All Things Come to an End

Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. All of the characters in this story belong to Nintendo. I have written this for entertainment purposes only, and am not making any sort of profit for it.

-------------------
Early morning sunlight streamed through an open window, casting a patch of warm, golden light across a lumpy, light blue bedspread. The occupant’s eyelids twitched ever so slightly, dreams fading as he slowly came awake.

The first thing he was aware of was the dull throbbing in his head. For a passing moment, he felt as though he’d be sick again, but with a deep breath of the clear, cool air, his stomach settled and he relaxed into the mattress. For a time, he simply lay there, focused on his breathing. With a slight movement of his hand, he realized he was covered in layers of blankets. He hadn’t been aware of the weight of them until now.

The warmth tempted the weary teen to drift back to sleep, but he refused the calling for now. He inhaled slowly, paying careful attention to the scent of his surroundings. The faint aroma of farm animals was drifting in on the breeze. He also recognized the tantalizing smell of cooking eggs.

’so, I made it to the ranch,’ he thought, relaxing slightly. The last thing he could remember was the pain that had brought him to his knees. ’did I really hit my head that hard?’ he wondered. The teen shifted a little, thinking of reaching up to touch his head, but somehow he lacked the ambition. His body felt heavy and relaxed, and he didn’t like the thought of disturbing that feeling just yet.

Footsteps were approaching. He tensed momentarily, but when he heard her soft voice humming the familiar melody of Epona’s Song, he relaxed again. There was a faint creaking–the bedroom door opening, he assumed, and the humming stopped. Her footsteps came closer, stopping beside him.

He couldn’t help but flinch ever so slightly as her fingers brushed his cheek. Her skin was rougher than he’d expected–calloused from years of farm work.

“Link?” she asked softly in response to his flinch. Said hero’s eyelids twitched again, and he slowly opened them. Unfortunately, his eyes were not ready for the flood of light. He hissed faintly in pain and turned his head away from the window, eyelids wincing shut.

“Link-kun! You’re awake!” cried the familiar voice of Navi. After the throbbing pain in his head had dulled again, he carefully reopened his eyes. A faint, if somewhat sad smile graced Malon’s lips.

Link stared at her for a while. The woman gazing down on him was definitely Malon. There was no doubt about that. Flaming red hair cascaded down her shoulders. Her face was longer and thinner than he remembered, and her figure had changed quite a bit since the last time he’d seen her. ’of course she’s changed,’ he scolded himself mentally. ’seven years have passed, remember?’

Something bothered him, though. There was sadness in her turquoise eyes, and her face seemed a little too thin. Her skin was pale, as though she had failed to get any sleep the night before. Faint gray circles beneath her eyes testified to that.

“Good morning, sleepy head,” Malon said gently, interrupting his worried thoughts. She rested her palm on his cheek. “Looks like your fever finally broke. You had us worried, fairy boy.”

“Malon.”

“Ah, you remember my name! There’s hope for you, after all.” She giggled at his blank look. “You bumped your head pretty good, it seems. The doctor was concerned you might’ve done some damage up there.”

She fidgeted absently with a golden brooch, her eyes dropping to the floor a moment. Link couldn’t help but notice how the handkerchief the brooch kept in place covered her graceful neck. He shook his head to clear it of such thoughts.

“Malon, how have you been?” he asked, not liking the vacant look in her eyes.

“Oh, fine. Mr. Ingo’s keeping me busy with the chores and all,” she forced a smile. Link couldn’t help but notice it didn’t reach her eyes. “Anyway, how about you? What’ve you been up to these past seven years? I’ve missed seeing you around, and Epona does too.”

“It’s . . . kind of a long story,” Link said quietly. He spared a quick glance at Navi, who seemed content to hover a few feet to the side of her charge’s head.

“It can wait. You look starved. How about some breakfast?”

Link smiled faintly. “Sounds good.”

-------------------------------------------------------

Malon smiled gently, taking Link’s empty plate for him. She wouldn’t let him get up just yet, despite his reassurances that he was fine, and having lost the battle with her, he was now sulking. The red head found it adorable in it’s own way.

“I’ve got to go do my chores. Will you be all right, Link?” she asked. His sapphire gaze met hers.

“I can help you with them,” he offered.

“That isn’t necessary. Besides, you need rest. Doctor’s orders.”

“Tch, fine,” he muttered.

“Behave yourself, now.”

“Sure.”

Malon tried hard not to laugh at his pouting as she left. Every now and then, he reminded her of a child, as though part of him had never aged. She still wondered about where he had been the past seven years. “Oh well, there’s time for that. He’s got to recover, first and foremost,” she reasoned as she left the little ranch house.

Meanwhile, Link sighed and sank back into the pillows. “Navi, how long have we been here?”

“Just one night, Link-kun,” she reassured, fluttering down to land on his pillow. “I was scared for you when you passed out. What happened to you?”

“I’m not sure. It was like something just snapped in my head. The pain was unlike anything I’d ever felt, and it was so sudden. I was hoping you could tell me.”

“Well, the doctor person who came in said you had a con-cush-on,” she fumbled with the foreign term, her wings twitching a bit in curiosity. “You had a fever, too. I think you’ve been pushing yourself too hard, Link-kun.”

The hero smiled faintly. He appreciated the fay’s concern, but he didn’t have much of a choice. Time was running out for Hyrule. All would be lost if he took too long.

“Sheik wanted me to meet him in Kakariko,” Link suddenly realized, sitting up. “He’s expecting me.”

The fairy fluttered in front of his face. “Now, Link-kun you just stay right there. Sheik said to meet him after a few days of rest. It’s only been one day, and you’re doing as he said, so he won’t mind,” she chastised gently. “If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll go and tell Sheik what happened, and where you are.”

Link sighed quietly and nodded. “You’re right. Sorry.” He eased back down, closing his eyes a moment. His head had started throbbing again. “I’d appreciate it if you went to talk to him, but why don’t you go tomorrow? I’m not sure when he was supposed to arrive at Kakariko, anyway.”

Navi giggled. “Okay, Link-kun.”

They fell into silence for a bit. Once the throbbing had dulled a bit, Link cleared his throat somewhat.

“Hey Navi?”

Said fairy appeared in front of his face, hovering there with her glow dimmed for his sake. Link silently thanked her for being so observant.

“Did...did you talk to Malon at all while I was asleep?”

“Uh huh. She recognized you immediately, Link-kun. I think your clothes and I gave you away.” The statement couldn’t have been more accurate. Link’s Kokiri styled clothing, which consisted of a green tunic and hat, could give him away most anywhere.

“Did. . . did she say anything about what’s happened the past seven years? To her, I mean.”

“Not much, Link-kun. Why?”

“I don’t know. She seems kinda sad, somehow.”

“You should ask her later.”

“I think I will.”

They fell back into silence. Link’s mind wandered on the subject of Malon for quite awhile. She seemed down, but it could be from so many things. Hyrule was in really bad shape. Maybe she was sad because of that. She had lived through seven years of horror and hardship that he had simply skipped.

But then, perhaps it was just a part of growing up. Maybe he looked like that, too.

But something kept nagging at him. A thread of doubt had planted itself firmly in his head, and refused to leave at his self-assurances. Somehow he knew it was none of those reasons. Somehow he knew that something far worse had fallen upon the innocent redhead. What that could be, he didn’t know. ’I’ll find out, somehow. I’ll find out and help her,’ he decided, just as sleep pulled him back into its sweet embrace.

T.B.C.
--------------------------------------------------------------
A/N:
Sorry for the long wait. School started up again, so I haven’t had the time to write that I did before.

Addressing a few issues brought up in the reviews:

Yes, Malon was a virgin. Yes, she was confused about the whole experience, because getting raped is a hell of a lot different than masturbation. Besides, though we humans can’t reach that age without touching ourselves, who can say Hylians are the same way? Just a thought. Besides, I did mention that she felt some pleasure from that (you made it sound like I hadn’t). I’m well aware that females can’t help feeling pleasure, even when being forced. But considering how much pain and fear she was experiencing, on top of the fact that Ingo just did his thing and got off, not CARING about her thoughts, she didn’t have the time to feel much more than she did.

As to the whole “Link-kun” business, as someone thankfully pointed out in another review, adding “kun” after a name is a show of affection. It’s part of the Japanese language. So no, it’s not “wrong,” you were just not aware of it. I probably should've explained sooner. It would’ve been wrong if it had been “Link-Kuh” like you said, since “kun” is the title, not “kuh.” Make sure you know what you’re saying in your reviews, k? ;) Thanks.

Link's a bit ignorant as to what's going on right now with Ingo and all. He's been sleeping for 7 years, and the poor boy's being a little slow at figuring it out. But no worries! He'll figure it out soon enough, once his brain unscrambles itself. ^^"

Thanks for reviewing, I'll try to update soon (next weekend at the very latest)!