"Yes, and I'm serving it with luch." Malon stated, giving the cow another pat on the head before heaving up the milk containers and heading towards the barn's exit.
"Lunch?" Link asked, a hungry look coming into his eyes.
Malon giggled as she left the barn, and turned to give Link a wink.
"Yep! Let's see...on today's menu we have fried Cucco legs, freshly baked bread with butter made from Lonlon Milk, some cheese, also made from Lonlon milk, some cider I picked up in the castle town the other day, and I just baked an apple pie this morning! And of course, the milk too." Malon said, laughing, as she and Link crossed the short distance from the larger barn to the house of the Ranch.
"Wow...it all sounds so tasty." Link responded, as a loud growl emanated from beneath his tunic, eliciting another chuckle from Malon as she entered the ranch house.
"Don't worry, Link. I made some of it for you, you know." She said, making sure not to step on any cuccos as she made her way towards the kitchen door, quickly checking to see if her father was still asleep as the counter, which he was.
"Really, Malon?" Link asked, licking his lips in happiness. "Gosh, thanks a lot! You sure know how to make a man happy!"
Malon giggled as she put most of the milk away into the refrigerator, with the exception of a few bottles left out to drink, and then turned and flashed the hero a smile.
"They do say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach." Malon joked, poking Link's flat stomach and winking.
As she did so, the urge from earlier, to see Hyrule's Hero a bit heftier, came back to her.
Blushing slightly, Link put a hand to his abdomen and grinned cheesily.
"Then I must have hundreds of admirers throughout Hyrule." He stated, sarcastically.
"Oh?" Malon inquired, as she began to lay out the lunch.
"Mhm. It seems everywhere I go these days, feast are being thrown in my honor." Link replied, rolling his eyes. "And each time its something different. Feasts of fish in the Zora's Domain. Desert Delicacies at the Gerudo's Fortress. And even the Kokiri have been feasting on fruits and herbs and have been more jovial than usual; interesting though considering that they're usually ALWAYS happy, except for Mido."
Malon giggled at the mention of the cranky Kokiri leader, of whom Link had told her of on several occasions.
"Kakariko has been in good spirits ever since Impa and Zelda decided to try to revive the Skeikah style of fighting, and the Castle Town, you can find food from any of the races there." Link said, picking up one of the bottles of milk on the table, uncorking it, and taking in the frothy beverage with a groan of delight.
"I suppose the Gorons can only feast within their own species then. Considering they eat only rocks. Its kind of sad, in a way." Malon commented, watching Link drink the milk in pleasure from the corners of her eyes as she continued readying the lunch. "But things are indeed peaceful between the races then?"
Link nodded, finishing off the bottle of milk in another of moment or so and sighed contently, licking at his lips.
"Quite peaceful. Its almost boring. The Gerudo have stopped stealing as much as they used to and have started ranching a little bit, like you and Talon, so they're not causing as much trouble as they used to, even though they're still a rowdy bunch. For the most part, Nabooru has been keeping them in line. The Zoras, Kokiri, and Gorons have been peaceful as well, sticking mostly to their own lands. And like I said, the Castle Town and Kakariko couldn't be in better spirits." Link said, examining the bottle of milk as he explained.
"This milk was really good, Malon. Have you changed the cow's diet?" He asked, setting the bottle back down onto the table.
"Oh? Well, perhaps just a little..." Malon noted, an image of Kairu coming to mind and how he had expanded over the past few weeks.
"Well, whatever you're doing, keep doing it!" Link exclaimed happily, taking a seat at the table as Malon placed the last bits of food on the table.
"Oh, we'll be sure to!" She said with a smile, taking a seat herself. "Now let's dig in!"
***
Link belched loudly, blushing a bit as he lay leaned back in his chair in the kitchen, rubbing his stomach tenderly.
Malon chuckled, cleaning a few plates away from the table.
Now she knew why Link exercised as much as he did; the fairy boy had the apetite of Goron that had spent half a year with no rocks to eat!
The Hero had descended upon the lunch Malon had prepared with the fervor of a Wolfos and hadn't slowed down.
Malon had been mesmerized, forsaking most of her own food in favor of watching the hero gorge.
In fact, he'd eaten nearly everything she'd prepared!
Out of all of the food that Malon had made for the fairly larg lunch, only a few slices of pie, several bottles of milk, and one fried cucco leg remained.
Standing up, Link yawned for a good minute and gave his full stomach a few good pats, then have Malon a thankful smile.
"Out of all of the cities and races of Hyrule, you're the only chef I know of that can prepare such a hearty meal, Malon." Link complimented, making Malon blush.
"And of all the heroes and fairies I know," Malon said, poking Link in the belly. "You are the only one I know who can eat so much."
Blushing, Link grinned and again gave his full stomach a pat.
"Thank the Goddeses that I exercise as much as I do. If I didn't, I fear that I'd be the size of King Zora by now." Link jested.
Malon shrugged, returning to gathering up the reamains of the lunch.
"Who needs to be fit in this day and age?" She asked, wrapping the remaining pieces of pie and the last fried cucco leg up for Link to take with him when he left.
"Hmm?" Link asked, raising a blonde eyebrow.
"Hyrule is at the beginning of a grand age of peace." Malon stated, turning to eye Link. "I can feel it."
"An age of peace? What makes you so sure?" Link asked the rancher's daughter as he watched her round up a few of the fresh bottles of milk as well.
"You yourself said it. The races are rejoicing! Even the Sheikah ways may be revived soon enough! And evil, apparently, has given up on Hyrule, at least for now." Malon stated, winking at Link. "It makes me wonder what you're going to do now. What happens to heroes after their battle is won?"
Link smiled cheesily, scratching the back of his head.
"Don't they live happily ever after?" He asked, making Malon chuckle.
"I suppose they do. The question is HOW they live happily ever after." Malon stated, presenting the leftovers from Lunch to Link with a smile.
***
"So when will you be stopping by again, Link?" Malon asked, gazing up at Link as he sat atop Epona.
"Its hard to say, really. Zelda and Impa have asked me for some help overseeing the contruction of the Skeikah Training School in Kakariko. Boring stuff really, I'll mainly just be standing around so no one gets hurts in the contruction. Then I have to make my normal rounds to make sure verything is all right with the races." Link said, packing away the leftovers from lunch into his pack.
"Is the school in Kakariko nearing completion?" Malon asked, leaning up against a tree near the entrance to the Ranch to get some relief from the afternoon sun.
Link nodded.
"Nearly. It won't take longer than a month to complete it, I think. So if all goes wells, the latest you'll see me will be in about four and a half to five weeks." Link grinned, stroking Epona's mane.
Returning the smile, Malon nodded.
"I'll be sure to make a good dinner for when you return then, Link." Malon said, waving goodbye as Link rode off into the golden expanse of Hyrule Field.
After he was gone Malon sighed, thinking to herself.
What kind of friend was she to actually try to fatten Link up like she did?
But its not like she hadn't done the same with Kairu...
Straightening herself, Malon strengthened her resolve.
So what if she inadvertently tried to put a few pounds onto the boy?
With the way Link exercised, she would be lucky if he even got chubby. And if he did, she would be doing him a favor. If he was a bit tubbier, Link wouldn't be cavorting all over Hyrule trying to get himself killed.
Malon would indeed be sure to create a wonderful feast when Link returned to the ranch. If Zelda, Ruto, Nabooru, and even Saria were throwing parties for the fairy boy, by Din, so was she.
And by then, she would definately have more of the new Lonlon milk...
Until then, she could occupy herself with seeing how it affected Kairu, and others if she happenned to find new clients.
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