1: Them

Malon had often wondered of her Husband's penchant for sky watching.

The breeze was a soft whisper across the plains of Hyrule field at night, bringing with it a sense of calm that would see most content to settle in the warmth of their beds, at ease. Many nights, when she was young, she would stand below the stars and serenade them. Malon had grown so used to the feel of the night's embrace, and thought nothing of wandering from the house in the wee hours of the morn, comforting as it had become to her.

It seemed strange then, that her husband seemed to scan the stars with paranoia, instead.

The warmed fabric of her dressing gown was soft against her hands, pocketed, as she watched him from the gate of the corral. He stood in the center of it, not inches off the spot that she used to, and idly, the woman wondered if the grass held a memory of their footprints. He'd not moved in over an hour, just the same as every time, head craned upward to peer through blonde bangs. All was silent, not even a chirping of crickets to be heard, and if one did not look for him they likely would not notice him at all.

There was an ethereal quality to it that mesmerized her, though she knew the man she'd married was a marvel of his own, out of place in the world and yet, able to call anywhere home. It made her hesitant to disturb him, something she wrestled with most nights, but this moon she had finally decided to ask the question that plagued every time she awoke alone, only to spy him from the window, staring at the skies.

"Link…" she called softly, her fragile jaw line tilting up as if his name were a kiss to be blown. "…Aren't you cold out here? …You got to be up early for the milk run, too…"

At first, there was no reply, as if he hadn't heard her at all, but as a nervous hand swept auburn fringe from her view, Malon saw his pointed ears perk up. He blinked once, as if snapping from some distant reverie, and with a slow motion turned his blue gaze upon her. A foreign stare echoed out between them, as if the man did not recognize her, but before she could question it, it was gone and replaced by the familiar smile of a loving husband.

"Oh… No, it's nice out tonight." He offered quietly, as if any level of volume may shatter the tranquil scene. The camber of moonlight caught a twinkle in his eye, something fond, yet distant. "What are you doing up?"

Though Malon's eyes scanned his handsome features for signs of sleep, she found only the boyish energy that the man seemed to carry everywhere with him, and with a small giggle and a shake of her head she found her feet moving toward him, like a moth to flame.

She smiled at him, unable to do anything else. "I was hoping to ask you the same." She whispered, pupils widened by the dark, flickering to trace his silhouette. Slender fingers found their place upon his shoulder, and when Link's attention turned heavenward again, Malon couldn't help but follow.

"…I was just thinking of… a girl I once knew." he mused carefully, a soft and faraway glint in his eye, like a regretful memory. His face was calm, almost serene, but the ghost of sadness haunted it. "You remind me of her, everyday, when you smile… It makes me think of what her life might have been like if she hadn't been taken."

Malon blinked, trying to follow his line of thought. "…Taken by who?"

"Them."

She glanced at him, her head lolling to rest on his shoulder over her head, the warmth of it comforting as always. Malon had always tried to understand him, the odd and at times, cryptic things he said… sometimes she wondered if it was only Link in there, for her husband seemed to hold many lives in memory. Still, she loved him all the same, even if it meant she would never fully understand him.

A slow sigh slipped from her husband's lips, as Link seemed to shake his head, allowing only the tiniest movement. "I tried to stop it, I really did. There were just too many of them, and the lights were so… bright…"

Malon opened her mouth to speak, wanting to take away the look in his eye, hesitant as she stared up at his profile, dimly lit by the moon.

"Well, there you go… You tried. I'm sure she knows that, wherever she is…" she breathed, her eyes closing in a moment of respite, though her brow furrowed some. "…You always do the best you can, but sometimes, things just don't work out like we want them to."

"I didn't keep my promise." He whispered, so soft she scarcely heard him.

Unable to do more, she consoled him, a light kiss placed to his neck and gave a forgiving reply. "…One broken promise isn't the end of the world, love."

He fell silent then, even his breath stilled as he squinted upward with pathos, muscles tensing as her words hit home. Sensing that there was nothing more she could say, Malon slipped away from him, a tender squeeze to his shoulder given before turning back toward the house. Link stayed a moment more as his wife padded away, fixated upon the full and yellow moon above, high and small.

"…Yes, it was."