Chapter 6: Exploring Kakariko
I walked silently across the field towards Kakariko Village. There seemed to be an odd air around us. It was uneasy. I could tell that it was Malon. "You're worried about the promise we made back there," I said out of nowhere. She seemed startled, but held back her answer for a moment as we continued. She began to nod, and I turned ahead. "Forget about it," I said, "it's nothing."
With that said, she looked a bit more content. I smiled to myself as we began to walk up the stairs to Kakariko. However, my smile faded as I saw a boy standing at the top of the stairs. He had on all black clothes. His outfit consisted of a T-Shirt and semi-baggy pants. He had a katana strapped to his belt, and "Hello," I called out to him. he looked at me. "Oh, hello. Are you new to Kakariko? Welco-...Malon?" the person said. He walked up to her, "How've you been? It's been a few weeks." Malon smiled at him. "Hi Sudaku," said Malon, "this is Link." She gestured to me. Then she gestured to this Sudaku person. "Link, this is Sudaku, but some people call him 'The Shadow'," she said, letting out a laugh. I smiled ."Nice to meet you," I said, reaching out a hand. He extended his own, and we shook hands.
With this greeting complete, we decided it best to finally head inside. Once we got there, I took a second to observe the scenery. It was a peaceful little town, Impa had done well in founding it. Sudaku walked in front, and turned around, facing us, his long brown, curly hair flowing in the wind. "Well, do you want the tour or not?" he said with an overconfident smirk on his face, "because I know this town better than most people." I smiled, nodding. "Sure," I said, smiling at Malon. She smiled. "I'm going to go get a place to stay."
I traversed the town, exploring the sights. Eventually, I came across a woman who seemed very distressed. I walked up to her. "Are you... ok?" I questioned. She shook her head. "No. All my cuckoos have escaped!" I said frantically. I looked at her, "Hey... I'll help you round 'em up." I'd have had Malon help, but she was exploring different parts of town. I immediately set off to capture the escaped flock.
After getting all her cuckoos back, she gave me a glass bottle as a reward. Next, I went to the graveyard. There, I found Sudaku standing in front of a grave. "Hey... Sudaku was it?" I said, "what are you doing here?" He looked at me. "Oh, hi, Link," he said, "I'm just... nothing. Hey, help me pull out this grave, I've got something I think you'll like." I got behind the gravestone he was standing in front of, and pulled it out. We leaped down, him going first. At the bottom I looked around. There seemed to be some decorations on the walls. "What is this place?" I questioned. "This is... the crypt of my family," he said, "they're... dead. Murdered. In hid a shield down here in that chest. Go ahead, take it. I don't use shields." I looked at him, and nodded, taking the shield from the chest. I placed it on my back, and felt weighed down. I slipped the Deku Shield into my pouch, and it slid right in, as though the pouch were an endless void.
Back on the surface, we headed for the back of the Cemetary. I saw the Triforce symbol on the ground, and slid out my Ocarina, playing the song Impa had taught me. It began to rain, and thunder crash all around. Suddenly, I was thrown back by a strike of lightning as it obliterated the Tombstone of the Royal Crypt. I crawled to my feet, and Sudaku stepped up next to me. "Come on... let's go," I said, hopping into the crypt.
At the bottom, I scanned the area. "Four keese," I whispered. Sudaku unsheathed his katana as I pulled out my slingshot. I took out a keese over our heads, and aimed for the two by the barred door at the other end of the room. I took one of them out, and as I was reloading, Sudaku dashed over and took out the one to our right. I then took out the final Keese, and the bars on the door at the end of the room lifted. We traversed the next room, avoiding the Redeads. I looked at the mural on the wall in the following room, and repeated the notes upon the wall. I could hear the redeads in the room behind us stop moaning, so we quickly escaped from the tomb while they were frozen.
I looked at Sudaku outside the tomb. "Come on," I said, "let's find Malon and get a room at an Inn." I stepped into themain town again. We scowered the outside of the buildings. Then we checked on the inside of a couple buildings. I sighed. "Sudaku... let's just head to the Inn," I said, "she might be there anyways." Sudaku pondered this for a moment, and nodded, smiling. "Yeah," he said, "she might be." With this, we headed for the Inn.
Once there, I walked up to the counter, and looked at the lady. She was a little portley, but not fat, and was wearing an elegant dress, that, while simple, was indeed beautiful. "Hey," I said, "did a girl with long red hair pass by here?" She nodded. "Some large men showed up, claiming they were looking after her for the day..." she said, "excuse me, is something wrong?" I was shocked. She was in trouble, we needed to go now. I pulled looked at the woman fiercely. "Where did they go!" I shouted. She looked astonished. "They... they went towards the pub," she said hurriedly. "Sudaku! Let's go!" I said, charging out the door.
We made our way to the pub as fast as we could. I slammed my fist on the bartenders desk. She looked at me. "yes?" she asked in a heavy accent. "Girl with red hair. Where did she go," I demanded breathlessly. "Upstairs," said the woman. "Thank you," I said, running upstairs.
My ascent was quick and swift. I was exhausted, but I would save her at any cost. Eventually, I came to a room where I heard much heavy breathing and mumbling. "Hold her down," said a man. This was it! I kicked down the door, and found the men holding Malon down, trying to remove her clothes. I stepped forward to do something, but before I could tell what was up, someone slammed me into a wall, knocking the little breath I had left out of me. They quickly gagged me. "Awww," said one of the large, burly men ,"the little boyfriend came to save his girlie. Well, son, life's tough. We're going to kill her once we're done." I let out a loud yell of anger, but knew no one would hear. The men laughed loudly in triumph, licking Malon's neck, face. One man groped her breast. I screamed loudly into the gag once more, but again, no one heard.
This was when it occured to me. Sudaku was not here. I smiled, looking out the window. He was sitting silently on a tree branch. I had to hand it to him, he was good. He'd foreseen being jumped by my bursting in and planned ahead. He leaped forward, bursting through a window, and stabbing his blade into one man's chest. He took and used the blunt of his katana to knock out another man, before, sweeping another man's feet and coming down on his face with his elbow. He smiled, shoving the hilt of the Katana into the final man's face. After untying me, I jumped up, pulling Malon close. "Did they do anything to you?" I asked her. She shook her head, gripping me tightly. "Sudaku... can you go on ahead and get our room ready," I said, "I'm going to stay here for a few more minutes." He nodded, walking away, and leaving me to Malon for a while.
I nuzzled into Malon's neck. She cried softly into my shoulder. "Link... they were going to... and... and they... and then..." she muttered deleriously. I caressed her back. "It's okay now, Malon," I whispered, "whenever you need someone to save you... call my name. I'll do anything I need to to save you." I kissed her forehead. "I love you, Malon..." I whispered. She smiled weakly, cuddling into my lap, and cradling herself in my arms. "I love you too... Link," she said. I carried her to our room and layed her down on a bed. I moved to go to my own bed, but she said my name. I turned to her. "Please... stay with me tonight," she said, "please?" I smiled, and nodded, crawling into bed with her. Sudaku smiled as we cuddled each other. Within moments, our past day caught up to us, and we fell asleep together.