Book 1: The Rescue of the Saviour
By JoeMoron2000
Chapter Eight: The Missive of the Oracles
Cock-a-doodle-doo!
Damn cuccos, she thought. Why can't it be tomorrow already? "Hmm," she said, and got out of bed, anyway. I've just one more day to go…
Cock-a-doodle-doo!
The first ray of sunlight crept over the top of the outer wall, and her bright red hair glowed in its light. She, however, was already hard at work by then. Since Ganondorf's downfall three years ago, she, her father, and the ranch, were busier than ever. "The return of freedom to Hyrule has brought about the largest surge in demand in our lives since the end of the Civil War," her father had told her. "We have to do our best to keep up, or we'll be put out of business!"
So much for hard work, Father, she thought bitterly. Despite his ever-enthusiastic spirit, his body was as lazy as they get.
There was so much to do, and so little time in the morning to get it done. After a quick 15-minute shower, during which she promised herself that tomorrow's shower would be luxuriously longer, she got to work.
The girl gathered several buckets, and headed into the stable, placed a bucket underneath one of the several oddly plain white cows, and sat down next to her.
"So how are you this morning, Boann?" she asked as she milked the cow. Boann simply continued chewing the dying grass in front of her, and didn't seem to care that she was asked a question.
"Yeah, I'm not feeling the best, either," the girl said, and continued. "But at least tomorrow promises to be better. And that comet the other night was beautiful." Seeing as Boann continued to ignore the conversation, the girl started whistling to herself.
She poured pellets of food into the dishes, opened the door, and called, "Come on, girls and boys, breakfast time," and a herd of horses trotted into the stable. "…Nineteen, twenty – stop chewing on my skirt, Kathy, the food's already inside – twenty one, twenty two… Hey, where's Rhia? Hey, Rhia, where'd you go? Rhiannon! Kathy, I said stop!" She pushed the young horse into the stable, picked up the buckets of milk, closed the lower door, and went looking for Rhia. She sprinkled some birdseed on the ground for the cuccos, and scanned the field, but Rhia was missing. "Rhiannon, where are you?" she shouted. Oh, no, she thought.
"Hey, did somebody lose a horse?" said a familiar voice from behind her, and she threw her hands up as she remembered that today was delivery day – and then realized too late that she had been holding the milk buckets, and stood there panicking, covered in milk. At least only one bucket had spilled on her. With a clank, she dropped the buckets, sloshing some milk onto the field.
"Hey, Malon, is everything okay? That crash –"
"Uh, yeah, I'll be there in a moment, I just need to go… do something quickly…" she squealed.
Malon embarrassedly ran inside and upstairs to her room to put on a cleaner dress. She hastily dried and brushed her hair, briefly smiled at her reflection in the mirror, even daring a wink, and hurried back outside.
"Hi there, Liaku," she said with a much brighter smile on her face. She looked at the horse he had in tow, and shook a finger at her in a motherly way. "Don't keep running off, Rhia! You worry me like that, you know. Do you want me to keep worrying about you?" She patted Rhia on the head. Hungry for breakfast, Rhia neighed, and sniffed Malon's hand for food. "Food's all ready," Malon said as she led the horse and Liaku, trailing a wheelbarrow in his stead, to the stable.
She turned around to Liaku, and smiled again. The boy was only a few inches taller than she was, and about a year older. His short black hair, while not her usual… preference, suited his demeanour well – that of a hard-working farmer. The look was certainly helped by the wheelbarrow behind him. Liaku reached in and picked up one of the crates. "Delivery," he said, opening it and showing her the various fruits and vegetables it contained.
"Oh, that's right," Malon said, making sure she wasn't holding anything this time, and slapping a hand to her forehead. She had forgotten again. Malon looked wildly around her until she found her crate of Lon Lon milk and eggs, and they swapped packages. Liaku put the milk and eggs back into the wheelbarrow. The whole time, Malon kept smiling, and even added a little hum.
"You seem happy," Liaku said, noting the obvious. Everything about her seemed lively, from the way she hummed to the way she whirled her head around her when she was confused; everything was done with grace.
"I do?" Malon asked, pretending not to have noticed, but completely failed to conceal her smile.
Liaku's eyes lit up, and he said, "Check underneath that bag there. Not that one, it's the one next to it – that one, right." He pointed to the bag on the end and watched as Malon picked up the carrots. Underneath was a sweet-smelling brown bar.
"What's this?" she asked, picking it up and sniffing it. She had never smelled anything like it before, and wasn't quite sure what to expect – she knew smells could be deceiving. Malon tentatively nibbled a corner, and to her delight, it tasted just as delicious as its aroma.
Her friend's face grew into a smile, and said proudly, "It's something called 'chocolate'. We got a shipment of these little things called 'cocoa beans' from Labrynna a few weeks ago, and Mother and I decided to try making some for ourselves. Do you like it?"
"It's wonderful, Li!" she said, dropping the crate and giving her friend a hug. "Thanks!"
Liaku returned the hug, and looked at her. "Don't eat it all at once; we only made eight of them."
Malon nodded, took a small bite, and put it back in the crate.
"I know tomorrow's your birthday, so I asked Mother if I could take the day off. She said it was okay, so, if you'd like, we could, say, watch the sun rise over Lake Hylia, and spend the day together – there's going to be a concert in Hyrule Town in the afternoon. What do you think?"
Malon gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and said, "I'd love it! Thanks!"
"Alright, I'll come get you when the sky starts getting lighter. See you tomorrow, Mal!"
With an equally magnificent grin on his face, Liaku turned the wheelbarrow around and left the ranch. As soon as he was out of Malon's sight, he added a skip to his step, and nearly knocked the wheelbarrow over. Maybe I should be a bit more careful, at least until I get back, he thought to himself.
Malon's eyes glossed over as she lost herself in thought as to what they might do tomorrow.
"Hey, Ingo, is he still in there?" Malon asked as she passed the only other worker at the ranch. "It's breakfast time, and I haven't seen him yet."
Ingo grunted. "Yeah, he's still in there. Lazy bum, that's why I didn't –" he started, but a fierce glance from Malon told him that he was going too far, and finished, "– that's why I didn't want to wake him. Yeah, that's it. I didn't want to wake him," he said nervously, and hurried out.
"Father!" she called, walking into Talon's bedroom carrying his tray. "Get up, Father!"
As usual, her father awoke with a start. "Huh? What is it? Is it mornin' already?" he said, still half asleep.
"It's been morning for hours, Father," she said, setting the tray next to him and heading back out of the room. "The shadow's almost at the second fence-mark."
Talon jumped. "Oh goodness, is it really that late? Why didn't you wake me sooner?"
Malon rolled her eyes and sighed. "Because when I do that, you get mad at me. We have this talk every morning, Father." She was halfway through the door, but her father spoke again.
"So wake me earlier tomorrow, and I promise that I won't complain, Malon!"
"I won't be here tomorrow morning, Father. It's my birthday tomorrow, and Liaku has already asked to spend the day with me. Now if you'll excuse me, I still have chores," she added with a distinct note of irritation. Without listening to his protests, she left his room and closed the door behind her, rather louder than she probably should have done. But no matter, her father would get over it; he always did.
Malon sighed and looked up. Around her, the leaves were beginning to turn colours, as they always did this time of year. With it was the seasonal chore of raking, so she reluctantly fetched a rake and began gathering the leaves on the ground. As she worked, she resumed her humming of the melody her mother had once taught her. Her mind drifted to thoughts of years past, when the memories of her mother were still fresh, but all pictures in her mind had all but faded by now.
"Epona, Epona… Epona, my dear…" she sang as she swept. Quietly, a figure approached her from behind as she whispered. "Don't you feel worried now, for your home is here…"
There was a slight strumming of a guitar behind her as she tried again.
"Epona, Epona… Epona, my dear," Malon sang for the third time, but the foal still hid from her. "Don't you feel worried now, for your home is here. Epona, Epona… Epona, my friend, no one can tell you our love shall end!" Slowly, the young horse poked its head out from underneath the pile of hay to hear the song, but refused to leave entirely.
"Our bond is much stronger than anyone can know; it can survive anything! It will last much longer than any rain or snow, as long as one of us can sing!" The little girl's voice rang through the ranch, and a gathering of animals formed around her, all sitting and listening to her song. Epona's eyes were closed; for the first time, she was able to rest with others nearby.
"Epona, Epona… Epona, my pal, even through anything, you're always my gal! Epona, Epona… Epona, my dear, don't you feel worried now! Your home's here!"
The horse's previously quickened breathing slowed, indicating she had fallen asleep. Talon put down his guitar as Malon giggled excitedly. She skipped to the foal and stroked its head. "Good girl, Epona! It's about time you got some rest!"
Talon approached the two, and hugged his daughter. "Your mother taught you well," he said, smiling.
"What happened to her, Father?" Malon asked. She looked back at Epona, sleeping peacefully, and was filled with sadness. "I can't remember her face anymore." When she had been a very young girl, her mother had sung that to her when she was frightened or upset. Her mother had had the sweetest, calmest voice… Since then, Malon adapted it to Epona, and sang it to her, instead.
Talon frowned. "Your mother is gone, dear."
"Why, Father? Why is she gone?" Malon turned away from her father, and wiped her eyes on her sleeve.
"Only the Goddesses can know that, dear. Only they can know that."
Malon hugged her father tighter. "I hope Mother comes back soon," she said.
"Don't worry, Malon dear, I'm sure she still loves us, and will come home soon."
Inside, however, he knew that that was not at all likely. His wife had left when Malon had only been five years old. That was four and a half years ago. Despite his hopes, her return was anything but likely.
"Epona, Epona… Epona, my friend, no one can tell you our love shall end!" Malon continued quietly, but was startled by a push at the back of her shoulder, and spun around. "Oh, goodness, Epona, don't scare me like that."
The horse rubbed her head against Malon, and stood next to her, expectantly. Her owner, however, frowned, and whispered, "No, you know I can't ride you anymore. Your leg hasn't healed properly!"
Epona didn't like this. With a snort, she turned so that Malon was outside of her field of view, and whenever Malon tried stroking her, Epona would once again turn away or move, preventing Malon from touching her.
Malon rolled her eyes. "Oh, alright," she said, and found a saddle; the rake was altogether forgotten now. "Let's give this a try, shall we?" In an expert fashion, she outfitted the horse with her gear, much to Epona's pleasure. She wrapped an arm around Epona's neck, then gracefully swung one leg over her horse, and took hold of the reins. They were unnecessary, however; Epona went where she wanted, when she wanted. If her destination was different from her rider's intended location, then… too bad.
The horse, now satisfied that she had won the argument, began with a light trot, which slowly progressed into a leisurely jog around the track. This, in turn, developed into a playful run, which culminated with an abrupt collapse, as Epona's injured right front leg gave way.
"Oh no, Epona," Malon shouted, jumping off her horse. "Are you okay, girl?" she asked, worried. Epona whimpered, and Malon hugged her mane. She said, "I'll be right back," and ran to the nearby washroom. I knew I shouldn't have ridden her, she thought with frustration. Malon shook her head. Thinking about what should have been, but wasn't, was useless. Malon grabbed some ice cubes, wrapped them in a towel, and hurried back. When she returned, she found Epona struggling to get up, so Malon pressed the towel against the injured leg.
"Don't try to stand; you'll only hurt your leg even more." But the application of a sudden cold to an already sharp pain in her leg caused Epona to kick at Malon.
"Ow! Epona, don't kick me when I'm trying to help you! You know I need to do this." Again, as if she understood what was said, Epona snorted and looked away. Malon pressed the towel to the horse's leg again, and, after a brief twitch, Epona regained her calmness. "You see what happens when we try that?" Malon said, in a mock stern voice. "Trouble happens, that's what!"
"Malon!" shouted a nearby voice, and Malon stopped patting Epona, and removed the icy towel from the horse's leg. "We have guests at the inn!"
"I'm coming, Ingo!" Malon shouted back. "Be right there!"
"I'll just be a few, Epona," she whispered to the horse, who stood up. "Don't be worried." She smiled, and the horse whinnied, returning to the field, albeit with a slight limp. Malon stood up, brushed leaves and twigs off her dress, and skipped to the employee entrance to the inn's lounge room.
Inside, there were three women, each with a different hair colour – red, blue, or green, and a different style. But Malon shrugged; she'd seen more peculiar things than dyed hair. She wore her best smile, bowed, and cheerfully greeted the guests with a bow.
"Welcome! My name is Malon Da, and this is the Lon Lon Ranch Inn!"
The woman with long, flowing blue hair stood up first. "Hi," she said, holding out her hand. "My name's Nayru, and these are my sisters, Farore," she nodded to the smallish girl with a pair of large green pigtails, "and that over there is Din," the woman with red hair tied back in a ponytail, and her face intently poring over her notebook, waved absent-mindedly at Malon. "We're the Oracles, and we would like a place to stay for a few days. We're in town for a little while, and this place was recommended to us by a fellow traveller, so we decided to stop by."
Malon, however, wasn't listening. The fact that the three sisters shared the same names as the Golden Goddesses didn't register. She didn't hear why Nayru had said they were there, and the bulky objects that stuck conspicuously out of their belongings weren't even a blip on her radar.
Instead, all of her attention was focused on the woman with the notebook, and a shockingly familiar tint of red hair. The moment her brain found her mouth, she managed to say, "Mother?"
"Excuse me?" said Nayru, her train of thought lost. "To whom are you speaking? Whom do you mean?"
Malon walked out from behind the counter, straight up to the Oracle named Din, and said, "Do you recognize me?"
The Oracle named Din, however, was equally oblivious. She pulled her face out of the notebook and looked at Malon, confused. Malon noticed large, golden earrings and bracelets, as well as higher-end clothing. She certainly wasn't poor, that was for sure. All she said was, "What?"
Farore, deciding that at last, something interesting had happened since they arrived, watched with mild interest.
"I… I know I'm not supposed to act like this to the guests, but I have to know: Have you been here before? Have you ever been to the Lon Lon Ranch before?"
Din thought for a moment, putting her notebook down completely. Malon noted that one side seemed to be full of words; lyrics, most likely, because the other side had musical notes. Finally, the Oracle responded, "Now that you mention it, the name is slightly familiar, but it's been over a decade since any of us have even been in Hyrule, until a few days ago. Why, am I supposed to?"
Malon crossed her arms and tilted her head, confusing Din even further. "No, I don't suppose you are." She returned behind the counter. "My apologies, Nayru, I didn't mean to interrupt. You were talking about… you mentioned that you…" She shook her head, and apologized again. "I guess I wasn't really paying attention," she said.
Nayru smiled, and said, "Don't worry. I said that we would like to stay here for a little while; four, maybe five days."
"Sure thing," Malon said excitedly, and pulled out the Inn's logbook. "We don't get too many visitors around here, so all our rooms are empty at the moment. Do you want individual rooms, or are you staying together?"
"Together, if you could, please, that would be great," Nayru said with a smile.
Malon made another note in the book. "Sure thing," she said again. "Alright, that costs… 84 rupees per night for the three bed suite – or did you want fewer beds?" she added hastily, but Nayru, silently giggling to herself, shook her head. "Right, that's 84 for the three-beds room, number 201. Breakfast is about an hour after sunrise – when the sun clears the first fence-mark in the field, and is included for free. Other meals cost an additional 10 rupees per person per meal. We just got a fresh delivery of vegetables, so lunch today will be vegetable soup. We have lunch when the sun is right above us, and the shadows are right below you.
"I'll show you to your room now; please follow me." She reached underneath the desk and found the room keys, and left the reception counter. "If I may?" Malon asked, offering to carry some of the luggage upstairs, but the offer was declined.
"Thank you," Nayru said, "but some of our equipment is a bit fragile, and it would be a shame if any of it were damaged. It's not that we don't trust you, but rather that we would prefer to carry our belongings ourselves."
Malon bowed, said that she understood, and turned around. "This way to the room," she said, motioning towards the staircase. Nayru carefully picked up her bags, and followed.
Farore stood up, but Din was lost in her thoughts and her notebook again. "Get up, spacewoman, let's go," she said, grabbing her sister by the arm and dragging her along.
"What – what's going on?" Din said, grabbing her knapsack and following Farore's grip.
With a slight grin, Farore responded, "The girl, Miss Da, is taking us to our room."
"I can hear you smirking, Far," Din said with irritation. "And yes, I do recognize my own daughter, thank you very much – you hardly have to give me hints, but I think you already knew that, didn't you?" Farore's chuckle gave away that she was right.
"Over there," Malon pointed to their right, "is the dining room. To the left and… through the wall, is the stable, where the horses eat and sleep sometimes. And these," she pointed beneath them as they began their ascension to the second floor, "are the stairs." Once again, Nayru giggled at Malon's joke.
"Do you say the same things to all of the residents?" she asked, smiling.
Malon shook her head and said, "Oh gosh, no; that would get boring and repetitive for me! I would certainly lose the enthusiasm after a while, don't you think? I have to keep thinking of new things to say to keep you all entertained, now, don't I?" She gave Nayru a wink, and called down to her sisters. "Hey, did you two get lost or something?" Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, Malon counted to herself, and sixteen steps. Even though she was facing Nayru, walking the stairs backwards, she expertly rounded the corner at the end and said, "This way to your room, ladies." At long last, Farore, dragging Din by the arm, appeared on the second floor landing. "Okay, ladies, this is your room, room 201. Here are your keys," she said, handing one to each of the women, and, using her master key, unlocked the room.
"Thank you, miss," Nayru said, bowing as much as her bags would allow her, and she and her sisters carried lugged their luggage into the room.
"I call the window bed!" shouted Farore, leaping onto the far bed. "Oh wow, these are soft!"
"Ooh, we even have a washroom!" Din noted as she placed her things on the first unoccupied bed.
Malon giggled, and said, "Yes, I forgot to mention, we have indoor plumbing, as well. Okay, now that you three are settled, if there's anything else you would like, please, ask now; otherwise, I'll be outside if you need me."
"Actually, Malon, there is one thing," said Farore, looking away from the window. Nayru nudged her and shook her head, but Farore whispered, "It wouldn't hurt to ask, would it?" Nayru sighed, and Farore took that as a sign to do so. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, do you think you have any breakfast left? We've been walking for almost a week, coming from our last gig, and didn't exactly have much – well, anything – to eat this morning."
"Okay, ladies, have a seat, and I'll reheat the water. We always have some extra farina, just in case," Malon said as they entered the dining room. She set a pot to boil, and joined them at the table. "So, if I'm not being too nosy, what brings you three to the kingdom of Hyrule?"
The three ladies glanced at each other, and, surprisingly, Din answered. "I don't know how quickly word spreads around here, but there's a concert for the next few nights over in Hyrule Town."
"Oh, yeah, I heard about that," Malon said. "My friend and I are going to see it tomorrow, too!" she said excitedly.
Farore chuckled, and Nayru said, "No, dear, we're not going to be watching; we're actually going to be in the concert! It's our show!"