Chapter 15: Blessed Are They That Mourn
The night sky turned a deep purple, then lightened to pink. The pink became orange as the first beams of yellow light dispersed through the morning clouds and the sun rose over the long green fields of Hyrule. Navi rested on Link's shoulder as they watched the world come to life, together.
They sat in silence on top of the barn, basking in the beauty. Or Link looked to be, Navi wished to, but a thousand thoughts ran through her head. Link sat on the roof with one leg dangling over the edge, he could slip and fall on the hard ground several stories below them. There had been word that moblins appeared some days away. Giant monsters with the wits of men, though they lived only for violence. Talon claimed they were nothing to worry about. But Hylians were used to war, he'd lived with the threat of danger hanging over his head his whole life. And he was still a Hylian, lest she forget. He seemed nice now, but he kept the company of that rogue Ingo. That man was danger.
And what of the man in black armor? Where had he disappeared to? What if he found them now? Would he come looking for the Emerald when his pet monster did not bring it to him? They had not gone far enough from the forest. He could appear any day. And if he did, what could she do? Nothing.
She took a deep breath and looked back to the rising sun. The yellow grew more pronounced, illuminating a large cloud that passed over the sun and making the rays form out of it in dimmed yet radiant lines. She missed the sun, hidden for years behind the fog that surrounds the Lost Woods. It used to clear the worries from her mind, when she was younger sent out to scout the nearby lands and make certain no mischief came too close. But now the worries only grew, and the sun was no brighter.
There was no magic here. With only the Emerald and Saria's ocarina to sustain her she hardly had enough energy to keep going. Every movement was some great labor, just keeping her eyes open became a struggle. It took her days just to fly steady again after she healed that horse. And her wing still ached and stayed crooked from fighting that insect.
What if Link got hurt and she couldn't do anything to help him? She looked back to the boy, who seemed to realize that she was looking at him.
He turned and said, "Pretty one, today. Don't you think?"
"It is," she said. "Though, Link. You don't have to wake up so early and watch the sunrise with me every day. Not if you don't want to. I know you prefer sleeping in when given the chance."
"But I do want to," he said. "I like starting the morning with you." Then he gave her a wide smile and went back to watching the sun.
And for a moment, all the pain from being so far from magic disappeared and it was just her and Link, until the sun rose well above the horizon and became just too bright to watch comfortably.
"Hey! Fairy Boy!" Malon called from the ground below the barn. "Come on, there's work to do."
Link sighed. "Well, I guess that's the end." Then he cleared his throat and called down. "I'm coming. What do we have today?"
"Father wants us to tie up hay bales. Get down here, this one could take awhile."
Link sighed again. "Well, let's go."
Navi lifted herself from his shoulder, her cracked wing beating twice as hard as it should. It made every flap sting. But that pain she could work through, far worse was when she stopped flying and the low constant ache kept her distracted for hours.
"Be careful."
But the boy paid her no heed as he pushed himself off from the roof, twisting midair and catching the rim. "Don't worry, Navi. I'm a good climber."
"Even good climbers make mistakes. You should be a safe climber."
But he scurried down the wooden beams like a squirrel. Dropping to the window, and then sliding down a bit further.
"Careful! Careful!"
Link laughed as he pressed his feet and hands around the corner of the barn to control his slide toward the ground. Then when still a few feet from earth he let himself go and pushed into the empty air.
"Link!" Navi tried to call up whatever magic she still held to cushion his fall. But it happened so fast.
He landed on the ground, and seemed to collapse in on himself. Then he tucked his head, turned the fall into a roll and sprang back up to his feet. Navi breathed a sigh of relief as he smiled and let that little magic she had been holding disperse.
"Not bad, Fairy Boy," Malon said as Link righted himself. "But uhh." She pointed roughly behind Link.
"What?" Link looked around and saw the dark patch of ground he just rolled through. Only it wasn't dirt, and Navi could smell the stink of it coming off Link's back as she struggled to descend behind him. "Oh come on!" Link moaned. "That would have been great!"
Malon burst into laughter. "It's a ranch, Link. Gotta watch where you go rolling around."
"Is there somewhere I can clean myself off?"
"Trust me, it's easier to let it dry first."
"But I stink."
"You'll get used to it," Malon laughed again. "Come on, by the time we get through the hay it should be dry enough to deal with."
Navi flew up in front of Link's eyes. "You have to be more careful. You have to watch where you're going."
"I know, Navi," Link said as he followed Navi.
"You're too reckless. You could get really hurt."
"Navi, I'm fine."
She wanted to say more, but what good would that do? He'd always been stubborn. It was usually adorable and a little inspiring watching him struggle to finish whatever task was before him without even considering asking for help. Help that Navi would have been happy to give him any time he needed.
But now, out here? That same stubbornness could just get him in danger.
Link began following Malon. Leaving Navi struggling to fly behind him. "Hey, wait. Link."
He stopped a puzzled expression on his face, that turned quick to worry. "Here, Navi," He gestured toward the ocarina that hung by his hip.
She flew into one of the fingerholes and landed. And just as the wing stopped beating the sting ended and the dull throb of pain began. Just as she knew it would.
"Is something wrong?"
"No, everything's perfect," she lied as she rubbed at the cracked wing. Trying very hard not to let her voice sound angry. After all she couldn't be angry with him. Or that horse. It was her choice to heal it, knowing full well that she was nowhere near enough magic nearby to restore herself.
Besides it made Link and that girl Malon so happy when it was healthy. She didn't regret it at all, but by the Goddesses she was now so weak and useless. What good could she even do to help Link like this?
"Here you go, Navi," Link said as he unhooked the ocarina from his belt. Navi peered out one of the holes and saw one of Link's fingers clutching the instrument. He lifted it and brought it toward a crook of the wooden fence. He jostled it a few times, sending Navi tumbling until he was certain the ocarina was secure. "So you don't bounce around too much while I work."
"Thank you, Link."
He walked away, leaving Navi with a good view of Link as he followed Malon, who held several spools of twine. The boy sighed as he looked at the piles of dried yellow hay at their feet.
"Pay attention, Fairy Boy, here's how you do this," Malon said as she took the twine and spooled some of it out on a piece of open ground. Then she grabbed up some of the hay and laid it down on top of the twine. "Help me, get some more."
Link nodded and grabbed a huge armful and dumped it on top of her own, the hay scattered about as it landed.
"No!" Malon said. "You have to make certain that it all lands the same direction."
"You didn't say that!"
"I didn't think you'd just dump all of it."
Malon dropped to her knees and started rearranging the hay, Link followed a second later, taking huge handfuls as he scooped and brushed it into a roughly straight line.
"Right," Malon said as she stood up and brushed off some of the strands and dirt that clung to her knees. "Now we're going to take the sides of the twine, like this. And then we do this." She pulled the twine tight twisted them around each other and pulled them even tighter. Then she stepped on the forming knot and pressed down as hard as she could, pulling at the twine until it was as tight as she could make it. "Then we tie it here," she said as she grit her teeth and attempted to finish the knot without loosening the bale. "There, now we cut it." She took a small knife from her side and cut the rope. "And we put it in the wheelbarrow."
She leaned down to pick it up, but Link moved faster than her. Grabbing the hay and hoisting it over his shoulder. "I have it," he said.
"Why thank you, gallant sir," Malon said with a smile as Link carried it away. "You do the next one."
Navi watched the two for some time, while they got into a steady pace of work. Malon occasionally gave Link some corrections and the boy kept putting more and more hay into each of his bales, in a clear and silly attempt to prove his strength to the girl. Which ended when Link made one far too big, so that when he lifted it the hay spilled out of the string and fell over him like a wave.
"Ahhg," Link said as he spat. "It's in my mouth."
All while Malon burst into gales of laughter, clutching at her side before she went to help Link get the hay out of his hair and face. "And what did we learn?" she chided when they got him clean.
Link mumbled some reply that Navi couldn't hear.
"Good, I'll clean this up, you start the next one."
Navi wished to go help them. Back among the Kokiri she and her fellow fairies could call small winds to them to move the hay into neat piles. All Link would have to do is tie them. It would have been nothing, less than nothing. Calling the winds was no more difficult than flying around a room at a steady pace. But that was when she had magic to spare, when it surrounded her every moment of every day.
Back when the Great Deku Tree still lived.
She frowned and rested her head on her hands. She missed him. She missed his calming presence, she missed the way he always seemed to know the right thing to say. She missed his wisdom and his caring. Over the last few weeks she did her best to hide her bouts of sadness from Link. But since he was off working and she was on her own now would be the time to let the emotion go. She slid down the sloped surface of the ocarina and let herself cry.
It wasn't that Link didn't feel the death of the Great Deku Tree as well. She knew he did. But the boy had this endless ability to focus. That stubbornness. He had his mission with the Emerald, or the ceaseless toil of the ranch. So long as his mind focused on something, it was like he didn't think about his problems at all.
What an ability that would be. No matter what she did, she could not help but think about the Great Deku Tree or the other children of the Kokiri. They must be safe, of course. The other fairies would look after them. But she missed them. Many fairies attached themselves to one child to look after. She looked after them all, and knew them all, and missed them all.
How were they handling the loss of their father? Did they need someone to talk to? She would have been with them when they were told. Instead of nursing her wounds and trying to organize the other fairies for something that none of them ever thought would happen.
She did not know how long she stayed down there. It must have been some time. She heard a cough coming from outside the ocarina, and when she looked up she noticed the light from outside had turned far brighter.
"You in there, my lady?" Talon's voice rumbled through the ocarina.
"Yes," she said, but her voice cracked. "Yes," she tried again, stronger that time. She wiped away her tears, making certain her face was as dry as she could make it. She didn't know why, the Hylians couldn't see through a fairy's glow. But it felt important to her to hide what she had been doing.
"Well, I just figured you'd want to talk," the man said. "But if you're busy, I don't want to be a bother."
"No, it's no bother. Just give me a moment." She wiped her face once more, not that there were any more tears but it gave her another moment to breathe. Then she flew out of the ocarina and landed on its top. "Where's Link?"
"He and Malon finished here, I let them go off and have some fun. I think Malon's still teaching him how to ride."
"What?" Navi said as she tried to fly higher to catch sight of them. The burst of movement sent a stab of pain down her side. "Which direction did they go?" She said as she winced.
"My lady, there's nothing to worry about," Talon said. The man leaned against the fencing as relaxed as he could be. In his hand he held a mug with that foul-smelling drink he always seemed to have whenever Malon wasn't looking. The one that made his breath stink and his eyes lose their focus if he had too much of it. "They're in no danger."
"What if he falls?" Navi said. "People have died falling off a horse."
"And that's why they're starting with ponies. Malon won't let anything happen to him, I promise."
"How can you possibly know that?"
The man sighed and took a sip of his drink. "I know it's hard, looking after a child. Especially when you're not used to doing it alone. But you have to let them run around, make some mistakes. It's better for them in the long run."
"You don't know what you're talking about. Link isn't like other children he doesn't have-" she stopped herself. She was going to say that he doesn't have any magic. But that wasn't unusual out here, few among the Hylians had the talent for magic. But still, he didn't understand. She needed to protect him, that's what she promised the Great Deku Tree.
"You know," Talon said, "when my Hilla left me, well, I think I went a little crazy. Half the time I got myself too drunk to do anything of use, the other half I tried to control every little thing Malon did. I was terrible. But I got better." He looked down at his drink and shook it so the liquid swirled. "For the most part, anyway."
Then he held out his hand for Navi to land on. And she did. That annoying burning sensations started up her wing. "I'm sorry," Navi said as he brought his hand back down to the ocarina, where she climbed off. "Am I being silly?"
"Silly? No, you're just being a parent. We all bumble our way through it, I'm just trying to make certain you don't end up making the same mistakes I made." He took a swig and gave a small belch releasing some of that foul smell out. "I'm sure you'll make all new mistakes."
Navi gave a small smile at his little joke. But she still couldn't stop thinking about Link, and what might be happening to him at this very moment. But that was crazy. He was fine. There was nothing to be worried about. Except falling. Or getting his foot stepped on by one of the animals. Or the black armored man finding him. "For what it's worth, I don't think you did a bad job. Malon is a clever and confident young woman."
"She is. No idea where she got any of that from. And Link is a good lad, hardworking and passionate. Good one to have around."
Across the ranch, two ponies carrying two small children crested a hill, followed by an even smaller foal prancing along behind them. They were talking, laughing together. Acting like children were supposed to. Navi let out a long breath, he was safe. More than safe, he was having fun.
"I don't think I can take any credit," Navi said as she watched the children. "The Great Deku Tree was the one that instilled that in him."
"Oh, I don't think that's true. It takes a certain kind of person to make themselves weak and miserable for weeks just to save a horse belonging to someone else, someone they don't even trust."
"You know about that?"
"Now, no one would ever accuse me of being a clever man, but, one night I have a dying horse and a very opinionated magic sprite. The next day I have a healthy horse and the fairy disappears. And when next I see her, she can barely talk. I don't know how it all works, but I can figure that out."
The children rode back down the other side of the hill, with Link shouting "Hiyyahh!" at the top of his lungs and Epona racing after the two. Talon gave a small chuckle as he took another sip.
"Talon, I don't remember how long I slept, after I helped that horse. How much longer until we head to Castle Town?"
"A few days still. By the Goddesses it's good watching my daughter having fun. Between caring for the horses, and let's be honest, me, I don't see her let loose as much as I'd like."
"They do seem to enjoy each other's company," Navi said. It reminded her of when Link played with Saria or the other children. And a fresh wave of sorrow struck at her. Link hadn't forgotten his old friends, that she knew. He still sometimes played Saria's song. But it was just one more step closer to abandoning the old ways of the woods. When would he start preferring the life out here to what he had? When will he stop remembering his old family?
"That they do. Have you given much thought to what you and the boy will be doing after you pass that stone thing to the king?"
"I-," in truth she had been purposely avoiding thinking about it. Once they hid the Emerald Link would no longer have his task. Would he fall into sorrow as she sometimes did? Would he become some warrior like his Hylian parents? The Great Deku Tree would have hated that. But it seemed like something Link would strive for. And, without the Emerald, would she even have enough magic to sustain her? She knew the answer but did not even want to think it. "In truth, no."
"Well," Talon said. "I could always use another ranchhand. Ingo's a good worker, but, well, you've met him. Now, it won't be an easy life, I won't lie to you about that. But it's a good one, a boy can grow to be a man out here. He can build a life out here." He smiled off toward the hill that Link and Malon had ridden behind. "He can find a confident young woman out here."
"But will he be safe?"
"As safe as he can be outside of your magic woods. There's nothing this way but a few villages. The last danger that came around these parts was ten years ago. The wolves know to stay away. Yes, he'll be safe. But I notice, you didn't ask about yourself."
"Your ranch, your land, it's beautiful. But it's not my home. I need magic, I've been living off of the power of that Emerald and well, this," she tapped on the ocarina. "But when the Emerald goes? I don't think-" What was she saying? Was she truly planning on abandoning Link? Could she? The thought of it made her feel sick and sad all over again. But, what else could she do?
"My lady, your boy will always be welcome at Lon Lon Ranch."
"I won't just abandon him. I can't. I mean, if it's not too much a burden on you. I could come whenever I have the strength. I-"
"Oh don't you fret," Talon said. "You are always welcome. Perhaps if I save up some rupees I can buy some small magic trinket. Keep it here for you to make your stays a little more comfortable." He scratched at his chin. "Though I'm not certain how real some of those things are. Messi, ahh, she runs the farm a few miles back swears by this lucky seed, but I think she got fleeced."
"You would do that?"
"Of course," he took another drink and sighed. "We're not all monsters out here."
"You won't tell Link, about me leaving."
He shook his head. "It's not my place. But you should. Don't be like- don't let him wake up one day and wonder where you went. That hurts worse than the leaving."
"I won't." Navi promised Talon and herself. Even as she missed her home, even as she felt the tug of magic draining at her. She could not imagine just abandoning him.
The two children on their ponies reappeared on the small hill, talking and laughing just as they had been before. This time they rode toward Talon and Navi, and as they got close enough, Navi could see the smile on Link's face as he urged his mount ever faster.
He would be happy here. He would be safe.