Chapter 8

Hey guys! I'm back. Thanks for the reviews. I've been busy lately, so I haven't had time to review a lot of your stories, but I'll get round to it.

Now, for one important question asked in a review. I'd just like to say that this story is only rated PG13 for mild language that'll show up later on when Malon gets older. More mature themes (Ahem… coughs*, rape and sexual relationships) will not show up. I did think about it… but I then realized that it wouldn't do any good to the story. Besides, I like Malon, and there was no evidence in the game to suggest that it was happening. HOWEVER… violence will come up towards Malon, but that's why this story is a drama fic. There will be a happy ending, as we all know, and don't worry cause I'll get there.

Wow… I just read over the past few chapters and found that there were a lot of hints towards… er, relationships with Malon. But don't worry. It's a no go.

Now! On to the next chapter!

Running the Last of Errands.

Malon woke up and wondered why she felt so horrible. Her stomach felt heavy and her eyes were raw. Memories of the night before rushed to her. Ganondorfs' plan, Ingo the traitor, and how she had lied to her own father.

She had to do it. Otherwise… Malon rolled over and tried to wipe what Ganondorf had said out of her head. She discovered that she couldn't. He would hurt her and Talon if she told her father about what she had heard. It wasn't fair. No one could help her. She would have to keep her mouth shut and deal with it or her father would be sent away. Maybe, if she was good and kept her tongue, Ganondorf would leave them alone and not get rid of her father.

Another thing she had heard disturbed her too. The comment he had said about the Princess. He was chasing her, apparently. He had said that once the news was out he would have to wait. Malon dreaded to think about what news that could be.

Depressing thoughts came to her. She couldn't do anything to help her situation. She couldn't tell her dad. She couldn't leave the ranch by herself and leave her father. She couldn't run anywhere to get away and just let the horses be taken care of by Ingo. She had no friends to help her. The land was being run by a totalitarian.

Malon felt herself become angry. Why did Fairy Boy have to fail? Why couldn't he have just done his job? If Zelda had had so much confidence in him, why didn't he do what he was supposed to? Malon punched her pillow in fury.

This snapped her back to her senses. Had she become such a horrible person already?

"I'm sorry Fairy Boy." She whispered.

There was nothing else for her to do. She would keep quiet and not say a word to her father. Maybe everything would be better soon.

Breakfast was the same as it had ever been. Malon had made herself some toast again and Talon had forced down some 'oatmeal'. Malon was just cleaning up when her father was going over what they had to do today. Malon would force herself to be optimistic and happy.

"We'll have to let the horses out and feed the cuccos." He said.

"Those are what we have to do everyday dad." Said Malon teasingly.

"Well, guess what else we have to do today?" He asked.

"What?"

"We're going down into town to get some supplies." He informed her.

Malon spirits brightened a bit. She loved going into town and looking around. Pretending to be happy with this on their list would be easy. She let out a small, excited giggle.

"Well, go and get ready, we're leaving in half an hour." He instructed.

Malon ran upstairs, got ready, ran back downstairs, feed the cuccos, let out the horses, shut the corral gate and went back inside to see her father.

He raised his eyebrows. "That was quick."

"Yeah, I know. Let's go now." She responded out of breath.

They set out from the ranch and made their way across Hyrule field towards the town on their horses. Malon was, of course, riding Epona. She felt slightly sadden by the fact that soon she would have to say goodbye. She shook the thought out of her head and gazed instead upon the approaching town. But…

Something was wrong. Malon could see that already. Thick smoke was coming from beyond the market. Malon couldn't see the castle.

She looked across to her father. They nodded in agreement and began to ride faster towards the great walls of the market.

They reached the drawbridge and were stunned. A small line of people we're steadily walking across the wooden bridge and out of the market. Malon dismounted and stood amongst them.

"What's happening?" She asked them, "What's going on?"

The people walked past her, ignoring her. They had deeply depressed looks on their faces and just shuffled along, their feet kicking up small patches of dirt.

Malon tapped an old man dressed in blue on the shoulder. "Excuse me, mister?"

He turned and looked at her intently. "Yes?"

"What's happening? I just got here and I don't know what's going on." She explained.

"Oh," said the man, "We're moving. We've had enough of this Ganondorf guy who's taken over. I've heard that he doesn't go to Kakariko and search everyday. That's where we're going."

Malon stood shocked. "Ganondorf? Searching? What for?"

"We don't know. But it must be important for him to break into every house in the town everyday for." He sounded angry and agitated.

"Is everyone moving then? Is no one left in the town?" She asked him.

"Yes. There are some left. But not many. I think that they believe that this will come to an end soon. I do not share their hope." He turned and kept walking.

Malon found her dad and told him what the old man had informed her. They both walked past the line of people and went into the market place.

It felt eerie there. It was well into the afternoon and the small square was usually packed. Now, however, no stalls were up, stores had no lights on in their windows and only half a dozen people walked the market. It was so quiet that Malon heard the wind howling through the streets. Dust and small bits of debris plagued the towns streets.

She looked towards the castle and saw, to her horror, what the source of the smoke and debris was.

What had once been Hyrule Castle was now a dusty pile of rubble in the distance. Malon could just make out flames coming up from the ground below another large structure… The new castle. It was just a huge wooded skeleton now, with a few black bricks for the walls. Smoke engulfed it and danced around it, coming from the flaming depths of the earth below it. Malon let out a gasp of terror. No wonder the people were leaving.

The half-completed castle stood looming over the town. The fiery depths of the pit that surrounded it, cast a red glow in the sky and through the market.

"Daddy," Said Malon shakily, "I want to go home."

He nodded back at her. He grabbed her hand and they began to walk quickly back to the drawbridge. They were nearly there when a huge pig-like monster stepped out in front of them.

"Sssstop." He said nasally, "It'sss time for inssspection," He brought out a sword, lifted his head up and made a loud calling noise. He nudged his sword towards them and led them to a small line that had been formed. He directed them into the line with the other dozen or so people.

Malon stood, with her father by her side, frozen. Soon, several pig monsters appeared and circled around them.

"Issss thisss the princesssss?" Asked one.

"I don't know. I never ssseen the princessss." Responded the first.

"I'll go and get Lord Ganondorf." Said another, "He will be pleasssed if it is her." With that, the pig ran off. Malon stirred uncomfortably. So that was what Ganondorf was searching for, the Princess Zelda. Malon remembered that he had said he was looking for her back at the ranch.

Well, Malon wasn't Princess Zelda, so she had nothing to worry about. But, she didn't want to see Ganondorf.

Malon looked down the line. She saw many girls around her age waiting anxiously like she was. Malon swallowed hard. She didn't know what was going to happen to them if one of these girl really was Zelda.

"Hey you! Back in line!" Cried a pig. He hit Malon sharply over the head for leaning out of her place. She brought her hand up and rubbed the bump that was now forming. She saw her father clench his fists at this.

"Daddy, don't do anything. I'm alright." Malon whispered to him so as not to be heard.

"Stand straight!" Yelled a pig to the line. The people jumped and stood at attention. Malon and Talon followed suit. "The great Lord Ganondorf comes."

As is he were cued by this announcement, Ganondorf turned around a corner and came into view of the line. He stopped at one end and bent down to let one of the pigs whisper something to him. He stood up straight and cast his glare along the row of people.

"All girls forward!" He bellowed at the line.

Immediately, all the girls in the row jumped forward, still standing upright. As soon as she realized that she should have been up there, Malon quickly ran out and stood like the other girls.

Ganondorf walked up to the closest girl. She had short blond hair and looked to be about six years old. He grabbed her roughly by the wrist and brought her four feet of the ground so he could look at her face. Malon gasped in horror. The girl was small and defenseless, yet he still insisted on using overwhelming force.

He growled in frustration and dropped the girl suddenly to the floor. She squeaked in pain as she hit the hard cobblestones. A pig forced her to her feet and ordered her to stand straight again.

Ganondorf moved on to the next girl. She was tall and had long, lightly coloured hair. She looked to be in her mid-teens. He picked her up just as he did the first girl. The remained limp in his hand. He threw her to the ground violently.

"Too old." He spat to one of the pigs. The girl, looking relieved, stood back up and took her place in line.

Ganondorf moved on to the girl beside Malon. She looked about twelve and also had lightly coloured hair. He scooped her hair into his hand and pulled her of the ground up to eye level. She struggled to get free and kicked her legs out at him.

"Stay still, stupid wench, or you'll be sorry." He growled at her.

She, however, did not stop. Her mother, apparently, was behind her in the line and was screaming for her to stop also.

Ganondorf had evidently found this girl not be Zelda either. He threw the struggling child ten feet across the street and into a wall of a building. The girl did not move. The mother's cries stopped.

Malon stood traumatized by Ganondorf's display of power. Her throat closed as she realized that she was next.

Ganondorf blindly picked Malon up of the ground by her forearm and brought her eyes up to meet his. He quickly realized who she was.

"What are you doing here?" He demanded.

"We- we were getting s-supplies." Stuttered Malon.

Ganondorf dropped her to the ground. "Get back to your ranch! Both of you! Don't come here and waste by time again!"

Malon scrambled to her feet and took her place back in line.

Ganondorf stared at her and her father. "Now! Go back now!" He roared.

Talon grabbed Malon by her wrist and pulled her away from the line. He ran, dragging her behind him, through the town, across the wooden drawbridge and out into the field.

He grabbed her by the waist, pulled her up onto her horse, and mounted his own.

"We're going home as fast as we can." He called to her. He kicked his heals into the horse's side and set of in the direction of the ranch at top speed. Malon mimicked this and soon caught up to him. They galloped in silence by the side of each other all the way to the ranch. Malon sat on her horse, oblivious to the amount of time that was passing. Her mind was completely blank with shock after all that she had seen that day.
They arrived home and Malon was surprised by how little time it had taken them. She climbed off Epona and led her out into the corral. She numbly returned to the house and entered. Her father was waiting for her. He held out his arms and pulled her into a hug.

"I thought he was gonna hurt you like he did the other girls." He whispered to her, "I thought I was gonna have to watch you get hurt."

"I'm sorry, dad." Malon told him.

"Don't say that. It's not your fault."

"I feel like it is." Malon explained.

Talon brought her in closer. "He's looking around for Zelda then. I thought it would come to this."

"How did you know that?"

"Well, my best guess is that he wants to take over Hyrule," Explained Talon, "But Zelda's the heir to the throne, making her the future ruler. He's gonna have to get rid of her before he can do anything… I don't see why he's jumped straight to her though. The King and Queen have all the power now… unless…" His eyes widened in horror, "he's already killed them.

"I've had a feeling that they didn't employ him to look over the ranch. He's self-appointed! He's killed our monarchs and is searching for the heir to the throne so he can be king. How did I not see this right of the bat?"

Malon, who had already figured out this part of Ganondorf's plan out, pretended to look surprised at her fathers' discovery.

Talon sat down onto a wooden stool hopelessly. "What can we do?"

Malon looked at her father. He looked despairingly back at her. She felt her heart drop. The only thing she had left was now in pain over what Ganondorf had done… What he would do.

The image of the girl who had been thrown flicked through Malon's mind. She could not ignore it. She could not ignore Ganondorf any longer. She had to tell her father about what he had said he would do to them. She had to.

But could she.

The picture of the girl's body played in her mind. He would kill Talon if she told him. He would kill her. Despite what she wanted to do, Malon held her tongue again.

"I don't know what there is to do but wait it out. If we play our cards right, we might be able to get by." She told him.

He lifted his head slightly and smiled at her. "Just like your mother, you are. She could always 'ave made me see straight."

Malon tried to find something to say to this. She wanted to so that she could somehow take her mind of what had happened. She wanted to ignore it, even after what she had thought about. However, she couldn't find anything to say and instead remained silent.

Talon looked up to the ceiling, still smiling. "I can only wonder what she'd 'ave done about all this."

"Daddy?" Asked Malon, knowing now she could shift the dismal subject to a more happy one, "What was mum like? I can't remember much anymore… Only how she used to sing."

"Your mum?" Talon repeated, looking at her kindly. Yet his eyes were full of emotion. "She was a wonderful woman. Very stubborn, mind you. You get a lot of that from her. She loved horses almost as much as you do. I had to teach her lots too though, didn't know much, she didn't. She was so happy when you were born; we both were. You two were like best friends. I remember how she used to sing to you every night. It was quite unusual actually. Most Gerudo have very raspy voices… I really don't know where she got the ability to sing like that-"

"Pardon?" Interrupted Malon, "What did you just say?" She looked at her father closely. She was sure she had heard it… She was sure he had just said 'Gerudo'.

Talon looked at her confused, then realized what she had asked about. "You never guessed she was one?" He asked, sounding surprised.

"You never told me." Said Malon sharply.

"She looked just like one."

"I can't remember what she looked like." Said Malon, feeling anger build up inside her. She didn't know why she was taking this news so hard or why she felt so angry towards her father for not letting her know sooner.

"Now, come on Missy." Said Talon harshly, "There's nothing wrong with that."

Malon stared at him, bewildered. Of course there was something wrong.

"She couldn't have been one." She said, avoiding saying the word directly, "She wasn't one. I don't believe you!" She turned quickly and ran up to her bedroom. She sat down on her soft bed and rocked back and forth over it, still fuming.

She couldn't believe it. Her mother was one of his kind. She had been a part of his race. One of his kinsmen. How could her mother, the person she had loved and idolized, have ever been one of Ganondorf's people?

She looked down at her own small hands, disgusted. If her mother had been a Gerudo, that made her part Gerudo. That made her one of his kind too. She felt dirty all over suddenly. She was a part of the man who was terrorizing her land and killing her people. Malon stopped to rethink this. No… he was terrorizing the Hylian's land and the Hylian people… She was no longer a part of their group.

She cast her eyes down to the darkly stained, wooden floor. She wanted to cry, but her tears would not come. Instead, her tiny body shook with her heaving sobs.

She could not escape the image of Ganondorf in her head. He was everywhere.

She cursed quietly to herself for being so stupid for never even guessing that her mother had been a Gerudo. She cursed at her stupidity about not knowing. She cursed at her father for not telling her sooner.

She stopped. What was she doing? Was she so horrible that she cursed her own father? She regretted saying it and tried to calm herself again.

She cursed Ganondorf. For doing everything that he had done. For being who he was. For been connected to her.

A wave of realization hit Malon. Ganondorf had known all along that she was part Gerudo. She traced back her memory to the day that he had come to visit. He had compared her to a Gerudo. He had said she had hair like one.

She remembered the last thing he had said; "Malon, try to think about what I told you. You'll find that my assumptions may be astoundingly accurate."

That's what he meant by it then. He knew.

There was a knock at the door. Malon knew who it would be.

"Come in, dad."

Talon entered silently and sat down beside her on her bed. He put his arm over her.

"Listen," He told her, "I know what you're thinking about." Malon highly doubted that. "I know that you think that your mother was some terrorist like him. But she wasn't. She was a good woman. She turned away from the Gerudos and lived just like any Hylian woman would have. She may have had Gerudo blood, but she had a Hylian heart. Don't you see that just because you may share Gerudo blood, doesn't mean that you have to act like one. You are as Hylian as anyone can get. You've grown up like that. This news doesn't change who you are."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Asked Malon.

"I-I was afraid I guess." He answered, "Afraid that something like this would happen. I can now see how stupid I was for waiting and… I'm sorry."

Malon smiled. His words had a way with her. They were reassuring and kind. She felt a little better now. She reached out and hugged her father.

"I love you daddy. No matter what news you give me, that won't change how much I love you."

"No matter who you may be, I will always love you too."

Then, for the first time since Ganondorf had taken over, Malon finally felt happy.

Alright… Hey! That chapter was pretty long! *claps.

Okay, so this might have never happened in the game… but it could have… I guess…

I know that there's no real evidence to suggest that Malon is part Gerudo, but it adds interest and drama.

Wait. I have a reason. I've noticed that none of the other Hylains have red hair. (Now this is just me thinking from memory, but I can't remember ever seeing one in the game.) So, I guessed that maybe it's not natural for the Hylians to have red hair. The only other people in the game with red hair are the Gerudos. It was either, "Hey, maybe I could add interest and drama to my story by saying that Malon is Gerudo!" or… "Hey, maybe I'm just weird and spend too much time playing this game and Malon's not different at all and I could make my story uninteresting and undramatic by going along with it."

My choices were slightly biased.

Well, there's no evidence clearly stating that Malon was definitely NOT Gerudo. Anyways, it' my story and this is how I see it.

Alright, if you have any questions, review me! If you have any comments, review me! If you feel that I have ruined this entire story by making Malon a Gerudo, read the paragraphs above then review me! If you know of any Hylians in the game with red hair (Other then Malon,), review and tell me! If you feel that spray on butter is wrong, review me!

Until next time guys! Bye!