Aaaand here's the next chapter. I don't really have much else to say other than that. Forward ho!

Disclaimer: I do not, nor ever will, own Legend of Zelda and its glorious characters. *sigh*

~5~

-The time will come when you will have to return here quickly...-

The rain had cleared completely. The sun shone brightly and life seemed to go about normal. Malon spend a lot of her time working outside jobs. She tried to continue life like normal.

Except that she really couldn't. Sometimes the memory of her experience in Castle Town would haunt her to the point of tears. She had trouble sleeping most of the time and found herself scared of the dark again. That last one seemed childish, but at night her mind would wander and think about the nightmare she endured.

The only time she wasn't being mentally tortured by the memory was when her thoughts of the Sheikah boy clouded her mind. He has been such a peculiar boy. She still wondered why on earth he had left, but then returned to sleep there. Perhaps he did not want to sleep with her there. He did not steal anything though, nor had bothered the horses at all, so he must have been a pretty decent guy. Malon almost hoped he would return. She had rather liked the boy, and felt the strong desire to get to know him.

Days passed, turning into weeks. Malon dejectedly decided that the Sheikah boy would not return. After all, she probably wasn't supposed to know him.

One evening, Malon was brushing Epona down after a quick ride. The sun was warm and the endless sky was cloudless. Hints of dusk were settling on the earth, and an orange hue covered the ranch. Both girl and horse were thoroughly content with the day.

Talon shouted her name from the corral fence. Smiling, Malon ran to him. "What is it, Pa?"

"Ingo says he has business to attend to tomorrow and asked the day off. Can I trust you with the barn work tomorrow? I'll tend the horses and cuccos."

Malon didn't even think twice about it. "Sure thing."

Talon ruffled her hair affectionately. "Thanks darlin'. I'll make breakfast for you tomorrow."

As he walked away, Malon jumped and shouted. "Oh, Pa, make those egg pancakes! Those are delicious!" Talon answered with a laugh and a thumbs-up. Squealing, the girl readied to finish the day soon. Tomorrow was going to start early.

Malon ran, sobbing. The monsters were chasing her again, moans echoing around her continuously. They were huge, hulking beasts, humanoid in stature but with large, vicious claws and huge teeth. She ran through the alleyway, like she always did in her dreams. She knew there were more monsters waiting for her, but the dream continued its course.

A claw reached for her as she turned the corner. She pulled away so fast, she fell. Looking up, she saw large teeth gaping at her and empty eyes that hungered for her death. Crying out, she scrabbled up and ran again. Like always, she fell in front of that large building again. The creatures closed in on her. One particular beast reached her first and raised its claw to strike. Malon covered her eyes with a scream as the appendage fell towards her head.

Normally, this was where she woke up. But her dream continued with sudden silence. She felt no harm befall on to her, and risked opening her eyes. The monsters had fallen to the cold ground around her, still and quiet. The one that almost hit her was also dead, or at least really dead. A person stood between her and her attacker, breathing hard.

Malon watched as her defender turned to her. She gasped as she recognized the Sheikah boy. He was paler than she remembered, and held two elaborately carved short swords in his trembling hands. He stared at her with wide red eyes and dropped one of his blades. As it clamored to the dirt, his hand reached his chest. Malon nearly cried at the sight of the long wound, a tear in his flesh from his left shoulder to mid-chest, cutting into the red Sheikah symbol he wore. It was a deep wound that bled heavily. His eyes grew dull and he crumpled to the ground…

Malon gasped wide awake. She was covered in cold sweat and trembling. With shaky hands she climbed out of bed. It was about two hours before dawn, earlier than she had meant to wake up. Shivering, she grabbed her cloak. She would always see Epona after a nightmare, finding sanctuary in the barn. Still barefoot, she crept out of the house.

What on earth was up with her dream? It confused her as much as it unnerved her. She was, unfortunately, getting used to the terrifying nightmare, but this time she dreamt of the Sheikah boy. Did it mean something?

She latched the house door behind her and turned to the barn. Startled, she found the barn door cracked open. They never left the barn door open at night. Perhaps an animal got in.

Or a thief.

Malon crept inside and grabbed a pitchfork quietly. Holding it ready to strike, she walked between the stalls. The horses were still asleep, except for Epona and one other horse, Cobalt, whose stalls were farthest back. They both watched the pile of hay bales, ears flicking.

Malon thought that was strange. Epona would be rioting at the mere thought of a stranger in the barn. Creeping to the hay bales, she saw a shadow behind them. She tensed up, ready to attack.

The shadow shifted and Malon jumped. Shouting, she brought the pitchfork down and hit the person. The wooden shaft of her tool broke and the metal part went flying into the hay.

Malon cracked open an eye, not really noticing that she had closed them. She gasped and dropped the broken wood she held. The Sheikah boy lay in the hay, regarding her dully with his red eyes. He was lying on a pile of hay with his right arm held up, a splinter or two protruding from his forearm. He had blocked the attack.

Malon finally found her voice. "I-I'm so sorry! I thought you were a thief!" She fell to the ground. "Are you okay?"

He lowered his arm to hold his left shoulder and nodded. Malon sighed in relief and inspected him more closely. He looked about the same as she remembered, except dryer. He was pale, even in the darkness, and was breathing heavily. A thought struck her.

"Move your arm."

He stiffened but did not move. With anxiety washing over her, she reached over and moved his arm for him. He was wounded, just like he was in her dream.

She nearly slapped him. "You're hurt… why didn't you tell me?" She stood up and ran to the tool table. Grabbing a first aid kit, the flustered girl sank to the ground next to him and pulled out bandages. "We need to clean the wound, but I don't have any hot water ready. I'll go start that, but first put these bandages on the wound. It'll slow the bleeding."

The boy stared at her with a one wide, crimson eye (the other was covered by his messy, blond hair.) Malon huffed at his inaction and gently applied the bandages to the wound. He tensed in pain, but didn't pull away. She grabbed his hand and placed it on the cloth. "Apply pressure while I'm gone. Try not to fall asleep, okay?" He just stared at her and nodded stiffly.

She sighed and ran off to the house. She set a pot of water to boil and pulled out the cocoa powder. If Talon woke up, she had an alibi ready. While the water was boiling, she searched for clean clothes to wrap the wound with. She picked a handful of clean rags and a few of her dresses that she had outgrown years ago. As the water finished heating up, she spent a moment to think about her dream again. Was it a foretelling dream? It seemed so, the only difference being that the wound was a little less severe as it was in her dream.

She almost dropped the clothes she held with a thought. If it was a foretelling dream, did she foresee who had saved her in Castle Town? The thought both thrilled and scared her. Maybe that's why she felt co compelled to help him now. Grabbing the water, clothes, the cocoa and two mugs, she raced back to the barn.

The boy was starting the break a sweat when she returned. Checking his temperature, she confirmed he had a fever. Working quickly, she began to clean the wound. As she leaned over him, he watched her carefully. Noticing his wariness, Malon smiled sweetly. "Don't you worry. I've kept you a secret. Go ahead and rest now. I got this." He blinked and leaned back. He took a deep sigh.

She worked diligently, humming softly like she always did, cleaning out the wound with care. It was a clean cut, like from a sword. Her dream was wrong on that account. Once the wound was clean, she lifted the hem of his shirt. She sighed in relief: he was wearing something underneath. "I'm going to take off your over-shirt now. It's torn, and it's getting in the way." Unexpectedly, he didn't fight her as she eased his arms out. He seemed to be half asleep.

Wadding the bloodstained cloth, she said "I'm going to hide it, okay? This way, if anyone does find you, they won't see the Sheikah symbol." Her answer was a light sigh. "I'm going to be working in here today, so Pa probably won't find you." Malon glanced out a window. It was nearly dawn. She began to cover the wound with cloth. "I've got to go. I'll come back to properly wrap it later. Pa'll be waking up soon." The boy kept his eyes closed and nodded. Smile tugging her lips, Malon left the barn and entered her house again.

Talon was awake and cooking already. He boomed with morning cheerfulness "Morning sweetheart! I thought you were asleep."

Malon sat at the table. "I…had trouble sleeping, so I had some cocoa in the barn." She prayed he'd buy it.

He brought a steaming plate of pancakes over to her. Concern touched his eyes. "Do you need to talk about it?" He bought it.

Malon smiled and shook her head. "No, I'm okay. Mmmm, these look great!" She cut into her pancakes.

They finished breakfast and started their day. Talon was going to be outside most of the day, working with the horses in the field and cuccos, and minding any customers. Malon was relieved that the Sheikah boy could recover in the barn without worry.

She returned to her patient to find him asleep. Carefully, as so not to wake him, she wrapped clean cloths and bandages around the wound. It still bled quite a bit, but it was starting to clot slowly. Satisfied with his progress, she released the horses outside.

I have a problem where I enjoy putting characters through near-death experiences. At least nobody dies from them.

Or do they? Duh-duh-duh!

Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter!