Chapter 4 is here, and is up early for a special reason which I will explain after the chapter.
I don't own any of these characters, except for the witch; she's original. Long chapter ahead!
The witch laughed, her high-pitched cackle echoing off the tall plains which lay around them.
Link gritted his teeth and held his sword at the ready, but the pain was distracting him; his left shoulder was on fire, and the wounds on his leg must have opened again, for he could feel blood trickling down his ankle.
Stay alert, he told himself, blinking his eyes to try to clear the fog that had started to envelop them.
"You are a fool," the woman snarled nastily, revealing sharp, canine teeth. She advanced forward a couple of steps, standing next to the tent now.
"You asked what I did to Malon?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "I did nothing to her. In fact, at this very moment I imagine that the real Malon is safely back at her farm, fast asleep, and has probably already forgotten about you."
Link's head drooped, and he glanced towards the tent, where the girl he had thought to be Malon was still lying unconscious.
"She's a...fake then?" He whispered. He shook his head angrily. "That's impossible!"
The woman laughed once more, a short bark. "Impossible? You've obviously never seen a proper witch before, child." She sneered.
"Tell me how you did it, then," Link prompted. "How you managed to create something that looks and feels just like the real Malon."
He wanted to know how such a thing could be done, but at the same time he was also desperately stalling for time, so he could take stock of the situation.
He was wounded and dizzy, and only had his sword with him-the rest of his equipment was in the tent. The woman stood some meters away, past the spent camp-fire and next to the tent. Behind Link stood a tall, solitary tree, its branches over-hanging above his head. Behind the tree, the river ran softly.
He was alone-Epona was no-where to be seen, and he felt a pang of panic at that; had the witch done something with her, or had she just wandered away to graze? He could call her with his Ocarina, but of course that was also with his equipment.
The witch tossed back her long blonde hair with a hand, and grinned at him. "Normally I can't be bothered speaking too much with my prey, but since you're a...special case, and as you're going to die soon anyway, I will tell you what you need to hear."
She walked forward again, in a slow leisurely manner, circling the remnants of the fire.
"My name is Eliza, and obviously I work for Lord Ganondorf. I have been trailing you for quite some time now, with orders to finish you off, but you're a tough target-you don't stay in one place for more then a night, and you have a rather annoying horse that can speed you away to safety at any moment." The woman orated, in a bored tone.
Link glared at her, but he was at least glad to hear that his system of hiding himself had been working.
"So, it was with a bit of luck that I came upon you two nights ago, as you saved a young girl I did not recognize from wolves. I remained hidden, however, and instead sent out a storm to either incapacitate you, or to make sure you stayed in the one place." The woman went on, casting her eyes around the campsite.
"I did not want to attack you openly just yet, so I stayed back and eaves-dropped on your conversation with the girl, this Malon. Outside the cabin, I found out that she was from Lon Lon Ranch, and that you obviously cared for her somewhat. That's when I formed my plan."
If only I had my bow and arrows with me, Link thought furiously. Then I could shoot one straight into that smug face of hers.
"It was a rather simple plan, too! You see, by using my magic, and just by collecting a few samples of a person-say, their hair- I can create an exact replica, and fill it with the soul of something that will obey my every command."
Eliza laughed, holding her forehead with one hand. "Don't you think that it was odd for Malon to write you a note and leave, and then suddenly change her mind and come running back to you?" She stopped, and looked at Link, her eyes widening and her smile lengthening. "Oh...you didn't think that she came back for you, did you?" She asked, her face shining with mirth.
Link remained silent, but inside he felt the start of a searing fury rise within him.
"That's priceless!" Eliza howled. "No, dear boy, what really happened was this: Malon, the stupid girl, left of her own accord- I couldn't believe my luck when I saw her leave the cabin! After that, it was just a simple matter of using a blast of wind to blow some loose hairs from her head, then cast the spell, and I had my very own Malon." She grinned at him. "The Malon that came back to you claiming to have changed her mind was my clone, who I had instructed to kill or wound you as best she could."
Her eyes flicked up to his shoulder wound, and she snorted. "I had hoped she would be able to do more then that little flesh wound, but oh well. Of course, making the clone travel with you also meant that you weren't exactly in any hurry to get anywhere, and that you would stop in places and linger where you would normally hurry on."
"Shut up!" Link screamed, unable to bear it any longer. "So you tricked me-you tried to kill me with a stupid clone while you hid like a coward, but guess what? You failed."
Eliza blinked at him, and all humor slid from her face quickly.
"I failed, did I?" She repeated coldly. "You really are an idiot. Don't you notice that light-headed feeling, the way your vision is starting to cloud? The tip of the knife that stabbed you had been coated in poison."
At her words Link's heart fell. His vision had been fading in and out as he listened to Eliza speak, but he had hoped that it was only from his wounds and fatigue.
"Don't look so alarmed," Eliza laughed. "The poison is not meant to kill you-only weaken you enough so that I may kill you." She stopped, and held a hand in front of her mouth in mock-horror.
"Oh...I guess that means you die anyway, doesn't it?" She shrugged. "Okay, be alarmed then."
Re-evaluate your situation, Link told himself, desperately trying to remain calm. You have been poisoned, and are weakening. How long until you lose your movement?
Not long, he decided, and ran forward at Eliza with a burst of speed that was fed by his rage, lunging his sword towards her.
The witches' eyes widened in fear, and she held out her hands in a hopeless attempt to block the blow.
Link's strength left him only a few feet in front of the witch, and he dropped to his knees with a grunt, his sword sliding from his fingers.
Eliza lowered her hands, looking relieved. "Such speed! You would have killed me, had you not been poisoned," she gloated, lowering her face in front of his.
On his knees, Link struggled to move, to even lift a finger, but nothing happened.
Eliza circled him, and with one hand knocked his cap off, and ran a hand through his blonde hair, massaging his scalp.
"You look so much better without that stupid hat," she scolded.
Link glared, wishing he could slap her hand away.
"Do you know what I find most ironic about all this?" Eliza mused, stroking her chin with her free hand. "Ganondorf has been sending his men out to kill you for a while now, but you've evaded everything. But what finally brings you down? Why, you think some farm girl has the hots for you, when it's really only a mindless puppet!" She shrieked with laughter.
Suddenly, all the anger Link was feeling left him, to be replaced by an extreme sorrow. He had thought Malon liked him, didn't he? And he had been glad...glad to have found someone who cared for him and seemed to understand him.
Tears stung his eyes.
But it had all been an act. Malon hadn't been there since the cabin that morning, had never wrapped her arms around him on the back of Epona, or handed him apples to eat. It had all been a disgusting clone, some mindless soul sent to trap him.
Of course he had never kissed Malon, he told himself. That wouldn't happen with the real Malon-the real Malon left him to his duty and went home. The real Malon was safe, but that thought didn't give him that much comfort. He was about to die.
He sighed, and closed his eyes. So this was it. For the past few years he had been wondering when it was all going to end.
Eliza stopped massaging his head and walked around to his front again. "I can see you're upset- I don't really blame you. Not that I can sympathize with you too much though. With my body I've never had any problems getting attention from men."
She turned to the tent suddenly, as if an idea had just struck her. "I know what will be a fitting end for you. I'll get my clone to help me kill you!"
She skipped-yes, actually skipped, Link thought with disgust-into the tent, and was in there for a few minutes before she came back out leading Malon-or the thing that was disguised as Malon, Link reminded himself.
He looked at the girl in disgust. It was still hard for him to accept that it wasn't Malon-the girl looked exactly like Malon should look-identical eyes, hair, body...
She smiled nastily at him, however, and said gleefully, "I see my master has brought you up to speed." In her hand was the knife that she had stabbed him with earlier. "I have been instructed to draw this knife across your neck, where you will die gargling on your own life blood."
A spasm of fear swept through Link. The thought of having his throat cut filled him with horror, and he vainly tried to move his body, but could only get one of his fingers to move.
It was a start, but he had no time left.
Regardless, he concentrated on wiggling his fingers, while the Malon clone stepped forward, grinning, the knife gleaming in the moonlight.
Eliza stood behind her, looking half-bored with everything and gazing up at the sky.
The clone reached him and raised his chin with her hands, gazing into his eyes. "So sorry it had to end like this, Link," the clone mocked him, stroking his chin with her fingers. "Here's something to remember me by..."
She leaned forward and kissed him, and he was powerless to even move his head away. He tried not to enjoy the kiss, which turned out not to be too hard to achieve.
Suddenly he sensed he could move his mouth, and managed to bite down on the clone's lip, but not as hard as he would have liked.
"Ow!" The Malon imposter shrieked, backing away and clutching at her lip. She drew back a hand and slapped his face. It only hurt him slightly, and reminded him of when the real Malon slapped him.
He laughed lowly, despite everything. At least he had managed to perform one last defiant act. He could also move all his fingers and his hands now; just not his arms or anything else, but he was working on them.
"What kind of evil spirit slaps, anyway?" He mocked.
"Ignore him, and just kill him already!" Eliza snapped, tapping her foot.
"Right." The girl lowered the knife to his throat. This is it, Link thought, bracing himself for what would be the worst pain of his life.
He looked up into the girl's eyes, thinking that it would be the last thing he would probably see. Briefly, the memory of the imposter and him riding on Epona came to him again, and he tried to brush it aside-why did he keep remembering that stupid ride with Epona?
Then, in a flash, it came to him, as the knife began to cut into the flesh of his neck, dripping blood.
"Malon!" He shouted, and the knife halted.
"What are you yelling about now?" Eliza snapped.
He felt like laughing suddenly, despite everything.
"You're Malon." He said simply, watching the confused expression on the face of the girl before him.
She turned to Eliza, frowning. "What's he going on about?" She asked.
Eliza glared. "Ignore him, he's probably lost too much blood, and it's making him crazy. He still thinks you're Malon."
The girl laughed and turned back to Link, steadying the knife on his neck once more.
Link looked the girl in the eyes once more. "Do you remember how we rode Epona?" He asked.
"Shut up, you!" The girl snapped.
"Do you remember?" He repeated, more strongly.
"Yes, of course. Who cares? I was acting, okay? I didn't enjoy the stupid ride, and I hate that horse!" The girl exploded.
"Epona knows people. Magic or not, she'd be able to smell and sense who and what someone really is. And you led Epona to the cabin yesterday. She wouldn't let anyone but me or Malon do that! She would also have bucked off anyone else who tried to ride her, especially if that person was evil!" He cried triumphantly.
Malon drew a startled breath, and looked at him wildly.
"No..." She stammered. "I can't be her. I'm..."
"You never went back to the farm!" Link continued, speaking fast. "Eliza bewitched you into thinking you're something that you're not! No magic is strong enough to replicate an entire person!" He was thinking clearly now, and the mist before his eyes was thinning.
"He's lying!" Eliza screamed, marching over. Malon swayed on the spot, her eyes diluting, the knife limp in her hand.
"I'll do it myself!" Eliza roared, taking the knife from Malon and turning to Link.
"Goodbye, child," she snarled.
A guttural roar spewed from Link, and his sword swept through the air, towards Eliza's mid-section. As he had been trying to snap Malon out of the spell, he had also managed to regain feeling in enough parts of his body to lift his sword to attack.
Before it reached Eliza, the sword sliced into the leg of something else, and before Link knew it Malon was standing in front of the witch, as a human shield.
The girl screamed, and the sword arced around, past her leg. Eliza laughed triumphantly as Link, thinking quickly, dropped the sword to the ground and managed to rise, making his sluggish body run past the two women, towards the tent.
He knew that Malon's cut was too shallow to have hurt the girl severely, but also knew that he had a bigger problem: if Malon was, as he expected, the real person, then she was still under Eliza's control, which meant that he would not be able to attack Eliza without injuring or killing Malon.
He risked a glance over his shoulder and saw to his alarm that Eliza was raising her palm at him. His eyes widened as she mumbled an incantation, and a bolt of lightning shot out of her hand and streaked through the air towards him, shrieking like a rocket.
He made his weak body run faster, and managed to leap into the tent as the lightning struck the ground behind him with a boom and a fizz.
Getting up painfully, his head swarming, he searched around frantically in the tent for something to fight Eliza with. Every weapon of his he spotted was useless, though!
"Link!" Roared the witch from outside. "I refuse to kill you with my magic, for that is far too quick and painless! I'm sending your friend in to retrieve you-you can kill her if you want."
Of all the lousy, no-good tricks, Link fumed to himself, still casting around for anything he could use. It was hopeless anyway.
He couldn't hope to knock Malon out again without causing her injury, and any weapon he took from the tent would be stripped from him.
An idea came to him just as the tent flaps opened. He grabbed what he needed as Malon entered the tent, blood dripping from the cut in her leg and scowling.
She pointed his own sword at him. "Out. Now." She commanded simply.
Link shrugged and managed to duck past her with his items. He began to walk towards Eliza, who was waiting with her back to the single tree, her arms crossed.
Malon caught up to him and stripped the bow and the quiver of arrows he had been holding off of him to the ground.
He shrugged. "Oh well, I couldn't have hit her from here anyway."
"What is that?" Malon asked, not seeming to care what he was saying, and indicating the last object he was holding.
"This?" Link asked innocently, and raised the Ocarina to his lips.
Before Malon could react, he began to play Epona's Song, the slow and melancholy tune that Malon had taught him all those years ago.
The girl paused, one hand stretched out in the act of taking the Ocarina off of him. A strange look passed across her eyes. Link continued to play.
Suddenly, Malon shook her head and slapped the Ocarina out of his hands, ending the song.
"What are you trying to pull?" She scowled. "Keep walking!"
The tip of the sword was prodded painfully into his back, and Link had no choice but to keep walking, over to Eliza and the tall tree.
He felt utterly defeated. He had hoped that the music would have stirred some memory in Malon, and awaken her from the spell, but it hadn't had much effect. Epona had also not come running up from anywhere, which told him that the horse was in danger-trapped, injured, or dead.
His shoulders slumped. Even if Epona had ridden up, he couldn't exactly just jump onto her back and ride off- Eliza would kill Malon for sure if he did. He couldn't trade his life for hers. Then again, he thought with a sick feeling as he reached the tree. Eliza might kill her regardless after he was dead.
Eliza shook her head, and forced Link to the ground on his knees once again, in front of the tree.
"You are such a handful!" She scolded. She took Link's sword from Malon and studied it.
"A beautiful weapon." She commented. "Much better for killing you with, now that I think about it."
Link closed his eyes and rested his head back against the tree. A slight breeze ruffled through his hair.
"Before you kill me," he said, opening his eyes. "Tell me that she's the real Malon."
Eliza's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "And hearing if she is or not will make you happy?" She asked quizzically.
"Yes."
"Then she is Malon. I'm surprised you saw through my trick." She said, almost sadly.
The young witch turned to Malon. "Back off and give me room to finish him off," she commanded. "I'll kill you after he's dead."
Malon nodded, her expression blank, and moved away, limping from the cut in her leg. Link kept his eyes on her retreating back, feeling a fury like he had never felt before.
"You can't do that!" He yelled. "She has nothing to do with this!"
"I can do what I want, young man." Eliza sneered. "And now you will die."
Link looked Eliza in the eye defiantly.
"I'm ready." He stated.
The witch lifted his steel sword with two hands over her head, the blade pointing downwards like a spear, ready to stab it down through his body.
"You will be a cancer on Ganondorf no more," she whispered, and plunged the sword down.
As she did so there was a twang, followed a second later by a thud.
Eliza's body jerked, the aim of the sword altered, and Link rolled out of the way just as the sword plunged into the earth where he had been kneeling.
Eliza looked down mutedly at her chest, her shock almost preventing her from registering what she was seeing: the tip of an arrowhead poking out from the center of her chest.
Link came to his feet, panting and weak, as Eliza looked up at him blankly.
"How..."She asked weakly. She coughed, and blood sprayed out from her mouth.
Wordlessly, Link pointed over Eliza's shoulder, and the witch turned slowly to see Malon standing some distance away near the remnant's of the fire, Link's bow in her hands and a fire in her eyes.
Eliza sank to her knees with a groan and slumped against the base of the tree.
"I don't...understand," she managed to say, as Link retrieved his sword from the ground. "How did she break out of my spell? And when?"
Link said nothing, as Malon limped over to the two of them, the bow still clutched firm in her hands. When she reached Link he held out a hand awkwardly to her, but she brushed it aside and sank her body into his, sobbing.
Link stroked her hair gently, keeping his eyes on the witch in case she tried anything. Malon brushed away her tears and turned to Eliza, anger radiating from her eyes.
"I broke out of the spell when I heard Epona's Song," she said. "But I knew I couldn't help Link right then-we were both injured, and would probably just be mowed down by your spells. So I pretended I was still under your influence."
Eliza gaped at her. "You brat!" She snarled. Her eyes flicked to Link. "And you knew this?" She demanded.
Link shook his head. "I didn't think it worked, honestly. I was ready to die. But I had brought my bow and arrows out with me in case I could get Malon back to normal- I figured she'd have to be a pretty good shot, being a country girl."
Eliza uttered a string of abuse. "When I get this arrow out of me, I'm going to-"
"You won't do anything," Malon snapped, interrupting. She moved away from Link, still glaring at Eliza. "Kill her." She said.
Eliza's eyes widened. "You wouldn't! Not the hero of Hyrule," she said, spitting the words.
Link gripped his sword. "You're too dangerous to let live. If you hadn't brought Malon into this, I might have let you live. But not now. I have to make sure you never hurt her again."
Eliza screamed in rage as Link plunged the sword into her body with all his might, forcing the sword through her and into the trunk of the tree. Her body twitched, and then her head sank forward, the light in her blue eyes fading.
Link panted, staring at the body of the woman that had sought to kill him and Malon. He turned to Malon, pain showing in his eyes.
"I'm really, really sorry-" he started, but Malon wrapped her arm around his and led him away from the tree.
"I don't want to hear anything at the moment," she whispered, limping. "Let's just get out of here, quickly...oh. Do you...need your sword back?"
Link shook his head, frowning. "No. Leave the sword there-let it be a warning to anyone else who attempts what she did." He managed a small smile, a miraculous effort. "Besides, I need a new sword anyway."
They packed up the tent and gathered all their items, and then went looking for Epona.
After ten minutes of searching the surrounding plains they found her, lying on her side in the grass and not moving.
Malon burst out crying when she spotted the body, and Link sprang forward quickly to the horses' side.
"Link..." Malon moaned, collapsing to the grass on her knees. "I can't handle this. She's...
"...going to be a pain-in-the-ass getting up," Link finished for her grumpily, and she looked up at him, confused and bewildered.
He turned and gave her a grin. "She's alive, she's just been poisoned. Look; she's breathing shallowly."
Malon's crying resumed, but this time it was with relief. Link gazed around the horse at the ground, and chuckled.
"Apple cores: someone's been taking advantage of her fondness for apples, I think."
Malon put a hand to her mouth, shocked. "Link, I think...I think I might have done that. The memory's faint, but I seem to recall injecting poison into the apples and..."she choked up. "And leading Epona out here and feeding her the apples after you had gone into the tent!" She bawled. "How could I? Epona trusted me completely, and I poisoned her!"
Link patted her head, at the same time trying to think of how to get Epona un-drugged. "It's not your fault: you were under someone's control."
Malon continued to cry, however, and Link had to leave her and fetch water for Epona.
After an hour of splashing the horse with water and waiting for the poison to wear off, she finally woke up, standing up shakily and looking around at her surroundings in bewilderment. She nuzzled at Link's hand, frantically worried, and Link, laughing, had to calm the horse down.
"Link, will you...sleep with me tonight?" Malon asked him while blushing, later on.
Link stared at her, his suspicions rising."What?"
He, Malon and Epona were in a small clearing, surrounded by trees. Link preferred trees to open plains; he felt connected to them and they reminded him of his first home. They had walked away from the site where Eliza's body lay, until they felt they were far enough away to be able to set up camp with some peace of mind.
Now, Malon blinked at him. "Oh, I don't mean like that!" She said, growing even redder. "It's just that I don't think I can go to sleep by myself, without you next to me. You make me feel safe."
"But because of me you were almost killed!" Link protested.
Malon shook her head. "None of this mess is your fault, believe it or not. Come lie next to me and I'll explain."
Link did what she asked, crawling into the tent next to her and lying down, his body practically screaming its thanks at him.
"I've been thinking about it for the past couple of hours, and I think I know what happened now..." She began.
"Good. Because I don't," Link mumbled.
She laughed. "Eliza tricked you by saying I was a clone, but that was a lie, of course. And she also said that she just happened to come across you when you were saving me from the wolves, but that was just another lie to make the bigger lie seem plausible."
Link scratched his head through his hat, now back on his head where it belonged. "So what did happen, and why were you in the field that night?"
"Remember how I told you that I was running away from my farm? Well, that was true, but I believe that Eliza must have picked me to be bait from the very start. I think she gave me that extra mental push I needed to run away, because I remember leaving the farm suddenly that night, and walking and walking until I reached a particular spot." Her brow furrowed. "Then I just stopped, and waited, and then all of a sudden you were flying past me on Epona and the wolves were attacking. I didn't want to tell you the whole truth-that I didn't know exactly why I was in the field, because I thought I was just going a bit crazy, to be honest."
Link nodded. "I suppose that makes sense. But what about that morning when you wrote the note and left, and then came back? I mean, I know that Eliza made you turn back, but if you were half under her control why did you leave in the first place?"
"I left because I really didn't want to use you for my selfish needs. It's hard to explain, but I think that I was only under Eliza's control for some of the time, where I'd come to somewhere not knowing what I've been doing." Malon said, and as she spoke she wriggled her body closer to Link.
"So how much of what you did and said was you, and not Eliza manipulating you?" Link asked awkwardly, afraid of what the answer would be.
"Almost all of it was me, Link! I remember the cabin, and talking to you, and riding on Epona and eating apples, and setting up camp and then lying next to you in the tent. There are just a whole lot of blanks in my memory." She said, sighing.
There was still one thing that confused Link. "If you weren't aware of when you were being controlled, then how did you realise what was happening straight away when I broke the spell?"
Malon looked pained. "When Eliza made me attack you, I was aware of what was happening- I think maybe because I knew that I really didn't want to hurt you, and I was trying to fight it. But I just couldn't! It was like something else was in my body, and I could only look on hopelessly. It was so confusing...most of the time I thought I was something else- a clone working for Eliza, but at the same time I could feel a part of me-of Malon-struggling to come out. And I could feel the spell slip slightly when you told me that you knew it was really me."
Link nodded, and then remembered that he had wanted to ask her something else.
He felt even more awkward now. "Um...what do you remember about the tent?" He asked quietly.
She reddened, and looked away. "I don't really want to talk about that, because it's embarrassing, but I remember asking you if you had a girlfriend, and then I remembered that I sort of felt like kissing you...and then suddenly I was kissing you, but didn't know why. The rest after that is hazy, like I told you."
Link nodded, but was too busy thinking of what Malon had just said. "So you...wanted to kiss me?" He asked shyly.
"Well, yeah..." she admitted. "But I wouldn't have done it normally, so...so don't count that as our first kiss or anything, okay?" She said, struggling with her words.
Link thought that the way she had said it made it seem like there would be other first kisses, but he decided not to say anything. He lay back and pulled Malon close to him-it was nothing sexual, he just needed her close, and still felt too shaken to deal properly with all that had happened.
Malon snuggled next to him. "We'll speak more about it later...I just need to sleep now."
"Me too."
As Link drifted off to sleep, his last thoughts did not dwell on the witch who had tried to kill him, nor on any other nasty occurrence. Instead, he only felt relief that Malon was real, that she was safe, and maybe most importantly, that she was lying next to him.
I could put "The End" here, and leave it like that, leaving it up to people's imaginations what would happen with Link and Malon. But that would suck, so I won't. :p There are a couple of things that need to be tied up, and I'm having fun writing this, so it will go on for hopefully a lot more.
This chapter did sort of wrap up the first four chapters nicely however, so think of it as an end to Part 1 of the story. Kind of a sad chapter, really, but everything worked out in the end.
The reason I made myself write this chapter ealier then I had planned and get it up on the site? It's my birthday tomorrow, so I thought I would try to get a chapter up as a way to celebrate.
I'm twenty now, nooo! No longer a teen! I don't feel mature enough for twenty...sigh.
I'll stop whinging though, to mention that a good birthday present would be some reviews! ("You're a monster!" The reader says). Hehe, sorry. :p
Oh, I've decided to bump the story up to an "M" rating, just in case. If you're worried about the higher rating, be aware that it's just there because the story is and might get a bit violent, but there still won't be any swearing or anything.
I want to thank a few of my readers especially: DesertQueen, Rynada and BabyGurl278. You gals (assuming you're all female, which I'm pretty sure:p) are awesome, and have each leftreviews for all three of the chapters I had up. Thanks very much!
I need to do a shout-out for a Link story by Robbo the Fantasia '92, which is called "The Legend of Zelda: The Immortal Orchestra". The guy's a good writer, and it's a great read, but he's gotten no reviews, except the ones I've left, which I think sucks. So help him out if you can...
Rynada also has a cute and amusing short story up about Cuccos, so check that out as well if you want a chuckle.
Okay, think I've finished plugging other people's stories now. :p Thanks once again to all my readers and reviewers, and stay tuned in the future for more of Link's Trials.