Haha, oh how naïve I was to think that going back to school might give me more time to write. That may have been the case in the past, but I seem to keep forgetting that university isn't like high school: I actually have to try to get good grades. You would think that I would know that by now, this being my third year and all, but I'm not as clever as I like to pretend I am… Anyway, sorry for the long wait but school is starting to settle down now so I should be able to start writing more (at least until January).

As a side note about this chapter, I'm loosely using the geography of Ocarina's Hyrule Field as a reference for the part where they're travelling around, meaning it won't be exactly the same as if you were to look at the official map.

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

Don't Let Me Go

"Hunting?"

"Yeah, you're not against killing animals or anything, are you?"

Link raised an eyebrow at Malon as the sarcastic question passed her lips. If he were against killing animals, then a ranch or farm was probably one of the last places he would choose to stay.

"I don't really mind," he answered, shrugging as he leaned back in his chair. "But what made you suddenly want to go out hunting? Wouldn't it be faster to just go into town and buy some game from the butcher?"

The redhead clicked her tongue and waggled her finger as she matter-of-factly stated her point. "Oh, Link, there's no fun in going and buying some day-old meat. Besides, didn't you tell me that you were a pretty good shot with a bow? Now's your chance to show off your skills!"

"I guess, but it's been a really long time since I've used one. Either way, you don't even own a bow," he said. After a short pause, Link furrowed his eyebrows as another realization struck. "Hey, wait a minute. If you don't own a bow, doesn't that mean you've never even gone hunting?!"

Malon giggled a bit, putting on a 'you caught me' smile as she did so. "That's not entirely true. I've shot rocks at rabbits with a slingshot."

"That sounds more like a prank than an actual hunt… Did you ever manage to bring any back?"

"Um…hehe, only two or three."

Link sighed as he slumped forward in his seat. It wasn't any skin off his nose if she was inexperienced, but this idea seemed a bit too contrived for the two of them to pull off successfully. After all, he was no hunting expert; sure, he'd slain monsters with a bow while riding horseback, but it had to have been at least a year since he'd even held a bow, let alone taken something down with one. If he was shooting at something that was giving it's all to run away instead of something that was trying to fight back, chances were that it would be at least twice as hard to shoot effectively.

"B-But we can always go rent one from Kakariko Village!" Malon pleaded. "And even if I don't have any real hunting experience, I still know some good places to find deer and rabbits!"

Again, Link let out a sigh and rested his chin in his palm. There wasn't much of a problem with this, but they would probably have to take a day off of working to possibly come home without anything to show for it.

"Why do you want to do this so badly?" he asked, lazily moving his gaze toward her. "I'm not sure if I've ever seen you get so fired up over something."

Malon's pleading intensity calmed a bit as she sat down beside him. "Well, Dad's birthday is coming up soon, so I wanted to do something that I wouldn't normally be able to do on my own. Buying something at the store wouldn't be as meaningful as actually going out and doing the work myself."

If she'd said that right at the beginning, Link probably would have been able to piece that together for himself.

"It's a nice gesture and all," he began, "but couldn't this all backfire? I mean, for us to go out hunting, we would have to leave all the work here at the ranch for your dad to take care of. Even worse, since neither of us really knows what it takes to hunt properly, we might not be able to come back with anything. If that's the case, then all we'll have ended up doing is giving more work to him."

The redhead deflated, leaving a pang of guilt in Link's chest. As much as she seemed to want to do this, it just didn't seem practical. If she was willing, he wouldn't mind helping her pay for a professional hunter to get them a deer. At least that way they would get what they wanted for sure, and even if the hunter was unsuccessful, they could just get their money back and wouldn't have to push any extra work onto Talon.

"I thought it'd be a nice memory, too," she muttered very quietly. "I mean, you've been here for almost half a year now, but I know you still plan on leaving. I want to make the most of our time together."

Was she guilt-tripping him? He was forced to look away from her as the squeezing feeling in his chest began to overwhelm him. It didn't matter that he wasn't facing her, however, as the very utterance of those words made him recall the time she'd sadly muttered how she didn't want him to leave. It had been about a month and a half since then, but the power behind those words was more than enough to gnaw at his conscience.

"I guess if it's too much trouble, we don't have to do it," she whimpered. "Dad's never complained about the stuff I've done for him in the past, so I doubt he'll start this year. I'm sure he'll still appreciate it if I get him another–"

"Okay, okay, I give, we can do it," Link griped and rubbed at his temples. Almost immediately, he was tightly squeezed by Malon's arms.

"Oh, wow, really? You're the best, Link! Thank you so much! I didn't think you'd actually say yes!"

"Yeah, like I had a choice…"

Her only response to his complaints was a sweetly scheming smile and the chuckle of someone who knew exactly how to get their way.

∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆

Before Link knew it, the scheduled hunting day had arrived, and the two Hylians were making their way down the stairs from Kakariko village. With the freshly rented bow and quiver in her hands, Malon was grinning triumphantly while the man beside her was still brooding over the fact that this could end up being a waste of time and effort.

"Okay, Link!" the redhead stated excitedly as they reached the bottom. "You can take these, and because you're doing the shooting, I'll let you ride on Epona!"

The quiver was hastily thrown over his shoulder and the bow aggressively shoved into his arms. Stumbling back a few steps, Link sighed and shook his head.

"You know, you could've just stayed back with Talon and told me where to go. I still feel bad that we're leaving all of today's work for him."

"Nuh-uh," Malon clicked and hopped up onto her horse. "If I let you go by yourself, there's no way you'd be able to bring a deer back! Epona may be strong, but I don't think she can carry that much weight on her back. That's why I've got this cart attached to Ace."

Link lazily glanced at the pull-cart harnessed to Malon's horse. True, Ace was more muscular than Epona, but last time he checked, Epona had no trouble pulling a full-sized merchant cart behind her, complete with both Malon and Talon sitting in it. Attaching the cart to her instead of Ace would have been no problem at all. Malon just wanted to come along, though he made sure not to say that to her out loud, lest he face whatever she might retaliate with.

With only the slightest of hesitation, the two of them spurred their horses and headed off. The landscape was a blur of green, hills rolling past them under the sunny blue sky. Puffy clouds drifted overhead, and every so often they would pass beneath the shadow of one, quickly emerging on the other side into the warmer air. As far as Link could tell, Malon didn't seem to be leading them in any particular direction, and he wondered if she was really just making an excuse to play around for a day.

After riding across Hyrule Field for about an hour, they stopped at a section of the plains by the river, allowing Epona and Ace to rest and get some water.

"So, do you know where you're going?" Link asked, lazily plucking his fingers on the bowstring. "We've been riding around for a while but I haven't seen a single animal out here besides our horses."

"You're too impatient, you know that?" she chuckled, opening up a map she had earlier marked locations onto. "See we're right here–" she pointed to an X, "and it looks like they aren't hanging around here right now. It might be too early, so we should head closer to Kokiri Forest. They're probably going to start wandering out of there as the day goes on, so now's a good chance to corner them."

"You sound like some kind of war strategist when you say it like that…"

Malon bumped him on the arm and folded the map back up into her pocket. "The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can head back. You were the one complaining about how we left my dad to work by himself."

"Yeah, and honestly it should be the other way around."

The redhead simply ignored her companion's constant complaints, much to Link's chagrin. The more he argued, the more her bubbly attitude made him feel like a downer by comparison. Regardless of how the hunting turned out today, he already knew that his complaints would be part of today's story. The blond could almost hear Talon guffawing about it now.

Once they'd rested for an ample amount of time, Link and Malon remounted their horses and continued along the river towards Kokiri Forest. As the water began veering off into a lower ravine, the two of them rode away from it and slowed their pace as the forest loomed before them.

Link gazed deeply into the dense woods, noting how close the trees were to one another and trying to gauge how difficult it might be to actually shoot something, let alone see anything. An oversized, hollow log stood before them as the entrance, separating the sunny plains from what looked like the darkness of some kind of sacred or forbidden forest.

"Over here," Malon called to him from a short distance ahead. She had dismounted Ace and was leading him towards a small pond next to the trees. "The woods are too thick for the horses to move effectively, so we'll have to make do without them."

Following her lead, Link dismounted Epona and also led her towards the pond.

"Are you sure we're allowed to go in here?" he asked as they both stood before the log entrance.

"This entrance wouldn't be here if people couldn't go in," Malon responded, though she didn't sound overly sure of herself. "I've been in here a few times, and I'm sure potion makers and herb specialists come here a lot too."

Even if her words didn't sound very reassuring, Link shrugged and took what she said for the truth. It would make sense, after all, and judging from the way the ground looked, it did seem like a relatively well-traveled path. Tightening his grip around the bow, he slowly stepped into the log and led them into the forest.

A bridge greeted them on the other side, and on the far side of the walkway, another oversized log seemed to lead into some kind of clearing. From where they were, he couldn't be completely sure, but it almost looked like there were wooden structures on the other side of the far log. Either way, the only way for them to actually enter the forest would be to go that direction, as the only other way to go was backwards.

"This is…weird," he said as they emerged through the second log.

Before them was what appeared to be a village of sorts, though none of the buildings seemed big enough for anyone taller than a few feet. The grass at their feet seemed undisturbed, which had to mean that this wasn't a common place for people to come. That seemed more than a little odd, considering this was the first place anyone would reach if they were to enter the forest.

"I'd forgotten about this," Malon said quietly, to which Link glanced toward her.

"You know what this place is?"

"Yeah, no need to panic or anything." Her tone was calming, which let him know that he could relax. "It's the village of the Kokiri. They're…kind of like a tribe of people that take care of the forest. Some of the city folk will call them forest children. I guess I can understand why, seeing as they all look like little kids, but it doesn't really make much sense since most of them are older than we are."

"I see." Link gazed around again, but the lack of movement made the little wooden village seem even more eerie. "It's kind of quiet for a village…"

"They're probably hiding from us. I think they only talk to kids, so we should probably get going before we cause them any trouble."

Quickly making their way through the village, Link and Malon crossed through another oversized log and found themselves in a densely wooded area. From what he could tell, Link figured this was their original destination to begin searching for some game.

"So, which direction should we head in, leader?" Link mocked as he notched an arrow to his bow.

"Um…" Malon began, glancing around as if to determine which random direction might prove more fruitful. "I guess…it doesn't really matter?"

The blond sighed and fired off a practice shot. The arrow whizzed through the air and struck a tree about two metres right of where he was aiming. "Tch, I'm out of practice."

Once they'd retrieved the arrow, Malon began leading them in whatever direction she felt like. Now that they were actually in the forest, she didn't seem nearly as bubbly as she had earlier, but perhaps that was because getting too excited would scare their prey away. That or she was realizing that in a forest like this it would be difficult to hunt for anything.

"Not that it's a huge bother," Link said after what felt like an hour of walking, "but you've been clinging pretty closely to me this whole time."

"Huh? O-Oh, sorry," she squeaked, hopping away from his side. "Ehehe, well, I probably should have mentioned this before, but this section of the forest past the village actually has a different name."

Link tilted his head in confusion. "So, there's a different forest inside of Kokiri Forest?"

"Yeah," she spoke quietly. "It's more of a local thing, but everyone calls the inner part of Kokiri Forest the Lost Woods…"

A short, tense pause followed. "Oh good, that doesn't sound ominous at all," Link let out a wry chuckle. "Are we perhaps searching for the fabled Venison of Despair while we're at it?"

"I-It's not funny, Link! P-People really do get lost in here and never come out…"

"Then why did we come here? I mean, if you're afraid, we could have gone to any other place you'd marked on your map."

"Well, you were complaining about how long we might take. I figured that there would be a lot of deer in here, so it might make our hunting faster…"

He wanted to make another quip, but as Link glanced at Malon, he could instantly see that she was truly frightened. Perhaps her fears were a bit unfounded, but scaring her would do no good in this situation, and he wouldn't feel very good doing it, anyway.

"Just stick close to me," he said reassuringly. "You don't need to press right up against my side, but as long as we don't get separated, we should be alright."

"Mm."

Even after hearing the name of this inner wood, Link was feeling okay with the situation they were in. They had only been walking straight since they got here, so if they did take a turn anywhere, he could always mark a tree or something to indicate the path they'd been travelling. In any case, if they did happen to get lost, being alone with Malon wasn't exactly what he'd call a bad thing.

The hero shook his head at the thought. That was rather stupid of him to think, considering they would be lost in what was a forest that supposedly consumed uninformed travelers. Besides, right now, he needed to focus on the task at hand. How would he find a deer if his head was clouded with stupid thoughts like being alone with Malon? It wasn't like it would be the first time…

He clapped his cheeks a couple of times, hoping that this train of thought would run off its tracks. Taking another look at his surroundings, it seemed that not much had changed since he had been paying attention. There were trees in every direction, and off in the distance he could spot some clearings, but the forest was otherwise closing them in from all sides.

Some rustling from up ahead caught his ear, and Link was quick to draw an arrow. His right hand firmly gripping the curved wood, he sighed as a group of squirrels scurried up a tree.

"Wow, you were really quick about that," Malon praised as he slackened the bowstring. "If that had been a fox or rabbit, you'd have gotten it no problem!"

"Heh, well, I'm a quick draw but my accuracy could use some work," he mused, thinking back to his practice shot from earlier.

"Maybe, but seeing you do that makes me feel a lot safer if nothing else."

This was somewhat different; usually Malon liked to tease him about his less-than-optimal help on the farm. To have her genuinely praising him for something somehow made him unsure of how to take it. Regardless, Malon seemed to have noticed something and jogged ahead a few steps to check it out.

"Link!" she whisper-shouted to him. "Look, over there!"

Stepping up to where she was, his eyes followed where her finger was pointing. At first, he didn't notice much of anything, but a shift in movement caught his eye before a pair of antlers came into view. As it passed between the trees, he was able to judge its size, though with no comparison it was hard to say if the buck was larger than average or not. In any case, it looked like a decently sized animal, and if he could get closer to it without scaring it off, then they might actually have a chance of getting it.

"I'm going to try sneaking up on it," he muttered to Malon.

"Okay, just try not to step on anything loud. I'll be right behind you."

Nodding in agreement, the hunters stealthily crept towards the unaware creature, watching each step to make sure there were no twigs or dried leaves to crunch beneath their feet. Occasionally, the deer would perk up to something, to which both of them would immediately freeze and hold their breaths until it went back to walking or grazing. It was like some kind of children's game, only there was more at stake in their current situation.

It was a painstakingly long process, but Link was now less than ten metres away from his target. At this range, he was confident that his chances of missing were almost zero. The only thing that could mess up his shot would be a tree intercepting his shot. Silently as he could, the blond reached for an arrow on his back and slowly notched it to his bow. With smooth, expert-like movements, he slowly raised the weapon and gradually pulled the string back. The deer was standing perpendicular to him, exposing more of its body to the shot. As soon as he lined up the arrowhead, it would be over.

However, just as he was about to loose the arrow, the sound of some kind of instrument floated over to them on a gust of wind. The sudden noise must have spooked the deer, as it quickly perked its head and ears up and began running away from it.

"Damn it!" Link grunted as he released the arrow only a moment too late. The projectile flew through the air and sliced along the inside of the creature's back thigh. Letting out a guttural sound, the deer stumbled a bit but was able to continue bounding off.

"Rrgh, c'mon, Malon, we're chasing it!"

"W-Wait, Link!"

Her cry for him to wait was met with deaf ears as the adrenaline now coursed through his body. He was so close to getting it, and it couldn't even run properly now. He wasn't going to let this prey get away so easily.

The trail of blood showed him where to go, and he realized that the animal wasn't all that far ahead of him. Notching another arrow as he ran, Link tried to close the distance between the hurt creature and himself. If he could get this deer now, then he and Malon could return to the ranch before the late afternoon.

The buck veered around a tree and turned in a completely different direction. Link used this to his advantage to close some distance as he cut the corner it had traveled in. He was almost parallel to it, so if he just fired off his arrow while they were running…

Whizz!

The arrow cut through the air, perfectly flying between the tree trunks and made contact with the deer. He must have hit a vital spot, as it collapsed to the ground with a growl of sorts.

There was no time to celebrate, however, as Link was unable to slow down in time to avoid tripping over a rather high root. With his attention focused on the deer he'd been running alongside, he'd only paid enough attention to the path in front of him to avoid running into a tree. With a mighty tumble, the bow flew out of his hands and he rolled a few metres forward. Had that been all, he may have escaped with just a few scratches and bruises, but there was more trouble to come.

Hanging onto a thick root, Link glanced down at the chasm beneath him. By no means was it far enough to kill him undoubtedly, but at this distance he would inevitably break a few bones if he were to fall to the bottom. Grunting, he tightened his grip and tried to pull himself up onto the ledge, but to no avail. It seemed that at the speed he was going he'd dislocated his left shoulder as he reflexively grabbed onto the root. Thankfully, he'd gotten his right arm on it soon after, but he was not strong enough to pull his entire weight up onto the ledge with his weaker arm, and the pain in his other shoulder most certainly was not helping.

"Link! Link where are you?!" Malon's voice sounded from somewhere above.

"M-Mal! Help, I'm stuck down here!" he grunted back, doing what he could to keep his grip on the root.

Though it felt like much longer, it was a few minutes before the redhead appeared a short distance up the chasm, but she hastily made her way to where he was.

"O-Omigosh, Link! Give me your free hand, I'll pull you up!"

"I can't," he grunted as he tried to move his left arm the slightest bit. "I think it's dislocated. All the muscles in my shoulder will tear if you pull me up by it."

"Oh gods, o-okay, I'll, um, I'll…I… I'll try and pull you up by this arm, but you'll have to trust that I won't drop you."

His heart was already pounding, and at the rate it was going he might have a heart attack before she could pull him up. This was the only way she'd be able to do it, but it meant putting all his weight into Malon's slender arms while he had no way of helping her carry his weight. He could only nod in agreement, as his grip on the root would get weaker if he hesitated.

"Mal, just promise that if you can't do it, you'll drop me, okay?" he spoke shakily.

"W-What?!" she shouted in disbelief as she readied her hands around his wrist. "No way, Link, I won't let go of you!"

"Listen! If I'm too heavy, then you're just going to get pulled in too! If it's only me, you can go back and get help, understand?"

The redhead bit her lip, her face looking extremely troubled as she gave what he thought was a weak nod. On the count of three, he would release the root and grab onto her wrist while she pulled him up. Link knew she was strong – she was a farmhand, after all – but he wasn't sure that she would be able to do this. Regardless, he had already steeled himself for whatever was about to come, and there weren't any other options.

"Okay, Link, I'm counting. One…two…three!"

Within a second, the redhead used all of her might to heave the blond up by his right arm. At the same time, Link let go of the root and felt his body drop slightly before he was gradually being pulled up. He was almost high enough up to get his fingers onto the ledge, but Malon seemed to be struggling to get him up any farther than that. From what he could see, she must have been doing whatever she could to dig her body into the ground, but it seemed to be in vain.

"Malon, you're slipping!" he shouted, noticing some dirt specks and deadfall begin to tumble from where her body was situated. "Let me go!"

"No, Link!" she grunted, her face turning red as she heaved at his arm. "I-I won't let you fall, I swear! Don't you dare let go of me!"

Her resolve may have been unfaltering, but it seemed hopeless. Link was not even sure that his right arm had the strength to keep holding on even if he wanted to.

"Mal…I'll be fine, just go get help."

"Link, I swear I'll never forgive you! Don't talk like you're dying! Now shut up and hold on!"

With a surprising burst of strength, Link felt his body almost propel upwards until his torso was on the ledge. Without missing a beat, Malon almost aggressively shoved Link's left shoulder back into its socket and she continued pulling him up by his sides. He ignored the searing pain and did what he could to claw at the ground as well.

After getting pulled up all the way and putting a great distance between themselves and the chasm, Link collapsed into a heap against a tree trunk. It wasn't a moment after that he was tightly wrapped in what seemed to be an angry yet relieved embrace.

"Idiot!" her muffled cry sounded from his chest. "I told you to wait back there!"

"S-Sorry," he mumbled, but she didn't seem to be listening.

"Didn't I say this place was called the Lost Woods?! What if I hadn't found you?! What if you fell and I never found you?! Stupid, stupid, stupid! You were the one who wanted to get back so badly! I-I…I… How am I supposed to make a good memory out of this now, Link?!"

"Mal, I–"

"And you wanted me to let you go if you were too heavy? Let myself escape and bring back help to try and find you? Idiot, it's the Lost Woods, we would never be able to find you! I don't care if I would fall with you, I would never, ever let you go, Link!"

Her words became more incomprehensible and muffled as her frantic cries turned to sobs. Link could do nothing but slowly wrap his arms around her back as he tried to comfort her. This was an eye-opening experience for him.

She cared for him, more than he ever would have imagined.

It wasn't just that she would go out of her way to help him out, she was willing to go a step beyond that, even if it meant hurting herself. This was more than the bond he could ever feel from someone he thought of like a sister; this was something that came from someone whose feelings were much more developed. Was it wrong to think about these things right now? Was it wrong to start feeling happy that she would go so far for him?

Was it wrong for him to think that his feelings might even be starting to match her own?

Malon's intention for this little excursion from work was never to secure a gift to give to her father; it was to spend the day with Link. He knew that now, it seemed so much more obvious now. It was hardly even a fleeting thought before, and he felt stupid for not having noticed it as a more prominent reason before.

These right here, laid bare upon his tear-soaked shirt, were Malon's feelings. These true, warm, innocent tears conveyed everything about how she felt about him. They felt nothing like the passionate exchanges he had shared with Marin in his dreams as of late; these were real and conscious emotions.

And because of them, Link could now understand that his own feelings for Malon were not simply borne of his longing for Marin. These budding emotions and his want to grow closer to the girl before him were true feelings for her and no one else.

"Malon," he spoke softly when she seemed to have settled down. "I…I'm sorry."

There was so much more that he wanted to say, but the only words he could form were words of apology. Over and over again, he whispered them to her, holding her slender figure in his arms. She didn't stop him, so he didn't stop. They simply remained as they were, feeling the emotions of one another conveyed through the most simplistic of means.

It could have been a long time, or maybe it hadn't been much time at all, but eventually Malon stirred from her position and released Link from her grip, prompting him to do the same.

"Let's head back," she said with a single sniffle before a smile formed itself on her face. "This deer isn't going to drag itself back out of the woods."

It took him a moment to process her change in mood, but he soon felt the atmosphere lighten up. As he hopped to his feet, he watched as Malon stooped to pick up the bow he'd dropped earlier. She turned around and slowly stepped towards him, placing it in his hands.

"And, Link," she said while her hands were still on the wooden frame.

"What is it?"

She paused, seeming to hesitate. Her large blue irises turned away from him before she slowly shut her eyes to speak. Her voice was barely above a whisper, but at this proximity, he heard her loud and clear.

"Just now, um…thanks for staying with me."

Ah, there's a good-length chapter! I got stuck after writing the first part where they were just talking about going hunting, but then I think the rest came out pretty well. Also the ending part. Hopefully that didn't seem to happen too quickly; I was itching to write some fluff and I thought that now would be the best time to start developing their relationship beyond the slightly hinted feelings they've had this whole time.

No reviews? :( I know there wasn't a lot going on that last chapter but there was a two-month gap for someone to at least say something. Ah well, I'll see how things go from here. Now, this isn't meant as a threat, but if the popularity for this wanes enough I might put the story on hiatus. I'm not saying that so that tons of people start reviewing; it's more like life is getting busy, so I don't know how often I can update my stories, in which case I'll only stick with the ones that have an active following and pick up the less popular ones later on. I still have my plot laid out for this, so it'll get finished eventually.

Anyway, thanks for reading and please review!

–GengaJupite