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.

18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

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[Time: 11:15 A.M. (Morning)]

[Date: Month 4 'Late-spring', Day 13, 8th Era]

(Location: Hyrule, Lon Lon Ranch - Pasture)

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Standing in the middle of the field, Malon watched as the horses grazed in the pasture. The day had been a busier day than normal without Link there to help. The cows, chickens, goats, horses; all of them needed to be taken care of. Without anyone else, it all fell down to the farmer's daughter. She didn't like it, but there wasn't anything else that could be done about it. 'Where are you, Link?' She thought, having grown spoiled from there being a fourth person there at the ranch. 'I hope you get back soon. It's lonely here without you here to talk to.'

The young girl's mind drifted for a moment as she thought about him. Out in the middle of the pasture, she submitted to daydreaming, eyes glossing over momentarily as she fantasized for a moment. 'I'd do anything for him to come back from his adventures, just to grab me and tell me how much he missed me… He could come up behind me right now, tip-toe, then wrap his arms around my waist-… In a seductive voice, he'd say "Malon… I missed you so much. It's been so long. While I was gone, you were the only thing I could think about.".' A smile plastered itself on her lips. Her skin rippled with goosebumps as she imagined it more. 'He'd place small kisses down my neck while saying "I came to the endless conclusion that I love you. I can't hold back from saying it anymore. I love you so much." Once he admitted it, I'd turn around and gaze into his eyes before closing my own. I bet he'd take the initiative. Seeing my eyes closed and lips slightly pursed, he'd move in, pressing his lips to mine.' For a brief second, she lost herself in a moan. However, as soon as she realized she was doing it, she stopped.

Spinning around, what she had hoped for was nowhere in sight. Instead of a handsome knight in shining armor, all she was greeted with was Petey staring directly into her face. Although it was embarrassing, the farmgirl couldn't help other than to laugh intensely at what reality had done to her romantic trance. It also served as a wakeup call. She knew that she had been out there for too long. Being time to move on, she began rounding up all of the horses to go inside for their hooves to get their weekly picking.

Whistling, Malon shouted prior to clicking her tongue loudly. "Petey! Dixie! Everyone! Let's go!" She whistled and called them again. "Come on, let's go!"

Hearing Malon's call, the horses all began trotting or ambling to the gate of the pasture, ready to leave.

The young girl was surprised as Petey actually did as he was told. Most days, he'd still be sitting out in the field, waiting for her to go all the way up to him and fuss until he moved. She took it as a good sign and even praised him. "Good boy, Petey. I'm proud of you. You came when you were called." Opening the gate of the pasture, one by one, the horses filed out of it until there wasn't anybody left.

Still embarrassed from her daydreaming, she tried to focus on another matter. Walking the horses back to the barn, she kept them in a line, making sure none of them broke away to venture off on their own. Eventually, once they made it up to the barn without any mishaps, Malon opened the double doors. Ingo was inside sweeping, but he said nothing. Same as usual. So, without delay, she made sure each horse passed into the barn. To her dismay, as predictable as the sun does rise each day, Petey gradually strayed away just before coming inside.

"Petey, no!" Malon said with a loud and stern voice, trying to get the horse to obey her. "Don't you wonder off."

Although the horse tried to do as he wanted, Ida, one of the older horses, neighed from inside to get his attention. This made Petey turn back to Malon and then come inside.

The young farm girl shook her head in annoyance. "Ughh… Why do you not listen to me? Right after I praised you too!" She blew a small raspberry at the animal. "But, you'll listen to your peers, huh?! I'm the one who feeds you, you know?"

Once they were all inside, Malon had to go along each individual stall and open them for their respective equines. This happened without issue. Ingo assisted by closing the doors behind her once they were in. After each horse was put into their stable, the farmer's daughter grabbed a pick and went to work. Petey was the first as she entered his stall. He knew what was coming and let out an exasperated snort because of it. "Yeah, I know… You hate it whenever I pick your hooves. Don't you know that I'm just trying to help you?" The horse neighed and tried to fight Malon from grabbing at his leg, waving it back and forth so she couldn't hold it. "Petey! Give me your foot!" The hylian girl half-chuckled, half yelled. "You better knock it off!"

Immediately, as soon as the ornery steed stopped resisting, Malon grabbed his foot. "Aha!" Petey stopped fighting once she held his hoof firmly, letting her use the pick to get any rocks, pebbles and hardened dirt from around the triangular part of the underside, what's known as 'the frog'. When the hoof was clear, she used a brush on the horseshoe itself, then moved on to the next. Each leg took about five minutes to fully clean. In doing regular maintenance on their hooves like that, it helped their feet stay healthy and strong. Luckily, even though Petey's back hooves had a surprisingly larger amount of debris than his front, he still didn't take her too long to complete.

Moving on to the next horse, Malon did the same thing to Ida.

Ingo came back, filling up each stall's tough. "Hey, Malon…" He said in a gruff voice while refilling this stall's water. "Do you know what time Link is going to get back? I'm already sick of doing all this extra work." He grumbled more while moving away from the young girl. "It might be the same work I've always done, yet now that it's his responsibility to do it, I've grown to expect him to do it."

"Good morning, Ingo…" Malon rolled her eyes at Ingo's first words to her for the day. He hadn't shown up for breakfast, leaving her to wonder what was up with that. Being grumpy about work wasn't the best way to start the day either. "I don't know when Link will be back. I'm hoping it'll be soon. To tell you the truth, although I don't want to admit it, I kinda feel the same way… After all, he should've been back by now. He told me that he wasn't going to stay for very long." Thinking about it, she merely made the assumption that Link wouldn't be gone for too long. He promised he'd be back, but didn't necessarily say when, not down to a specific tittle of time. "I'll have to have a talk with him whenever he gets back. He has to know that it's not okay to skip work on us like that, not if he's going to live here."

Since she was sounding mature, Ingo could only agree with her. "True."

She wasn't lying either. Malon did want to talk to the hero, just not necessarily about that. 'I definitely want to talk to him…' She thought. 'If only I can see his cute face again, to tell him how I really feel about him-… Ughh!'

Trying to catch herself from obsessing over Link, she held back from thinking what she was thinking previously until she just couldn't do it anymore. 'I can't help it… I want to see him again, I just want to kiss him all over and tell him how much I missed him.' Her mind wandered further until she was back to daydreaming. 'Earlier, I imagined him walking up to me, but I know that I'm the one who's going to have to do it. He'll never be brave enough to make the first move. I know that Fairy Boy all too well.'

Nodding to her own thoughts, she continued to pick Ida's hoof, watching the dirt and peebles fall to the ground while drifting off into contemplation, imagining herself seeing her knight in shining armour again. 'The first thing that I should do is walk right up to him, tell him how much I've missed him and how much I love him, then kiss him on his lips.' The farmer's daughter had come so close to telling the green-clad hero that she loved him back at the Marketplace in Hyrule's Castle Town. She knew she shouldn't have gotten tongue tied.

Then again, there were other moments that stood out to her, like the time they were milking the cows. Right before Betsy kicked Link in his stomach so hard he nearly fainted, he was about to tell Malon something. When it happened, it ruined the mood, but she knew he was trying to tell her something. 'Could it have been that he wanted to tell me he loved me? Is that something he's thinking? I just wish there was some way I could figure it out. I need to know before it drives me crazy.'

Contemplating it, she hummed, carrying on with her duties without other thoughts. "I have to do it. You have to do it, Malon." The blushing farmgirl said to herself, trying to get herself worked up and ready for whenever he returned.

Looking down at her body, she had a surprise for whenever Link returned. That day, she had worn the dress he'd gotten her. She found that it both looked and felt comfortable. Although she worried about it getting ruined from working in it, she figured that if she was careful, she could do it. After all, she wore the dress her mother made for her multiple years in a row. It became an actual work dress. The one she donned now was certainly different and she could tell. Consisting of two pieces, it was far more decorative than her old one. The first piece was the long white gown that had beautifully intricate designs on the hem as well as the cuffs of the sleeves. Atop the gown laid a light blue frock which wrapped around part of her torso. From there, the frock extended to the top to drape over her shoulders. Wrapping itself around her waist, to finish the look, was a belt adorned with cyan stones.

Something as beautiful as her new dress meant a lot to her. Link bought it for her using his own hard earned rupees. Were it a busy day full of laborious tasks, she wouldn't have worn it. Thankfully, since today was just regular tasks and hoof picking, she figured that it would be okay for her to wear it. The girl wanted to see the look on Link's face whenever he showed up and she was wearing it. "He'll see me in this and be stunned. While he's amazed at my beauty, I'll walk up to him and kiss him… I know I can do it."

For now, she kept going, picking at Ida's front hooves until they were all done. She brushed both the front horseshoes until they were completely clean, then moved on to the back. Paying close attention and knowing all about her animals, she quickly realized that Ida's back left hoof was getting worn down and even looked like it had stone-bruise on it. Looking at it closer, Malon confirmed it was what she thought it was. 'A stone bruise is a deep bruise of the fat pad on the sole of the hoof. It's a type of bruise on the bottom of a horse's hoof that happens due to the horse walking over rough, hard ground.' Malon diagnosed the injury. If left untreated, she knew well that it may lead to lameness. Fortunately for Ida, the old girl, that wouldn't be happening. Malon could see the reddened area where it had been bruised and decided to do something about it.

Walking out of the stall, the hylian girl grabbed a leather bag of tools in advance of returning. From the inside the bag, she pulled out a rasp; a simple coarse metal file with a wooden handle. "Ingo, Ida has a stone bruise on her back left hoof. I'm gonna remove the horseshoe so I can treat it." The grumpy man nodded and then came to watch her work; overseeing her as he would put it. "It's nothing too serious right now." Malon explained. "But I want to get it treated before it becomes something serious." Using the rasp, she sawed at the nail cliches that held the horseshoe to the hoof. It took her about twenty minutes, but once they were all filed away, she was able to use the horseshoe nippers, which are large pincers, to gradually pull out each nail embedded in the hoof.

As long as the horse didn't feel anything, Malon knew that she was doing a good job. As luck would have it, the stone bruise injury wasn't all that bad. When all of the nails were removed, the hylian girl was able to pull the horseshoe right off with ease. It peeled off from being stuck there for a while. "Yeah, it's not so bad…" She said while looking at the reddened area. Only a small sliver of the area went beneath the horseshoe area itself. Nonetheless, that was the part that was abscessed. "I think she just stepped on a rock out in the pasture. The rubbing from the horseshoe probably caused it to get like this."

Subconsciously, as Malon started to help with healing Ida's foot, she also began humming a peaceful tune. Anything to help sooth the horse while working on her foot. For the next step, she grabbed a hoof knife. Needing to remove the abscess itself, she did it quickly. Immediately, once removed, it bled and drained disgusting fluids that smelled ungodly. Taking hold of a bucket of water, Malon decided to use it to splash Ida's hoof. The horse neighed and fought a little while also wincing in pain, not liking what had been done to it, not one bit. It had to feel better, Malon just doubted the equine realized it right yet.

She splashed the bleeding hoof with water until it finished draining from the abscess; this took about five more minutes. "It's okay, it's okay…" Malon tried to comfort Ida. "Hmm, hmmmmmmm, hmm, hmmmmmmmmmm." She hummed, trying to get the horse to relax as she made sure that its hoof had finished draining all the pus held within. All that had to be done now was to wrap it up. Using a burlap rag, Malon tied it around Ida's foot, wrapping the wound so that it'll stay clean and not get infected.

"Okay, girl. You're done… Take it easy on that foot, okay?" The red-headed hylian girl gently spoke to Ida, sympathetic regarding the problem as she knew it wasn't going to be an easy thing to walk around on for the next week.

Ingo nodded in approval before walking off. "Looks good."

Moving on from that, Malon finished what she had to do with the rest of the hoof picking. The last back hoof on Ida wasn't too bad. Once she got done with it, she put away the tools she had used and moved on to the next horse. Now, without any work that needed to be focused on in order to accomplish it, her adolescent mind metaphorically swam back out into deep thought. Of course, the only place it drifted toward was Link. She wanted to know where he was and why it was taking so long for him to come back.

'Oh, I hope he's alright.' Thinking about him as she picked the next horse's hoof, the farmer's daughter also worried about his safety. Even though she happened to know where he was headed, it didn't make her feel any better either. 'The Lost Woods is such a dangerous place.' Recalling the wolfos who chased her made a shiver go down her spine and this one wasn't out a pleasure like it was whenever she thought of Link earlier. No. This one was of sheer concern for a person she cared so greatly for. The only true matter which restored her faith was knowing how powerful he was. Link certainly wasn't like her. Malon didn't train with Captain Orsen and the rest of the Knights of Hyrule. She wasn't sent on an adventure by the goddesses themselves to save the entire kingdom. Link was the only person she had ever known to be so immensely powerful, even at the age he is. The young farm girl knew for sure that he'd be a hunk whenever he grew up.

Her cheeks wanted to flush at the thought of a shirtless mature Link, even going as far as to think that her tongue wanted to roll out of her head while picturing it. What held her back was concern for him, concern in spite of knowing how he could take care of himself. Since she wasn't out there with him, she had to admit that she had no clue how he was doing this very moment. 'Surely he wouldn't have gone into the Lost Woods without any help, like he did previously.' Malon thought prior to shaking her head. She knew the hero was smarter than that, it was another trait in him she found attractive. Then again, as previously thought, she wasn't with him and had no clue what he was doing right now. 'That Ocarina of Time better have been worth it.' She thought more before coming to a different conclusion. 'If it was, maybe Saria went with him.'

At first, when they met, Malon worried that the green-haired kokiri girl was Link's girlfriend. Back then, she didn't want to admit how much she cared for Link. Knowing in addition to feeling different now, she was totally for Saria being by his side in such a dangerous place as the Lost Woods. Being his mother, the kokiri girl wouldn't let a fly land on his head, not without some serious reprimanding to the fly. Thinking that, Malon really pinned her hope on Saria ensuring Link's safety.

Completing another horse's hooves, the farm girl brushed the horseshoes on each. Her mind wasn't able to stop itself from worrying about Link, no matter how hard she tried. It even began to get on her nerves as part of her wanted to worry while another part wanted to kiss him. 'He better get back soon so I can do some reprimanding of my own.' She thought with a smile. 'He's going to get it from me, oh yeah…' Giggling, she continued on in her own little world. 'I'm going to make sure he knows that it's not okay to just disappear like he has. He has to know that, not only does the ranch need him… I need him.'

"HELLO!" A familiar boy's voice suddenly called out. "I'M BACK!"

Jumping up from where she knelt, Malon let go of the current horse's back leg, thankfully having just finished with all the hoof picking. Her mind knew all too well who it was that was shouting. "Link!" She said in surprise.

Putting all of her tools back where they belonged, she couldn't wait to hurry and race out of the barn. As soon as she was done, that's exactly what she did. Her feet traveled faster than she expected until she nearly tripped over them. "I'm coming! I'm coming! Hold on, don't go anywhere!" She shouted out for him, acting as if she thought he was going to leave if she didn't hurry up. Her hand wrapped around the handle to the barn door and she yanked it open. Heaving a sigh, before going outside, she swiftly wiped off her dress to make it look presentable. 'Here I go.' She thought while also straightening her hair with a quick fluffing by her hands. Looking as good as she was going to get, she turned around in the threshold of the doorway and went out into the ranch.

Link was only just coming around the corner on Epona. He'd stopped to open and then close the gate behind himself, like a responsible young lad. It made Malon smile whenever she saw him wearing the clothing he bought at the Stitch and Seam, the store in the Marketplace of the City of Hyrule. The brown shirt and green tunic brought out the blue in his eyes, making them shimmer in the near-noon daylight. His golden locks of hair bounced from the momentum, even as he kept it stuffed underneath his floppy green hat. Had Malon not known for sure that it was Link riding Epona, had she not heard him call out, she would've wondered if it were him. In hylian clothing he looked like a completely different person. Regardless, once she got a clear view of that cute face of his, she couldn't help other than to feel weak in the knees. It was Link for sure. Nobody made her feel like that other than him.

"Hey, Malon! Nice to see you!" Link chuckled. "I know it's only been a single day, but still-…" The hero smiled at Malon as he trotted closer while on horseback. "You wouldn't believe the night I had."

Those pearly white teeth she'd come to love seeing made her muscles tighten. Malon tried hard to hold back from blushing. She didn't want him to know what she was thinking earlier when she was out in the field or what she thought during her time in the barn. He didn't need to know her fantasies, especially immediately after getting back from a big journey. As a human, instinctual response was simple enough. "H-Hey, Link! That's okay, I miss-..." Stopping herself, she held her lower lip with her teeth prior to reiterating. "O-Or, I mean, I've been wondering where you were."

Coming to a stop in front of her, Link hopped down from Epona's saddle. "I'm sorry for taking so long." He replied as his boots hit the ground. "Had it not been for going through what I did, I wouldn't have stayed the night at my old place. But, like I said, I had one heck of a night last night." Giving a gallic shrug, he continued "I just wasn't able to get back here before nightfall. By the time I got done with everything, it was already sundown." Motioning back beyond the gate, toward Hyrule Field, he kept explaining "Being as tired as I was, I just didn't feel like taking a chance on having to fight any Stalchildren. Those little skeleton guys are the absolute worst." In advance of letting Malon say anything else, the hero began digging around in his luggage. From one of the bags attached to the side of Epona's saddle, he pulled out the special royal blue ocarina. "Behold… Before anyone lays into me about taking so long, I just wanted to show you that I did get what I left for. This is the Ocarina of Time and it was bestowed upon me by the one and only Princess Zelda. It's magical. Whenever certain songs are played, a spell manifests in the world as a particular effect."

Seeing it in Link's hand, Malon felt it looked like any other ordinary ocarina aside from the Triforce emblem on the mouthpiece. When he extended the instrument out to her, she gently took it from him, being careful since she knew well how important it was to the fairy boy. "It looks like it has a crack in it."

Hearing that, the hero took it back from her. "I know. It must have gotten cracked by the thing I fought in the Lost Woods."

Before Malon could shout out in surprise over his admission of combat, her dad opened the door to the farmhouse with Ingo following right behind him. Spotting Link, the first thing Talon did was put his hands on his hips with a smile. "Well, Well, Well… If it ain't the little grasshopper! Where ya' been boy?!" Walking out of the farmhouse, Talon grabbed Link and pulled him into a hug. It was obvious he truly cared a lot for Link. The hefty man was a hugger, but that only applied to people that he truly liked. "Now then…" The overweight farmer continued to speak to Link. "While I might be givin' ya this hug, don' think I'm lettin' ya off on missin' out on all yer' work! We been bustin' our humps 'round here doin' what yer' supposed to be doin'."

Link stayed silent for a minute and seemed to be in thought, contemplating what to say. He was glad to have the Ocarina of Time. He just didn't think it was going to take him so long.

"Speak up, boy, I ain't heard ya' say a single thing!" Talon huffed.

"I'm sorry, sir-…" Link finally replied. "Like I was telling Malon, I had a really tough time getting this." He showed Talon the Ocarina of Time, holding it up to the oversized hylian adult so the guy could see it quite clearly. Both Talon and Ingo seemed to be interested in it, scrutinizing its design. However, they didn't know what to do with it. Neither the farmer nor the farm hand played instruments. Seeing their befuddlement, Link explained more of what it was. "It's the Ocarina of Time. Princess Zelda gave it to me, just like I've said over and over. I promise, I'm not lying… Look, it even has the emblem of the Triforce on it." Link pointed to it with a confident smile. "Let me explain to you all that happened whenever I went to Castle Town. I went to the City of Hyrule to pick up my stuff from the Stitch and Seam; as you all can likely tell." Making hand gestures toward the outfit he donned, he resumed. "After taking care of some business, I got an official letter from Saria, my kokiri mother…" Digging around again, he tried to find the letter. Eventually, he did and handed it to Talon to read. "She told me how bad the woods had gotten, how a plague had caused her and the other kokiri to retreat into their homes and hide. Getting a letter like that, I'm sorry but I decided that I had to go."

"That's no excuse for not coming back in time, Link." Ingo grumbled like a turd.

"Wait, let me explain more-…" Link tried to answer for his time away from the ranch. "It's not so much an excuse as a valid reason for why I didn't come back until today." Putting the Ocarina of Time back into his bag, he began leading Epona toward the barn, making Talon, Malon and Ingo all walk alongside him so they could listen. "Whenever I got to the Kokiri Village, it was infested with hostile wildlife… Chupa, Deku Babas, ect… Saria and the others were stuck inside, just as they said they'd be. When I cleared the village, I found the area where the Great Deku Tree resided. The meadow was also infested. I cleared that too. The fairies there were grateful and as a reward, I managed to get assistance for going back into the Lost Woods." For a brief moment, the hero looked over at the farmer's daughter, almost as if pleading for her to be the one to support him when the adults wouldn't. "Malon, I know that you already know what I'm about to say, but your dad and Ingo probably don't. Long ago, the Lost Woods was cursed by the Great Deku Tree itself. The curse makes it where a hylian without a fairy guiding them cannot enter, for if they do, they turn into a Stalfos."

"Malon told me that…" Talon said. "Which is why I was still concerned that ya' went there on yer' own. The name itself should be 'nough to keep people 'way from it." The hefty farmer had a point at that. The reason behind the curse placed upon it was definitely a good one, one good enough to heed. "The last time ya' went into the Lost Woods, ya' almost didn't come back out." Talon moved forward and placed his arm on Link's left shoulder as they walked together to the front of the barn where the double doors were. "Yer' valued here, Link. I don't want nothin' to happen to ya' again. It was hard enough for me to deal with Malon the first time ya' went missin'. The last thin' I need for ya' to do is to make her go after ya' again." He turned to look at his daughter. "Ain't that right, sweetie pie?""

Although they shared in the light laughter, Ingo looked at Malon, likely truly wondering if she would do the same again if it came down to it.

When the girl thought about it, she had a feeling she probably would. "Daaad." She lamented his teasing of her.

Seeing that Malon was flustered, Link came to her rescue by carrying on with what he had to say. "I had to do it! I had to go into the Lost Woods in order to get the Ocarina of Time." He caught the adults attention. "You're right. It was dangerous. That's why I got help from the fairies and kokiri. With their assistance, I took Saria, Mido and Fado with me. Alongside us, Saria and Mido's fairies came, Breena and Laila. They helped me not-… well-… not turn into a stalfos. Almost dying once was enough for me, I don't need to start going through the process another time."

Everyone nodded in agreement to that as Link opened the double barn doors, allowing Epona to trot inside. The hero led the horse to her stall, letting her inside it. Making sure there was food and water in, Link then gathered all of his gear from off the equine's back. Removing the saddle and all, he placed it on the stall wall, then proceeded to continue recapping his experience. "I've already explained this to about three people, so I'm going to keep it short for now. I'll tell you the whole story later on or another time." Starting from the beginning, he explained "Basically, from the start, whenever I went inside of the Lost Woods, it was desolate, far more-so than under normal circumstances. I've lived in the Kokiri Woods all my life. I've poked my head around in the Lost Woods for a few minutes at a time. I know exactly how things were supposed to be in there and that wasn't it. It was cold and unnaturally quiet, the afternoon sunlight barely broke through the treetop foliage. It might sound stupid of me, needless to say, I went in anyway. I had to if I was ever going to retrieve my ocarina. At the time, I never anticipated lack of sound to be an issue or a warning of things to come."

Ingo's face changed from that of frustration he displayed earlier, to that of interest. Just like Talon and Malon, it would seem that even the grumpy farmhand was wondering what Link had been through in such an accursed woodland. He listened intently as the blonde-haired boy resumed his retelling of events.

"A while into our walk, we stumbled upon the corpses of animals. The animals started out small, as we progressed, we began finding more piles of rotting wildlife. They grew bigger, stronger in terms of their strength they had when they were alive." He made a face, clearly upset at the memories of all the dead forest life. "Later, I figured out that I was being lured into the woods, with those dead animals serving as markers for us to cluelessly follow." He hung his head and sighed, annoyed that he had been fooled into investigating such a gull. "What lured us knew for sure that we'd acknowledge it, but also made sure we'd follow. It had made the trail directly underneath the paint marks the Skull Kid, Timi, had made for Malon and I whenever she was leaving with me the first time I was rescued by her. I should have put one and one together to realize that Timi was in trouble. My mind just didn't think of it. All I focused myself on was both the survival of me and my friends as well as finding the Ocarina of Time."

"Before I could deal with Timi, it turns out there were quite a large number of hungry wolfos out." With bags in his hand, the boy made his way toward the ladder which led from the barn to the loft he'd turned into his room. Slinging the bags over his shoulder, he then swiftly climbed the ladder, going out of sight for a moment. Raising his voice, he told the group the rest of what happened as he unpacked his gear. "In fact, we ran into an entire pack of them. Seriously, it was a pack of about twenty to thirty wolfos."

"A PACK OF WOLFOS!?" Talon hollered out as Link came back to the entrance of the loft where they could see him. As the hero climbed down the ladder, the heavyset farmer ran forth and shook his fist at him in a concerned 'You could have hurt yourself' kind of way. "Son, are ya' insane!? How are ya' not dead!?"

"I'm Link, Mr. Talon…" The young hero replied while jumping off the last rung of the ladder, landing on his feet with a small dust cloud exploding beneath his boots. "I've fought far worse than a pack of wolfos. I've been beaten by far worse than a pack of wolfos. I'm not trying to make it seem like they were insignificant though, because those wolfos were some of the fiercest monsters I've ever had the displeasure of associating myself with. They were literally in a frenzy, throwing their initiates at me to see how well they could fight. Once I killed the first one, I had to fight several others." Wincing as he touched a few of the scratch marks on himself, he clarified "Don't get me wrong, I suffered a few scratches and nearly got myself bitten. By the grace of the Golden Goddesses, I managed to pull through any injuries and just kept fighting."

The hero pointed to the tri-tipped bronze bracelet on his left wrist prior to polishing the image of the Goron Ruby emblazoned onto it. "It would've been much sooner were it not for my Goron Bracelet. But, about thirty minutes in, I began to grow utterly exhausted. It was then that I knew I couldn't keep it up for much longer. Thankfully, whatever had made the trail of dead animals we followed seemed to scare off the wolfos. I thought I could thank it for saving us." Shaking his head, he chuckled softly at the irony. "Boy was I wrong. When I discovered what it was, I was in for the surprise of my life."

Talon looked like he was about to ask who this person was that was luring them, yet he was cut off by Link, who kept talking. "After walking about another quarter of a mile, we came upon the clearing in the woods where Timi had made his home. I-... or Saria, found my ocarina, spotting it amongst everything on the forest floor by nothing other than the blue paint shimmering in the last hour of daylight. When I grabbed it, I played it to see if it would work. Instead, something weird happened. It wasn't something I meant to do! It just happened anyway… Whatever it was, a spell had taken effect. The kokiri, Epona, as well as the fairies were rendered unconscious."

Talon, Malon and Ingo all three donned a look of both horror as well as confusion. Link was moving fast with his story. It was understandable since he was likely tired of telling it. They all knew for sure that there would be more questions asked to him later on. However, for now, what he was summarizing had to suffice.

"I had to fight-…" Link proceeded. "Well… What I had to fight was pretty much a shadow from my past. It's hard to explain… Do you remember the story I told you about saving the Kingdom of Hyrule?"

Instantly, Talon grunted with rolling eyes. "Oh, not this again. Link, boy, ya' gotta stop comin' back to that tale. Ya' got it right the first time you said it, Tis' nothin' other than a story, ya' hear?"

Link sighed while shaking his head. Ingo just looked away. Malon noticed Ingo's strange behaviour and didn't know what was up with the grumpy man keeping that stupefied look. As for the farming girl herself, she was more sure now than ever that Link truly did go through all of what he said. She might not have one hundred percent proof, on the other hand, the way he acted so confident on top of all the proof given that he's done everything else he's ever said he's done, it made her inclined to believe him. It was a shame that her father couldn't do that.

"Mr. Talon, please-…" Link pleaded desperately. "I don't know what else I can say to get you to believe me. At the very least just hear me out."

Talon pinched the bridge of his nose with closed eyes, then waved at Link to let the hero know he could continue.

"Thank you." Link appreciated the chance. "As I was saying; I ran into a monster, an evil being from my past whom I had hoped would be long gone. First, posing as another being, he appeared as Majora's Wrath, an incarnation of one wicked demon. He came from the land of Termina I told you all about. After fighting him, I finally defeated him. It wasn't over though, for it transformed into this atrocious abomination that nearly made my heart fall out of my butt. Not as hard to fight as it was in its previous form, it just scared me to death as it lurched forward to kill, reminding me a lot of the Dead Hand. As it opened its jaws to eat me, I stabbed it down its throat, destroying it."

"What in the name of the goddesses was it?" Ingo asked his first question, now appearing to be even more interested than previously. "Was it some sort of shapeshifter?"

Link nodded. "In a way, yes! You're exactly right… If you also guessed that it still wasn't dead, then you're correct again."

All of them, aside from Link, let out a sigh. By the sounds of what they were being told, they could tell the monster was viciously otherworldly. Malon's shoulders sank in disappointment, having hoped that the freak of nature had been permanently removed from the realm. Thankfully, since the hero was still alive, it was obvious there was more to the story.

"It transformed once more." Link carried on. "This time, it spoke to me, telling me who it was. In the blink of an eye, it became obvious that it was actually another being I'd encountered even earlier than Majora's Wrath. It revealed itself to be none other than the shadowy mirror version of myself that I'd encountered in the Water Temple here in Hyrule."

"Yer' sure that's what it was?" Talon asked with a raised eyebrow, still not believing Link's tale due to the hero's youthful age. "Ya' sure it wasn't some other person dressin' up in all black? Maybe they used magic or tricks to make ya' think ya' were destroyin' several monsters?"

"Daddy!" Malon shouted, angry that her father couldn't stop himself from doubting Link. "Would you give it a rest?! Just let him tell the rest of what happened. Stop yourself. Sheesh."

Getting laid into by his own daughter, Talon just shrugged with a look on his face that told them all he had no clue what he did wrong. Before long, he had one more thing left to say. "I'm just sayin'. There's no way a ten year old boy could go on out and do what he claims he's done. It just ain't happenin'. Heck, when I was ten years old, I was workin' all day and was thinkin' about startin' up my own ranch. Ya' should think of doin' the same, Link. It's much healthier to be down to Hyrule than it is to have yer' head up in the clouds like ya' do with these stories sometimes… Golly."

Malon could see Link gritting his teeth, so she knew that he was getting annoyed. To her surprise, the hero didn't stop this time or give up. Link didn't let her father get to him and answered the question. "I'm sure, Mr. Talon. It wasn't a prankster." He abruptly lifted his shirt to show them more proof.

Malon blushed lightly at the thought of him taking his clothes off, but she gasped when she saw all the bandages. The entire group all had to take a moment to realize that something definitely happened. The boy didn't leave the ranch with those wounds but he sure came back with them. That was enough proof for Malon right there.

Pulling down his bandages for them to see the wound, Link said "See? Some of these are scratches, then again most of them are from 'Dark Link' as he wanted to be called. His sword did a number on me. I even have stitches above my eye."

"You were sword fighting?" Malon asked in concern, looking at the stitches he spoke of.

"Yeah, I had to. Dark Link was hostile… Right from the start, he told me that I was a mistake. He proclaimed to me that I was the result of what happens when heroes fail, that he was there to finish the job I couldn't do." Link stopped for a moment and blinked as if he were too bewildered. "Apparently, he was mad at me for not killing Ganondorf, but I don't know what he wanted me to do about it. I killed Ganondorf in the future. There was nothing I could do about being sent back into time by Princess Zelda. How or why he wants me to kill a man who will never become who he once was, I don't know." Hanging his head with a long exhale, he continued. "Trust me, Ganondorf will never become as powerful as he was seven years into the future."

Ingo's hands balled into fists as Link spoke. At that particular moment, the farmhand looked away again. Clearly he was getting stressed each time Link talked about the future. Yet, he kept listening to Link.

"Back in the future, Ganondorf held immense power because I let him into the Sacred Realm without realizing it, because I was tricked." Although a lot of bad had happened, Link cheered up as he spoke of the effects of his success. "Now, without that power, he's defenseless and unable to take over the kingdom like he did-… err… like he wants to." Nodding in agreement, Link then gestured around the farm. "The ranch was spared too. Talon's here and Ingo hasn't been brainwashed…" He snickered. "That's got to be a plus."

Ingo suddenly broke the conversation by walking away. It made the other three all stop what they were doing, unsure of what was wrong with him. The farm hand took a few moments to himself, staring blankly at the barn wall before coming back. Right away, he realized then that the others were staring at him. "What?" He asked curiously. "It's fine… I just needed a second." Even though Talon and Malon kept staring at him, Ingo had his eyes set only on Link. "I just-… back then-… In the barn… Do you remember me telling you that I could remember?" Once Link nodded with a raised eyebrow, Ingo continued. "I've had nonstop dreams of it. Almost every night, I've thought of the time in which you spoke of. I didn't want to admit it at first. But, it's true… I… I can remember submitting to Ganondorf. He agreed to give me power and placed a magical jewel upon my forehead. I could feel the power from the jewel; what I didn't know was that he'd use it to hypnotize me."

Talon's face contorted in confusion, unsure of what to say or how to say it. In fact, Malon was obviously feeling the same way. Neither she nor her father were aware of Link and Ingo having a conversation regarding the topic. It made them wonder just what it was that Ingo remembered.

'Ingo remembers? How?' Malon mentally speculated. 'How could he remember something that hasn't happened? Link went through it because he's literally blessed by the Golden Goddesses, so it's understandable that he can recall. But, a lowly farmhand? I just don't get it.'

"I think the gemstone that gerudo bastard used caused me to remember things the way I do." Glancing back at Link, Ingo then turned his attention toward Talon and Malon, speaking directly to them. In that moment, they could tell for sure that he wasn't lying. They knew that Ingo wasn't one for stories or jokes. "It's true… I can so vividly recall it, even if it seems like it was a dream. I can feel myself turning evil like I was then; I can feel my own emotions running in a loop. When it happened, when Ganondorf bestowed upon me the jewel that granted me longevity as well as strength, I used it to take over the ranch." Reaching up, he wiped his nose. "I can see myself forcing you out of the ranch, Talon. I remember working Malon to the bone while running the place with an iron fist. Whipping the animals, selling them for cheap and not caring who took them; I wasn't myself, not in the least. It was like the only thing I could express was anger." He then looked at Malon prior to sniffling. "Especially you. I worked you so hard, Malon. Some nights, I wouldn't even let you get any rest, making you stay up to work on chores around the clock. Both you and the animals were miserable, but I didn't care. With the jewel hypnotizing me, I didn't care how much pain you were in. All I cared about was making those stupid rupees."

Ingo broke down into tears, shedding more as he thought further about the topic. "I turned into a monster, right before yall's eyes." Slowly, the man everyone always assumed to be gruff and uncaring began to hyperventilate from drowning in a stew of his own emotions. His hands shook as he held them up to his ears, pressing them against his skull to squeeze and shake his head in disbelief at that which he claimed to have done. "I… I hope you see now why I hid this from you." Turning to Talon, he said "I didn't want you to know that your farmhand threw you out of the ranch and forced your daughter to work like a slave, I didn't want you to think I was still that way and have me removed from the ranch by the town guards. I promise you that I'm absolutely nothing like that!" He waved his hands in the air a few times. "Sure, I might be cold and distant at times, but I'm not a bad person. I've come to care a lot about the two of you and would never allow such a heinous act to come to fruition." His line of sight dropped to the ground as he continued in a depressed tone "I understand if you do want to kick me out. I wouldn't let someone like me stay either."

Talon kept his awestruck stare, unsure of how to proceed after an event like that. "Whoa, whoa, whoa-…" The hefty farmer finally spoke, interrupting Ingo from his sadness. "That really 'appened to ya'?" Placing his hand on Ingo's shoulder he resumed. "I'm not gonna pretend ta' know how in the world this 'appened. But, I can tell ya' that I know ya', Ingo. Ya' been with us since before Najiyah passed away, ya seen Malon grow into the young lady she is now and ya kept this ranch runnin' since day one. Yer' definitely not this man yer' so worried 'bout. I ain't concerned with that in the least."

Ingo turned his head to look the hefty man straight in the eyes. Hearing him bring up Malon's mother meant something, it meant that he was being very serious as Talon didn't bring her up in everyday conversation.

"I… I'm just stunned. Ya' shoulda' told me about this sooner." Talon asserted.

Shaking her head and blinking as her father continued to stand dumbfounded, Malon tried to wrap her mind around the rest of the revelation. "So… What you're saying is that all Link's said has been true?"

Ingo stopped sniveling after the pep talk, wiping his nose of congestion so he could speak clearly. "I think so. That's all I remember though; me kicking you out of the ranch and becoming a farming dictator." His lip quivered again as he had to give himself a moment to regain a sense of calm. "It feels so good to finally admit it. But, I still can't believe it. I haven't been sleeping well ever since Link told me."

Malon looked over at Link, seeing the hero looking like he was in deep thought, likely contemplating how Ingo remembered something that he shouldn't be able to. In spite of having speculated the tale was true, this was all the proof she needed to know that Link wasn't lying whenever he talked about his adventures spanning time. After all that had occurred, from a stroke of luck, it was Ingo who turned out to be the one to verify Link's tales.

"If I were you, I'd listen to him whenever he talks about Ganondorf." Ingo told the farmer and his daughter. "I played it off once before, pretending it was just a dream, but I can't do it anymore. I can't ignore my own memories."

"Wow…" Link merely said, not able to communicate anything else.

"I'm feelin' the same way…" Talon agreed with Link's stupefaction. "I cain't believe that Ingo has been this depressed and I cain't believe that Link actually went on an adventure given to 'em by the goddesses." Proceeding a few stares from Malon, he changed his tune right quick. The hefty farmer knew he had to think differently now given the new evidence. "But! Seein' as how things 'ave changed, I suppose I'll 'ave to start believin'." Clearing his throat, he tugged Ingo closer to him. "First thing's first. Ingo, I had no clue ya' felt this way about yer'self. Although I never expected this, for what Link had said to be true, I want ya' to know that yer' a valued member of this ranch. Whatever 'appened in the future, just know it ain't come true. Ya' can change it. So, don't feel down, just better yer'self and prove that ya' ain't the person who did all the stuff ya' say ya've done." Giving the farmhand's shoulder a pat, he smiled wide to let Ingo know that it was going to be okay. "Besides, I don't see it. Sure, yer' grumpy; I just don't see ya' becomin' an authoritarian asshole… pardon my language, kids… Yer' a hard worker, ya' always 'ave been."

"I know… I'm not a bad person. You're right." Ingo accepted the consolation. "Sure, I probably liked the power I had from the jewel. It's just, what made me change in the first place was being overworked. I like work, but I can't do it all." He proclaimed.

Talon motioned over in Link's direction. "I know… I 'ave put too much workload on y'all lately. That's what we got Link's help for. He's takin' some of the work off of all of us and doin' it himself. So long as he stays here, I 'ave a feelin' we'll always have less to do." He chuckled at the little joke he made. On the other hand, Ingo, Link and Malon stared at him in frustration regarding his avoidance of any form of work. Luckily, he was correct this time as Link did reduce the amount of work either of them needed to put in on a daily basis. What was unfortunate was that it merely gave Malon's lazy father another excuse to sit around on his bum. With Link doing work, Talon would never get up from the couch in their farmhouse. At the very least, despite his lack of work, the man was caring as he summed up the last of what he had to say to Ingo. "No more frettin' on it. I promise, things are different than they were then. Ya' won't 'ave to do now like you did then."

"Okay…" Ingo choked out, still sniffling. He dried his tears in advance of having Talon let go of his shoulder. "What about Link?" The farmhand asked. "Are you really going to believe him now when he tells you stuff?"

Talon turned to Link prior to saying. "I do. I 'ave no choice." After squatting down to the young boy's level, Talon stared right in his eyes for about a solid minute. The visual contact was another indication of how earnest the heavy farmer was being. "When I say this, I mean it. I didn't believe ya' before. I thought ya' were makin' up a tale and tryin' to pass it off as reality. It's not unreasonable considerin' that yer' just a child. Adults usually let children do their own thing, not go joinin' in on their games. And, well-… Like I said, I thought ya' were just playin' games." He stopped to look back at Ingo for a moment, then sighed. "What Ingo says changes how I feel. I believe ya' now. I know it's a big turnaround from earlier. It's just, I 'ave to if Ingo says he remembers things. All the years I've known em', I've never once known em' to lie. He might be rude, but that don't make em' a liar."

Ingo rolled his eyes at the jab while otherwise agreeing to most of what Talon had to say.

"Malon believes ya'." Talon acknowledged. "Now Ingo does too and he claims he even remembers some of yer' adventure… That just leaves me… Let's put it this way, from now on, I plan on givin' ya' the benefit of the doubt." Following that, he gave Link a pat on the back, similar to what Ingo got in order to let them know that the farmer was being honest.

"Well thank you, Mr. Talon. That means a lot." Link responded to what was said. "I've needed more people to believe me lately. When nobody believes me, it makes me have a lot of self-doubt until I feel like I'm the one who's losing faith in my own memories."

The hero smiled with his amazingly perfect teeth, making Malon crack a smile herself. 'Oh, Link.' She thought, knowing it had been on the boy's mind for the longest time. She knew he'd always concerned himself with his adventures. Him being so adamant about them was one of the main reasons why she was convinced he was telling her the truth this whole time. 'He must really be elated to know that all three of us believe him now. No more walking around thinking we consider him a storyteller who can't stop from mentioning his fibs.'

"It feels good." The hero confirmed Malon's suspicions. "It's like I have my own little sanctuary where people believe or remember what deeds I did. You know, when Princess Zelda sent me back to this timeline where I'm a kid, that's what I was most upset about; not being acknowledged for my quest and all I'd done in them. All I wanted was for people to know how hard I'd worked."

Talon closed his eyes for a moment as Link talked about Princess Zelda again. Hearing the hero speak as if he'd gotten to know a member of royalty, it pushed Talon's patience and ability to truly believe. Nonetheless, the farmer did good as he opened his eyes to nod in agreement. "W-Well, I can see why… Actually, ya' know, if the shoe were on the same foot, I'd be a bit upset too." This was a sort of stepping stone for Malon's father as he finally agreed with a part of what Link said regarding his past adventures. He'd never done that before. In fact, now that he had chosen to accept what Link said as truth, he showed more concern for the boy by getting a decent look at the stitches above his eye. "Movin' on from that, I do wanna know who stitched up yer' wounds. Did ya' go to the doctor after ya' fought the dark version of yer'self?"

Link nodded no, then began continuing telling them what happened in the Lost Woods. "No…" He chuckled, finding the ordeal funny. "I went to the Know-It-All Brothers instead. They're the wisest kokiri because they've been around for two hundred years. As for Dark Link, yes I destroyed him… or it… or whatever. Like I said, it called me a failure and said that because I couldn't kill Ganondorf, it was going to kill me and then finish the job. I suppose that meant it was going to personally go kill Ganondorf. None of that happened since I killed-… err… destroyed it. In spite of going as far as to try to convince the evil entity that it could've joined me, in the end, it mocked me and forced me to defeat it. Nonetheless, it also made sure I knew that it wasn't gone for good."

"What do you mean?" Malon asked, breaking her silence again. To her, it didn't make much sense for Dark Link to be able to come back after Link destroyed it. After thinking about it for a second though, she realized that it must have been able to regenerate if it had shape shifted several times already.

Link grumbled a bit in thought prior to sighing. "It's like I said, it changed forms repeatedly. Each time I killed it, the thing turned into something else. From Majora's Wrath, to an abomination, to Dark Link. The only way I know that its real form was the shadowy version of myself is because of the speech it gave. I was sure that was the real form it held and not just another one it chose to shapeshift into." He stopped and felt his abdominal wounds, wincing afterward as his hands ran over them. "That was definitely its final form and it put up a serious fight. Ugnn-…"

Grumbling more, the boy let go of his torso and looked back at Malon since she was the one who asked the question. "It nearly killed me. Were it not for Timi jumping on it and holding it back, the insidious demon would have delivered a death blow by stabbing me straight through the chest. With Timi restraining it, I was given enough time to do to him what he would've done to me." A small smile came upon his face even though it vanished fairly quickly thereafter. "I'm just glad the Skull Kid was there. Without his help, I'd most certainly be dead."

After that, he moved onward with the rest of his memories, proceeding to tell them what happened next. "After stabbing him in the chest, the monster simply proclaimed that I had won, that I was free to go forth and do my own thing. Only, he claimed he'd do the same and that we'd see one another again, one day soon." Link looked away. He took a step back and sighed again, the only thing he could do to alleviate the anxiety held within him.

Malon could tell the matter was digging into his head, really bothering him. Nonetheless, she didn't really know what to say in order to comfort him. The most she had fought was a few Chuchus and a Stalchild or two. The young hylian girl couldn't imagine fighting as much as Link had throughout his time wandering Hyrule. The way he felt after each session of combat, it was far different than how she felt just living a regular life; she knew that just by the small taste of it she got when she saved him from the Lost Woods. She couldn't imagine going back into that accursed woodland, much less fighting a horde of wolfos, then a shadowy demonic version of herself.

"So, in other words, he's gone for now?" Talon asked.

Link shrugged and cocked his head to the side. "Yeah, but, for how long? I don't know. I think Dark Link is the only one that could answer that."

Coughing, Ingo looked like he felt better, good enough to ask "Do you think it could be soon or like a few years?"

"I-… I really can't predict it. I'm sorry." Link replied. "It's possible it could take a while for it to regenerate or transform into whatever else it pleases. It might take a couple of years, it might take ten years, then again, it could be back later on this afternoon."

All of them gave a look of concern, worried that it might actually happen that soon. Taking a brief period to think, Malon figured that the Dark Link fellow certainly wasn't a character she wanted to see come walking into the ranch. Just thinking of an evil shadow that looked like the boy she had feelings for gave her the willies. She simply prayed that Link could win again if he were forced to go up against it once more.

"I don't believe it's going to happen that way." Link responded. "I have a feeling it's going to do the same thing it did before it showed itself to me in the Lost Woods. It's going to torment me by appearing in forced vision-like daydreams. The demon's done this to me several times, ever since I awoke from getting sick back in the forest when Malon rescued me. I'd think I see a shadow out of the corner of my eyes, or he'd appear to me in dreams. The times it was worse was when he materialized in the mirrors. He'd laugh and spout nonsense about how he was going to consume everything-..."

At the same time, Malon and Link said "Like Majora."

Seeing Link staring at her in confusion, Malon quickly clarified to the hero how she knew what he was going to say. "Back when you were unconscious, you spoke about that place called Termina. You said that the moon was falling and Majora would consume everything. On the back of Epona, as we rode home, you even freaked out about it, thrashing and jumping around on the saddle because you thought it was going to happen."

"O-Oh…" Link managed to say, unsure of how to fully respond to that. "Well… This was definitely in Hyrule, not Termina. Even though I did manage to figure out from a certain someone that Termina was a real place." Taking his hat off, he waved it in front of his face to deter a few insects flying about. "Remember when I wanted to go see the Happy Mask Salesman and he wasn't there? Well, this time he was and he filled me in on all I needed to know about it. I've figured out on my own that Dark Link might have come from Termina. The way he disguised himself as Majora's Wrath, a variant of Marjoa, it might be possible that-…." The hylian boy stopped for a moment and narrowed his eyes. Looking back at Malon, his jaw slowly dropped ajar. "It's possible that Dark Link either came from Termina, was Majora this whole time, or has my memories and thus knows of all my experiences up until now." Tapping his finger to his lips in deep contemplation, he couldn't come to a conclusion. "I don't know which one it would be. In fact, it could actually be all three… I never considered the possibility until now."

Unable to figure it out, Link soon moved on. "Either way, I don't think Dark Link will be back tonight or anytime soon. If I'm lucky, he won't be back for a very long time."

Talon mumbled about a few things being preposterous, then spoke. "Well, I'm just glad yer' alright. Ya' can tell us all 'bout it durin' dinner tonight. We're having haberdine (salt-dried fish) with galentyne sauce and pickled cabbage. For now, why don't ya' get yer'self settled in. Ya' can even start gettin' back to work later on." He gave Link one big pat on the shoulder that nearly knocked the young hylian down and with that, the last of the affection he shared. "Good to 'ave ya' back, Link."

Ingo nodded in agreement, only without the physical touch. He'd never been that emotional of a man. His way of showing he cared was through the look in his eyes. Besides, they all knew he felt for Link because of the outburst he previously asserted.

However, without anything else to say, both adults walked off to resume their daily duties, leaving Link and Malon alone by the side of the barn. This moment was one the farm girl anticipated while dreading at the same time. Not knowing what to do or say, they simply stared at one another for two or three minutes. The farmer's daughter figured that the hero would've said something by now, yet he hadn't. He just kept staring at her. Without saying anything, she contemplated leaving too. She knew that it would be a rude thing to do, but she was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Her thoughts of earlier, how she wanted to kiss him or how she imagined him hugging her from behind, whispering sweet words of nothing into her long ear; they clogged her mind, sending a blast of heat to her face that was enough to redden her cheeks. The more the hylian girl looked at the Hero of Time, the more the feeling in her heart grew until it threatened to pound out of her chest. When she finally couldn't take it anymore, she found her feet turning around. After all, she knew she couldn't seriously walk up and just kiss him. Truly, she figured all that gooey puppy love was a matter best left in her daydreams.

Malon tried looking back at him, but as soon as she did, her cheeks flushed redder. Nothing she could think of would save her from being embarrassed. She knew what she was experiencing was classical symptoms of being in love with a boy. Reddened face, sweaty palms, twitching fingers; it even felt like she had butterflies fluttering amongst her tummy. This made her attempt to talk to him hopeless; and even more so, her desire to kiss him impossible. The confusion that set in was from being so conflicted inside.

Clogging her thought process, it made it harder to figure out what she wanted to do in the first place. As she had previously thought, she couldn't do what she truly desired, that being to walk up and kiss him on the lips. From this angle, having him actually standing there before her, it just seemed like a bad idea. Although she was fairly sure he wanted to reciprocate the feelings she held, she couldn't be certain without actually making the move, especially not if he wasn't going to make the move first. 'That makes it a fifty-fifty shot at me being correct.' Malon mentally weighed her options. 'If I'm wrong, what worries me is the repercussions.' She was flat scared of the rejection. 'If I tried to make a move on him and he rejected me, I'd be forever scarred that the very first boy I'd ever felt anything for spurned me. If that happened, my self esteem would hit an all time low and I'd probably always feel like I wasn't good enough.'

After a few more seconds of debating, the matter got the best of the hylian girl. She just couldn't do it. She hated getting her hopes up with the anticipation she held, but this was too much for her to do right now. 'Link just came home and needs to unwind.' Malon told herself. 'He doesn't need a farmgirl clamoring for his attention.' Proceeding with a forced smile, she began to turn around. To her surprise, as soon as she turned around, he stopped her by gently grabbing her arm. She looked down at his hand, then turned back to look at him. The look on his face was unreadable. Link gave a smile then, but it returned to a wavering mixture of anxiety and anticipation. In a sense, his facial expressions mirrored how Malon felt. Part of her wondered then if he was feeling the same thing. 'Is it possible for boys to be so nervous about love that they can't tell a girl how they feel?' She thought, wondering if perhaps Link was also too worried about her reaction to tell her how he felt.

"Wait…" With a stutter, Link kept her from leaving. "Malon… I-… I w-wanted to talk to you before we get back to work." He breathed a tad harder than normal. "While I was in the woods… I got to thinking about things; how you rescued me and how we've been hanging out together a lot. Ever since we met, I've considered you a friend." He stopped talking for a moment and looked away, his own cheeks slowly beginning to get redder as if he were flustered.

Malon raised an eyebrow as she stared at him in wonder of what he was talking about. The way he said it made it sound like he just wanted to thank her. Then again, she knew that he'd already thanked her. There wasn't a need for him to do it again.

"I just-…" Link kept going. "Well-… Do you remember when we were in the barn, milking cows and Besty kicked me in the stomach so hard that I thought it was going to come out of my mouth?" He waited for Malon to nod in agreement prior to resuming. "I was trying to tell you how much I've-…" Trailing off for a second before coming back, he attempted to look her in the eyes while talking. "I-… I-…... Malon, I really care about you. I care about you a whole lot… I-… I'd go as far as to say I really really care about you."

The farm girl's eyes blinked before narrowing as she stared at him from top to bottom. She felt her heart pounding even faster now, quicker than she ever thought it would. Physically, she felt like she had just run ten laps around the ranch. As she listened to him, her cheeks remained red. There wasn't anything she could do other than take in what he said. As she did, she eventually came to the rather obvious conclusion. 'Is he trying to confess his love to me?'

"I'm trying to say-…" Link stopped one more time, closed his eyes, sighed and then opened them. "Ughh… This is so hard for me to get out. I'm very nervous and I've never been any good at telling a girl how I felt about them." Clearing his throat, the young hero explained to the best of his ability. "Up until now, I've only had little crushes when I was younger, so it's difficult to come to terms with what I'm trying to get out."

"W-What exactly are you trying to say?" Malon squeaked, barely comprehending what he was saying as her nervousness made her too reticent.

Licking his lips in nervousness, Link was nervous too as he bashfully laughed at himself for being unable to properly say what he was trying to convey. Under normal circumstances, Malon would have given him some additional time to gather his thoughts and put them in a way they'd both understand. Unfortunately for him, she wanted to know what he had to say that very second. After all, it was he who chose to keep her there. The moment he realized that, seeing Malon's wide-eyes and slack jaw, Link exhaled a really long sigh.

'If she doesn't feel the same way…' Link thought to himself. 'But, she has to… I've seen her face, I know how nice she's been to me. She's given me plenty of signs. Now, I just need to get it out and over with so it'll be worth it to know the truth of how we feel about each other.'

All the sighs started to make the farm girl think what he wanted to tell her was going to be something bad. Despite her inkling of the opposite, she never fully expected him to say what he said next.

"I'm trying to say that I-…" Link grunted and then finally came bursting out with it. At long last, those sweet ever-expected words came from his lips. "I'm trying to say that-… I think I love you, Malon!"

His hand covered his face for a moment after he said it, trying to hide the massive red blush that accompanied what he had said. Still, now that he had started telling her, he couldn't stop. He continued to explain his emotions as they came pouring out like a torrent of water. "I've been too scared to admit it to you until now! Ever since I awoke in your room and realized you were the one who rescued me, I've had this strange feeling in my chest whenever I think of you. It's like I can't get you off my mind and it's somehow affecting my body. I can't deny it or hide it anymore." Revealing his incredibly sheepish facial expressions, he gently tapped his fingers together in nervousness while admitting further. "At first, I wanted to be friends with you, but these feelings have made it abundantly clear to me that I'd like to try and be more than friends. All the moments we shared up until now truly mean something to me, I know that now, which is why I'm telling you this." Link gave a rather conspicuous gulp. "I learned that life is valuable and that I shouldn't live it hesitantly."

"Y-You love me?" Malon asked squeamishly, with wide-eyes, a quivering lip and shaky voice. The young red-head nearly wanted to drop to the ground squirming in excitement. It was the only sentence that she really understood out of everything else that he said to her.

"I do." Link spoke softly in a calmer voice, proving how honest he was being as he fought through the apprehension for the sake of their blooming relationship.

At that moment, Malon lost control over herself. The hylian girl's thoughts raced rampantly until she let instinct take over. Taking a step forward, the two locked eyes. His blue eyes and her blue eyes connected, sharing in their gaze emotions of pure compassion for one another. Malon's arms extended out from her side before wrapping around his back. She squeezed the hero tightly, enjoying the sensation of having him pressed against her. His body heat slowly seeped through his clothes, mixing with hers until the warmth was just as pleasant as the hug itself. Seeing how she could already feel his heartbeat, she was sure he could feel hers too.

'Wow' Link thought.

'It feels good, he feels good.' Malon admitted to herself. 'He even smells of the forest, same as he always does.'

Together, they stayed like that for about a minute, with the farm girl hugging him until Link actually joined in. He Wrapped his arms around her. 'Her whole body is pressed against mine.' Being in such close proximity, her scent wafted to his nose. 'She always smells so good. Gerudo Soap and Thyme.' The boy kept thinking 'And she looks absolutely beautiful, especially in her new dress.' Staring down at her he found himself in awe of her features. Her red-hair made her look a bit more like a gerudo when her face was flushed. Yet, the way that blush traveled along the bottoms of her long hylian ears was just too cute even for a boy Link's age. 'I always thought she was pretty when I saw her in the future, but I never knew she was this beautiful all along.'

A smile came to Malon's face as he hugged her back. Whenever she gazed up at him, he smiled at her. Those pearly whites made her blush more. Having one of her greatests desires seemingly coming true, her adolescent body still knew the basics of what to do. Even though she almost couldn't believe it, even wanting to pinch herself, instead of causing physical harm, she found her body automatically doing something else. On impulse, she reached up and cupped Link's cheek in her hand, her smile softening as she shared the concerns she held ever since he left for the Lost Woods a second time. "I worried about you the entire time you were in the Forbidden Forest, Link. I was scared that a monster would get you or that you'd wind up falling victim to the curse all over again. You don't know how badly I wanted to keep you from even going there. I wanted to tell Daddy to try and make you stay. I would have too, had I not known that you would've simply snuck out on your own. You also needed to get your ocarina… So, I let you go… But, oh, I worried the entire time!"

Link tightened his loving embrace as he lowered his face toward Malon's, getting so close that she could feel his breath tickling her supple skin. The farm girl didn't know what it was the hero was trying to do, yet out of romantic desire for him she merely proceeded instinctively, letting him do whatever he wanted. Their lips hovered inches apart as he responded to her concern. "Don't be so worried about me, Malon. I can take care of myself. I've been doing this for almost two years. That might not be all that much, but it's enough for me to know that I'll do anything I can to protect you and your family."

Malon couldn't help herself from watching as he spoke, hypnotized by those alluring moving lips. Hearing that he wanted to keep her as well as her family safe brought more butterflies to her stomach. Suddenly, she was able to envision him as that handsome knight she had fantasized about so vividly. On the inside, she felt so incredibly safe, so insanely happy. That fuzzy sensation inside of her was powerful. From nothing other than a warm hug, she knew for sure that he was the one that she wanted to be with for the rest of her life. She even wanted to go further than that and say that she knew he was her real soulmate.

For as long as she had lived, never before had the farm girl felt that way about any other boy she'd ever encountered. She couldn't even imagine herself feeling that way toward any other regular boy. Link was just so mature, so smart, so strong, so different from everybody else. She was flat out attracted to him in a way a princess fawns over a striking soldier. In fact, at that very moment, all she'd thought of up until then came flooding into her brain like a parade of bulls. She knew what she wanted. She knew what she needed. With instinct coming to, she once again let it take over and nature guide the way. Her body decided it had to let him know her true feelings and the only way she could think of was to do the complete unthinkable. It wasn't something she normally did to a boy. Nonetheless, with the extra courage and the heat of the moment, she was able to do what she never would have done.

Her eyes automatically closed down to thin slits, barely enough for her to see. Spontaneously going for it, she gradually leaned forward to press her delicate lips to his, feeling them connect and watching as Link's eyes shot wide-open in utter surprise. His lips were softer than she thought they'd be. Her first kiss was given to him and it felt so good. Holding onto his back and neck, she kept him there, kissing him. It lasted about five seconds, long enough for her to relish every bit, every inch of his lips to hers.

Once she pulled away, she opened her eyes and stared at his flushed red face. He was embarrassed, plain as day. But, the farm girl was too. Except she also felt incredibly proud of herself for taking the initiative. 'I actually shared a kiss with a boy, a damn good-looking boy.' Having one last thing to say, since their relationship was coming out into the open, Malon went for it, telling him her true feelings as well. "I… I love you too, Link."

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AUTHORS NOTE: All Previous Chapters Have Been Revised And Converted To 3rd Person. Outline and Rough Drafts Of Next 9-12 Chapters COMPLETE.