Legends of the Hero of Time

by Ryan-Sinclair

Following the events of Ocarina of Time & Majora's Mask, Link struggles to adapt to a civilian lifestyle. His obsession with his mission leads to him needing to be rescued by Malon. The bond the two develop after helps him accept his new fate. However, his destiny is still uncertain as he must deal with a conniving Ganondorf, an army of Gerudo & the consequences of Zelda's spell.

28. Chapter 28 - Segment 4

Chapter 28

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[Time: 11:45 A.M. (Late-Morning)]

[Date: Month 8 'Autumn', Day 12, 8th Era]

(Location: Hyrule, Castle Town, Upper Bailey - Gatehouse)

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It was almost noon and there wasn't a single cloud in the bright blue sky. The Lons and Link were at Castle Town conducting business. Talon was speaking with Mr. Abernathy about horses while Malon had gone with the communal laundry washing group to wash their clothes in the brook as well as communicate with her friends. Link, on the other hand, had recently split off from his adoptive family to travel into the depths of the city. He donned his beige long-sleeve tunic, brown trousers and floppy braided belt so as to not stand out amongst the crowd. The last thing he wanted was to be recognized like he'd previously been with the mercenaries.

Blending in, he had quickly cut through The Market and made his way to Hyrule Castle. His next objective felt relatively important, but as usual, there was always resistance in some way, shape or form. Unlike the last instances in which he'd gained access to the Outer-Ward, he found himself unable to pass the gatehouse.

"Really?" Link asked the armed guard standing at the gate. "What if I give you double the rupees?"

The guard shook his head, the red plume on his sallet helmet bouncing as he firmly planted his spear in the dirt. "I'm sorry, kid. I can't do that anymore or we'll both get put in jail. Things have changed since relations with the gerudo soured. No matter what you say, nobody can go through these gates unless they have official clearance from The King."

Link pulled his lips to the side as he contemplated a way of bypassing the restriction. "How about a letter personally written by Princess Zelda?"

"Nope." The gate guard rejected the offer; lifting his spear in advance of slamming it down into the dirt again. "It's gotta be The King. If you ain't invited, you don't get through."

"But, I'm not even going to the castle-..." The hero of Time pleaded with the guardsman. "I just want to talk to the Great Fairy."

Holding back a snicker of disbelief, the man waved the boy off. "Yeah right. Get lost, kid."

"What if I triple the rupe-...?" Link tried upping the payment in hopes of persuading the guy.

Unfortunately, the attempt to bribe only angered him further. The guardsman became offended that the blonde boy thought he could be bought. "The answer is no!" He raised his voice as he walked directly in front of the portcullis, ensuring it was obvious he would enforce the rules of his post. "Now get out of here before I put you in shackles! Do you understand me?!"

Link held his hands up to display no resistance as he slowly backed away. "Alright, Alright. I understand. No need to get hostile."

"Beat it!" The guard continued to rush the kid away.

"I'm going!" Link said as he turned around prior to walking away from the gatehouse and the increasingly angry guard. "Have a good day."

Sticking his hands inside of his pockets, he pretended to leave the area, proceeding to casually make his way down the dirt path leading back into Castle Town. In reality, as soon as he got out of sight of the local authority, he began looking around at the surrounding cliffside. This natural wall was a circular mountain range belonging to Death Mountain and it provided perfect protection for the plateau Hyrule Castle was built upon. Its height made it difficult for enemy opponent armies to advance upon without first climbing. However, once scaled, it's the only other accessible way to get around security defenses.

Once he spotted a group of densely packed vines growing together up the side of the cliff, he approached them. Exactly as predicted and kept as a back-up plan, he used the plants as a way to ascend to the top of the ridge. It didn't take long to do, yet he had to make sure to go fast as he didn't want to be caught by any guards patrolling the perimeter.

"Jerk-..." He said to himself while climbing up onto the ledge of the ridge, referring to the uncooperative guard. On the other hand, he knew the dedicated man was just enforcing the law. "I guess it's not his fault, not if The King made some new rule."

Atop the ridge, he quickly moved out of view so he couldn't be seen. What area he had to walk on wasn't very wide, nevertheless, it was a short path that happened to connect to the top of the gatehouse. Keeping low, he snuck his way across the ledge, making it halfway before he came to a rather isolated Gossip Stone.

The ancient monolithic relic was a pentagonal statue, an obelisk with the symbol of a Sheikah Eye engraved into it; one of many spread across the lands of Hyrule. Their piercing gaze often looks directly into an individual's mind. Although their main purpose had been forgotten to time, they still had a magical ability to provide insight into a person's current situation. They were constructed out of an unknown material similar to soapstone. Whatever the precise composition be, it's incredibly flexible. For extra-durability as well as scratch-resistance, they even came with a layer of specialized sheikah epoxy, protecting them from the harsh elements.

Having come across a few during his adventures, he always activated them. It was a sort of tradition since he used to feel as if he needed all the help he could get. Considering that, it wasn't out of the ordinary for him to give the Gossip Stone a good whack.

Upon getting struck by him, the Gossip Stone dented inward in advance of rebounding with a springy bounce that made the entire statue wobble like gelatine. As it slowed, it vibrated and hummed a high-pitch frequency. Once it stopped trembling, a mechanized voice was projected, telepathically speaking to Link. "It is currently twelve-o'clock at noon. Temperature: Cool. Weather: ERROR (UNABLE TO ACCESS BAROMETERS)." Per usual, it spouted statistics. But then, instead of giving valuable wisdom or unique intuition, it merely said "It is a good thing that you know how to swim."

Link furrowed his brow in confusion over what he'd been told. The statue wasn't lying, he did know how to swim. But, he didn't see what that had to do with anything, especially seeing how he hadn't done so in months. Simply assuming that the relic was malfunctioning, he shrugged and kept moving.

Resuming his non-nefarious infiltration of the outer-ward, he proceeded to strafe across the remaining ledge. Coming to the end of the ridge, he had to be careful as to not make too much noise. The last thing he wanted was to alert the guard down below. Creeping up to the edge of the gatehouse, he grabbed onto it and hoisted himself up onto the observation deck. Stopping, he cautiously waited a few seconds prior to peeking down on the left side of the structure. Thankfully, the guard was still standing there, oblivious to what was happening up above him.

Knowing he was clear of suspicion, Link then looked to the right, poking his head around the corner of the surrounding ridge. On that side, beneath the gatehouse was the street leading up to Hyrule Castle. However, a small pathway split off. That was his goal as it led straight to the Great Fairy.

"Those Royal Sages are kind of snobby, huh?" A nearby guard said to his friend as the two ambled across the outer-ward's field, clearly heading for the observation deck of the gatehouse Link was on.

The man's buddy chuckled in response. "They're not so bad. Just extremely dedicated to their scripture."

"I hope that's the case." The first guard replied as they approached the gatehouse. "Either way, I guess I better get used to them. They've been here for months and since they're tutoring The Princess, it doesn't look like they're going anywhere anytime soon."

"How do you know that's what they're doing?" His friend asked.

The first guy scoffed. "They're with her all day. It's obvious they're doing something."

Crouching, Link quickly snuck over to a hatch built onto the observation deck of the gatehouse, knowing he had to hurry unless he wanted to be seen by the approaching armoured duo. Doing his best to be quiet, he slowly opened it. Underneath was a small vertical shaft with a wooden ladder. The tricky part was descending into the structure without letting the door to the hatch slam shut behind him. As he went down, he had to gradually close the door with one hand while using his other to hold onto the ladder.

After succeeding in silently entering the gatehouse, he went down the ladder. The cramped room he arrived in was just a place for the nearby guard's to take a break before their shift changes; containing a table, a couple of chairs and a few clay pots. Since nobody was there at the moment, he made his way to the door leading outside. Just like previously, he had to be extra-careful to not alert the authorities as he'd definitely get into trouble if he got caught. With the security being heightened, he might even wind up in jail instead of an escort off the premises.

Cracking open the door just enough to see, he peered through the gap to ensure the guard was still unaware of what was happening. He saw that the troublesome man hadn't moved an inch, remaining in front of the portcullis with the butt of his spear firmly planted in the dirt.

Opening the door wider, Link then peeked around it to check the path. Same as before, the coast was clear. However, he could hear the other two men who were now atop the observation deck, chattering amongst themselves about the aristocrats. Their presence could complicate things if they decided to direct their gaze toward the street leading inward, so he decided to make stealthy haste.

"Did you see The King recently?" The first guard asked his friend.

The second man grumbled before answering and then following up with a question of his own. "No. How did you see him?"

"I saw him in the Royal Garden while I was walking the parapet." The first guy explained. "He didn't look like he was feeling well."

"What, like a cold?" The other inquired.

"Eh…" The first guard said "Not really. He wasn't sneezing or coughing. He was just walking really slow and looked feeble."

"Keep your voice down." His friend worried about getting into trouble for speaking ill of royalty.

"I'm not saying anything bad." The man reassured his friend. "I'm worried about him. He looked like my grandpa shuffling around like that and I know he's not as old as gramps." He sighed. "I hope he's alright."

After exiting, Link slowly closed the wooden door behind him, then slid along the wall of the gatehouse until he passed it altogether. The road he had to walk down was in-between the plateau the outer-ward was constructed on as well as the cliffside to the surrounding mountain ridge. He could see his destination now; the entrance to the Great Fairy's Fountain just off the main path. Encouraged by the proximity, he moved quicker. Not only that, he was motivated to hurry since he knew the guard's could spot him at any second. His head nervously strafed side-to-side and he occasionally looked back behind him as he traveled.

Managing to get down the road completely unseen, he came to the left curve where it continued to lead up to Hyrule Castle. Although he was fortunate to not need to go there since the smaller path to the Great Fairy split off to the right, there was another guard coming, patrolling the perimeter. The Hero had to jump back behind the side of the plateau in order to not get spotted.

Link's heart was racing as he devised an impromptu plan. Listening as he thought, he heard the guard sneezing rather profusely.

"Damn blooming grass." The guardsman complained about his allergies in advance of sneezing three times, all of which were covered by his bracer.

Hearing the man get closer, Link realized his best bet was to run during the time the guy was sneezing. Letting a couple of seconds pass, as soon as he heard the guard begin the consecutive sternutation, he took off, sprinting as fast as he could across the road. It was close, but he did it. Somehow, his feet moved quick enough that he made it across without being seen.

Even though he was on the other side, he wasn't out of danger yet as he might still get spotted due to being out in the open like he was. Knowing that, he didn't stop moving. He kept running until he finally arrived at the entrance to the Great Fairy Fountain.

Looking at all the busted rock lying around, he recalled whenever there was a massive boulder blocking the shrine. The small nearby wooden sign which read 'Dead End' was a remnant of that time. Were it not for him having already used a Bomb Flower to blow up the obstruction, he'd have been blocked from entry.

Fortunately, without needing to slow down or stop, he hurried into the secret shrine hidden inside the surrounding mountain ridge. At first, the passage was small as well as cave-like; dark, with dirt floors, rock walls and a natural ceiling. The deeper he went, the more he began to feel safe from getting caught by the authorities. It wasn't long until things started to change either. Suddenly, instead of earth, the ground and roof became white marble tiles. Even the walls changed, turning into intricate granite slabs with complex floral engravings. Further in, he spotted a faint glow that grew brighter the closer he got to it.

The light he saw happened to be coming from a room on the other end of the tunnel. Upon reaching it, following a few steps downward, he emerged in a dazzling temple which housed the Great Fairy. It wasn't overly large, being only a single chamber, yet rivaled the Temple of Time in majesty. Raw energy cascaded off the walls, flowing down into a shallow pool of glowing sapphire blue water beneath. Spectacular doric columns lined the walls in addition to providing needed support for the concealed cavern. Despite there being no visible source, a harmonic humming sound vibrated throughout the room. The narrow marbled walkway he stood on led directly towards the enormous stone cistern the grand sprite lived in.

Seeing the arcane location brought forth memories he hadn't had in a while. A fleeting flashback reminded him of how he once stood by the very fountain, begging for assistance to defeat Ganondorf.

"It's good to see this place hasn't changed." Link said aloud as he started walking towards the Great Fairy Fountain.

Reaching the other side of the glistening haven, he stepped up onto a pedestal with the Triforce Emblem on it, standing directly in front of the cistern and two torches. Staring into the sparkling energy-infused water, he rummaged around in his pocket prior to retrieving the Ocarina of Time. Temporarily looking down at the instrument, he ran his thumb across its glossy surface, continuing to reminisce on his previous adventure. It had been a long time since he'd last utilized the musical relic for a valid reason. Since its recovery, he'd really only used it for fun. Now, he was going to use it to find a way to get stronger. He just needed the Great Fairy's help in regaining the powers he once wielded.

Holding the mouthpiece of the ocarina up to his lips, he proceeded to play Zelda's Lullaby. Blowing into the instrument, he used his fingers to cover the holes until he produced the following notes "B, high D, A, B, high D, A."

As soon as the boy finished the final note to the melody, ripples began to form over the water in the cistern. Eventually, a circulating current was created, pushing the glowing blue liquid in a circle. It spun faster and faster until a spout grew. A large hand suddenly emerged thereafter. The Great Fairy, hearing the call, was summoned forth from her rest in the depths; spinning out of the water like a ballerina and laughing heartily as the droplets slung across the chamber. Her enormous body was three times the size of a normal hylian, yet was absolutely gorgeous. She donned brown leather boots, a green loincloth and a skimpy fabric corset to cover her well-endowed bust. Vines grew around her waist, ankles and wrists as if they were natural jewelry. Her long fiery red hair was bunched in the center and split into three different ponytails, held together with more vines. Beautiful as could be, she had violet-coloured eyes, but her lipstick and eyeshadow matched her crimson hair.

"Welcome back, Link." Her booming voice echoed throughout the temple as she smiled. "Thank you for paying tribute to my shrine. How can I help you, darling?"

Link put his ocarina away while continuing to stare up at the hovering mystical sprite. "Oh, Great Fairy, thank you for seeing me. I come seeking answers."

"Answers?" She asked, leaning closer. "What kind of answers do you need?"

Even though he had mentally ran through the scenario several times, he wasn't precisely sure of where to start the conversation. Some of what he had to say depended on whether or not the Great Fairy was aware of the change to the timeline. Although she was very powerful and most fairies worshiped her, she wasn't omnipotent. Her abilities had limits even demigods weren't subjected to. Keeping that in mind, he decided to start there.

"Do you know what happened with Zelda and I, how she had me travel forward and then backward in time?" The young hylian enquired.

The Great Fairy giggled. "You mean how you stopped Ganondorf and caused the creation of two Alternate Realities? Yes, I'm aware."

"Wait, really?" Link expressed surprise, not having expected the giant pixie to know. "How? Most people don't know-... In fact, the ones that do seem to have somehow slipped through the goddesses' fingers."

Floating up higher, she extended her arms outward as if to display her surroundings. "I drink from the information of the hyperverse, my little cutie." Slowly spinning around, she effortlessly flew over to the raw energy cascading off the walls, cupping and dipping her hand inside the mystical liquid. Bringing it to her mouth, she sipped on it. "Your changes might not make much of an impact on me right now, but they were significant enough for the Plexal Plane to react. That I can sense. So, yes. I know."

"That's amazing." Link was in awe that someone so powerful as her was willingly discussing such a topic.

Gliding back down to the cistern, the Great Fairy defied gravity by laying on her stomach while still hovering in mid-air. Because she was so much bigger than the youthful Hero of Time, doing so allowed her to be low enough she could delicately caress his chin. "I'm an amazing woman, darling."

Link blushed from the closeness to her as well as her flirty touch. "Y-Yes, you are-..." He stuttered in agreement before bringing up what he was really there for. "I'm glad, because it'll help you understand my conundrum. See, when I was on my adventure, you gave me a magical ability called Din's Fire."

"I remember that." The Great Fairy replied.

"Well, ever since I returned from the future, I've lost it. I lost all my spells." Link admitted.

The Great Fairy poked her lips out as she cocked her head to the side. "You lost them? Where are they?"

"That's what I'm saying. I don't know." The Hero responded quickly so she wouldn't think he had simply misplaced the powerful spell. "When Zelda sent me back, they were no longer in my possession. None of the spells I had collected from my journey were on my person."

The Great Fairy nodded. "Oh, I see."

"That is why I came here." Link explained. "I was hoping you might have an explanation for me."

Rolling over onto her back, the Great Fairy fluttered her eyelashes as she stared at the boy. "The consequences of time travel and paradoxes are very complicated matters. You might want to find someone more capable than me in translating it to mortal terms."

Link felt heat in his cheeks, but it wasn't from embarrassment. He was scared that he wouldn't find a solution to his problem as nobody else of such status as her was willing or able to assist. Getting down onto his knees and clasping his hands together, he offered her prayer. "Please, oh Great Fairy. Don't turn me away. I need your help in this because none of the others can or even want to."

"Darling, you don't have to beg." The Great Fairy rolled back onto her stomach in advance of standing up.

"I have to-..." Link told her. "I cannot defeat Ganondorf again with only my skill in weaponry. Without my magic and the Master Sword, I fear if he starts another uprising, I won't have enough tools at my disposal to combat his wickedness." Images flickered in his mind of Malon screaming in terror as hired mercenaries pursued them. "He's already sent a group of nerdowells to kill me and they almost brought grievous harm to my new family. I have to do something more to protect them. I-... I need magic."

Picking him up by the scruff of his beige tunic, the Great Fairy lifted him off the ground before placing him back in a way that made him stand. Afterward, she gave him a loving pat on the head. Despite being a spiritual entity, she had emotions that made her feel sorrow for those lesser than herself. "There there." She comforted him. "You don't have to beg because I'll help you."

"You will?" Link smiled as he felt a wave of relief wash over him.

"Of course." She replied. Reaching in-between her bosoms, she grabbed and then pulled out a special item.

Din's Fire, a rhombus-shaped diamond with a shimmering red orb inside; it might look like a big gemstone, but it was far more than that. While humanity is able to harness magic, they cannot properly project spells without using a proxy. Usually a proxy is a wand, however it could be any object empowered with elemental energy. In this case, a great source of heat was encased in a precious stone. When unleashed, it rapidly radiated outward in a furious expansive dome that lit anything it touched ablaze.

Link was certainly elated to see the gemstone. On the other hand, he was sheepish about taking it since it had just come from betwixt the Great Fairy's large boobs. He had a smile, but his cheeks were flush as he held out his hand, palm upward. "Y-You'll give it to me?"

The Great Fairy giggled upon the sight of his embarrassment. Bending over, her breasts bulged against her thin corset. She dangled the magical gemstone over his hand before revealing her condition for handing it over. "Yes, I really want to help you, darling. But, I need you to do something for me in exchange."

Struggling to keep his eyes off the heavenly cleavage that had been thrusted in his face. He had to blink a few times to clear his mind enough to recall his original purpose. "A-Anything, oh Great Fairy. I need to keep my family safe."

Hearing his concerns, the Great Fairy smiled, respecting his dedication. She tentatively placed Din's Fire in his hand before asking "Do you know how my sisters and I stay alive?"

Link closed his hand around the magical gemstone. He was ecstatic to have it back in his possession. As for the question, he was taken off guard by it. Keeping his eyes on hers instead of her chest, he shook his head in advance of asking for more information. "What do you mean by 'how you stay alive'? Are you talking about tactics; survival strategies?"

"Oh, darling. You're a soldier at heart." The Great Fairy teased. "No, I mean how my breath-taking body works."

"No?" The Hero of Time narrowed his eyes, unaware of why she was asking such a thing.

The Great Fairy seductively winked at him before hovering back over her glowing fountain. "That's okay. I'll explain." She told him while sitting back as if she had an invisible chair. "My kind is empowered by prayer. We gain sustenance through the affinity of you precious mortals. So, everytime you visit me and pay tribute, I grow stronger. Your love for me fills my heart and keeps me alive." Poking out her lower lip, she softly sighed. "Unfortunately, that means without worship from your kind, I risk a slow death."

"You don't eat?" Link enquired with befuddled blinks.

The Great Fairy laughed. "Only for fun. My hunger is not like yours."

"Oh…" The hylian boy scratched the side of his head. "So, how are you able to survive locked away for so long?"

Hearing the question, the Great Fairy pointed her finger at him, highlighting his specific choice of words. "I survived, but I haven't thrived. No, I haven't thrived at all. In fact, if it wasn't for you visiting me the first time, I would've disappeared within a few decades." Leaning back further, her vine-wrapped foot gradually rocked side-to-side as she finally revealed what she needed from him in exchange for Din's Fire. "This is why I need you to find a way to bring more people to me. I need more prayer so I can better assist you on your journey." Slowly combing her fingers through her red hair, she frowned. "It's not just for me either. I fear for my sister's lives as well."

Link held his chin in the palm of his hand. Thinking about a solution to the situation, he tried to figure out how to bring other individuals to the Fairy Fountain. "This is a tough one, oh Great Fairy. I shall certainly try my absolute best for you, but I know it will not be easy to get others here. Unfortunately, the location you've chosen for your safehaven isn't easily accessible to the public."

The Great Fairy placed her hand to her forehead. The chagrin was a struggle for her too. "I know, darling. It didn't used to be that way. In the past, members of the Royal Family and even their advisors would visit me for advice." Looking down as if it were depressing to talk about the subject, she told how bad things had gotten for her. "This last generation-... They don't seem to want my counsel like their ancestors did. These people rely more upon technology and their laws than they do my supernatural wisdom." Waving her hand while suspring loudly, she stated the obvious. "It's clear they no longer hold me in high regard. I mean, they blocked my temple with a giant boulder."

"Hmm…" Link continued to think of a potential solution. He honestly wanted to help as he definitely didn't desire the grand sprite to disappear from the world. Pondering the possibilities, he soon came to the conclusion that just because the modern aristocrats didn't want the Great Fairy's clairvoyance, doesn't mean the commoners feel the same way. "How about I try to get the people of Castle Town to visit? If enough of them come together and demand pilgrimage, The King will have to do something about it. Maybe he'll provide an escort."

The Great Fairy leaned up from her laid-back position. Smiling, she nodded at the boy's ingenious thought. "That's great!" However, she didn't want to simply think long-term; she needed a short-term solution to her situation as well. "I have a feeling it'll take a while though." Tapping her finger to her plump lips, she stared at the Hero of Time in advance of smirking. "How about you bring your girlfriend with you the next time you visit? That'll do for now."

"M-My girlfriend?" Link stuttered in shock, blushing lightly as he had previously been unaware that the deity knew of his personal relationship. "How do you know I have a girlfriend?"

Snickering at his bashfulness, the Great Fairy proclaimed "You smell of her."

Link's lips slowly moved around as he tried to contemplate how to respond. Following a couple of seconds, as he stared perplexingly at the hovering pixie, he awkwardly sniffed the sleeve of his tunic to see if he too could smell Malon on him. The clothing had a thyme scent, but nothing else that he could detect. "I-… I do?"

"Hers mixes well with yours." She admitted, her busty chest visibly heaving as she inhaled deeply.

"Y-You want me to bring her here?" Link's cheeks reddened further as he fully processed what she was saying to him. While had indeed kissed Malon's beautiful lips and hugged her before he split ways to come where he was, he didn't know her fresh fragrance had blended so perfectly with his aroma. For some reason, it was awkward to think their intimacy left such a prominent mark on him that some entities could immediately sense it. Nonetheless, his concern with finding a way to bring the farmgirl there easily trumped his shyness. "Even if I can convince her to come, it'll be difficult for her to follow me here. After all, I had to scale part of the mountain just to get around the gate guard, then I had to avoid the rest of the security."

The Great Fairy hummed as she gradually began lowering herself into her cistern, submerging up to her waist. She leaned back and then rested her arms against the fountain while relaxing in its energy-infused waters. "Are you worried she can't do it? Surely the girlfriend of the mighty Hero of Time is capable of great feats too?"

"Of course she is!" He impulsively asserted before holding his tongue. Imagining it in his head, Link recalled how Malon had gone above and beyond that of a normal hylian whenever she willingly went into the Lost Woods to rescue him. He knew quite well that the farmgirl would have no issue in the trek itself. For him, he was more worried about if they got caught. "I just don't want her to get into trouble if we get caught. She doesn't deserve that and I'd be mortified if a sanction was placed on Lon Lon Ranch because of me."

The Great Fairy playfully flicked her finger against the water, sending a tiny splash at the young hero. "You're a good little boyfriend. It's super cute." Leaning away from her fountain, she effortlessly swam toward him, making sure her perfectly taut rear poked up out of the shiny fluid. Upon reaching the other side, she pressed her breasts against the edge, raising her eyebrows while poking her lower lip out pleadingly. "While you at least try? For me? I promise, it'll be worth it if you do."

Link stared wide-eyed at the splendid divine cleavage for a few seconds prior to looking away from the provocatively flirty sprite. Closing his eyes, he waited until his jangled nerves settled down. Looking back at the gorgeous Great Fairy, he kept his mind on Malon instead of typical male pubescent emotions, maintaining eye contact in order to avoid further arousal. "Yes, oh Great Fairy. I promise, the next time I visit you, I'll bring Malon."

"Malon?" The Great Fairy fluttered her eyelashes. "That's a lovely name. I bet she's equally beautiful."

"She is so beautiful." Link automatically confirmed. "She's my everything. Yet, if it's necessary, I'll do everything in my power to get her here for you."

"Wonderful!" The Great Fairy giggled seductively. "Now we're even, darling."

The Hero of Time had crimson cheeks, but he smiled, happy to have regained such a powerful spell. Such joy made him bow to his savior. "Oh, Great Fairy, I thank you so very-very much for your generous help today. You've once again proven to me that you are definitely an indispensable asset to me and all hylian-kind. May you continue to be treated well by the almighty Golden Goddesses."

Smirking at the handsome and honourable mortal boy, the Great Fairy pressed her plump lips to the tips of her fingers prior to teasingly blowing him a kiss. "You're welcome, Link."

Link was shy and only in-love with a certain farmgirl, but he still felt his mouth pull to the side in response. After getting the goodbye blow-kiss, he turned around, stepped down from the Triforce Platform and then started to leave the Great Fairy Fountain. He sauntered across the marbled path leading over the energized water, getting all the way to the end of the chamber before he was stopped right as he was about to leave.

"Wait-..." The Great Fairy announced. "I'm sure you've surmised by now that my sisters have the other spells. If you return to me with the other two gemstones as proof you visited them, I'll share a secret with you regarding the Fairy Queen."

Holding onto the threshold of the exit, Link did a double-take upon hearing the name. Narrowing his eyes and furrowing his brow, he asked "What's a Fairy Queen?"

Bringing her hand up to cover her smirking lips, she briefly closed her eyes as she coyly snickered. Pretending as if she'd made a mistake by mentioning it, she giddily said "Oopsie-daisy! Looks like I've said too much already-..." She pushed back away from the edge of the cistern, swimming into the center of it. "Goodbye, darling!" Laughing in delight over their deal, the tantalizing sprite dove backward into the fountain, her feet sticking straight up before vanishing beneath the surface of the magical water.

Link took a solid moment to try and comprehend what the Great Fairy had just said to him. He had been all over Hyrule and even stayed several weeks in the Parallel Realm of Termina. In neither world had he ever heard of a Fairy Queen. For as long as he could remember, he always assumed the Great Fairies acted as leaders of the forest pixies and wild sprites. Hearing the existence of an even higher role in their society made him wonder precisely what kind of hierarchy they had in addition to exactly who the Fairy Queen was. If she was an even stronger entity, then he wanted to know what powers she had or what she could bestow.

He'd keep in mind the conditions he promised to the Great Fairy. For the time being, all he could do was leave as he had already acquired what he needed. Taking one last look at the awe-inspiring temple, he departed through the passage leading back outside. Before long, as he walked, the floor returned to dirt while the walls and ceiling returned to densely packed earth. The bright sparkle from the fountain disappeared and he was temporarily left in the darkness.

Following a short trek in the pitch black, a dim circle of light at the end of the tunnel gradually enlarged, brightening as he approached. Almost as if it were a portal, stepping into it was momentarily blinding. Returning outside, the mid-day sunlight was so intense that he had to hold his hand up to block its vicious rays. He squinted and stared ahead until his retinas adjusted to the rapid change in illumination.

"So bright." The hero uttered under his breath.

He continued to stand in front of the cave entrance, staring at the gemstone of Din's Fire in his other hand. While feeling its smooth surface, he smiled wider. In his head, referring to his family, he thought 'Now I'll be able to protect them.'

"OHOY, LINK!" A familiar voice called out to the Hero of Time.

Acting instinctively, to protect in addition to keeping Din's Fire a secret, he swiftly pocketed the magical gemstone. He wasn't sure who it was calling him, yet since he was in the Outer-Ward, he had to assume it was one of the local guards patrolling. To his surprise, after spotting the individual approaching who shouted, he saw none other than The Postman steadily jogging toward him; the quick footed hylian's Royal Mail banner flapping in the breeze.

"I HAVE A MESSAGE FOR YOU!" The Postman shouted, speaking loudly all the way up until he finally encountered the young boy. "It's another letter from Kokiri Village!"

Link was caught completely off-guard. He didn't understand how The Postman knew exactly where he was, especially since he had been sneaking around the entire time. First, however, he motioned for the man to lower his voice. Afterwards, he asked "How did you know where I was?"

Breathing hard, The Postman took a moment to catch his breath. Then, he reached behind his back, took off and put down his oversized mailbag. "It's my job!" Opening a pouch on the side of the bag, he dug around inside of it. "Let's see-… Ah, here we go. This is it; another priority delivery." Grabbing onto an envelope, the panting hylian pulled it out prior to handing it over. "I believe it's by the same girl of the Kokiri Tribe who sent you the first letter."

"Saria?" Link pondered, taking the envelope from The Postman.

"Yes, sir." The Postman confirmed, tipping his red hat that had fake bunny ears to represent their swift footed rabbit mascot.

Link reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. Opening it, he reached inside before pulling out a blue rupee. Giving The Postman the rupee, he then put his stash back on his person in advance of returning his focus to the envelope. "Here's some gratuity for always being so timely."

"Well, thank you, Link." The Postman said while taking the blue rupee. "I do my job regardless and I give it one-hundred percent. Still, I greatly appreciate your generosity. I feel like you've always encouraged me to pursue my dream, so I always want to find a way to return the favor." Pocketing the currency, he proceeded to lift up and sling his mailbag around his shoulders. "Anyway, I gotta go. There's more mail to be delivered up at the castle." Smiling, he gave the boy a few gentle pats on the shoulder. "Good to see you again." After that, he took off, running so fast that he kicked up a cloud of dirt as he darted up the road to Hyrule Castle.

Keeping his attention on the envelope, Link instantly recognized Saria's handwriting on the cover. Flipping the parcel over, he used his fingernail to peel off the wax seal. Opening it, he retrieved the folded paper inside. Unfolding the letter, he quickly read its contents.

.

---

Link,

I hope everything is going well with you and Malon. You better be treating her right, like I taught you, or else I'm going to pull your ear off like I had to do when you were younger!

Hopefully this letter gets to you at a decent time. Some things have happened since you've left here that you definitely need to know about, very important things. Don't worry, everything and everybody is fine, the village is safe too. But, there's a few topics that would best be explained in person. So, the next time you have the chance, try and stop by to see me, okay?

Love, Saria. Your best friend and mommy. XOXOXO

---

.

Refolding, then putting the letter back inside of the envelope, he proceeded to put the entire parcel in his pocket, right beside his wallet for safe keeping. 'Important things?' He silently contemplated what Saria could have meant by that. 'It must not have been anything too bad if she's not writing to me for assistance. Nonetheless, I'll have to make sure to schedule a day to go visit her.'

Looking around, he knew he had to exit the Outer-Ward first before he could worry about anything else. Ambling down the short trail connecting to the main-road, he ducked whenever he heard the clanking of armour getting louder and louder. Staying crouched, he leapt off to the side of the path, hiding in some nearby bushes. Once concealed in the foliage, he waited until the loud noise diminished; an indication that whoever it had been was walking away. As a precaution, he even waited several moments longer before emerging from the natural cover.

To his shock, he heard another voice shouting at him.

"HEY!" The voice was much gruffer and hostile sounding than The Postman's. "HEY YOU! STOP RIGHT THERE!"

A whistle sounded, echoing off into the distance. Link didn't wait around, immediately booking it to the gatehouse as fast as possible. He knew he'd be in trouble if he got caught. Out of the corner of his eye, he happened to see the guard who spotted him whenever the man came running down the hillside of the plateau. "Sorry!" He nervously laughed as he sprinted toward the portcullis. "I'm leaving right now!"

"DAMN YOU KID!" The guard huffed as he chased after the young Hero of Time, thinking the boy was just a ruffian on an adventure. "I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU GOT IN HERE, BUT YOU BETTER HOPE I DON'T CATCH YOU, OR ELSE I'M THROWING YOU IN THE DUNGEON!"

.

.

[Time: 12:30 P.M. (Noon)]

[45 minutes later]

(Location: Hyrule, Hyrule Field, Outside Castle Town)

.

Just outside of Castle Town, since it was such a nice day, Malon and her friends had gathered with the communal laundry group to wash clothes. Numerous caravans were set up along the bank of the river running beneath the drawbridge, all of which had people with their dirty garments and bedding needing to be washed. Same as before, being together was more about safety from bandits and monsters than anything else. Although, the biggest benefit aside from protection was the public amenities, primarily a few scrubbing boards, ringers and clothes lines.

"This isn't nearly as fun as when we do it in Lake Hylia." Malon complained as she scrubbed an off-white sheet against one of the communal scrubbing boards.

"Yeah, but it's definitely safer than worrying about Tektites." Sunniva replied while pressing her tongue to the gap between her two front teeth. Her straw hat kept the overhead sun out of her eyes so she too could scrub several pairs of clothing. "If anything or anyone threatening comes by, the guards will protect us and we can just run into Castle Town for shelter. Plus, it's closer for the older folk who live here."

Jezabell, with the sleeves of her purple blouse rolled up, scoffed with a grin on her face. Her brunette pigtail flopped as she shook her head. "It would be a lot funner if that boyfriend of yours showed up." Having completed washing a rug in the gently babbling brook, she was occupied with using her bare feet to squeeze as much water out of it as she could. "Where is he anyway?"

"For the third time, I don't know!" Malon grumbled at her friend's incessant pestering. "He'll get here when he gets here."

Sniggering, Jezabell stomped on the wet rug before jokingly asking "You're sure he's real?"

"JEZZ!" The red-headed farmgirl snapped, her face flushing in embarrassment. Although Link was definitely real, it was humiliating for them to think that she had just been making everything up the whole time. "Yes, he's real! I swear to the goddesses!" Calming herself since she noticed she was drawing attention from the others, Malon reassured them. "I promise, you'll get to meet him. I bet he's probably just busy doing stuff… He's pretty important."

"Ohooo!" Jezabell playfully ooed, further jesting with Malon by being snarkily sarcastic. "Now, this boy we've never seen is suddenly important, huh? What next, he's a prince too?" The girl hopped up-and-down on the rug, getting out the last of the water. All she had to do now was hang it up to dry. "Didn't you used to tell us that you always wanted a knight in shining armour to come whisk you away? Are you sure this isn't another fantasy you've concocted?"

"THAT'S IT!" Malon leapt away from the scrubbing board, leaving the off-white sheet half-soiled. Her cheeks were cherry red, yet her face was sour. She was genuinely mad that the urban girl was poking fun at her in such a way. Despite never having reacted so violently before, the pubescent farmgirl felt an instinctual urge to defend her honesty, to assert her own honour in a way a gerudo would commonly do. This led her to start walking towards the preppy girl. "I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR ASS!"

"Oh, how ladylike of you!" Jezabell laughed. Her frilly black hat, with its red and white Eldin Ostrich feather, fell off her head as she jumped off the clean floor cloth in order to run away. "AHH!" She giggled and screamed while avoiding Malon's grasp. "I'M JUST KIDDING!"

Malon was in hot pursuit of her friend. Shaking her fist, she huffed "NO YOU WEREN'T!"

Jezabell almost tripped, struggling to not fall face-first into the mud on the side of the brook. "I WAS! I WAS! I KNOW HE'S REAL BECAUSE I'VE SEEN YOU WITH HIM IN CASTLE TOWN!" She continued to gleefully giggle as she sprinted. "COME ON! STOP CHASING ME, I'M GETTING MUD ON MY SKIRT!"

"I'LL GIVE YOU SOME MUD TO WORRY ABOUT!" The farmgirl announced as she reached down, scooping up a handful of sludge from the side of the river.

Jezabell's eyes widened, her sly smile vanishing upon noticing the wet earth in the farmgirl's grasp. "Don't you dare-..." She stopped running, then spun around to stoically face Malon. "If I get mud on my blouse, I'll get into trouble with my parents."

"You should've thought about that before you talked smack!" Malon swung her arm around several times, building up speed as she reeled back.

"MALON!" Jezabell braced herself.

On the fourth dramatic swing of her strong arm, Malon let go of the mushy dirt, watching as it soared straight through the air toward her target; the posh girl who made fun of her. She expected the glob of nasty brown mud to splatter against Jezabell's purple blouse. However, the wily urban hylian was a bit more spry than anticipated, ducking right before it was about to hit. This caused the filth to go flying beyond her. Having been slung so hard, it traveled down the bank before directly impacting the side of Tiffinee's head.

Tiffinee, the short haired brunette who had been wringing out a pair of trousers, yelped from the surprise of getting hit.

Jezabell turned around to see what had happened.

Malon's face had a horrified expression plastered on it from the unintended friendly-fire. She gasped loudly while holding her dirty hand up to cover her mouth. "Oh my goddess… I-… I am so sorry, Tiffinee."

Standing up from her knelt down position, as per usual Tiffinee stayed quiet. Yet, that just made the situation increasingly awkward for the others. All they could do was watch as she gradually wiped the sludge that landed in her neck-length brown hair. Some of the gunk even dripped down onto the shoulder of her beige ankle-length tunic. Once she wiped and brushed the majority of it off, she turned to stare daggers at her assailant. Fortunately, she also busted out into laughter, not really offended, more amused. "That was an amazing shot! Especially for someone who wasn't trying."

The farmgirl's shoulders relaxed as she let out a sigh of relief, thankful that Tiffinee wasn't actually upset at her for the accident. Regardless, she was embarrassed that her own anger had caused the scenario in the first place. Malon certainly didn't want to spoil a friendly relationship over an affair as stupid as Jezabell's constant teasing. Since it was done and she couldn't take the action back, all she could do was apologize again. "I'm sorry though, I really didn't mean to do that."

"Geez, what happened?" Sunniva inquired as she caught up with the group.

Jezabell straightened her skirt before sarcastically explaining. "Malon's fiery temper got to her. Typical redhead."

"Great Nayru, would you just shut up!?" Malon puffed her cheeks out as she balled her hands into fists. "I said I was sorry! It wouldn't have happened if you hadn't pestered me!"

Jezabell scoffed. "Yeah right-..." Metaphorically poking the sleeping bear like she was so accustomed to doing, the snobby girl kept agitating the farmgirl even though, in her opinion, she was merely stating the obvious. "You're just pissed off that I made a joke about your precious boyfriend thinking he's so important."

"He is important." Malon furiously spoke through clenched teeth.

"This again?" Tiffinee rolled her eyes. "Come on, Jezabell. When are you going to stop?"

Malon dramatically threw her hands up into the air. "Right!? That's what I've been saying!"

"Yeah-..." Sunniva backed up her best friend. In fact, she threw the subject back at Jezabell. "I'm starting to think you have a crush on this boy too since you're always teasing her about him. That's not the case, right?"

Jezabell snorted with an austere look. Pressing one hand to her hip, she shook the other in a rejectfull manner. She rolled her green eyes and laughed at the audacity of such an uncalled for comment. Nonetheless, no matter how hard she tried to hide it from everyone, her lightly powdered cheeks had a red tinge to them. "What!? NO! No! What's wrong with you? No-..." Her lip lifted in fake disgust. "I wouldn't stoop to admiring a peasant. My parents are already talking about arranging a marriage for me, probably to that boy that lives next door. He's kinda cute and his father is the sub-commissioner of the Market Merchant Guild, so you know he's gotta be loaded with rupees."

"Hey!" Malon snapped in response to the jab at her boyfriend. "Link's not a peasant. He's a rancher."

"A rancher, huh?" Jezabell mockingly stuck her tongue out. "Is that what you think makes him so important?"

Malon stepped closer, feeling her anger rising again. "No, that's not it! He's also an adventurer."

"Alright, enough!" The usually meek Tiffinee exclaimed. "I'm the one who got hit with mud because of you two and I'm tired of hearing it. How about we just change the subject to something else?"

Malon agreed. "That sounds good to me."

"Fine. Fine." Jezabell gave in, agreeing to not broach the subject again. "I need to finish the rug anyway."

Tiffinee continued to dunk the dirty beige trousers into the river.

Walking back to the main portion of the laundry caravan, Malon returned to finishing the off-white sheet she was scrubbing using the community scrub board.

Jezabell rinsed off her muddy bare-feet before picking up her hat to brush off the debris. Then she picked up the rug to place it on the clothesline.

Sunniva wrung out a pair of socks prior to doing the same.

All four of them kept quiet, keeping to themselves for a bit in order to accomplish their chores. Nevertheless, Malon listened to people around them as they chatted.

A middle-aged man and his wife were nearby, patiently dipping their undergarments into a bucket of soapy water. While they did, he discussed what they needed to do whenever they got back to their home. "Once we get done here, I need to stop by The Bazaar to see if they have any nails. That blacksmith is out of his mind if he thinks I'm paying that much; I have no problem looking elsewhere."

"You'll help me take these clothes home first." His grumpy wife demanded.

Knowing there was no sense in arguing, the man just sighed, giving in. "Yes, dear."

All the while, three caddy young women laughed uncontrollably over inappropriate jokes and frivolous teenage gossip. Unlike everyone else who was there at the caravan, none of them were breaking their backs washing clothes. They were at the age where all they wanted to do was talk about others behind their backs.

The tall one with a bonnet on her head said "Did you see Kerk and Melonee together at The Market?"

"Yes!" A blonde-bunned girl with bright blue eyes leaned forward with a shocked expression. "She's gotten so fat! Do you think he got her pregnant?"

"Pfft-..." The third girl, shorter than the others, blew a raspberry in denial over the situation. "Who cares about her!? He's too good for her anyway." Snorting, she continued "A handsome hunk of meat like him? He should be with me."

The other two laughed before responding to the third. "You're such a sleaze, Opheel!"

As the three young women continued to spread unfounded rumors about others in their age group, a cluster of youthful boys enrolled as squires in the Knights of Hyrule were occupied doing their best trying to scrub their superiors' armour clean of blood and grime. They had to practice doing such boring tasks on their own until they rose in rank. Eventually, when they get older, they themselves would have kids doing such a thing for them. For the time being, it provided them skills in patience, dedication and hard work. Plus, they could chat about their training.

"Do you think Knight Vicente will let us go with him the next time he goes out to take care of the Bokoblin Encampment by Lake Hylia?" A redhead squire with freckles wondered.

"No way!" The boy with a freshly shaved head announced. "I hear there's a Moblin with them, so he's going with a squad of soldiers from the military."

One of the boys with buck teeth looked up from scrubbing a steel breastplate. His eyes widened upon the mention of such a formidable enemy. "A Moblin? Out in Hyrule Field? My Pa says they ain't been seen out of the forests in a generation. What could one be doin' out here?"

"Do you think the bokoblin hired it?" A fourth kid asked.

The third laughed. "They're stupid! Ain't no way they have 'nough sense to use rupees."

"Who knows-..." The fourth shrugged at the dismissal of his idea. "Maybe they have a chunk of gold. You know how they like shiny stuff."

"Plus, they're blin-kind too." The redhead added to the argument. "Doesn't that make them, like, cousins or something?"

The boy with a shaved head spat on the ground before pouring more salt onto a greave, proceeding to scrub it with a brush. "Kill them all, I say."

Across from the prattling squires, Sunniva's mother and her feeble aunt were also washing the family's load of laundry. Both of them were working diligently, which was amazing considering the latter's often debilitating malady. The woman must've been having a good day as her wringe wasn't actively preventing her from doing light chores.

"How's your arms and legs, sis?" Sunniva's mother asked. She was a short woman, under five feet. Her strawberry blonde hair was styled like a beehive and had a multitude of colourful flowers stuck in it. "On a scale of one to ten, how bad is the pain?"

The woman's afflicted sister looked incredibly similar, except her knuckles, elbows, and knees were swollen in addition to red; all signs of her illness. She sighed even though she kept a smile. "It's at six. But, that's way better than the usual eleven. It's a nice day outside and I just miss being by the water so much. So, I'm going to power through it… Even if I'm going to pay for it by being extra sore tomorrow." After saying that, she focused on washing a gown.

Malon finally finished scrubbing the off-white sheet and then began wringing it out the best she could. All she had to do now was hang the linen on the clothesline and let it drip dry in the sunlight. However, having overheard Sunniva's mother and aunt speaking, she decided to ask the girl about the woman's overall condition since it had been awhile. "Hey, Sunniva, how's your aunt doing?"

Sunniva wiped her brow as a bit of sweat dripped down her forehead. The tanned girl was working hard on the scrubbing board. Fortunately, the topic made her smile. "Lately she's been doing well. She only feels bad at night." Her happiness soon faded as she expressed her concern. "I'm just worried that, with winter approaching, it's going to get worse."

"What does the doctor say?" Malon asked.

"Nothing new." Sunniva frowned. "We're just taking it day-by-day."

Malon nodded at the idea. "That's a good way of thinking. Stay positive."

From off in the near-distance, a wagon could be seen slowly traveling across the drawbridge of Castle Town. The farmgirl instantly recognized it as hers. Although he was a bit earlier than expected, she knew that her father was on the way to pick her and the laundry up. For a moment, she felt rushed as she was only just now hanging the final sheet to dry. On the other hand, she started worrying more about Link as he remained missing. It wasn't like him to dally and the longer he stayed away, she worried that it was a genuine problem. He always ran off on adventures, yet she figured that if he went somewhere he shouldn't have, he might have been picked up by the authorities. Then again, he tended to have connections that allowed him to escape.

"Come on, Link." She uttered under her breath. "Where are you?"

"What?" Sunniva asked.

Malon shook her head. "Oh, nothing."

For the next few minutes, the farmgirl peacefully waited, letting all her laundry dry in the bright sunshine. She was glad to have a short break as her arms were sore from all the scrubbing. The rest didn't last long though. Before she knew it, her father had arrived with the wagon, pulling up onto the other side of the road, not far from her. All the previously loaded supplies had been sold, so there wasn't much left in the bed other than empty boxes and stacked crates. This allowed plenty of space for them to load up their clothing as well as their bedding.

Talon had a big grin on his mustached face. Pulling on the reins, as soon as the horses stopped, he revealed "Good news."

"What?" Malon questioned.

"I done found a buyer for that horse we picked up durin' our escapade with them bandits." The overweight man continued to say as he locked the brakes and then hopped down out of the wagon. "You and Link did such a good job on rehabin' it that an elderly couple bought 'em ta ride out t'ward Zora Domain. Their son and daughter-in-law 'ave a cabin up by the waterfalls, so that oughta help 'em both see their gran'kids more of'en."

Malon admired her father for doing a stranger's family a favour. "Aww, that's so sweet."

"I figure the horse was probably worth 'round three-hundred rupees." Talon explained the deal. "But, they're so lovely ta'gether that I only asked for two-hundred."

"You did the right thing." Malon encouraged her dad's kindness.

Talon walked around to the back of the wagon in advance of unlatching the tailgate and lowering it. Doing so would allow them to load their laundry easier than trying to lift them up and over. Plus, it helped him grab an empty box to use. "Hey…" He mentioned upon finally noticing that the Hero of Time wasn't present. "Where's Link at?"

"I don't know…" Malon admitted while shaking her head, her hands on her hips to show the frustration she felt over him disappearing. "He said he'd meet us back here, but I haven't seen hide nor hair since then."

Tiffinee walked over and asked the farmgirl. "Are you getting ready to go?"

Malon turned to her quiet friend and said "Yeah. In a little bit. First I need to let that last sheet dry a little more."

"What happened to your boyfriend?" Sunniva wondered. "Did he head back to the ranch already?"

"No-..." Malon groaned. "He hasn't come out of Castle Town yet. I'm getting worried."

Jezabell approached, wiping her wet hands on a rag. "What's going on?"

"Just about to leave." The farmgirl repeated herself while avoiding the other topic. "We're waiting on the sheets to dry a little more."

After a couple of seconds, a wicked smirk crossed Jezabell's lips. She couldn't stop herself from broaching the subject one last time. "So-..."

"Don't do it." Malon snapped, knowing beforehand what the posh girl was going to bring up.

"But, he's still not here and you said he would be." Jezabell snarkily replied. "Where's he at?"

"I don't know, Jezabell!" The farmgirl growled.

In-between Malon and her father, a carriage with two horses came down the road, transporting some people from Castle Town to Kakariko Village. The dry dust it kicked up made a few individuals in the communal laundry group yell with complaints about the sand getting on their clean clothes, yet Malon had a fleeting thought of using the opaque cover to punch the annoying posh girl in the nose for her inability to keep her mouth shut. She probably would've done so too if she knew for sure that she wouldn't get into trouble afterwards. Fortunately, she didn't have to worry about being teased for much longer.

The dust cloud was so thick that it was difficult to see through. Nonetheless, a lump appeared to hop from the back of the carriage as it quickly went by. As soon as the obstructing debris cleared, it was revealed that the object was Link, who had briefly hitched a ride in order to get out of Castle Town without being noticed. He'd been chased out of the Outer-Ward and even throughout The Market by several angry guards, so it had been his only way to go undetected.

"Boo!" He jokingly greeted the girls while emerging from the dust.

Malon had no hesitation in running to her lover. She collided with him in the middle of the road, hugging him tightly. "Link! I was worried something happened!" As soon as the shock wore off, the reprimanding began. "Where were you!? You know better than to take so long!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Link apologized as he hugged the redheaded farmgirl. "I lost track of time." He bent the truth, not wanting to worry her further by explaining he was being pursued for trespassing. "I had to get a special item. I got it, so everything worked out."

"A special item?" Malon pondered curiously. "What is it?"

Link glanced around at all the people there with the caravan, most of which he didn't know. Since he wanted to be cautious, he decided it best to not talk about the matter there lest he risk a spy overhearing his plan. "I'll tell you later on, whenever we get home."

"Alright." Malon smiled as she gazed longingly at the boy. Before long, her face lit up again as she realized she could finally show off her boyfriend. "Oh! Come here, I have to introduce you to my friends." Instead of letting him walk, she pulled him by the collar of his tunic, dragging him over to her buddies.

"I'm coming!" Link chuckled as she pulled him. "You don't need to force me!"

Malon grinned with satisfaction as she approached her wide-eyed female companions. In spite of having a slight blush, she was ecstatic to metaphorically shove him in their faces. "This has been a long time coming." She told the boy in regards to introducing him to them.

Seeing that Link had arrived, the three other girls stopped what they were doing and gathered around. Even though Sunniva was closest, Jezabell was the first to show up, followed by Tiffinee.

"Is this him?" Sunniva asked as she smiled at him.

"Yes." Malon confirmed in advance of wrapping her arm around his, pulling him close enough to give him a kiss on the cheek. "This is Link, my boyfriend."

"Nice to meet you." Jezabell greeted with a light blush on her powdered cheeks.

"Same." Tiffinee added.

Clasping her hands behind her back, Sunniva leaned closer to examine the boy. "Wow, he's super cute!" She exclaimed, not meaning to flirt, simply stating her opinion. "He looks really strong too!"

Link kept a friendly smile, yet his face reddened in embarrassment from having the group of girls abruptly ganging up on him. It suddenly became such an awkward situation that he wasn't sure of how to react. He nervously scratched the back of his head prior to accepting the compliment without playing into the bashfulness. Treating them like any other stranger, he gave a brief explanation. "Well, thank you. I've traveled around Hyrule and that gave me stamina; while my work at Lon Lon Ranch has given me some well-earned strength."

"You really gave Malon a dress?" Jezabell asked, focusing far more on material possessions than anything else.

Again, he was taken off-guard, but he answered truthfully. "Umm, yes. I got it for her because she rescued me from the Lost Woods." Gazing into Malon's adoring eyes, he smiled, keeping his concentration on her instead of the other girls gawking at him. "I'm not a very materialistic guy. She means a lot more to me than rupees and I know how much she wanted it, so I had no problem buying it."

"Oh, Link." The farmgirl swooned as she laid her head on his shoulder. "I love you."

"I love you too." Link replied.

All three of the girls cooed in unison. "Aw, so cute!"

"Marvelous, I'm seriously impressed." Jezabell tried to hide her natural attraction to the boy, attempting to explain it away to the farmgirl as nothing more than admiration. "You got a handsome boy already buying stuff for you."

"I want someone to love me like that." Tiffinee chimed in, wrapping her arms around herself and rocking side-to-side as she yearningly daydreamed.

Sunniva giggled, pressing her palms to her tanned cheeks in bashful glee as she wondered about the two kid's future. Although it was embarrassing, she decided to ask "You two are perfect together. Do you have any plans for when you're going to get married?"

Malon just about choked to death on her own tongue. She was flabbergasted to have the sensitive question asked by her own friends. Her blue eyes bulged from her head as her face turned cherry red. Gazing adoringly at Link, she stuttered up a storm in response. "M-Married? We haven't thought-... I… I mean, who knows? I-It… It'll be g-great, I… I know it. W-We're still young. There's plenty of t-time."

Link chuckled nervously. Although he was certainly embarrassed, he wasn't as taken aback as the farmgirl, leaving him capable of playing along for the fun of it. "Do you think Mr. Talon would approve?"

"Goddesses, yes!" Sunniva squealed.

"Yes." Jezabell wasted no time in admitting. "Yes, yes, yes, yes!"

"In a heartbeat." Tiffinee confirmed.

The Hero of Time was only joking, but hearing all of her friends assertively insist, it made his pulse increase. "Seriously? You're all so sure? I think he'd be a little apprehensive."

Malon pursed her trembling lips as she looked over at her father, who was waiting on them to finish their conversation. "That, or secretly happy. "

"You're an important adventurer, right?" Jezabell interrogated.

Link nodded prior to explaining. "Yes. My mother and father died when I was a baby, but my mother left me amongst the kokiri beforehand. I lived with them for the first ten years of my life." Skipping the reasons why, he shortened the story to the interesting and more believable bits. "When I left the Forbidden Forest, I traveled around Hyrule exploring and helping people."

"Where have you visited?" Jezabell kept asking questions.

"Gosh, where haven't I been?" Link replied as he vividly recalled all the places he'd been to during his daring journey. "Let's see... I've been to the Eldin Province; visited Gordon City in Death Mountain. I've been to the Lanayru Province to visit Zora's Domain and I've even been inside the Geldo Province too."

Sunniva was amazed, especially at his excursion into the Geldo Province. "What!? You've been where the Gerudo live!? How is it?!"

"Hot…Very-Very hot." Link playfully fanned himself as he let his tongue hang out to represent how intense the heat was there. This made the girls giggle. "I wasn't allowed in their cities since it's traditionally female-only, but the desert itself is hauntingly beautiful."

"Wow!" Sunniva and Tiffinee said in unison.

"Do you fight monsters?" Jezabell asked as she stared at his sheathed sword.

Link smirked. "I've fought every known monster out there."

"Moblins?" Sunniva threw out an example.

Link blew out a puff of air. "Easy. Just stand your ground while they're charging, jump out of the way at the last second, then stab them from behind."

Tiffinee shivered with heebie-jeebies as she mentioned "P-Peahats?"

"Their roots are their weak spots." Link informed the girl. "All you have to do is use a sword or an arrow; just hit them in the roots."

"I got one, I got one-..." Jezabell announced. "How about those lizard people? I've heard stories about how vicious they are."

Link cocked his head to the side for a moment until he realized what the girl was talking about. "You mean a Lizalfos? They're challenging, but they're own strength can be used against them. With a shield, if you entice one to hit it, the rebound can cause them to lose their footing. That's when you go on the offense."

"You're awesome!" Sunniva exclaimed. "What kind of sword do you have? It's a shortsword, right?"

Gripping the handle of his upgraded Kokiri Sword, he pulled it from his sheathe. "What, this?" He smirked as he explained further. "It's actually a sword made by the kokiri, which is why it's short. They kept it for me until I was old enough to use it." Delicately running his finger along the blade, he told of how well he'd maintained it. "Back when they first gave it to me, its hilt was fashioned from ironwood and it had a red diamond embedded in a bronze inlay. As I progressed on my adventures, I made it stronger by having a blacksmith give it a brass hilt. I used the diamond as payment, but he gave it a blue jadeite gemstone for the pommel."

"Ooooo." The three girls admired his weapon

"But, you're just a kid like us." Tiffinee mentioned. "How do you have such skills and weapons?"

The Hero of Time knew it was useless to tell them who he was, a hylian chosen by the Golden Goddesses. So, he decided to simply inform the girls of who he'd trained with. "Well, I trained under Captain Orsen. He saw my potential and personally mentored me."

"You're a Knight of Hyrule?" Jezabell wondered.

Link sighed. "Only honorary. I'm still too young for it to be official." Sucking it up, he forced a smile. "That's good enough for me, because I learned so much from him and all of his people."

"Wow!" All three of the girls said again.

Malon, growing tired of her friend's constant questions, cleared her throat to get her boyfriend's attention. "Ahem."

The boy heard the action and redirected his attention to his girlfriend. He saw her pout, however, he didn't know why. Since he was surprised, he merely inquired aloud. "What?"

Even though the loving farmgirl was definitely elated to have finally introduced her handsome Link to her extra curious friends; after listening to all the queries, she began getting jealous of them. It was a fairly new emotion to her, but it was mighty aggravating to see their alluring leers, especially Jezabell's. This caused the girl's imagination to run wild with envy. She was sure her boyfriend would never do such a thing, but envisioning him getting lovey-dovey with Sunniva, Tiffinee or Jezabell made her heart want to explode and her fists go flying.

To quell the possessive desire that was driving her mad, in a display of passion, she grabbed the back of his head prior to pulling it close enough to kiss his lips. She closed her eyes and immediately leaned into the smooch.

Link was positively stupefied by the abrupt display of public affection. On the other hand, he had no issue in returning the kiss as he was unaware of the jealousy behind it. In fact, his mind was temporarily overwhelmed by her scent of Gerudo Soap and thyme. Like being put into a daze, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer as they quickly made out.

"Oooooooohoo!" Sunniva stuck her tongue out as she enjoyed the scene.

Tiffinee's jaw dropped open as she stared in a curious manner.

"G-Geez-..." Jezabell crossed her arms, subconsciously pouting. Her blush increased tenfold. "Get a room."

When Malon slowly pulled away and opened her eyes, she saw Link staring at her with a highly flustered expression on his face. She knew that he didn't understand why she had done that, but it was important for her to show the others that she meant business, that their love was indomitable and unique. "I just love you so much."

"I love you too." Link instantly acknowledged.

"Alright ya two." Talon called out to his daughter and Link, having grown tired of waiting for them to finish their discussion in addition to watching them smack lips. "Let's load the laundry into the back of the cart. It's time we head home."

.

.

[Time: 4:25 P.M. (Afternoon)]

[3 Hours, 55 Minutes Later]

(Location: Hyrule, Lon Lon Ranch - Barn)

.

Having arrived back at the ranch an hour ago, everybody immediately went to work either doing chores or putting up laundry. Talon was busy unpacking the empty boxes and crates while Malon was almost done stowing clean sheets in the farmhouse's closet. Link, on the other hand, found himself in the barn with Ingo, both of which were doing chores. In order to de-muck the stalls, they had let out all the horses, all except for one. Halfway through raking as well as replacing the soiled hay, the farmhand opened the stall with the remaining horse. After putting the harness on the smelly equine, he explained to Link how to properly take care of it whenever there's a certain medical issue.

"I have to do what?" Link, with a raised eyebrow and curled upper-lip, asked Ingo.

Ingo chortled at the boy's amusing hesitance. "Come on. It ain't like you're sticking yer' arm up its butt. You're just walking it around 'til it farts enough."

Link laughed at the suggestion, not understanding the veterinarian process. "Why? What's that going to do?"

"Because he's got colic." The grumpy farmhand plainly stated as he thrusted the sickly horse's reins into Link's hands. "There's too much gas in his bowels, probably from gettin' into the feed and overeatin'. He'll be fine, but you need to walk him around the corral to stimulate his stomach. Be slow; don't let him stop either because he'll try to lay down and roll, which you don't want since it could cause his intestines to twist."

"Understood." Link confirmed as he took the reins to the horse. "Come on, Taffy. Let's get out your toots."

As soon as the horse exited the stall, it audibly passed gas. It had to feel slightly better after that reduction, yet he pawed at the ground and stretched to indicate there was still pain in his sore belly.

"Great, Farore's Wind!" The Hero of Time exclaimed while holding his nose.

Ingo made a face of repulsion, waving his hand to clear the air. "Whew. Get him out of here. He's stinkin' the whole place up."

Link nodded in acknowledgement as he gradually led the horse out of the befouled barn. Taffy was super slow because of the gas pains, so the boy took it easy on him. Coming outside, he saw that Malon had just finished putting up all of the laundry. He waved to her as she made her way toward the center of the corral to watch over the animals.

"Colic?" The redhead questioned in regards to her boyfriend walking the stallion around.

"Colic." Link confirmed.

"Poor Taffy-..." Malon put her hands to her hips, lamenting the creature's agony. "When are you going to learn to stop being a hog? You're a horse, not a pig."

Link approached his girlfriend and wondered "What are you going to do for the afternoon?"

"For now, I'm going to feed the Cucco." The farmgirl smiled at him. "Later, if I have time, I'll clean my room."

Always there for his lover, the boy decided to offer his assistance. He definitely hadn't cleaned a girl's room before, but he'd do it for her. "Do you need any help?"

Malon giggled at the notion of her boyfriend being in her room, touching her personables. However, she declined as it was a one-person job and he had things to do too. "That's okay. I got to reorganize my undergarments-... Plus, Daddy will kill you if he catches you in my room with me."

"What about when we get married?" Link teased her by bringing up her friend's comment.

Hearing those tantalizing words come from his lips made her face redden tremendously. She knew that he was merely joking, but the thought of it actually happening was immensely thrilling. One day they'd be wed. If he were her husband, they'd obviously be free of many parental restrictions; like being allowed to sleep together in the same bedroom, in the same bed. Thinking of such a thing provoked a number of romantic daydreams that flickered across her mind in a tangled mess of arousing desire.

"Malon?" Link soon inquired upon the lack of response.

The farmgirl swiftly snapped out of her lewd trance and then proceeded to smile longingly at her boyfriend. She was positively smitten by him. If he asked her for her hand right this second, she'd float to the heavens in happiness. Yet, she was unsure if he were as serious about it as she was. Witnessing her friends lustfully ogle him made her realize that his good-looks, strength and compassion could score him a date with nearly any suitor. "You'd really want to marry me?"

Link momentarily stopped prior to resuming his walk to keep Taffy ambling forward. He didn't understand why she'd ask him such a thing, but he wasted no time in squashing her senseless worries. "Of course I would. You're my soulmate, Malon. I've never felt the way I feel about you."

"Oh, Link!" She exclaimed. With sweaty palms, she latched onto his arm and kissed him.

The girl was on cloud nine imagining a grand wedding. At first, she envisioned holding it at a church; except she was such an outdoorswoman that she couldn't see herself not having it here at the ranch, maybe even right there in the center of the corral. Obviously her father, Ingo and Nabooru would be there, plus all her friends. She wasn't sure if Saria could come due to being confined to the Forbidden Forest, but she'd insist on the entire Kokiri Tribe being present after all the help they'd given the both of them. As a matter of fact, she was so giddy that she'd invite everyone, Princess Zelda and The King too.

"I love you." He said without her saying it first.

Her heart fluttered as she gazed deeply into his soulful eyes. "I love you too."

They had chores to accomplish, yet they took a short break to express the affection they held for one another. Malon tenderly trailed a series of little kisses leading up to his lips in advance of planting a romantic one right on them. They made out together without a care in the world. In hindsight, sessions like these were exactly why their scents kept mixing. Nonetheless, Link didn't mind. Since he'd awoken from his coma, she'd been there for him. Now, her love was his fuel. Being with her made his brain fuzzy and his body want to melt. He smooched the redhead while instinctively pulling her into a full-fledged embrace.

As soon as they broke the kiss for air, he kept going, placing his own trail of kisses that led over to the side of her head. The boy could feel her entire body tremble against his whenever he began sensually nibbling her long ear. It was warm and red from the embarrassment, but every gentle touch drove her wild.

"L-Link…" Her eyes struggled to not roll back in her head. "Stop-p." Due to the pleasure, her hips automatically pressed further against him. She had to bite her lower lip to stop it from quivering. "We're gonna get caught."

"HEY!" Ingo yelled out to them as he stood in the doorway of the barn. "MORE WALKIN', LESS KISSIN'!"

Malon laughed with crimson cheeks as her boyfriend ceased his tender assault on her ear. "I told you so."

Link joined in on the laughter prior to resuming his walk around the corral with Taffy. "Alright, Alright." He stayed on the track and made sure not to stop again. They barely made it ten feet before the gassy horse let slip loud flatulence.

"Ughh!" Malon made sure to stay in front of the horse as she strolled with them, avoiding downwind. "Taffy! Yuck."

"I know." Link confirmed. "It's awful."

The farmgirl lifted the hem of her gown and then covered her nose with it, giggling at the aspect of needing to do so. Still, she'd gladly suffer the ungodly stink so long as she got to be with her beloved. Considering that, she strolled with him. After a while of peace and colicky horse farts, she suddenly remembered what Link had said to her earlier when they were about to leave the laundry group. She let her garment fall back in place as she mentioned his previous disappearance into Castle Town. "Where did you go earlier?"

"Huh?" The Hero lifted an eyebrow.

"When I was washing clothes-..." She reiterated. "Where did you go and what did you get? You said you'd tell me later."

Link gave Taffy a gentle pat on the head while bearing his teeth with anxiety. He knew he'd have to fill her in eventually, he was just nervous of explaining how he snuck into the Outer-Ward of Hyrule Castle. There was absolutely no doubt that she'd freak out if he told her that. "Yeah-..." However, it wasn't in his nature to lie, so he was honest to her. "I… uhh… I went to the Great Fairy Fountain."

The farmgirl poked her lips out as she walked alongside him. She didn't fully realize precisely what his words entailed. Instead, she was merely interested in the location. "Really? There's a Great Fairy Fountain in Castle Town? That seems a little too close. Don't they usually like secluded areas?"

"They do like secluded areas, but they try to find one that is also near people since they need our mortal prayers to survive." After informing her of the divine entity's traits, he went ahead and told her the worst part, wanting to get it over with. "This one chose a spot by Hyrule Castle."

Malon made a dead stop in the middle of the track as soon as she comprehended what he'd said. "Wait, what? Hyrule Castle?"

Link didn't stop walking as he knew he'd get into trouble. Instead, he turned around and sauntered backward while rushing to explain. "I didn't go inside, I promise! I just went through the Outer-Ward!" Quickly thinking of a way to ease her concern in addition to reducing the potential repercussions, he told her how close it was to the gatehouse. "I mean, It's almost accessible to the public. The fountain is inside part of the mountain ridge just on the other side of the portcullis."

"So, it's on the other side?" She wanted to confirm.

"Yeah, but not far." He flashed a worried smile, unsure of if she was going to be mad at him. "It's just down the road, before the plateau and the meadow."

"And, the guard let you in?" The intelligent farmgirl continued to interrogate.

Letting out an apprehensive exhale, he said "Not exactly."

"So, you snuck in?" Malon came to the correct conclusion.

Hanging his head in defeat, Link admitted the truth by trying to persuade her. "Yes, but I had to. He wouldn't let me go through because of some new law The King made."

"Linnnnk!" Malon loudly exaggerated his name in order to fully capture his attention, to let him know that she was displeased with his behaviour. "Don't you get that you're breaking the law? If you get into trouble, they'll throw you in the dungeon." She frowned as she imagined the boy shackled to a cold stone wall because he couldn't stop himself from going places he didn't belong. "What would we do without you? What would I do without you?"

Reaching out, delicately grabbing her hand to entwine his fingers with hers, he let her know how careful he was. "I won't get caught. I promise."

Malon softly squeezed his muscular hand as she walked alongside him. She knew that he was only saying that to make sure she wouldn't get mad at him. The farmgirl was completely aware that he'd do whatever if it was for the advancement of his primary mission. However, she wondered exactly what he needed to go see the Great Fairy for in the first place. "So, why did you go there?"

Keeping ahold of the reins, Link reached into his pocket, extracting the clear rhombus-shaped gemstone with a glowing red orb encased in it. He held it up for his girlfriend to see. "I got this."

"Ooh, pretty." She smiled as she closely examined the proxy.

"It's more than pretty." Link told her as they rounded the corner of the track. "It's magical." Under normal circumstances, he'd never allow anybody to hold such a valuable item he worked so hard to get. Yet, seeing how it was his lover, he was confident in her ability to keep a secret. Plus, he wasn't worried she was going to break it since it's incredibly durable. Handing it to her, he further explained what it did. "This is Din's Fire. It's a gemstone that can generate a powerful fireball which expands outward. Using this, a person can incinerate everyone around them."

Malon made a shocked face; her eyebrows raised and eyes wide as she thoroughly examined the special item. "Whoa… Why do you need something like that?"

"Because-..." Link gulped, struggling to swallow the lump in his throat as he recalled the horror of that awful day. "I felt incapable whenever those bandits attacked us. There were so many of them and I'm not used to being on the offense in addition to the defense of others. It's why I've been honing my swordsmanship and archery skills before I go to bed as well as whenever I wake up; because I want to be better able to protect you." Thinking of all possible situations, he brought up a worst-case scenario. Pointing to Din's Fire, he further elaborated "But, if I'm overwhelmed by enemies on all sides of me, I can use this to burn those bastards to a crisp."

Malon stared down at the unique gemstone with an intense gaze. A wave of nausea washed over her as she too remembered whenever their wagon was set upon by a squadron of hired mercenaries. Her brain replayed the horrible memories of that day. Her heart was wrought at the notion of losing her father and her legs grew weak thinking about her boyfriend being overcome. Other than being chased by a pack of wolfos, that was the closest she'd ever come to being killed. She was sure she was going to be murdered whenever one of the maniacs had a knife to her throat. Even now, months later, she could still feel the rusty blade pressed to her neck. Not only that, she was sure she could smell the body odor of the disgusting man. All of it made her want to vomit far worse than the stink Taffy was currently producing.

Her lip quivered as her stomach churned from the fears of that day. Then again, there was a saving grace from that living nightmare. She mentally visualized herself back then, whenever she went haywire. Even though she didn't remember much of it due to being in a state of rage blackout, she was aware that she successfully defended herself by killing the man who was going to kill her. It wasn't clear; the picture in her head being blurry, but she did see flickers of herself repeatedly stabbing the knife into the bandit's dirty flesh.

For a farmgirl, she was way more capable of combat than she initially assumed. Being a genetic mix between Hylian and Gerudo, the latter's DNA provided instinctual fight-or-flight superiority that gave her an advantage. Unfortunately, it wasn't the same as being a master swordsman like the Hero of Time. She needed more than brute strength and blind anger to properly defend not only herself, but others too. She needed training to keep calm when in danger as well as practice for when or if it happens again.

"Link…" Malon called out to him, making him acknowledge her with an upturn of his chin. "I seriously want you to help me learn how to fight."

Had food or water been in his mouth, he would've spat it all over himself. The Hero certainly didn't expect her to say such a thing and he hadn't previously imagined mentoring her in combat. On the other hand, he understood why she wanted to learn. "Malon, I get that you just want to help, but you know how serious fighting is. You could get hurt, or worse."

"Don't you think it's more likely that I could get hurt 'or worse' BECAUSE I don't know how to fight back?" Malon rebutted while catching up, trying to get him to see things from her point of view. "If you're endangered, I can help. You don't need to do everything by yourself." She insisted by appealing to his sense of honour. "You're a champion, the Hero of Time; you can teach me to assist you." Handing the gemstone back to him, she sternly stated "If I'm backing you up, you won't need to use destructive magic unless it's a last-ditch effort."

"I can't put you in danger like that." Link rejected the idea.

Yanking on his arm to slow the boy down, Malon kept at it. She didn't care if she had to chisel away at his patience for months on end, she'd be persistent until he relented. It might not seem like it to him, but this was very important to her. "It won't be 'you' putting me in danger, honey. I'll already be in danger. You never know whenever bad guys are going to show up; they don't schedule their raids." Staring into his eyes, she informed him "I'm tired of being defenseless. This is just to help me better protect myself and ya'll."

"I-..." Link hesitated. He was unsure of the proposal. Not only had he never taught someone swordsmanship, he couldn't fathom Talon accepting his daughter doing such a thing either. "I don't know."

"Please." Malon begged him.

"Your father is going to rip my arms off if he catches me teaching you how to use a sword." Link expressed one of his concerns.

Still staring, the farmgirl's look went from stoic to confused prior to slightly amused. A giggle slipped out from between her lips. Knowing he didn't understand why she found the situation funny, she told him "First of all, you've never let my father stop you before. So, why start now?" Following a bit more laughter, she wiped her face to reset her mood and get serious again. "Second, he doesn't have to know. We can do it in secret."

Turning the corner of the track, Link proceeded to walk Taffy down the otherside of the corral. He shook his head at the girl's idea as he knew it wasn't something they'd be able to keep secret. Practice could be loud. Talon or Ingo would surely investigate if they knew it wasn't him doing it. Nobody at the ranch tests themselves the way he does. "They'll know. Your father will hear us exercising." Presenting her with another problem, he said "I don't want to risk getting on Talon's bad side. If he gets mad enough, he might kick me out of here." Hoping to persuade her against her plan, he asked "You don't want that, do you?"

"Of course not!" Malon huffed at the suggestion. Regardless, she countered, not giving up. "But, if we start out with the basics, there's no way they'll know. We'd begin with stances and terminology, right? That's not loud." Trying her best to come up with an idea that'll change his mind, she quickly looked around. Be it luck or fate, her eyes happened to land on a broken broom handle leaning against the shed portion of the silo. Seeing that made her realize she didn't even need a sword. "Besides, who says you have to train me with a blade? Maybe I'd be really good with a stave."

Link scoffed. "A stave?"

Malon repeated herself. "Yeah, a stave. What's wrong with that? There's blunt sticks everywhere that I can use even if I don't have a weapon."

The Hero of Time blinked a few times as he processed what his loving girlfriend was saying. He started thinking that it wasn't as horrible of an aspiration as he initially thought. It certainly wasn't as if he wanted to leave her feeling defenseless. She even had a valid point about blunt weapons being quieter in addition to them being readily available seeing how they lived at a ranch. "Hmm…"

"Please?" Malon pleaded again, giving him puppy dog eyes.

He still wasn't overly fond of the idea since it was a dangerous one. But, he knew there might indeed come a time in which he needed her assistance. It would definitely be wise of him to teach her as much as he possibly could. So long as she listened and did everything he told her to do, he didn't see how it was a bad thing to have self-defense skills. Clearly she had a lot of potential stored within her.

Adding to the scenario, he decided to formulate a stipulation he could present to her in order to take care of the request made by the Great Fairy.

"Well, okay-..." He relented.

"Really!?" The farmgirl was about to squeal in glee. She clasped her hands together and grinned.

Link nodded his head as he smiled at her cute reaction. "Yes, but you'll have to agree to do something for me."

Placing her hands to her hips, she eyed her boyfriend with a high level of suspicion. It seemed too coincidental for him to need something. She didn't know there would be a condition placed on her plan. Above all, she wasn't sure what it could be. "It's not going to be something naughty, is it?"

"What? No!" Link's cheeks slightly reddened as he chuckled at the notion. "No, nothing like that." Delicately pocketing Din's Fire, he explained to her his own deal that was made earlier. "Whenever I went to the Great Fairy, she gave me the gemstone, but needed a favour from me in return."

Malon cocked her head to the side. "The Great Fairy needs your help? Isn't she divine?"

"She is-..." Link confirmed. "But, she needs mortals to survive. Our prayers are her nourishment."

"The Great Fairy eats prayers?" The farmgirl narrowed her eyes in befuddlement, unsure how such a thing could be possible.

Not positive of the precise process himself, The Hero shrugged. "I'm not really sure. I think it powers her soul somehow." Getting to the point, he informed her of the issue. "Unfortunately, because of that, she's not getting the sustenance she needs. The location she chose has secluded her from the people of Castle Town. After all, most people can't go tromping into the Outer-Ward. Even I had trouble seeing her."

"Why did she pick there to live then?" Malon wondered.

"Because she used to be there for members of the Royal Family. She thought being close to Hyrule Castle would benefit them as they could seek her wisdom anytime they wished." Link filled her in. "But, they aren't going to see the Great Fairy anymore. That's why she's asked for my help in getting more people to visit, to pay tribute to her."

The farmgirl nodded as she agreed with her boyfriend's assessment. "I can see that. After all, people aren't quite as devoted to their religion like they used to be. Daddy says society has become more reliant on technology than the deities who created them. He doesn't know if it's progress or sheer cockiness on behalf of mortal-kind." She was well aware of what Link could accomplish, so she understood why the Great Fairy requested his assistance. In fact, due to her good-hearted nature, she herself tried to come up with a way to fix the conundrum. "Maybe we can figure out a way to get the citizens of Castle Town to visit, or even convince The King to see her more often."

Link snapped his fingers in acknowledgement. He was amazed she came to the same conclusion as him, yet he wasn't shocked since she was incredibly intelligent. "Exactly! That's what I thought too." Then again, attempting such a thing could take months, maybe even years of planning to accomplish. No doubt there'd be a multitude of meetings to discuss the matter in an official capacity. On the other hand, the previously given stipulation was easier as well as quicker. He just needed to convince her of that. "It would definitely help if you agreed to come with me next time."

"Me?" Malon reeled back as she furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Yeah." Link confirmed.

"Why me?" The befuddled redhead inquired. "I can't go into the Outer-Ward. They won't let me."

The Hero wasn't keen on divulging the fine details of how he trespassed, but ironically, it was her who initially recommended the short-cut back whenever her father fell asleep outside the castle. Because of that, he was swift in his response, expounding his answer to getting by the gatehouse. "How about we go up the wall of vines like I did whenever we first met? It's easy."

"Is that how you got in there today?" She skeptically eyed him.

"Y-Yeah…" He admitted. "But, you have to understand. I'm only asking you because the Great Fairy wanted to see you."

Malon blinked at the thought as they rounded the corner of the track. "She really said she wanted to see me? Me specifically?"

"Yes." Link nodded in spite of not having a proper reason why she needed to visit. He didn't know why the Great Fairy wanted to see his girlfriend, he just knew that was what the big sprite desired. All he could do was try to convince the farmgirl to fulfill the request. "She said that she wanted to meet the girlfriend of the Hero of Time. When I told her your name, she thought it was beautiful and that you must be too."

"Oh?" Malon proudly smiled with a light blush. Although she still didn't understand why her presence was requested, it was a massive boost to her self-esteem to hear that the renowned pixie leader felt that way. "She thinks I'm pretty?"

Seeing that he was getting somewhere, he kept trying to persuade her. "It's more than her anticipating your beauty, she seemed to be sure of it, like she already knew."

The farmgirl's blush increased, as did her smile. It was embarrassing, but more-so completely flattering. "Wow!" She bashfully held her hands to her warm cheeks. "I figured everyone was just telling me that I was cute. If a Great Fairy thinks I'm pretty, that changes everything."

"And, she would definitely be the one to know." Link instantly encouraged Malon's thought process. No matter the fact that it wasn't typically his style to use a compliment to obtain his way, he referred to the sprite's attractiveness and then compared it to her own. "The Great Fairy is gorgeous, but even she pales in comparison to the beauty I see in you, my love."

Stopping for a brief moment, the two passionately exchanged another tender kiss. Malon adored the boy's savvy sweet-talk so much that she wanted to take his hand right then and there to lead him toward their special spot in the shed. His affection for her made the amorous redhead excited for a fervid make-out session. However, she knew they couldn't shirk the work they had to accomplish. Because of that, she kept her arousal in check. For the time being, she was able to satisfy herself with their lip-to-lip contact and the gratification of knowing he was enthralled by her all-natural charm.

Pulling away, still gazing longingly at her, Link wanted to make sure of her answer. "So, you'll do it?"

"You'll teach me to fight?" Malon smirked as she held his shoulders.

"Yes-..." He confirmed. "I'll teach you to fight, as long as you'll come with me the next time I visit the Great Fairy."

"I'll do it." Malon finally agreed on the condition.

To show his unwavering appreciation, Link once again pressed his lips to hers. "Thank you."

Malon delicately wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled him into a close embrace as they smooched. Regardless of not wanting to delay their chores, it was obvious she cared less about them than she did the kiss as she closed her eyes and ignored the outside world around her. Her flushed cheeks radiated heat all the way to her long ears. The soft moan of ecstasy she unconsciously released vibrated throughout both of their bodies. Her other hand gently rubbed his athletic chest, obsessively feeling his toned muscles. Everything about him drove her utterly wild with lust.

"LINK!" Ingo shouted from the threshold of the barn, again having witnessed the boy's cessation of duty.

Breaking the kiss, The Hero moved onward with the farting horse. "I'M GOING, I'M GOING! Sheesh."

Malon snickered at their inability to stay focused when in the presence of each other. It was humorous, but she didn't want to get her boyfriend in trouble because of her massive desire to taste him. Considering the fact that she had chores of her own to accomplish, she decided to leave him to finish his. "I better go feed the cucco before we get grounded."

"That's probably a good idea." Link chuckled as they rounded the corner of the track, coming back to where they started. "I'll see you after I finish walking Taffy and clean out the rest of the barn."

After giving him a kiss to the cheek, Malon then left, walking off to fulfill her daily duties. As she ambled toward the cucco hutch while humming a peaceful tune, Link couldn't resist gawking at the farmgirl. It was almost an understatement to say he was totally smitten with the cute redhead. With every day that passed, his love for her only seemed to grow. Their doting relationship had become so strong that his mind often had trouble concentrating on anything else whenever she's around him; for good reason too. Every bit of their time spent together was a fateful bonding experience granted by the Golden Goddesses. Sometimes he wondered if she was his reward as she was far too perfect to be a coincidence.

"Ey, hon'!" Talon called out to his daughter as the girl made her way to the cucco coop by the barn. "I'm gonna write letters and do a bit a business, 'ight? I'll be in my room. Don't bother me 'less ya have ta."

"Got it!" Malon gave a thumbs up as she carried on with her chores.

Talon turned his head to look at Link in advance of repeating himself. "Did ya 'ear me, boy?"

"Yes, sir." The Hero calmly reassured him. It didn't matter if the hefty man was hinting at Link to be on lookout in case anything went wrong, or to merely keep up the work as another test of maturity. Either way, the kid made sure to quell whatever worries there were. "I'll keep things running smoothly."

"Good." Talon nodded in confirmation prior to opening the door to the farmhouse and walking inside.

Following that, Link was left on his own. However, he wasn't alone. When he made it halfway down the track, he heard in addition to felt a hot snort blow across the back of his neck. For a split second, it scared him and even made his hair stand on end. Of course, upon spinning around, he saw his beloved Epona staring at him with her big soulful blue eyes. As per usual, the equine was obsessively pestering him. But, the hylian understood that it was because she greatly cared for him and his well-being.

"Oh, you scared me, girl!" He chuckled as the horse traveled behind him and Taffy. "Are you jealous? Don't worry, we're not having fun. Taffy isn't feeling well."

Epona nibbled on Link's collar as she followed him.

Again, her hot breath tickled the back of his neck, but this time it also made him laugh. "Why do you always want to eat my clothes? Do they smell like me?" Turning around as he walked, he gave her a few head pats and smiled at her. Except, the energetic filly snorted in his face in advance of sprinting past him, trotting down the track in a dramatic show of maneuverability. "You're so silly!" He grinned at her. "How about we jump some hurdles after I finish working? That way you'll keep up your muscles."

.

.

[Time: 6:05 P.M. (Evening)]

[2 Hours Later]

.

"Alright-..." Ingo said as he hung the rake back in its spot on the wall. "I'mma go wash up and get somethin' to drink. I'm parched." Rubbing his sore shoulder, the grumpy farmhand piled the rest of the work on The Hero. "The cows already got their food. But, I trust you'll feed the horses their evenin' grain?"

Fortunately, Link didn't mind. He enjoyed being with animals and taking care of them was a part of that. "Yeah, I got it."

"Thanks." Ingo shuffled off as he scratched his belly. "I'll call you when dinner's ready."

Link nodded as his stomach growled to remind him to eat. Pushing the hunger to the back of his mind, he made his way to the corner of the barn where the pre-filled buckets of feed were. He watched Ingo leave and then went to the nearest stall, opening it and going inside. Ida was there, ready for her meal. Placing the container of food on a hook in the wall, he had barely let go when the older horse started chowing down. "Hungry?"

The boy gave the equine a couple of gentle strokes across her back in advance of leaving, ensuring the door closed behind him. "Eat up."

Picking up another bucket, he progressed to the next stall where Melnir was. He sighed as he knew the horse was usually difficult to do anything with due to being super skittish around men. Although it was understandable since the pitiful creature had been abused by his previous male owners at Gormon Ranch, the boy wished more than anything that it would relax and not see him as a potential threat.

Coming up to Melnir's stall door, Link made sure to let his presence be known. "Okay, Melnir. Are you ready to eat?"

Looking inside the stall, he saw the horse standing there rather normally, not backing up or hiding its head in terror. It was a surprise, but definitely encouraging behaviour.

"Oho, what's this?" Link spoke softly as to not scare the equine. "Are you so famished that you're going to face your fears to get some food?" Gradually opening the door, the boy continued to do everything slowly, hoping to not frighten the animal by moving too quickly. Once he had access, he calmly walked inside and made his way over to the hook on the wall. Without staring or acting strangely, he hung the bucket of feed on the wall. "There you go. Eat up."

Melnir simply turned and moved over to the bucket. He seemed to ignore Link, instead choosing to chow down on the food.

Usually, the boy wouldn't even bother trying to be affectionate at the wary colt since it almost never ended well. Regardless, for some reason, he decided to take a risk. He slowly reached out and gently brushed his fingers through its jet black mane. As soon as his hand made contact with Melnir's hair, his heart pumped with hidden-anxiety. Based on past experience, he was positive the horse would try and kick him. To his amazement, the animal just continued to eat as he delicately combed its scruff. He had trouble believing what was happening, but was happy nonetheless. "Good boy."

Not wanting to overstay his welcome, Link let go of the colt, left the stall and then closed the door. "I'm proud of you." He praised the animal on the progress it had made.

Afterward, he went over to the corner of the barn where the pre-filled buckets of feed were. He grabbed another prior to making his way down to the next stall. This time, he saw Epona inside. His lips automatically smiled upon seeing the adoring filly there waiting for him. "Hey girl-..." He called out to the horse with exaggerated kissing sounds. "Do you feel better after jumping those hurdles?"

Epona neighed in delight, pawing at the ground with her left hoof. She watched him open the door to her stall and waited for him to come inside of it before nibbling on his blonde hair.

"I love you too, big girl." Link chuckled at her fun-having nature. Making his way over to the hook embedded in the wall, he hung the bucket of grain on it. "Ready to eat?"

Epona was playful as always, except she was hungry too. That hunger sensation soon overpowered her desire to have fun. She drank a bit of water from her trough in advance of taking a mouthful of her feed. During that time, she relished the affection she got from her master. Link patted her back, combed his fingers through her gorgeous white mane and even gave her a smooch on the side of the head.

Recalling the note he got earlier from The Postman, he thought about whenever he was going to visit Kokiri Village next. Knowing it would be soon, he told the filly "We'll be going on an adventure soon. Would you like that?" As encouragement, he reminded the equine "You liked Fifi's grooming, huh? If you're okay with going into the Forbidden Forest again, I'll let her brush you all you want."

Of course, the horse didn't actually understand what her master was saying. She just enjoyed the sweet baby-voice he used as he spoke to her as well as the loving caress of his hand. Even while eating, whenever he scratched behind her ear, she winnied with joy.

"Is that yummy?" He asked before jokingly whispering "That's good, sweetheart. I put some extra in there just for you. Don't tell anybody or they'll get mad at us both." Chuckling at the jest, he proceeded to give her a bit more petting before turning around to leave. After walking out as well as closing the door to the stall, he said "Eat up, get some rest and I'll be back to check on you before I go to bed."

Going toward the corner to get yet another bucket of feed, as he passed by the door leading outside, he thought he heard something odd. Curiosity got the better of him, so he investigated. Backing up, he waited a moment and listened. Sure enough, he could hear a weird rattling noise in the near distance that sounded as if a big piece of metal was being jiggled. Following a couple seconds of contemplation, the only thing he could think of was that somebody or something was banging on the gate to the entrance of the ranch. Although it was possible Talon or Ingo was doing work on the hinges, it was unlikely that they wouldn't inform him; after all, both were supposed to be in the farmhouse.

"What the heck?" The Hero remarked before telling the remaining horses to wait. "Ya'll hold on. I need to check this out."

Traveling outside, he continued to hear the annoying rattling sound. In fact, it was louder now that he wasn't in the barn. He could tell it was coming from the left, almost sure that it was sourced near the entry of the ranch. "Malon?" The boy called out while looking side-to-side in an attempt to see if anybody was around. "Talon? Ingo? Is that you?"

Whenever he received no response, he decided to investigate further in case it was an unaccounted farm animal trying to escape or a stray wild animal trying to get in. Either way, he placed his hand on his sheathed weapon, ready at a moment's notice perchance it be a monster. The last thing he needed that evening was for a menacing Moblin to be making an attempt at proclaiming the place as its own. Letting his imagination go wild, his finger's firmly wrapped around the handle of his upgraded Kokiri Sword as he envisioned several gerudo armed to the teeth with spears and explosives. Fortunately, he kept calm as he made his way down the path leading out of the ranch.

Turning the corner, Link walked down the rest of the passage until he could see the gate. His theory turned out to be correct as he witnessed a man standing there on the other side trying his best to find a way to open the lock on the chains. The guy was a fairly tall tanned hylian, around thirty years of age, with a bit of black stubble for a beard. He had hazel eyes, a gnarly scar on his bald head, a rotten front tooth and donned a simple quilted overcoat with thick cotton trousers.

"Hello?" The Hero made his presence known.

Letting go of the lock, the man stared at Link with a surprised look. But, he quickly smiled and greeted the boy. "Oh, Hiya!"

"Hi-..." Link raised an eyebrow. "Can I help you with something?"

"Yeah-…" The man nodded as he crossed his arms. "I'm here to buy a horse."

Link let go of the handle to his sword, opting to instead rub the back of his neck. He was slightly confused by the situation as it was far later than Talon usually held an outing with potential buyers. Not only that, he wondered why the stranger was trying to get the lock off the gate instead of waiting until tomorrow or even simply calling out for someone to open it for him. He didn't want to turn away a customer. Regardless, he still wanted to be careful since he didn't know the guy.

"Is Mr. Talon expecting you?" Link asked to ensure that the man belonged there.

"Yessiree." The man smiled, showing off his blackened front tooth.

The stranger certainly didn't look like the most trustworthy individual, that much was clear. However, it wasn't Link's job to morally judge those coming to buy livestock. If it was true that the guy was expected, then the boy would go find Talon. "What's your name? I'll go let Mr. Talon know that you're here."

"Oh, is he busy?" The stranger questioned.

Link pointed back upward at the farmhouse. "He's in his room doing some work."

The stranger gently waved his hands as if to dismiss the notion. "Don't worry about it then. I don't want to bother him. He's a busy guy and I appreciate everything he's done for me and my family."

Standing there, Link was unsure of what to do. He still didn't fully trust the guy seeing how they'd never met before now, yet he didn't want to run him off either. Lon Lon Ranch needed rupees to function, so refuting a chance to increase their wealth wasn't a very wise idea. The latter deeply influenced his decision. His worry that it was a criminal faded as the man seemed to be a nice person in spite of his poor appearance. "Okay, okay." The boy relented. "Just wait right here and I'll go get the key to let you in."

"Thanks, kid." The man put his hands in his trouser pockets and kicked at the dirt with a smile on his face. "I appreciate it."

"No problem. I'll be right back." Link replied in advance of turning around.

Walking away from the gate as well as the potential buyer, the boy traveled back into the depths of the ranch. Turning the corner, he made it halfway to the farmhouse whenever he saw Malon approaching him. She seemed tired, had dirt on her dress and was missing her scarf, but was curious about what he was doing down by the entrance.

"Hey, what's up?" The redhead asked her boyfriend.

Link ambled up to her before responding, pointing back behind him. "There's a guy at the gate saying he's here to buy a horse. I asked if your dad expected him and he said yes, so I'm going to get the key from Mr. Ingo."

Malon cocked her head to the side, furrowed her brow and then looked up to the right as she contemplated the unprecedented situation. "Uhh… I didn't think that there was supposed to be anybody coming by today." Though she was confused by it, she eventually shrugged it off as merely being uninformed on the matter. "Daddy's been a bit of an airhead lately. He must've forgotten to tell me."

"Do you have the keys to let him in?" The Hero of Time asked.

"Sure." She replied as retrieved her keyring. "Come on, we'll do it together."

"Right behind you." He smiled as he followed her close enough to teasingly tickle.

Malon giggled and squirmed, speeding up to get away from his wiggling fingers. "Stop!"

Having fun, the two enamored kids ran; the boy chasing the girl. They both enjoyed the race as they sprinted toward the entrance of the ranch. Of course, Link let his girlfriend stay in the lead. He didn't mind either as he felt a great sense of satisfaction whenever she was in a good mood or proud of herself. As her boyfriend, he always wanted to see a smile on her face. Her smile made him smile. Considering that, he took immediate notice of how her lips lowered as soon as they rounded the corner.

All of a sudden, the farmgirl seemed confused. When Link caught up, he directed his attention to where she was looking. He too found himself confused whenever he saw that nobody was standing at the gate. The man from two minutes ago had seemingly disappeared instead of waiting like he'd been told to do.

"You said there's a guy?" Malon looked at her boyfriend with a skeptical expression.

Link nodded. "Yeah, there was. I promise, I'm not joking or playing a prank. He was right there."

The redhead resumed walking until the both of them made it to the gate. She looked to the left and then to the right, but couldn't see anybody out there. A quick examination of the lock proved it was still intact and hadn't been disturbed. Whoever it was didn't even leave a note. Taking all of that into account, she could only flip her hand to display bewilderment. "I don't know. Maybe he went back home." Making an attempt at figuring things out, she said "Besides, I told you I didn't expect anybody, maybe he realized it was the wrong day."

"Weird." Link blinked and then pursed his lips.

"Oh well-..." She sighed at the strange occurrence. Nonetheless, she was soon distracted as her stomach growled. "Come on, let's go see if Ingo needs any help with dinner."

Link started walking back with her. Except, he had to decline the offer as he still had chores to accomplish. "You go ahead. I have to give the rest of the horses their feed. The only reason I stopped is because I heard that weirdo rattling the gate."

Malon walked alongside her boyfriend while offering to help. "That's alright. I'll come with you."

For the next couple of minutes, the two walked hand-in-hand, returning to the barn so that The Hero could finish his remaining chores. Malon had a smile on her face as she gently squeezed his strong palm. Link used his thumb to lovingly caress the top of her hand. Since they had entered into an official relationship, any contact between them was almost always doting. They cared so much for each other that they were nearly inseparable. What they had gone through only served to constantly solidify their unbreakable bond.

The farmgirl's presence was so relaxing that he felt genuinely at peace whenever she's around him. Hearing her humming her favourite tune relaxed every muscle in his body, melting away all the stress of the day.

Coming up to the barn, Link held the door open for his girlfriend. "Milady." He joked.

"My Knight." Malon batted her perfect eyelashes at her affectionate boyfriend while going inside.

There were only a few horses left to be fed, so it wouldn't take them long, especially doing it together. Heading to the corner where the pre-filled buckets of feed were, Link picked one up in advance of handing it to Malon. Afterward, he picked up another. The farmgirl went to Petey's stall while The Hero went to Jack's. Both of them opened their respective doors before walking in. Malon cooed at Petey after hanging the bucket of food on the hook embedded in the wall. Link gave Jack a few pats on the head and rubbed his snout before doing the same. Afterward, he walked back outside the stall and closed the door.

"Is Taffy eating?" The boy asked while looking at the horse in the next stall.

Malon shook her head as she exited Petey's stall. "No. If he's got colic, let him go hungry for tonight. That way, his stomach can work through the issue it's having."

"Got it." Link replied as he then skipped Taffy and moved on to Lolli, their newest addition.

Lolli was another filly that had been given to Lon Lon Ranch by the owner of Sandid Ranch. Her name stems from her constant lollygagging. Despite being the right age to start, she refused to learn how to work a field. She's a northern breed that mainly roams the Tabantha Frontier. Her coat was a pale brown sandy colour and her light blonde mane was humorously fluffy. Precisely as her previous master stated, she disliked any sort of labour and was only interested in playing. Because of her mild temperament, she had quickly become Epona and Melnir's best friend and the three were often seen having fun with each other when out in the pasture.

Link was pleased that she and Epona got along well, not to mention he didn't care if she wasn't a workhorse as he enjoyed watching their merriment. "Did you have a good day?" He asked, opening the door prior to combing his fingers amongst her shaggy mane. "I saw you and Epona racing earlier. You're fast, but I think my girl has you beat." The boy chuckled and then hung the bucket on the nearby hook, watching as the filly approached before chowing down. "Eat up."

As her boyfriend closed Lolli's stall and proceeded to give Dixie her fair share, Malon picked up the final bucket. Walking over to the last stall, she opened it and saw Rhiannon gleefully rolling in the fresh yellow hay. "You goofball." She giggled with a snort as the mare shook its head and then sneezed from the settling dust. Placing the bucket of feed on the hook embedded in the wall, she then said "Don't roll around too much or you'll hurt your tummy." The horse sneezed again as it stood up to claim its food.

Turning around, the farmgirl exited the stall precisely as her boyfriend came out of the one next to her. "Done?" She asked him with a smile.

"Done." He returned the smile. "Ready to go clean ourselves up?"

"Definitely." Malon responded as she rotated her aching arm while rubbing her sore shoulder. However, after wiping her hands on her dress, she suddenly realized that she was missing something. "Oh, wait-..." Making a weary face while sighing, she said "I think I left my scarf and brooch out in the pasture. I had to take it off because I didn't want it getting filthy." Grumbling about it, she started heading for the door. "I'll get it. Go on and head inside. I'll be there in a minute."

Link held the door open for her prior to responding. "Alright. I'll make sure there's enough water for you to clean yourself."

"Thanks." Malon smiled as she walked out of the barn, turned right and then proceeded to amble toward the corral where she had left her scarf hanging on the fence.

Going straight forward, The Hero made his way from the barn over to the farmhouse. He too was tired from a long day's work. He'd snuck into the Outer-Ward to visit the Great Fairy, retrieved Din's Fire, met Malon's friends, cleaned out the barn, walked Taffy, rode Epona and made sure the other horses had their food. Lots had been accomplished; on the other hand, he still had his evening training to accomplish. Earlier he made plans to hone his archery with target practice. It wasn't the same as doing it on a live, moving enemy, but using a marker or a dummy was good enough to prevent him from getting rusty. For the time being, he just wanted to get the dirt off of himself and fill his belly to re-energize.

He opened the door to the farmhouse and then sauntered inside. Right away, he was greeted with the overwhelming smell of spices; cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. It was super-strong but amazingly aromatic. The boy was positive he knew what was for dinner. There was no doubt that it was pumpkin soup, which was great since the fortifying nutrients would give him a much needed pick-me-up.

Link sniffed the air a few times, getting a good waft. "Oh, that smells so good."

Ingo was busy at the fireplace sauteing minced garlic and sliced onions. "It had better-..." He asserted. "My uncle used to make it for me when I was a kid, so his ghost would come back to haunt me if I messed it up."

"Where's Mr. Talon?" The boy proceeded to ask after looking around and not noticing the hefty man. "I need to talk to him."

"He's still up in his room writin' letters." The farmhand replied as he stirred the onions and garlic in the cast iron frying pan. "He said he'd be down in a minute. Go ahead, wash up and then come get yer'self a nice cold glass of lemonade."

"I squeezed 'em myself." Talon chuckled, referring to the lemons, while making his way down the staircase.

Ingo used his spatula to point back at the hefty man. "Speak of the devil."

Talon stepped down onto the wooden floor in advance of shuffling over to the dinner table. "What's goin' on?"

"Link said he wanted to talk to you 'bout somethin'." The gruff-voiced farmhand answered in advance of returning to cooking.

"Yes, sir." Link acknowledged while stepping forward. He wanted to sit at the table, but rathered that it didn't get dirty. Due to his current poor hygiene, he made sure not to put his dirty hands on anything. "I just wanted to tell you that a man was at the gate trying to get in. When I confronted him, he said he was here to buy a horse and that you knew he was coming."

Talon put his index finger to his lips as he contemplated the bizarre situation. He obviously didn't know what Link was talking about, yet he was curious about it. "Wha'? Just now?"

"Yeah-..." The boy confirmed. "The weirdest thing is, that when Malon and I came back to the gate to let him in using her keys, the guy had vanished. I wanted to tell you about it and ask if you know why he was out there trying to get the lock off the gate?"

Talon shook his head as he pulled out a chair and sat down in it. "No. I don't 'member schedulin' a meetin' with nobody ta'day." Clearing his throat, he crossed his arms and leaned back with a befuddled expression. "In fact, now'd I think 'bout it, I don't think I 'ave any planned appointments for the next month an a half." Looking down, he blinked with confusion. "He musta been drunk."

Link wasn't sure about that answer. "I don't know… He didn't seem drunk."

Before they had a chance to finish their conversation, they were interrupted by a truly blood curdling scream. It was so loud that all three of them could hear it over the sizzle of the food as well as the crackling in the fireplace.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Malon shrieked to the top of her lungs from somewhere outside of the farmhouse. "LINK! DADDY! HELP ME!"

Link's blood ran ice cold as shivers of terror sprang up his spine, Ingo's worried gaze instantly snapped to the doorway and Talon jumped up out of the chair as if it had turned into molten lava. None of them knew what was going on, but hearing the farmgirl scream like that and yelling for assistance, they knew something was desperately wrong. Acting in unison due to the unprecedented emergency, they all sprinted to the door. Talon and Ingo bumped into each other as both tried to get out of the doorframe at one time. Fortunately, Link was far enough ahead to not get jammed. He had his hand already wrapped around the handle of his sword as he rushed outside.

The Hero was moving so fast that he avoided a trap. The same couldn't be said for Ingo, who managed to squeeze through the doorway before his heftier friend. As soon as the ranch hand stepped outside, he was met with a shovel to the face, stricken so hard it audibly vibrated the metal tool. He was immediately knocked backward into the siding of the farmhouse.

Talon was in such a rush that he accidentally stepped on Ingo, nearly tripping over him in the process. "What in tarnation!?"

"MALON!?" Link yelled with fear in his voice as he brandished his sword.

Not only was there a beefy dark-skinned hylian man by the doorway to the farmhouse who was holding a dented shovel, there were three other rough looking men holding Malon hostage. Upon brief examination, the guy struggling to hold back the girl's flailing arms was none other than the sleazy weirdo that had previously been encountered at the gate. Link knew the lying prowler was suspicious as soon as he saw him, yet he didn't realize it was another mercenary until now. The trespasser had a lot of nerve coming to their home to attempt a kidnapping.

"LET ME GO! NO!" The redheaded girl screamed as she kicked the rotten-toothed man directly in the face when he tried grabbing her legs. "LINK! DADDY! INGO! HELP ME!"

A fifth interloper emerged from the barn and started running to try and catch up with the boy.

Link dashed forward in the direction of his captured girlfriend. With adrenaline pumping through his veins, he called out to her with an anxiety broken voice. "I'M COMING!" As he closed the gap between him and her, he frothed at the mouth while screaming at the intruders "LET GO OF HER! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!"

"GET OUTTA MY RANCH, YA SHITHEAD!" Talon furiously spun around to retaliate against the invader who hit Ingo. Whenever the burly man tried hitting him with the shovel, his big-boned hand caught the top of the tool and ripped it straight out of the bandit's grip.

Before the dark-skinned jerk could respond, he found himself getting repeatedly punched in the face by the farmer's enormous fist.

Ingo groaned as he came out of his temporary daze. He grabbed his broken nose and winced at the pain. It hurt so much that even his gentle touch caused his vision to momentarily flash white. The impact was so strong it gave him a concussion. Even though he wanted to vomit, the epinephrine kept him fighting for his life as well as his family's. He managed to return to his wobbly legs and stumbled back inside. It looked like he was fleeing, when actually he was grabbing a knife out of the kitchen.

Link yelled a battle cry as he held his sword at the ready. "YOU'LL PAY FOR COMING HERE!"

One of the men trying to kidnap Malon split off from the others and prepared to defend his scumbag partners. He held his dagger up while saying side-to-side. "Come get some, ya little crotch-goblin!"

The Hero came in so hot that whenever he struck the bandit's dagger, his upgraded Kokiri Sword snapped the inferior metal in half. It didn't stop there either. With enough force, Link's blade chopped into the man's shoulder, effortlessly breaching the dirty cloth tunic to wedge itself into the collarbone. The intruder fell to his knees and yelled in pain, except the boy didn't have time to deal with him any further. He pressed his boot to the man's other shoulder and yanked his sword free. Spinning around, he barely got the chance to block the hammer of the maniac that ran out of the barn.

"Come here you little bitch!" The sleazy rotten-toothed man snarled at Malon as he pulled her legs out from under her while the marauder next to him held her wrists. "You're coming with us!"

"LET GO!" Malon cried as her voice crackled. Nonetheless, she refused to give up. Even while being abducted, she wasn't going to take it. She squirmed, twisting every way she could in a vehement attempt to free herself from their grasp. Her feet repeatedly kicked at the man holding them. "LET ME GO!"

The farmgirl was incredibly tough for her age, but even her gerudo blood couldn't help her stop two full-grown men. "Shut up!" One growled as he and the sleazy guy forcefully carried the redhead over to the edge of the natural plateau walls surrounding the place. "Do yourself a favour and behave or we'll have to teach you a lesson!"

"NO!" Malon screamed as she flailed.

There was another man on the other side of the wall. "Quicker!" He was standing on a ladder and occupied with dropping a rope for his companions to grab whenever they got close enough. On the other hand, he kept his eye on Link as if he knew the boy was the biggest threat. "Don't let that little shit get you or you're dead!"

A seventh mercenary came running into the ranch right as Ingo emerged from the farmhouse. The bad guy was focused on coming to help his friend who was getting his ass kicked by an enraged Talon. He didn't notice Ingo coming outside until it was too late. The farmhand intercepted the intruder and instinctually thrusted the kitchen knife into the man's stomach, stopping him dead in his tracks.

Talon got socked in the eye, but he didn't so much as flinch or feel anything. Instead, he merely punched the dark-skinned man in the throat, disabling the brawny invader. While the guy was freaked out from not being able to breathe, the farmer grabbed the bandit's head and proceeded to slam it down against his knee with almost superhuman strength. He did this three times in advance of slinging the guy back against the siding of the farmhouse and then clotheslining him. Afterward, he turned his attention to his endangered daughter. "I'M COMIN' DARLIN'! DADDY'S COMIN' FOR YA!"

Link smacked the guy in the head with the hilt of his sword before making a swift one-eighty to slice open the throat of the marauder he had recently brought to their knees. He contemplated using Din's Fire as he'd obtained the spell for dire situations exactly like these. However, at the moment, its expansive flame would've harmed his girlfriend's father since he was running by the boy, barrelling his way toward his captured daughter. Considering this, he had to once again rely upon his superior swordsmanship to get him out of the scenario.

The bandit with blood squirting from his throat was no longer an issue. Link pivoted on one leg, ducked to avoid being struck by the other intruder's hammer and then stabbed him with an upward jab that went underneath the man's rib cage, piercing his heart.

"I'M COMIN', DARLIN'!" Talon huffed as he made a beeline for his daughter.

Since the kidnappers were within ten feet of the plateau wall where their companion had a rope for them, the guy who was holding Malon's arms let go, splitting off to deal with her rapidly incoming father. "I got the farmer. You drag her ass to Zodd."

"I got her." The sleazy rotten-toothed scumbag said as he started dragging the farmgirl away by her feet.

Being dragged on the ground, Malon's dress came up before catching underneath her breasts, exposing her stomach. She screamed loudly prior to flipping over, digging her fingers into the dirt to try and stop from being taken. As she was pulled, ten grooves were left behind on the ground, five for every finger. "I HATE YOU! LET ME GO!" Twisting her hips, she managed to summon enough strength to free one leg from the guy's grasp. Without delay, she kicked her kidnapper right in his crotch with everything she had in her.

"YOU FUCKING WHORE!" The sleazy rotten-toothed kidnapper yelled through grit teeth as he held his freshly injured testicles. He was in so much agony that he could barely stay standing. Somehow, he didn't stop dragging her. Nonetheless, it infuriated him so much that she succeeded in kicking him that he decided to show his disdain for the girl by slapping her across her cheek with all his might. "I SAID, SHUT THE FUCK UP AND QUIT SQUIRMING OR I'LL KILL YOU!"

Malon cried as she briefly gave up due to the discombobulation, her hands going limp against the ground.

"YER' DEAD!" Talon viciously hollered upon seeing his daughter getting slapped. "WHEN I GET MA' HANDS ON YA', I'M GONNA RIP YA' IN HALF!"

The farmer wanted to strangle the slimy bastard with his own intestines. But, he was intercepted by the remaining bandit, who lunged, grabbed the hefty man's waist and then tackled him to the ground. They immediately fought for dominance, rolling in the grass while making groaning noises. Although the bad guy was big and had muscles, Talon had more weight to him. It didn't take the girl's father long to gain the upper-hand.

Link ripped his sword out of the bandit's chest and started running towards Malon as fast as his feet could possibly go. "MALON!"

As soon as the sleazy kidnapper made it to the wall of the plateau surrounding the ranch, he grabbed onto the rope his partner had left for him. His groin was throbbing so badly that he could barely think. Nonetheless, he held onto his dazed victim with a tight grip to ensure she couldn't escape. "Alright, Zodd!" He hollered upward to his friend. "Pull me up!"

The scumbag dubbed 'Zodd' quickly turned his head, looking behind him before giving a thumbs up. All of a sudden, the rope went taut and began getting pulled by something with a lot of strength, perhaps an animal. "LET'S GO, LET'S GO!"

Link flew past Talon, who was occupied choking the last intruder to death. "MALON!" He screamed out to his beloved as he witnessed her being dragged up the cliffside along with her kidnapper. "MALON, I'M COMING! DO YOU HEAR ME!? I'M ON MY WAY!"

While being dragged upside-down, the disoriented girl's red hair dangled and her dress fell to her armpits, completely exposing her bare chest. She moaned weakly as she started coming back to reality. Unfortunately, by then she was three-quarters up the cliffside, way out of reach of her frantic boyfriend.

The Hero didn't back down. He slung himself against the wall and immediately began climbing its bumpy surface. Out of every skill he had, climbing wasn't one of them. Still, he did it with adrenaline. His fingernails clawed at the rocks, several breaking from the force he applied to them in order to ascend. Loose soil fell beneath him as he mounted barehanded. Staring at the mercenary dubbed Zodd, he bared his teeth. No matter how much he wanted to believe he could catch her, he was only a third of the way up the plateau while she had reached the top and was being pulled over. In response, he made a threat he'd never made before. "I'M GOING TO HUNT YOU DOWN AND KILL YOU!"

"Fuck you, kid." Zodd said as he tugged Malon up and over the side of the wall.

"Got her?" The sleazy kidnapper asked as he pushed Malon's feet over the edge.

Link had no choice other than to watch as his girlfriend's nearly unconscious body was drug out of his view. His heart throbbed in anxiety-riddled terror. A part of his brain feared he'd never see her again, but the rest was determined to figure out what's happening, eliminate the hired thugs and recover his beloved Malon. The motivation made him ascend faster than expected. Within a couple of seconds, he was almost at the top.

Strange noises could be heard coming from the other side of the wall where Malon was being taken.

The sleazy kidnapper had just gotten a leg over the edge whenever he found himself being grabbed. Looking down, he saw the boy holding onto his dangling foot. He tried kicking, yet Link just pulled him down until the guy hit his sore crotch against the ledge. "SON-OF-A-BITCH!" The rotten-toothed loser lamented the damage to his testes. Unfortunately for him, his misfortune wasn't over as he felt himself slipping over the edge from the hero's mighty grasp. "No, no, NO!" He wailed while desperately trying to hold on. "NO!"

Link summoned all his strength to yank the greaseball off the ledge, pulling the guy back onto the ranch's side. Subconsciously, he enjoyed watching man fall to his death as he got exactly what he deserved for being an evil child kidnapping psychopath.

"FUCKING SHIT!" The guy shouted as he fell fifty feet to the ground. He flailed his arms and tried grabbing the wall, but nothing stopped or even slowed his descent. Upon hitting the dirt, a cloud of dust was kicked up and his body made a miniature impact crater. His lack of movement proved he'd either been knocked out or killed. Either way, he was disposed of and wouldn't be a problem anymore.

At the top of the ridge, Link peered over to see that the man called Zodd had already descended the ladder and was in the process of loading his poor captive onto the back of his horse. To make matters worse, there were five additional bandits down there with him, three of which had bows. He wasn't able to stay at that position very long as he was soon set upon by arrows coming in his direction to stop him from following. It infuriated him that he wasn't even able to see where they were taking his girlfriend. On the other hand, just before he descended, he impulsively threw his sword as hard as he could, letting it fly through the air toward the kidnapper. He didn't get the opportunity to see if it struck before he was forced to let go of the edge, sliding down the cliffside prior to landing back inside of Lon Lon Ranch.

The moment he got to the bottom of the cliffside, he repeatedly slammed his fist into it. "FARORE, DAMN THEM!" He cursed the bandits. "DAMN THEM ALL TO HELL!"

"Link!" Talon ran up to him. "Where is she!?"

"They took her, Mr. Talon!" He continued to pound his fist into the surrounding plateau.

"Where!?" Talon became frantic. "WHERE'D THEY TAKE 'ER!?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Link screamed back at the farmer with tears pouring out of his eyes. "I DON'T KNOW! THEY PUT HER ON HORSEBACK AND LEFT!"

Talon turned around and sunk against the rocky wall with a look of absolute destitution. "Nayru, be still my beatin' heart."

"What do I do?" Link spoke aloud, trying to figure out how to fix the problem. He knew he had to act as fast as possible, but was unsure of how. "WHAT DO I DO!?" The boy screamed as he slammed his fist against the cliffside so hard that it almost broke a knuckle. "I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING! WHY, WHY, WHY!?"

The farmer's fingers twitched as he got up and started kicking the dead body of the rotten-toothed scumbag who had initially kidnapped his daughter. "WAS IT WORTH IT, YA STUPID MOTHER FUCKER!? Y-YER DEAD' NOW!"

Even though the boy and farmer were struggling with a mental breakdown from all the stress, Ingo limped around the corner of the barn trying to find them. He didn't look too good. Blood poured from his nose, his legs were wobbly and he was holding the side of his head where a massive bruise had formed. Regardless, he seemed to be aware of what was occuring. After spotting them, he waved beckoningly while calling out to them. No matter the fact that he couldn't stop the abduction, he had succeeded in doing something that just might prove to help rescue Malon. "Y'all come quick. We got a live one."

Link and Talon both looked at one another in advance of staring at the injured farmhand.

"Make it quick-..." Ingo spoke before coughing. "He ain't gonna last long."

Both of them made haste in catching up with the limping man. Coming around the corner of the barn, they weren't sure what Ingo was talking about until he pointed at one of the intruders laying on the ground by the farmhouse. It was the guy who had been stabbed in the stomach with a kitchen knife. He was bleeding profusely, with a crimson puddle having formed around him. But, he still wasn't dead yet.

"I'm gonna kill this bastard!" Talon shouted as he began stomping toward the dying mercenary.

"No, don't!" Link swiftly caught up with and stopped the heavyweight farmer. "Let's see if we can figure out where his buddies went."

Ingo nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Then we kill him."