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.

6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

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[Time: 1:47 P.M. (Afternoon)]

[Date: Month 3 'Spring', Day 25, 8th Era]

[Location: Hyrule, Hyrule Field, Lon Lon Ranch]

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Walking around to gather his bearings, Link could consciously tell that his body was feebler than he had initially assumed. Having returned to reality, the frailty suggested that he may well have been out of his mind, that he'd merely hallucinated all of the events that took place in Termina. Majora's Mask, Clock Town, Four Giants, the moon falling; all of them may have been nothing more than a figment of the little hero's overactive imagination. However, he couldn't allow himself to contemplate such things for long, or else he feared he'd further question everything else that had happened since Navi first showed up to announce herself as his fairy. Before Navi, everything seemed relatively normal, primarily in comparison to now.

When he was younger, the Kokiri Forest was all Link knew. Even if he wanted to know more about what layed beyond the woods, he wasn't allowed to as the Great Deku Tree wouldn't tell him. Back then, the hylian boy didn't realize why the forest deity held back from telling him things about the outside world. Only now did he comprehend that it would've been overwhelming for himself to know his own fate far ahead of its time. The Goddesses were right about thrusting the title Hero of Time upon him so precipitously. Giving a ten year old child the opportunity to contemplate rejection would've been far too risky for transdimensional beings to take a chance on.

Now, today, with all of those events behind him, he had to concentrate to figure out whether or not any of them truly happened in the first place. He wondered if they occurred precisely as he recalled or if they never transpired at all. The boy's mind assumed that, if it could manifest a projection for the entire Kingdom of Termina, then perhaps it had the ability to fabricate everything else. 'Maybe Ganondorf really doesn't have the Triforce of Power and I simply imagined it because of his betrayal to the King of Hyrule. Then again, if none of that actually happened, then why am I outside of the Kokiri Forest?' Link quizzed himself to get facts straight. 'If my grand adventure through time never happened, then how did I get into the outside world?'

It was actually the Great Deku Tree who sent the hero on the quest, prior to the deity perishing from Ganondorf's curse. To Link, the only proof that the future was real was the fact that he still managed to acquire the Kokiri's Emerald, Goron's Ruby, and Zora's Sapphire using his existing knowledge and capabilities. Unlike normal children his age, he was able to challenge any of the Knights of Hyrule to do what he'd done and still come out with all of their limbs on their bodies.

The only way Link could remain sure his vision of the future was real was by continuing to move through the present. 'As for Termina, if it didn't happen, it would explain why I feel as though I've been asleep for days.' The world itself seemed to be oftentimes illogical there. 'People there looked like duplicates of the people I've met through my adventures. It's also strange that nobody has ever heard of Termina or Clock Town. If it were real, then the only thing I could possibly explain is that I'm weak from the sickness I succumbed to in the Woods of Mystery.' He furrowed his brow as he kept poking holes in his current theory. 'Wait… What if what I was succumbing to was nothing other than the curse of the Lost Woods here in Hyrule?' No matter how hard he tried to get his mind off what happened, it didn't work. Attempting to explain things only led to new questions that he couldn't understand either.

'What does it matter?' He soon asked himself while putting on his freshly washed braies (trousers). 'Without Navi, I don't know if I even care about any of my voyages anymore.' Staring at himself in the mirror, Link sighed loudly. His brain went on to think of why his fairy would leave him. 'After all we've been through-… I… I just don't understand. This ten year old body of mine, it's not mature enough to understand why she would abandon me.'

Deep down, he continually ran through those final events, before Navi departed from his company. What the sprite said to him could never be forgotten. 'I love you, Link.' Hearing that sentence echo around in his skull forced his face to contort as his fingers clenched tight against his palms, forming fists of sheer rage. 'Why would she say something like that to me!?' The hylian boy mentally shouted while gritting his teeth. 'What did she mean!? Ughhh!'

Thinking back on their relationship, the two were incredibly close, like mother and child. She protected him and took care of him as best that she could. When he was injured, she would always sterilize his wound and then even give a small kiss on the cheek. They slept together, ate together and even embarrassingly bathed together. Yet, none of those times Link felt as though anything was romantic. Not only were they incompatible in such a physical way, but he thought they just loved each other platonically, without lust or desire. At the time, such things were beyond him as his adolescent immaturity remained present. 'When she said she loved me… The way she said it-… She couldn't have-… There-… There's just no way.' Once more, the words ran through his head. 'Link… I love you, Link.' The feelings and emotions were too much for him, bringing him to near breaking point. He'd spent far too much time wrapped up in concern over this. He couldn't help it though, as the matter demanded his attention. 'If she loved me… Then why did she leave me?'

Staring at himself in the mirror, he realized that his muscles were quivering a little, perhaps from the intense attempt at rationalization; as well as his strength being low. Either way, he ceased his thoughts of Navi by wiping away the tear which had begun to trickle down his cheek. 'I… I just wish that I could have found her.' Moving, he slipped into his green tunic. It felt decent to have clothing on again. Now, all that he had to do was put his belt, hat and boots on so he'd be ready to go downstairs. He knew he had to begin figuring out what it was he planned to do for the rest of his life. 'If only these thoughts on Navi would fully go away. I feel so lost without her. She was like my mother during my adventures, during the time Saria couldn't be there for me.'

Clearing his throat, the hero continued to stare at himself in the mirror while sliding his belt through the belt loops on the tunic. He knew that he couldn't let his loss of companionship ruin his life. 'The Golden Goddesses would be ashamed of me if I wasted their gift of existence. They very well could have had me killed once my purpose of saving them and hylian-kind was complete. Instead, they chose to allow me to live a natural life full of the experiences every other being gets to go through.'

Trying as hard as he could, he made an attempt to look past everything. "I love you too, Navi…" He soon whispered to himself as his eyes slowly drifted away from his reflection. "I love you too and I'll never ever forget you, not for as long as I live." With that, his chest heaved a sigh before he turned to make the bed. He didn't want where he stayed to look messy. After all, he was grateful Talon and Malon rescued him. 'Yet again, more people claim they care enough about me and have even shown it through actions. Letting depression take hold of me would be unappreciative as well as churlish in return for their kindness.'

"Ya really miss her, don't ya?" The gruff voice of Talon suddenly said, making Link rotate his head to see the heavyset farmer standing in the doorway, with his arms crossed and a look of sadness on his face. "Yer' fairy?"

While trying to get rid of his teary eyes, the boy managed to nod a couple of times, speaking sullenly. "Yeah… It hurts to know that she won't be around anymore."

Talon's lower lip protruded from woe in addition to him looking up at the ceiling, as if he was looking up to the heavens. "I know what ya mean, Link… It does hurt… And that pain, it ain't going' away, not ever. It'll be right there in yer' heart for the rest of yer' days. Ya can't give up though, it ain't what yer' suppose' to do."

Hearing Talon's gloomy voice, Link could tell that the farmer was trying to give him some honest advice, likely based upon something that he himself had likely gone through. "Did you lose somebody like that too, Mr. Talon?" The hero asked as Talon uncrossed his arms to walk over and then pick up the tray which once held food. It was kind of a dumb question since Link knew who. But, at the time, the boy wasn't fully thinking straight.

Thankfully, Talon chose to answer anyway. "Six years ago… Malon's mother passed away. My wife weren't the healthies' individual. She tended ta get sick a lot." From that moment, Link could tell that Talon was struggling to think about this subject. It had likely been a long time since the ranch owner talked about his wife. "Ya might be a tad bit too young to understan' this, but whenever my wife gave birth to Malon, it nearly took everythin' out of her." More tears began to flow down his face as he pushed through the pain. "S-She… *Sniffle*… She pulled through it. I don't know how, but she did. She pulled through the pregnancy and the birth, then went on to be the greatest mother I ever done seen in my life. For four years we raised Malon, operated the ranch as co-owners and even had friends… *Snivel**Small Sobs*… Najiyah… Why? W-Why?" Before long, he broke down into sobs over missing his dearly departed.

Hearing him lose control of his emotions was almost too much for Link to see. He didn't want the heavy farmer to be depressed. "Mr. Talon… If those memories are too much to bring up, I understand. You don't have to." Attempting to distract the farmer, Link brought up his own situation. "Navi meant a lot to me, she was my guardian and my friend. We were very close and although I don't know where she is, I do know that she wouldn't want me to give up just because she's gone."

Talon smiled reassuringly while softly squeezing the little hero's left shoulder, the shoulder without the scratches. "Yer' a smart boy, Link… I'm sorry if I seem weak to this topic. Malon's mother an I were very much in love with one another and it's all that fuckin' nasty plagues fault for taken' her away from me."

The cursing was relatively surprising to Link as he'd never really heard Talon swear before. However, it was reasonable considering what they were talking about. "Plague?" Link questioned.

Soon, Talon's hand moved away from Link as he directed his eyes instead over to Malon's mirror, specifically focusing on the small golden locket hanging from the side. "Influenza… The Flu… Back then, it was so bad, The King of Hyrule even made an announcemen' declarin' claims from doctors that it was a sickness worse than anythin' seen in a hundred years." He sighed. "Whenever my precious Najiyah got it, I knew that she wouldn't make it. I prayed and prayed and prayed to Farore, day and night, prayin' to let her stay with us, not to have her taken away." Again, he stopped as his eyes welled up with salty tears.

For a brief moment, as Talon recomposed himself, Link thought about the farmer's wife's name. It seemed almost Gerudic. It was certainly a desert name. Many Gerudo women continue to take names similar to that of Nabooru, their leader, out of respect for her as well as her wisdom and judgment for the tribe.

"I… I guess they had other plans though…" Talon proceeded to explain his wife's demise. "The one thing I'll never forget was that she didn't go about leavin' us without tellin' me goodbye." His voice cracked as he said. "Just before she went departen' for the heavens, she held my hand and told me to live my life to its fullest', to take care of Malon and watch her become the beautiful young woman she's becomin' now." A couple of tears escaped their eyes from envisioning it. Even during Nijaya's last moments, she thought about nothing other than her loving family. "So… That's why I want ya to know that ya have to do the same, Link. Ya can't ever give up."

Taking steps over to the mirror, Talon gently grabbed the golden locket hanging on the side and then removed it, holding it up to the young boy. "Promise me that ya won't give up, and I'll show ya what she looked like."

A heartfelt smile of small size appeared on Link's face as he looked up at the farmer. To the hero, in all honesty, it didn't matter that much if he saw what she looked like or not. It was the length that her husband was going through to make a strange boy feel better, such a fatherly act, that was pushing him to keep going. Almost instantly, Link nodded so that Talon would know that he agreed. "I promise… I won't give up, Mr. Talon."

Talon returned the smile in addition to popping open the locket, revealing a small portrait that was extremely well painted, rivaling in realistic nature that of a much more advanced pictograph. "Her name was Najiya Sumaiyah."

The surprise of the picture's detail faded fast as Link stared at the woman depicted. Somehow, deep down, the boy knew from the hints that had been dropped as well as the few similarities he'd noticed; Malon's mother and Talon's wife was indeed a gerudo. Staring at her picture, she was a gorgeous gerudo woman at that. With round ears, a sharp nose, brown skin, amber coloured eyes and red hair, she almost seemed like she might have had some relation to Nabooru. Some of those features were obviously passed down onto Malon. Now that Link thought about it, their faces looked incredibly similar too. "She's beautiful." The hero said, making Talon smile happily. Not even registering it, he proceeded to compliment the farm girl as well. "No wonder Malon is as pretty as she is." As soon as he said that, however, he realized how it sounded.

A blush swept across Link's face while Talon gave a coy smirk. The heavy farmer closed the locket, returning it to its place on the mirror. "So ya think Malon's pretty, huh? Hehe… Does she know? I mean, after all, yer' suppose' to marry her wheneva' ya get older."

Link's hands were quick to wave at Talon in response to the jest. He tried playing it off as if the farmer had it all wrong, that what he said was just supposed to be a compliment. "Whoa! Uhh… Mr. Talon-… I'm a… I'm a bit too young for marriage. Malon probably wouldn't like it very much either if I started complimenting her so much." Just like with Princess Ruto of the Zora Tribe and the scenario involving her engagement ring, which in reality was the Zora's Sapphire, Link didn't fully understand the meaning of marriage.

Within a few seconds, Talon suddenly busted out into laughter, so much that his mustache bounced. "Haha! Link, my boy… Ya don't really get women yet, do ya?"

If it wasn't for the fact that his face was obviously flushed, able to feel it on his face, Link probably would've agreed with that statement. He liked to think of himself as the man that he once was and still was yet to become. However, truthfully, he'd spent the majority of his life with Saria, who is a girl. Considering that, he also took into account that he likely knew more about them than he admitted. "Well, I wouldn't say tha-…"

Talon cut Link's reply off with another laugh and then lifted the tray void of food into his hands. "Women love to be complimented. Now, how about ya go try to get some fresh air? If yer' gonna be stayin' here at the ranch, yer' gonna have to do some chores… But, today ya can just rest. I don't want ya doin' much of nothin'."

Fresh air sounded perfect to him right about now, something to clear the hero's head. Plus, he figured that it sure beat standing around there listening to how he's supposed to marry somebody. All he wanted right now was friends he could depend on. Nevertheless, he was still glad that the farmer let him rest for today. "Thank you, sir." After grabbing his hat off the nightstand, he didn't stick around for very much longer, choosing to instead start for the door.

"Oh, wait…" He stopped the hylian boy. "'bout my wife, Malon's mother… How 'bout ya keep that between us? It's certainly no secret, it's just that it'll bring up a lot of emotions we've only just begun to fully heal from."

Giving a single nod, Link forced a smile onto his face to show Talon how much he appreciated him helping, giving advice and even giving the hero a place to stay. In a way, he was a good male role model for Link. He might be more playful, as well as lazier than the Great Deku Tree, but he still tried to be there for people in ways that only a parent can be. "I understand." Placing the floppy green hat on his head, Link stopped at the door to put on his boots. Talon passed him with the tray and carried it downstairs.

While stuffing his feet in the brown leather boots, he thought about what exactly he should do for the day. 'I really need to find out where my sword and shield are… Hmm… Hold on…' After standing back up, he swiftly began giving his tunic a pat down. Many of his items were likely lost. The majority of what was missing was replaceable, except for one; a specific ancient musical wind instrument given to him by Princess Zelda herself for safekeeping, a sort of last mission bestowed upon him.

Panic rose within as he couldn't feel it in any of the pockets. 'Where's the Ocarina of Time!?' Such a mistake as losing it would be so unforgivable that he couldn't bear it. However, he kept his cool, needing to ask around first to see if anybody knew where it was. If his clothes were washed, he hoped someone must have taken things out. 'Perhaps it's in the same location as my sword and shield. I hope it's alright because I need that thing… There's no way that I'm going to lose everything related to my adventures.' Grunting, he continued thinking. 'Having memories is one thing, but proof is best for my own adolescent sanity.' Making his way down the steps, he found that his legs were quite wobbly and even felt a tad bit numb. Although the feelings soon faded, it still signified that he'd been lying down for much longer than he had assumed.

When he reached the bottom step, he turned toward the door and began walking toward it prior to turning his head to see Talon in the kitchen. Seeing as how the boy was going to start searching, he figured that he might as well ask the farmer if he knew where his belongings were. He doubted it was Malon who stripped him, especially considering her intense reaction to his accidental wardrobe malfunction. "Mr. Talon, do you know where my sword and shield are? Also, I'm missing my ocarina… It's really important; it was given to me by Princess Zelda."

From his side view Link watched Talon chuckle while using a unique washstand to rinse off the silver tray using a jug. "The sword and shield are in my room… I think ya done quite enough of yer' silly adventurin' for now. As for yer' ocarina, I don't know 'bout that. The only thin' else that was with ya was a slingshot, some weird magnifyin' glass, a bow with 'bout ten arrows, a boomerang, a strange lookin' mask, two blue rupees and a broken Deku Stick."

For a moment, Link's focus shifted to whatever mask it was that he had. If it was anything related to Majora, be it the Fierce Deity Mask or Majora itself, he knew that he had to find a way to destroy it. Without letting himself freak out over the potentials, he resumed his thoughts on re-acquiring his stuff. To an extent, the little hero felt a tad anger that Talon wouldn't return his sword and shield immediately. On the other hand, he was glad that the farmer cared enough to try and keep him safe. Even if Talon didn't believe Link's previous quests were real, he still wanted the boy to be taken care of. That's more than Link could say about half of the people that he'd come across in his travels.

Letting it go, he decided to go check with Malon or Ingo. "Umm… Okay."

Talon chuckled one last time before saying "Don't worry. I won't do anythin' to yer' stuff. I'll give it back to ya in a couple of days, as long as ya work aroun' the ranch and do a few chores."

Recalling the debt that he was technically in with them for saving his life, Link agreed with a nod of his head in advance of making his way outside. From the very first moment the rays of light shone in his eyes, he felt them adjusting from being closed for as long as they had been. 'Geez… I need a better hat, one with a visor or something. Ugnn.' Link held his hand up to his forehead to block out the direct sunlight while letting the door to the farmhouse close behind him.

It did feel good to be outside again. The air was still crisp. Early spring had been keeping the heat down despite how bright it was. Hearing the grass crunch beneath his feet as Link walked over toward the barn door reminded me that I was truly awake; the sound itself was comforting, as if mother nature was with him each step of the way. As for what to do, he decided to stop by and check on Ingo. Under normal circumstances, the farm hand wasn't the most interesting individual in the world. However, seven years in the future, when he took over the ranch and forced poor Malon to overwork all of the animals; Ingo proved quite clear that he had the potential to snap. 'I guess I'll check on him and see if he needs any help. He always complains about having to do all the work, so he might be glad if I lend some assistance. Maybe it'll keep him calm.'

Just before opening the door leading into the barn, Link gazed out into the corral where he could see Malon directing the horses around to get them some exercise. 'I'll visit her next.' He thought. With a tad bit of luck, she'd forgotten about the earlier mishap and it wouldn't be embarrassing to speak to her. Despite that, he also hoped that she knew where his ocarina was. In the meantime, he decided to probe the farm hand.

"Hey, Ingo…" The boy gave a greeting while walking inside. From Ingo's grunts, Link was immediately able to locate him. The farmhand was over in the corner stall, in the section where the horses were kept. Being knee deep in business mucking the place out, he either didn't hear Link, or he didn't care. "I'm going to help you clean a while, in return for saving me." As Link made his way over to Ingo, the smell of manure grew more intense. Thankfully, from the looks of it, Ingo had done quite a bit already and there were only a few stalls remaining. A shovel, which had been plunged into the ground, took a few tugs before Link was able to remove it, causing him to stumble backward before being able to stop himself from nearly falling over.

"Shouldn't you be resting?" Ingo abruptly asked with a rude tone, as if the boy was bothering him.

"Probably…" Link responded while thrusting the shovel down under a pile of manure. "But, that's not how work gets done." A tiny smirk crossed Ingo's face as Link tossed the droppings on the end of the shovel into a wheelbarrow on the side. In Link's personal opinion, Ingo complained about being overworked even when he truly wasn't. He was what many call a workaholic. What's strange about him is that he doesn't recognize how good he has it and simply groans about it because it's what the normal idea of a working man does. Link might not share that same inner-drive to work doing menial tasks or laboring away at a daily occupation, yet he always puts forth his best effort doing whatever job he's supposed to. 'I should start getting used to this, because I'm going to be doing a lot of it.'

"Just make sure you throw as little of the shavings out as you can. If it isn't wet or worse, keep it." Ingo told the little hero how the job was done.

Getting focused, Link acknowledged the hired help as they both continued to move around the stall collecting droppings. Through observation, the boy repeated everything that the adult did. Since Ingo had the shavings fork, Link couldn't sift the fresh shavings away from the manure quite as well, but it was good enough. 'Yuck… How much do these horses crap in here? I don't think Epona ever did it this much.' The smell of manure began to localize near the wheelbarrow as they filled it with any feces around the stall. Before long, it was looking cleaner tenfold. With two people, they got it done far quicker than solo. Taking stress off Ingo's workload should make the grumpy man happier. Plus, the matter of Link's debt being paid was still in the hero's mind, despite it not being something the Lon Family really wanted him to do. He felt an obligation to assist Ingo. 'Maybe it won't be so bad if it's the two of us.'

Unfortunately, Link soon wished that Ingo was a more sociable man. The farmhand stayed quiet despite the opportunity to converse with the blonde boy. The hero wasn't sure what they would have talked about if they strike up a conversation, but he knew it would make their work a little more enjoyable. At this point, the cows were mooing to mingle more than the two hylians conversed. 'I suppose it's better than him being evil.' Link thought alongside a yawn. He put the shovel down to make use of a broom as he finished removing the last bit of manure from inside the stall. Knowing what to do next, the boy began to bank the shavings up against the side of the stall. This would allow the floor beneath it to dry before they put down fresh wood chips.

Moving on to the next stall, however, Link noticed Ingo staring at him. There could've been any number of reasons why. The farmhand may simply be watching the boy to see how his work's going; it's also possible that there may be some worry for the kid's health and there's the chance that he might be looking at Link for some other reason entirely. It wasn't until Link began using a shaving fork and started on removing the droppings from the stall did Ingo speak up to voice his opinion. "You're doing well, Link… But, I have a question for you."

Hearing that inquisitive tone made Link wonder what it was Ingo wanted to know. Rarely does the farmhand talk, so he was surprised. "Huh? Oh… Umm… Sure, what is it?"

Ingo continued staring at the boy prior to asking "The earring in your ear, where did you get it?"

Immediately, Link's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He wasn't sure what it was that the farmhand was talking about. Only a couple of seconds later did the boy's recollection fully bring to attention what Ingo meant. Instantly, Link's hand shot up to his left ear, where he felt a small loop of jewelry stuck in his earlobe.

Link knew exactly where it came from, and yet, he just couldn't believe it. One, he hadn't even consciously realized that it was still there, and two, it shouldn't 'still' be there after being sent back in time to the present, which is now, by future Princess Zelda. What felt like a jolt of electric shock ran through his entire body at the revelation of the earring being there. 'How is this possible!? I got this Earring in the future version of Kakariko Village, after I saved the place from the evil residing beneath the well. Impa gave it to me for clearing the inside of the Shadow Temple! It should've vanished whenever I came back here!'

Utter amazement was the only thing that Link could feel until Ingo spoke to him again. "Do you know what it is?"

That was a strange question considering it was merely a simple body modification. Nonetheless, Link answered "Y-Yes… It's a male earring given to Sheikah men once they come of age."

Ingo's slow blink told Link that he was scrutinizing every detail of the boy and the words being said. Whatever it was that was going on inside of his head, it was already more than Link ever expected. "So you know what it is… Do you know where you got it?"

Even though the little hero tried his best to reoccupy himself with cleaning out the stall by removing any piles of manure, he couldn't stop his thoughts from circulating around repeatedly. Remembering everything that happened, while once again questioning his sanity, reality suddenly began to fade in and out for a second and his stomach started to feel queasy. Ingo must've noticed the kid's abrupt change in condition as the farmhand stopped shoveling to check on him. "Hey… Are you okay? You look a little pale."

Link shook his head in response as he scooped up the last of the droppings. "I… I'm fine… The earring was given to me in Kakariko Village."

For just a quick moment, Ingo's cheek twitched. He had to pinch the bridge of his nose with a sigh, as if he was struggling to think about something. "Does this have anything to do with those silly adventures you keep fantasizing?"

Although Link would usually get irate over people acting like he was just a kid playing make-believe, the only thing that he could do this time was sneer back in response. "It's not a fantasy! It happened! It… It… *Sighs*… Never mind, forget about it." That pissy attitude of Ingo's was annoying. His bushy mustache wiggled as he grinded his teeth. Even though he stared at Link, he continued to shovel the last of the manure from this stall before tossing it over the railing into the other stall, where the wheelbarrow was still located. 'I should have known better than to think that striking up a conversation with him would've been a good idea. It's impossible to talk to him for more than a minute without having him make you angry.' Link thought while banking the litter up against the side of the stall, just like he did previously in the other stall. 'I'll just do my job and then leave.'

While Link kept raking the shavings, Ingo left the stall before returning with a feed bucket that was half full of hay along with several grains sprinkled on top. "That's good with the raking…" He said while turning around. "Go hand me the feed buckets so I can put them back in the stalls."

Soon afterward, Link put the shavings fork down to go outside of the stall. In the center of the room, Ingo had all of the feed buckets laid out with food already inside of them. All that Link had to do was hand them to the farmhand one at a time as they walked around the barn to each individual stable.

'I'd like to go see Epona again.' Link thought to himself while getting lost in the rhythm of handing Ingo feed buckets. 'It's not just her either… I'd love to go see Saria again, to check up on her and make sure that she's okay. I'm sure that it's true that she helped me and Malon during the time I was unconscious. After all, there really isn't a valid reason why I shouldn't trust what they said. They did rescue me and save my life after all. Plus, Malon's no liar.' While Link wasn't fully paying attention, he did happen to notice that Ingo was refilling the water in every trough. The boy kept to a steady pace until they neared the final stall, which was presumably the first stall that had been cleaned this morning.

Around that time, Link once again noted that Ingo was staring at him with a strange look in his eyes. Whatever it was that was on his mind, the little hero could only hope and pray that it wasn't something else that would be annoying.

It took a while for the farmhand to speak his mind. First, he completed the task of placing feed as well as topping off the water in the trough of every stall. Only whenever Link began to move onto sprinkling out fresh shavings from another wheelbarrow, did the grumpy hylian abruptly say in a quiet voice "I keep having this dream where Castle Town is destroyed… Everyone had moved to Kakariko Village since Ganondorf took control. In this dream, Goron City is in shambles, Zora's Domain is frozen, the Forbidden Forest is overgrown with vicious man-eating plants and even our precious Lake Hylia suffered during a massive drought."

Following him saying all of that, he plainly resumed de-banking all the shavings from the sides of the stalls as if he didn't even speak. For the fifth time today, since Link had woken up, he was nearly swept off his feet in surprise. His forehead wasn't just dripping with sweat because of the work now. Every fiber of his being locked itself in deep thought. 'What!? How could he know that!? And why did he say it like that!? How could he know what happened in the future!? I changed the future so that none of that happened or will happen!'

Despite the fact that Link hated to admit it, Ingo was being extremely interesting this morning. The little hero was frozen in place, however, as he couldn't think of any proper way to respond quite yet. The only sounds were of the rake scraping against the floor while spreading out the shavings. 'What does he want me to say!? I have to do or say something!' Staring at him, Ingo actually appeared to be slightly nervous himself. "Umm… What?" Link's lips uttered automatically before he was able to even comprehend what he said.

Ingo kept working, trying to act like he wasn't bothered by his rambling. It was not until about a solid minute later that he replied "Huh? Oh, nothing… Like I said, it was just this dream I had. I was talking to myself really." Link's jaw dropped in disbelief. The audacity Ingo had just summoned to mention the future, or his so called 'dream', dissipated as the farmhand attempted to cover it up by changing the subject. "You know, I've pretty much got it from here. If you want to go help Malon, that would be fine. I know that she's milking the cows outside today since I'm cleaning in here."

"No…" Link instantly interjected "Why did you say what you just did?"

Slowly but surely, Ingo came to a halt with the raking prior to turning his head to look at Link. "I told you, it was just a crazy dream that I had."

The look in Ingo's eyes informed Link that the grumpy man was partially lying. 'Even if he did have a dream about something like that, why would he announce it to me like that? What's the point in him telling me?' Ingo may have turned away to resume raking, but Link wasn't through talking to him. "What do you mean it was a dream?"

With a shrug, Ingo sighed in addition to shaking his head. "I meant that I had a dream about it... What don't you get? Look, forget about it. It was just a dream and dreams don't matter. This is the real world, the world where you work to live." His attempt to now avoid the subject in its entirety signified that he was more serious about it that he's letting on.

Thinking about it, based on speculation, Link figured it was possible that Ingo was trying to arouse suspicion in the hero somehow; as in, he wanted to see if the boy knew anything without making himself sound whacky.

There wasn't much of a way that Link could safely converse now. In a way, he felt as though it would be best to come back with his own 'out of context' sentence. "Ganondorf was the one who brainwashed you."

His eyebrows shot up in surprise while his eyes widened. The scraping once again came to a halt and he even dropped the rake, no longer in any doubt about whatever it was that he'd been contemplating inside of that thick skull of his. "S-So it's true…"

Now, Link stopped working as well to figure out exactly what it is that was happening. It still makes no sense that Ingo could know what happened in the future. One, it's the future, so it's illogical for someone from the present to know what's going to happen in the future; and two, since the hero changed everything that happened, the Goddesses should have erased all that occurred.

'The only person who should be fully aware of the events that transpired during that time is Navi, wherever she is, and myself.' Link tried to come up with an explanation. 'Even the others, the sages… Princess Zelda, Saria, Princess Ruto, Nabooru, Impa, ect… even they don't fully know what happened or 'was' going to happen.' For this to be happening; the least expected individual to ever astound me in such a way, Ingo, was having dreams of a time that no longer existed. It was a huge leap toward proof that Link was still sane, that he wasn't making up anything or fantasizing about grandiose adventures in which he played as the Hero of Time. The blonde boy felt he could nearly be sure now, even without Navi, that he truly did stop Ganondorf from conquering the entire world.

"I… I don't understand…" Ingo muttered while propping himself up against the barn wall, continuing to divulge his feelings on the matter. "It was such a vivid dream and I had it repeatedly, sometimes so many that I couldn't sleep for the rest of the night… No matter how many times I tried to get it out of my head, I kept seeing myself yelling at Malon, screaming and hollering at the top of my lungs about 'Ingo Ranch' being mine, all while whipping the horses as hard as I could, forcing them to over perform to the point of exhaustion."

Link had never seen Ingo display emotion like this. The only attitude the farmhand had ever really been in was anger or ornery. Showing this side of him, opening up to Link, it proved that he was also desperate for answers. If only the man knew that Link likely wasn't able to answer much of anything for him, especially not anything pertaining to how he knew. The hylian worker's guess was as good as Link's. For a moment, the boy pondered the possibility of this being a plan of divinity. 'I can remember having a dream like his, back when I hadn't left the forest yet, a premonition of what's to come. But, this doesn't seem to be the same. For what purpose is he able to have recollection of memories ahead of his time?'

"And then you came along…" Ingo sniffled "The boy from the forest, Fairy Boy, whom Malon endlessly wished would come back and save her from my own oppression." As he slid down the wall of the stall, collapsing onto the ground on top of fresh shavings, Link quickly thought about what had just been said. Never was the hero aware that Malon had thought of him so fondly. Yet, it was minute thoughts in comparison to the rest of the shock. "The Hero of Time, you called yourself…" Ingo proceeded. "At the time, I was so indoctrinated that I just laughed at you prior to charging double or triple the normal price for anything related to Lon Lon Ranch goods... O-Or… Ingo Ranch goods, as I should say…" He chuckled sadly. "You didn't put up with it for long, I remember… Err… Recall from the vivid dream or whatnot. Not for a single moment did you tolerate my aggressive behaviour." Pointing at Link, he said. "I knew who you were too. I knew that you had a massive bounty on you from Ganondorf. Anyone resembling you in the slightest was to be reported for immediate execution and then the correspondent would receive five thousand rupees."

Five thousand rupees was a lot of money and Link was well aware of that. The evil demon king himself even put forth gerudo funds to craft specially designed money, one that's in the form of a mere piece of paper; a new kind of currency previously unheard of.

"But, I wanted to drain you of everything first…" Ingo continued talking "You had your eyes set on freeing Epona, your trusty filly, and I plotted to swindle you through a rigged race. Thankfully, I didn't have the skills of the mighty Hero of Time and you won fair and square, beating me by a mile." His eyes welled up in tears, a strange sight upon which Link had previously never seen. Such displays of emotion proved the farmhand's desperation. Ingo was confused, just like Link, and now they're trying to cope together, no doubt beginning to form a small friendship they otherwise wouldn't have. "Then that brainwashing gem of Ganondorf's forced me to attack you."

Link's memory was a little hazy, yet, he could still remember in great detail how Malon screamed when Ingo, the man before me, raised a crossbow to my head and told me that I could never leave the ranch. Not an inch of Link felt any form of fret as he'd dealt with far worse. In this case, he just grabbed Malon, broke the gem controlling Ingo and then took off on Epona, jumping over the gate which separated Lon Lon Ranch from Hyrule Field.

"Oh, by the Goddesses… How could I forgive myself for doing such things? Talon and Malon, I love them like family, even if I bitch nonstop and hardly ever show it… I'm just trying to do my job." Wiping a tear from his eye, he said. "I never had the intention to take over this place. I've always been fine taking care of it."

Laying his hand on Ingo's shoulder, Link attempted to bring the upset man some solace. "Ingo… I won't pretend to act like I understand how you are aware that my 'silly adventures' are real. However, I can assure you that none of the things that happened or are going to happen were your fault."

While shamefully shaking his head and gently biting his lower lip as he stared down at his boots, refusing to look the boy in the eye, he showed his real self, the real man behind the crotchety billy goat facade he always put forth. Through thick and thin, he'd always been here for Talon and Malon. The farmhand had been at this ranch since the very start and had absolutely no plan to leave. "How do you know this, Link? What are you?"

Hearing him question him in such a way temporarily left Link speechless. The boy had asked himself several times what he was and what his true purpose was. Nonetheless, the best answer he could come up with was a simple one. "I'm Link, Mr. Ingo… Hero of Time and Champion of the Three Goddesses; whatever it is you want to call me, I'm just Link."

Ingo's eyes blinked in confusion as he shook his head, likely trying his best to understand everything. Such mind blowing revelations must've put a lot of stress on him. Without much of any other hesitation, the man picked up the rake and then proceeded to finish de-banking the rest of the shavings until the stall had an even layer spread out amongst the floor. "I think I'm going to need some time alone, Link, just to process all of this."

Glancing in his direction, Link saw Ingo slowly getting up from the ground to make his way over to the little hero, calmly taking the other rake in order to do the job himself. "Go help Malon… And, don't worry, because I won't tell anyone about any of this. It's too much to rationalize. They'll just think I'm crazy..."

Link's lips scrunched up in remorse as he couldn't help other than to feel as if he'd caused massive harm by disrupting the farmhand's mental status with such great trauma. On the other hand, it was now Ingo who confirmed the hero's otherworldly suspicions. Due to this, any harm that might come to Ingo would fall under Link's responsibility, even if he certainly hadn't meant to cause anything negative. Taking that into account, he tried his best to rectify the situation. He figured there had to be something else that he could say. To make sense of things, he used a metaphor, transforming what happened into a simple conceit the hylian could mentally process. "Ingo… You're a good man. Remember this… The past is nothing other than what you make out of the present, and that dictates the consequences leading to the future."

Ingo's bushy mustache wiggled around on his face as he sniffled and gripped the rake noticeably tighter. Whether or not he'd take to heart what had been said was up to him.

"I learned that on my own…" Link continued to say as he approached the door to the barn, still giving Ingo a phrase the farmhand could abide by. "Focus on the present, be mindful of the future, and never forget the past.'

Making his way back outside, Link realized that he was still stuck on trying to understand how Ingo could be aware of a future which will never be. Nothing about it made any sense and any attempt to vindicate it led to a pounding headache emanating from both of his temples. The sun was still high in the sky as it lit up every blade of grass above the corral in the center of the ranch's pasture. Malon was in the middle of the corral, tending to the cows, which likely needed some good outside time after being cooped up inside of the barn for so long.

'I should take my own advice.' Link thought. 'I gotta figure out how to stop zoning out. I have to keep my mind focused on what's happening around me in the present. There's no need to think about my past adventures or what's going to happen in the future… I mean, it's not like the Goddesses are ever going to need me again…' His eyes shifted side-to-side prior to looking up toward the heavens. 'Right?'

The small amount of work that Link had done with Ingo did seem to be helping the hero's muscles a bit. Walking past the farmhouse and barn, he noted that his legs didn't feel quite as stiff as earlier. Then again, his energy level felt low. He was already getting tired.

'Hmm…' He contemplated. It wasn't until about halfway toward the entrance of the corral did he abruptly remember what happened earlier in the morning, with him jumping up out of bed naked. Such an embarrassment surely wouldn't be forgettable, especially to a girl. However, he felt it wasn't entirely his fault, that he didn't really have a choice. In the heat of the moment, his stupidly rash decision to continually check his sanity led him to expose himself, otherwise had he been lucid, he would have easily known that he wasn't currently garbed at the time. 'Dammit… Just great, now how am I supposed to deal with this if she's still all flustered by it? I'm just a boy right now… Ughh… Such confusion.'

The hormones flowing through the little hero's body had been out of whack ever since he underwent time travel, leaving him feeling awkward more-often than not. Being ten years old and then suddenly jumping forward to being seventeen years old was definitely a shock to the body as well as the mind. Suddenly, he had to deal with everything teenagers did that children did not. This obviously affected his mental status too as he often went through puberty, without warning, and rather intensely. To cope, he merely assumed that puberty was yet another trial, a trial which he overcame; proving his enduring strength to the goddesses.

'Taking all of that back…' Link disliked awakening with an older body, but he also lamented being forced back into an adolescent body. 'Going back to being a kid is just as frustrating… What do I do with these emotions?' Either way he chose to look at it, he had finally reached the entrance to the corral, meaning he had to see how things turned out with Malon as he grew weary of debating the subject or being nervous.

Just prior to reaching for the gate handle, an unexpected snort blew the back of his floppy hat up, surprising him enough to make a small gasp. The culprit revealed itself with a familiar neigh. Instantly, once their eyes met, his horse nickered in happiness to know that her master was okay. "Epona! Oh, Oh, I missed you, girl! I missed you so much!" She repeated the nickering almost nonstop for a solid minute while Link gave her well-deserved patting. Each stroke soothed the horse on contact. Seeing the filly up close again made Link's heart melt in joy.

"Did you miss me too, girl? Huh?" Her ears were pointing forward at him as her tail held high, showing that she was very excited about his presence. Without a doubt or a moment's hesitation, she gave the boy's face a good lick. "Aww, I knew it! Ha-Ha! Okay, Okay… Stop it! Ha-Ha! You're not a dog!" Link laughed and then gave her a kiss right on her forehead, above her big blue eyes. "I love you, Epona… I'm glad that you're still here with me. We're family." Giving her a close inspection, Link saw that she looked like she was fine. Epona looked well-fed, groomed and even smelled as if she'd been given a bath. He found it nice to know she was in good condition considering his own. "What are you doing outside of the corral?" He asked the horse as she rubbed up against him.

Malon's voice soon sounded from a short distance away to answer. "She saw you go into the barn earlier. I couldn't keep her in the corral either. Once she knew that you were okay, she jumped the fence and wouldn't stop roaming around until you came back outside."

Glancing upward from his interaction with Epona, Link was pleased to see that the farm girl had a smile on her face. If she did still remember earlier, at least she wasn't acknowledging it.

"How are you feeling?" She asked while opening the gate for them.

Epona followed Link into the corral. "Much better… It feels good to be back on my feet again."

Malon's slightly rosy cheeks and now nervous smile made it clear that she was contemplating more than just Link's health. "Y-Yeah, I'm glad too… Ehehe…"

Rubbing the back of his neck in minor humiliation, Link decided to move the conversation onwards by suggesting that he lend a hand of assistance in any of her work. "Umm… Yeah… Anyway… Uhh… Ingo said that he didn't need any more of my help and I figured you could use some assistance with the cows or horses." Link wasn't sure how the farmgirl expected to finish quickly out in the open, as it always took him forever to milk a single cow, much less the handful of heifers that belonged to the ranch. With his help, however, he hoped to lend some serious labour to impress Talon. Never could he ever replace Malon's mother, but it might still be better to once again have four people working.

Malon turned to the side so that several buckets and a stool, which were in the center of the corral, came into sight. "Oh… Uhh… Sure! I'd love some help. There are only five cows left to be milked anyway." She leaned closer to Link for a second prior to giggling "I saved old Betsy for last though." Despite her sudden close proximity, Link laughed lightly while walking with the farmgirl toward the stool in the middle of the corral. He knew Betsy had a reputation for being great at large quantity milk production, yet, it came with the price of severe orneriness. "Don't worry; I'll help keep her calm." Malon assured the young hero of time.

Epona didn't stray a single inch from Link's side. It made him feel happy to know that the filly was so concerned with him. Their bond had only intensified throughout their time spent together. Furthering the feelings, he was positive there wouldn't ever be another horse with the same sound to their hooves as he'd grown accustomed to with her. His trusty steed was always there, to transfer and protect him.

"Look at Epona following you so closely." Malon admired. "She doesn't even want to take her eyes off of you."

A smile came to Link's face as he didn't realize Epona was being so obvious. "I know, I was just thinking the same thing." Coming to the stool, Link proceeded to give Epona more petting. The equine nickered gladly in response; her eyelashes fluttered joyously as she loved every moment of the attention. "You're going to have to go do something else though, girl. We can't work with you in the way." Link said to the horse with a positive voice. "Have you even been socialising with the rest of the horses? I'm sure they missed you since you've been gone."

Malon's face turned a bit sullen while she sat down onto the stool. "She's actually had plenty of time. You've been asleep for a while."

At the mention of her statement, Link understood why the farmgirl became glum. However, no one was as morose about it as he was. If he could simply remove the stressfully repetitive thoughts of confusion, he felt his life would be a lot better. Instead, the mere reference of the events triggered a cascade of doubt to return with vengeance. 'Termina… Are you a real place too? Like future Hyrule? Or, are you just a figment of my imagination?'

Malon whistled sharply. The noise managed to get the attention of a single cow, which had been grazing off to the side. For a brief second, as the cow wandered over with its cowbell rattling away, Link had to regain his sanity. Part of his mind temporarily had trouble telling if he was looking at Malon or Romani. "Come here, Abby." Malon added in response to her whistle. "Let's see how much milk you have for us today."

Epona butted in a final time, breaking Link away from his nerve-racking thoughts. He and Malon both shared laughter as the filly gained their focus by flehmening. Curling back her upper lips and exposing her front teeth, it appeared as if she was smiling. "Are you super happy that Link's okay, Epona?" Malon giggled. "You still have to give us some time though you cutie pie."

With a snicker, Link gave the horse one last pat on the head prior to sending her out into the corral with a gentle push. Even though he had to point to make himself clear whenever the filly turned to look back, she eventually joined her herd without any further hesitation. With that out of the way, Malon said "Okay… Take a-…. Oh… Here, do you want to sit on my stool? It's better than the ground." She whistled again, for another cow.

Link waved his hands slowly to stop her from trying to get up. "No-No, I'm fine… I can sit on the ground; I'm more than used to it after everything that I've been through."

For a split second, Link thought about something he found odd. He realized Malon, in spite of being supportive to him and able to acknowledge his skills, was often suspicious regarding his claims of future events. The farm girl didn't really believe he'd been on any grandiose adventures. The conundrum made him curious as to why she didn't recall anything from the future like Ingo could. Up until now, he'd found it safe to assume that nobody other than himself had premonitions in their dreams. It was confusing to the little hero that Ingo could remember his accomplishments but Malon couldn't. The red-headed hylian girl didn't have any form of recollection; same with Talon or anybody else that he was aware of. Only Ingo.

"Alright… I'll have to get you a stool tomorrow though. " Malon chirped in advance of whistling to the second cow, speaking to it in a loving voice. "Here, Nina! Today, you'll be getting milked by Link."

The smirk plastered on farmgirl's lips showed that she knew of Link's disdain for attempts at milking; that being despite having quite the passion for drinking the viscous water of life on a near-daily basis. Nonetheless, he tried his best to impress as well as hold up to his offer of assistance to her. "I think I can milk more than just one cow, Malon."

Malon took hold of the first cow's udders, Abby's, and then moved the wooden bucket beneath them. After prepping, she began tugging downward on the creature's teats, forcing out squirts of fresh and raw milk with each consecutive pull. "I know…" She replied. "It doesn't matter though. This is just day one for you. You are going to be staying here with us for a while, right? There'll be a day two of you here?"

Hearing her ask him that, to Link, seemed to signify that she wanted him to be there. The farmgirl's interest in whether or not he stayed or left had been unwavering. "Yeah… I'm staying; as long as it's no burden on you guys." He wasn't entirely certain why she wanted him to stay. He wondered if it were perhaps just for company. After all, she's a ten year old girl all alone in a bustling ranch without many occasions to be around other kids her age.

Malon watched as the second cow, Nina, leisured its ways over to Link prior giving him a single, long, and drawn out moo, as if to say, 'hurry up and get it over with'. "It's no burden. Staying here with us is much better than having you out trying to sleep beneath some tree, and it's much better than you being in the Forbidden Forest!" She replied as the hero grabbed a wooden bucket, placed it beneath the cow Nina's utters, and then began tugging on the teats just like every other farmer.

The farm girl's enthusiastic nature on the subject of him being away from Kokiri Village was taken both ways, as Link understood her concern, yet, could help other than to associate himself with the Forbidden Forest as it was where he grew up. "I wouldn't say it quite like that…" He interjected. "I mean, it's not so terrible there as long as you know what you're doing. Saria's a great person to be around. You two would probably get along really well. The others are nice too, like Fifi and Mimi the Twins, the Know-It-All Brothers, Fado for the most part, and even Mido when he's not busy being his usual stubborn self."

Link probably could have said more than stubbornness in order to describe Mido, as he personally found the Kokiri boy to be a self-centered arrogant asshole, having witnessed numerous events which repeatedly confirmed this title as proof. On the other hand, deeper, on another level, he was also aware of the fact that he had basically contradicted himself by saying 'It's not dangerous to be in the Forbidden Forest when you know what you're doing', as he clearly didn't know what he was doing whenever he stupidly traveled into the Lost Woods without a fairy.

"Oh… W-Well, of course, it wasn't my intention to offend you by what I said." Malon quickly reiterated what she meant. "Though, you're right about us and Saria being able to get along. She's a very sweet girl."

Nina, the cow, mooed in displeasure of Link's technique, but he wasn't exactly sure what to do differently as he was doing it exactly like Malon was. In the meantime, the blonde hero found it funny that Malon considered Saria a 'girl'. 'I guess she technically is in her mind.' He thought prior to responding to the farmgirl. "It's alright. I know what you meant… Believe it or not, though, Saria's actually seventy seven years old."

Her smile stayed true as she giggled softly. "I know, she told me. I have to admit, I wish I could still look that young whenever I'm that old. I'm not entirely sure if I should call her a girl or a woman though, especially after everything that she told me."

Suddenly, Link grew curious as to what all they had discussed while he had lain unconscious in their presence. 'Surely they must have spent most of the time talking about me. While it might sound narcissistic, it makes sense as I don't know what else they'd be discussing around my, at the time, out-of-commission body.' He thought silently prior to summoning the nerve to ask "Ehe… Yeah… What, umm… What exactly did you two talk about? I know you figured out that Saria's pretty much my mother, but… what else?"

Malon momentarily slowed down on the milking process to turn toward Link. "Huh? To tell you the truth, not much…. I spoke to Mido a bit, while I traveled with him inside of the Great Deku Tree, but it wasn't about much really. Saria's the main person I talked to and we were so focused on you that we couldn't really do much of anything else other than center our attention on taking care of you."

As she went back to milking the cow Abby, Link felt a strange sensation wash over him as he envisioned the innocent farm girl going inside of a rotting demi-god's carcass, the deku tree's remains. 'I can't believe that she went through as much as she did, all for me.' Staring into the bucket of milk, which was nearly a quarter full, the boy asked "Why did you do all of that? You didn't have to come into the Forbidden Forest and risk your life like you did."

Once again, she stopped milking to turn around in Link's direction. The look of confusion on her face told it all. However, now that Link thought about it, he realized what he said could have been misconstrued as rude or ungrateful, which certainly wasn't the intention.

"Link…..." Her voice momentarily quivered with obvious concern.

Such apprehension was a clear sign that she either valued their friendship greatly, or was beginning to 'like-like' the blonde hylian boy. Link eyes, on their own, reacted accordingly to the thought of her having a crush on him by widening slightly. 'Maybe, if I'm lucky, I'll be able to get her to admit more through my questioning.'

"Why would you ask me something like that?" Malon asked.

Instantly, the only words circulating in Link's mind was 'Well, that backfired.'

Nina, the cow which Link was milking, mooed loudly until he began extracting milk from her again. After staring at him for a minute, Malon went back to milking the other cow. The ensuing silence was awkward. Link knew that he should answer the farm girl's question, especially considering the fact that he asked her one. Then again, he wasn't entirely sure why he asked her what he had in the first place. On the surface level, he figured it was just curiosity over why a person, a kid, a young girl, would risk life and limb to save a boy, a boy whom she likely thinks is nutty due to her being normal and him being a socially obstinate forest kid who lives with Kokiri and claims to have gone on grand adventures that only himself and apparently a farmhand knew were true. Deeper down, however, he felt as if, on both ends, it was much more sophisticated emotions than that. The only other person he could think of who had ever gone on a quest of their own in search of him, was Sheik/Zelda in a timeline which would now never exist. Knowing that the girl next to him did such a thing, at only ten years old, threw out quite a lot of hints.

"I rescued you because I wanted you to be okay…" Malon suddenly spoke while amazingly stopping her milking process to grab another bucket, replacing the full one prior to whistling for the next cow, calling it by name as well. Link, in spite of the farmgirl's advanced progress, was only half complete with the first bucket. "I wanted to hear your voice and see you again."

Her light blush made Link's heart thump in confirmation that she must have a little crush on him. If she didn't harbour feelings, then he knew it was he who had something for her, as to be so wrapped up in useless worry over such a juvenile matter forced him to jump to this conclusion.

"Whenever Epona found her way back here, to the ranch, she was in a grave state of panic and I knew something was wrong." Malon continued to fill Link in on what happened while he was unconscious; how she knew something was wrong when Epona came back. "From the very start, when you played that ocarina and the filly came running to your side, it was evident that you two had a bond, a bond that I've only ever seen in the more honourable horses trained alongside their respective Knight of Hyrule. I knew you weren't okay by the way Epona acted when she returned. The only thing that would make such a horse go so rampant was if something happened to its master."

The next cow ready for milking, which had been called, ambled over to Malon. The farmgirl gave Abby, the previous cow, a small smack on the behind to get her moving. Following the swap of cows, Malon picked back up on milking as Link tried to speed up since he was still working on the same cow. "So… You came after me?" The little hero asked, receiving a soft giggle, which made his hands fumble for a moment.

"Of course, silly…" Malon imposed. "Did you think that I'd just leave you wherever you were when I could tell that you had to be hurt? I couldn't ever do something like that and while I might not have expected any of it and might have been afraid enough to nearly wet myself, it was the time of my life and all more than worth it to find and nurse you back to health."

A small smile crept across Link's face before he replied questionably "Nurse me back to health?"

With rosy cheeks, she glanced back at Link. "Y-Yeah… I was by your side nearly every second; once I found you that is. You needed someone to be there for you and I knew that Saria couldn't leave the forest, so I volunteered to look after you until you were better."

Things kept getting better and better with their relationship in regards to what they meant to one another. Knowing that she'd be there for him during his hard times, when Saria couldn't be; well, it made life feel a little easier for him. It made him feel loved, like he so desperately wanted to feel now that he was without Navi there by his side.

Malon's eyes suddenly widened in revelation. "Oh, but… If you're wondering who undressed you; that was Ingo… I… Uhh… I just washed your clothes. Ehe…"

Now it was Link's turn to be embarrassed as he was forced to yet again recall the events of earlier this morning. He knew from the start that she wouldn't forget something as outrageous at accidently exposing himself. But, he had hoped it wasn't going to turn into something that he'd constantly be reminded of. "Malon… L-Listen, I'm sorry about earlier this morning… If I had known that I wasn't garbed, then I wouldn't have jumped up like that."

She waved it off as Link gradually finished milking Nina. The heifer must have felt the same as him, for she immediately clomped away back toward her herd, which was still grazing in the pasture. "I-It's fine! It's fine! Don't worry; it's all water under the bridge now." Malon asserted.

Continuing his work, Link placed the bucket of milk next to the one that Malon had finished and then grabbed the next. "Alright… Could you whistle for the next cow for me?"

As the redness on her face faded, she tilted herself to the side so that she could whistle freely off into the distant corner of the pasture. Without much of any delay, as spectacular as it always was, the next cow came shuffling toward them with its tail swaying side to side as it kept chewing on the blades of grass still within its mouth. "I'm going to have to teach you how to whistle like that, Link. It's pretty easy, really…"

Link chuckled lightly at the thought of being able to control the majority of the animals around the ranch with a tuned whistling sound. The cow took its place in front of him. The heifer seemed to be in a good mood today, as she repeatedly tried to lick the hero's forehead. Link had seen the bovine previously grooming others out of the corner of his eyes, so he had a feeling that this would be easy.

"You just have to memorize which pitch to use whenever you whistle for an animal here." Malon informed Link of how calling for the livestock worked. "Most of them are already trained, so you'll have to use the correct signal to get their attention… Oh, and don't think that it always works as well as what you've seen, because I'm definitely not that lucky."

After getting his current cow to stop trying to eat his hat or lick his face off, Link slid the bucket underneath her udders and then sat down on the ground like before. "I'll take that in mind… Then again, why teach me to whistle when I can toot my ocarina?"

Suddenly, just before Link was about to begin milking the next to last cow, he realized that he had just reminded himself that he did not have his ocarina. Whenever he woke up, it was nowhere to be seen. Talon even told him that he hadn't found any type of musical instruments on the little hero's person. Due to other revelations, he had temporarily forgotten to ask Ingo of any possible whereabouts, however, he wasn't about to forget again as it was imperative that he recover the relic. Letting such a powerful artifact fall into the wrong hands could lead to another cataclysmic event, or even a chain reaction of falling dominos creating a devastatingly unrecoverable imbalance.

"Don't be silly…" Malon giggled with a reply to Link's previous remark. "What if you don't have your ocarina? It would be best that you learn how to whistle." Once she saw that the boy had stopped milking, she raised her eyebrow in slight concern. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Oh…" Link responded, now able to push aside the worries of consequences over what might happen if the Ocarina of Time couldn't be recovered. "Umm… I just realized… I don't have my ocarina on me. I can't find it, and it's really important that I find it since it's from Zelda herself." The look of surprise on Malon's face meant something. "Do you have any idea where it might be?" Link asked.

With a sigh, she momentarily ceased milking. Just judging by that, it's fairly obvious that she knew something about its location. I-I… I do, and I'm sorry."

For a second, Link was greatly confused, that is until he pieced a few things together to assume that it was broken. There wasn't any other valid reason which he could think of, for her to apologize. "Sorry? Sorry for what?"

Her demeanor continued to drop as she held her forehead with her hand, refusing to look at Link. "I… I sort of forgot to pick it up whenever I found you, so…"

Link couldn't really understand what she meant for a few seconds as he was too wrapped up in wondering why she'd forget to pick it up and why she was nervous all of the sudden. Part of him was glad that she at least knew where it was, but he wanted to know now so that he could go and retrieve it. With fortunate luck, he prayed it would be somewhere safe and out of normal reach to just any wandering soul. "What do you mean?"

Her nervousness increased slowly as she tapped her fingers together in apprehension. "Well… I kind of... I kind of left it back in the Lost Woods, in the meadow where I found you. I didn't mean to though! I just got so frazzled by all of the things happening! I… I was scared and wanted to go home, so I wasn't thinking right."

Instead of freaking out or yelling, Link merely rubbed the side of my head before closing my eyes to scrub the dried sleep off the corner of them. Getting frustrated over something like this would do absolutely no good whatsoever as it's not like he could be so ungrateful as to be brash about her not picking up, what is to her, a useless ocarina, instead of hurrying to save him or protect herself from the dangers of the forest.

"I grabbed most of your stuff though!" Malon pleaded. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know it was so important to you or I definitely would have grabbed it!"

Despite himself being slightly irritated, hearing her apologize so much and so rapidly, made Link talk, just so that he could calm her down. "It's okay, Malon… I'm just going to have to find it, wherever it is, so that it'll be back in my possession. You did enough by pulling me out of there; I'm not blaming you for anything at all."

Her voluminous scarlet-red hair swayed side-to-side as she shook her head in an overtly upset fashion. "What!? No way! You can't possibly go back to that place... Err… I mean! Ughh! You can't go into the Lost Woods again! You don't have a fairy to protect you!"

The shrill voice she used when she tried to be assertive gave Link a small headache as it caused his ears to ring a bit from the close proximity. She was caring, overly caring and just didn't want him to get hurt again. "Malon, I live in the Kokiri Forest, remember? It's my home, and I'm not afraid to walk around where I live." Yet again, just as Link was about to resume his progress with milking the cow, he was stopped in surprise over what she said next.

"But, you don't live there anymore! You live here!" That crackling pitch to her voice carried distraught woe. She really, truly, did not want him to leave or return to the Forbidden Forest, even if she was completely aware of his upbringing and relationship with the place. Regardless of how she felt, Link could only think of how he had to retrieve the Ocarina of Time as a top long-term priority. He was thankful that it wasn't dropped in a high traffic area and was glad that any random person couldn't just blow into the instrumental anomaly to create havoc or distort time, as it required precise melodies to be played from it in order to get a reaction. "You just got here, awake…" Malon broke up his thoughts with more worry. "After I went through so much to rescue you, now you're planning to go right back to the place that you nearly died at!?"

"Malon…" I mumbled in response, unsure of how or what to think. Normally people didn't care this much for him and the ones that did tended to be far away on a daily basis. To see her so angry at the thought made his heart beat heavily, like before, when he couldn't help himself from admiring her beauty; both, in looks and personality. "Please… It's alright; I'm not going anywhere right now or even anytime soon. I need time to rest as well as unwind, so I think it would be best if I do not try to go into the Forbidden Forest right away."

His sudden agreement to her literal plea for him to not leave left her shocked. Along with a tiny gasp, she looked away and then crossed her arms in a pout like manner prior to continuing to milk her cow. "W-Well… Grr…. You know, sometimes you're just a dummy, Link; a big dummy."

Holding back laughter, Link smiled and replied "I've been called much worse." Despite her frustration, there was a faint smile on her lips as he joked. "Just don't call me a grasshopper like Ingo does every now and then… Just because my clothes are green, does not mean that I'm an insect."

This time she giggled and looked back at him once more, making him return to his work of milking. "Maybe… Then again, you're about as dumb as one sometimes!"

Rolling his eyes, Link couldn't help but laugh while recalling the numerous times upon which he had to solve immensely complex puzzles in order to achieve his goal. Nevertheless, there were still plenty of times, mostly involving social situations, in which he seemed relatively ignorant. Navi had told him the same thing, just in a much kinder way. "Oh, ha-ha… Very funny, but I'm definitely not a grasshopper."

Malon simply shrugged playfully before going back to being serious. The teasing was much better than when she abruptly became angry over his brief mention of having to leave to recover the Ocarina of Time. "I'm serious about what I said, Link." She wanted him to know. "I don't want you to try and go back to the Lost Woods. It's not much of my business, but I know that you need to have a fairy to safely go in there. Without your cheery little sprite, bless her tiny heart wherever she is, you're going to wind up getting lost again. If you do, there's no way I'm going back there to save you again!"

More questions slowly arose now that Link thought about the scenario. In spite of the uncertainty, without further delay, he agreed with her. He didn't want her, a simple farm girl, to get caught up in the nastiness of the hostile world any more than she had to be. "I understand, really… That's why I'm not planning to go back for a while, maybe a week or so, that way I'll have all of my strength back.

"Link! Weren't you listening to me?" Somehow, even though they had both been milking for the same amount of time, Malon finished with her cow and then turned around to face Link. "Without a fairy, you'll just get lost again! That's why they call it the Lost Woods!" She put the bucket of milk down with the others.

Continuing to milk his cow, the hero hoped that he wasn't lagging behind too much. Although he clearly saw that he was only a quarter finished, he decided that now was the best time to ask. "Yeah… But, how did you find me?"

Malon turned herself around on the stool so that she could be permanently facing the blonde hylian boy. From the expression she made, he had caught her off guard with that question. "In truth, fairies as well as imps of the forest, neither protect people from the Great Deku Tree's guardian spell. They aren't using magic of their own to repel the incantation. Fairies, Imps, and Kokiri are all so in tune with the land, being children of it, that they know the location of every individual tree in the entire woodland area… They never get lost as it's their home, where they live and where they've always lived. To them, getting lost in the Forbidden Forest would be like you forgetting where your outhouse or barn was." Her lips remained pursed as she stared directly at Link.

"That still doesn't answer how you managed to find me without a fairy, Kokiri or Skull Kid? Did what's-his-name, the Skull Kid, find you first or did you literally just have a lot of luck?" Link refused to stop inquiring.

"Timi… His name is Timi, and no, he didn't find me first. I guess you were just lucky that Epona knew where you were, especially considering that she must've gotten lost on her way out of the forest. All of it was a miracle, Link…" She stopped for a moment to sigh. "You're… You're lucky to be alive."

Once more, his soul felt a weight of great debt upon him, which he knew he had to repay for everything that she'd done for him. Nobody else was so willing to risk themselves, without proof that something was wrong in the first place, just to come and save him from an imminent death. Link understood that he was fortunate. More than anything, he was still grateful. "I know… And, I haven't forgotten about all that you did."

Her face didn't redden this time. She only smiled with genuine compassion.

Before long, after several minutes of her staring awkwardly at him, she quickly changed the subject away from the forest by informing him of her opinion on the work he'd done thus far. "You're kind of doing it wrong."

Link's left eyebrow slowly rose in confusion as he wasn't sure how somebody could possibly milk a cow wrong. He thought there was really only one way of doing it. "Huh? What do you mean?"

She contemplated something quickly prior to responding. "Well, for one, you're going a little slow; and, two, you're pulling at an angle. Just pull the teats straight down."

Hearing her say teat, while placing her hands around his in order to better direct him on how to milk the cow, was most definitely embarrassing beyond description. Mercifully, as the farm girl did not have the bust she would in the future, Link managed to keep his eyes focused on my work. Otherwise, if she were more mature, there likely would've been a lot more of a struggle for him to maintain his attention on the cow's teats instead of a certain Hylian's.

"See? Just like this and you'll get a better flow of milk…" Malon taught Link how to Milk a cow the right way. "Don't be afraid to tug harder. It's not going to hurt her unless you're way too hard, then she'll let you know."

Under her guidance, Link sped up the tugging on the cow's udder while ensuring that he pulled straight down instead of off to the side. Malon was right too. The flow of milk increased enough to quicken the rate at which the bucket filled. 'I'll be…' Link thought as they finished up with the next to last cow together. 'I guess all of the time she's spent doing this has made her pretty much an expert.'

Soon enough, Malon let go of Link's hands and watched as the bucket filled up with milk much quicker than before. "How's that?" She asked him, referring to the speed at which he had gained.

"You were right, that's for sure. Nobody really taught me, so…" Link admitted.

She giggled softly as the cow Link was milking didn't do much of anything other than look back at them, like it wanted them to hurry up. "That's kind of hard to believe. Most people who try to do it without learning technique usually end up getting kicked or find that it's extremely strenuous."

Strenuous was a good word for the milking process considering Link felt as if his wrists had been thrusting a sword in a jabbing motion for the past twenty minutes. Seeing as how he'd already been pushing himself from the start, the previous work from within the barn with Ingo had already left him drained. Adding that to what he was doing now on top of being feeble to begin with; he was coming near total exhaustion. Link had asked for it though as he wanted to pay back some of his debt to the gracious Lon Lon family. Doing chores around here every day would surely get old and boring quite fast. Small-time work was something he'd have to get used to again. However, to him, it definitely beat having the responsibility of the entire kingdom's wellbeing resting upon his shoulders.

"I suppose I'm just lucky…" Link announced to Malon in regards to her previous statement about his novice skill of cow milking. "If that's the case though, I should have been fortunate enough to make my way through the Forbidden Forest without getting lost. At the very least, smart enough to make myself some sort of trail so that I'd always know where I was…" He scoffed at himself prior to chuckling in awe. "Seriously, it's amazing how the Great Deku Tree made the spell work. As long as you know your way, you'll be safe." As he finished milking the cow, he thought back to earlier. He wondered if he'd be lucky enough for Epona to recall the location of the meadow that Malon found him in. 'Whenever I make my trek back to the Lost Woods to recover the Ocarina of Time, I'll have to be sure to remain on the filly so that I'll stay safely sane.'

"By the Goddesses!" Malon abruptly gasped, making Link snap out of his thoughts to look at her, then around, in order to see what was happening or went wrong. "Of course! I'm such a fool! How could I have forgotten!?" She continued "There's a trail leading back to the meadow in the Lost Woods! You should be able to follow it back to where your ocarina is!"

Her sudden surprise was a massive relief in his opinion. It sure was going to make finding the wind instrument ten times easier now that he wouldn't have to completely scour the entire woodland area in an attempt to recover the relic. "Really? That's fantastic! What kind of trail?" As soon as she narrowed her eyes at him, he held to his word just to make her and Talon happy. "Don't worry, I'm not going to jump up and leave… I'm still going to stay for a while, regain my strength and help out around the ranch."

Malon assisted Link by lifting up the bucket of milk, bringing it toward the others. There was only one cow left as well as one empty bucket. Taking that into consideration, Link assumed that they were down to the final part.

"Hmm…" Malon contemplated his answer prior to sighing, giving in. "Alright… Timi, the Skull Kid, left a trail of trees marked with paint, leading three fourths of the way from his… err… house… to the Kokiri Village. If you can find it, you should be able to follow it right back to the meadow. I think, if I can recall correctly, the ocarina was just out front from a massive hollowed out tree, the one that I found you in. You'll know when you find it too, because it's huge, the biggest tree around."

With that information, it'll be far easier to locate it. Link was more grateful now compared to before. However, it still wasn't going to be a cinch, as he'd first have to find the tree before he could follow the trail. In the meantime, anything could happen to him out there. If worse came to worst, it might rain and wash away the paint. "Thank you for telling me this, Malon. That's a lifesaver."

"Yeah…" Malon huffed. "W-Well, you're still staying here for a while and you're coming right back too."

Once more, Link was shocked at Malon's desire for him to remain there with her. Malon being stern, telling him not to leave; after everything he knew she'd done for him, it was too much to deny. "Of course… Your father agreed to let me stay and you said the loft in the barn was free."

The farm girl blushed lightly prior to whistling for the last cow, Betsy, who was supposedly a real handful. Malon, on the other hand, still had more things on her mind. "Alright… Good…" She said "Just… You know… You'll probably have to deal with Timi. He's a bit of an oddball."

Link saw the cow, Betsy and hoped it wouldn't be any worse than the other cows, which were all calm as could be about everything. Murphy's Law was unfortunately letting him predict the worst. Then again, he continued to think that Malon's concern over him in regards to the forest were misplaced, that she wasn't taking into account that he'd lived there all of his life. Nonetheless, he didn't say anything about that.

In the back of his mind, though, Link couldn't forget the events that happened in Termina, with him getting beat up by a lunatic of a Skull Kid, who was himself brainwashed by an evil mask, Majora's Mask. While he didn't have the time to contemplate everything, he still found that doubts in regards to his sanity were coming right back the more and more he questioned himself. 'Did I really fight a Skull Kid who stole a mask from the Happy Mask Salesman? Was there truly a Majora's Mask? Am I the one who stopped the moon from falling or the one who imagined it all happening in the first place?'

"Don't worry; I know how to deal with him…" The boy abruptly replied to Malon. "All Skull Kids are pretty much crazy, so after a while you learn how to communicate with them without getting confused or too disturbed."

Malon pursed her lips. An older, stalky cow gradually waddled its way over to them with its ears flat, bellowing a deep moo of unhappiness. "Yeah… He was about to drive me insane a couple of times. I felt like I was going to look like the Happy Mask Salesman after listening to him ramble on about senseless and childish things… Oh, and by the way, you kept talking an awful lot about him during the time you were unconscious."

"The Skull Kid?" Link asked, confused for a moment prior to again recalling the events of Termina. It made sense that he'd be talking about the imp so much if the hero was, for whatever reason, hallucinating or dreaming.

"No, the Happy Mask Salesman." Malon corrected as the cow approaching grunted at them, stopping a mere ten feet away from their position. Judging by the swishing tail, it was clear that the heifer wasn't overly interested in having them milk her.

Outside the reality of farmwork, however, Link's mind was far too wrapped up in why he would be murmuring unconsciously about the Happy Mask Salesman. 'He's such a weird guy.' The boy thought as Malon placed her hands on her hips and whistled softly one more time in an attempt to get the cow, Betsy, to come all the way over to them. 'Wait…' He continued to silently wonder. 'But… I… I remember him having strange abilities.' His eyes narrowed in concentration over his thinking.

The cow refused to listen to Malon. "Besty… Ughh! Fine, we'll come to you if it'll make you relax. You're such a stubborn old brat."

Going deeper into contemplation as Malon stared at him for a moment, Link didn't stop his brain from wandering; pondering the purpose of the strange little man known only as the Happy Mask Salesman. 'The unnervingly wide smile permanently engraved on his face hid more than any of the masks he sells ever could…' He shook his head. 'I never did trust him fully. He's so conspicuously slinky and skittish.' Yet again, he shook his head, this time looking puzzled. 'Then again, if all of the events in Termina were in my mind, then it means he might not even truly be that way in real life. I had only talked to him more personally inside the Clock Tower of Clock Town, which is in Termina.' Turning his head slightly to the left, away from Malon and toward Betsy, he suddenly realized something else.

'Hold on… Not only did he have abnormal abilities, but he was also the only citizen in Termina to not be some sort of doppelgänger of everyone I've met during my travels here in Hyrule.' Going back and forth, Link continued to mentally revise as well as rethink about things repeatedly in an attempt to rationalize it all into something that'll make, at least, partial sense. 'He was the exact same Happy Mask Salesman as he was here, in Hyrule, while everyone else in Termina was a bizarre look-alike without any relation to their double here… Ingo, Talon, Malon, Darunia, Anju… They were all in Termina, but they were different people with different names; they only shared appearance with each other. Regardless, I'm missing the big picture again, because that's not really possible! The big picture is that it makes absolutely no sense! There's only one of everyone!' Once again, just as it had done earlier, the stress of such deep and confounding thinking led to a migraine that felt as if one of the Goron's bomb flowers was about to explode in his skull.

"Link?" Malon said as she waved her hand in my face to get my attention. "Hey, are you spacing out there? If you're not feeling well, head inside and I'll finish up milking Betsy… Get some rest. You shouldn't be pushing yourself so hard after being bed-ridden for a while anyway."

Shaking his head, Link tried to rid himself of further thinking on the subject for the time being. He knew this was real life and needed to complete his chores just like he did when he lived in the Kokiri Village; only slightly different. "No, I'm fine. I'm fine… I was just thinking about why I'd be talking so much about the Happy Mask Salesman. But, let's get to milking Betsy… I hope she's not going to be too much trouble." Looking back at the swishing of the bovine's tail, Link wasn't very confident that it was going to be a smooth milking.

"Alright…" Malon replied while lifting the stool and bucket to bring it toward the cow. "I just don't want you to be pushing yourself too hard." In advance of Link's attempt to reply, Betsy slowly backed up away from them, ticking off Malon a bit. "Betsy… No… Be a good girl and let us milk you. You'll get a nice juicy apple afterward if you behave."

Link decided to try and assist by holding out his hand to the cow, hoping that her curiosity would make her come to him. Unfortunately, she didn't do anything other than stop and look back at the rest of the cattle. It was good enough for the two hylians, as it gave Malon enough time to reach her and set the stool down. It also provided Link the chance to get closer.

"Here, Link…" Malon said. "Give her this and try to keep her calm."

As soon as Link glanced in the farm girl's direction, she threw a quarter of a sliced apple at him. Part of him was quite glad whenever his hand shot up to grab it out of mid-air, proving to himself that his reflexes were still top-notch.

"Good catch!" Malon responded with a giggle.

Link chuckled as he laid his hand on top of Betsy's head. 'Yeah, I caught an arrow in my hand one time.' The little hero's arrogant brain gloated while Malon bent down to place the bucket under the cow's udder and then began milking what the heifer had stored inside of her.

The bovine didn't particularly seem to enjoy Link's hand touching her. In fact, if anything, from the look in her eye, she'd like to tear his arm off so that she could get back to her calf. Such motherly instincts in nature were amazing, yet a pain to deal with when you're a Hylian looking to do a job. Despite all of that, taking a small bite from the piece of apple caught her attention almost immediately, making her lift her head to see what the sound of the crisp crunch was. "Mmm… Yummy, this apple sure is tasty. So red and juicy, my mouth is absolutely watering!"

Malon rolled her eyes as a smile stayed on her face from Link's liveliness; truly enjoying his company. "Link! Don't be mean! Give her that apple and stop teasing her before she kicks you across the field."

Link laughed at the thought prior to giving the pouty cow the slice of apple, feeding her by hand. "I was just trying to keep her occupied, don't worry." Within a few seconds, the cow had snatched the apple slice out of the palm of his hand and nearly took a few fingers too had he not jerked his arm away. "Whoa! Jeez!" Munching on that apple was better than his digits.

"Ooh, did she bite you?" The farm girl asked.

Link shook his head and then went back to trying to keep Betsy calm. "No, almost… Wow, she's feisty!"

Malon merely flashed a pretty smile as she continued milking as fast as she could. "I know, I told you… She's always been this way. Isn't that right, girl?" Swinging its head around to look at the process of milking, the heifer let out a snort, swallowed her apple treat and then started trying to back up again. "No… Betsy, no… Don't move." Malon said with a calm, yet demanding voice. Betsy, however, wasn't about to listen to anything or anybody as she kept trying to back up. "Link, go around to her backside and try to keep her still. Just be careful to not get kicked, it hurts pretty bad."

The hero had never been kicked by a cow before and he preferred to keep it that way. "Got it." Giving Betsy pats on the head, he made his way around to her backside. Malon repositioned the bucket under the butter and made an attempt to resume milking the last of what they needed. Whenever Link got behind the heifer, it turned its head to look at him with bulging eyes; not even the least bit happy about any of this in spite of the fact that she's gone through the process since she had her first calf many-many years ago. Since he didn't have a brush, he simply used what little fingernails he had as a makeshift comb, gently grooming the cow so that it would take its mind off of everything else happening.

"Good job… Keep her just like that." Malon spoke in advance of quickly milking Betsy three times faster than Link had done any of the other cows. The focus on her face was evident as the look in her eyes told that she took her repetitive work very seriously, no matter how tired or frustrated she might get.

'I have to admit, this isn't exactly exciting… But, it's an honest living.' Link thought to himself.

Around the ranch, it appeared to still be a mostly quiet day. The other cows had gone back to grazing as well as huddling around their single polygamist mate; the bull of the ranch, appropriately named 'Hubby', for obvious reasons as well as his humorously peaceful and calm personality. Epona was relaxing, socializing with the other steeds, even acting quite happy by trotting around. Two goats were mostly keeping to themselves without interest in anything other than the pasture's grass and the pellets of fecal matter constantly being ejected from their bowels unlike any other animals around; worse so than even the Cucco, which were being fed by a sullen looking Ingo way off to the side, out of the corral and over by the barn. Over from that, the barn's double loft doors swung open to reveal Talon. Considering how lazy the man could be, it was a slight surprise for anyone to see him up and about. By now, he'd usually be fast asleep, taking his afternoon nap.

"Hey, Malon… What's your dad doing?" Link asked.

Malon momentarily stopped to glance back at the barn. "Oh, he's getting your room ready."

It took Link a minute to realize what she meant. "My room?"

As the final wooden bucket slowly filled itself with milk, Malon smiled, yet kept her eyes off of LInk. He knew she was avoiding eye contact because the moment their gazes met, she looked away. "Yeah, your room… I told you already, remember? You're going to need a place to stay if you're working and living here, so my Dad and Ingo settled on the loft of the barn."

It made Link smile to know everyone cared so much about him. Throughout his travels, he'd slept under trees more often than not. Bearing that in mind, it wouldn't have bothered him if they just gave me a modest bedroll. To hear he was getting an entire room to himself was outstanding.

"You still remember that you're supposed to stay here at the ranch for a while, Right?" Malon quizzed the blonde hero. "Like… Two weeks or so should be enough."

Inside, Link had to chuckle at her. He knew Malon was certainly persistent in insisting that he stay. Once again, he had to wonder if she had a crush on him. It was a subject far from the intense contemplation ahead of him, but still something to ponder regardless. "I remember, don't worry." The tiny blush, which crept upon the farm girl's cheeks, remained visible even from the side as he continued with saying "I'll come back too if you all will let me stay here longer than that." Thinking of living there permanently stemmed from the fact that, without a grandiose adventure to save the kingdom and the world, he had to have something else to do.

"Wait… You… You want to live here? Like, stay-stay?" Malon was stunned.

Along with a shrug, Link watched the wooden bucket fill completely prior to Malon's hands stopping movement. "If your father will let me… If not, I'll be able to find another place, hopefully in Kakariko Village."

In reality, he knew he was always welcomed to go back and live where he always lived; the Kokiri Village. His treehouse is there, just as it had been since the day the entire village joined in to construct it for him. Saria even continued to clean it for him seeing as how he's not around to do it himself lately. If it wasn't for everything he'd seen and everything that he had witnessed on his travels, he'd go back in a heartbeat. Instead, with a heavy heart, he decided to stay outside the Forbidden Forest for the most part. The Deku Tree Sprout from the future told him everything he needed to know, more so than Saria. He told Link that the boy would live a better, as well as happier life outside the Forbidden Forest. Saria would always be there to lend him support and he could always visit as much as he wanted, but he knew he had to live the life of a Hylian, not a Kokiri.

"Of course!" Malon suddenly shouted. "As long as you pull your weight around here at work, my dad shouldn't mind at all. You can even spruce up the barn's hayloft if you want!" She started to sound desperate, as if she were doing anything to make Link stay. The farmgirl realized it too as she blushed deeper, hung her head and muttered something to herself along the lines of being stupid for acting so excited.

It didn't bother Link that much as he merely rubbed the back of his neck. In fact, he was happy that she cared about him. It made his heart flutter a little. "Malon…" He replied as he walked around Betsy to approach the embarrassed farm girl. "Thank you, for everything… I know I said it before, but… I wouldn't be alive right now if it wasn't for you. You saved me and there's not really a way that I know to show you my appreciation." He saw Malon hide her face in her hands, only briefly glimpsing her biting her lower lip in frustration.

As aforementioned, there truly wasn't a way that Link knew of in order to thank Malon for what she'd done, for risking life and limb for a forest child like him. However, when her hands came back down and he took a good look at her innocent, creamy, smooth and cute face; he knew from the instincts of a boy, a male, that there was one thing he could do. Ten year olds certainly weren't very knowledgeable, but moving closer until he was in her personal space, they both could figure what was likely about to happen.

It took everything in Link to even consider doing something as ludicrous as what he was about to do. While the maturity from spending a year as a seventeen year old made him crave it, the younger version of him within himself found it hard to follow through with anything romantic. "Thank you, Malon."

Her eyes stayed locked with his as Link leaned closer with full intent to kiss her on her rosy cheek. Malon stayed silent all of the while, with her hands held firmly in her lap and her legs closed tight.

Whether it be fate, misfortune or just plain dumb luck; before Link could plant a gentle kiss on Malon's sweet cheek, Betsy huffed loudly in addition to swinging her back leg out to kick. Everything in the moment was ruined instantaneously as the angry bovine's hoof made contact with the side of his left leg, barely missing a direct hit to his knee. Regardless of the location, it hurt excruciatingly bad and definitely made the boy forget all about what he was about to do. All he could do was yell out in pain as well as fall down, holding his leg. "AHH! FUCK!"

Malon looked like she was about to have a heart attack for a moment before she jumped up off her stool and gave Betsy a solid smack on the behind to make her get moving, back out into the pasture with the rest of the cows. "BETSY, GO! GET! GO ON AND GET! LINK, ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?"

The pain was searing, enough to make Link want to cry. Thankfully, he didn't, as he assumed it would certainly be strangely wussy of him. He'd gone through oh-so much worse. Nevertheless, all that he could feel for the time being was agony. "JUST…" The little hero started to yell prior to catching himself, ceasing anger toward the girl who was helping him and that he was just about to show affection toward. "J-Just give me a second… Nnn…. Oh, by the Goddesses that hurts like hell."

Still blushing from the romantic event that was about to occur, Malon knelt down to Link's level as he laid on the ground, writhing in distress until the stinging gradually faded into soreness. "I'm so sorry, Link!" She said while going for the swollen bruise surfacing near his shin. "She's usually just really ornery! I didn't think she was in a kicking mood!"

Link winced. It didn't stop hurting when she gently held the palm of her hand over the welt, but it helped to an extent. The one thing that he was happy about was that the chore of milking the cows was finally complete. "It's okay… It's getting a little better." Truthfully, it wasn't. Yet, that was the best thing that he could think of to say.

"Are you sure?" She asked as she rubbed his knee very delicately for him.

Their previous moment was ruined, and he felt awkward having her rub his leg, so he nudged her hand off of him without making it seem rude. Link still noted how he'd gone through anguish rivaling that of no other. Having a cow clock him in the side of the leg was a roasted marshmallow in comparison. "Y-Yeah… I'm sure… Ughh, I need to get up, that's all." Whenever he saw her gaze still glued onto him, he had a feeling that she was still thinking about earlier and how he was getting ready to do something he'd never done before. 'Never could I say it was fate…' The boy thought 'It was a huge case of bad luck for me to be interrupted from doing something so out of expectations.'

Extending her hand out to him, the farm girl offered some assistance. Even though Link wasn't overly keen on accepting it, he did so anyway for the sole reason that he had to get up. Grabbing her hand, he lifted himself up off the ground back onto his feet. The pain was present, without wavering at all. However, he was able to limp forward a bit, appling a little more pressure on his left leg with each step taken.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Malon asked with concern.

Link responded along with a grunt. "Nghh… I'm fine. I'll just walk it off and then get back to work."

Almost instantly, Malon rejected that plan, acting as if she were a mother hen. "Oh no! No, no, no… You're going to go and get some rest. You've done plenty today, especially taking in mind that you've been unconscious for nearly a week!"

Agony made Link stop walking for a moment before he realized Malon still had her hand holding his, not having let go from when she helped him up off of the ground. "I'm fine…" He spoke while slowly wiggling his hand out of her grasp in a way that made it seem like I was only trying to leave, and not that he was slightly embarrassed from it. "I'll just walk it off." From behind him, he heard her huff and turned to see her pouty face.

"I don't think so!" Malon reprimanded him. "You're going to go rest or you don't get any dinner tonight!" Upon hearing her say that, while seeing the look on her face, Link couldn't help other than to forget about the pain in his leg for just a moment in order to laugh. "It's not funny!" She shouted in a mixture of frustration and being flustered. "Ingo's making his delicious blancmange (slightly sweet casserole of chicken and rice) and I don't think you're going to want to miss out on that!"

Getting a grip on himself, as well as his laughter, Link got the feeling that Malon wasn't joking around and that she was serious. "Oh… Come on, Malon. I'll be alright." Limping forward a little, for a moment, all of the pain came back with vengeance as the boy nearly twisted his foot, having to catch his balance since he was about to fall over.

Malon didn't accept what she heard as an answer. Keeping her pout face on, she crossed her arms and then tapped her foot as if she was about to strangle Link in vexation. "The answer is no, Link! You must rest and recuperate or no dinner!"

With all of his might, Link held off the smile trying to creep across his lips so as to not upset Malon worse than she already was. Plus, he really wanted to try some of Ingo's famous blancmange. He never knew Ingo had anything famous to be honest. "Pwease!" Link teased "With a Faron Cherry on top?"

From the looks of it, Malon was about to explode in exasperation. It was likely for the best of her sanity whenever Link felt himself being nudged, only to find Epona staring at him when he turned. The filly bent her head down and pushed it against the back of the little hero's injured leg. Epona somehow knew that Link was hurt and seemingly came to check up on him, even going so far as to attempt to push him out of the pasture; as if she knew that he needed rest.

"I don't even need to say anything." Malon replied "Epona knows what to do."

The smile on the farmgirl's face told the hero that everything was good between them and that they were just playing around. As long as the girl, Talon or Ingo, didn't have a problem with him resting for a while, he decided to take a break for the day. "Fine… Fine… I'll go see my new room and take it easy. Tomorrow, though, I'm going to be back up to tip-top shape!"

Malon rolled her eyes prior to making her way back toward the buckets of milk. Now, without Link, she'd have to lug them into the barn herself. Yet, she was used to doing it alone, so it wasn't of much concern. She knew that she'd have her hero with her all the time as of the next day. "Take care, Link."

Epona walked with him, offering herself to be leaned upon as Link continued to limp. In spite of everything which he had been through in his life, with the entire 'saving the kingdom' experience, he found himself a tad surprised that the pain was bothering him so much. He'd been taking an unnatural beating lately. The fact that he had been unconscious for a while made it worse as he wasn't able to defend himself and allowed himself to become feeble. 'Even though I'm the Hero of Time and my mission is complete, I shouldn't ever allow myself to get so weak.' The skilled swordsman in him wanted to keep up the constant training to be the best that there was. On the other hand, he had to recuperate before he even had the energy to resume his practice. Just what he had done in the past hour had worn him out. 'I guess that Malon is right about me needing to take a break.'

The whole way toward the barn, Epona ceaselessly watched Link with her lilac eyes until it made him speak. "What is it, girl?" Instantly, she whinnied, unsure of what to think about his injuries and tiredness. "It's okay, I'm fine… I'm just tired. You know I'll be much better tomorrow after a decent night's sleep."

Epona huffed, blowing his floppy green hat to the side. The way she was so fretful over him made Link happy. Giving the horse some pats on the head, Epona nuzzled him affectionately. As always, she seemed more interested in him than anything else and didn't look like she was going to go back to grazing anytime soon. Based on past events, Link knew that, if he didn't tell the filly that she was free to do what she wanted, she'd loyally wait for him directly in front of the last door he went through or could reach. "Aww… Come here. You're just worried about me, aren't you?" Gently wrapping both of his arms around her neck, Link hugged the filly with true appreciation for all that she'd done for him. "I love you, girl. I'll be perfectly fine. You need to not focus so much on me while we're here. This is a safe place, where we can relax."

Epona was born and raised there, in Lon Lon Ranch. Link didn't necessarily have to tell her that they were safe because she already knew. The only thing the boy wanted was for them to take a break from their adventuring for a while. Epona must've been aware of this too, for she noticed a colt come around the corner of the corral. Both of their ears perked up in response to seeing one another, acknowledging that they knew they were there. With one glance back at Link, he simply smiled in advance of reassuring her. "Go ahead. Go have fun, it's a beautiful day." Along with a gentle slap on the rear end, she cantered off toward the colt, which turned around and took off running the other direction in response. Link only watched for a few moments as Epona soon galloped after the colt. 'It's nice to see her so happy.' He thought while hobbling over toward the barn.

Ingo had finished feeding the Cucco, yet he appeared to be sulking; standing still as the clucking birds pecked at the ground around his feet for the kernels left for them. Recalling earlier, Link worried that it might've done more harm than good to inform the farmhand of the truth behind his weary premonition. Link felt he never would have said a word about anything or responded to Ingo's outburst if the hero had known that the man was going to become depressed and then shutdown from not being able to understand. If this was Link's fault, then he felt he had to somehow fix it. "Hey, Ingo…" When the farmhand looked up, his eyes took a couple of seconds to adjust, as if he was slightly inebriated. "Are you okay?"

Without any sort of smile, Ingo sighed and then leaned against the side of the barn. "Yeah… I'm fine. The real question is, is Malon alright?"

For a minute, Link was confused at what Ingo meant. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

Following more staring, the farmhand's lips formed a smirk before he gazed up into the sky at the clouds. "I thought I heard a girl scream. Did Betsy kick her?"

Now Link realized that Ingo was being a jerk again, taunting him rudely since he knew well by appearance that it was the hylian boy that screamed and that it was he who was kicked. "Oh, Ha-Ha… You're so very funny." Link replied sarcastically, making Ingo keep his grin. If that was how Ingo acted after drinking booze; like a jack-ass, then Link knew exactly why the farmhand was grumpy so much. Either way, the hero limped toward the barn doors.

"What? I'm just saying." Ingo laughed prior to continuing giving a halfass apology. "I'm kidding, Link… Go ahead inside and rest up. Just try not to have any more of those crazy dreams and then go around telling people that they're real."

Link found it relieving that Ingo wasn't actually being ill-mannered. However, hearing the man act as if everything that was told to him was just a dream, after having previously fully admitted to that he was aware; it troubled Link, making the boy curious as to whether or not Ingo was even capable of comprehending everything. The last time Link had seen the farmhand, the man thought his brain was about to explode from trying to understand it all. It was possible that passing off the scenario as nonsense was the best thing for him to do. After all, the future was what they made out of the present. Ingo didn't need to focus on an alternate future. He needed to focus on the present.

"Yeah… Crazy dreams… Right." Link played along with the farmhand, not wanting to get into an argument. Walking by him, Ingo resumed looking up at the sky. As long as the farmhand wasn't depressed then Link knew he'd be okay. 'Geez… That guy is so hard to read.' The young hylian boy thought while glancing back at Ingo and then over to Malon, who remained off in the pasture, likely scraping some of the fat out of the milk while she was still outside. 'Not like her, who's practically an open book by the way she displays her emotions so unambiguously.'

Pulling the double barn doors open, Link gave one last thought to what he was about to do before Betsy interrupted by kicking him in the leg. 'What was I thinking? Was I really going to kiss her on the cheek? Don't I have much greater things to worry about than a petty relationship with another hylian? I mean, I'm the Champion of the Golden Goddesses; I'm supposed to be doing things more suited to my capabilities and skill set.' While he might have been acting egotistically full of himself on some level, as if normal life was beneath him, it was only because he yearned for performing heroic deeds. Regardless of any hubris, however, the true reason was because he wasn't sure if he wanted to fall in love with someone. 'Malon's a sweet girl. I think I'm simply not interested in a relationship with anybody. All of my fumbling and acting confused is probably nothing more than proof that I need some well-deserved rest.'

Talon blocked Link's entrance to the inside of the barn. Once Link noticed him, the heavyset farmer stepped to the side while almost inviting the boy inside. "Oh, hello Mr. Talon…" Link greeted the man. "Is it okay if I take a break? Malon won't let me work anymore. She thinks I need to gather my strength and stop over-exerting myself."

In his usual fashion, Talon held his hands to his hips as he gave a good long look at Link. "I think she's probably right. Yah need to give 'yerself some time ta get back into 'yer rhythm of doin' stuff. Now's a good time too seein' how I just finished makin' yer room."

Link was visibly glad that Talon agreed, because his exhaustion wasn't waning in the least. He still wasn't totally sure how to respond to the Lon Lon family's hospitality. They were literally providing him with a permanent place to stay in exchange for work. There weren't a lot of people that he'd met during his travels that would do such a thing for him. It gave him a newfound respect for them. His inner-self reckoned that life as a rancher wouldn't be half bad, especially if it taught him such accompanying morales as he'd been introduced to by them.

"Thank you again, Mr. Talon. It really means a lot that you'll let me stay here… I know that I'll have a better life." One thing that would certainly be of physical benefit for hylian boy such as him would be the abundance of meat in comparison to what he'd get in the forest. Kokiri in general tend to prefer the fruits and berries of nature. It's not that they were strictly vegetarian by birth; they just found the whole concept of consuming animal protein unnatural as well as cruel to nature.

"Harr-Harr!" Talon chuckled heartily. "It'll be Malon who'll truly get the bettah' life. After all, as I recall, it was always her daydream to be rescued by a knight in shinin' armour."

Part of Link felt as if he couldn't take another hint of Talon wanting the boy to marry Malon. Seeing Link hang his head, the heavyset farmer thankfully understood that as he lifted the boy's chin gently, in an almost fatherly manner, to look into his eyes. "Hey… Yah look tired. Come on, I'll lead yah up to 'yer room."

Watching Link limp, Talon kept his eye on him the entire way across the barn until they came to a ladder which led up to the loft. "Yah need any help?" Talon asked.

It wasn't exactly the easiest way to get up to the place one slept compared to using stairs; yet, Link wasn't going to complain. He started climbing the ladder, ignoring the pain in his leg. "No, I've got it. Trust me, I've climbed quite a number of ladders." Talon held the ladder still for Link as the boy ascended the rungs toward the top. Once the hero reached the final step and pulled himself up onto the loft floor, he noticed that it was much bigger up there than he had initially assumed. To the left and right were bales of hay for the goats, cows and horses. Straight ahead, there was a simple wooden door that was closed, preventing him from seeing inside.

After Talon climbed up behind Link, the man resumed leading him to the boy's new room, which appeared to be beyond the closed door. "This used to be Ingo's room, long time ago." He said while opening the door for Link. "He's got em' a room in the farmhouse now, but I've still caught 'em up 'ere a few times, since he loves the solitude and all that. Regardless, it's 'yer room now and 'yer free to decorate it how yah want."

Walking inside, Link saw that, for the most part, it truly was another room. It wasn't as big as his treehouse back in the Kokiri Village. Then again, it perfectly served the purpose of a place to stay. Directly to the left from the entrance of the room, their was a bed consisting of bundled straw with, what looked like, an expensive as well as exceedingly rare bear pelt on top. Beside that, there was a wood carved nightstand next to an old looking chair hiding in the corner. The chair wasn't particularly interesting. However, the nightstand had a candle on it and a small plate with fresh bread. 'Not bad at all.'

"The bed's over there…" Talon pointed. "There's also a chest 'ere for yah to store 'yer stuff. There's a keg under the nightstan' too… I use' to store some pretty tasty mead in it, but don't get the wrong idea, 'cause I washed it out. No gettin' drunk for a kid 'yer age."

Although Link had never had the craving for any sort of alcoholic beverages, it still warmed his heart to know Talon was just trying to look after him in a parental way. "This is perfect…" Link replied. "Thank you, Mr. Talon."

Talon smiled as his bushy mustache wiggled. Walking over to the door, he closed it just for a moment in order to show Link that it was also relatively quiet there. "Yer' welcome, Link… This room's insulated more-so than the others, so yah should be able to get a decent night's rest in here without the cows and goats wakin' yah up. Like I said, it used to be Ingo's room; so, we made it as homely as possible."

Link felt as if the room would serve as a fantastic place to live. He also found a portion of himself to be quite glad that the Lon Lon family treated Ingo like a normal person. Creating an entire room for the farmhand meant that they valued him more than Ingo seemed to realize. 'I think Ingo just bitches a lot.' Link's thoughts speculated during the time he limped over to the straw-bed to sit down on it.

"Comfy?" Talon asked

"Oh yeah… Nnn… I could fall asleep right now." Link replied

Talon's hearty chuckle echoed throughout the small room. "Well, go on ahead then. Rest up, yah need it… Don't forget though, that this room ain't free. As soon as yer' all better, yer' gonna hafta do chores every day… It'll get repetitive… But, it's a living."

Link slowly rubbed his sore left leg. He knew that, at some point in time, Talon was going to say that. That was why the hero had previously mentioned to Malon that he had to put forth all of his effort, even if he was tired. Thankfully, with any hope, tomorrow he'd be completely rejuvenated and would have fully recovered from his horrid experience of getting lost in the Lost Woods. "Don't worry, Mr. Talon. I told Malon that I was going to stay here for a while. I'll be helping out with anything you all need."

The heavyset farmer seemed happy by Link's response. Subsequently, after opening the door again, he said "Good… Yah need a place with some hylian structure. Now, get yah some rest."

Along with a yawn, Link thanked him one more time. "Thank you again, Mr. Talon. It means a lot to me."

Talon nodded his head prior to making his way out of the room, leaving Link to himself and the boy's own thoughts. Looking around, Link had to tell himself that this would now be his new room, where he'd sleep, rest and live. There were plenty of times where he had awoken underneath a tree, temporarily wondering where he was before it dawned on him. However, since he had left the Forbidden Forest, there hadn't been many times he had a roof over his head; even less a roof given voluntarily. Safety from the four walls surrounding him left him feeling peaceful over the circumstances. Tonight, he could rest without concern of an attack. 'It might just be for the rest of today, but… I think I'm going to pass out since I have the chance.'

Removing his boots, he laid back onto the furry bear pelt, settling in on his new bed. It was comfy too. The pillow was stuffed with straw and it was more than enough to send him drifting off into dreamland. Being still though, he noticed that the scratches on his arm from the Wolfos stung some, but the worse so far was how his leg hurt. He merely figured that most of that would be gone, if not much better, by tomorrow morning.

In the meantime, there were much bigger things going on for him to think about. No matter what had occurred, nothing had been solved. Link might be happy that there was someone who cared about him, but nothing had been accomplished. His mission to find Navi was a failure. She left him and no matter how hard he looked, no matter where or how long he tried, it appeared as if the fairy had simply vanished from Hyrule. Somehow, instead of finding clues as to any possibility where she'd be, he managed to get lost in the Lost Woods, succumb to its magic and then unconsciously hallucinate that he'd slipped into an alternate dimension with doppelgängers of people he'd encountered here in Hyrule. On top of all of that, he now must recover the Ocarina of Time from within the Lost Woods by going back there, risking himself again, all so that nobody could lay their unrighteous fingers upon the sacred instrument.

Hanging his head, all of that felt like a massive amount of stress to de-process. Link's mind still couldn't understand how he'd dreamt up an entire world; Termina. Everything was illogical about the whole affair. The space-time continuum was disrupted in incongruous ways. The Happy Mask Salesman himself was terrified of what was occurring in that strange land.

'Wait…' Link narrowed his eyes with furrowed brows.

With the name being used as a reminder, he recalled how strange the Happy Mask Salesman was compared to the other residents of that dreamworld. 'If I truly hallucinated everything, then a fine explanation might not matter… The only issue is that I can't stop myself from wondering why that creepy guy knew more than the others.' The citizens of Clock Town and further, all of the inhabitants, were as Link described; look-alikes from the people who resided here in Hyrule. Yet, all of them were oblivious to any similar appearances. In fact, when Link thought more about it, he realized the entire land of Termina was just as oblivious to Hyrule as Hyrule is to Termina.

The stages of grief in that world were almost unimaginable. Clock Town stood in constant denial over the falling moon. Woodfall was overtly angry as the Deku Tribe waged an unrighteous war with the peaceful Monkey Tribe. At Snowhead, Link found Darmani, a deceased Goron's spirit, pleading, bargaining for someone to use magic on him, to bring him back to life so that he may rescue his endangered village. In the Great Bay, the boy encountered a dying Zora who revealed the reason for his girlfriend's recent depression; her tragic problem of having her eggs stolen by pirates. And last, Ikana Valley, the land of the dead, forced Link into accepting reality as the way it truly was. It made him understand that the grief from life's constant struggle between light and darkness was the way that it was meant to be; that he had to accept the things that happened to him.

With all of that being taken into consideration, it was hard for Link to explain how all of those events were inside my head. At the time, it didn't matter as to whether or not it was the strangest place he'd ever been in my entire life. His task of stopping the Skull Kid, who was being controlled by Majora. As a certified hero, he felt it was his responsibility to stop the moon from crashing into the planet. It all seemed too real to be a dream. He had learned valuable lessons, important facts on life and even gained the ability to accept as well as tolerate fate when things were out of his control.

All of it was too vivid to be a dream, just like Ingo's premonition or Link's own. The reason he felt that it was so anomalous and distinct was because it wasn't a dream. Yet, everyone in Hyrule claimed that there was no such kingdom in the entire region known as Termina. On their account, they claim that the moon never appeared to be falling and that the boy was found in the Lost Woods unconscious where a Skull Kid had taken it upon himself to provide shelter.

Further thinking on the subject only made Link's head throb. Alternating back and forth between if Termina was real or not, the Happy Mask Salesman's purpose, finding the Ocarina of Time and even a bit on where Navi might have gone off to; all grew worse and worse until the pounding in his head turned into a migraine. "By the Goddesses…" Link spoke softly with a sigh. "I have to stop frying my brain with all of this. It's killing me and making me want to sleep." His weary eyelids barely kept themselves held up as he yawned. Taking his thoughts away from confusing contemplation, he figured that, since Malon, Ingo and even Talon decided it would be best to give him some rest, that he could do just that. 'Tomorrow, I'll feel much better… I just know it.'

Knowing that he could settle in comfortably without any worry of enemies trying to attack him in his sleep, he did something that he hadn't done in a long time. He rolled onto his side with the intent of sleeping that way, no longer having to worry about being unable to see behind himself. The fur of the bear pelt felt so soft compared to the ground and the hay beneath provided plenty of padding. Pressing his face into the pillow with a long groan to not focus on any of the pain, he barely heard the two knocks at the door. 'Figures…' He lamented. 'Just as I closed my eyes too.' Shoving his thoughts to the side, he opened his eyes and then leaned up once more. "Come in."

The door gradually creaked open, revealing the red hair of the same girl who'd been on Link's mind non-stop, just as much as everything else had been. "Oh… Sorry, Link…" Malon apologized. "I was hoping you weren't asleep yet." She held some items in her hands; one appeared to be a book and the other a bottle of Lon Lon Milk. "I brought these for you since I had a feeling you might like to have them, especially the milk after doing all of that work." She kind of kept her eyes away from Link's, choosing to instead look at the floor or the book.

In spite of her embarrassment, it put a smile on the boy's face to know that she was merely looking after him. Compared to her workload, the little amount that he had done for the day was only a tiny chunk. "It's okay. Thank you." Having the bottle handed to him, he pulled the cork from the bottle of Lon Lon Milk first. Being parched, it felt like a blessing to have the liquid dairy cool his palate with a refreshing taste unlike any other milk from nearby regions.

"Drink up… Milk's good for you." She giggled as he drank half of the bottle, only to come back up from drinking with a milk mustache. "The journal is all up to you, then again, I thought you might like to write down some of your feelings." She saw Link raise an eyebrow, noticing it wasn't until he glanced down at the book in her hand that he realized what she was talking about. "I know boys don't usually express their emotions that much… but… it helps. Plus, I'm here for you, if you ever want to talk about anything; l-like Navi or going to the Lost Woods again."

Suddenly, Link understood why Malon came in there, after just having been with him earlier. She still couldn't feel sure that he wasn't going to up and leave whenever he got the chance, like he'd done before. Whether it's an infatuation or sisterly love toward the boy who'd been nicest to her, it widened Link's smile further. "Malon, I'm not going anywhere for quite some time. I'm in no condition to leave and I also want to pay back my debt to you… I owe you for saving my life"

Without any further delay, Malon snapped back a vaguely harsh reply "There's no debt, Link! I just want you to stay! Please, promise me that you won't try to go back to the Lost Woods until at least two weeks from now."

Her obsession over the matter had turned from amusing to more solemn. Link really wanted to know why she was so focused on making him stay. In reality, there were two main reasons. One, she'd been gooey with him as of late, and two, she definitely didn't appear to want him to go back into the Lost Woods. She didn't want him to wind up falling unconscious again if he lost his way. However, Malon should be glad to know and not be so pestering considering that he truly wasn't going to make an attempt for a while. "I promise you, Malon… I promise that I won't leave for at least a solid two weeks."

For only a moment, Malon accepted the two week promise. But, that didn't last long at all as she soon decided to hold out her hand, extending her pinky. "Pinky promise?"

Hanging his head with a smile in playful disbelief, Link went along with it regardless of how silly he thought it was. Wrapping his little pinky finger around hers, she did the same while he said "Pink promise." With that, he thought that she'd finally accept that he wasn't beating around the bush and meant what he said. Unfortunately, from the look on her face, the hero wasn't overly sure that that would happen. 'What more could she possibly want?' he thought as they let go of one another's pinkies.

"Swear on the Goddesses?" She continued.

This time, Link let slip a small chuckle while looking at her. "Malon, I already promised and pinky promised." Her pout face revealed itself on cue and Link found himself trying hard to contain his laughter. Malon wasn't joking around, but it was a bit difficult for him to take her seriously when she's acting so stubborn and bossy. Luckily, since it meant that much to her, he decided to agree. After all, he was telling the truth and he certainly wasn't about to get his pinky cut off or lie to the Golden Goddesses. "Okay, Okay… I swear on the Golden Goddesses that I will not go back to the Lost Woods for at least two whole weeks."

Finally, Malon accepted his response by approaching. "Good... I'm glad you're resting too." She lifted the arm sleeve of his tunic.

Link wasn't totally sure as to what she was doing until he realized that she was checking on the Wolfos scratches. "It's not like I could do much else since you threatened to make me suffer by going without food."

In response to that, Malon's face flushed lightly in her embarrassment. "I'm sorry… I… I'm just trying to keep you safe."

Closing his eyes in contentment of her care for him, Link held back a grimace as she touched the sore scratches. "It's okay… I appreciate it."

Giving his arm a few pats, she started for the door again. "Well… Y-You're welcome. Now, you try to get some rest and I'll be back in here later to replace the bandage on your arm."

"I still get to eat Ingo's blancmange, right?" Link inquired.

To that, she giggled softly as they both stared at each other. "Yes… I wasn't really going to try to take your food away from you."

Along with a grin, Link settled back into the comfy makeshift bed. Placing the bottle of milk and journal down on the table, he continued to joke with her to lighten the mood. "That's good, because it wouldn't be an easy fight if you did try. I'm a growing boy, you know?" She rolled her eyes playfully and then they just stared at each other for a moment. Their gazes were deep and meaningful, hiding the want of staying together. It was odd. It wasn't as though he wanted to stay with her just because Navi or Saria weren't there with him. It was something more to it than that. His body's young hormones couldn't fully understand why the connection between them kept getting stronger much quicker than anyone else that he'd met. Only when he gets older could he hope to get a grip on things.

"Yeah… Get some rest, Link… And… Thank you." Malon showed more gratitude.

Link likely would have wondered exactly what she was thanking him for. Yet, the farmgirl walked out and closed the door before he got the chance to even attempt to ask. In one way, he guessed it was better that they parted that way instead of how awkwardly he did previously this morning. "You're welcome…" the heroic boy whispered in response while knowing she couldn't possibly have heard it. "Thank you for everything you've done."

Inside his head, all of the incessant questions forced in a gridlocked queue demanded that he focus on them and determine their respective answers. There wouldn't be any way that he could get to sleep if he did. Even the plush fur of the bear pelt wouldn't be enough to quell the vicious thoughts. However, the one thing that he found an amazing amount of comfort in was the one and only girl there.

Thinking about Malon was the only thing keeping the thoughts at bay. Such questions could be and will be answered with time, he was sure of it. But, for now, the red haired farmgirl managed to comfort him without even being in his presence. Recalling the touch of her hands, the herb-fresh scent that glistened alongside her natural beauty and the sound of her voice was enough to silence everything from the outside world. Navi would always be in his heart, right next to the Great Deku Tree, whom he'd always considered his own father. Malon though, Malon would be inside his heart and outside. Be it eternal friendship or even perhaps more, he'd forever be grateful without any bound.