Chapter 20

Grim Faced Warrior

Heedlessly, Link fled. With great strides he descended the hill, back down into the lifeless city. Still running, he followed the road. He crossed the Market, leaping over the bodies in his way. Continuing on the road, he was forced to slow his pace as his chest burned for air.

Still he ran, until he came to the city wall. In some recess of his mind, he was impressed that there was something still standing, still as he remembered it from his own time.

All that remained of the drawbridge were scattered pieces of rotted wood, some hanging uselessly from abandoned chains. The moat was little more than a muddy stream. Link splashed through its waters and hauled himself back onto the road.

He ran at a steady pace for hours. The road climbed up the hill just outside the city. Reaching its peak, Link forced himself to stop, to turn and look back. It had been coming over the crest of this same hill, riding a farm cart, that he had first seen Hyrule Castle Town. He still remembered that moment, that sunny morning when he had looked down at the city, and seen the white castle atop its hill for the first time.

Later, it had been coming over the same hill on a dark night that he had seen the city on fire as the gerudo attacked. For Link, that night had heralded the day his world ended.

Now, he saw the dead shell of Castle Town spread beneath him. It had been completely torched, Link could not see any part of the city that had escaped the devastation. He wondered how many people had been able to flee, and how many had found their deaths inside their own homes. The tower stood above all, atop its hill, a black sentinel over the empty capital.

Unable to do anything for the dead city, Link began to run again. He descended the hill that hid Castle Town from view. As he ran, the events since his awakening impacted upon him. Tears began to flow down his cheeks, unbidden and unrestrained.

He did not know what time of day it was and he did not know how long he ran, only that several hours passed. He saw homesteads but no people, and passed through a deserted village. It had not been destroyed, was not in ruins like Castle Town. It seemed simply that no one had any desire to live so close to the capital.

Eventually, he came to places that were still populated. He was in farmland. The road ran between neat hedgerows, enclosing fields that were still tended, still growing crops and grazing herds.

There was a ranch, and he recognised the house not far away. Turning from the road onto a cart track, Link approached the building. Still, he saw no people.

He reached the house, and walking round it saw also a barn, a paddock and a corral. His breath caught in his mouth as he saw someone stood in the corral. Going closer, he could make her out, as she rubbed down the horse she was tending.

Her red hair fell below her shoulders, though it was shorter than it had been as a child. In seven years, she too had grown, and the little girl had become a beautiful woman with fine, elegant features.

As he continued to go closer, Link could hear that she was singing. He smiled as he remembered her singing to the horses the first time he had come to Lon Lon Ranch. Her voice was stronger now she was older. He could clearly remember the last time he had seen her, asleep in her bed in the Stock Pot Inn while Link slipped away to seek Zelda.

Malon was as beautiful as a woman as she had been captivating as a child.

She became aware of him, and her song faltered. Suddenly, he could not bear her to realise who he was or that they had met before. He willed Navi to remain out of sight, for the fairy would make him instantly recognisable. He did not wish to answer any questions about himself or what had happened since they had parted.

"Hello," she began hesitantly, when he had come close enough to talk easily. "Can I help you?" There was something in her tone that was not quite right, a note of distrust. The way she looked at him was nervous, and her eyes flickered worryingly to the scabbard at his belt.

"I was hoping for a bed for the night," said Link.

"I'm afraid I can't help you. You will have to speak with Ingo, the master of this ranch."

Link frowned. "Ingo? Isn't Talon master of Lon Lon Ranch?"

The girl's expression lightened momentarily as if she forgot her distrust. "You know Talon? Have you visited this ranch before?"

"Once," Link admitted. "A long time ago."

Malon looked away, her attention once more on the horse she was grooming. "It must have been. I'm afraid Talon left here a while ago. As I said, it belongs to Ingo now."

"But you're still here? Why did you not go with your father? Unless- When you say he has gone away…" Link faltered into awkward silence. She understood him nonetheless.

"No, he is no dead. He was… required to leave. I stayed to look after the animals."

"Would Ingo not have done?"

"He is a good man," said Malon quickly. Too quickly, as if she did not believe her own words. "Someone needed to look after the animals," she muttered.

Link felt foolish. It was obviously something she did not wish to talk about and yet he had still questioned her. "I'm sorry," he said, turning to leave.

"Wait," she called after him. He looked back at her while she hesitated, seeming to struggle with herself. "You are grim faced and wear a sword at your side, yet you act more courteously than many who pass this way. I am afraid these are dark times, and trust is rare."

"They are dark times indeed," he agreed, wryly. "What sign could I give you of my good faith?"

"You can tell me where you are from?"

Link's heart failed him. "I am from a very long way away."

"You ask for my trust but yet do not trust me?"

"I'm sorry. There is a great darkness behind me which I am not yet ready to face."

She looked at him for a long moment before eventually smiling. It was a significant moment for Link, for it was the first happy or hopeful thing he had seen since his awakening.

"Very well. I will take a chance on you, my grim faced warrior. Somehow I cannot help trusting you, even in days such as those which currently face us. I am afraid I have nothing better to offer you than a place in the barn, though."

Link shrugged. "I've slept in worse places."

"The more I consider you, the more I feel I should know who you are," she said, her head on one side as she regarded him. He did not meet her gaze. "May I know your name?"

Link hesitated for only a moment. "Talamin."

"Then I will take that as the token of your trust."

"Will Ingo mind my staying?"

"No. He will not be here tonight. So I would be dining alone. Will you join me and share dinner?" Suddenly realising that technically he had not eaten for seven years, Link readily accepted.

It was a strange meal they shared that evening. Malon was constantly inquisitive, but Link's answers were cautious and evasive. He said little of himself and could say nothing of the world. It was quickly obvious to her that he did not know many things he should have done.

"If you will not tell me where you have come from, will you tell me where you are going?" she asked, midway through the evening.

Again, Link hesitated, as he realised he did not know himself. "I don't know," he answered, honestly. "I have no real direction, except to get away from where I have come from."

Malon did not reply, but looked at him for a long time before picking up another subject.

From Link's perspective, it was a lovely evening. His mind and heart were still full of the days events, and the strange feeling of suddenly jumping seven years. He was still recovering from the shock of what he had lost. Malon went some way towards distracting him from such thoughts.

Once she had made the decision to trust him, she did not stop smiling and laughing. She no longer giggled as she once had done, but she carried the same light-heartedness and vivacity still. It was encouraging to see that in some small way, Hyrule had not been entirely ruined.

Indeed, Link found himself impressed that she had been able to maintain that spirit intact, as he realised more and more how dark the years had been. Malon had done well just to survive, so close to the seat of Ganondorf's power. They did not talk openly about the troubles that had beset her, but it was evident Link was not the only one with things in his past he did not wish to discuss.

"I have an offer for you," she said abruptly, some time after they had finished eating.

"Oh?"

"Ingo won't be back for some days yet. If you have no pressing errands to take you away, why not stay here? I would find an extra pair of hands most helpful and you might find escape from your darkness."

Happy to have some sort of purpose, Link accepted her offer readily.

He was surprised by how tired he felt when eventually he retired to the barn and lay down in the hay of its loft. He had slept for seven years and yet felt exhausted. Even so, it was quite impossible to sleep. Too much had happened, and he could not rid his mind of the images. Castle Town on fire, gerudo in the Market; Zelda disappearing through the storm; Ganondorf hurling magic at him in the courtyard, his hand reaching through white nothingness to clutch Link's shoulder as together they entered the Sacred Realm. Every time he opened his eyes he thought he saw the Triforce above him, but could not reach it. Again and again, he heard Talamin's bones cracking while he stood powerless or fled.

When Malon emerged from the ranch house, fully rested, the sky was beginning to lighten and dawn was not far away. Link was already in the paddock. She was stroking a beautiful chestnut mare, with white mane and tail.

Going closer, Malon smiled. "This is Epona," she said.

"She's beautiful," Link murmured.

"I've looked after her since she was a foal, when my father gave her to me as a gift. She's a very dear friend as well as a very special horse. Ingo dislikes her, she's got a very wild spirit. If she doesn't trust you, she won't let you near her, but once you've won her over she's loyal to the end. In fact, in those ways, I'd guess the two of you are kindred spirits." She shot him a look at him to gauge his reaction.

Link smiled awkwardly at the compliment. "I was going to say she sounds like you."

"Do you know how to ride, Talamin?" Link admitted he had never had the opportunity to learn. "Would you like me to teach you? There are chores to be done this morning, but after lunch we may find some time." He assented happily.

The day turned out to set a pattern for those to come. Link spent the morning under Malon's direction. There were various daily jobs that required attention, looking after the animals, milking cows, collecting eggs. After that he helped with various jobs around the ranch.

Autumn was already over and winter was beginning to bite, evident in the cold winds that blew through the ranch. There was much to be done to prepare for the cold months ahead. Even in the chilly weather, Link found himself working up a sheen of sweat before they stopped at midday to eat.

In the afternoons, Malon was as good as her word and he began to learn to ride. As the days passed, she also taught him how to care for a horse properly, the setting of saddle and harness, the correct ways to go about grooming and feeding before or after riding.

They began to go beyond the paddock, sometimes going on long rides, Malon upon Epona and Link upon a dun stallion. At Link's insistence, they always roamed south. He refused to talk about what lay less than a day's journey to the north, and Malon never pressed him on it.

He began to take great pleasure in his work on the ranch. He enjoyed the physical labour, and began to get used to his new body. Working with the two other farmhands, he got a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction from his efforts.

The work also had the effect Malon had predicted: he found he was able to lose himself in his work and for a while at least distract himself from unpleasant memories. At night, though, it was less easy to escape his past. When he did sleep, he would often dream himself back in the Chamber of Sages. He could see the Triforce above him but his lethargic arms would not obey him and reach for it. Often when he awoke, he could hear Ganondorf's laughter ringing in his ears. He also found that often his left hand would burn as he jerked awake, but there was no mark, and he could think of no reason for the strange sensation.

He and Navi rarely spoke. She was too acute a reminder of his past. What she thought, it was harder to say. This dark world shocked and confused her, and there was now a veil over her emotions Link had not previously known. The one feeling he was aware of was how homesick she was, and how she longed to return to the forest. He could not yet bring himself to undertake that journey, though, and she did not press it.

In the mean time, Link found a definite affinity growing with Malon. He felt a great debt of gratitude to her that he could not voice, a thankfulness for the way she had treated him. For her part, she seemed very glad to have him nearby. He realised quickly, though, that while she valued his company and appreciated his help on the ranch, she had another reason wanting him to stay.

He realised what this was when he had been on the ranch a week. Returning from cleaning stalls in the stable, he saw her stood talking with two men on cart track from the road. One was tall, and seemed to be doing the talking. His companion stood behind, a short squat man, holding the reins of their two horses. At first Link could see nothing wrong, but went closer to see who they were.

There seemed to be some disagreement, and he saw Malon shake her head. The taller man said something, then stepped forward and grabbed Malon's arm, violently, pulling her closer to him. Malon struggled against his grip. The man's companion laughed unpleasantly.

"Hey!" Link broke into a run. His call distracted the man.

"Stay out of this, boy," he snarled.

"Let go of her," Link ordered, ignoring the threat.

"Talamin," Malon growled in warning.

"I'd watch your tone." The big man released Malon and came towards Link. "We are servants of the great Ganondorf, and due certain privileges."

Link did not even think about punching the man before he was on the floor, clutching his face. Shocked, Link stared at his clenched fist.

He did not have long for his surprise, though. The stockier man growled and came at him, waving a cudgel. It was obvious he did not properly know how to use it, though. He swung at Link, who easily ducked backwards. He reached out, caught the man's wrist and twisted, forcing him to drop the weapon. The man gave a yelp of pain. Link caught the cudgel as it fell and in a single fluent motion swung it up and round, thumping into the side of the stocky man's head.

Stepping back, Link placed himself between the two men and Malon as they rose to their feet. Both were wearing ugly snarls.

"I suggest you both leave," he said, tonelessly.

The thugs exchanged glances, and seemed to agree. They mounted their horses and left without saying anything further.

A sound behind Link made him turn. Malon had fallen to her knees and tears were coursing down her face.

He frowned. As far as he could see, she had not been injured. Then the entire scene clicked into place, and he understood the answers to several unasked questions. Her apparent fear of him when he had first arrived, her wariness and distrust, and her desire for him to stay at the ranch all suddenly made sense. He wondered how many handprints on her body she had had to conceal.

Wordlessly, he knelt before her and wrapped his arms around her, clutching her close to him, making sure she knew everything was all right. Her body seemed to slump as she let go of something she had been clutching inside. She fell against him, weeping into his shoulder.

They stayed there for a long time. Neither spoke, but she continued to weep quietly. He did not say anything but made sure she knew she was safe, and protected.