AUTHOR'S NOTE: Link's pov

Ugh, sorry, I'm SO TIRED! =____= Fill me in if things don't makes sense (I'm sure most of it doesn't) so that I can fix it. Seriously, I'd be grateful :D

Pain

The sky was no longer filled with the light of the rising sun; it was gray and dismal, rain whipping from the clouds. Malon could no longer be distinguished from the gray. A timeless battle raged within me; should I follow my heart and chase after her or should I do what I know is best for both of us and just leave. I should never have come stayed here, I should have just quickly checked on Malon like I had planned. Why did I let my feelings get the best of me?

For the first time in since arriving I noticed the small fairy that circled around me.

"Navi, what do I do?" My frantic voice was a faithful companion to my racing heart. Adrenaline shot through me for unknown reasons. Its not as if your never going to see her again, I reassured myself.

I could see from her voice that Navi was not at all sympathetic to my situation.

"First off, why the hell are you still standing here! Can't you see she needs you!" The blue ball of light raced up and down in the air angrily, as if she had been quiet for too long and finally couldn't contain herself anymore. She skidded to a stop right in front of my nose, making me have to cross my eyes to see her. "I knew you were stupid but COME ON MAN, THIS IS JUST TOO MUCH!"

"What do you expect? I skipped puberty!" I cried defensively, cringing away from her ear-shatteringly high voice.

"Ugh, you are just so unsympathetic to her situation! Don't you see that she's hurt and confused? She's obviously been waiting for you and all of a sudden you come and then basically tell her that your leaving? Are you empty in the head; she's irrevocably in love with you! You can't tell someone that loves you that your leaving! you can't - "

I could tell Navi was talking, but my ears refused to listen. Love . . . love? Who would ever love me? No, Navi must be mistaken; why would she love me? Sure, I could tell that she was infatuation with me, just as I was to her, but love? That's a strong word for such a simple relationship. We both knew what loneliness felt like . . . we were just consoling each other . . . right?

My head was spinning.

If Malon loved me . . . than that meant that I would ultimately have to break her heart. I can't stay here for the rest of my life – I have a duty to do! We are from different worlds that just can't mesh together. Even if I did . . . love her, it wouldn't make an iota of difference. The only option seemed to be to just go on with my business. She was okay, that was all that mattered, right?

My mind was a jumble of thoughts.

"Link?"

But on the other hand, a relationship could work. I mean, it's not as if this journey will last forever. The rest of my life will be mine and mine alone. No more Hero. No more destiny.

But Zelda . . . I love her . . . don't I?

I can't just betray her and run away with the farm girl? What would that do with her emotions? But I assume too much; whose to say Zelda has even the most remote feelings for me; I knew her less than Malon. Was I just blinded by her beauty and intelligence? Zelda and I shared a common goal, a common destiny. But I can't deny the feelings I harbor for Malon.

I was turning in circles.

"Hey, HEY! Are you even listening to me?"

"No."

And then I was running as fast as my legs would go. The muscles in my legs contracted in unison with my even breathing, my arms reaching forward to gain momentum. Running had become such a familiar action in the past, well, seven years I guess I should say, that I no longer had to even think about it. But for some reason right now, running had become something that needed thought. I had to urge my legs to move forward, I had to press through darkness. My heavy boots flung water from the soggy grass into the air. The rain, sharp and whipping, stung my face and ears. If my brain wouldn't give me the answer, then I would have to rely on my heart.

"Malon!" My unusually powerful voice called into the storm. The farm was small, there were only two buildings – Three if you counted the circular building on the north-east side. "Please Malon, I need to talk to you!"

I was answered by the lonely sound of wind, even the thudding of hooves was drowned out. Minutes passed and I strained my ears.

I pressed onward, calling her name all the while. The sun had been so bright on the horizon only minutes ago, now it was a hazy gray that gave off no light. The weather in Hyrule had become unreliable with the change in ruler. The nights sometimes lasted seventeen hours, the sun hidden behind a bank of clouds.

Everything was a blur around me. The only things I could feel was my breath and my twisting muscles. My hair was plastered to my face, chunks of it falling out of its stubby pony tail and into my eyes. The sky was now totally black, as if night had come twelve hours early.

Even in the blackness, I refused to slow down.

"Malon! Malo-"

I lost my balance as my feet slipped on the mossy grass, my heels leaving a trail of mud behind them. Bone collided with rock as my skull crashed into the very building I had been searching for. My ears felt as if they were imploding from the inside. I hissed through my tight jaw.

Passing out is nothing like what people tell you. You don't just fall back and immediately lose consciousness, black crawls slowly over your vision as if you're suddenly going blind.


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