K'ger: And now, to announce the winner of the trivia contest! (yes, I know its early, but no one's participating anyway, so there!)
The winner is...
*Drumroll!*
Courage of Awesome! Her character will be appearing in the next chapter! I can't wait! Thank you very much for reading, reviewing, fav-ing and being a very nice person! You don't know how much your support has meant recently!
Second place goes to Link'sLily, who didn't know the answer, but actually responded, unlike everyone else! Everyone should check out her stories! They're all great!
Horsemen & Delivery Statements
"Is there any way I can help?" Malon asked, padding gently down the stairs of her brother-in-law's house. Cyrus, brown-haired and as gentle-faced as an old deer, looked up from his pile of paperwork, dark bags under his eyes being extenuated by the dim, flickering candlelight.
He sighed, putting his quill back into the bottle of ink, and leaned back in his wooden chair, head lolling back limply.
"I don't know. That damned mayor of Clock Town extended the city limits, so now our taxes are double, if not triple, of what they used to be, and our horses have both gone lame, so I can't even deliver enough milk to pay for a quarter of it!"
She looked out of one of the windows, and watched as Epona, Cerus and the filly, sadly still unnamed, all grazed in the new morning sunlight, flicking their tails occasionally in the new morning dew.
"We could deliver it." She said softly, not turning to look at Cyrus. As it turned out, her voice had been too low for his tired ears to hear.
"What?" He asked, leaning his head to one side to look at her. She turned away from the window, a determined look on her face.
"We can deliver the milk. Epona is strong and healthy, and it would help make a little money, right?" She said, louder, enthusiasm slowly working into her tone for the first time since she had set foot on her sister's property.
Cyrus sat up a little straighter in his chair, and looked at her with a curious glint to his eyes, obviously thinking over her proposition. They both fell silent, Malon returning her gaze to the window, and Cyrus leaning back toward the paperwork, reaching for the quill.
The quiet scratching sound of pen against paper came yet again from his desk, and, although she had her head toward the window, Malon occasionally stole a glance at her brother-in-law. It seemed like an hour before his paperwork was complete, and he finally stood from his chair. The sun had risen up further, shadows creeping quickly out of sight as the light flooded down on the grassy hill.
She started slightly when his hand came to rest on her shoulder, and when she looked toward him, saw a strangely optimistic look on his face.
"That'd be a huge help." He whispered before walking away, tiredly up the stairs toward his bedroom…
Kara and Rinku bounded down the stairs, fits of giggles music to Malon's ears as she planned the trip. It would take around a day both ways, with time to drop off the milk, collect the payment, and a special stop on the way that she had decided was necessary. She looked up from the delivery paper, and watched as both children raced down the last few steps and dashed, barefoot, across the hardwood floors toward her.
"Mommy!" Kara cried, scrabbling onto her lap and looking at her excitedly. "Mommy, can we come with you on the trip?"
Malon's smile softened slightly.
"Well, I don't think so, at least not this time, I think you'd be better off here with your Uncle Cyrus and Romani."
Kara and Rinku's faces fell dramatically upon her words, disappointment evident in their eyes.
"But Mommy! We wanna see Clock Town!" The little girl insisted, lips curling into an upset pout. Malon ruffled Kara's hair softly, and placed her on the floor so that she could stand up.
"We can take a special trip later, ok?"
"Promise?"
A gentle smile tugged at Malon's lips as the little girl stubbornly insisted on what she wanted. Just like her father.
"Promise."
Kara looked a little happier at the thought, and relinquished her mother from her begging, taking her little brother by the hand and practically dragging him toward where the few toys they had brought with them were kept, in a bag near the door.
They, in truth, didn't have many toys as it was. Link and Malon were, by no means, rich. They made enough to keep food on the table, clothes on their backs' and taxes paid, but that just about exhausted their funds, making the purchase of less necessary items a rare occasion. However, Link being the man he was, couldn't stand for his children being under cared for, and had come up with a, as he called it, "genius solution" to their predicament.
He made the toys himself. As it turned out, he had a hidden talent for woodworking, and with a few leftover pieces of firewood he had managed to scrape together, he had crafted the toys they cherished, and insisted they bring with them.
She folded the paperwork Cyrus had given her, stuffing it carefully with a crinkling of paper into a small leather satchel and smoothed her dress, sighing with slight nerves and anticipation of her trip. She had a very good reason for wanting not to bring Kara and Rinku with her, and that very reason was making her nervous.
A few mere moments later, Jack and McKenna came plodding tiredly down the stairs, Jack with his arm draped over McKenna's shoulders and her leaning against him, as if using him for support. Jack's hair was heavily mussed, sticking up in gravity-defying ways, and as Malon looked closer at his face, saw a faint glistening on his lower lip and chin, obviously having drooled in his sleep. McKenna was just as bad. Her hair was tangled in a rats' nest of brown strands, and underneath her eyes, large black half-moons were swept across her usually porcelain-like skin.
"Good, you two are up. Its time to get going." Malon said, approaching them. The couple stopped short when her words sank in, and bewildered looks curled across their features.
"…Go? Go where?" Jack questioned in a groggy, half-asleep voice. McKenna yawned against him, and rubbed a hand over her eyes, trying to clear her vision of the sleepy blurriness.
"We're delivering milk to Clock Town for Cyrus." She answered, heading toward the front door. Turning the doorknob, she was just about to step outside when Jack made another incomprehensible sound.
"W-why are we delivering it? Shouldn't that be, oh, I don't know, Cyrus's job?"
She stopped short, and turned to look at him.
"Because both of his horses are unhealthy, and Epona is the only one who can pull a wagon right now." And with that, she strode out of the house.
The sun had risen even further into the sky, but that didn't change the fact that a strange, foreboding aura was worming into the back of her mind as she walked across the grass, heading for the barn where Cyrus was hitching Epona to a small wagon.
It was a strange feeling. Something wasn't right, something she couldn't place. And then she realized what was wrong. There was no wind. The air was completely still, as if time itself had stopped, and one was walking through a thick, cloying mist.
Epona gave a slight shake of her head as Malon approached, the harness that were slung over her thick frame clinking as the metal buckles bumped against her. Once she reached the mare, she ran a hand over her thick, velvety brown muzzle, gentle fingers lacing trough the mare's white mane.
"She's all set." Cyrus said from behind the wagon, obviously hefting a crate of milk bottles into the cart, as it shuddered slightly.
She walked around the wagon, to see as her brother-in-law lifted yet another crate into the wagon. She peered inside, seeing that there were ten crates in total. Near the front, there was just enough space for Jack and McKenna to ride.
"Ok, so, you have two stops to make," he started, making a few gestures with his hands as she listened intently to his directions. "Eight of these crates are for the Milk Bar. Now, when you enter Clock Town, one of the guards is going to stop you. They're going to inspect the wagon, ask a couple of questions, and require a delivery statement. That's the paperwork I gave you. You'll need that to get in.
"After that, you're going to want to make an immediate right. That path will go on for about a quarter of a mile, then make a jog to the left. After that, you'll enter a wide plaza, the Milk Bar will be directly across from you. And also, when you're going through that narrow side street? Be careful. There're nasty thugs that hang out around there. They won't think twice about harassing a lady. You're going to want to talk to a man named Damos. He runs the bar. Tell him I sent you, he'll understand."
Malon took a breath. It was a lot to remember. Paperwork. Right. Plaza. Thugs.
He then proceeded to interrupt her thoughts, continuing onward with his lecture. "Once you deliver the eight crates they've requested, your next stop is going to be further to the left. Go straight down that street until you see a small wooden sign that says, "Stock Pot Inn". They want the other two crates. Inside you'll meet a woman named Anju. Again, tell her I sent you."
He finally finished, and Malon sighed heavily, mind reeling with the huge amount of information she had just taken in.
"You got all that?"
She nodded half-heartedly, mind still processing, and walked around the wagon when she heard the front door to the farmhouse open.
Jack and McKenna walked out into the dreary sunlight, dressed and ready to leave. When they reached the wagon, Jack wordlessly helped McKenna into the back, and followed closely behind, giving a slightly bored sigh as he sat down beside her and looked at Malon with a perturbed glare.
"What is that look for?" Malon asked, pulling herself into the front seat of the wagon and taking Epona's reins in both hands. She gave a final wave to Cyrus, and flicked the reins against Epona's back softly, urging her forward with a click of her tongue.
The wagon shuddered forward as the mare began to walk, slowly, carefully down the path.
"I don't see why we're doing this. I was looking forward to a day where I didn't have to worry about who's where and when and how."
Malon shook her head softly, and looked at the scenery around her. If she looked carefully, it almost looked like s if color itself had been drained from the world, like a painting left out in the sun too long. The world almost looked sick, like it was suffering from a terminal illness.
"You do for family, Jack. Someday, when you have kids, you'll understand."
She didn't look over her shoulder at her two companions, but if she had, she would have seen the rosy-pink color that dusted over both of their cheeks, although McKenna's blush was decidedly darker.
Jack noticed this, as the wagon rattled through the narrow valley that served as the only way in and out of the ranch, and leaned over so that her could look her directly in the eyes, a curious glint in his own deep green orbs as he took her chin into the palm of his hand.
"McKenna?" he questioned, watching with slight concern as she looked away from him, squirming underneath his intent gaze. "Is something wrong?"
"N-no. Of course not, um, why do you ask?" She responded coyly, still not meeting his eyes.
When he was about to venture further, she interrupted him.
"Um, Jack? What is that?"
She pointed toward the rear of the cart. He followed her gaze, and his muscles immediately stiffened, completely out of instinct, when his eyes came to rest on the figures of two horses and two riders following about a hundred yards behind them.
The horses were massive, easily as large as Epona, with coats of pure white, and heavily ornate bridles and saddles attached to their heads, thick, muscular chests and backs. Atop them, two thick men were seated, thick swatches of what looked to be burlap concealed their faces.
"Mal? No need to worry, but…Can this wagon go any faster?" McKenna asked, eyes completely focused on the two riders, watching as the men spurred the massive steeds into wild gallops. Malon gave a slight, nerve-wracked tilt of her head, eyes narrowing with worry.
"What's wrong?" She asked, keeping her attention on Epona.
"Well, I'd say that we have a couple of mean looking guests. Might want to speed things up a little bit." Jack added, looking at the riders. In the corner of his eye, a swatch of red fabric caught his attention, as Malon called to Epona, flicking the reins again and urging the huge copper mare into a frenzied canter. He reached for the fabric, and his eyebrows rose subtly when his muscular fingers wrapped around a long wooden object.
He pulled the object into full sight, and a smooth smirk pulled at his lips. It was an elegantly carved bow, made of fine oak wood, with intricate tooling along the handle. The string was still in fit shape to be used, and as he lifted it, found that there was also a quiver full of arrows.
Ignoring the quiet protest that McKenna gave, he rose to his feet, steadying himself as the wagon rattled onward, and notched an arrow, pulling the string tight and listening as the bow creaked in his grip.
The riders were catching up, soon only mere feet away from the rear of the wagon. So close that even Malon could hear the distinct sound of a sword being pulled from its scabbard. Seconds later there was impact, the wagon shuddering greatly and threatening to throw Jack off his feet. In the back gate of the wagon, a large chunk had been smashed free, the rider on the left brandishing a curved sword.
Jack regained his footing quickly, drawing the bowstring even tighter, till his fingers touched against his cheek. The rider pulled his arm back, aiming another strike, this time urging his horse even faster, so that he was riding alongside the wagon, right next to McKenna. It felt like a rock had been dropped directly onto his gut as the man took a swing at McKenna with the sword.
He aimed, took a breath, and as he exhaled, let the arrow fly. It flew straight, and true, and buried into shoulder of the rider. He watched with a satisfied chortle as the rider he had hit pulled back on his horse's reins, and gasped, holding a hand to where the arrow now protruded. The other rider reluctantly gave way, and pulled back as well, watching with an angry holler as the wagon hurriedly rounded a bend and disappeared.
Malon kept Epona at the swift pace for another few minutes, making sure that the pursuers had fallen behind before allowing the mare to catch her second wind, slowing to an easy, rhythmic walk. Once she was sure that Epona was on course, she let the reins fall from her hands, and turned sideways in her seat, giving Jack and McKenna a wide eyed look.
"What on Hylia's green earth was that?" She asked, slightly breathless. McKenna shook her head, complexion pale and skin pasty, and Jack dropped the bow, letting it fall to the floor as he slumped to his knees, a few beads of sweat clinging to his forehead.
"M-McKenna? Are you ok? He didn't get you, did he?" He asked in a hoarse whisper. She shook her head, apparently to stunned to use her voice, and for the next few minutes, not a one of them said a word, merely listening to the gentle clop of Epona's hooves.
As the rounded yet another bend, and the path widened out into an expanse of tall, untrimmed yellow grass, the looming silhouette of Clock Town quickly came into view, and Epona instinctually followed the dirt path that snaked between the rolling hills between them and the city, and approached the enormous stone walls that served as protection and control of those who lived within.
The southern gate was open, the two iron doors that were locked at night pushed as far in either direction as they could go. Leaning, slumped, with his head lolling forward in a doze, was a soldier. Across his leather-clad chest, the insignia of an elk mid-stride was embroidered with golden thread, and in both hands, he loosely gripped the pole of a spear.
He started awake when Epona's hooves came onto the cobbles, clattering, and the bumped over the rough, unfinished curb, the glass milk bottles shaking inside their crates. He looked around a few times, snapping his mind into motion, before his tired, watered-down blue eyes came into full focus.
"State your names and business." He said in a bored, monotone voice, looking at the wagon as it stopped with half-open lids. Jack leapt easily from the wagon, landing with a resounding thud in front of the soldier, startling him.
"Name's Jack," he laughed, thumbing his nose and jerking it toward the wagon. "And those two're McKenna and Malon."
The soldier looked at McKenna and Malon for a moment, and then returned his tired gaze to Jack.
"And what business do you have here?"
Jack rolled his eyes. "To deliver milk, duh. Can't you see the crates?"
His attitude seemed to take the soldier by surprise, and as the soldier did a double take, Jack laughed in a confidant tone, jumping back up into the wagon, muttering under his breath, "Dummy."
The soldier walked stiffly over to the side of the wagon, shooting Jack a glare as he inspected the crates, underneath the wagon, and the harnesses that attached Epona to the cart. He yelped when he came around front of Epona, and the mare lunged, snapping at his wrist and causing him to bolt back to the safety of the wall he had previously been leaning on.
"I guess everything looks alright, but I'm going to have to ask for a delivery statement. You do have a delivery statement, don't you?"
Hearing this, Malon gave a soft sound of recognition, and fumbled with the satchel that was still slung over her shoulder. Well, it had been slung over her shoulder. Now there was nothing more than an empty space beside her on the seat.
Oh you've got to be kidding me.
She looked back toward Jack and McKenna, giving them a look that quickly turned to panic. If she thought back to when the two unknown horsemen had pursued them, she could vaguely remember the wind catching hold of her, a sudden burst pushing her hair into her eyes and blocking her vision. After that, her shoulder had suddenly felt lighter.
Crap.
She turned back to the impatiently waiting soldier, a toothy, sheepish grin plastering across her face. He groaned, letting his head fall back, and slapped a hand against his forehead.
"Ma'am, I can't let you in without a delivery statement." He moaned, upset of having his time wasted. Malon took a breath, steadying herself, and then put on the most feminine, sultry look she could manage with a straight face.
"Sir, can't you maybe…bend the rules? Just this once? It's only a shipment of milk." She whispered, leaning toward him a little. His face immediately lost its look of boredom, being quickly replaced by utter shock. He stepped back, bumping up against the wall, skin going pale as she lowered her eyelashes.
"I-I really don't think that's something I can do M-Miss!" He stuttered, leaning harder against the wall. Malon scooted over in the seat, so that she was as close as she could get to the soldier. She ran a hand through her hair, and tilted her head down, so that she was looking up through her thick lashes.
"Are you sure? It's just one shipment." She said in a seductive pout. He sighed heavily, letting his head this time droop forward, and he pushed a hand toward the open gate.
"Yeah, fine. Go."
Malon immediately perked up, eyes opening fully again, and she winked at him as she gathered up Epona's reins, urging the mare onward with a simple word of thanks to the soldier in a friendly, everyday manner, as if her previous act had never even happened. Even the soldier started to wonder if the whole incident had been real, or just one of his dreams.
Jack and McKenna rode silently behind her, occasionally stealing dumbfounded glances at one another. Finally, as Epona followed her instructions to start down a narrow side street, it was Jack who broke the silence.
"What the hell was that?" He asked. Malon laughed softly, a gentle chuckle that barely escaped her throat as she flicked her hair.
"What? I can't persuade someone with what I've got?" She asked slyly over her shoulder. Jack squirmed unsurely from her question, looking to McKenna, who only giggled.
"Well, I mean-! You're a married woman! You don't think Link wouldn't have been upset from that little display?"
"I think that if Link was here, he would have gotten us in by his own way of persuasion."
Not even Epona noticed as two people stealthily after their wagon, feet making not a single sound on the cobblestones. They stopped near one of the dark alleyways, and greeted another person with slight nods.
"Let's go, we'll cut them off at the crossroads..."