A/N; Yay! Chapter 7 is out! But what is up with the lack of words? Only 1,782, guess I just mocked the other chapter, huh? But I think you might find this intriguing. The plot's FINALLY kicking in! Not that it wasn't funny to write the other chapters, it's just great when you can feel the story developing! I think this callesfor another: YaY!

I also would like to take this opportunity to thank my anonymous reviewers!

Fred: I'm glad to know you find this story to be in your liking! Thank you, for all the nice things you said. I really appreciate it! C:

Howltothemoon: I''m really glad that you took the time to read and reviewed it! And thank you for noticing the development in the story! I thought I was the only one (Ha!) Hope you'll find this just as ... shall we say tastefully? C:

Oh, and in case I (purposely) forgot: I don't own anything, the Zelda Crew kinda does, but Kayle's mine! (I know that you all want to steal her, since its so hard to come up with a good quality character now a day!) Sarcasm was added there. Haha.

Enjoy everyone!

Malon gravely felt the need for air, and with a last push, brought herself above the lake surface with a huge grasp. She rapidly sought something to prevent her from falling down underneath the sludgy water. It felt like the water was struggling to keep her in, pulling in her soaked clothes.

It was hard for her to move, but she made an attempt to swim towards the muddy bank. She swam but for each new effort she could feel how her body sunk further and further down the freezing lake. The fear rose within her. She felt her body beginning to turn numb, she wanted to give in, to stay still but knew it would mean her death.

"Somebody …," Malon strived to yell, but it merely sounded like a muffled whisper. Her voice died out, there was no one there to help her. Rigorously she fought her way through the water as she for a split second was drawn down again below its surface. She grasped for air and her cold lungs ached, heaving a heavy breath turning a crystal white into the air.

Her body shook lividly and her lips tinted of lilac as a sudden but very violent wind tugged at her drenched hair. The wind whistled past her ear, and brought a familiar sound. It echoed in the air flying above her, hunting her, forcing her to hear its caw. Malon make an effort to squint through the darkness that seemed to possess the woods, trying to locate the laughing crow. But the more effort she laid in, the more convinced she was that it came from every tree that surrounded her.

"Help…please …," She attempted another shout, but found this one to be even weaker then the first one.

Malon felt helpless. She knew she couldn't reach the bank without the help of someone, but there was no time to await somebody else's arrival.

Another wind hallowed past her ear, bringing the words 'stupid girl' along with it, which brought Malon to ponder if she really was the only one there. The laughing sounds of the crow had tersely come to a halt, and Malon began to calm herself down.

Shortly thereafter Malon had hauled herself almost close enough to reach a green branch that hung down in the water. The great tree was rooted at the edge of the bank tilting slightly over the lake, its rope like branches was hanging in a bow over the water. She thought she could use one of them to help drag herself the last distance, but found it difficult as she constantly slipped with her wet hands.

She successfully managed to grab a hold of the branch after many failed attempts behind her, she carefully yanked it a bit, seeing if it would sever, but remarkably enough it seemed to hold. Malon felt overwhelmed, "was I finally going to reach the bank?" She calmed herself as she warily begun pulling on the fragile branch edging closer and closer to shoreline.

When Malon had gotten so close she could feel the mud with her fingers, she relished the tight clasp around the branch and sunk her fingernails into the oozy sludge.

Lastly Malon began crawling up the shoreline, ignoring how filthy her clothes became, and exhaustingly laid herself on her back. Her chest rose and sunk in pace with her thumping heart, and she felt how she was edging into dizziness from all the air that too hurriedly escaped her mouth.

Her white shirt was filled with mud and soaking wet, just like her apron and anything else that she wore. She brought up her feet in the air, only to notice that she was missing one of her father's shoes. "Damn," she hissed, as she aimed to sit up.

Next her attention turned to Epona. "Epona?" Her voice didn't stretch too far, although soon Malon realized that yelling was of no avail. Epona was nowhere in sight.

"She must have gotten back to the ranch," Malon thought as she, with the help of her hands and knees, stood up on her staggering legs. She was drenched to the bone and she felt goosebumps immediately covering her body.

"That was spooky." Malon peered over her shoulder and began searching for the direction Epona had emerged through, but found no traces at all suggesting that a horse had ever been there. "That's odd," Malon whisperingly remarked to herself. "I clearly saw the trampled grass and branches before I fell in the lake."

She shrugged it off and begun walking towards the direction she thought was the right way back, when blasts of pain emitted themselves on her right side making her clutch it and cry out in nuisance. The pain instantly ebbed away, and Malon realized that there was no time to stay and examine what ever it was that had caused her sudden pain. She decided to walk it off.

Malon started walking but quickly came to a halt as both sides suddenly blistered with pain knocking her to her knees with a painful yell. Unable to walk, Malon elected to see the reason for her unexpected pain, and carefully pulled up the hem of her shirt, seeing a vast horizontal line colored in dark gray.

Malon felt another wave of pain arising from her chest , and she dropped the grip of her shirt. Warily Malon struggled to stand, but found it nearly impossible as the slightest movement caused her reckless pain.

She wrapped her arms around her body and attempted to walk merely to find the same ruthless pain emanating from her legs and she fell face first onto the ground.

Malon leisurely began crawling her way through the forest, feeling how the smarting increased no matter what she did or how she placed her body. As she put her right arm in front of her, in an attempt to heave herself forward, she noticed that her arm had the same shade of dark gray that covered the skin on her ribs.

She made an effort to touch it with her fingertips, however stopped in mid-move when she felt how the pain suddenly disappeared as mysteriously as it had come. But it was not over, out of the pain an icy feeling emitted throughout her body leaving her to shake furiously on the ground.

Malon brought her legs closer to her stiff frame, and wrapped her bear arms around them as her teeth started to clasp together every so often. She began to lose feeling in her fingers and toes, as her pain came back spreading through her body, bringing out a coldhearted scream from her gray tinted lips.

The bolts of pain started to pulsate within her as it become more frequent. Malon found it hard to control it and snapped her eyes shut.

Out of fright and pain she began calling for help, she tried to open her eyes but realized she was not able to. Everything was black and she stopped calling trying to determine if anybody had heard her. But all was quiet until she picked up on the flapping of a bird's wings. And just as the bird had appeared she was able to open her eyes. The first thing she saw was the black crow standing inches away from her face.

Malon started to yell trying to scare the bird, but it only made it 'caw' alongside her loud cry. "Go away!" She hissed, as she bit down on her soft bottom lip, feeling how the taste of blood filled her mouth.

The crow jumped closer, meeting her with its purple eyes. Malon wanted to wave it way, but only cried, out of pain.

The crow gave her one last gaze before promptly jumping away and stretching its wings ready to fly away, when Malon pleaded; "Don't go,"

The crow looked back at her standing on her threes, but started to flutter its wings showing its resentfulness towards her. But that is when Malon spoke to it. She realized that she spoke in a tongue she did not understand, she could speak but she had no real comprehension of what she said, she only knew what mood she said it in. It was impossible to decipher but to Malon's astonishment the crow answered, it knew. It called back with its harsh and endless 'caw', bringing the corner of Malon's lip to rise suddenly, it was as if she herself had no control.

Malon found herself stretching her neck tilting around her head to the left in a stretching manner, her right hand rose and pulled out her shirt collar that firmly followed her neckline. Malon looked at her hands and with her left finger touched her right as if she did not know how her hands looked or felt like and as if she'd seen them for the first time. Malon faded into herself.

The crow was still flapping but in a seemingly vigorous way, it turned its head tilting it quickly from side to side. It still seemed to watch Malon's movements in a peculiar way and its eyes were gleaming purple. 'Come back to me' she said. It became easier for Malon to move the more she spoke, however as she concentrated to understand it and as she struggled to move, it turned into a blur of sound and her pain constantly increased. But as she let go, her pain began to fade and the language rapidly began to clear.

The crow turned around, and slowly jumped back to her, and she carefully lifted her pallid hand, to caress the crow's head with two fingers. 'Us started to think you where gone.'

The crow's eyes gleamed brighter.

'But tonight you made us proud.'

Caaw.

Another grin placed itself on Malon's darkened lips, as she for the last time felt a much too weakened bolt of pain emit trough her body. "Us is here now," she whispered.

The crow fluttered with its wings, as Malon leisurely sat up, and begun tapping her fingers on a sharp fang. She silently drew a breath, loudly muttering, "Us is here."