I think I'll start with my nineteenth birthday.
My birthdays were never grand. It was always just Dad, Ingo, and some few people we knew from the Kakariko village. Usually, for them to even come, it meant they knew my mother.
I never forced Link to come to my birthdays, so he never came.
No, I should correct myself. He never came so long as everyone was there.
For example:
On my sixteenth birthday, he came at ten minutes before midnight. This was still at a time I was infatuated with him, so I can be forgiven if I say I had been waiting since moonrise.
"…Uhm," he didn't look at me directly. "Happy Birthday." He tossed me a small box.
"Thank you!" I smiled at him. Real joy was pouring out of my face at such a simple thing. Crushes are scary.
It was a pretty string, with some kind of sparkle to it. And with it came a bunch of beads, each a different color. Glass beads, I later found out.
"They're so pretty…" I breathed. I strung the beads, but then looked at him in confusion. "There aren't enough beads to fit it…"
"Yeah, well…." He looked at me quickly to explain. "I got you sixteen beads. Eleven of them are the same, since I didn't know you then. But the twelfth bead is blue, the thirteenth has a carving…" He coughed, trying not to babble.
"Ohhh," I laughed delightedly. "I get it!"
"…You like it?"
"Yes," I said firmly. (Horrible as it sounds, I think I would have said yes even if he got me a bottled Poe.) "In fact… give me a new bead every year!"
"Sure."
"And don't you go telling people that I'm being greedy!"
"Of course not."
I kissed him unexpectedly on the cheek. "Thank you!"
He turned several shades of red. I ran, laughing, back to the house.
But back to my nineteenth birthday.
Link was true to his word, and he gave me a bead every year. Sometimes he looked a bit concerned because his gift consisted of a single bead, but I often told him how much I treasured them.
On my nineteenth birthday, I woke up with a smile. After I washed and got dressed, Dad greeted me with a kiss and a present.
I carefully tore open the wrapping. And inside was a beautiful, cream-colored dress.
Working around a ranch, I didn't have much use for fancy dresses. So I looked at Dad with a questioning look.
"It was yer mother's."
I looked at the dress. How could I put on something that beautiful?
"Thank you. Thank you!" I hugged Dad. "I'll try it on later, OK? We need to prepare for the guests."
"Yeah…" Dad scratched his head. "About that. There may be more people coming than last year."
I stopped. "Dad…"
"Yeh don't have to answer anything! I swear!"
"Dad!" I was exasperated. "I don't ask the unmarried ladies of Kakariko to come on your birthday!"
"This is different, and yeh know it."
"Fine!" I rolled my eyes. "But I'm not wearing the dress for them."
He looked like he was going to protest, but he nodded.
"Fair enough."
Well, it turned out to be interesting, anyway.
"Happy Birthday," one of the boys said, winking. I winced and looked away. He was one of the several boys who dared to come to my birthday. His gift consisted of a bunch of flowers.
"Th-thank you," I said. Be polite. I accepted the flowers with a half-smile.
That particular one followed me around the whole day. His hints were not very subtle, mind you, and I was annoyed. However, the attention was, at the very least, semi-flattering.
At the end of the party, he was the last to leave. I mention him because he is the only one with the nerve to try and kiss me.
Though I admitted that it was a bit flattering, I was not completely lost. I shoved him back, as an impulse.
"Don't," I said softly, and I looked away.
He looked somewhat shocked. I guess no girl has refused his "charm" before.
"Thank you for the flowers," I said shortly, and I went back into the house. I refused to come out and bring the horses in until he left.
"I'm sorry, Malon," Dad said later that night.
"I know, Dad…"
"Yeh understand, don't yeh? I ain't going to be around forever. I need to be sure that ye're OK."
"Dad. Marrying me off to one of those pigs will not make me 'okay'."
"Ye're right… I'm sorry…"
I forgave him, because I knew how he felt, and because I loved him. He was my father.
After he had gone to bed, I went to my room. Link would be here soon.
Usually I met him at the entrance.
I thought for a while, and debated, but finally I did it.
I got out my mother's dress. I put it on.
I didn't have a full-length mirror, but I felt light. There were no sleeves, so my arms felt wonderfully bare. The skirt's hem stopped right above my ankles. And the whole thing was a beautiful, soft, cream color.
Hastily, I strung on the beads around my neck. Light-footed, light-hearted, I ran out the door.
And there he was, clad in his green tunic, and always equipped with a sword and shield. He was a knight, or something like it, and though I had closed my feelings years ago, my heart still sang to see him.
"Link!" I waved merrily, and I sprinted until I reached him. Oh, how easily I could move in the dress.
"Wha—?" He choked as I threw my arms around him and gave him a pretty tight hug.
"You won't believe the day I had!" I said conversationally.
"What…" He recovered. "What's with the outfit?"
"Huh? Oh!" I twirled around and let the skirt swirl. "It was my mother's. Dad gave it to me today. Isn't it pretty?" I fingered the fabric.
"Y-yeah. Oh, and… here…" He held out his hand. Oh, yes, the bead…
"Thank you!" I said. I added it to the necklace. Link half-smiled.
"You…look nice."
"I don't think I'd keep wearing it, though," I said then. "It's not like I could wear it around here. And I also don't want to lose the beads…"
I stopped. He seemed lost in thought.
"Link?"
"Hmm… ah? Oh—!" He snapped back into reality. "Sorry."
"What's wrong?" I asked. He still seemed troubled.
"Well… nothing…"
"Aw, come on," I scoffed. "Tell me."
"Malon…"
"Link…"
We stared each other down for a while. I was kind of irritated, actually. It was my birthday, I hadn't seen him in a while, and he was still letting his mind wander elsewhere. Did I really not deserve some attention?
"Please?" I asked, trying to be patient. "It's better than pretending that you're listening to me."
He sighed. "I don't…"
"I know!" I clapped my hands together. "Tell me stories."
He blinked. "…What?"
"I rarely see you," I said, dragging him to the barn so we could sit down. "Why don't you tell me some of your adventures? Or about the castle? Or—"
"You'd get bored," Link told me, looking incredulous.
"No way. I promise."
"Well…"
In the end, he agreed. You could say that I was somewhat excited, because, as I've said before, he rarely talked about himself.
"What should I tell you?"
"I want…" I racked my brain. "The story of the Hero of Time!"
He was startled. "Um…"
"You know, there are many stories going around," I said thoughtfully. "They're all about the legendary Hero who saved Hyrule, or who will save Hyrule. I guess that's now a title Princess Zelda gives to people who have serviced the royal family. The Hero of Time…"
He got a weird expression then. Was it relief? Or confusion? I didn't know.
"I thought maybe, since you hang around the castle a lot, you'd know the story," I said. "And you have the title, too. Did collecting those gems really save Hyrule?"
He was quiet for a while. And then he spoke. This is what he said:
I don't exactly know how collecting the three made me a hero. I just went and did what somebody back in the forest told me to do. This led me to the Princess, and before I knew it, I was on some kind of adventure. Sort of.
The real story of the Hero of Time…
It happened… sometime ago…
There was a boy. He was born different from those around him. So you could say everything that happened to him was destiny. He was… given a jewel. A shining, green stone. He was also given a task. Take it to the Princess.
That's what he did. He and the Princess formed a kind of bond… an alliance. And he went and got the other two jewels for her, the red and blue ones.
But it was too late. An evil… monster from the desert tried to take over Hyrule. The Princess barely managed to escape. She also somehow managed to give him the oca—
The Ocarina… of Time.
He used the magic of the ocarina, combined with the jewels, and he opened a sacred realm. Destiny had plans for him, and he was sealed into the realm for seven years.
He was awakened by a Sage. The Sage, the Sage of Light, instructed him on what to do. If he wanted to defeat the monster, he needed to be powerful. He needed to awaken all the Sages. He needed to prevent the evil monster from locating the Triforce.
There were five other Sages he needed to awaken. So he visited five separate temples to do so. He… did what he could to cleanse the evil from each area.
Aiding him along the way was a Sheikah. The Sheikah was invaluable in passing wisdom to him. With the Sheikah's help, he awakened all the Sages.
He hurried back to the realm. And there was the Sheikah.
The Sheikah revealed her true identity: the Princess.
He was…
Happy.
He was happy to see her again, safe.
But the evil man caught them by surprise, and he captured the Princess.
He hadfound the Triforce.
What do you know about the Triforce?
There are three main forces: Power, Wisdom, and Courage. The Wisdom was something that the Princess had. Courage was his piece. And Power belonged to the evil man.
So there was one final fight he had to win.
And he did.
He did it, with the help of the Sages. Even the Princess, who was the seventh Sage, helped. With their combined power… they defeated him.
He was not dead. The evil monster had a bit of the Triforce with him. Instead, he was sealed away.
The Hero saved Hyrule. Just like he should.
However…
The Princess asked if she could take the Ocarina back for a while. In not so many words, she told him that she needed to set things straight. She needed to turn back time.
It was wrong of her, she said, to selfishly ask him to save the world. It was wrong that she robbed him of seven years of his life. It was wrong that he suffered and sacrificed so much.
So, she sent him back.
He was a boy again.
And she was the Princess.
That was all.
" 'That was all'?" I echoed. Link nodded. "But… what happened after that?"
"I just said it. That was all."
"No!" I said, shaking my head. "The Hero loved the princess, right? And she must have loved him, too."
He stared. "How—what do you—?"
I don't know what came over me then. Looking back, I realize that the story didn't quite mention much on the relationship. But I felt so sure. I was so sure. I am so sure.
"He was born different," I said as I stood up. He watched me pace back and forth. "He wouldn't have gone through all of that to save a land he didn't feel he was part of. Not unless there were some people he fought for. Or, maybe, one particular person."
"Malon."
"Am I right?" I asked him. "Did he love the Princess?"
"…Very much."
"Did she love him?"
"I don't know."
I took a deep breath.
"You were the Hero."
"Yes." He didn't bother hiding it any longer.
"It makes sense," I said slowly. "You coming for Epona, you leaving, you at the castle…" A thought struck me. "Nobody knows what you did for Hyrule!"
He smiled bitterly.
"Well, the Princess does. And the Sages. But…" My eyes were wide. "Even I couldn't possibly know how hard you fought…"
"I should go," he said, standing up. "It's late."
"One last question," I begged. He faced me, with his blue eyes looking kind of pained. His stony expression couldn't hide it. "Is…is that really all?"
"…No. There's a lot more to it."
"Like what else?"
"You look very beautiful in that dress, Malon. Happy Birthday."
NOTES (which you don't have to read, but whichI suggest you read if you have questions):
Er, OK. That was a weird one…
What's with the weird transition in the part where Link tells a story?
Now, in the part where Link tells the story, I had to make the narrative in his point. It was too confusing to put in all of Malon's questions and interruptions. I can only hope that you actually read it…
Why does he sound so weird as he's telling the story…?
This one is my bad. I've never watched the cartoon or anything, so I don't have the lowdown on his character, or the time period speech. However, the impression I got from playing the game was a serious guy, like Squall from Final Fantasy VIII or Batman from… Batman.
If I'm wrong, go ahead and tell me, but I doubt that you can change my mind. If you do, it still won't affect the story, it's that easy for me to think of him like that. Heh.
I don't think Link would just go and spill his guts to Malon, do you?
Now, some people might think that it's a long stretch for Link to tell the story, however reluctantly, to Malon. But look at it this way: in the first place, he was trying to tell her the story as if it didn't happen to him, as if it was a legend or something. But when you tell a story like that, it's hard to control your emotions. Malon sensed the connection, and her mind filled in the blanks pretty efficiently.
Also, he did know her for years already. He's got to trust her on some level…; p
What's with the boys following Malon around…?
Well, just in case I didn't make it clear.
I like to think of Malon as a pretty girl in her own way. So it wouldn't be surprising if she maintains some popularity with the males. If this is too much for you, then consider how she is the only daughter of a man who owns a ranch. It's a very good ranch, so naturally many would want it. And the easiest way would be to marry Malon.
That's it for now. Cookies to those who reviewed the first chapter! Thanks, guys! You're sweet. Mwah.
EDIT: I don't know what happened, but somehow the first and second chapter switched places. It seems I am wonky. Apologies to those who were subjected to confusion...