And so it ends, as it began, unsure and only the beginnings of a much grander story.
A story that can never fully be told.
Because Hyrule never really ends.
Steal Away The Cradle In My Mind
The sounds of rustling branches and running water woke Malon. She sat up, blinking the sun out of her eyes, and surveyed her surroundings. She had just had the most wonderful dream…
…and it seemed she was still in it.
She was in a carriage, she realized. Her blouse was misbuttoned and her skirt inside-out, having been hastily thrown back on last night.
Malon looked over to her side and found him there, fast asleep. She hadn't expected to wake before him, but she realized why she had. He wasn't used to feeling anything so strongly. He'd only been human a year, after all. And even after it all, he had still hurried to drive their carriage as far from Hyrule as he could manage without collapsing. He deserved to rest.
Looking at him, lips parted slightly and hair disheveled, snoring ever so lightly as his chest rose and fell in rhythm with his breathing; he seemed so vulnerable. Sure, when it came to direct confrontation, Knil was more the aggressor than the victim. But when it came to just about anything else, Knil was so defenseless. He was still discovering his body and his emotions. He didn't know how to deal with people, and cope with human troubles. In that sense he was so naïve, so innocent. All the responsibilities and stresses that people learned to overcome throughout a lifetime, were suddenly being forced upon him all at once. A person could lose their mind this way. Knil was fragile.
Malon noticed him shiver in his sleep. He was still accustoming himself to the cold. A strong feeling of protectiveness washed over Malon, and she reached into her bag to pull out her robe. She threw it over him, tucking it up to his chin, and smiled as he settled back into an undisturbed sleep.
She knew she wouldn't have to worry about herself anymore. Knil would watch out for her, she was sure of it. She would only concern herself with Knil. She would protect him. No matter how hard things got, no matter how insufferable he could be, she would take care of him.
Malon stepped out of the carriage, feeling the roughness of the soil, twigs, and leaves beneath her feet. They had driven all the way into some forest on the outskirts of Hyrule. And it was beautiful.
There was a stream nearby; which must have been the source of the sound of running water Malon had woken to. It was clear, crystalline, foaming only at the edges where it met the shore. Careful not to slip on the slick sand, Malon held up her skirts and walked along the bank. She squealed in surprise as the cold water lapped against her feet.
"Malon?!" came a terrified voice from the carriage. Malon turned around, smiling back. There was Knil, jumping down from the carriage and running towards her in a panic. "What is it? What happened?!" He ran right into the stream, soaking himself. He seemed so worried. It was endearing.
"Nothing." Malon giggled, splashing a little water at Knil playfully. "I was just considering taking a quick dip."
Knil scowled, irritated, and stormed out of the stream, a dripping mess. "Don't go wandering off alone like that!" He reprimanded angrily. "Especially not without my permission!" He was silent for a moment, but then reached out and grabbed Malon by the arm, pulling her out of the stream. "You're mine, do you hear? MINE!"
Malon sighed. Normally she might've protested against him treating her like his property. But she had come to understand Knil somewhat. He wasn't saying it to insult her, he just didn't know how else to show his concern.
"Yes." Malon breathed, reaching forward to cup his cheek. "I'm yours, Knil." She planted a chaste, little peck of a kiss on his lips. His grip on her arm loosened in response. "But only if you're mine, too."
Knil groaned in exasperation and whirled away from her, storming off back into the carriage. "Just come on! I won't let you delay me any more than you already have!"
Malon smiled, skipping after him. Oh yes, he was very sensitive. But she would protect him, at all costs. She swore it.
XxX
"Knil!" The old woman shrieked for the fifth time in a row. She shook her head in disapproval, turning to Malon as she helped her fold the clothes. "Useless, that man of yours. How many times do I have to call—KNIL?!"
"I said I'm COMING you old hag!" came Knil's hostile reply from outside.
The old woman ran to the window, throwing open the shutters to better address the man in the fields. "Don't bother coming inside! I just want to remind you to pick those rutabagas today! If they wait any longer, they'll rot in the ground!"
"What the hell do you think I'm doing out here with a sack full of RUTABAGAS?!" Knil screamed back furiously, throwing the sack to the ground for emphasis.
"Well I wouldn't have to remind you, if you did things the first time I asked!" The old woman snorted derisively.
"You never ask me to do anything! All you ever do is shriek and order, you old shrew!" Knil shouted through gritted teeth.
"How dare you say such a terrible things to a poor old woman? After I took you and Malon in out of the goodness of my heart!" The old woman replied, suddenly shifting demeanor to that of a victim. "Why, if my husband were alive today to see this—"
"Damn it, woman." came a disgruntled male voice from the hall. "I'm not dead! Can't a man visit the privy for five minutes without being declared dead?!"
"Sometimes," the old woman sniffled, "I swear I can still hear his voice."
"That's because I'm right here!" The old man retorted in annoyance.
Malon tittered, having long ago accustomed herself to such a scene. "Auntie?" Malon addressed the old woman, as she had been asked to. "Please don't be so hard on Knil. He really does work hard."
"Oh, I know that darling." said 'Auntie'. "But that man of yours is still far too impatient. He'll have to learn how to cope with his own frustration before the baby's born."
Malon made to stand, stopping, suddenly light-headed, and sat back down with a hand on her swollen belly.
"Malon, dear! Be more careful!" Auntie said worriedly, dropping the clothes in her hand and rushing over to Malon's side. "You really shouldn't be trying to stand in your condition. You need your rest."
"I'm fine, Auntie. Really I am." Malon assured the old woman.
"No, no, no! We'll have none of that, young lady." Auntie replied, ushering Malon over to the bed. "If not for your own sake, then for the baby's; I insist you stay in bed."
Malon sighed but nodded in agreement, slipping—with some difficulty—into bed. It seemed all she did lately was for the good of the baby.
Malon closed her eyes as she laid her head back on the soft feather-stuffed pillow Auntie had sown for her. As boring and frustrating as being trapped in bed was, Malon could only count herself lucky for all the old midwife was doing for her. And besides, things were much more difficult for Knil, having been forbidden from seeing Malon for the last few months.
She still remembered the day she came aware of the pregnancy. She hadn't told Knil, for fear that he'd take the news badly or even try to insist she rid herself of the unborn child. After all, Knil didn't like people. The last thing she wanted to impose upon him was a baby. In fact, Knil avoided villages and towns altogether, unless it was absolutely necessary that they stop for supplies. It was lonely sometimes for Malon, who was a sociable and sweet person by nature. But at least she had Knil, and she didn't want to risk losing him over this predicament. So Malon had just kept quiet, hoping that a solution would present itself.
But then things had become difficult. The pregnancy was a complicated one, and within a month of her discovering she was pregnant, Malon began bleeding. Knil had been so worried he had rushed to the nearest town and demanded medical attention.
The small town's doctor had examined Malon and given them the great news; they were going to be parents! Knil was less than thrilled. And it only got worse from there, when the doctor announced that it was a complicated pregnancy and that exacerbating Malon could risk not only the baby's life, but Malon's as well.
Knil had been furious, demanding that the parasite—as he dubbed it—be exterminated immediately. He had been so dead-set on his decision that Malon had to use the strongest tool in her arsenal to persuade him otherwise; she cried.
"The last thing I want is to make you unhappy." Knil had muttered uncomfortably. "But I don't want you hurting either."
With help from the doctor, Malon had managed to convince Knil that she would be fine if she took extra care of herself. Of course, this had meant that they had to stop traveling. The constant moving only aggravated Malon's condition. She was confined to bed rest.
And as much as Knil loathed the idea of staying in one place—especially this particular town, which seemed to be an extremely judgmental one and had already dubbed Knil as unsalvageably cursed—he would not risk Malon's health. He agreed to stay.
But finding a place to stay had proved difficult too. The local inn would not rent a room to anyone possessed by 'vengeful' or 'dark' spirits of any kind. Knil tried to request permission to build his own house on town property, but had also been refused. No one wanted them there. Some townspeople even began to say that Malon was a prisoner of the dark spirit, and that it was wreaking its vengeance by slowly killing her and her unborn child. Knil hated these people, but he could not take Malon out of town. She couldn't travel that far safely. But they had no place to stay, and Malon needed a warm bed!
Then, just as things seemed most hopeless, the old midwife had come along. She had asked to be called Auntie and reassured Malon that she was not frightened of Knil.
"The boy has some Sheikah blood, that's all." Auntie had proclaimed surely and proudly. "When you get to be as old as me, you see people of all shades. It's no big issue."
Malon had been so relieved, she hadn't bothered to correct the old woman's assumption. If passing Knil off as part Sheikah would make him better accepted, then why not lie?
Auntie had offered Malon her services as a midwife as well as a place to stay until the child was born. All she asked in return was that Knil work as a field hand and tend to her crops. She was getting too old to do it herself.
At first everything had gone well. Knil and Malon shared a decent room with a comfortable bed. Knil worked hard and earned their keep. But Malon's bleeding would not stop, and the old midwife resolved that she knew the cause.
Knil was the problem.
The old midwife explained that Knil's insatiable desire was only aggravating the delicate pregnancy. At first she tried forbidding Knil from touching Malon, but Knil had never been one to obey authority. And besides, unlike Malon who made friends easily, Knil had no one else. So whenever the old woman turned her back, even for an instant, Knil was pulling Malon back into his arms again.
Finally, after a particularly bad relapse on Malon's part which kept her in bed for days, the old woman had taken more extreme measures. Knil was not to see Malon again until after the child was born.
Knil had objected furiously, but the old midwife was clever. "If you don't do this, she'll die!" The old woman threatened. And as enraged as this made Knil, he would not risk Malon's life.
So Knil had been forced to sleep in the drafty little tool shed outside. He continued to work hard to earn their keep, but he had become increasingly irritable and, Malon feared, perhaps even dangerous. But she knew it was only because he was lonely. The rest of the town regarded him with frightened and hateful eyes. Who could blame him for his frustration?
"You call these puny things rutabagas?" The old woman chided from outside. "What have you been watering them with? Essence of pygmy?"
"If you don't like them, I can stuff them back in the ground!" Knil shouted back angrily. Malon's eyes flew open at the sound. Were they arguing again?
"I'd take you up on that, if I didn't already know you'd do a horrendous job of it!" Auntie retorted.
"You old keese!" There was a hard thud from outside. Knil must've punched something… Malon though with a sigh. "What the hell do you want?! You've already taken Malon away from me, what next? You want me to find her a new suitor too?!"
"Well, if he'd make a more attentive husband than you…" The old woman trailed off, purposely provoking Knil.
"I'm not inattentive!" Knil's voice went up into a high and gritty pitch, incredulous to what he was hearing. "It's YOU who won't let ME see her!"
Malon turned away from the window. She didn't want to hear this. It made her so sad to know that Knil was suffering. Not to mention how much she missed him too. After so long of it just being the two of them, of always having him beside her when she slept, it was so lonely without him. But she just had to be patient. She was on her seventh month, it would be over soon. She'd see him soon.
Unless of course, there was a way she didn't have to wait. If there was a way to not break the rules, but maybe just bend them a little…
Malon smiled to herself, formulating a devious little plan. But it would have to wait for tomorrow. At the moment, she was tired.
I won't leave you alone, Knil. Malon thought as she closed her eyes and slowly let herself drift to sleep. I will protect you. I will keep my promise.
Malon was accustomed to waking before the sun was up, having been raised on a ranch all her life. She was careful not to move too quickly, at the risk of aggravating her own condition and ruining her own plans. It wasn't often that she went again Auntie's wishes, but just this once wouldn't be so bad.
She tiptoed out of her room and down the hallway, careful not to make any noise that might turn the old midwife's attention to her. Auntie was probably in her room, knitting or engaging in some other stereotypical activity for an old woman. For as untraditional as the old woman really was, she still worked hard to keep up an appearance of normalcy. Malon wasn't sure exactly why, though she suspected that part of the reason was just for the fun of seeing people's shocked faces when they encountered the real Auntie.
Suspicions regarding the old midwife aside, Malon continued down the hall, passed Auntie's room, through the kitchen, into the living room, and out the door. Mission almost accomplished, now for the hard part; dealing with Knil.
Supporting her swollen belly with one hand, Malon made her way towards the tool shed. She had thought he'd still be sleeping, but instead she found him on the way. He was already up, had probably been up for hours, working. She watched, mesmerized by the sight of him, as he raised up a heavy old axe and brought it down hard on a small log of wood, splitting it perfectly into two even halves. Wiping his brow with his forearm, Knil grabbed the sliced wood and threw it into a nearby pile.
He was working so hard, all for her.
"Knil?" She said gently, sweetly. It'd been so long since she'd been this close to him.
Knil froze, stiffening, and turned around slowly to face her. He stared at her for a moment, eyebrows knit together in thought as he tried to figure out exactly what he was seeing. Then, coming to a conclusion, he approached her.
"What are you doing out of bed?" He whispered harshly, keeping some space between them. "Stupid girl!"
"Knil." Malon smiled, noting his heavy breathing and clenched fists. He was really trying to restrain himself. He tried so hard for her. She stepped closer, bringing out a hand to place on his chest, before leaning into him.
Knil responded immediately, wrapping his arms around her tightly and burying his face into her hair to inhale her sweet feminine scent. "The old moblin is going to crucify me." Knil muttered into her head.
"Then we better make these last moments worth it." Malon tittered, tilting her head up to plant a small kiss on his jaw.
"Malon…" Knil exhaled, running his hands down her shoulders, over her arms, down to her abdomen. Feeling the swell of her belly, Knil drew back suddenly. Malon caught his hands, holding them down to her.
"It's alright." Malon cooed reassuringly. "You can feel him kick."
"Parasite." Knil spat, removing his hands and bringing them down to his sides pointedly. "It's a nasty parasite, leeching your life and your strength out of you. And still you insist on keeping that thing."
"It's not a thing. It's a baby." Malon protested. Here it came, one of Knil's fits. He could be so unbearable sometimes!
"It… is… a… parasite!" Knil said. "Your baby or not, that doesn't change the fact."
"My baby?" Malon rolled her eyes, shaking her head in disappointment. Here they had a nice moment together and he had to ruin it. "You know, the last time I checked, I had some help making this thing."
"A mistake I've been trying to rectify." Knil retorted stubbornly. "You're the one who had to go and get attached to it."
"Knil, please," Malon said reasonably, trying to bring back the peaceful mood from earlier, "this is our child. A creation of the two of us, together. What are you so afraid of?"
"Afraid isn't the word for it, Malon!" Knil grabbed Malon's wrists, pulling her roughly into a sloppy, forceful kiss, before pushing her back just as suddenly. "That is what I mean. Being ripped away from you, just like that! And it's all that damned thing's fault!"
"Knil, don't." Malon closed the space between them, leaning into Knil again, trying to make him understand with tenderness. "The circumstances are unfortunate, I agree. It's been difficult for me too, you know. I can rarely even leave the house. And being kept away from you? It's like before, when you left me, all over again."
"I don't want this, Malon!" Knil insisted stubbornly, gripping Malon's shoulders.
"Neither do I, Knil. But it's only for a little while longer." She looked up to face him, willing him to understand, hard as it was. "And when it's over, you'll be glad. Just imagine, a little girl with your eyes. Or a little boy with my singing voice."
"An annoyance." Knil muttered under his breath.
"A baby." Malon corrected, reaching up to grab a hold of Knil's lapels, and pulling him down into a kiss.
Knil responded instantly, forgetting all his arguments against the child. All he cared about was Malon, and at the moment he had her. He carefully slid one hand under her blouse, caressing her bare back, as he responded to her hungrily. It had been too long…
"AHA!" Came a triumphant voice from behind them. "You thought you could fool Auntie?!" The old woman pointed at the couple accusingly with a broom.
Knil and Malon sprung apart in a flash, eyes wide and embarrassed.
"Selfish, insatiable, lecher!" The old woman reprimanded Knil, giving him a hard smack with the broom for every word.
"It's not like that!" Knil objected, moving out of the broom's way and clutching his sore head where she had smacked him.
"Don't try to lie to Auntie!" The old woman gave chase, her weapon held high. "I wasn't born yesterday!"
"Clearly not, you ancient Stalfos!" Knil retorted, avoiding the broom as best he could.
The old woman stopped, turning to Malon. "Malon, dear. I don't blame you for any of this of course. You're so fragile and petite; I know he probably forced you into it."
"I did no such thing!" Knil protested angrily, snatching the broom from the old woman's hands. "And she's anything but petite! Just look at her, she's gotten HUGE!"
"How dare you?!" The old woman puffed up in outrage, drawing a skillet seemingly from thin-air, and boxed Knil's ears. "Don't you ever insult Malon that way! The nerve, she sacrifices her dress size for your offspring, and this is how you treat her?! Terrible, awful undignified, mannerless, classless, tactless, STUPID, boy!" The old woman ranted on, matching each word with a blow.
"Please, Auntie." Malon said placidly, trying to calm the situation. "He really didn't force me. I was the one who imposed it upon him, in fact."
The old woman halted her attack, turning to Malon with sympathetic eyes. "Oh, Malon, so selfless. Trying to take the blame for his misdeeds! Such a kind heart and giving spirit. Come, let's get you in bed before something happens to you…" The old woman said, ushering Malon back into the house. She paused only once to glare back at Knil and mouth a threat, before disappearing into the house with Malon.
Knil clenched his fists; driving his nails into his skin and feeling the blood rush out with satisfaction. "I HATE YOU!" he bellowed, his entire body shaking in rage. "Why can't you just hurry up and die, you old hag?!" Knil turned to the pile of firewood he had chopped, kicked at the split wood with all his might and watching as they flew in all directions, not caring where they went or what they hit. He picked up the axe and hacked away at the ground, pounding into the dirt again and again, in and out, in and out, driving the gash deeper and deeper into the dirt, until his body protested in pain and Knil had to stop to catch his breath.
He hated this. He absolutely detested it. But most of all, he hated the knowledge that he was a risk to Malon. Even when he wasn't trying to hurt her, even when he was trying to care for her, he could only cause her pain.
He wasn't cut out to be an ordinary human. He was a monster. And no enchanted object could change that.
"You're not the first person to feel this way, you know." Said a strong, deep voice in front of Knil. There stood an old man, who seemed somehow familiar, and yet Knil couldn't quite pin who he was.
"Who the hell are you?" Knil asked in irritation, dropping the axe and standing tall.
"What do you mean?!" The old man rolled his eyes and palmed his own forehead. "Why does no one remember me?! This is my house! I live here! That crazy old woman is my wife! I see you everyday! For Goddesses' sake, I'm the one who taught you how to work the field when you first got here!"
Knil raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Right. Whatever you say, mysterious old man."
The old man threw up his hands with a groan. "Just forget it. Listen. Let's take a walk." The old man turned towards the fields, gesturing for Knil to join him. Knil shrugged and followed. It wasn't like standing around was going to make him feel any better.
The old man took Knil around the fields, praising him on a job well done as they came upon any particularly well kept crops. Although Knil would never admit it, he was glad to have someone who was grateful for his work. Knil was not a psychologist, nor would he analyze himself even if he was one, but the simple fact was that he was lonely without Malon and craved a little positive attention to get through it. And so the old man's simple words of gratitude, without being excessive, were enough to placate Knil somewhat and convinced him to listen.
"You're not the first man to feel like this." The old man said as he and Knil walked back towards the house. "I know it must seem that way sometimes. But it happens to everyone. Sometimes we have to sacrifice what we want the most. And it isn't easy. Of course we want it back. It's not selfish to want it back, nor is it wrong. It's human."
Knil looked down at his shoes, observing how they kicked up dust with every step, listening intently.
"But I have to warn you," the old man said with a grin, "before it gets any better, it's going to get worse."
Knil stopped, looking up at the old man in incredulity and anger. "What's that grin for then, you old coot?! You like seeing people miserable, just because you're old and going to die sooner!"
The old man frowned, walking calmly over to Knil, and giving him a hard smack on the back of the head.
"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Knil held his head, glaring daggers at the old man.
"You need to learn a little tact." The old man said plainly, continuing down his path, "If you go around insulting anyone who tries to help you, you're never going to get anywhere."
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Knil yelled stubbornly, running to catch up with the old man. "All I want is Malon! She's MINE, and I want her back!"
"And you'll have her back as soon as the child's born." The old man smiled knowingly. The boy was hardheaded and hot-tempered, but at least he was making an effort to understand. "But by then, she might be preoccupied with someone else. Someone she'll value over you."
"Shut up!" Knil grabbed the old man by the collar and swung him back so as to force the old man to look up into his face. "Malon is mine, and I'll smash anyone's face in that says otherwise!"
"As much as I hate to be the one to break it to you, and not only because I like my face as it is, you can't own a human being." The old man calmly reached for Knil's hand, prying the shaking fingers off of his shirt, and took a few steps back, dusting himself off. "Malon is her own person and she will make her own choices, with or without you. And the simple truth is that once this child is born, you will always come second."
Knil looked down at his hands, surprised with how calm the old man had remained through his threat. Was he losing his touch, or losing his mind? "Second to who?" he barely managed to murmur out. The old man couldn't possibly be serious, could he?
"To whom." The old man corrected, nodding sagely. "To the child of course. Malon will be enamored with it from the moment she sees it. You won't understand why. It'll cry all the time, keep her awake and give her no time to do anything for herself, it will spit up all over the place, it will need constant changing, it will need to be fed all the time, and it will just be an overall disgusting little mass of ear-grating noise." The old man almost laughed, as if recalling a particularly humorous memory, and then sobered just as quickly. "But that's not the worst part. For the next year, everything and anything you do will be wrong. She will always be cross with you and you'll probably be more the villain than ever. And the harder you try to make things right, the worse everything will get. Even if you try to ignore the situation, the worse everything will get."
"You're lying!" Knil snarled, raising a fist in warning. "Malon would never—"
"After months of no sleep and hardly even having time to eat, believe me," the old man put a sympathetic hand on Knil's shoulder, ignoring the raised fist and the veiled threat it represented, "she will be a completely different person."
Knil opened his mouth to object, to protest, to call the man a liar and fling another threat, but it was no use. Knil had to admit to himself, he knew nothing about children. And everything the old man was saying sounded perfectly logical. Once Malon had her baby, why would she need him anymore? Then, was that it? He was going to lose her, just like that? And there was nothing he could do about it?
"But again, if one learns to handle the difficult times with patience and compassion and tact, then one can make it through to better days." Knil shrugged the old man's hand off. He didn't want to hear this. He didn't want to hear how any other person could cope with this, because he knew he never could. "And I know you could." The old man said simply.
Knil looked back at the old man questioningly. "Me?" he scoffed, a bitter smile dancing on his lips.
"If you love her enough to put her before yourself, then yes." The old man said, starting down the path again. "Personally, I think you still have a ways to go. But with some work, it could be done."
Knil stood on the dirt path, the smell of both damp and dry soil surrounding him. The breeze blew, sending a few autumn leaves flying at his feet. Knil bent down to pick one up, careful not to tear it in his grasp as he turned it around and examined it. Crisp, cool, fresh, and… dead. And yet, curiously, the leaves were so full of color. Full of color as they fell from the branches, as they never would be when they grew upon them. Falling was just part of life's cycle. If one did not accept it, then one would never see the true beauty of the world. They'd be stuck in one place, on one branch, forever swaying obliviously in the wind.
Knil wanted more than that. He wanted to understand. He wanted to be the best example of human he could be, so that he could be worthy of Malon. So he could someday provide her with the life she deserved, not this constant traveling and uprooting. She wanted stability. He wanted to give it to her. But he wasn't ready yet. He wasn't strong enough yet to trust himself, and he was too selfish to trust in Malon alone. He wasn't ready, he came first. He couldn't get over himself. He had barely begun to discover himself! It was too hard! He wasn't ready!
Knil crushed the fragile little leaf in his hand, letting the orange and brown crumbs catch on the wind and fly away.
He wasn't ready.
That night, as Knil retired towards the shed where he slept, he glanced towards Malon's window, only to catch a most peculiar sight. Her window was not only unlocked, it was wide open. Impossible, the old midwife had made sure to secure the window with latch and key every night so that Knil could not slip in. And Malon could not reach up to undo the high latch without straining herself.
This was the work of an ally. Someone was sabotaging the old hag from the inside out!
Unaware and uncaring of whom this secret ally could possibly be, Knil rushed to the house and clambered inside the window with all the stealth he could manage. Once inside, he stood up tall, straightening himself up, trying to swallow his own heart as he felt it rise in his throat in anticipation.
And there she was. Lying on the simple cotton sheet bed, eyes shut serenely, her halo of hair splayed out on her pillow; the dark color contrasting against the white of the pillow case, and her delicate features oblivious to his intrusion, Malon slept. The slight light of a lantern cast writhing shadows over her form, giving Knil the illusion of his own hands running over her body. Knil licked his lips, his mouth suddenly very dry, as he reached forward with the intention of undoing her blouse. But Malon shifted suddenly, Knil's hand grazing her abdomen instead.
He had felt movement inside her.
And his selfishness struck him them, for the first time. Even after everything she had done for him, sacrificed for him, he was still so willing to risk her for his own satisfaction. Knil pulled back his hand, staring down at Malon as she settled in her sleep, still oblivious to his presence. She deserved better.
Knil scowled, irritated by the realization; maybe the old hag was right. Knil looked back down at Malon, his expression softening. Tentatively, Knil leaned forward, pressing a light kiss to her forehead and then ran a hand over the same spot tenderly.
With a frustrated sigh, Knil turned away and hopped back out the window and closed it, climbing down with some effort, struggling with his own desire.
As Knil made his way to the shed where he slept, he glanced back at Malon's now shut window. Maybe he could do this. For her, he could.
Knil smirked. "Thanks, old man." Knil said to himself as he turned away from the window that he had left open for him.
He wasn't ready. But he would be. When the time came and Malon needed him, he would be ready, for her, whatever it took. He'd be there for her.
XxX
"Where IS he!?" The old midwife scoffed, yelling to the old man outside the room. "And bring me more damp towels! We need to cool her down!"
The old man nodded and rushed out of the house in a panic. He'd been searching for the former shadow all morning, to no avail.
"Kn-nil?" Malon choked out between gasps for breath.
"Don't worry hon; I'm sure he's on his way." Auntie said, pouring the poor girl a glass of water to keep her hydrated. "Here, drink this. And just keep breathing, you'll be fine."
"Why isn't he here now?! I want my father!" Malon cried desperately. Hearing this, the old woman's heart broke for the girl.
"Knil's on his way, sweetheart." She assured her. "He's close."
But Knil wasn't close. In fact, Knil was quite possibly the farthest he could be without leaving town.
For the old woman had given Knil the day off from work, supposedly so he could be by Malon's side during the ordeal. But she had failed to mention her reason to Knil, and so Knil had decided to take advantage of his free time and get as far from those ignorant townspeople as he could.
He wandered around the woods surrounding the town, taking solace in the quiet and simplicity of nature. That and the fact that if anything in nature annoyed him, he could just skewer it with his sword.
So far he had slain one Lizardfols in self-defense, three bokoblins for looking at him funny, and a couple bushes for supposedly laughing at him. Oh, and he'd stepped on a few skulltulla, just for the fun of it. And swatted a butterfly, but that was purely accidental! He had thought it was a wasp at the time.
Due to the circumstances, Knil was in a rather neutral mood. He had no idea what he was missing, nor what he was about to encounter.
It wasn't until he tripped and nearly fell over the squat, dirty, little creature that he noticed he was not alone.
"Hey, you okay?" Knil asked, though he really wasn't the least bit concerned.
The squat creature looked up through its wide brimmed straw hat and tucked itself further in its robes as it huffed and stood.
"Yeah, well, if you're fine, I'm leaving then." Knil shrugged, walking away from the odd creature in disinterest.
"Wait!" the creature rasped, hobbling towards him. "I have been searching for you, chosen doppelganger born of shadows."
Knil stopped in his tracks, sighing in annoyance. "So you know what I am." Knil turned, starring down at the small, dirty creature with scornful eyes. "And what is the reason for searching?"
Despite Knil's intimidating size and demeanor, the little creature did not shrink back. "The hero has failed." It said, bowing its head in reverence. "Hyrule has fallen."
Knil blinked, straining to make sure he'd heard correctly. "What did you just say?"
"Hyrule has fallen, and the hero is vanquished." The creature said mournfully.
Knil felt the world shrinking around him. Link was… dead? The unbeatable, undefeated, all-powerful and all-good hero was… dead? The one man Knil had tried all his existence to destroy and failed, was gone? Just like that? How was it possible? Link couldn't die. It was Link! The Hero of Hyrule! Wielder of the Master Sword! Keeper of the Triforce of Courage! The savior of this world, the bane of evil! How could he simply… stop living? How was Knil still here, alive, when Link had—who knew for how long already—left this world?
"Why are you telling me this?" Knil breathed, clenching his fists in sudden defensiveness. "Who are you?!"
"A torrent of relentless rain pours down on Hyrule. If left to its own devices, soon Hyrule will lie at the bottom of a great ocean." The squat little creature said, eyes glittering through the shade of its dirty hat. "But the Princess has fled, Zelda still lives. As long as her bloodline survives, there is hope."
From all around Knil, plants and bushes began to rustle as other little creatures of the same kind emerged; surrounding him.
"You are all that remains of the hero, in this world." The creature said, bringing up a hand covered by a long, nappy sleeve. "Only you can save Hyrule."
Knil spun around, dizzied by the sudden appearance of the creature's allies. He tried desperately to process what he was being told, but it was too unreal; a complete contradiction of all he had ever been made to believe. How could Link be killed? And moreso, how could Knil be the only hope for Hyrule when before he had been a terrible blight? How was it that he was now the only person qualified, when before he had not even been a person? How could he now be the hero's equivalent, when he had struggled for so long to be barely more than a shadow?
"Who are you?!" Knil demanded angrily, trying, in vain, to distance himself from the enclosing circle. "Show your true form!"
"You do not command us, Hero's shade!" The creatures called in screeching unison, the sound running up Knil's spine and ringing in his head.
Knil screamed and fell to his knees, holding his ears in pain as the strange little creatures threw up their dirty straw hats and their cloaks dissolved in the light that poured forth from their bodies. Their faces floated, unattached to their lustrous forms, and robes of incandescent light with stitched gossamer symbols of the elements now covered their bodies.
"The Sages…" Knil gripped the dirt floor below him, his hands trembling. They had come after him, they had found him. "What do you want from me?!"
The Sage directly in front of him floated forward and looked down at Knil accusingly. "You are the all that is left of the hero. You are the only one who can raise Hyrule from the depths of despair where it is headed."
Knil looked up at the bright, identical faces above him, all scowling down at him with permanent masks of superiority and contempt. He would not bow to them.
"No." Knil replied calmly, standing tall in defiance.
"What?!" The front Sage thundered as the others whispered amongst themselves. "You would leave Hyrule to its doom?!"
"Hyrule is none of my concern!" Knil shouted back, stepping up insolently to confront the Sage. "Hyrule cared nothing for me in my hour of need! Why should I care for Hyrule's need?!"
"It is your destiny." said another Sage, stepping up besides the first. "You cannot escape your duty to the world."
"Yes. I. Can." Knil turned to the second Sage, crimson eyes alight. "It isn't my destiny, it was Link's! And I am not Link!" Knil whirled around, making sure to address every Sage as he spoke. "Link was a fool. So tangled up was he in his so-called duty, that he had no life of his own! He had no family, no close friends, not even a home of his own. He let Princess Zelda pass him by; he never pursued his personal destiny! And now he's gone. Well I won't be like him. I have a reason to live, something personal to care for! And I won't abandon that to run off and play hero."
From the back came forward another Sage, cutting through the crowd, his face hovering just above Knil's imposingly. "Our purpose is to protect our fair land of Hyrule. We shall do whatever it takes. Even if it means ridding you of any… hindrances."
Knil glared defiantly for a moment, before the meaning behind those words sunk in, his eyes widening in horror. "Don't you touch her! Don't you even come near!"
"We will do what we have to do to save Hyrule. Not that she'll last long, even without our interference. It won't be long before the storms spread and this town too is consumed by the growing sea." The circle of Sages tightened around Knil, all the while chanting promises to the mighty land of Hyrule.
"No!" Knil screamed, pushing his way through, and ran back towards town, as fast as his legs would carry him.
He crashed through the woods in a blur, into the town, through the streets to the crop fields, and straight over them into Auntie's house. The old midwife was there, waiting to chide him. Knil heard not a word of her rantings as he dashed right passed her and slammed open the door to Malon's room.
And there she was, sitting up in bed, a bundle of blankets held in her arms, safe.
"Knil?" She wiped the tears from her eyes, struggling to choke out an explanation. "Please don't be upset, Knil. I know how you feel, but please just try to—"
Knil rushed down beside Malon and crushed her to his chest protectively, possessively. He wouldn't let them have her.
"Knil?" Malon leaned back and looked up at him with tear-stained eyes. Something wriggled uncomfortably between them and began to whine weakly. Malon pulled away, cradling the bundle of blankets in her arms, and the baby wrapped in them.
The golden-haired infant looked up with bleary blue eyes. He was the spitting image of Link. Knil understood, Malon had been worried about his reaction. And normally, he may have been both furious and deeply hurt, even going so far as to make preposterous accusations. But at the moment, none of it mattered. Suddenly, the idea of Link couldn't bother him anymore. Link was gone, forever. Suddenly, the only thing that mattered in the entire world that mattered was Malon, and whatever mattered to Malon.
"We have to go." Knil said, turning to grab a few essential.
"What? When?" Malon said in confusion. She'd been expecting a humongous Knil-brand power fit.
"Now." Knil turned back to Malon, staring down at the child in her arms nervously, before running out of the room with the supplies he was gathering.
"What? But Knil, I can't travel like this! I just had a baby!" Malon objected. The child in her arms began to cry.
Knil came back into the room, the old midwife trailing behind him and protesting profusely.
"Will you just stay out of it?!" Knil shot down the old midwife in frustration. They didn't have time for distractions. "Malon," Knil sighed. How was he going to explain this? If she knew, she'd probably want him to save Hyrule. But he couldn't do that! He had to stay with Malon and protect her! He had made the decision to stay with her. He wouldn't abandon her, even if she would prefer he did. He had to do what was best for her. "I can't explain, just trust me!"
"Oh, don't you think you're going to get away with this THAT easily—"
"Will you shut up?!" Knil pushed Auntie back, not roughly, but with enough strength to silence her. "We agreed to your methods until the child was born! Well, he's here. Our business with you is finished!"
"Knil!" Malon pursed her lips disapprovingly. The infants cried more loudly. Malon cooed to the baby, rocking the child calm. "I'm not going with you." She whispered, the child quieting into sleep. "I'm sorry."
Even Auntie was shocked silent. Graciously, the old woman backed out of the room, giving the young couple their privacy.
"What?"
"I'm sorry, Knil." Malon replied softly, caressing the sleeping infant's cheek with a gentle fingertip. "But he needs stability; he needs a place to live with a school and friends. I can't keep wandering the world with you. He needs me."
Knil sucked in a breath, his jaw clenched. He'd never imagined she'd ever outright refuse him like this. "Malon…"
"No." Malon cut him off swiftly, while retaining her calm. "I don't want to hear it." She looked up at him with strong, hardened eyes, as he had never seen them. The child had made her strong. "If you aren't ready to be a father, then I can't stay with you Knil. I really am sorry, but my son comes first."
"Our son!" Knil snapped.
Malon blinked, drawn aback.
"Yes, Malon. Our son!" Knil's raised voice woke the infant which began to stir. Knil paid it no mind as he knelt before Malon. "Listen to me! For once, don't just follow what I want for my sake, actually listen! We have to go. I can't explain why, but if we stay here…" Knil groaned in exasperation, burying his face in his hands. He could feel Malon starring down at him, considering.
"Your son?" Malon looked down at Knil, at this man who was trying so hard to express something. But what? "Then name him."
Knil looked up, befuddled. "What?"
"He needs a name. If he's your son and you really care so much for him, then name him."
Knil glanced at the pink, squishy looking bundle in Malon's arms, straining to feel something for the thing. "I don't." Knil said simply. "I can't say I give a damn about the little parasite. But your Goddesses be damned if I'm not trying here, Malon!" Knil locked his eyes with Malon's intensely, daring her to deny it.
Tears welled in Malon's eyes, her control breaking. "Knil..." She sniffled, trying to keep her composure so as to not alarm the infant in her arms.
"We have to go now, Malon." He murmured, reaching up to cup her face and press a tender kiss against her lips. "This is the last time. We're moving up, to a small village up on a mountain a ways from here. Outset village, it's called."
"And this will be the last time?" said Malon's in a wavy and tearful voice.
"I promise."
And just as quickly as the moment of tenderness had come, it evaporated. Knil stood stiffly and walked to the door, ordering gruffly for Malon to hurry up and meet him outside.
"It's difficult for me to walk right now…"
"Then limp." Knil said sardonically over his shoulder. "Just don't take too long. I'll get our things."
Malon bit her lip, looking down at the fragile infant in her arms. She couldn't be weak. The child needed her strength. She was all he had in this world. She had to protect him, even if she was alone.
"And Malon," Came Knil's voice, indifferent and monotonous, "I… love you."
Malon snapped up to see him, but Knil was already walking away as if nothing had happened. He had never said it before, not once, and now that he did, it had seemed nothing more but an afterthought. It was definitely different than she had imagined, not grand or romantic. But perhaps that's what made it honest.
Malon smiled in spite of herself, a sob escaping from her throat nonetheless. Knil was not an easy person to love, but just when she thought she couldn't take it anymore, he always came through. And he was right; he was trying.
She wasn't alone.
The sun set slowly that evening, painting the sky in all shades of red, orange, and violet. Knil raised Malon up onto the horse before mounting up behind her. Malon rocked the infant in her arms, delighted as the child remained asleep and calm.
"We'll be alright." Knil murmured into her ear, his breath warm against her skin.
Malon smiled bitter-sweetly. She had just begun to call this place home, too.
"Link." Knil said, bringing Malon out of her thoughts.
"Pardon?"
"It fits him." Knil explained, as difficult as it was to say. "And in the end, he may be all that's left of the hero in this world."
Malon didn't understand his meaning, but his effort was incredible. She turned her head to give Knil a small, loving kiss. "Link, then."
And as they rode away from that small town, headed for Outset Mountain on the outskirts of Hyrule, neither of them knew that from then on, every boy in their line would be named after the legendary Hyrule Hero.
Even as hundreds of years passed, and Outset Mountain became Outset Island under the downpour, a young boy with the name and the face of the hero played on the shores of the beach with his sister Aryll; a little girl with the voice and love of animal nature of her ancestor.
And neither knew that somewhere out there, in the vastness of the ocean, the fate of a girl with the blood of a Princess and a legendary hero, was about to cross with theirs.
And not one of the three could have imagined that somewhere in the dark depths of the Great Sea, a magical kingdom waited for them.
But it would not be their destiny to save this land. Rather, they would opt to protect the people they held dear…
…just as the shadow had done so long ago.
Fin
Want more? Check my profile for this story's companion piece, "As The Light Wanes."
But first... please review this chapter? Pretty please?