying not to speak. "I didn't want to," Link said.
"You didn't want to." Lure's fingers were flexing, as if he was imagining them around Link's neck. "Why not?"
"I didn't want to kill people who're only trying to fix what's been broken in their world. Yes, I could've gotten free, but the price would've been too high. This way, children still have their parents, and I still have myself. I didn't lose to the tainted magic inside me. I think that's worth a bloody back and your endless ranting."
"I do not rant."
Before either could take another verbal shot, Anju broke in. "Do you hear something?"
"I hear the babble of a fool," Lure said.
Both Link and Anju glared at him, and he melted into silence. They sat still as stones, straining to hear if someone was approaching. A puzzled look on his face, Lure said, "It sounds like a running horse."
* * *
Malon leaned against the side of the building, doubled over as she gasped for breath. She could see steam rising from her skin, the cool night chilling her heated body. "That...damn horse...is too damned fast," she panted. Wiping the sweat from her eyes, she huffed out a loud breath.
A shout from the right almost scared the skin off her. She pressed herself into the wood behind her, willing it to swallow her up and hide her from sight. Three men ran past, heading in the direction that Epona had raced off in. Malon bit back a groan and chased after them, making sure to keep as far back as possible without losing them. She recognized the direction they were heading and this time bit back a curse. They were headed right to Link.
* * *
"It's Epona." Link pushed himself up, forcing himself to stand on shaking legs. Lure gave him a shoulder to lean on. "Anju, you should leave."
Her scowl would have been more threatening had her face not been so pale. "I won't run away if they're coming."
"Lure's right," Link said. "If you get caught or hurt, who'll look after your family? Sometimes it takes more courage to run away then stay."
She dropped her eyes at the sight of his wry grin. She hesitated, than gave Link a kiss, leaving the room with a swish from her skirts.
"Looks like it's just you and me, against the world," Lure said with his trade-mark broad, devil-may-care smile.
Link dropped his head on his friend's shoulder, enjoying the sensation of resting against someone else, letting someone else carry the burden, if only for a moment. "We might as well face them head on," Link said, shifting his weight back to his own legs.
Lure drew his sword and nodded. He took the lead as they walked out the door, expecting the streets to be filled with people and sharp, pointy weapons. Instead they found one horse skidding to a stop in front of them, three men hot on her tail, and Malon trailing behind them all.
Everyone froze when they saw each other. Before anyone could take action, a voice to their side said, "I suggest everyone stay calm. Now is not the time to shed blood."
Marek stood beside the captain of the Calatian guard, a group of men-at-arms close behind them, all on horseback. Their armor and sheathed weapons was enough to convince everyone to heed Marek's advice. Epona sidled up to Link, offering him support, relief apparent in the way she kept nuzzling him. Malon trotted up to them, keeping a wide berth around the three Hunters and the Calatians. She eyed Link, appraising his injuries before turning on Epona and giving her an annoyed smack. The mare bore it with surprising benevolence.
"Since you seem willing to listen, I suggest you follow me. We have much to discuss between us." Link knew who Marek was truly referring to, but he decided to play along. The more time he had to sort things out and rest, the better.
* * *
Marek and the Calatian group led them to a two story house. Smoke curled from one of the chimneys, a sulfuric smear against the night. Inside, the house offered warmth from the cold night, though only to body. Ganondorf and Tarragon, the man who had recruited Link in Kakariko, seemed to represent the Hunters for this meeting. Zelda with Impa, who looked healed albeit paler, Marek and the Calatian captain, and the wayward three of them made up the rest of the group.
The room was narrow and smoky from the fire burning in the wide hearth. A cauldron hung over the blaze, the aroma of its cooking contents cloying in the air. Chairs of various sizes and benches were arranged in a circle: their coming had been anticipated.
"This looks like a happy bunch," Lure said softly as everyone situated themselves on the furniture, each group sticking close to their own.
Link gave his friend a wry smile, glad for Lure's ability to ease the tension he felt knotting his muscles. He was not looking forward to what was to come.
An uneasy silence settled over the room, each person glancing at each other, no one wishing to meet the others' eyes. Link noticed Zelda seemed removed from the happenings, her eyes fixed on the floor as if in deep thought.
Marek stood, catching everyone's attention and holding it. "Now that we have everyone here and as much peace as can be expected, we are going to discuss what to do about the Death Riders."
As Marek continued to speak, Zelda stood up. She whispered something to Impa before slipping past the others and exiting. No one seemed to care about her leaving, and Marek's words never missed a beat.
Malon watched her pass, then acting on a whim, decided to follow her. She leaned over to Link, and poked him in the back.
"What?"
"Can I borrow your coat?"
"Why?"
"I want to use it. Or are you going to send me out there in the cold to freeze?"
"Why are you going outside?"
She huffed a sigh. "Is that all you do, ask questions? Can I have it or not?"
Link relinquished his coat, giving her a curious look but not deigning to inquire further.
Ignoring the looks she received from the curious Calatians and suspicious Hunters, Malon wrapped the greatcoat around her and followed in the Princess's footsteps. She was glad that the Princess had given her an excuse to step outside. No matter what they would decide in there, her mind was already made up. She would stand by Link, even if it meant death. Better for her to follow the Hylian woman and see what she was up to. She wasn't very good at changing people's minds, anyways. She tended to lose her temper and threaten to deck them instead of reasoning with them.
The faint tracings of dawn were coloring the eastern sky. Malon wrapped Link's coat closer to her body, enjoying the scent of wool, dust, and horse mixed with the scent of him. She had always been comforted by his presence, and time and circumstance would not change that.
"Why did you follow me out here?" Zelda asked. She was standing by the building, as if waiting. Even with her hair disheveled and a tattered shawl wrapped about her, she still bore herself like the royalty she was.
In the stillness the sound of her feet shuffling on the broken cobbles grated on her nerves. Malon stopped her shifting, and said, "Boredom, I guess. It doesn't matter to me what they decide; it won't effect me. Besides, there's something special about the air in the very early morning. I enjoy it."
A small smile turned up the corners of Zelda's mouth. "Indeed. I wish to walk over to the Temple. Would you join me?"
Malon nodded, glad that Zelda wanted company. She wouldn't have to force her company on the Princess, or attempt to sneak behind her. She doubted either would have worked.
Their breath misted in the chill air as they walked the silent streets. The houses watched them with glassy eyes, the darkened windows seeming to hint at black secrets hidden deep within. Malon hugged the coat closer to her body, focusing her eyes on the outlines of buildings against the vibrant colors of the sky. The Temple soon met her gaze, the vaulted roof and spires piercing the ether.
"Beautiful," Malon breathed.
Zelda studied her face. "I envy you," she said after a time.
"What?"
Zelda turned her eyes to the Temple. "You have a very innocent air about you. You appreciate the simple beauties of the world. It's been so long since I've remembered to enjoy the touch of the wind, or the sound of water as it runs over its bed of rocks."
"It's not that hard to start again."
"Hmm. If only life could be as simple as you see it."
"But it is. Nobody can complicate things for yourself, just you. It's all in your perspective," Malon said with a shrug, "I guess."
Zelda did not answer. She shivered suddenly, watching the entrance to the Temple. Malon followed her gaze and saw a robed figure, features obscured by the shadow of the temple. Her hands instinctively reached for weapons she did not have. "Do not bother," said Zelda. "He is not one of the Death Riders, but someone I came to seek council with. You should return to your friends."
Zelda walked forward, her head held high. Malon, unsure of what to do, hesitated. She wondered if she should stay in case the Princess needed her help, but instead chose to leave. She had nothing to defend herself, and if Zelda was in danger, getting Impa or Marek's help would be the smarter answer. With one last look at the deep crimson sky and black Temple, Malon turned her back and left.
* * *
