Hey Everyone!! How are ya? Me and Daisy are sittin here working on ch. 6 and 7... We MIGHT just get a chapter up for Princess to the Past tonight! YAY lets celebrate! heehee. SO. this is a VERY important chapter... Kinda... SO... READ!
Squirt Sapphire
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The Legend of Zelda: The Whole Legend
Chapter 5
"Now where should we go, Navi?" I asked, and in my mind I added, "Since you are so smart and seem to know everything." She fluttered around my head a few times before giving a very helpful answer.
"I don't know"
I sighed and rolled my eyes. Now Navi was just trying to annoy me. And it was working.
"Haven't you got a clue?" I pleaded. She said nothing. We stayed silent as we made our way through Kakariko Village in the dead of night. After going down countless stairs, we finally made it into Hyrule Field. Now it would be a little safer to talk.
"Navi, you know, you aren't being a big help!" I shot at her. I walked to the edge of the small creek, next to the little stone bridge. I put my hands in the icy cold water and gave a sigh. Suddenly, I noticed Navi's wings perk up a bit, and she was turned towards the rest of the field. I studied her, and she was still for a few moments, until she began to float slowing to the ground. Quickly she beat her wings a little, then fluttered in excitement. She flew behind me and tried to pull me up by grabbing my hat.
"Come on! Link, get up!" she said, as she continued to pull up on my hat. My hat slid off my head and Navi went flying a few feet up in the air. She stopped, looked at my hat that she was holding, and gave a little squeal. She quickly flew over the creek and towards the center of Hyrule Field. I jumped the creek, and after landing on the other side and taking a few giant leaps for Navi, I heard a big splash from behind me.
Shit. Hope I didn't drop anything! Can't go look now, I'll lose Navi! I barely managed to keep up with my winged friend. I chased her, and when I finally caught up and grabbed my hat from her, I looked up to find something. A big wall.
A big grin came on my face. I went a few feet and found the entrance. I walked up the small hill and into the place just as the sun rose and the cuccos crowed. I began to stroll past the buildings when Navi again stopped to listen. She quickly went to the barn door.
"What?" I asked her, with a slightly annoyed expression.
"In there", she simply replied. I slowly opened the door and walked into the barn. It still smelled like straw and I smiled at the memories. My face fell when I saw an old friend.
"Ma…Malon?" I stuttered, as I looked at a sad, red haired girl standing with a pitchfork. She was staring at nothing in particular on the ground, and looked up in surprise when I said her name.
She looked at me with a confused, tired look. I went to explain.
"Do you remember me? I'm Link… Fairy boy." I stated. Her eyes grew wide and a small smile went on her pale face.
"Fairy boy!" she exclaimed, and dropped the pitchfork. She jumped up and gave me a big hug. Then she backed up and picked up the fallen pitchfork.
"Link… Oh, where have you been?" She asked me. I just gave a shrug. Too much to explain for now.
"Around, here and there, I guess. You?" She looked at me with sad eyes.
"Oh, Link. Things have been terrible! My father was fired from the ranch, and now Ingo is taking over… He was never such a terrible man but now… He tells me if I don't do all the work right… He hurts the horses so badly!" She sobbed. I just looked at the ground. I didn't know what to do to comfort her.
"It's okay… Everything will be fine!" I said with a happy note. She tried to give me a smile, but it didn't quite work.
Suddenly, a scream pierced the air. I looked up in surprise, and Malon gave a gasp. She ran outside, with me following her. There was a big commotion in the Corral, but at first I could hardly tell what it was about. As the men backed up, I saw a chestnut coat glaring in the sunlight. Another squeal came from the horse, which the men were trying to capture. They evidently weren't succeeding, because the one I remembered as Ingo was screaming at them.
"DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M SAYING? DO WHATEVER YOU HAVE TO DO TO GET THAT DUMB HORSE CALMED DOWN!" Ingo yelled at the men. They cowered at his voice, and then jumped back up to try to complete his orders. Malon began to sob again.
"No! Please, Mr. Ingo, don't hurt the horses! Don't hurt Epona!" she cried. Ingo looked back at her, furious. He began to walk towards her, but when he saw me, he stopped in his tracks.
A million things were racing through my mind. That's Epona? Wow, she's grown… What are they doing… Wait!
An idea came to my head, and before anyone could react, I pulled out my Ocarina. I played an old tune from my past, 7 years ago. Everything stopped. Epona reared, ran past the men (pushing many of them down onto the ground, much to my amusement) and raced towards me. Everyone was just gawking at me. Meanwhile, Epona came up to me and stopped about an inch from my face.
"Hey Epona, old girl! How ya been?" I said in a very cheery voice as I stroked Epona's face and fixed her forelock.
Finally, Ingo got his voice back, and he used it to go off on me.
"Boy! Yeah, you there! What do you think you're doing?"
I stood and glared at him. Boy. He called me Boy. I could have just beaten him down then and there. But I didn't.
"What?" I replied curtly. He continued to walk towards me with a long, stomping, stride.
"Boy! I'm warning you. Give me back that old horse." He frowned at me.
"What if I were to say no?" I asked him. I put my hand on Epona's neck, and she backed up behind me. This made Ingo even angrier. But then he gave an evil grin.
"I'll make you a deal, boy."
"It's Link."
"What?" he questioned. He stopped about 5 feet in front of where I was standing.
"I said, 'It's Link'. My name is Link." I squinted my eyes in the sunlight to look at him.
"Fine. I'll make a deal." He said again. I stood there, looking at him. I wasn't going to reply.
"Yes… So…I'll let you pay a small price to ride the horses for a time."
I didn't know how it was going to work, but if I'd be able to ride Epona, then…
"Yes. For twenty rupees, I think. You can ride for 10 minutes. Malon!" He called. I gave him a dirty look for talking to Malon like that.
"Y-Yes, Mr. Ingo?" she stuttered.
"Go take Epona back to the stables! Lock her up in the stall. Then get a saddle and reins. Bring them out here. Tack up… Aleyn… Then bring him back here to the Corral." Ingo sneered at Malon.
"Aleyn... But… he bucks, Mr. Ingo…" Malon muttered, barely loud enough for anyone to hear. For once, there was a calm look on Ingo's face… but he still had the evil grin.
"You'll do as I say, Malon. And all the better for someone to finally break that sorry excuse for a horse! Now Go!" He loudly ordered her.
She gave a quick nod, lightly grabbed Epona's mane, and led her into the barn. Epona gave a shrill neigh as Malon locked her into her stall. A few minutes later, she stumbled out of the barn carrying a heavy saddle and reins. I instantly ran over to her to grab it, before she tripped.
"Thanks, Link." She managed so say.
"What's taking so long?"
"Sorry, Mr. Ingo." Malon muttered. She ran into the Corral, caught a brown and black colored horse, and led him out to where I was standing. Malon took the saddle from me and slid it onto Aleyn's back. He took it without much arguing.
"This is Aleyn. He likes to buck… But… You know… You don't have to ride him… He won't be the only horse on the farm tacked up when you get in the Corral…" She muttered to me under her breath, so that Ingo and the men couldn't hear us. All of them men were now leaning against the shade of the barn, watching us. Malon gave me a wink, handed me the reins, and pointed towards the Corral entrance. I nodded, and she quickly walked into the barn. I led Aleyn into the Corral, and let him stand for a moment. A certain fairy interrupted my thoughts.
"Link, why did she-"
"Navi, shut up." I told her. I didn't want her to let Ingo and the others know what was going on for right now, even though they would find out. This small conversation hadn't gone unnoticed by Ingo, unfortunately.
"Why don't you let the pretty little fairy talk?" Ingo said slyly.
Navi chimed at his comment, but then decided for the better.
"Don't you think you can fool me, you ugly old man!"? She snorted at him, and with that she flew right up to him and hit him in the nose. Hard.
"Navi, come on!" I called after her. All I would need would be to get in trouble because of her.
"Wait! I need those 20 rupees before you can ride!" Ingo said. He stomped up to me, held out his hand, and waited. I put my hand deep into my pocket and pulled out 20 rupees from the bottom.
"There", I muttered at him. He walked back to the side of the barn where the other men were standing. I heard a low, quiet whistle coming from somewhere. Ingo and the men didn't seem to hear it.
I took Aleyn's reins and looped them around the outside post of the Corral. I quickly pulled out my Ocarina and played a song again.
There was yet another shrill neigh, followed by a loud thump and something busting through the barn door. Epona ran up to me and stopped by my side. The men stood there, speechless. I patted her on her neck. Epona was now saddled up, but missing the reins. I sighed and shrugged my shoulders. I moved to get onto Epona's back, but the voice of Ingo stopped me.
"Excuse me, what do you think you are doing?"
"Riding a horse… Which I already paid for to ride." Came my smart reply. Malon walked slowly out of the barn, carrying the reins that were supposed to be on Epona's head. I waved my hand at her, telling her to not worry about it. She smiled and leaned up against the tree. Ingo muttered something under his breath, and walked back to the side of the barn.
"That's what I thought" I mumbled to myself, and led Epona to the corral. I jumped into the saddle, settled myself in, and tapped her on the sides to get her going. Apparently I have the natural ability to ride a horse, as well as sword fighting and being the hero, I laughed at myself. I saw the jumps in the middle of the Corral and decided to go for it. I sped up Epona a little, and when we reached the jump she flew right over it. I heard Malon cheering from her tree. I circled the Corral a few times and I had my eye on the big jump. I went around once more, and then turned to it. I sped Epona up quickly, and right as she reached the jump…
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--Zelda's POV—
I gave a start as I woke up. It was now getting dark. How long have I been asleep? Oh… Did Link already leave? Shit!
I jumped up and was ready to run down the hill when I heard light footsteps on the dirt and rock path. Quickly I crouched back down and waited for them to pass. I heard them talking.
"Now where… Navi?"
"…Don't know…"
"Haven't you got a clue?"
They stopped talking as we reached the Kakariko gates. I quietly followed them, careful not to make a sound. I couldn't get too close, breath too loud… Anything that would let them know I was there. I stayed a good 30 feet behind them, far enough that I could see them but not heard well.
They were also careful not to make a sound as they snuck down the stairs. Navi had to hide under Link's hat because she was so bright. I sat on the final steps while I watched them leave through the other gate. Out of Kakariko… Time to go now…I jumped down over the side of the stairs, landing smoothly in the grass and on my feet. I stood up and quickly followed the shaded form and his friend down the stairs and into the field.
I stopped at the base of the stairs, watching him as he bent over into the water. Navi was fluttering above Link when I saw her. As he picked up the water in his hand, Navi grabbed his hat and began to fly around. She got slightly smaller as she flew farther into the field. Link quickly got up and jumped the creek, landing oh-so-gracefully on the other side. After he went a few strides, I attempted to follow him, but was stopped by a rock in the ground. My foot hit the rock right before I went to jump, and instead of leaping over the water… I went in it.
"Craapp…" I muttered as I hit the water. Quickly I grabbed onto something at the bottom of the creek to hold myself down. What if Link heard me? What if he saw me? OH… Well, Navi looks like she's getting farther… I'll see…
I quietly lifted my head out of the water, and gave a slight smile as I saw that Link hadn't noticed yet. I looked to the sky to see the sun just barely coming up over the distant mountains. I jumped out of the water and landed on the grass. I shook my arms and my legs to try to get the water off of me. My hands went to my face to feel my wraps.
Crap. Everything is wet… Well, as long as Link and Navi don't see me…I'd better hurry…
I took a few of the wrappings off of my head and my wrists and carried them as I ran after Link. He was walking into the Ranch as I got to the top of the hill. Quietly I snuck in after him, as the sun continued to rise and the morning crow came.
Link walked into the barn, following Navi. I jumped swiftly up to the top of the barn and took a quick peek inside the barn, in the opening between the roof and the walls.
"Do you remember me? I'm Link… Fairy boy."
"Fairy boy!" Malon said happily. She jumped and gave him a long hug, dropping the pitchfork. I admit, my face got a little red at this, and my hands made a slight fist.
"Link… Oh, where have you been?" Link gave a shrug.
"Around…I guess… You?"
"Oh, Link. Things have been terrible! My father was fired from the ranch, and now Ingo is taking over… He was never such a terrible man but now… He tells me if I don't do all the work right… He hurts the horses so badly!" Malon cried.
"It's okay… Everything will be fine!" Link smiled.
I was happy that he didn't really try to comfort her with a hug or anything. Although I did feel bad for her; She had gone through a lot, from a good ranch girl to practically a slave.
Just then, I heard a loud, screaming sound coming from the pasture. I looked up, and I heard the barn door bang against the wall as Malon and Link came running out to see. They ran about halfway to the Corral before they stopped.
It was chaos in the Corral, but at first I could hardly tell why. The men in the Corral spread out, and I could see the brown-gold body and white mane of the horse. She gave another loud squeal. I jumped when I heard the booming voice of Ingo.
"DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M SAYING? DO WHATEVER YOU HAVE TO DO TO GET THAT DUMB HORSE CALMED DOWN!" Ingo yelled angrily. Quickly they jumped back up to grab Epona, still not succeeding. Malon began to weep again.
"No! Please, Mr. Ingo, don't hurt the horses! Don't hurt Epona!" she cried. Ingo looked back at her with his red, enraged face. He began to walk towards her, but stopped when he saw Link.
Link stood there, looking slightly dumbfounded from where I was. He reached deep down into his pocket and after a moment pulled out an instrument. My eyes grew slightly wider in confusion.
He put the Ocarina of Time to his mouth and played a unique melody. I found myself swaying to it. Then time seemed to stop.
Epona reared up, raced past the men, pushing many of them down, and stopped right in front of Link. A smile was on his face. I gave a small grin as I realized how close Link must have been to the horse to be able to get her to come right to him, after the 6 men couldn't even get her. Must be his calmness…
"Hey Epona, old girl! How ya been?" Link grinned and rubbed Epona's face.
Epona?… Wasn't that… The horse that Ganondorf was trying to get…?
At this peaceful moment, Ingo began yelling at Link.
"Boy! Yeah, you there! What do you think you're doing?"
Link gave him an icy glare. His fists were slightly balled up.
"What?" Link stated flatly.
"Boy! I'm warning you. Give me back that old horse." He scowled at Link.
"What if I were to say no?" Link replied. He had a slight grin, but to anyone else it looked like he was angry. He was sure he would win the argument. Putting his hand on Epona's neck, she backed up behind him, making Ingo beside himself with rage. Suddenly he grinned.
"I'll make you a deal, boy."
"It's Link."
"What?" he questioned. He stopped in front of Link.
"I said, 'It's Link'. My name is Link." Link folded his arms in front of him. He continued to glare at Ingo.
"Fine. I'll make a deal." He said again.
Link stared, waiting for him to continue.
"Yes… So…I'll let you pay a small price to ride the horses for a time."
Link looked up to the sky, thinking. I quickly ducked to avoid being seen.
"Yes. For twenty rupees, I think. You can ride for 10 minutes. Malon!" He called.
"Y-Yes, Mr. Ingo?" she stammered.
"Go take Epona back to the stables! Lock her up in the stall. Then get a saddle and reins. Bring them out here. Tack up… Aleyn… Then bring him back here to the Corral." Ingo scoffed at Malon.
"Aleyn... But… he bucks, Mr. Ingo…" Malon quietly muttered. Ingo replied, calmly.
"You'll do as I say, Malon. And all the better for someone to finally break that sorry excuse for a horse! Now Go!" He ordered.
She gave a quick nod, lighted grabbed Epona's mane, and led her into the barn. Epona gave a shrill neigh, and I had to cover my ears, which were now unwrapped. After a few minutes, she staggered out of the barn with a big saddle. Link ran to help her, and again I enviously stared after them.
"Thanks, Link", muttered Malon.
"What's taking so long?" Ingo sneered.
"Sorry, Mr. Ingo." Malon mumbled. She ran to the Corral and caught a brown and black colored horse. She slowly led him back to where Link was standing with the saddle Malon took the saddle and lifted it onto the horse's back.
I could hear them talking under their breath, and I saw how close their faces appeared to be. My face seemed to grow hot and I touched the back of my uncovered neck with my slim, cool hands. I tried to listen into their whisperings.
"This is Aleyn. He likes to buck…", Malon said, barely audible. Her face caught my gaze when I saw her wink at Link. I muttered a few things in my head, and continued to watch.
Malon quickly backed away from Link and practically ran to the barn. She opened the door and went it. Under the roof I could hear her shushing the horses, and there were hoofs hitting the floor.
"Link, why did she-""Navi, shut up."
I turned back to the Corral when I heard this. Now I was lying on my stomach, flat against the roof, but my head was propped up on my hands. All of my bandages were lying next to me on the roof, drying in the hot sun. It was obviously Link and Navi talking. Since I could hear it, Ingo could also hear it.
"Why don't you let the pretty little fairy talk?" Ingo said slyly. I gave him an evil glare.
Navi chimed at his comment, but thankfully she didn't accept it altogether.
"Don't you think you can fool me, you ugly old man!"? She snorted, and flew right up to Ingo, hitting him square in the nose. I gave a muffled laugh into my hands
"Navi, come on!" Link said with a bit of annoyance in his voice.
"Wait! I need those 20 rupees before you can ride!" Ingo demanded, stomping up to Link. He held his hand out, and after a few moments, Link pulled the rupees from his pocket and handed them to Ingo.
"There" Link said quietly. Ingo walked back to the side of the barn where the other men were standing.
Suddenly, I heard a low whistle. No one seemed to notice. Then it came again. Again, no one noticed, except for me… And Link. I saw his ears slightly twitch, and he looped Aleyn's reins around the post.
He quickly pulled out the Ocarina of Time and played the slow, soothing song again.
There was yet another piercing neigh, followed by a loud bang and something smashing through the barn door. Epona immediately ran up to Link and stopped by his side. The men stood there, wordless.
Link patted Epona on her smooth neck. Epona now had an old saddle strapped to her back, but I noticed she didn't have any reins or anything on her head. Link gave a simple shrug before trying to get on Epona.
"Excuse me, what do you think you are doing?" came rudely from Ingo.
"Riding a horse… Which I already paid for to ride." Link smartly replied. I gave a slight giggle, and then caught myself. Thank goddesses no one can see me right now!
I heard the barn door squeak to a shut, and saw the red-haired girl walk out, carrying a bridle and reins. She looked straight to Link, who looked back at her and waved his hand. He gave a smile and a nod. Malon's pale face blushed somewhat, and she went and leaned up against the tree, next to the house. Ingo stomped back to his leaning place at the barn.
I heard Link say something, but I couldn't tell what. I was sure it was something rude about Ingo though.
He walked to the Corral with Epona following him. He put his foot in the stirrup and jumped up, carefully landing in the saddle. He gave a flicker of a smile, and he urged Epona to go by giving her a slight kick. He made Epona circle around the Corral before making her face the first jump. She easily cantered to it and she soared right over.
Malon cheered and clapped, and I gave her a death glare. Then my face softened again as I turned to look at Link. Again he circled the Corral, and then looked to the big jump. As if reading his mind, Epona faced it. She cantered, and Link smacked her butt once to make her speed up a little. She went gracefully up to it, and when she reached the jumping gate…
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YAY cliffhanger!Fun. What happens next?... Kinda random, but it had to happen sometime... So happy that you read it! So now PLEASE review and make my day.. i'll give you a giant sugar-iced cookie thing! Hoped you liked this chapter!!
Squirt Sapphire