Chapter Eleven

The first few days were difficult for him.

He had never spoken a word about what occurred between him and the princess. Their dialogue had been kept hidden, as Link came back to the ranch that evening, merely looking at Malon. It was a gesture that explained everything to her, without revealing the words of discomfort exchanged between he and the boiling blonde girl.

The look had been enough for her. And yet, for a long while Malon had kept her distance from him. They had not been as close as he once remembered, when they would sit alone together at the barn, while Ingo and Talon slept, simply conversing on any subject that came to mind. Link seemed to miss those moments with her. He wasn't sure how long it would take for their relationship to be as stable as it once was.

Slowly, the days turned to weeks, and Malon subtly began to open up to him again. He noticed the smallest hint of a smile to her lips, a giggle to her discord. She began holding his hand, just like she used to. And occasionally, she would let him kiss her- gingerly, without much passion.

And the absence of the fervency was plaguing him.

It had been one month now, almost precisely. One month since he had broken the heart of the princess, and perhaps his own. Only the goddesses knew what she had said about him, and what would occur if he attempted to visit the castle after their encounter- or what Malon would think of it. During this month, he stayed on his best behavior. Working at the ranch diligently, Talon was more than pleased, but the awkwardness continued to exist with his daughter.

The wedding was vaguely planned for the following year, after Malon would have reached the age of seventeen years. With that year, he swore to himself to become a better man, or perhaps become a man. Young love seemed to be a curse, tearing at his heart slowly everyday. He had promised his loyalty to Malon, and he felt he owed it to her. But yet, he felt another sense of allegiance and devotion to Zelda- the princess, his princess. His lover.

Because of his lust, his infatuation, or perhaps his love, he had lost his best friend.

When he was sent to properly relive his childhood, he had promised himself that Zelda's subtle prophecy that they would never see one another again would not become a reality for him. But now, it had, and the actuality of it greatly terrified him.

Link was haunted by deliciously sinful dreams of the pale beauty. Vivid images would burst within his reveries, of the silkiness of her skin, the strength and bulk of her thighs, the sharp dramatic curves of her body- shaped dreadfully like an hourglass, one that seemed to speedily spill the sand of the end of their liaison.

Her gasps plagued him, the feminine flair to her moans. The quiver of her lips- so swollen and vivaciously pink. While her tongue tasted the flesh of his body, boiling him.

Those dreams had been frequent at the beginning. He would awake in a sweat at times, his heart beating rapidly, tears of guilt welled in his eyes. That one night of forbidden passion had changed his life -for what seemed the worst. And now he needed to repair the chaos he had caused, all because his mind had been maddeningly fixated on the princess.

And it seemed subconsciously, it still was.

Slowly, those dreams began to fade as the month had passed. He began to think of her less, but the heaviness in his chest never ceased, as did the never-ending foreboding feeling in his heart.

And it was made apparent one bleak morning.

It had appeared as a regular, common morning, not unusual from every other Link had experienced at the ranch. He and Malon were alone, which had been uncommon for them lately, as they were brushing Epona's hair. A small conversation had been started on Link's behalf, about how much he enjoyed the lovely horse Malon had given him years ago.

She seemed interested in his gesture, lightly batting her delicate, honey-colored lashes, a little hint of reassurance in her look towards him. He had leaned forward to kiss her, rather carefully, his eyes half-closed in a timid state as he was unsure she would allow his intentions.

Yet, he watched as her eyes slowly drifted, a gentle blush to her cheeks, and his lips brushed over hers, until he briskly kissed her bottom lip.

Pulling away quite quickly, there was a tremor to his heart, parting his lips to breathe, while he looked down at the girl nervously. Yet, with her eyes, she allowed him permission to kiss her again, and he took heed of her approval. Softly, Link plummeted his mouth to meet her own once more, kissing her a little more profoundly this time, yet keeping the contact between them delicate, just as their situation was.

"Malon! Malon! We have a huge problem!"

The chubby man's hysteric voice was the cause of the young couple's separation, as Link and the young farm girl pulled away hastily at the distracting noise of a horse wildly approaching them. They both jumped back, Talon stopping the mammal abruptly as he pulled on the reins, quickly dismounting the horse. With a huff, the animal kicked against the dirt.

Immediately, Malon hurried to her desperate father to meet him half-way, the man trembling from the hasty ride. Nervously, Link approached father and daughter, biting down on his lip in apprehension.

"Dad, what's wrong? What happened?" said Malon with worry lurking in her discord, her slender brows raised fretfully.

Talon, however, simply revealed the large, brown sack he had been carrying, lifting the heavy load to flaunt it as his response.

"You...didn't deliver the milk?" The observation had come from Link's mouth, as he pulled off his hat to rub at the back of his nettled hair.

When Talon only stared at Link knowingly, Malon panicked.

"Why haven't you delivered the milk to the castle, Father? What happened?"

The older man sighed, bending his knees to release the bag so it fell gently on the ground, then adjusting his overalls as he gawked at the young Hylians rather timidly. With a twitch of his mustache, he hesitated to respond, rubbing at his large nose to stall some time.

"I haven't delivered the milk because the king has fallen ill, and now the princess, who has been put in charge of several affairs until his recovery, refuses to buy milk from the ranch."

Silence. Immediate silence.

The sentence spilled from Talon's mouth quickly, and the moment he spoke, Link froze in place. Time seemed to stop right then, his breathing ceasing. This could not have been occurring. Not now. Not towards them.

Slowly, Link shifted his gaze towards Malon, and though she appeared collective, an uncanny presence was present in her. Her fists clenched carefully into tight balls as she glared at Link from the corner of her eyes.

"What did you say, Father?"

"I'm afraid she gave no explanation, except for the fact that milk would no longer be purchased from the Lon Lon Ranch. And since our profit from the castle is our main source of income, I don't know how we'll be able to keep the ranch and support our business."

She needed not to look at Link from the corner of her eye no longer, for Malon sharply turned her neck, her whole body stiff and still, a dreadful, dire, menacing expression consuming her entire face. Never, never had he seen her look at him that way before. It was frightening, intimidating, and so solemn that he needed to swallow a sudden lump that had formed in his throat. She wasn't upset or heart broken this time. The girl was downright angry.

"Father, can you please give me a moment with Link."

With a curious tilt to his head, the ranch owner agreed, taking the sack of milk bottles with him, leaving the struggling young couple alone. The instant she noticed her father's figure disappear from her sight, Malon's emotions at last burst.

"What have you done?"

In utter frustration, she had grabbed hold of her thick red hair, tugging harshly at her roots, while her eyes grew so ample they seemed as if they would flee from their sockets. Nervously, Link bit at the nail of his thumb, a redness overtaking his face.

"I knew something like this would happen! I knew you'd anger the damn princess! Now, look what she has done! She is using her power to her advantage, to get her revenge towards you, and perhaps even towards me!"

She hadn't allowed him the privilege to speak, as she had broken out into a frenzy of shouts and curses, stomping her boot into the ground, her cheeks fuming a bright, fierce crimson.

"We are going to lose the ranch now, because you could not keep your infidelity inside your tunic! She is going to take everything from us because you betrayed her, like you did towards me! You cheating, playing, user of women!"

Sending her hand back to increase the momentum of her slap, Malon sent her palm flying towards his cheek, but before it could hit his face, Link had grabbed her wrist. She looked at him, appalled, glancing repeatedly from her captured wrist, to his face. Yet, with a fierce grunt, she simply raised her other hand, giving him the hard slap he deserved.

"You fucking bastard!"

She had cursed at him before, but never in such a vulgar manner. His cheek was burning furiously now from the impact of her hit, as Link tenderly embraced his cheek maintaining his gaze towards her.

Heavily she breathed, her mouth opened broadly, her chest expanded and releasing briskly with each fervent gasp air she took. And swiftly, he took hold of both her hands, bring them up to his chest, his grip firm so that she could not pull away from him.

"Malon, I promise you," he swore, lowering his face to give her his most sincere look. "I will go to the castle and make things right."

However, she only shook her head at him, disbelieving of his words. "I doubt they would let you pass, you fool."

"Then Talon will accompany me, and we will present before the princess on behalf of the ranch," he explained, "and there, I will address her of her reasons, which I am certain are personal."

Her expression softened just then, the blue in her eyes glimmering tenderly. "There is a chance my father will learn of your unfaithfulness."

"If he does, so be it. As a man, I must live up to my mistakes. Only a coward hides from them and lies to the people he cares for."

There was a twinkle her eyes that moment that emphasized the sadness in her crunched expression. With a groan and a bite of her lips, Malon pried her hands away from him, looking towards the ground as she took hold of his hand and led him towards her father.

A/N: I would like to thank Raigeki Ookami for the "Zelda's Revenge!" idea. =) Also, thanks to all my reviewers, you guys rock!