Chapter 2-Lon Lon Ranch and the Castle Market
When Tristan exited the tunnel, he continued to run west. Looking up, he saw the sun was beginning to set behind him. Did I really spend that long on the bridge? He wondered.
Tristan reached the top of a hill and saw a small group of buildings with a wall that surrounded it and some of the land around it.
"That must be Lon Lon Ranch," Tristan said.
"I'm sure it is," Tala said. She looked above them and saw the sun touch the top of the mountains. "Hurry, or it'll be dark before you reach it!"
Tristan took off at a run, but it was no use. He was halfway to the ranch when the sun disappeared and they heard a wolf howl in the distance. As if the howl was a signal, two skeletons leaped out of the ground in front of Tristan. Instinctively, Tristan pulled out his sword and shield and cut the first one down. Another one took its place and more continued to emerge. Soon Tristan was surrounded. No matter how many he defeated, more took their place.
The skeletons leaped onto Tristan. He felt himself get two cuts and a nasty knock on the head when suddenly, the skeletons retreated. The sound of hooves caused Tristan to look up. His head swam, but he could make out a woman on a horse riding toward him, then he blacked out.
Bright sunlight poured onto Tristan's face when he woke up. He realized he was in a bed and looked around. He was in a room, supposedly at Lon Lon Ranch, as he heard the sound of cows and horses. Tala rose from the pillow beside him and flew to the door.
"I hear footsteps," she announced, and sure enough, Tristan heard them too.
Tala flew back as the door opened and a woman with long, flowing red hair entered, carrying some clothes. She looked over at Tristan, smiled, and set the clothes on a nearby chair.
"You finally woke up," the woman said. "I'm Malon. I saw the group of Stalchildren as I was riding back to the ranch and knew they had caught someone. Your shirt and shorts were badly torn, so I brought you these. All your other equipment made it though. You've been out for two days."
Tristan absorbed all this and said, "Thank you. I was caught unawares. You wouldn't happen to have any food would you? I'm a little hungry."
"Of course. If you get dressed, you can meet me down stairs. My son and daughter are out on a delivery to Hyrule Castle Market, so it'll just be me and you for breakfast."
Malon headed for the door, but turned around when she reached it.
"You know, you remind me of someone I've met before," she said.
"I'm not surprised," Tristan said. "I believe you knew my father, Link."
"Link! I didn't know Link had a child! Who was your mother?"
"I don't know. He didn't get a chance to tell me. He died in the forest three days ago."
"He did? I heard he was sick and nothing could cure him."
"The sickness worsened and he died from it. After breakfast there's something I need to ask you."
"I'll try my best to answer it… um… what was your name again?"
"Tristan."
"Tristan, I like that name."
Malon left and Tristan heard her going downstairs. He climbed out of bed and pulled off what was left of his tunic and shorts, and pulled on the vest, shirt, and pants Malon had brought for him. Leaving his equipment, Tristan went downstairs to the smell of eggs and toast. It was delicious, Tristan told himself, a big change from the fruit in the forest. When both he and Malon had finished eating, Tristan said,
"My dad told me to ask you if I could borrow a horse to help me get to the Castle. I'm supposed to see the Queen."
"Oh, so you're the one she was talking about," Malon replied. "I received a letter from her asking to prepare a horse for a boy who be arriving soon. I've chosen my best one. She's just the right size for you too. She's the offspring of your father's horse, Epona, and her name is Faya. She's the fastest, strongest, and smartest horse of her age."
"Thank you so much. It'll be easier than getting attacked by Stalchildren again."
"Quite. If you have an instrument of some kind, I'll teach you a song you can use to call her." Tristan ran upstairs and grabbed his ocarina, then met Malon outside.
After learning the song, Malon told him to give her a few minutes and that when he heard a whistle, to play the song. When he heard it, he played the song, heard a whinny and the sound of small hooves, and saw a beautiful white horse galloping toward him, already saddled and ready to ride. The horse stopped in front of him and nuzzled him. Tristan laughed and stroked the horse's nose.
"Hello Faya," Tristan said. "Would you like to be my friend?"
Faya snorted and nuzzled him again. Tristan laughed a second time and climbed into the saddle. Following the riding method of his father, Tristan removed the bridle and laid it on a nearby crate. He knew Faya would respond to his lightest touch, so there was no need for it. Malon reappeared and made her way over to him.
"You look great on her," she said. "Why don't you ride around the corral a few times to get a feel for it and then you can be on your way."
Tristan lightly spurred the horse toward the corral, then nudged her into a gallop as they raced a few other horses around the high fences. When he felt comfortable, Tristan rode back to Malon. She held Faya while he went inside and collected his things. He climbed on the horse and turned to thank Malon. She handed him a bottle full of milk.
"This is Lon Lon Milk," she explained. "When you drink this, you'll feel energized in no time. It's still early in the day, so you should make it to the Castle long before sunset since you're riding Faya."
"Thanks Malon. If I need a refill, I'll be sure to come back."
Tristan urged Faya into a gallop and raced out the gate. Since Lon Lon Ranch was on a hill, Tristan could see the high outer walls of Hyrule Castle Market, and further up its own hill stood the majestic Hyrule Castle itself.
Malon had been right; Tristan reached the market at midday. Since he and Faya together were only as tall as a Hylian, they had no problem navigating the busy streets till they reached the town square. Here Tristan dismounted and tied Faya's saddle to a hitch post. Figuring he could kill an hour, Tristan wandered over to the fountain and looked around. On the north side of the square, near the path that led to the castle, Tristan saw a cart with a red-headed boy who looked sixteen and a brown-haired girl who appeared to be ten unloading it. On the east side was the Bazaar, Item shop, a bunch of houses and apartments, the odd Happy Mask shop, and a set of stairs leading to the Temple of Time. To the south were more houses and apartments. And to the west was the Bombchu Bowling Alley, the Treasure Chest Game, and many more houses and apartments. Scattered hear and there were food stands of all sorts.
While observing all this, Tristan saw a group of men crouched in an alleyway to the left of the cart with the boy and the girl. The men all had swords, and they kept pointing at the cart. It looked like trouble, so Tristan pulled out his sword and shield and started creeping toward the cart. The group of men were ruffians alright, and they all rushed out and surrounded the boy and girl. Oh not good, Tristan thought and he moved faster.
"Alright you two!" one of the ruffians shouted. "Hand over the rupees you have and we're taking the cart!"
"Oh no you don't!" came a voice and Tristan leapt down from the cart right in front of the boy and girl. Tala flew around trying to find a good combat strategy.
"Who the heck are you?" demanded the first ruffian, who seemed to be the leader.
"I'm the one who's stopping you from committing a crime." Tala flew back to Tristan and whispered in his ear that none of the thieves seemed experienced in the use of their swords. Just then, they all attacked. Unlike the fight with the Stalchildren, Tristan was ready this time. He back-flipped out of the way and some of the thieves knocked themselves down by running into each other. Three where left, which turned into one after Tristan threw his boomerang. Last was the leader. He put up a decent fight, up till Tristan knocked his sword away.
Guards came running over to the fight as Tristan sheathed his sword.
"What happened here?" the captain asked. The boy Tristan had saved answered.
"These thieves tried to rob us, but this young boy stopped them in seconds, it was amazing!"
"Yes, it was. If it weren't for him, we'd both be dead!" said the girl. She was looking at Tristan with her green eyes in a way that made her face glow with admiration. Tristan blushed slightly and turned to the captain.
"Well young one," the captain said with a smile. "I saw you enter the market. Barely here fifteen minutes and already causing trouble. You remind of another boy who came here many years ago. His name was Link, and he turned out to be the Hero of Time. You look like him as well, now I think of it."
"I should say so sir," Tristan replied. "My name is Tristan, and Link was my father." The captain recoiled at this information, but recovered and started rubbing his chin, thinking.
"So it's true that Link had a son. Young man, Tristan you said your name was? Do you perchance have a letter from Her Majesty?"
"I do," Tristan pulled out the summons and handed it to the captain.
"Just as I suspected," the captain said, a smile spreading across his face. "Tristan, you must come with me. I've been given orders to bring the one from the forest to Her Majesty as soon as I saw him."
Tristan looked at the two he had saved. The boy had continued unloading the cart, but the girl still stood there, now looking hurt that her rescuer was leaving so soon. He turned back to the captain, who seemed to understand. "I'll give you a half hour," the captain said, and he walked back toward the other guards who were busy dragging the unconscious thieves away.
Tristan turned back to the girl, who immediately threw her arms around his neck. Tristan blushed furiously as Tala fluttered around excitedly, emitting a delightful tinging sound all the while. When the girl finally let go, she giggled at the site of Tristan's stunned expression.
"Thank you so much for saving us," she said. "You looked so cool taking on those five thieves! My name is Celina; I'm the daughter of Malon. I think I remember seeing you at Lon Lon Ranch. You were asleep though. I never thought you could be anyone like the son of Link… Oh dear! I'm sorry, I started rambling again."
"It's okay," Tristan said, feeling a little less embarrassed. "It was fun beating those guys up. It was real nice meeting you Celina. My name is Tristan. I lived in the forest my whole life, until my dad came and told me the queen needed me. I'm on my way there now. And it seems my time is running out. I'm gonna need to get my horse and be off. Sorry I can't stay longer."
"Wait, will I ever see you again?"
"Of course! Tell you what," Tristan removed the necklace that was hanging around his neck. He had intended to give it to Saria, but as they could no longer be together, he could probably use it as an oath-keeper, "take this necklace. Let it be my promise that as long as you have it, I'll see you again, okay?"
"Okay, thank you," Celina replied, taking the necklace and putting it on. Tristan bowed and dashed off to retrieve Faya. Then he looked around for the captain and saw him on a horse near the path to the castle. As he galloped towards him, Tristan spotted Celina watching him again. He waved, and she waved back. Then the captain and Tristan sped off to the castle.