Yay, chapter 2! Let's just get to the story, shall we?

Chapter 2 – Promises

It was like a dream. I was in an endless blue room, brimming with both light and dark. Below my feet was a triforce, glowing gold, as always. Around me were six round platforms…A yellow one in front of me, and a green one, a blue one, a red one, a purple one, and an orange one around me, forming a circle.

A ring of light appeared on the yellow platform in front of me, and a large man appeared inside of it. He wore a long robe, orange, red, and yellow in color. He was bald, save for the hair on the back of his head and the beard. All his hair was white.

"I am, Rauru, one of the ancient sages," he said.

My eyes were glued on the man. All this…it couldn't be real…Where was I? What was going on? I didn't remember Link until Rauru addressed him. To my right, there he was, and as soon as I saw him I nearly fainted. He was no longer the young boy I had known for so long. He was a grown man, tall and well-built. But I was still only a few inches shorter than him. I looked down at myself, and, once again, I was speechless. I was also grown. Somehow, I still wore the outfit Link had bought for me after the moat incident. My hair went down to my waist. I kept telling myself I was dreaming…

Once again we were engulfed in blue light, and once again, my vision went black…

I opened my eyes to find that Link and I were once again in the Temple of Time, next to the pedestal the sword was once in. I was lying on the ground. I looked at Link. He was still grown up, and I could only assume that I was, too. Was that a dream? What I still dreaming?

Link looked down at me and smiled. "No, you're not dreaming. It's me, Link, and that's you, Malon." He looked me over a few times. "Welcome to the future."

My head was spinning. "Future?"

"Yep," he said quietly. "I'm the Hero of Time. I'll be traveling through time to save Hyrule, and unless you think it's too much for you, you'll be coming with me."

I shook my head and stood up. "No way…you're joking…"

"Well, if I'm joking, I suppose your body is joking with you, too? Cause it doesn't look like you're ten years old anymore."

I looked down at myself again. He was right. This body was real, and so was the man who now stood in front of me.

"How did this happen?"

"Weren't you listening to Rauru?" I shook my head. He sighed. "I'm the Hero of Time, as I told you. But when I pulled the Master Sword, I was too young. So my spirit was sealed in the Chamber of Sages for seven years, and since you were holding my hand when I pulled it, I guess you were there with me."

I didn't know if it was possible for someone's head to spin so fast with question that it'd fly off, but I felt like mine would do just that. "Seven years? Seven years have really passed?"

Link nodded. "And without me here to defend Hyrule, Ganondorf took over. He rules now."

"What about the ranch! What happened there!"

Link looked down at the ground solemnly. "I…I don't know, Malon…"

I turned and headed for the exit. I had to make sure the ranch was okay. Who knows what could have happened for seven years with me just…gone?

Link ran after me and put a hand on my shoulder. I stopped and turned to look at him. He was looking at me with both confusion and sympathy.

"Going to the ranch?"

I nodded, not smiling.

He put his hand down. "Thought so…" He trailed off, looking at the floor.

I bent down and looked at his face. "What is it?" I lifted his head with my hand at his chin.

He just looked at me. He took my hand and held it in front of him. He put his other hand on top of mine. My hand was between his, between the leather of his gloves. They still felt warm, though. "Don't be surprised by what you see when we get there," he said quietly. "I've been gone, unable to save Hyrule for seven years. You've been gone, unable to visit your father or the ranch or help him for seven years. Some things…some things may have changed…"

"I know," I said. "I know. But I have to go check on my dad, and Ingo. And the horses, I have to see the horses."

A moment of silence hung between us as we just stared at each other. He was so beautiful. The past seven years had done him a lot of good, even though he was locked up in a sprit world for all that time.

I took my hand out from between his. "Let's go." I turned to leave. He followed diligently, like a well-trained dog following its owner.

The walk back to Lon Lon Ranch seemed a lot longer than the walk from it. That was probably because of the fact that on the trip to Hyrule Castle, we were both laughing and talking. Now, there was nothing but silence between us the whole way there. Malon walked as fast as her newly elongated legs would carry her, but she didn't run so she wouldn't get too tired. I kept looking over at her. She was definitely not the little, innocent farm girl she used to be. She had grown up to be a fine, independent young woman. She was actually very beautiful now. Her hair, down to her waist, flowed behind her as she walked. Whenever the wind blew, it took her hair with it in that direction.

Zelda was on my mind, too, for the whole walk there. I wondered what she looked like now that these seven years had passed. Hopefully she didn't think I abandoned her and all of Hyrule. I wished I could somehow contact her and explain everything to her. And I wanted her to tell me what had been going on while I was gone.

"The ranch!"

Malon broke into a run as we got close enough to Lon Lon Ranch to see the roofs of the buildings. But I only saw one roof now, and that was the one on the right, Malon's house. The one that used to be across from it, on the left, was gone. What happened to the stables?

I ran after her, as fast as I could. She was already in the ranch and out of sight, so I ran as hard as I could. But she had stopped right when we got inside, so I almost ran into her. I stopped next to her and kneeled down to catch my breath. "Malon…why'd you…?" I trailed off as I stood up and looked at what the ranch was now.

The stables were gone, just as I had thought. Now all was left there was a lot of dirt. There weren't even remains, like wood or straw. Beyond there was the pasture the horses used to live in. But now, the fence was gone, as well as the horses. Malon just stared. I saw a tear run down her cheek. I knew that wouldn't be the last. I put a hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her.

She put her other hand on my hand. "Link…it's gone," she said weakly. "Everything's gone…" She looked up at me, wide-eyed. "What happened!" Suddenly she seemed angry. "WHAT HAPPENED!" she yelled so loudly anyone in the ranch or just outside would have heard her.

"Malon?"

The voice was weak. It sounded like an old, weak man. "Malon, is that you?"

Malon looked around, but saw nothing. "Who…" She broke off when she saw her father standing in the doorway to her home. But he was no longer the same man he used to be. He wore a baggy shirt that had stains in multiple places and gray sweatpants. He had no shoes on, just socks. His hair was brown, but there was noticeable grey hair there as well.

Malon ran up to him and hugged him. She held him at arms' length. "Daddy, what happened? Where are the horses? And Ingo? And the stables? Daddy, what happened to you!"

Talon coughed…And he didn't stop.

"Malon," I walked up to them. "He doesn't look good. Let's go inside and get him on a chair."

Malon nodded, not saying a word. She took Talon's hands in her own and led him into the kitchen. Everything here looked the same…

Malon sat him down on a chair at the dining table. Malon and I also sat down.

"Malon," Talon said quietly and weakly. "The ranch…it's gone. There is no more ranch."

"What do you mean!" Malon yelled almost a little too loudly. "What happened?"

"When you two left, and never came back, Ingo and I were left to care for the ranch on our own. Everything was going great, aside from Ingo's complaining, but that was always there. But then I started becoming too weak to work and Ingo had to take over. He was basically in charge. But he couldn't make any drastic changes, because the ranch still legally belonged to me." He paused a few moments as he coughed. Malon put a protective arm around his shoulder. "I saw a doctor, and she told me that I had a fatal illness that would kill me within six years unless I found the cure. But the cure isn't in Hyrule, it's in another territory where there are no people, only monsters. So I couldn't go get it, and had no one to send. Still, I'm lucky I'm still around, after these seven years. Then Ingo found out that I was sick. He brought in a law enforcement group and they made me sign the ranch over to someone else because I would pass away in a short time. I signed the ranch over to you, Malon, but they told me that if you didn't return within three years, the ranch would go to the second option, Ingo…And when you didn't return, Ingo took complete control."

Malon hung her head. "Daddy, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to leave you for all that time…I would have come back, but…"

"Shhh," Talon said quietly. "Malon, it's not your fault…"

"It's mine," I said in my normal tone of voice, which was louder than Talon had been talking, so it took them by surprise. "If I hadn't let Malon come with me, she wouldn't have been stuck with me in that chamber for seven years…" Talon looked at me with a confused look. I shook my head. "It's complicated and a little hard to understand. But all that matters is, Malon had no control over the fact that she couldn't come back for so long. Otherwise, we would have come back from time to time."

Talon smiled weakly. He looked at Malon. "Malon, I was afraid I wouldn't get to see you again before I died…And now that I have, dying doesn't seem as horrible as it used to…"

"Daddy!"

"No, I'm not saying I want to die, but…it's seems a bit more tolerable. I mean, look at me." He looked down at himself and then back up to Malon. "I'm old, sick, and unable to do anything anymore. All this coughing causes huge pains in my throat. I get frequent migraines and stomachaches. If I died, this pain would go away."

Malon started crying loudly and uncontrollably. Talon put his arms around her. "Malon, don't cry." He looked her over. "My, my, you've grown to be a find young woman!" Apparently he was trying to lighten the mood a bit. Good idea.

Malon looked up and smiled a little.

I don't know why, but Malon suddenly stopped crying. She looked at me with a serious face, then looked back at her father. She stood up. "Where did you say the cure was?"

Talon's face grew scared. "Malon, you're not thinking…"

"I've made my decision…I'm going to find the cure."

The room was silent for a few moments, so I took the chance to speak up. "Talon…where is this cure? And what does it look like?"

Talon seemed hesitant to answer, as if he thought not answering would make Malon stay. I knew her too well the think that. When she made up her mind, she never backed down. I both hated and liked that about her. "It is a place that is said to have no human inhabitants…A place of evil, full of monsters. They say it's always dark there. The entrance is somewhere is the river in Gerudo valley, or so I've been told. The cure is in the form of a flower. My doctor told me that its petals were the real key." He looked to Malon. "Malon, please. Don't risk your life for me. You know I would rather die now than you to have to die for me."

"I know," Malon said. "And I would rather die than watch you die."

So much talk of death…I was really getting sick of it. "Talon," I said, walking next to Malon. "Don't worry. I'll go with her. As long as I live, I'll make sure she doesn't get hurt. I promise."

I looked down at Malon. She looked up at me with confusion. She knew as well as I did that I couldn't do as I had said…I had to save Hyrule. But this conversation was too dreary…If it still had yet to be finished, I wanted to finish it later. And I could tell by the way Malon looked at me that she felt the same way.

Talon sighed. Apparently he had given up. I think he trusted me. He walked up and held Malon in a tight hug. "I love you, Malon, know that."

Malon hugged him back. "I love you, too, Dad," she said quietly. "And I'll be back with cure. I'm not coming back without it. I promise."

Talon nodded, then looked at me. "I trust you, Link. I trust you'll keep your promise, and I trust you'll being her home safely."

I nodded. "I will."

He looked us over once more, then he whispered, "I'll be here when you return."

We nodded and left.

Malon decided that once we got out of the ranch, it was her perfect chance to speak her mind…loudly, and angrily.

"LINK!" she yelled. "You can't keep that promise! You have to stay here and save Hyrule!"

"I know."

"So you can't come with me!"

"I know."

"And I have to go alone!"

"I know."

She just stared at me. She was surprised I was letting her go so easily. "Link…" she said quietly. "Since when do you just met me go so easily?"

"Since I learned that you're like a man in the respect that when you make up your mind, you stick to it."

I smiled. "Is that a good thing?"

I thought for a moment. "Hmm..yes and no."

She nodded. "Okay."

"Anyway," I said, pulling out an empty pouch I had with me. I took out my Kokiri sword, which was more like a short dagger now, a few red potions, my fairy ocarina, and one of our fairies and put them in there. "This is for you. You'll need it."

She took the pouch. "Thank you."

We stood there, silent, for a few moments, looking each other over, as if we would never see each other again. Actually, that might actually happen…But I wiped that thought from my mind. I lifted my hat off of my head. "Navi, come out."

Navi flew out of my hat and yawned. "What? What is it, Link?"

"Malon has to go find something for her dad. I can't go with her, I have to stay here and protect Hyrule. I want you to go with her."

Navi gasped. "Link! You need me!"

"But Malon needs you more," I said. "I've been fighting for a long time. Malon's never fought a battle before."

"Actually," Malon chimed in, "I do have experience with a bow and arrow. My dad and I used to practice together all the time."

I looked back at Malon. "Okay, then…" I dug in my bag and pulled out my fairy bow and the arrows. "Take this. I have a longshot, I'll manage."

I looked at Navi. "Teach her Saria's song. That way, if she needs me, she can contact Saria, and Saria will contact me. Okay?" Navi nodded.

I handed Malon the bow and arrows. Malon took it carefully and, gingerly, she put it in her bag. "Thank you, Link." She stood on her tip-toes and kissed me on the cheek. It was quick and innocent, and meant nothing but "thank you", but it still took me by surprise.

"Well," I said. "You two better head out. And I should, too. Bye!" I turned to head off, but turned back to Malon. I put my hands on her shoulders. "And I will keep that promise I made to your dad. No matter what, I'll never let someone hurt you. I promise." I returned the kiss on the cheek. Then I turned and dashed off.

Well, that's all! Buh byes! (Please review!)