Chapter 21: Lon Lon sleep

Author's note: Wow, it took me forever to continue, didn't I? Well, I'm assuming that at least some of my readers had exams like I did, and exams need studying for, especially if one wants all As on their exams like I did. Add to that the fact that my computer broke down, this is making for one very late chapter. FORGIVE ME!
Anyway, thanks as always to Rider of the Whales, Silverwing365, and Base Guardian. Thank you also to James Birdsong.

Believe it or not, the temples and the final battles are really intense to write. For now, I shall be taking a short break from the temples and instead focus on the other elements of the quests and on some other characters. Besides, Malon (and-SPOILERS-Ilia) need introductions, as they're going to become more important.

"Something's wrong. But what?"

With that disquieting thought in mind (and on her lips, though she didn't know it), Malon looked at the sky in apprehension. Usually the sky was a telltale sign that something was off. Malon was a rancher's daughter through and through, and had learned from a young age onward how to listen to the subtle signs that the sky gave her. The clouds alone were a good indicator for her. The ranch was in a very flat pasture, giving the shadows of the clouds great visibility as the clouds floated across the sky.

However, now, despite the great darkness in the sky, Malon could find no trace of clouds. It was as if the sun had been blotted out by something wicked. After all, it couldn't have changed this much in the blink of an eye. Malon had dozed off just a minute ago, tired from her morning. Yet in those few minutes (or so she thought) of resting, the world around her had dramatically changed, and not completely for the better.

Malon looked around, just then realizing how faded everything looked. It was as if the color had been drained from the place, leaving it looking decrepit and sad. Malon was reminded of a blanket that had been used too much. Or maybe a blanket that hadn't been washed quite right. A blanket that was now reacting negatively to the wrong washing potion, or the wrong temperature of the water. Thankfully, looking at herself, Malon realized that she wasn't faded-looking at all. But why?

Malon realized that she didn't hear the quiet crunching of the cows anymore, a sound that had been in her ears since she was a baby, the trademark sound of Lon Lon ranch. What was going on? She also realized that she no longer heard the sounds of Ingo and Talon's argument from behind the barn that she'd been hearing all morning. Had they resolved a major conflict in that argument? She hoped so. The fighting was giving her a headache. Maybe she'd go and see what was going on. Malon was quite curious about what was happening back there. She was curious about a great many things, actually.

Like that blue clone of Link's…

Malon smiled to herself. There could never be too much of a good thing. And as she'd been friends with Link since they were ten years old, Link counted as one of those good things.

Malon received the shock of her life when she walked to where her father and Ingo had been arguing. Well, they were still there, but were frozen in place, looking as faded as everything else. It appeared that they were stone statues. Malon was horrified. She even screamed, before realizing that whatever had frozen everything might still be around. In which case, she had better be careful. She clapped her hands over her mouth, stopping herself from screaming on. Then, she realized that her breathing was very loud as well, and willed herself to relax and think about it in a logical way.

Was she the only one left on Lon Lon Ranch? Probably, since it was only inhabited by Ingo, Malon, and Talon, though occasionally her cousins would stay there as well. And right now, neither Romani nor Cremia were staying there. They were at their own ranch, where they sometimes did business with Talon and Malon. Well, it was really Cremia doing business with Talon, as Malon was just a farm hand and Romani was but a young child. Malon idly wondered if Romani and Cremia were frozen as well.

Were Talon and Ingo kidding with her? Malon seriously doubted it. Their postures and their faded colors looked to real, and Malon couldn't hear their breathing. She could still hear their own, though, and willed herself to quiet down even more. Even so, she could still hear herself. Not one other sound was present, anyway. Malon had never been so aware of her own breathing as now, in the most silent moment she'd ever experienced.

What was going on? Malon seriously didn't know.

"Papa?" she asked. "Ingo?"

No response. They continued staring straight ahead, unblinking and unmoving, still in positions that suggested an argument. After several attempts, Malon finally gave up. Sighing, she walked back into her house, back into her room, back onto her bed. There she lay down, staring at the ceiling as she was liable to do whenever bored or worried. Being a farm girl, Malon didn't have a lot of time or money to spend in idle pastimes, so she just enjoyed staring at her ceiling and imagining things. The girl had become quite imaginative, as a matter of fact.

What would she do now? She couldn't stay at her home; the idea of having her father and Ingo frozen behind the barn was very unappetizing to her. Despite her vast imagination, Malon couldn't imagine herself doing chores and such with Talon and Ingo frozen, staring at her whenever she walked behind the barn. Come to think of it, would she even be able to do chores? Malon was now pretty sure that the cows, who had looked faded as well, were also frozen. And she assumed (correctly) that the cuckoos and the moinks hadn't been spared.

Besides, now that she thought of it, what would happen if monsters came? The fear of an attack was in the air. And Malon wasn't exactly a world-class fighter. As a matter of fact, she was pretty terrible. What would she do if monsters wandered onto her ranch? Hide in the barn? They would probably follow her.

Monsters could already be on the ranch, Malon thought, her fears rising to the levels of hysteria. Quickly, she leapt off her bed and looked outside. Thankfully, there were no monsters in sight. Though Malon didn't know it, they'd already been through Lon Lon Ranch several times and had taken a few things over the course of 5000 years. As a matter of fact, just a few months ago, Shadow Link had hidden in the barn when some bokoblins had decided to torture him for fun. He'd run out of other hiding spots, but they never ran out of ideas of torturing him. The few times they'd caught him hadn't been pleasant for Shadow Link. And they wouldn't be very pleasant for Malon if they caught her. Lying back down onto her bed, Malon heaved a sigh. She was strong, strong enough to lift a pitchfork over her head with one hand, but she had no clue how to fight.

However, she realized, she was very fast. Fast enough to outrun any monster. Malon had an advantage there. If she could just make it to Hyrule Field, where her path would be unblocked, then maybe she'd be okay. Lon Lon Ranch had many places to hide, but not very many places to run. Hyrule Field, on the other hand, offered miles and miles of free terrain. As a matter of fact, Malon thought, the Tower of Spirits was somewhere in Hyrule Field. The Tower wasn't used much anymore, but it might be able to offer her sanctuary. Attempting to run all the way there without being seen and without tiring was a risk, but Malon was ready for it. She had always wanted to just take a risk, but hadn't ever had the courage or the reason to. Unless one counted arguing with Ingo as a risk. Come to think of it, he did look pretty menacing with that pitchfork.

With those rebellious thoughts in Malon's mind, she leapt off of her bed and into an adventure. On the way out of her home, she grabbed one of Ingo's knapsacks, filled it with snacks and a change of clothes, and sauntered off, off into a darkened world, certain that she was now alone. She was leaving everything she knew for and indefinite period, and as she closed the gate of the ranch behind her, she felt more than a little sad.

And surprised. As she had been walking through the ranch, she realized that there was a single cow following her. It was her favorite milking cow, another reminder of home. So maybe she wasn't totally alone as she skipped through Hyrule Field. The cow behind her provided at least some comfort, a small piece of home in a huge, unfriendly world.

And indeed it was unfriendly. Just then, a horde of moblins laid eyes on her. Malon heard (and smelled) them coming before she saw them and broke into a run. The cow that had followed her moved as quickly as it could behind her. Thankfully, Malon had an edge against the moblins speedwise. Combined with the fact that she was in Hyrule field, things were looking very good for the farm girl.

That is, they were looking very good for her until she tripped.

She tumbled into a heap on the ground, leaving herself very much exposed. When she tried to rise again, she gave a cry of pain. Of all times to break her ankle! What luck she had! As the moblins approached, wielding their weapons and chattering menacingly, Malon squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that they wouldn't torture her too badly before killing her.

"Please. Get it over with. Please!" she gasped to herself.

However, the end never came. Just then, Malon heard a thundering of hooves.