It was late in the afternoon before Link returned to the ranch from a patrol. Since saving Hyrule he had taken the responsibility of keeping the monsters that still roamed the land under control. I liked using the times he patrolled to straighten up the house. I heard Eponas familiar whinny just as I was wiping down the table surface. I felt a subtle excitement grow on me, the same one that always showed after he returned from any length of time spent away.
"Hey". He greeted me with a smile when he opened the door.
"Link!" I beamed in return. "How was your patrol?"
"Nice and quiet." His soft smile remained as he placed the Master Sword, his bow and shield on the ground. Link the. Shuffled through a small leather bag on his waist. "I ran into the postman. He had some letters for you." He handed me a small stack of folded notes.
"Oh." I tried not to express it, but I already knew about these letters. I'd received several letters from areas across Hyrule in recent weeks. I hadn't been shipping out any milk.
"Hm?" Link was too observant for my attempt at secrecy. "What's wrong?" His sapphire eyes searched my face.
"Oh nothing..." I pursed my lips while running my fingers along the edge of the notes. "They want Lon Lon milk." I added when he didn't look like he was going to let up.
"Let's send some then." To Link, it didn't make sense that I wouldn't want to sell the milk. It was the ranch's primary source of income. But my dad had been taking milk to Kakariko when he was attacked and the thought of it gave me a of of anxiety.
"Um... I don't want to." I didn't really think my response through before saying it aloud.
He blinked several times in silence, and I could see him thinking through what I wasn't saying. "I can go." My eyes shot to his, and I wasn't sure if they were showing relief or fear.
Obviously it was no secret that Link was capable of taking care of himself. I was positive he would return safely if he went. But that didn't ease the pounding in my chest. "Link, whoever..." I paused and searched my thoughts. "You haven't found anything in your patrols..."
Link sighed as realization dawned on him. "You don't need to worry about me, Malon." He smiled and wrapped me in a tight hug. I knew that, of course. But the reality was that even if he told me every single day not to worry, nothing in the world could stop me. "I'll take out all of the orders."
"Thank you…" I mumbled, holding the hug for a couple seconds longer.
Link had become very comfortable during his time with me, and was much more talkative than I'd ever known him to be. "Want to go to the marketplace?" He separated our shoulders to make eye contact with me, an excited twinkle in his face.
"But it's so late!" I protested, but I still felt myself become slightly giddy.
He shrugged and dragged me out behind him, scooping up his sword. I couldn't help but let out a giggle as I skipped to keep up with him.
When I was younger, I didn't care much for walking to the marketplace from the ranch, but now, in the setting sun with Link, it had become one of my favorite things to do. Sometimes I would hum a song for us, or we might talk about his patrol, or he could tell me stories about being a kid in the forest, or even more exciting, growing up a hero. No matter what we did, I always enjoyed myself when I was with Link.
As we approached the drawbridge in the growing darkness, Link threw his arm out to stop me from walking forward.
"What is it?" I asked, widening my eyes to look around us for anything unusual. Link did not answer, but walked slowly away from me. Time stretched out between us before I was able to make out the dark lump that caught Link's sharp eyes from the surrounding darkness.
As Link drew nearer, the dark pile of rags slowly stood to confront him. It was a man, not much older than Link or myself. It was hard to tell in the darkness what color his hair or skin was, but his eyes flashed out, as though they drew in the starlight. They were as red as rubies. I stepped back, shocked. I let out a small gasp as his fierce eyes shot in my direction, and time seemed to stand still for a moment.
Link hadn't drawn his sword yet, I figured he was giving the mysterious man the benefit of the doubt. "Do you need help?" his clear voice rang out into the night.
"Not from you." The dark man straightened his posture it was apparent that he was at least 4 inches taller than Link. At his aggressive tone, Link's hand raised to the hilt of the Master Sword. "Will you attempt to slay me, hero?." Fear passed through me like an icy wind as the stranger's words slithered through the air. But, before Link could draw his blade, a loud crack pierced the night, and the stranger vanished into nothing with a sudden and disorienting flash.
"Link!" I cried out and ran to his side. He was tense as his eyes scanned the surrounding area closely. "Who was that?" I wrapped one of my hands under his arm and held my body close to his.
"I don't know…" Link looked at the ground where the eruption of sudden light had allowed the man to escape.
"How did he do that?" I inched closer to the darkened patch of burnt grass to try and examine it, even though I knew I couldn't make any assumptions.
"He used a Deku Seed." Link looked kindly on me, but I could tell he was still concerned.
"How do you know?" I knew I should stop asking questions about it, but I just wanted to know more.
"I've seen a couple of people use that trick." He pulled me away from that spot, and continued guiding me into the Marketplace. As we walked away, I looked over my shoulder back to the dark horizon of Hyrule Field, and thought I saw a shape moving.
The Marketplace was bustling with the usual night-crowd. Since Link stopped Ganondorf, they didn't even close the drawbridge anymore. The town was filled with people, celebrating nothing, just to be enjoying the sense of relaxation that had taken over. It was always a good place to be, albeit a noisy one. The warm light cast off by the torches made everyone feel like family.
"Malon, Link! Get in here, you two!" The owner of a local pub in Castle Town waved us into his establishment. "Good to see you!" Pete was always very friendly towards us. But it wasn't unusual, because everyone was friendly toward Link, and anyone who he decided to keep for company. He was as well liked as Queen Zelda. Maybe even more so. "What can I get you guys?" Pete placed a hand on each of our shoulders, beaming down at us from above his bushy gray moustache.
"Just a couple small plates, Pete." Link spoke for us both, as I looked around at the people that were there.
For the most part, everyone was minding their own business, laughing with their friends over mugs of warm beer or eating a cheerful meal with family. There were people staring at Link, in obvious awe, and even a few young women glaring at me. I blushed, and inched closer to Link, knowing what they thought of the two of us together. He tucked me under his arm securely and led me through the crowded pub to a couple of empty stools.
Once we were seated with our food, we laughed and joked the night away with the people sitting near us. They cheered until Link agreed to tell a story of his travels. He drank the rest of his beer and chose to tell the scariest of all, in my opinion. His fight to free the Shadow Temple from evil. I watched as he talked animatedly about the dark and enormous cave tucked away in Kakriko, and gasped when he told us all about the living skeletons that he had to defeat in time to jump from a sinking ship. He didn't hold any scars about his time saving Hyrule from darkness. In hindsight, he wouldn't have wanted to devote his life to anything else, no matter how challenging.
After the sun began to lighten the sky, the pub cleared out, and so did we, trudging our way back home to the ranch through our exhaustion and slight level of intoxication.
In the comfort of Lon Lon ranch, I rinsed myself clean and plopped onto my bed. It was nearly time to wake up, but the light was still dark enough that I could get some sleep. I closed my eyes, a smile still playing at the corners of my lips. Link was rustling about his things, which were kept on the other side of the room, near the other bed. I listened silently to the comforting sounds, but soon the stopped. As I opened my eyes to look through the fading darkness, I was shocked to find him kneeled down beside my bed.
"Link?" I sat up in bed and he rose to sit next to me. "What is it?" I asked. I hoped he wasn't feeling sick.
"Malon, you're wonderful." Before I could react, he leaned forward and pressed his lips firmly against mine. I kissed him and tried to pull my face away to continue speaking but he wouldn't let me.
He leaned deeper against me, running his fingers into my hair, pulling the ribbon that held it all into a ponytail loose, letting it cascade over my shoulders. Link?! Pushing me into my back, Link leveled himself above me and took a second to look me over.
As his eyes scanned my face, hair and neck, the ever brightening morning light made his eyes look like they were glowing. His cheeks were slightly pink, and his hair hung like golden silk around his face. Oh my... My heart couldn't help but flutter. I placed my palms against his chest as he leaned in to lay more kisses along my jawline and neck. I began to draw heavier breaths, and in response, so did Link, trailing the steam from his lips across the neck of my shift dress.
"Link," I began, applying slight pressure to his chest. What's going on? While part of me was excited, the larger majority of me was confused. Link and I had been growing closer, but I didn't know he felt that close to me. I couldn't help but think it was just the long night at the pub that was bringing this out of him. But he remained ever in control, sitting up as soon as he registered my attempt to push him away. After he was up, I regretted my choice.
"Link, I'm-"
"Did you hear that?" He stood abruptly, and ran down the stairs and out into the early morning.
Author's Note:
Hi! I hope you've enjoyed this fic so far! I know I was super excited to start it up, and am pretty pleased with this chapter. I'm already starting on Chapter 4! Please come back once it's up, and read and review! 3