He appeared beside a fence, clutching his arm to his chest. It was whole again, but the pain continued, unabated. Through the haze of pain, wondering where he'd appeared since this wasn't the Temple, Link carefully surveyed his surroundings.

There was a large perimeter fence, a section of which he was now using to keep himself standing. The wood was old but strong, withstanding decades of harsh winds coming across Hyrule Field. Inside the fence he could hear horses, and some lights shown through the cracks of the wood. For some reason Link felt as though this place was familiar...

Using the wood to support himself, Link made his way slowly around the fence, hoping to find an opening. As he trailed his hand across the wood, he couldn't shake the fact that he was here before. He knew this place, he was sure of it!

After minutes of walking, his arm slowly gaining feeling once more as the pain faded away, Link nearly fell when the support of the wooden fence gave way, and a pathway leading up a small hill greeted him. He blinked, then began the trek up the slope.

Behind him, a sign saying "LonLon Ranch" waved in the wind, unperturbed by the newcomer.

Inside the fence was a large pasture, fronted by some buildings-a barn and a house if Link wasn't mistaken. But which was which? A light was shining from a large window in one of the buildings, so he assumed that would be the house. Ambling towards the door, clutching his arm to his chest, Link's breath was starting to rasp in his throat. He hadn't realized he was so tired or sore, but the sight of an actual house made him realize he'd neglected his own health for some time. Ever since he'd first appeared, and then been taken to the Temple, he had only been nurturing his hate, barely eating or resting, waiting for a chance to strike that child who shared his name. But now that they'd met again, Link realized just how much he'd neglected himself, and it brought a sense of shame with it. He should know better than that-hadn't his journey taught him anything?

When he reached the door, he managed to drag his good hand from cradling his left arm to reach for the doorknob, but he never made it. Collapsing to the ground, dust flying about his frame, Link was barely conscious of the sounds of a person running towards him before he blacked out, his body suddenly giving in on him.



He opened his eyes to find he couldn't see. Sucking in a breath, trying to hold back his panic, Link took in his surroundings. He could hear someone scuffling about and a squeak of surprise, then whatever it was that was blocking his sight was gone, and he blinked as his vision truly did leave as a bright light blinded him for a second. When he regained his senses, he realized a small girl had lifted a piece of cloth from his face, setting it in a small pail of water to the side of her. When she turned back to him, her smile lit up, and her eyes sparkled.

"So, you're ok now? That's good, I was worried for a bit there." She nodded to him, then turned back to the pail, taking the cloth from it and squeezing it out, placing it back on his forehead, nearly on top of his bangs. Link reached a tentative hand up, lightly touching the fabric.

"To keep you from getting a fever," she answered his unspoken question. "You looked like you were about to get sick..." Her smile disappeared for a second, and Link frowned. She looked familiar, too... "Oh, I'm so sorry!" She held a hand to her chest and smiled again, her red hair swaying slightly behind her as she turned her head. "My name is Marron, sorry for not introducing myself earlier. But you don't have to tell me your name right yet, because you're rather sick. So you should get some more sleep, ok? I'll let you get some." With that, the girl smiled one last time, nodded her head, and left the room, leaving Link alone with his thoughts.

Marron, huh? That name was so familiar, yet for some reason he couldn't place the face. He was sure he knew a Marron, but she wasn't anything like this girl, was she? For one, she was his age... Sighing, trying to stop himself from getting confused and worsening a headache he already felt coming, Link sat up in the bed slowly, taking in his surroundings. He needed to worry about the immediate present, not fleeting, half-visible memories.

He was in a small room, apparently on the second floor if his view from the window was any indication. He saw no ground, just the roof of the barn, and a star-filled, pleasant sky. The moon was shining brightly, making for good lighting should he be traveling outside then. Inside the room, there was the bed, a dresser, and a low table with a small vase. He figured it must belong to the girl's father, since the room was too plain to belong to a female child, with the plain white walls and bare minimum interior. Beside the bed there was a small stand, which was where the girl set the pail with water. Depositing the cloth back into it, Link threw his legs over the side of the bed, leaning his elbows on his knees and cradling his head in his hands. If he drank, he wondered if this is what a hangover might feel like.

Sounds downstairs brought his head up, his ears pricked, ready for anything. Something heavy was coming up the stairs, and Link tensed, his hand straying towards his baldric. The noise stopped suddenly though, and when there was no movement for a good minute, Link's hand relaxed slightly.

Then the door burst open and Link fell backwards off the bed.

Talon looked around, his eyes still lidded from sleep. "Huh? I coulda sworn Marron tol' me someone was in here... Huh, what's this?" Talon floundered to the other side of the bed, where he found Link, his head nearly crushed beneath his body, his legs clear over his head and his knees resting on the ground. The young man made for quite the comical sight, and Talon burst out laughing, collapsing against the bed, much to Link's chagrin. It didn't help his headache any-both the facts that his neck was nearly breaking and that Talon's laughter was enough to shake the rafters-let alone the bed-jarring Link further.

"Some help...please..."

Talon stopped laughing, although he did chuckle, and nodded, getting off the bed. "Sure, m'boy, jus' you wait a second. Ol' Talon will help you out, jus' you wait." Wandering over, he flipped Link's legs off to the side of his body, making Link lose any air he had left in his lungs as his torso crashed to the floor, leaving him in a fetal position. When some semblance of breath returned, Link rolled over and lay sprawled, staring upward. Talon chuckled. Link coughed.

Finally getting air back in his lungs, Link stood, holding the bed with one hand and his head with the other. When he could finally see straight again, Link gave himself a once-over, dusting off his tunic. He noticed he didn't have his gloves on, but found them on the small table, behind the pail. Grabbing those up too, he turned to find Talon staring at him.

"You look familiar, boy. Have we met...?"

Link was thinking the same thing, but for the life of him couldn't remember. There was a feeling, though, whenever he looked at the kind older man. A feeling of...guilt? Blame maybe? It was so small though Link dismissed the feeling. He did not know this man. Shaking his head no, he watched Talon smile and hold his hand out. Nodding, Link reached out as well, clasping hands. It was never too late to meet someone.

"My name's Talon. You in the right sorts ta tell me yours?"

"Link."

Talon's eyes widened and he took a step back. "Link, ya say? Ya sure ya're not fooling me? I only know one Link, an' he's a puny little thing, same age as my Marron."

Link blinked, taken aback. "No, I'm not playing games. My name is Link."

The man frowned, scratched his head, and then shrugged. "Oh well, must be a coincidence then. Well Link, ya're welcome here anytime. This is LonLon Ranch, an' we have the finest milk in all Hyrule. Care to sample some?" He pulled a milk jar from his shirt, but Link shook his head, slightly blanched.

"Uh, no thanks. I'm just hungry, is all..." Link tried not to flinch as he felt his stomach ache, agreeing with his statement. Talon nodded, a smile glinting in his eyes.

"Sure thing. Got some food cookin' downstairs. C'mon, let's get ya some grub."

Link followed the man down the stairs, one hand held against the wall. He still wasn't too sure of his legs. At the bottom, the girl, Marron, sat on the first step, her back to them. She turned when she heard her father's heavy footsteps, though, and her smile instantly lit up.

"Oh, he's awake and moving! Really, I didn't think Daddy should go up and see you, because I thought you could use some more sleep. Sorry."

Link shook his head, marveling at how easily she could switch topics. "No, it's ok, really. I needed to get up anyway. Thank you for your help, though."

Marron giggled and nodded enthusiastically. "It wasn't any trouble!" She sobered quickly though, and blinked up at him. "So, what's your name? May I ask now?"

The young man looked to Talon's back for a second, unsure. He didn't want to be compared to that...child...again, but... "You could have asked earlier, but... It's Link."

She smiled. "That's the same name as Faerie Boy. You look similar too. You don't have a faerie, though... " She trailed off, then smiled again, waving her hand in the air. "But you couldn't be related anyway, since he told me he doesn't have a family." Link's eyes narrowed at that, but Marron didn't notice. No family, huh...? "But it's ok. Link is a nice name. May I call you Link?"

The Hero blinked, confused. Wasn't that why he told her his name in the first place? "Yes..."

Marron giggled again and spun around. "Yay! I was worried because at first I was going to call you Oniichan, but... Let's be friends, ok?" The little girl ran up and tugged his arm, dragging him down the stairs, passed a very amused Talon. "Here, I'll show you the horses!"

"O-oy! Wait, what about food...?" And Oniichan...? Should I be complimented or what? This girl confuses me...

"That can wait, c'mon! You have to meet Epona!"

Link's eyes widened at the name, his contemplation of Marron's eccentricity gone in an instant. Epona... His horse, the one constant he'd had through his entire journey, besides Navi. He choked down the pain that came with the faerie's name, the old memories he never wanted to lose or remember. But why... Why was Epona here...? He let the girl pull him as his mind wandered, his eyes wide in disbelief and fear and confusion. If Epona was here, what of his other companion...?

He was told this was LonLon Ranch, but...it wasn't how he remembered it. In fact, nothing was how he remembered it. He'd yet to go into any town, but even the air in the Temple, and around him outside, felt different. Like...everything was alive, and well. He also had yet to travel in the daytime. He was weary of seeing a wasted landscape around him, but...everything seemed so healthy. Was his fear unfounded? And then there was this ranch. If this really was the same ranch he freed Epona from, and the same Marron, where could he be? He knew he had to fight that child calling itself Link, but...where were they fighting? And then it dawned on him.

Or was it when...?

As Marron pulled him along, Link thought long and hard about where he could be. His memories seemed scattered and misplaced, as though he wasn't completely whole. Some things he knew should be obvious to him weren't there for him, ready in his mind. Like Marron. He knew her name, but he could not for the life of him recognize this little girl. But she looked so much like the Marron he remembered, albeit too young to be possible. What was wrong with his memories? Had that child done this to him as well as caused him to nearly disappear? His eyes narrowed in hate as the image of that small boy appeared before him.

"Link...! Link! ...Link?" Marron's voice brought him back from his thoughts, and the angry scowl on his face disappeared instantly.

"Sorry, I was thinking of something..."

She nodded slowly. "Oh, ok... But here, I'm gonna show you Epona! She belongs to Faerie Boy! He took her with him a few months ago, but then the castle burned down... We could see the flames from here..." She trailed off, her fingers to her lips. "I was so worried about Epona, but she made it back safely. She's been worried ever since, and keeps looking to the south. I wonder if that's where Faerie Boy is?"

Link was barely paying any attention to her. He did hear her say Epona belonged to "Faerie Boy" but he dismissed it. His eyes were riveted on a young mare, her pale mane swaying in the wind as she looked out over the pasture, towards the south. She didn't even notice them there. Marron sighed, and Link began to worry. If this truly was his Epona, she had to be his friend, right? She had to know him!

"See what I mean? She's not her usual self..."

Link swallowed a lump in his throat. He was not mistaken, he wasn't! Even though his Epona was a full-grown horse, he recognized this version of her perfectly. Not even caring how that could be possible when the girl beside him was nearly a complete stranger, Link took a step towards the gate before stopping, looking down at Marron.

"May I go and see her...?"

She must have noticed something in his voice, because she nodded. "Yes."

Link nodded once, then continued into the coral. Epona heard him, her ears swiveling back to listen, but she kept her eyes straight ahead. When he was close enough, Link swallowed the lump in his throat, his voice a whisper. It had to be her...

"Epona...? It's me, Link. Do you remember...?"

Now the colt did turn her head, and her large dark eyes widened, glittering in the moonlight. Slowly, ever so slowly, she turned completely around, as though she didn't believe what was happening, and gently leaned her head in towards him. Link lifted his left hand, gently touching her snout, almost thinking she'd disappear. Her whinny made him nearly break down. She knew him! Even though Marron said this horse belonged to that child, she still knew him! It had to be his Epona!

Kneeling down, Link put his arms around the colt's neck, hugging her tightly. Her heard Marron walk up behind him, but didn't turn to look at her.

"You really like Epona, huh? She likes you, too. Would you like to learn a song?" Link blinked at the sudden change of subject, but nodded anyway. Clearing her throat, Marron began to sing, a clear melody that soared to the heavens, and Link's heart caught in his chest. This was the song he always played for Epona.

When she was done, Marron nodded towards Link. "That's Epona's song. It's a lullaby my mother used to sing to me..." Link listened, not saying anything, but letting Marron know he was paying attention. Most of his attention was on Epona, though, and the horse seemed to be equally attentive to him. "Hey, Link, if you want, I can teach it to you, too."

Link looked at her, his cheeks reddening slightly. "I don't have any way of playing it..." He realized early on that even though he had the Ocarina of Time, whenever he played it the music always sounded hollow and flat, as though being filtered through a great barrier, but it hadn't bothered him so much till now. He just figured it wouldn't work anymore, now that Ganon was sealed. He didn't exactly care for it as well as he should, either...

"That's ok. You can always hum it."

Now Link did blush. "I...I don't know that I can sing..."

Marron giggled. "I'm sure you can, I just bet you haven't even tried! Come on, I'll help you." Tugging at his sleeve, she made Link stand up, then stood straight herself. "Ok, now take a deep breath, like this, and make sure you don't slouch too much. All right? All right. Let's go." She took a breath, and Link did as well, feeling more than a little silly.

His voice wasn't all that terrible, he realized. He couldn't act to save his life, but he could sing moderately well. At least I don't sound like a dying cat, he thought as his tenor voice tentatively became louder, mixing with Marron's sweet, childish soprano. Epona's ears perked forward, and she moved the few extra feet over to Link, nuzzling his waist with her nose. Link stopped singing to laugh as she tickled him.

"Haha, Epona, knock it off! That tickles! Haha!" The horse continued her assault, and Marron watched on, her smile wide and a laugh in her throat. When Epona finally decided Link had enough, she shied away, running up behind the red-haired girl. Marron giggled and reached out a hand to help Link to his feet, which he accepted. His face was so open and his expression so innocent Marron couldn't tell him apart from Faerie Boy. But she was happy for him; this was the first time she ever saw him smile so truthfully.

"So, you ready for some food now? I'm sure it's done cooking. It is rather late for my dinner, though..." She looked up at the sky, and Link grinned.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I'll eat quick though, then be off." Epona remembered him, that was all he needed. He'd bother these people no more.

Marron looked shocked he even suggested such a thing. "Eat that fast? No way! Take as long as you want, and then you can sleep in Daddy's bed again. He'll just sleep with the cuckoos, like he usually does. We wouldn't make you leave in the middle of the night." She leaned in conspiratorially. "Faerie Boy told me that monsters appear at night. So, don't worry about anything, you can stay here."

Link nodded, glad that he actually had somewhere warm to stay. They didn't think of him as a nuisance. He liked it here, too. Everyone was so kind, even though they didn't know him. And his friend was here. Following the girl back to the house, Link had a smile on his face the entire time, his hatred of the other boy gone for the moment.



He woke the next morning to the sound of a horse neighing. Blinking his eyes open and turning his head towards the window, Link waited for his vision to adjust before attempting to sit up. He'd stayed up a bit later than he planned last night, and Talon hadn't helped any.

Link sighed again, remembering. The man was a partier, all right. Just a single glass of watered down wine had sent the father over the edge. Link sighed again. He only remembered one time in his life that he'd ever drank, and that was when he was eight years old, and Saria had presented them with a small glass of wine each. It was extremely watered down and hardly alcoholic, but still Link hated it. He regretted tasting any the moment he'd taken his first sip, and his lips were puckered for hours. Then he cringed imagining what poor Talon felt like-his glass was full sized.

Shaking the memory from his mind, Link stood and walked to the window, the cool morning air brushing his bangs aside and cooling his skin through the thin white shirt he always wore under his tunic. He found said tunic on the small table behind him, and was about to put it on when another whinny grabbed his attention. He paused for a second, listening. When the anxious whinny sounded again, Link laughed quietly. Slipping the green garment on, Link looked out the window and smiled down at the colt watching him, the only two creatures awake. She neighed back up at him, and Link leaned out the window, his arms crossed with his chest resting over them.

"Oy, Epona!" His call was barely below normal speaking volumes, but the horse's ears flicked towards him. "Why you up so early, girl? Wanted to see me off?"

She pranced around, her mane flying in the wind as she made the boy laugh again.

"Ok, ok, I understand. I'll be right down!" Pulling on his boot quickly and hooking his baldric over his shoulder, Link hurried out the door, his feet silent on the stone steps, and successfully made it to the outside door without waking any Talons or cuckoos. Once outside, Epona trotted up to him, nuzzling his side, and Link rubbed her neck, feeling the strong muscles cord beneath his touch. He didn't realize how lonely he was until last night, when he saw Epona again. It was nice, having her around him again, someone to talk to on those cold, lonely nights camping out in Hyrule Field. Now, the only one he was missing was...

"Navi-chan..."

Saying her name made Link frown, and his gentle rubbing stopped, making Epona look up at him. His eyes were lidded, not seeing the ranch anymore, but a time from before, when his faerie was there with him. Epona nudged him lightly, and Link blinked, shaking his head.

"Sorry, Epona. I shouldn't dwell like that." Kneeling down before the colt, Link looked into her eyes. "I have to go now though, Epona. I can't stay here anymore. There are things I need to do... Can you tell these people thank you for me? But I don't want to have to say farewells myself. I'm...bad at them." His eyes narrowed again as the memory of that beautiful face slowly fading appeared. Of his regret that he'd failed her... His last memory before waking up here. "Will you please help me Epona?"

The mare looked at him, her eyes full of intelligence. He could see her, who she really was, through those eyes. Saw that she was more than just a horse, that she knew more than he could possibly ever know. And he could see how much she cared for him. And then she blinked, and Link smiled, knowing she would do this for him. Hugging her tightly, his face pressed into her neck, the fur warm Link whispered a hoarse "thank you."

He stole back into the house then, getting the rest of his gear. He paused as he buckled the gauntlets onto his wrists. Was it right, to just leave like this? Even though he had no desire to experience prolonged farewells, the very idea of just leaving these people, who helped him even though he was a stranger, hurt. It was hard enough asking Epona, knowing he would never see her again as well, but...

This was something he had to do. No one else was going to get involved in this fight. No one. It was bad enough Saria was already involved. And what of the princess? Did she know? Was she helping that creature, calling itself Link? An image of the blond girl with that boy flashed through his mind. Could that have been her? Shaking his head violently, the adult Link dispelled the image from his mind. No, it couldn't have been her. His Zelda wasn't like that...she wouldn't help anything that was evil. He refused to think so. Zelda was somewhere else, maybe trapped, and he would help her after destroying his main target. After destroying that evil thing calling itself Link.

Picking up his things, Link silently left the house, nodded to Epona, and continued down the path as the sun's light began to stain the horizon. It would only be a few minutes until the great orb made herself known, and Link wanted to be as far away from here as possible when that happened.

The gravel at the edge of the path churned beneath his feet as he slid down the incline, the cool morning air lifting his bangs and the tip of his hat. He reached the bottom fine, doing a little hop-jump onto the grass of Hyrule Field. He made his way to the top of a nearby hill, a sudden urge to see the sun rising taking over him. He missed the sun.

And maybe...I'll be able to know where I am now...

As he made his way up the small incline towards the old, broken wall, Link heard a noise behind him. He froze instantly, his hand straying towards his back, where he knew his sword was.

But the attack he sensed never came.

A small snout nuzzled the small of his back, and Link blinked back tears. Letting his arm fall to his side, Link just stood, watching his first sunrise, knowing he wasn't alone anymore.





LINK NO MIKO'S LITTLE CORNER OF TALKINGNESS

Anou...yo, peoples. Another chapter, this time from Dark Link-kun's point of view. Short, ne? Only five pageroos. Like...exactly five. This rant begins on page six. It gets its own paaaage!

This chapter was hard to write, actually, because Dark Link-kun's still a lot of a mystery to me, although yesterday I DID manage to figure out his purpose and EXACTLY what/who he is. -_-x Hauu...it took me this long, though... But I hope this helps, although I doubt it will, Phoenix. I'm trying to give you all hints about him, about why he doesn't remember, but if I told you right out, I'd spoil the rest of the story. ^-^x Feel free to guess at it though. I'm always eager to see that people are trying to figure out my weird little mind.

As you noticed, I put another Japanese word in this chapter. Oniichan. Literally, it means 'big brother" but in the context Marron uses it, it means "mister" for someone slightly older than you. I debated about putting it in here, but I couldn't think of anything else she might call him. In the manga the adult Marron calls Link-kun "Yuusha-kun" which means "Hero Boy" buuuuut, this isn't the manga and Marron is a child. ^-^x It's hard, because putting some things in here in English makes it sound dumb. "I was gonna call you mister but..." I dunno. If you're upset about my choice, please let me know. Even in a flame. That doesn't necessarily mean I'll go back and change it, but still. I'll know how many people I've upset at least.