The next morning, right after the first sunrays were cast upon the Plains of Hyrule, Gosunkugi left the two heroes to return back to his Ghost Market. For some twisted reason, the only place where he felt safe and secure were his own, confined rooms, between dusty shelves and ghost-filled bottles, knowing that they wouldn't be able to do anything to him anymore. While he was afraid of Poes that were roaming Hyrule freely, he simply adored having their spirits trapped in bottles.
Ukyo wasn't too disappointed to see him go. "He was a weirdo, that's for sure," she grumbled while they continued their own journey.
"Well, maybe, but I prefer the company of a weirdo to the company of Ganondorf's creatures," Link remarked while slowly riding alongside his friend.
"LonLon Ranch ahead," Navi shouted. "You still wanna drop in for a visit? I mean, that shadow demon's probably not gonna wait for us..."
"We need more provisions," Link said. "And we still have half of the way before us. We're just gonna say hello, ask for some food and leave."
Tatl giggled. "I bet Malon would like you to stay a bit longer," she smirked.
"Well, me too," Link replied, once again completely missing what Tatl was getting at. "I mean, I like the ranch, and Malon and her Dad are nice people... but Navi is right, we can't wait for too long."
"Y-yes, we have to go," the blue fairy quickly nodded. "No time to stay, no, no!"
'And certainly no time for Malon to flirt with Link,' she thought. 'After all, he has already Saria... it'S bad enough that Ruto has such a big crush on him.'
She definitely didn't feel jealous because of the many girls that were throwing themselves at her Link. Nope, no way, definitely not, not in a thousand years!
Ukyo sighed. "Well, having LonLon Milk on the trip sure sounds great... it's not like we can live on a water and red potion diet."
When they had reached the ranch, Link patted his brown mare's neck affectionally. "See that, Epona? You're back home!"
Epona snorted happily. She knew she wouldn't stay the night in a warm stable this time, but at least she was able to see Malon... she knew the red-headed girl always had sugar lumps in her pockets. And if she was lucky, she'd even have the time to nip the clumsy Taro's backside...
Taro was just coming out of the stables when they arrived. He welcomed them with a smirk. "Well, if it isn't the green duo of the forest! I knew you'd be back sooner or later."
"Hello, Taro!" Ukyo smiled. "We've just been on our way to Kakariko, and we thought, while we're here, why not drop in and say hello?"
Taro grinned. "And it doesn't have anything to do with our famous country food, does it?"
Link chuckled and scratched his head. "Guilty as charged. Yeah, we need a few provisions, and we thought you could help us out..."
"No problem!" a cheerful voice coming from the horse pasture said. "After all you did for us, giving you some food is the least we could do." Malon gave the green-clad heroes a warm smile. "Hey there, fairy-boy, fairy-girl!"
Link waved. "Hello, Malon!"
Ukyo frowned. "My name is UKYO, got it?"
Malon grinned. "Whatever you say, fairy-girl!"
Ukyo groaned.
Malon giggled and then petted Eponas head. "Hey, Epona! Missed me, didn't you, girl? Did Link treat you well?"
'As if, he left me waiting in the forest, for hours,' the mare thought to herself. But since she felt generous today, she simply snorted and searched around Malon's pockets with her wet snout.
"Ooooh, so you know what's in there?" Malon laughed and pulled out a couple of sugar lumps. "You're almost as greedy as Daddy, girl! But here you go!"
While Malon fed Epona the sugar, Link jumped off her back. Malon welcomed him with a wide smile. "So, fairy-boy... you just couldn't stay away, huh? You had to come back, right?"
Link smiled back. "No, of course not!"
'I knew it...' Malon thought and sighed dreamily. 'He came back for me...'
"Yes, it's hard to resist the call of destiny, isn't it?" she murmured and fluttered her eyelashes.
"You can say that again," Link nodded, causing Malon's heart to jump.
"Y-you mean it?" she muttered.
"Of course! Heck, the only reason I took this job is because I pulled the Master Sword out of the stone. Stupid destiny... if not for Ganondorf, I'd already be back in the forest, with my friends, instead of trying to stop a shadow demon from destroying Kakariko..."
Malon blinked. "Shadow Demon? Kakariko?" She felt like she was the victim of an insider joke.
Ukyo sighed. "Malon, I have the feeling the two of you are getting your wires crossed..."
Taro chuckled. "No kidding!"
Link didn't quite understand what everyone was talking about, so he just said: "Anyways, Malon... we're in a bit of a hurry, so can you bring us some milk, some bread, maybe a few eggs?"
Malon glared at him. "Sure, if all you need to be happy is FOOD, then I'll be happy to help!"
Link grinned. "Hey, thanks! You're a great pal, Malon!"
Malon angrily stormed off. In no time, she had packed a bag with provisions, walked back outside and shoved it into the baffled Link's hands. "There! Take your food! Be happy with it! Marry it, if you want! I'm done here!"
And then she turned around and stomped back to the only people who really understood her: Her beloved horses.
Link blinked, his arms full with food, and looked after the enraged girl.
Taro walked up next to him and shook his head. "Buddy, I think you messed up..."
Link looked up at him. "Um... Taro? What does 'marry' mean? Is that a special way to prepare lunch?"
The burly farm hand facefaulted.
Veran, the Sorceress of Shadows, was slowly walking through the ruins of Hyrule Town. In her right hand, she was holding an old and rusty sword... the same sword she had found in the ruined castle not too long ago, and which she had brought to her lord and master.
'If Lord Ganondorf finds out that I took the sword, I'll be in trouble,' she thought. 'But I just have to find out who the true wielder of this blade has been in life.'
She looked at the sword's handle, where she saw a special emblem: A stylized lily.
She knew this emblem too well, it was the sign of one of the richest families in Hyrule, after the royal family itself: The Saginomiya Family! The last heir to that family, the snotty Asuka, had been Princess Kodachi's rival for Captain Mikado's affections, and her nickname had always been 'The White Lily'. But if this blade truly had been in her family's possession, how had it become the sword of Dark Link? Or rather, the person he had been in life?
The first time Veran had found the sword, she had seen the emblem, but didn't realize it. It still seemed familiar to her, and a few hours ago, she finally remembered where she had seen it before. And now she just had to find out what this was all about...
"Dark Link..." she muttered. "Who are you...?"
She didn't realize it, but what she was doing right now contradicted all of the obedience spells the Poe Sisters had put on her mind. She wasn't supposed to have a free will, no matter if she remembered her previous life or not. But now, that most of the sisters were destroyed, the barriers of restriction in her mind were slowly dissipating...
She angrily blasted a few Redeads who wanted to come too close to her and kept on walking, until she reached her destination: The old manor and trading house of the Saginomiya family.
Using her magic, she opened the rusty door with a single blast of dark energy. She then walked inside and proceeded to search every corner of the abandoned building, until she found something very interesting in an old storeroom, in-between dirty rags and broken bottles.
It was an invoice. An invoice for a sword that had been forged by the local armorer for none other than 'Asuka Saginomiya'.
Veran frowned. That bitch Asuka had never been a warrior, nor did she fancy sharp and heavy weaponry as decorations... so why on Hyrule would she order such a blade to be made? She would have to further investigate.
But the final clue waited for her in the old bedroom of the White Lily, in the ruined remains of her old armoire... it was Asuka's diary.
She thumbed through the still intact book until she reached the last page on which Asuka had written.
'Dear diary,' she read. 'Today, I will finally propose to my beloved Captain Mikado. I have a present for him that he cannot refuse. I ordered the local armorer to forge a noble blade for my noble warrior, a sword which he may use to smite all the evil fiends that are threatening our kingdom. I made sure that our family emblem would be engraved on the sword's handle, so that he always knows that it will be my love that protects him. He will just have to realize that I am the only one for him, not that stuck-up Princess Kodachi! I will go and bring it to him this evening.'
The diary slipped out of the sorceress' fingers and fell to the dusty floor. Her eyes simply stared ahead.
"So... this is your horrible secret, Dark Link..." Veran muttered. "Your secret identity..."
She took a deep breath. "You have been none other... than my beloved one, Captain Mikado!"
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(Posted Sun, 18 May 2008 15:36)
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