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 him to need to be rescued by Malon. The bond the two develop after helps him accept his new fate. However, his destiny remains uncertain as he must contend with a conniving Ganondorf, an army of Gerudo, and the consequences of Zelda's spell.

1. Chapter 1 - Segment 1

LEGENDS

OF THE

HERO OF TIME

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By

Sinclair Stories

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[Chapter 1]

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[Time: 7:43 P.M. (Dusk)]

[Date: Month 3 'Spring', Day 24, Year 14,214 - 12th Era]

[Location: Hyrule, Central Hyrule Field, Lon Lon Ranch - Pasture]

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Malon's life as a farmer's daughter was practically identical to that of a servant, especially when doing chores. Work at Lon Lon Ranch was always the same, day in and day out. Waking up early to work her hands to the bone doing farm duties and caring for the animals made for a humble yet tiresome career. Seeing how she had become of a decent age, the redheaded Hylian girl's primary job was caring for the horses. The routine became common knowledge for her long ago. Now that she's soon to be fourteen, she would be given full responsibility over the transactional part of selling the magnificent equine creatures. She did not doubt that it would cause even more burden. But, considering all of this, she wouldn't rather be doing anything else. There wasn't much of an alternative anyway, certainly not one that her father would approve of.

Her father, Talon, owns Lon Lon Ranch. He and Malon's late mother, along with their farmhand Ingo, originally founded the small holding. The three were alone in the middle of Hyrule Field, far enough away from the City of Hyrule to be considered a settlement of its own.

When Malon was only four years old, her mother passed away. The woman had struggled with health problems since bearing her daughter in childbirth, so whenever a plague swept across the region one winter, her body was overwhelmed. After that, she was gone from Malon and Talon's life, leaving only faint memories behind. No matter, those memories were still very much cherished.

Nowadays, Talon, Malon, and Ingo raise, care for, and sell a variety of animals, ranging from horses, as mentioned earlier, to Cucco, cows, goats, and pigs. There are, and were then, smaller farms around, but Lon Lon became the most successful, thus leading to their famed products, all of which have become renowned across the land. Lon Lon Milk is their most prominent, while others such as Lon Lon Eggs, Goat Cheese, and Butter are also widely consumed. Additionally, they even occasionally sell chicken and pork. They indeed became a vital part of the economy, feeding the majority of the citizens of the kingdom.

Today had been relatively easy for Malon, not that it was ever difficult, not at her current level of expertise. She found herself glad. The tranquility of everything had been more than welcomed after the brief strife Hyrule had had lately. The tension was in the Gerudo Tribe's recent transformation with hostilities toward outsiders.

Besides, paying attention to work was far safer and more comfortable than worrying about the kingdom's political state.

Ingo had just walked through the barn a few minutes ago with the milk pails needed for today's last cow milking session. Talon was supposedly working to gather the eggs from the Cuccos and sealing up a small hole in the barn's upper left corner. On the other hand, Malon had nearly finished with all her duties. Since dawn, she had fed the horses their portions of hay and oats, then given them water twice throughout the day. She groomed them and took them out into the pasture while Ingo mucked out the stable's stalls. The girl even picked their hooves and cleaned their teeth.

Now that it was nearing dusk, she needed to return the horses to the stable before the night ended. Afterward, she could go inside and seek comfort.

In her opinion, A nice bath was by far the most essential way to relax. "If you guys and gals could take a bath, you'd feel the same as me." She said with a smile to the two horses beside her. The southern winds streaming off Lake Hylia in the distance provided enough of a breeze to blow her bright red hair back, keeping her cool most of the afternoon. "They just make you feel so calm-… I could sing a lullaby until I put myself to sleep. That's how serene I get."

The horse on Malon's left, a six-year-old mare dubbed 'Dixie,' neighed before breathing on the hylian's long ear. It made her giggle in delight over the horse's playfulness. "Dixie! Cut that out. It tickles!"

The mare rubbed against the young girl for a moment more before whinnying.

Talon, her father, appeared in the farmhouse doorway, where he called out to his daughter. "Malon! It's 'bout time for ya' ta put them horses in the stable! It's gettin' late!"

Seeing how the sun appeared to be setting soon, the farmgirl's best guess was that it was almost six o'clock in the evening. Though the horses were having a great time running around the corral, they needed to go to the barn and get some rest for the next day.

"Okay, Daddy!" Malon shouted back in response.

Throughout the day, Malon used any spare time to practice her singing voice. She created a new hymn that she thought her father would particularly appreciate, as her mother had slightly influenced it. If the lazy man remained true to his word about working harder around there, she'd do her best to make him happy with the fantastic tune.

He smiled at her with a wide grin. Putting his hands on his hips, he selectively analyzed each horse, no doubt satisfied with his daughter's care. "Good girl! 'ead inside once yer' done." He turned to walk back toward the door to the house before stopping again to say, "I made some cormarye (seasoned pork loin) with taters an' green beans." Rubbing his stomach with a famished expression, he pretended he had not already eaten his morning breakfast.

After the adolescent Hylian girl giggled at her father's gluttony, she gave a loud, high-pitched whistle to get the attention of all the horses in the corral and out in the pasture. As most horses trotted over to gather around her, only a few more stubborn or younger ones, including Petey, a hardheaded stallion, remained grazing and enjoying the late afternoon sunshine.

"That sounds delicious!" The girl responded to the thought of food before asking, "Has Ingo drawn enough bathwater for everyone?"

Talon gave a solid nod so she could see before responding, "Yep!"

Most horses followed Malon while she led Dixie by her head halter. Once the other stubborn horses saw the mare walking, they followed along, going with her since she was the eldest. All but Petey still refused to obey. "Petey!" She shouted to him in a sweet voice, hoping to coax him into following with tongue clicks.

The Stallion's right ear moved; however, he didn't show any sign of paying attention. He deliberately ignored his owner with passion.

"Petey!" Malon yelled again, slightly more sternly than previously.

It was then that the farmgirl noticed her dad was still standing outside. For a second, she assumed he was observing her behaviour, watching and admiring her skills. Then again, it soon became apparent that he was doing something else as he slowly moved his head side-to-side with an inquisitive look.

She wondered what he was doing as she briefly let go of Dixie, intending to retrieve the lackadaisical Petey. "Dad! What are you doin-…?"

Almost instantly, Talon loudly shushed his daughter, holding his hand in a way that indicated he was trying to hear something and needed quiet. "Wait! Shh- Listen…"

The closer to Petey Malon came, she began faintly hearing a noise from outside the ranch. It sounded like a horse was in dire trouble, roaring with fright while squealing as if it were highly panicked. The tone and pitch indicated that it was a young one, a filly or maybe even a yearling, definitely a female.

Malon wondered what was happening, curious if someone was going by the ranch in distress.

It grew louder within a few seconds, enough to make even Ingo step out of the stables to see the commotion. Before long, Malon realized that the other horses were becoming skittish. Petey finally hurried over next to Dixie's side.

"Dad, who is that?" The farmgirl asked.

Being lighter than Talon, Ingo quickly jumped onto the side of the stables and climbed to the top, attempting to look at whatever was causing the disturbance.

In the meantime, Talon tried calming his daughter. "I don't know, darlin', but I'll fig're it out… It might just be someone goin' by havin' some trouble. Don't ya worry."

Ingo jerked his head around a few times before jumping back down to the ground. With an exasperated sigh, he said, "Whatever it is, I caught a glimpse of its tail before it ran into the ranch."

Talon grunted and spun around toward the entrance as another loud squeal came from behind the gate. "What!? What is it!?"

As her father started walking toward the gate, Malon decided to do her job despite her interest. She put the horses up for both the night and for safety measures. "Be careful!" She yelled out to her father and Ingo, not wanting either to get hurt.

Just as she hoped everything would be alright, she heard a loud clang, making her turn her head to see whatever was jumping over the fence. Talon and Ingo lost their cool, freaking out from not being able to see what the unknown creature was before it knocked them both down.

Malon let out a loud shriek. "Daddy! Ingo!"

The creature making all the sounds tumbled to the ground along with Talon and Ingo until it skidded to a halt on its side. At first, Malon's mind was all on the well-being of her family. But as she took her time to notice what was happening, she suddenly realized that the creature, a horse, looked very familiar.

"By the goddesses! Are we under attack, Ingo!?" Talon shouted.

The desperate horse got back on its feet and raced over to Malon, giving her a good look at it. Upon a glance, her mind clicked, and she could tell it was Epona. It was the shy filly she had given Link when he came to speak to them about an adventure he would embark on. "Epona!?"

Ingo helped Talon stand while keeping his eye on things.

She continued to assess Epona's condition. "Where have you been, girl!?"

The horse looked deeply frightened like she was lost and on the run for days. Her mane was unkempt, her ears were stiff, and a line of foamy drool dripped from her chin. Even as it twitched, her tail clamped down, and her neck tensed. She held her head high, with wild eyes still looking around for danger. All of it was a clear indication that she was terrified.

"Daddy! Come quick, it's Epona!" Malon cried.

Talon and Ingo instantly rushed to the farmgirl, trying to figure out the same thing she was regarding what was happening. In the meantime, Epona trotted around impatiently as the other horses stayed slightly spooked by the ordeal.

"What in tarnation!?" Talon exclaimed in surprise, likely having thought that some feral beast had come to take advantage of their livestock. As his shock faded alongside Ingo's, he calmed down a bit. However, both were still visibly stunned at the filly's disruption. "She was the one makin' all that noise? Sheesh-… Was somethin' after ya, girl?"

Epona stomped her hooves on the ground before them, giving another rambunctious squeal.

"Huh?" Talon enquired, "What's the matter? It's okay, yer' safe 'ere."

Ingo looked back at the gate, ensuring nothing was chasing the filly and intending to continue its pursuit.

Malon was growing upset that her father couldn't seem to see the same things as she could. It was clear to her that something was wrong. Epona had never appeared so frightened, and she looked like she hadn't had anything to eat for multiple days. Then, of course, the most significant concern in the back of her mind was that Link wasn't riding her. "Daddy, something happened!"

He looked away from trying to get Epona to calm down. His eye had a strange glimmer as if he was finally beginning to sense the stressful situation. Nevertheless, he played it off, not wanting to think negative thoughts. "Whatda ya' mean? I think she was just lost, darlin', don't worry. Give 'er some time. She'll relax an' return ta normal." He said while patting the wild equine.

Malon pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. "No! Daddy, I'm talking about Link! Where's Link!?"

Preceding a short huff, Talon scratched his balding head.

Epona nudged the redheaded girl roughly, nearly knocking her down. Something was wrong, Malon could tell. The way Epona was acting wasn't right. She had known Epona since the filly's birth and could tell whenever the horse was frightened. On top of that, she knew that Epona wasn't a very easy horse to scare. The equine had always been too intelligent to be fooled into being afraid of things that wouldn't hurt her. Because of that, there was no way she'd leave Link behind over anything silly.

"Whoa, Nelly..." Talon kept Epona still before answering his daughter. "Maybe he didn't 'ave any need for 'er anymore."

While her father might see the fairy boy as an immature kid on nothing more than a childish adventure, Malon knew more and held Link in higher regard. Link was the only other person Epona would ever listen to, and he proved that he took excellent care of her during his time out in the wide world. "Link wouldn't just let her go like this… He always brought her back and put her in her stable when finished! He'd never set her free to find her way back!"

Again, Epona stomped her hooves, but this time, she nearly yanked Talon down, proving to the younger Hylian that something more had happened to the horse than just her getting lost. Something had to have happened to Link. There was simply no other explanation.

"I'm sure e's fine, Pum'kin." Her father continued to go on about everything being okay.

Epona's response to all of this was a shrill roar, louder than the farmgirl had ever heard a filly do so before. The frustration was evident. As Epona's eyes shifted to Malon, it became clear the horse was angry and distraught over being kept from moving.

"Daddy, let her go!" Malon insisted.

Talon wasn't sure why his daughter was so upset but did as she told him. From that moment, the filly took off a few feet away from them before stopping to turn around and flare her nostrils. She stomped in the direction of the gate.

"See!? I think she wants me to come with her!" Malon informed them.

Ingo, who had been strangely more admirable to the farmer's daughter and more responsible for his duties, was the first to deny her request. "I don't think so, Malon…" He replied firmly. "It's getting late, and monsters will be coming out. You can't go alone."

Even though both adults were trying to look out for her, Malon was already aware of the dangers in Hyrule Field during the night. Considering that this ordeal had utterly shattered her tranquility, she felt she had to do something quickly, or she might have an even more tragic event, such as Link never coming back. That was more important to her than worrying about monsters.

"THEN COME WITH ME, YOU DOPE!" The girl showed some fire in her belly. As the adults stood in shock for a moment, she then whistled for Epona.

The filly hastily trotted back to the young Hylian.

Talon gently grabbed his daughter's arm to stop her. "Malon, calm down… We ain't goin' lookin' for someone durin' nightfall… It's too late. We'll 'ave ta go out in the mornin'."

Malon felt panic in her heart. She couldn't comprehend why they were so calm about this. Link could be in peril, and she couldn't stomach the thought. "Let me go! Link is missing! Don't you two see that Epona wants me to follow her!? She'll lead me to him while the sun's still up!" The stress slowly got to her, and tears welled in her eyes.

Epona responded by butting her way between Ingo and Talon, knocking them down again with her wild strength.

"Epona!" Talon, deeply frustrated, yelled while quickly getting back on his feet. Watching as his daughter ran forward to climb up on Epona's back, he tried to stop her and even yelled for the farmhand to do the same. "Ingo, stop 'er!"

The farm girl knew she had to act as everything suddenly moved incredibly fast. The time for sitting around was long gone. Rightly so, for as soon as she hoisted herself onto the saddle, Epona wasted zero time dashing off toward the gate. "Giddy up, Epona! Hurry! Go find Link!"

After traveling through the short passageway to the ranch entrance, as Epona jumped the gate, the last thing Malon saw was Ingo swiftly falling behind and her dad mounting Dixie with the intent to pursue. She remained steadfast in her rescue yet pled to the Golden Goddesses as she realized it was later than she initially thought. Because of the encroaching darkness, she knew she had to find Link before nightfall.

Talon shouted at the top of his lungs for them to return, but his daughter was losing them. Ingo was also slowed down further by struggling to open the gate, which Epona easily jumped.

"MALON!" Talon shouted louder, his face turning red from being in a huff.

In Malon's opinion, her father misplaced his concern. She felt as if no freaking out would have occurred in the first place had he gone along with her to assist. Even though she's an adolescent girl, she's also a strong-willed and intelligent Hylian. She got things done. However, despite positive thinking, she had no choice now other than to ride Epona. Going as fast as they were, the farmgirl had to hang on as the frantic horse galloped toward the City of Hyrule.

"Link..." Malon said to herself. "Where are you? Please, be okay." Usually, she wouldn't risk herself for anyone other than Talon, and on a good day, perhaps Ingo. But Link was somebody entirely different. When she thought about him, he made her heart pump faster.

Her memories conjured other instances in which they'd encountered each other. The first time they met, when Link came up to her in The Market of Castle Town, was one of her most cherished memories of him. Back then, he looked so out of place, wearing a green tunic and carrying a tiny sword and a wooden shield. He was even confused by things of modern society that everyone else around used daily.

At first, he came off as a bit strange. The farm girl thought he was an oddball. However, as soon as she saw a fairy with him, she knew he had come from within the forest. She often wondered if he was a Kokiri, though his later admission of being a full-blooded Hylian put that to rest.

Still, his upbringing gave her an idea for a nickname. "Fairy Boy..." Her lips uttered as her hands gripped the reins tighter. The girl's heels clicked against Epona's sides, making the equine snort before speeding up. As they approached the drawbridge leading into the City of Hyrule's Castle Town, she said, "What could you have been doing here?"

Just as she started questioning where Epona was taking her, the filly abruptly veered away, bypassing the drawbridge altogether and continuing down the road. The horse's intent on not stopping anytime soon was evident from the way she followed the road closely, not slowing down.

"Hurry, Epona! The sun is going to go down soon!" After glancing at the setting sun, a fear dawned on Malon that the horse might have traveled several days from wherever Link had previously left her. In her haste, she failed to think of anything like that. If that were the case, then she certainly wouldn't be able to survive out there that long on her own. Epona was more than fast enough to outrun a predator, but it was too dangerous for a kid.

With her fears taking over, she wondered what she was thinking by going alone. She understood now that she should have waited for her father and Ingo. As adults, they were strong enough to protect her and themselves. On the other hand, she was utterly defenseless, on a panicking horse, and had no clue where she was going.

Despite her wavering determination, her courage and willpower stayed firm as she thought more about Link. Her apprehension didn't stop her from being driven to find him.

From the second the kids spoke to each other, he had proved to her that he could do things the ordinary child couldn't do. Malon knew it when she saw the sword and shield he carried. She also recalled that, upon their first meeting, she asked him to find her father, who had fallen asleep at the castle. Link did so without getting caught, managing to sneak past the Hyrulean Guards and climb the curtain wall to infiltrate the Royal Courtyard. Right off the bat, she was impressed as she never actually expected him to do that, instead figuring he would get thrown on his butt like everyone else who tried to get in without permission.

Law enforcement kept the castle far too secure for a commoner to gain entrance easily. But he made it to the castle and found her father. He even claimed to have met with Princess Zelda and had a meaningful discussion with her. It made the farmgirl so envious.

Nonetheless, while Malon recollected past events, Epona neighed as they passed a stagecoach from Kakariko Village heading toward the City of Hyrule, likely the last one of the day before the gatekeeper pulled up the drawbridge. Either way, the horse showed no interest in the carriage.

Soon, they started running along the edges of Zora's River as the curtain walls of Castle Town ended. They were coming closer to Kakariko Village. Malon hoped that, with a bit of luck, Link might be somewhere around. However, she had a few doubts, considering that Epona was going strong and showed no signs of easing up.

Thinking about memories of Link continued to keep the farm girl calm as the inevitably setting sun persisted in descending beneath the horizon. She thought about the second time they met, when he stopped by the ranch and spoke for a while. He talked about needing a horse for his grand adventure. At first, she didn't believe anything he said. He tried to convince her that he had slain many monsters and was on a quest to save the kingdom, things that no one in their right mind would accept as truth from a thirteen-year-old, not even another thirteen-year-old such as herself.

Epona whinnied loudly and huffed as Malon noticed what looked like a Peahat off in the distance, further out in the field. Fortunately for her, she'd never seen the levitating insect-plant-like creatures up close as they commonly kept away from the road due to their fear of loud sounds. They resembled flying giant pineapples with spinning blade-like propellers in the center and top, which they used to keep them aloft. Moderately dangerous, they were more of a nuisance as they only pestered an individual if said person agitated them or disturbed their young.

"Easy girl..." Malon said aloud to Epona as the Peahat kept on its course, far away from them and occupied with protecting its larva. "If we can find Link, he'll protect us both. We just have to find him first."

The thought of having Link protect her stemmed from the realization that, even if he truly was living in a fantasy, he used genuine skills to take down monsters on his own, ones that her father and Ingo would run away from utterly petrified. She could vividly remember a particular display of his might. By chance, one night, while briefly looking out the window of her bedroom after the boy had brought Epona back, three diminutive skeletons, known as Stalchildren, rose out of the ground. They regularly terrorize anyone in the vicinity during darkness, and he was no different. They approached him with hostile intent, but he managed to dispatch them like they were nothing.

Unfortunately, shivers went down her spine from the mere notion that those skeletons could arise again to torment her if she didn't get back before nightfall. Being just a kid, Malon hadn't even raised her hand to something. She didn't have the experience needed to take down a monster. Unlike Link, she couldn't slice two in half or kick the other's head clean off its shoulders.

Sunlight waned as they traveled down the expanse of road. Malon could make out the tree line of the Forbidden Forest ahead of her, a location where Hylians were prohibited. She knew the woodland area was under a benevolent spell that protected it from any impurities. The spell worked by keeping it safe from intruders or anyone who wished to do it harm, except one of the side effects was its ability to curse even innocent people.

Talon always told his daughter fables about twisted things that would happen, but she learned the truth after a while. She discovered that whenever a Hylian goes into the woods without the fairies possessed by the Kokiri, they become sick and disabled in place before slowly dying from the magic. It suffocates them, and adults who succumb to its influence become hosts to the land. They become what is known as a Stalfos: strategic, defensive, sword-wielding, undead skeleton warriors who roam the forest like guardians, protecting it infinitely with their restless patrols. Children supposedly suffered a more unusual fate, morphing into Skull kids: a race of diminutive, mischievous beings that reside in the forest.

"Epona, I hope you're not considering taking me in there." Malon snapped.

The filly ignored the Hylian girl while rampantly galloping steadily forward. Even though Malon was still firmly set on her hunt to find Link, alarms went off in her head at the thought of going into the Forbidden Forest without an invite from the Kokiri. However, waiting for approval through the Royal Family would take weeks, far too much time, time that she certainly didn't have.

"Epona!" She shouted to make sure that the horse heard her. When a small whinny followed by a huff confirmed that the horse heard her and was continuing course regardless, Malon could only hope she was being led directly to Link. "Epona! Whoa! Slow down, girl! Whoa!" After a few gentle pulls, she had to yank the reins a bit to get the filly to respond again. "Whoa!"

Epona finally began slowing down until they stopped a short distance from the tree line. Malon could clearly make out the entrance to the Forbidden Forest, which is, in actuality, a giant hollowed-out tree used to pierce the densely thick woodland border.

"Epona-… I'm sorry, girl. But I don't think I can go there." Looking up at the very top of the sun as it went down beneath the horizon, Epona's neigh made a bit of Malon's courage disappear. Even though the redhead wanted to find Link, it was getting dark, and she knew she couldn't return to the ranch before nightfall. Traveling in pitch-black wasn't something she could do either, not without a torch or one of those expensive lanterns her father had bought for the homestead. "It's already too dark… Going into a forest would be more dangerous than staying on the road." When She thought about it, going into the Forbidden Forest would make it ten times as dangerous since it isn't a typical forest. It would be more along the line of suicide. "Let's head back to Kakariko Village and find a place to rest for the night."

A long howl from within the forest confirmed Malon's intent to turn back, signifying certain danger if she remained on course. "Y-Yeah… There's no way I'll let a Wolfos eat me."

Tugging on the reins proved futile as Epona disobeyed the Hylian girl in every way possible, even going so far as to buck. The way the horse wanted to persevere showed that it was her way of saying, 'This is the way we have to go, right this second!'

Inside, once again, Malon was torn between what to do. She felt that if Link was truly in the Forbidden Forest, he was probably too far in for her to reach him. Thinking of that howl she had heard and the skeletons she imagined made her decision far more of a worrisome burden. Nonetheless, imagining Link's lifeless body being gnawed on by Wolfos as he fell victim to the woods was simply too much for her to bear; it put a lot of emphasis on her reasoning for being out here, as well as traveling onward.

"Link…" Epona's ears swiveled as Malon sighed. Despite the redheaded girl's bravery, inevitably, self-preservation won out, as the same howl from off in the distance ensued yet again, just as vicious as before. "I hope you're okay."

Epona neighed a few times before Malon tried tugging the reins harder. Unfortunately, the horse was stubborn and refused to turn around. "Epona…" With another sigh, Malon kept trying, wanting to get far away from the tree line. "Come on, we can't stay here."

While she was trying to turn Epona around, both of them suddenly heard Talon and Ingo calling her name loudly as they drew nearer. They had chased after her, hoping to recover her safely.

"MALON! MALON!" Her father's voice was the loudest.

Almost instantly, Epona's ears twitched as she let out a snort. The speed at which her sides expanded and contracted increased, all tell-tale signs that she was beginning to get anxious again. Seeing as Talon and Ingo chased them out of the ranch, her mind was likely still associating them with danger, meaning that she was about to bolt.

"MALON!" Talon shouted.

As quickly as the young farm girl could, she did everything possible to calm the filly down. "Shh, it's okay… They're coming to help; we'll meet up with them and return to the ranch, even better than Kakariko Village." While staring back at the sloping field, Malon couldn't see them yet but could hear the sounds of their horse's hooves clomping down the road. She hoped rubbing Epona's neck would soothe the horse so it wouldn't freak out.

For the most part, it seemed like it was working. The equine huffed softly with a small neigh.

"It's okay, girl." Malon kept saying with a phony smile. However, judging by the look in Epona's eyes, she wasn't entirely falling for it. "Let's go home. We'll find Link bright and early tomorrow morning."

As crushing in ego as it was to give up and admit that her dad was right, it genuinely hurt to know that she couldn't find Link. If he was injured and somewhere he couldn't escape, she felt like it would be her fault if anything happened to him. Such a burden might not be comprehensible to most thirteen-year-olds, but this was something important that she could feel deep in her beating heart.

"There's something about him." The girl said while momentarily staring at the stars, praying to the three goddesses that Link would be okay. "Oh, mighty Golden Goddesses… Hear my prayer, and please protect Link with your sacred rule." By holding her hands together, palms flat and vertically, divinity might heed her plea as long as her spirit remains pure. "Din, give him the power to destroy any foe… Nayru, give him the knowledge to find his way… And, Farore, give him the courage to overcome any obstacles."

"MALON! WHERE ARE YOU!?" Talon's voice shouted, startling Epona.

Now Malon decided to respond so that her father would stop shouting. "I'm over here—...!"

To her dismay, before she could say the rest loud enough for them to hear her, Epona gave her a single buck, jostling her around on the saddle. "Epona, Whoa-… Calm down." The redheaded adolescent tried to say soothingly, refusing to sound upset lest she freaked the horse out more. "It's okay, girl. Whoa-…Whoa-..."

The horse did it again despite her attempt so she couldn't call out to her father. Malon was too busy desperately trying to hold on to realize that. Horses are intelligent creatures. In this case, Epona was brighter than usual, acting like she didn't want her to shout out for her parents. No, she wanted Malon to keep going and find Link.

"Whoa!" Completely ignoring her, the horse started trotting closer to the tree line of the Forbidden Forest, neighing and bucking Malon up into the air a bit before the farmgirl slammed back down on her rear. "Ep-...pona…... W-…W-Whoa… W-Whoa…"

The hopes for her father and Ingo to show up were answered as light from their lantern or torch slowly crept down the hillside. Malon thought they'd be able to help her get Epona to calm down, so she went to yell for them again. Nevertheless, before her attempt, she got cut off by Talon's booming voice because the adults were completely and utterly unaware that they were a mere forty feet away.

"MALON, YOU GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE THIS INSTANT, AND STOP SCARING YOUR DADDY!" The heavyset farmer hollered at the top of his lungs.

Without any more hesitation, Epona lost it. Upon hearing their yell so close, so loud, and so sternly, her legs darted beneath her, galloping toward the giant hollowed-out tree-bridge. Malon had lost control as soon as Epona's hooves touched the bark. Nothing would stop the crazy filly, and the farmgirl knew it. Every fiber of her being knew that she'd lost control. The only thing she could do was hold on, all unbeknownst to her dad and Ingo.

She was sure her dad would have felt worse had he realized how bad he just made things by yelling. Regardless, she couldn't do much about it now other than hoping they could hear her.

"DAD!" Finally, at that moment, she managed to yell for help. Her voice echoed through the tree as she yanked harder on the reins, trying with all her might to get the filly to stop its rampaging haste.

"MALON!?" Talon called for her as his daughter reached halfway through the tree.

"I THINK SHE'S CALLING FROM THIS WAY!" Ingo's voice responded to Malon, sounding just as concerned yet more faded the further the farmgirl traveled away from them.

"EPONA, STOP!" Malon's scream echoed through the air as the shadowy expanse of the Forbidden Forest materialized before her. Ancient trees loomed tall, gnarled branches twisting like skeletal fingers against the dusky sky. A narrow wooden bridge, weathered and creaky, arched gracefully over a small, trickling stream, guiding her toward another massive hollow tree. The dim light filtered through the thick canopy above, casting dancing shadows. "DADDY!"

Going deeper brought too much fright for Malon to handle, slicing through her nerves like a hot knife through butter. She'd never gone past the tree line, and the reality of what happened to people who became lost was soaking in far quicker than she had imagined. Knowing that all the trees looked precisely the same as all of the others could get her discombobulated, and then she'd be screwed. "EPONA, STOP! WHOA! WHOA! NO! I DON'T WANT TO TURN INTO A SKULL KID!"

Tears fell from Malon's eyes as Epona refused to listen to anything she had to say, dead set on getting to whatever destination was in mind.

"Malon!" Talon's voice called from behind the treeline, muffled from all the foliage.

"DAD!" Malon shouted back, making Epona squeal from her shrill voice. Unfortunately, her speed only worsened things.

Hope was waning inside the farmgirl, and her vision did the same because of the lack of light. The dense flora nearly extinguished the final rays of the sun. Her inner voice in the back of her mind demanded she jump off as it tried to think of the best possible way to save herself.

"EPONA! WHOA!" She tugged harder on the reins, feeling her heart grow heavy with fear as they exited the first hollow tree and stepped onto the wobbly wooden bridge. The air on that side was thick and saturated with moisture, making breathing slightly tricky as if the forest had created its confined atmosphere tailored to its specific needs. Strangely, even though the surrounding trees produced more than enough oxygen to survive, she felt compelled to take deep breaths to avoid hyperventilating. "I'm so screwed! EPONA!"

She couldn't get her tears to stop flowing, nor could she get Epona under control. Three-fourths of the way across the wooden bridge, after lots of tugging on the reins, Malon gave up and merely held on while looking down. Below them was a gap, showing a shallow, grass-filled gulley that veered off in a circle going both directions. At this point, she had no choice but to ride Epona until either the horse stopped or until the Hylian girl could get to an area where she could safely jump off.

"Then I'd be double screwed!" She said about jumping off and losing Epona. "I'd have to walk back in the darkness!" With that thought swirling around in her mind, she yelled once more. "EPONA!" Her eyes couldn't even find the sun on the horizon, scaring her further. The only thing keeping the path lit was small orbs of light floating around, possibly fireflies. "EPONA! STOP!"

Usually, Malon was emotionally stronger, but this time, when Epona didn't stop, the girl cried harder. Being in this forest terrified her, even more so after dark.

Before reaching the second hollowed-out tree, Malon noticed a sign. However, Epona was moving too fast, and the Hylian wasn't paying enough attention to have time to read the engraved words. At this point, Epona was speeding up even more by galloping with short dashes.

"By the Goddesses, what do I do!?" After hiccupping and drying her eyes with her left hand, the end of the tree came into sight. There, on the other side, appeared to be some village. Putting two and two together, Malon figured it must be the Kokiri Village, she was told, which came before the Lost Woods.

"Help! Help! Someone help!" she shouted in a hoarse voice, dry from crying and all the previous screaming at the top of her lungs.

Hylian and equine both shot out the end of the tree into the village. "Please! Somebody!" Although Malon's knowledge of the Kokiri wasn't very much, she knew they looked like regular Hylian children, had a fairy that accompanied each individual, and were generally benevolent. Considering those facts, she genuinely hoped they would assist her in any way they could, provided they hadn't already gone to bed for the night.

"HELP!" She screamed louder.

Epona suddenly changed course by going off the path leading deeper into the village, instead going down a small stone walkway toward a sloping cliff. That cliff marked the village's edge and the beginning of the Lost Woods.

"ANYONE!?" Malon screamed again after desperately looking around for anyone nearby. She turned her head and faced forward just in time to see the incoming branch from a tree that Epona had neared too closely. Unfortunately, the farm girl couldn't react in time and made direct contact with it, whopping her forehead hard enough to blacken her vision for a moment.

She nearly lost consciousness.

Due to Epona traveling so fast, Malon fell backward onto her back and was constantly thrown in the air by the horses galloping, barely holding on because her feet were in the saddle's stirrups. "Ooh, Ah Ooooooh… m-my head..." With more sniffles, moans, and tears, the girl tried to regain her balance despite the sudden loss of coordination. "It hurts…. Ooooh."

"Hey!" Someone yelled from close by. Judging by the tone of voice, it sounded like a girl. "HEY! STOP!"

Malon grabbed the saddle's horn to pull herself up. Epona neighed as they flew past a green-haired and blue-eyed girl wearing a Kokiri Tunic similar to Link's, only with shorts and darker green sleeves. The Kokiri extended her arm as if to try and wave the Hylian down. "Stop! You can't go in there without a fairy!"

Malon wasn't sure where 'there' was until she finally managed to lean back up and regain awareness of her surroundings. As Epona hurried up the hill, the farmgirl saw an opening in the treeline and another sign written in Hylian. The sign read 'Lost Woods' and 'Keep Out' in other foreign languages. Instantly, her eyes widened as she once again started to try to stop Epona. Now, the horse was going so fast that it would injure the teenager greatly if she attempted to dismount.

"Epona-… Whoa." She said, trying to be calm this time and to stop freaking out so severely, ignoring her tears that still flowed down her face.

The Kokiri's fairy soon caught up with Malon for a moment and buzzed around her before speaking in a tiny, soft speech reminiscent of the voice of Link's fairy. "Miss, you have to stop your horse! Bad things happen to Hylians who go into the forest without a fairy, both to adults and children!"

They reached the opening in the foliage before Malon said, "I can't! She's out of control! But she's trying to take me to Link! I think he's injured, and she came to get me from our ranch!"

The fairy cocked her head before abruptly darting back in the direction of the Kokiri girl. "Link's in there!? I must tell Saria!"

When they entered the Lost Woods, Malon looked back in shock as the fairy left her. "Wait, no! Please, don't leave me! Can't I borrow you!?" As silly as it sounded, it was logical to the Hylian girl, sounding much better than turning into a Skull Kid. No matter what she wanted, she wouldn't get it. As the entrance faded into the background, she turned to face forward. The throbbing pain in her head was still very much present, yet she couldn't do anything about it and had to focus on what was happening around her.

Much like previously, all of the trees had the same general shape, with little to discern from each other. Even the shrubbery looked identical. "Epona, we're going to get lost!"

The filly continued galloping past trees. Now that Malon was paying attention, she could dodge any branches. Getting hit the first time knocked all the wind out of her lungs. She didn't think she could take another impact like that because she could still see stars circling her head. "I'm so screwed! How am I supposed to make it back!? What am I going to d-…"

Unable to complete her sentence, her eyes grew as wide as dinner plates at what she saw. "Oh-… my-… goodness, no!"

Further ahead, the constant backlight from fireflies ended, leaving nothing but darkness as the sun had finally gone down beyond the horizon. At this point, Malon could only hold onto the saddle tightly while ducking as far as she could to be sure she wouldn't get another head whack. Either way, she was furious at the steed for bringing her there. "Epona, if we live through this, I'm SO not giving you ANY more second helpings of your feed, EVER AGAIN!"

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter is complete, proofread, and revised.