Legends of the Hero of Time

by Ryan-Sinclair

The Hero of Time, Link, is blessed by the Golden Goddesses with a normal existence, free for himself to rule over. He must learn the true meaning of life as he attempts to join Hylian society. Along the way, he finds a family to call his own. Protecting and loving them, as a new threat emerges, he grows to understand how he must still endure the challenges of fate.

4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

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[Time: 11:30 P.M. (Night)]

[Date: Month 3 'Spring', Day 24, 8th Era]

[Location: Hyrule, Kokiri Forest, Saria's House]

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"Malon? Malon… Malon…" She heard Saria say prior to the realization coming to her that she had her eyes closed. When the farm girl opened her eyes, she saw Link was cuddled up to Saria's side, even more so than previously. It seemed like he was fully comfortable; definitely breathing better than he was earlier.

She guessed that, at some point, she had accidentally fallen asleep. Taking into account how much work she'd done today, how late it was, plus the fact that she had gone on the stressful adventure of a lifetime in finding Link, fighting Wolfos and ChuChu and praying while worrying nonstop throughout it all, it was no wonder she slipped off into dreamland. With a yawn, she smiled softly at the sight of Saria being so motherly. "Oh… *Yawns*… I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to doze off."

Saria returned the smile while tenderly combing her hand through Link's blonde hair. "It's okay... You looked tired, so I let you two rest." Someone else in the room suddenly cleared their throat, making Malon turn her head further until she saw all three of the Know-It-All Brothers standing near the doorway. All of them were staring at the farm girl. Saria looked at them prior to explaining. "The Know-It-All Brothers just came back to check on Link's progress."

Stepping forward, the brother in the middle spoke directly to Malon. "Yes… It seems he's doing better, which means that the medicinal tonic is working perfectly."

Saria nodded in agreement right as Link coughed. He still sounded congested. Malon noticed more black goop dripping out of the corners of his mouth. It was highly concerning to her as she didn't understand what it was. Yet, same as before, Saria beat her to it by asking about it. "He's been coughing up some sort of nasty gunk for about twenty minutes. It's really worrying me."

They all stepped closer in advance of using their bare fingers to wipe the goo off his mouth. Instead of cleaning it off, they merely mushed it between their fingertips, producing a sickeningly squishy sound. "Don't be worried, it's a good thing."

Neither of the girls thought something like that coming out of a Hylian couldn't possibly be beneficial. "Huh?" Malon announced in confusion, beating Saria to it this time. "How could it be a good thing? I've never seen someone cough up something like that before. It's literally as black as tar."

One of the brothers grabbed a cloth on the table and they all proceeded to wipe their hands on it. "You've never seen a person experience or recover from the Lost Wood's curse. The black stuff coming out of his lungs is a manifestation of his death. It's being expelled from his body in a way similar to regurgitation."

Malon wasn't a doctor, thus she barely understood what they were trying to say. Nonetheless, she did know that 'death' wasn't a liquid that a person could cough up. It didn't make much sense. "His death!?"

The brother in the middle tapped his index finger to his lips prior to reeling back as he realized he had a bit of black goop left on it, now having been transferred to his lips. The sight was funny in a way as, in shock, he rubbed his lips and ran out the door to spit several times. Unfortunately, none of them could summon a laugh as they were far too concerned with Link's condition. "O-Okay…" One of the two remaining brothers spoke. "It's not actually his death… In simpler terms, he's coughing up the magic that's suffocating him."

To a hylian, such stuff seemed like heresy. Defiling the physical body in such a way had always been objected to by the three Golden Goddesses. In their religion, the body is to be treated as a temple. It wasn't logical to Malon that the divine would allow such a curse to be placed upon this sacred land. 'Why would the Great Deku Tree create such a curse?' She started thinking before realizing there would always be wickedness in the world. 'Then again, why is there evil in this world in the first place? I'll never get it.' Shaking her head with a long drawn out sigh, she accepted the explanation. "I guess that makes sense… After all, he does seem to be breathing much better."

"Indeed…" The other brother came back as the one speaking resumed. "Now we've all reached an agreement that it's time for you to remove him from the Forbidden Forest and take him back to your ranch to let him rest more."

Once she remembered that they wanted her to leave with Link that night, a shudder traveled down her spine as she thought about Stalchildren scratching their way up to the surface, rising up into the moonlight, shuffling toward her with their creepy glowing eyes and ugly elongated faces. The scenario made her want to plead. "A-Are you sure we can't stay here, just until the morning?"

They all nodded sternly while crossing their arms in complete unison. "We're absolutely positive, Malon. He must be separated from the Lost Woods, even the Kokiri Forest to fully cancel out all of the effects of the curse. We're going to depend on you to give him the rest of the tonic at approximately noon tomorrow." After lifting the mortar, which still held the contents of the tonic, they poured all of it into a small bottle followed by shoving a cork in it. "He's going to begin showing further signs of recovery by becoming sick. It sounds backwards, but it's the way it is…" They paused prior to being serious. "Do not, under any circumstances, give him the medicine before it's time."

All Malon could do was nod to let them know that she understood. Nonetheless, she wasn't sure why he was going to get sick. Since the brothers seemed to know more about the cure as well as the recovery than anyone else did, she figured now would be her best chance to ask them. "Alright… But, what kind of symptoms will he have? He looks like he's doing pretty well right now." They abruptly turned around and huddled into a group where they began murmuring about something. It ticked the hylian girl off a bit as she felt like she was being ignored. She also thought it was rude of them to not answer. "Hey! Did you hear me!?"

Link moaned from the loudness of Malon's shrill voice as the brothers spun back to continue talking, acting as if they had never stopped. "Considering every symptom he's had from the curse, from coming close to death, it's pretty safe to assume that he will likely go through the exact opposite upon further recovery." One of them walked even closer prior to gently turning Link's head so he was facing up. "He'll go through reverse conditioning tonight and in the morning, until you give him the last dose of the tonic. Don't freak out if he starts talking a lot more in his sleep. It's just his consciousness returning. He might also get a high fever and shivers at the same time. Staying on the safe side, it wouldn't be a good idea to let his temperature get too high. Tend to the fever normally, as if it wasn't from a curse."

"Wait… Wait…" Malon said while waving her hands as she got up out of the toasty warm bed. "I'm not a doctor. If he's going to be this sick, I'll take him to the infirmary in Castle Town."

All three of the brothers shook their heads while one managed to, for some reason, delicately lift Link's eyelid. Underneath was a bit gross as it looked like the hero's eye was rolled back in his head. However, on another note, it was white and not bloodshot like the previous they'd seen him with them open. "Malon… He doesn't need a Hylian doctor. They'd probably ignore our tonic since they wouldn't understand the compounds. The only thing that they would do is try to give him more Red Potion and water."

"Yeah, probably with one of those new 'Nasogastric tubes' that their modern medical science recently invented." A brother retorted.

Malon had no clue what a Nasogastric tube was. Like she said earlier, she wasn't a doctor or a holy sister, just a simple ten year old farm girl. As the Know-It-All Brother let go of Link's eyelid and he closed it, she figured that, if she had to, she'd take Link to someone more qualified than herself. Yet, she'd be by his side throughout everything and wouldn't dare allow anyone, including a doctor, to harm him. "Fine…"

When Malon looked back at the bed, she saw Saria caressing Link's cheek in addition to kissing his forehead like a mother would. There was a sullen look in her eyes, as if she wished that he would stay there with her. All of the time that she had been his guardian, his mother, his friend, it had formed a truly strong bond between the two. The farm girl herself could feel it in her heart. It didn't make her jealous in the least. In fact, it made her sad as it subconsciously reminded her of her own mother. 'Saria could take better care of him than I could… If it wasn't for the fact that we had to leave tonight in order to break the curse, I'd definitely stay here until morning, even if it distresses dad and Ingo.' She knew that Talon and Ingo would be glad she had done what she did once they saw Link. She didn't even care if they punished her.

"Is it time?" Saria asked with a tiny sniffle, one that was barely audible.

The Know-It-All Brothers agreed in unison as they always did. "I'm afraid so…" It made Saria a little sadder as she frowned and hugged Link tightly. The brothers turned to Malon before continuing "Despite our name, neither of us are the equestrian sort. We're lucky to have Fifi; she seems to think that your horse is capable of traveling again, just not for very much longer."

Hearing that was an honest relief to Malon. She'd been so wrapped up in worrying about Link that she had nearly forgotten about Epona. Without the special horse, she never would have saved Link. Without her, he'd be dead. It was Epona who truly saved Link's life. "That's good news. I'll make sure that she gets plenty more rest once we return to Lon Lon Ranch."

Again, Malon turned her head to see Saria staring down at Link, giving him one last kiss on the forehead and even an ear rub, which made the farm girl smile. "Promise me, Malon…" The kokiri mom suddenly spoke while looking up at her. "Promise that you'll take good care of him."

There wasn't anything in the world that would make Malon break such a promise. Timi, the Skull Kid from inside the Lost Woods had told her that Link was very important to Hyrule and that the blood of the hero ran through his veins. She likely should have asked about it, but the time didn't seem right as they were more focused on his health and wellbeing. Even in spite of that, if he were just the normal Link that she had gotten to know, she'd still feel the exact same about him as she did now. "I swear to Goddess Hylia that I will always take good care of him."

"Thank you." Saria put her faith in the young hylian girl.

The girls both smiled at each other prior to the Know-It-All Brothers pulling back the sheets on the bed, uncovering the rest of Link's body. Luckily, the wound on his shoulder from where the Wolfos scratched him appeared to be slowly healing. It no longer bled, likely thanks to the Red Potion and Aloe Vera.

His green tunic remained dirty, muddy and torn. Malon saw and decided she could sew the holes and wash the stains on it. But, the amount of damage to it was pretty bad. "You're welcome… I'm just happy that he's not bleeding anymore. He's not even half as pale as when I first found him."

Saria dried her eyes with her shirt sleeve as she smiled. The Know-It-All Brothers lifted Link up away from Saria; he grunted as he was lifted. It was at that moment that Malon noticed his left hand had been holding his kokiri mother's. He seemed to hold on until the last instant, when the brothers situated him where they could carry him outside. "I-In that case…" Saria occupied her heavy heart by continuing to speak to the hylian girl. "Umm… As… As his mother, since you're his friend, a friend that's a girl…" She rubbed the back of her head in nervousness. "I… I implore you to take interest in him. He could really use someone like you, Malon."

The Know-It-All Brothers chuckled with smirks on their faces, whispering something amongst themselves as Malon's cheeks reddened. The farm girl wasn't exactly sure what Saria was getting at. Nonetheless, she felt that Saria was speaking along the lines of how her father teases her about getting married to a boy. Only, the kokiri mom didn't have any playfulness in her voice, simply honest sincerity hidden behind a tone of anxiousness.

"Y-Yeah…" Malon squeaked. After that was done and over with, she turned around to hide her flushed face. Then she followed the Know-It-All Brothers as they carried Link toward the door. Right before she left, preceding a single glance back at Saria, she grabbed the sword and shield so that Link wouldn't have to come back to get it at a later time. 'There hadn't been a mention as to how long he had to stay away from the Forbidden Forest. But, I'm sure he needs to steer clear of this place for at least a week.' She prayed her father would let him stay in the barn loft until he could find another place to live, that is if he couldn't come back here.

She followed the brothers out of Saria's home, coming out into the crisp nighttime air that inhabited the forest. The farm girl had to once again untie her scarf since it was the best thing that she could think of to make Link hold onto her when they're on the move. A short distance away, Fifi, the Kokiri girl who had been taking care of Epona, walked the filly over to them while holding on to the reins. Upon seeing Epona, Malon smiled as the horse soon trotted closer with wide eyes, pricked ears and her tail held high, all signs of interest and delight over seeing Link again, even if he wasn't awake. She was an extremely intelligent horse, so Malon believed that she could understand exactly what was happening.

"Come here, girl… *Tch**Tch**Tch**Tch**Tch*!" The Know-It-All Brothers held Link steady as Malon gave Epona a couple of tender pats on the head. "You did a great job tonight, Epona. Even the stallions will be jealous of you now." Epona neighed along with a snort before playfully lipping at Malon's beautiful bright red hair, making the hylian girl laugh softly. "Okay, Okay… *Soft laughter*… Calm down, girl. We're not done yet, because we have to go back to Lon Lon Ranch." The filly slid her upper-left hoof on the ground as Malon gradually mounted her, seating herself on Link's uncomfortable saddle. Epona's happiness was already a very good sign as she no longer appeared to be frightened. Having her master back and in safe hands had given not only Epona, but Malon confidence in their abilities; plus a new sense of accomplishment. From there on out, the farm girl felt sure that the horse would follow her commands without any issues, provided Link stayed on the saddle. "You remember how to get back home from here, right?"

Epona abruptly reared back as Malon held on tight. "Whoa!" Thankfully, the wild-hearted filly didn't dart anywhere. She was only expressing concern and attention to everything around her. The Know-It-All Brothers remained still until Epona came back down and Malon tugged on the reins to let the horse know that she needed to stop moving. When Epona complied, Malon motioned for them to help Link up onto the saddle with her. "Good, girl… Stay still… Let's try not to jostle Link around too much on the ride home."

Fifi, presented Epona with one last gift consisting of a big and juicy carrot. Needless to say, it disappeared quickly as the horse munched on it like a midnight snack while the brothers lifted Link to the saddle and propped him up against my back.

His close proximity and feeling his body on hers was, once again, a tad bit embarrassing. "Ehe…" The farm girl giggled quietly in the ensuing awkwardness, trying to act natural as if it didn't matter. "Thank you, Fifi… I really appreciate you taking care of Epona."

The auburn-haired Kokiri girl smiled. Epona brushed her head up against Fifi, showing obvious affection. It was rarely shown toward anyone other than Malon or Link. "It wasn't a problem, Malon. She's a very sweet girl!" It was plain as day that Fifi was the same as Malon in a particular matter. They were both equestrians at heart. Epona even continued to nuzzle the kokiri girl for a few more moments until the brothers finished situating Link. "Take care of Link, too, for us, alright? We're all worried about him, even Mido."

The way Fifi said that last part made Malon think that Link and Mido might not be the best of friends, or were at least not always on good terms with one another. Either way, the hylian girl merely nodded with a smile as she pulled Link's hands up to her stomach. She wrapped the orange scarf around his wrists to keep him holding onto her, ensuring that he wouldn't fall off during their transit. It was reassuring for her to know that all of the forest kids respected and took care of him, even when they weren't particularly fond of him. "I will… I'm not afraid to use this sword if anyone messes with him."

Fifi giggled lightly with a smile still on her face, barely visible from the torch on the side of Saria's house. "No, that's not what I meant… Just keep him healthy. We'd all like to see him back on his feet again."

The cockiness in Malon's previous sentence disappeared and was replaced by her original shyness. Thinking about it, she hoped her adventure didn't turn her on to any sort of violence. She'd always been the peaceful sort. "Oh… Ehe… Y-Yeah, of course… I'm taking him straight to my family's ranch, where he can rest up." Fifi only held her hand to her lips as she snickered at Malon's blush. 'After today, I swear, I'm going to pummel someone if they mock me about my embarrassment.' The thought brought the farm girl back to wondering about her new violent nature, making her think about pummeling herself instead, seeing as how she was the one who was embarrassed enough for them to mock.

"You're all set, Malon." One of the Know-It-All Brothers said. "It would be best if you took him now to avoid it getting any later than it already is. If your ranch is too far away, we recommend taking him to Kakariko Village."

Malon took a moment to actually think about an alternative as they handed her the bottle containing the last dose of Link's tonic. 'Kakariko Village was much closer. Then again, I don't have any rupees on me to afford a room at the inn.'

Like a prayer being answered, one of the brothers revealed a secret. "They have a Common lodging-house set up by a Sheikah woman known as Impa. I'm not sure if she's there anymore, but I'm sure the house still is. The caretaker should give you both a bed in exchange for some chores done."

That sounded to the farm girl like a very plausible reason for going to the village instead of opting for the long ride back to the ranch in utter darkness. She'd have to make up her mind relatively quickly at some point. "Okay... I'll try to find a way to let you guys know if anything happens."

The brothers waved her off as they slowly began walking ahead of her toward the exit of their village, which in reverse, led back toward the entrance to the Forbidden Forest. "Don't worry about it… Saria would appreciate it the most, but we'll know how things went the next time he consciously walks back into the village."

Epona walked with them as Link moaned softly in Malon's ear. "Thank you guys, you truly saved his life… He'll know about all of this for sure, as soon as he wakes up."

They all smirked with a sense of accomplishment before they heard Mido's voice from behind them, calling out to the farm girl. "Malon!" When she turned her head, she saw him hurrying up to them with a torch in his hand and Fado tagging alongside him. "Here! Take this with you, so you have a little bit of light on your ride home."

She'd gladly admit that she'd love to have the light on the way home, as it would be twenty times better than going in the dark. Unfortunately, with the sword and shield in or on her hands as well as Link holding onto her, she didn't truly have any way to grasp it. "Oh, thank you, Mido… Umm… I don't really have a way to hold it."

Mido raised an eyebrow before realizing that I was right.

"Don't worry…" Saria's voice suddenly announced from her doorway. they turned to her as she grew closer. "Here, take this jar of fireflies… I know it's not as good as a torch, but the fireflies from the woods always glow brighter than anywhere else." She placed the jar in Malon's lap

The farm girl thanked them all one more time. "Thank you all for everything."

As she whipped the reins gently to get Epona to walk, the kokiri waved at her. "Link will always be a member of our big family… Bye! Stay safe and take care!"

Even while holding everything that she was, Malon managed to wave back at them. Afterward she headed straight toward the hollowed out log. That log led to the same terribly rickety wooden bridge she crossed when entering the forest from Hyrule Field. "Let's go, Epona!"

In just a few seconds, the horse picked up more speed until she was at a canter, leaving Malon more than satisfied. After all, the farm girl didn't want Epona to exhaust herself from sprinting full speed. With everything in the village concluded, Link safe and alive, their next destination would be either the ranch or Kakariko Village. The rest of the Kokiri Village went by quickly as they passed Link's house, the shop and a few other houses made entirely out of giant tree stumps. Soon, the clearing of foliage came to an end and the density picked up again until it was just a row of non-stop, nearly impenetrable vegetation, separated only by that aforementioned hollowed out tree trunk.

That path they had previously taken to go up to the Lost Woods was the final part of the village they encountered. Afterward, the horse's hooves clattered beneath the wood of the tree trunk. Heading deeper into it, it resembled a metaphorical portal to the outside world, warping them further into society; away from Wolfos, Stalfos, ChuChu and curses. The light emanating from the firefly jar wasn't really enough to see ahead of them more than a few feet. However, it was bright enough to see in a small radius. Epona's eyes were much better than a hylian, so Malon was thankful that the filly had plenty of vision to see where she was going.

'Ooh…' Malon thought as she felt a small breeze. "It's chilly out." Her voice echoed alongside Epona's hooves clattering amongst the inside of the tree. 'It's going to feel nice to get inside my own bed again and just sleep until morning time, covered up in a cocoon of blankets to keep me warm.' However, at that moment, the only warmth she felt was from Epona and Link. Upon realizing that she could feel her hero's body heat, she wasn't as embarrassed as she was happy that he had returned to a more suitable temperature.

Ahead of them, the end of the hollow tree came into sight, showing the very same wobbly wooden bridge that they had crossed just a few hours ago when they came into the forest. Epona reached it in seconds, with each plank going by beneath them making the same kind of clatter as inside the tree. Malon couldn't be happier to finally be out of that place. Kokiri Village was nice, but everything else wasn't her cup of tea. She was a farm girl, not a forest girl. As long as it wasn't to the Lost Woods ever again, she wouldn't mind coming back to visit though. Her and Saria seemed like they could become very good friends, definitely so if given the chance to spend some real time together where they were able to get to know one another under better circumstances. In fact, in her opinion, all of the Kokiri were quite nice. 'All of them chimed in to help Link, without any hesitation in the least.'

Nearing the end of the wooden bridge, there was one other person who came to the farm girl's mind, someone who was imperative in keeping Link alive long enough for her to find him. Timi, the Skull Kid who showed her the way through the Lost Woods, he was the one who took Link out of the elements. With that midnight rain shower the kingdom had last night, the hero could have died of hypothermia had he been out in it, especially considering the fact that he was already severely cold from the curse inhabiting his body. Even if he was odd and mischievous, the only thing Timi seemed to want was friends. 'He was sad when Link and I left. All he wanted was for us to come back sometime.' Seeing as she was leaving there and didn't think that the Skull Kid could leave the Lost Woods, she pondered the fact that she could technically just forget about him and never return. However, she felt like there would be a day where she'd find a way to meet safely. She felt obligated, like she owed it to Timi to reward him, maybe gifting some of their famous Lon Lon Milk to him.

"Okay, Epona…" The farm suddenly said, breaking her own chain of thoughts. "If we can, let's try to make it to the ranch… I know Kakariko Village is closer, but I'd prefer to get home." The horse neighed while speeding up to a near-gallop as they left the bridge and came into the final hollowed out tree which led to the outside world and Hyrule Field. Inside, the air was a strange mix of both climates, leading to a bizarre as well as unnerving chill. Either way, it would bring relief to see the open sky once again. Malon knew that soon, she would no longer be bound underneath an endless shroud of treetops. "Let's just pray that nothing pops up out of the ground to try and stop us."

Malon had said that in reference to any Stalchildren who might haunt their path. In all sincerity, she didn't expect to hear Link respond to her. "Nnn… There's no use in p-praying when the G-Goddesses have forsaken us."

It startled her more than anything. Once it registered in her mind as to what it was that he said, she had trouble understanding why he'd say such a thing. The few times that she had seen him, he hadn't shown any disdain toward the Golden Goddesses. She never truly asked him if he was a believer. Nevertheless, she could recall him mentioning that the journeys he went on were tasked onto him by the Goddesses themselves, so she simply assumed that was where she'd gotten the impression that he was religious.

"Link? Are you okay?" Turning her head slightly, Malon saw that his eyes appeared to be closed even though his breathing seemed normal. She had a gut feeling that he was talking delusional again. "Just relax… I'll get you to our ranch and you can rest there." He only moaned softly as Epona finally exited the hollowed out tree. Immediately, the farm girl felt a heaviness lift from off her body. A cough escaped her lips as Link did the same thing, only harsher. The magic of the Forbidden Forest inhabited their lungs and needed to get out.

Looking up, the position of the moon indicated that it was near midnight. Anything that was nocturnal was going to be up and awake, in its prime now more than any other time. "Keep going, Epona." Although the horse wasn't showing any sign of slowing down regardless of what was said to her, Malon commanded regardless.

Being in Hyrule Field, out in the open, made the farm girl feel far safer in comparison to what was behind her. Hyrule where she truly belonged. The air was so much clearer and the moonlight was bright enough to provide a decent amount of vision ahead of them. 'Oh geez…' She thought when noticing that there wasn't a single person in sight. Even most of the light in the distance from Kakariko Village was extinguished. Most of the villagers were obviously asleep. 'It's kind of eerie to be out here at night and alone… Still, it's much less scary than being in the Lost Woods on a rampaging horse.'

Having made it as far as she had, she couldn't let any form of hesitance get in her way. At this point, even thinking of giving up was out of the question. "W-Where are you?" Link abruptly spoke, once again breaking the silence. His head moved to her shoulder and she wound up gently biting her lower lip in embarrassment as he breathed on my neck, slowly and steadily. The feeling tickled not only her skin, but her heart as well. It felt to her as though her pulse was beating faster from the strange sensation. When she thought about it, there were quite a bit of embarrassing things about her current situation, the top of which was having his hands loosely holding onto her stomach. That close proximity, combined with being aware of him unconsciously sliding his hands up and down her lower abdomen from each step Epona made, drove her crazy with a new sensory overload she had never experienced before.

"L…Link… Who are you talking about? And, p-please stop doing that." Malon groaned awkwardly.

It was senseless to ask him to stop doing something he wasn't even doing. But, she did at least get a response from him. "Navi… Where are you?"

As awkward as everything was, hearing him talk about his fairy brought back the realization that Navi was missing. While Malon was busy being embarrassed about nothing, he was hurting inside. He had bonded with Navi as well as Saria. They were always together and both vowed to protect each other until death, something only someone with a passion for another would do. It was evident that he missed his fairy deeply, maybe he even felt as if she abandoned him or that he had to find her. 'Going into the Forbidden Forest, perhaps that was his reasoning as to why.' The farm girl shook her head as she realized that didn't make sense. 'Why would he look for her in the Lost Woods though? During my entire ride in the Lost Woods, I never saw one fairy… The place was dead silent…' Blinking in confusion, she continued thinking. 'Hmm… Then again, it was night time.'

Regardless of any possible solution she could think up, she had trouble comprehending everything. In the end, she was just thankful to the Goddesses as well as the people who helped him that he was still alive. "Don't worry, Link… You'll find her again someday. I just know it." Taking his hands with her left one, she moved them to wrap around the glass jar of the fireflies instead of her stomach prior to holding them. Her uncomfortableness dissipated as her hand held onto his. Instead of awkwardness, the feeling was replaced with a sort of serenity.

"You'll always have me…" The young hylian girl whispered. Epona began racing beside the edge of Zora River, which had just come into view, winding its way around the corner leading to Zora Domain. "I'm not going to go anywhere." Link moaned lightly as Malon brazenly caressed his hand, doing anything to comfort him until they could get to where they were going. 'I'll always be here for you.'

Coming up was Kakariko Village. It was going to be their last stop between there and the ranch. She knew that Castle Town, unfortunately, raised its drawbridge during the night so that animals or unsavory lurking characters couldn't sneak in. She had to make up her mind really quickly as to where it was that she wanted to go. Part of her wanted to stop at the village just to get out of the nighttime, but then another part simply wanted to go home, where they could both rest. 'Epona would probably be better off going home.' From the looks of it, that's where the horse wanted to go.

The closer they came, the more they could hear faint sounds of society, even if it was drowsy sounds found only in a place where everyone was asleep. It sure beat the isolation of the forest. Within the next few minutes, they neared the bridge which led across the Zora River, giving them the access to Kakariko Village that they needed. "Whoa, Epona…" Malon commanded sternly, not in the mood for the filly to not listen. She wanted to get her point across thoroughly while tugging on the reins to make Epona slow to a stop. "Good girl." The horse didn't object and stopped right in front of the bridge. 'Now, I have to think about where I want to go. If we need to, we could go to Impa's House like the Know-It-All Brothers recommended… I certainly wouldn't mind doing a few chores to pay for our rent.' While all of it sounded good to her, she felt like she needed to hurry up and make up her mind. Standing there like she was gave her a strange sensation. 'Then again… Ughh… I could still use a nice bath and my own bed sounds far better.'

The farm girl didn't notice anything strange. She was too busy trying to contemplate where to go. Epona, on the other hand, could sense things a hylian couldn't. Her ears faced forward as she flared her nostrils. Her tail showed further signs of distress as she tucked it between her legs in a manner similar to that of dogs. Whenever Malon finally did notice the horse's behaviour, she began looking around to see what could be frightening the brave filly. 'What in the world?' There wasn't anything anywhere, nothing on the road or in the field except for a Peahat that was far off in the corner. Since the creature was in its docile-hibernation state due to nightfall, Malon doubted it was what the filly was afraid of, particularly after everything she'd been through.

With Link moaning, Malon hastily made her decision to head to the ranch where her father and Ingo could help out, provided that they weren't out looking for her. "Alright, Epona… *Tch**Tch*… Let's just go ahead and go home." After clicking her tongue to get the horse's attention, the farm girl pressed against Epona's sides as well as whipped the reins to get her to move forward.

What Malon had wished to be a peaceful ride home, unexpectedly took a sudden turn for the worse. Her heart nearly came out of her mouth as she heard the rattling of brittle old bones, the kind of sound that Stalchildren and Stalfos made. Before Epona could even move forward, they felt a rumbling beneath them prior to skeleton hands bursting through the soil to the surface. The hands wiggled as if they were digging themselves up through the dirt. "AAAAHHHHHH!" Malon shrieked as Epona reared up in fright. The undead skeletons rose faster than the girl ever would have thought, as if they had grown accustomed to doing such. Whether or not they were actually children was debatable. However, once Malon saw one shuffling toward her with their arms extended out to strike, everything in her mind other than self-preservation was gone. "EPONA! GO!"

Epona squealed as several of the decrepit monsters crept closer, blocking the path and surrounding her to the point where she felt utterly trapped. This situation was bad. If something didn't happen, Malon knew she'd have to make an attempt to fight the creatures off. Bravery wasn't a problem at the moment, but the farm girl still knew that she had no combat skills, that fighting would be akin to that of suicide. However, she decided that if she had to send Epona and Link back to the ranch in order to stay behind long enough to draw their attention, it could be done. Kakariko Village was right next to her. She knew she could head there as long as Epona stayed on her course. If that was what it came down to, she assured herself it was for a greater good.

With the shuffling of the Stalchildren's feet growing ever closer into arms reach, Malon had to remove herself from contemplation in order to draw Link's sword. "GET AWAY!" They didn't particularly enjoy her shrill voice. In fact, it seemed to cause them minor discomfort. Then again, it wasn't enough to stop them. "STAY BACK!" Malon managed to slice at a few without scoring a single hit. Then, it was Epona's turn to take action as she suddenly kicked back, slamming her hooves into two of the Stalchildren, sending them flying back around twenty feet before they broke into a shambled heap of snapped bones.

'Awesome!' Malon mentally praised the filly, knowing that the horse wasn't messing around anymore either as she trampled another skeleton with her front legs, bit the skull off of one while roaring and then knocked three others down using her head and neck. The behaviour was quite unlike Epona as she'd never been known to display signs of aggression before. It was clear as day that the filly felt the dire need to protect both Link and Malon. Not only was her life in danger, but her masters' lives as well. "THAT'S WHAT YOU GET!" Malon screamed as the Stalchildren backed off a little bit. Unfortunately, in advance of the farm girl trying to get Epona to move, more of the monsters began climbing out of the ground, this time being even bigger in stature than the previous ones.

"NO!" Malon hollered in fright. Epona reared back before trying to fight a few as she did last time. The ferocity of the skeletons was unimaginable. 'Wolfos from within the forest hunt because they're hungry. These things, these abominations of black magic, they're merely killing to kill.' Kicking her foot at them, Malon continued to yell. "GET AWAY FROM US, YOU FREAKS!" Once they got close enough, she realized they were more or less trying to grab for Link and ignoring her altogether. Epona was treated as a hazard though, as they slowly, often ending in failure, tried to avoid her fierce attacks. "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HIM!" The closest Stalchild found out the hard way what Malon would do as the protective red-head swung the sword down, lopping off both of the monster's hands. It stood dumbfounded for a few seconds prior to having Epona swing around to back kick its torso, propelling it up into the air before it returned to shatter amongst the ground. "RHAA!" Another approaching Stalchild was dispatched even quicker as the farm girl jabbed the sword through its skull and then kicked it off the blade with her own boot. "I SAID NO!"

The sound of galloping horse hooves soon overcame the clatter of the Stalchildren's bones, leaving Malon to wonder what was going on. 'Oh no…' For some odd reason, the first thing that she thought of was that she was probably going to have to deal with some form of undead horse. 'I'm going to be disgusted if one of the things showed up with half its skin missing or its organs falling out, dragging on the ground while leaving behind its entrails.' As a ten year old girl, albeit with an avid imagination thanks to books, she couldn't handle something so repulsive. It made her stomach gurgle. She wanted to gag just from the thought.

"GET AWAY FROM HER YOU NASTY VERMIN!" Ingo's voice hollered as Malon turned her head to see him riding Petey, galloping toward her at great speed. The light from his lantern lit the way. Ingo wasn't exactly the farm girl's idea of a knight in shining armour, nonetheless was still grateful to see him. It could have been anyone at that point, she didn't care.

"HELP!" Malon shouted in response to seeing Ingo. "THERE'S TOO MANY!"

"DON'T WORRY, MALON!" The closer Ingo came to them, the Stalchildren took notice. Turning around to face him, they seemed alarmed at first, leaving Malon confused since Ingo was certainly not a warrior to fear. To her, Ingo was the guy who was attacked by Cucco the other day when he tried to collect eggs or got kicked in the shin by a cow whenever he tried milking it. She didn't understand how anyone could find him fearful. "I'LL SAVE YOU!"

The Stalchildren continued to cower and some even began digging back into the dirt until Ingo made it close enough for light coming from his lantern to illuminate all of them. The ranch hand was quick to jump off. With a farming hoe in his hand, he spun it around like a maniac while closing his eyes in fear, swatting thin-air and spinning around as if he thought he was fighting and fending off hundreds of monsters from every direction. "HEE-YAAHH! TAKE THIS, AND THAT! YAAH! HEE-YAAHH! YAAH! YAAH! HOI-YAAH! DIE YOU BASTARDS!"

Once Ingo came to a stop and opened his eyes, all of the Stalchildren were gone, making him exhale and smile in misguided cocky delight. Little did he know, while he was busy waving around farm equipment like a fool, the Stalchildren had all buried themselves beneath the soil. It took a little while for Malon to figure out exactly what happened. Looking back and forth, she managed to realize that the flame of the lantern was her real saviour. The Stalchildren feared light. That was why they were never seen during the day. Usually, even a night like the current, where the moonlight was bright enough to light the way, they would stay dormant. Something had to have awakened them.

"Oh, Oh Malon!" Ingo exclaimed. "Thank the Goddesses that you're okay! Your father and I were worried to death that something had happened to you!"

Even though he seemed surprised that the farm girl had a sword and shield in her hand, it was true that Ingo was worried about her. He grabbed her from off Epona, breaking the hold of her scarf around Link's hands so he could squeeze her in a tight and uncomfortable hug. Awkward was also a decent word as the old Ingo would never do something like that. In fact, he'd probably just try to give her more farm work. "I could have sworn I heard your voice from within the Forbidden Forest, but I didn't want to believe it!"

Malon's cheek stayed pressed against Ingo's as he held her for a few more seconds. "Umm…" For just a second, the young girl stumbled to find the correct words to use. It was going to be difficult for her to explain everything that had happened. Most people wouldn't believe a ten year old if they told somebody that they met a Skull Kid, fought off two Wolfos, saved someone from being killed by a ChuChu and then held their own against an attack from a horde of Stalchildren. However, looking back at Link, she had the feeling that they would have no choice other than to believe her. "You did… I had to go into it thanks to you guys." Even though it sounded like she was blaming them, she wasn't. She understood why they reacted as they did. "Dad shouted so loud that it scared Epona and she fled into it."

Ingo's eyes finally moved up and it hit him like a ton of bricks when the realization struck him that Link was on Epona as well. All of this time, he had been too focused on Malon to pay attention to his surroundings. He brushed past the farm girl to check on Link, noticing now that he was unconscious. "Dammit! What happened to him!?" The farm hand pulled Link from Epona's back and laid the hero down on the ground. He grabbed the lantern behind him prior to briefly examining Link's body, checking for wounds.

"The curse of the Lost Woods is what happened." Malon admitted what she knew.

Ingo's head snapped to Malon's direction as his eyes stayed locked with hers. "WHAT!? Tell me you didn't go into the Lost Woods! It's already bad enough that you were in the Forbidden Forest! You know you can't go inside there, Malon!"

She might have known that something like this was bound to happen due to the whole ordeal she went through earlier by disobeying them. Yet, at the price of Link's life, it was nothing other than frustrating. "I had no choice! I even stopped near the tree-line to wait for you guys, but Dad shouted really loud because he didn't know we were there! Epona took off running as fast as she could!" A tear escaped from Malon's eye as the emotions she had held inside, concealed in a way that ensured she would continue, came flowing out. It felt better for her to cry this time, unlike whenever she thought Link had died. The stress that accumulated throughout the last few hours dissolved enough to allow her some personal peace of mind. "I saved him, though! He was dying! M-Monsters and the curse… A-… All of it was extremely d-difficult, Ingo!"

Ingo's brown mustache twitched as he looked over toward the Forbidden Forest and then back at Malon, then Link, then the forest again. Whatever he was thinking about, the farm girl hoped that he realized she simply wanted to head back home to the ranch.

"Mount Epona..." He suddenly commanded with a sigh while lifting Link up in his right arm, the lantern being in his left hand.

"Huh?" The tear from Malon sobbing dripped down her cheek before falling to the ground.

Ingo merely climbed up onto Petey, situating Link in front of him. "Get back on Epona, we have to go… Link needs a doctor."

Accompanied with a sniffle, Malon dried her eyes while quickly remounting Epona. She shuffled through a few things in the sack on her saddle to find the bottle of forest tonic given to her by the Know-It-All Brothers. What they said to her when she mentioned taking Link to a doctor suddenly came to her mind. 'He doesn't need a Hylian doctor at this point. They'd probably ignore our tonic since they wouldn't understand the compounds.' Remembering that, she stopped Ingo as he maneuvered Petey toward Castle Town with the intent of riding toward it. "Wait! It's no use… We might as well take him home. The drawbridge is up, so we can't even get into Castle Town."

He grunted at the thought as Malon moved Epona closer to the light of his lantern, not wanting anymore Stalchildren to pop up near her. "Then we'll wait at Kakariko Village until dawn… I'll go back to the ranch after I get you two a room at Impa's House. I need to inform Talon what's going on. He stayed behind to be there in case you returned."

"No!" Malon shouted, making Ingo turn his head to look at her. In response, she held up the bottle of murky forest tonic given to her from the Know-It-all Brothers. "The Kokiri gave this to me… They said that we had to give this to him tomorrow, at noon, or else he will die."

The shocked look on his face was close to as bad as when he heard that she had gone into the Lost Woods. "Kokiri!? You're kidding me! You can't go to the Kokiri Village without permission by the Royal Family!"

If that surprised him, then she hated to think about how he'd feel if she told him about everything else, with the Wolfos and ChuChu. Frustration flooded her mind again, but she didn't want to start crying, especially after already having stopped. "What did you want me to do!? It's better than being in the Lost Woods! They saved me from Wolfos!"

She probably should have held her tongue on saying that last part as he freaked out. "WHAT!?"

Link moaned, suddenly slamming his head back against Ingo's chest, perhaps from being startled. Regardless, it did the trick on silencing the scruffy farmhand, as he held his chest for a second, allowing Malon to speak freely. "Wolfos… They tried to attack me while I was on the way back through the Lost Woods, after I found Link. If it wasn't for those Kokiri boys, the Know-It-All Brothers, both of us would have died." She put the forest tonic back into the satchel attached to Epona's saddle as she continued. "Please… Just… Trust me on this, Ingo. Okay?"

He groaned while slowly swiveling his head in thought. It was difficult for Ingo to believe Malon. However, just as she had predicted, he had no choice when faced with the fact that she managed to retrieve Link on her own. "Fine! But, when we get back to the ranch, you're explaining to your father everything that happened!"

At that, Ingo whipped the reins to make Petey take off down the dirt road, heading in the direction of the ranch. Epona started behind, soon to be galloping alongside the stallion without any sign of slowing down or struggling to keep up. The rest of the ride was silent. Ingo only murmured incomprehensible words of frustration that Malon could occasionally hear parts of slip past his mustache. He was relatively upset with her, yet worried about Link. The two had never conversed much. They weren't friends either. Thankfully, Ingo had a conscience buried behind all of the dirt on his skin. He didn't want to see a boy die and would do all he could to stop it from happening, provided that it's not playing hero. Based on the stunt he pulled earlier, him actually believing that he took down all of those Stalchildren, who in reality merely vanished, proved that he was even less of a fighter than Malon.

Having him with her still made Malon feel much safer than when she was on my own. 'Once we get back to the ranch, we'll tend to Link and things should be able to go back to normal. Dad will likely double up on my chores as a punishment for disobeying him. On the other hand, I still feel like it's worth it.' Her father would ultimately take Link's life as more important since his daughter did successfully return. Plus, he didn't even have to come find her. In her head, as they raced alongside the Zora River and came up to Castle Town's walls, she mentally went through all of the things that they should do whenever they got inside the ranch. 'Link could take my bed if Dad doesn't mind. I certainly don't… We'll need a bucket of water and a rag in case he has a fever, some medicine for his wounds and then to be sure that we give him the forest tonic tomorrow exactly at noon.'

Looking around, the farm girl's speculation proved to be correct as Castle Town's drawbridge was up. It was so routine that everyone knew they pulled it up at night. Whatever made Ingo think they could take Link to a doctor right then wasn't very logical.

"Nnn…" Link suddenly moaned, making them stare at him. "Ma-… Majora… *Coughs*… Majora…" Now that he'd said that name multiple times, Malon wanted to know who it was that he was referring to. She'd never heard of anyone called 'Majora' and neither had the Kokiri. Just going by speculation, the farm girl assumed it was either someone he encountered in the Lost Woods, or that it was just more absolute nonsense brought out by his delirium. "MAJORA!" He hollered to the top of his lungs, startling Petey and Ingo while worrying Epona, who whinnied loudly in response with perked ears. "I'LL KILL YOU!" This time Ingo had to restrain the blonde boy as he jerked about on the saddle, swinging at imaginary enemies as if he had his sword and shield in his hands.

"Ughh… What in the hell is wrong with you, boy!?" The farmhand shouted back while holding Link's arms, keeping him from unintentionally punching Petey in the back of the head.

"Don't you hurt him, Ingo! It's the curse!" Malon interjected. "He's hallucinating and doesn't know what he's doing!"

Within the next minute, Link stopped twisting around and Ingo relaxed a little. "Do you even know what the curse of the Forbidden Forest is, Malon!? The real curse, not the fairy tales you were told as a kid!?"

The anger in his voice was unnecessary and unappreciated. 'Doesn't he realize how much I've been through?' Malon thought while they completely passed the last part of the wall to Castle Town. Their home, Lon Lon Ranch, appeared just down the road. "As a matter of fact, I do! If it wasn't for the Kokiri giving him that forest tonic, he would have turned into a Stalfos!"

He grunted while staring ahead. The closer they came to the ranch, the more that rushing feeling of relief came. It couldn't have come sooner either, as Malon felt like she was ready to collapse if she didn't feel the warmth and safety of the farmhouse. A nice, warm glass of Lon Lon Milk would help her unwind as well. Link could use relaxation more than any of them. "You're so lucky!" Ingo patronized the farm girl, making sure she realized how fortunate she was. "A little girl like you has no business in the Forbidden Forest! You're lucky to still be alive! I would suggest that you never-ever-ever go back there, unless you want to wind up becoming fertilizer for the land!"

His warning didn't go unheeded like he may have thought it was. Malon fully knew of the dangers of the Forbidden Forest. In fact, she could warn others of the true threat that lurked within the shade, beneath the tree-tops, without making up superstitions to scare them. People needed to be frightened of that place, that she knew. But, not for the wrong reasons. "Don't worry! I don't have any plans to go back!"

He chuckled sarcastically as Link moaned. "I don't think you're going to be leaving the ranch for quite a while, Malon! Your dad is furious!"

Even if he thought that was going to bother her, it didn't. In fact, the only punishment that Malon could think of that would compare to what she'd been through, was being sent back to the Forbidden Forest. She'd rather do all three of their chores than return to that accursed region. Nothing they had in mind could account for the torment she suffered through already, because nothing they did would ever put her life at any risk. "I don't care! Link needed me!"

For just a brief moment, Ingo stared back at Malon with a mixture of several expressions on his face at once; none of them were readable to the farm girl. Soon, he turned back and the rest of the ride toward the ranch once again resumed in quietness.

While Malon knew she was going to get some form of scolding, she felt extraordinarily proud of herself for having saved Link. The farm girl had the adventure of a lifetime that night. Never in her wildest dreams would she have presumed she would encounter Wolfos and ChuChu or even Timi, the Skull Kid. Going through Kokiri Village and talking with the Kokiri, at times, she wondered if maybe Link wasn't making up some of the stories he tried to convince them of being real. 'At least I didn't travel forward seven years into the future to save the kingdom.' She wanted to believe, but right there was where she had to sanely draw the line. There was no way she could believe a young hylian child could do something like that. 'Although, Timi did happen to say that Link had the blood of the hero blessed upon him by the goddesses.' Whatever that meant, and as far-fetched as it sounded to her, she knew that if Link really was blessed by the goddesses, then he might be telling the truth.

Finally, as they rode up the path to Lon Lon Ranch, Malon could see that the gates were unlocked. The moment they passed them, she could already feel herself letting go of the accumulated stress. She was safe now and didn't have to worry about getting eaten by a monster. "Finally…" The girl whispered to herself as they continued around the curve, traveling deeper into the heart of the ranch until they came to where the farmhouse and barn was.

"Alright… Whoa…" Ingo said while tugging on the reins to get Petey to stop as Malon did the same with Epona. Both equines obeyed the commands without struggling. They halted in front of the farmhouse. "Malon, I want you to stay in the common area and explain everything that happened." Ingo proceeded to demand as he grabbed Link and lifted the boy up. The farm hand dismounted Petey, not even bothering to hitch the stallion since he was in such a rush. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he made his way to the farmhouse prior to banging on the door loud enough to give Talon a heart attack. "Talon, open up! Hurry!"

For just a quick second, Link nearly slipped out of Ingo's arms as the man was busy pounding on the door. As he adjusted the unconscious boy, they could faintly hear Talon's voice call out from the inside as his heavy footsteps grew closer. "I'm comin'! I'm comin'!" The sound of locks and the jingle of keys ensued before Talon continued speaking as the door swung open. "Did ya find 'er!?" The moment his blue eyes landed on his daughter, the heavyset farmer dropped to his knees with a loud exhale, wrapping his arms around her, tugging her into a tight hug that nearly took her breath away. "Malon! Oh, thank the Goddesses… Thank the Goddesses… I don't know what I woulda done if I'd lost yah." Shock flowed through Malon's mind as she didn't expect him to be so devastated from her temporary absence. She should have known as it was true that her father relied on her more than she liked to admit. Without the girl's mother around, Talon often felt like his daughter was the only family he had left and would react accordingly on numerous occasions. "Where've ya been!?" He sniffled a few times as a tear flowed down his cheek. "Ya know better than ta' be runnin' off like that!"

Ingo cleared his throat and Talon stood back up while taking notice of the bruised and battered Link, who was still asleep in an accursed coma. "Ehh!? What happened!? Where'd ya find em'!?"

Ingo barged past Talon as Link moaned in the farm hand's arms. "Have your daughter explain in detail. Apparently, she's been in the Forbidden Forest."

Dad's eyes shrunk in horror. As soon as Ingo made it into the living area, he went straight for the couch, placing Link down on his back on top of three puffy cushions. "WHAT!? TELL ME IT AIN'T TRUE!" Before his daughter could even get a word out, he grabbed her shoulders and shook her in overprotective hysteria. "YA KNOW BETTER!"

Even though Talon was distraught, Malon jerked away so he'd snap out of it. "I'm fine, Daddy! Look at me, I'm okay! There's nothing wrong with me!"

Talon coughed a few times while trying to sob. "YA STILL CAIN'T GO IN THERE, MALON!"

Ingo tended to Link. The farmhand did everything he could to find out what was wrong with the unconscious boy. Unfortunately, nothing was going to work other than the forest tonic given by the Kokiri.

At the moment, Malon felt as if all the time spent on explaining what happened was misplaced. She knew that Ingo wanted her to tell her dad everything, but right now, she felt they should be more focused on Link. "I had to! It's where Link was! I had to rescue him…Plus, I actually did try to wait for you! If you hadn't been hollering like a madman, Epona wouldn't have bolted in fright!"

His fists balled up in frustration as Talon clenched his eyes shut and shook for a moment. "GRR! YA COULDA DIED! YER' ONLY A TEN YEAR OLD GIRL!" Talon was never the type to resort to physical punishment such as spanking or swatting, so he eventually relaxed his hands with a sigh prior to looking up, as if looking to the three goddesses for assistance.

The constant yelling was getting to be too much for Malon. She'd dealt with too much this night to have this unnecessary added stress. However, being her mother's daughter, and the heavyset farmer being her beloved father, she couldn't stand to see him in the state of dishevelment he was in. "Dad…" As he sniffled, the girl walked forward and gave him a hug, plus a kiss on his cheek right above his bushy mustache. "I'm sorry… I know I shouldn't have gone ahead like that." Gently grabbing his hand, she could feel it, thus him, relax as she held onto it. "I love you, Daddy."

Ingo turned his head to watch them for a moment as they hugged one another tightly. Talon just relented by saying "I love ya too, pumpkin'… I seriously don't know what I'd do withoutcha."

Malon closed her eyes for a minute as she released all of her stress, feeling nothing but utter comfort in her father's arms. As long as her dad was around, she knew that she'd never have to feel like she was in danger. Her father would always protect her with all his might. "I know, Daddy… But, I did it… I made it through the Lost Woods."

Talon's eyes shot open as she opened hers and leaned back. Thankfully, he didn't scream. "T-The Lost Woods… Darlin', ya know ya shouldn't 'ave gone there, much less the Forbidden Forest."

As her father caressed her cheek, Malon giggled softly. "Why? Will I turn into a tree?"

The reminder of the old fairy tales he told her about that place made him stare for a moment prior to chuckling very lightly. "Malon… This ain't no laughin' matter. It's very serious… Wolfos would eat yer' hide as a snack out there."

Ingo's gaze stayed glued on Malon as the girl looked away, now aware that she'd have to explain. "W-Well… Umm… You see..." Once she directed her attention onto Link, feeling as though they should be focusing on him, she tried to avoid explaining her entire ordeal. "Let's just tend to Link, he has the curse of the Lost Woods and we have to take care of him until noon. Then, we will have to give him a forest tonic concocted by a group of Kokiri."

Ingo shook his head before interjecting with his own opinion. "Nuh-Uh! You explain what happened, right this instant! You told me you had to fight off Wolfos!"

Malon's head sank low as her father gasped. "WHAT!?" In less than a second, Talon spun his daughter around and gave her a pat down. He touched her all over to make sure that she didn't have any injuries. It was his personality to freak out like he was, so Malon wasn't too surprised. "Are ya alright!? Did ya get scratched or bitten!? Show me yer' arms, let me see! Oh… Oh…" After searching her arms, he moved on. "Hmm… How 'bout yer' neck!? Oh! How 'bout yer' legs!? DID IT BITE YA ANYWHERE!?"

After trying to lift her dress, he pulled the front back to see her chest. Malon pushed him away and covered herself with a light blush of minor embarrassment. "N-No! Now, stop! There were actually two Wolfos, but let me start from the beginni-…"

The heavyset farmer cut her off with another abrupt shout after examining the bump on her forehead from where the earlier tree branch whopped her upside the head. "TWO!? BY THE GODDESSES!"

Once more, Malon calmed her father down by hugging him. "It's okay, Daddy… Just listen. I made it through everything." He and Ingo focused on her as she sighed, thereafter deciding to start from the beginning. Obviously she had no other choice. "Epona led me into the Forbidden Forest. She knew exactly where she was going and I could tell. We passed Kokiri Village and then entered the Lost Woods." Pulling out the bottle of forest tonic, she continued talking as her dad took it from her and stared at the bottle's contents. "Everything looked the same inside there, so I have absolutely no clue how she was able to find her way. Each tree looked the same as the last… It was also dark… The only way that I was able to see was from the light the fireflies were putting off, and even that didn't last forever as I eventually rode in pitch-black darkness."

Walking over to the kitchen, Malon felt as though her tongue was as dry as the Gerudo Desert. Parched, she grabbed a glass cup and then proceeded to make her way toward the water keg. "It wasn't easy…" She stated while temporarily uncorking the keg in order to get a flow of water, which poured into the glass before she replaced the cork.

"I must have ridden for at least twenty minutes or more before we came to a meadow. Right in the middle of it was a single large tree and I was more than happy that Epona stopped, so I jumped off and started looking around." Taking a sip, her body rejoiced in the refreshingly crisp water. "Shortly afterward, I found Link's hat, shield, and sword. I knew that he was very close by, I could tell that all of those were his." Thinking back, it was embarrassing to her that she knew it was his hat just by the smell of it. Most kids probably shouldn't know or like the smell of another boy. Her father would never know that either as she refused to tell him. Thankfully, Talon seemed to be focused on the sword and shield in the corner, by the door, analyzing them for a moment.

"I found him inside the tree." Malon resumed. "The tree was hollowed out inside. He was propped up against the inside of the trunk, completely unconscious and in worse condition than he is now." Once the farm girl drank the rest of her water in gulps to cease her thirst, she took out Link's hat and held it in her hands while walking closer to the comatose hero. "At first, I wasn't sure how he managed to get there. Then, I met someone who did know." Talon and Ingo listened closely as they began watching over Link, who remained asleep with only small twitches as well as a steady rate of breathing to prove that he was still in the world of the living. "His name is Timi, and he's a Skull Kid."

Both of them nearly fell to the ground at that revelation before shouting in unison. "A SKULL KID!?"

Link moaned from their shouting before Malon motioned for the two men to lower their voices. "Yes… I know, I know… They have bad reputations, but he was fairly kind. Other than the fact that he was a complete and utter weirdo, he was pretty cool too." Her dad and Ingo simply looked at each other in shock until she kept going. "He told me that Link was suffering from the curse of the Lost Woods. Timi said that he was the one who had dragged him into the tree. He said he wanted to keep him out of the elements. He also said that the only way to cure Link was to take him to the Kokiri. Apparently, he wasn't able to make the trip himself because he had to stay in the Lost Woods." Many things were left out as it didn't seem like the farm girl had enough time to be in-depth. Plus, she was trying to hurry so that they could tend to Link. "He led me about halfway back through the Lost Woods toward the Kokiri Village prior to departing, leaving me on my own for the rest of the way."

Ingo shook his head before asking. "Why?"

Subconsciously, Malon held Link's hat close to her heart while staring at him. "Timi couldn't take me all the way back to the village because he wasn't able to come around the Great Deku Tree." Upon hearing the name of the Forest Guardian, Talon and Ingo's mouths dropped wide open in astonishment. They knew now that she wasn't making up any of what she said. Honestly, she had never heard of the demigod before today, besides a select few times when Link had mentioned something about him. There was no way she'd know so much about the massive tree-being if she had not gone through the Forbidden Forest. "It was then, on the way toward the kokiri village, that I was attacked by Wolfos that came out of nowhere. I think the monster had been stalking me for a while. It was relentless too. After a couple of minutes, when it found out I wasn't easy to get, it called for a second one to join in."

Talon's face looked a little pale after hearing there were two wolfos after his daughter. It was definitely something he could've lived without ever knowing, as being aware it happened gave him the sweats.

Ingo merely closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. Observantly, whenever the farm hand opened his eyes, he noticed the blood on Link's sword as well as the scratch marks on Link's shoulder.

Talon, however, was busy attempting to calmly ask more questions. "T-Two!? Oh, darlin'… How'd ya escape? How'd ya defend yer'self?"

Recalling the brief battle she had, using Link's sword and shield while going through the Lost Woods, it still managed to bring goose bumps to the surface of her skin. A gut feeling told her that the two guys were going to be amazed at what she would say next. "Well… I sort of… Had to use Link's sword and shield." They both raised their eyebrows as the farm girl nodded. "I had no other choice… The wolfos were able to run even faster than Epona could gallop. What else was I supposed to do? Punch them? Link already got scratched on the shoulder by one of their swipes." Ingo traced his finger around the wound as Talon looked away unnerved by everything that his daughter had just said. "I'm not a knight… I'm just a girl. I was so scared."

The feeling of fright returned to the young girl for a moment before she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her, pulling her closer as her father's voice said. "It's okay, Darlin'… Yer' safe now."

Even though Malon had to cry due to being overwhelmed, part of her was extremely proud. She proved she was capable of defending herself and Link at the same time. Not once did she ever give up, and though she's not a warrior, she was able to put forth enough effort to succeed in protecting herself. "I… I thought they were going to eat us a couple of times, before the Know-It-All Brothers saved us."

Ingo sighed, tapped his foot for a bit while staring at Link and then motioned toward the door. "I'll be back. I'm going to get a bucket of water from the well."

Talon ignored the farm hand while asking his daughter "Who're the Know-It-All Brothers and how'd they help ya?"

After Talon let go of her, Ingo made his way outside, closing the door behind him. Malon bent down to hold Link's leg. He felt warmer, like he was truly alive. Just that small touch was enough to comfort the farm girl and keep her feeling as though everything was fine. "The Know-It-All Brothers are three Kokiri boys. They saved me by throwing something called 'Deku Nuts' at the Wolfos. The nuts would explode with a snapping sound and it seemed to scare them off. If it wasn't for them, Link and I would be in one of those wolfos stomachs." Gazing at her hero longingly, she proceeded to inform her father more of the luck she had. "Link's mother took us into the village. She brought us to her house before we started giving him medicine to get better. Well… She wasn't really his mother, but she did raise him."

Talon didn't like thinking of his daughter getting hurt, so he was glad the girl was saved by kokiri. Since all was said and done, he focused on the present instead of the past. The hefty man held his hand over the scratch marks on Link's shoulder, watching the unconscious boy squirm a little from the stinging sensation. He narrowed his eyes in confusion and looked like he was about to ask something before he gave up and stroked Link's hair back, trying to comfort the hero instead.

Malon noticed her father's attempt to say more and made a guess as to what he was going to bring up. "If you're wondering about why we had to leave, it's because the curse from the Lost Woods was still active inside the whole Forbidden Forest. We had to leave the woodland altogether in order to get away from the effects of the curse."

Link's leg suddenly moved a little to the right as Talon replied. "Actually, I was wonderin' if his mother's a Kokiri… Though, I think yer' answer's better."

At first, Malon recalled how odd it was thinking of the small statured Saria as being Link's adoptive mother. However, when she thought about the kokiri girl's kind smile, loving nature and the beautiful Pictographs of her and a younger Link, she knew for sure that Saria was the best parent in all of Hyrule. "She is… But, he's not. Link's a hylian."

Talon huffed quietly prior to responding "I knew it. I always knew that he was one of us, even if he didn't know himself… *Ahem*… Anyway, what 'bout the sacred Great Deku Tree? Did it give ya this tonic?"

Since the Great Deku Tree was considered the father to all Kokiri, considering how Mido reacted to the entity's demise, Malon knew this was going to be a tough topic to discuss. Still, she was surprised that her father didn't already know. Bearing that in mind, she forced herself to continue onward with explaining what happened. "No… I'm sorry to say, the Great Deku Tree isn't with us anymore."

Talon stared back at his daughter before it dawned on him what it was that she was trying to say. "Wait… It's dead!?"

Malon nodded in agreement while correcting him. She didn't want him offending any kokiri he might meet in the future, or even possibly Link. "First, Daddy, the Great Deku Tree is a he, not an it. Second, I'm afraid so, at least for the time being."

Her father raised an eyebrow as the door swung open for them to see Ingo making his way inside with a wooden bucket full of water from the ranch's well. "I'm wonderin' if the Royal Family is aware of this."

All Malon could do was shrug as Ingo closed the door and made his way over to them, placing the bucket down by the couch. "I don't know. The good news is that they said the Great Deku Tree left behind a seed. They said the seed would take a while to grow, but that it would become the new Deku Tree."

"Does he have a fever?" The farmhand asked, interrupting them.

Talon checked by placing his palm over Link's forehead to feel his temperature. "Maybe a bit, he's clammy."

Ingo dipped a cloth rag into the water and then brought it back up to ring it out as Talon removed his hand for it to be replaced by the damp handkerchief. "The water's lukewarm, so it's not too hot or cold. For now, we should do something about the wounds on his shoulder and head."

Talon stood up away from Link, walked into the kitchen, then pulled open a drawer from the counter prior to rummaging around in it. "I have some healin' ointment 'round here somewhere… Hmm… And Malon, ya need somethin' to disinfect that gash on yer' head as well."

Feeling her forehead, Malon was quickly reminded of the tree branch which nearly knocked her off Epona during the horse's initial gallop through the Forbidden Forest. After toughing it out for as long as she had, the girl didn't even care about it. Though, she knew her father was right about making sure it didn't get worse.

"Ah, 'ere it is…" Talon said aloud as he found the healing ointment. "Now, keep on tellin' me 'bout how ya got this tonic. If it wasn't the Great Deku Tree, then who was it?"

Link turned his head toward Malon and she moved her hand up to his, holding it, entwining her fingers. The unconscious boy moaned softly from Ingo gently flipping the wet cloth upside down to refresh the cool feeling. "The Know-It-All Brothers… First, however, I had to go with a kokiri called Mido, who proclaimed himself as their leader. We went inside of the Great Deku Tree's remains to retrieve something called Blood Berries."

Talon's eyes widened as he brought a small disk shaped tin of healing ointment over to Link, unscrewing the lid to reveal a dark reddish-brown paste-like salve. The hefty hylian dipped his index and middle finger into the salve before rubbing a small glob of it onto Link's forehead. "Ya went inside of the Great Deku Tree!?" The ointment must have stung as Link groaned and slowly writhed about on the couch.

Whenever Talon's hand moved toward Malon in advance of smearing some of the healing gel on her forehead, she too found out that the ointment wasn't pain-free as she felt a small tingling sensation. "Yeah… I had too, plus, I offered to help… It was like a giant cave inside, so tall that I couldn't see the top. It was dark outside anyway, so seeing up high didn't matter."

The very instant Talon's hand clamped down over Link's shoulder, putting the healing ointment onto the scratches from the Wolfos claws, the boy's eyes shot open and he screamed, as if it was hurting him incredibly badly. "RHAAAAAA! MAJORA!"

Talon and Ingo jumped back in fright from the yelling startling them. They didn't really understand why Link was talking deliriously. On the other hand, Malon was the one who was still curious as to why he kept bringing up the 'Majora' person, or thing. "Link!?" The farm girl's father shouted "Calm down, son! It's just healin' ointment!"

Link ignored everything in the world around him and simply kept hollering to the top of his lungs, as loud as he possibly could. "I AM A FIERCE DEITY! I CAN STOP ANY AND ALL EVIL WITHIN THIS WORLD! NOTHING CAN DEFEAT ME!"

Ingo and Talon both tried to hold Link down on the couch while he flailed about violently. "Settle down! STOP IT!" Talon shook him a little before Malon stopped him.

"Don't! He can't help it! He's not thinking right!" She screamed as they continued to hold Link for a while longer, until he went limp again.

The sudden cease of movement made the men worry worse than Malon, as she had come to expect it. "Dammit! Is he alright!?" Ingo felt Link's chest.

Talon waited until they confirmed that he was still breathing and alive. After dipping the rag back into the water, he replaced it on Link's forehead. He also attempted to rub the rest of the salve into the boy's arm. Link wasn't screaming, his eyes were open and he was lying down. Yet, he wasn't responsive as he remained in his daze.

"Yeah, he's still alive… *sighs*… We've got to do something." Ingo stated. Luckily, Link stayed calm as the ointment was left on the wound.

"We're doin' everythin' we can do. We'll take em' to a doctor in the mornin'." Talon replied.

Malon shook her head as she stared directly into Link's eyes, noticing then that they were even less red than earlier. With high hopes, she prayed that he'd keep them open. At least, right now, she knew that the hero was alive and awake on some level, no matter how small. It didn't take long, however, for his eyelids slowly drooped before closing altogether. "No…" Malon iterated, referring to what her father had said about taking Link to a doctor. "I already told Ingo that it won't do any good. The Know-It-All Brothers told me that the only way to help him get better is to give him the last dose of that forest tonic. They said Hylian doctors wouldn't be of any help, because they wouldn't understand the curse." Link exhaled, making them look at him to make sure he was okay till he took another breath.

"I'm sorry, Malon… But, if he's this ill, he's gotta go see the doc in Castle Town." Talon put his foot down.

On some level, the farm girl wanted to agree with her father. After all, she found herself thinking the same thing earlier when she was in Kokiri Village. Then again, she knew the Know-It-All Brothers were more adept on forest magic than her father, so she had to trust them over him. The best she could think of was a compromise to satisfy the adults. "Okay… Okay… How about we wait until noon when we have to give him the forest tonic? If he doesn't get better then or shortly after, I'll get the wagon ready all on my own and we can take him to Castle Town."

Talon thought about it for a moment prior to sighing. "Fine… We'll let him sleep. It's 'bout time for all of us to get some rest as well. For tonight though, I want ya to finish explainin' everythin' else that happen'."

Ingo continued staring at Link as Malon accepted her father's terms. "Alright… Inside the Great Deku Tree, we encountered these creatures called 'ChuChu' that looked like big blobs of jelly. They fell from above and one landed on Mido… If it wasn't for me, he'd have been toast… I had a pitchfork since he took Link's sword, but I used it to scoop a giant chunk of the beast right off its body." It was clear as day that they were still greatly surprised at hearing that Malon did any form of fighting. In her life, the farm girl had never so much as raised a fist to someone, or even an animal. She preferred peace and harmony over war and strife. There wasn't a single drop of evil flowing through her. "Don't get me wrong though, I was absolutely terrified. Whenever Fado and I freed Mido, we scooped up the Blood Berries, plus some Red ChuChu Jelly. We had to hurry because more of the goopy monsters started falling from the ceiling."

Talon screwed the top back onto the can of healing ointment in addition to asking. "How many were there?"

"At least twenty of them..." Malon replied, giggling at them having another look of shock plastered on their faces, no doubt baffled by how she was able to handle all of it without running away in fright. "If it wasn't for the torch that Fado brought with her, I don't know what we would've done. They seemed to prefer the darkness and were absolutely horrified by fire. It made them melt! Even with the torch, I still had to fight off a few more as we made our way back out… Immediately after, we ran straight back to Saria's house and gave the Know-It-All Brothers the ingredients they needed to make that forest tonic that's in your hands."

Her father put both the bottle and the ointment on the table in front of the couch as Malon began wrapping up her explanation as to what happened. "We gave him the medicine and rested for a while before I was told that I had to leave the forest with Link. He had to be as far away from the Lost Woods as possible… I took Link on Epona again and we left the Forbidden Forest for Hyrule Field. We traveled toward the ranch until Stalchildren suddenly came up out of the ground and started to attack me. Thankfully, Ingo showed up and saved me."

Talon showed some gratitude by softly grabbing Ingo's shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze until the farmhand nodded to the silent agreement of appreciation. Throughout the years, their relationship as coworkers and friends had been strained, yet never beyond the extent where they wouldn't risk themselves to save the other. Long since his wife had left for the heavens, they became one family that took care of each other. "W-Well… I'm really happy yer alright, pumkin'…I… I can hardly believe that ya did all of this… Yer' only a ten year old girl, but yah must 'ave a lot more of yer' mother in ya than just the red hair if yer' that good at fightin'."

A blush crept upon Malon's face as she recalled the feeling of Link's sword in her hand or that first moment that she drew blood from the Wolfos with it. "O-Ooh, no… Daddy, you've got it all wrong! I'm hardly a fighter." She quickly corrected them and herself. "I'm just a simple farm girl who wants to tend to horses and feed the Cuccos."

Talon rubbed his nose with a sniffle before smiling at his daughter. "Yeah, a simple farm girl who went on an adventure to save her boyfrien'."

Malon's eyes shut in frustration as she wanted to scream in embarrassment from her father making her cheeks burn. Even if he didn't mean it, he always humiliates her. He knew that she was a rather shy girl. "He's not my boyfriend, Daddy! Ughh!"

Talon and Ingo chuckled before Malon stood up and hurried off toward the stairs leading up to her room. Her father stopped her before she got to the first step. "Hey, Wait… Malon... Where are ya goin'?" He shook his head before motioning for the young girl to come back. "Yer gonna be the one who stays 'ere with him 'til morning."

Along with a grumble, she replied "I know… I'm just getting him some blankets." Making her way upstairs, she had to hold herself back from thinking about her bed. 'It sure would be nice if I could just lie down on it for a couple of hours.' Going through everything she did was exhausting. If she could, she'd probably try to sleep all the next day, though that wasn't really possible considering how she had to take care of the animals as well. 'Once this night is over, I think that we'll all feel much better.'