A/N: Sorry it took so long for Chapter 4! I mean really… I guess it didn't take that long. Only a couple of days but still. Hehe. I don't know how many people read my story anyway, but I do know for sure one person does! So this is for you! Yay! I have Chapter 5 almost done… I was going to post it after this one but it would end kind of stupidly. :/ So, it's just going to be super long. Enjoy! Warning: This one is kind of boring, but necessary in explaining sequence of events. OKAY GO!
I don't own Legend of Zelda or any of its characters.
Chapter 4: Visiting Friends
Dark sighed when he woke up, once again alone in Link's house. After the first night passed, he hadn't even given it a second thought. He stayed within the barriers of the tree house, rummaging through Link's belongings trying to stay entertained. When the sun started to set on the second day, Dark simply convinced himself that Link was a big boy and could take care of himself. It was now the third day in a row that Link had not returned home and Dark could not suppress the tiny hands of worry tugging on his heart.
"God dammit Link. Where the hell are you…" Dark muttered sitting up in bed. He was starting to grow concerned about Link, but he was also getting really sick of sitting in that damn house. He'd already spent many years of his life confined to a room and he was beginning to grow very uncomfortable and anxious. However, he was well rested and was feeling tremendously better. He wanted to walk around and experience the rest of the real world. The only thing that kept him from leaving was his previous vow to Link that he would stay put, "What the hell… he's been keeping me waiting long enough. I need a break." Dark knew that his sudden urge to break his promise wasn't just so he could get out of the house. He had subconscious feelings that Link was in trouble and he wanted to go looking for him.
Dark got out of Link's tiny toddler bed and walked over to the table where he'd placed his tunic and boots. He stretched out his arms and his back before pulling the black tunic over his lean muscles. After putting on his leather boots he walked out onto the balcony. His ebony colored hair shined magnificently in the morning light and his pale skin was glowing. He stood at the edge, leaning against the railing watching the Kokiri children run and play and couldn't help but smile at their innocent spirits.
Two Kokiri girls caught sight of Dark as they walked past and started giggling and whispering to each other. At first it sort of irritated him but he shrugged it off, guessing they were just babbling about his funny colored clothes or his weird eyes. He started down the ladder and was surprised about how rejuvenated he felt. These past couple of days had really helped him recover. He really wanted to start being more active as soon as possible so he would not lose any of his strength and muscle.
Dark walked up to the giggling girls who immediately curled their lips in to suppress any squeals.
"Hello young ladies. Can you sweethearts please show me the way out of here?" Dark asked charmingly. He was in no way trying to flirt, but he wanted to make a good impression so he wouldn't come off as some evil freak that had been making himself cozy in Link's house the past couple of days.
"Su-sure!" One of the girls chimed, "We'd be happy too!"
Each girl took a one of Dark's hands and walked him to the exit towards the south end of the village. The exit was yet another huge hollowed out tree trunk.
"You know sir; you sure do look a lot like Mr. Link." One of the girls stated before letting go of his hand.
"So that's why he looks so familiar!" The other girl gasped, "You two are the most handsome men to ever step foot into this forest." She added blushing.
Dark laughed. He'd never considered himself handsome; however, he'd never met anyone to really tell him, "Thanks again girls, maybe I'll be back to visit." And with that Dark began to walk through the tunnel turning to wave goodbye before he was completely out of sight. On the other side there was a wooden bridge, the last gateway to this sacred forest. The natural beauty here was amazing, and Dark was going to miss every bit of it.
Link had just completed the water temple the next morning after he'd left Dark. The boss Morpha had indeed given him a run for his money, but with his new long shot the battle was quite less than challenging. Once the beast was slain, he was transported to the Chamber of Sages to talk about the rest of his journey with the new proclaimed Sage of Water, no other than Princess Ruto. She went on and on about him being her future husband and how she would grant him with the gift of eternal love… blah blah blah. Link had learned to ignore this babbling idiot. He and the fish princess would never be, and she needed to get used to it. Other than that, she did not give him any helpful advice about the upcoming temples. Once he received the Water Medallion he let out a sigh of relief when he was transported back to Lake Hylia.
Once he arrived he saw a familiar figure dressed in blue with a white turban wrapped around his face, with only tufts of blonde hair poking through the front and a single exposed red eye. He quickly ran over to talk to his mysterious friend whom he'd grown quite fond of throughout his journey. Unlike the sages, with Saria as an exception, he was the only one that gave him any helpful advice and words of wisdom. His name was Sheik and he was one of the last members of the Sheikah tribe besides Impa.
"As the water rises, the evil is vanishing from the lake. Link, you did it!" Sheik announced watching as the water started to once again flow through the dry crater that had once been a beautiful body of water.
"Well yeah… you know." Link smiled humbly scratching the back of his head like a shy little boy. They continued to talk about Hero things, and once again Sheik happened to mystically disappear in some crazy escape. This always bothered the heck out of Link. Sheik was the closest thing to a friend besides Navi that he had, and he couldn't even stick around long enough to get to know the guy, "They never stick around, do they Navi?" Link sighed sitting at the edge of the island placed in the middle of the now full Lake Hylia.
"You just never appreciate me, do you Link?" She shot back angrily, crossing her tiny arms and taking perch in a tree, "I'm going to take a nap and rest. I suggest you do the same… since Morpha nearly KICKED YOUR BEHIND!" Navi yelled from a branch huffing and cursing obscenities. She was so irritable sometimes. Link simply chuckled and pulled out an extra tunic to use as a pillow. He stretched out his sore legs and dozed off under the radiant sun.
Link must not have realized how tired he was because he didn't wake until midafternoon the next day! For once, he had to be the one to wake up Navi, and she didn't even dual battle with a giant amoeba.
"Navi, wake up!" Link shouted causing Navi to spring up immediately.
"Ahh! Wha! Who's there… What's goin…" Navi yelled sleepily flying around frantically, "Liiink! You scared me to death! My little heart almost burst!" She sighed then drifted to Link's shirt and nestled within his collar, "Wake me up later…"
"Uhh, no. Little lazy fairy, you need to get off your butt and fly along side of me for once." Link replied picking her up by her wings, "That's what these were made for." He tossed her in the air and she crossed her tiny arms with a groan, "Navi we've been gone for two nights, what about Dark? I hope he hasn't run off…" Link muttered.
"Why are you so worked up over this guy, Link? First you kill him, then you save him, then you share your secrets with him, you talked about him the WHOLE time in the temple and now you can't wait to get back to him!" Navi nagged in a sarcastic tone.
"Listen you," Link stated abruptly then stopped walking, "I didn't want to kill him. It wasn't my choice, so before you go on about more of your accusations. Shut the hell up." Navi's wings slumped. She hated it when Link was angry with her.
"Link, I didn't mean to…"
"If you didn't mean it, then you should have kept your mouth shut!" He shouted again and proceeded to walk ahead of her. She sighed and followed slowly behind.
"Navi… I'm sorry. I didn't want to yell at you. Killing Dark… really gets to me. I'm not sure why…" Link stated after they'd been walking for minutes in silence.
"So you don't hate me anymore?" Navi asked hopefully, flying into his face and grabbing his nose with her tiny fingers. Link couldn't help but chuckle.
"I never hated you… you just irritate me sometimes." Navi slightly crinkled her face in annoyance but didn't want to argue any further.
"Link, why are we walking anyways?" Navi questioned, not even noticing for the past half an hour.
"Well, I wanted to pick up Epona from the ranch and there is no way to teleport there…" Link answered as they came to gate that enclosed Lake Hylia.
"Why don't you call her, by playing her favorite song?" Navi asked, referring to the magical melody that Malon, the ranch girl who'd given Epona to Link had taught him. No matter where Link was, Epona would always come running. Link thought this over and declined.
"What if Malon is feeding her, or brushing her? Epona deserves a break. I need to come to her for once." Link smiled, knowing he was only thinking of his horse, "Besides, what's the harm in walking? It's nice out today."
"Yes, but it will be dark soon…" Navi shuddered flying to Link's collar. However, before she could make herself comfortable Link swatted her away.
"Oh no you don't! What did I tell you? You're a big girl, you can walk like me. Erm… fly... Whatever. And what's this about it getting dark? You're with the hero of time! Speaking of Dark… I wonder what he's up to." Link began to trail off while a smile slowly started to curl upon his lips.
"Why does that abomination make you so happy?" Navi grunted.
"I don't know… he's just so interesting. I've never met anyone like him before…"
"HE'S YOU!" Navi squealed.
"No he is not!" Link huffed crossing his arms, "We are completely different… like his hair. It's so… dark. Black like the midnight sky…and his skin… it's so pale and luminescent… like porcelain."
"Oh my goddesses Link… just can it, would ya? You're making me sick."
An hour or so passed before they were able to see the ranch in the distance. They should arrive in about another half hour. He was worried he might wake Malon; however, she would just be happy to see him. Once, they'd arrived Link ran out to the field where the horses roamed. There was a gated area where they horses were kept and surrounding this was a track where the horses could be raced. To Link's surprise Malon wasn't asleep, but standing in the pen with the horses singing sweetly in the quiet night. Before he could try and surprise her, her instincts must have told her someone was approaching. She turned around to see Link trying to tip toe up behind her.
"FAIRY BOY!" Malon cried. She ran up to Link and swung her arms around his neck, "Oh my goodness! What a surprise!"
"Well it was gonna be…" Link muttered smiling, scratching the back of his head, "What have you been up to? How's Epona?"
"Oh you know… helping Daddy out around the farm. We just had some cuccoo eggs hatch! Would you like to see the babies?" She squealed clasping her hands together.
"Awwww, of course!" Link cooed and followed her over to the cuccoo coop. Malon picked up a tiny cuccoo and placed it gently into Link's hands. He awed and gawked over the cute little creature and snuggled his face against its soft down feathers. As soon as Link's face got to close to the cuccoo's beak it clamped down hard on his nose.
"Ouch!" Link cried out in pain.
"I'm sorry!" Malon apologized, taking the baby cuccoo away and placing it back in its coop, "So I suppose you are here to get Epona? Why didn't you just call her by playing her song?"
"I figured it was time for me to come to her…" Link replied.
"Ohh Fairy Boy, you are so sweet!" Malon chimed then whistled to call Epona over, "She's been doing just fine. I just brushed her mane and fed her dinner. Have you eaten Link?"
"N-No… but it's alright Malon. I don't want to cause you any trouble." Link assured her.
"Oh hush with that nonsense! You're no trouble at all. It's the least I could do for the hero of time." She smiled then ran to her house quickly. Link decided it was best for him to wait outside since he didn't want to wake Malon's father, Talon. While he was waiting, he decided to spend the time catching up with Epona. He always talked to her as if she could respond and sometimes she would give signs as if she understood but at the end of the day… she was only a horse. Malon came running out of the house with a bottle and a paper bag full of goodies.
"Here is some fresh Lon-Lon Ranch milk! Oh, and here is half a loaf of bread I baked earlier today. There is also a small bag of oats for Epona, some fresh grown tomatoes and a couple ears of corn… oh and I put a few apples-"
Link cringed as she said apples. He hated apples, he didn't know why but he never liked them. They were fruit for Pete's sake, and they were hard and got stuck in his teeth. Fruit are supposed to be squishy and sweet he'd always thought.
"They aren't for you silly head! They're for Epona. I know what you like…" Malon retorted smiling, "I also put some dried beef strips in there for protein." She handed the sack to Link and he accepted it gratefully.
"Thank you so much Malon, you are a great friend." Link said softly taking her into his arms.
"Stay safe, Fairy Boy… come back soon." She replied and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Link smiled then mounted Epona and gave her a light kick in the side to get her walking. He waved goodbye to Malon until he knew that she could no longer see him anymore.
