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October 13th, the 5th year in the reign of King Ganondorf I
Dear Diary,
Once again I'm writing while being very angry. It's think it's beginning to be the main emotion I feel now.
I really should of seen it coming earlier. Please remember, I have no doubt in my mind that when it comes down to it, Ingo is a good person. But, nonetheless, I'm beginning to hate him. He's becoming one of those people who support Ganon just because they think that he actually thinks enough of them to give them some of his power. What a laugh! Ganon couldn't care less about the the people of Hyrule, let alone this ranch. Just as long as he gets what he wants, what he thinks is the best, he's fine.
But, anyway, back to Ingo.
Earlier tonight, Ingo and I had an argument. And not some mild-mannered "Oh I'm sorry, but I disagree with you" sort of argument. I mean a knock-down, drag-out, "I hate you" sort of argument.
Today had been my day to make deliveries (Ingo and I have been switching off days. Days when I made deliveries he would stay home with the livestock, and vice-versa.) Once I had arrived home, I went into the stables to put Epona up as usual. As I was looking around, I started to notice that the stables didn't look like they had been cleaned that well today. Not only that, but the animals seemed very restless, like they hadn't been let out for very long that day.
I turned around when I heard the door to the stable open. Ingo walked in. There was something strange about his eyes. They seemed...darker.
"Hey Ingo." I started. "Did you let the animals out today? They seem restless."
He looked around. "It looked like it might storm. I decided to keep them in." he said with an unsettling laugh.
"Liar." I thought to myself. I know that isn't the best thing to think about someone, but this isn't the first time this has happened lately. Besides, it had been clear all day. If it had looked like rain at the ranch, I would have been able to see the clouds from Kakariko. "So that's probably why the stables haven't been cleaned well. Because the animals were in all day, right?"
Ingo let out another laugh. "Yeah. Of course." He seemed distracted. Only then did I notice that he was looking at Epona.
Curiosity got the best of me. "What? Is something wrong with Epona?"
He looked up with surprise. "What do you mean?"
I gave out a sigh (Please understand, my patience was wearing thin, I needed sleep). "I mean, why are you just staring at Epona? Is she really that facinating?"
I something change in his eyes. "Well, now that you mention it..." he said with a smile.
By now I was getting irritated. "C'mon Ingo, out with it."
His tone of voice became very sarcsatic (Which is a surprise, because Ingo is rarely like that). "You should be pleased to hear, Malon, that the King has taken a specific interest in your horse!"
"What?" I said, still not understanding, but getting more of an idea. "What on earth is that supposed to mean?"
"It means," he said with another unsettling smile (which was quickly getting old), "that while Epona is still too young for His Majesty at this moment in time, he has expressed an interest to make her his personal horse once in a couple of years, once she has become stronger. He is willing to pay any price for her."
I let out a laugh. "I doubt it. I wouldn't give Epona to that worthless excuse for a king if my life depended on it." Since dad was driven from the ranch, I have become opposed to anything that "His Majesty" would want or desire.
A dark shadow passed over Ingo's face. "Malon, you should watch yourself. You ought not talk about the King like that. You don't want the same thing to happen to you as what happened to your father.
I thought he meant that someone might overhear if I said things like that. "Please Ingo. I'm at the ranch. No one can hear me here but...
Only then did I realize he was talking about himself.
And suddenly about a million different pieces flew into place. The dirty stables, the restless animals, Ingo's change in behavior. It finally made sense. Ganon. I walked over to Ingo and looked him straight in the eye. "Where did you go today? Tell me where you have been going, what you have been doing, now."
I saw his eyes flash as he let out an evil laugh. "You know something Malon, you're not in charge of this farm. I am. Watching the King has shown me that if I am to be respected, then I need to act like a leader and not accept any attitude from people like you. People like you need to be put in your place.
By now I was mad, and had had enough of that crap. And so I did the first thing that came to mind. I punched him, square in the nose. He fell to the ground.
"Ingo!" I yelled at him. "What on earth is wrong with you? You're acting like a maniac. Since when has Ganon ever been a good leader, someone to look up to?" I had to get him to realize what he was saying.
He jumped up and tried to punch me in the stomach. I side-stepped quickly to his right, and ended up loosing his balance and falling in a pile of horse manure. (I told him he needed to get that cleaned up...)
"Why you little..." and I tried to ignore the string of curses that came my way. He must have finally gotten it through his brain that he wouldn't be able to beat me hand-to-hand. "Fine, beat me up. Kill me for all I care. Then what will you do? What will you say to the King? Do you really think you could take care of the farm by yourself?
I grimaced. "And what about you? Do you think you could handle the farm without me?"
He gave an evil smile. "I wouldn't need to. I'll I'd need is Epona. All the others can die for all I care."
I couldn't believe what I heard. "So what if I left with Epona right now? You wouldn't be able to stop me, and you'd have no money, no Epona. Then what would you do?"
The laughed. "Where would you go, after you took Epona? The King has minions everywhere, they would find you. You would die, Epona would be given back to me, and I'd kill all the animals anyway."
I stood there open-mouthed. No matter what I did, the animals would still die. Ingo saw it in my eyes. "I hate you." was all I could say.
"And I hate you too." he said in return. "But you will continue to work here, no complaints, no attitude. You will give up Epona willingly, and if you do all this, the remaining animals will not be hurt. Also, since you find find my clean-up work so unsatisfactory, you will stay at the farm from now on, you understand?"
"But-" I started.
"No buts." he finished. "or you know what will happen. Now get to sleep. You have work to do tomorrow."
I stormed off, tears in my eyes. I didn't know what had just happened. Like I said, I had seen a change in him over the past months, but nothing like this. I just don't know what's going on anymore. Everything just seems...wrong. And there's absolutely nothing I can do about it, even in my own home.
Malon Astira
