Journey's End - Chapter 6

“Hey Malon, did you know that the barmaids here are twins?!” Talon bellows with a grin as he swaggers in your direction, two very buxom ladies in tow. Malon turns to you and rubs her face, lost for words.

“Apologies in advance,” she groans.

“My boy!” Talon barks, almost giving you a scare, “You made it! How was your journey? Did you get a good meal and bath when you arrived? Ah nevermind. Malon! Did he have a good meal and a bath?”

The stench of beer drifting over from the trio before you explains much in this moment.

“He did, Daddy,” Malon responds, “And he slept in the barn with the hors-“

“Very good, very good,” Talon approves, stroking his beard and then turning to his companions, “Although I would never let you two sleep in a barn.” The twins giggle.

“… And Epona looks great,” Malon continues, her voice slightly strained, “Link has taken the utmost care of her.”

“The utmost care?” Talon almost mimicks his daughter, “Well that sounds swell, just swell! I would love to see her during your stay, Link!”

You open your mouth to invite him after the market, but are interrupted by a gruff, sudden noise from Talon. 

“Ah, my boy!” he even startles the twins, “Care for a beverage? They make the finest mead in all of Hyrule here, especially at this time of year. Tell him, girls. Tell him why it’s so special.”

“Well, it’s like,” the one on the left begins, “A special time of year-“

“-a very special time of year,” the one on the right continues, “Because in this um… season, per se?-”

“-yeah, this season, per se, it like… so special-“

“-and we get the honey for the mead from special little bugs-“

“-bees-“

“-yeah! Bees! Gosh, sis, I would be so lost without you!-“

“-oh my gosh I’m getting emotional-“

You feel Malon lightly pinch your elbow, and you lean towards her.

“A particular type of darn bee migrates here for the season and their honey goes into the darn mead,” she informs you through gritted teeth. You grin at her, somehow finding entertainment in the situation. Although seeing Talon is nice and you both have much to catch up on, you can see that now is not the time and you politely decline his offer of a drink. 

“That’s too bad, son,” Talon smiles and shakes your hand, “But we’ll see each other soon. Off you go and enjoy yourselves, and watch over my little girl!” He pulls Malon into a bear hug and plants a bristly kiss on her cheek.

“Bye bye!” the twins give a coy smile as they look you up and down, giggling. You feel your face flush warm.

“See you later, Daddy,” Malon waves, and the two of you head away from the pub and into the market square. 

As soon as you both are amongst the crowd, Malon stops in front of you and suppresses a laugh, her hands clamped over her mouth.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen Daddy like that!” she snickers, “I’m so sorry you had to witness that. Since Daddy went into retirement, he’s been enjoying life more… says it’s to make up for his days of labour on the ranch.”

You laugh along with her. It was indeed an unexpected encounter in its own right, but you can understand Talon’s perspective. Especially since he lost his wife so many years ago. Your laughter fades a little and you smile warmly at Malon. She is very accepting of everything. Malon notices and wrinkles her nose at you.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” she teeters, her cheeks flushed from laughing. You shrug and tell her how lovely you think it is, that Talon has such a caring and supportive daughter. Malon’s giggling fades, and she looks up at you with wide eyes.

“You think so..? Huh… thank you,” she looks down at the floor and back up to you, wearing a different kind of blush now. You feel your ears getting warm and usher the redhead forward, lest she notice that warm ears mean red ears, which would make you feel very awkward indeed. You look ahead and search for an excuse, and see a honey stall before you.

“You want to try the local honey?” Malon exclaims, “What a good idea! Let’s go!”

The stall is not a very large one, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for with content. The shelves were packed full of jars of honey, of all colours, consistencies and flavours. In a basket on the table where the stall owner sat were plain, flat sticks to try the honey with. You pick one up.

“Better take more than one,” the owner snorts, “Don’ even think ‘bout dipping the same one in all my ‘onies.”

He has a point. You grab a handful and share them with Malon, who already has a jar in her hand. The label reads ‘Deku Seed Honey’. She opens the jar and inhales the sweet scent.

“Oh wow!” Malon exclaims, her eyes wide with anticipation, “It smells so fresh!”

She takes a stick from you and dunks it into the thick, golden syrup. You watch her as she tries to put it into her mouth without getting any drips on her chin. She holds it up, twirls it and slowly puts it into her mouth. You notice the little movement of her jaw as she sucks on it. Looking away, you pretend to check out the other flavous.

“Mmmmmh,” she has her eyes closed, enjoying the taste, “This is so delicious! Try it!”

Before you can protest, you turn to her only to have a stick with honey on it shoved into your mouth. Malon was right – it is indeed delicious. It has a sharp, fragrant sweetness to it and a nutty aftertaste. You take the stick out of your mouth to concur with Malon’s opinion, only to notice that she didn’t have her stick anymore. Did she… give you her stick? She must have. Malon looks at you with slightly flushed cheeks, as if she had just realised what she did, and turns to browse the other honey jars. You lick the stick clean.

At the end of it all, the both of you leave the stall with a jar of Deku Seed Honey, a jar of Hazelnut Chocolate Honey and a jar of Vanilla Bean Honey, the latter of which being Malon’s favourite.

“When I get home, I’m going to hide this somewhere so that nobody can eat it except me!” she had cheekily grinned as she held the jar with a white-knuckle grip. You grin to yourself, seeing her inner child shine through as if it were from the days before you left Hyrule.

She takes your hand and, once again, leads you into the fray.   

*****

Art by R3dFiVe

Story by Redeemer and R3dFiVe

Writing by Redeemer