A/N: Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
A Pair of Time
Chapter 66- A Different Awakening
CLUNK! CLUNK! CLUNK!
Huh…? What is that sound…?
CLUNK! CLUNK! CLUNK!
Wait… Where am I…?
Link blinks his eyes again, taking in a vision of better clarity. To his surprise, he, a young version of himself again, is sitting on a tower, a makeshift one of wooden design. Garnished with peculiar decorations, the whole structure seems to be constructed, or under construction actually, for an upcoming celebration. Carpenters rush around with materials and add more onto the tower. To his right, a man stands peering up at the sky. All around him lays a town he's sorely unfamiliarly with. One characteristic of the settlement comes up quickly to him however, one that can only be defined as busy.
What… What is… this place?
"Hey, apprentice!" one of the carpenters from below calls. "Don't just stand around lookin' at the sky all day long!"
… What…?
CLUNK! CLUNK! CLUNK!
What is that…? Link pivots around. It's… coming from that… that giant tower… It… It looks almost like… a clock…
The hero in green blinks again, which instantly ends him in another place. A quick check concludes he's in a reception area, inside a building. Looking ahead, he finds himself on a bench staring at a ruddy-haired lady struggling with words for a Goron standing across the counter from her. Another thing not normal of his life is that the rock man is in what he could only describe as traveling gears. The Goron rubs a hand behind his head, whining, "You really don't have my reservation-goro?"
"I really don't have it," the lady answers.
"Really-goro?"
"I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Link-goro." She sighs. "I don't have a reservation under your name."
Link-goro…? He… He almost has the same name as mine…
His eyes amble over to the stairs, for they creak noise. A teenage girl dressed in a white, red-trimmed jumpsuit ambulates down, pondering by the looks of her eyes and her hand holding up her chin. "Hmm… Ah, well, that won't work…" Link barely hears her undertone voice. "No… That's too basic… We need a new step… Maybe with more jumping…" Her unfocused treading takes her over into the reception area. "We have to be ready without any rehearsal this time… Every time… Marilla likes this choreography, but she doesn't get into it at all…"
Choreography…? What? Where am I…?
Another closing of his eyelids, then Link is sitting on a fence when he reopens them. He's in the town again, but in a different section from what he observes. It's also a night sky too, for stars above shine almost lustrously against the darkened blue.
Wow… So many stars… Look… Look at how they shine… so brightly… What the…!
Hanging in the heavens over the tall tower with the clock is an object of untold horror. An unutterable being lives in the sky, viewing what could be the entire world with its two protuberant eyes. A grin, no, a sneer is unavoidable to notice; its nose sets its aim towards the world below. A round behemoth with a demoniac expression written across its face, with a size unlike which Link had ever seen.
It's… It's… the moon…
Even though he attempts not to, Link couldn't stop from flickering his eyes again. This time however, nothing appears. An endless world of blackness enfolds his vision, but it's rather brightening. He glimpses around for a while before sensing the presence of another. He spins around, only to look up at a woman in the clothing of a rancher and hair that's intense red. A blow courses through him as the woman is incredibly familiar to someone he knows of…
"Howdy, boy."
"… Who… Who are you?" Link asks, leaning towards politeness instead of wariness.
She does nothing more than smile, then kneels down to him. "First, do ya wanna know what ya saw?"
"… Who were they?" he subjects in concession. "Where was I?"
"Link… 'Kay, I can't officially give ya yer answers. But I will say that what ya saw… is gonna happen."
"Going to happen…? Are you saying it's the future…? Did… Did I just… have a glimpse of what the future's going to be?"
"Ya thinkin' off, boy. It's not Hyrule a thousand years later. It's a look-see… into one of your adventures."
"Adventures?" He startles back. "I have more?"
"More… or less. This is as much as I'm gonna say."
"But… who are you? You just showed me… a part of my future…"
"He he… Boy… I mean, Link…" She beams again, putting hands on his shoulders, "take care of Malon for me, 'kay? Make her happy… Don't ya ever leave her…"
"Malon…? How… How do you-"
The woman suddenly lets go and stands up. Her body begins floating away, fading into the darkness. "Well, who do ya think I am?"
"What…?" Link's mind tightens after, and he can feel his physical body returning to his grip. "Wait! I have more questions…!"
"Gotta go! I'm really in bad terms with the goddesses for doin' this…!" She turns around, but decides quickly to face him again. "Oh, and don't scream when ya wake up…!"
--
Kakariko Village; Day
Fluttering his eyes open, light streams into his pupils and blinds him temporary as he wakes up. Adjusting himself, Link rubs his eyes, then experiences a monstrous pain ricocheting in his head. "Ahh…" He rubs his temple, almost cursing to the current agonizing discomforts. He breathes slowly, taking caution to exert compulsive movements.
"Good afternoon, Link," Navi's voice sounds off, Link's hangover amplifying the noise into a crack in his head.
"Ow! Navi!" he chides to her resting on the night table.
She drops her voice down to a lower volume. "I apologize."
"Oh, man… Wait, afternoon?"
"Yes. You went to sleep late at three and now it's eleven 'til two."
"Oh, Farore! What was I doing?"
"Drinking… and…" Navi couldn't go on any further.
"And?"
The fairy mumbles to herself inchoately, then says, "Link, do you not feel an arm on your chest?"
To his surprise, he hasn't noticed until now. In fact, he now just becomes aware that he has no clothes on. Like his fairy mentioned, there is an arm on his chest, an arm of female skin, and that causes terror in him. No… Have… Have I… been… been… engaging with… with some… girl last night…? Eyes turning left, there is his proof under the blanket he's in. "Navi, are you…!"
"… Link… you're not going to believe who you…" Navi stops herself with a forced cough.
A scream goes off in Link's head as he realizes whom Navi is referring to. Turning his head around, he finds a bundle of mild, red hair laying spread out, some on his upper arm. Timidly looking down, Link eyes his lover sleeping with the solace of his being. HOLY FUC-
"I see alcohol really does its effect on people," Navi breaks in.
"Wha- We're- She- I- We- Bed- HERE?" he babbles disjointedly, resisting all means to yell for the wise, wise reason of not waking the redhead up.
"Um… I didn't understand you, but to put simply, yes, you and Malon, in your inebriated manners, had…" The fairy hesitates, electing her word, "this room to yourselves for the whole night."
"Oh goddess, oh goddess, oh goddess, oh goddess, oh goddess…" Link lifts up the bed cloth to check, finding expected dismay as a result. His eyes zip around the room, spotting his and Malon's articles scattered throughout. Sitting up, he really then curses. "Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it! Why the shit did I decided to drink ale last night? I should have gone with my conscience…!" He slowly eases away from Malon, which causes her to moan a few times as he pushes her off to the side. He jumps out of bed, which sends the white sheet flying off. There, in all her beautiful ways, lies Malon fully naked in front of him.
I've seen her naked enough in my lifetime, I DO NOT NEED TO SEE HER NAKED AGAIN! Link still imprecates as he covers up her sacredness, swearing to himself that this will be the last time his friend will ever be in front of him without any clothes on again. "Why in heaven's name did you not stop us, Navi!" he quietly shouts at her while gathering up and slipping into his garments.
"Believe me, Link, as your spiritual partner and close friend, I tried. But… intoxication blocks all that does not produce pleasure. I barely got in here this morning because outside I noticed a crack in the roof leading into the room."
"The heaven and hell smite me…"
"Well, I wouldn't be so unoptimistic about all this. Copulation is a way to deliver strong love in the form of pleasure, I studied. So technically, this wouldn't be so much of a damned act as more of a blessing to yours and Malon's love."
"You're not making this any better," he remarks as he finishes putting on his white, formfitting suit. "Preferably, indulgence in things like this, especially this, is not part of my lifestyle. And what do you mean my love?"
"Well, while you were drunk…"
"… I told her…?" Link pauses strapping on his belt. "I told her… I love her?"
Navi nods, seeing where this is going. "Yes, you did, Link."
"… And? And… how did she… I mean, was Malon… happy?"
"She was, Link… Even if she didn't intoxicate herself last night, I have no doubt she would have been happy no matter what."
"… And… was I…?"
"I believe knowing she was loved back and being joyous in your arms did the same to you."
Link smiles to himself as he lets his eyes gaze at his bare feet. For a moment, he could picture it, Malon crying happily in his arms while he too sheds a tear for their love together. That moment where he didn't disappoint her, where he made her happy forever, where he could open his arms and keep Malon with him, out of the lonely darkness and into his light. That moment lasts short however, for Link is interrupted by a groan from the one he didn't want to wake up now, not in this mess.
"Mmm…" Malon stirs under the bed sheet. After tossing herself around a little bit, she sits up, throwing out her bare chest while she stretches. Again, Link curses as he spins around to avoid a cheap glance at his friend's womanhood. Hastily, he does the holdings of his leather belt before it seems as if he's the one that forced all this. He hears Malon shrieking, then a rustle as she tries to conceal her chest. "Link! What the…? Holy Farore, what are ya doing in here while I'm naked!"
"We share this room, for one thing…" he mutters to himself.
"You two use this room together, Malon," Navi speaks up for him.
"… But… what… what are my clothes doing around…" She gasps loudly. "Oh, my goddess… Link, have I been raped last night?"
The hero smacks a hand to his forehead. "And she said I was dumb… Great, how am I going to explain this…?"
"Link! Answer me!"
He turns around and is about to speak when a knock is heard on the door. "'Ello?" Julie's voice greets. "Link? Malon? Navi? Y'all in there? Can I come in?"
"Yeah," Link replies.
A click is heard, and Julie opens the door, carrying into the room a washbowl and a cloth like the day before. "G'day, everybody! I see, uh…" She flashes between Link and Malon, "things went well, didn't they?"
Link notices a key stuck above the doorknob. To Navi he mouths quietly, "She had a key!"
"I didn't know!" the fairy whispers back to him. "You'd think I wouldn't have stopped you two if I did know?"
"Julie," Malon starts, "we didn't-"
"Not what I saw last night." The barmaid smiles as she sets down the objects. "In fact, ya were the one who wanted it!"
"Me?"
"Yeah, you."
The redhead looks startled for a moment, then she chuckles unsteadily. "Right, right, a joke. I get it."
"Ain't no joke, love."
"… What?" Julie keeps up her smile, nerving the redhead. She then turns to Navi. "Navi, you weren't drunk, right? Tell us that I wasn't the one asking for all this!"
"Well…" The fairy slowly flits up and down in nervousness, "all I can say, Malon… is that… Link did some outstanding work when I heard it…"
They all stare amazingly at Navi, which causes her to stop fluttering. "I did say I tried all means to get in and stop this… event. And that includes banging on the door, which is where I heard you two…" She coughs to make up for the lack of the word, then darts into Link's head.
"See, mate?" Julie said. "It 'appened."
"But… But… me… Link… we…" Malon faces Link, then turns away and blushes when doing so. "Oh, dear Nayru…"
Link sighs, turning to gaze out the window and at the high sun in the sky. Julie begins picking up Malon's clothes and hands them to her. "'Ere, Malon,"
"… Thanks…" the redhead said halfheartedly.
"Aw, c'mon! Cheer up. What's done is done, and it's not like ya two didn't want it, with the love in the air and all. Now put on ya clothes, else men 'ill be gawkin' at ya all day."
Link clears his throat, signifying his dismissal. "I'll be outside." Speedily, he grabs all of his equipment and inventory. "We have to be heading off towards Ganon's Castle, anyway."
When the door closes behind him, Malon bears a worried expression on her face. "Julie… tell me it isn't so."
"Wish I could, mate. But I don't lie."
"Oh, no…" She lowers her head melancholically.
"What's the matter?"
"Julie… I… I could not… I could not have done it… to him…"
"'Ave sex with him?"
"Yes… Julie, there's just… something I swore myself never to do to… do to Link…" She loosens her grip on the sheets, letting the rim fall down to her legs. "I broke it… My own oath… not to ever… do this to him…"
"Oath…? Why?"
"It's just… because… of something horrible I saw… and realized a while back… After seeing it, I couldn't… Oh, goddess, I never thought I'll say this, Julie, but… what have I done…?"
"Malon." Julie places her hands on her shoulders. "It's done. There ain't no use thinkin' 'bout it 'cept to realize it for days ahead. It's done, it's in the past, we 'ere today, so smile and live it without causin' the same mistake twice."
"Oh, I… I…" The redhead holds back her drop into a broken state. "… Right. Just… tell myself not to do it anymore."
"There ya go! Nothin' good can come out of bein' perfect, but rather just fix it when somethin' goes wrong."
"Yeah…"
The greenhead decides to strike up humor. "So… how's that hangover, sugar?"
"Hurts like heck…" Malon shakes her head. "I ain't drinking ever again…"
"They always say never, but it's 'ard to drop the habit once you're hooked on."
Malon tries to move around, but feels rather funny. "Weird… I feel kinda airy."
"Ah, normal when ya… well, when ya done it. How airy?"
"Like… Like when ya have a bucket… and it just emptied itself of water…"
"Oh, so ya were a virgin last night…"
"… You can figure out just from that?"
"So forth, I 'ear it from tons of gals who lost 'em."
"Well, Link too was a… Um, never mind that. So ya haven't…?"
"Waitin' for that right guy. Though, it might 'ave been yesterday if ya weren't stuck with him."
"What?"
"Ha, just kiddin'! Think I'll wait a while before the time comes."
"… Hey, Julie, what happened last night… that led up to… you know, this?"
"Mighty heavy ya were. But ya got Link drunk, too. It gone from laughin' to lovin', then to this biggie here."
"Oh, so Link was drunk, too…" A thought clicks in her mind. "Oh… so… so that's why… fairy boy agreed…"
"What's 'is, now? Ya sayin' 'at ya thought…?"
"Yeah, I… I mean, I thought I made Link come with me and… well, sleep with me."
Julie cries out laughing. "So that's why with the oath and all!" Aware that this is not polite, she quickly ceases her mirth. "So, uh, that's how it is, then…"
"Julie, what… what did I say to him?"
"Say? Well… besides askin' him to do it, ya told him ya love him before it all went down, sug."
"… What did… What did he say… say back to me?"
"Oooh, that…" She has an anticipated look on her, "what do ya think? Under the ale's power, I mean."
"Oh, he… he…" Malon barely could contain it. She places a hand over her heart to steady herself. "Oh, Din… Julie, I can't… Julie, did… did he really say…?"
"Yes… Link said he loves you."
"Oh…!" The heroine flinches at the words, then totters back into a glad state. "Link… He… He said…" Her breathing goes wild, causing her to stutter like never before, "h-he… l… l… l-loves m-m-me…"
"… Wow. That really got ya beatin' inside, doesn't it?"
"Julie… Oh, goddess… You… You really can't… believe… can't believe how… how much I… I longed to hear… those sweet words… I… I heard them before a little while back, but… to… to have him… say it while we're… we're alive… Oh, sweet Nayru, have mercy and still my overwhelming heart!"
"But yet, that's while my ale's havin' fun with ya."
"Yes, but… alcohol… it brings the most… the most forbidden and emotional of secrets out, doesn't it?"
"Well…" Julie surrenders into happy assent, "alright, I'll agree it's that good on ya. 'Sides…" Once again, a hand makes contact with the shoulder, "I'm real happy… that ya liked what ya heard."
"Thanks, Julie." Malon cocks her head. "Ya know, I might not give up on ale… that is, if I ever stop by."
"Good on ya, love." Julie then pokes one of the redhead's breasts. "Now, get some clothes on, 'cause goodies 'bout these sizes don't 'void men's eyes that easily."
--
The sun bears a good temperature on the village, because of the storm from yesterday's events vanishing. Everything smells fresh and serene, while the noises that bring normal day life amount everywhere. Link orients around his green, pointy hat, still in fine condition despite the unbounded tussles it endures throughout his adventure. Once it's in his usual, atilt position, the Hero of Time views the horizon from near the hill from which Kakariko Village lays. All things marking the land of Hyrule are in repose at long last, all except for one. The northern region of the great country is still overlaid in thick darkness, that of which comes from one source. The Heroes of Time still have one job left to do.
It's almost time to settle the score, Ganondorf… It's almost time…
He has to wonder, though. What did that woman mean when he has more adventures?
She looked so familiar… How did she know about Malon and me…? Red hair, those clothes, that voice of sweet earth… Wait… Malon? That woman looked like Malon. But wait, that can't be… The only person Mal said that looked like her is her mother back then… It can't be… Was the person that visited my dream… her mother?
Another thing comes into his mind. How did Malon's mother know that her daughter and he had-
"Hey, fairy boy!"
Link rotates around, only to be found being thrown against by Malon. He blenches solicitously back at first, then notices the firmness of her hug. "Whoa… Um, hey, Mal."
"What's the matter?" She looks at him, rather eccentrically. Then again, Link doesn't remember the last time she gave him a daily look other than that.
"Well, it's just…" he almost rambles as she lets go. "What just happened, and now you're…"
"I ain't afraid of that!" Albeit, she smiles interestedly. "… Are you?"
He breathes through his teeth once. "… I hate to admit it, but… yes, I'm afraid of… what just happened back there."
"Oh? So…" Malon takes his left hand, then starts guiding it slowly down her chest, "you're scared of-"
"OKAY!" He pulls his hand back before it becomes too late. "I GET IT. PLEASE, I BEG OF YOU, DO NOT DO THAT AGAIN."
"Hee hee hee hee…! Alright, alright, calm down! I'm not gonna do anything that'll be that uncomfortable."
"… You know what? I think the only thing I'm scared of right now is you."
"Hey, that's mean!"
"Not mean, Mal. It's called vengeance."
"Ha ha, vengeance. Well, here's my vengeance." Malon promptly grips the collar of his emerald tunic and jerks his head close to hers. "You're dead when all of this is settled," she softly whishes through her teeth, dropping some of her playful tone.
"W-Wh… What?"
"Ya may be the one I ever trust, heck, even want to do it with, but you're gonna really suffer for not stopping it from coming."
"What… What do you mean?"
"How could you, out of all the people in the world… ALLOWED us to…" She couldn't say anymore.
Link claws through piles of knowledge before innocently frowning at realization. "Well, I was inebriated, and you got me to open up to you… What could I do?"
"By the life of Farore, look what happened to me… I'm not… not… chaste anymore…"
"Mal, it's not like it didn't happen to me either."
"Grr, HOW COULD YOU?" Malon suddenly explodes, shaking Link in a state of extreme furiousness. "HOW COULD YOU ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN? YOU COULDA JUST SAID NO WHEN I ASKED!"
"WHY ARE YOU BLAMING ME? YOU'RE THE ONE WHO WANTED ME TO GIVE IT TO YOU!"
"YEAH, WELL, YA SHOULDA KNOWN I WOULDA SAID SUCH A THING! NOW, LOOK! I LOST MY VIRGINITY, YOU BASTARD!"
"YOUR VIRGINITY? BY THE HEAVENS, WHAT ABOUT ME? YOU THINK I LIKE LOSING MINE?"
"Eh-hem… Y'all." Julie steps out to them in the mist of the violent altercation. Spotting her, the heroes quickly separate and quiet down.
"Julie." Link nods to her.
The barmaid glances between the two of them, then smiles. "I can see things gotten 'long well."
"Uh, yep." Malon giggles. "Well, like ya said, smile today, same tomorrow. Gonna beat Ganondorf right now."
"Heh… good luck, then… Come back alive, ya 'ear?"
"Got it." The two embrace each other for their farewell. "See ya later, Julie…" Malon heads off first.
"Mmm…" The greenhead then faces Link. "And… good luck to ya too, Link."
"Okay." He nods, then finds his hands in hers.
"Ya… You come back safe, too… 'kay?"
"Will do."
Julie couldn't help but find his blue eyes dazzling against the yellow sun. She doesn't want to let go, but she has to at one moment or another. Link feels for her, and does a much-needed act: he leans down to her and gives her a short, but pleasant kiss. She gasps as he pulls back, generating a chuckle from him. "What… What was that… for…?"
"Because I care for you, too," he replies. "And… think of that… as a promise that I'll come back… okay, Julie?"
"I… Why, I…" Somewhere, deep inside the world of the bartender, a sad, torn heart suddenly feels a jolt back to life.
"I won't say goodbye… because this is not the last time we'll meet."
"Link… you…"
The hero smiles, then leaves her to join Malon near the village's entrance. They both wave at her, and Julie, for the first time in a long while, sincerely returns it back. She could feel the sun shining behind her, and that assures her the warm feeling that she soon won't be forgotten. She looks on to the new, close friend she made, a farm girl whose heart is as strong, fiery, and passionate as the redness in her hair. She looks on to the person that showed her more care than she's ever received in a while, a knight in green whose virtue is marvelous, yet contains the gentleness of one who can soften the spirits of others. She looks on to the pair that rode a major mark on her life, having her in jollity she barely felt after all of her family were gone.
"Take care… ya two…"