She was not so lucky. She wasn't sure what kind of otherworldly power gave him the ability to move so silently, to get the horses not to bluster and stomp at a stranger's presence, but it annoyed her. The place he had been was still warm, so she hadn't been long alone. Before he left he had pulled a blanket up over her sleeping form and she snuggled deeper into its warmth, listening to the continuing storm pounding on the wall behind her.

Her Fairy Boy was off in the world, charging boldly into the clutches of death itself, and he would again survive. He might have another scar on his chest, he might have another moment of quiet pause, his eyes suddenly searching beyond Malon, beyond this world, in their conversation, but he would perk himself up again, as he always did, smile at her with that mischievous, forest-child grin, and tell her another beautiful tale, show her another astounding souvenir, and leave her with one more worry to weigh on her heart.

Lake Hylia.

The first time she had been was as an infant. Not yet walking, swaddled in a black blanket and held by her father as he stood at the grave, wiping tears from his eyes. The grave was fresh then, not packed down as it had become, not just a part of the scenery. A grave on an island, the way she had wanted it.

Malon's mother.

The second time she was older, it was after Fairy Boy left her that final time as a child, the time that prompted her fear of his eternal disappearance. He had smiled and waved, told her he had business in Castle Town, and disappeared for, what, seven years?

She had been eleven or twelve, possibly thirteen, the second time they went to the Lake. They left Ingo in charge of the Ranch, anticipating to be gone a few days, and packed up the wagon. They had camped once on the field, her father placing the protective torches and saying the ancient Hylian prayer before returning to his daughter, cowering in the wagon.

"Soon, sweet." He had cooed, "We'll be safe at the lake tomorrow. You'll love it, it's beautiful."

"How beautiful, Father?" She has asked, hoping to coax a lavish description like Fairy Boy's from her father's lips, but he just shook his head.

"Indescribable, darling." was his reply before laying down beside her with a sigh.

She had almost drifted into sleep when the rattle came, the clanking sound of bone-on-bone. Her eyes shot open and she sat up. Her father placed a large hand on her shoulder and pulled her back down.

"Quiet, love." He whispered in her ear, his voice barely a breath, "They will not pass the torches, but you must remain still."

"Father-"

"Hush." he said sternly. She did as she was told and they lay there in tense silence, listening to the circling of the Stalchildren. Their shuffling sounded immensely close, the shiver of the bones and their high-pitched, crying groans drifting eerily through the canvas.

After an impossibly long time, the sounds began to fade and there was the sound of ripping earth. Malon and Talon let out slow, strained breaths.

"When will they disappear forever?" She asked. Talon was silent a long moment.

"I don't know that they will, darling." He said, then turned away from her and drifted back into sleep.

The lake was indescribably beautiful, that she agreed, but she also felt that her Fairy Boy would have been able to tell her about the towering dead tree in the center of the lake, the sapphire glimmer of the sun against the water, the splashing of Zoras as they played at the mouth of their mysterious kingdom.

Her father had parked the wagon along the leftmost bank, near the two scarecrows that seemed to be guarding nothing. She was marveling at the strange figures when there was the sound of a voice.

" 'Ho, Talon!"

Her father turned toward the figure, a lithe little man rowing a boat towards them from the little patch just inside the lake. He was one of her father's best and longest-lasting friends, but she never knew his name. She just called him The Fisherman.

When the Fisherman got to shore and his boat was secure, he and her father clasped each other in a large, warm hug.

"It's too long." the Fisherman said, smiling broadly at them, "This one was just a wee thing last time I saw her."

"I'm not the only one to blame," Talon ribbed, "I believe I've offered our services as a guest house many times."

"Business keeps me away." the Fisherman shrugged and the men shared a laugh. Talon's eyes swept the lake, coming to rest on the tiny island, bridged on either side.

"It's hard." The Fisherman said, clapping Talon on the back.

"It's been so long." Talon said, his voice low, "I'm forgetting her voice."

If the lake was low, that would mean that the island was standing from the lake bed, a column of sadness pushing up into the horizon. Malon closed her eyes, trying not to think of it. Her Fairy Boy was there now, somewhere at the lake, doing whatever it was he did to keep them safe. What had he meant last night? What could be lurking in the lake, meaning to kill? What could have the kind of power to conjure a horrific storm such as this one? She shuddered to think. Whatever it was, she would want nothing to do with it, but Link was off trying to find it, trying to destroy it, trying to make the world right again.

A lighter thought crossed her mind then. Perhaps after Link had restored the lake she would be able to take her father there once more. They could visit the Fisherman, she could wade in the shallow banks and they could sit together at the base of the towering, dead tree. Perhaps that could put some of the old spark back in her father's eye, perhaps that would be what he needed to restore his hope. Proof that her Fairy Boy was saving the world, one small piece of it at a time.

A massive crack of thunder echoed overhead and it startled her out of her thought. She scoffed at herself before standing and picking up the blanket from the ground, folding it over her arm. She couldn't tell what time it was, the sky was so dark overhead that not even the light from the sun would be able to penetrate those thick clouds, but she knew that she was tired of being in this nightgown and her body itched from where straw had poked through the thin fabric on the pallet. Her nightclothes were made for mattresses after all, not stables. After replacing the blanket and finding that her robe was dry from the previous evening (not that it mattered as she was promised to be re-soaked on her way in the house) she turned her face toward the animals. They all stared at her with calm eyes. Whatever that Ancient Hylian rhyme was, it was soothing. Even in the rush of the new thunder and the press of the storm overhead, they did not stir restlessly.

She turned toward the door and opened it, then took in a breath. Laying on the ground right outside the stable was Link's jar of blue fire. She picked it up. turning it over in her hand, feeling the cool fire lick the inside of the glass. Had he dropped it by mistake? She turned the jar over in her hand and couldn't suppress her smile. Across the front of the jar was an old LonLon Ranch label, yellowed with age and peeling at the corners.

He had meant it for her.

She held the jar to her chest and made her way back to the house, pressing her robe around it as she pushed the door open.

~o~

The storm raged for a full week. Its power never wavering, the inky blackness of the sky never thinning. The sun did not shine, and a dark part of Malon wondered if the sun still existed or if the eternal night had swallowed it whole.

She spent each evening in the stable, and most of her days too, whispering Link's rhyme to the animals and tending them as best she could in the confined space. She'd let them out of their stalls one at a time, circling them inside the small building. She played with the idea of letting some of them outside despite the rain, but the next morning lightning struck a tree on the edge of the ranch. There was nothing to do but stand in the gale with Ingo and Talon, all three watching and praying the rain would douse the spreading flame. They had gotten lucky, but if lightning struck the barn, or the house, all would be lost.

On the sixth night of the storm, Malon left the stable wearing just her thin nightgown. Her bare feet sunk into the flooded earth as she made her way to the center of the pasture, black mud squelching up between her toes and splashing onto her shins. The wind whipped her wild red hair around her face, the strands stinging her lips, eyes, and neck. She squinted into the storm, her arms wrapped tightly around her chest as she trekked into the field.

She set her feet into the earth, loosening her grip from herself, and raised her arms to the sky. Standing there, fingers stretched out to the heavens, her hair flying backwards from the force of the gale, she felt like she had control of the wind. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth, screaming into the thunder.

It was not a wordless cry, nor a plea to the goddesses, or a curse of the wind. It was a name.

The only name that mattered.

~o~

Malon woke to strange visions, smears of colors dancing in front of her eyes, and the soft trailing of fingers over her forehead. She squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head, fearing that when she opened them again she would see Ingo sitting at her bedside. The fingers stopped and shifted to rest beside her, the warmth of the close body radiating from her shoulder.

Where was she? Was she in her bed? How did she get here? Why did the world seem so bright through her closed eyes? Taking in a slow breath, she opened her eyes. It took a moment for the world to settle in her vision, greeting her first with a view of a clear blue sky through the window, and the concerned face of not Ingo, but a blond-haired young man.

"Fairy Boy?" Her voice was hoarse, much to her surprise and embarrassment.

"I'm very angry with you." He said seriously, pressing the tip of his finger to her nose.

"What?" She asked, trying to sit up, but he pressed his hand firmly to her shoulder.

"No, no. Stay." He said, "You aren't allowed out of bed for at least three days."

"Why?" She asked, shifting her head. The world began spinning again and she shut her eyes to stop the motion. She began to lift her hand to her forehead, but the rush of air that came in under the blanket chilled her to the bone.

"Ingo found you in the field yesterday morning. What were you doing out there?" He asked. Malon's brain jumped around, trying to make sense of it. She remembered going to the field in the storm, she remembered screaming, and she remembered falling to her knees, letting the rain mask the angry tears that finally found their way down her cheeks. She must have collapsed out there and no one noticed until she didn't come back to the house to change her clothes.

She imagined Ingo stepping out of the house, not finding her in the barn, and looking for her. She imagined him seeing her out in the pasture, lying on the ground in her soaked and mud-splattered nightgown, and she imagined him picking her up, pressing her prone body to his as he carried her from the field back to the house. Her stomach lurched at the thought.

"The storm. It just… it went on forever." Her voice was weak, her mind searching. She wanted him to stay. She wanted to fall asleep and wake up later, clear-headed, to see him still there, still with her.

"Are you up for a story?" Link asked, leaning forward on the stool. Malon blinked slowly at him, trying to speak, but finding herself exhausted. Link smiled sadly at her then put his hand down on the bed, patting her hand under the thick blanket. "Later, then."

"Link- please" Malon said as the man stood. He turned to her, flashing his trademark grin.

"I'm not going anywhere." He leaned down and touched her nose again, "Not until my favorite girl is all better." He turned and left the room, leaving the door ajar behind him. She could hear his footsteps as he descended the stairs, the low murmur of two male voices as he spoke briefly to her father, and the press of his feet on the creaky stairs as he made his way back up. When he came into her room he was holding a jar similar to the one the blue fire had been in, but this one was filled with a thick, soupy, red liquid.

"Drink this." he said, offering it out to her.

"What on earth is that?" She asked, taking the jar from him.

"Something that has saved my hide more than I can count." He chuckled, "I'm going to warn you, the stuff tastes like the wrong end of a deku scrub, but it's good for you."

Malon brought the jar to her lips, letting the syrup barely brush past her teeth before she grimaced.

"Best to just… toss it back." He said, a small twitch in his eye.

"This will make me better?"

"Like that." He snapped his fingers, then grinned. "Drink up, dear."

Malon frowned at the goop, then looked to Link's face, then did as she was told and tossed back the jar.

It slid out of the jar like a solid mass and felt like a slug in her mouth. She squeezed her eyes closed and struggled to swallow it, wincing at the flavors of mulled tree bark, fish oil, and hint of wet feathers. The moment she had swallowed it, however, she immediately perked up. The fever that had spotted her forehead with sweat was instantly broken and her body felt hot and uncomfortable under the thick blankets. She looked to her hands, which had been pale when she woke up, and saw that the color had returned to her skin.

"Your world is a magical place, Fairy Boy." She said simply, at a loss for words. Link merely laughed and clapped her on the shoulder.

"I'll let you get dressed Malon. We have something to talk about."

"What?"

"You'll love it." He said, then turned around and disappeared out of her room.

~o~

"You can't be serious."

"I am." He grinned widely, his white teeth flashing in the sunlight. She raised her eyebrow at him, disbelief written across her own expression.

"Link, I can't. I just… I can't."

"Sure you can." Link said, "I've already asked Talon."

"There's so much work to do here-"

"Ingo can do it. It's only four days. Maybe five."

"Link, I don't know-"

"Come on, Malon. You'll never believe what the lake looks like now."

"I know. It's basically gone." She said, lowering her voice and staring down into the grass. The sun beat down on them from overhead, the wrought-iron fence offering little protection from it. The clouds that had filled the sky the last week were completely gone. There weren't even any white whisps or hints of clouds on the horizon, it was nothing but clear blue sky. She raised her head, watching the horses grazing in the field across from them.

"Malon." Link shifted forward to his knees, scooping her hands up from her lap and clasping them in his own. She looked at his hands, concentrating on the feeling of his rough, calloused fingers on her skin. She was in no way pampered, her own hands bore callouses as well from the work she did on the ranch, but his were rugged and littered with scars. She looked from his hands to his eyes, wide and blue and pleading.

"You have to start trusting me, Malon." Link said, his eyes not wavering from hers, "I told you that I would fix everything. I did."

"What, are you trying to tell me that the lake is full again? And it's all because of you?" She scoffed. Link remained still, then nodded.

"Liar." She scoffed. She wasn't in a mood for his stories. She wanted to know what he really did, what he really was.

"I'm not lying, Malon. The lake is back, and it's fuller than ever. Some of the Zoras have even returned."

"Now I know you're pulling my leg." She said, pulling her hands free of his and standing, "I think I've indulged you for too long."

"Malon-"

"What are you?" She said, spinning around to look at him. He looked smaller than he ever had, crouched in the grass. He looked hurt. She wanted him to. It's what he deserved for disappearing for so long, coming back with beautiful, impossible stories, and abandoning her over and over.

"I've already told you."

"You've told me about massive sentient trees, Link. Caverns filled with oversized lizards and giant fish gods with intestines like a maze. You've told me about phantom paintings and dragons! You come to this ranch describing beautiful scenes that couldn't possibly exist. You talk about facing dangers that no one could survive. Your body is covered in scars and bruises all the time. So what are you? Are you a thief? Are you an assassin? What kinds of evil things do you do? Why do you have to come back to this ranch, come back to me, and lie? Constantly!"

"I have never lied to you!" Link said, standing. He was taller than her, and standing the way he was he suddenly looked like a much larger man. His shoulders were broad, his chest wide, and his face was serious. A fire burned behind his eyes and it make her heart beat. "Nothing I have ever said to you has been a lie, or an embellishment. All of those places I've been, all those things I have seen, all the things I have done- I have told you about every one of them. The forest is forbidden to any but Kokiri, but you saw the ring of fire on Death Mountain cool into smoke. You saw the storm and see now that is has passed. I want you to see the lake, Malon. I want you to see what I have done, for you, and for everyone."

He stepped forward, holding out his hand. Malon stared at it, stared at that damaged skin, and ran her eyes from his hands up his arm, across his shoulders, to his face. He was serious, his mouth set in a firm line. Wasn't this what she had wanted? Hadn't she dreamed that he would come someday and ask her to leave with him? After a long, tense pause, she spoke.

"Tomorrow morning."

Link's face burst into a wide grin.

"I need to go to Kakariko, so that's perfect."

"You aren't staying?" She asked, her heart dropping in her chest.

"There's something I need to do." He said, bringing a hand to the back of her head and leaning over her forehead, "I'll just be a few hours." He pressed his lips to her forehead, his breath warm on her hairline.

"Link," Malon murmured uneasily, "Can't it wait?"

"I don't think it can." He said, casting a side glance at his fairy. The blue orb had been sitting lazily on the top of the fencing as they spoke, periodically giving exasperated sighs during the course of their conversation, "Navi has been pretty insistent since we surfaced the lake."

"You have to swear to me that you'll be back tomorrow morning." Malon said, her voice low and stern. Link smiled.

"Of course! You have to see the lake, Malon. It's even more beautiful than before.

"Be safe, Fairy Boy." She said, wrapping her arms around his torso. He returned the embrace, pressing her into his chest and pressing his lips to the top of her head.

"I'll be back before you go to sleep." He whispered, "I swear."

~o~

Malon pressed her hand to the glass of her window, gazing at the entrance to the ranch. Sleep pulled at her eyelids and her limbs felt heavy, but she was going to wait. He had promised, he had sworn. He was going to come back, because he was going to take her to the lake.

Part of her knew better than to believe him. She trusted her Fairy Boy, but she knew that she was not a priority for him, no matter what he said. He was full of kind words and sweet embraces, but when the end came if he had to choose between his duty to the kingdom, to the Princess, and her. Well, she knew what he would do. She wouldn't even blame him.

She fell asleep at the window, her body draped over her chair, head resting on her arms crossed on the windowsill, and was woken by Talon's knocking the next morning.

"Malon?"

"Is Link here?" She asked. She cursed herself. She had not meant to say it, but she was not quite awake and didn't have full control over her tongue.

"Malon, can I come in?" He sounded concerned.

"Yes, Father." She said. He opened the door, glanced around her room, then shut it behind him again. He sat at the table in the center of the room and Malon pulled her chair back to it, sitting across from her father. Talon stared at his hands a long moment, then spoke.

"A messenger came this morning."

"A messenger?" She asked, confused. There hadn't been messengers coming by the ranch since the plague took hold of Castle Town.

"Something happened yesterday."

"What? Father, speak plainly." She said, her chest beginning to tighten. Talon sighed, then looked his daughter in the eye.

"There was a fire in Kakariko last night. Many of the townspeople think Link had something to do with it, though no one story is the same. Malon... the boy has vanished."