The girl awoke to almost total darkness, disoriented and afraid. At first she couldn't comprehend just why she was feeling fear, and then a montage of memories arose in her mind-of witches, storms, control and death.
Gasping, she struggled to sit up, her heart beating wildly in her chest. She looked around her, and saw that she was lying in a tent. Panic filled her.
The witch, Eliza, was outside, killing Link, and soon she would come to kill her too, frying her with magic. She had to escape!
Before she could move, however, her tired brain remembered that Eliza was dead, so it wasn't possible for the witch to be outside, waiting to kill her.
She gazed around the tent again, her vision adjusting to the darkness, and she spotted the still form of Link lying next to her, dead asleep, his chest rising and falling slightly from his breathing.
Clutching at her chest with one hand, she tried to calm herself.
Get a grip, Malon! She told herself sternly. You just woke up confused, that's all. Your safe now. Safe.
Yes, I am safe. She realised, glancing once again at Link with admiration.
The poor boy was exhausted, and must have been drained of all his strength; Malon suspected that he would be out for quite some time.
She lay back down, looking up at the roof of the tent and allowing her mind to focus. She must have only been asleep for around five hours at the most, she guessed.
She shuddered. Eliza had attacked them only yesterday, hadn't she? Not even a full day had passed...
Even the thought of the witch filled her with fear, loathing, and disgust. She gritted her teeth as she remembered how she had been literally used, made into some twisted puppet for the insane woman to use in her attempt to take Link's life.
In a flash, her mind focused on the moment she had limped away from Link and Eliza, and suddenly it was as if she was back there again...
Faster...go faster! Link's going to die!
She cursed the wound in her leg which was prohibiting her any real speed. Up ahead, she could see the bow and arrows lying on the ground, and hurried as fast as she could, at the same time not wanting to run and alert the witch that she was no longer under her spell.
"I can do what I want, young man." Malon heard Eliza say distantly, over by the tree. "And now you will die."
Malon's heart leapt to her mouth-she was out of time! But she was now at the bow, and was not going to give up.
Bending quickly, she snatched up the bow, and fumbled with an arrow, trying to set it to the bow with shaking hands.
"I'm ready." She heard Link say defiantly.
No! No, Link! She thought. Fight it! Fight her!
She could tell that Link had given up, though, and that he was prepared to die. And it was all her fault!
Anguish and rage filled her, and she lifted the bow, aiming it with one eye closed at the back of Eliza, the witch's cape swirling in the wind.
Her hands shook, causing her aim to shift sideways. She gritted her teeth. The bow was drawn back, the arrow quivering in her grip.
Eliza raised Link's own sword high above her head, readying the killing blow.
Malon tried to steady her aim, feeling hopeless. She knew she had only one shot, and that she should have fired a couple of seconds ago.
"You will be a cancer on Ganondorf no more," she barely heard Eliza whisper to her hero.
Fire! FIRE! Now! She screamed at herself. The pressure was too much...she was going to miss!
Eliza's body stiffened as she dropped the sword, and Malon swung the bow around and released the arrow with a snap.
Her mind back in the present, she sat up once more in the tent, her body suddenly shaking, and clutched at her stomach.
She suddenly felt like throwing up. After she had released the arrow, she had almost thought she had missed her target completely.
Once she saw that the arrow had pierced right into the back of the witch however, she felt ecstatic, and would never forget Link's eyes moving to her and widening in shock and disbelief.
But...she clutched more tightly at her stomach, doubling over as she sat. She could have missed so easily, and Link would now be dead. She took another look at the boy, his mouth slightly open as he breathed easily, his body taking a much-needed rest.
Not only that, Malon continued to think, but she now had blood on her hands. She had shot an arrow right through someone, and then later had killed that person.
She could not lie to herself about what happened; she had killed Eliza. It was she who had told Link with malice to kill the witch, so even while Link had plunged his sword through Eliza, it was still her fault.
If she wanted to, she could have found some way to get Link to leave Eliza how she was- incapacitated- and they could have just left.
But she had felt angry about being used, about being controlled, and in her rage she had demanded the satisfaction of the witch's death.
Unable to bear the cramped tent any longer, and suddenly feeling hot and dizzy, she scrambled outside into the cool night air and hurriedly took in gulps of fresh air until her nausea passed.
Tears slowly started to roll down her cheeks.
She was only fourteen! And yet she had already almost been killed, had already killed!
The tears started to come faster, and her body shook with her crying. She stared up at the clusters of stars in the heavens above, sparkling innocently, and sobbed loudly.
"I'm sorry, papa!" She whispered, for she suddenly had the bizarre notion that her father somehow already knew what she had done, and hated her for it.
Hadn't she only been with her father several days ago, collecting eggs from their Cuccos and discussing trivial matters like whether to sell one of their old horses that season, or wait for the next?
She sobbed more loudly, just for the hell of it: she figured that if she let it all out now, had a good cry, then she would be okay for when Link woke up, and would not embarrass herself.
She chuckled slightly, and suddenly she was laughing as well as crying.
I just killed for him! She told herself. And now I'm worried about what he might think if he saw me crying?
Her crying finally died down, and, wiping her eyes, she returned to the tent and lied down once more. Tomorrow she resolved to try to go back to her usual, cheerful self; she would get through this, somehow.
When she next woke, sunlight was streaming in through the tent, and the birds chirped noisily in the near-by trees. She sat up, rubbing at her eyes, and was surprised to find an empty space next to her where Link had been sleeping. Slightly alarmed, she exited the tent, not caring much that her hair must look a dreadful mess.
At first glance she did not recognize the person that was sitting on a large fallen branch in front of the tent, fiddling idly with a twig by poking at the dirt with it.
Then Link looked up at her, for of course it was he. For some reason though, he was no longer wearing his usual green outfit, and was instead clad in a fiery red suit with a matching hat.
He must have noticed her stunned reaction, for he grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, I figured a change of clothes was in order- I had been wearing my other clothes for so long I was beginning to become part of the environment," he chuckled, his voice slightly raspy from sleep.
Malon studied Link for a few seconds, deciding that, apart from the dark circles under his eyes, and the multiple wounds he carried on his body, he looked well-rested.
She walked over to sit opposite him on a dry patch of grass.
"I guess I'm just surprised because I know you have a lot of other green clothes with you," she admitted. "I mean, it's kind of your calling-card, that green outfit."
Link rubbed at the back of his head. "I know. I just thought that a change was in order. After...everything that happened." He looked away from her and pretended to study the sky.
"Are you still blaming yourself?" Malon accused, a small smile on her lips.
Link looked back at her, his blue eyes suddenly serious and piercing.
"I let you down, Malon! If it weren't for your fast thinking, we would both be dead." He said.
She clicked her tongue and pretending to be offended. "I know what the real problem here is, Link! You just hate the fact that a girl saved your life!" She teased softly.
She could see that Link was trying to remain straight-faced and serious, but a smile crept to his lips briefly.
"You don't give yourself enough credit," she went on." Your the one that broke the spell, that figured out Eliza was lying to you and that had the foresight to bring out your bow and arrows."
Link shrugged, unwilling to accept her praise, and remained silent.
Malon took the opportunity to study her friend while he looked away from her, and as usual she felt a small thrill of pride and awe as she looked upon him.
He was so calm, she reflected. Even now, when a normal person like her had to have a good cry about everything, he just got on with his life, and did what he had to do.
"I told you, remember?" She blurted out. "When we were riding Epona- I told you that you would be able to kill a warlock."
"She was a witch."
"Same thing! And she took us by surprise, remember? You didn't have any idea that she had been following you for quite some time, so if you would have known things would have been different." She went on quickly.
I feel like such a school-girl, she thought, embarrassed for herself. She didn't mean to gush over Link, but she could see that he needed some cheering up.
But Link smiled, as if her words actually meant something to him.
"Thanks...I'm glad you still feel safe enough to hang around me," he admitted.
"Always." She said, smiling.
An awkward silence followed her words. Malon felt a bit embarrassed at being such a ditz, and she figured Link must be feeling the same embarrassment for her.
"I didn't expect you up so soon," she told him, to break the silence."Aren't you feeling awful?"
He shrugged. "I'm used to getting by without much sleep, so my body just woke me up."
Malon noticed that Link was peering intently at her legs, and for a brief moment her heart fluttered at the thought that he was checking her out.
"How's your leg?" He asked, making Malon feel like an idiot. Of course he hadn't been checking her out.
"It's better, I think...still hurts, but I can walk without limping now." She said.
"That's good. I'm sorry I...you know...cut you," he said awkwardly.
"I stabbed you in your shoulder, Link. I should be the one apologizing." She said drily, figuring that they could go on like this for ages: both of them blaming themselves for what happened, when really all of the blame should have rested on Eliza.
"So," Link said finally, breaking the mood. "I suppose we better talk about what's going to happen now."
Malon had already thought long and hard about it.
"I need to go back to the farm," she told him. "It wasn't completely my decision to leave, after all, and I want to see my father..."
"What about the problem of the ranch belonging to Ingo now?" Link inquired.
Malon sighed. "I guess I'll just have to deal with it, or find some way to fix it. Seeing my father is most important to me right now though. He's all I have."
Link nodded. "I thought you might say that. So I'm prepared to escort you back to Lon Lon Ranch right away."
"No." Malon protested. "I can get back safely on my own, so you don't have to worry about me."
"Malon, I told you that I wasn't doing anything at the moment. And I think I need a break even more now, so seeing the farm again might do me some good." Link said.
"Fine then..." She said, smiling.
Even though she had made a show of not wanting Link's aid, she really was glad he was going to go with her.
They packed up everything, and once again the two of them mounted Epona, Link in front of Malon, and began the ride back to the farm.
Malon finally began to feel that things might start to go back to normal again-she was going back to her beloved farm, back to her father, and she could perhaps get on with her life.
On their way back, they made sure to give a wide berth to the river where Eliza had been killed, not wanting to relive the events of the previous night even more.
Malon tried to keep her spirits up, not wanting Link to know she was still feeling some trauma.
"Hey, I can show you around the farm again- you haven't been by for ages, of course." She said happily.
Link chuckled, putting on a voice to imitate how the tour would go: "And over here we have our horse, and there's our cow, and our Cucco is over there."
She jabbed him in the back, pretending to be offended. "Hey! We have more animals than that!" She cried, laughing.
Link gave Epona a rub behind the ears. "Epona should be happy to see her old home as well, won't you girl?" He said to the horse.
"If she's gotten over me poisoning her..." Malon said, groaning.
"She has," Link reassured her. "She probably knows how much you've helped us out."
Malon felt herself blush, and then she smiled, suddenly feeling very warm and content.
"How long do you think you'll stay at the farm?" She asked Link nervously.
Link shrugged. "Depends how long I can stay, I suppose. Hey, I could stay a whole week, and mooch off of you," he joked.
"That would be okay." Malon said, a bit too eagerly, she realised.
Link chuckled but did not respond, and Malon closed her eyes, wincing at what she had just said.
They never got many visitors at the farm, and while Malon had a lot of acquaintances, she didn't have many friends that she could invite around to the farm or anything. Especially not now anyway, with Ingo in charge.
Link wasn't just a great friend; he was also obviously a boy, and having a boy stay over her farm for say, a week, would be exciting and fun.
Not that she expected anything to happen, she told herself. It would just be something she could look back on and remember fondly.
She liked Link, but she couldn't see a relationship forming. She knew she must bug him, and he had far more important things to do. Besides, she didn't think of herself as a good looker. Males hadn't paid her much attention in her life, and the ones that had were all idiots, calling out lewd suggestions to her as she went about her business and frankly putting her off having boyfriends.
Link was different. She felt as safe as could be with him around, and sometimes fantasized about his lovely blue eyes and body as she drifted off to sleep.
They rode for a couple of days, with little happening apart from lots of easy conversations amidst a relaxed journey. As they came over a hill near the end of the third day, where the light was fading slowly from the sky, and a beautiful orange-streaked sun-set hung above them, Malon felt a thrill of delight as she finally spotted her farm in the distance.
"Almost there!" She said unnecessarily; she just felt she had to say it.
Link nodded and spurred Epona down the hill, where they broke into a gallop as the ground leveled out below them.
They were still riding across the open plains when suddenly Malon spotted a rider coming up fast towards them from their left. She pointed it out to Link, but he only nodded, having already noticed it.
As the rider came closer it was obvious that he was making a beeline for them, so Link slowed Epona to a halt and sat studying the figure, panting slightly.
"What do you think?" He asked. "Is this guy going to attack us? And if he is, do we wait here, or do we ride for the farm?"
Malon didn't really know why he was asking her opinion for. She squinted her eyes at the rider as he came into focus.
"He's un-armed...I think," she offered.
"Then I guess we wait."
When the rider finally reached them they saw that it was only a young boy who couldn't have been more then twelve, awkwardly riding a skinny, unkempt white stallion.
The rider was breathing heavily, as was the horse, so it was obvious to Malon that they had come from a fair distance away, and that they had come fast.
"You're...Link?" The rider asked, breathlessly.
"Yes. What's happened?" Link asked quickly.
The boy tried to suck in more air. "I've come from Hyrule Castle Town," he managed to say. "I was sent to find anyone I could to help us fight, but I never expected to find you! Almost didn't recognize you, with that red clothing!"
"Yes yes," Link said hurriedly but not unkindly. "But fight who? Ganondorf's men?"
The boy shook his head. "No; they're always there, aren't they? Too many of them now to fight."
"Then who?" Malon asked, wishing the boy would get his message out quicker.
"Redead!" The boy finally cried. "A few nights ago one or two of the creatures suddenly showed up in the town-the soldiers quickly fought them off and got rid of them, but then more and more started showing up!"
Malon looked at Link, who's eyes were set, his brow furrowed.
"At first everyone in the town fought back, but when Ganondorf's men realised how out-numbered they were, they all drew back to the Castle, and now all the people in the town are being set upon and being...devoured by these things!" The boy went on, his voice shaking.
"Are the people managing to take down many of these Redead?" Link asked the boy, all-business now.
The boy shook his head. "We can't! We hack their limbs off, their heads, and they go down, but they just get back up again!"
Link swore, startling Malon. "They don't even know how to stop them," he hissed, and then turned around to look at her.
"You'll have to dismount...quickly!" He said softly, an apologizing look in his eye.
She slid to the ground and looked up at Link. "I know you want to go and help them, but you've got hardly any weapons left on you!" She said, a pleading tone in her voice.
"Can't be helped," Link muttered, but he did look a tad worried to Malon.
"You don't even have a sword!" She cried.
"I'll find one somewhere," he said, and looked down into her eyes. "I'm really sorry Malon, I was looking forward to relaxing on your farm. I just...I can't ignore this."
In her heart, Malon knew he had to go, but she also felt like she was about to say goodbye to him for a long time again. How long would it be until he came back this time? Two years? Three? And what if he was killed?
She forced a smile onto her lips. "Promise to come visit soon, okay?"
"I will." Link said with conviction. "I promise."
He turned to the boy. "Lead the way," he said, and the boy nodded and awkwardly managed to get his horse turned around and pointed at Hyrule Castle Town.
Link raised his hand to Malon in a final farewell and then spurred Epona after the youth, riding fast away from her. She watched him go until she could no longer see him, and then turned and walked the last of the distance to her farm.
She promised herself she wouldn't cry, but she could feel the tears swelling up behind her eyes. Angrily she walked faster, refusing to look like a pathetic girl who had, in a way, just been dumped and left behind by a boy.
Darkness was spreading across the land as she finally reached the entrance to her farm, and she paused before going in, trying to forget about Link. But she couldn't-most of all she was worried for him, rushing into Hyrule Castle Town practically weaponless and exhausted from everything he had already been through.
Think of father, she told herself, and made herself enter the farm, going up the slope towards the buildings at the entrance. Since the farm was built almost like a fortress, with wooden pikes surrounding the entire ranch except for the entrance, she always felt safer within its walls.
She went up to the main house, a simple wooden building that she adored, and knocked on the door, getting ready to be questioned and hugged and worried over by her father. She frowned as she heard a lot of noise coming from within the house, and wondered what it could be. Was her father throwing around the Cuccos again?
Suddenly the door was flung open and Malon found herself staring up into the eyes of a young soldier decked out in full uniform, who was staggering on the spot and held a mug of ale in one hand. She gaped at him, so shocked that she did not know what to say.
"Whooza you?" The soldier slurred, his eyes narrowing as he looked at her.
Behind the soldier, Malon could see that more of his friends had taken over her house, and were drinking and yelling and carrying on alarmingly. There must have been around ten men, all crammed into the living room of her small house.
"This is my house!" She cried, finally finding her voice. "It used to be my farm, too! Where's my father?" She demanded.
The soldier laughed at her, taking another swig of grog. "Where'sh your father? Where'sh my father?" He asked her. "I ain't sheen him in agesh!"
Malon could only stare at the drunk soldier. What the heck was going on?
She heard footsteps suddenly, and a shadow fell on her, created by the light from the lit lanterns hanging on the walls outside her house. She spun around to find an older, more experienced-looking soldier who was cleanly-shaven and was peering down at her with piercing gray eyes suspiciously.
"Can I help you, ma'am?" The soldier drawled, sounding bored and unimpressed with her interruption.
The drunk soldier at the door saluted. Unfortunately he was holding his mug with his right hand, so the liquid slopped down his face messily.
"Shergeant! I wash jusht on guard duty when-" He began.
"I'm sure you were, soldier." The Sergeant interrupted. "You've done well. Now, I suggest you get back inside and enjoy the rest of the night with your comrades."
The soldier beamed happily, saluted sloppily once more, and shut the door, leaving Malon standing with the higher-ranking officer.
"Now," the man said, his voice cold. "What business do you have here at the Barracks, ma'am?" The last word was dripping with sarcasm.
Malon stared at the man. "Barracks?" She repeated, unbelieving. "This farm used to belong to my father, and even when it was passed to our farm-hand, soldiers should not suddenly be occupying it!" She snapped.
She was aware that she was in trouble, and if the man so wished he could simply have her killed or taken away. But she was tired, and everything had a dream-like quality to it that made her want to get to the bottom of what was happening quickly.
"Ah," the man sighed, relaxing somewhat but still looking smug and unfriendly. "You would be Talon's daughter then."
Malon nodded. "Exactly. Where is my father?" She asked, and could not keep the worried tone from creeping into her voice.
"Oh, he's quite safe. He's been very cooperative with our needs." The Sergeant said lazily.
"I want to see him."
"And so you would, after being missing for so long," He said. "Your father's been very worried."
Something about the man sickened Malon, and in fact everything about the whole situation she now found herself in stunk.
"Take me to him." She said.
The man had already begun walking before she finished her short sentence, and he stopped opposite her house in front of the other building which they used for supplies or extra space when they needed. The Sergeant took out some keys and inserted one into the door, unlocking it.
Now Malon knew more then ever that she was in trouble. If they had her father locked up then they definitely weren't being very formal with taking over the farm. If her father was actually in there, she added to herself, trying to peer into the house.
"Go on then," the man snapped, but Malon hesitated, not wanting to fall for an obvious trap.
"I can't see him in there," she said simply.
The man groaned in annoyance and opened the door wider, allowing more light into the house and illuminating the shape of what Malon knew was her father, sitting down on a box in the corner of the room.
Malon knew she had two choices: either she could run and try to get away...and probably be tracked down by the soldiers anyway if they had taken over the farm and didn't want her telling anyone. Or she could go into the room with her father and find out for sure what had happened, and then find some way to fix it.
"Okay then, I'll speak to my father," she said, stepping into the room. She wasn't surprised when the door closed behind her and she heard the soldier re-lock it.
"Who's there?" Came her father's voice from the darkness, tinged with worry. "It sounded like my daughter."
"It is...I'm here, dad." Malon said tearfully, running forward into the arms of her father, who cried out with relief and held her in his large arms.
"I was so worried!" He bawled, and Malon found herself crying softly as well. She seemed to be crying a lot, lately.
"What in the world happened?" He asked, and then shook his head. "No, don't tell me right now. You shouldn't have come back, Mal!"
Malon raised her head and looked at her father. "Why not? What's going on?"
Her dad sounded angry. "This morning all these soldiers suddenly rode up to the farm. I thought they wanted some supplies or something, but then they informed me that the farm now belonged to them. I said that it bloody well didn't, even if I wasn't the owner anymore, because while Ingo is a total suck-up, I'm sure he wouldn't want to hand the farm over to soldiers."
"Oh, Dad." Malon chastised gently. "You shouldn't have said that; you could have been arrested or killed!"
Her father swore, which was something he very rarely did. "I didn't care! I was still out of my mind with worry for you! Anyway, that's when they tossed me in here and locked me in."
Malon sighed, finding it ironic that she kept running into worse and worse situations.
"So what happens now? Are they going to kick the two of us off the farm, or will they lock us up or something?" She had meant it as a joke, but the look in her father's eyes frightened her suddenly.
"Mal, they don't want anyone finding out what they've done. They're Ganondorf's men! They want to use this place as a new training camp so they can enlist more soldiers. No..." He went on in a tired voice, "they certainly won't kick us out. We'll be forced to stay here, as their prisoners."
I know the story is called Link's Trials, but seeing as it is a romance/adventure that Link and Malon are both involved in, I thought it would be good to change the point-of-view to Malon's for a bit. So far the story has focused mostly on Link, so I wanted to have her in the spot-light for a change, so we could see her feelings and attitudes towards Link and everything else. Notice how she refers to Link being calm and collected, when we know that he really isn't, inside.
Another thing: in so many of the fan fics which focus on Malon, people will shorten Malon's name to Mal. At first I tried to avoid doing that, but once her father was part of the story, I figured that him calling her by a nick-name would definitely suit their relationship. In the game, did anyone actually call Malon "Mal"? I don't remember!
Talon, her father, is also out-of-character, but I did that on purpose. In the game, he was mostly a lovable, but lazy and bumbling man. But Malon's a strong, well-adjusted girl, and seeing as she only has her father to raise her, he must have put more effort into looking after her then the game showed, I figured. So I made him a more serious, normal father figure. Though he does still enjoy throwing around chickens. :p
And about the "sergeant" title for one of the soldiers: I think the word sergeant is normally used as a modern-term, but I really don't know. All I knew is that it sounded good, suited his rank, and so I used it. I'm not a military buff or anything, so I admit to having put in little research for the title!
For those who don't know, or forget, "Redead" are those undead, zombie-like creatures that were in The Ocarina of Time, and The Wind Waker.
I'm so sorry for prattling on! There are heaps of great Malon and Link stories out there, and I'm just trying to make mine different and as enjoyable as I can. I've been reading BabyGurl's new Link and Malon fic at the same time. Her Malon is sort of similar to mine, so I'm trying to make an effort to make mine kind of original, but it's hard! Writing's so hard:p Haha.
Thank you to all the reviewers! Reviews mean a lot to me. If you're reading this, as always I gotta say please, leave a review! I was listening to The White Stipes a lot as I wrote this chapter. Rock on! Whoo! (Is dragged away from the keyboard by a reader who is sick of him yacking on and is then clubbed on the head)