Once again, Malon found herself sitting in front of Saria's house, watching the crowd of children gathered near a house on the far side of the little town. The occasional Kokiri turned and glared at her, accusing eyes boring at her before the child would turn away and attempt to look into the small windows of the house. Malon sighed and smoothed out a wrinkle on her damp but clean dress. Malon tried to ignore the emotions bubbling forth: annoyance at not having gone anywhere after their original departure two hours ago, a sick feeling to the stomach after witnessing what had happened to the little boy, and resentment towards the children glaring at her.
"I hope Mido is okay, even if he is a rotten bully," The fairy remarked as she landed on Malon's shoulder. Malon ignored the fairy.
"Aren't you worried about him? You should go and see if Saria needs any help," Navi asked, taking a strand of Malon's red hair and pulling it.
"Shut up," She growled. The fairy huffed angrily and let go of Malon's hair. Navi leapt from Malon's shoulder and flew towards the small house, fluttering near the window.
"Excuse me, tall lady," A timid voice startled Malon and she turned to see a brunette girl staring at her. The girl stared down at her hands and Malon noticed that the girl was holding a steaming wooden cup.
"Hello," Malon replied. The girl froze, but shook her head and held out the wooden cup towards her.
"You looked cold. I saw you wash your dress in the creek and thought this might help," The girl mumbled. Malon smiled and took the cup.
"What is your name?" Malon asked as she cautiously sipped the liquid. The boiling liquid was tea, the taste of nuts and honey tickled Malon's throat.
"Temal, tall lady. What is your name?" Temal asked nervously, holding out her right hand. For a moment, Malon wondered if she wanted the cup back. However, a bright pink fairy landed on her hand and sat on the girl's palm.
"My name is Malon. Thank you for the tea," Malon replied. The girl blushed bright red and stared at her bare feet.
"You are welcome. I think it's mean of the others, not offering you any tea. You helped Mido when he got sick and…" Temal replied.
"They probably blame me for what happened to him," Malon muttered.
"Why would they blame you? Yes, you are a tall person and an outsider, but that does not mean anything," Temal answered, looking up from her feet to stare at Malon.
"Thank you for the tea, I think I should leave now," Malon replied sullenly. She stood up and handed the girl back the cup.
"Why are you leaving?" The girl asked in surprise.
"It was nice meeting you, Temal. Goodbye," Malon answered, walking towards the entrance that led towards Hyrule Field. A couple of the children were drawn away from the house and stared at her. Malon tried to ignore them as she walked out. She stepped through the large entrance and started walking across the bridge.
"Wait!" Malon stopped and turned to see Temal running across the bridge.
"If you leave…then they will blame…you for what…happened…" The girl spoke between ragged breaths.
"They blame me already, why would leaving make a difference. Besides, I need to call for Epona so that I can get her ready," Malon replied.
"Who's Epona?" Temal asked curiously.
"Never mind Temal, if you go then no more tall people will be permitted inside Kokiri Village," The fairy stated.
"So I should stay so that people can come and go?" Malon asked, crossing her arms in annoyance.
"If you won't do it for travelers, do it for that strange tall-man that came earlier. He visits Saria sometimes and I think he would get upset if he was driven away from the forest," The fairy replied. Malon frowned; she had forgotten that Link came from the forest.
"Hey! There you are, why are you here?" A shrill angry yell came from the entrance and Malon's frown deepened as the blue fairy zoomed from the exit.
"I was hiding from you," Malon retorted.
"Stupid farm-girl," The fairy growled angrily. Malon heard another set of footsteps and saw Saria come racing out.
"Mido finally fell back asleep. I am so sorry, but I had to make him wake up and forget that he had left the forest. Now he will be saying that he was single-handedly fighting off three Stalfos that had attacked us until he was poisoned by a…" Saria called as she came running forward.
"Mido left the forest?" Temal yelped. Saria glared at the girl.
"Temal, could you forget about what I just said?" Saria asked.
"Y-yes! I will forget what you said! I'm sorry," Temal stuttered, looking at Saria with wide fearful eyes. Then, Saria smiled widely.
"Gotcha! Don't worry, Temal. It is just a game that Mido and I were playing. We were pretending to leave the forest and he ate something bad. Don't tell anyone though, okay? Mido doesn't want people to know about that," Saria giggled. Temal beamed at Saria, nodded, and ran back to the village.
"Temal is so easily convinced, thank goodness. We should go," Saria said as she turned to Malon. Malon nodded once, glanced to the entrance where the girl had vanished, and walked away towards Hyrule Field.
Nabooru grimaced as she felt Link shift in his position behind her. She knew she was lucky that he had remained asleep for so long. She once had her prey wake up while she was riding towards Gerudo Fortress and he attacked her. She looked at the walls of brown rock that towered over the trail leading to the fortress and felt a twinge of relief that Link had not wakened yet. Viento snorted as the wooden bridge across the river came into view. Three Gerudo girls, all too young to join in the hunt, were standing guard at the other end of the bridge.
"How goes it, sisters?" Nabooru called. The three girls looked towards her and broke into a smile, one running forward to meet with Nabooru.
"The fortress is as secure as when you left, Nabooru. You are the third to return from the Hunt," The girl called up as she started walking beside Viento. Viento turned his head and huffed at her, but the girl ignored him.
"Third, that is certainly interesting. Would any of them be the ones that are coming to age?" Nabooru asked.
"One of them happens to be, Nabooru," The girl answered, a bright smile on her face.
"Thank you. Return to your post," Nabooru responded. The girl nodded and dashed back to her post. Nabooru grinned as she slowed Viento to a halt. She leapt from his back and gently led him up the trail towards the fortress. As the Fortress came into view, a chorus of female voices rang and two Gerudos came running out to meet her. One was the guard, a delighted smile on her face, and the second was an elderly woman who as too old to participate in the Wild Hunt.
"Welcome back, Nabooru," The elder called, her thick rough voice made Nabooru smile.
"Thank you for welcoming me back, elder," Nabooru replied as she bowed slightly to the elder.
"I will take your horse, since our horse-keeper is still hunting down her prey. After you bring your prey into the fortress, you should head for the baths," The elder woman said.
"I shall follow your advice, elder," Nabooru replied as she pulled Link from Viento's saddle.
"You are in luck, Nabooru. The baths are cool today," The guard stated. Nabooru's smile widened, cool water was hard to come by with being so near to the desert.
"Thank you for assisting my horse, elder. May the Lady of the Sun guide your path," Nabooru said respectively to the elderly woman. The woman nodded before leading Viento away.
"Good day, sister," Nabooru said to the guard. The guard smiled before walking back to her post. Nabooru looked towards the blue sky and smiled. She began walking towards the Gerudo Fortress, content that she had completed her task and the thought of rest buzzing at the back of her mind.