I do not own the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time or Majora's Mask. It belongs to Nintendo.
Note: Sorry for the delay, I wrote three drafts for this chapter. I'm toying with the idea of posting a separate story containing scrapped chapters that would have put the story in a whole new direction. Let me know if you'd like something like this.
The full moon hung lazily in the sky. Zelda had long fallen asleep by a dying fire, her soft breathing barely heard by the sharp ears of the Hylian beside her. He couldn't help but stare at the princess turned runaway in his sleeplessness, a look of wonder and confusion invading his characteristically stoic face. He noted that she had removed her headdress and face coverings and covered herself in a thick blanket Link had taken from his house in the city. It was surreal, seeing her lying there, as if she had done so her entire life, when only days earlier she hadn't the slightest idea of his identity.
A thought tickled the back of his mind. Why, exactly, was she here? What was the purpose of their running away? Impa had been insistent that they leave immediately, making no haste to prepare arrangements. It was quite peculiar. This brought him to mull over how they had come to be in such a position. The former memoriless Zelda had snapped back to his knowing princess in an instant. It was odd. The simple notes of the Song of Time had brought anomalous results. A deep, albeit short, slumber fell upon the questioning princess and she awoke the girl of his memories. Something wasn't adding up.
Was it not the special lullaby, the magical song known solely to the royal family and their closest allies that put Zelda to sleep? He had not known the Song of Time to have powers beyond those to conjure a block, or open the Door of Time, or bring him back three days in Termina. Link sat there, thoroughly puzzled, for several hours, which he timed by the position of the moon. Soon is was on the opposite end of the sky, mirroring where it was when the hero had first begun his examination of things. Epona stirred for a moment, which interrupted his thoughts. Try as he might, though, he could not come to a logical conclusion.
He looked at her, her face turned to him. Her expression was peaceful, as if she was dreaming of sitting on a warm beach, sipping a cold drink. The longer he observed her, the louder a new question sounded in his brain. Why had she forgotten in the first place? For many months they continued to speak with each other and he was allowed into the castle without any problems. He left to search for his lost friend and returned unknown to everyone and to a barred castle gate. What had happened in the weeks he was gone?
Link pursed his lips in frustration. The letters shared between the hero and the princess had been lost after he arrived in Termina and his monotonous adventure took place. He had no information of what went on in Hyrule. Ganondorf could have returned, conquered Hyrule, brainwashed everyone for all Link knew. He could attack Zelda come morning with questions of those weeks when they were children, but it seemed unlikely she would remember, both because it was many years ago and with her altered mind, she may not know of anything that had gone on in the past five years.
At this point, the hero had grown tired of the night. He opted to play the Sun's Song, so the pair could at least continue their journey. It was also in the day that he could abandon the mystery behind the sleeping form beside him. The days were happier for him, where he could joke with Malon if he wished (even if she did annoy him at times), talk with Zelda, or groom Epona. Yes, he would abscond the night through the notes of the Sun's Song.
As desired, the moon disappeared beyond the horizon, the Sun rising just over the peak of the far-off mountains. The sudden light irritated Zelda's eyes and she began to awaken. Slowly and calmly, she yawned and stretched. Sleepily, wordlessly, she tried hard to release the tension in her back from resting on the ground. "Good morning" were the first words to escape her lips, accompanied by a smile just big enough to be noticed. Link nodded his head in reply, the worrying enigmas not yet gone from his cogitations.
Zelda could not help but espy the new solemnness hanging around Link. He surely was one to have mood swings. With a small chuckle, she tried to pass it off as tiredness. They walked, however, in silence, until they saw the stairs of Kakariko Village. "I believe we have arrived at our first destination," murmured the hero. "We can't take Epona up the stairs, so we'll have to unpack her and walk." A fleeting, polite smile flickered on his lips as if out of courtesy for the princess. "Be sure to stick to the shadows. People here know Impa well. They can tell if you are an imposter."
"Aren't you going to tie Epona to that tree or something? She could wander off."
Link chuckled, taking the bags of his things in his arms, and climbs the stairs wordlessly.
Zelda scowled behind him. He truly was the King of Mood Swings.
"Impa, you are my daughter's caretaker, why are you not showing more interest in this investigation?" catechized Nohas. The already graying king had seemed to have aged a full ten years in the day Zelda had been gone.
"We Sheikah are not ones to show worry or emotion. Trust me, I am sure we will find her and her captor," Impa assured her king. She had a knowing smile upon her face, but Nohas could not deduce its meaning.
"Why are you smiling like that? There is absolutely nothing to be happy about! Not only is my daughter missing, I have to house dozens of suitors until she is returned! Do you understand what it is like to have scores of young men buzzing around the castle?"
"And then Impa just grabs him like he's murdered a nobleman!" Gasto wiped a mug furiously. "He comes in the next day, sayin' he's gotta quit! I swear, something happened. He was my best employee!"
"Why was he taken in the first place?" asked the customer lounging on the nearest barstool.
"Just for whistlin' some tune. The castle guards are after him 'cause they think he's the one who stole the princess, righteous bastards."
"I wonder why they think that?"
"I'll bet anything that Impa tipped them off," came a new voice. Gasto and the customer followed the sound to its origin, a young broad with a ponytail of fiery red hair. She sat, poised and not facing them. "I've heard of her. My friend, Kafei, told me about Link."
"How would he know?" Gatso was shocked. He hadn't even noticed the girl walk in.
"He's my inside. He's stuck in the castle, since he's technically still a candidate for Zelda. Trust me, my information is very reliable." She turned to look at them, her blue eyes glaring.
"Wait a second," said the customer at the counter, "aren't you that Malon girl? The rancher? You've gotta be. I was just down at the ranch, buyin' some milk."
The redhead blinked. "I don't know what you're talking about."
The two locked eyes for a few minutes, both of them trying to see into the other's mind. "You're a little too hotheaded to be the Malon girl. She's almost too nice for her own good. So what are you? Her twin? A cousin? Come off with it!"
"I'm sure I'm no way related to this girl, Malon. I've never heard the name uttered in my life. I am Romani."
Enter, Romani! The strange third-person talking bow-and-arrow wielding alien fighter has grown up quite nicely. Now, for any of you that are a bit confused, Gasto was Link's former employer at Hi Hyrule! I, myself, had to reread the entire story before FINALLY completing this chapter. It's a bit shorter than I would have liked, but I'm finding myself babbling a lot.
Scrapped ideas for this chapter: Malon thinking Link is gay. (After seeing him and "Sheik". I'm not exactly sure what that would have done for the story, but it was funny to write.)
Malon joining Link and Zelda's journey.
Link having this long and thoughtful monologue about how Zelda's forgetting him changed him. (Blah, blah blah blah, BLAH. It was very boring.)
The arrival in Kakariko Village. (This was originally going to be put in this chapter, and it still will happen, just I'm not quite sure how they are going to be received yet. Also, I'm not really sure what they're motives for being in Kakariko Village are just yet. ^.^")
Malon finding Link and Zelda's camp, and Link telling her to go away and not to tell anyone that she knows him or saw him.
Finally, the point of this chapter was actually to address a few of the holes in the story that haven't been patched up yet. Like, for instance, HOW did Zelda forget him? WHY did they leave? WHAT is Impa up to?