Malon ran up the stairs, a tray of food precariously balanced in one hand
as she knocked on the door.
"Link I brought breakfast." She chirped, "Are you awake?"
Silence met her question; she frowned and opened the door, her presence greeted by a vacant room. The bed was made, the room itself looking untouched. A sheet of paper rested on the table, words scrawled across its front in dark ink. The young girl set down the tray and picked it up, confusion evident on her face, it read:
Dear Malon,
I'm sorry that we had to leave so quickly, something just came up. Navi and I thank you for putting up with us; once our journey is over we will come and visit.
Link and Navi
She stared at the note for a long time, examining it for hidden meanings. What could have come up so suddenly? Had Link regretted kissing her last night and left early to avoid her? The possibilities hurt so she tucked them away with a heartfelt sigh and picked up the tray on her way out the door.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Three days had passed and Lon Lon Ranch was up and running smoothly once again. Milk deliveries had been taken care of, horses groomed, stables mucked out, and chickens fed. Malon was left with nothing else to do.
"Dad, I think I'm going to Kakariko and visit Granny, ok?"
Talon had been collecting eggs in the barn but upon hearing her announcement he turned to look at her uncertainly, his hand hovering just above an egg in a chicken's nest. He recalled how her last visit to the village had ended with her laying unconscious in a bed for a week, "I dunno if that's such a grand idea." He cautioned her softly, going back to gathering the eggs, "You should prob'ly just stay home."
Malon instantly knew what caused her father's indecision and rushed to comfort, "I've completely recovered from that daddy, I'll only talk to her for a while, then I'll come straight back."
Talon sighed, glancing at Malon to see she did indeed have her puppy-dog- eyed-look on. "You have one hour." He stated, "An' I mean it Malon, if you're one second late I'm sendin' the army out after ya."
Malon giggled, "I didn't know we owned an army."
"Go 'fore I change my mind." He warned, then had to try not to chuckle immediately afterwards as Malon tripped over her own feet in her rush to get out the door.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The water rippled serenely around Link's form as he swam through Zora's Domain, a bottle that contained a note from Princess Ruto in hand. He wondered, not for the first time, how he got himself into these things.
Navi was too busy greeting the Zoras as they passed to notice his frustration. She hoped none of them considered her to be food, Link had always said she looked like a firefly from far away, and she didn't care for these fish people to mistake her for one.
The young hero ran up the stairs to the throne room, taking the note out one more time just to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. It was still the same letter, in the same loopy writing that bore the Princess' signature. And it still said she had been swallowed by Lord Jabu Jabu, God of the Zoras.
It was enough to make the kokiri want to kick himself.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Malon arrived at Kakariko in record time, running all the way left her feeling happy and exhausted all at the same time. She strolled over to the Old Potion shop, calling up a levitation spell to get over the gate and to the door.
Nothing happened. No power stirred under her command, her heart sank.
She leaned against the side of the building and closed her eyes, in an almost meditative state she looked for the core of her magic, gasping at what she found. In the past the core of Malon's magic had been a tangle of different colored magical threads, woven together in a multicolored pillar that glowed with an inner light. But as she looked upon it now she saw that the threads had dulled in color and in quantity, the pillar that they combined to make was dark and unsteady looking.
Icy fear gripped at Malon's throat, "What's going on?" she cried out, several people stopping what they were doing to stare at her sudden outburst. She took no notice of their confusion, too busy dealing with her own at the time.
"Granny!" she called, standing up, "What's going on?"
The ground lurched beneath her and white light blinded her, it took her but a few seconds to realize she had been teleported into the shop. Granny stood before her, looking at her anxiously. They were in the basement of the store, the living area really, where the old woman kept her belongings and slept.
"Calm yourself child." She said soothingly, taking Malon's hand and seating her in one of the sofas. "It isn't as bad as you think."
The sorceress wasn't reassured.
"It's gone." She cried, tears springing into her eyes, "The core of my magic, it's gone."
"It isn't gone dear." Granny said softly, "It's still there."
"But why is it so dark? Why does it seem so dead?" her voice came out in a hushed whisper laced with bewilderment and pain. She was staring at the floor, holding her head in her hands. "What happened?"
Granny watched Malon for a moment, sympathy welling within her. "When you healed Link it took all the magic you possessed." she had come right out and said it, she waited.
Malon looked up at her dazedly, after a moment she whispered, "What?"
"It takes days, weeks, to build the kind of power you unleashed," Granny was watching the girl carefully as she spoke, "It's to be expected that your core wouldn't simply continue running, it's probably trying to regenerate itself."
"How long will that take?" Malon asked shakily, her mouth felt as though it had been stuffed with cotton, it was so damn dry. "It's already been a week."
"Months, maybe even years, it won't recover over night."
Words failed the sorceress, she couldn't even think straight for a moment. "Goddesses no." was the only thing she managed to get out.
"I know its hard Malon." The old woman said, "I was in your place once, though not for the same reason."
Malon looked up at Granny, slightly surprised by the confession, "What do you mean?"
Granny sighed, "It's a story you might not want to hear."
The old woman never spoke of her past with Malon and now that she was talking the girl wasn't about to stop her. "Go on." She encouraged.
"It was a very long time ago," Granny began, looking almost nervous, "I was older than you are now, though not necessarily smarter. I had been taught the basics of Sorcery then, and I entertained the people of my village with tricks I could pull off with it. I didn't respect my magic as much as I do now, but perhaps that was because I wasn't as aware of what I was capable of with it then.
"He approached me, with his charms and good looks, told me that I was amazing, that I had real talent." Granny's voice had turned bitter and she paused for a moment before continuing, "His name was Thomas, I had always liked him, I suppose that's why it was so easy for him to get to me.
"He asked me if I could do him a favor, just a tiny one, then he would take me to the festival my town held once every year. I was naïve and eager to please, I agreed without even asking him what the favor was, stupid.
"He insisted that I swear upon my magic that I would fulfill his request, it made me sort of suspicious so I asked him what he planned to do. He refused to say, I told him that if he was planning on hurting anyone I wouldn't participate. He said no one would get injured; I believed him and sealed my fate with a magical vow.
"I met him later that night, the night before the festival; he came with a picture of a girl. I was confused until he told me what he wanted." Granny's voice was soft and sad, "He asked me to cast a love spell on her, to make her love him."
"That's terrible!" Malon cried, her own problems long since forgotten, "How could he even ask such a thing?"
"Please Malon, let me continue." The hag sounded tired, "I may not be able to finish otherwise."
The girl fell silent and Granny continued, "I was shocked and horrified myself, I couldn't believe that was what he had wanted. I tried to talk him out of it, told him that I could give him anything else, but he wouldn't listen.
"He said I had promised, I had vowed on my magic that I would do it, I couldn't back down." The old woman's voice seemed strained, "Couldn't convince him otherwise.
"Her name was Elizabeth; she was a year older than I was, sweet and kind to everyone. Perfect.
"I cast the spell; I took the choice to love whomever she wanted away from her." Granny sounded miserable, on the verge of crying, "She had never shone any interest in Thomas before, no one could figure out why she was suddenly following him around like a lost puppy.
"It drained away my magic, left my magical core battered and bruised. I had been used. I remember how empty I felt; even now I'm not sure whether or not that was caused by the disappearance of my magic or because of what I had done to Elizabeth, a bit of both probably.
"Months passed and eventually Thomas got sick of Liz, he told me to call her off. I wish I could have but my magic was spent, so he went to the sorcerer in the village instead and told him what had happened.
"The sorcerer took the spell off and Elizabeth returned to herself. She was traumatized by what had happened to her, what I had done. She never married, hardly ever spoke, that bastard Thomas ruined both our lives in one day, and I helped him do it. I was the ignorant accomplice in my own demise and I dragged the poor girl down with me."
Silence filled the room as the tale concluded; Granny had sat down in the couch across from Malon during the story and remained there, watching the girl.
"It wasn't your fault Granny."
"You're wrong Malon, it was and it still is."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Link was getting really sick of this whole, 'if you want the Spiritual Stone go do this' crap.
"How am I supposed to get inside a fish anyway?" he muttered angrily, glaring at the immobile Lord Jabu Jabu.
"Hell if I know." Navi growled in response, not at all pleased with her day so far. "As far as I'm concerned the princess can get digested."
"We need the Stone." Link said resignedly.
"Tell you what Link you can crawl inside a fish all you want, personally I've been trying to dodge hungry maws all day, and the thought of willingly jumping into one is not at all pleasant."
"Cranky, cranky." He murmured under his breath, then to Navi, "What about the princess?"
"Screw the princess; I'm not going to leap into the jaws of a gigantic fish!"
"This could be more complicated than I thought." Link sighed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Is there anyway to recover my magic faster?" Malon asked as she turned to walk out the door. "Anything at all would help."
Granny thought about that for a moment, "There is one thing, but Malon it's very dangerous, if you're going to go through with it you must promise me you won't go alone." All the while wondering to herself, 'should I tell her this?'.
Malon's assurance and promise were quickly said, she was eager to hear what she would have to do.
"The Zoras are expert healers; they pride themselves on it, a bit too much might I just add." Granny looked at her enthusiasm and hesitated, then said, "If you went to Zora's Domain and asked them I'm sure they could find something for you."
Malon's eyes looked like they were glowing, "Thank you Granny!" she cried, hugging the old woman around the middle. "I'll go check it out."
The hag nodded, "Just don't go alone." She reminded her, "The path to the domain is a perilous one, so be careful."
"I will."
Granny teleported Malon to the gates of Kakariko Village, watching as the young girl waved good-bye and ran out.
"Good luck." The potion shop owner whispered.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"So he's in Zora's Domain already?"
"Yes Master, he will recover the final Stone soon enough."
"What about the sorceress?"
"She's still powerless Lord, and heading to Zora's Domain as we speak."
Ganondorf smiled cruelly at the thought, "He'll learn shortly," the King of Thieves hissed at the monster before him. "Link and the little sorceress will learn what real agony is soon enough."
~*~*~*~
Author's notes: So did you like it? I hope so; it took me days to figure out what the hell I wanted in this chapter.
You guys may have noticed I changed the rating slightly and for those of you who are worried it's mainly just for language, and some adult themes. I don't think anything too serious is going to happen but I changed it to avoid getting bitched at.
So review if you liked it or even if you didn't, I'm open to suggestions and will try to take flames as well as possible.
Thanks again for reading.
-- Alanna
"Link I brought breakfast." She chirped, "Are you awake?"
Silence met her question; she frowned and opened the door, her presence greeted by a vacant room. The bed was made, the room itself looking untouched. A sheet of paper rested on the table, words scrawled across its front in dark ink. The young girl set down the tray and picked it up, confusion evident on her face, it read:
Dear Malon,
I'm sorry that we had to leave so quickly, something just came up. Navi and I thank you for putting up with us; once our journey is over we will come and visit.
Link and Navi
She stared at the note for a long time, examining it for hidden meanings. What could have come up so suddenly? Had Link regretted kissing her last night and left early to avoid her? The possibilities hurt so she tucked them away with a heartfelt sigh and picked up the tray on her way out the door.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Three days had passed and Lon Lon Ranch was up and running smoothly once again. Milk deliveries had been taken care of, horses groomed, stables mucked out, and chickens fed. Malon was left with nothing else to do.
"Dad, I think I'm going to Kakariko and visit Granny, ok?"
Talon had been collecting eggs in the barn but upon hearing her announcement he turned to look at her uncertainly, his hand hovering just above an egg in a chicken's nest. He recalled how her last visit to the village had ended with her laying unconscious in a bed for a week, "I dunno if that's such a grand idea." He cautioned her softly, going back to gathering the eggs, "You should prob'ly just stay home."
Malon instantly knew what caused her father's indecision and rushed to comfort, "I've completely recovered from that daddy, I'll only talk to her for a while, then I'll come straight back."
Talon sighed, glancing at Malon to see she did indeed have her puppy-dog- eyed-look on. "You have one hour." He stated, "An' I mean it Malon, if you're one second late I'm sendin' the army out after ya."
Malon giggled, "I didn't know we owned an army."
"Go 'fore I change my mind." He warned, then had to try not to chuckle immediately afterwards as Malon tripped over her own feet in her rush to get out the door.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The water rippled serenely around Link's form as he swam through Zora's Domain, a bottle that contained a note from Princess Ruto in hand. He wondered, not for the first time, how he got himself into these things.
Navi was too busy greeting the Zoras as they passed to notice his frustration. She hoped none of them considered her to be food, Link had always said she looked like a firefly from far away, and she didn't care for these fish people to mistake her for one.
The young hero ran up the stairs to the throne room, taking the note out one more time just to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. It was still the same letter, in the same loopy writing that bore the Princess' signature. And it still said she had been swallowed by Lord Jabu Jabu, God of the Zoras.
It was enough to make the kokiri want to kick himself.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Malon arrived at Kakariko in record time, running all the way left her feeling happy and exhausted all at the same time. She strolled over to the Old Potion shop, calling up a levitation spell to get over the gate and to the door.
Nothing happened. No power stirred under her command, her heart sank.
She leaned against the side of the building and closed her eyes, in an almost meditative state she looked for the core of her magic, gasping at what she found. In the past the core of Malon's magic had been a tangle of different colored magical threads, woven together in a multicolored pillar that glowed with an inner light. But as she looked upon it now she saw that the threads had dulled in color and in quantity, the pillar that they combined to make was dark and unsteady looking.
Icy fear gripped at Malon's throat, "What's going on?" she cried out, several people stopping what they were doing to stare at her sudden outburst. She took no notice of their confusion, too busy dealing with her own at the time.
"Granny!" she called, standing up, "What's going on?"
The ground lurched beneath her and white light blinded her, it took her but a few seconds to realize she had been teleported into the shop. Granny stood before her, looking at her anxiously. They were in the basement of the store, the living area really, where the old woman kept her belongings and slept.
"Calm yourself child." She said soothingly, taking Malon's hand and seating her in one of the sofas. "It isn't as bad as you think."
The sorceress wasn't reassured.
"It's gone." She cried, tears springing into her eyes, "The core of my magic, it's gone."
"It isn't gone dear." Granny said softly, "It's still there."
"But why is it so dark? Why does it seem so dead?" her voice came out in a hushed whisper laced with bewilderment and pain. She was staring at the floor, holding her head in her hands. "What happened?"
Granny watched Malon for a moment, sympathy welling within her. "When you healed Link it took all the magic you possessed." she had come right out and said it, she waited.
Malon looked up at her dazedly, after a moment she whispered, "What?"
"It takes days, weeks, to build the kind of power you unleashed," Granny was watching the girl carefully as she spoke, "It's to be expected that your core wouldn't simply continue running, it's probably trying to regenerate itself."
"How long will that take?" Malon asked shakily, her mouth felt as though it had been stuffed with cotton, it was so damn dry. "It's already been a week."
"Months, maybe even years, it won't recover over night."
Words failed the sorceress, she couldn't even think straight for a moment. "Goddesses no." was the only thing she managed to get out.
"I know its hard Malon." The old woman said, "I was in your place once, though not for the same reason."
Malon looked up at Granny, slightly surprised by the confession, "What do you mean?"
Granny sighed, "It's a story you might not want to hear."
The old woman never spoke of her past with Malon and now that she was talking the girl wasn't about to stop her. "Go on." She encouraged.
"It was a very long time ago," Granny began, looking almost nervous, "I was older than you are now, though not necessarily smarter. I had been taught the basics of Sorcery then, and I entertained the people of my village with tricks I could pull off with it. I didn't respect my magic as much as I do now, but perhaps that was because I wasn't as aware of what I was capable of with it then.
"He approached me, with his charms and good looks, told me that I was amazing, that I had real talent." Granny's voice had turned bitter and she paused for a moment before continuing, "His name was Thomas, I had always liked him, I suppose that's why it was so easy for him to get to me.
"He asked me if I could do him a favor, just a tiny one, then he would take me to the festival my town held once every year. I was naïve and eager to please, I agreed without even asking him what the favor was, stupid.
"He insisted that I swear upon my magic that I would fulfill his request, it made me sort of suspicious so I asked him what he planned to do. He refused to say, I told him that if he was planning on hurting anyone I wouldn't participate. He said no one would get injured; I believed him and sealed my fate with a magical vow.
"I met him later that night, the night before the festival; he came with a picture of a girl. I was confused until he told me what he wanted." Granny's voice was soft and sad, "He asked me to cast a love spell on her, to make her love him."
"That's terrible!" Malon cried, her own problems long since forgotten, "How could he even ask such a thing?"
"Please Malon, let me continue." The hag sounded tired, "I may not be able to finish otherwise."
The girl fell silent and Granny continued, "I was shocked and horrified myself, I couldn't believe that was what he had wanted. I tried to talk him out of it, told him that I could give him anything else, but he wouldn't listen.
"He said I had promised, I had vowed on my magic that I would do it, I couldn't back down." The old woman's voice seemed strained, "Couldn't convince him otherwise.
"Her name was Elizabeth; she was a year older than I was, sweet and kind to everyone. Perfect.
"I cast the spell; I took the choice to love whomever she wanted away from her." Granny sounded miserable, on the verge of crying, "She had never shone any interest in Thomas before, no one could figure out why she was suddenly following him around like a lost puppy.
"It drained away my magic, left my magical core battered and bruised. I had been used. I remember how empty I felt; even now I'm not sure whether or not that was caused by the disappearance of my magic or because of what I had done to Elizabeth, a bit of both probably.
"Months passed and eventually Thomas got sick of Liz, he told me to call her off. I wish I could have but my magic was spent, so he went to the sorcerer in the village instead and told him what had happened.
"The sorcerer took the spell off and Elizabeth returned to herself. She was traumatized by what had happened to her, what I had done. She never married, hardly ever spoke, that bastard Thomas ruined both our lives in one day, and I helped him do it. I was the ignorant accomplice in my own demise and I dragged the poor girl down with me."
Silence filled the room as the tale concluded; Granny had sat down in the couch across from Malon during the story and remained there, watching the girl.
"It wasn't your fault Granny."
"You're wrong Malon, it was and it still is."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Link was getting really sick of this whole, 'if you want the Spiritual Stone go do this' crap.
"How am I supposed to get inside a fish anyway?" he muttered angrily, glaring at the immobile Lord Jabu Jabu.
"Hell if I know." Navi growled in response, not at all pleased with her day so far. "As far as I'm concerned the princess can get digested."
"We need the Stone." Link said resignedly.
"Tell you what Link you can crawl inside a fish all you want, personally I've been trying to dodge hungry maws all day, and the thought of willingly jumping into one is not at all pleasant."
"Cranky, cranky." He murmured under his breath, then to Navi, "What about the princess?"
"Screw the princess; I'm not going to leap into the jaws of a gigantic fish!"
"This could be more complicated than I thought." Link sighed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Is there anyway to recover my magic faster?" Malon asked as she turned to walk out the door. "Anything at all would help."
Granny thought about that for a moment, "There is one thing, but Malon it's very dangerous, if you're going to go through with it you must promise me you won't go alone." All the while wondering to herself, 'should I tell her this?'.
Malon's assurance and promise were quickly said, she was eager to hear what she would have to do.
"The Zoras are expert healers; they pride themselves on it, a bit too much might I just add." Granny looked at her enthusiasm and hesitated, then said, "If you went to Zora's Domain and asked them I'm sure they could find something for you."
Malon's eyes looked like they were glowing, "Thank you Granny!" she cried, hugging the old woman around the middle. "I'll go check it out."
The hag nodded, "Just don't go alone." She reminded her, "The path to the domain is a perilous one, so be careful."
"I will."
Granny teleported Malon to the gates of Kakariko Village, watching as the young girl waved good-bye and ran out.
"Good luck." The potion shop owner whispered.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"So he's in Zora's Domain already?"
"Yes Master, he will recover the final Stone soon enough."
"What about the sorceress?"
"She's still powerless Lord, and heading to Zora's Domain as we speak."
Ganondorf smiled cruelly at the thought, "He'll learn shortly," the King of Thieves hissed at the monster before him. "Link and the little sorceress will learn what real agony is soon enough."
~*~*~*~
Author's notes: So did you like it? I hope so; it took me days to figure out what the hell I wanted in this chapter.
You guys may have noticed I changed the rating slightly and for those of you who are worried it's mainly just for language, and some adult themes. I don't think anything too serious is going to happen but I changed it to avoid getting bitched at.
So review if you liked it or even if you didn't, I'm open to suggestions and will try to take flames as well as possible.
Thanks again for reading.
-- Alanna
