Chapter 21

Ralis the zora was sent by King Zora to find help at Hyrule Castle. Shortly after Ganondorf and his son made their appearance, Lord Jabu Jabu fell into a deep sleep and couldn't be awakened. The zoras put his favorite food in front of him, hoping he would awaken and eat his meal. That plan failed miserably. He never budged. They had to figure out a way to awaken him because the zora king's daughter Princess Ruto was still trapped inside the giant fish. Ralis made his way quickly down the zora river towards Hyrule Castle. The king was counting on him to complete his important task. As Captain of the zora guard, he swore he wouldn't rest until he found some assistance at Hyrule Castle.

Link, Charlie and Navi were making their way out of Kakariko Village. All were in deep thought about their next destination. They had absolutely no idea where to find the final Spiritual Stone. Link sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"So, does anybody know where we go next?"

Navi shook her head.

"No I'm afraid I don't. Maybe we should take a small break and try to clear our minds. I'm sure we will think of a solution."

Charlie brightened up.

"Yeah! That's an excellent idea. Let's find something fun to do for a little while."

Link nodded in agreement.

"Sounds good. After all the adventures I've had so far, I could use a break myself. Let's not take too long of a break though. We still have a quest to fulfill."

The three travelers walked out into Hyrule field. They started to walk in the direction of the Castle Town, when Charlie spotted a wagon in the distance. When they got closer, Link recognized the two people instantly. It was Talon and Malon! As soon as they saw Link, they waved at him and smiled. Talon greeted Link and his friends.

"Hi, Link! Long time no see! Me and Malon just got back from delivering some milk. Do you and your friends want to visit Lon Lon ranch? We would love the company, wouldn't we Malon m'dear?"

Malon looked up at his father. She was a little mad at him still after he kept her waiting while he delivered milk to the castle a while back, but she still smiled and nodded.

"Sure, Dad. Sounds good to me. I want to show Link and his friends our horses. Come on, guys! Race you there!"

Charlie ran after Malon and Navi flew after him. Link was about to catch up with the two when Talon stopped him.

"By the way Link, thanks for helping me the other day. If you didn't wake me up when you did, Malon probably wouldn't have spoken to me anymore. She is still a little peeved, but she's starting to become more happier with me. Try to keep her in good spirits while your visiting okay Link?"

He nodded and turned and ran after Malon and his friends. Talon picked up the handles of the wagon and grunted as he pulled it home.

As soon as the three travelers entered Lon Lon Ranch, they felt relaxed. There were two buildings across from each other and straight ahead of them was a racetrack and a fenced off area to ride horses. They started to walk towards the racetrack when suddenly, a man wearing brown overalls with black hair and a mustache came walking around the corner. He almost bumped into Link on his way by. He scowled at him angrily.

"Out of the way, kid! I've got a lot of work to do! I'm the only one who does any work around here! If it wasn't for me, this ranch would be a pigsty."

Just as those words left his mouth, Talon entered the ranch, dropped the wagon and glared at the man.

"Ingo! Quit your complaining and get back to work! You aren't the only one who works around here. Who do you think delivers the milk around here? Me and Malon do! If you don't like your job anymore, you can hit the road as far as I'm concerned. I'm getting tired of hearing you bitch and moan all the time!"

Ingo simply muttered an apology and grumbled to himself as he went into the building on the right. Talon sighed and looked at his guests.

"I'm sorry you kids had to hear that. Ingo has been grinding my gears for awhile now. Well, you guys have fun now! Malon, be a dear and show them around. I'm going to milk the cows."

Malon walked towards the racetrak and entered the fenced off area with Link and his friends. There were horses running around in all directions. Most of horses seemed fast, but the small brown horse that was galloping around seemed to run slightly faster than the others. Malon smiled as she saw Link, Charlie and Navi watch the small horse galloping around.

"That horse is named Epona. Isn't she a fast horse? This is where we let all of the horses run around. We put them back in the stables later where that mean man Ingo works."

Link tried to walk over to Epona, but she galloped away quickly. Malon giggled.

"So, you want to get closer to Epona, Link? I can teach you my horse calling song I have for her. My mother composed it. Now listen for a moment."

Malon sang the song. It sounded very nice and soothing. After she was done, she turned to Link and his companions.

"Isn't it a nice song? Let's sing together."

"Sorry, Malon. I have a terrible voice. I'd rather play it on my ocarina.", said Link.

"My voice isn't cut out for singing either. I don't have an ocarina to play it though.", said Charlie.

"I'll try and sing along!", said Navi.

Malon sighed.

"Charlie, you don't want to sing at all? Okay that's fine. Link, I can teach you this song on the ocarina. I used to play it with one myself. Now, put your fingers on the upper hole then the left hole and then the right hole and you will play the song. I call it Epona's song because she likes it so much."

Malon starting to sing again and Navi joined in. Link starting to play on his ocarina. Together, the three had a good melody. After the song was over, they were applauded by Charlie.

"Well done you guys! That sounded very nice."

Link smiled and turned to Malon.

"Thanks for letting us come to the ranch. We'd love to stay longer, but we got to be on our way."

She sighed.

"I wish you could stay longer. I've got a parting gift for you and Charlie. Follow me to the house."

They followed her to the house and she told them to wait outside. She wasn't gone long. She came out with two bottles of milk.

"Here you guys go! Some Lon Lon Milk for the road. Take care of yourselves!"

They waved their farewells as they walked out of the ranch. They made their way towards Castle Town. Suddenly, a group of guards led by Captain Viscen walked out of the Castle Town. Beside Captain Viscen was a strange looking creature. It had fins al over it's body and it was pale white in color. Link waved at Captain Viscen as they got closer. Viscen smiled at the boy.

"Long time no see, lad. How have you been? I hope your stomach isn't bothering you anymore. What are you and your friends up to?"

"Well nothing I guess. We were looking for the next spiritual stone, but we don't know where to look."

Viscen scratched his head.

"Why are you looking for spiritual stones for, lad?"

Link explained his quest to Viscen. He was almost certain he had told him already. He simply nodded.

"A wise decision to heed our princess's words and find the Spiritual Stones. As for the final one, I have no idea where it may be. This zora is the captain of the zora guard. His name is Ralis. He needs our assistance with his guardian god Lord Jabu Jabu. It seems that he has fallen into a deep slumber and won't wake up."

Ralis was listening to Link when he was talking about spiritual stones. He thought about it for a minute and then it hit him! He recalled Princess Ruto having a shiny sapphire that she always carried with her. He had asked King Zora about it and he told him that it was the Spiritual Stone of the water! He turned to Link.

"Hang on, human! I know where the stone you seek is located! Our princess Ruto has it, but she was swallowed by Lord Jabu Jabu and we have been unable to wake him up. Tell you what, if you help us to awaken Our Lord and rescue our princess, I'll make sure you get that stone. That's a promise!"

Viscen shrugged.

"Are you sure you can handle this, Link? Me and my soldiers can take care of this if you want."

He shook his head.

I want to help Captain Ralis. Do you know anybody that can help us find something to awaken their god?"

Viscen scratched his chin.

"Now that you mention it, I did hear that there was a brilliant scientist at Lake Hylia. He may be able to help you further. If me and my soldiers are no longer needed, we are going to go back into the Castle Town. I'm not about to let anybody get hurt or anything get stolen. Thefts and injuries are on the rise! Good luck, lad!"

Viscen and his soldiers marched toward town. Ralis turned to the three travelers.

"I know the way to Lake Hylia! Follow me, guys."

Captain Ralis of the zora guard led Link and his friends in the direction of Lake Hylia.