Disclaimer: I, the author, do not owe Legend of Zelda ®: Ocarina of Time™ or any of the game characters used in this story. Original characters are owned by the author of this story. All Rights are reserved.
When Malon had said they would be caring for livestock in the morning, Airas should have realized there would be as many steps for each animal as there had been preparing a horse to ride.
Malon spent most of the morning showing Airas the stables, cleaning each animal's stall and giving the correct amount of food for everyone's special needs. The horses could be given treats called oats, but not too many so as not to spoil and fatten them. The cows, which Airas was introduced to finally, were given wide loads of hay but caution was needed to be made sure they were not overfed. Airas even learned the trick of the trade of milking the cow, helping herself to a glass afterwards.
The chickens, however, Airas watched how they were taken care of from a distance. Malon sympathized after Airas's experience yesterday and showed they were the most easy to care for, throwing a few seeds at them from her apron. And again, the horses had to be groomed and brushed, yet it was a chore Airas did not mind much.
By the time everything was done and accounted for, the sun was close to reaching at its highest peak.
"Now that the morning chores are done, we can bring the horses back out to graze at their luxury, and than continue with your lessons," Malon said, bringing out one horse at a time from the stalls. She opened a side door in the stable that went right out to the corral, the horses already trained to trot inside the fenced area on their own after a pat on the haunches.
"Continue with lessons?" Airas asked, bring Epyon out. He playfully nudged his snout against her back when she stopped to look at Malon.
"Of course. You broke Epyon in. Now you need to learn to properly ride him. I daresay you cannot go about all over the place in the fashion you did yesterday."
Realizing there was truth to her words, Airas reluctantly agreed. She would not deny she had been hoping to ride Epyon in the very same style Malon spoke against.
Already acquainted with the preparations, Airas brought out the saddle on her shoulder with bridle and blanket over her arm. Equipping everything on even faster than yesterday, Malon standing aside, marveling, Airas pulled the stirrups down and hoisted herself on top. Epyon gave a threatening motion to break out into a lunge, but Airas held him out at bay steadfast by the reins with her thighs tight around his sides.
"You are a fast learner," Malon said, grinning. "Now that you have done the hard part, this should come easy to you. First we will learn the four speeds of the horse. Those are: walk, trot, canter, and gallop."
"Walk, trot, canter, gallop," Airas repeated, placing them into memory.
"Now, walk is what it is. With gentle yet firm enough pressure, squeeze instead of dig your heels into Epyon's sides."
Obeying Malon's words, Airas applied just enough force to send Epyon off in a fanciful walk. Whatever the breed of this horse, he would not be sluggish in his demeanor.
"Good," Malon said with encouragement. "Its simple enough so no need to detain in this step. Now try a trot, simply by adding even more pressure."
Again, the action was done as easily as the words said, Airas guiding the horse around Malon in smooth circles, knowing on her own to bounce along with his trot instead of weighing herself down in the saddle.
"Excellent," Malon practically purred, again marveled by Airas's alarmingly quick progress. "Now for the third step. The canter. Sometimes saying the word will help the horse to understand, along with the pressure to the sides. Horses do not exactly understand, but they learn the sound of the word, the way it is pronounced."
Airas nodded, all the while keeping her gaze on the back of Epyon's head, leaning on the rein to keep his head turned in the direction he was heading. Indeed, she had to admit this oddly did feel familiar, like she had done it a thousand times before. Her mind went back to the dream she had last night, riding with the man unmistaken ably her father, the two galloping with their steeds at a wicked speed unknown to the common horse. Somehow, she had a feeling Epyon was far from the common mount.
"Careful, Airas, your breaking out of your circle," Malon called out, noticing the girl's head was anywhere but on the task appointed. "Keep your head out of the clouds and in the saddle."
"How does one do that?" Airas asked, foreign to expression and sarcasm.
Malon giggled and waved it off. "Something I will tell you about later."
Airas hoped it would be words along with tales of her father. She would dare to ask about it again later if she felt the mood was right.
Lessons continued and soon Epyon learned to start off in the requested speed simply by word of mouth. Airas made a sport of it by sitting with both legs on one side, shouting the word in an audible, commanding tone. Malon smiled, expecting no less.
"Somehow I think you are fooling me, Airas, by telling me you've never ridden before."
"I swear to you," Airas said in a sudden serious tone, the same voice she had used the day before on her caution with chickens compared to wolves. "Yesterday was my first time."
Malon laughed heartily and nodded. "I only jest. If you are done, clean him up, else ride to your heart's content until sunset."
"Truly, you will grant me this pleasure?"
The older woman turned to walk off, speaking over her shoulder in a dry, amused voice. "I grant you want you earn by your labor. You did good work today. I expect the same on the morrow."
"Malon…" Airas began, giving a slight tug on the reins to bring Epyon to a halt, facing the red-haired woman at an angle, her eyes moving over in search of right timing. "Reject my request, if you wish, for I understand your feelings toward it, but is there any way we could speak about my—"
"Malon!" a voice cried out, unknown and annoyingly loud, yet high in a masculine tone. "Malon! Are you home?"
"Hyrule's blood…" was Malon's honest answer, rolling her eyes as she turned toward the entrance, a boy barely into adulthood marching through as though the premises were his by right. "I am here, Keihs. As I always am and nowhere else. What does the royal messenger of irritation and wrecked nerves want of me?"
Airas watched atop of Epyon, who snorted and pinned his ears against his head as the young man, Keihs, danced in, coming to a halt at Malon's cruel words, a pout lip about him.
"Aw, now, Malon. No need for the hostility. I bring only an order of crates of milk and eggs to be delivered to her majesty's chef. And a giant cut slab of meat, if you can spare your black-and-white beauties. Perhaps dead this time though. Did the chef in almost when he had to bring the final blow to the last poor creature's head on his own. Not even a guard, trained to attack the enemy would do the job, saying they not draw their blades lest it for a killing."
Having time through the boy's rant, Airas was able to dismount from Epyon, draw up the stirrups on both sides and bring the both of them up to Malon's side, all three listening on. Well, maybe one was at least.
"My, but he talks his share and three other's at once," Airas commented, studying his appearance and attire. It was much different than Malon's, yet she had not expected to see him in skirts, having that much knowledge of Hyrule attire. He had hair as dark as a raven's wing, blacker than a moonless night that shone almost blue in the sun's rays. His hair was long, drawn back in a club at the nape of his neck and had bright eyes of golden fire. He was just a little shorter than Airas, a few inches from being eye-level; wearing a black tunic with short sleeves and matching colored breeches with dark brown leather boots. A vest was adorned over his shoulders of dark violet with a necklace around his neck of the three triangles. What caught her eye the most was the violet marquee he wore on his face, two triangles upside down below each eye. It would have given him a fiendish look were he not grinning sheepishly most of the while.
Hearing Airas's comment, Keihs stopped and looked her over, whistling through his white teeth, bright against his tanned skin. "'Ello, 'ello. Who is this?" he asked, yet Airas suspected he was not really expecting an answer, as he continued on quickly. "Lovely thing, yet she rather big, no? Make you look like a Kokiri standing next to her, Malon."
Airas's face brightened up. "Have you been to the Kokiri Forest?"
Keihs looked on at her as if she were something stupid, than grinned again in amusement. "No, have you?" he shot back with dry wit.
"Yes. I lived there until yesterday."
"Ha!" Keihs shouted out, resting his hands on his knees as he bustled with laughter, his face reddening. Malon stood quietly beside; losing her patience it seemed with the rapid tapping of her foot.
"Malon!" he yelled, wiping his eyes. "Where did you get this one? She a mutt of some sort? With those features, her mother must be Gerudo, yet when she was looking for a mate, she found herself to be desperate and when after a Goron, eh? It would explain that height and build on a woman! Too bad the mind also belongs to her father's side."
Highly confused now, Airas could only turn to her hostess whose limit had just been breeched. Stomping over, Malon took hold of the boy by the scuff of his neck, the matter in height difference not being worth anything.
"If you are quite done making a jackass of yourself and wasting our time, simply hand me the order and be on your way!"
It was not quite clear why Malon was angry and her face so flustered, redder than Epyon's coat. Airas merely looked on from the mount's side, having grown bored and began to idly repeat tugging at the reins in his rider's hand.
"Now, now," Keihs began, trying to pry a death grip from his shirt. "I only have a bit of fun with your friend. Really, it's not so bad. I only say she might be Gerudo because I know there is a girl with the same status as her there. Both of them be lovely things here, but its clear Gerudo blood is absent in their blood veins. And the Goron thing…again, just a jest. I only said that because of—"
"Oh, enough!" Malon cried out, shoving Keihs back as she removed him from her grip, throwing her hands up in the air as if they had been tainted with something unpleasant. "I know what you meant. Enough of the Gerudos and Gorons now. If you are done here now—which you are!—than you may remove yourself from my ranch. Stop using these visits as a chance to loiter and delay from completing your tasks. I am the one who gets blamed from 'detaining' you."
"Well, I am sorry about that," Keihs began, his whole mannerism changing as he twiddled with his thumbs, shuffling his feet. "I know they be sending letters on that to you. I did try to explain it was just me, but none will listen."
"I wonder why that is," Malon replied in a hollow tone. "Airas, put Epyon up for now. I will be needing your help with putting this order together."
"Care for me to lend a hand?" Keihs began, Airas noticing another transformation taking place before her eyes as the boy changed back to his usual self, accompanied by a grin that belonged on a child much younger than he. "It will get done as soon as—"
"—As soon as you remove your presence!" Malon cut in. "Shoo now! Get!"
"Keihs," Airas called out, her voice coming out a bit unsteady for some reason. Both the boy and woman turned their attention on her. "Who is this other girl you were speaking of? The one living with the Gerudos?"
"Do not encourage him," Malon said sternly, waving her hands. "Else we will never be rid of him."
Keihs studied Airas for a moment before answering. "Any reason you wanting to know?"
"Curious," she replied, unmoved by his taunting. There was a stillness over her that Malon would not expect of her simple nature. Than she remembered whose daughter she was.
"You're a queer one to be interested in such things," Keihs said instead, shrugging. "No harm. She was found by the Gerudos on their doorstep, as far as I am told. Her name is Talin, and I have only seen a glimpse of her once when delivering a message to Nabooru."
Airas nodded, taking in this small information, than asked, "Who is Nabooru?"
This time both Keihs and Malon's eyes widened. "You don't know?" they asked in union.
Airas looked startled. "Should I?"
"I believe it now when you say you have been in the forest all your life!" Keihs shouted, slapping his knee. "She was one of the sages. In fact, you being in the forest, you should have came across the Forest Sage. I think her name was—"
Keihs was cut off, finishing his sentence with a painful yelp as Malon brought her heel down on his toes.
"Keihs…I said it once already. Just leave the order and be off!"
"What in Hyrule's name was that for?" Keihs yelled, kneeling to rub his sore toes. "Never mind. I'll be off than. Here."
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a slip of paper and handed it to Malon, limping away on his good foot.
"That boy, I swear," Malon murmured, glancing over the sheet before placing it in her apron. She quickly looked around than to see if anything could be done to keep herself looking busy, hence no questions would have time to be asked. This Airas noted quickly and shrugged lightly to herself, tugging a bit on the reins to stir Epyon awake who had dosed off.
"I'll put Epyon away," she said dryly, her eyes averted straight forward.
Malon blinked at the tone and watched her go, heading back into the stables and shutting the side-door behind her.
Malon sighed and knew the reason for Airas's sudden withdrawn nature.
"Oh Link…I wish you were here to tell me what it is you are planning…I hate keeping secrets."