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The Legend of Time (Candira and I)

Interesting choice of words. He liked it better when it was just the two of them. She smiled a little at that thought, unreasonably happy about that. Watching him fidget like this was kind of cute. And he was being protective and somehow self conscious at the safe time. It had always been easy for her to understand why girls followed him around, but for some reason his charm was even more powerful away from home.

But he was still her friend, and he was homesick. So she put an arm around him, looked him right in the eye and said, "Sometimes. But only after you've been helping muck the stalls in summer." She chuckled and squeezed him close, clearly teasing him. "No, never. But you don't drown yourself in ale, either. I'm glad you came with me. You always make me feel safer." She rubbed his shoulder. "We won't stay much longer, though, and Castle Town is one of the biggest stops we make, so try not to let it bother you too much. Is there anything I can do to help you feel better?"
 
Link grumbled faintly, scratching at the table as if it would solve all of his problems and the faint heat against his neck. "...Can we go?" he asked, glancing at her. "I mean...out of here, I'd like to get some fresh air, there are too many people here and it's noisy." He knew he was being petty and selfish, but he had no idea how anyone liked this kind of noise. He missed the quiet of the Ranch, more than he wanted to admit.

It wasn't so bad outside, but in here it was like a wall of sound.
 
The fact that he was so deeply uncomfortable made her sad. She hated to put him through something like this, so she nodded. "Sure. Let's go." She paid for their food, finished a few more bites, and then stood up, ready to go. She smiled and motioned for Link to do the same. "Where did you want to go?"
 
"Hm," Link said as he rose up thoughtfully, then smiled as he took her head in turn, fingers lacing together. "I know a good place, come on." Not that she had much choice, but he was displaying some enthusiasm for a change since he got here. That was something worthwhile, but he knew that she'd like it too. He wasn't entirely ignorant, he was very observant of the surroundings and he knew a good place to get away from everyone.

Namely, a roof. A roof of a storage warehouse near the front of the gates of Castle Town. It was clear why he liked it: It offered an unobstructed view of the starry sky, something that was familiar with Hyrule fields.
 
Malon was glad that he seemed excited for a change. Being in the city didn't seem to be good for poor Link's heart. He definitely belonged on the ranch. Or at the very least, out in the wide open spaces of Hyrule. To see him lead her now, to a place that he knew of, was encouraging.

She squeezed his hand as he laced his fingers with hers and kept pace with him as they made their way out of the noisy, crowded pub and into the night of Castle Town. Colorful lanterns lit the way as they weaved through the crowds, taking their time. Malon never once questioned Link's directions, figuring he had a particular place in mind. She trusted him to get them there. That didn't mean she wasn't curious, but it was kind of more fun trying to guess.

"So what's so special about where we're going?" she asked, staying fairly close since the streets were still milling with people--albeit less of them than when they'd started their adventure.
 
"You'll see," Link smiled faintly. "I dunno, that whole...thing at the temple made me feel weird," he admitted thoughtfully. "I dunno how to explain it, like it was familiar but I didn't really know it at all at the same time, I guess." As much sense as that made, as they headed hand in hand through town to the entrance gate and took a left to some of the stables. The smell was deeply familiar, it was just something that always relaxed him.

"And...I don't know," Link mumbled. "...Zel-er, her highness felt...odd too."
 
"I know what you mean. What happened at the temple was kind of scary, but it definitely felt familiar, even though I've never been there before. The whole thing was...odd." Malon understood where he was coming from with the temple. She was a little thrown when he mentioned the queen, though.

Women always seemed to be attracted to Link. Especially, it seemed, powerful women. If something had felt strange it must have been on a deeper level than he was used to. Concerned, she continued to follow her friend to the stables, asking softly, "Oh? How so?"
 
"Hm," Link murmured, scratching his head thoughtfully as he checked the ladder to the barn hugging the wall and then offered his hand to help her up. "I don't know," he admitted honestly. "She reminded me of you, sort of...like I felt like I could trust her with anything, and she'd never make me regret it, like I do with you."
 
Malon took his offered hand and started up the ladder, assuming that's what he had meant for her to do. She stopped to look at him while he spoke to her, surprised at the vocalization of his trust in her. Everything between them--their strong bond, their trust in one-another, their friendship--was usually expressed in deed more than words. Much of his trust in her was implicit. This was really the first time she'd heard him be so frank and honest about it. It took her a moment to wrap her head around the experience and process that the special connection they shared extended to the queen. Still, the whole time, a little smile graced her face.

"Well, her highness is a special person," she said, nodding. "I can't say as though I don't feel the same way about her. It always puts me at ease to be in her company." She started moving up the ladder again, careful not to step on her skirt. "As soon as I met her for the first time, I could tell she was a great person. And we got along so well right away...I can see why you would think she was trustworthy."

Though Malon couldn't say she felt fantastic about her bond with Link being so easily created between him and Zelda, if she had to be compared to someone, it was a pretty nice ego boost to be compared to a queen.
 
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