Chapter 6
The next morning we headed to the castle. It was actually nicer to have the company of my best friend. When we reached the castle, someone was already there but whoever it was didn't hear us.
As we hid I became really dizzy and fell down. Flashes of a beautiful girl crossed my eyes. Then a scene appeared where she and Link were speaking, then one of the girl riding away in the rain on a white mare with a hard looking woman. Link was watching before Ganondorf approached on his black stallion.
My vision ended and I was breathing hard since I still wasn't accustomed to having them. I realized that the girl was Princess Zelda. She was the daughter of the King and considered to be one of the fairest elves in Hyrule. Slowly I got up and walked to the person standing there.
"Your highness?" I asked startling them
Indeed the girl was beautiful but she was not dressed at all like a princess. She wore tight blue pants with a silver shirt bearing the 'eye of truth' painted in red. A scarf hung I assumed was supposed to cover her face.
"Huh?" Zelda said "Your highness no longer applies to me. Hyrule has fallen into a pit of despair and the Hero of Time has not awakened after three long years."
She spoke with great wisdom though she was not that old.
"Princess my name is -"
"I know who you are, Sairalinde Trinity. A Hylian who thought herself a Kokiri. Now she leaves in search of her brother"
"How'd you know?"
"People talk but only the trees have the true story. They thrive on gossip"
"That I know" I said
"Your friend does not have to remain hidden"
"Dmitri, come on out" I called
"What has happened? People spoke of Hyrule as a beautiful place. Almost paradise" I asked
"The evil king of the Gerudos stripped the land. He fought my family and won. He murdered them and took control. Link was a friend and with his help we could have won, but when he opened the Door of Time, Ganondorf was able to obtain a piece of the sacred Triforce. The sage, Rauru, took him. Where? I do not know" Zelda explained then continued.
"I have been running and hiding for years. I am disguised as a Shiekah. One day I will find Link and help him in disguise as Shiek of the Shiekahs."
"My journey is long for I too search for Link" I said
"As help I shall give you advice" Zelda said "Start by going to Lon Lon Ranch. A girl named Malon may be able to help you find your brother. And Sairalinde, be careful, Ganondorf has caused the escape of much evil."
I bowed. Then Zelda threw something on the ground surrounding her with smoke. When it lifted, she was gone.
"She's hiding something" Dmitri said after staying in silence
"What do you mean?"
"She's keeping something from you"
I knew Dmitri was right. But I figured it was one of those things I'm better off not knowing, but I would need to know later.
"C'mon, the ranch is south and evil is stirring" I said
It took nearly an hour before we reached Lon Lon Ranch, but luckily the road was marked and flat. When we got inside I saw nothing. No people, only horses running around in a pen. There were cuccos or chickens to the left eating corn off the ground. There were only two buildings. One, which I assumed were the stables by the looks and smell of it and the other, must be their home.
I finally spotted a tall thin man with an ugly mustache standing by the gate of the pen holding the horses.
"Looks like a weasel" Dmitri said
I laughed a little too loud and the weasel-man looked over at us and smiled falsely. We walked over to him and said 'hello.' His response was not as polite
"Who're you?" He asked rudely
"Um, well, my name is Saira, and this is my friend Dmitri" I responded as nicely as I could
"What do you want?"
"You know the polite thing to do is tell us your name" Dmitri replied coolly
Taken aback the man said "I'm Ingo, owner of Lon Lon Ranch. Now then, can I interest you in a ride on one of my fine horses? Only 10 rupees for 2 minutes"
"2 minutes!" Dmitri yelled
If there was one thing Dmitri loved to do more than anything else, it was piss off people like Ingo. And he was extremely good at it.
"You don't actually expect me to pay that much" Dmitri said
I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.
"My good sir, instruction is included"
"You're more daft than I though" Dmitri said "It'll take you 2 minutes for instruction. Did you expect to let us mount the horse then immediately tell us to get off?"
"Well, no"
"You know, I'll just have to go speak to Ganondorf about this"
Now it was getting good
"Wait, there's no way you associate with the Great Ganondorf" Ingo retaliated
"How dare you! You question my knowing him. He would be outraged to hear this. His adopted nephew and niece being treated so horrendous by a subject"
"Now, wait. Adopted nephew and niece? That's outrageous"
"Then why don't we go ask him right now. Come Saira, let's go see Uncle Ganon about this" I nodded and we started walking away until Ingo stopped us.
Ingo stared Dmitri straight in the eyes and Dmitri stared right back.
"Who knows what the Great Ganondorf would do if you are speaking the truth? Ride as long as you like. Free of charge. Just tell your uncle what a gracious man Ingo is"
"Will do my good man"
I had to hand it to Dmitri; his skills did come in handy because I knew I could never do that. After we mounted the horses, Dmitri forced Ingo to take our bags to one of the extra room they had. We rode most of the day and Dmitri was terrible. He must have fallen off 20 times while I rode with perfect ease.
When the sun began to set, I quit riding and went exploring. I took my horse to the stables first and that's where I met Malon.
"Vedui, my name is Saira" I said
"Vedui, I'm Malon" I was happy to find she knew Elvish and Hylian too.
She seemed very sad. Her face was tan apparently from riding and she had blue eyes with bright red hair. She had a very young look to her
"Not to be offensive, but why are you so sad?"
She sighed deeply "Have you met the new owner of the ranch? Ingo the Annoying?"
"I'm going to take a stab at this and say you don't like him" I said
"You'd be undeniably correct. My father Talon used to own this ranch. People of Hyrule loved him and our ranch. Then Ganondorf seized control. He kicked my father our and put Ingo in charge. We have lost pretty much all of our business."
"Why do you stay?"
"When I disobey, he treats the horses so badly and I couldn't imagine what he would do if I left"
"That's awful"
"Let me give you a little advice, don't stay long. He will charge you out of all your money"
"We got to ride free. Ingo thinks Dmitri and I are the adopted niece and nephew of Ganondorf"
"That may be but nephew or not, he'll get all he can out of you since you're the first business we've had since the faery boy"
"Faery boy?"
"Yeah he stayed here one night. That was a little over 3 years ago. He also helped my father one time. My dad had fallen asleep while delivering milk to the castle and the faery boy woke him up. I think his name was Link. I still remember he was the only one who could tame - wait, you're holding Epona!"
I looked at the horse I'd been riding. She had dark red fair with a white mane and tail.
"So?" I didn't see the big deal
"Epona never lets anyone but me ride her"
"Okay? Well she came to me. All I did was play a song on Dmitri's ocarina Link had taught me, then she came up and nuzzled me"
"Link taught you? How do you know the faery boy?"
"The 'faery boy' as you so eloquently put it, is my brother" I said petting Epona "Link Trinity. It's actually why I'm here. I'm looking for him"
"Really? He's your brother? Ah, now I can see. Only the eyes separate you" Malon said smiling
"I was sent here. Someone told me you could help"
"I'm afraid all I know is that he had traveled to Lake Hylia before he disappeared"
"Thank you"
Outside shouting had erupted between Ingo and Dmitri. Malon and I ran to hear a little better.
"How dare you charge me to stay here?" Dmitri yelled
"Nephew or not, a fee is requited and besides you have shown me no proof to even suggest you are who you say you are"
"Ganondorf will hear of this. I assure you." Dmitri said as he stormed off to our room. Ingo didn't notice the devilish smile he wore.
I bid farewell to Malon for the night and went to the room with Dmitri to hear the whole story.
"Not much to tell. I tried to get out of paying for our rooms" he explained
"How'd that go?" I joked
"I got half off" he laughed
For awhile we sat there and talked
"Dmitri stop that," I scolded. He liked to change the color of his hair. Hylian elves, I had discovered, were very good at changing our appearance with the need of potions or spells. I was really good but I didn't show off. Dmitri could only change his hair and eyes but that was the extent of his abilities because he didn't practice like I did.
"Sorry, I'm bored" he replied changing his hair back to its natural black
"I could just imagine what Vienne would say"
"So, how long are we staying here?" he asked
"A few days, then we go to Lake Hylia"
"But that's a 6-day journey" he protested
I looked sternly at him "I didn't ask you to come so don't complain"
We stayed for 3 more days. Malon had become my friend and taught me a lot about horses. I had introduced Dmitri to Malon and he took a real shine to her. One night while I was out riding, he spent three hours with her.
The next morning we out again. Malon had snuck us some supplies because Ingo insisted on charging us for everything. He'd taken nearly half our money in fees but I found out later Dmitri had stolen most of it back.
"So are you sad to leave?" I asked when we stopped that night
"Malon was cool and Ingo was fun to irritate but the smell of that place was getting to me"
"Uh huh. Admit it. You liked her"
"I'm still too young to like girls" Dmitri said avoiding my gaze
"Oh, so you were actually talking for those 3 hours the other night?"
He glared but said nothing
"Could you help me out here? I've been trying to start a fire for about an hour now" Dmitri begged
I laughed and summoned a light bead to start a fire.
"You've got to teach me that" he said
"Sure" I said. I stared up at the night sky and tried to find all the constellations. Link and I had made up our own and they were my favorite. I would have given anything to have him lying with me naming the stars like we used to.
Dmitri laid down "Look, there's the Big Spoon"
"Dipper" I corrected
"Right and Sagicarus"
"Sagittarius" I laughed
"I know you want him here" Dmitri said
"Am I that transparent?"
"No. I can just tell. Your eyes are brighter when you are remembering him. I know how close you were"
"It hurts. I miss him so much"
"I know, but you'll always have me" he said being stupid and snuggling up again me staring up with puppy dog eyes
"That pleases me more than you know" I said
The next morning we headed to the castle. It was actually nicer to have the company of my best friend. When we reached the castle, someone was already there but whoever it was didn't hear us.
As we hid I became really dizzy and fell down. Flashes of a beautiful girl crossed my eyes. Then a scene appeared where she and Link were speaking, then one of the girl riding away in the rain on a white mare with a hard looking woman. Link was watching before Ganondorf approached on his black stallion.
My vision ended and I was breathing hard since I still wasn't accustomed to having them. I realized that the girl was Princess Zelda. She was the daughter of the King and considered to be one of the fairest elves in Hyrule. Slowly I got up and walked to the person standing there.
"Your highness?" I asked startling them
Indeed the girl was beautiful but she was not dressed at all like a princess. She wore tight blue pants with a silver shirt bearing the 'eye of truth' painted in red. A scarf hung I assumed was supposed to cover her face.
"Huh?" Zelda said "Your highness no longer applies to me. Hyrule has fallen into a pit of despair and the Hero of Time has not awakened after three long years."
She spoke with great wisdom though she was not that old.
"Princess my name is -"
"I know who you are, Sairalinde Trinity. A Hylian who thought herself a Kokiri. Now she leaves in search of her brother"
"How'd you know?"
"People talk but only the trees have the true story. They thrive on gossip"
"That I know" I said
"Your friend does not have to remain hidden"
"Dmitri, come on out" I called
"What has happened? People spoke of Hyrule as a beautiful place. Almost paradise" I asked
"The evil king of the Gerudos stripped the land. He fought my family and won. He murdered them and took control. Link was a friend and with his help we could have won, but when he opened the Door of Time, Ganondorf was able to obtain a piece of the sacred Triforce. The sage, Rauru, took him. Where? I do not know" Zelda explained then continued.
"I have been running and hiding for years. I am disguised as a Shiekah. One day I will find Link and help him in disguise as Shiek of the Shiekahs."
"My journey is long for I too search for Link" I said
"As help I shall give you advice" Zelda said "Start by going to Lon Lon Ranch. A girl named Malon may be able to help you find your brother. And Sairalinde, be careful, Ganondorf has caused the escape of much evil."
I bowed. Then Zelda threw something on the ground surrounding her with smoke. When it lifted, she was gone.
"She's hiding something" Dmitri said after staying in silence
"What do you mean?"
"She's keeping something from you"
I knew Dmitri was right. But I figured it was one of those things I'm better off not knowing, but I would need to know later.
"C'mon, the ranch is south and evil is stirring" I said
It took nearly an hour before we reached Lon Lon Ranch, but luckily the road was marked and flat. When we got inside I saw nothing. No people, only horses running around in a pen. There were cuccos or chickens to the left eating corn off the ground. There were only two buildings. One, which I assumed were the stables by the looks and smell of it and the other, must be their home.
I finally spotted a tall thin man with an ugly mustache standing by the gate of the pen holding the horses.
"Looks like a weasel" Dmitri said
I laughed a little too loud and the weasel-man looked over at us and smiled falsely. We walked over to him and said 'hello.' His response was not as polite
"Who're you?" He asked rudely
"Um, well, my name is Saira, and this is my friend Dmitri" I responded as nicely as I could
"What do you want?"
"You know the polite thing to do is tell us your name" Dmitri replied coolly
Taken aback the man said "I'm Ingo, owner of Lon Lon Ranch. Now then, can I interest you in a ride on one of my fine horses? Only 10 rupees for 2 minutes"
"2 minutes!" Dmitri yelled
If there was one thing Dmitri loved to do more than anything else, it was piss off people like Ingo. And he was extremely good at it.
"You don't actually expect me to pay that much" Dmitri said
I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.
"My good sir, instruction is included"
"You're more daft than I though" Dmitri said "It'll take you 2 minutes for instruction. Did you expect to let us mount the horse then immediately tell us to get off?"
"Well, no"
"You know, I'll just have to go speak to Ganondorf about this"
Now it was getting good
"Wait, there's no way you associate with the Great Ganondorf" Ingo retaliated
"How dare you! You question my knowing him. He would be outraged to hear this. His adopted nephew and niece being treated so horrendous by a subject"
"Now, wait. Adopted nephew and niece? That's outrageous"
"Then why don't we go ask him right now. Come Saira, let's go see Uncle Ganon about this" I nodded and we started walking away until Ingo stopped us.
Ingo stared Dmitri straight in the eyes and Dmitri stared right back.
"Who knows what the Great Ganondorf would do if you are speaking the truth? Ride as long as you like. Free of charge. Just tell your uncle what a gracious man Ingo is"
"Will do my good man"
I had to hand it to Dmitri; his skills did come in handy because I knew I could never do that. After we mounted the horses, Dmitri forced Ingo to take our bags to one of the extra room they had. We rode most of the day and Dmitri was terrible. He must have fallen off 20 times while I rode with perfect ease.
When the sun began to set, I quit riding and went exploring. I took my horse to the stables first and that's where I met Malon.
"Vedui, my name is Saira" I said
"Vedui, I'm Malon" I was happy to find she knew Elvish and Hylian too.
She seemed very sad. Her face was tan apparently from riding and she had blue eyes with bright red hair. She had a very young look to her
"Not to be offensive, but why are you so sad?"
She sighed deeply "Have you met the new owner of the ranch? Ingo the Annoying?"
"I'm going to take a stab at this and say you don't like him" I said
"You'd be undeniably correct. My father Talon used to own this ranch. People of Hyrule loved him and our ranch. Then Ganondorf seized control. He kicked my father our and put Ingo in charge. We have lost pretty much all of our business."
"Why do you stay?"
"When I disobey, he treats the horses so badly and I couldn't imagine what he would do if I left"
"That's awful"
"Let me give you a little advice, don't stay long. He will charge you out of all your money"
"We got to ride free. Ingo thinks Dmitri and I are the adopted niece and nephew of Ganondorf"
"That may be but nephew or not, he'll get all he can out of you since you're the first business we've had since the faery boy"
"Faery boy?"
"Yeah he stayed here one night. That was a little over 3 years ago. He also helped my father one time. My dad had fallen asleep while delivering milk to the castle and the faery boy woke him up. I think his name was Link. I still remember he was the only one who could tame - wait, you're holding Epona!"
I looked at the horse I'd been riding. She had dark red fair with a white mane and tail.
"So?" I didn't see the big deal
"Epona never lets anyone but me ride her"
"Okay? Well she came to me. All I did was play a song on Dmitri's ocarina Link had taught me, then she came up and nuzzled me"
"Link taught you? How do you know the faery boy?"
"The 'faery boy' as you so eloquently put it, is my brother" I said petting Epona "Link Trinity. It's actually why I'm here. I'm looking for him"
"Really? He's your brother? Ah, now I can see. Only the eyes separate you" Malon said smiling
"I was sent here. Someone told me you could help"
"I'm afraid all I know is that he had traveled to Lake Hylia before he disappeared"
"Thank you"
Outside shouting had erupted between Ingo and Dmitri. Malon and I ran to hear a little better.
"How dare you charge me to stay here?" Dmitri yelled
"Nephew or not, a fee is requited and besides you have shown me no proof to even suggest you are who you say you are"
"Ganondorf will hear of this. I assure you." Dmitri said as he stormed off to our room. Ingo didn't notice the devilish smile he wore.
I bid farewell to Malon for the night and went to the room with Dmitri to hear the whole story.
"Not much to tell. I tried to get out of paying for our rooms" he explained
"How'd that go?" I joked
"I got half off" he laughed
For awhile we sat there and talked
"Dmitri stop that," I scolded. He liked to change the color of his hair. Hylian elves, I had discovered, were very good at changing our appearance with the need of potions or spells. I was really good but I didn't show off. Dmitri could only change his hair and eyes but that was the extent of his abilities because he didn't practice like I did.
"Sorry, I'm bored" he replied changing his hair back to its natural black
"I could just imagine what Vienne would say"
"So, how long are we staying here?" he asked
"A few days, then we go to Lake Hylia"
"But that's a 6-day journey" he protested
I looked sternly at him "I didn't ask you to come so don't complain"
We stayed for 3 more days. Malon had become my friend and taught me a lot about horses. I had introduced Dmitri to Malon and he took a real shine to her. One night while I was out riding, he spent three hours with her.
The next morning we out again. Malon had snuck us some supplies because Ingo insisted on charging us for everything. He'd taken nearly half our money in fees but I found out later Dmitri had stolen most of it back.
"So are you sad to leave?" I asked when we stopped that night
"Malon was cool and Ingo was fun to irritate but the smell of that place was getting to me"
"Uh huh. Admit it. You liked her"
"I'm still too young to like girls" Dmitri said avoiding my gaze
"Oh, so you were actually talking for those 3 hours the other night?"
He glared but said nothing
"Could you help me out here? I've been trying to start a fire for about an hour now" Dmitri begged
I laughed and summoned a light bead to start a fire.
"You've got to teach me that" he said
"Sure" I said. I stared up at the night sky and tried to find all the constellations. Link and I had made up our own and they were my favorite. I would have given anything to have him lying with me naming the stars like we used to.
Dmitri laid down "Look, there's the Big Spoon"
"Dipper" I corrected
"Right and Sagicarus"
"Sagittarius" I laughed
"I know you want him here" Dmitri said
"Am I that transparent?"
"No. I can just tell. Your eyes are brighter when you are remembering him. I know how close you were"
"It hurts. I miss him so much"
"I know, but you'll always have me" he said being stupid and snuggling up again me staring up with puppy dog eyes
"That pleases me more than you know" I said