Well, this entry ought to be interesting. Even as I'm writing this right now, I have no idea what this chapter's going to be about, so stick with it, hopefully by the end it will make some sense!

Oh! I got an idea! It won't be very original, but hopefully, you'll like

18th Entry: Day of Gift-Giving

December 24th, the 7th year in the reign of King Ganondorf I

Dear Diary,

Once a year my family celebrates a sort of gift-giving day. It's basically a day when Dad, Ingo, and I say thanks to all of our friends and family members for being there for us, and give them gifts to express how much we appeciate them. Usually the gifts aren't very expensive, but, it's the thought that counts, right?

You might be wondering where this celebration of ours comes from in the first place. That answer is fairly simple. My mom started it (well, sort of). My mom was one of the most giving people you would probably ever meet. If you needed anything at all, you can bet that she would be right there, ready to help you out. So after she died, my dad and I came up with this celebration to honor her memory. We hold it on her birthday (the 25th of December) every year, and decorate the house in her favorite colors, red and green.

Anyway, you can probably imagine that my family's little holiday came to a halt following Ganon's coup. However, this year we decided that because we have so much to be thankful for, to go on with the celebration.

So, today, I was at home wrapping presents. Dad and Ingo were both out making deliveries (we don't make any milk deliveries on the 25th; that's when we're delivering the gifts!), and it was fairly late, but that was to be expected. It had started snowing early this morning, and though it didn't present any real problems, it definitely slowed down travel.

I had finished decorating, the inside of the house was completely done up in red and green. I even went out and wrapped some red and green ribbons around the posts of the corral. A little over-the-top, perhaps, but I know it would have made mom smile.

So, like I said, I was wrapping presents when I heard the door open.

"Hey dad, don't leave the door open! You're letting the cold-" I turned around in time to see Link collapse in the doorway.

"Oh my gosh! Link!" I ran over to him. I couldn't figure out what was wrong, until I saw the gash on the back of his neck.

"A redead..." I thought to myself.

I don't know how I did it, but I managed to carry Link up the stairs to one of the bedrooms. I put him in the bed, and just sat there for a second.

"Malon..." I looked up in shock. His eyes were open, looking at me.

"Link, what do I need to do? Do I need to go get a doctor or-"

"No." he had a slight smile on his lips. "You do have live on a ranch, you know?"

I could have hit myself on the head. Lon Lon Milk. You think that I would have thought of that.

"Right. Just a minute, okay?" He just gave a slight nod and closed his eyes.

I went down to the kitchen and found some Lon Lon Milk. He drank it down without any problem.

"How are you feeling now?" I asked, worried.

"Better. Let me sleep, I'll be alright." he gave me a reassuring smile, and fell asleep.

I sat in a chair beside the bed for quite a while. In time the color came back to his face and he began to breathe easier. I breathed a sigh of relief.

About that time I heard the door open downstairs.

"Malon! What's Epona doing standing outside in the cold?" I grimiced. Poor Epona, I didn't even think about her.

I went out of the room and downstairs.

"Dad, keep your voice down!" I whispered to him. "Link's hurt, he's upstairs in one of the spare rooms, okay?"

His face clouded with worry. "Well is he okay? Do I need to go get a doctor or-"

"No, no." I cut in. "He's doing better, he just needs to sleep, okay? Just try and be quiet..."

"Malon!" Ingo burst in the door. "What's Epona-"

"Shhh!" My dad and I both whispered to him.

"Geez, sorry..." Ingo said back to us. "What's going on anyway?"

I let out a sigh. "Link's hurt, but he's doing a little better, but he needs sleep! So we need to be as quiet as possible, okay?"

Ingo nodded. "What happened to him?"

"I think a redead got him." I answered back.

My dad gave me a strange look. "How would you know that?"

"He has a cut on the back of his neck..." I trailed off. I still hadn't told my dad about my encounter in Hyrule Market.

I knew my dad knew there was more behind that answer, but thankfully, he left it at that.

My dad spoke up. "I'll look after Link for the rest of the night, alright Malon?"

"But dad-" I started in.

"No buts, you need your sleep. He'll be fine, I promise. Now to bed." He said sternly.

I wanted to argue, but I knew it wouldn't do any good. I walked up the stairs, but before I went to my room I passed by Link's just to make sure he was still okay. He appeared to be sleeping soundly. I walked out of the room.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." I turned around. His eyes were still closed, but he had a slight smile.

"You promise?"

"I promise." he replied.

I let out a sigh, and went to my room.

So that's where today ended. I'll write back tomorrow and let you know how Link's doing.

Malon Astira

What'd you think? Sort of all over the place, I know. Originally, it was going to be one entry, but it ended up being so long that I decided to split it up into two. I hope you liked!