I always forget how busy this time of year gets. Not for me particularly, since I always seem to end up with a lot of free time, but for everyone else. Not that it's helped my update rate any, but let's not focus on that :). Anyway, hopefully everyone's enjoying their break before everything starts up again in January!

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

Severed Link

"Hey, Link, heads up! …Link? Watch where you're going! Link, look out!"

Thunk!

Link dropped the wheelbarrow in his hands as his forehead collided with something rather solid. Returning to his senses, he could now see the lowered sign swaying quite intensely while Talon fumbled with the ropes on the arch.

"You awake now, kid?" the older rancher asked, descending the ladder once the sign had steadied itself. "I told you I was replacin' the ropes on the sign today. What were you lookin' so dazed over that you didn't even notice the big block o' wood hangin' right in front of your face?"

Link's eyes darted to where Malon was standing in the corral, but he quickly averted them to avoid Talon's suspicions. "N-Nowhere, I just got lost in thought was all."

"Work first, think later," Talon chuckled as he climbed back up the ladder.

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind…"

The blond made sure to duck under the sign this time as he continued rolling the wheelbarrow into the corral. Almost immediately, however, his eyes managed to wander over to where Malon was brushing down one of the horses. Had he not been somewhat aware of his surroundings this time, he would have crashed right into a support pillar in the stables.

For whatever reason, Link found his attention drifting towards the redhead more and more as of late. It had been about a week since the incident in the Lost Woods, and he found that he was becoming more drawn to her as time went by. The simple explanation would be that his feelings for her had developed, yet he felt as though that was not the case. That small infatuation he held for her still felt the same as it always had, and the way he was acting now seemed as though he was more intrigued by her as opposed to feeling more attracted to her.

As he filled the wheelbarrow with dirty hay from the stables, Link ignored Talon's advice and lost himself in thought while he worked.

"I don't care if I would fall with you, I would never, ever let you go, Link!"

Those words echoed inside his head as he stole yet another glance towards the female rancher. She spotted his gaze this time and casually waved, to which he quickly pretended he hadn't been looking and went back to his work.

Ever since that day, he hadn't been quite sure how to act around her. There wasn't any particular reason he should change his ways, but something seemed different now. She seemed to be acting the same way she always had been, but perhaps he only felt differently now because he had been oblivious to her feelings beforehand. In that case, it wasn't Malon that had changed, but him.

Yes, that was right. Her feelings had been there before, which is why her personality seemed more or less the same as always. The only difference now was that he was aware and that his mentality had shifted a bit. It would be unfair to say that he didn't like her as well, especially now that he was consciously aware that he wanted to like her more, but it felt as though something was preventing him from moving forward with his feelings.

"Maybe I still haven't moved on from that place," he muttered to himself.

It was rational to think that way; after all, he had only just returned from Koholint a few months ago. Link had considered this many times, and the thought was frustrating. It wasn't just that he hadn't moved on; the dreams must be some kind of indication that he had never left on some kind of psychological level. Perhaps he had tricked himself into thinking he was happy here because it was so similar to how life was on that fake island: as if the Wind Fish had simply transplanted its dream onto a solid landmass instead of an island in the middle of the ocean.

Maybe that was what it had initially been: a gift from the Wind Fish. When he thought of it that way, it seemed reasonable that the easiest way to transition back into the real world would be to experience a real life that was much like his life on the island.

Such a situation raised its own questions though. Did the Wind Fish purposely place him in a home that was unnervingly similar to the one in Mabe Village? Was this meant to act as both an apology for involving him and thanks for freeing it from its nightmare? More importantly, if all of this was the case, was Link still being manipulated by the Wind Fish, or was he in control of his own fate now that he had truly awoken in the real world?

The hero tightened his grip on the pitchfork until his knuckles and fingertips turned white. Too much had happened and there were no answers anywhere. Why couldn't he experience emotions normally? What were these disappearing marks on his arms? Who was pulling the strings right now?

Why couldn't things have stayed the way they were?

"Your wheelbarrow looks a little full there."

Link jumped in surprise, only just noticing now that Malon was standing a short distance away from him. The redhead giggled at his animated expression and gestured to the overflowing wheelbarrow with a tilt of her head.

"O-Oh, guess I got too into my work," he chuckled, leaning the pitchfork against a pillar and stepping towards her.

"Heehee, that sounds like a first," she laughed, walking with him as he wheeled out of the stable. "Actually, you've been acting pretty dazed for the past few days now."

Link silently gulped but managed to play off his expressions somewhat naturally. "H-Have I? Heh, I guess I've been too dazed to notice I was somewhere else."

"That's a funny thing to say. I'm wondering if you might have hit your head when you took that tumble." Her voice kept its usual upward lilt, but she did seem to be serious about her concern. "Do you think you should see a doctor?"

"Huh? No, no, I definitely didn't hurt anything except my shoulder, and it's fine now." He rolled his left shoulder around to emphasize this point. "Besides, even if I did hurt my head, I doubt they'd tell me to do anything other than get some more sleep than I usually would."

"I guess so."

Remembering to duck under the sign this time, Link stopped at the empty cart outside the corral so he could load the hay into it. Though it wasn't visibly noticeable, he could feel his hands shaking as he hoisted the hay from the wheelbarrow. It wasn't heavy, but the shaking would not stop as Malon stayed close by to him. He did not have the gall to ask her to leave him alone, but this unease he felt around her was more than a little uncomfortable. At this rate, he would probably drop more hay on the ground than he could get into the cart.

It struck him that this was happening out of the blue, however. He didn't feel anxious around Malon, nor had he reacted this way towards her for the past few days. Where was this shaking coming from? Was it possible that he was feeling anxious without realizing it himself? That didn't seem very likely; however, with the way his body was acting, it wasn't something he could simply rule out.

Managing to get most of the hay into the cart, he started to head back towards the stables, unsure how to feel as Malon accompanied him again.

"Supervising my work now?" he said jokingly.

"Haha, you could say that," she laughed. "It's more to make sure you don't fall into a daze and mess up again."

"I wouldn't say that overfilling a wheelbarrow is the worst thing in the world."

"True, but I don't know if I fully trust you with a pitchfork while your head is somewhere else. I mean, you did manage to break three of your fingers with a hammer, and you weren't even dazed back then."

"H-Hey, that was back when I first got here…sort of."

Malon laughed, and he also managed to force a chuckle out as well, but Link inwardly sighed as she grabbed a nearby shovel and helped him out. This would have been a lot easier if she had simply continued grooming the horses.

It felt like ages before the day came to a close, and Link felt more exhausted than usual as he changed out of the sweaty clothes he had been wearing. It was quite the struggle trying to keep his thoughts in check while Malon was around, not to mention that he didn't want to seem like he was acting strange at all. Whether it had worked or not, he had no idea, but the redhead had made no comment of his antics today.

As he always did when changing, Link took the hand mirror and examined the markings on his arms. Lately, the last few on his right arm had shown no sign of fading away; today was no exception. He had already discovered that the rate of their disappearance was inconsistent, but that did not change the oddity of why they did so. It was quite possible that he would wake up tomorrow to find that some or all of them had disappeared as well. Honestly, he wouldn't be surprised, though he still could not help but wonder what might happen when they completely vanished from his body.

"Link, you can use the bath first. I have to help dad with something," Malon called from outside his room.

"Okay, thanks."

Once her footsteps had descended the steps, he stepped out into the hallway, silently making his way into the bathroom where the tub had already been filled with water. Slipping out of his pants, he gratefully lowered himself into the soothing bathwater and leaned his head against the edge. The water was warm like a blanket, and he couldn't help his eyelids from drooping as he splashed the liquid onto his shoulders.

Through the door, Talon and Malon's voices passed through as incomprehensible murmurs. Was it possible they were discussing Link's work ethic from these past few days? This wasn't exactly a regular job, and considering how close the three of them had gotten he didn't see himself getting fired and kicked out. Still, he couldn't help thinking that they were talking about him. Perhaps it was due to his fatigued mind.

"I bet the old man is teasing her," Link mumbled to himself. "Probably telling her that I've been too dazed because she's been on my mind."

After a couple of seconds, Link realized what he had just said and slowly dunked his head under the water, resurfacing just as slowly. The fact of the matter was that she had been on his mind, and that was probably fifty percent of the reason why he was getting so distracted all the time. If only that hunting trip hadn't happened, then he wouldn't be feeling so unsure of everything right now.

He yawned and shook his head, expelling that thought from his head. Despite the trouble that hunting trip had caused him lately, he really felt that it had done more good than bad, even if he wasn't aware of what that good was at present. If nothing else, he felt closer to Malon than he had before the incident. Of course, with all the secondary thoughts that seemed to rush around his head throughout the day, it wouldn't appear like that on the surface, but he really believed that he knew her more as a person, and that was comforting.

Link struggled to keep his eyes open as the steam put the bathroom into a dreamlike state. Finally giving way to his brain's fatigue, he allowed his eyelids to droop shut and sighed as he leaned his head back.

"I don't know…if I can keep working like this…"

With those words passing his lips, the blond fell into a comfortable sleep.

∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆

Link slowly opened one eye as his consciousness entered his dream body. The sun was rising on the horizon, and the sound of rolling waves was soothing. Managing to get both eyes open, he peered around the unfamiliar room, spotting his and Marin's clothing on the ground beside the bed.

That was right, they weren't at Marin and Tarin's home, but in a hidden seaside shack they had been…using for a while now. Link moved to sit up, but as the morning sea air met his bare back, he immediately shuddered and flopped back down, taking comfort in the warmth provided by the blanket and the redhead beside him. He turned to face Marin, smiling at the sight of her lovely face while also finding some amusement in the fact that she had somehow managed to keep the orchid in her hair while asleep.

She shifted slightly, and her hair covered a sizeable portion of her face. Link gently reached up to brush the red strands away, but pulled his hand away in shock when he started doing so.

For a moment, as he moved her hair from her face, he could have sworn he saw not Marin's face, but Malon's. It had to have been a trick of his eyes; Malon couldn't possibly exist in this place, could she? Well, it wasn't entirely impossible. It was a dream, after all, and whatever he imagined would manifest itself here if he willed it hard enough.

The redhead began to stir, and Link was fearful that the face of the girl next to him would not be Marin's. When she brushed her own hair away, however, he let out a sigh of relief as the familiar island girl opened her bright eyes to him.

"Morning," she said drowsily, yawning and rubbing her eyes. "What's wrong? You look kind of spooked."

"H-Huh? Oh, it's nothing," he sputtered and held her closer. "Just my eyes playing tricks on me early in the morning."

She giggled lazily and cuddled closely to Link, pressing their bare bodies against each other. The warmth from her body was comforting, feeling almost as genuine as a real source of warmth. He didn't want to think of it as a false warmth, but it was impossible not to realize that this was all in his head.

No matter how many times he came here, Link always had to force himself to remember that this place no longer existed. Everything that happened here was merely something he wanted to happen, including these intimate meetings with Marin. Despite knowing these things, he felt as though some part of him could not simply roll over and accept that. Perhaps that was why the details of this place were so vivid or why every sensation he experienced was exactly like it would be in reality. His love of the island, the community, and Marin most of all were keeping him from truly believing that this place did not exist, regardless of the proof he had seen when he awoke in the middle of the ocean.

Steeling himself for the cool air, Link sat up and reached for his clothes.

"I'm going to go for a walk," he said.

"Okay, hurry back," she responded sleepily, lightly squeezing his hand before she rolled over and went back to sleep.

With his boots securely on his feet, he stood and glanced down at Marin once more before stepping out of the small shack.

The brisk, sea air greeted Link as he walked down the beach. Gulls screeched overhead, and the salt particles in the air clung to the exposed bits of his skin. As he walked through the wake, his footprints were washed away with each subsequent wave that surged up the beach.

He continued following the coastline for a while until he rounded a cliff, hiding the seaside shack from his vision. This was where he needed to be right now, alone where he could think without any form of distractions. The hero spotted a long piece of driftwood and carelessly laid himself down on it, allowing the morning sun's warmth to caress his body.

Why had he seen Malon's face when he brushed Marin's hair away? It was only for a very brief moment, but the very idea that he pictured someone else was enough to scare him. Sure, crazy things were bound to happen in dreams, but Link had yet to experience anything questionably abnormal about this place so far.

The main concern, he surmised, was that it wasn't just any random face that he saw, but Malon's. When this whole situation began, he was afraid that Malon was simply becoming a replacement for Marin and that his small feelings for the ranch girl were borne of his longing for the island girl. If that were true, then why was he now seeing Malon's face on Marin? Was it possible that he had unknowingly begun to see Malon in a more romantic light than Marin?

Link chuckled wryly at the thought. There was no way that could be true; after all, the things he'd been doing in his dreams spoke volumes about how he felt for the island redhead. To even suggest that he might prefer the rancher to Marin was absurd; it had to be! It had to be. It had…to be…

Did it really have to be?

Regardless of how absurd the comparisons between a silly crush and sexual relations were, one girl was real while the other was not. It was a simple fact, one that he never forgot, and the absurdity of liking the crush more than the one he slept with regularly became less and less as he thought on it more. How could he possibly like a fake girl more than a real one, after all? He couldn't spend his life with someone that didn't exist; he would be put in an asylum if he tried to.

Something hit him in the cheek, causing a sharp pain that broke him from his train of thought. Sitting up and rubbing the spot, he looked over to see a baby octorok facing him while preparing to shoot another pebble. Instead of shooing it away or moving to strike it down, Link beckoned it over and scooped it up in his hands. Tickling its belly, the small monster shuddered and dropped the stones it had been stockpiling inside of it.

"Heh, now you're just a helpless little beast," he chuckled, turning the creature around so that they were facing each other. It wiggled its legs like it was trying to escape, but stopped when it realized that struggling would be futile. "I wonder which one of us is more helpless though…"

Link placed the octorok down on his lap, watching as it sniffed around at his body and crawled up onto his shoulder. It was pathetic that he could compare himself to a baby monster, but there was no denying that he was equally as helpless as it was, if not even more so. After all, if this thing got bored with him, it could scurry off whenever it felt like, or even stockpile the pebbles it had dropped and attack him again. He would like to think that it wouldn't do so, but monsters were monsters, even if they acted harmless like this baby was right now. The point, though, was that it could get out of this situation whenever it so desired; he did not have such a luxury.

As he lied back down, the small, red creature scurried onto his stomach and nestled itself into the fabric of his tunic. Link shut his eyes again, wondering just how long he would be forced to suffer through these ordeals. Then again, he could not truly consider what he was going through to be pure suffering. It was more akin to mental exhaustion than suffering, as he still found pleasure in living his real life and this dream life.

After brooding over his situation for what seemed like a while, Link finally sat up and prepared to head back. The octorok climbed up onto his head as he stood, so he allowed it to do what it wanted rather than putting it back on the ground. If nothing else, he had something to talk to while he was stuck in this dream world. Well, not exactly talk to so much as talk at.

"I'm back," he said as he re-entered the shack. "And I brought something back with me… More like it followed me, but it doesn't really matter."

"Ooh, it's so cute!" Marin squealed, now fully clothed. She hurried over to where he was and plucked the quadrupedal creature from his head, smothering it like some kind of doll.

Link smirked sympathetically at the octorok as it tried to squirm out of her grip. Stepping past the over-enthused redhead, he sat on the edge of the bed and ran a hand through his hair. With the way Marin acted, it was no wonder he was having a hard time accepting the falsity of Koholint. She seemed so real, so much like herself…

"Too bad we can't bring him back home," Marin said, placing the monster on the ground and watching as it scurried under the bed for safety. "I doubt Dad would approve too much of us bringing a monster into the house."

"Heh, and the neighbours having a Chain Chomp as a pet is all right?"

"Heehee, well, it's not like it's our pet."

Link chuckled and looked up, but felt his breath catch in his throat as he saw Malon standing where Marin should have been. His eyes widened and he choked on seemingly nothing as the air that should have exhaled naturally was forced out.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asked in a mildly concerned tone, stepping towards him.

"N-No, get back!"

"Huh? Link, what's wrong?"

What was going on? Why was Malon here instead of Marin? There was no way his eyes were playing tricks on him again, right? Even if they were, it should have only lasted for a split second at most! Why was this image of the ranch girl persisting? Where was Marin?

"Link? Link! What's going on?!"

He could hardly focus on the situation he was in. The air around him seemed to blur as thoughts raced through his head.

"I-Impossible…" he muttered shakily. "I-It's impossible. She can't…be here."

"Link, snap out of it!" the redhead cried as she shook him by his shoulders.

The more she touched and interacted with him, the more clearly he could see that it wasn't Marin standing in front of him. It sounded like her voice, but it was coming from Malon's body. There was no flower in her hair, her dress wasn't that simple light blue one-piece that she always wore, and her eyes were that deep aqua colour he had become increasingly fond of; only now he wasn't too pleased to see them.

"What…what is this? What's happening to me?"

He could see her mouth moving rapidly, but her cries soon started to drown out until he was deaf to anything she was saying. It was like his weary mind was finally beginning to reject Koholint, truly acknowledging it for what it was. Was he going to find his peace with that now? Would he finally be able to experience real life without feeling regret and longing for this place?

No, he couldn't.

It didn't matter that this place no longer existed. It didn't matter that these people didn't exist. He wanted to continue being here. He wanted to keep on seeing Marin every time he fell asleep, continue holding her when she was near, never let go of the false memories he had created in his head.

"No… Marin, come back! Come–"

Smack!

The world screeched to a halt, and the only sounds to accompany the sound of the waves was the heavy breathing of both young adults. Link's hand trembled as he slowly reached up to his cheek. It was warm from where she had slapped him, and she must have hit him pretty hard, as he was facing in the direction her hand had made its collision with his face. Fearfully, the blond began to turn his head at an agonizingly slow pace. Whom would he see when he faced forward again?

"Are you calmed down now?" Marin's voice sounded clearly in his ears. Link blinked a few times to focus as clearly as he could, feeling his heart rate slow to normal when he could register that it was Marin, not Malon, standing before him.

"Y-Yeah…" he spoke dryly, using saliva to moisten the inside of his mouth.

Marin sighed in what seemed like a mixture of relief and annoyance. "Geez, don't scare me like that. I don't think I've ever seen you get so hysterical before."

He slouched over and leaned his head against his palm. Marin gently rubbed his shoulder as he tried to figure out what just happened. Why had that scared him so much? It was a dream. He had already gone over this earlier; weird things were bound to happen in dreams, even if they hadn't since this all began. To act the way he just did…it was more than just crazy. He felt humiliated.

"Sorry," he mumbled softly. "I-I think I should be alone for a while."

"Mm." Marin stopped rubbing his shoulder and reached into her dress pocket momentarily. Pulling out a handkerchief, she placed it in his free hand and tilted his chin up to look at her. "Come to the house when you're feeling better, okay? Sorry about smacking you so hard. I accidentally cut you with my ring, so you can use this to stop the bleeding for now."

With a quick peck on his forehead, the redhead stepped quickly towards the doorway. She gave him one last worried glance before exiting the shack and heading off towards her home.

Link sighed and lightly touched the handkerchief to the part of his face that still stung. As he pulled it off, he could see that she did, indeed, cut his face. While the bleeding didn't seem to be severe, there was enough that some droplets had run down his cheek. Knowing that, she must have put all her strength into that wake-up slap.

A soft pattering sound came from beneath the bed, and the baby octorok scurried out to look up at Link.

"Sorry, little guy," he said, dropping his hand down to pat its head. "That must've been pretty stressful."

"…Link…"

The blond blinked rapidly, thinking he had heard his name called. There was no way the monster had said his name, and he didn't think anyone knew about this place except for Marin and himself.

"…Link…!"

Was it possible that Marin had forgotten something? From a quick glance around the small room, it didn't look like she could have. As he stood to see if she was coming back, he suddenly felt lightheaded and had to seat himself back on the bed.

"…Link!"

Lightheadedness quickly turned to dizziness, and Link began to sway to and fro from how woozy he was beginning to feel. It was still early in the morning, and after a stressful situation like that going back to sleep sounded like a great idea. All he would have to do is fall over and rest on the bed. Yes, that sounded ideal.

"Link!"

…

∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆

"Link! Link, wake up!"

The blond opened his eyes, but found that he couldn't breathe. Sputtering for air, he coughed up some warm water and gulped in as much oxygen as he could fill his lungs with.

"I knew you were tired, but I didn't think you would actually pass out in the bathtub."

The hero still hadn't fully gotten his bearings, so it took a moment before he registered that he was back in the bathtub at Lon Lon Ranch. Leaning on the side with her sleeves rolled up and forearms drenched, Malon was giving him a questioning look.

"Sorry to make you worry," he muttered. "H-How long was I out?"

"I don't know, but I came to check on you since you'd been in here for a long time." She paused a moment and turned away from him with a slightly pink hue on her cheeks. "D-Don't worry, I didn't see anything below your chest. I kind of rushed in when you didn't respond to me and you were already starting to drop into the water."

"O-Oh, um…that's good… Thanks."

They were both silent for a bit, not sure exactly what to say to the other but also feeling as though something should be said. Seeing Malon so suddenly right now, especially after what happened with Marin in his dream, made it hard for Link to feel any sort of comfort in this situation, not to mention the fact that he was naked while the girl who had saved him once was now leaning over his bath water.

Drip.

The single noise led to Malon turning back to face him, only for her eyes to widen in surprise. Link didn't like that look, but couldn't be sure of what she was staring at.

"Omigosh, I must have been too busy trying to wake you up before, but I didn't even notice the gash on your face. Are you all right, Link?"

Gash? Why would he have a cut on his face? He had just been looking in a mirror before he got in the bath and there was nothing on his face. Heck, there wasn't even anything sharp in his immediate vicinity. How could he possibly have–

Drip.

This second drip caused ripples in the water, to which the blond looked down at. He inhaled sharply as the sight of crimson dispersing itself into the water before it vanished. Another drip that he clearly saw this time showed a thick, red substance hit the water and disperse as the drip before it had.

"How…" he whispered and reached up to his cheek. The spot stung as his fingertips met it, and he pulled his hand away to reveal a sticky red substance on the surface of his fingertips.

"I-I'll get you a bandage," Malon said, quickly running off. Link was too stunned to even pay her any attention.

"This is…the exact spot I got cut in the dream…"

∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆V∆

Link leaned on the fence, peering out onto the plains as the late morning sun basked the rolling hills in its radiance. Last night's rest had been nothing short of uncomfortable and troubled, and things didn't seem to go much better in his dream either. Marin had been concerned about him, but he somewhat ineffectively managed to play it off like it was nothing. The first thing he had done upon waking up this morning was checking beneath the bandage to see if the gash was still there: unsurprisingly, it was.

The wind tousled his hair, and though he knew he should have been getting to work, Link couldn't get himself motivated. After everything he had been going through these past few days, he doubted anyone could blame him. If only he could talk about it…

"Link?"

The blond lazily glanced over his shoulder, tensing as he saw what looked like Marin approaching him. It only took a moment to realize that Malon had simply adorned her hair with a flower, though that did little to help ease the tension he felt.

"I know, I'll get to work soon," he said, turning to gaze back out at the fields.

"It's not that," she said a bit meekly. "I just…wanted to check on you was all. You've been acting weird lately, but I wasn't really worried until I saw how you were yesterday night. Are you feeling okay?"

Link opted not to turn towards her, instead keeping himself faced away. "I…wouldn't exactly say I'm fine, but it's a personal issue. Don't worry too much, I'll get through it; I always do with these things."

"O-Oh…is that so…? You haven't seemed this way since you first got here, so I thought maybe it was something I could help with."

"Believe me, I would have asked you for help if I thought you'd be able to. I–"

His sentence was cut off when he felt a pair of slender arms encircle him from behind. He couldn't exactly crane his neck far enough to see, but it was obvious from the sensation that Malon was embracing him. Her weight leaned gently on his backside, and he could feel his heart slowly pumping faster with each passing moment.

"M-Mal, what are you doing?"

"Link, just…let me stay like this," she said softly, almost forcing him to strain to hear her.

He didn't exactly mind this physical interaction, but it seemed to come out of the blue, and he wasn't sure how much his heart could take right now.

"Ehehe, won't your old man see us though? I'm pinning the blame on you if he notices."

"He left for Hyrule Town a little for a sales trip a while ago and won't be back until tomorrow."

"Oh, I see… Can…can I ask why you suddenly feel the need to hold onto me?"

She paused for a while, and he could feel her warm breath exhale deeply against his back, sending shivers running through his body.

"I…I don't know how else to help," she spoke soothingly. "If there's nothing I can do for you, then this is the only thing I can resort to doing. It isn't making you…uncomfortable, is it?"

"N-No, not at all," he stammered. "I just…um, think you're going pretty far for my sake. You don't have to comfort me every time I feel down."

Her grip tightened around his torso, and Link gulped in anticipation for what she might say.

"I'm not trying to make you feel better because I have to… I-I want to do this. I mean, if you aren't mentally or emotionally stable, then you won't be able to work at full capacity, right? Ehehe…"

Her grip loosened until her arms dropped, but rather than backing away, Link could see from the corner of his eye that she was stepping beside him. She stood next to him, her shoulder barely touching his, and sighed as she placed her hands on the fence.

"No, that was a lie," she said and shook her head. "I want you to feel better because…because I feel better when you aren't depressed or hurting. Whenever you get like this, I can't help but…want to cheer you up. I really love it when you're playing around with me or messing with my dad; it's like you're really living when you're like that, and this is some kind of anchor that's keeping you from living all the time."

That was one way to put it. He might not have worded it in such a poetic manner, but the gist of what she was saying was more or less accurate.

"I really like you a lot, Link," she continued, the conviction in her voice wavering as she did so. "I know you have your own life to live, and I know you don't want to stay here forever, but for now, at least while you're still around, can you let me comfort you? I know it's selfish of me to ask you to smile and be happy all the time, but this is the only real favour I'll ask of you, I promise."

He felt like his heart might explode at any moment, and if he bit down on his lip any harder, he would probably start to bleed. What was this feeling inside of him? It was so familiar, and he feared to think that it was possibly what he was thinking it was. It was so reminiscent of the way Marin made him feel all the time, and yet this had its own unique flavour to it. His stomach was twisting in knots, and he had to scratch his head to stealthily brush away the cold sweat drop that threatened to cascade down his face.

"I'm sorry," she said when he didn't give any kind of verbal response. "Maybe I really am asking for too much. I haven't even known you for that long and I can't possibly know what it is you're going through, so how could I ask you to smile at a time like this?"

Link felt like his chest was dropping as he noticed Malon's gaze fall. If there was one thing he wanted less than to admit what these feelings were, it was to make the recipient of these feelings upset. If he let her walk away on an ending note like that, he wasn't sure that he would be able to forgive himself, and that was a dangerous combination when he mixed in his already-stressed-out mind.

Before she could turn and walk back to the barn, Link firmly grasped onto her smooth, pale hand, gulping down any sense of restraint that screamed at him not to do so. She first looked at his larger hand on top of hers in surprise before turning her attention up to his face.

"I…" he began, doing what he could not to let her blue irises burn into him. "I can't promise you that I'll smile and be happy all the time, but…I'll do what I can…if you comfort me. I-It's usually easier to relax when you're around…"

He didn't exactly feel too relaxed at the moment, but noticing her shocked expression rise into a gentle smile, his insides began to buzz in a tense yet calming manner. At this point it was far more trouble to deny what the feeling inside of him was than to simply accept that this sudden onset of warm, unnerving feelings inside of him were of affection. Try as he might to believe that he could care for anyone in such a way other than Marin, the shivers that coursed through his body were proof enough that Malon had become something much more than a sisterly companion.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end when she turned her hand over and gently interlocked her fingers with his. Finally finding the nerve to face her as well, Link met Malon's deep blue eyes with his own, and found his body strangely at ease when he gazed into them.

"I'll do my best…to help you out, then." Her cheeks flushed slightly, but the smile on her face was more genuine than it had ever seemed before.

"Yeah…me too."

Whoo, and there is the pseudo confession! I haven't decided if there will ever be an official "I love you" expressing of affections, but the idea here is that they both know how the other is feeling now. Hopefully that came across, and I'm also hoping that nothing in this chapter seemed to happen too quickly. It's easy to forget that writing takes a way longer time to do than reading does, so even though it'll take me, say, between forty minutes to an hour and a half to write a section, it probably only takes twenty minutes tops to read that same section over.

I think I was a little too proud of my chapter title on this one though. I wrote it and broke out into laughter over how "genius" I thought it was. Because you thought it meant that the connection between two things was cut, when actually it literally meant Link's face was sliced and that that cut is a clue to finding out what's binding him to his dreams and reality. Hahaha, sooo clever (not really, but that's how I was feeling when I came up with it).

Anyway, as you've probably noticed, I surprised you guys with a double chapter update! Of course, if you're reading this after I've passed this point in the story, then a double feature means nothing to you, but to everyone who is following along, my treat! :D

Thanks to 9tailsfox2, the legend of devi, Black arms Army, Memento Mori, Anytime, and The Reflecting Bird for reviewing! Six reviews is great, really great actually; let's keep it up! :)

Thanks for reading and please review! Unless you'd rather get right to the next chapter, in which case I will not be upset if this chapter gets few reviews (so long as chapter twelve has a decent number).

–GengaJupite