Second chapter to my second fan-fic. I do not own any of these characters. That's all I gotta say for now-see you at the bottom of the page. :p

Link slowly waded through the knee-deep water, keeping his right hand firm on his sword's hilt. The passageway he was in was narrow, dank, and dim, lit scarcely only by the light of the lantern he held aloft in his left hand.

Link paused, taking a deep breath. A familiar fluttering sound swam past his ears, and he turned his head slightly to look at the round, blue shape of his fairy, Navi. The light that emitted from her winged form splashed onto his face.

"It must be just a little bit further," the fairy whispered, unusually quiet. "You grab it, I'll keep watch, and then we're outta here."

Link nodded mutely, feeling beads of sweat run down his forehead.
He resumed walking down the passageway, his feet kicking up droplets of water. Navi floated by his side, offering a constant flow of reassurance that served to quell his fear a little.

A roaring noise filled the tunnel, making the walls around him shake impossibly. He spun around, his heart hammering, expecting to find something behind him, but the passageway was empty.

Link strained his ears, but could only hear the sound of water dripping onto water.

"This is too dangerous," He hissed at Navi. "I told you that I was not prepared to risk losing you, Navi!"

"Just a little further." Navi said gently.

He sensed that he was in too deep now to turn back, regardless. Sloshing forward once more, he felt a sudden coolness on his scalp, and looked up at the ceiling.

Water was dripping down like it had been up to now, but he had the weird sensation that the amount of water slipping through the ceiling was increasing.

His fears were confirmed when, a few steps further, more and more drops began to plink down onto him.

"Keep moving," Navi told him.

He rubbed the drops from his head, but the cold sensation stayed with him.

The roaring noise returned, but this time it was accompanied by a drumming sound right above him.
"Do you hear that?" He whispered urgently.
"Hear what? I only hear dripping," Navi said.

The fairy was hovering just behind him now, so he could not turn and look at her without carefully lowering his torch out of the way first.

He decided he must be imaging things, and moved forward once more. Drops of liquid rained down on him now, and he started to fear that the roof of the tunnel would collapse under the weight of the water.

He suddenly fell forward onto his knees in the water as the roaring sensation filled his ears again. He cried out; the noise seemed to be everywhere! It filled his head until he thought he would go mad.
"Stop!" He screamed, to no-one.

He let both his torch and his sword fall from his hands and drop into the water, the light extinguishing from the torch immediately.

"Link, what's wrong?" He heard Navi say distantly. "Get up!"

"I can't!" He tried to say, but before he could get the words out there was a crack in the ceiling and water poured down onto his head, the force battening him down to the ground. He couldn't move!

The water continued to drench him, the roaring in his ears growing louder and louder. Again he tried to get out from under the water, but all his strength was gone. He couldn't do it.

"Link!" He heard Navi scream. "Help me!"

He managed to turn his head and saw through the curtain of water that something had Navi, something was taking her away from him.

"I...I can't!" He gasped, feeling a sense of rage and frustration. "I can't move!"

"Link, you have to get up!"

"I CAN'T!" He screamed.

"You'll drown if you don't!"

"I deserve it!" He sobbed, defeated.
Suddenly, his head snapped to the side as the sound of a slap rang out. He opened his eyes.

He was lying in grass and mud, half submerged in water. Groggily, he raised his head and looked around him. He was in the middle of a storm, thunder booming above him and the rain coming down so fast and hard that it stung at his skin.

He glanced up, shielding his eyes with a hand, at the figure standing above him.
It was Malon, the farm girl. She was panting and had her right hand cupped into a fan, and Link realised she must have slapped him.

He sat up weakly, fighting against the force of the rain and the wind.

"What happened?" He shouted over the sound of the fury around them.

Malon leaned down so that she and him were face-to-face, so that she could be heard over the storm.

"You just...collapsed suddenly!" She yelled. "And then you wouldn't wake up, I was so worried!"

Link groaned and felt at his head. He had been dreaming...dreaming of...guilt immediately washed over him. But it hadn't happened anything like that. As for the voice he had heard near the end of the dream, it must have been Malon trying to wake him. He felt delirious.

"I think you've just lost a bit of blood," Malon went on, when he didn't speak.

Link was still lost in thought. It all came back to him-the fight with the wolves, saving Malon, then grabbing her hand and leading her and Epona into the woods to find shelter from the sudden storm that sprang up.

"How long was I out for?" He asked, still forced to yell.

"Five minutes, tops!" She replied.

A thought hit him. "Where's Epona?"

He knew something bad had happened when Malon paled.

"I'm sorry, Link! When you fainted I had to make sure you didn't drown, and Epona just bolted!" She explained, wringing her hands.

Link frowned. "But you used to own her!" He pointed out. "She should have stayed with you!"
"I think it's this storm, Link!" She yelled. "It's not natural!"

As if on cue, a streak of lightning peeled down to the ground, striking a near-by tree and causing it to slowly topple over to the ground.

Link scrambled to his feet automatically, doing a quick check to make sure he had all his equipment. He felt at his head, thankful that his hat was still there. He had grabbed it from where it had been blown off in the field before they had entered the forest.

"Let's go!" He said, taking Malon's hand once more in his.

They ran through the forest, Link leading grimly, dodging around trees and over creeping vines that littered the ground. The rain made the going perilous, and more then a few times he and Malon slipped on the sodden earth.

Link made sure never to let go of Malon's hand. The dream still haunted him. He had already let down one friend; he wouldn't let himself make the same mistake twice, he told himself.

They ran almost blindly for what seemed like an age, until Link sensed that they were nearing the heart of the forest. Around them the wind howled through the floor of the forest, whipping up leaves and dirt.

Twice more lightning struck near them, and Link had the horrible thought that it seemed the storm was specifically targeting them.

Finally, he stopped running, panting and out of breath. He bent over, his free hand resting on his knee, trying to ignore the sharp pain of a stitch in his side.

"The storm's following us," he rasped. "I don't know how, but it is. I don't know what to do." He admitted, wiping rain from his eyes.

His green hat was sitting askew on top of his head, flopped over one of his ears and heavy with absorbed rain water.

He glanced up at Malon, noting that her own hair was matted down from the rain, and saw that she was looking off into the trees with a confused expression on her face.
"There's light over there," she said loudly, pointing.

Link looked to where she was indicating and saw that there was a dim light shining through the trees, barely visible through the sheets of rain.

Still, instead of allowing his hopes to raise, he felt skeptical.

"I don't know," he told her. "It could be anything."
She raised an eyebrow at him, her teeth chattering from the cold. "Since when were you such a skeptic?" She stammered with a laugh. "Besides, we don't have a choice. Come on."

Now it was her turn to lead him through the trees, but as they drew nearer to the light's source Link brought out his sword and took the lead. He didn't really have the energy to fight off anything, but holding the sword made him feel safer.

As they cleared the last of the trees between them and the light, they entered a very small clearing, the sky above it still blocked off by the over-hanging branches of trees. There, sitting squat in the middle of the clearing was a small, wooden cabin; inside Link could see a lantern sitting by the window-the light they had seen.

"What in Hyrule..." Link muttered, taken aback. "Who would live way out here?"

Malon let go of his hand and ran forward to the door, before he could object. She hammered on the wood door with her hands.
"Hello!" She called. "Is anyone home? We need shelter!"

Link joined her at the door, feeling thankful that the roof of the cabin jutted out over the door, giving them shelter from the rain.

There was no answer from inside the house. Malon shot Link an uneasy look.
"Try the door," he suggested.

Malon hesitated, and then a loud bang of thunder sounded, making her shriek and twist the door knob hurriedly. The door opened, and they both entered the house quickly; Link shut the door behind him with relief.

He looked around the house. It was so small that it only contained the one room, and a quick glance told him that it was presently unoccupied. In one corner was a single, simple bed, and he was glad to see that a warm quilt lay invitingly over it. The only other items of furniture in the room was a small table with three old chairs seated around it, a bookshelf that was empty apart from what looked to be a flint, a rope and a compass, a barren fireplace, a rug, and a rudimentary stove.

Next to the fireplace there was a pile of wood for fire.

Link smiled faintly, and, turning back to the door, slid a wooden beam into the rings on either side of it, bolting it safely.

Malon eyed the door and turned to him. "What are you doing? I know it's safer that way, but what if whoever owns this place comes back and wants to get in?"

Link allowed his pack to fall to the floor and slid it next to the door with his boot, placing his shield near-by with some relief; he felt so much lighter without all his equipment.

"I'd be very surprised if any owner comes to this place," he explained to Malon, rubbing his shoulders with one hand and wincing at the pain. "I think this is a safe house that someone has set up. It's been stocked with some necessities for whoever needs to use this place in an emergency. The idea is that you can stay for as long as you want, but not for good, and when you leave it's your job to make sure the place is ready and stocked for the next traveler."

Malon hesitated, and indicated the lantern. "Then who lit that?"

Link limped over to the lantern and studied it. "I think it's enchanted. A simple spell would be enough to make sure that it lights itself every night, I'd say."

Suddenly over-come with fatigue, a dizzy spell hit him, making him sway on the spot, his vision whitening out.

"Link!"
He felt Malon's arms around his waste, and let himself be led over to the bed. He slumped down onto it and held his head.

"Sorry," he murmured, his vision returning. "Guess I'm pretty useless."

"Don't say that!"

He looked up into Malon's face properly for the first time that night. She was still dripping wet, but her eyes held a fiery quality to them that told him that here was a very strong girl.

He looked her over. Red hair adorned her round face, and her eyes were lively and light-brown. Her skin was very pale for someone who lived on a farm, but that had more to do with her red hair then anything else, he reflected. She wore a simple white dress with a small blue scarf around her neck.

Her figure had filled out since the last time he saw her too, he saw. Back then they had both been mere children, but now he saw that Malon had reached womanhood at an early age.

"How long has it been since we saw each other last?" He mused aloud.

Malon's eyes softened, and she smiled. " I think it's been about three years, Link."
Link blinked. Had it been that long?

She sat next to him on the bed and grinned at him. "I honestly thought I would see you again sooner, but I guess that's the price you pay for being a hero."

Link looked away. Three years. He had spent three years fighting and hurting, and what had he actually accomplished?

Malon must have noticed his bad mood returning, for she went on talking. "Epona's looking well. She was attached to you the first day you came to the farm, I remember," she said fondly.

Link allowed himself a small smile. "I remember. We were both around the same height back then." He looked at Malon. "And I remember you taught me your family's song for my Ocarina."
Malon looked delighted. "You do remember everything. What strikes me the most when I think back to when I met you is how awed I felt by you...the hero of Hyrule, hanging around me, a stupid farm girl!"

"Hey, I felt nervous back then too," Link admitted. I still do, he realised.

Outside, the rain buffeted the cabin with sudden intenseness, and Link felt relieved once more that they had managed to find some shelter.

"Oh, I was going to ask you..." Malon spoke up nervously. "When we met back then you had a fairy with you, I remember. Navi, wasn't it? Where is she?"

Link froze, and looked into Malon's eyes. He didn't see any trace of accusation there, just a polite curiosity, but the question chilled him none-the-less.

He stood up quickly. "I have to make a fire, or we'll both freeze tonight," he said woodenly.

He set about mechanically stocking the fireplace with wood, and then used the flint from the bookshelf to strike up a flame after several failed attempts. He could sense that Malon had not moved from the bed, and felt her eyes on the back of his head.

The fire roared up, the wood being of a good type for fire-making.

Link leaned back on his hands and enjoyed the warmth of the fire, trying to block out the guilt he was feeling. He felt a pang of worry when he remembered that Epona was still out there somewhere. He hoped that she had the sense to stay away from the forest until the storm cleared.

Malon came over to the fire and sat next to him, but did not speak.

They sat in companionable silence, listening to the wood crackle in the fire and to the sound of the storm raging outside.

Link jumped as he felt Malon's hand on his ankle, rolling up the base of his trews.
"What are you-" He began, but stopped as he looked down at his leg to see that blood was trickling down it from puncture wounds in his calf.

Carefully, Malon rolled his pant leg up and over the wound, so that his lower leg was exposed. They both inspected the wound.

"Could have been worse?" Link suggested.

Malon shook her head. "Maybe, but now we've got to worry about infection, or gangrene. I don't see any fabric in the wound, but bits of clothing sticking to cuts is usually the easiest and most common way that wounds get infected."

Link raised an eyebrow. "You sure you're just a farm girl?" He said wryly.

She ignored him and got up, searching around the room. She came back from the bookshelf with a triumphant look, and held out a roll of bandages and a small vial of disinfectant.

Taking his leg gently in her hand, she carefully applied the disinfectant to the wound. Link winced at the burning sensation, but after Malon had wrapped the wound up in a bandage the stinging went away.

She looked him over. "You have a lot of other cuts and bruises, but I think this bite on your leg is the main thing you have to keep an eye on."

Link thanked her.

She laughed pleasantly, and suddenly she seemed like the young girl he had met those years ago. "Why are you thanking me? You saved me, remember?"

He shrugged, not being able to accept the praise. "I led the wolves to you in the first place."

"Maybe, but it was my fault for being out there on my own in the first place." She retorted, and then looked away quickly.
Link sensed she didn't want to be questioned, but he couldn't help himself.

"So what were you doing out there? Your farm must be, what, a couple of day's travel away?" He asked.

She heaved a sigh-she had obviously been waiting for him to question her.

"I was running away, if you must know."

"Not because I was being badly treated at home or anything," she added quickly when she saw the startled look on his face. "But it's just...my father's not the owner of the farm anymore. One day we received a message from Princess Zelda saying that ownership of the farm was to be immediately handed over to our farmhand, Ingo."

Link remembered Ingo: a sniveling, weasel of a man.

"Couldn't have been from Zelda," he said. "She's not like that for one, and everyone knows that she went missing."
Again, he felt the guilt.

Malon nodded. "I know. Ganandorf had a hand in it, I bet. He's been slowly taking over power in Hyrule for ages...oh. But I guess you know all this," she said sheepishly.

"So why did you run away?" Link asked again.

"I couldn't do any good on the farm. My father doesn't have the courage to stand up to Ingo and try to get his farm back, so I decided that I would go to someplace like Kakariko Village and earn enough money to maybe buy the farm back, or something..."

She suddenly looked on the verge of tears. "I didn't really have a good plan, okay? I...I just knew I had to leave." She paused, biting her lip in an effort to try to keep composed.

"I left my father a note, and I abandoned him!" She cried suddenly.

Tears slowly slid down her face, and she hid her face behind her hands, sobbing quietly.

Fortunately, Link thought, he knew enough about guilt to be able to comfort her a little.

He put an arm around her shoulder and drew her in close to him, his boldness shocking himself.

Malon stiffened, drawing in a shocked breath, but then she relaxed and sank her head into his shoulder, crying softly.

"You did what you had to do, I think," Link told her. "Sometimes I think it takes more courage to run away from something then to face it, especially if you know you can do no good."

He remembered that Malon only had a father taking care of her-what happened to the mother he did not know, and was not about to go snooping around to find out.

So it must be especially hard for her, leaving behind the only family member she has, he thought.

"I'll help you," he stated suddenly. "Whether I have to escort you to Kakariko Village and help you get set up there, or if I have to kick Ingo out of your farm myself, you won't be alone."

She drew back and looked at him with surprise in her eyes. "You can't do that! You must have far more important tasks to complete other then helping someone like me."

"Not at the moment, it just so happens."

She wiped away her tears and looked at the ground. "No, I can't drag you into this petty mess as well. I won't allow myself to."

"Look, I'm helping you whether you like it or not," he said firmly.

She looked like she was about to argue some more, but then seemed to change her mind. "Okay, if you feel you have to. Um, I need to think more on what I'm going to do, but I feel too drained now. I need sleep," she said apologetically.

"Yeah, me too," Link admitted.

The rain was still caming down, and had only lessened slightly since they had entered the cabin.

"You take the bed," Link said.

"From the tone of your voice I'd guess that arguing with you would be pointless, so I'll just give in and do that," she said, rubbing at her eyes.

She got into the bed, nestling under the covers, while Link dimmed the lantern.
"I think I saw some spare cushions and sheets on a shelf back there," she told him sleepily, yawning.

Within minutes she was fast asleep.

Link quietly un-sheathed his sword and walked to the door. He stepped next to the door and sat with his back to the wall, his sword on the floor in arms-reach.

He felt sapped of all energy, but made himself hold his eyes open and keep alert. It would be a long night.

Outside, the storm raged.

Ah, this was a hard chapter to write. It's longer then the first chapter simply because I had to include so much stuff. Someone left a review for the first chapter saying something like "Link's not alone, he has Navi. You do know that, right?"
Yep, I did. This chapter gives a hint to what has become of the fairy.

Also, a quick note: this story differs from the game mainly in that in the game Link misses seven years of his life between where he's a child and an adult, while in this story I've let him grow up naturally.
Some other small differences include that, in the game, Link only gets Epona from Malon when he's an adult, while in the story I got him to recieve Epona at a younger age. The story is set sometime in the period that you don't get to see in the game, so I'm sure there are a lot of small mistakes in there. :s

Lastly, a huge thank-you to everyone who has left reviews. I'm glad that this story has been fairly well-recieved, and look forward to writing more of it. :)

I'm sure I've forgotten a lot. Oh well, see you next chapter!