11A/N: Edited January 2011.
Chapter 2 – Status Quo
"Oh, nooooo!" Milana groaned aloud, though no one was near. She had paused by a window in a lower hall of Hyrule Castle, and was combing her fingers through her light brown hair in frustration.
"Maybe Felri remembers…" she muttered, heading back the way she had come. She exited the hall and hurried across a small courtyard to the well. If he hadn't stopped me, I wouldn't have lost that book, Milana thought crossly. What are y'gonna do now, Mil? Come on, think of something. How are y'gonna keep a positive attitude about this?
She almost tripped and fell as she reached the well. Felri was nowhere in sight. But Milana saw another she knew—Chavis, the nephew of an assistant stable-keeper, who did various odd jobs in the stable. At the moment he was leading a gray horse (which matched the color of his shirt, Milana noticed) to the well.
"Hi, Chavis," she called to him.
"Hi there, Milana," replied Chavis, smiling as he approached. "What are y'doin' here?" The gray horse waited for the young man to bring the water up.
"Have you seen Felri?" Milana asked quickly. "I had a cookbook I was taking to the kitchen, but he asked me to help him draw water, so I put the book down, and now I can't find it! I was hoping he might've seen where I put it."
"Mmm," Chavis grunted softly. "Not good." He let the bucket down. "Felri left for market just after he delivered his water; he was in a big hurry… Just like everyone around here…"
"Ooohhhh," Milana sighed. "I need that book or I'll get in big trouble."
Chavis began to draw the bucket up. "Couldn't you just whip up something?" he suggested.
"I don't think so…" said Milana doubtfully. "Ebel wanted a specific recipe from that book."
The bucket reached the surface. Chavis took it and set it on the ground, and the gray horse eagerly drank up.
"Sorry, that's the only thing I can think of," Chavis shrugged. He looked around, but the book was nowhere in sight. "If I find it, I'll try to get it to you. What does it look like?"
"It has a dark red cover, and it's not much bigger than my hand," Milana said.
"Are you looking for this?" A new voice startled the two servants. Approaching them was a stylishly-dressed Hylian leading a lovely horse and holding forth the missing cookbook.
"Yes, that's it," said Milana excitedly. "Where did you find it?"
"Well," the newcomer answered, "a little villain had taken it. He said he was very sorry, and I promised not to tell on him."
Milana smirked. She had a pretty good idea of who the "little villain" might be. There were a few naughty little children who ran about the grounds and got into mischief. I'm gonna give those kids a good talking-to later! Milana made a mental note to herself. She took the book. "Thank you very much for returning it." She looked curiously at the young man, wondering what his errand was. She had never seen him before.
"I didn't even hear you come in," Chavis said to the man.
"Sneaking around is one of my specialties," the stranger explained with a quick smile. "Can either of you point me to the stables? I'm pretty sure I'm in the general area..."
"I'll take you," Chavis volunteered, picking up the bucket and grabbing the gray horse's rope. He wasn't sure what to think of the man, but at least his uncle might know what to do. "My name's Chavis."
"Good to meet you, Chavis. My name is Link," the stranger replied.
"I, uh… have to get going," Milana excused herself. "Good day," she nodded to both of them, and headed toward the hall again. "And thank you again!" she called to Link.
"You are welcome," Link replied, giving Epona little pat while following Chavis and the gray horse.
"My uncle and aunt are working inside," Chavis told Link. "My uncle's an assistant stable-keeper, and I'm…" He paused sheepishly. "I guess I'm the 'help-where-needed' person," he forced a little laugh. It'd be so nice to say I'm my own person with my own family and my own property, he thought. But instead I'm the 'help-where-needed' person.
Just then, Malon appeared in the stable doorway. Link recognized her immediately, but managed to wait for Chavis to introduce him, as she did not seem to recognize him.
"Aunt Malon, this is Link. Link, this i—"
"Link?" Malon interrupted, looking at Link. "The same one I used to know?"
"Yes, Malon," answered Link. "I've brought Epona back to see you. Do you recognize her?" he asked, leading Epona forward.
Malon looked at Epona, and the joy of recognition was clearly visible in her face.
"You know each other?" Chavis asked, surprised.
"Where have you been?" Malon seemed to be asking both Link and Epona emphatically.
"Well…" Link hesitated. He hadn't wanted to get into all that. "To make a long story short, Epona got away, and… I had to get her back." He grinned, hoping that would suffice.
"But you've been gone for years!" exclaimed Malon.
"Like I said, it's a long story," said Link. "I was hoping Epona could stay here for a while."
"Of course she can stay," said Malon, with a smile. "I'd like to hear your story, though."
"Maybe sometime soon," Link replied and then changed the subject. "I hear you live here now, and that you're married."
"Oh, yes… Why don't you come in and meet my husband?"
"I will," Link agreed. He had to laugh at himself a little as he remembered how he had had a childhood crush on Malon so long ago. Maybe if I were a normal Hylian kid who wasn't caught up in all this Triforce business, we might have had a chance, Link found himself thinking. Then he laughed at himself again and shrugged it off.
"And Chavis, you get back to refilling the water trough," Malon ordered, taking the gray horse from Chavis.
"All right," Chavis agreed stoically. He took the bucket and went back to the well.
Link and Epona followed Malon and the gray horse through the door. It was darker in the stable than it was outside. There were a few people here and there, doing chores. Malon led her followers around a corner and stopped in front of a man who was sitting on the floor, scrubbing a lower section of the wall with a damp rag.
"Link, this is my husband, Ingo," Malon announced. "Ingo, this is Link, an old friend of mine who got his horse from us a few years ago, at the ranch."
Link was so shocked; he nearly hit the roof! Ingo stood and said civilly, "I'd shake your hand, but mine are dirty. Good to meet you, Link." He paused. "Did we meet before?"
A/N: Hee, hee… Weren't expecting that, were you? My brother says that's a horrible arrangement and that no one will like it, but you can tell me what you think either way. (Actually, you're not really supposed to like it that much, so if you don't, that's fine.) The correct name pronunciations are mil-AH-nah and CHAY-viss, just so you know. Thank you to all who reviewed, and in advance for those who will review. (Did I mention that all reviewers receive virtual Epona plushies?) :) I hope my writing has improved since the last chapter; I was so anxious to get to the action and post something! I gave chapter 1 a title, edited the summary, and changed genre 2 to "mystery" because the story will turn into somewhat of a mystery. Thanks for your time!