By Miss Moony
Chapter Three
Kidnapped?!
It was only when Link was just about to exit the forest, the only place he'd ever known, when he realized that he had not had a chance to say goodbye to Saria, the only true friend he'd ever known. At this thought, he began to panic. Going off into a strange, dangerous land alone was one thing, but going without the encouragement of his best friend, without some last few words of wisdom, was something else entirely.
He cupped his hands around his mouth and called out her name, but he received no reply. He hadn't really expected anything, anyway. A depression swept over him at the thought of not being able to say goodbye to his dearest friend, but a warmth soon filled him. Hewould see her again. Of that, he was sure. Filled with a new-formed courage, he turned and walked through the trees leading to Hyrule.
Link had been so overwhelmed by his first sight of Hyrule that he was tempted to run back into the forest to prevent his chest from exploding. The beauty of it was ... was... there was no word to describe it! But the beauty wasn't what had gotten the most of him. He'd had dreams about places like this all the time, and this was roughly what he'd expected. It was the SIZE of the open space that made his legs buckle. He knew that the 5 different people were connected by the sixth race, the Hylians, who ruled over Hyrule. He had heard that the enormous country was nothing but fields, and a monstrous lake on its western-most borders, but seeing it with his own two eyes was something else. He had never seen an open space so large; it was bigger than the Kokiri village, the Deku Tree's field, and every single clearing in the Lost Woods COMBINED! The lack of trees made him nervous, but he'd managed to collect himself and continue on, following the signs to the nearest village. On his way, he'd passed a traveling merchant selling strange potions in bottles.
"Excuse me, sir?" He asked. The old merchant had a huge hump in his back, and a lazy eye that refused to look at Link. Taken back by the ancient's appearance, he couldn't seem to find the right words. "Well, uhhh.Uhhh. . ."
"Well, what is it? Do you want a potion? I 'ave Toadstool 'ealer, Zora Eye Drops, Molten Rock Remedy, straight from Death Mountain! Ohhh, and a special substance I just got: Desert Sand! Yes, I got it from a lovely Gerudo I saw in the market place. Whatever potion you want, Sir Bradley will 'ave it!" He said excitedly, taking potion after potion out of his bag. Link smiled nervously.
"Yes, I'm sure you would, but. . . I don't have any money. . ." he said. The man's crooked grin disappeared, and he started putting things back in his bag.
"No money, eh? Well, then, bug off. I got more important, PAYING people to see." He got to his feet and tried to put the bag back on his shoulder, but it was too heavy. Link reached over to help, but the little man finally managed, until the bag's weight seemed to pull him down towards the ground, and he fell.
"Oh, here, let me help you." Link said, trying to fight back a grin as he reached down to help the man to his feet. The other looked up at him.
"So, you're still 'ere, are you? Well, what do you want?! I don't give out free samples, you know. Can't afford to, now. What with all the 'ubbub at the castle." He said, accepting Link's help to put on the bag. Link blinked quizzically.
"Hubbub at the castle?" He asked. The potion merchant turned towards him.
"You know, with the princess." He saw the look on Link's face and his eyes widened.
"Don't tell me you 'aven't 'eard!" He said. Link shook his head. "Oh, it's terrible news, ittis. Our lovely Princess Zelda's been kidnapped, she 'as. The whole kingdom's been running around like a cucco with its 'ead cut off. Search teams gone to all 5 kingdoms, and ever corner of this'un. Oh, I do 'ope she turns out all right."
Link felt his heart stop at the mention of a kidnapping. "What does Princess ...Zelda, is it? What does she look like?" he asked. The ancient man sighed dreamily.
"I 'ear she's a real buty. Long, blond hair and deep blue eyes. Some say she's got powers, what with her Sheikah guardian and all!"
Deep blue eyes, long blond hair - coincidence? Link decided not to risk it. He would have to go to the castle right away. After being pointed in the right direction, Link thanked the old man and headed off.
Malon dismounted her horse, Epona, and put the chestnut mare next to Bravado, her stallion. Her father had just gone for a ride with her, but had seen that they'd had customers and quickly ran into their home, leaving Malon to brush the horses and set them up for the evening. She was just about to take off Epona's saddle when she heard cries from the front door of their two-story home.
"Hey, wench, get in here!" She looked up angrily to see an armored man standing in the doorway.
"Yer father isn't quick enough! We want service, now!" He shouted. Malon had to bite her tongue to keep her from insulting his pride.
We need the money, she reminded herself, shaking her head.
"Of course, sir, if you could just wait for me to tend to these horses-"
"Are you saying that horses are more important than yer customers?" He asked her, slammingthe door. Malon counted to ten, trying to control her temper, before apologizing to her horses and running in to the lower part of her home.
Talon and Malon, owners of LonLon Ranch, had had the most successful ranch in Hyrule until their helper, Ingo, had gone off to start his own ranch with his brothers. Although the Lon's had better quality milk for cheaper prices than Ingo, he and his brothers were much more convenient to the rest of the country, and it had damaged their business. So they had decided to make their home a restaurant and inn for travelers, and Malon taught horse- back riding lessons to any children who lived nearby. As she entered the building, she was immediately struck by the smell of dry ale and fatty meat. The armored men catcalled to her and she had to use all her strength to keep herself from turning a pitchfork on them. Instead, she forced a smile and went over to take their order, hoping it wouldn't take long so she could go back and take care of Bravado and Epona.
Link had been traveling all day when he finally saw some sign of civilization. He realized, when he got closer, that it really wasn't civilization, but it would have to do. It was an old ranch, paint chipping on the walls and in desperate need of some repair. The upside was that it probably wouldn't be that expensive. On the way he had run into more travelers, who were being attacked by bandits. Link had helped them, and in exchange they had given Link a cash reward. He realized it wouldn't be wise to spend it all in one place, but all he had were Kokiri forest herbs to eat and he would need a place to stay. He approached the old structure and saw a sign that read "LonLon Ranch." He noticed a group of horses tied up, and wondered how much it would be to borrow one. He'd never ridden a horse before, but how hard could it be? He entered the inn and bumped into a young woman who was hastily trying to get out.
"Hey, wass wrong, sugar? Why dun ya come on back and play with me?" Aslurred, obviously drunk voice called from inside. The young woman let out a disgusted noise and Link stepped back, blushing in embarrassment.
"Sorry." He mumbled, and the girl looked up and smiled. She had long red hair and blue eyes. Link gulped back his teenager hormones as she walked past him, towards the horses.
"Malon!" a voice cried, and the girl turned back, looking past Link at a plump, dark-haired man who was obviously very stressed out. She groaned,
"But Poppa, the horses-" she said. He sighed.
"They can wait, Malon. Please, these are soldiers from the castle." He said. Malon's forehead wrinkled.
"Really?! These are the people the Princess depends on?!" she shook her head and walked past Link again, into the restaurant.
"Thank you." She said, and Link was finally allowed to close the door.
Link took a seat a the small table a few feet away from the group of royal guards. They were obviously too drunk and vulgar for a serious head-to-head conversation, but maybe he if he listened in on their conversation, he would be able to catch something.
"And then I says to him, I says 'Yeah, but what about the Gorons?!'"
Link sighed as the soldiers burst out laughing. It was going to be long night.
"Derek, wat'er we suppose do again?" one man slurred, sounding confused. "I fergot."
Link perked up. This might not be so hard, after all.
"Ummm ..." it was the one who'd been yelling at the girl, Malon. "Find a dragon's claw or sumtin."
"Oh. Why does Lor' Ganon wanna dragon's clon, draclaw's gon, nail thing?"
"I dunno, stupid! Probly has sumtin to do with da broad he kidnapped."
Link started. 'Broad he kidnapped?'
"Oh, okay." Said the shorter one, downing another mug of ale. Link cursed silently as their conversation turned to cucco fights. If only he could force them to tell him what he wanted.His hand subconsciously went to the sword resting against his chair. His eyes widened. He couldn't possible do that,could he? He glanced around, nervously. The man and girl who owned the place were busy in the kitchen. Resolve showed on his face as he stood up, his sword in hand, and walked to the soldiers' table. They stopped laughing when they saw him.
"I-I ..." Link stuttered, then gulped nervously. He took a deep breath. "I couldn't help overhearing your conversation, and I'd like to some more details on the kidnapping, please." His hand hovered over the hilt of his sword warningly. By the gods, he couldn't believe he was doing this!
The largest soldier stood up, obviously sober, now.
"Or what?" He asked, his voice laced with a threat. "Are you going to use that dinky blade of yours?"
Anger flared inside of Link. How DARE that Gohma spawn insult his mother's sword. "I just might." He said. The soldiers let out a booming laughter.
"Don't waste our time, kid." Derek said, throwing some coins on the table. He headed towards the door, and the other two followed close behind.
"Scrub spit!" Link cursed and kicked a chair over when they'd closed the door. He heard voices from the kitchen, and realized he'd suddenly lost his appetite. He left some coins on his table, feeling bad that he hadn't eaten anything, and left. The soldiers were riding off, and he knew he had to get to the castle as soon as possible. An idea formed in his head when he saw two horses tied to a post, already prepared for riding. Ignoring his conscience, he took the chestnut mare, and decided to leave the rest of his coins on the post for the girl to find. Hesitantly, he kicked the horse up to a trot, and fell off. She neighed, as if laughing at him. Brushing himself off, he made a face at her and got back on. He went back to a trot and nervously went to a canter, barely keeping himself from falling off a second time.
Malon had heard the door slam and poked her head out of the kitchen. Seeing no one, she silently thanked the goddesses and pocketed the gold on the table.
The boy had left money and he hadn't ordered anything. She looked around, wondering if he'd gone upstairs to sleep and was paying for the room, when she heard neighing outside. She frowned, and took off her apron, hanging it on a nail in the wall. She walked out, the cool night air causing her to shiver. The sun had just set, and her eyes had to adapt to the dark. When they finally adjusted, she gasped in shock to find that Epona was gone.
"That. . . thief!" She shouted, grabbing a pitchfork and mounting her enormous white Clydesdale. She found a bag of gold pieces on the post. "Did he think this would be enough for a horse like Epona?"
She put the coins in her pocket and kicked Bravado into a canter, heading out of the ranch. Not having a clue where the boy had gone, she headed north-east towards the nearest town: Hyrule's capital, Hylia.