Chapter 1: The Visiting King
Six years had come and gone since Malon had met Link. During that time, the land had become a dangerous and hostile place. Malon could barely remember the last time Lon Lon Ranch had received visitors. Talon always carried a crossbow when he went out to deliver milk to Kakariko Village.
It seemed the people had changed as well. What Malon could remember of people's visits was that they weren't as cheery as before. They seemed darker, more sombre. Especially Mr. Ingo.
She stole a glance at the figure crossing the lawn without stopping the mechanical movements of her arm dipping into the seed bag and bringing out food for the Cuccos. He was tall and skinny, with a funny little moustache Malon used to love to tug on when she was a child. These days, she didn't want to be in the same room as him, let alone be close enough to touch his moustache. She vaguely remembered a different Mr. Ingo, one that smiled without having an almost crazed light in his eyes. One that didn't glare at her something fierce for no reason at all. One that didn't say wicked things to her when her father was out. He scared her, Mr. Ingo did. She had learned to stay clear of him. However, sometimes encounters were unavoidable.
On his way into the house, Ingo stopped and turned his head to look at Malon with the sour scowl she had grown used to. "What are you doing feeding the chickens? His Majesty is probably on his way at this very moment! Go and do something useful, like cleaning out the stalls!" With that, he disappeared through the door.
Malon made a face. He did that often of late, acting as though she were the hired hand instead of him. When he gave her orders, she usually ignored them, just to spite him. She had cleaned the stalls that very morning. If there was already something fowl on the floor, 'His Majesty' should have sense enough to simply step over it.
Yesterday, they had received a letter held with the royal seal. Well, not the true royal seal, but the seal Ganondorf now used, a fist holding a sword dripping with blood. Ingo looked pleased, Talon worried, as his big fingers fumbled with the black wax seal and gingerly opened up the envelope. Inside was a letter, written in an elaborate, loopy hand and filled with fancy words and formalities. Talon tried to read it aloud, struggling with a sentence or two before Ingo nearly ripped it out of his hands and took over. It was very long, and had far too many long words that Malon didn't understand. She was only a simple ranch girl, after all. Her father listened intently, thick arms crossed and brow furrowed in concentration. When Ingo was finished, he folded the letter lovingly, placed it carefully back into it's envelope, and disappeared out the door, undoubtedly to his room above the loft to put it away. Talon scrubbed a hand through his hair nervously.
"What is it, Daddy?" Malon asked.
"His Majesty's comin' over tomorrer to check out the ranch. See if it's all in workin' order, an' stuff." He looked worried.
Malon smiled sweetly at her father, hoping it would cheer him up. "Well that's not bad, Daddy. I thought it'd be something awful. I can put on my nice dress, and plan out something nice to say, and-"But Talon stopped her.
"No no, Malon, you can stay in our room." He lowered his voice, as though there was someone else in the room, when really there was just the two of them. "That man, he's dangerous. I want you to stay as far from him as possible." The girl hesitated, but seeing the look on her father's face, nodded reluctantly.
Presently, there came the sound of the clop clop of horses' hooves in the distance, growing in volume. Malon snatched up the bag of seed and rushed inside. "He's coming, I hear his horses," she called, dropping the bag by the door. Her father emerged from the bedroom, dressed in his best suit and nervously fixing his collar. Malon gave him an encouraging smile, but the one he returned was more of an emotionless flash of teeth then a warming grin.
Once safely shut away in the room, Malon sat down on the edge of her bed and tried not to fidget. She heard voices outside, and couldn't resist going to the window to take a peek.
Standing outside were her father, Mr. Ingo, two dangerous-looking men with curved scabbards slung into their belts and hard faces, and... him. He'd been described to her before, but she could never have pictured something so... awful. Not that he was ugly – some women might think he was handsome – but Malon had never seen anything as evil as this in her entire life.
He was enormously big and tall. He towered over everyone around him, and the proud vibe that seemed to resonate from his presence only made him seem even larger. He was covered from head to toe in metal and leather, coloured red and black. On his gauntlets and boots were strange designs that Malon guessed were probably ancient Gerudo runes. However, it was his face that made him look so terrible.
His small, sharp, red eyes stared down is long, beak-like nose at Talon and Ingo, complete with a mocking sneer on his thin lips. He reminded Malon so much of a hawk that she almost went to the bookshelf to get her father's bird book and compare. His face frightened her, more then Ingo ever had. The two men that accompanied him did all the talking, he just watched the two farmers. After a moment, they entered the stable.
Malon moved away from the window to sit once again on her bed. It had suddenly struck her how odd this was. What would the ruler of Hyrule himself be doing down here to inspect the ranch? Wouldn't it be much easier just to send a representative, or something? She lay down in her bed to think, and eventually fell asleep.
She awoke about a half hour later to the sound of the kitchen door opening and closing. She stood and pressed her ear against the bedroom door to listen. She heard a man speaking with a loud, deep voice. That's Ganondorf's voice, or I'm a cabbage, she thought.
"This ranch is a sorry dump," Ganondorf spat harshly. "A dead swine could keep it in better condition then you, Mr. Talon."
Malon bit back a hiss. Who did he think he was, coming in here and speaking trash about the ranch! I'd like to see him sweating and covered in cow manure, and see how he handled it, she thought. She carefully opened the door a crack to peer in. "-so I've decided to take the ranch out of your hands and give it to a better candidate." Ganondorf finished. But Talon was already stuttering his protest.
"M-my Lord, most g-gracious Highness, I-I beg you to reconsider. I p- promise, on my very honour, I will–will improve, I swear it! Mr. Ingo, myself, and-and my daughter, sir, we'd have nowheres to go! This ranch is our-our life!" Malon had a hand over her mouth in shock. Had she heard correctly? Was Ganondorf forcing them to relocate? It was unthinkable! Their family had had possession of these parts for time out of mind.
"You need not worry about Mr. Ingo, nor your precious daughter," the king said with a cold, mirthless smile. "It is only you that I order out of this home. Mr. Ingo is the one who will be running the ranch from now on, and your daughter may stay if she wishes."
Talon's jaw dropped in disbelief and he turned to look at Ingo, who could not hide his smug, satisfied smile. "Ingo, y-you... I can't believe this! After all these years we've sheltered you, treated you like a family member- "
"Shut up, you big oaf," Ingo growled. "You never deserved any of this. By rights, this should have been my ranch, my horses, from the start!" Tears brimmed in Malon's eyes. How could he do this? What were they to do? She watched her father's face, wishing she could run downstairs and hug him, he looked so lost and hopeless.
Ganondorf moved toward the door, and his henchmen followed. "Our business is finished. You will obey my orders, Mr. Talon, or be hanged for treason to the throne." With that, he left.
Talon's bewildered expression faded into a dangerous, deadly glare as he turned to Ingo. "You bloody, traitorous son of a bitch," he growled, forcing Ingo to flatten against the wall as he stepped forward, clenching a fist. "I should'a known, you were always a little scrawny bastard who hid in big guys's shadows. I won't forget this in a hurry, you can believe that." He turned away, and Ingo heaved a sigh of relief. He had come very close to getting his brains beaten out of him, and he knew that very well.
When Talon stepped into the bedroom to collect his things, Malon tried to wipe the tears from her eyes, but she was too late. "Malon, you... you've been cryin'." He sighed. "You were listnin' at the door, weren't you? Well, then I guess we need to start our packin'." But Malon shook her head. "Daddy, you know I don't want to stay here, but if we both leave, Mr. Ingo could do anything to the horses. I have to stay behind, you know that as well as I do." She had tried to sound determined, but her voice had shaken.
Talon looked more lost and scared then ever as he nodded his head. "You're right, of course." His expression darkened. "But I don't want to leave you with that – that... man. If I could find someone to keep an eye on you, make sure he doesn't hurt you..."
"You know that's not possible, Daddy," she sighed, taking her father's hand. "Besides, I'm a strong girl, I can take care of myself. I'm sixteen years old, after all." She wished she felt as confident as she was trying to sound.
Before the next hour, Talon was packed and ready to go, with a bulging pack slung over his back. He hugged his daughter so tightly she thought she might be as flat as parchment when he let go. With a kiss on the cheek from Malon and a last hateful glare at Ingo, he trudged off around the bend, and was gone.
Six years had come and gone since Malon had met Link. During that time, the land had become a dangerous and hostile place. Malon could barely remember the last time Lon Lon Ranch had received visitors. Talon always carried a crossbow when he went out to deliver milk to Kakariko Village.
It seemed the people had changed as well. What Malon could remember of people's visits was that they weren't as cheery as before. They seemed darker, more sombre. Especially Mr. Ingo.
She stole a glance at the figure crossing the lawn without stopping the mechanical movements of her arm dipping into the seed bag and bringing out food for the Cuccos. He was tall and skinny, with a funny little moustache Malon used to love to tug on when she was a child. These days, she didn't want to be in the same room as him, let alone be close enough to touch his moustache. She vaguely remembered a different Mr. Ingo, one that smiled without having an almost crazed light in his eyes. One that didn't glare at her something fierce for no reason at all. One that didn't say wicked things to her when her father was out. He scared her, Mr. Ingo did. She had learned to stay clear of him. However, sometimes encounters were unavoidable.
On his way into the house, Ingo stopped and turned his head to look at Malon with the sour scowl she had grown used to. "What are you doing feeding the chickens? His Majesty is probably on his way at this very moment! Go and do something useful, like cleaning out the stalls!" With that, he disappeared through the door.
Malon made a face. He did that often of late, acting as though she were the hired hand instead of him. When he gave her orders, she usually ignored them, just to spite him. She had cleaned the stalls that very morning. If there was already something fowl on the floor, 'His Majesty' should have sense enough to simply step over it.
Yesterday, they had received a letter held with the royal seal. Well, not the true royal seal, but the seal Ganondorf now used, a fist holding a sword dripping with blood. Ingo looked pleased, Talon worried, as his big fingers fumbled with the black wax seal and gingerly opened up the envelope. Inside was a letter, written in an elaborate, loopy hand and filled with fancy words and formalities. Talon tried to read it aloud, struggling with a sentence or two before Ingo nearly ripped it out of his hands and took over. It was very long, and had far too many long words that Malon didn't understand. She was only a simple ranch girl, after all. Her father listened intently, thick arms crossed and brow furrowed in concentration. When Ingo was finished, he folded the letter lovingly, placed it carefully back into it's envelope, and disappeared out the door, undoubtedly to his room above the loft to put it away. Talon scrubbed a hand through his hair nervously.
"What is it, Daddy?" Malon asked.
"His Majesty's comin' over tomorrer to check out the ranch. See if it's all in workin' order, an' stuff." He looked worried.
Malon smiled sweetly at her father, hoping it would cheer him up. "Well that's not bad, Daddy. I thought it'd be something awful. I can put on my nice dress, and plan out something nice to say, and-"But Talon stopped her.
"No no, Malon, you can stay in our room." He lowered his voice, as though there was someone else in the room, when really there was just the two of them. "That man, he's dangerous. I want you to stay as far from him as possible." The girl hesitated, but seeing the look on her father's face, nodded reluctantly.
Presently, there came the sound of the clop clop of horses' hooves in the distance, growing in volume. Malon snatched up the bag of seed and rushed inside. "He's coming, I hear his horses," she called, dropping the bag by the door. Her father emerged from the bedroom, dressed in his best suit and nervously fixing his collar. Malon gave him an encouraging smile, but the one he returned was more of an emotionless flash of teeth then a warming grin.
Once safely shut away in the room, Malon sat down on the edge of her bed and tried not to fidget. She heard voices outside, and couldn't resist going to the window to take a peek.
Standing outside were her father, Mr. Ingo, two dangerous-looking men with curved scabbards slung into their belts and hard faces, and... him. He'd been described to her before, but she could never have pictured something so... awful. Not that he was ugly – some women might think he was handsome – but Malon had never seen anything as evil as this in her entire life.
He was enormously big and tall. He towered over everyone around him, and the proud vibe that seemed to resonate from his presence only made him seem even larger. He was covered from head to toe in metal and leather, coloured red and black. On his gauntlets and boots were strange designs that Malon guessed were probably ancient Gerudo runes. However, it was his face that made him look so terrible.
His small, sharp, red eyes stared down is long, beak-like nose at Talon and Ingo, complete with a mocking sneer on his thin lips. He reminded Malon so much of a hawk that she almost went to the bookshelf to get her father's bird book and compare. His face frightened her, more then Ingo ever had. The two men that accompanied him did all the talking, he just watched the two farmers. After a moment, they entered the stable.
Malon moved away from the window to sit once again on her bed. It had suddenly struck her how odd this was. What would the ruler of Hyrule himself be doing down here to inspect the ranch? Wouldn't it be much easier just to send a representative, or something? She lay down in her bed to think, and eventually fell asleep.
She awoke about a half hour later to the sound of the kitchen door opening and closing. She stood and pressed her ear against the bedroom door to listen. She heard a man speaking with a loud, deep voice. That's Ganondorf's voice, or I'm a cabbage, she thought.
"This ranch is a sorry dump," Ganondorf spat harshly. "A dead swine could keep it in better condition then you, Mr. Talon."
Malon bit back a hiss. Who did he think he was, coming in here and speaking trash about the ranch! I'd like to see him sweating and covered in cow manure, and see how he handled it, she thought. She carefully opened the door a crack to peer in. "-so I've decided to take the ranch out of your hands and give it to a better candidate." Ganondorf finished. But Talon was already stuttering his protest.
"M-my Lord, most g-gracious Highness, I-I beg you to reconsider. I p- promise, on my very honour, I will–will improve, I swear it! Mr. Ingo, myself, and-and my daughter, sir, we'd have nowheres to go! This ranch is our-our life!" Malon had a hand over her mouth in shock. Had she heard correctly? Was Ganondorf forcing them to relocate? It was unthinkable! Their family had had possession of these parts for time out of mind.
"You need not worry about Mr. Ingo, nor your precious daughter," the king said with a cold, mirthless smile. "It is only you that I order out of this home. Mr. Ingo is the one who will be running the ranch from now on, and your daughter may stay if she wishes."
Talon's jaw dropped in disbelief and he turned to look at Ingo, who could not hide his smug, satisfied smile. "Ingo, y-you... I can't believe this! After all these years we've sheltered you, treated you like a family member- "
"Shut up, you big oaf," Ingo growled. "You never deserved any of this. By rights, this should have been my ranch, my horses, from the start!" Tears brimmed in Malon's eyes. How could he do this? What were they to do? She watched her father's face, wishing she could run downstairs and hug him, he looked so lost and hopeless.
Ganondorf moved toward the door, and his henchmen followed. "Our business is finished. You will obey my orders, Mr. Talon, or be hanged for treason to the throne." With that, he left.
Talon's bewildered expression faded into a dangerous, deadly glare as he turned to Ingo. "You bloody, traitorous son of a bitch," he growled, forcing Ingo to flatten against the wall as he stepped forward, clenching a fist. "I should'a known, you were always a little scrawny bastard who hid in big guys's shadows. I won't forget this in a hurry, you can believe that." He turned away, and Ingo heaved a sigh of relief. He had come very close to getting his brains beaten out of him, and he knew that very well.
When Talon stepped into the bedroom to collect his things, Malon tried to wipe the tears from her eyes, but she was too late. "Malon, you... you've been cryin'." He sighed. "You were listnin' at the door, weren't you? Well, then I guess we need to start our packin'." But Malon shook her head. "Daddy, you know I don't want to stay here, but if we both leave, Mr. Ingo could do anything to the horses. I have to stay behind, you know that as well as I do." She had tried to sound determined, but her voice had shaken.
Talon looked more lost and scared then ever as he nodded his head. "You're right, of course." His expression darkened. "But I don't want to leave you with that – that... man. If I could find someone to keep an eye on you, make sure he doesn't hurt you..."
"You know that's not possible, Daddy," she sighed, taking her father's hand. "Besides, I'm a strong girl, I can take care of myself. I'm sixteen years old, after all." She wished she felt as confident as she was trying to sound.
Before the next hour, Talon was packed and ready to go, with a bulging pack slung over his back. He hugged his daughter so tightly she thought she might be as flat as parchment when he let go. With a kiss on the cheek from Malon and a last hateful glare at Ingo, he trudged off around the bend, and was gone.