A lot had happened since Link had woken up. After the Forest Temple and meeting Saria, only to lose her again, he just wanted to take a break. His weary feet carried him to Lon Lon Ranch. It was already dark when he arrived, but from what he could see, nothing had changed. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief. At least something was the same. He smiled slightly and made his way towards the horse-corral. As he approached, He became aware of the sound of someone singing. It took him barely a second to recognize the song and Malon's voice.
"Malon!" Link called, running towards her, a huge grin on his face. He stopped a few feet away. When she saw him, Malon's eyes widened in surprise.
"Fairy-Boy?!" she gasped. Malon had grown up. Link was surprised, though part of him had known this would happen. Malon grinned and threw her arms around him. "Papa and I thought you'd died! You just stopped coming one day, and you didn't even say goodbye!" She stepped back and glared at him. "It's been seven years! Where have you been?" she demanded.
Link looked sheepish, but didn't say anything.
"Never mind, you can tell me everything later, but first you have to help me rescue the Ranch."
Link looked curious. What had happened to the ranch? Malon informed him without any prompting.
"Do you remember the ranch-hand, Ingo? Well, a while ago, he came here with some of Ganondorf's soldiers and kicked Papa out of here and took control of the place! Now I have to work for him, or he'll mistreat the horses!" Tears filled her eyes. "Please, you've got to help!"
"Of course!" Navi said, shooting out of Link's hat where she'd been hiding. "Right, Link?"
Link nodded. He was always willing to help.
"Ingo was always complaining, but he wasn't a bad guy. I think those creepy witches are controlling him!"
"Witches?" Navi asked.
"Yeah. There are these two really old ladies who ride flying broomsticks! They're really creepy. They showed up one day, and then Ingo got all weird." Malon explained.
Link nodded thoughtfully. He would have to get more information before he did anything.
"Alright! We'll check it out, and get your ranch back, okay?" Navi said, speaking for him.
Malon nodded. "Thank you so much! But be careful, if Ingo sees you, you'll get captured for sure."
"Don't worry," Link reassured her.
"You can stay in the house tonight, then we can work on it tomorrow. You must be hungry, come on! I'll get you something to eat."
Navi thanked her, then she and Link followed Malon to the house where they were given some stew and milk.
"Eat up!" Malon said cheerfully.
Link did as she suggested. He was a bit confused by Malon's personality. She was so happy, even at a time like this. She also said a lot. Really fast.
After they'd eaten, Malon sent Link to go take a shower. She said his clothes were horribly dirty, and he was no better. He had to admit that was true. He hadn't had a bath since entering the Forest Temple, and side then, his clothes had become covered in blood and dirt.
Once Link had gone, Malon and Navi headed upstairs to Malon's room. It was just as it had been seven years ago. The walls were still painted with images of knights and dragons, fairies and elves. Malon was about to sit on the bed and ask Navi about their adventures when Navi interrupted.
"Wait!" she squeaked, "Something's here!"
Malon yelped and jumped up, pressing her back against a wall in fear. Navi zipped towards a dark corner, where she could barely make out an equally dark shape, attempting to identify the new threat. Before she got close enough, a person stepped from the shadows, hands held up in a gesture of peace.
"Malon, It's me, don't scream."
Malon screamed anyway. The sound had barely started before a hand clamped over her mouth and muffled the noise.
"Shh! It's me, Sheik!"
Malon stopped struggling and looked at Sheik with wide eyes.
"I'm going to move my hand, will you be quiet?" Sheik asked.
Malon nodded.
Sheik stepped back. Malon didn't make a sound, as promised.
"Why are you here?" Navi asked, zipping up to Sheik's face and bobbing irritatingly close to her eyes.
"I could ask you the same thing," Sheik replied, trying to focus on the fairy without going cross-eyed.
"We're here to visit and help Malon!" Navi said, putting her hands on her hips. She was too bright for anyone to notice the movement though.
"You know the Hero?" Sheik asked Malon. This was an interesting development, although in hindsight, she should have expected it. Lon Lon Ranch was the mid-point between Castle Town and everywhere else.
"Hero? Do you mean Fairy-Boy?"
"Fairy-Boy?" Sheik smirked beneath her cowl. "Yes, if that is what you call Navi's partner."
"Oh, yeah! I've known him since we were little! But, then he disappeared for awhile, but now he's back, and he's going to help free the ranch!" Malon said.
Sheik nodded. Then turned to Navi. "I am here to help the ranch as well, so you and the Hero can take a break, I'll handle this matter. You've earned it," she added quietly.
"No way! We're going to help too!" Navi said. "We can't leave you to do everything by yourself."
Sheik considered her for a moment. The Hero was impossibly stubborn. Changing his mind and that of his fairy was not worth the effort.
"As you wish," Sheik consented. The door behind her clicked, and Sheik leapt backwards, hiding herself back in the shadows behind the door.
Link walked in, and paused. Then he turned, hand flying to his sword hilt. He glanced questioningly at Navi. Before she could reply, Sheik stepped out into the light. Link's eyes widened, and he dropped his hand.
"Sheik!" he said. That was a surprise.
"Hello, Hero," Sheik said.
Link looked to Malon, who quickly explained that she and Sheik were friends. After that was complete, Malon showed Link to her father's old room, where he could sleep, and Sheik vanished out the window, promising to be back in the morning.
Before sunrise, Link was awakened by a knock on his window. Sleepily, he blinked open his eyes and stood up. Sheik was crouched on the windowsill, balancing precariously on the thin piece of wood.
Navi fluttered over and bounced up and down before the window. "What are you doing so early in the morning?" she asked grumpily. Navi liked her complete ten hours of sleep.
"There is something you should see. We have little time remaining, come with me," Sheik replied.
Link blinked sleepily, but grabbed his sword and shield and followed Sheik without question.
Navi was not so compliant. "Where are we going? Why do we have to go right now? I want to sleep more!"
"Hush," Sheik said when they reached a certain building. "This is the building where Ingo lives. Stealth is of the utmost importance, please be careful." Sheik climbed up the nearby tree and leapt onto the roof.
Link used his Hookshot to follow.
Silently, Sheik dashed across the roof and leapt onto the next building over. Link followed more slowly, trying to be as quiet as Sheik. His armor and other equipment made that a bit difficult.
They entered the building through a small window, and dropped down into a storage room behind some crates. Sheik held up her hand to signal silence, then pointed through a gap between two of the boxes. Link pressed his face against the wood and looked around. With his limited vision, he could see Ingo, who was standing with his back to him, in front of Ingo were two witches seated on broomstick, flying in and out of his vision and cackling like maniacs.
"He's done well, hasn't he, Koume?"
"Yes, he certainly has, Kotake!"
"Our magic is perfect, isn't it, Koume?"
"Oh, yes indeed, Kotake!" The two witches flew a circle and began another bout of maniacal giggling.
"Now, what should we have him do next?" the fiery one asked.
"What indeed? Capture our dear Hero, perhaps?"
"Oh! Yes, that sounds good. I hear the pest is already here."
"Capture the Hero, servant!"
"Yes, capture him!"
Ingo bowed stiffly to the two witches. "Consider it done," he said. His voice sounded flat and mechanical.
The witches laughed, and sent Ingo from the room with a synchronized wave of their hands.
"Now, Sheikah, we now you're there!"
"Come out, come out!"
Sheik tensed. Link glanced questioningly at Sheik.
"Come, Sheik!"
"We don't bite!"
No, Sheik thought, you'll only freeze my blood and then burn my body, it's so much better. Motioning for Link to stay put, she slowly stood up. The witches giggled louder and bounced in the air, their broomsticks bobbing up and down. Sheik walked over to stand in front of them.
"You've grown quite a bit, Little Sheikah!"
"Indeed! Not so little any more, eh, Kotake?"
"No, not little!" The witches flew around Sheik, cackling. Sheik stood still. Careful not to show any trace of emotion.
"May I ask what your purpose here is?" Sheik asked carefully.
"You heard, we know, we know!"
"Yes, you heard, you know!"
"I apologize. I entered here unaware that you were also present," Sheik replied.
"We knew where you were, though! Our magic is amazing, Koume!"
"It is, Koutake! Even the Shadow Sage didn't notice!" The witches flew a celebratory circle around Sheik, who had gone very still. What had they done to her? A tracking device of some sort? How did Impa not notice? How did she not notice? When was it done?
"Play us a song, Sheik!" The witches continued.
"Yes, a heartrending melody!"
Sheik was taken off guard. They wanted a song? Now? She didn't have a lot of options, so she would have to obey them for now. Reluctantly Sheik took her harp from her bottomless bag and positioned her hand on the strings. Koume and Kotake went silent, watching her with expectation. After a moment's thought, Sheik decided on a song. It was titled Reunion*. She had learned it from Raven during their time together in the desert. She hadn't played it in a long time, but she thought she did fairly well.
The witch twins listened in silence, perfectly still. Once she was done, Sheik placed her harp back in her bag then turned away.
"…I have things to attend to. Goodbye." Sheik slammed a deku nut into the ground and vanished, cutting off the witch twins half way through their new rant.
Outside, the sun was beginning to appear above the horizon, it's brilliant rays painting the sky a pretty shade of blue. Sheik slammed her fist into the nearby tree.
How had she not noticed sooner? If the Twinrova, and by extension, Ganondorf, knew her location all the time, how was she supposed to help the Hero without endangering him? Sheik sighed and looked up at the sky. Why couldn't things be simpler? She shook her head. Now was not the time to be asking that. She had gotten herself into this situation, now she had to solve it. The first step was getting the Hero. She had left him in the room with the Twinrova, hoping they wouldn't notice him, but if he didn't come out soon, she would have to go retrieve him. However, if she went back, they would certainly notice her.
A little, glowing blue ball saved her the trouble of deciding what to do.
"Come on! Link's back at the house, everyone is waiting for you!" Navi squeaked. Sheik sighed silently and followed the fairy back to the main house. Inside, Malon and Link were sitting at the kitchen table, drinking mugs of milk. Malon offered Sheik a cup and a chair, which the Sheikah accepted.
"So? What now? Link told me what you two did, have you got a plan?" Malon asked, leaning forward excitedly. Sheik was reminded of Zelda when they were younger. The young princess had always gotten them into trouble searching for adventures.
Sheik pulled herself out of the past and looked up at her two companions.
"The Twinrova have Ingo under their control. Likely through magic. I might be able to break the spell controlling him, if I can find it's source. The Twinrova will cause us trouble, however." Sheik said slowly.
Malon shook her head. "The witches don't stay here. They only come about once every two weeks. By the time the sun is all the way into the sky, they'll be gone."
Sheik nodded, processing this information and forming a plan. "If that is true, then we should act as soon as possible. We will capture Ingo, and search him for the source of the spell. I will then destroy it, and he should go back to normal," Sheik said.
Link nodded.
"We'll go get Ingo, then!" Navi said.
Link stood and put his sword and shield back on, then left the building. Sheik followed a step behind.
"Be careful!" Malon called after them.
Ingo was standing by the horse coral when they found him. His arms were crossed and he had a very self satisfied, and slightly evil, smirk on his face. Link walked up to him and grabbed Ingo's shoulder, throwing him to the ground. Sheik ran up and quickly gagged him, then bound his ankles and wrists. Link hauled their prisoner onto his shoulder and ran back to the house.
"Oh!" Malon gasped, putting a hand over her mouth. "Please don't hurt him! I don't think he's really bad…"
Link placed Ingo on the floor, and Sheik began her search for the magical object. After a few minutes, Sheik sat back.
"I can't find it," she admitted.
Link searched quickly as well, but also came up with nothing out of the ordinary.
"I don't sense any magic on him," Navi said. "Only some remnants of black magic, and it's fading fast!"
Sheik frowned. Whatever spell they'd used was fading, so what was the reason for Ingo's actions, then? Was he doing this of his own free will?
"What are you doing!" Malon gasped.
Link was removing the gag, and hauling Ingo into a sitting position.
"Curse you! You children, how dare you do this to the Great Ingo!"
"Be quiet," Link said, glaring at him. Surprisingly enough, Ingo did. "Why did you take over the ranch?" Link asked.
"Take over the ranch?" Ingo echoed. "I am the Great Ingo! I deserve to own this place, not that good-for-nothing, lazy old man!" Ingo snapped.
"You can't just take other people's things," Link said seriously.
"It belongs to me! Lord Ganondorf said so!"
So it was Ganondorf. Somehow, he was involved with this.
"When did you meet Ganondorf," Sheik asked harshly.
"None of your business, you filthy traitor," Ingo said smugly.
Link frowned. Traitor? Why would he call Sheik a Traitor? Before he could ask, Ingo spoke again.
"Now, how about a little wager?" Ingo suggested. This got everyone's attention. "We'll have ourselves a little race. If you win, I'll give you fifty rupees, if I win, you give me fifty rupees and concede ownership of this ranch to me. Deal?" Ingo smirked self confidently, as though he was certain of his victory.
"Okay," Link agreed.
"Are you certain, Hero?" Sheik asked.
Link nodded. "As long as I get to ride Epona."
"Agreed," Ingo sneered. He was released, and the two headed outside. As soon as Ingo unlocked the gate, Link headed inside. He looked around, then pulled out his ocarina. The Ocarina of Time. Malon and Sheik watched uncertainly as Link played a simple, three note song on the instrument. Shortly afterwards, a beautiful horse trotted over to him and tossed it's white mane. Link smiled and petted it's neck affectionately.
"That's a good girl, Epona. Run fast, okay?" Malon whispered, also coming over.
Link mounted the horse and rode a circle before urging the horse into a gallop and jumping a few fences. He found he was a natural at riding, and that it was a lot of fun.
Ingo clapped. "Lookin' pretty good, boy! You ready?"
Link trotted over and nodded.
"Alrighty then, prepare to lose, kid!" Ingo mounted a horse of his own, and the two lined up at the gate. A white line was painted on the ground that served as a starting and finish point.
"Three!" Malon yelled, beginning the countdown, "Two! One!"
Ingo whipped his horse.
"GO!" Malon shouted.
Link kicked Epona's flank, and she shot away from the line. They were close, Epona less than a foot behind. Ingo yanked on the reins, driving his horse towards the fence, trapping Epona. Link glared at him, then gently guided his horse to the outside of the ring. Ingo whipped his horse again, shouting at it loudly. Link urged Epona on, leaning low over her neck. They passed Sheik and Malon again. This was the last lap. It was looking like Link would lose.
"Go Epona!" Malon screamed from Sheik's side, "Run! Run like the wind!"
Epona flicked her ears and strained to go faster. About halfway around, Link began to pull ahead. It was a very uncertain last few yards, but finally, Epona got ahead and crossed the finish line a full body-length before Ingo's horse.
Link grinned and rode a victory lap, easing Epona to a halt. At the gate once again, Ingo screamed in frustration and waved his fists in the air.
"How could I lose! Oh, Lord Ganondorf will be so upset!" he wailed.
Malon ran towards him, Sheik following.
"Well done!" Malon cheered, petting Epona.
"I can't lose! Race me again!" Ingo demanded, drawing their attention. "I'll give you the horse if you win! And the Ranch, as well!"
He must be getting desperate, Sheik thought.
"It is a horse that King Ganondorf himself has requested! A fine horse, the best anywhere! A grand prize! So, race me again!" Ingo begged.
Link nodded, and positioned Epona at the line once again.
"You can do it!" Malon called.
Link glanced over to where sheik stood, arm crossed and watching with impassive red eyes. He caught Sheik's eye and grinned his best I-won't-lose grin. Sheik nodded in encouragement, and Malon began the countdown.
"Go!" Malon yelled. The two horses ran. Ingo was using every dirty trick in the book. Blocking Epona's way, and even trying to unseat Link at one point. Nevertheless, Link pushed on, and came in first, if only by a short distance.
"You did it! You won!" Malon ran over and hugged Epona's neck, then hugged Link as he tried to dismount. "That was amazing! Thank you so much!" she said.
"Well done, Hero," Sheik said, walking up. A few feet away, Ingo was panicking.
"NOOOOOOOO!" he wailed. The three other people in the ranch turned to face him, looks of distaste on their faces. Then Ingo began to run. Sheik was about to put needles in his legs when Malon stopped her.
"Don't hurt him!" she said.
A loud BANG! echoed around the ranch, attracting the attention of everyone in it.
"Oh no! He closed the gate!" Navi said from above.
"What?" Malon asked. "But now we're stuck here! He's got the only key…" Regardless of this observation, the trio headed towards the gate anyway.
"You have the horse, and the ranch, but you'll never escape now!" Ingo laughed manically and ran into his house, ignoring Malon's shouts to wait.
"Hee hee hee! An interesting development, isn't it, Kotake?"
"That it is, Koume," Kotake replied. The two witches slowly came into view, flying circles in the air.
"You!" Malon said, glaring accusingly.
"Hee hee! Let's kill them now, Koume!"
"Yes, let's! Lord Ganondorf will be so pleased, Kotake!" They began to gather their magic.
"Get down!" Sheik yelled, shoving Malon out of the way. The ranch girl quickly escaped into a nearby building.
Link dropped to his stomach and covered his head. Above him he could feel intense heat. Once it faded, Link leapt to his feet, drawing his sword and preparing his shield.
"Be careful, your Hylian shield won't protect you from their magic," Sheik told him.
Link jumped. When had Sheik gotten next to him? That kind of scared him…
"I didn't mean to scare you. My apologies." Sheik drew some needles from a hidden sheath, aimed, and threw all in one smooth movement. The weapons cut through the air, perfectly on target. But they never made contact. A foot away from the Twinrova, the needles imbedded themselves in a thin shield of ice.
"That was close, Koume."
"It was, Kotake. We have to be more careful," her sister agreed. In perfect unison, the two witches spun and pointed their fingers at where Sheik and Link stood. A blast of ice and fire shot towards them.
"Watch out!" Navi shouted.
Sheik dodged to the side, moving just enough to avoid a very painful death. Link rolled to the opposite side, coming up with his bow ready. Without hesitation, he shot. The arrow smacked into Koume, and burst into flame. Koume screeched in pain and then glared at Link.
"You shot me!" Koume cried dramatically.
"How dare you!" Kotake screeched. The icy twin raised her arms and a thousand shards of ice shot through the air towards Link. The Hero dropped to his knees behind his shield. When the hail stopped, he stood up and shot another arrow. Before the arrow reached them, Kotake intercepted with a wall of ice.
"We won't make the same mistake twice!" she said. Her twin nodded and shot fire at Link. He dodged, only to trip and fall to his knees a second later.
"Link!" Navi yelled.
Link looked down at his feet, and gasped. His boots were encased in ice, anchoring him to the ground. As he watched, more ice encased his hands, and began to spread up his arms and legs towards his torso.
"Now, you die!" Shouted Koume. Link watched helplessly as a pillar of fire flew towards him.
"LIIINK!" Navi screamed.
Link could hear the Twinrova laughing. Seconds before the fire connected with him, Sheik leapt in front of him. Around his guide, Link could see a blue light. For a moment, Link could see the blue light holding back the fire, but slowly, the flame burned away the shield. The walls got thinner and thinner, until, without warning, it shattered. Sheik screamed and collapsed to the ground, curling in on herself.
"Oh no!" Navi squeaked, flying from Link's side to Sheik. "Hey! Get up, Sheik!" she said.
Above them the witches circled in an amused manner.
"How about we leave for now," Kotake suggested.
"Yes, we have much to tell Lord Ganondorf," Koume agreed. The witches turned back to Sheik and the Hero.
"You can keep your lives for now, children, we'll see you again!" Kotake yelled.
"Ganondorf will hear of this, Sheikah!" Koume called. The two cackled with renewed joy, and flew off into the sky.
* Reunion is an OST from D-Gray Man. It's pretty, you should look it up.
If you got through all of that, thank you very much for reading! I've been working on fixing the old chapters, and I suspect that the entire magic system will change, some character's personalities may change, and important plot bits may be revised. When I finish, I will post a mini-chapter detailing what has changed. Like a "The Story Thus Far" sort of thing.
Thank you so much for reading, reviews are appreciated!