Mila found Link slightly white-faced in the middle of the field.

"You'll want to see this," she urged, panting slightly, and led him to a large cottage a hundred yards away. It might've been homey enough at one point, with large wooden beams supporting the thatched roof and wide latticed windows to let in the daylight, but now it was destroyed—furniture was overturned, glass shattered, garbage strewn about. The place had been utterly destroyed.

They found Manny comforting the red-haired girl on the second story. Across the room, a middle-aged man and woman lay side-by-side, dead. They appeared to have both been stabbed, and their hands were clasped tight—they had died together; it was a sickening sight.

Vaati peeked out from behind Link's collar, where he had taken up residence, and covered his mouth in shock. Silently, he re-retreated beneath the fabric.

"Gods…" Link breathed. Ezlo's words about heroism immediately lost their luster as Link took a step towards the bodies. "What happened?"

The red-haired girl was too weak to sob outright.

"The w-woman on the bird and her monsters came for the horses," she said weakly. "They demanded we hand them over—for their armies to use—as laborers." She was gasping for breath, choking on silent sobs. "My m-mother and father refused… the monsters said they'd be back, and th-this time, they'd steal them… so we killed th-the horses. All of them. To spare them the misery of being w-worked to death."

Link's jaw fell open. "You killed the horses?" He had assumed it was the beasts.

"The m-monsters—they were furious. When they saw what we had done, they sep-separated us—tied me up in the barn and said we had better p-pay with rupees or-or with our lives—" She broke down again in Manny's arms. The freckled boy looked up helplessly. Beside him, Mila stood still as stone.

"You have been greatly wronged," Mila said. "I assure you, the beasts will pay for what they have done to your parents."

The girl looked up incredulously, her dark blue eyes tainted crimson with tears of outrage. "Do you know nothing?! None can stop them. It is worse every day!"

"I will stop them," Link promised.

"You?! All the soldiers in Hyrule are d-dead or have fled! What makes you any different?!"

"I killed the bird."

"One beast of a thousand," the girl lamented, "and nine hundred ninety-nine left to go. Forgive me if I don't believe in heroes… nobody does, except for little girls and boys. And I'm not a little girl. Not anymore."

Link stepped forward and kneeled in front of her. She couldn't be more than twenty, and beneath the crust of blood coating her face and matting down her clothes and hair, she was beautiful. There was no denying that.

"You haven't even told me your name," he said after a while.

"Malon," she answered quietly.

"Come with us, Malon," he said. "There's still time; I can still save you."

She shook her head. "I'm dead. I promise you, I'm dead."

"You're not."

"I am. Look." She unbuttoned the front of her dress to reveal a deep gash across her stomach. The wound had begun to fester; Link resisted the urge to look away.

"Let me see what we have for potions," he said desperately, and reached for Mila's bag a few paces away. Digging through it, he relayed its contents: "I have a vial of red potion and everything I need to clean the wound. Come lie on the bed, I can try to treat you—"

"No," Malon said again.

"Please," Link insisted, looking up from the bag. "C'mon, I promise—I promise you I can save you." His voice cracked, and he felt his confidence falter.

"I'm not worth the effort," the girl protested. She sank further into Manny's arms. "Hold onto your potion. You need it more than I do."

"No." Link shook his head. "No, absolutely not. You're going to live. Lay her down, Manny. Mila, let's clean this wound. …Mila?"

"A word, Link?" Mila said. Link sighed and glanced at Manny. "Make her comfortable. I'm coming right back."

In the hallway, Mila bowed her head. "Malon's right, Link. We're better off saving our supplies. Even if we treat her, there's no guarantee…"

"I want to save her," Link insisted. He was beginning to panic. "Today, I was told I'm supposed to be a hero. How can I save a kingdom if I can't even save one person?!"

The blond girl seemed heartbroken. Tears came trickling from her silver eyes. "Link… don't be a fool. She won't survive the night."

"I'm going to save her," Link insisted. "I am."

"Link," the little Picori on his shoulder spoke up, peeking out from the hat. Mila's eyes widened.

"Who—"

"I'll explain later. What, Vaati?"

"Sometimes, being a hero means making sacrifices."

"I'm not sacrificing an innocent girl," Link insisted. He returned his attentions to Mila. "Let me use the potion and the bandages. I'll do it all myself."

Mila swallowed nervously and hung her head. "I…"

"Mila. Please. C'mon." He grabbed her hand, but she didn't look up. "We have to. Supplies are replaceable. She's not."

Finally, Mila nodded. "You're right, of course. Very well—we'll give it our best effort." Slowly, the girl followed Link back into the room. Manny had moved Malon's weak frame onto the bed and was sitting beside her. He stood when Link appeared.

"She's asleep, but breathing," Manny said. Link sat beside the girl and examined the wound in her stomach again. It ran deep and was gushing with pus—a horrible sight. His hands fumbled for the potions and bandages, but shook as he did so. He took a few deep breaths.

"Alright. We can do this," he assured the group—and himself.

…

When the wound was treated with red potion and dressed, Link collapsed onto the floor and leaned back against the bed. Malon's snores were faint and uneven; every now and then her breath would snag on the air and stop, momentarily, in a horrible, crushing silence, and Link would fear the worst—and then it would start up again, and he would realize how tense he'd become, and relax as much as he could.

Evening had fallen again, and Vaati was snoozing on Link's shoulder, his short, small wisps of breath streaming against Link's chin. He set the little creature down on a fallen pillow, noticing that he was was practically weightless, and wondering whether he might glance over at any moment to find him gone, no more than some hallucination he'd conjured up—Vaati, Ezlo, the Picori Blade—all of it.

"Like one of your childhood fantasies," Manny said when Link relayed everything that had happened between him and the Picori. The pair had retreated into the main room of the cottage when Mila fell asleep on the bed beside Malon. Out here, they could speak a little more freely without fear of waking anybody.

"You think?" Link replied.

"Sure. These little creatures say you'll be called a hero—isn't that what you always wanted?"
"Of course," Link said hollowly. "Of course I did. I just didn't think that it would be so…" He fell quiet.

"Scary?" Manny offered.

"Yeah. That." He paused. "It's probably not all real, anyway," he finally said. "It's probably some big ruse. Fake."

"What, like that sword?" Manny joked.

Link returned his attentions to the blade at his hip. "Sure," he said weakly. Exhaustion was getting the better of him, but he couldn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw that monstrous bird—its cruel, keen gaze and razor-sharp talons. And the bodies, too—Malon's parents…

A sense of unease flooded Link's insides. He wondered whether he would be sick.

Manny's mind was somewhere similar. "That bird today…" he began.

"You're thinking of it too?"

"Can't get it out of my head," he answered honestly, and gritted his teeth. "Link, I… I was filling out my travel log, writing about the bird, when I remembered something. I noticed it earlier, but forgot about it when we found Malon's parents—Link, I don't know if you noticed, but the rider… it was a woman."
"I noticed."

"With braided hair."

"Okay," Link replied uncertainly. "I didn't see her hair."

"Link… she had violet hair."

Oh.

Sue-Belle.

"I'm sure it wasn't…" Link began, but trailed off.

"What if it was her, though?" Manny collapsed into a kitchen chair and his head fell into his long hands. Illuminated by only a ray of moonlight through the window, he was no more than a spindly silhouette, bowed and silent like a tree in a graveyard. A grandfather clock ticked behind him, sonorous and heavy in the deepening silence.

"It can't be. Sue-Belle was so quiet—so kind—"

"—But so damned suspicious," Manny cut in. "Remember the last time we saw her? In the armory?"

It had been five years, yet Link still did remember. There was no denying that their final encounter with Zelda's pretty chambermaid had raised more questions than it answered. Privately, too, he recalled overhearing a conversation between Sue-Belle and her grandfather—about a brother with a hidden agenda—about family secrets…

He'd never told Manny what he'd overheard in the armory for fear of upsetting him. Manny had adored the girl—even now, he spoke of her from time to time. Link had flirted with the serving girls from time to time, but Manny had doted on the same one for so long, had cherished the thought of her, had intended to court her someday…

Of course he still thinks of her, Link realized. I still think of Zelda, after all.

He didn't speak after that.

…

They arrived at Hyrule Castle to find it exactly as he remembered it. Whatever they had heard had been rumors. Hyrule was at peace—there were no monsters! Gustaf feasted merrily while Potho fussed over the state of the silverware. Princess Zelda beckoned Link to the table and offered him a sip from her goblet. He drained its contents merrily, catching a glimpse of his own smiling face in the bottom of the cup—his raven-black hair and straight white teeth—but the moment he, Nohansen, lowered the goblet, he saw Sue-Belle where Zelda had been mere moments ago, a devious glint in her eyes. Suddenly, his innards were alight with a terrible illness—then all went numb, and he collapsed—

And then Manny was shaking him awake. Bleak morning light leaked through the windows—since when? Link didn't even remember falling asleep.

"Link? Wake up. Bad news. I'm really sorry. Malon didn't make it."

Link stumbled to his feet. "What?" He felt as if he'd been slapped. No…

He rushed ahead of Manny and crashed into the bedroom. Mila sat weeping at the farm girl's side, clutching her pale, dead hand as if enough force might bring her back to life. "She's joined her parents," Mila said weakly, and bowed her head. Behind her, Vaati stared forlornly from his perch on the dresser.

Link wanted to say he was surprised, but that would have been untrue. His bitterness burned slowly away and left him feeling numb. When a long moment of silence was behind them, Link brushed hurriedly past Manny towards the door.

"Where are you going?"

He could feel tears condensing hotly on his lashes. "To find a spade."

…

Nohansen.

His shovel broke the earth for the first time.

Gustaf.

And the second.

Potho.

He dug again.

Zelda.

And again.

Malon.

And again.

Her parents.

And again.

Nohansen. Dig. Gustaf. Dig. Potho. Dig. Zelda. Dig. Malon. Dig. Her parents. Dig. Nohansen. Dig. Gustaf. Potho. Zelda. Malon. Her parents. Nohansen. Gustaf. Potho. Zelda. Malon. Her parents…

How many more would have to be lost before Link could confront the force behind it? Nohansen.

How many more deaths that he couldn't prevent?

Gustaf.

How many had already died that he didn't yet know of?
Potho.

How many dead would never be buried?
Zelda.

Would Manny or Mila eventually be among them?

Malon.

What about Link himself?

…

By the time Link finished making the grave, it was high noon. Sweat boiled on his back, as he'd long ago discarded his tunic in the hot sun. Finding only one shovel, he'd chosen to do the task alone while Manny and Mila washed the dead bodies and wrapped them in linen sheets. They carried them out and laid them in the earth one-by-one while Vaati watched wordlessly. Mila led a prayer. The bodies were covered again with earth, and Link marked the spot with a heavy white stone he'd found some hundred yards off and had Manny haul over in a wheelbarrow.

Kneeling over the grave, Link pressed his palm into the dry soil. I'm sorry I arrived too late. His hand left a deep print when he returned to his feet.

"We should go," Mila said quietly. "There's nothing more we can do for them."

Link knew that she was right, yet remained deeply unsatisfied. He couldn't put words to what he was feeling, and could only describe it as the odd sensation that as he left the ranch, a fragment of him was left behind, dead and buried like the innocents he couldn't save.

Wow, gang. Sorry for never uploading this and for the 10-month wait.

The adventure continues! Bit of a dark turn here.

Next chapter: Link's quest takes a turn when he encounters a familiar face.