Link and Malon met Ruto and Mikau for a sendoff that was small and private — little more than a light breakfast, followed by Ruto summoning a small degree of ceremony to bequeath unto Link an official letter from the King of the Zoras addressed to Her Highness, the Princess Zelda of Hyrule.

"I wrote it myself this morning," Ruto said as Link tucked the rolled-up parchment into his empty bottle for safe keeping, "and I personally watched my father sign it — so rest assured that everything is in perfect order."

Link thanked her, and they all exchanged farewells — and as soon as the ship was stocked, Link and Malon again took to the skies.

They were high above the rolling green of Hyrule Field when the Epona's engine sputtered. One moment they were sailing high and clear through the endless blue, chatting idly on the deck as wispy white clouds rolled past overhead — the next, the familiar mechanical purr became an awful grind and the ship screamed as her prow dipped toward the ground.

"Link — wheel!" Malon ordered, "Engine's mine!"

"Aye aye!" Link replied, already scrambling into place as Malon dashed up the deck and disappeared below.

He grabbed the wheel and pulled, fighting to steady the Epona's keel and bring her level enough to ride above the headwind. The ship resisted, pitching up and rolling from side to side so that Link's white-knuckled grip on the wheel was all that kept him from being thrown into the void.

The engine kicked suddenly — the grinding growl changed notes as Malon worked her magic on the mechanics — and the Epona leveled even as the ground rushed closer and the shrieking wind squeezed tears from Link's eyes.

He grit his teeth, whisking he'd had the sense to carry the goggles Aryll had given him as pulled the ship's prow up against gravity. The Epona was falling, but he'd keep her falling forward until Malon got the engine fixed.

Goddesses all, Link prayed Malon got the engine fixed.

He braced himself against the wheel, fighting to keep it steady with his left hand as he reached for a lifeline with the other. He wrapped the rope twice around his middle, his other arm shaking as he fumbled to make a knot — and then his grip slipped.

The wheel spun wildly and the ship careened, lurching to starboard and swinging the horizon high into view. Link was flung sideways — but by some miracle, his knot held and the jolt only knocked the air from his lungs.

He'd have a nice bruise tomorrow, if he lived.

Link fought to catch the wheel and fought to catch his breath — throwing all his weight to drag the Epona level again. Her engined growled and whined, but she steadied — and then crashed into the ground, plowing through the field to carve a deep rut across the green.

Link awoke some time later to find himself slumped against the wheel, still lashed in place as he'd been before. But there was something strange about the sky — it was… sideways? No, he was sideways — the whole ship was tilted where it lay on the ground, resting at an odd angle beneath the cloud-studded blue.

Link groaned, counted his bruises, mumbled a curse. He was alive and that was something to be grateful for, but every inch of him ached — and... where was Malon?

Link reached for the knots he'd tied before, but his shock-numbed fingers would not grip the tight-woven rope. It was too slick, and he was too tired. So instead he maneuvered his sword from its sheath and awkwardly sawed, moving with the slow, deliberate patience of exhaustion.

The rope finally snapped and Link tumbled free. His sword slipped from his grasp and slid down the slanted deck to thump into the grass, but Link was able to catch himself before he fell nearly as far. On all fours, he crawled to the hatch, lifted it, climbed belowdecks to look for Malon.

He found her in the smoke-filled engine room, sprawled in a heap against the tilted wall. Stray strands of scarlet hair partially obscured her grease-smeared face. Link hoped she was only unconscious.

He knelt beside her and gently shook her shoulder, praying fervently as he begged her to wake up.

Malon stirred, frowning slightly as she gave a nearly inaudible groan. Relief flooded Link's system and brought tears to his eyes. He couldn't hold back a sob.

"Oh, Malon — I thought you were dead!"

"Not yet, featherbrain," Malon murmured, her blue eyes fluttering open. "Did we land?"

"We're… on the ground, at least," Link replied. "I did the best I could. How do you feel?"

"Sore," answered Malon, gingerly pushing herself upright. "And bruised. But… in one piece. You're okay?"

Link nodded. "I tied myself down just in time."

"And the ship?"

"She cut a pretty neat gash through Hyrule Field — but as far as I can tell, she's in one piece too."

Malon nodded. "That's… something. I guess I'll call it a miracle, seeing how we literally fell out of the sky."

"Any idea why we did that?" Link asked.

Malon shrugged and sighed. "My best guess? The repairs we did after our last crash weren't thorough enough and something slipped out of alignment and gave out from the strain — but we hit the ground before I could figure out what. I'm... some pilot I am. I should have noticed."

"Malon, we've been busy enough lately — you could leave your head at breakfast and I'd still call you justified. Come on, we're both alive and I'm sure the damage is nothing we can't fix." He paused, managing to laugh. "And look at the bright side! This time we're not stranded on a mountain named death!"

Malon glared, deliberately reaching out a hand to tap his head in a mock-smack.

Link only grinned wider. "Feel Better now?"

Malon frowned, but the corners of her mouth betrayed a hidden smile. "Not better enough."

"Hey, I'll take it. Now — what do you say we get out of here and scrape up some lunch?"

Hello everyone!

Thanks for being so patient with my sporadic updates — depression's been strangling me lately, and keeping up with anything has been... hard.

I'm gonna keep on keeping on, and I'm taking steps to make things better — but yeah. Things have been rough, so I truly appreciate the kind words you leave for me.

Anyway, thanks so much for sticking around — thanks so much for the reviews, and I hope to see you all again soon!

Have a nice month!

~Garsson