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.

21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

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[Time: 12:45 P.M. (Noon)]

[Date: Month 6 'Early-Summer', Day 24, 8th Era]

(Location: Hyrule, City of Hyrule, Castle Town East District - Sanitarium)

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"OWW, SHIT!" Link hollered in pain even while trying his best to not move an inch. The wound on his back had been liberally flushed with a Health Potion. For thirty minutes, it had also been packed with honey soaked gauze. Now, having the gauze removed, no matter how delicate the doctor tried to be, the boy was seething in agony. "P-Pardon my language."

"You're lucky that their sword missed your kidney. It was by less than an inch, but still a miss." Dr. Euclid declared with a muffled voice as he began stitching up Link, who lay without a tunic on his stomach atop the surgical table there in an operating room of Castle Town's Sanitarium. The room wasn't dark, yet the doctor's head mirror managed to reflect what light there was to brightly illuminate the site, allowing him to work in a perfect condition even in spite of looking through a glass-lensed leather anti-miasma mask. "I know you've had plenty of wounds in your past; it's obvious since there's scars all over you. But, this time was probably worse than that. Most of the ones in your past weren't so close to vital organs."

"I was surrounded." Link explained, wincing as the doctor's needle passed through the lacerated skin around the wound on his lower back. "I was surrounded and lost focus. I was worried about my family getting killed."

Standing out of the way of the doctor, Malon held onto Link's hand, fingers entwined and gently squeezing to help him through the pain. Hearing the hero continue to call them his family made her very happy.

"I understand." Dr. Euclid replied. "I'm relieved that you all made it through this with far less injuries than I'd expect of folks in your predicament." Adjusting his head mirror, he resumed gradually pulling the suturing tight enough the wound started to close. Clearing his throat, he mumbled incomprehensible words of doubtful confusion prior to admitting "I can't believe you took down all those bandits. I thought you were making up all that stuff about being an adventurer until the guard that brought you in mentioned you trained as a Knight of Hyrule under Captain Osun's guidance." Leaning closer, he whispered. "Why didn't you tell me? I can keep secrets."

Link tried hard to not even smile even though he kind of wanted to. He just squeezed Malon's hand instead as he felt the stitching sliding through his skin. Groaning through grit teeth, he simply enquired "Would you have even believed me? I'm used to it. Most think I'm playing imaginary."

"You are super young to be so skilled." Sister Pinelopi explained an adult's reasoning.

"And most children your age aren't taught by Captain Osun." Sister Gertrude added in as she returned to the operating room with an extra tin of Healing Salve. This holy woman was the one who assisted the doctor earlier with the patient that had a tapeworm. She was a darker skinned brunette with curly hair, green eyes and a beauty mark to the left of her upper lip. "Most kids your age are just now losing interest with toys; becoming porters, merchant apprentices or are pages training to be a squire. You're more of an exception than a usual case, that's for sure."

Dr. Euclid agreed with his nurses by saying "Take Malon for example. She's not exactly the soldier you are." Using the healing salve, he dabbed it on the section of the puncture he'd already sutured, then carried on with what area remained to be stitched.

"Hey!" Malon playfully protested the notion that she wasn't nearly as adept as Link was. "I killed a man today."

"That ain't somethin' ya oughta be proud of." Talon suddenly said, speaking up after having been silent for the last thirty minutes. "T'was a necessity, notta game."

Malon was taken aback by her father's response, but tried to reiterate what she meant in case he had misunderstood. "Oh, I know that. I just meant-..."

"If ya treat people the way most people treat cattle, ya'll find yer'self bloodthirsty, slaughterin' someone that don't deserve it." Talon interjected.

"Daddy, what are you talking about?" Malon wondered, unsure of why he was saying such a thing. "I had to kill this guy. It was total self-defense." Blinking, she looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Does that make me bloodthirsty?"

As abruptly as he interrupted the conversation, the overweight farmer left it too, seemingly zoning out.

"Are you okay, Mr. Talon?" Sister Pinelopi asked upon noticing the man's strange demeanor.

Nodding his head, Talon came back to reality. "Yeah, I'm alright." Swallowing roughly, he leaned forward in the chair. Looking around, he seemed a bit disoriented, but also upset. The others were right to wonder why he wasn't happy about his daughter being more than capable of defending herself if push came to shove. He was proud when she managed to fend off a pack of Wolfos or a troop of ChuChu, he was even amazed to hear about her fight with Stalchildren. Yet, he seemed distraught over her killing a bandit. "Sorry. I don't think I know what I'm talkin' 'bout. Don't listen to me." He chuckled softly, hiding his true thoughts behind humour. "This friggin' goose egg on my noggin' is makin' me see stars."

Malon wasn't satisfied with her father's response and scrupulously continued to eye him. She would've pressed for more details as to why he acted like she was becoming some monster, but was distracted by the physician asking questions.

"How about you, darling?" Dr. Euclid referred to the farmgirl without looking away from his task as he neared finishing stitching the hero's wound closed. "Has your neck stopped bleeding?"

Pulling away the handful of gauze she'd been given to replace Link's hat, she saw that there was very little fresh blood. "I think so." She replied prior to letting go of the boy's hand in order to gently touch the mark left on her neck from where the marauder held her hostage with a knife to her throat. "I actually forgot about it for a bit. Maybe it's healing faster than it would since you put that Healing Salve on it?"

"That's correct." The doctor confirmed as he tightened the stitching and then tied off the end of the treading as close to the surface as possible. Afterward, he grabbed a pair of surgical scissors and snipped away the excess suturing. "Plus, it was superficial. I was hoping it wouldn't need any stitches. Thankfully, it looks like I was right." Now that he was done using his head mirror, Dr. Euclid turned to stare at the nurse. "What do you think, Sister Gertrude? Does she need stitches or is it closed enough for her to just take it easy?" His job was complete, having done as the medical university taught him to do in such a situation; flushing the wound with a Health Potion, packing it with honey coated gauze for thirty minutes, removing the gauze and stitching it closed. All that was left to do was apply the rest of the healing salve, let it soak in and then top it with a honeycomb buffer as well as an actual bandage.

Examining the injury to the farmgirl's neck, Sister Gertrude made sure it wasn't bleeding. "It looks good, doctor."

"Praise Farore." Dr. Euclid thanked the Goddess of Life.

"Praise Farore." Sister Gertrude and Sister Pinelopi both said their thanks at the same time, obligated to always worship the green goddess.

"Go ahead and put a bandage on her neck while I finish up." Dr. Euclid then told Sister Gertrude in advance of utilizing Sister Pinelopi since she wasn't currently occupied. "Sister Pinelopi, would you give Mr. Talon a vial of Healing Tincture? He's going to need it for his contusion and low level rhaze. There's definitely some commotion going on in that head of his, maybe swelling too." I'd say, five drops now, three drops twice a day for the rest of the week."

"Yes, doctor." Sister Pinelopi acknowledged in advance of heading over to the supply room to get a vial of healing tincture.

Link cleared his throat and yawned. He was tired and his muscles were sore. All he wanted to do now was go home and get as much rest as he could before it was time to do chores. Nonetheless, since the boy didn't have an accessible mirror, he was curious about the progress too since it had to go well before he could even go home. "How's it looking back there, doc?"

"Oh, very well." He reassured the young lad before joking with him. "You know, I'm a professional. Before this, I was a tailor and before that I was a butcher."

"What?!" Link lifted his head off the surgery table, a bit shocked by the revelation.

"I'm kidding, Link." Dr. Euclid chuckled from behind his mask. "Before this I was the previous doctor's assistant and went to university. All jokes aside, my father was a mortician and I was his apprentice." Clicking his tongue from the memories, he opened a jar of mashed honeycomb, dipping his index and middle finger into it to get a glob. "Yep. Dad wasn't pleased when I told him I was sick of looking at dead bodies and wanted to try my hand on a live one. Thankfully, my mother helped me out by talking some sense into him and paying for my tuition at the university." Delicately smearing the mashed honeycomb mixture over the newly sutured wound, the doctor made sure to coat the area in order to make a protective barrier against infection. "He sure was surprised though whenever I paid her back in a week."

"Wow." Was all Link could say in response.

"So don't worry." Dr. Euclid once again reassured him. "It looks fine and it'll heal up nicely. Just try to be more careful next time you're fighting highwaymen."

Finally, Link chuckled even though it hurt his side and the wound. "I hope this is the only time I have to do that."

Coming back into the operating room, Sister Pinelopi approached and showed Talon the Healing Tincture she had fetched from the supply room. As she uncorked the cap, she showed him the little notches in the glass of the vial. "Okay, Mr. Talon. Do you see these marks on the glass vial?" Once the disoriented man said yes, she proceeded with "Each of those is a regular three drop dose. Now, I'm going to write all this down for you, but you can't forget to take this twice a day for the swelling." Measuring out the extra dose needed to jumpstart the anti-inflammation process, the spry nurse dispensed it into a tiny cup she'd brought with her. "You can use any cup you want. Just make sure to take three drops twice a day."

"Three drops, twice a day." Talon repeated to confirm he understood before taking the cup from the nurse and drinking the dosage of Healing Tincture.

"Just let me put on a bandage." Dr. Euclid told Link as he finished putting a layer of mixed honeycomb over the stitches. Using surgical dressing, he placed that over the top of the quick drying honeycomb in advance of wrapping several layers of gauze around it, circling the hero's shoulder, going down across his stomach and back to form a sorta belt that secured the dressing against the wound. "Alright. You're done, son."

"Finally…" Link replied before making himself clear. "Sorry. I just want to go home."

"Me too." Malon added in.

Leaning up off the surgery table, the boy grunted from the agony of his puncture wound. The pain wasn't nearly as sharp as it was prior to stopping the bleeding, having a Health Potion and being treated by an official surgeon. Instead of being intense, the pain was a duller throbbing sensation. Still, the sutures made the skin surrounding the wound feel tight, limiting his basic range of motion. "I wanna get back to the ranch and take a bath before having a well-deserved nap." As he grabbed his tunic splattered with dried blood, he was about to put it back on before stopping as a question came to his mind. "Wait a moment. Can I even take a bath with these stitches?"

Dr. Euclid nodded as he walked over to a nearby sink basin, proceeding to wash his hands in it with the assistance of Sister Gertrude, who poured water from a clay jug. "You can as long as the honey buffer holds up. But, you need to check it every time before you do. Once it starts to peel, you need to take a sponge bath and try to avoid getting any water around it."

Link was relieved to know he'd at least be able to go home and take a bath to get all the bandit blood off of him. "Good." Pulling his tunic up over his head, he was careful to not stretch too much and opted to simply let the garment fall into place. Thankfully, both the honey barrier and the medical bandages formed a buffer so the fabric couldn't snag the freshly placed sutures.

"Do you have bandages at home?" Sister Pinelopi enquired.

"Yes." Malon was quick to reply. "We keep stocked up in case one of the animals injures themselves. Horses use a lot, so we have plenty for our tiny bodies."

"Good point." The sister responded. "Just make sure to change it regularly, especially if the honey buffer falls off or you can see blood leaking out of it."

"I'll make sure." Link told them while hopping down from the operating table.

"You're all free to go." Dr. Euclid told the group as he dried his hands on a towel hanging off a rack built onto the side of the sink basin.

Talon stood up from his seat with the Healing Tincture and instructions in his hand to ask. "How much do I owe ya?"

Cocking his head to the side in confusion, the doctor merely waved off the farmer's inquiry. "What? Don't worry about it. You give us discounts all the time, this is the least I can do in return. Just make sure to get home safely this time."

For whatever reason, perhaps out of respect or maybe even just proper etiquette, Talon refused to walk away without paying for the sanitarium's services. "No, no… Ya know I cain't do that. Just name yer' price and I'll see if I can pay it right 'ere right now. If not, I'll be back with the money tomorrow."

Sighing as he knew the farmer wasn't going to give up, Dr. Euclid relented by saying "How about a hundred rupees even? That's fair."

"Fair?" Talon questioned as he retrieved his wallet from his pocket. "A hundred rupees is the deal of a lifetime. Ya know I oughta owe ya more than that." Opening his wallet, he rummaged around inside of it for a few seconds prior to recovering two purple rupees. After grabbing them, he handed them over to the doctor. "Still, it's better than nothin'."

"Like I said…" The doctor replied. "You've been as kind to us as we've been loyal to you. What ingredients and items we just used on you and the kids was barely a dent in how much you save us in regular discounts." The doctor took the two purple rupees from the overweight farmer, retrieved his wallet from the confines of his long leather overcoat and added the currency to his stash. Sharing a bit of honest truth, he admitted "It would be rather unfortunate if we were to lose a provider as compassionate as you."

"Ah, I see…" A small smile came to Talon's face as the Healing Tincture already started kicking in. "Ulterior motives, huh?"

"Basically." Dr. Euclid chuckled, only halfway serious.

"Thanks, doc." Talon showed appreciation.

The doctor nodded in approval in advance of walking out of the room. "Anytime."

"Please be safe." Sister Pinelopi chimed in.

"And never forget to praise your creators." Sister Gertrude finished the conversation.

Afterward, both nurses walked out of the operating room, leaving behind Talon, Malon and Link in order to go wherever the skillful physician went. Now that the group was alone, during the minute it took for Link to gather his belongings by holstering his bow and putting his shield on his back, Talon took the liberty to read the discharge papers given to him. There were instructions written on there for both him and the hero, how much medicine to take and when for Link to have the sutures removed on his back. Even with the goose egg on his head as well as the likely concussion on his brain, the directions were easy enough to follow. Plus, his daughter would make absolutely certain everyone followed them to a tee. Nonetheless, it was the farmgirl herself that he continued to think about. In spite of acting as if he were more confused than he actually was, Talon was aware of the situation enough to be gravely concerned for Malon.

"Ready to go?" Link asked as he tried to keep his equipment from touching his sore lower back, which wasn't easy to do considering he had three items near there. "I'm serious about the bath and nap. With all that blood I lost, I'm going to need to rejuvenate for a few hours before doing any work." Pinching the bridge of his nose with closed eyes, he bemoaned another side-effect of not having enough vital fluids in his veins. "I have such a headache."

"Yeah…" Talon replied as he simply walked past the hero and his own daughter, stopping at the threshold of the doorway to say "Let's go."

Link was far too happy about being one step closer to heading home to notice the farmer's strange attitude. Yet, his daughter spotted it immediately. Due to knowing his personality by being his kin and living with him, eating at a dinner table with him every night, Malon could very easily tell that her father was acting off. Since she didn't have the nerve to broach the subject with him, she decided to turn to her boyfriend instead, gently grabbing the boy's arm to stop him from leaving the room ahead of her. For a brief moment, the young redhead had the opportunity to disclose her point of view. "He's acting strange."

The hero blinked slowly as he took a moment to comprehend what she meant. He definitely wanted to go home, but also wanted to find out what his girlfriend was talking about and why she'd say that. "Who, Talon? What do you mean?"

"Come on, Link." Malon chastised him for not noticing. "He's barely said a word since the event and when he does talk, he's saying weird things."

"Are you talking about that whole 'blood thirsty' thing he said earlier?" Link questioned as he got her slowly moving toward the door, not wanting to get left behind or be caught talking behind the farmer's back. "I don't think he meant anything by that. Besides, you heard him; that giant welt on his head is keeping him from thinking straight."

"To the point where he's almost avoiding me?" Malon couldn't shake the strange gut feeling.

Link had his mouth open to reply, but suddenly realized the farmgirl was right. At the time, he'd been preoccupied with nursing his injuries. Introspectively, he was able to recognize the same signs she'd been seeing the entire time. Suddenly it was clear how cold the farmer was acting, how quiet he'd been and how strange the things he'd been saying were. Thinking hard on the subject, he remembered when it may have potentially started, back when he first informed the man that his daughter had killed a bandit. He knew that was probably the beginning as the guy quit acting so concerned right there and then, acting like this since therefore after. Narrowing his eyes for a moment, he contemplated further on why Talon would be so distraught over this. Eventually, the best he could come up with was a form of misguided concern.

"What do you think?" Malon spoke up once it had been a few seconds of silence.

Exiting the operating room with the young redheaded girl right behind him, the hero explained the best he could "I think he's just worried about you. Maybe you scared him a bit when he found out you killed that marauder. When you think about it, that's another sign you're not a kid anymore, that you're grown enough to be capable of defending yourself."

"He's freaked out that I'm not a kid anymore?" The girl furrowed her eyebrows in befuddlement.

Shrugging, Link said "It's the best I can think of. You know how much he cares about you; knowing that you actually killed someone today must be weighing on his mind more than we realize."

"I-..." Malon stuttered a bit. "I guess that makes sense."

Walking down the hallway, instead of having his arm held to prevent him from walking so fast, Link chose to hold her uninjured hand, giving it a gentle squeeze for the much needed comfort. They met up with Talon at the end of the hallway, who was waiting in the entrance area. Even though Link pretended as if he understood why the man was acting weird, deep down he was unsure. He stared at the man with speculation as the rotund farmer started making his way toward the heavy wooden double doors leading to the outside. 'What else could it be?' The champion asked himself 'Surely he's not literally upset that she killed someone. It was in self defense, not some twisted murderous curiosity. She did what she had to do and all three of us are likely alive solely because of it.'

Still holding onto Malon's hand, Link followed behind Talon as the man opened the double doors for them in a single hefty push. Thankfully there was still plenty of daylight left, which shone through into the building with rays of sunshine. Both of the kid's held their arms up to block the light from blinding their eyes, yet the girl's father just kept his head down with a solemn expression plastered on his face. As soon as both his daughter and Link exited, the man let go of the door and began walking down the ramp leading up to the sanitarium.

"I know you're ready to go home." Malon said, referring to Link. "But, I am too. I need a bath and after all I've been through, I just want to go up to every animal at the ranch and give them some affection." Once they got to the bottom of the ramp, she wondered how they were going to get home. The farmgirl prayed they wouldn't have to walk all the way to the ranch as she was exhausted from the entire ordeal that occurred earlier. Taking to heart what her boyfriend said about her father, she decided to not be nervous and to ask "By the way, how are we getting back? Are we walking or taking a carriage?"

Link bore witness to more of Talon's odd behaviour as the man didn't respond, merely walking onward down the path that led back to the eastern road of Castle Town.

"Daddy?" Malon called out to him.

Finally, he snapped out of his trance, stopping in place and turning around. "Yes, darlin'?"

"I asked you a question." She responded with a hint of worry in her voice.

"I'm sorry. I wadn't payin' attention." Her father admitted. "What was it?"

The young girl was definitely worried, giving the man the stink eye out of skepticism. "I asked how we're going to get home."

Nodding as if to prove he was listening, the farmer informed them of what they didn't know yet. "Actually, the guard's recovered the horses for us, so we can ride 'em home. They're at Abernathy stable in the Lower Bailey." Glancing over at the Temple of Time, he waited for the kids to get from the path onto the road leading to the plaza before walking with them. "I'm really glad they managed to catch both. At least they're two of 'em, so I got one ta myself and ya'll can share the other." Lagging a bit in speed, he let Link and Malon pass him in order to give one final look back at the Temple of Time as if he were longing to visit in spite of holding himself back. "Yep… We came outta this pretty lucky if I do say so myself."

The walk back to The Marketplace was rather uneventful. Talon stayed a few feet behind Link and Malon, who the latter of which had started to limp a bit worse from the damage her body sustained after slamming into the delivery wagon during its wreck with the bandits. While the forlorn farmer sauntered with a glum posture, the two kids kept finding a never ending source of comfort in one another. The redheaded girl held onto her lover's hand and leaned her head against his shoulder a few times as they walked. A few citizens rubbernecked when they saw the injuries the group had sustained, nonetheless nobody interrupted the trio. In fact, most people seemed too busy doing their own thing.

It wasn't until they reached The Marketplace that they found out why everyone was moving about so quickly. Standing by the fountain in the center of town was none other than the elusive Mr. Jovani. The man was rather lanky for someone with a potbelly. His eyes were emerald green. His hair was short, curly and brown; matching well with his salt and pepper mutton chops. While he wasn't a bad looking man for his age, most people didn't even notice his own appearance and chose to focus on the custom fit elegant woolen frock coat and hand tailored tophat he donned or the solid gold handled cane he held. "Joyous day!" He happily exclaimed in a balanced voice before rousing the crowd of people who had gathered around with a generous offer. "Hows about a free round of wine for everybody!?"

"YEAH!" Most people said as they clapped.

"THANK YOU, MR. JOVANI!" Someone in the midst of everyone showed appreciation.

Another person joked by asking "WHAT DID YOU NAME THE BOY!?"

Laughing with a smile, Mr. Jovani waved at his personal butlers, who did their jobs by going around giving people small cups of wine from the exceedingly wealthy man's own private vintage. In response to the last question, he let them know he carried on the family tradition. "Why, Jovani Junior, of course!"

Several members of the surrounding crowd chuckled, yet the majority were enthralled with free alcohol. Even Talon was handed a share, which he immediately drank with complete disregard for tasting the flavor. There was a decent amount of people in the group that were already donning their masquerade masks, ready for the party that was happening later on in the evening. Although the populace was elated by their gift, their sheer density made it more difficult for the depressed farmer and his tired kids to get through to the exit of The Plaza. Their best bet was navigating through the areas that weren't as congested, areas away from the butlers pouring free drinks for civilians who would otherwise never get to enjoy such a luxuriously expensive wine.

Link did some glancing back of his own to see what was going on with the Happy Mask Salesman and his unnaturally eerie place of business. When he saw that the place appeared to be closed down for the time being, he rolled his eyes, not surprised in the least. In fact, the hero suspected the odd man did it again so as to avoid the chance he might get a visit from the boy. 'That slinky creep.' He thought in advance of having his eyes land on the very man he was talking about while navigating through the horde of people wanting their free offer.

'Nevermind.' The champion corrected himself after realizing the Happy Mask Salesman had simply closed his shop to join in with the crowd. 'I stand corrected.'

He was glad to see that Mr. Happy wasn't trying to avoid him again. Yet, once their eyes connected, he saw the salesman's expression instantly change to a look of sadness with a glimmer of worry. Link still chose to not stop, to not go over and start a conversation as he was too ready to go home and knew Talon and Malon were as well. However, he stared at Mr. Happy for ten solid seconds until someone walked across his line of sight. When that individual passed, the salesman had vanished.

"You do you." Link uttered under his breath as he didn't bother to react to the guy's almost magical disappearance. "You do you, Mr. Happy."

"What did you say?" Malon asked.

Link kissed her cheek as they succeeded in making it onto the other side of the crowd of people. "I was just thinking about how these people must be ready for a break from their mundane lives."

Malon giggled softly so she wouldn't hurt her ribs. "No kidding. If only they knew how safe their mundane life is compared to living outside the walls and dealing with monsters, assassins or bandits. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my life at the ranch, but sometimes I relish how easy these folks have it without constant threats and a buttload of chores to do."

Passing the Tolemish Stand where Winslou still stood; not having joined in on the commotion, the group proceeded to make their way into the Lower Bailey as Jovani could be heard gladly announcing that his pre-party feast would be held in an hour's time. Since Link, Malon and Talon were beaten, bruised, demoralized and spent all their energy, neither had any concern for attending such a thing, nor troubled themselves by asking the others. After all, the three weren't very hungry. The anxiety and stress took such a toll on them that their appetite was currently non-existent, which is saying something for a connoisseur like Talon. The only thing on their mind for the time being was getting to Abernathy Stable.

As fate would have it, while passing the guardhouse, they were stopped by the guardsman standing outfront the very moment he spotted them. "Link, hey it's me."

For a split second, Link wasn't sure who it was. But, he recognized the voice as the upstanding official from earlier, the one who forgave the boy for almost being killed by him and then carried him to the wagon that brought them all to the sanitarium. "Hey." Stopping in front of the guardhouse, he let go of Malon's hand and approached the man to give sincere thanks. "Now that I'm not bleeding out, I just want to thank you for standing up for me when the others thought… eh… whatever they thought."

"Anyone who's a Knight of Hyrule is a real friend of the people." The guard replied. "At least, most of the ones I met have been. Just being an honorary one at your age, it means a lot to people like me who always idolized them." Leaning down and holding his hand up to his mouth to muffle his voice for anybody eavesdropping, he said "Plus, you killed almost all of the bandits on your own without any help from us. I have a feeling your skills already far exceed ours."

Smiling at the compliment, Link merely asked. "What's your name?"

"Cohnner." The guard nonchalantly stated.

"Thank you for your help, Cohnner." Link gave the guardsman a sloppy salute as it would have pulled on his sutures too hard to do a regular salute. "I'm glad to have men like you protecting the kingdom."

Performing his own salute by holding his spear off to the side and pressing his fist to his chestplate, Cohnner appreciated the kind words. "Thank you, sir."

Interrupting the two, Malon interjected by gently grabbing Link's hand and delicately tugging it in the direction toward Abernathy Stable. "Come on, my darling. I want to go home." Even though he was already wrapping up the conversation with the guy, the hero watched as his redheaded lover pouted by jutting out her lower lip. "Please?"

"Well… Uhh…" Link smiled bashfully all of a sudden, unsure why she couldn't wait a few moments longer.

Cohnner simply chuckled heartily. "Go ahead, sir. You do deserve rest. Don't let me keep you." Waving Link, Talon and Malon along, he ended by telling them "I must say, you are a cute couple. I'm glad those asshole raiders couldn't ruin such an endearing relationship." He snickered to himself as he went back to manning his post, feeling lighthearted from the blossoming love he got to see between two kids that obviously care a lot for one another.

Walking just a bit further, the trio came upon Abernathy Stable just inside the walls, next to the portculus. Coming closer, they could see Mrs. Abernathy outside on the front porch of their townhome. The beehive-styled gray-haired lady with glasses had a special level of skill in her trade as she rocked back and forth in her rocking chair while diligently knitting a sweater. Even though her husband wasn't in view, Talon, Malon and Link approached assuming he was nearby. There were a couple dozen horses stabled there, the majority only temporarily, such as those left behind while their owner's visited places in Castle Town. Only a handful of horses were regulars from individuals permanently staying at the city.

Seeing that Mr. Abernathy wasn't in the stalls either, the three made a visit to the knitting grandma instead.

"Mrs. Abernathy." Talon called out as he approached.

Looking up and squinting through her thick bifocals, the older woman smiled. "Why hello there, Mr. Talon. I'm glad to see you're doing well and aren't hurt." She replied as she lowered the knitting needles and halted for a moment.

The rotund farmer rubbed the back of his neck as he placed a single foot up on the front porch. "Oh.." He chuckled. "Ya heard 'bout that, huh?"

Mrs. Abernathy put away the knitting needles and the halfway completed sweater she'd been making. Standing up from her rocking chair, she gave Talon a loving hug while the chair briefly continued to rock from the momentum in spite of her no longer being in it. "It's going around town. Before long, everybody will have heard about it." Making a face of disappointment, she explained "It's so unusual for there to be bandits on the main road like that. If this is a sign that things are getting worse out there, people are going to want to know."

"Yeah…" Talon returned the hug. He knew more than he was willing to share; being aware that his assailants weren't mere highwaymen, that the general populace likely wouldn't be in danger. Nonetheless, he kept it to himself so as to not further freak out everybody else. "It wadn't very fun." Pulling away from the hug, he informed the woman as to what he was really there for. "I'm actually lookin' for yer' husband. Is he 'round? Supposedly he's got our horses."

The older woman glanced around, seemingly only then realizing that her hubby wasn't where she'd previously seen him. "He must be around back."

Right on time, Mr. Abernathy appeared from around the corner of the house with a trail of tobacco smoke trailing behind, having apparently gone to fetch a wheelbarrow with several pails of feed in it, each ready to be hung up in the stalls for the horses. He spotted Talon and the kids almost immediately. "Mr. Talon." He responded to the farmer's presence as he made his way over with the wheelbarrow of feed. "Sorry for my delay." He apologized in spite of there being no need. "These days I can't make a hundred trips back and forth or carry fifteen buckets at a time, so I just use this wheelbarrow to get several at a time. It makes it easier on my back and legs."

"Smart thinkin'." Talon complimented the man's ingenuity. However, the farmer was too exhausted, traumatized and worried about his daughter's welfare to stay for a chat. To move on as quickly as possible, he went ahead and asked the question regarding why he was there in the first place. "I heard ya got my horses?"

With smoke spewing from his pipe, the old man removed it from his mouth in advance of expelling a cloud of carcinogens from his lungs. "I do, yes." Mr. Abernathy confirmed before telling how they got there. "Some of the local guardsmen did a good job of rounding them up and bringing them to me. I'm sure they saved you some time and energy you'd have otherwise spent hunting them down."

"Definitely." Talon confirmed, hoping the suggestion would be enough to hint at his desire to not stay for a friendly talk.

"Did you want to come in?" Mrs. Abernathy asked. "I can make some tea…" Making sure to pay attention to the two children behind him, Malon and Link, the woman also offered to whip up a decent snack. "And maybe some chocolate biscuits for the kids?"

Shaking his head in advance of pointing to the goose egg on his forehead he knew they both already saw, the farmer refused the generous offer as politely as he could. "Actually, I just wanna go home right now and get some rest. I hope ya understand."

Mr. Abernathy nodded in confirmation as his wife said "I completely understand, dearie. You go home and rest your noggin', okay? We're just so glad those nasty bandits didn't hurt you or the kids more than then did." Glancing up for a moment, she praised the divine will of the goddesses grand plan. "Praise Farore for seeing your worth and how much you mean to the people of this town. I know she had a hand in protecting you from those devious ruffians."

"Yes ma'am." Talon agreed in spite of his genuine trepidation regarding the entire matter, especially since it had induated him with concern for his own flesh and blood. "Yes to both. I promise we'll sit down and talk when I feel better."

As Mrs. Abernathy returned to her rocking chair and doing knitting, Mr. Abernathy proceeded with wheeling the wheelbarrow toward the stables. "Come on. I'll take you to them." He said as he made sure to avoid any obstacles he might run into.

Talon, Malon and Link all three followed the old man as he made it to the stables and parked the wheelbarrow right beside the large barn-style doors. Upon opening the doors, he motioned for the group to follow him inside. Malon noted how odd it was to be inside a different barn than their own, yet Link had been in several different barns and stables so he didn't feel out of place. In reality, the stables were incredibly well maintained, smelling of hay instead of too much manure. For as elderly a man as Mr. Abernathy was, he did a splendid job at his chosen career. The man's love for his job showed in the horses as well for they were all taken immaculate care of while their owners were busy doing their business, allowing anyone who stabled their horse there to feel at ease knowing their steed was safe and sound.

From the inside of the structure, the group could tell that it was nearly full as most stalls they passed had a horse in it. Several of the animals were interested in what was going on, poking their heads out as the four walked by. However, the others paid no attention, either sleeping, ignoring them or looking out the other end of their stall. The hylians had to go all the way down toward the end of the building before encountering their equines.

"Here we are." Mr. Abernathy responded as he stopped in front of a stall. "I believe this one is yours."

Watching him open the gate to the stall, Talon confirmed it was his horse once he saw Taffy, a three year old chestnut bay stallion. "Yep." The big man confirmed as the horse turned around in its stall to greet everyone. Talon gave it a few pats on the head and a rub prior to saying. "This is Taffy."

"Oh, and there's Petey!" Malon said upon seeing the horse's head reaching out from the stall next to Taffy's. "Hey there, boy." She cooed as she gave the horse a hug, kissing its face and massaging its long ears. "I know you're ready to go home too, huh?" Hearing the horse neigh, she laughed while continuing to love on them. "Yeah, me too."

"These two are yours, huh?" Mr. Abernathy enquired as he puffed on his tobacco pipe. "How about the other two the guards brought in?"

Looking at Mr. Abernathy with a confused expression, Link replied for Talon and Malon. "What other two?"

Jutting out his lower lip, Mr. Abernathy shrugged to show he was unsure. "I don't know. I thought they were yours." Walking down a few more stalls, he stopped in front of one. "One's painted, the other's a mustang."

Peering into the stall where one of these other horses were, Talon instantly recognized the horse even though it wasn't his. "Oh yeah. I 'member now. This ain't my horse, it's them bandit's."

Making another face from irresolution, Mr. Abernathy pulled the pipe from his mouth and smacked his lips. "Hmm… Do you want em'?"

"Me?" Talon asked with a furrowed brow. "Why?"

Mr. Abernathy put the pipe back in his mouth and puffed on the tobacco to keep the cherry lit. "I can't financially take care of two horses on my own. I rely upon the money owners give me to keep these big'ums stabled. Without their money, how am I gonna feed them, medicate them and keep them of sane mind? That's a lot of work for no reward, if you know what I'm saying."

"No reward?" Talon questioned the old man's thinking. "Just sell 'em or use 'em for labour."

Shaking his head, Mr. Abernathy rejected the idea while spewing tobacco smoke from his nose. "Nah. You know me. I'm stuck in my old ways. I'm not much of a seller, more of a renter."

"Well, what am I supposed to do with them?" Talon asked as his head started to feel as if it was spinning a little.

"Didn't you just say something about selling them or using them for labour?" The old man eyed the farmer after noticing a small sway to his body in spite of not walking.

Leaning back against the wall of the stable, Talon grumbled due to the conversation taking too long. All he wanted to do was pay the man, grab HIS horses and go home. Now he had to figure out what to do with horses that weren't even his. "I already got a couple of workhorses." He resisted the offer.

"We can keep them and sell them." Malon interjected with her love of the equine species, preventing her from abandoning two steeds in need of a proper home. "The mustang has to be worth enough for us to get some new supplies for the corral."

Seeing that his girlfriend was trying to acquire the animals in spite of her father's hesitance, Link chimed in with defense to her idea. "Yeah. And, the painted could be offered at a low price to a teenager for his first horse." He recommended not trying to sell the other horse for much since it was slower and less agile. "They're very loyal. I'm sure someone else around my age would have no problem spending their allowance or what they saved up on a steed of their own."

"That's a great idea!" Malon chirped, ecstatic that her beloved knight was helping her in the matter.

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Mr. Abernathy confirmed prior to looking over at the weary farmer. "What do ya think?"

Letting out an exhale from vexation, the normally jovial man merely rolled his eyes. "Fine. But it's on both ya." Leaning up away from the stall wall, he steadied himself on his feet in advance of making his way over to Taffy and Petey. "I ain't gonna busy myself worryin' 'bout them on the ride home." After the unusual snippyness, he clicked his tongue a few times to call both his horses, who recognized their owner's voice and came out of the stalls immediately. Taking the two by their bridle's reins, the slightly grumpy farmer led them out of the stable.

The hero watched as Malon's face turned from happiness about the horses to grave concern for her father's behaviour. Talon's exasperation was misplaced, yet obviously visible. It made the girl lour with each of his episodes casting a metaphorical dagger into her heart. "It's going to be okay." Link said as he laid his hand upon the farmgirl's shoulder when a tear escaped her eye.

"What's the matter?" Mr. Abernathy picked up on the girl's despondency as he tried not to let the smoke from his pipe drift into their faces.

"It's my dad." Malon disclosed. "He's being unusually mean to me."

Glancing in the direction of Talon, who was waiting right outside the stable, Mr. Abernathy furrowed his brow before looking back over at the farmgirl. He sighed before trying to explain how he saw things. "Don't take it so harshly, hon'. He's been through a lot today too." Helping out while the young girl collected herself, the old man opened the stalls where the trio's new painted horse and mustang were. "I once got hit in the head like that when I was middle-aged. It left a giant welt like that too and my wife said I acted funny for a few days until it went away. Our heads don't like being whacked, you know? If he's going through the same as me, then give him some time and he'll be back to normal when the swelling goes down."

Wiping her nose, Malon looked up at Mr. Abernathy with a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "Y-You really think so? I'm worried he hates me."

"He doesn't." Link butted in.

Mr. Abernathy briefly closed his eyes as he quickly shook his head. "No, hon'. He's just a bit loopy from that welt. Like I said, give him some time."

"Thank you, Mr. Abernathy." Malon sniffled in advance of giving the man a hug. "I really appreciate it."

"Of course. Your dad's a good man and I've known ya since you were a little baby." The old man responded while reciprocating the hug.

Letting go of Mr. Abernathy, Malon returned to her boyfriend and gave him an adoring kiss to the cheek, latching onto his arm and hugging her head to his. "And thank you, Link. I love you so much."

Not bothered by the public display of affection, especially since it mattered greatly to the farmgirl, the boy wasn't embarrassed to return it by kissing her cheek and gazing into her eyes. "I love you too, Malon. Everything will be a bit better after we go home, get this blood off us and rest." Giving her a smile to help improve her spirits, he nuzzled his nose to hers to make her smile as well. "Okay?"

"Okay." Malon acknowledged with a smile.

Mr. Abernathy brought the two horses out of the stall. Surprisingly, in spite of them being horses previously owned by roaming marauders, they seemed well-behaved. Both of them followed the old man's commands to a tee. "Here ya go. Just make it home safely, okay?" He handed the reins of the painted horse to Link and the reins of the mustang to Malon. "Tell your dad to take care and get some rest. Don't forget what I said either."

"Oh!" Malon exclaimed as she patted her person. "I suppose I should pay you."

Holding up his hand, the old man blew a sarcastic raspberry that allowed smoke to escape from his lungs. "No way. I'll take money from your dad, but not you."

Malon giggled, finally feeling a bit better about things now that enough people told her to give her father some time. "Thank you, Mr. Abernathy."

"You're welcome." The old man replied as he closed up the stall doors. "Now go on. Don't let me take no more of your time."

Nodding in confirmation, the two escorted their new horses out of the stable. Talon was still just outside the door, waiting for them and seeming in the same state of mind as before. He didn't look particularly thrilled about having to take care of two animals that belonged to the very people who almost killed him and his daughter. The kids saw his annoyance, but chose to take Mr. Abernathy's advice and ignored it. Although it didn't frustrate the man, it did get him to talk as he tried to figure out what they were going to do, how they were going to ride home. "How are we doin' this?" He asked as he mounted Taffy's back. Although the horse didn't have a proper saddle since it had been rigged for pulling the delivery wagon, the farmer had ridden plenty of them bareback and would likely be capable of doing so again. "Are ya both ridin' 'em back while I lead Petey?"

Link went ahead and spoke for Malon so she wouldn't get upset so soon. "Yeah, I think that makes the most sense."

"Alright." Talon nodded with a sigh. "Let's get home."

For a few moments longer, the farmer waited around as Link lifted Malon onto the mustang. Afterward, the boy struggled to climb the painted horse of his own for a number of different reasons. Without a normal saddle, the lack of proper footing in addition to it being a fully grown horse made it hard for him to climb. Plus, he kept trying to do it without putting an overt amount of stress on the stitches. Since it wasn't a horse he knew on a personal level, he made sure to be careful too. Thankfully, he managed to do it. Yet, his butt hurt sitting on the horse's back without a riding saddle; even a crappy saddle would've been better than bareback. Still, it had to be done if he was to get the horse back to Lon Lon Ranch. Once he got a grip on the reins, he directed the painted stallion toward the drawbridge to Castle Town.

"Got it?" Malon asked as she did the same with her mustang.

"Yeah." Link replied. "These horses are surprisingly calm."

Making a face, the farmgirl gave her steed a few pats on the side of the head prior to brushing her fingers through its mane. "If they weren't bought that way, those jerks probably broke them in without showing any mercy. They'll be better off with us anyway. We'll find them a good home."

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[Time: 2:55 P.M. (Afternoon)]

[Date: Month 6 'Early-Summer', Day 24, 8th Era]

(Location: Hyrule, Hyrule Field, Lon Lon Ranch - Front Entrance)

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Ingo stood out front of Lon Lon Ranch, waiting for the others by the gate. He'd come and checked on them several times now as they were due back hours ago. Only now did he see Talon, Malon and Link coming up the path leading to the entrance. It was a load off his mind to see them as he finally knew they were safe, yet he had more questions as the first thing he noticed was the fact that they were returning without the delivery wagon. "There you all are!" The farmhand shouted through his bushy mustache "Where have ya'll been?"

Whenever the trio got closer, he saw Talon's injury and solemn look. Glancing at the extra horses and then at Link who looked worse than all of them. His eyes widened slightly as fear entered his heart. "W-What happened!?"

"Bandits." Talon calmly stated, not having said a single word the entire trip from Abernathy's Stable until now. "A bunch of 'em."

"When?!" Ingo questioned with worry as he walked forward to meet them "Where?!"

"Just a few hours ago when we were headin' back." The heavy farmer filled his farmhand in on what occurred while they were gone. "We were 'alfway back when they came from behin' us. Link, Malon and I managed to fend 'em off, but we wrecked the delivery wagon leadin' 'em away from 'ere, so we got hurt. We woulda been back sooner if it weren't for us goin' back to Castle Town to see Dr. Euclid. "

"Bandits on the main road?!" Ingo wondered as his eyes darted around in thought.

"Yes." Link confirmed as he quickly dismounted the painted stallion. "I don't know where they came from. But, they were actually worse than bandits."

"They were assassins sent by Ganondorf." Malon finished what her boyfriend was going to say.

Ingo blinked several times as his jaw slowly quivered up and down. He was stunned by the revelations hitting him all at once. First he was scared for his family's safety because of a random group of bandits and now he's being told they were hired killers looking for Link and now knew precisely where he was at. "No… No, no, no… This isn't good." Slapping his hand to his forehead, his expression was that of horror. "Now they know where we're at!"

"No they won't." Link tried to calm the farmhand. "We killed them all."

Shaking his head in disbelief, Ingo said "How did they figure out where you were?"

The hero shrugged, showing that he really didn't know. "That's what I'm unsure of."

"There's someone else." Ingo responded as he pulled down on his tired face. "Someone else told those bandits you were there."

"How do you know that?" Malon asked with a look of concern.

Taking a deep breath, the man informed them of how ruffians like that operate. "It just makes sense. Large groups of marauder's don't just go strolling around Hyrule, even if they're searching for someone. If they get hired to hunt an individual down, they'll sniff them out or use people they've paid in the past as proxies to help locate them. Only when they know where their target is would they come out in force like it sounds like they have."

Link narrowed his eyes as he stared at the farmhand inquisitively "And how do you know that?"

Ingo was about to reply but left his mouth hanging open and finger lifted for attention. "I…" He resumed hesitantly. "I read a book about it-..." See that they weren't totally believing him, he rolled his eyes and gave up. "Fine… I was in a group of jerks like that when I was a teen. They're all the same."

"Ingo!" Malon pouted. "I didn't know that about you."

"It's not something I'm proud of, dear." He replied before grumbling. In spite of his worry, he opened the gate for them all to enter. Talon entered first before dismounting, choosing to lead Taffy and Petey the rest of the way to the barn. "Can you think of anybody?" The man stared at Link as the boy chose to dismount there as well, having grown tired of his butt hurting from having no saddle. "Was there anybody that you thought seemed suspicious? Was there anybody in Castle Town that stood out at the time or even now when you think back?"

"Not really." Malon shook her head as she got down off the mustang. "I thought it was a normal trip."

Link thought about The Marketplace, when he unloaded crates to various businesses. There were so many people walking around that he didn't really pay much attention. At the time, he was trying to do his job, stay low and hoping to encounter the Happy Mask Salesman. His jaw clenched as he found himself pondering the chance it was the strange salesman himself who might have narked him out to the gerudo or even perhaps hired them himself. It would make sense for Mr. Happy to turn on him if the guy seriously wanted to protect his secrets and thought the hero was a threat. On the other hand, Link never got much of an aggressive vibe from him. Plus, seeing the shocked expression on the Happy Mask Salesman's face by the fountain, after the attack, he could tell it was of someone who was unaware of what happened and was genuinely concerned.

The boy thought about the sanitarium, but didn't recall there being anyone in there that gave him an odd feeling. Retracing his steps, he thought about the walk to and from the place whenever it hit him like a ton of bricks. Out of nowhere, his memory presented to him the recollection of when his beloved Malon nearly bumped into a strange man. He could see the man's face in his head, with his big nose and long hair. Suddenly he gripped the reins tighter as his hands balled into fists. Connecting the dots, he also recalled when that man glanced back at them in the alley, after they helped him recover the crates he dropped. Once again, although it was too late, he saw the man's face in his head and registered the nefarious intent it hid. "Son of a…"

"What?" Malon asked.

"It was the guy we almost bumped into." Link nodded in confirmation. "The guy who dropped his crates and I helped him pick them up."

"Wh-..." Malon was about to interject before stopping. Furrowing her brow, she stuttered. "N-No, it couldn't be. He was just some guy."

"Are you certain?" Ingo crossed his arms as he stared daggers at the two of them. Raising his voice a little, he made sure they knew how serious this was. "Are you certain!?"

"No!" Link answered truthfully. "No, I'm not certain. But, he's a good candidate."

"Dammit." Ingo protested. "You have to think about it, because if someone else is out there and they know where you are, it's going to make things more difficult. Now that those you killed failed, they might go to someone else."

"Ingo…" Link interrupted "What am I supposed to do? Go kill him? I'm not certain at all. Our best bet is to hope I proved that I'm not to be trifled with." Although he said that, the champion knew he only wanted to ensure his girlfriend and family felt a sense of safety while they were at their own home. In reality, he knew of the complications that might arise if those he took out were part of a larger group or if another group entirely knew who he was and where he'd been staying. He prayed that he killed those that held that knowledge, but knew he couldn't be positive. "All of us proved we're tougher than we appear."

Cocking his head, Ingo picked up on what the boy last said. "All of you?"

Wincing from the pain in his back, the boy nodded. "Yeah. Can we go in and get situated first? My back is killing me."

"He got stabbed." Malon tattled, not letting her lover get away with hiding how badly he was injured. "The doctor said it barely missed his kidney." Gently grabbing her lover's hand, she entwined her fingers with his. "We just want to get cleaned up and rest a bit. Then we'll tell you everything that happened. Is that okay?"

"Yeah…" Ingo motioned for them to pass him as he held onto the gate. "Yeah. Sorry, I didn't know." Watching them hold hands, he noted the stitching on Malon's hand as well as the mark on her neck from where the marauder's hurt her. His mind was able to fill in the blanks regarding the lacerations, yet he was still curious enough to ask one more question. "One more thing. Where the hell did these horses come from and why are they here?"

Giggling softly, Malon said "Well… Those idiots who came after us won't exactly be needing them anymore. So… I figured we'd take them and sell them for some extra cash. It's ironic and justified."

Unsure of how to respond, the farmhand simply chuckled as he closed the gate behind them. "Alright then. Go on, I'll lock up here." He watched Link and Malon as the two both led the new horses to their fresh stall. They walked slowly, hand-in-hand until they made it out of sight around the corner into Lon Lon Ranch. Ingo had gotten more accustomed to seeing it, but their affection for each other still occasionally made him grin. 'Those kids.' Turning around, he proceeded to lock the gate by wrapping a chain around it as well as the post before slapping a heavy-duty padlock on it. After all that happened to them, he made double sure the gate was secure. 'I suppose I should be glad they're safe.'

By the time he finished ensuring the gate was locked, he didn't make it three feet back toward the depths of the ranch before he saw Talon sulking his way toward him. He wasn't sure what his boss/friend wanted, especially considering the man hadn't gotten the blood off of him yet. Nonetheless, even the grumpy Ingo could tell that the owner of the ranch was acting rather cold. On one hand it wasn't a surprise since what happened was a giant ordeal and probably took a toll on him mentally, yet on another hand, it just wasn't like him to seem so sad, not whenever he survived and so did Link as well as Malon. Ingo figured Talon would be elated that the kids survived and not look so downtrodden.

"Hey, Ingo…" Talon called out as if he thought the farmhand wouldn't notice him. "Can I talk to ya for a bit?"

Ingo immediately responded with "Of course, what is it?"

"I just…" The heavyset farmer tried to get his greatest worry out, to reveal what the issue is, what's bothering him so much. Yet, he still struggled. "I just…" He looked away whenever tears began welling up in his eyes. His chest heaved a few times and he sucked in a breath. Although he couldn't believe he was having such trouble talking about the matter, he kept trying to break through and get assistance from someone he knew cared about him and his family. "I'm really havin' trouble with what 'append, man."

Giving the farmer a hug, Ingo said "That's to be expected. A bunch of muscles-for-hire just tried to kill you and your family."

"No-…" Talon interrupted with a correction as to why he was upset. "It ain't that. I mean, I know that's weighin' on my mind too; that and the fact I gotta mountain growin' outta my head from where I got hit by one of those bastards." Shaking his head, he got back on track. "The real reason I'm so damn freaked out is because Malon killed a person today."

It took a moment for Ingo to process that. He looked down and then over to the left, anywhere but the distraught man as he attempted to think about what that meant. The first thing that came to the farmhand's mind was sorrow that the adolescent girl had to do something like that. It was a rough thing to do, to take someone's life, much less at such a young age. Ingo knew Link was a special case, but Malon wasn't anything like him in that matter. "Oh my goddesses."

"Yeah…" Talon lamented. "I was knocked out, but Link tells me she was bein' held hostage, with a knife at her throat whenever she went crazy and killed the guy." Catching himself starting to gasp rapidly, he tried to take slow deep breaths to calm himself. He was seriously concerned with the matter. "I saw the body of the fucker too." His pupils contracted in fright and he felt his stomach churn in disgust at what his little daughter was capable of doing when provoked and pushed to her very limit. "She used an arrow. The guy'd been hit by Link with an arrow and she tore it out of 'em, used it like a skewer on 'em; she took his eyes out and musta stabbed him twenty times." He stared down at his shaking hands. "There was so much blood." Several tears escaped both of his eyes as he whimpered in misery. "I could tell Link had ta drag 'er off the guy 'cause she was covered in dirt and there were drag marks on the ground leadin' from the body to where she was. Whenever I woke up and found 'er there, she was shakin' like a leaf."

"By Din…" Ingo felt the frustration. "So much rage."

"Do ya know who that reminds me of?" Talon asked.

Ingo swallowed roughly.

"Ya know, don't ya?" Talon repeated.

"Yes." The farmhand finally confirmed.

"I don't want her to be like that." Talon asserted. "Najiyah didn't want her to be like that either; it's why we didn't raise her like a gerudo."

"But she couldn't help it, Talon." Ingo professed prior to clarifying what he meant. "Najiyah couldn't help being that way. It was who she was. Whenever she or her loved ones were threatened, she always went on the offensive and was damn good at it. You know you can't blame her for wanting to protect ya'll."

Talon shook his head as he slammed his fist against the wall surrounding the ranch. "She was ashamed of it, Ingo! Najiyah said it felt like a bloodlust, like she couldn't control herself and just wanted people dead!"

Ingo argued, actually standing up for his best friend's deceased wife no matter how the man was going to take it. "She was a gerudo in a hylian world! Of course she felt ashamed of her violent tendencies!"

"I don't want Malon lookin' like her mother!" Talon spat with a furrowed brow in advance of quickly realizing what he had said and the way he had unintentionally phrased it. His forehead lifted for a moment as he held his fist to his mouth. "By the goddesses, what am I sayin'?" Closing his eyes, he finally cried the tears that earlier wouldn't fall on their own. His heart sped up with worry until it felt like it was about to explode. "Ya know what I meant, right? Right? I just don't want her gettin' bloodthirsty like that and thinkin' killin' is all fun and games."

Firmly gripping the farmer's shoulders, Ingo stared at him with a worried expression. "We've been best friend's for decades, Talon…" The farmhand stated bluntly. "So I'm not going to lie to you or tell you things are better than they are. You need to admit that your daughter is a bit like your wife because she IS a part of your wife. She's her daughter." When he saw Talon waver back toward sadness, he gave the man a light shake. "But… But-…" He got his friend's attention again. "She's also a part of you too." Once again, he pulled the hefty farmer into a brotherly embrace, showing how much he cared for him and his kin. "She's going to be fine. All she did was protect her family." Gently grabbing the back of the man's neck, Ingo got him to look him in the eyes. "Besides… Do you seriously think that girl is bloodthirsty or going to go into a gerudo rage like Najiyah? This is Malon we're talking about. She's too busy swooning over Link and taking care of animals to go out to fight clubs and pick fights with the wrong people."

Talon laughed as he thought about both aspects, his daughter's innocence and his late wife's bad girl streak. "Okay, yer' right, 'specially 'bout 'er crush on that boy."

Letting go of him, Ingo nodded, glad he cheered up his buddy even though it's usually him who's the grumpy one. "Now let's go get some wine. I know you're ready for some."

"By Hylia, I could drink a keg by myself right now." Talon continued to chuckle as he cheered up a bit.

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[Time: 3:25 P.M. (Afternoon)]

[Date: Month 6 'Early-Summer', Day 24, 8th Era]

(Location: Hyrule, Hyrule Field, Lon Lon Ranch - Back of Farmhouse)

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"Almost, Almost, Almost…" Malon said excitedly as she used the crank on the well to recover a bucket of water, the third of which she'd collected.

Now that they had put the horses up in their respective stall and made sure they had a feed bucket and a filled trough, both kids were more than ready for their baths. The only obstacle standing in the way at that moment was gathering enough water to wash off with; that and who was going to use the washbasin first. Since the girl was about to get a fourth bucket of water, she figured they ought to decide soon.

"Need any help?" Link came around the corner of the farmhouse with a set of clean clothes folded in his hand, having made his way from the barn. "I just got Epona to settle down. I thought she was going to jump the stall to make sure I was okay."

Malon smiled wide as hearing stories like that made her feel a deep connection to how caring the equine species can be. "Aww… So cute. But nope, I don't need any help. I'm almost done." She took the bucket full of water off the end of the rope attached to the pulley, which was a simple tube of wood attached to the frame of the well and rotated with a crank on the side. Carrying the water over to their humble washbasin by the back door of the farmhouse, the young redhead hustled before putting it by the other two buckets.

Upon return to the well, she saw her knight putting up the wooden privacy partitions that extended from the edge of the farmhouse to the raised cliffside making up part of the plateau the ranch was built upon. "What are you doing? I said I didn't need help." She pondered while attaching the last bucket to the rope, readying it to be lowered into the well.

Placing his folded fresh clothing aside, the champion made his way over to the backdoor of the farmhouse in advance of opening it, going inside to retrieve bathing sheets, both the liner and curtain. "I know, but I can at least get the basin ready."

Malon watched her boyfriend as he came back outside and started prepping the washbasin by lining it with a sheet. It was just a glorified extra-wide extra-shallow bucket, so the basin itself was made out of wood. The sheet the boy lined it with was going to make sure nobody got splinters. 'He's perfect!' She thought, staring longingly at him while automatically letting her arm work the crank to get the last bucket of water. 'I don't think I've heard him genuinely complain about working here, not once. Plus, he goes out of his way to make me happy.' Continuing to watch, she saw him pin up the other sheet he held, setting up the privacy curtain. However, when he grabbed the bathing stool and sat down on it, she lifted an eyebrow.

"I hope you don't mind if I go first… Like I talked about." Link started taking off his kokiri boots.

"Uhh…" Malon had forgotten as she was just so happy to be home. "Well-…"

Pouting, the boy stood up to go inside once more, this time returning with an ewer, washrags, soap and several towels. "Come on, I thought we agreed."

Shaking her head, she butted in with her own desire. "You come on. I have all this blood on me from that one guy. You just have your blood."

"And that somehow makes it better to stew in?" Link crossed his arms as he remained stern in the matter. "If anything, I should get the first bath because I got stabbed."

"You're going to milk that forever, aren't you?" She teased.

Smirking, Link said "Wouldn't you?!"

They both laughed together as they knew neither was seriously fighting over who got the first bath. Although they didn't particularly care, they knew it would only be nice. However, it was true that both wanted the blood off of them as particularly quick as possible. Before long, a small idea started to form in the farmgirl's head, an idea that her father would completely punish her for if he even knew she was contemplating it. In fact, she herself thought it was too far and the mere notion made her face redden. Still, it would be a good way for them to both get clean without having to wait on the other to go first.

"Umm…" Her voice cracked as she brought the fourth and final bucket of water up to the surface. "Y-You know…"

Still smiling from their joking around, Link closed the backdoor in advance of coming over to the well to help regardless of her progress. "Huh?"

Clearing her throat, the farmgirl found her body feeling uncomfortably hot all of a sudden. She squirmed a bit and nearly released the crank before locking it, risking the bucket plummeting back into the depths. Puckering her lips and then chewing on them, she glanced over at the curious hero. "We could-…." She found herself saying to him in spite of being overwhelmingly nervous.

"We could do what?" Link remained unsure, like a lunkhead.

Looking at him while biting her lower lip, with a blush on her cheeks, desire in her eyes and a fidgety body, the fiery redhead was almost too hopeful the boy would agree whenever she felt herself blurting out "We could take a bath together."

Stopping in his tracks, Link did a spit take from the shock of what she said, what she suggested. "W-What?!"

"Keep your voice down!" Malon ordered with deeply flushed cheeks, throwing her arms back as she leaned forward in frustration from him blurting that out.

With a twitching eye, Link was still completely stunned at what the farmgirl had just offered. He knew it was an impulse as he could visibly see how flustered she was. Still, since he was a young man in the later stages of adolescence, there was definitely a level of interest at the possibility of doing such a thing next to one another. In fact, a part of him felt like it was a gift to be able to do that, a reward for all he'd done today. However, the other part was incredibly embarrassed and terrified of the thought of seeing the girl without her clothing on. "Y-You want us to take a bath together?" The hero stuttered, his heart beginning to beat faster as he watched Malon's face redden more and more. "Like…" Holding his hand up to his mouth, he whispered. "Naked?"

"N-NO!" Malon exclaimed prior to slapping her hand over her mouth to mute herself. She grumbled and stared in slight irritation at the boy for acting so astounded. Letting her hand fall away, she drew her tongue across her luscious lips to nervously moisten them. "I…" She then found herself having trouble speaking. Her legs felt a bit like jelly at the mere notions of standing butt naked in front of her boyfriend. "I just meant…" The girl tried to control herself just enough to explain what she was thinking and why she suggested it. "I meant that we could wear our clothes, share the wash basin and get the blood out of them as well as off ourselves. We might as well do it that way so it won't take as much time and we can go rest after."

No matter how the farmgirl put it, the idea was awkward. Yet, as previously mentioned, Link was kinda excited at the prospect. Merely thinking about being next to her during such an intimate moment made him anxiously chew his finger. "I… Uhh…" He wanted to agree, but also found himself wanting to back off due to being a scared kid who'd never been in a sexual situation before. "I can clean my tunic later. Right now, I just need to get this blood off my skin."

"Oh…" Malon eyed her skittish knight from his head to his toe, taking in his growing form as she nervously curled a few strands of her red hair around her index finger. Hearing him all but reject the offer made her feel funny and not necessarily in a good way. Thumping away, her heart felt like it was going to break apart or shatter into a million pieces. She didn't think she'd feel so humiliated either. It was all so new to her, she didn't know what to expect.

"S-Shouldn't you get a fresh dress?" Link inquired, abruptly finding that he was unable to take his eyes off her cute blush and adorable reaction to being embarrassed.

Looking at him with eagerness in her eyes, the farmgirl was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

Pulling his tunic up over his head, the adolescent hero could feel her staring at his bare torso before he even fully removed it. Afterward, following a toss of the bloodridden garment to the side, he glanced up at the girl to confirm she was examining him. He saw her lustful expression, the metaphorical hearts in her eyes and it piqued his young interest in going further in the relationship, further than they'd ever been.

Now that the shock was wearing off, as he removed the bandage belted to his torso, a blush was beginning to form on the boy's cheeks that almost mimicked the one on his girlfriend's face. "You don't have a fresh dress to change into when you're done."

Her eyes widened slightly as she realized her lover wasn't rejecting her. Glad that she hung around in spite of thinking he wasn't going to go for it, the girl was then treated as she saw him pulling down his shorts, stripping down to just his undergarments. "W-Wuaa…." She fidgeted as her eye twitched and mouth fell agape. Forming a cohesive sentence was a challenge now that she was graced with the muscular body of the young Hero of Time. Seeing his brawny arms and toned physique almost made her fall over backward. While it was true that she'd previously seen them when he was unconscious, that she'd even gotten more than she bargained for when he accidentally let the sheets fall from his nude body, getting to witness his unusually strong build while he was up moving around, making the muscle flex, was an entirely different matter. Her palms started to sweat as she couldn't tear her gaze off him. If she could go any more crimson, she'd have turned into a tomato. "Holy moly."

"Well?" He proceeded to wait for an answer to his previous enquiry. "How are you going to take a bath if you don't have any clothes to change into?"

Still ogling him intensely, the farmgirl's ability to answer was momentarily impacted. "I… Y-You... G-Geez… Wow." Knowing that she had to say something soon since she didn't want the boy to think she was the one who wasn't interested, she thought 'Come on, Malon. Do you want him to think you're some pervert?' Shaking her head to snap out of it, she had to literally wipe a bead of drool hanging from the corner of her mouth in advance of saying "I'll find a way, I promise." For a split second, she mentally poked herself for the way she phrased it, thinking it sounded creepily motivated. Yet, she really was excited to think this was happening. "I can just wash the blood off these and take them off in my room after we're done. Sometimes I dry it on my windowsill anyway, so it won't look odd to anyone."

Realizing that what they were doing was likely considered naughty and would be worthy of a punishment if they were caught, Link was able to add apprehension to the list of wild emotion's coursing through him. The real kicker in bringing forth desire to bathe together was seeing the girl fawning over him as she was. Unlike when other girl's flirted with him, he wasn't too uneasy to respond. Seeing her wanting this, it made him want to fulfill the wish for her sake more than his own. That's not to say he wasn't interested, because he was. If he too didn't want this to happen, he wouldn't have stripped down to his skivvies. It was only due to his inexperience in the field of romance that the boy couldn't help other than to be embarrassed at his actions.

'What am I doing?' Link thought as he continued standing there in front of her. Looking away, he focused on his back for a moment, feeling around where he was hurt to ensure that the beeswax bandage was still there and secure to prevent water from contaminating the wound. 'I'm going to get thrown out of the ranch if he catches me with his daughter, especially in the pissy mood he's been in.'

Exhaling, he tried to keep his vision from connecting with hers so he wouldn't feel so shy. 'Though…' He soon failed, peeking enough to see the farmgirl chewing her lower lip from the exhilaration of seeing him half-nude. 'She is super cute.' Even though he was a child, he had a budding libido. It would seem that libido was beginning to wake up too. 'I wonder how much of her I'd be able to see?' Catching his thinking drifting into lust, he made an attempt to recover a sense of honour. Unfortunately, the scenario presented to him didn't exactly encourage that. In fact, it did the opposite. His blush extended to his long ears as he went as far as to think 'How much would she show me?'

To once again distract himself from his girlfriend's gaze, the hero moved the stool into the wash basin, stepped in and sat down on half of the seat. He used one of the buckets of water that Malon had retrieved to fill the very bottom, just enough to submerge his feet and ankles. After setting the empty bucket back to the ground, he grabbed the nearby ewer he brought out, dipping it into another bucket that had water. Once the ewer was filled, he brought it from the bucket over to the basin and poured it over his head. The water dripped from his hair, making the individual golden strands fall into his face and around his pointy ears, but also washed the blood from his face and body. Following a few seconds more of letting the water cascade down him, he decided to glance over at her to see what she was doing.

"Well?" He asked when he saw her standing there gawking. "Are you going to join me?"

"Yeah." Malon slowly walked forward. Seeing him like that, with water droplets dripping off him, it turned her on more so than she'd ever been in her entire short life. In a certain sense, she moved slowly because each step brought a twinge to her insides that sparked all the way up into her head. Her dress seemed to rub against her chest again like it did whenever she made-out with him. Looking down, she saw why and her lips pouted in timid equivocation. 'Crap. Come on, body, not right now.' She demanded she calm down, momentarily holding her hands to her chest in order to hide her arousal. "I'm coming."

Taking off her boots, scarf and brooch, she ceased moving one more time as it hit her as to what she was doing, realizing that she was seriously about to take a half-naked bath with the boy of her dreams. Her pulse increased tenfold, yet she didn't back away. Gulping from hesitation and embarrassment, she summoned the courage to climb into the small washbasin and sit down on the stool next to him. There wasn't nearly as much space as she thought there would be so she was shocked to find they had to touch back-to-back to have enough space to remain seated. 'Oh my goddesses.' A shiver went up Malon's spine from feeling the hero's warmth seep through her dress. 'I'm really doing this.'

"Should we close the privacy curtains?" Link asked, playing off the shiver he had of his own.

Thinking about it for a moment, the farmgirl decided against it, as if that would be the straw that broke the camel's back if they were caught. "W-We probably shouldn't."

Although Malon continued to sit awkwardly, with her legs shut tightly and her hands drawn to her torso, Link carried on with washing himself the best he could since he was still wearing his undergarments. Re-filling the ewer, he brought it up to his head and once again poured it over the top. Closing his eyes, for a split second he even forgot about the atmosphere and relaxed under the embrace of the cool hydrating liquid. His wound remained watertight, allowing him to actually enjoy the wash instead of worrying he'd later get an infection. More and more blood went with the water into the bottom of the washbasin. It was a mix of both his and the bandits' blood. Regardless, it felt great to get it off.

"I can literally feel your heartbeat through your back." The boy said as he blew away some water trying to drip into his nose.

"S-Sorry." Malon only thought to apologize.

"It's fine." Link smiled nervously from behind a curtain of his own wet hair. "Could you hand me a bar of the thyme soap?"

Nodding in acknowledgment, the bashful farmgirl reached forward to grab a bar of soap, only to cringe in newfound pleasure as the fabric of her dress scraped across the top of her chest. Her toes curled a bit while she handed over the soap to the boy that made her so aroused just by having an impressive body for his age. "Here you go." She said normally prior to muttering under her breath. "By Hylia."

"Huh?" Link wondered what the last thing she said was as he took the soap from her.

"N-Nothing!" Malon insisted as she was mortified of him finding out how her body was reacting, not understanding how normal and natural it was, especially for a healthy girl her age.

Not pressing her on what was said, the boy merely re-filled the ewer, draining the second bucket to a third of its contents. However, this time he didn't keep it for himself. He offered the ewer over for Malon to us, knowing she really did want to take a bath to get the blood of herself as well. "Here you go."

"Oh…" She replied upon seeing the ewer, flashing a forced smile out of hesitance. "T-Thanks."

Taking the ewer from the boy, she proceeded to quickly pour the water over the top over her, hoping more than anything that the coolness of it would wake her up from her previously undiscovered arousal. The water seeped into her red hair, seemingly tinted by the colour, while in fact removing the crimson blood that had dried onto the follicles. Unfortunately, the brisk chill she got from the water did little to reduce her budding sexuality, doing the complete opposite of calming her body. Still, it did feel good for her to get the blood out of her hair and off her face. Some of the water dripped down to her dress, but it wasn't enough to saturate it. With her hair fallen in her face like Link's was, she refilled the ewer with the last of the water from the second bucket.

Link used the thyme soap to work up a good lather worthy of spreading on his arms, body and face. It had a decent scent, but not as good as he knew Malon's personal Gerudo Soap would smell. Nevertheless, soaping himself up was going to be the best way to remove the blood. Yet, he also had to be sure the soap didn't get into his wounds or it would sting like a Lanaryu Ant.

Dumping another round of water onto her head, this time the farmgirl drenched her famous homemade dress. There were definitely red stains that weren't coming off so easily and would need proper washing in the river, but she was able to remove the majority of the blood simply by rinsing it through the fabric. For a brief second, she too forgot that she was sharing the wash basin with another person, not just any person either, her much loved saviour. It took her flinging her hair back to recall that he was right there behind her.

"Hey." The boy chuckled as her wet hair landed on his shoulders.

Blushing and gulping, she flashed a nervous smile again. "S-Sorry."

"It's fine." Link replied, trying to ease her anxiety by leaning against her back. Now that they'd progressed more with the act, he realized he wasn't as scared as expected, that it wasn't nearly as nerve wracking to wash together as he initially thought it would be. Then again, they weren't totally naked either. "Can I use the ewer?"

"Yeah, here." She said, beginning to once again warm up to being in such close proximity to him while both were bathing. The young girl felt as if it weren't for her crazy body that she'd have more nerve. For the time being, while her hair was wet, she decided to get some suds in it. Handing the ewer over to her lover, she opted to use her traditional Gerudo Soap. Right after picking up the bar, the moment she started to lather her hands with it, she felt a sting on her wounds.

"By Nayru that smells amazing. I knew it would." Link admitted as he sniffed the air.

Feeling a genuine smile creep upon her lips, the fiery redhead said "You've told me that several times."

"It's because the smell reminds me of you now." The boy was honest.

Malon's heartbeat was already sped up, but hearing him talk like that caused her to swoon over him again. "You're so sweet." Even though she'd been using Gerudo Soap for as long as she could remember since it was what her mother always used, if she was to ever think about changing to another, there was no doubt in her mind that she was going to stick with it now. "I love you, Link."

"I love you too, Malon." He wasted no time in replying, having no hesitation once so ever.

For the next few minutes, both of them stayed busy lathering themselves up with soap. They alternated the ewer a couple of times, draining the third bucket of water to a mere quarter of its contents. The bottom of the washbasin looked rather putrid, with a vile mixture of dirt, blood, sweat and suds. On the other hand, it was better the concoction was there than on their bodies, which is where it came from in the first place. They could've done better if they hadn't kept their clothes on, but they were beginning to smell as well as look more presentable to each other and anyone else. Plus, the experience was interesting to say the least. Somehow, for some reason, they felt as if they'd further bonded. After all, it was a private act they were doing together. It was another sign that they were progressing their relationship too.

"This feels so much better." She said while pulling her soapy hand through her hair.

Link nodded. "Yeah, definitely."

Using a washcloth, they scrubbed themselves as best as they could. While Link was able to actually clean his body, Malon was basically more-or-less rubbing at the blood stains on her dress, trying her best to remove them while still wearing it. Letting her boyfriend rinse the cleaner from his head and body, the farmgirl used the ewer afterward to get more of the grime and red smears off her dress. Her gerudo soap worked fairly well at getting her garb as clean as her skin, yet, in addition to the detergent she would still need to rub with stones at the river or scrub on a scrub board to lift the remaining spots.

By now, what was left of the water she pulled from the well had warmed up enough to not be so chilly. She still didn't understand why her chest was so sensitive. Glancing down, now that her dress was sopping wet and clinging closely to her form, she was further embarrassed by her budding breast's response to the sustained arousal she was experiencing from the current situation. With eyebrows raised, her lips pulled down and back. The blush on her cheeks deepened in intensity as she felt humiliated to have such a perverted body, one that felt so good when the fabric rubbed against her nipples. She was too young to understand that those sensation's were normal for someone in her state of mind.

Feeling that tingling in her privates again, she decided to distract herself with conversation before it worsened. "How do you feel?"

Perking up at the question, Link made sure to wash his feet as he answered. "Better from this, but still exhausted." Thinking about it for a moment, he came to understand why. "I've been in battles that have lasted a lot longer than that; it's just that I'm not so normally caught up in protecting someone I love so dearly. Usually it's just me and some bad guys." Inhaling a long breath to wake himself up a bit, he continued "I was really worried about you and your dad."

"I'm sorry…" The farmgirl suddenly felt regretful that she held him back.

"No, don't be. And, you don't have to apologize so much." Link instantly countered, realizing how she took what he said the wrong way.

Frowning at the memory of seeing him being stabbed in the back, Malon couldn't help other than to feel she was partially responsible. "But you're right. If you hadn't been so distracted trying to protect us, you wouldn't have gotten injured. That guy got you because you were turned the other way trying to stop his partner from hurting us."

Glancing back at her, he gulped as he saw her dripping hair and the back of her wet body. She looked so pretty that his pulse started to increase again, making him turn away, also subconsciously adjusting his seating as his growing libido made his loins uncomfortable. "Don't think like that." He forced himself to respond in spite of the awkward feelings coursing through him. "I made a conscious decision to do what I did and I have no regrets. Besides, if it wasn't that, it probably would've been something else. Bandits are opportunistic jerks."

"I don't like seeing you hurt though." Malon retorted.

"It's not your fault." Link insisted. "If anything it's my fault-... for failing."

Turning further than he did, she was shocked to hear him suggest he didn't succeed. "What?" She drilled for more information on why he felt that way. "What are you talking about? Why would you feel like that? We won, you won. You kicked their asses and now they're all dead. Shouldn't you feel like the hero you are?" Once again finding herself ogling his figure, she accidently said aloud "That's how I see you."

The boy's heart thumped hard at her last words, whether she meant to say it aloud or not. "Thank you. That really means a lot." On the other hand, her word's couldn't fully override how he saw himself regarding his skills during the ambush. Although he certainly had more capability than any other child his age, in retrospect he realized he was a tad rusty too, not just totally taken by surprise. "What I mean is how I didn't kill all of them faster than I managed to. I should have been able to take them out before they reached us." Sighing, for just a moment he felt sorry for himself and a small selfish side arose. "I'm the Hero of Time for heaven's sake. I've destroyed entities that far surpass in strength what those marauders had to offer. I've annihilated monster's much bigger and faster, I've taken out a mythical demon bent on destroying all of Hyrule, I've even been to another realm and stopped the moon from falling there…" Gritting his teeth, he hung his head in shame. "Why couldn't I stop a few ruffians from hurting my family?"

"It's not your fault, my love." Malon attempted to comfort him.

"It is…" He stayed steadfast in his opinion of himself as memories of her panic attack flashed in his head. "I should have taken them out sooner, before they hit the wagon. It's my fault you had to kill that guy, that you got captured by him in the first place." Scoffing at his own actions, he disclosed "I should have checked on you and Talon as soon as I killed the bastard I was fighting. Instead, I focused on helping up the horses."

Smiling softly, as an animal lover herself, she couldn't help other than to feel happy that he rescued the horses. It was unfortunate that she was taken hostage while he was busy helping an innocent creature, but she didn't hold it against him. Instead, she explained it in a way that might help him chill out. "You weren't even done fighting whenever those last two showed up. I mean, we were trying to do the same thing! They captured us WHILE we were helping the horses."

"Still…" Link lamented. "I'm getting rusty." Taking the ewer, he poured it over the top of his head, making sure it ran down and removed the lather from his legs. "I have to take this as a lesson that I've been too soft on myself, taking it too easy around here."

"Link…" She stood up while continuing to face his direction. "Are you crazy? You're always working extra-hard around here, my dad and I are shocked you work so much. Even after your short time working here, Ingo talks about how you're nearly more integral around here than he is. The last thing you need to do is pile more stuff onto your shoulders or you'll be overwhelmed."

"I have to…" The hero remained firm. "It's my duty. If I'm getting rusty, I need to start practicing daily like I used to."

Malon blinked in shock at the thought of him adding so much to his chores. "Daily?"

"Daily." He confirmed. "I'll build a practice dummy to perform basic maneuvers on it so I stay agile and I'll make a target to hone my archery. I'm going to make sure I stay ready at a moment's notice so you'll never have to go through what you did ever again." Holding his fist to his bare chest in a form of an honourable salute from the heart, he swore. "I promise you. I promise that I'll never let you or your family come to harm."

"Link…" She stared at him mournfully, sad that he always took so much responsibility upon himself.

Lowering his hand from his chest, he exhaled then took a moment to relax. "Yeah?"

All of a sudden, he felt her impulsively wrap her arms around him, her hands touching his bare chest. Without remembering why she was so anxious in the first place, the farmgirl sat down on the stool facing his back in order to pull him into a hug. He could feel her body heat coming through her back during their wash, yet this hug was much better since her embrace encompassed him with more warmth. Even though she was concerned with him overworking himself, Malon was happy he cared so much about her. Thinking about it made her squeeze him closer like she usually does. Only, this time Link held back a gentle gasp, his eyes widened and his pupils contracted from feeling her pressed up against him. His face flushed as deeply as hers from the sensation of her nipples poking into his back. Beginning to feel nervous, he thought about standing up since he was surprised at what was happening. It wasn't until he noticed the laceration on her hand that he started calming down, deciding instead to give a gentle smile while returning the hug.

"I never asked you how you felt." The young hero stated as he hugged his head to his sympathetic girlfriend's arm.

"I feel better than ever." Malon admitted. "Especially since I have you to protect me."

Chuckling, Link asked "You really love me a lot, huh?"

"More than anything." She wasted no time in answering. "You're kind, caring, handsome, protective, strong, responsible and make my heart beat so fast. I haven't been lonely one minute since we got together. It's like a dream come true to have you in my life and I feel lucky to be your girlfriend."

Flustered from her quick response and deluge of reasons, the boy was momentarily tongue-tied. A small tear formed in the corner of his left eye, yet blended in with the rest of the water dripping off him. In spite of having a sore throat from the high level of emotions surrounding them, he reciprocated the fondness as well as the attraction he held for her. "I feel the same way about you. You're so comforting to be around, you're beautiful, your bubbly attitude makes me feel good and I couldn't imagine being with anyone else other than you. I'm really happy to be your boyfriend."

Malon wanted to squeeze him and kiss him all over. But, she just let go of him and grabbed a towel, knowing that they shouldn't spend much longer doing what they were doing lest they risked getting caught. Still, she felt on cloud-nine to hear the hero say he was happy to be with her, as happy as she was to be with him. It was another sign that they were a perfect match and potentially soulmates. Standing up from the stool, she gently laid the towel down upon her loving knight's wet hair.

"You'll have to ask me to marry you someday." She jested while turning around to grab a towel for herself.

Smiling, Link grabbed the towel on his head and used it to dry his face as well as his hair. "You think I won't?" Standing up from the stool, without thinking, he turned around to face her. "I will when the time is right."

"I know you will." The farmgirl giggled as she turned back to him using her own towel to dry her face and long red hair.

The abruptness of what he witnessed caused the adolescent hero to do a double-take. His mouth found itself metaphorically falling to the floor upon. Since her homemade dress was wet and clinging to her body, he realized he could now essentially see through it. His pupils quivered as they took in the sight of her bare body beneath the fabric. All her curves were on display for him and he got his own look at what was poking into his chest while she hugged him from behind. Not only could he see her budding breasts and nipples, he was able to identify the outline of her panties too. She'd been fretting over her bodily response the entire time, yet now it was his turn as he felt a twinge in his groin. Without meaning to, he really took it all in, going as far as to consciously make an effort at memorizing it.

"You're the best boyfriend ever." Malon smiled gleefully as she dried her hair, totally unaware of her figure being gawked at so intensely.

"I-… your-… they're-... wet-... " Link spoke nonsense just loud enough for her to hear.

"Hrmm?" The farmgirl pondered his response. When she opened her eyes, she saw where he was staring and looked down. Seeing that her off-white dress was now opaque and he could see her nude frame, she turned way redder than she'd been throughout the entire unique experience. "Huaa!" She muffled her own scream of embarrassment in advance of spinning around, crossing one hand over her breasts and the other cupped to her crotch to cover her indecency.

"That's-…" Link cleared his throat as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Now… Uhh… I can see y-your-…" Even from behind he could still see the youthful curves of her hips and her pantyline. However, as a plus he also got a better look at her actual buttocks. He stared longer than he should have but eventually looked away, finishing his sentence by whispering "Butt."

"LINK!" She cried out, again louder than she intended. It wasn't completely her fault though. The farmgirl couldn't help it as she was super embarrassed and he only made it worse by telling her what he saw.

Shaking his head, he had to pry his eyes away again, looking up into the sky instead. "My bad." Before long, he chose to turn around so he wouldn't be tempted. Using his towel, he resumed drying off, pulling it down his body and dabbing at his soaked undergarments. He noticed they felt a bit tighter in spite of being saturated and rubbing the towel against his crotch quickly worsened that sensation. Moving up to his pits, he dabbed at them instead until his mind chose to distract himself more with concern for his wound. Although he couldn't press very hard against the place on his lower back where he was stabbed by the bandit, he drew a dry part of the towel in a circle around the beeswax buffer in order to ensure it didn't stay damp. Fun was fun, and while the well water was safer than the river, he really didn't want to get an infection from germs in the water.

In the meantime, as the hero stayed occupied to spare himself embarrassment, Malon was left feeling mortified that he just got a look at her naked body. She also felt dumb for leaving herself so exposed since she knew it had become see-through due to the water. The only thing keeping her from reeling with humiliation was the fact that she found herself delighted he was so captivated with seeing her nude physique. With her hand to her chest like it was, she could really feel how fast her own heart was beating. Self-conscious or not, her body was incredibly stimulated, more so than it had ever been. Biting her lower lip, she suddenly discovered that her legs were rubbing against one another as her hand stayed cupped to her crotch. Letting out a micro-moan at the thought of him seeing her again, she turned her head in his direction.

"D-Did-…" She spoke up with a crackling voice.

Link's ear twitched as he lowered the towel and listened.

"Did you l-like what y-you saw?" She asked with a hint of frustration at her inability to talk without sounding like her voice was wavering in fright.

The hero's heart was still pounding, never having calmed down no matter his attempt at distracting himself. Swallowing with a frog in his throat out of nervousness, he answered truthfully "Yes."

Burying her face in her hands upon receiving a positive answer, she caught her hips still swaying on their own as the twinges of arousal relentlessly sparked in her nether regions. Chewing her lower lip, she was way more anxious than he was, but also more turned-on. They'd come fairly far today in almost getting killed and then bathing together, yet she wondered if she could take it slightly further, to dip back into that insanely hot land of unknown, of sexual discovery. While Malon and her boyfriend certainly weren't dumb, they were uneducated and this exploration was the only way they would be able to increase their knowledge on the matter. Since she loved him so much and knew he loved her, she pushed through the natural shame to hesitantly ask "D-Do you wanna see it again?"

Blushing, Link tried to keep his breathing under control. His hands shook a bit at the offer. "Yeah."

Before they got a chance to go any further, out of nowhere the wooden privacy screen came bursting open. Ingo tore his way through their defense in the matter of a moment. Although his face was slightly red at having invaded their privacy during such an intimate moment, he instantly pointed at the young boy. His angry eyes narrowed and his nose wrinkled to display displeasure at what he was seeing. "You! Get! NOW!"

"We're sorry, Ingo!" Malon pleaded as she used a towel to cover herself. "It's not what it looks like, we promise!"

"Hauu!" Link exclaimed in total shock, obeying the enraged adult's command without delay. "Y-Yes sir!" Swallowing his pride, he quickly grabbed his dry clothes as well as boots in advance of making haste out of the area. Passing the angered farmhand, he found himself being followed and berating by him. "I'm sorry, sir!"

"Are you out of your mind, boy?!" Ingo growled "Today's not the day for this, not with that Talon's been through! You'd give the poor guy a heart attack if it were him who caught you two together! He'd blow his lid if he saw his daughter bathin' with a boy!" He shook his fist at the young man, who hustled away from the area toward the barn while looking like a mess, desperately trying to get his dry clothes on so he wasn't running through the ranch half-naked. "You're lucky it was me who heard you two!"

"We weren't naked!" Malon interjected, trying to diffuse the situation.

The furious farmhand turned to her with a look of disappointment on his face. "I'm not gonna argue with you."

"We weren't!" She insisted he listen. "We were washing our clothes together!"

"With them on?!" Ingo wasn't fooled by the play on words. Shaking his head, he laid into her. "No, like I told Link, you're lucky as the heavens that it was me who heard you two talking in here and not your father."

Giggling softly and smiling to project an air of innocence, she told him. "We didn't do anything wrong!"

"Bull.. shit." Ingo grilled her.

"Don't be so uptight." She tried pouting and passing the entire situation off in spite of actually being horrified they'd been caught.

"You don't be so brash and impulsive, young lady!" Ingo retorted as he shook his finger at her and then held his hands to his hips. "I know you're just exploring each other, but you're going too fast and need to slow down."

"Oh, come on." Malon rolled her eyes as she could hear her pulse in her ear.

"Shut up." Ingo demanded, sternly putting his foot down. "I don't want to hear any excuses. I was a kid once and I shelled them all out to my own parents." Sighing, he looked away from the farmgirl.

Malon quivered as she feared the consequences. The worry of punishment broke through her fake calm demeanor. "I'm sorry, Ingo." She decided to plead for forgiveness. "Please don't tell my dad."

Heeding his own words and knowing that her and Link were just curious kids, he made sure she understood he wasn't really mad, just frustrated at how quickly their relationship seemed to be going. After all, they weren't even teenagers yet and the last thing they needed to be doing was looking at each other naked. "Look, I'll let this slide and keep it a secret. But, if you don't slow down, I'll have no choice other than to tell him. Okay?"

"Yes!" She nodded vigorously "I promise."

Ingo rolled his eyes, aware that children will promise one thing and do another. He made it clear that he didn't want her to think what she was doing was unnatural, just that she wasn't ready yet and neither was Link. "You're both still kids and there are limits to what the two of you can do." Not in the mood to give her a talk on sex, the man just hinted to it, leaving the rest to either later curiosity with her boyfriend or a more in-depth discussion on the birds and the bees with Talon. "Trust me, when you two are a little more grown up, you'll probably be doin' things that'll blow ya'lls mind."

"Oh?" What the farmhand said caught her interest. "What kind of things?"

"Things!" Ingo acknowledged he didn't phrase it well since the question caught him off guard and made him flustered. "You'll find out when you're a little older, okay?" Making his way back over toward the wooden privacy screen, the man set it back up, leaving a small gap behind for himself to pass through. Looking back in her general direction since she was toweling off, he wanted to make sure she understood how serious he was. "Promise me one more time that this won't happen again until you're older?"

Nodding in acceptance, it was an easy out to simply agree to the terms so her father wouldn't know about what she did. "I promise to not do this again until I'm older."

Holding a thumbs up to show he was happy with her response, he made his way to the outside of the privacy screen and then re-closed it. Without saying a single word, his footsteps could be heard as he walked off, giving her space to dry.

Being left by herself, the girl waited a few seconds prior to bursting out into a brief fit of laughter. All that had happened was a total whirlwind of feelings. She was still completely embarrassed by the last hour, yet pleased with the results, knowing getting in trouble with Ingo was totally worth it to get so romantically close to her boyfriend. It was all new and exciting. Getting to see Link's physique while he bathed, getting to ogle his strong arms, muscular torso and athletic legs made her weak in the knees. Just thinking about it again made her bashfully smile. On the other hand, that smile swiftly turned to a nervous lopsided one as she remembered how he also got a look at her. In fact, the boy got a better view of her nude body through her dress than she has had of him since the sheet incident.

"Wow…" She acknowledged how exciting it all was while heading to the backdoor of the farmhouse, intending to go up to her room to change out of her wet dress and find a different one.

.

.

.

[Time: 4:10 P.M. (Afternoon)]

[Date: Month 6 'Early-Summer', Day 24, 8th Era]

(Location: Hyrule, Hyrule Field, Lon Lon Ranch - Front of the Corral)

.

'I should be a bit more careful.' Link was busy thinking as he propped his leg up against the wooden fence to the corral. 'He's right.' The boy thought back to what Ingo said regarding getting into trouble with Talon. 'She might be my girlfriend, but I can't piss her father off or he's going to throw me out on my ass.' He'd been previously given the farmer's blessing in the relationship. Thinking about all the jokes told about the two made it clear Talon had always been okay with them getting together, even going so far as to want it since Link was capable, responsible and genuinely caring. Nonetheless, the man's protective instincts were nothing to be scoffed at either. The last thing the hero wanted to do was encounter Talon's rage because he went 'too far' with the farmer's little girl.

Leaning against the railing of the fence to the corral, in spite of the concern, getting caught, chased and yelled at, only to spend the last twenty minutes thinking about it, Link smirked. As a young boy, what he'd gotten to see made him feel sly about doing it, not to mention funny. Most kids his age weren't interested in nudity or were only wondering about it. He had succeeded in getting a full glimpse of Malon's shapely body; on top of that, with full permission, the girl went as far as to offer to let him see it again. "Awesome."

"What's awesome?" Malon's voice called out from behind.

Startled, the boy let go of the railing and his foot dropped from the fence. Catching his footing so he didn't fall, he choked on his own spit. Turning around to see her smiling away at him was humiliating considering he was literally just imagining her completely nude and being proud of it. With flushed cheeks, he returned the smile so she wouldn't think anything bad. As he nervously rubbed the back of his neck, he spoke "Oh! M-Malon-…" He chuckled with a clear undertone of anxiety in his voice. "I didn't know you were there." Glupling, he ensured his eyes stayed directed at hers and not at her body in advance of answering her question. Although he bent the truth as to why he said awesome, what he said wasn't fully a lie and sounded much better than the real reason. "I'm just glad to be here."

"Me too!" The farmgirl chirped. Giggling, she stared at his choice of clothing, seeing that he had chosen to garb himself in the overalls he'd bought from the Stitch and Seam. He had even put on his straw hat since his kokiri cap needed to be cleaned. "I'm glad to have you here too." She admitted. "By the way, you look good in that. You should wear it more."

Looking at her, he saw that she was wearing an off-white dress that was even more plain than her regular, lacking any design at all. "You look good no matter what you wear." He found himself complimenting even though he wasn't intending for it to sound like a flirt.

Kissing his cheek, she grabbed his arm and pulled him close. "You're so sweet."

Closing one eye as the girl kissed his cheek, Link blushed a bit deeper. "We… umm… We should be careful though. You know?"

"Huh?" She stared at him in confusion.

Rolling his eyes at her playful ignorance, he explained. "I don't want to get into trouble with your dad."

"That?" Malon enquired. "He's not going to kick you out no matter what you do, not if I let you do it."

"You don't know that." Link stated before raising an eyebrow. He wondered exactly how much she'd let him do in addition to what those things were. Thankfully, he stayed focused on the task at hand. It was certainly more important to have a place to stay at the moment than it was to push the limits of what he could do with his girlfriend. "I can't risk losing you if your dad gets mad."

"Link…" The farmgirl frowned even though she was happy to hear the boy wanted their relationship to ensure so much he fretted over the possibility of it being forced to an end.

Facing the barn since he had turned to look at Malon, the hero took note of Ingo as the man stared at them while going inside. Blinking a few times, the boy's leg twitched as he grew nervous over being watched. "Ingo was right." He decided to explain. "Since your dad's in such a sour mood, we shouldn't push our luck with him. Let's just slow down."

"You gotta be kidding me?" Malon protested, pulling out of the embrace and crossing her arms with a pout. "You're going to let them scare you away from me?"

Blushing at her becoming so serious, Link was quick to wave his hands in defense of what he meant. "No! No, of course not!" Walking forward to get close to her again, he continued to elaborate on his thought process. "I'm trying to protect our relationship. If I get kicked out, it'll be way harder for us to see each other." Struggling to think of anything else to say, he finished with "It's not like I didn't enjoy everything we just did."

Malon kept her arms crossed for a few moments longer before lowering them as her frustration diminished. Still staring at him, she analyzed his face, making sure he looked serious about what he was saying. Soon rather than later, the young redhead felt a smile form at the corners of her lips. Getting even closer to him, she held her arms behind her back as she leaned forward so their faces were almost touching. "You promise?"

"I promise." Link swore while gazing into her ocean blue eyes.

Grinning, she giggled in advance of giving him a small peck on the lips. "Good. Just so you know, I promised Ingo I wouldn't bathe with you again until I got older…" Stopping for a moment to build suspense, she smirked "But I don't really care what I promised him. I'm not afraid to be with you, so I'll fib if I have to."

"R-Really?" Link stood in shock. He never imagined the girl was capable of not telling the truth.

From behind them, at the barn, the horses came rushing out the doors. Ingo appeared afterward only to lean against the barn as almost all the big animals headed to the corral like they'd been trained to do. Melnir was dead last, as usual, but Epona was first with a head start. The filly raced over to the boy, almost tripping over her own legs. She really was still concerned for her owner since he'd gotten hurt. Ingo appeared to chuckle as the equine pushed herself in-between Link and Malon so she could get a better look at the kid's face, staring as if waiting for him to show her his boo-boos.

Malon was clueless, choosing to laugh at Epona's adorable worry for her owner's safety. However, Link was almost positive Ingo purposely let the horses out so they'd bother the two kids by acting like the animals they were. Since he couldn't call an adult on such actions, the best the boy could do was go along with it. He patted Epona's neck in advance of rubbing it. "Hey girl!" He cooed to her. "It's okay, it's okay. You don't have to fret over me. I'm fine."

The filly seemingly hunted down his wound, possibly smelling the beeswax and blood beneath it. As she neighed, her tail swished side-to-side. Her head repeatedly lifted up and down.

"Epona, relax." Link smiled with a breathy snicker. "I'm fine, really."

Smiling happily, Malon couldn't help other than adore the sight. "So cute! I've never seen a horse worry so much about a person before, especially such a young horse." Giving the filly a brush with her hand, she stated the obvious "Epona's going to be such a good mother, if you ever choose to breed her… or… you know… It just happens."

Link and Malon stared at each other for almost half a minute, partially realizing that how animals made love would one day likely be how they would do it. Eventually the hero broke out of that thinking to return to his explanation lest the embarrassment twisted his tongue again. "It's not that I'm scared…" Glancing back over at the barm to see Ingo still staring at them, he continued with "I just want us to have a little more privacy." He tried to back up a bit, only to cringe as Epona snorted by his ear and then nuzzled it. "Between all the animals, Ingo or Talon, we don't exactly have much of a peaceful opportunity to be romantic." Gently nudging the filly to get her to stop breathing in his ear, he had to duck as she tried to lean her head against his. "And Epona is like a child. She's obsessed with me. It's kinda creepy too how she likes to watch us kiss."

Laughing, Malon told him. "She's just trying to figure out what we're doing. Don't worry." After happening to peer back at the farmhouse, she saw her father coming out to go around where the wash basin was, ready for his turn at a bath. However, she also finally spotted Ingo staring intently at the duo. 'Oh… Now I get it.' She mentally remarked while returning to her handsome boyfriend. "I think I get what you're saying. It can be annoying to not have a moment to yourself, especially since your room is literally in the barn with a bunch of farting animals."

Smirking, Link nodded. "Yeah… That's okay though. We'll make due."

"Or, we could go somewhere else." The farmgirl stated, making the hero look at her in confusion.

"What do you mean?" He asked. "We can't leave the ranch. We have chores to do. Plus, if we're called for and don't answer, they're going to know something is up."

Taking him by the hand, Malon started pulling him along the fence line of the corral, getting him to follow her. "I think I know the perfect place for us to get some privacy without being too far away." Gazing at him longingly, she told him "You might have been near it before, but I bet you don't know about my super secret hiding spot. It's been there since the ranch was constructed and neither my dad nor Ingo know about it."

"Super secret hiding place?" Link repeated her questioningly as he was pulled by the farmgirl. Epona followed behind them as usual.

"Yeah, it's a little room my mom built for me when they first constructed the place." Malon confirmed as she got the boy to walk alongside her instead of needing to be pulled. "She made it in case I needed a place to hide if bandits ever attacked or monsters broke in. It's so secret because she never told my dad and she made me promise to never tell anybody. The only reason why I even remember it in the first place is because she made it just for me." Smiling with a light blush spanning her cheeks and the bridge of her nose, she thought to herself 'Until now.'

"Where is this place?" Link curiously enquired as he peeked around at the ranch for anywhere he hadn't considered. For a split second he recalled finding a secret grotto somewhere around here, but his memory was fuzzy on the matter. He wasn't sure that was right since when he encountered it, the grotto appeared to be a natural formation or one built by a civilization from long ago. He was positive the secret grotto there at the ranch wasn't the same place the farmgirl was talking about.

"It's by the Silo." Malon answered as they came around the bend of the corral in advance of walking toward the structure in question. "You'll see. It's in the storage shed beneath the silo."

Epona trotted faster to match the kids pace, keeping up out of concern and obsession over her owner. A few of the other horses walked alongside the fence line of the corral, following them out of habit. Over by the barn, since Link and Malon had walked off, Ingo proceeded with his work by going back inside to release the cows from their pen. Before long, a dozen cattle joined the horses outside, getting fresh air and a bit of grazing in the meadow outside the corral. Although it was normal for the animals to be out of the barn, it also proved Link's point in how they rarely had a moment to themselves.

"Just make sure you keep this between you and I, okay?" Malon stared at him, walking backwards while waiting for him to reply.

"Of course." Link assured he wouldn't tell anyone. "I'm not going to tattle on you for having a secret spot your mother gave you. That wouldn't be right. Besides, I'm not that kind of person."

She winked at him with a smile in advance of turning around to walk forward, in the direction of the silo at the very back of the ranch.

Staring at the silo, as he came within thirty feet, he felt his heart begin to beat faster again, especially as his gaze returned to his girlfriend's figure. As an adolescent boy experiencing his first true romance, he was still nervous beyond belief at what had happened. He was surprised to see her so giddy, seemingly without a single bone of worry in her body. While it made him happy that she adored him so much, it embarrassed him that she was so willing to do naughty things with him after only a few months of staying together.

Getting closer, Epona nuzzled the boy from behind, making him glance back. "Hold on, Malon." He told the girl before stopping in his tracks to try and get his favourite filly to settle down, to stop concerning herself so much with his well being. "Epona, girl… You gotta go socialize and stop worrying so much about me. I'm fine. Why do you get so distraught when you see me hurt? You know I've pulled through worse than this."

Although Malon was excited to be going somewhere she'd have her boyfriend all to herself, she halted too, stopping to explain to the hero why Epona was so obsessive. "She's like that because she cares about you more than any other horse in this ranch." For a brief moment, she pursed her lips to the side while recalling how frantic the equine was when it first showed up at the ranch as Link was dying out in the Lost Woods. The horse was the true saviour of her owner, as without having escaped the Forbidden Forest on her own and coming all the way back to the ranch to notify the farmgirl, Malon never would have known he was out there. She never would've gone on the rescue mission if Epona hadn't come back so panicked. "You're her everything and she wants to make sure you're okay."

Kissing her on the snout, Link gazed into the filly's eyes with his own form of love for her. "Aww… Aren't you a sweetie." Giving her a caress down her mane, he made her snort from the pleasure of being groomed by her beloved master. "You know I've taken a worse beating than this. Besides, I have no intention of ever going back to the Lost Woods for as long as I live, so you don't have to worry about me going unconscious like that."

The horse likely understood a mere eighth of what he said, yet batted her eyelashes and neighed in response to his attitude.

"I promise." He said to the filly, acting as if she'd asked him to swear. "I'm going to go look at this place with Malon, who will be with me the entire time, you worry wort." Chuckling, he continued with "After that, I'm going to take a nap. So, why don't you go enjoy your day instead of following me like I'm some sort of god."

Epona made no move that suggested she understood what he told her to do. Even after he pointed back toward the corral, she wouldn't budge from right behind him.

"Yeah…" Malon giggled. "Good luck with that. She's not going anywhere." Tugging Link's arm, she got the boy to resume following her the short distance to the silo. "Now, come on. I'm excited to show you my hideout." Getting close enough, she let go of him in advance of reaching for the door handle to the bottom story of the silo, which consisted of a storage section. Glancing back, she told him "Be warned though, it might be a bit dusty because it's been like a year since I've been here." Pulling the door open, she ushered her knight inside while looking around to make sure they weren't being watched. 'We should be far enough away for Ingo to not see us.'

"A year?" Link wondered as he walked inside the small shed-like area. He'd been in the place a few times to get supplies, yet he never stayed in it longer than a couple of minutes, certainly not long enough to notice any secret rooms. There were a few supplies, farming equipment and a broken wheelbarrow. Some crates pushed up against the back wall. "I thought this was a place you'd only come to if you were in danger?"

Holding her palm flat to show Epona that they wanted her to stay behind, the farmgirl closed the door behind them, greatly reducing the interior light since there was only a single small window on the side. While answering Link, she walked over to the corner where the crates were. "I also came here for the privacy you're talking about. Sometimes I had a bad day and just wanted to get away from it all. This place was perfect, so I made it into my own little oasis." Grabbing one of the crates, she pulled it back and out of the way before letting go. Moving on to the next crate, she grabbed it and pulled it out of the way too. "Like I said, it's out of the way and totally secret." Peering over her shoulder, with a blush on her cheeks, she let him know "Nobody can hear us in here."

The boy smiled nervously as he cleared his throat. "Oh, okay… Umm… Where is it?"

"Get that rake handle over there." Malon required.

Doing as he was told, Link grabbed an old broken rake handle that was propped up against the wall in the opposite corner and then handed it over to the farmgirl. "Here you go."

"Thanks." She responded while using it to point down at a lower section of the wall where the crates had previously been blocking. "It's right here."

Link looked over where the young redhead was pointing and saw a medium-sized hole in the bottom of the wall that had been filled in with loose rocks. "Oh wow. I don't think I ever would have noticed if I wasn't looking for it."

"Yeah." Malon giggled as she poked at the rocks with the broom handle until they rolled loose from the crack, exposing the entrance to a short tunnel. "That's the point. Who would ever guess I'd be here if we were under attack?" Using the wooden stick, she dislodged all that she could before opting to use her hands. The stick hit the ground with a thud as she bent down, grabbing and pulling all the remaining rocks out of the hole in the wall. "There we go." She spoke once she widened the tunnel to be big enough for them to fit through. After beckoning the boy with her index finger, she crawled on her knees into the tunnel, heading for her secret spot on the other side. "Come on, and don't worry, it's safer than it looks."

Bending down, Link stared off to the side for a moment so he would be gawking at the girl's rear-end. Imagining the sight he caught of it when her dress was wet was enough to make him feel funny again. Nonetheless, once she made it to the other side, he went in after her. Sure enough, he saw how structurally secure the tunnel was, proving that the crumbley crack was just a facade to hide the location behind it. The tunnel was only about five feet in length. It didn't take the hero long to make it through. Coming out on the other side, he was greeted by Malon, who helped him stand up.

"Well?" She asked, referring to what he thought.

Taking a look around at the hidden room he was standing in, he saw that it was about four feet long by six feet wide. It wasn't very spacious, but big enough for the two to comfortably fit inside. There were a few spider-webs and dust on everything like she said. But, a folded blanket next to a pile of musty hay looked usable for creating a place to relax. Not to mention, the walls were made out of rock, making it nearly impossible to hear through, especially if the entry hole is plugged. "It's amazing."

Malon smiled as she walked over to, bent down and grabbed the old folded blanket from off the floor. As she unfolded it and dusted it off with a good beating, she informed him of how it was made. "Mama carved this room from the cliffside, so you can't even tell it's here from the outside. It just looks like the silo is touching the cliff." Flapping the blanket to get it sprawled out, she let it parachute over the top of the pile of old hay. "It would take several bombs or maybe a furious goron to make it in here and I'm not worried about gorons."

"Gorons would never hurt a kid anyway." Link said as he felt the walls, admiring the craftsmanship. "Your mother was skilled. She seriously did all of this on her own? That's amazing."

"She was motivated." Malon admitted. "Like any good mother, she wanted to protect me from bad people."

Suddenly sighing, Link let his hand slide off the wall. "Yeah…"

"What?" The redhead responded to his abrupt sadness. Walking over to him, she placed her hand to his shoulder.

"It's nothing." He tried to brush his emotions away.

Shaking her head, she gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "This is a safe place; you can tell me." Realizing she may have said the wrong thing, she guessed aloud if it was what was upsetting him, hoping it would jumpstart the conversation. "Is it about those bandits? Do you still feel like you couldn't protect me?"

Turning around, he faced her with a quivering lip. "It's not just that…" He told her. "This was my first time killing a person."

"What?" She narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean? You've killed tons of people?"

"No…" Link sniffled. "I've killed monsters, demons and devils. I've never killed another hylian or even a goron or zora. This is the first time I've ever killed a regular person, albeit bad, but still regular people with their own lives and agendas." Trying his best to suck it up and think properly, he explained "I know I should see that they were trying to murder us, that I had to kill them to protect us, it's just that they probably had souls and I just sent them to hell."

"They deserve to be in hell, honey." Malon insisted while pulling him into a hug.

Cringing at the thought, he told her "I'm just so used to rescuing people, not condemning them, taking their lives."

"Link…" She tried to slow him down.

"I'm scared that I did something wrong, that I could've prevented this entire ordeal instead of dealing with it by killing everyone involved." A few tears ran down his cheeks as he let out what he'd been holding inside. "I shouldn't have been wearing my tunic, I should've changed my name and talked differently so nobody recognized me. I should've sensed that the man we ran into in the alley wasn't a good person, I should've practiced my archery and been better able to hit them from a distance even if they're moving fast. I should've focused on you instead of worrying about the horses trapped under the wagon! Why the hell did I not kill those jerks from the first carriage?! I should have remembered and known they'd be back! I should have turned into a fierce deity and annihilated them all!" Coughing and gasping from talking so fast, he sniffled.

"Link-..." Malon interjected once he was done. "What you should do is NOT feel that way. You had to do it and did the best you could. They were bad people, very bad people. They needed to be stopped and you happened to be the one who did it. Think of them as monsters if it helps you feel better." Thinking about it, she ended with "What matters the absolute most is that we're both alive. Don't have regrets. Don't feel like you failed me."

"But, I should've killed Ganondo-..." He tried to say before he was stopped by the girl's finger being held up to his lips.

Shushing him, she pulled away her finger and replaced it with her lips, gently pressing them to his. Pulling him into a kiss, she moaned softly. After fifteen seconds, she broke away just enough to tell her lover how she felt. "I will always support you; and hearing you say you want to work harder for me makes my heart swell. But, you're already perfect and I don't want you to stress yourself over a man whose soul is as black as tar."

"Malon…" He stared at her lovingly.

Pulling him over to the hay pile covered by the blanket, she let go, plopped down on it and rolled over onto her side. Her crimson hair sprawled out above her. With a cute smile, she tried to be a bit seductive by gesturing him toward her prior to patting the spot next to her where she wanted him to lay. "Now that we have privacy, why don't we just focus on each other for a little bit?"

"I…" The boy stuttered a few times from how hot she looked. "I… I…" Eventually, he managed to unwind by choosing to give in to the farmgirl's request. "Okay."

Taking off his straw hat, he laid it aside on the ground prior to kneeling down onto the hay bed, laying down on it right next to Malon. In fact, he was so close to her that the side of his leg and arm touched hers. The old hay wasn't very comfortable at all. But, he didn't mind so long as he was with the pretty farmgirl. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I shouldn't regret anything and just move forward."

"Life is too short for regrets." Malon stated as she scooted closer to him until she was completely pressed up against his side.

Link blushed with a smile as he rolled his eyes. "We're not even teens yet."

"We're pretty mature for our ages though." She told him while laying her hand on his chest and nuzzling his neck.

Link pursed his lips at the thought. "Yeah, I suppose we are. I've been through a lot and you're… well… you're responsible, you're already beautiful and you're way stronger than you think you are." After a couple of moments passed without a response, he turned his head to see her face flushed even though she kept her smile. "What?" He asked, not realizing what he had said. "Did I say something wrong?

"No…" She quickly told him. "The exact opposite. You're such a flirt."

"I wasn't flirting." He chuckled. "I was telling the truth."

"And that's why you're the best boyfriend ever." Malon informed him prior to leaning over his torso to give him a big smooch. Her lips tenderly pressed against his. Her arms held his shoulders. Seeing how she was laying across him, while they made out, she could feel his heart beating and he could feel hers. Although she made sure to not squish him, she enjoyed his body heat, his warmth. Plus, in such close proximity, she found herself obsessing over his natural musk that always hid just beneath whatever layer he topped himself with, this time thankfully being thyme soap.

Closing her eyes, she thought 'I love him so much.' Her heartbeat sped up further as she moaned, allowing herself to do so since they were in a near soundproof room. Lowering her body a bit more on top of his, she brought her left hand from his shoulder and cupped his cheek. They broke the kiss just long enough to take a breath, then immediately went back at it. 'Kissing is so awesome.' She mentally remarked. 'I can almost taste him.' The blush on her face increased as she imagined the possibility. Nonetheless, she was more than satisfied with smooching. In fact, the sound of their amatuer smacking of lips echoed throughout the small chamber. 'It's good.'

'She smells so good.' Link thought as he delicately wrapped his arms around her back, gently inhaling her scent again like he'd done earlier. Each time his lips pressed to hers, he felt those same sparks in his heart, sparks of arousal that spread down his body as his blood began to shift inside his body. All of a sudden a decent amount of the vital fluid left his brain and headed directly for his groin. 'Her lips are so soft.' He started thinking. 'I wish we could make out like this all day, everyday. If it wasn't for my duty as Hero of Time or work at the ranch, I could definitely make this my full time job.'

"Link…" The farmgirl said as she began to blush more and more. "I'm so excited right now."

"Me too." The boy admitted even though he was a bit embarrassed staring at her as they lay so close, literally with her partially atop him.

"I just want you so much…" With metaphorical hearts in her eyes, she tried to think of the right terminology to use. However, her age and lack of experience wound up making her use one that didn't quite fit. "I just wanna feel you on my tongue." It was the best she could come up with since it was what she was thinking while looking at him. In fact, as she nuzzled her head against his again in order to breathe his musk, she took the chance to do just that by slowly dragging her tongue up the side of his neck.

Link gasped at the new sensation "Hauu…. M-Malon!" Feeling her do it again, this time pulling her tongue downward, he asked "What are you doing!?"

"Tasting you." She calmly replied before dragging her tongue down even slower, almost savoring his flavor.

'This is…' The boy thought as he closed one eye while the other stayed glued to her form lapping at his neck. 'This is really freakin' weird.' His body twitched. Those sparks of arousal grew in strength until they caused him to shiver. Although he thought it was strange, after letting out a small moan of his own, he had to admit the truth. 'It does feel good though. Like… really good.' Taking a peek downward with one eye, she still had both hers closed, but he witnessed her tongue poking out, wiggling on his skin. 'That's just her tongue? Din's Mercy, who knew that would feel so fantastic?'

Stopping, the farmgirl licked and wiped her lips. Her eyes opened to a squint as she grinned lustfully without knowing it. Clearing her throat, her voice was low and sultry from being so turned on. "Wow…" With a blush and a small breathy laugh, she told him. "Your taste makes my head spin."

"I…" He blinked while feeling his breathing pick up. "I taste good?"

As if she were drawn to it, she returned to her lover/hero's neck, giving it numerous small kisses prior to another taste. "Yessss…." She exaggerated and extended the 'S' as she appeared to zone out.

All of a sudden the boy was inundated with another series of tongue laps to his neck. Impulsively, although he was nearly overwhelmed by the feeling, his libido gave him the idea to kiss the top of her left ear, the one closest to him. Right after doing it, he felt her shiver in delight; so he did it again, several more times in fact until she started pressing herself against his side even more. Seeing her reaction, now knowing that she enjoyed the kiss, he learned from his girlfriend and repeated after her, except instead of her neck, he drug his tongue across the top of her long pointy ear.

"Nnnf!" She nearly choked on her own tongue as her eyes shot open and quivered with dilated pupils. Retracting her tongue from his neck, she called out his name. "Link! Oh wow, that feels so good! Do it again… Please!"

"Okay…" He lustfully replied in advance of once again dragging his tongue across her ear.

Immediately she responded, this time with her eyes threatening to roll back into her head. Seething in pleasure, she shivered more. "It's making me tremble." She told him as she held his shoulders again. Even they were shaking as she got more and more excited from what they were doing there in their own little private world.

Knowing she was enjoying it so much, the boy kept licking her ear before switching over to the other one, her right ear. Moving his head past hers, he started dragging his tongue across the top of her ear. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw her look of pleasure. In addition to the ever present blush, her eyes continued to try and roll up in ecstasy and her upper teeth gently held onto her lower lip. It made him happy knowing he was making her feel so much pleasure. Especially after all they had been through this day, he didn't mind doing it for her. Part of him even wanted to. He discovered that he really liked her taste too.

"Link!" She moaned as her legs quivered.

Without saying a word, while kissing and licking the tip of her ear, he also impulsively sucked on the skin. Hearing her moans get louder and feeling her trembling, he knew what he was doing wasn't hurting her, so he kept going. Before long, he had kissed his way down to the side of her ear until he made his way straight for her earlobe. Gently holding the flap of skin between his teeth, he lapped at it a few times.

"Farore, it's too much!" Malon pleaded as her toes curled in her boots. Out of nowhere, her hips instinctually thrusted forward as the pleasure she had coursing through her overloaded her sex drive to the point she couldn't think. All she knew for certain was that she was embarrassed the ecstasy was so much her body was beginning to beg for more. Keeping her eyes from rolling back in her head, she fought back by returning to kissing her boyfriend's neck. Now she learned from him and went on the offensive by softly sucking on his skin.

Suddenly the two of them were entranced by kissing and sucking each other's ears and neck. When the girl began licking his ear, he found that every thought in his head disappeared into a vortex and was instantly replaced with muddled arousal. He then found he definitely understood why she trembled as he could barely hold himself back from doing the same. The new world of pleasure she was exposing him to was a push for him too, yet he was more than glad to be doing it as it took away all the pain from earlier, both physically and mentally. During the time it took for them to make out, he thought of the sweet farmgirl atop him instead of the long-term terrors of the cruel reality waiting for them on the outside. He thought about how soft her lips were and how hot her tongue was. Same as before, her floral scent wafted up his nose, bringing a bead of drool to his mouth.

On the other hand, all of the excitement was awakening his body in a different way as well. The sparks of lust in his chest, the way they brought all the blood from his head to his groin, he found his crotch responding in a shocking way. He'd seen animals do it, but never thought his own body could do such a thing. It was his first time getting that way too, so he was suddenly feeling sweaty and humiliated. Pulling away from the farmgirl, he covered his crotch so she wouldn't notice the growing bulge.

The young redhead obviously noticed his discomfort, yet thought it was because of her in a different way, that it was because she had done something wrong. "What's wrong?" She asked him with a curious look on her face. "Link?"

"AHA!" Ingo's voice suddenly called out to them from the otherside of the secret room, from within the storage room of the silo.

Both kids nearly jumped out of their skin. Since Link was quite literally in the process of experiencing his first erection, he was terrified of being caught by the farmhand. The last thing he wanted was for them to be found canoodling so soon after a reprimand about going too far with one another.

They decided the best thing they could do was embrace one another. Malon held her finger to her lips, indicating to stay quiet.

'You've got to be kidding me.' Link rolled his eyes in frustration. 'This guy again? And right now of all times?' Glancing down at the problem between his legs, he was glad to find that it appeared to be going back to normal. He figured it was because he was so nervous and no longer doing romantic things, which is right. Having it happen to him for the first time was a bit of a fright, but nothing compared to the possibility of being caught by Ingo and dragged in front of Talon with a lot of apologizing to do. 'This is crazy.' He mentally remarked in regard to the whole thing. 'What am I doing?' Turning to look at Malon, he started thinking about how excited she got him. 'How does she do that? It's like she makes me turn into some animal in heat.' Still staring at her, he raised one eyebrow. 'Or is she the animal that's in heat?'

"What the?" Ingo announced aloud as he walked around in the small shed-like area, his footsteps heard by the kids in the other room. "I coulda' sworn I saw them come in here." Clicking his tongue, he chuckled. "I was about to rip that boy's arm off and beat him over the head with it." Chuckling more, he sighed. "Then again, maybe it oughta be Malon's arm. She knows better than this."

Malon gave a shrug while making a face. 'What the?' She thought 'That jerk!'

Walking back over to the door, Ingo said "Whatever. I wonder where they went though."

After that, the farmhand's footsteps receded and the door could be heard shutting. Both kids stayed silent for a solid five minutes, barely moving. Although they didn't think Ingo would do such a thing, they were worried he knew they were there and was merely waiting for them to speak so he could catch them in another indecent act. However, they eventually figured that wasn't true whenever they heard his muffled voice asking Epona why she was staring at the silo. Finally, with that proof he'd left, they both laughed together. They were still scared, but much less so as it seemed the secret spot continued to hold up to its name.

"I can't believe that just happened!" Malon exclaimed with a hint of anxiety.

"Me either!" Link laughed.

Eventually the two calmed down. They had spent a while making out and getting each other excited. In fact, the entire day had been heart pounding. Now they were starting to get tired as their youthful bodies could only handle so much in a certain amount of time. Malon yawned while Link stretched, yet neither really wanted to admit it first that they were exhausted.

"How do you feel?" The boy found a way to find out without directly stating it himself, at least not first.

Getting asked the question, she took the opportunity to answer truthfully. "Tired."

"Yeah." Link added. "Me too."

She smiled as he snuggled back up to her again. Taking the opportunity to kiss his lips one more time, she'd all but forgotten about why he broke out of her embrace in the first place. Holding back another yawn, she instead told him how she'd always feel for him. "I love you so much, Link."

Laying back against the hay, he was about to entwine his fingers with her before he noticed the wound on top of her hand. Returning the kiss, he told her "I love you too, Malon." In advance of lifting her hand, he gave it a loving smooch, hoping the love he shared through his lips would help the wound heal faster. "I love you more than anything and I promise to always protect you from harm, no matter who tries to hurt us or destroy what we hold dear." Kissing her hand one more time, he let it fall back to his chest. "I promise."

"I know." She felt so much adoration in his gaze, but couldn't help other than to yawn.

"Ready?" He asked with a smile of his own as her yawn infected him, making him yawn too.

Nodding her head, the girl smiled in advance of lying it atop the boy's shoulder. Her body shifted a few times to get comfortable on top of the old hay. The blanket was itchy and she wasn't a fan of sleeping in places spiders made their home, however, somehow she had a feeling she was about to have the absolute best nap of her life. "Yeah… But, let's not sleep too long. An hour or two tops."

"Okay." Cuddling as closely to her as he could, he enjoyed actually having someone else's body heat while going to sleep. He also enjoyed knowing that it was his girlfriend, the girl he's beginning to feel as though he couldn't possibly live without. Watching as she closed her beautiful blue eyes and her smile got a little smaller, he couldn't help other than to nuzzle her, to get one last whiff of her glorious scent before closing his eyes as well. Pushing everything else out of his head, instead of trying to rest with a bunch of worry on his mind, all he could think about was the girl in his arms. He thought about her smile, how pretty she was, how good she smelt and how much pleasure they kept finding while experimenting with one another. 'I hope I don't sleep much longer than an hour.' He thought. 'Though, next to her, I could sleep for a week.'

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[Time: 7:05 P.M. (Evening)]

[Date: Month 6 'Early-Summer', Day 24, 8th Era]

(Location: Hyrule, Hyrule Field, Lon Lon Ranch - Farmhouse)

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"Does anyone want more loseyns (creamy pasta)?" Ingo asked as he stood in the kitchen, having cooked for the trio since Talon hadn't fully come out of his slump. "There's no more fish, but there's a few servin's left of pasta."

"There's no more fish? Dang! They were so good." Link playfully complained about running out of the meal as he finished devouring the last of the fried catfish from his plate. As hungry as he was from all the fighting, he managed to polish off two whole fish in addition to three pieces of bread and a generous helping of loseyns.

Malon giggled as she watched her hero polish off so much. "Pig!" She teased him as she gently poked his bulging stomach.

"You like em', huh?" Ingo chuckled. "Next time I go to the Fishing Pond, I'll bring you with me."

"You caught these yourself?" Link was impressed.

Nodding, the farmhand walked over to the countertop in order to begin cleaning up. He didn't cook that often, so he wasn't overly skilled. But, he always made sure to clean up after himself. "I have a method that was taught to me by my father; who was taught by his father, and he by his father and so on."

Malon giggled. "You stick your arm in an underwater hole. Where's the skill in that?"

"Nu-uh!" Link laid the bones of the catfish on his plate as he stared at Ingo in shock. "Seriously? You stick your arm in a hole and let the fish bite it?"

"Yes I do." Ingo confirmed.

Link blinked as he shook his head. "I've heard of that, but thought it was a joke."

This time, Ingo chuckled. He grabbed the used frying pan from off the counter next to the kitchen fireplace and brought it to the sink basin, where he proceeded to moisten and wipe it of the fishy remains. "No, it's a real thing. We call it noodling, 'cause you stick your hand in the hole and wiggle your fingers like little noodles for the catfish to latch onto."

"I'm not sticking my hand in any hole that I don't know what's on the other side, especially a hole that's underwater." Malon retorted, disturbed by the thought.

The hero, on the other hand, was amazed. "And they just bite your hand?" He asked the roustabout. "Doesn't it hurt?"

"Nah." Ingo replied as he finished clearing out the frying pan, setting it aside in order to grab a different rag so he could wipe down the countertops. "They got a good grip and you can feel the pressure, but it doesn't really hurt." Once the countertops were free of crumbs, he picked up the bowl of loseyns and brought it over to the table where he intended to finish off whatever was left himself if nobody laid claim to it. "It's pretty fun, especially if you manage to get a lot of them. The scariest part is being sure you reached into the hideout of a fish and not something else, something that might not be too happy to see your little noodles trespassing."

Link and Malon laughed together at the thought of a monster arm wrestling with Ingo. Although Talon did usually laugh at stuff like that too, they were surprised to hear the man giving a small snicker from the mental image. Just hearing him communicating at all was enough to make the kids and farmhand know the owner of the ranch was beginning to feel better as well as return to his usual self.

"Are you feeling better, Daddy?" Malon asked her father out of loving concern. "How's your head?"

"I think it's feelin' much better now, darlin'." He replied. "Thank ya." Standing up from his place at the table, he stretched his muscles in advance of grabbing his side as he got a small pain in it from all the physical trauma he'd been through that day. "My head's clearer now, but I better go take 'nother dose of that tincture so it don't go back to bein' foggy." Tucking his chair under the table, he turned to Ingo. "Thank ya so much for dinner. I really appreciate ya goin' outta yer' way to make it."

"You didn't eat much." Ingo stated as he noticed there was still half the food on the plate.

"I know…" Was all the man responded with.

Ingo stared at his friend before saying "Just get better, okay?" Pointing at the two kids with his fork, he said "I'll keep them occupied while you're busy. We'll go and finish our chores here in a bit."

Nodding, Talon momentarily placed his hand on Ingo's shoulder as he walked by, letting the man know how much it meant for him to be taking care of the kids while the farmer himself was temporarily out-of-order. After that, he made his way to the staircase to head upstairs to his room. While leaving downstairs, as he went out of earshot, he heard Link asking Ingo how the man knew if a hole belonged to a catfish. Hearing them continuing their conversation left him knowing that they'd be fine without him for a little while.

Upstairs, the man got to the door of his room before he had to stop for a minute. Propping himself up against the wall, his head was aching from all the stress of the day and the goose egg on his forehead. Although it didn't happen earlier, now that he'd settled down, he'd been feeling nausea too. Seething in agony, he waited there against the wall for a while longer until both the pain and urge to vomit went away.

"Come on…" He started growing upset at his body feeling so out of sorts.

Entering his room, he closed the door behind him. There used to be a bit of a feminine touch to the room, yet since his wife had passed, he'd mostly taken over with cookbooks, dirty clothes, dozens of ledgers and numerous pots filled with letters from his correspondents. By the back wall was a double bed made of two wood frames pushed together. Sitting on the quilt-covered mattress to gather his bearings, it was still comfy after all those years. Bending down, he took off his boots and placed them on the ground between his bed and a hand carved nightstand. He wanted to change out of his regular clothes and into a nightgown even though he'd just changed a few hours ago after his bath. The only thing stopping him was not wanting to get up and sort through his dresser. Laying back, he instead let his body nearly melt onto the bed.

"By the goddesses." He grunted as his back adjusted to laying flat, feeling his spine pop as the discs between the joints were put back into place.

Since it was evening, there wasn't much light coming through his window, barely enough to see around the room. He wanted to close his eyes, to take a longer nap than thirty minutes. Yet, he knew if he slept now, it would be for several hours and then he'd never get a proper night's rest. Although it was tempting, he simply rested until his back felt better and the headache vanished. To keep himself from falling asleep, he stared up at the ceiling of the farmhouse. He heard Ingo and the kids laughing downstairs. It made him glad to know that his daughter was feeling good enough to enjoy dinner and participate in conversing. But, he still worried for her.

Turning his head to his small desk, he had a thought. Leaning up, he swung his feet over the side of the bed and stood up. Grabbing his flint, he used it to light the candle on his desk, creating a spark on the wick by striking the rocks together. Whenever the candle caught fire, the small flame was enough to illuminate the desk plus the immediate surrounding area. Putting the flint down, he pulled open a drawer to remove a piece of paper. Sitting on the stool that goes to the desk, he placed the paper flat on the surface prior to grabbing a writing quill. Opening his inkwell, he dipped the tip of the plume into the black liquid before putting it to the paper.

'Dear Nabooru.' He started the letter with. 'I need to tell you about what happened today, Day 24 of the 6th Month.'