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.

32. Chapter 32

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Happy 10th Anniversary L.O.T.H.O.T. - This is the last of my anniversary trio. The final chapters will be out soon.

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FYI - I was made aware of Chapter 30 not working. I have fixed it.

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Chapter 32

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[Time: 6:10 A.M. (Early Morning)]

[Date: Month 8 'Autumn', Day 14, 8th Era]

(Location: Hyrule, Central Hyrule Field, Lon Lon Ranch - Barn)

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"Rise and shine my handsome knight." Malon sweetly whispered in a sing-song voice to the sleeping boy. "Wakey-wakey."

Waking up from a night of well-deserved rest, the hero barely heard the farmgirl. In fact, he initially thought he had merely imagined her words. He was genuinely about to go back to sleep whenever he realized there was an unusual weight on his abdomen. Shifting around on top of the haybed he called his own, before long his eyes creaked open to narrow slits. Following a dramatic yawn, he then looked to see what was so heavy.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." The farmgirl smiled and giggled playfully as he stared at her.

Opening his eyes further, Link comprehended what the weight on his chest was. It was his girlfriend. He could see her straddling his stomach. Being surprised by this, he looked around to see what was happening. He found he was definitely in his room and everything looked like it always did, confirming that he probably wasn't dreaming. A particularly noisy cucco crowed as loud as it could and a dim light shined through the small loft window, right into his eyes. Despite the fact that the insulation properties of the hay retained heat, he noted how it was fairly chilly outside of the well-used as well as super comfortable bear pelt. These clues gave him a hint as to how early in the morning it was.

"M-Malon?" He asked with a weak and groggy voice, trying to ascertain why she was there so early. "What's the matter? Is something wrong?"

"Nope." She smiled wide while laying down on top of him, separated only by the layer of brown animal fur. Face-to-face and belly-to-belly with her lover, she gazed longingly into his soulful eyes.

Link stayed still, doing nothing other than watching as she adjusted her position atop him. Having her so close right after waking up was slightly embarrassing. She was seriously nose-to-nose with him and her plump lips were hovering just above his. While he certainly didn't mind the additional heat she provided by being against him, he was curious what brought her to his room at the crack of dawn. "What-… Umm… What are you doing?"

"Visiting you." She replied nonchalantly while continuing to stare at him. However, before long, she leaned back up. "Brr… It's kinda cold outside. Do you mind if I join you underneath the pelt?"

"I-… uhh…" Link stuttered a response. He rapidly blinked his eyes to remove the sleep from them, fully awakening from his slumber. Afterward, he agreed to the request since he didn't want to leave her out in the elements where she might get sick. "S-Sure." Once he scooted over on the hay, he lifted the warm bear pelt so that she had access to get beneath it. "There you go."

She laid down on the hay prior to immediately wiggling closer to him, not stopping until their sides were firmly pressed together. The whoosh of his concentrated scent coming from underneath the pelt acted like an aphrodisiac pheromone to her. She struggled to stay focused as she helped pull the bear fur over, ensuring that it covered the both of them. Although being on the floor like that wasn't nearly as comfortable as the bed she had in the farmhouse, she was exactly where she wanted to be; laying next to her heroic saviour. Plus, his body heat made it so cozy she wouldn't dare leave in favour of more padding.

"You're so warm." She whispered with a sultry voice, moaning as she rubbed her shoulder and upper arm against his.

In spite of being a bit shy of her laying in his bed like she was, he turned onto his side, reached over and then pulled her into a loving embrace. He could feel her cool skin and the goosebumps she had that were caused by the brisk temperature. As he yawned he made a remark about it. "That's because you're so cold. What have you been doing?"

"Well-..." She rolled her eyes at her own nervousness. Her blush served as an indication the reason was embarrassing. "I might have stood around outside a bit before coming in, debating about whether or not I should."

"Huh?" The boy cocked his head to the side, not understanding what she meant.

Malon merely giggled before gently kissing his chin. "Oh, nothing."

"What time is it?" He asked.

Her right hand's fingers entwined with his left hand and she laid her left leg across his right leg. "Slightly past six." Their proximity was so close to each other that she could feel his heartbeat through his chest and he could feel hers too. His body seemed to radiate heat from the hours spent underneath the thick covers. She was glad as she needed it after spending several minutes outside in the chill wearing only her sleeping gown. The sensation was so pleasurable she made an audible sigh. "I woke up a few hours ago because I couldn't sleep."

Looking at her as she cuddled with him, Link wondered if she had snuck out of the farmhouse without permission. "Does your dad or Ingo know you're here?"

A sly smirk crossed her face. "Nobody is awake yet. It's just you and me."

"Me and you?" The inquisitive boy raised an eyebrow. It only took him a second to process what she was actually thinking. Now he could see through the guise of her 'just wanting to visit him'. Regardless of what she was telling him, he knew what she actually came there for. She wanted to resume the intimate frolic they had yesterday afternoon. He could see it metaphorically written on her face; in her dilated pupils, quick pulse and moist lips.

"What do you think?" She flirtatiously fluttered her eyelashes at him and gently rubbed his upper-thigh with her leg.

Link lightly squeezed her hand in response. Her leg felt almost as if it was giving his recuperating muscles a nice massage. The heat she added swiftly warmed the underside of the cover. Although he enjoyed the feel of her affection, he played coy with her since he was embarrassed. "Hmm, I don't know. You'll have to tell me."

"Well-..." Keeping her salacious smirk, Malon let go of his hand in order to delicately poke her index finger into the center of his chest. "I was thinking-..." While whispering the next part, she gradually traced her finger across his pectorals in the shape of a heart. She did so over and over in order to represent the endless adoration she held for him. "Maybe we could pick up where we left off yesterday; you know, before we were interrupted?"

"Naughty naughty." The hero teased her as he trembled ever so slightly from her touch.

The farmgirl jokingly poked her lower lip out as if to plead for them to start making out again. She pouted at his razzing. But, she also let him know something he wasn't aware of. "I can't help it. You know, I've been thinking of it every second. The entire time I was taking a bath, it's like my body was going crazy remembering how amazing it felt, how friggin' tantalizing it felt being pressed up against you."

Link stared at her lips as she talked. He found himself just as enthralled with them as he was with the words coming out of them.

"I'm being honest with you." To make sure he was listening, she ceasing the tracing so that she could grasp onto his tunic instead. Her face flushed deeply despite not having done anything yet. The fact that she was sharing such personal details was incredibly flustering. As cringe as it was, she knew it would've been completely mortifying to discuss the new feelings with anyone else. "Ever since we kissed outside, against the farmhouse, I've had these strange sensations. One minute my heart's tingling like it's being tickled by a thousand feathers, then the next minute it feels like it's about to explode. T-There's an awful burning in my crotch and my head feels like it's spinning in circles."

Not exactly sure how to respond to her admission, he simply went "Really?"

"Y-Yeah." Malon replied with red cheeks. "What about you? Have you felt anything?"

At first, he was about to deny that he had a similar experience. He wasn't overly fond of letting her know how, yesterday when they were smooching, he had an issue of his own. Nevertheless, he didn't want her to think she was weird. In fact, since she was telling him that she was having the feelings too, it made him realize that his own were totally natural. Because of that, he decided to tell her without going into a lot of detail. "Y-Yeah. I know what you're talking about. I've felt it."

"You have?!" Malon's eyebrows both raised along with her widening eyes.

"Yeah-..." Link looked away from the excited redhead. "I have."

Unlike him, she wanted to talk about it. "How are you feeling?!"

"Well, right now I feel fine." He informed the girl as he directed his gaze back onto her. "But, yesterday I was feeling strange too."

Giggling at his bashfulness, she kissed the tip of his nose. "Which was?"

Link cleared his throat and slightly shifted on the hay. Not only were his cheeks red, he felt like his whole face was hot. Regardless, having her right there waiting for him to answer, made him relent to telling slightly more information. "W-Well, I felt really hot too. My legs were weak, my palms were sweaty and I had this tingle that went up my spine. There were some other things too, but from what I've learned and been told, I think it's all normal stuff."

"Other stuff?" She caught his attempt to bury the biggest change that his body experienced. "Like what?"

"Just-... some stuff." Link exhaled. He knew his plan wasn't working, yet he made another miserable attempt to avoid talking about the subject. "The main thing is to know that the feelings are because we love one another."

Malon refused to stop pestering him. She caught on to the fact that he was actively trying to dodge the topic. Now that she knew something was up, she doubled down on her attempt to get the information out of him. "Come onnn-…" She begged with a drawn out voice. "Tell me. I told you my problem. I was honest with you." After lightly rubbing her nose against his, she kissed his lips. "Now it's your turn."

Trying to think of anything he could possibly do in order to get out of having to discuss this, he tried one more time to play it off. He kissed her lips and pretended to smile. "There, how's that?"

She rolled her eyes with a snicker. "Jeez. I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about it being your turn to tell me what other feelings you had." To encourage him, she placed a few more kisses on his neck so it would tickle him.

Link quivered, gave a real smile and then laughed at the tender sensation of her lips on his neck. Before long, he had to give up his secrecy as she sought vengeance by getting him to squirm. Following a bit more laughter as well as wiggling, in-between his chortles he exclaimed "Okay! Okay! I give! I'll tell you!"

Once she stopped her onslaught of pecks to listen to him, he filled her in. "It's pretty much the same as you." But, to reduce the embarrassment, he still tried to simplify how he felt. "My groin was tingling and felt-... different."

"That's strange." Malon replied prior to clarifying what she meant. "I mean, it's strange that we both felt the same thing."

"It's because it's normal." He made sure to remind her even though he didn't know the precise anatomical details. All he could go off of was what the Great Deku Tree and Saria taught him as well as his short experience in a seventeen year old hormonal body. "From my understanding, it happens when you love someone and want to express it."

Malon pursed her lips as she contemplated what she'd been told. When an idea came into her head, she expressed a surprised curiosity and didn't hesitate to find an equivalent scenario. "Kinda like how the animals do when they mate?"

Flabbergasted by how bluntly she stated such a thing, Link puffed out a quick exhale of surprise. His eyes went as wide as dinner plates and his already red cheeks turned a shade of crimson. While he had already been feeling balmy due to being entwined with the girl underneath the bear pelt, her words made him feel like he was on fire. A tingle went down his back as he expressed his consternation "M-Malon, Din's Mercy! Why'd you have to put it that way? J-Jeez."

"What?" She giggled at his reaction. "I'm just asking. That's what these emotions are for, right? Love is for reproduction?"

"Th-There's more to it than that." Link replied as, out of embarrassment, he tried to avert his gaze from the aroused farmgirl. "You know how much we care about each other and the things that we do for each other."

Smirking, she teased him by saying "And the things we do TO each other."

"Malon-..." Link was getting mighty frustrated with being constantly nonplussed. "What's gotten into you?"

Keeping her smirk, she whispered into his ear. "I told you. I want to pick up where we left off yesterday." She caressed his cheek before placing a kiss directly on his lips. "Don't you?"

"I-…" Link hesitated for a brief moment. However, as they smooched, he soon realized that it would be different than it was yesterday. Now they were hidden away in his room and not out in the open. This time, they could get a little frisky and not get into any trouble. So, even though he was never against it in the first place, the renewed sense of privacy is the reason that he relented fairly quickly. "I do."

"Then what's the problem?" She teasingly lifted her eyebrows over-and-over.

"Nothing." Link's lips gradually formed a smirk of their own. "I'm just noticing how you've gotten a little obsessed with me."

Malon shrugged, not bothered by that. "Why wouldn't I be? You're my hero."

Regardless of the fact that he was merely kidding about her being obsessed, hearing her genuine yet unexpected response drove him wild with affection for the redhead. Without waiting for her to do or say anything else, he abruptly rolled on top of her, propping himself up with the palms of his hands. Her squeal of delight from being vehemently laid upon was further stimulating to him. "You're my guardian angel, Malon."

"Oh, Link." She moaned tentatively in advance of pulling his face down to hers.

Staring at her gorgeous smile and the voluptuous long red hair that was splayed out beneath her, the boy kissed her on her plump lips while wrapping his strong arms around her soft milky body. Following yesterday's bath, she no longer smelled like stress sweat and river-water. She smelled like her usual mixture of Gerudo Soap and thyme, which was a unique compounded scent he'd come to associate solely with her. It was so pleasant, so subduing to him that when it wafted into his nostrils it made him feel dizzy. Luckily, it didn't matter that his leg muscles faltered as he had already collapsed into an embrace with her.

Malon was so wound up that she immediately wrapped her arms around the back of her boyfriend's neck as they kept their lips pressed together. After squeezing him longingly, she moaned while combing her fingers through his golden strands of hair. There was so much warmth radiating off him that she completely forgot about how cold the air was outside of the bed. Being fully ensnared by his chivalrous magnificence, having him on top of her was like being enveloped by the coziest blanket in the realm.

Link moaned from how good it felt being pressed against her aroused body. His left hand slid up her back until it came to her right ear. Knowing what she liked as well as how to do it from their previous frolics, he tenderly played with her long pointed ear by slowly stroking it; using his index finger and thumb while going outward, but switching to his index and middle finger on the inward return. All the while, his lips never pulled from hers except for whenever they needed a short break for oxygen.

Both of her pretty blue eyes fluttered prior to threatening to roll back in ecstasy. Her feminine moaning got louder the more he touched her immensely sensitive ear. She was amazed that the hero always knew precisely how to turn her on, but not surprised since he was so skilled in everything else.

It took her a while to recover freedom of movement, but once she finally did, she tried to return the love by rubbing his shoulders. However, she continued to have trouble focusing enough to reciprocate. She could move, just not think. Her brain was totally clogged with the dense mist of cloud nine. Because of this overload of sensations, the next moan she made turned into a pant for air.

That automatic reaction made her accidentally lose control of her tongue. Without meaning to, the oral muscle stuck out about half an inch from her mouth.

Link was taken aback by the emergence of her tongue. On the other hand, he didn't know it was an accident; thinking that she did it purposely. He didn't know why she would do such a thing in the first place, yet the assumption led to him repeating after her. Believing it was what the farmgirl wanted him to do, he too stuck his tongue out, just far enough that it very lightly grazed hers to tip of hers.

Malon's eyes went wide and her pupils shrunk to pinpoints as soon as she felt his tongue touch hers. The surprise was so much that she broke the kiss. After covering her lips with her hand, she sheepishly asked "D-Did you just put your tongue against mine?"

He instantly leaned back, embarrassed by what he'd done. "I-... I'm so sorry! I thought that's what you wanted!" Unsure of what to do now, he just gulped and then stared at her.

The stunned farmgirl proceeded to stare at him for a few seconds longer before giggling. "It's okay." She told him in order to get the nervous boy to calm down.

Afterward, she stuck her tongue out, gently tapping on the tip with her index finger. Her eyes bounced side-to-side. For a split second, she recalled how it felt, processing the new sensation. Although she was startled, confused and slightly grossed out at first, she remembered that it didn't hurt. Being honest with herself, she admitted that it felt good. In fact, it was electrifying.

"Do you want to stop?" He asked with a truly sincere tone.

"No." Malon said right away, not giving it a moment's thought.

Her face blushed deeper as she pondered their saliva mixing in her mouth. Adding to the heated infatuation was the fact that she suddenly started imagining how he tasted, how she wanted to taste it again. The naughty thought quickly led her to the conclusion that she could get a much better taste of his glory from within his mouth. Because of that, while still underneath him, she stared at his lips like they were made of gold. Ten seconds passed until she traced her tongue across her top teeth in advance of biting down onto her lower lip. "I want you to do it again."

Link lifted an eyebrow in confusion. "Do what again?"

She kept staring at his mouth as she reiterated what she meant. "Touch your-... tongue-... to mine."

"Y-You want me to?" He wanted to verify.

She nodded as she pulled his face closer to hers. "Just one more time."

Exactly like previously, both of the lovers started making out. Shortly following the lip contact, Malon purposely stuck her tongue an inch out of her mouth. Link was a bit ambivalent about the matter, but he was so dedicated to her that he'd do almost anything she told him to do. Knowing that it was what she wanted from him, he stuck his tongue out a bit as well. Their oral muscles once again lightly grazed against each other's; tastebuds meeting. Nevertheless, this soft touch was all that was needed for them to experience that bolt of lightning again.

Malon was positively astounded at how invigorating the intimate act felt. The intense explosion of sparks going off in her head was almost too much for her to handle. Not only did the slick texture of his tongue slightly tickle, it also gave her a new taste of his essence, one that came straight from the source. Each time he slid it across hers, her body automatically squirmed.

Link was also astonished at how pleasurable such an odd thing was. Although he didn't want to stop, he only licked her tongue a total of five times before gradually pulling away from the kiss.

He hypnotically stared down at her as he leaned up, seeing the lustful expression plastered on her face as her eyes remained closed and her tongue was still sticking out. She was so cute that he couldn't take his eyes off her. "H-How was that?"

She slowly opened her eyes to meet his amorous gaze. To her, she was looking at a god who had come to the realm solely to make her life a heavenly bliss. "It was-…" Her voice was incredibly sultry while she answered. "Divine."

"Should I do it again?" He asked her.

"Farore, yes!" She didn't hesitate with a reply. "One more time!"

"R-Really?" Link didn't expect her to be so excited about it. Regardless of the fact that it was more gratifying than he thought it would be, it was still seen by him as a rather weird thing to do.

Not bothering to answer, Malon acted impulsively. She grabbed the back of his head with her right hand and brought it close enough to hers that she could press their lips together. It was certainly clear what she wanted as she nonchalantly slid her tongue across his mouth.

Link's eyes bulged a bit in response to her abrupt tenacity in addition to the sensation of having his lips touched in such a way. Nonetheless, he relented almost immediately. After opening his mouth, his tongue met with hers. The mostly vague understanding they initially had of what they were doing, which began as imprecise fumbling, gradually improved with more practice. Instead of merely licking like dogs, they were now delicately flicking one another's tongues. Both of them moaned from how good it felt.

Malon started getting so into it that she used her left arm to pull his body all the way down upon hers. He was heavier than she thought he would be, but she didn't mind. The added weight and closer proximity seemed to add to the intimacy. Now she was moaning nonstop. Each time his tongue flicked hers, the jolt of pleasure it gave caused her hips to instinctually thrust upward.

It was in the boy's nature to be competitive; even if it was subconsciously, he was in a friendly duel with her and their tongues were their weapons. He grunted when she pulled him down and definitely felt his hips slam against hers, yet he was too focused on the oral play to react to it. All that was on his mind was to keep going, to keep giving her the love she so desperately wanted from him. So he did, he flicked her tongue with his several more times until accidentally missing. To make up for the mistake, he swirled back around to the top prior to trying again. On the other hand, he didn't fathom exactly how sensual doing so would be.

Feeling him twirl his tongue around hers caused the farmgirl to moan loudly. Like before, the sensation was intense enough that it made her hips thrust upward against his. The noises made by their aggressive lips smacking and squishing saliva filled the entire small loft. It sounded so naughty that it was both embarrassing and arousing at the exact same time. Somehow, it also encouraged them to keep going as they wanted to hear more of it.

Having her hips buck against his sent shivers down his spine. Same as all the other romantic things he had done with her thus far, he wasn't precisely sure why it felt so good. What vague understanding he had regarding what to do was ultimately offset by natural instinct as well as the blood being drawn from his brain down to his nether regions.

Essentially stupefied by the fervor, he mindlessly repeated after her since he didn't know what else to do. He pressed his groin to hers more than he already had been.

Malon moaned in response to feeling him clumsily swing his hips against hers. Without fully comprehending why, she made the thrusting motion again. At the same time, she started breathing harder from the excitement. Her steaming hot breath carelessly spewed out amongst his face.

Link continued to awkwardly thrust his hips in return for hers. He felt her breathing increase, but he didn't care. In fact, he was pretty sure he was doing the same. Nonetheless, one thing he was sure of was that he was winning the duel of tongues. She was becoming so overloaded with sexual pleasure that he easily fought her mouth muscle into submission. Within moments, he pinned her tongue down and pushed on it with his own. Although he didn't expect her to surrender so soon, when she pulled her tongue back, he kept going until he abruptly penetrated her mouth with it.

Her eyes flew open at the sensation of having him in her mouth. It was definitely one of the strangest feelings she'd ever felt due to his tongue being slippery. Then again, it was also beyond thrilling to have him inside her body for the first time. She was so excited that she could have sworn she had bubbles in her heart and butterflies in her stomach.

Unsure of what to do now that he had his tongue inside her mouth, the hero attempted to resume the battle with her; only to find that she had completely caved to his will. Since she wasn't putting up any resistance, he decided to go exploring in the virgin land while he had the opportunity. He touched the roof of her mouth, making her jolt in surprise. Then, very slowly, he drug his tongue along her teeth, feeling their shape.

As he did, he was amazed at how she tasted. Her saliva seemed like a delicacy to him. It wasn't a flavour he could put his finger on, but a flavour that was even more of an aphrodisiac than her enchanting scent. To him, it was a true love potion.

Initially, all she could do was squirm beneath her beloved saviour. Yet, the more he invaded her mouth, the more aroused the blushing redhead became. Her previously wide eyes gradually narrowed in advance of nearly rolling back in her head. Her hips thrusted against his several more times. Her hands and feet trembled spastically. The feelings were intense enough that she believed she could no longer control herself. She was lustfully hypnotized to the point that she didn't even realize they were beginning to make rhythmic motions with the repetitive humping. Nor did she consciously acknowledge his stiffening organ.

Despite not wanting to, the boy had to break the lip contact in order to catch his breath. He pulled his tongue from her mouth and gasped. Even then, he didn't fully stop. Being as sensually wound up as he was, despite recuperating from the extended smooch, he placed a series of small kisses all over her milky neck.

Malon was utterly red in the face. Her pupils were pinpoints and her toes curled. On top of that, she moaned, panted and whimpered a little. "O-Oh, Link! I-… I feel so weird!"

"Like how?" He asked with real concern in his voice.

She took a few deep breaths prior to telling him "I'm so hot! Hot and-… It's like I gotta pee, but I know that I don't! I already did it earlier!"

Not understanding what was happening, Link merely assumed it was bothering her so he made an obvious suggestion. "Maybe we-… umm… Maybe we should stop? We're getting really excited."

"NO!" Malon impulsively shouted before slapping her hand over her mouth, not meaning to have been so loud. But, she didn't want him to cease what he was doing. No matter the fact that it made her feel funny, it was in a sort of good way. Regardless of not knowing why, a part of her wanted to let the sensation keep building-up in her loins. Where her knowledge was absent, her instincts knew that it led to ecstasy. "K-Keep doing it."

"Are you sure?" Link hesitated as he didn't want to hurt her.

Before she could answer his question, Talon's voice suddenly blared loud enough that it punched straight through the little loft window. "GOOD MORNIN' TO YA!"

Link and Malon both ceased their movement. For a very valid reason, they were terrified they had just been caught while in the midst of their most intense romantic session to date. The two couldn't do anything more than simply stare at each other in absolute horror. At any moment, they anticipated the man to come angrily barging in with hostile intent.

"HAHAHA!" Talon laughed.

The hero and farmgirl relaxed a bit upon hearing the hefty farmer laughing with someone else.

"YEAH!" He continued to shout at somebody that was outside with him. The farmer seemed to be giving them orders. "YEAH, JUST 'ROUND DA SIDE!"

"W-What's going on?" Malon asked Link.

Link reluctantly let go of her, ending the warmest embrace he'd ever had in his entire life. Afterwards, he took the bear pelt off of him prior to standing up. But, before he walked away, he stole a quick glance at his horny girlfriend. Her lacy nightgown, deep blush, splayed out hair, their mixed drool at the corners of her mouth, the way her chest heaved as she struggled to catch her breath and get her pulse under control; it was definitely an erotic sight that he planned on keeping in his memory.

Ambling over to the window, he looked out to see what was happening. To the left, he spotted Talon with his hands on his hips, back turned and standing by the end of the farmhouse. For a moment, he wondered what the hefty man was doing, but he soon saw three more people come into view who were riding in a wagon. One of the individuals, the driver, was an older hylian man in brown robes with thinning grey hair as well as a long unkept beard. Both of the others riding with him were young hylian men in overalls that were probably in their twenties.

He didn't know who any of the people were. The contents of their cargo held the only clue as to what they were there for. In the back of the wagon was a bunch of bricks, a few barrels, tools, rope, pulleys and numerous timber studs. Based upon this, even though he didn't know how any of the items were going to be used, he assumed they were there because they were hired to improve the security of the ranch. Following the raid and kidnapping, he wouldn't be surprised if that decision had been made.

"It looks like some people are here with building equipment." Link informed the farmgirl.

Malon leaned up with a curious look on her face. "Building equipment?"

Turning around to look at her, he confirmed her query. "Yeah. Three people with a wagon full of bricks and wooden beams."

"Well, I haven't heard anything about it." She started to say. "Daddy must've forgotten to tell me again." Her eyes gradually drifted down the boy's body as he stood there in front of her. Although she tried to keep talking, she became distracted by something catching her attention. "He's been a real airhead lately ever s-since… Uhh… He's… I… What, umm…"

Link furrowed his brow as he took notice of the girl's salacious gaze. "Malon?"

"B-Because…" She started stuttering. "Uhh… Uhh. W-What were we talking about?"

"What are you looking at?" Confused by her strange attitude, Link followed her line of sight in order to find out what she was looking at. Glancing down, his eyes immediately widened in shock and he made a small gasp at the sight of a bulge in his trousers. "O-Oh, goddesses!"

The interruption of Talon yelling outside had temporarily taken his mind off the make-out session they just had. However, his young body didn't forget the pleasure and was begging for more. "I'm sorry! D-Don't look!" All he could do was try to hide it by holding both of his hands over his groin. "It-... It just-... Everything we were doing felt so good that I got too excited!"

"L-Link!" Malon held her hands to her cheeks, blushing madly as her eyes refused to look away from what his hands were trying to cover.

"W-What?" He asked with a nervous quivering voice.

Biting her lower lip, she asked him. "I made you that way?"

He was exceedingly embarrassed by the erection. Yet, he tried to lighten the mood as best he could by joking. "It didn't get that way on its own." After chuckling softly, he explained "You're just so gorgeous. Your skin is so soft and warm. The way we were kissing was super sexy."

"W-Wow!" Malon smiled wide as she continued to hold her hands to her flushed cheeks. She was embarrassed too, except more ecstatic that she made him so happy.

"HEY!" Talon's voice shouted, seeming as if it was right outside, beneath the loft window. In addition, he banged on the side of the barn. "ARE YA' 'WAKE IN THERE, BOY!? GIT YER' SLEEPIN' BUTT UP!"

Link looked at Malon and said "You should probably get back to your room before we get caught."

The farmgirl instantly began pouting. Her lower lip stuck out and she crossed her arms with a grunt. Not only was she upset and annoyed that their amazing intimacy had been interrupted as it usually is, she wanted to keep going further and further. She wanted to experience more of the pleasurable sensations with her beloved hero. "Nooooooo."

Link walked over to the bed and knelt down beside her. "You know your dad's going to be mad if he doesn't find you in your room. He's going to flip his lid if he finds us up here like this."

"Then kiss me." She told him before pursing her plump lips.

"We have to make it quick." Link replied with a smirk as he leaned closer to the aroused redhead. He acted like he was in a hurry, but he secretly wanted to stay behind and continue making-out as well.

In order to get their fill of love, or at least enough to last until their next romantic encounter, they made sure to squeeze in one more passionate smooch. Since they knew it might be a while, they made sure to relish the lip-to-lip contact. Link wrapped his arms around her and leaned so close that they both fell over. Malon let out a gleeful squeal as they collapsed while canoodling against the bed of hay. They both moaned as they lightly rolled in their embrace.

"I love you so much." Malon moaned in-between breaths.

Link kissed her neck and whispered "I love you more."

"You're my soulmate." She announced with sensual sincerity while hugging him as tightly as she could.

"You're mine." He replied as he kissed her on the lips.

One final time, they made-out with vigour. Although their tongues weren't involved like they previously had been, they put a lot of passion into the moment. Both of them were squeezing each other so hard that a crowbar would've been needed to pull them away from one another. In fact, they kept kissing longer than planned, listening to the intensifying smacking sounds echoing throughout the small loft. Neither of them quit until they heard another series of banging against the side of the barn.

"EY'!" Talon chuckled. "BOY, YA BETTER GIT OUT 'ERE AN' SEE WHAT I'M DOIN' FOR YA!"

Now the two lovers were forced to stop. However, after they pulled away from the kiss, while holding onto each other, they laughed giddily at the circumstance they had found themselves in. Their heartbeats were still rather high, but after a couple of minutes they managed to get themselves under control enough that they could function normally again. Despite not wanting to, they needed to go figure out what was happening outside.

"Are you ready?" Link asked the farmgirl. "You need to sneak back into the farmhouse."

Malon giggled before revealing "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I've been sneaking around daddy for years now."

"Oh?" The hero smirked while helping his girlfriend stand up from the cozy bed of hay. "You've definitely got a hidden naughty side, don't you?"

"Maybe." She teasingly winked at him. "I guess you'll find out, huh?"

Link chortled at her brazen behaviour. It wasn't entirely unlike her, especially considering the fact that she had the courage to go into the Lost Woods to rescue him. Yet, he didn't think that would also mean that she wasn't afraid to get increasingly intimate with him. Not that it wasn't an aspect he didn't enjoy; he was merely curious whether or not she had a more voracious appetite for love than he did. "I guess I will. I guess I will."

Following a kiss on the cheek, she leaned close to his ear and whispered "We'll find a time to continue this later, okay?"

Link's flushed face and flustered smile were an obvious answer to the question. Nonetheless, he nodded to confirm. Then, he babbled a nervous response. "O-Of course we will. I mean, yes-… Definitely-... As long as you want to."

Malon giggled at how cute her boyfriend was whenever he got bashful. "I'll see you in a little bit."

"Okay." He replied as he straightened the bear pelt. "I'm going to get dressed and then I'll head down."

"LINK!" Talon shouted.

He swiftly darted to the loft window and then poked his head out of it. "I'm awake! I'm gettin' dressed!"

By the time he turned around, he saw that Malon had left the loft, hopefully making her way back to her room so her father wouldn't catch their romance in action. Seeing that he was alone, he exhaled for five solid seconds to release all the built-up excitement he'd accumulated since waking up. He smiled as he thought about the fact that the farmgirl literally snuck into his room while in her nightgown. His lips still tingled from the kissing and his tongue felt equally strange. Fortunately, his privates had ceased bulging in his trousers. The reduction of arousal allowed him to focus on getting dressed as fast as possible.

-—Find Link's outfit—-

Now that he was properly dressed for the day, before leaving, he made sure to grab his sword out of the corner of the room. He stared at the upgraded kokiri blade for a bit, appreciating how it was still in his possession thanks to Talon recovering it for him. It meant a lot to him that he remained able to attach the weapon as well as its sheath to his belt.

"Alright, let's go." He told himself in advance of leaving the loft.

Climbing down the ladder, he arrived at the barn. All the animals were still inside, which was slightly unusual. But, considering there was going to be construction occurring outside, it was best to keep them out of the way.

The cows mooed, the horses neighed from their stalls and the pigs snorted around their pen. Combined together, they made the usual musky scent that proliferated the entirety of the structure.

"Good mornin'." He made sure to greet them all, especially Epona. When he stepped off the ladder and onto the ground, he said "I'm gonna make sure everybody gets their breakfast here in just a little while. First, I need to see what's happening outside."

Walking across the barn, he then exited the building through the smaller side door. After clearing his throat and swallowing remnants of his lover's saliva, the boy made it outside onto the pathway which separated the barn from the farmhouse. Turning right, he immediately spotted Talon standing at the end of the home. His cheeks still felt warm, but he made sure to quickly wipe his mouth before approaching to investigate what was going on.

"There ya are!" Talon was all smiles regardless of how early it was. He threw his arms out as he made his way toward the hero of his daughter. The moment they met, he grabbed the boy and pulled him into a backbreaking bearhug. "Good mornin' to ya, son!"

Link was happy to see the man as well. Yet, with his feet off the ground, his innards being squished by the aggressive embrace and cheek firmly pressed to Talon's stubbly cheek, he could barely breathe. All the blood was rushing to his face from the force being applied to him. He had no choice other than to rapidly tap the hefty farmer on the shoulder in advance of pleading for his life. "M-Mr. Talon… I-... I can't breathe!"

Talon swiftly let go of the boy, accidentally dropping him to the ground. "Oops! Sorry!" He laughed heartily before saying "I'm just so happy ta see ya both back 'ere!"

Link got up and rubbed his sore butt from where he hit the ground, then he stretched his back from being squeezed so hard during the bearhug. "It's okay. I understand." He grunted when his spine made a popping sound. "What were you saying to me when I was up in my room? You were doing something for me?"

"That's right." Talon chuckled in advance of beckoning the boy with a few waves of the hand. "Come on, follow me."

Walking around the farmhouse, they came to the backside where the well and wash basin was located. Here, they saw where the wagon had parked against the wall of the plateau. The old man in robes was staring up at the top of the farmhouse while the two accompanying young adults were in the process of unpacking numerous items of cargo.

"Who are these people?" Link inquired.

"That's Mr. Ebertson." Talon informed the boy as they approached the team. "He's a master mason an' ain't shabby at carpentry either. I didn't git ther' names, but the two guys are his apprentices."

Link furrowed his brow as he watched the men take a ladder off the side of the wagon. "What are they doing here?"

"They're 'ere ta build an add-on ta the farmhouse." The farmer replied.

"What do you mean?" Link continued to be confused. "What's an add-on?"

Talon placed his hand on his adopted son's shoulder. "An addition. They're gonna make 'nother room upstairs."

Standing there merely blinking from the befuddlement, Link craned his neck to look up at the heavyset farmer. "You needed more room?"

Chuckling loudly, Talon used his free hand to comb through his mutton chops. He found it amusing how unaware the hero was of the situation. Nonetheless, that was a good thing as it meant it would be a great surprise gift. For the time being, the man was so joyful this morning that he kept explaining in a way that should be vague enough for the boy to understand. "Yeah, I fig'ered we needed 'nother bedroom."

"Another bedroom?" Link curiously raised his left eyebrow. At first, he wasn't sure why they needed such a thing. He also wondered how much it cost. However, it soon dawned on him that the only reason they would need another bedroom is to have a permanent place for him to stay. Then again, he wasn't really sure the farmer would go through such trouble and didn't want to embarrass himself by suggesting such a thing either. Because of that, he decided to gather a bit more information before making judgment. "Why do you need another bedroom?"

"Ain't it obvious? For wayward vagrants." Talon joked around, stifling his laughter while hiding his smile behind his bushy mustache.

Link shook his head and his mouth fell open from being utterly baffled. "What?"

"Yeah. Wayward vagrants." Talon pulled the boy closer to him as he kept teasing him. "I'm thinkin' of turnin' the farmhouse inta a tavern. Gittin' the drifters headin to an' from Lake Hylia oughta' turn us a nice profit."

"You've got to be kidding me." Link scratched the top of his head. He was in awe that such an odd decision had been made in regards to how the ranch functioned, but also significantly let down that the new addition wasn't going to be for him. Unfortunately, he couldn't express his disappointment either since he didn't feel as if it was his place.

Talon wrapped his arm around Link's shoulder and playfully shook him. He bursted into laughter as he was no longer able to contain his humour. Now that he had jested, he ended the joke. "Yes! I'm just kiddin' ya, son!" After more voracious laughter, he revealed the truth to the oblivious lad. "The bedroom's gonna be for you!"

Link's mouth stayed ajar although his eyes did widen from the unexpected answer. He was definitely stunned at the revelation. Not only that, he was also relieved that he didn't get pissy about the joke because doing so would've really made him look bad. But, there remained a part of him that wanted to make sure the farmer was being serious. "Nu-uh. You're still joking, right?"

"Nah, I ain't jokin' no more." Talon was quick to verify. "I'm bein' honest this time." He kept the boy in a one-armed embrace as he explained why he was doing this. "Not only should ya git a reward for pullin' off the impossible by defeatin' them bandits, ya deserve it after all ya done for me an' my daugh'er. Ya deserve everythin', the whole world for keepin' Malon safe."

"Mr. Talon-..." Link tried to stay calm as he interjected. "You didn't haven't to do this for me. It must've cost you an arm and a leg to hire these people and get all the supplies!"

Talon shook his head, insisting on giving the boy the massive present. "I did hafta' do this for ya. Not only did ya rescue Malon from gettin' kidnapped, yer' her boyfrien' an' ya've been a valuable member to the ranch. At this point, yer' like the son I ain't ever had. There ain't no way I'm leavin' ya to sleep in that ol' barn any longer."

For the next couple of minutes, Link stood next to the elated farmer while silently watching the crew do their work. Although the old master mason hadn't pulled his gaze from the top of the house, the two young adults were occupied setting up the construction equipment. The first thing they did was cooperate in order to carry the tall ladder over to the farmhouse prior to leaning it against the wall. Its height was enough to reach a few feet above the top of the roof. Following that, they put on gloves before gathering sledge hammers for demolition as well as a giant pair of pliers and a large pry bar for removing nails.

Mr. Ebertson eventually looked away from the top of the house, having completed his initial outside assessment of the structure. He just needed to inspect the inside before he could proceed with the first steps. On the other hand, the moment he spotted Link, he smiled while approaching to greet him. "Good morning, lad. So you're the one who rescued Mr. Talon's daughter? Very impressive." His voice was rather wheezy, yet he was in a good mood. "Has he explained what we're here to do today?"

"Good morning." Link returned the greeting prior to answering the question. "All I know is that you're adding a new room to the farmhouse."

"Yes, exactly." Mr. Ebertson confirmed. "It's not an easy task though. There's a ton of work to do, a lot of which is complicated. We might not even finish today. But, I promise you that, by the time we finish, we'll have it looking seamless with the original structure."

Link, still stunned from everything, babbled a bit. "I… I can't believe this is happening. You're really building a room just for me?"

"A'course!" Talon ruffled the boy's golden blonde hair. "Like I said, ya really do deserve it!"

"B-But, the cost…" Link felt uncomfortable at causing the man to spend so much of his hard earned rupees whenever he would've been fine living in the loft or maybe moving to the shed.

Talon gave a stern look, completely changing from his ecstatic behaviour in order to say "Now, don't ya go worryin' 'bout how much it cost, an' I mean it. This is a gift from me ta you." As quickly as it vanished, his smile returned alongside with happiness. However, there was also a hint of pride in his eyes from being so immensely proud of the young hylian. "I love ya, son."

"I-..." Link didn't expect an emotional reaction, but tears gradually welled up in the corners of his eyes. He was overjoyed to feel such genuine platonic love from his adoptive father. It meant everything to have a good-hearted and nurturing parental figure, not to mention one capable of doing such gracious things. Because of the powerful feelings of appreciation he felt, it wasn't any wonder he had tears of joy building-up. "I love you too, Mr. Talon."

Wiping the tears out of his eyes, the boy smiled and chuckled softly. "This is-... This is awesome! I'm gonna have my own room!"

"Yer' gonna be a real Lon now!" Talon laughed.

"Link Lon?" The hero smiled and laughed with the farmer. "I'll have to get used to that."

Interrupting the conversation, one of the apprentices came up to the master mason to ask a question. He had freckles, a pencil-thin mustache and short brown hair. The overalls he wore looked slightly too big for him, but was tied with several belts to keep them from falling down. "Mr. Ebertson, sir. I'm sorry to interrupt, but should we begin removing the shingles?"

"Not yet, not yet." Mr. Ebertson replied. "I need to go inside and inspect the ceiling."

The boy was curious about how they were going to build an add-on to the top story of the farmhouse, so he decided to ask while he had the chance to do so. "How are you going to make the room?"

"Like I said, it's not going to be easy." The master mason elaborated on his plans. "First thing we're going to do is take the roof off the top story because we'll have to rebuild it afterwards to match the new length of the walls. We'll remove the shingles, the wooden laths beneath and all the nails holding them to the rafter." He pointed up at the roof of the farmhouse as he flawlessly explained what he was going to do. "When that's done, we'll knock out the far wall so that we can extend it about ten feet further and do some interior work to make it a separate room. Once we've done all of that, it's just a matter of reassembling as well as extending the roof to cover the new area." Clapping his hands together, he smiled. "Finally we'll apply stucco to the outside so it looks like the rest of the house."

Link was taken aback at the amount of work required. He definitely found himself wondering again about how much it must've cost the farmer to have such a thing done. "Wow, that's a lot."

"All in a day's work, lad." Mr. Ebertson cracked his neck and fingers in preparation for the work he was going to do. "Besides, someone has to watch over these bozos or they'll wind up nailing the door to the floor again."

"Once!" The other apprentice groaned at the obvious call-out. "I only did that once! You're never going to let me live it down, are you!?"

Mr. Ebertson laughed a bit in advance of turning to the farmer. Since he needed inside and didn't want to waltz in without permission, he waited for the owner to lead the way. "Let's go ahead and get started. Mr. Talon, can you lead me upstairs? I want to make sure the ceiling isn't attached by any unconventional method."

"Sure thin'." Talon nodded vigorously prior to making his way toward the backdoor of the farmhouse. Link and Mr. Ebertson followed behind him, stopping as the heavyset man opened the door. He waved them both inside prior to playfully announcing "Welcome ta my 'umble 'bode. She's 'bout a cozy of a cottage as cozy can git."

Regardless of the fact that it was fairly quiet since it was early, as soon as the door swung open, the trio was met with the scrumptious smell of eggs sizzling over the warm fireplace. The undertone of fresh toast and floury gravy also proliferated throughout the house. A sleepy-eyed Ingo yawned as he stood by a cooking pot to continuously stir its bubbling contents. Knowing that breakfast was being made had them all thinking about yummy food. Link even found himself salivating and his stomach growling. Were it not for the excitement of getting his own room built, he would've had to sneak a piece of toast. Fortunately, he fended off his appetite so that he could keep up with Talon and Ebertson.

"Good mornin'." Ingo greeted them along with another yawn. "Breakfast is on the way. I made enough for everyone."

"Good morning." Link and Mr. Ebertson replied in unison.

"I hope you don't mind the noise." Mr. Ebertson continued. "There's going to be a lot of it."

Ingo shrugged as he stirred the scrambled eggs with a spatula. "I'll be alright."

As the trio made their way to the staircase that led to the second story, they saw Malon standing on the top step. Neither of the adults were aware that she had already been up for several hours. Plus, she did a good job of pretending to have just woken up.

She rubbed her eyes while faking a dramatic yawn. Following a big stretch of her arms, she asked "What's going on?"

Talon was quick to greet his daughter with outstretched arms, hugging her. "Good mornin', pum'kin! Sorry ta wake ya up. I know ya wanted ta rest longer after all ya been through, but some folks are 'ere ta do work on the farmhouse."

"What work?" Malon pondered, indicating that she wasn't aware of the plans either. She was just as clueless as her boyfriend had been.

Talon pointed back at the old man prior to explaining. "Mr. Ebertson 'ere is a master mason. He's gonna add a new room ta the second level."

"We needed another room?" Malon cocked her head to the side as she looked back-and-forth between her father, Link and the master mason. "For what?" Her shoulders sunk as she speculated what the extra space was going to be used for. "Don't tell me you're really going to turn the place into a tavern for extra rupees."

The heavyset farmer chortled at the notion. "That's what I said ta tease Link!" After more laughter, he revealed the truth. "No, I ain't gonna do that. The new room's gonna be for ya boyfriend!"

"What?" Malon was simply stunned. "W-Wait, really?! He's going to live in the house with us?!"

"Yeppers!" Talon confirmed with a chippy attitude. "He ain't stayin' in that loft 'nother night. After all he's done did for us, as the newest member of the family, he deserves to git a real bedroom and not be smellin' animal farts when tryin' ta relax." A smirk came to his mutton-chopped face. He lifted his eyebrows a few times and even winked in advance of saying "Don't be gettin' too 'cited though, because Ingo's room'll be in-between ya'lls."

"Daddy!" Malon pouted with lightly flushed cheeks in response to his insinuation. "What are you trying to say?!"

Talon brushed past the embarrassed farmgirl, proceeding to the second story as he kept teasing. "I'm sayin' no hanky-panky."

Mr. Ebertson covered his mouth as he stifled laughter. The situation was amusing, yet it also caused him to reminisce about his youth while ascending the stairs with the farmer. "Ah, I remember my first love. T'was with the girl who lived across the street from me when I was younger. She was twice my height and had the longest pigtails I've ever seen." Regardless of it being an event that occurred a long time ago, the old man blushed lightly as he kept holding back a fit of laughter. "The first time we kissed, I had to stand on my tippy-toes!"

Both adults started cackling. Talon added to the quickly maturing conversation by mentioning the type of women he was drawn to. "I tell ya, I always had me a thin' for women with red hair. My first few dates were with hylians an' even a human, but soon as I met Malon's mother, I knew I was destin' ta be with a gerudo." His laughter turned into nervous chuckling as he too recalled his younger days. "By Nayru, Ther'-... uhh… Ther' so flexible in bed!"

"Daddy!" Malon covered her ears as she stuck her tongue out in disgust. "Stop! I don't want to hear any more about you and mom!"

"Right, right." Talon snuffled as he turned around after stepping off the top stair. "How 'bout ya go 'head an' set the table? I'm pretty sure breakfast'll be ready 'fore ya know it." Crossing his arms, he got his humour under control. "I'm just gonna show Mr. Ebertson the upstairs ceilin' so he can git started on the work."

"Should I change my clothes first if they're going to be taking the roof off?" Malon enquired in confusion.

Mr. Ebertson shook his head as he stopped at the top step. "You'll have plenty of time to get dressed. It's going to take us a while to get the shingles off before we can remove the raths."

She watched as the master mason and her father went around the corner of the second story. Once they were out of sight, she turned to Link and pulled him into an embrace that nearly rivaled the bear hug the boy had received from the farmer. Her smile was extra wide as she gleefully exclaimed "I can't believe it! You're getting a room!"

Link smiled and laughed happily while returning the hug. He was just as excited as she was, maybe even more-so. "My own place; one that doesn't smell like butt, doesn't creak every step I make and doesn't get too hot or too cold!" Although he was slightly kidding, he really was overjoyed to have an official place to call his own. "It means so much that your dad did this for me. He's making me a home outside of the Kokiri Village, out here in the real world with the other hylians."

"Where you belong." Malon kissed his cheek, then held his hands.

He entwined his fingers with hers as he kept his smile, repeating after her as confirmation. "Where I belong."

Now that they were reunited, even while standing on the staircase, the two young lovers spent a moment gazing longingly into each other's eyes. They were thrilled to now be living under the same roof. Both of them were so glad, they didn't even mind whatever restrictions they had to endure. It had to be worth it if it meant that they were going to be closer than they were beforehand. Seeing where this fateful course was headed to made them feel more-and-more like they were made for one another.

"Alright, you two." Ingo interrupted as he stared at them through the balusters. "Come sit down. The eggs are ready."

Link kissed his girlfriend on the lips before walking down the stairs hand-in-hand.

Malon returned the kiss and then snickered prior to whispering to her boyfriend. "How did I do? Did I sneak back into my bedroom like an agile sheikah?"

"You did great." He smirked at her cockiness. "I didn't know you had a skill in sneaking."

"You've still got a lot to learn about me." She winked and playfully stuck her tongue out.

After descending the staircase, the two twin flames separated from one another in order to get the table set for preparation. Malon retrieved and then laid out four cloth napkins in addition to four cast iron forks. Link gathered some cups, but since the orange juice hadn't been made, he decided to help out by slicing the fruit in half and squeezing them. In the meantime, Ingo proceeded to scrape the fluffy scrambled eggs out of the frying pan and onto a wooden serving plate.

Link made sure each of the cups had an equal amount of orange juice in them. Malon laid out plates for everyone to eat off of. Once the eggs were on the table, Ingo collected the toast and went around placing a slice on everyone's plate. Now all that was left to do was to get the flour gravy.

The hero gave everyone a cup of orange juice and then he sat down in the chair next to the farmgirl. Smelling the steam drifting off the delicious food was driving him crazy. Were it not for his manners, he would've already started digging into the eggs. Instead, he satiated himself by taking a swig of the orange juice and then distracted himself by staring at Malon. Her beautiful smile absolutely melted his heart, not to mention how glad he was to see her in a good mood after what she had just recently gone through. Since it made her so happy, the add-on to the farmhouse was as much for her as it was for him.

"When did Daddy hire this guy?" She asked aloud, receiving a reply from Ingo.

"Yesterday afternoon when he dropped Russel, the fisherman, off at Castle Town." The farmhand explained. "He saw the guy working on a building right outside The Market. When he told me, I thought it was a good idea, so I agreed to put forth a few thousand rupees."

Link almost choked on his orange juice from the shock upon hearing the price. "A few thousand rupees?! How much did this cost?!"

"Don't worry about that. I've already said enough." Ingo refused to answer the question. "You deserve it."

.

.

[Time: 2:15 P.M. (Afternoon)]

.

"They've already got the new wall up. I mean, seriously, to have such a skill is amazing." Link was busy working on de-mucking Epona's stall. He spoke to Malon in the meantime, referring to the master mason and the two apprentices too.

Aside from the pigs, it was only the two kids who were there, both of which were doing daily chores. All the horses as well as the cows were outside, but locked in the corral in order to keep them from interfering with the workers. "Being able to construct buildings and houses has got to be an invaluable ability. Not to mention, the pay must be fantastic." He used a pitchfork to toss some soiled hay into a wheelbarrow. "I just think it would get awfully boring to do nothing other than lay brick after brick. I'd really miss working with animals."

Malon giggled lightly as she laid down fresh hay in the stall next to her boyfriend. "That's because you're an animal lover like me. We treat them like family, so they're drawn to us."

"Plus, I'd miss being with you." He added. "I'd miss you every time I had to travel to another job."

She rolled her eyes in advance of teasing him. "You go on adventures all the time. What's the difference between that and going away on a job?"

"I don't know-..." Link said before saving himself with a suave reply. "What I do know is that I can't get you off my mind whenever we're apart."

"Aww!" She appreciated hearing such a thing.

For the next ten minutes, they finished up what chores they had remaining. Epona's stall was the final stall of the day that needed to be cleaned out, so once a layer of hay was laid down in it, the barn was fresh for another day. The next step was to refill the trough as well as replacing the feed buckets. Working together, they had it done in no time at all. Link scooped grain from a burlap bag and then filled the buckets with it. Malon went out and pulled two buckets of water from the well in advance of returning to pour them into the empty trough.

"I guess I should get my stuff, huh?" Link asked as they finished up.

Malon looked at him curiously as she tied the burlap bag shut. "What do you mean?"

"My stuff from the loft-..." Link clarified. "My shield, bow, the Ocarina of Time and all my clothes."

"Oh yeah!" She giggled.

Link started heading for the ladder that led up to the loft. He was hoping it would be one of the last few times he'd ever have to go up there again. "Though, I think I'm going to have to wait until we go to Castle Town again before I can buy a bed frame or a mattress."

"Maybe I could convince Daddy to let you sleep with me?" Malon watched her boyfriend walk to the ladder.

He playfully scoffed in response to her query. "No way he'd ever go for that!"

"Yeah, you're probably right." She giggled as she joked. "He'd probably stick you with Ingo."

Link rolled his eyes at such a thought. "Uh, no thanks! I'll just lay on my bear pelt."

"I had a feeling!" Whenever she saw him grab ahold of the third rung of the ladder, she moved on to her next task. She made sure to mention where she was going to be, in case he went looking for her. "Anyway, I'll be outside watching the horses and cows."

"Okay. I'll be out there in just a bit." Link acknowledged in advance of ascending the ladder to the loft of the barn.

Coming to the top of the ladder, he entered his newly labeled 'old room'. He stopped for just a minute in order to take in the sight, the memories of the small area he'd slept in for three-quarters of a year now. A smile crept upon his face as he recalled the first time he slept there. From an outside perspective, it might've appeared odd that he was appreciative to have had such a cramped space. Nonetheless, he looked at it in a different way. To him, it was his first step towards being a real hylian.

After a few minutes, he snapped out of his daze and got to work collecting his stuff. His sword was already sheathed on his hip, so he grabbed his shield out of the corner and slung it around his shoulder. Upon opening his cedar chest, he rummaged around in the contents, grabbing a few loose rupees, his boomerang, a single deku nut, an entire bag of deku seeds as well as his fairy slingshot.

There were still several things left behind, but he'd have to return later in order to collect the rest of his important possessions; his bow, quiver and clothing. Besides them, he'd probably also take the bear pelt, chair and nightstand too. Since his new room would be bare, he'd take everything here that wasn't nailed down, that way he'd have at least a few necessary items of furniture.

"Link." A familiar girl's voice called out.

The hero's left ear twitched in response to hearing his name. For a split second, he believed it was Malon. However, he knew that wasn't her voice, it couldn't be her voice because she was outside in the corral. Thus, when he turned to investigate, he was taken aback by who he saw sitting in the small window of the loft. "F-Fado?!"

In spite of the long-standing rumour that a kokiri could never leave the Forbidden Forest, there she was. The puffy blonde haired girl was here at Lon Lon Ranch all by herself.

She smiled whenever he saw her. Acting casual, she asked "What'cha doing?"

"What am I doing?" Link stared at the girl with furrowed eyebrows and a befuddled expression plastered on his face. He was in disbelief that she was there and confounded by why she would be asking him such a simple question, as if everything was normal. "What am I doing?!" Repeating after her, he raised his voice a bit from the shock. "What are YOU doing?! How did you manage to leave Kokiri Village?!" Suddenly he unleashed a barrage of inquiries on her. "Is something wrong?! Where's your fairy?! Does the Deku Sprout know you're here?! Is Saria okay?!"

Placing her index finger to her lips, the kokiri gestured for him to shush in advance of saying "Shh. Keep your voice down. I can't stay for long, so I don't want anybody other than you to know that I'm here."

"How are you here? Why-... Why are you here?" Link lowered his voice, but kept asking the same question since he hadn't received an answer.

Fado hopped down from the small loft window. However, an unnatural gust of wind swirled around her legs, helping her to land gracefully as well as quietly. She straightened her tunic without answering. The first thing she did was give him a big hug, not only because it had been a while since they had last seen one another, but also out of the great concern she had for him. "The Mailman told us about what happened to you and Malon, how she was kidnapped and you had to save her. We were going to write you another letter, but I figured I'd come see you in person instead. Tell me, how are you holding up?"

"I-..." Link stuttered as he was still taken aback by seeing the kokiri girl standing there before him. Even though he didn't want to talk about the stress he'd felt, having someone who has been there ever since he was born, someone who's always been there for him, he found himself taking the liberty to unveil his true feelings. Wrapping his arms around his friend, he told her "I… I'm scared, Fado."

Fado squeezed him softly as they hugged. When she pulled back to look at him, she smiled prior to giving encouragement. "Scared? You're Link, Hero of the Kokiri. You're the bravest person I've ever met. What could you possibly be scared of?"

"You don't understand." He sighed despondently as he stared sadly at the worried blonde forest girl. "It's not that I'm scared for me, I'm scared for Malon. Things aren't like they were when I first came here. Our whole dynamic has changed since you and I last spoke. She and I are in a romantic relationship now." Although it was important to the topic, it was slightly awkward to plainly state such an obvious thing to her. "I thought she'd be safe since I completed the mission the Great Deku Tree gave me. But, I was wrong. There's still people out to get me and I can't bear the thought of seeing her getting kidnapped, or assaulted by bad people, people who want to use her so they can get to me!"

Fado lips pulled to the side as she contemplated what she was hearing. Since he wasn't aware of her newfound relationship with Saria, she got why he thought she wouldn't understand him. Nonetheless, she knew she had to think of a way to console him. "If there's anyone who can protect her, it's you."

Link groaned. "Fado, they're targeting her BECAUSE of me. She never would've been kidnapped if it wasn't for who she was and what she means to me. Just being with her puts her in danger!"

Fado wasn't really the best person to give advice pertaining to the subject of love. On the other hand, her recent experience with Saria provided her with the valuable insight needed to at least form a truthful response. After the wild adventure her and the green-haired kokiri girl went on into the Farolittoral Pit Cave and the Woodwind Temple, she understood how it felt to worry about the safety of a loved one. Then again, she also knew that security could be a team effort. "You're acting like you're out of options whenever I can see plenty of them clearly laid out before you."

"I know I'm not out of options, but I'm still scared for her safety." Link explained further.

"Malon's not a pushover." The kokiri girl admired the hylian girl's tenacity in spite of her normal upbringing. "She's rough around the edges, but if you taught her a fraction of the things you know, she'll be more than capable of defending herself from here on out."

Link looked away to contemplate the matter again, more than he already had been. He chuckled a bit since she mentioned such a thing. After having been brought up numerous times now, it made him feel as if the divines were trying to hint to him what he needed to do. "It's kind of funny you say that. She actually wants me to teach her and I've been thinking about doing it, especially after what just happened."

"Then what's the hold up, lover boy?" Fado lightly poked him in the center of his torso.

"Okay, okay!" He chuckled more and even smiled softly as he started to cheer up. It made sense that he'd feel better once he set things into motion. However, for the time being, he just needed to let the farmgirl recover from the trauma. "I'll teach her the basics as soon as she rests up from this awful ordeal."

"Good." She smiled, leaned forward and kissed his forehead. "And seriously, I'm really glad to hear that you're okay.

Link felt his cheeks blush lightly from the kokiri's kiss. Except, he wasn't satisfied with that gentle display of platonic affection. He hugged her for a second time as he started getting excited she was actually there at Lon Lon Ranch. "That's enough about me. You haven't answered a single question that I've asked you." While giving her a friendly squeeze, he subconsciously noted how much more muscular she'd become since they last hung out. Upon letting go, he said "I mean, this is amazing. Don't you think I deserve to know how this happened?"

For a moment, Fado was hesitant. She didn't want to talk about anything that she shouldn't be, nor did she want to spend too much time and risk getting seen. Nonetheless, she soon chose to open up to him since he wasn't an average person; he was a champion fated by the goddesses. If there was anybody she should feel safe communicating with, it would definitely be someone like him. "You're right. You do deserve answers."

"While you've been gone, a lot of crazy stuff has happened, things that you might want to know about." Moving out from in front of the window to avoid being seen, she continued talking, explaining her other reason for being there so unexpectedly. "Like I said earlier, Saria wrote you a letter and gave it to The Mailman; I'm presuming you got it. She was hoping you'd come back to the village so we could talk about it. But, after I learned about all you and Malon had just gone though, I decided to come visit you instead."

"I did get it." Link confirmed. "I planned on heading there, but-... Yeah. Like you said. Stuff happened." He sighed as he leaned against the doorframe. It upset him to know that all his plans had been interrupted by Ganondorf's lackeys. Fortunately, he stayed focused on the issue at hand and not fretting over an event that had already occurred. "What kind of 'crazy stuff' are you talking about?"

"Something I discovered when I ventured out into the Lost Woods." She replied.

Link eyed her suspiciously. "You went into the Lost Woods? Why?"

He was concerned. However, he also recalled the journey he spent in the future timeline. When he time traveled seven years ahead, although she didn't recognize him as an adult, he saw the kokiri girl hanging out in the Lost Woods, acting as if it were a playground. This alone should have been a giant hint that she wasn't a normal child of the Great Deku Tree. Adding together the other clues; how she was the bravest of her kind, how she had no fear of the unknown and even enjoyed target practice, it was obvious there was more to her than met the eye.

"I-..." Fado staggered as she formulated a proper response, one free of lies or cover stories. "I was bored. I got tired of all the stuff the others do, the same old stuff every day." Her lips frowned as her eyebrows sullenly sunk. "The fun wasn't fun to me anymore." Turning her head, she glanced out the loft window, watching Malon, who was whistling as she brushed one of the horses. "I wanted more of a challenge. I wanted to explore new places and do new things."

"But, the Lost Woods?" Link made a concerned face. "Surely you could find somewhere else that's challenging."

Fado shook her head in denial. "I've been everywhere and done everything the Forbidden Forest has to offer." She sighed loudly as she described the monotony of kokiri life. "Getting up, playing, doing chores, playing again, eating, playing more and then sleeping. That's all I did. I couldn't take another day of the same thing." Motioning toward the bandolier that was wrapped around her chest, she said "That's part of the reason why I took up target practice and started hunting."

"Hunting? You?" Link stared at her in befuddlement.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah-..." Fado waved away his worries. "I've already heard it from Saria and the Deku Sprout, I don't need to hear it from you too."

Link took a deep breath, blinking as he took in the odd information. "Okay. So-... You've been going into the Lost Woods just to hunt?"

"Well-..." Fado looked away as she anxiously rubbed the back of her neck. In spite of remaining a tad hesitant, the time had come for her to start sharing the big secrets. "I also enjoyed exploring." She nervously tapped her index fingers together. "Even though most of them have already been picked clean, I especially love venturing into old ruins. The Sacred Grove was awesome! Absolutely dangerous, but awesome!"

"Fado…" He lamented, not liking the thought of the girl being so close to such a bad place.

Without letting him interject, the kokiri girl kept speaking. "I explored the entirety of the Forest Temple. Yet, it's what I found there that's probably of interest to you." Pulling her leather bag around to the front of her, she opened it, reached inside and then retrieved a particular circular green medallion. She held it out for him to see.

Link's demeanor changed upon seeing the ancient relic. Although he didn't go pale, he was visibly disturbed by its presence. His upper-lip twitched and a bead of sweat formed on his forehead. Reaching out with his hand, he gently took the antique metal in order to examine it. "The Forest Medallion?"

Fado was about to explain where in the Forest Temple she found it whenever she caught what he said. Hearing what he called it confused her because she knew the object as the Wind Medallion. "What? No, it's the Wind Medallion."

The hero narrowed his eyes as he continued to examine the object. "Fado, I know exactly what this is from my adventures. It was in the Forest Temple because it's the Forest Medallion."

"No, I-..." Again, she was about to respond. However, he brought up a good point. Were it not for everything she'd seen it do, the wind-related powers it held, she likely would've given in and accepted what he was saying as the truth. Fortunately, she had no issue arguing. "I found it in the Forest Temple, but it's the Wind Medallion. Look at it, look at the symbol on the front." She pointed to the engraved picture. "These swirls are meant to resemble the blades of a windmill."

"That's just your interp-..." He tried to assert his opinion prior to her talking over him.

"It led me places." She revealed. "It has some sort of supernatural allure that made me want to follow it."

Link's eyes slowly moved side-to-side as he pondered how and why such a thing was happening. None of it made sense. He still struggled to believe the relic was called the 'Wind Medallion' since he quite vividly recalled it being used by Saria, the Forest Sage, during the events of the future timeline. Regardless, his curiosity was piqued. "What do you mean? Where was it compelling you to go?"

"The Lost Woods." She stated rather bluntly.

All of a sudden, she thought about another important matter. She didn't want to go off-topic, but figured it was relevant to the conversation. "I made it to this small clearing with a fallen log. I probably couldn't find the place again if I tried; that's not the point though. The point is that there was something else out there with me, something aside from wolfos and Skull Kids." The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as she recalled the spooky encounter. "Something evil. It surrounded me with threatening chuckles. I didn't get a good look at it, only seeing glimpses of a shadowy being."

"Shadowy being." Now was when Link's face turned pale. Regardless of the fact that he hadn't contemplated the malevolent entity much ever since he defeated it, the realization hit him like a ton of bricks that it was who she was referring to.

"No-..." He grumbled as he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration and annoyance. "No, no, no! It can't be!" Taking his shield off, he laid it pressed against the doorway. "Dark Link?" His upper-lip curled in disgust in advance of him feigning a dry heave. "Just saying such a stupid name makes me want to gag!" Slamming his fist against the wall, he grumbled. "Ughh! I thought I got rid of him!"

Fado held up her hands as she calmed him down. "Easy there. I'm not positive it was him." Pointing at the medallion, she resumed. "All I know is that it wanted to hurt me. It just didn't get the chance to do so before the Wind Medallion rescued me."

"I don't understand-..." He sighed again, growing ever more frustrated. "How could the medallion have saved you?"

"It transported me." She told him the short version in advance of elaborating. "It created this enormous gust of wind that swirled around me. At first, I thought it was the doing of Dark Link. Were it not for the Wind Medallion glowing in my hands, I would've still thought that." Drawing her finger around in a circle, she showed him how the wind circulated. "Before I knew it, the wind encapsulated me like a cloud. I couldn't see what was happening, yet I knew I was being lifted up because I could feel my feet coming off the ground." She shrugged as she tried to think of how long it took. "I was probably in it for about three minutes whenever there was this bright flash. Then, the wind dissipated."

"Once I could see my surroundings, I saw that I'd been transported to an unknown ruin in the middle of nowhere." The kokiri kept debriefing the hylian boy. "I was left in this sort of marbled gazebo. Who knows who built it, maybe humans or an unknown race." Pointing at the medallion again prior to the floor, she said "It took me a while to realize I was standing on top of a floor mosaic with the same symbol that's on the Wind Medallion."

Link was about to open his mouth, but decided to keep listening instead.

"I'm telling you, it guided me, Link." She reiterated. "It made another gust of wind that parted the grass in a very particular way, like it was beckoning me to travel there." Before he could say anything about it, she made sure he understood how clear it was. "I know you're probably thinking it was just a gale. It wasn't. It was more than a natural breeze. It perfectly followed an overgrown path that led all the way to a cave."

"What cave?" Link asked.

Fado stepped closer to him and leaned forward as she smirked. "Ever heard of Farolittoral Pit Cave?"

Link shook his head as he stared at her. "Uhh. It doesn't ring a bell." He narrowed his eyes as he thought more about it. "How do you know that's what it was called?"

"Because it had a plaque on it." She responded. "That's how I learned I was bordering on the Faron Region." For a moment, she just stared at the green metal. Her mouth fell open a bit while her pupils contracted to pinpoints. When she snapped out of the enchantment, she scoffed. "I had to have been transported. I couldn't have gone from the Lost Woods to the Faron Woods in under thirty minutes. It's just not possible."

Link placed his index finger to his lip as he pondered the scenario. Pointing at the image on the medallion, he asked "And you said the marble structure you arrived in had a tile mosaic of this image?"

"Yeah." She nodded in confirmation. "It was old and broken, but definitely the same image."

The hero chewed on his lower-lip for a moment as he speculated the possibilities. "It sounds like a warp pad."

"A what?" Fado cocked her head.

"A warp pad." Link explained in detail. "It's a platform, a predetermined location that's connected to a special, usually magical object. When the object is activated, it teleports the user to the pad." He chuckled exceedingly lightly. "I've used a few before. I just didn't know there was another one out at the edge of the Forbidden Forest."

He proceeded to stare at the medallion in the blonde kokiri girl's hands. No matter everything that he had heard thus far, he still didn't fully believe the relic was the 'Wind Medallion' and not the 'Forest Medallion'. The memories he had of it belonging to Saria, the Forest Sage, solidified his belief that she was misnaming it. Nevertheless, it was utterly intriguing to him that the ancient hunk of metal was generating wind as he had never known one of them to hold any special powers aside from amplifying energy.

"The question is why it took you there." The boy decided to focus on what was important. "I've always assumed the artifact as well as the respective warp pad couldn't be accessed by-..." He stopped for just a moment in order to reword what he was going to say. "Not necessarily 'normal' people, but people who don't have anything to do with it."

Fado's lips quickly curled into a smile. Of course she wanted to reveal to him that she had discovered she was a Sage, which was the obvious reason the medallion responded to her. Yet, she held back. For the time being, she simply wanted him to know what she experienced as she experienced it. "Oh, there's definitely a reason. Keep listening to me and you'll find out. I certainly didn't stop in front of the cave and turn around."

"No-..." He was surprised to hear. "You went inside? Fado, it's dangerous to go waltzing into a weird cave! What if there was a cave bear in there!"

"There wasn't a cave bear." She giggled. "And, you sound like Saria, Tessl and Laila."

Link's blood ran cold upon hearing their names brought up so nonchalantly. He wasn't aware they were part of the expedition too. "They were there as well?!"

Fado started snickering at the hylian boy's response. "You're starting to sound like Dad. Are you getting old?"

Pouting at her lackadaisical attitude, he rolled his eyes, groaned and stuck his lips out. The mature side of him disapproved of the danger she put herself as well as the others in. On the other hand, the immature childish side found it slightly humorous that she was nearly as adventurous as he was. He chuckled even as he continued to reprimand her. "I have to admit that it's awesome you've become an explorer, it's just not cool to endanger others."

"Whoa-..." She held her hand up and shook her index finger side-to-side. "I didn't force them to come. They showed up on their own." Fidgeting a bit, she eventually walked over to the cedar chest, running her hand across the top in advance of sitting on it. "Apparently dad told Saria where I was and that she needed to meet up with me. So, if anything, it's dad's doing."

Link grew evermore confused. "Why?"

"Why what? Why would he send them?" Fado hung her head as she knew he was going to gripe more once she told him. "Because it was dangerous there. At the time, he wanted to bring me home."

As predicted, Link became disgruntled. "See?!"

"Hold on, hold on-..." She slowly kicked her feet back-and-forth while sitting atop the cedar chest. "Stow your judgement until the end."

Getting back to her story, she shortened it while still giving the gist of what happened in the Farolittoral Pit Cave. "I wasn't alone anymore. Now that Saria, Tessl and Laila had joined me, we ventured together through the cave. Same as before, the wind was acting as if it was my invisible guide. I don't know how, I just know that it was there, no matter how deep underground we went."

"Because it led us in the correct direction, we didn't get lost." She calmly stated. "Not even when we came to a cavern with multiple passageways." She then said, kinda daring him to object to that. When he didn't, she carried on. "I finally figured out that the supernatural gale was coming from the 'Wind Medallion' whenever it defended us from a Colony of Keese. Right before the beasts surrounded us, it started glowing brightly again. This time it generated a massive upward gust that was strong enough to slam the creatures into the ceiling of the cavern." She huffed with a smile. "It kept giving clues to its real purpose. As soon as we were safe, it resumed leading us."

"To where?" Link had to ask.

Glaring at him for the interruption, she skipped to the answer. "A place called the Woodwind Temple."

He stared back at her as he tried to recall if he'd ever been to such a place. "Woodwind Temple? I've never heard of it."

"That's because you're not the Sage of Wind." Fado coyly asserted.

"What?" Link gasped, freezing up in shock. "W-What did you say?"

Fado smirked as she gave him a thumbs up. At the tip of her thumb, a small orb of spinning wind formed. With her other hand's middle finger, she flicked the ball at him. She giggled as the gentle display of magic merely blew his hair back. "I can control the wind now. How do you think I managed to get to that window? I certainly didn't jump that high."

"Did you just call yourself the Sage of Wind?" Link's hair settled, but he remained in a state of utter obfuscation.

"Hey, I didn't call myself that." She clarified. "I was given it by the previous Sage of Wind, who by the way, is still alive and training me now."

Link took a step back as he attempted to process what she was saying to him. He felt a dreadful feeling brewing within him, an intense sensation of anxiety he hadn't experienced since he was in either the future time-line or Termina. Not only was his pulse going up, his hands started shaking too. Regardless of the trouble he'd already dealt with up until now, being told about an additional sage he had never heard of left the impression that there was more to come of his heroic quest, that his purpose was far from over.

"Are you okay?" The kokiri girl asked after noticing his increase in sweat.

"Y-Yeah-..." He took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. "I just-... What makes you sure you're the Wind Sage?"

Fado rolled her eyes. "Are you kidding me?" However, she quickly reminded herself that it was natural for him to be hesitant. She herself was resistant to the idea and it was pertaining directly to her in a way that it wasn't for him. Considering that, she wrapped up her story. "Not only did the medallion teleport me, lead me through the woods as well as Farolittoral Pit Cave, it unlocked the Woodwind Temple. There was a lock that perfectly fit it."

Indecisive as he was, being told all of this new information, Link's mind was officially persuaded to begin changing opinion. Unfortunately, it still didn't make sense to him as to why the ancient artifact once acted as the Forest Medallion if it was truly the Wind Medallion. He didn't understand how it worked for Saria if it was the wrong key.

Either way, he remained curious. "What was inside this temple?"

"It was basically a giant petrified tree, whose top once stuck jutted up from the massive hole in the ceiling of the pit cave." Fado elaborated. "After I unlocked the door, we met this-... metal man, an automaton. It was weird how long it had been there. He wasn't really alive like us, but still moved around and talked. Apparently he'd been brought to life by magical energy."

She watched him as she kept explaining. "Once we asked the metal man all the questions we could think of, we figured out we needed to take the Wind Medallion to the top of the temple. We were told that was where a Sage of Wind was and that he could explain things better to us."

"Trust me, Link." She momentarily went off-topic. "I know how it is to worry about someone you love getting hurt." Her cheeks flushed lightly as she realized she chose the word love. Fortunately, it didn't appear that the hylian boy caught that. "Having Saria and the fairies with me, it was a real struggle to keep them safe from the Keese, Deku Baba and Tile Worms. Every time they almost got hurt, my heart felt like it was going to stop. You can't stop though, you just have to keep going. You can't give up because of them, you have to persevere because of them."

Directing the conversation back to her special trek, she revealed "At least you didn't have to protect Malon from a giant birdman."

Link did a double-take, his eyes widening at what he heard. "A what?!"

"Yeah, a birdman." Fado nodded. "It flew, chasing us into the temple. Then, as it remained outside, shot arrows at us from every available window."

"Well-..." Link scratched the side of his forehead. "I guess it makes sense a bird would be at a wind-themed temple. They can fly."

Crossing his arms, he wanted to reprimand the kokiri girl. Then again, he knew it wouldn't do much good since it was done and over with. Plus, it was incredibly impressive to know that she had gone so far and seen so much that he never even knew existed. Because of that, he let her keep talking.

She scoffed at his previous comment. "You're right. But, just wait. There's a surprise coming."

"Alright." Link replied.

"It took a while until we managed to reach the roof of the temple." The kokiri told him. "For a while, we were stuck directly underneath, on the last level. There was this enormous musical contraption called a 'Wind Violin' that we had to figure out how to play certain notes with in order to unlock a hatch that led to the rooftop." She smiled as she recalled the successful feeling she had upon completing the puzzle. "I have to say, whoever made that was a genius."

Her attitude abruptly dulled as she came near the conclusion of her saga in the Woodwind Temple. Although it did end with a pleasant finale, at the time it was actually happening, it was a relatively scary moment. Being tested, challenged for a mantle that she didn't even know belonged to her was incredibly tough. It forced her to use every useful skill she'd obtained throughout her life. Were it not for the satisfying payoff, it wouldn't have been worth it. Only due to the fact that it became obvious it was her destiny to be the Sage of Wind did she feel more comfortable accepting the role.

"What was at the top of the temple?" Link asked after Fado stalled out for a moment.

Snapping out of the daydream, the kokiri girl gave a sarcastic laugh at the irony of it all. "Nothing other than the birdman who chased us into the temple in the first place."

"What?!" Link smacked his hand to his forehead. "Of course."

"I know, right?" Fado giggled. "That's how I felt too."

"Well, what did you do?" He asked her.

Standing up from her seat on the top of the cedar chest, she went back over toward the window. Now that she'd been there a little while, she felt more comfortable that she wouldn't be seen by anybody. Glancing outside, she saw that Malon hadn't left the corral.

"I fought him." She responded to his inquiry. "Saria and the fairies helped, but it was mostly up to me." Revealing yet another secret, she hoped that he would figure things out following this revelation. "It turns out the birdman could talk. He told us that he was the Sage of Wind and that it was his duty to keep intruders out of the temple. I tried reasoning with him, showing him the medallion and explaining that we were told to come here, nonetheless it didn't work. He was too hostile to believe us."

Link held up his hand, palm flat, to let her know she needed to stop. "Wait-... The birdman is the previous Sage of Wind you were referring to earlier?"

"Yes." She kept her smile now that he was on track. "His name is Tolenli the Hawkeye and he's from a race of people known as the Rito."

"Rito? I've never heard of one." He shook his head.

She nodded in confirmation. "That's because he's one of the last of his kind."

"So, you had to fight him? Why? Couldn't he sense that you weren't bad, that you were his replacement?" The boy wondered.

Fado shrugged. "He didn't believe it. He thought it was a trick."

While looking at the giddy redheaded farmgirl, who was busy grooming the horses, she gradually saw the reason why Link was attracted to her. As a kokiri, Fado would never get any taller than she was now, nor would she get a budding body like a growing hylian girl. They were both growing up in a way she never would.

"Tolenli had been there for almost half a century." She answered him.

Not noticing where Fado was staring, Link chuckled at what she said instead. "Oh, so he was insane?"

That ticked the kokiri girl off. Although she never thought she'd stick up for the person who initially nearly killed her, after growing to know what a good guy Tolenli was, she didn't want him slandered. "No! He's a bit cranky, but he's still got his marbles-... Most of them."

"Most?" He caught on to her phrasing.

She nodded. "Yeah. He was alone for a long time and is dedicated to his purpose in life. You can't blame him if it made him a bit strange or lacking in people skills."

"I suppose that's true." Link eased up before asking "All it took was for you to defeat him?"

"Yes and no." She replied. "I beat him, but it wasn't until the Wind Medallion activated itself and re-energized us. I think that after he saw I was capable of such things, he was forced to admit that I was really who I said I was, that I meant no harm and was led there because it was my fate to do so." Remembering what happened after his defeat, she said "It was a song he played that made me aware I was the new Sage of Wind."

Motioning toward her hip, she explained further. "He had this tiny decorative violin on his hip which he used to play a song. He called it the 'Aria of Wind'. The song-... I don't really know how it did what it did. I just know it made me faint. When I woke up a few seconds later, I felt fully refreshed."

Turning around, she summoned another small orb of circulating air, which she then proceeded to launch at him with another flick of her finger. She giggled when it hit his nose and made him sneeze. He didn't find it humorous though, so she opted to show him a display of power in a different way. "Ever since then, I've been able to harness the wind at my command. My control of it has definitely improved too."

Jumping in place, she crossed her legs in mid-air. Instead of hitting the floor, a bigger orb of supernatural wind appeared beneath her, keeping her afloat. "Huh?" She smiled wide. "What do you think?"

"Be careful!" He winced as he watched her hover like a magical monk.

On que, the kokiri lost control of her powers. She pivoted like a spinning top in advance of being propelled backward. When she hit the wall, the orb of cyclonic air dissipated. However, she was nearly thrown through the loft window. "Crap!"

Link quickly grabbed onto Fado's waist, pulling her backward until they both fell onto the floor of the loft.

As she giggled over her amusing failure, Fado said "Okay, I'm still working on that one. But, hopefully you get the gist of what I'm saying."

Getting up off of the boy, she turned around and helped him up by offering her hand. During the time it took for him to get to his feet, she told him "I didn't want to believe it either until I had no choice. Now that my purpose has been awakened, I'm looking at it differently. I've decided that I'm going to dedicate myself to protecting the Forbidden Forest as a whole, not just the Woodwind Temple, but Kokiri Village and the Sacred Grove too."

"That's a noble cause." He chuckled as he lightly rubbed his side from where he fell. "Good thing is, I don't think the Kokiri Village is in any danger."

Fado's smile swiftly vanished after hearing what he said. She could be heard making an audible gulping sound as she tried to get rid of the lump forming in her throat. A cold sweat dripped from between her shoulder blades. Thinking about it, her story pertaining to the Woodwind Temple was far easier to tell than the next event she needed to inform him of. "Link-..."

Sensing her somberness, the hero furrowed his brows with a worried look in his eyes. "What is it?"

"That's kinda the final thing I wanted to talk to you about." She answered in a nervous voice.

"Tell me." He got slightly peeved by the unpleasant anticipation.

Returning to the window, she looked outside again. Seeing the redhead still occupied eased her concerns that she'd be seen anytime soon. Leaning against the frame, she then took a few seconds to summon the courage to talk about the awful incident. Even though she defended the village, she knew he was going to freak out once he learned what happened.

With a sigh, she told him. "Shortly after we returned to the village-..." She took a deep breath. "He showed up."

"Who?!" Link shook his head as he stared with narrowed eyes.

"Y-Your shadow." She responded meekly. "Dark Link."

Link placed his hand over his mouth in shock. Then, he dragged his hand up to cover his eyes and squeeze both temples at the same time. "Holy Hylia." Right away, he was mad at himself for not being there to help protect everybody. A cold shiver ran down his spine as he prepared himself, anticipating awful news ahead. With twitchy lips he frantically asked "Is-… Is everyone okay?! Please tell me that everyone is okay?!"

"They are! Everyone is safe, I promise." Fado wasted no time in sharing the good news, hoping it would calm him down.

Holding his hand over his heart, he exhaled in relief. "Praise the goddesses."

It took him a moment for his pulse to come down before he started thinking of other things to ask. Obviously his main concern was everybody's wellbeing, yet he also wanted to know precisely what transpired during his absence. "What did he do?"

"He wasn't alone." Fado stated. "He brought with him an entire army of undead skeletons, ranging from stalfos to staltroops. They all came marching out of the Lost Woods and got into a battle-ready position." Remembering every last detail, she also included who else was present during the altercation. "There was another being too, this big guy in a suit of armour. He acted like the leader of the boney soldiers."

"Great goddesses." The boy lamented what he was hearing. "An entire army of undead? If they were in the Lost Woods, they must have died there. But, I wonder where they came from before then."

Fado snapped her fingers as she smirked. "I asked Dad that, he told me they were part of this resistance group that, once-upon-a-time, protected the Forbidden Forest from encroaching outsiders, impending armies and destructive monsters."

"Oh, I know what you're talking about." Link nodded in acknowledgement. "'The Oracle' or something, right?"

"Yep!" She was glad to know he understood. "They died a long time ago, but apparently the big guy in armour used dark magic to reanimate their skeletal remains."

Link was curious about who this 'big guy in armour' was that she kept referring to. "Can you tell me more about him?"

"Well, he had this giant broad suit of armour." She started to describe as much as she could recall. "His helmet covered his face, but I could see his glowing red eyes." Thinking of the fight was slightly difficult due to the fact that, back then she was scared and actively trying to protect everybody. Were it not for her impeccable memory, she wouldn't have remembered anything else. Fortunately, she had a few more details. "It looked like his armour had gotten damaged at some point because there was a gaping hole in it along with several scratch marks."

"And he was working with Dark Link?" The hero kept interrogating in an attempt to figure out who the unknown individual might be.

She made a face that hinted she was unsure. Holding up her hand, she oscillated her wrist to motion that it was so-so. "Maybe. I'd say it was more like he was subservient. It seemed like he was doing everything Dark Link commanded him to do." Bringing one more detail out of her memory, she looked up while saying "I also remember that he hovered off the ground using some magic and shot these orbs of pure energy at us."

For a split second, Link saw a memory flash before his eyes. He thought back to his adventures in the future timeline and saw his adult self fighting Phantom Ganon in the Forest Temple. He vividly recalled how the ghostly replica of Ganondorf fought; by unleashing balls of magic at him. A part of him wondered if it were possible the 'big guy in armour' could be the same entity. It would make sense considering the location it came from as well as the abilities it had.

Nevertheless, he eventually settled on it being unlikely the two beings were the same. He told himself that it was impossible for such a menace to be here in the past when it wasn't even created until seven years from now. Besides that, he never saw any indication that Phantom Ganon could summon or control stalfos. The only other thing he remembered the ghost to be capable of, aside from hovering, was illusionary magic; such as splitting into three copies of itself or seeking refuge inside of a painting. In addition, even if it was the right entity, he still wasn't sure why the replica would cooperate with his replica or what they were trying to accomplish by doing such a thing.

Without a solid theory, he was forced to admit that he had no clue who the person was. "I'm not sure who it could be. Maybe it was just a big undead knight being controlled by-... Ughh." He hated saying the name, yet did so in order for them to know who he was talking about. "Dark Link."

Fado tried to recollect anything else that she could, anything that would be useful. "I can't fully remember exactly what he said, but they were essentially teaming up because they planned to take over the world. Your shadow kept saying something about fixing your mistake so the universe wouldn't be destroyed." She didn't retain much of what the tulpa announced because she was more focused on defending the village. "You're so smart. Your shadow though, it sounded like a lunatic spouting nonsense. It blabbered on about how it was better, how it could do the impossible by properly protecting reality and defeating those that threatened Hyrule. Blah, Blah, Blah."

"Save the universe?" Link contemplated what the dark version of himself could mean by that. He recalled the fight he and the shadow had in the depths of the Lost Woods, how the entire time the doppelganger was declaring itself superior. Because of that, before long, he figured it was merely the grandiose rambling of an abomination that shouldn't exist in the first place.

The blonde kokiri nodded. "Yeah. I don't know how attacking us could possibly help save the world though. I mean, we're kokiri. We're not a danger to the outside world."

"Don't worry about it." Link quickly replied. "I'm sorry you had to experience him, but he's just a crazy creation of magic. He'll try to get into your head and convince you that you're a failure. So, forget anything he told you because it's all just gibberish meant to distract you."

"I don't know. He seemed so dedicated to this." Fado remained a tad befuddled. "He really believed he was going to leave the Forbidden Forest and go on a mission that would purify the land of the grand evil."

"Don't-..." Link stopped her. "Don't listen to him. Even if he seems like he really believes he's going to fulfill whatever twisted objectives he holds, it doesn't mean he's not utterly out of his mind." To further convince her, he gave a summary of how it was created. "He was made by Ganondorf, the evil Gerudo King who killed the Great Deku Tree. His entire reason for existing was to be my exact opposite, a mirror image of me, in hopes that I couldn't defeat something of identical strength to myself. Again, it's unfortunate that he is still here haunting us. On the other hand, he's outlived his purpose and it sounds like he's scrambling to find another."

Fado clacked her teeth together as she pondered the situation. She understood that it was nefarious, she just didn't get why it would target the exceedingly innocent kokiri. The only logical thing she could come up with was that the tulpa did so out of spite as well as jealousy. "He seemed angry that the village was so peaceful."

"Probably because he's evil." Link chuckled. "Evil doesn't like tranquility. It likes dread and drama."

She shook her head in regards to that being the reason. "No, I don't think that's why. It's because it was envious of how you grew up, enraged by the fact that it never got to have the love you had."

"Envious?" He wasn't sure how that could be. As far as he was aware, malicious beings weren't capable of such emotions.

Since she wasn't sure either, she giggled. "Who knows. What's important is that he didn't expect me to be capable of absolutely kicking his ass like I did." While staring at him, she crossed her arms and smirked from being so proud of herself. Everybody else back at the village was ecstatic she'd performed so well. Now, she prepared herself for the praise she'd anticipated she'd receive from the person she admired the most, the impressive hero she'd modeled the majority of her fighting skills after.

In spite of how fast the girl expected him to jump for joy, he took his time instead. Of course, he was appreciative that she successfully defended herself as well as the others, he was simply too concerned with how to protect everybody. Like how he felt with Malon, he was frustrated since he couldn't be everywhere at once nor could he stop every bad thing from happening. With that stuck in his mind, several moments passed as he continued to fret for the safety of his loved ones.

His hands balled into fists, his jaw clenched tight and his eyes twitched. Imagining the kokiri being attacked by stalfos made him nauseated. Stomach bile bubbled up into the back of his throat. Making matters worse, he was beginning to feel like a failure again. The purpose he was given by the divines made him wish he was strong enough to protect everybody.

It wasn't until he accepted that the kokiri girl standing in front of him was a sage that he reminded himself it wasn't hopeless, that he didn't need to feel overburdened by trying to be everywhere at once. Although he wasn't there to defend Saria and the others, Fado was. She evidently repelled an entire invasion with very little help. Knowing this put his body at ease and reduced the agitation that was building inside him. It helped him relax knowing that she could be there for the kokiri when he wasn't or couldn't be.

After his lips curled up in a smile, he asked "How did you do it?"

"What?" She asked.

"How did you kick his ass?" Link repeated himself.

She stated rather plainly "I used my new skills, used what I learned from you and had help from Saria and Mido."

"Those two helped?!" He found himself surprised to hear such a thing. "I mean, I can see Saria doing her best, but Mido?"

Fado playfully scoffed at the disbelief. "I know right?" Then again, she made sure Link knew the truth about how the annoying kokiri boy behaved. "No, Mido really stepped forward when we needed him most. Trust me, he's all talk; definitely not much of a fighter. Then again, he tried his best to protect the others. What he did gave me the precious extra time I needed to take on the stalfos."

"That must've been terrifying." Link mentioned, referring to the skeleton warriors.

She nodded vigorously. "Yeah. Saria almost passed out in fright." Thinking about it, while the stalfos and staltroops were certainly unnerving, they weren't nearly as scary as what came next. "She almost peed herself when they turned into walking amalgamations."

Link cocked his head and raised an eyebrow. "They did what?"

"It happened after we destroyed all of them." Fado told him how it happened. "Remember how I said the big guy in armor was the leader of the undead army? Well, he was able to reanimate them for a second time. Except, when the skeletons came back together, they mixed with each other. Some had multiple arms or multiple legs, one had numerous heads. They were disgusting abominations." Snapping her fingers, her last word triggered a memory. "Oh yeah. Your shadow called them 'Stalbominations'."

"Stalbominations?" His eyes fell to the ground, staring at a nail in a floorboard. "I don't think I've ever heard of them."

The kokiri girl grunted. "Count yourself lucky."

Link lifted his head to meet her gaze. The hylian was amazed she did all this. He never expected she'd be able to defeat monsters or hold her own against his doppelganger. "This is astonishing."

"Don't forget, I had help." Fado reminded him. "Saria and Mido stood their ground as everybody else sought shelter behind the remnants of the Great Deku Tree." Knowing that he was struggling with his heroic feelings, she continued hinting to him that he shouldn't ever underestimate the strength of his allies. "Believe it or not, Tessl and Kaila joined the fray too." Before he could express shock, she explained "They flew inside the skull of one and distracted it long enough for me to get out of harm's way."

"No way!" Link's jaw dropped. "That's awesome! Why didn't I ever think of doing something like that with Navi?"

Fado giggled in advance of teasing him. "You know girls are smarter than boys."

Link was so impressed with her that he joked along with her. "Maybe stronger too. I can't believe you did all this." Walking over to her, he delicately squeezed her arm. "Look at these muscles you've got. You're starting to look like the most powerful kokiri in existence."

She laughed and playfully pushed him away. "Stop! That tickles!"

Whenever they finished jesting, while still smiling, Fado stared at him again. She thought about what to say next. Part of her wanted to conclude what happened with the stalbominations while the other part of her wanted to make sure he understood that he needed to stop taking sole responsibility of everybodies safety. Following a quick debate, she decided to do both. She would wrap up her story in addition to providing another example of how he should always utilize the support of his friends and loved ones. Plus, it was the easiest way to deliver the news of how much danger she fell into.

Clearing her throat, she said "I actually got caught by one stalbombination. So, it's not like I was invulnerable."

"True." Link shrugged. "But, you're here, so you must've found a way out."

Shaking her head, she told him the truth. "No. I was rescued by Tolenli."

"The previous Sage of Wind?" He inquired.

Fado confirmed by saying "Yep. He swooped down from the sky and used bomb arrows to dispatch the remaining stalbominations." Explaining further, she told him how the rito ran off the boy's doppelganger. "He even shot one at the big guy in armour."

"I bet he didn't like that." Link grinned.

"No he did not." Fado giggled. "I'm pretty sure he was undead, nevertheless, he reacted like a living person when the explosion caught him on fire."

"Nice!" Link gave a thumbs up.

Hearing all this, he expected the next thing that she was going to say would be that she successfully managed to deal with Dark Link. In fact, his anxiety level was plummeting, returning to normal as he felt glad that everybody was safe and that the tulpa had been ultimately destroyed. Considering this, he went ahead and asked. "Did he do the same to my shadow? I hope he did. I hope he put a bomb arrow right between its freaky red eyes."

Fado's smile gradually dissipated. Her eyes looked off to the side and she rubbed the back of her neck as she thought of a way to tell him the biggest reason they needed to talk. "Not exactly." Letting out a sigh, she told him "This-... This is what Saria and I originally wrote to you about."

"What?" Link's smile disappeared as well. He could tell it wasn't going to be something that he wanted to hear.

"He escaped." She blurted out. "Both of them, the big guy in armour and your shadow."

Slapping his hand to his forehead, he groaned. "Crap. Where did they go, back into the Lost Woods?"

"Uhh-..." Fado hung her head in fear of his disappointment. Strangely enough, for someone who helped raise him, she was now embarrassed to admit that she'd have to dump the responsibility on him. However, she didn't know what else to do. She had to be honest. "No… They broke out of the village and-..." Closing her eyes, her lips clenched and retracted prior to her saying "They left the Forbidden Forest. I'm pretty sure they're somewhere out here in Hyrule now."

"WHAT?!" The hero exclaimed in shock before biting his tongue to prevent from yelling further.

She jolted and ducked in response to his yelling, then looked out the window to make sure Malon or the others hadn't heard him. Once she saw that the farmgirl was occupied showing the cows some affection, she was confident they hadn't been detected. Following a quick motioning for him to quiet down, she apologized to him. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I know that's not what you want to hear right now, but it's the truth."

"By the goddesses-..." Link pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "I'm never going to be left alone, am I? It's always going to be one thing right after another, isn't it?"

Walking over to him, she grabbed his shoulder. "Don't think that way."

"I don't even know where he is or what he's doing." Link lamented. "I mean, I think he wants to go after Ganondorf; I just don't know how he plans on doing such a thing."

Thinking about it, she forced a smirk and a sarcastic chuckle. "You know, if that's the case, I say you let him go do it. Seriously. If he wants to go attack this bad guy, then why not? Why not let them duke it out? You've got nothing to lose." Providing more encouragement, she told him "Best case scenario, they kill each other and our problems are totally solved. The worst case is still not that bad either because at least one of them will be killed."

Link wasn't sure how he felt about such an outlandish thing. He really didn't like the idea of his nefarious doppelganger freely running amuck in Hyrule. The last thing he needed was for the tulpa to do bad things to the civilians. If they were somehow mistaken for each other, he could find himself in a lot of trouble too. Nonetheless, it really would be a blessing in disguise if the duplicate took on Ganondorf. He would definitely be glad if they destroyed each other. Even if only one of them was annihilated, that was good enough for him. The only problem was the complete unpredictability of the doppelganger. It was hard to take its word for anything. Meaning, it could be lying and doing something else entirely.

"I guess." He eventually relented.

Fado could tell he wasn't totally thrilled with the situation. But, she was trying to make the best of it. "I'm sorry."

Realizing how he was making her feel, he quickly perked up. "It's okay. It's not your fault at all." For now, he decided to stow his frustrated feelings. He could work on the problem of Dark Link's existence later on whenever he was on his own. For the time being, he didn't want to waste what little time they had remaining griping about things that weren't in either of their control.

"So, what do you think about me being the Sage of Wind?" She asked him in order to take his mind off his insane shadowy duplicate.

He chuckled at the thought, thankful to have a new topic to discuss, especially a happy one. Then again, he was still surprised as well as amazed. "It's awesome! I've never even heard of a Wind Sage. I always assumed there were only seven."

Fado's eyebrows lifted upon hearing the number. Until now, she hadn't even contemplated what other sages were out there in the world. She'd been so caught up with finding herself and accomplishing her duties that she hadn't had time to speculate about such things. "Whoa, really?" She expressed interest. "There's seven others?"

"Yeah." Link put his index finger to his lips as he recalled them. "Those that I know of are the Sage of Forest, Sage of Water, Sage of Fire, Sage of Shadow, Sage of Light, Sage of Spirit and Sage of Time." For a moment, he almost forgot the newest. "And, of course you, the Sage of Wind. So, I guess that means there's either eight or more sages."

"Wow, so many." Fado admired the amount in advance of asking "I wonder if there's a sage for every element?"

Link gave a gallic shrug in response. "Maybe. Who knows." He wasn't sure about such a thing. It was certainly possible that there was a sage for every element. Nonetheless, he wondered what their purpose would be for if he was only able to acquire the help of seven.

Before long, his focus drifted to other areas of interest. While looking at the blonde haired kokiri girl standing in front of him, he thought about something else, something that was more important than how many sages there might be. Despite having heard all his life about how they couldn't stray from the Forbidden Forest, now that it was obvious her kind could indeed leave the woods, he wondered where the others were as well as why his surrogate mother hadn't shown up. "Hey, where's Saria?"

"She's fine-..." Fado told him. "She's back at the village."

"Yeah, but why isn't she here?" Link asked out of curiosity.

She gave her chest a light pat as she said "Dad told me that the only reason why I was allowed to leave the woods to come visit you is because I'm special. I'm the Sage of Wind. Apparently being a sage means the curse doesn't affect me." Straightening her bandolier, she giggled while resuming "I also begged him until he relented. I told him that it would be fantastic practice for me to go on a short venture out into the hylian world."

The explanation did nothing more than further confuse the boy. "So, you're saying that it's due to you being a sage that you're able to be out here?"

"Pretty much." Fado nodded.

"Okay." Link narrowed his eyes prior to unintentionally revealing a secret. His mistake was wrongly assuming that she was already aware of the matter. "If Saria's the Sage of the Forest, then why couldn't she come?"

Hearing something so unexpected told to her out of the blue made the kokiri girl do a double-take in complete surprise. For a moment, she thought he might have been joking with her. Except, she knew better than to think that he would poke fun regarding such a unique subject. Still, she was in shock. The girl's lips quivered and her toes twitched in their boots. "Wait, w-what?"

Link instantly realized his error. Unfortunately, he couldn't take back what he had said now that it was out in the air. "Uhh… I take it you didn't know that?"

"No!" Fado exclaimed. "What are you talking about?!"

This time, it was Link's turn to motion for her to calm down. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't know you weren't aware."

Pouting by crossing her arms, Fado growled. "Well, I am now." Taking a few steps closer to him, she nearly pushed him up against the wall as she began to interrogate him. "You're serious about this?"

Link sighed. "Yeah."

"How do you know?" She asked with eyes darting side-to-side as she analyzed his facial expression.

Slightly annoyed by the unnaturally strong kokiri girl's intimidation, he brushed past her in order to go over toward the small loft window. It was better than being backed into a corner. Looking outside, he saw Ingo had joined Malon in the corral with the horses and cows. The farmhand had brought a couple of buckets with him and was currently working on obtaining fresh milk straight from the source. Seeing this left him confident that he and Fado had more time to finish their conversation.

Gearing up for an explanation, the hero regrettably reminisced. "It's something that happened during the adventure I was on, the one given to me by the Great Deku Tree."

"How come I didn't know this?!" Fado approached him from behind, demanding more information.

Link craned his neck so he could glare at her. "Because it happened in the future."

Fado continued to skeptically stare at the boy for a bit longer. She kept eyeing him from head-to-toe, trying her best to ascertain whether or not he was telling the truth. However, before long, she reacted as expected, as anybody logical would react to hearing such a profound thing. The kokiri girl waved him off and even blew out a short sarcastic puff of air. "Yeah right." A smile crept upon her lips. She genuinely believed he was pulling her leg. "You got me. For a moment there, I thought you were serious."

Just this once, the boy found himself glad that she didn't believe him. Returning his gaze to his girlfriend who was outside in the corral, he said "You know, it's actually probably for the best that you don't believe me."

Although she still didn't fully believe what he was saying, her smile gradually diminished until it disappeared altogether. Seeing his honest demeanour and straight facial expression made her wonder if she wasn't taking him seriously when she should be. Plus, knowing that he wasn't the kind of person to lie or joke about such things made her speculate on the matter. She didn't really know much of what he did on his adventure since he refused to discuss a lot of it with her or anybody else. Considering that, it was possible he was telling the truth.

Nevertheless, it was too difficult for her to acknowledge. "How can you expect me to believe you know what will happen in the future?"

"I know because I experienced it." Link stated rather bluntly. "I was there."

"You were in the future?" Fado scoffed.

Link rolled his eyes at the disbelief. "I know, it's hard to believe. That's why I told you to forget about what I said."

"You can't be serious." Fado shook her head. Even though she wanted to believe him, it was too far-fetched. She needed him to tell her more in order to get her to come around. "If you really did go into the future, then why wouldn't you tell us? I mean, that seems like something to brag about!"

After a short chuckle, Link replied "I never said anything about it because you're not supposed to know." Since it would take him an hour to fully explain everything that occurred on his adventure in the future timeline, he summarized it in a way she'd be able to easily understand. "A lot of bad things had happened and tons more were going to happen. I had to prevent Hyrule from being utterly destroyed by the same man who killed the Great Deku Tree. Heck, it was Dad who sent me on this mission in the first place."

Giving just the important details, he spoke about what happened during his slumber in the Temple of Time, during the interim between now and seven years in the future. "That evil man was going to murder almost half of the kingdom. Not only did he destroy the City of Hyrule, he froze the zora's domain and tainted their water supply. He also starved the gorons, indoctrinated his own people and planned on cutting down the entirety of the Forbidden Forest." No matter how much time had passed since it occurred, talking about it still made his pulse increase. "I defeated him in the future so I could prevent him from rising to power here in the present."

Trying to wrap her mind around what he was telling her, she struggled to process it. "So, you time traveled?"

"You're the Sage of Wind." He told her. "Well, apparently I'm the Hero of Time. It's a long story."

Shaking her head, the kokiri girl grumbled. "What-… Umm… What does Saria have to do with this?"

Link pursed his lips and sighed as he told her "She's one of the seven sages who helped me defeat Ganondorf there in the future. She's the Sage of Forest and the medallion you have is the one she used to amplify my powers. That's why I called it the Forest Medallion."

Not knowing how to handle the revelation, Fado looked down at the floorboards. Thoughts ran through her brain at a hundred miles per hour. Her palms got sweaty and her pupils contracted from the intense bewilderment. Regardless of the fact that she wanted to reject what she was hearing, for some strange reason, she felt she needed to believe him, that it was important she be made aware of the truth no matter how confusing or astonishing it was. "Do you swear to Dad that you're being honest."

Turning around so they were eye-to-eye, he nodded. "I swear on Dad. I swear to every divine being there is in existence that I'm telling you the truth."

Fado took a couple of steps back. Taking a moment to look at the situation as if he were being honest, she thought back to any signs she might've missed that would provide evidence Link was correct. Suddenly, she realized there were quite a few. Numerous things that initially seemed odd about the green-haired girl made much more sense if she were indeed a sage.

Not only was Saria the only other one who was brave enough, she was the only other who willingly ventured out into the Lost Woods. Fado wondered if the reason the Deku Tree Sprout sent the sweet kokiri girl into the depths of Faron Woods to meet up with her could potentially be because Saria was the only other kokiri who had the maturity required to stay on track. However, the biggest clue was that the green-haired kid was drawn to the Sacred Grove and the Forest Temple. It didn't take much to put two and two together; that a Sage of Forest would probably go to the Forest Temple, the same way the Sage of Wind would go to the Wind Temple.

"Wait-..." Fado pressed her thumb to her lips as she contemplated more.

All of the sudden, she thought about something else, another important indication that Link was probably telling the truth. She thought back to her hazardous trek inside of the Woodwind Temple as well as what happened immediately after she defeated Tolenli. Back then, whenever the Aria of Wind was played and the Wind Medallion activated, there were three orbs of pure energy manifested. While one of these orbs went into her and the other into Tolenline, the final happened to be absorbed by Saria. At the time, she thought it simply delivered magic to everybody present. On the other hand, if it was true that Saria was the Forest Sage, then it made greater sense that she received a portion of the enhancement spell too.

"I-... I think you're right." She eventually concluded.

"I know I am." Link retorted. "It's just whether you believe me or not."

Now she didn't wait so long to reply. "I do." However, she reiterated what she meant. "I don't know about the whole future thing, but I believe you're right about Saria being the-..." Out of nowhere, she stopped whenever her throat felt like it tightened. She was becoming ever more excited about the prospect that her love interest was so similar to her, that they both had imperative responsibilities none of the others have. It had her feeling flushed in the face and itchy on top of her head. "S-Saria's the Forest Sage."

Although she wasn't keen on letting the boy know that she was crushing on the girl who's basically his adoptive mother, she couldn't help how her body gestures gave her away. The kokiri was tickled by the revelation. Her wide infatuated smile, rocking back-and-forth on the heels of her boots and slightly lustful gaze was a clear sign that her feelings toward Saria were a step above friendship. Anybody with eyeballs could see that.

"What the?" Link lifted an eyebrow, curious about why she was acting the way she was.

Realizing she was acting like a love-stricken puppy, Fado stood still prior to adjusting her tunic. "What? Oh, nothing."

Although she tried to play it off as if she was merely thinking, she became increasingly embarrassed. Her cheeks reddened so much she had to look away so he wouldn't see. After clearing her throat, she made an attempt at diverting the conversation to another topic. It took a moment to think of something. Following a look at her leather bag, she managed to summon a valid question. "What I don't understand is how the Wind Medallion became confused for the Forest Medallion. For that matter, where is the Forest Medallion if this isn't it?"

Both of Link's eyebrows lifted. He wasn't utterly oblivious to how the girl was avoiding something. Regardless, he had to admit that she brought up a great question. "That's a good question. I don't know though." Thinking back, he tried to make sure that it was indeed the correct ancient relic, that he wasn't misremembering. He was positive that he was right. There were vivid memories of Saria holding it and using it as the Forest Medallion. Additionally, it was found in the Forest Temple. "It doesn't make sense."

Trying to make light of things, he came up with a theory. "The only thing I can think of is that, maybe they're not really tied to any particular sage. Maybe any sage can use another sage's medallion? It kinda makes sense from a strategic point of view; that way a lost or stolen medallion won't be the end of a sage's enhancement powers. They could simply borrow another's?" He huffed and made a face as he shrugged. "Just guessing."

"Huh…" She hummed in response. "Maybe."

After standing there silently for around a minute, she came up with one more thing. "Why didn't the Deku Sprout tell me?"

"Because you weren't supposed to know. Remember?" Link answered with a reminder. "Nobody was supposed to know how awful the future was. That's why I worked so hard to prevent any of it from occurring."

Her eyes narrowed as she thought back, recalling the plant-god's reaction to her showing him the Wind Medallion. Despite not verbally saying anything weird, she noticed how he seemed perplexed and wary to speak much about it. At the time, she was too excited to comment. But now she wondered if it was because he knew more than he was willing to share.

As Link had said, the Deku Tree Sprout didn't want to tell her anything that she wasn't supposed to know.

Unfortunately, especially now considering her status as a sage, she didn't completely agree with being left out of the loop. She felt she deserved to know these things. Being misled and having people feign ignorance made her ponder how many others were purposely ignoring things because they felt it was what they were supposed to do. "Does Saria know?"

Link sighed. "I don't know." Although he knew that the green-haired kokiri shouldn't be aware of anything that happened in the future timeline, he had witnessed several occasions now where individuals had somehow become aware of events that haven't even occurred yet. Because of that, anything was possible. "There's a chance, but I don't think so. I've never seen any signs that she could remember, so if she does, she's hiding it."

Looking through the window, he saw that Talon had joined Malon and Ingo outside in the corral. The heavyset farmer was standing by the gate with his hands on his hips and appeared to be speaking to them about something.

Malon could be seen putting her hand to her mouth, nodding and then walking toward her father.

Since he didn't know how much more time he and Fado had to speak about affairs, he decided to move the conversation forward. He really wanted to hear more on her perspective of what he should do to protect his newfound hylian family. As he watched his girlfriend leaving the corral, he asked the kokiri girl behind him "You know, earlier you mentioned something about there being plenty of other ways I can protect everybody. Do you want to explain a few to me while we still have a couple of minutes?"

Moments passed without a response. The boy waited a tad longer before registering that it was taking her too long to reply.

"Fado?" He asked as he turned around.

To his surprise, he saw that the kokiri had completely vanished without a trace. While not making a single sound, she had somehow successfully managed to disappear on him like a leaf in the wind. He was left standing there looking positively dumbfounded that she'd do such a thing to him without at least saying goodbye. Before long, he felt compelled to check his surroundings, to make sure that she wasn't elsewhere. However, following a glance around in addition to looking down at the barn beneath, he confirmed that she was gone.

"Geez, really?" He chuckled as he shook his head in disbelief. "What's up with girls disappearing on me today?"

Following a minute to readjust to being alone again, he resumed his collection of supplies. There wasn't anything else he could do since he certainly wasn't about to go chasing the kokiri girl down. He remained frustrated with himself that he had accidentally divulged the secret about Saria, but he couldn't change that either. All he could do was hope that Fado wouldn't return to the Kokiri Village and go blabbing to everyone willing to listen.

Sadly, that might be exactly what she planned on doing. He didn't know. Even though he had been acquainted with her his entire life, her newfound attitude regarding her abilities left him unsure of the actions she'd take. Being aware that she was a sage made her unpredictable.

Nonetheless, one thing he was certain of was that she'd protect his beloved kokiri family back at the Forbidden Forest. He wouldn't have to worry anymore about monsters invading the village or beasts encroaching from the Lost Woods while he was away. With her newfound strength, it was obvious she was capable of defending the perimeter.

What was more important was the fact that his malicious doppelganger was on the loose. In spite of initially believing it to have been destroyed, he was gravely concerned with the aspect of it causing a ruckus amongst the populace. The last thing he needed was to have to track the tulpa's location and hunt it down. He had bigger things to worry about, such as Ganondorf, his lackeys and his monsters. Although Fado mentioned that he should let the shadowy replica go after the evil gerudo king, it seemed almost too good to be true. He didn't believe it could possibly be that easy.

Fortunately, he felt more confident in his decision to teach his girlfriend how to defend herself. After Fado gave him the needed encouragement, he was sure he'd be able to mentor the redhead. Staves weren't an area she'd for sure be trained in as he'd first have to find what genuinely suited her stature and stance. Either way, he'd figure it out and they'd both feel safer in no time once they're both able to fend off bandits.

"Link!" Malon's voice abruptly called out to him from within the barn. "Are you still here?"

"Yeah!" He responded, making something up as he lifted his shield up off the floor. "Sorry it's taking so long. I got occupied with some things." It was likely for the best that she didn't know Fado had been there. After all, it's what the kokiri girl wanted.

Her footsteps could be heard as she quickly approached the ladder. She stood in front, but didn't climb it though. Instead, she looked up at her boyfriend to excitedly say "Take a guess who's here?"

At first, he assumed she was talking about Fado, as if she had somehow seen the kokiri girl making an escape. Then he realized that didn't make sense. Not only did Fado leave before Malon had exited the corral, he was sure the Sage of Wind had seamlessly disappeared thanks to her powers. Seeing how it wasn't her, he was at a loss as to who it could be that had arrived. So, without mentioning anybody, he simply inquired "Who?"

"The Postman!" Malon seemed happy and nervous at the same time.

Link walked over to the ladder in advance of reacting. "Oh, really?" He didn't show it, but he was glad he didn't mention anything about Fado since it had nothing to do with her. Still, he was really curious about what The Postman was doing there. "Do you know why he's here?"

Malon nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, apparently he has a letter from the Royal Family."

Both of the hero's eyebrows lifted and he felt goosebumps appearing on his skin from the anticipation. No matter the fact that Officer Kincaide told them to stay on lookout for a couple of days, he didn't expect a response so soon. Because it was so quick, he figured they must've appropriately taken the situation seriously. He couldn't wait to find out what they had to say.

"Did you read it? Is he still here?" Link questioned.

Malon watched him as he climbed down the loft ladder. "I haven't read it yet. But, The Postman is still at the front door of the farmhouse. Daddy wanted me to come get you."

"Good." Link replied as he stepped down into the barn. "Come on, we'll read it together."

Exiting the barn with all his stuff in tow, Link saw that Talon had walked back from the corral while Ingo remained out there to look after the animals. The heavyset farmer was waiting next to The Postman, both of which turned to see him as he left the barn.

"Link!" The Postman was first to announce. "It's good to see you're doing well after that whole ordeal."

The boy placed his shield laying against the barn prior to approaching the two with Malon following directly behind him. "Definitely. I'm glad everything worked out the way it did." While stopping in front of them, he made sure to iterate the appreciation he held for the quick-footed man. "Speaking of which, thank you for notifying everybody about our survival. It means a lot that you helped us when we needed it the most." Taking it a step further, he said "If you hadn't done that, who knows when or even if the army would've found us."

"It's not a problem." The Postman smiled kindly at him. "Like I said, I'm just glad to see that you two made it through such a horrible thing. I'm sorry that it happened to such a nice bunch of folks in the first place."

"Do ya wanna re-read the letter now that he's 'ere?" Talon asked the mail carrier.

Nodding to the question, following a tip of his red hat, The Postman unfolded the scroll that he held in his left hand. "Sure thing." After clearing his throat, he held up the parchment and began reading from it. "The message states as follows:"

---

By Decree of his Royal Majesty, King Harkinian Nohansen of Hyrule; Link, Malon and Talon are hereby ordered to report to Hyrule Castle by 10:00 AM, tomorrow morning of Month 8, Day 14. A chamberlain will be awaiting your arrival to escort you to the Throne Room.

Signed, King Harkinian Nohansen of Hyrule

Dictated by, Jubahl; Royal Amanuensis