Nice, I'm done all my exams and have a whole two weeks to do nothing! It definitely put me behind on my writing, but I'll try to get a couple chapters out before I start working full time. Can't really promise an exact update rate once May comes around, but hopefully it'll be something like one chapter every two weeks, though it seems more likely to be every three.

Oh, and before the chapter starts, I just want to clear something up, as it's come up with more than one person. The Wind Fish's dream was not Link's. All the stuff that happened in the Wind Fish's dream was the Wind Fish's, and Link's dreams now are his own subconscious recreations of Koholint. I'm not sure if it was a wording issue or simply a misunderstanding, but just know that it wasn't all Link's dream.

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

Talk of the Past

A week had gone by since Link first awoke at Lon Lon Ranch, and he was nearly back to his full strength. While he still found that his stamina was a bit paltry and his affinity for animals had lessened, the hero was more or less back on his feet and able to perform to the abilities of a regular person. If nothing else, his caretakers made no comment of his inability to perform daily tasks.

Though it had only been one week, Link had gotten into the habit of helping with the usual duties that Malon and Talon performed. Milking the cows, collecting cucco eggs, and tending to the basic needs of the animals were only a few of the tasks he had begun growing accustomed to. While he still planned on departing once he felt his debt had been repaid, Link enjoyed this short break from adventuring. Experiencing a settled life was more relaxing than he imagined it to be.

As he brushed the side of one of the cows, Link felt his face drop into a frown. He wasn't sure what was causing it, but ever since he had arrived here, his dreams seemed to act like a single, continuous dream: picking up where they had left off each time he woke into the real world. He had heard of recurring dreams before, but none of these were the same as the previous, as each time something would happen in one dream, the next would be affected. Of course, it was nothing to get worked up over or cause worry for, but it was making the idea of letting go of Marin incredibly difficult, especially since he was sure to see her each time he went to sleep.

Many times, Link had contemplated telling Marin about the real world. After all, if she was just a figment of his subconscious, then learning that shouldn't confuse her. Besides, even if something bad happened, it wouldn't matter, as he would continue to wake up in this world. It was likely that these dreams would eventually cease, and then it would no longer matter what he did or said to Marin now.

"Oh, here you are!"

Link turned towards the source of the voice, his train of thought broken by Malon's entrance.

"Here I am," he mirrored her. "Did you need me for something?"

"Not really," the redhead stated, sauntering her way over to where he was. "I just finished all of my tasks for the day and thought you might want a hand."

"Well, I was just grooming the cows," Link said, glancing around the barn before looking at her again, "but I'll be finished after this one here. Is it right for us to be finished working so quickly?"

Malon giggled a bit and petted the cow. "There's no harm in finishing early. You're a bigger help than you probably think, Link. Splitting up the work between three people is better than two, especially since Dad has to leave a lot to make his delivery trips."

"I see."

Link felt his gaze unconsciously drifting to the redhead beside him as he continued brushing the animal before him. Over the past week, Malon had grown much more comfortable around him, more so than he could say he felt around her. It wasn't that he found it awkward to be around Malon, but Link was unable to lower his guard as quickly as he would have liked to. Even after she and her father had already proven their kindness during his stay, the best he could do was remain somewhat stoic around them.

"Well, well, what are you two kiddos doin' alone in the barn?" Talon's voice teased from the entryway. "I know you're young and energetic, but this place isn't exactly the best to start gettin' cozy."

"Are you ever going to give that up?" Malon sighed as they turned to her father. "It seems like the two of us can't even be in the same room without you making some kind of silly remark."

"Silly remark? Ouch, that's gotta sting, Link."

"It's no trouble, really," Link answered flatly, having learned that the best way to deal with Talon's jokes was to brush them off.

As expected, the moustached man sighed and shook his head, having lost the mood for having fun. "One day you kids are gonna regret being so serious. Sprouts like you are supposed to be enjoyin' your youth."

"Did you want something, Dad?" Malon asked, basically ignoring everything he had just said.

"Oh, that's right!" the bald man perked up, smiling widely under his moustache. "Since the work is all done and it's only about noon, I thought it might be a good idea if you showed Link around, gave him a tour of the sights."

"The sights?" Link asked, glancing out one of the windows. From what he had seen, there didn't seem to be much of anything around this ranch. Off in the distance there was a mountain and a castle of some sort, but other than those, they didn't seem to be near anything.

"Are you sure that's all right?" Malon asked, also glancing out the window. "We wouldn't have enough time to go to more than one place, and even then we wouldn't be back until nightfall. Are you okay with handling the animals on your own?"

Talon snorted and crossed his arms. "Heh, Mal, I've been wrasslin' with animals since before you were born. I doubt any of these rascals will give me much trouble. Why don't you go ahead and take Epona. You and Link can take the cart and have a picnic someplace or other."

While he hadn't been direct about it, the tone of his voice and smirk on Talon's face were enough to imply that he wanted them to treat it romantically. Link and Malon avoided looking at each other as their faces reddened, though they were unable to get angry at Talon since he did not directly say what he had meant.

Having said what he came there to say, Talon chummily headed off, whistling the same tune that Malon liked singing to the horses. Given that they had been put in similar situations all week, the tension in the barn was quick to die down, and Malon quickly regained her composure.

"Well, he was being dumb about it, but I wouldn't mind showing you around Hyrule. You've never been here before, right?"

"Hard to say," Link chuckled lightly, completing his brushing of the cow. "There are actually a few places called Hyrule on the other side of the ocean. I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've been to this one in particular, though."

"Huh, that's kind of weird," Malon mused. "In any case, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to bring some food along if we're headed off somewhere. Do you have any preferences?"

"No, anything's fine. Your cooking tastes great, no matter what you make."

The redhead blushed, making Link feel a bit odd about what he had just said. It wasn't meant as something to make her feel embarrassed; he genuinely liked the food she made. It was reminiscent of Marin's cooking, the main differences being the style of cooking food on a tropical island versus on a farm.

"O-Okay, I'll just whip something together, then," she said shakily before quickly heading off towards the house.

Watching her head off, Link shook his head once she was out of sight. Why did he have to compare all the things Malon did to the things that Marin did? He knew both of them well enough at this point to see just how different they were from each other, even if they looked a bit similar.

He had been doing his best to make peace with Marin's existence, or rather her lack thereof, but it always seemed that something about her would spring to mind whenever he would go a certain period of time without thinking of her. The continuous dream was challenging enough to deal with, but being unable to control his own thoughts was brutal. How was he supposed to forget about her when he knew he truly did not want to? Was this some sort of punishment? All his life he had fought for good, but perhaps something had been flawed along the way.

Picking up the pail and other supplies he had been using, Link shuffled his way out of the barn, placing the supplies by a water pump that he would use to clean them out later. Wiping his boots off on the doormat, he entered the house.

"Oh, Link," Malon called to him from the kitchen. "I've got my hands a bit full here. After you wash up, can you go get Epona and the cart ready? You know how to do that, right?"

"Sort of," he answered back and began making his way up the stairs. "I can get Talon to show me if I need help."

"Okay, thanks!"

With that, the blond continued heading up the stairs, making his way to where the bath was. He already knew that Malon would have heated one for him, so it came as no surprise when he opened the door to find steam floating about inside. Shutting the door behind him and stripping off the tattered clothes he'd borrowed from Talon, Link wasted no time in settling himself into the hot water.

After quickly washing his body, the hero changed his clothes and made his way to the paddock, where Talon was sitting under a tree as he watched the horses graze and trot around. Upon noticing Link's appearance, the stocky man awkwardly stood up and made his way over to him.

"So, you two decided where you're gonna head off to?" Talon inquired.

"Not sure," Link said while shrugging. "It's not like I have any real say; I've never been here before."

"Hahaha, very true, very true," Talon guffawed, throwing his head back as he did so. "But you know, this could be a very good opportunity for you."

Link sighed lightly, but a thought other than brushing it off crossed his mind. "Old man, can I ask you something?"

"Hmph, not sure how I feel about this "old man" business, but shoot."

Beginning to walk over to the stables where the cart was stored, Link made sure not to make eye contact with Talon. "Well, I've been wondering… You seem to joke around a lot when it comes to Malon and me, but are you really trying to push us together like that?"

There was a silence that ensued between them, and Link cautiously cast a look at Talon's face. At first, the man seemed ready to make some kind of joke, probably along the lines of "Oh, are you interested?" but the smirk was slowly evaporating into a more serious look. He actually looked like a concerned father at this point.

"Let me tell you something, Link," Talon started, clearing his throat. "I've been living on this ranch since the day I was born. My family's been taking care of this place for generations now, and we've always been happy doing so. When Mal was born, it was probably the happiest day of my life…no, it was most definitely the happiest day of my life.

"It was only the three of us, but Mal, my wife, and I loved every second of it. Mal was becoming the perfect little farm girl, even scolding me when I got lazy or dozed off in the middle of work. We were laughing and smiling every day and it seemed like nothing could go wrong. Of course, that all ended when my wife got sick.

"It never struck me before, how vulnerable we are to the world around us. Because I'd grown up with the animals, I had always been a bit stronger than most folks. Only the strongest of diseases could get to me, so I never even thought about what it'd be like for someone who hadn't grown up here. 'Course, my wife wasn't quite so durable.

"After she died, I got to thinking, what would happen to Mal if I someday got sick? Sure, she and I were born and raised here, but my health would probably take a hit as I got older. Could I leave her, my only daughter, alone in this world like that? She's twenty now, but that's still too young to leave her all by herself, especially since she's spent her whole life with me. I'm not trying to say that it has to be you, but it would put me at ease if she had someone in case things take a turn for the worst."

Link was silent as they began attaching Epona to the smaller of two carts. How was he meant to respond to such a story? He had never imagined that Talon's teasing held a much deeper intrinsic meaning. Thinking on it now, he even began to feel slightly guilty for always brushing the man's jokes off.

"Eh, don't get yourself all down about it, though," Talon suddenly said, his voice and face as animated as usual. "As far as you're concerned, I'm not dyin' anytime soon, you hear? 'Til then, you better make sure you're worthy o' being my Malon's!"

Cracking a small smile, Link shook his head and patted the cart gently. "Whatever you say, old man."

Talon chuckled, making sure his side of the cart was correctly hooked on. "About all that, though; you really do seem like her type, y'know. It'd be a shame if she couldn't meet another fella as compatible with her."

Compatible? From his perspective, Link thought that his relationship with Malon was still more like that of an acquaintance than anything else. What exactly gave Talon the idea that they were right for each other, or was he trying to mess with him again? Judging by the look on the bald man's face, he was being serious this time around.

"Maybe so, but I'm afraid it won't work out," Link said, turning his gaze to the rolling green hills in the distance. "Don't get me wrong, I like Malon, but not that way. I think the only reason I might have ever thought of her as anything more is because of your teasing and because…she reminds me of someone I used to know…someone I used to care about very much…"

"I see," Talon said quietly, sounding almost fatherly as he did so. "That's a darn shame, but if it can't be helped, then it can't be helped. Still, don't think that it'll make me stop teasin' you!"

Turning back towards Talon, Link grinned. "I think I'd be more concerned if you stopped."

∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆

The cart bumped along the endless green pastures, bouncing as the wooden wheels rolled over small pebbles or bumps along the way. There weren't many worn paths around, it seemed, so anyone who might be travelling by cart simply had to deal with the bumps along the natural landscape. Not that Link minded, as this was much more preferable than walking to wherever they were headed.

It was a perfect day to spend outdoors, and Talon's suggestion for a picnic was actually rather appropriate, even if his ulterior motives were not. Link took a deep breath as he gazed up at the blue skies overhead, noting the few wispy clouds that thinned around the edges. The air was comfortably warm, cool enough that he could keep his sleeves down.

Beside him, Malon handled the cart like she had done this hundreds of times, which was probably the case. Allowing Epona to move at a slow gallop, there was no worry of tiring the horse out and they appeared to be heading toward their destination at a relatively quick pace, though Link still was unaware of where they were going.

"You're not afraid of water, are you?" Malon asked as they bumped along.

Link gave her a confused look before his lips curled up into a sarcastic smirk. "Well, considering I was alone out on the open ocean in a dinghy, I wouldn't say I am."

Malon's cheeks turned a bit pink, but she chuckled. "Oh, that's right. Heehee, I'm not sure how I forgot that, but you might've been scared since you almost drowned out there, right?"

"Fair enough, but I'm okay with water," he said. As thoughts of why he had almost drowned in the ocean began creeping into the forefront of his memory, Link quickly steered the conversation another way, "Are we going somewhere with a lot of water?"

"Yeah," the redhead answered simply, pulling on the reins a bit as they began descending a hill. "I was thinking about where I could show you first and decided that Lake Hylia would be a nice place to start. There's a lot to see around there too, so it won't be hard to spend an entire afternoon there."

"Mm," Link hummed, unsure completely how to respond since he had no idea what the area was like. He wouldn't have had many objections to anywhere she decided, so it seemed like the most basic way to answer.

It was a little under an hour when they passed under the archway in the canyon entrance. Slowing their pace as the lake came into view, Link gazed upon the round lake. He couldn't help noticing how open it seemed despite being completely surrounded by high cliff walls. Other than a single building, a few pillars in the water, a very small patch of farmland, and the bridges connecting some small islands, everything surrounding the lake seemed completely governed by nature.

Stopping the cart by the water's edge, Malon and Link hopped out of the cart to unhook Epona. Once freed, the powerful steed dipped her face into the lake water before grazing on the grass.

"I hope you're hungry," Malon said as she grabbed the basket off of the cart. "I accidentally made more than I was planning to."

"Don't worry about it," Link replied as he laid out the picnic blanket. "I like your food, so it's not like I'll be forcing myself to eat it or anything."

Only giving him a slightly bashful smile in return, Malon slipped off her shoes and sat down on the blanket. Preferring to keep his boots on, Link simply sat with his feet resting on the grass. In a comfortable silence, the two wordlessly began eating, gazing around at the sparkling waters and greenery.

"Hey," Malon said after a while, catching Link's attention, "if you don't mind my asking, what kind of places have you been to, Link? You're an adventurer, so I bet you have a whole bunch of stories to tell."

Swallowing the piece of sandwich that was in his mouth, Link stroked his chin as he thought back on all the things he had done. "Hmm, I don't really know where to start…"

Before he knew it, he had begun retelling some of his most exciting stories, trying his best to downplay some of the more heroic parts so as not to seem the least bit narcissistic. Malon of course, listened with wide eyes and comments of amazement, fully believing everything that he said. He was actually rather surprised at the ease with which she accepted some of the more extraordinary details of his tales. In truth, he had expected her to suspect him of lying or exaggerating, especially for some of the magic-involving parts, but she never once raised an eyebrow to anything he told her.

"And that's pretty much the last thing that happened before Talon found me in the desert," he said, sighing as the feelings of nostalgia washed over him. "I never really thought about it before, but I've done a lot of stuff…"

"I'll say," Malon giggled, shifting her weight so she could lean back on her arms. "I thought that travelling around Hyrule was a lot, but you've spent at least half your life doing all kinds of crazy things. Still, as amazing as you made it all sound, I don't think that's the kind of lifestyle for a simple girl like me."

Blinking, Link turned to look at the water, watching as the sunlight reflected off the wavy surface. "I think I'd be more surprised if someone did want to live out that kind of lifestyle. When I tell it like I did just now, it sounds like some kind of heroic fairytale, but honestly it's just exhausting. I mean, before coming here, I was ready to settle down on Ko–"

The words caught themselves in his throat, preventing him from finishing his sentence. He hardly even noticed as Malon leaned forward to see if he was all right. His face was frozen, but it was because he did not want to show the emotion that threatened to burst from him if he dwelled on that thought for too long.

He wanted to let go of the past, the dream, everything that was now causing him anguish. He wanted to treat those false months as the single night that they had been, leaving them behind as nothing more than an odd dream. After all, there was no point in remembering anymore: not about Koholint, not about the Wind Fish, and certainly not about Marin.

Link could feel his vision begin to mist, and he clenched his hands tightly, hoping to distract his head with the pain of his nails digging into his palm. He couldn't keep dwelling on this; he had to prevent himself from being hurt by it anymore. Was it possible? Whether it was or not, Link knew that he could not continue on like this.

"Link?" Malon said, finally managing to capture his attention. Blinking back his tears, he flicked his eyes in her direction, feeling a pang of guilt at the concerned look on her face.

"S-Sorry," he apologized, "I lost myself for a moment just then."

She shook her head and gently took his hand in both of hers, causing him to look down in surprise. "No, don't apologize. I'm sure…it must have been hard… You told me before that you had to leave her; I can't even imagine what that must have been like, especially after all you've been through."

As if by some kind of healing spell, her words seemed to pass through her soft hands and flow up into him, calming his wounded soul. Link could feel his body relax, though it would be false to say that he was feeling completely better.

"Link, if…if there's any way that I can help you, don't hesitate to ask. I'm not trying to overstep my boundaries or invade on your private matters, but I want you to know that I'll be here if you ever need anything."

Looking up from their hands to Malon's face, Link could see the serious, caring soul through her deep blue eyes. She had the same spirit as Marin, and yet at the same time the two were nothing alike. Marin had taught him the meaning of love, and now Malon was doing her best to heal the pain of losing that love. For a moment, a very brief moment, Link thought back on what Talon had told him earlier, and the possibility of the idea flashed momentarily in his mind.

After staring at each other for a while, Malon's pale cheeks suddenly reddened and she quickly removed her hands from Link's in a flustered manner. Tensely placing them in her lap, she stared at the ground, seemingly too embarrassed to look the hero in the eye.

"O-Oh, p-please don't misinterpret what I said," she stammered. "I-I was only trying to let you know that…that you don't have to do everything alone. If you don't want my help, that's p-perfectly fine too; I just–"

She was cut off by Link firmly placing his hand on her head. Lightly ruffling her hair, he smiled softly as she flicked her eyes up at him.

"Thanks, Malon," he said quietly, continuing to tousle her hair. "You may be a little awkward when it comes to getting your point across, but your heart's in the right place. It made me feel a lot better, actually; you're a good kid."

Giving him an angry smirk, she swatted the hero's hand away and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Hmph, I'm not a kid, and you can't be that much older than me! If anything, I'm older than you are!"

Grinning back at her, Link chuckled. "Oh? I'm twenty-one, so that makes you a kid to me."

"Well…I'm twenty-two!"

"Your dad said you were twenty."

"H-He just forgot because he's getting old."

"I think you're forgetting because you're a dumb redhead."

"It's dumb blond!"

"See? You've even forgotten the colour of your own hair."

"Rrgh, you're an annoying old man, aren't you?"

"You shouldn't speak so disrespectfully to your elders."

Laughing and making playful jabs at one another, the two quickly forgot their troubles, allowing the mirthful atmosphere to ease their souls. Spending a great deal of their time simply talking, they did not realize how long they had been at the lake until the sky was painted with oranges of the sunset. Packing up the blanket and empty basket, they hastily attached the cart back to Epona and made their leave of Lake Hylia. By the time they were back, the stars had already blanketed the moonlit sky.

"Well, getting back a little late, I see," Talon jeered as they passed through the Lon Lon Ranch entrance. "Lost track of time?"

"I said we'd be back after nightfall," Malon stated, though her voice was still a bit bubbly from before.

"Heh, whatever it was you kids were doing, I think I'd rather not hear about it," he chuckled, waddling inside the house as they went to put away the cart and Epona.

Once they were back inside, Link headed upstairs to change into his nightclothes. Despite growing accustomed to sleeping in his daytime clothes, he had no say in the matter, as he was now sleeping in a bed each night and could not be so rude as to sleep in the clothes he had been working in all day. Even if Talon's clothes were a bit too wide and sometimes too short for him, Link graciously accepted the generous offer. Only able to find his sleeping shorts, the blond carefully glanced around the room to scout out the shirt.

"Eep!" someone squeaked from the door. Quickly turning around, Link spotted Malon with one hand over her eyes and the other holding some kind of large grey cloth. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't know you were changing…"

"Oh, uh, don't worry about it," Link answered awkwardly, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "Did you need something?"

Keeping her eyes covered, Malon held up the grey thing. "I forgot that I washed this today and was bringing it up to you."

Cocking his head to the side, Link then realized that she was holding his sleeping shirt. Chuckling breathily, he stepped over to her and took it.

"Thanks," he said coolly. "You know, you don't have to get embarrassed about me without a shirt on. If it were my pants, then that would be a different story, but this is nothing to be nervous about."

She didn't react at first, but after a moment or two, he noticed Malon's fingers spread apart as she peeked at his shirtless torso. Thankfully, she didn't seem put off by his words, as he realized afterward that it may have sounded like he was egging her on, possibly even harassing her. As she slowly lowered her hand, he smirked and moved the shirt around to find the bottom hole.

"Are your arms okay?" she asked, causing him to look at her in surprise before he could slip the shirt on. "You always wear long sleeves, so I've never noticed those scars on your upper arms before."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Link asked as he tried to bend in a way that would allow him to see his triceps.

"They're right here," she said, moving to poke the spot on his triceps where the scars were. "Here, I'll grab you a mirror."

Moving over to the bedside table, Malon pulled out the drawer and retrieved a hand mirror. Handing it to Link, the hero crossed his arm in front of him and held the mirror in his other hand to look at the reflection. Just as Malon had said, some odd scars were on his arm, and after switching arms, he noticed that there seemed to be more on his left side than his right.

"Now that I look at them," Malon said, examining them more closely. "They don't really look like scars at all. They're like…some kind of markings I can't understand. Have you ever seen a language like that?"

Trying to mentally flip the image on the mirror to see if he recognized the markings, Link slowly shook his head. "…No… It's weird, though… They seem familiar, but I can't read them and I don't think I've seen these kinds of characters anywhere before."

The longer he examined them, the more Link grew confused by their sudden appearance. Given their location on his body, it seemed natural that he would not have noticed them before, but how had they gotten there? He could not recall any incident that could have possibly left such markings on his arms. Was it possible that these were not actual characters, and that something had happened while he was in the desert that led to these markings that resemble a language being marked on his arms? It was incredibly improbable, but Link had no other explanation for it.

"Well, as long as they aren't causing you any pain, I suppose it doesn't really matter what they are," Malon said after a while, realizing that they weren't going to figure anything out just by staring at them. "Anyway, it's getting late, so I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Link."

"Yeah, 'night," he responded automatically, keeping his eyes fixated on the mirror image. Even after he heard the door shut behind Malon, Link continued examining the strange marks, growing more curious by the moment as he stared at them.

"Asymmetrical markings," he said to himself, counting the greater number of markings on his left arm compared to his right, "but the ones that line up are the same…"

Was there some reason for this symmetrical asymmetry? Perhaps the cause of whatever put them there did not have the time to fully mark both sides of his arms before Talon found him. It was certainly a possibility, but what could this mean? Was he being hunted? Maybe he was simply being watched, though that did not make him feel any more at ease. Whatever the case, he knew that pondering would only give him a headache, so with one last glance at each arm Link sighed and slipped the shirt on. Putting the mirror back in the drawer, he quickly went around the room and put out the candles before crawling into bed.

If nothing else, he could always ask Marin about it…

Yikes, took me longer to actually finish writing it than I had hoped, but at least it's done now, right? I think this one was a bit better than the previous chapters, so hopefully that makes up for the longish wait (unless you didn't like this one…).

I have to admit, I haven't written a budding romance in a while, so I'm feeling a bit rusty at the moment, especially since my other stories at the moment aren't really what I'd call "budding" romances. I don't think there's anything wrong with it, but then it's a little hard to judge my own work. If anything seems to be going along too quickly, don't hesitate to let me know!

Thanks to 9tailsfox2, MadSkillz, and linkkirby8692 for reviewing! linkkirby, to answer your question (sorry for not doing it through PM, but it was a very short question), this story doesn't follow any sort of timeline, so the events of OoT never happened (at least not with this Link). Think of it sort of like an AU.

Thanks for reading and please review!

–GengaJupite