I just thought of something…Link isn't supposed to have the Fairy Bow or Longshot yet, since he didn't even visit any temples yet…But he has them, cause I made him have them. Some of you may have noticed that, and for those of you who didn't, oh well. Anyway, since the storyline is changing anyway, I'll make it so he has them. No harm done, right?

Okay…During Link's and Malon's separation, the chapters will be named by whose point of view it is. If it's Malon's POV, then the chapter is named Malon. If the title has no name in it, then it's most likely in third-person. NO MORE ITALICS, BOLD, and OTHER annoying text changes to deal with! WOOT! Heh, I'm okay. I may add more to the title than the name to hint to what's going on or something,(like this chapter), but, more or less, their names will still be a part of the chapter…Well, enjoy! I hope you like it!

Chapter 3 – Malon: The Journey Begins

I watched Link run off. As soon as he had kissed me, I had felt my cheeks heat up instantly. Even though he was looking away, I did feel a little nervous, and excited at the same time.

"Hey!" a little voice yelled at me. Then I remembered that Navi was with me now, and I looked up to see her floating above my head. "We have to get going if you hope to save your father!"

I nodded, my smile gone at the mention of the serious situation. "Yeah, let's go."

"Where are we supposed to go?"

"My dad said the entrance is in the river in Gerudo Valley." Which is bad, I thought to myself. I couldn't swim…I thought I had made that evident at the moat incident, but apparently not. I stared at the ground.

"Malon?"

I raised my head. "The only problem is…I can't swim."

Navi sighed. "Well, if that's the worst of our problems, then we're pretty darn lucky."

"That's right," I said. "You and Link have been on some pretty dangerous adventures, haven't you?"

"Yeah," Navi said. "And that was just the beginning. We still…or, rather…He still has five sages to save. It's not going to be easy, and without me to help him, it'll probably be a bit harder."

"You should go with him, then," I said. "All I'm doing is going to get a flower and leave."

"Yeah, but there are a few others thing you have to do in order to get even that done. You have to swim in a river with no swimming experience. You have to find the entrance in the river. You have to make it through whatever is waiting for you there. You have to find the flower. Then you have to do it all over again when you leave. I think you need me more."

I couldn't argue with that. And I could barely comprehend it, either. I had to do so much, and it was only my first adventure. But then again, Link didn't have it so good either. He had a first adventure…and he got better at the adventuring thing. Maybe I would improve, too…I could only hope…

"Gerudo Valley…where is that?" I asked Navi. I'd only been to Kakariko Village, Hyrule Castle, and, of course, the ranch. Everything else was new to me.

"Out by Lake Hylia. Seeing as you can't swim, we can't take the short way. So we'll have to walk."

I had no idea what the short way was, so I ignored the mention of it. At first I thought of taking a horse, but then I remembered the ranch's poor condition…There weren't any horses left. So Navi was right…I did have to walk.

"You lead the way," I said, starting to walk.

The walk was long and it took a few days. On the first stay, I had stopped at Kakariko Village for a few minutes to buy a pair of knee-high boots. They were sort of loose-fitting. I got them so I would have a place to put the so-called sword Link had given me. Wearing it on my back in the hilt could cost me. Someone who was suspicious of me could quickly kill me so I couldn't do whatever bad thing they accused me of trying to do. Anyway…The closer we got to the valley, the hotter it got. Eventually we were in a climate of what felt like 90 degrees and hotter. Despite my short shorts and tank top, I was really hot anyway. And my shins were hot, too, because of the boots. Navi didn't act hot, though.

"Aren't you hot?" I asked her, panting. We were now passing a tree, headed toward a three-way intersection. A tall cliff overlooked us to the right. It was day three of our travels.

Navi shook her head…Well that's what it looked like. She was so small it was hard to tell. "Fairies can adapt to any temperature. I didn't even notice it was getting hotter until you mentioned it and I looked over." She looked at me. I knew it was noticeable that I was extremely uncomfortable and hot. My hair, being let down due to my lack of a hair tie, was all frizzy and damp with sweat. The front of my shirt was wet as well, and my face was dripping. I didn't feel like saying anything…I decided to save the energy I had.

We came up to the three-way intersection. There was a path behind us, a path straight in front of us, and a path to the right, leading to a lot of dry, red hills. Great…I bet it was even hotter up there.

"This is the way. Turn right," Navi said, flying far ahead of me to check for anyone who might not want me there. I started walking up the hills. My legs felt as if they were about to give out. I wanted to just fall down and lay there forever, even though the ground was probably hot, the sun beating down on it nonstop all day. Navi flew back to me quickly. I envied her supply of energy…she wasn't that tired at all. I, on the other hand…well, that was another story. "There's no one there," she said. "Only a carpenter and his tent on the other side of the bridge…which is broken."

I had gotten my hopes up that the carpenter would have food and be generous enough to give me some. And maybe he'd even let me rest in the tent. But when Navi told me the bridge was broken, I realized I couldn't even get to the other side, let alone talk to the man…or woman…whatever it was.

I walked across a wooden plank, carefully, so I wouldn't fall in. Navi stayed a foot or two ahead of me, steering me in the right direction. Looking down below the plank, I saw that there was a pool of water below it. I wanted to jump in, to cool of, but I didn't know how deep it was, and I didn't want to risk drowning myself before the actual adventure started because I was hot.

Then the sun started going down. Thank GOD! When we reached the edge of the cliff on the right side of the broken bridge, the sun was completely over the cliff, so I couldn't see it anymore.

I stepped as close the edge of the cliff as I could without falling. It was really, really, high. I was fine with heights, they didn't bother me. What made me nervous was seeing the fast-flowing river at the bottom, flowing to the left. I assumed that was the direction of Lake Hylia.

"This will be really hard," Navi said. "Seeing as you can't swim. Somehow, you gotta get down there and dive underwater to find some type of hole or something. You'll have to dive through that. Plus, you'll have to resist the pull of the current, or you'll be pulled to Lake Hylia. We'll have to walk all the way back, and that would take another day. Another day would be wasted." She took her gaze from the river to me. "No pressure," she joked.

I made a loud 'Psh' noise. "Yeah, no pressure at all…" I really didn't want to do this. I REALLY, REALLY did not want to do this…But I had to. If I didn't, my dad would probably die within a few days. I took a deep breath. I took my terrified stare from the river and looked at Navi. "How am I supposed to get down there?"

"Well, Link would always dive…"

I shook my head vigorously. "Oh, NO WAY! I am NOT diving! I'll kill myself as soon as I hit the water!"

"True," Navi said quietly. "But then how would you get down there?"

That was good question. How WOULD I get down there?

Then I heard a noise. It was like a little toy recorder and little kid would have. It was high, constant, and vibrating. Then I saw a small round shadow appear in front of me and then go over and behind me. I turned around and watched it. It grew bigger. I looked up and saw a girl about my height standing on a flying…plant! I ignored the plant for a few moments and concentrated on the girl. She had vibrant orange hair that was chin-length. It was pulled back behind both of her ears. Her lips were long and white-ish. Her eyes were big a golden. She wore a pair of white, poofy pants, like a genie, and a white vest-like top that failed to cover her belly.

The plant landed on the ground and she stepped off of it. She walked over to me. She laughed at my terrified face, which, evidently, had not worn off from seeing the river.

"Something wrong? You lost?" she asked.

"Umm…" I said, unsure of what to say. Should I tell her of my business here? What if this place was some kind of secret or something? But what if she could help me? After all, she lived here. "You're…you're a Gerudo, right?"

She nodded, laughing. "Yes. Yes I am. And you are?"

"I'm from Lon Lon Ranch," I said. "My name is Malon."

"Lon Lon Ranch?" the girl asked loudly, almost surprised. "That place ceased being a ranch three years ago. I used to get my milk from them."

"Well…I guess I still call it a ranch because it's my home, and…I've lived there all my life."

"Ah," the girl said quietly. "I see. Did you walk here?"

I nodded.

"Come with me, then. You looked exhausted."

"I am! And I'm hungry!" I said a little too eagerly.

She smiled at me again. She pointed across the bridge to the tent. "See that there? That's the carpenter's tent. Normally you could get over there no problem, but the bridge broke."

"Why don't they fix it? After all, they are carpenters."

"They can't. The Gerudos have them locked up in their fortress. I heard they tried to become thieves, and because they're men, they got locked up. Gerudos don't trust men, except for the Gerudo King."

"Yeah, I heard that a man being born in the Gerudo race is rare…like, a thousand years between each birth of a man?" (A/N: Who rules the Gerudos when there's no king? After all, one king won't live for 1000 years until the next one is born. Just a thought...)

She nodded. "Yeah. Our King now is Ganondorf." She winced.

"You don't like him?"

"How could I! He's evil. He's taken over Hyrule and has let the world fall apart. And he enjoys it! With his extra job of ruling Hyrule, he's forgotten about us. Nabooru is ruling in his place."

I assumed that Nabooru was that sort of "Queen" of the Gerudos.

She went on. "And he made this stupid law. Gerudos aren't to leave to valley. I want nothing more than to go out and see the rest of Hyrule for myself, but I can't. I'm stuck here, standing down on that stupid ledge all day, taking care of that stupid cow that lives down there."

"I'm sorry," I said. "Ganondorf has destroyed my home, too."

"I'm not surprised," she said irritably. "So," she said, trying to lighten up the conversation. "What are you here for, anyway?"

I debated in my mind whether to tell her the truth or not. I looked up at Navi, who had, surprisingly, stayed quiet throughout the whole conversation. Link had told me that she "Never shuts up". Navi didn't say anything or do anything to help me make this decision. What a great time for her to clam up…

I looked back at the Gerudo girl. "Umm…" What harm could come from telling her? I concluded in my head. "Well, my father is sick, and I'm supposed to go to some place outside of Hyrule to get the cure."

Her eyes grew wide. "Is the entrance to the place you're looking for in the river!"

I nodded. "Yeah, have you been there!" Maybe someone who knew their way around could show me around, help me get the flower in a few minutes, and I could be out and on the way home. The journey was starting to lighten up.

A look of terror crossed her face. "Ooooh no, oh no!"

I looked at her, confused. "Oh…why not? You're so familiar with it…"

"I'm familiar with the entrance and the fact that it's there. But the inside…It's too dangerous to go in there!"

"How would you know?"

She looked around for a moment, as if she was making sure someone wasn't watching. Then she looked back at me. In a low tone, she said, "All of the Gerudo know of it, they just don't tell anyone because they don't want anyone to try to prove their bravery by going in there. They say monsters none of us can imagine live there. The last time someone went in there to look for the cure to a disease, they never came out. That was over 100 years ago, and no one since then has dared to go in." She put her hands on my shoulders. "I beg of you. Don't go in there. Even the strongest and bravest warriors never made it out." She looked me over. "No offense, but you don't look like much of a warrior."

I took her hands off my shoulders and put them by her side again. "I know I'm not a warrior," I said. "But I'm going to find the cure."

She just stared at me, horrified.

"Actually, you don't even know if something bad happened to them. Maybe they found something so great, they never came back because they loved it so much." She gave me a look that said, "You've GOT to be kidding me". As much as I tried to believe what I had just said, I couldn't. I had every doubt in my mind that the legends were somewhat true…And it scared the hell out of me.

"Anyway," I said. "I'm not alone."

She looked at Navi. "No offense to either of you, but I don't think they fairy is going to help you much."

"Hey!"

I put Navi in my bag and shut it. I had put straps on it on the walk here, so I put the straps over my shoulders and let it hang on my back. Somehow, she got out, but she had gotten the picture and stopped talking.

"No, I don't have just Navi," I said. "I have the Hero of Time on my side, too."

"…Who?"

I held my hands up to tell her it wasn't worth explaining. "Don't worry about it. Can you just please tell me where the entrance is?"

A long period of silence followed my question. She was extremely hesitant to answer. Even thought she didn't know me, she didn't want to be responsible for the death of an innocent little farm girl. Or, I assumed that that's what she thought of me. She walked me to the cliff. "All the way on the bottom, on the opposite wall, do you see a little ledge carved into the wall?"

I nodded.

"You need to get to that ledge first…Via cucco…"

"What!"

She walked over to a rock and went behind it. I heard a loud yell from a cucco, and she came back with one in her hands. "Hold this above your head and jump. The cucco knows where it's supposed to take people, so it'll guide the fall so you land on the ledge. When you get there, throw it in the water. It'll come back up here. I'm now sure how, but it does. Once that is done, push the crate over the ledge. The crate will get stuck on a rock coming out from below the river. Where it stops, swim over and dive below it. The rock will protect you from going too far because of the current. There is a hole on the ground there, go in it. That's as far as I can take you. You're on your own from there."

She handed me the cucco. It relaxed when I took it. I had a way with cuccos, since I had worked with them all my life. "Alright. Thanks."

I turned to leave, but she stopped me. "Be careful," she said quietly.

I nodded. "Don't worry. I will."

I walked to the edge of the cliff and jumped, the cucco over my head. I was really scared at first. I was afraid I'd either squeeze the cucco to death, trying to hold on for dear life, or that I would let go for fear of squishing the cucco. But it seemed to be able to take a lot of pressure on its fragile little body. It didn't even notice it was carrying a different person, so it was a smooth ride down. I landed lightly on my feet and let the cucco go. Just as the girl had said, it flew right back up. I watched it go back up, and I saw the Gerudo girl watching me on top of the cliff. She waved to me. I waved back. Then I turned to see the crate.

It didn't take me too long to push the crate over the ledge. I was a strong girl. I had worked all my life. I'd built those muscles. I watched it float down the river, then it stopped with a thud against a rock. That was my cue to get in and find the stupid hole.

I took a deep breath. I bent my knees to jump in again.

"MALON, WAIT!" Navi flew in front of me, surprising me.

Once again, I fell into the water by surprise. I flipped once and came back up and found I could breathe. I tried to open my eyes, but my vision was blurred by the water. Then I felt a thud on my shoulder. I looked over and saw the crate. I wasn't moving anymore, but the water was.

Navi flew above me. "Oh, Malon, I'm so sorry!"

I took a deep breath. "It's okay, at least that's over with." I looked down. The water was perfectly clear, and I could see the red rock floor at the bottom. But there was one black spot. That had to be the hole.

"Here I go…" I looked up at Navi. "Get in my bag. There's no way you'll ever survive this current alone."

She did as she was told. Before I thought about it too much and scared myself, I dove under, head first.

The current pushed me hard against the rock. Luckily, the rock was rough, so I used some of its jagged edges to pull myself down. I could see the hole. I put my hands out, and I was able to grad the edges. I took a moment to ready myself, then I pulled myself in.

Instantly I started falling, as if I had jumped off of a cliff. And I could breathe again. I felt my hair and clothes. They were dry. All around me were stars and the black sky. It looked as if it was endless. It could have been. As long as I was here, I didn't know anything anymore.

I felt bumps inside my bag. Clearly, Navi was trying to get out. I took the bag off my back and opened it. Navi flew out, holding the little brown ocarina. It was glowing.

"Hey! Malon!" Navi yelled. "Link's calling! Play Saria's Song!"

As incapable to play as I thought I was, I managed to remember and play the song. Instantly the ocarina stopped glowing.

"Malon? Malon, are you there? It's me, Link!" I heard it in my mind. But I didn't let that little detail stop me from yelling my response.

"LINK! Where are you? Are you okay? What's going on!"

"Malon, I have some really bad news. I found Zelda and Impa."

"The ones who ran away on that horse seven years ago?" Link had told me about that scene.

"Yeah," he said.

"But what's so bad about that?"

"Malon, the…"

Everything grew silent. The last thing I felt was a sharp, stinging pain in my shoulder, then everything went black.

So how'd you like it? Oh, I didn't give the Gerudo girl a name cause I couldn't think of one…if anyone has any ideas, please tell me, and thanks! And about the thing with the plant in Gerudo Valley…you know, the one on the ledge near the river? I actually have no idea where that plant goes, so sorry if it doesn't really go to the top cliff. Heh...Please review! Hopefully I'll update soon! Byes!