Link's eyes opened and he stared, confused, at the high wooden rafters above his head. Since when did he have rafters in his tree house? A sudden, very near moo caused him to sit up in his bed. At the sight of the cow, still happily chewing on some hay, brought the memories of yesterday flooding back to him. He felt utterly refreshed, absolutely magnificent. He wiped his eyes clear and ran and hand through his hair. After searching for a moment, he found his hat crumpled on the floor. It must have fallen off last night during his sleep. He yawned and at the sudden movement, Navi flew out of one of his pouches with a flurry and a shower of dust.
Link gave her a small smile, just the faintest of tugs at the corners of his lips. She smiled back, embarrassed, she slipped her hands through her short, blue-white hair and looked at him earnestly.
"That girl was right, Link," she said suddenly. "I'm sorry if I've pushed you too hard."
Link shook his head. "Don't trouble yourself, Navi. You're just trying to help."
Navi smiled and Link stood. He straightened the sheets on the cot, then, after patting the cow, he stepped into the brightly lit morning. He realized that he'd slept for more than twelve hours. He looked at the field, finding it as empty as yesterday and decided to try the corral.
As he neared the entranceway, a strangely familiar melody floated towards him. He'd heard it recently, under the night skies at Hyrule Castle. He searched around for the source.
There standing in the center of the corral, lovingly petting a colt, was Malon. Her flaming red hair burned brightly in the afternoon sun and she was humming the beautiful chords contentedly. It wasn't until Link was a few paces away that she noticed him.
She grinned at him. "Good morning, fairy boy. You look much better."
Link smiled awkwardly and nodded.
Malon giggled and patted the colt's head. "This is my friend Epona. Want to pet her?"
Link inched forward and held his hand out towards the pony. She eyed him warily and after a moment's thought, bolted across the luscious expanse of grass. Malon giggled again.
"Looks like she's afraid of you, fairy boy," she said. A different horse nuzzled her, wanting attention and she subconsciously began to hum the familiar little tune again.
"What is that?" Link asked softly. "That song you sing?"
Malon straightened, gently pushing the horse away. He snorted, tossed his head, and slowly clopped away. "You like it? It was my mother's song. She composed it. I call it Epona's song."
"It's…" Link swallowed hard. He wasn't too good at conversation. "It's pretty." And for a reason he couldn't place his finger on, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the ocarina that Saria had given him. "Can you teach it to me?"
"Oh! Cute ocarina," Malon exclaimed, wide-eyed and fawning over the little musical instrument. "You want to sing along with me? Okay, ready?"
She hummed the notes slowly as he matched them with the ocarina. The music came high and sweet. After a couple of tries, Link got the notes down and they played a pretty duet. At the end of the song, Link took the instrument from his lips and a small, genuine smile tugged at his mouth. There was a sudden, nearby whinny and he jumped, turning to see that small pony standing next to him. She shoved her nose into his arm, pleading for attention. He hesitated a moment, the petted her nose and she sighed happily. Malon smirked and gave a small giggle.
"It looks like Epona's grown fond of you, fairy boy," she mentioned.
Link nodded. "Yes, it seems so."
Malon smiled knowingly. "You look hungry. Why don't you come with me and have some breakfast?"
He looked up at her, pausing his attentions to the pony. She snorted unhappily and thrust her nose into his chest. He automatically began petting her again. He swallowed hard and nodded.
"Thank you," he murmured.
"Well, come on then. We have to hurry," she demanded, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the house. "You've got a mountain to climb."
