Journey's End - Chapter 5

By the time Malon had repaired and modified your shirt, braided her hair and powdered her nose (or so she said but you hadn’t seen any powder or powdering to speak of), the sun was up and shining. The morning proved to be pleasant, not cold but warm with a sharp breeze. A typical autumnal morning. You almost feel underdressed compared to Malon. You have the shirt that she made, which turned out much nicer once she had changed the stitching and is by far one of the nicest things you’ve ever had on, your beige pants and usual travelling boots. Malon has a pair of shoes especially for her outfit. You look down at your footwear and automatically double-take your glance. She had polished them. When? It didn’t matter. She obviously also had noticed how worn they looked. You step outside the ranch house to wait for her, only to hear her call down to you from her bedroom.

“Can you please get Epona ready? I’m almost done!”

You smile and roll your eyes at how unprepared she is. For all her farm-managing skills, Malon was otherwise quite the scatterbrain when it came to spontaneous events. Her father had also been like that, and even had a habit of falling asleep whenever he got side-tracked from his schedule. Epona is in the larger field of the ranch, grazing. You whistle and she looks up, her ear twitching until she sees you, and trots in your direction. As she gets closer, you swear her gait changes somehow, almost as if she was unsure of where she was summoned. She gives a snort and shake of her head when she reaches you. Must be the shirt. You put your saddle and reigns on her, but you get a sense of annoyance, as if you had just interrupted a very important grazing session. You hear the farm door close behind you.

“I saw you whistle for her from the window,” Malon says as she locks up, “Remember when all she would listen to was that song I used to sing?”

You nod, grinning, and try to keep your eyes averted from her blouse.

“How are we going to do this, exactly?” she asks you, nodding at Epona. You explain that she can sit behind you, as long as she held on. She raises an eyebrow at you.

“It’s not like I’m going to fall off, Link”, she pouts, “Couldn’t I ride front?”

You reluctantly agree. Malon clenches her fists and gives a short squeak in celebration, and mounts your horse. She smiles down at you and signals with a nod for you to get on behind her.

“I’m so happy to finally experience Epona like this. She’s become a fine young lady,” she trills. With that, she gently spurs the horse forward, and the three of you depart the ranch. Once on Hyrule Field, Malon breaks Epona into a happy little trot. You hold onto Malon’s waist, attempting not to overthink the situation. You can tell that the horse is enjoying the attention as she sways her head and mane in the wind – she must feel so fabulous and important with two well-dressed passengers on her back. 

“Hey Epona,” the ranch girl’s voice has a judder to it from the trot, “If you’re a good girl, I’ll braid your hair tomorrow. How does that sound?”

Epona gives a whinney in response. You realise in that moment how close you’re sitting to Malon, and it draws attention to how her behind presses against your crotch and thighs. Suddenly the saddle feels far too small for the both of you as the trot causes Malon to bounce in her seat, and effectively against you. You look up and ask the goddesses to ensure that nothing happens in your pants.

The castle town is in sight. It feels strange to see it so overly busy. There are people leaving and entering, more guards than you expected are lining the way on the bridge across the moat, and you can already hear the music from the centre of it all. Malon turns in the saddle slightly to look at you, her eyes gleaming with excitement. She points to the town gates and says something to you, but you now have a perfect view down the inside of her blouse. You rip your eyes away from it, and hope that she didn’t notice. 

“Well would you look at that!” she exclaims, “We’re still in time for the royal parade! It goes all the way from the castle grounds to just outside Kakariko Village, then the Princess goes into the village and thanks the people for their hard work.”

You nod, finding her excitement quite contagious and feeling eager to see the festivities. Grinning, you tell her of how you missed the town and how busy it always is. She smiles and wrinkles her nose at you, quite clearly happy that you’re going with her.

“Good morning, Miss Malon!” called a voice from somewhere. You look up, and Malon turns around, seeking the source of the greeting. One of the guards on the bridge is grinning at you.

“Oh, good morning Nomik!” your friend sings back with a small wave, “I bet you have a busy day ahead of you.”

“Of course; plenty of pickpocket chancers on a day like this. It’s great that you join in this year.”

“This year none of the animals are sick, thank the Goddesses. Besides, I wanted to show my friend how we celebrate the season. Oh! Excuse me, Nomik, this is Link.”

Malon nodded behind her, and the guard gives you a stiff nod, his helmet noticeably heavy. Malon looks back at you.

“Link, this is my friend Nomik. He’s a guard in the town and deals with public affairs.”

You say something friendly and generic about how working in the town sounds like a good job, to keep the small talk small.

“Well it has its ups and downs,” Nomik smiles, his gaze shifting slightly to Malon again, “But I’ve always liked the quiet, humble sort of life. It’s a shame that Malon doesn’t need her own guard for the ranch, especially since she works alone most of the time.”

You notice the curl on Nomik’s lips, as he almost breaks out into a smirk. He doesn’t appear to have ill-will, but his voice has a playful tone that annoys you for some reason. 

“I’ve told you before,” Malon giggles, “The only thing maybe worth stealing at the ranch are the animals, which is a real hassle.”

“Well you never know, it’s a beautiful ranch.” Nomik is a handsome man, openly friendly and confident. But he’s starting to piss you off a little.

“If I notice any cows are missing, I know where to go,” Malon snickers, “I’ll see you later.”

“Take care, Malon, and it was nice meeting you, Link,” he waves as the two of you complete the stretch across the bridge, the sound of bustle and music drawing near, and trot under the arches of the town walls. 

The scent of harvest herbs, spices, sugar, bread and grilled meat smack you on the nose as you enter the fray. The crowd is dense and loud; the sound of laughter and cheers from every corner. Everyone has something seasonal on, be it a dress, a suit or a costume. You see a group of women wearing something not entirely different from what Malon is wearing, and a group of children dressed as scarecrows or pumpkins runs past, much to the adoring delight of the ladies you were observing. A man to your right standing at a stall calls up at you both.

“Smoked Hylian Salmon, fresh from th’mornin’! Good sir, treat yer gal to a hot steamy portion of special Smoked Hylian Salmon! Only ten Rupees a platter with a bread roll on th’side! That’s ten Rupees folks-” the man turns and addresses the rest of the crowd. Epona stumbles back, probably alarmed by the noise and crowds, but Malon gives her a pat on the neck.

“It’s okay girl, come on… Let’s get you something tasty to distract you,” she hushed, steering the horse to a nearby stable. 

As you pay the stablehand in advance, Malon grabs hold of your elbow. Saying nothing, she pulls you away into the crowd, which was getting more and more difficult to sift through as you reached a particularly loud part of the town. Suddenly she stops, and points somewhere over the heads of the citizens.

“Look, look!” she shouts over the cheering, “It’s Princess Zelda!”

Your eyes skip around, then eventually you see the cause of the commotion as a large man to your left moves aside. There are guards, clad in formal wear, formed around a massive, elaborately decorated carriage. Their feet click and clunk on the cobbled ground as they march past the fountain in the town square. You see the Royal Family’s crest cast in gold on the top as it glints in the orange sunlight, and under it, a figure waving to the adoring masses. The carriage turns slightly, and you see her. Zelda has grown into a beautiful young lady since you last saw her. From the looks of things, it is safe to assume that she has also become an able ruler and icon of the people, as the crowd is cheering and blessing her name. In the seat across from Zelda, in the shadows, you see someone else that you also had once known. She hasn’t aged a day. You smile to yourself, realizing that you had almost forgotten how you had saved this land from the hands of a thieving king.

The carriage passes, and the roar of the crowd becomes almost too much. Malon shares your sentiment, as she turns to you, raises her eyebrows and nods to the rest of the market, wordlessly questioning if you’ve now seen enough. You make no eye contact with Zelda as she waves over you, generally addressing her subjects. She doesn’t recognise you. But for a split second, you could swear that you felt the glance of wise, red eyes upon you.

“Isn’t that a sight?” Malon sighs as you both reach the further end of the crowd, who are now slowly moving along with the parade to the outside of the town gates, “A life of luxury really is a birthright.”

You ask Malon what she means, and she gives a hefty laugh.

“Well, when you see all that, doesn’t it make you thankful? If I was born in the Princess’ shoes, I’d never have had the chance to help so many animals and support hungry people with my work at the farm. That feels good to me. I wouldn’t have had Pa or Ma in my life. And… I’d probably have never met you.”

You pause for a moment, take a breath and open your mouth to address her confession, only to be cut off by her.

“Oh Goddesses, don’t look!- oh…,” Malon groans with dread, “Don’t look now, but my Pa is walking this way.” 

*****

Art by R3dFiVe

Story by Redeemer and R3dFiVe

Writing by Redeemer