On and on I rode, sweeping my eyes across the wide expanse of Hyrule
Field, hoping to see some sign of Lon Lon Ranch, Malon's home. Finally, I
found what I was looking for: a small wooden sign pointed in the direction
of my path: "Head south for Malon and Talon's Lon Lon Ranch." At last, I
knew the way to go.
About an hour (and a few wrong turns) later, I reached a narrow winding path climbing up a slope. On the top stood a wall of great height, and banners strung across the entrance were fluttering merrily in the afternoon breeze. Slowly Comet and I began the long climb up the slope.
When I finally reached the entrance, I was greeted by a strange man in pink overalls. His greeting, however, was stranger than his raiment: "Whatever you're selling, we're not interested. Go away." I didn't understand. Usually the princess was- oh, right. I'm not the princess I am a sheikah. I rode closer so as to show him my eyes. The rest of my face had been covered by a scarf, gerudo-style. "I wish to visit the ranch," said I, trying to make my voice sound cold. The result was shocking, even though I had somewhat expected it. "Well…. I…uh…. AHHHH!!!" The strange-looking man ran off inside the ranch, leaving me free to enter.
I was met with a quiet, serene scene. Horses were running free over the large plain that was in the very middle of the space inside the wall. Cuccos were clucking merrily from inside a building somewhere. And the person I was looking for was dead ahead.
I looked around the ranch. No one except Malon seemed to be outside. I wanted her to recognize me, but I didn't want to run the risk of anyone else doing the same. Especially the man in the pink overalls-he seemed strangely suspicious to me.
I pulled the hood off my face and dismounted. I trusted Comet to stay put, so I left her where she was. Cautiously I walked towards the corral where Malon was, singing softly and swaying back and forth. Once I had to duck behind a tree to avoid the sight of Mr. Talon, but other than that, I made it there without incident.
Cautiously I crept up to the center of the corral. Malon was looking the other way, so I used the opportunity to remove the scarf that still covered most of my face. "Malon!" I said. "Hey!" She jumped. "Zelda?! What are you doing here?………..And with red eyes! And I thought you couldn't leave the castle!" I laughed. "Hey, can we get inside?" I asked. "I don't wanna get caught out here.
Malon led me back through the corral and into a tall building that stood on my right. From the doorpost hung a sign that read:
Lon Lon Ranch:
Famous for Lon Lon Milk
Come on in!!!
We went inside the heavy door and entered a room absolutely full of cuccos: cuccos clucking and crowing and half-flying, altogether making a terrible lot of noise. She led me up a staircase that opened onto a long corridor that had three doors, each opening on the right-hand side of the hallway. The second one of these Malon opened, revealing the most peaceful- looking place I had ever seen.
Sunlight was streaming in through a large, open glass window, the gentle breeze just barely stirring the light, blue-and-white checked drapes. The walls and the floor were made of smooth, neatly polished wood. In a corner there stood a small, comfortable bed with a carved headboard made of the same wood. A multicolored patchwork quilt was lain over the bed, neatly tucked in on all sides. Resting against the headboard was a soft pillow in a white embroidered pillowcase that had blue, red, purple, and yellow flowers embroidered around the edge. Sitting under the window was a small wooden table and two chairs. A little red flower in a blue glass vase was set neatly in the middle. Somehow I wished that my room were like this: so simple, yet beautiful in its own way…
I was startled out of my thoughts when Malon actually shoved me inside, causing me to fall forward onto the floor, and landing right onto my face. "Hey!!! What, may I ask, was that?!" I asked, very annoyed at the prospect of my nose being given a new shape. "Sorry," said Malon, blushing. "I saw Ingo right outside the door. I didn't want him to see you. Let me help you up." "Thanks." I took Malon's hand as she helped pull me up off the floor. She was unusually strong, I thought. I sat down at the table while Malon went back downstairs, "to get something," she had said.
While I waited for Malon to return, I listened to the noises that could be heard on the ranch. Cuccos were making their usual racket, and a cow was lowing somewhere. Then I heard the sound that I dreaded most.
Footsteps.
Someone was coming! There was nowhere to hide. I froze in my seat, while the door slowly and silently creaked open. Then, the moment of truth. My heart was in my throat. I was about to be discovered when…..
"Hi, Zelda! Hey, are you all right?" Malon was there, standing in the doorway! I felt as if I would melt. When the shock wore off, I had time to fully view the situation. Malon by now had crossed the room, and was setting a white ceramic tray onto the table. On it were a white plate of chocolate chip cookies and two tall, clear glasses of fresh, cool Lon Lon Milk. The cookies smelled as if they were straight from the oven.
Gracefully Malon set the tray onto the table and handed me a glass of milk. "Thanks," I mumbled, quite shaken after that little adventure. Somehow I hadn't realized until then what the consequences of my leaving the castle might be. I looked out the window at some crazed cuccos. They didn't have that problem. I doubted that cuccos even knew what problems were, before I realized how stupid that sounded.
So Malon and I began talking merrily, munching warm cookies and sipping our milk. I had never felt as complete, as if I actually belonged somewhere in my entire life.
After a few minutes our conversation drifted into silence, every topic having been discussed, from dreams (Malon's dreams about a talking Lon Lon cow, and my prophetic ones), to everyday life at the Castle and the Ranch. The moment of truth had come. I knew that friends had no secrets from one another-and mine should be no exception. But I still was afraid of what would happen if I told her: would she be understanding, and us draw closer, or would she be put off? Luckily, she asked for me.
"So, Zelda, where's your Mother? I never hear anybody talk about her." I paused. I had been hoping she would word the question a little differently, but it was a good start, definitely a way to tell her.
"She is no longer mentioned because she is no longer with us," I answered, looking down at my plate. Saying that sentence hurt more than I thought it would.
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"Thanks, but it's okay. You know, it's not as hard on me as people would think. I mean, I never really knew her. She died in Kakariko Village, her hometown, when Gerudos ravaged it. She was killed protecting the same person whom is, in turn or by fate, protecting me."
"That's really amazing. But…."
Silence.
"But Kakariko Village wasn't opened to the common people until five years ago. Not even the Royal Family was allowed, only the Sheik…ah…… Oh."
"I know it sounds weird, but that's the way it is. My mother was one of the Shadow People, the Sheikah. Please don't…oh, no…"
Malon was obviously stunned by this information, and was still talking it in. There was an awkward silence, which seemed an eternity in itself, all packed into the time measured in about five seconds. What happened next was the worst, though. I will never forget how she looked at me then. She seemed to regard my Sheikan heritage as an animal that one thinks is cute, but upon instruction from parents, sees it as a danger and a threat.
"I really don't know what to say-I mean…what does this mean? How can, what can it be?
"Listen, I know most people regard the Sheikah as dangerous, but really they aren't a threat, and neither am I. And I am ten years old, I mean…what harm could I do?"
"How am I supposed to know? The Royal Family possesses magical powers, they say. And how are we supposed to know whether you guys are dangerous or not? I mean, all I have ever known is what my Father told me- I've never met one, until now."
"Until now?! What do you mean? Do you regard me as a whole other species now? I'm still a person, you know, and I do have feelings. The Sheikah aren't just crazed warriors set on destroying Hylians, you know, they-we are highly intelligent people. Why do you think that the Royal Family has trusted the Sheikah with their safety, the very things that haunt their dreams, signs of lurking dangers?"
"What do you mean, 'safety'? You have thousands of guards at your disposal!"
"Those morons couldn't catch a runaway cucco, let alone some crazed criminal! At least the ones at the castle…"
"You've got a point there…"
"But that's not the point. I-oh, I don't know anymore! I just thought…"
"What? What did you think?"
"That you'd be different. All my life people who knew my heritage have been telling me to keep it a secret. They said that I should cover up my past. They told me that all the people feared and distrusted the Sheikah. I thought you, my best friend, would be different; but I suppose those people were right. I should have never told you."
I wasn't really consciously choosing words to say. I suppose years and years of bottling up frustration had finally gotten their revenge, and the bottle had shattered into a thousand pieces. But, even if I was upset with her, I wish that my best of friends hadn't been caught in the crossfire.
"I don't think I can be around people right now. I'm sorry, but I really must go." I stood up to leave, and in a swirl of gray, my cloak was about me. I quickly strode towards the door, meaning to go straight downstairs and leave, to get Comet and head home, where I was accepted, if only for being a princess.
I stopped dead. I suddenly felt so dizzy. Shapes swirled in front of me, both those of what was in the room and some of an unknown nature. Strange glimpses invaded my mind, my thoughts, my senses. Everything went gray. The world started reeling, spinning, tearing around and around. And I was caught in the current, barely holding on, fearing goodness knows might happen if I let go of myself. Everything, painfully sharp at first, was now blurry and clouded, whether by tears, blindness, or both. Things got darker and darker. The floor tilted sharply up, causing my knees to buckle under my own weight and rise to hit my chest. I lurched forward.
All went dark. I saw and felt no more.
About an hour (and a few wrong turns) later, I reached a narrow winding path climbing up a slope. On the top stood a wall of great height, and banners strung across the entrance were fluttering merrily in the afternoon breeze. Slowly Comet and I began the long climb up the slope.
When I finally reached the entrance, I was greeted by a strange man in pink overalls. His greeting, however, was stranger than his raiment: "Whatever you're selling, we're not interested. Go away." I didn't understand. Usually the princess was- oh, right. I'm not the princess I am a sheikah. I rode closer so as to show him my eyes. The rest of my face had been covered by a scarf, gerudo-style. "I wish to visit the ranch," said I, trying to make my voice sound cold. The result was shocking, even though I had somewhat expected it. "Well…. I…uh…. AHHHH!!!" The strange-looking man ran off inside the ranch, leaving me free to enter.
I was met with a quiet, serene scene. Horses were running free over the large plain that was in the very middle of the space inside the wall. Cuccos were clucking merrily from inside a building somewhere. And the person I was looking for was dead ahead.
I looked around the ranch. No one except Malon seemed to be outside. I wanted her to recognize me, but I didn't want to run the risk of anyone else doing the same. Especially the man in the pink overalls-he seemed strangely suspicious to me.
I pulled the hood off my face and dismounted. I trusted Comet to stay put, so I left her where she was. Cautiously I walked towards the corral where Malon was, singing softly and swaying back and forth. Once I had to duck behind a tree to avoid the sight of Mr. Talon, but other than that, I made it there without incident.
Cautiously I crept up to the center of the corral. Malon was looking the other way, so I used the opportunity to remove the scarf that still covered most of my face. "Malon!" I said. "Hey!" She jumped. "Zelda?! What are you doing here?………..And with red eyes! And I thought you couldn't leave the castle!" I laughed. "Hey, can we get inside?" I asked. "I don't wanna get caught out here.
Malon led me back through the corral and into a tall building that stood on my right. From the doorpost hung a sign that read:
Lon Lon Ranch:
Famous for Lon Lon Milk
Come on in!!!
We went inside the heavy door and entered a room absolutely full of cuccos: cuccos clucking and crowing and half-flying, altogether making a terrible lot of noise. She led me up a staircase that opened onto a long corridor that had three doors, each opening on the right-hand side of the hallway. The second one of these Malon opened, revealing the most peaceful- looking place I had ever seen.
Sunlight was streaming in through a large, open glass window, the gentle breeze just barely stirring the light, blue-and-white checked drapes. The walls and the floor were made of smooth, neatly polished wood. In a corner there stood a small, comfortable bed with a carved headboard made of the same wood. A multicolored patchwork quilt was lain over the bed, neatly tucked in on all sides. Resting against the headboard was a soft pillow in a white embroidered pillowcase that had blue, red, purple, and yellow flowers embroidered around the edge. Sitting under the window was a small wooden table and two chairs. A little red flower in a blue glass vase was set neatly in the middle. Somehow I wished that my room were like this: so simple, yet beautiful in its own way…
I was startled out of my thoughts when Malon actually shoved me inside, causing me to fall forward onto the floor, and landing right onto my face. "Hey!!! What, may I ask, was that?!" I asked, very annoyed at the prospect of my nose being given a new shape. "Sorry," said Malon, blushing. "I saw Ingo right outside the door. I didn't want him to see you. Let me help you up." "Thanks." I took Malon's hand as she helped pull me up off the floor. She was unusually strong, I thought. I sat down at the table while Malon went back downstairs, "to get something," she had said.
While I waited for Malon to return, I listened to the noises that could be heard on the ranch. Cuccos were making their usual racket, and a cow was lowing somewhere. Then I heard the sound that I dreaded most.
Footsteps.
Someone was coming! There was nowhere to hide. I froze in my seat, while the door slowly and silently creaked open. Then, the moment of truth. My heart was in my throat. I was about to be discovered when…..
"Hi, Zelda! Hey, are you all right?" Malon was there, standing in the doorway! I felt as if I would melt. When the shock wore off, I had time to fully view the situation. Malon by now had crossed the room, and was setting a white ceramic tray onto the table. On it were a white plate of chocolate chip cookies and two tall, clear glasses of fresh, cool Lon Lon Milk. The cookies smelled as if they were straight from the oven.
Gracefully Malon set the tray onto the table and handed me a glass of milk. "Thanks," I mumbled, quite shaken after that little adventure. Somehow I hadn't realized until then what the consequences of my leaving the castle might be. I looked out the window at some crazed cuccos. They didn't have that problem. I doubted that cuccos even knew what problems were, before I realized how stupid that sounded.
So Malon and I began talking merrily, munching warm cookies and sipping our milk. I had never felt as complete, as if I actually belonged somewhere in my entire life.
After a few minutes our conversation drifted into silence, every topic having been discussed, from dreams (Malon's dreams about a talking Lon Lon cow, and my prophetic ones), to everyday life at the Castle and the Ranch. The moment of truth had come. I knew that friends had no secrets from one another-and mine should be no exception. But I still was afraid of what would happen if I told her: would she be understanding, and us draw closer, or would she be put off? Luckily, she asked for me.
"So, Zelda, where's your Mother? I never hear anybody talk about her." I paused. I had been hoping she would word the question a little differently, but it was a good start, definitely a way to tell her.
"She is no longer mentioned because she is no longer with us," I answered, looking down at my plate. Saying that sentence hurt more than I thought it would.
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"Thanks, but it's okay. You know, it's not as hard on me as people would think. I mean, I never really knew her. She died in Kakariko Village, her hometown, when Gerudos ravaged it. She was killed protecting the same person whom is, in turn or by fate, protecting me."
"That's really amazing. But…."
Silence.
"But Kakariko Village wasn't opened to the common people until five years ago. Not even the Royal Family was allowed, only the Sheik…ah…… Oh."
"I know it sounds weird, but that's the way it is. My mother was one of the Shadow People, the Sheikah. Please don't…oh, no…"
Malon was obviously stunned by this information, and was still talking it in. There was an awkward silence, which seemed an eternity in itself, all packed into the time measured in about five seconds. What happened next was the worst, though. I will never forget how she looked at me then. She seemed to regard my Sheikan heritage as an animal that one thinks is cute, but upon instruction from parents, sees it as a danger and a threat.
"I really don't know what to say-I mean…what does this mean? How can, what can it be?
"Listen, I know most people regard the Sheikah as dangerous, but really they aren't a threat, and neither am I. And I am ten years old, I mean…what harm could I do?"
"How am I supposed to know? The Royal Family possesses magical powers, they say. And how are we supposed to know whether you guys are dangerous or not? I mean, all I have ever known is what my Father told me- I've never met one, until now."
"Until now?! What do you mean? Do you regard me as a whole other species now? I'm still a person, you know, and I do have feelings. The Sheikah aren't just crazed warriors set on destroying Hylians, you know, they-we are highly intelligent people. Why do you think that the Royal Family has trusted the Sheikah with their safety, the very things that haunt their dreams, signs of lurking dangers?"
"What do you mean, 'safety'? You have thousands of guards at your disposal!"
"Those morons couldn't catch a runaway cucco, let alone some crazed criminal! At least the ones at the castle…"
"You've got a point there…"
"But that's not the point. I-oh, I don't know anymore! I just thought…"
"What? What did you think?"
"That you'd be different. All my life people who knew my heritage have been telling me to keep it a secret. They said that I should cover up my past. They told me that all the people feared and distrusted the Sheikah. I thought you, my best friend, would be different; but I suppose those people were right. I should have never told you."
I wasn't really consciously choosing words to say. I suppose years and years of bottling up frustration had finally gotten their revenge, and the bottle had shattered into a thousand pieces. But, even if I was upset with her, I wish that my best of friends hadn't been caught in the crossfire.
"I don't think I can be around people right now. I'm sorry, but I really must go." I stood up to leave, and in a swirl of gray, my cloak was about me. I quickly strode towards the door, meaning to go straight downstairs and leave, to get Comet and head home, where I was accepted, if only for being a princess.
I stopped dead. I suddenly felt so dizzy. Shapes swirled in front of me, both those of what was in the room and some of an unknown nature. Strange glimpses invaded my mind, my thoughts, my senses. Everything went gray. The world started reeling, spinning, tearing around and around. And I was caught in the current, barely holding on, fearing goodness knows might happen if I let go of myself. Everything, painfully sharp at first, was now blurry and clouded, whether by tears, blindness, or both. Things got darker and darker. The floor tilted sharply up, causing my knees to buckle under my own weight and rise to hit my chest. I lurched forward.
All went dark. I saw and felt no more.