Hi everyone. I apologize for the time it took to upload it. I realized the first version wouldn't work so I was forced to revise the entire story. And I'm not all too pleased as to how this revision turned out either. I don't think it is nearly as good as the other chapters. Please keep reviewing and keep enjoying the story. I do not own Zelda or any of the game's characters. I do own the characters that I make up and use in this story and/or any other story I may write. If anyone wishes to use them the author(s) must ask my permission to do so and explain how the character will be used. Failure to do this, or usage of character upon denying permission from me, will be brought to the attention of the administrators of this site. Thank you for understanding. Enjoy the story.
Book One, Chapter Six: The Stay at Lon-Lon Ranch
A sudden sting of light hit Saria's closed eyes and brought her back to the waking world, if only in a state of weariness. Her eyes, not half-open, took in her surroundings. To her right lay a desk or table that held a vase with two flowers in it. A window, its shutters open, stared at her from the front of whatever bed she was lying on and greeted its gazer with a bright glow from the sun, now rising from the east. To her right was a wall that was covered with a coating of white paint; or was the white coating actually the color of the wood that the wall was built from? Above her, just a few feet under the peak of the roof, a wooden beam lay horizontally in the air, its ends attached to opposite ends of the room so as to support the roof's shape. On top of her body lay two covers, the top cover being much thicker than the cover that touched her form, and below her lay a comfortable bed which she had been lying on.
She remembered all that had happened. She recalled how her body had seemed to give up on her after she had left the Kokiri Forest. She recalled her desperate flight on a beast which ran at a speed so fast that all her surroundings had become nothing but blurs to her eyes. She recalled how she had become surrounded by three monsters and her seeing a bright light in the skies just before her consciousness gave up on her. She remembered all this; a cold fright swept through her body and mind from recalling all that had happened within such a short period of time. Yet she asked herself something. A question that was somewhat frightening to ask.
"How is it that I am still among the living," Saria questioned to nobody in particular. "I would think that falling prey to a curse that would invite death to any who feel its effects and would have freed thy soul from thy body; yet still among the living I seem to be."
"Indeed such is a wise question to ask," a voice of much happiness and relief said from her side. "I had questioned that which you have just spoken of many times since my arrival to this sanctuary. I have also wondered if thou would live from such a burden as you had unwillingly taken up; and each time I had recognized such a question I would weep for you."
"I am glad to see thee at thy side," Saria said to Link after facing him. "Although I am sure much time has passed since my departure from the waking world and wish to know how long it has been since I have last looked at thou features."
"The cycle of two days have passed," Link said. "Yet the feel of countless moons have passed through thy mind. Much has happened that I wish to tell ye, but my tongue shall be held for the moment as now is not such a time to ruin such a gay moment as this."
"You need not feel such heartache for thyself," Saria said. "Awake I am and have much to ask thee."
"Now is not the time for asking much," Link said. "We shall first feast upon what food shall be offered to us. During that time you may ask me or any of the caretakers of whatever worries or questions that you have. Come with me now to the place where we shall feast. Have you the strength to walk upon thou legs?"
Saria removed the covers from her body and was surprised to see that a white dress, somewhat worn and torn in various places, was upon her body and her old tunic from the Kokiri tribe was nowhere to be seen. Putting aside such unnecessary worry Saria threw her legs over the side of the bed and let her feet touch the wood floor. From that she stood and noticed that her strength had returned to her and that not a trace of weariness was left of her. If anything, she felt as if she had grown stronger during her time of unconsciousness.
"I am glad to see that ye have recovered thou strength," Link said.
Link opened the door that was on the right side of the room. Saria noted that the door lead to the top of a staircase that had several steps on it, yet no banister was there to prevent a fall or to help keep distance from the edge of the steps. Below the steps, on the first floor, a table was placed in the middle of a wide room that had four chairs drawn to it. On the table, in front of each chair, there were wooden bowls of what appeared to be porridge. At one of these chairs there sat a small girl, roughly the size of a full-grown Kokiri. She had on a matching white dress that was even more worn out than the one Saria had on. Her hair was long and its color reminded Saria of a strong fire. Her eyes were as deep a blue as Saria's were and were full of happiness when she saw that the green haired girl was able to move again.
Link stopped walking a few feet away from the table and looked at the girl with the fire-red hair.
"Saria," Link said. "I would like you to meet the one who took care of ye the most. Her name is Malon. She was the one who taught me the song needed to tame Epona, the horse that brought you here to the ranch."
"I am glad to see that thou are well again," Malon said. "Are thou still under the strain of any illness, regardless as to how minor it may be?"
"I feel not the strain that I bore to this ranch," Saria said. "I must thank ye for helping thyself survive the curse that was placed upon thy body and soul. Is there anything that I may do in order to repay thou for helping me?"
"Ask not such a request," Malon said. "I shall not accept any repayment for what I have done. You may feel better, but that does not mean that you may succumb once again to the illness or curse that ye have felt. All that I ask is for you to get well and able again to continue whatever journey that you may be on."
"Has Link mentioned of any such quest," Saria asked.
"I must apologize," Malon said "It appears that thy vernacular is somewhat different from the one that ye speak. It is just a formal expression of hoping that ye may be able to live the way that thou have lived before."
"I thank thee," Saria said.
The door that led to the outside opened at that moment and two tall figures entered the room. One of them was tall and had a full head of hair with a bushy mustache just under his nose. His figure was slim, but strong. The other was somewhat shorter and did not have nearly as much hair covering his crown and made up for it by having hair growing on many other places of his body, most noticeably his chest and arms, but his mustache was similar to the thinner man's mustache. His figure was more round and bulky, but much strength was there behind such girth that many knights feared to fight him.
Saria didn't know how to view these beings. Some of the features resembled the Kokiri, yet their height was at least twice that of even the tallest among the Kokiri tribe and they had hair growing on many places of their body. Saria feared the creatures and seemed to reach for her sword as a reflex; yet her sword, as well as her shield and the rest of her supplies, were not upon her body.
"It looks like our little guest has awoken," the rounder one said. "I am glad to see that she survived whatever ordeal or sickness that took hold of her."
"Why is it that we must be the ones to take care of such a kid," the thinner one said. "Diseased she may be and I do not wish to have thyself or any of the animals sickly. This part of the month is when the cows are most productive in their milking and with such a girl here may cause them to have dry udders."
"I am glad to see that ye two have arrived at such a time," Link said. "Saria, they are the other two who have overseen you and your illness. The one with a size that can match any Goron is known as Talon. The other one is known as Ingo."
Talon walked to Saria and held out an open hand for her. Saria, somewhat hesitantly, held out her own hand in return and allowed the tall being to grasp her hand and shake it. Saria couldn't believe how much of her hand just seemed to vanish in his closed fist and she could feel the strength that this man held; even with a blade, she held doubt that it would do much against one with such bulk and strength. He let go of her hand and went to take a seat at the table. Ingo passed Saria without pausing to shake her hand and took the seat closest to the door.
"Malon," Talon said. "Would ye be a dearest and fetch another bowl for our now awakened guest?"
Malon got up and left through the door that Ingo and Talon came through just seconds ago. As she left it occurred to Saria just how much stronger that girl must have been than herself. She was unsure how she knew such a thing, but she was certain that Malon had strength that could easily match Saria's own.
"What brought such a thought as that to thy mind," Saria thought.
"So are ye just going to stand there," Ingo said. "If thou does desire to eat than I must ask that ye grab a chair and bring it to the table. If not, than please do something other than block the table with thou sickly body."
"Such things should not be said," Link said. "Heed not what Ingo says. His words are indeed bitter at times, yet his soul is kind and caring if thou give him a chance."
Saria found a chair near the stairs and brought it to the table. Just as she was sitting down Malon came through the doorway with a bowl in her hands. She walked up to Saria and placed the bowl in front of her. Up close, Saria could now tell that the food was more oatmeal than porridge.
"Did thou sleep well," Talon asked after taking a bite of his food.
"I am really unsure," Saria asked. "It did not feel like sleeping. I am unsure how to tell of what it was that I felt, for I cannot recall what it was that I felt in my time of rest and unconsciousness."
"I doubt what you went through would be called rest," Link said. "I had barely left thou side during your time of unconsciousness and I saw the pain that your body was forced to bear, even if thou could not truly feel it."
"Is it true that thou have not left thy side," Saria asked.
"I would not say with full truth that Link did not leave thou side during all the time that ye two have been here," Malon said. "He did leave at times when he felt it necessary to do so, but all his spare time has indeed been left at thou bedside. Such pain was in his eyes that I could only recall of that when thy father had thy mother pass on and of much caring was in his soul that only a truly holy man could match. At times I would sneak a look within the room and see Link weep at thou side and my heart felt much pity for him and thou, but the look that I now see within his eyes resemble that of a child who has opened a present to find a toy that they have always desired to play with."
"I would rather thou wouldn't say things that cause thyself to feel embarrassment and flushed at the cheeks," Link said. "But it is true that I did not leave thou side, for I felt that it was partially thy own fault that ye fell under such a curse."
"Be it far from me to express thy own opinion," Talon said. "But the moment that we now share should not be used to discuss events that could be upsetting to the small green haired child that sits before us. Let us eat and be joyful for her waking and healing."
"A grand idea if I have ever heard one," Link said.
"Indeed that would be the best plan for now," Saria said. "But I would rather I learn of some events that have happened by today's nightfall."
"And I shall be more than happy to answer thou questions," Link said. "But for now, let us not worry of such matters that can be held off for a later time. Let us eat to our fill and drink all that we may hold."
xxxx
Night had fallen on the land that is known as Hyrule. In Kakariko Village the guard had been placed for the nightly watch and all residence had been placed into their shelters for the night, waiting ever patiently for the dawn to come. In Kokiri Forest the Kokiri had gone about playing their games and were enjoying the cool temperatures of the night. In Hyrule Castle Town all the stands had been emptied of any patrons and all the stores had locked their doors for the night; the people who lived in this area of Hyrule, the wealthy merchant class and the landholding upper class, closed their doors for the night and would not open them now for even a beggar asking for a few rupees or a place of rest. In Hyrule Castle the King made preparations to travel to the far south of his kingdom to settle a peace treaty that was to end the long war with the neighboring kingdom of Torral. The princess looked upon the triangular markings on the back of her hand and understood now why Saria was to leave the protection of the forest on such a dangerous quest.
In most areas of the Hylian kingdom the night brought about a time of peace. The people of the land gave little heed to the poor and the beggars who could not obtain shelter and would go about their nightly actions before drifting off to their dreams or nightmares of late and rest the night while the knights of the kingdom kept a watch from their posts to see that no thieves or Gerudo were causing whatever chaos that they felt making. Such was the way Hyrule had gone about for countless of centuries and would most likely go about for another countless of centuries.
Yet this part of the tale is not about such things. This part is to tell of the actions that had taken place between the times of Saria's arrival at the ranch to the time of her waking.
xxxx
While Saria had been rushed to the ranch by the ever trusting Epona, Link had been left behind in Hyrule Field so that he may carry the burden of Saria's pack with him to the ranch. He desired much speed, for he knew that to keep a slow pace and to delay any time fighting the nightly spirits would mean that he would be forced to abandon the supplies he had bought for the long journey. He, in fact, cared not about the supplies at all; he cared about Saria and the quest. To be caught in a fight would mean to delay his arrival at the ranch, and no time could be spared.
For several hours Link carried Saria's supplies. He carried them not on his back, for the supplies he had decided on carrying was already placed there and his pack could not hold any more supplies. During that time the sun had traveled its course around the sky and, just as the ranch had become within his sight, the last of the sun's rays vanished in the horizon.
If one were to ever truly wish to encounter the nightlife of Hyrule and see excitement then one would have to journey beyond the protection of Hyrule's guards and knights and brave the night within Hyrule Fields. The fields were cursed long ago and even to this day the long dead still rise to the sound of any who may stray from any path in the fields so that the dead can send the fool down into the grave so that they too may join the ranks of the rising dead.
Such was the case during this night, for Link had taken the risk to travel during the night in Hyrule Fields and was now forced to drop all supplies on the ground, just a stone's throw away from Lon-Lon Ranch, so he may draw forth his sword and shield and engage in the battles that the undead would bring. His sword cut through the air and cleaved the head of the stalchild that stood before his place of destination, where Saria would be.
"Step from my front creature of the night," Link said. "If you do not heed my warning I shall be forced to strike ye down with my blade of old. Does ye accept a peaceful defeat or does ye accept the welcoming of a second death?"
The stalchild, now headless and blind, stepped forth and brought his fleshless hand above where his head would normally sit. The hand came down in a wide arch, aiming for the center of Link's chest. Link sidestepped the attack with much skill and watched as the stalchild lost its balance from such a strong attack. Link swung his sword in a horizontal strike and severed the middle of the spinal cord, breaking through the right arm of the un-dead creature and cracking the radius of the now useless left arm. The creature, bested and defeated, lay as a shapeless pile of bones that held no life or meaning. Blue flames consumed the spoils of the creature, sending it back to the fields that lay under Link's feet, so that it may rise again when its shattered body reconstructed itself, ready to take on the next traveler that was foolish enough to walk off the path during the moon's time in the heavens.
In its defeat a rupee shone forth, yet it was ignored by the victor as Link ran with all his might, sword and shield in hand, to his companion's resting place. Even as he passed through the archway that led to the ranch his mind became filled with much worry and dread. He knew not of Saria's condition or of how the three ranch hands have handled such an unexpected guest.
Link ran with all haste and found himself looking upon the structures of the ranch. In the dim moonlight the ranch seemed barren and silent, as if none had lived within its protective gates for centuries. Crows of countless numbers flew high overhead, cawing as they did so. Some of the scavenger birds took rest from their weary wings on top of the stable and house. From far away was the sound of an owl crying out in the night, signaling the departure of one's spirit from the plane of the living.
Link returned his shield to its resting spot on his back and sheathed his sword to his scabbard that now lay attached to his side. As he did so the door to the house had opened up and spilled light onto the ground outside. A figure, as tall as Link, strode forth from the house and shut the door. The faint moonlight made most characteristics about the person hidden from Link's skilled eyes, yet the lava-colored hair shone brightly enough for Link to know who it was that had walked before him. Link took no patience in reaching Malon's side.
For the next several minutes Malon and Link talked. What they said exactly is of little importance to the story so I shall not document it. They talked about Saria and her condition. From what Malon said, Link learned that Saria was still alive; yet her soul, her life, was fading rapidly and at any moment she may die.
Link wasted no more time. He all but knocked the door off its hinges and rushed up the stairs. Ingo was downstairs and yelled something at him, yet Link took no heed of it and did not stop to hear what it was that was yelled. He opened the door at the top and saw Talon washing Saria's forehead with a cold, damp cloth.
Part of Link nearly died right there. It was good that Link had taken the time to talk momentarily with Malon; had he not, he would not believe for even a second that Saria was alive at this point. Her skin had become chalk white and it looked for a moment that she was not breathing, but that was due to the fact that she was lying under the covers of the bed. No longer did her body move from the pain that she felt, for her mind had closed off all forms of consciousness; even in her deep sleep, she could not hear even the loudest of sounds or feel the strongest of hits. In all respects, Saria should have been dead. Saria should have died many hours ago and fallen into eternal rest; yet something was keeping her alive, something that only she possessed.
Link took no heed of Talon's presence and went right to Saria's side. Up close, seeing her now, she looked beautiful, like a sleeping princess that could wake with the slightest kiss from a prince. Link wanted to hold Saria right there. He wanted to hug her and tell her everything would be alright, even if she could not feel his hug or hear his words; yet his body refused to respond.
During this time Talon had left the room, understanding that Link needed to be alone with her. When Link noticed that he was alone, he rested his head on the bed and hid his face in his arms while he wept. It is unknown for how long that he did weep, but he only stopped when his mind fell into the unconsciousness of sleep. Even as he slept, silent tears passed through his closed lids and landed on the covers that Saria rested under.
For the remainder of the next day Link sat by Saria's side. He ate nothing during that time and he drank nothing either. Every now and then he would hear the sound of the door opening behind him, yet never did he look in its direction. His gaze was fixed on Saria's sleeping form and refused to move for any other reason. Occasionally one of the ranch hands would come in and wash Saria's forehead with a damp cloth and during such time they would try to engage with a conversation with Link, save for Ingo that is. Every time they spoke it was as if they were speaking in another form, for Link heeded not their words and barely knew if they were talking. His attention was for Saria alone.
It was during this night that Malon entered into the room with a bottle that appeared to be full of a blue liquid. For the first time Link shifted his gaze from Saria to Malon. The red-haired girl put Saria into a sitting position on the bed, opened the bottle and poured the blue liquid gently into green-haired girl's mouth. She knew well enough that to pour too quickly may cause her to choke and she did not wish any harm to come upon the sickly child that rested before her. With care and patience did Malon use to pour the liquid, stopping when she had reason to believe that enough was within the girl's mouth and would not give any more till the liquid went down her throat. For nearly ten minutes did the process take. When it was done, Saria did indeed look well. Her color seemed to return to her skin and her body had become warmer than it was just a short time ago. Link thanked Malon as she left the room.
Link rested on the floor and his dreams were not clear to him, for he would forget them when he awoke the next morning, just in time to see Saria awaken from her long rest. Even as he fell into the realm of sleep and dreams he knew in his heart that Saria would be well and able to continue the quest by the next day. With this, his heart and worries were set at ease.
xxxx
The past several days passed without any problems. During that time Saria had become perfectly well and was able to do much training that was missed over the course of her days in a sickly rest.
No longer did Saria train with a deku stick, nor did she train by herself; she now trained with the sword she had gotten from Mido, which she had named 'Bane,' and the knight's shield that Link bought from the Hyrule Castle Town Market. To see that Saria was ready for any unexpected combat, the two heroes did small sparring sessions every day for several hours. Even though it was just simple sparring, although not simple most times, it was almost like a real fight for Saria, for she could not compare with Link's skill and strength. Several times did she take small injuries during the fights, but she learned from her mistakes and grew stronger in places where she was once weak.
For Saria, the hardest thing to adjust to was the weight and length of the sword in comparison with the deku sticks she trained with in Kokiri Forest. Bane was shorter than the sticks, only half the size (if not, a little shorter) of a deku stick in length from the tip of the blade to the bottom of the hilt, but its weight was somewhat heavier than the deku sticks, even though it was made of a light metal. This caused many of her horizontal cuts to go wide and slow and her vertical cuts to go just as wide but with increased speed from gravity's pull. Her vertical slice was so fast that for the first day of training many of her attacks hit the ground with such strength that her right arm often became numb.
Even though the sparring was difficult and the cuts and bruises hurt, Saria fought on with Link and did prove to be a very fast learner. By the third day of training she showed much improvement that made Link begin to take the sessions very seriously. Her vertical and horizontal attacks were respectable, even skillful, for one that rarely ever did hold a blade in her hands. Her attacks became faster and her aim became as accurate as Link's.
Time went by fast during these sessions and only did they ever end their training once the last of the sun's rays had vanished to the west and left the view of all in Hyrule. When this occurred the two would eat whatever meal that was offered to them by Malon and Talon and then retire to the quarters that Saria had spent her sickly time at and dream whatever dreams that came to their closed eyes.
This is not to say that is all they ever did during their stay at the ranch. Link and Saria did little jobs around the ranch to earn their stay, much to the disagreement of Malon and Talon and much to the agreement of Ingo. Link took the jobs that were required within the stable, which he despised greatly. The jobs of cleaning the shed of the animal's filth and washing the same animals that rolled around in that same filth often brought Link to lose whatever meal he had eaten before-hand and was hard to do when the animals refused to take any bath that was needed to keep them clean. On one occasion Link had received the business end of a horse's hove when he went to clean the backside of the animal; Link walked away with a bloody nose.
Saria's job was to work with Malon to take care of the animals and to see to it that the animals did not bother one another. This job proved to be very difficult for her, especially with the chickens and baby chicks as they were prone to walk anywhere at any time. Every time she took this job she had to count the number of each animal at the end of the day and make sure none of them went missing. Many times she had to spend most of the night looking for one or two baby chicks that seemed to of ran off and hidden themselves somewhere on the ranch. Even upon finding the animals, which was hard enough, she would often have to run after it in the hopes of catching it and putting it back to whatever stable or coop that it would have to take shelter in.
Time passed very quickly for the two heroes and the day finally came when they were ready to leave for Hyrule Castle. The land of Hyrule was bathed with the light from the morning sun and open to a clear, orange colored sky on that morning.
Link and Saria had packed what few supplies they had left on the back of Talon's supply carriage (the supplies Saria was supposed to carry, as you recall, were dropped by Link when he engaged in battle and the supplies were lost to whatever foul beast or bandits that came across the fallen goods). Talon would drive them to the castle grounds, as he was scheduled to go there on that day to deliver milk. The two heroes saw how they could use this situation to get into the castle grounds; by aiding Talon with his milk delivery the two of them would be allowed to go to the very entrance of the castle and all they would have to do was try to find princess Zelda before they get caught. Link and Saria also knew that, if they were able to find the princess and not be caught by the royal guards, Zelda would have her guardian, Impa, take them out of the castle undetected. They were unsure of what may occur if they were caught, but they decided not to worry about it; if worse came to worse, they would just have to fight their way out.
"Time that ye got on the wagon now," Talon said. "I'm on schedule and it's a full half-day's ride to the castle. If I'm late delivering the castle's milk I'll have to sell it at a discount price."
"Understood," Link said. "Come Saria. We must go now and see the princess Zelda. She may be the only one who may be able to tell us as to where we must go next."
Link and Saria gave their quick goodbyes to Malon and Ingo, which Ingo really didn't show too much care about. Just before leaving, Malon went to Link and Saria.
"Before ye two leave the ranch," Malon said. "I want ye to accept some milk from the ranch. You may keep the bottles and use it to store whatever potions or items ye may need once the milk runs out. Be careful on thou quest."
Link and Saria thanked Malon and accepted the two bottles of milk. They promised that, if they ever return to Hyrule, they would be sure to visit the ranch.
Link and Saria hoisted themselves on to the back of the wagon. The wagon was very spacious, considering it was filled with crate upon crate of milk. It would be pulled by two horses and go at a very relaxed speed. Talon could not risk the horses going fast and having the crates fall here and there, breaking the lovely milk that was inside each one. Talon, of course would ride up front and control the horses.
"Are ye two ready," Talon asked.
"We are ready to go Talon," Link said. "Let us hope nothing happens along the way to risk the lovely milk that ye worked so hard to deliver."
"Indeed," Talon responded. "Let us be off."
Talon used the reigns to signal the horses to move. The horses started at a good pace, considering the weight they were carrying. Saria, who did not sit when the horses started moving, lost her balance and fell on the wagon, forcing Link to hold back a laugh at the situation. The wagon made its way out of the ranch property, entering the Hyrule Field.
Link and Saria were honest when they stated that they would return to the ranch when they return to Hyrule. The two heroes, however, knew that never again would they look upon the faces of Malon and Ingo. They also knew that once the milk was delivered to the castle that would be the last they would ever see of Talon. The two heroes knew fully well that they would never return to Hyrule after leaving it. Something told them that this quest would be their end.
The wagon continued its trip to Hyrule Castle.