Chapter 5

The plot thickens! This is where the actually point of the story starts. Yey! I know that in the last chapter I added things that didn't happen in the game, like Link telling her about his mission, but it'll make the whole story more interesting. I hope you like this chapter.

Malon poked at her burnt eggs impatiently. It had been five days now since Fairy Boy had been gone and she had not seen or heard anything from him. She was beginning to think that he had forgotten their promises. She so wanted to hear about all the adventures he was having.

Time seemed to pass a lot slower when she was waiting for something she wanted to happen. It seemed like weeks since Fairy Boy had left the ranch and Malon was becoming restless. Because she was still only a little girl, her father didn't make her do any hard work at all and she got very bored without anyone to talk to.

Malon pushed away from the table and walked up the stairs to her bedroom. She grabbed her brush and began to bring it through her hair. This was quite pointless since she had already brushed her hair before breakfast. Putting her brush down, she turned to look out her window.

She could she the entire ranch from her window. All the cows were eating grass lazily and the horses were already outside in the corral. The sun was still young and only a pale pink glow lighted the area.

Malon rested her head in her hands and sighed. Waiting was very boring. In addition, she and her father hadn't been to town in days now. Their trips into town were about the only form of excitement or change Malon had. She wished Fairy Boy would just hurry up and come back so that she could talk to him. Bringing her head out of her hands, she turned to go outside where she could ride Epona.

Malon opened the door of the house and ran out into the corral. The grass was wet with the morning dew and the hem of her dress became damp quickly. The sun sparkled on the wet blades of grass and made them look as though they were spotted with diamonds.

Malon found Epona quickly enough and mounted her. Epona, it seemed, was a very strange horse. She was afraid of all people but Malon, and wouldn't let anyone but her ride her. But, Malon thought, she was very close to Fairy Boy also and would perhaps one day let him ride her.

Malon egged Epona onward faster. She ran laps around the fence of the corral, forgetting why she was so frustrated. The wind whipped round her face and sent her nicely brushed hair out behind her in all directions. While she was riding, Malon had no troubles.

She didn't mind now how Fairy Boy hadn't come back yet or how she had nothing to do. All that she was thinking about was how nice it was outside that day and how warm the sun felt against her skin.

She slowed Epona to a stop and got off. Malon led her back into the fenced in area and took a seat on the grass beside her horse. She was surprised to find that the grass wasn't wet anymore. Malon looked up to the sky and found that the sun was now in full swing. It's rays were warm on her face and it's light was a golden yellow. Malon wondered how long she had been riding because it had only seemed like a few minutes even though in reality it must have been an hour.

Malon lifted her arms up and petted her horse affectionately. She whinnied softly in return. The whole world felt peaceful to Malon as the torridity of the sun came down upon her and her horse. She stroked Epona gently across her mane.

Malons' attention was soon torn away as she heard raised voices coming from the stables. She ran across the field and pushed her ear up against the wooden wall. She recognized the voices as her fathers' and Ingos'. They were arguing about something.

"You don't do any work! Why don't you clean the stables out today! I already have a whole list of things I need to do!" said Ingo.

"A whole list, eh? I'm your boss, and I say that you will clean out the stables today. Everything on your list will be held off until tomorrow." Said Talon.

"Fine! I'll clean your stupid stables." Muttered Ingo, viciously.

"I don't know why I don't fire you."

"I don't know why I stay here."

"It's because you can't get a job anywhere else." Said Talon.

"And it's because you're too cheap to pay anything else!"

"I've had enough. Clean the stables." Came Talon voice in a final tone.

Malon heard the door slam and leaned to see her father walking away from the stables. Scared that Ingo or her father might see her, she walked back over to the corral and sat down next to Epona.

Soon, her fathers' voice filled the air again. "Malon!" He cried, "Malon come here girl, we've got company."

Malon shot up so quickly that she scared Epona. She ran wildly over to her father, dodging the horses. She knew who it was. It would be Fairy Boy, come to tell her all about what he had been doing the past few days. She ran out of the gate of the corral and round the corner of the stables. She was calling out in excitement.

"Fairy Boy! Fairy Boy! Where have you been all-" She stopped suddenly as she nearly ran into a large black horse. She staggered back to avoid contact and fell over. Malon looked up to the rider from her position on the ground and was shocked.

He wasn't Fairy Boy… He wasn't anything like Link at all. He was a huge man, tall and well built. He wore leather armor and beige cloths. He skin was tinted a dark green and his hair was a flaming red. He looked down upon Malon and smiled. It wasn't a real smile, not at all. His evil, yellow and red eyes locked onto hers and remained untouched by his smile.

"Malon, this is, er, Lord Ganondorf. He's come to visit our ranch." Explained Talon.

"Am I not who you were expecting, young lady?" Said Lord Ganondorf, still not removing his eyes from hers.

Malon got up slowly without looking away. "I am expecting a friend of mine any day now. I thought you might have been him, that's all."

"Sir." He added.

"Sorry?" Asked Malon, confused.

"I said 'Sir'." He responded, "You will say 'Sir' when you speak to me." he grinned.

"Alright then, Sir." She said in a strained voice. Malon knew who this was. Something was telling her that she knew who this man was.

"You have a very obedient daughter, Talon. You have done a good job raising her by yourself." He broke eye contact with Malon and directed his gaze over to Talon. "I will expect good service from this ranch."

"What do you mean?" Blurted Malon, "Are you a new customer?" Her question, although it was innocent enough, had sounded rude because of the way she had asked it.

The glare of his eyes shot back towards the little girl again. "No. I am now in control of this ranch, as well as this land of Hyrule. You are under my rule, so I suggest that you start to smarten up about what you say to me." He said coldly. It wasn't a threatening statement, it was more of a warning. His eyes beat down on Malon as though they were daring her to go on.

Malons' eyes widened. She was hit by the realization of who this man was. The one Link had spoken of. The evil man who he was supposed to have stopped. She dropped her head. Link had failed. This man, Ganondorf, was now in power. This explained why Fairy Boy hadn't come back to her. He must have been…

Malon fought back tears. She would not show any sign weakness in front of this man. She knew that she wanted to yell at him and ask what he had done to her friend… and if he was…

But, she knew she couldn't. She couldn't go against this tyrant that was now before her. She bit her tongue.

"Yes Sir."

"Good girl." He seemed to have guessed what she was thinking about and looked satisfied. "Talon." He barked over to her father. "I will be back to this ranch in three days for a full inspection. If you do not meet my expectations I am afraid I will have this ranch handed over into more capable hands." He tugged his horses' reins and turned around. "Oh, and young lady," He said, turning his head to Malon, "I hope you see your friend soon." He smirked at her then began to leave the ranch.

Malon watched hopelessly as he left the walls and galloped off in the direction of Castle Town.

"Daddy?" She asked, "What does he mean by he's in charge of our ranch?"

"It means that you got to start doin' some work round here now, Missy." He looked down to his daughter with the same hopeless look in his eyes that she had. "He's taken over by force, I expect."

"I think…" Malon struggled to keep calm, "I think that he killed Link, dad. He killed Fairy Boy." She hugged her dad tightly and cried into his side.

"It'll be fine… We just have to be careful now. You have to be nice to him no matter what."

"What is he going to do to us?" Malon choked.

"I… I don't know." Responded her father despairingly.

A heavy, dark cloud hung over the town in the distance. It seemed that it foreshadowed what Malon had hoped would not be. Link had failed, and now Malon felt that all hope was lost and was being consumed by the forming cloud. This pathetic fallacy filled her heart and she realized that he wasn't coming back.

Link had failed them.

This chappy was a bit shorter then the rest, but I hope you liked it anyway. I'm off to get some lunch now. Have a good day. I'll update soon. While you're waiting, sent me your adoration and care in the form of a review.