Chapter Text
Her papa had always told her, she didn't need to voice her every thought, especially not those thoughts about the people right in front of her. She understood that it was rude, and she was trying, really trying, to kick the habit. But she was only human, and so it was that she slipped up and these words caught the attention of the tow headed boy whose eyes roamed the market as he walked by:
"Hey, your clothes! They're... Different..." Malon realized the words were coming out of her mouth when the boy turned toward her, obviously listening to her. When he didn't break eye contact, she realized with some embarassment that he expected her to actually go somewhere with that statement. Wanting nothing more than to relieve the akwardness, she thought to ask him a question, "you're not from around here, are you?"
"No," Link replied, happy to have met someone normal for the first time since leaving the forest, as opposed to that bird or the stalchildren or all these giants who talk down to him, "I come from Kokiri Forest."
"Ooh..." she gasped, "You're a fairy boy from the forest!" As soon as those words were in the air, she regretted them. Something else her father had scolded her for was referring to zora as "fish ladies" and gorons as "rock boys." Reducing another race to a single feature, according to papa, was as rude as it got, and Malon worried that she had accidentally done it again.
The fairy boy in question didn't seem to mind though, in fact, he seemed to be smiling because of it!
Link had not been in the best of moods prior to this conversation. While finally getting his own fairy companion was great, the Great Deku Tree dying was awful, getting blamed for it was worse, having to leave the forest was terrifying, and Saria's goodbye still weighed on his chest like Mido was sitting on it. But after spending his whole life getting called "Mr. No Fairy," to have the first person he talked to outside the forest identify him by the fact that he had a fairy? He would have been lying if he said that didn't lift his spirits. If Mido could see him now...
Thinking that maybe she hadn't offended him after all, she continued the conversation, "My name is Malon! My papa owns Lon Lon Ranch!"
It was at this point that she remembered, and voiced this thought: "Papa went to the castle to deliver some milk, and he hasn't come back yet..."
"I'm going to the castle," he offered, "I could probably find him!"
"Thank you. He probably fell asleep after getting paid, again. Can you believe that?" She punctated her statement with a giggle.
"I just have one question..."
"Shoot."
"Which building is the castle?"
"You don't know?"
"No."
"Well..." she grinned, leaning in close. "I could tell you..." Link had no idea why he suddenly felt so warm. "But first, I want you to do something..." she put her hands on his
shoulders, and he felt nervous in a way he never had before, and couldn't take his eyes off her lips...
Which is why she so easily pushed him flat on his butt. "Catch me!" she commanded, already disappearing around the fountain.
"What is with that girl?" he wondered, following the curtain of red hair flowing behnd her.