The days following the events at Lon Lon Ranch, were blurred in Terra’s mind. Her memory was fragmented, the images of the night and the days following coming in little shards, but never whole.
When trying to recall the events of the few days that followed the fire Terra could only pulled together fragments…Returning to Hyrule Castle that night…Days passing…A funeral at the chard black remains of Lon Lon Ranch…And conversation between her father and Captain Ordon about taking the knight’s to track down the Phantom…
Terra barely remembered the day Alec left along with the other knights to find the Phantom; her mind was still in shambles. She barely spoke to the young knight after what had happened inside the burning ranch. When she saw Alec suffer as he held Malon in his arms, something inside of her changed, it was like she got sick…After that night she didn’t speak to Alec, or anyone for days…
She remembered a cloudy dismal day…The day when the knights left…She stood up top the large grey wall which were overlooking the path leading out of the castle. The princess looked down as two lines of knight on horseback moved down the stone path leading out of city, each knight fully armored in gleaming battle gear and adorned with weapons. Riding in pairs the Knights of Hyrule, numbering about twenty, rode side by side they were going to travel in pairs…And at the head of the two lines rode Captain Ordon and Alec.
Ordon rode with his helmet visor down, looking down and away from the crowd that had gathered on the two sides of the road. Something that had happened during the past few days had deeply disturbed the Knight Captain…And Alec had a numb look on his face, looking straight ahead through the open drawbridge of the outer wall, he hadn’t spoken since the night of the fire…
Terra remembered a brief conversation between Ordon, and her mother and father. They discussed that even though Alec had been through enough, Ordon still wanted to continue his training, even if that meant training the boy during the hunt for the phantom…
As Alec’s horse slowly neared the area Terra stood looking down on him, the boy glanced upward. For a moment Alec’s eyes changed, his face softened, the look of the beautiful Hylian Princess looking down upon him touched him. Terra couldn’t help but shed a tear as she lost sight of the knight as he passed below her, She feel to her knees on the gray walls of the castle town, her hands covering her red and grieving face…She refused to look over the wall as the pairs of knights took off in different directions…
When Alec broke contact with the girl his face turned, but not back to the numbness of before. His eyebrows lowered and his eyes grew angry…And with one final movement he pulled the metal visor of his helmet in front of his face…
Terra was alone now…Alec had been gone for only days…And it already felt like an eternity…
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“Terra…Wake up…It’s late…” A voice echoed inside Terra’s mind.
“Huh…?” Terra whispered wearily, the voice rousing her from her sleep.
“Wake up…It’s time for you to go home…You’ve been here for hours and I need to close shop.”
The princess opened up one eye, looking around tiredly. “I…I fell asleep?”
“Yes Terra, you been sitting in here for hours.” A large man chuckled from behind a counter.
“Harwin?” Terra mumbled groggily, picking her head up from her arms, getting a better look around the room. She was in the Milk Bar that she usually came to with Alec.
“Heh…Yes princess, it’s me.” Harwin laughed, placing his hands on his belly.
“W-What am I doing here?” Terra groaned, obviously confused.
Harwin turned back to the counter, cleaning it off with a wet rag. “You came here a while ago…Said something about being away from the castle awhile…I was hoping you could tell me what you were still doing here.”
Lifting herself a little higher off the counter into a slouching position Terra scanned the room again. She sat alone at the counter of the dimly lit Milk Bar. Most of the people who usually populated the establishment had since vanished when the shipments of fresh milk stopped days ago. Laying her arms on the counter to support her slouching posture Terra turned back to Harwin.
Shaking her head side to side the Princess couldn’t remember. “I guess I just needed some time away from my parents…I guess…”
The bartender let out a huff of air. “That’s a good enough reason for me Terra.”
“Thanks Harwin.” Terra sighed, looking down at the smooth countertop, not wishing to make any sort of eye contact with her old friend.
Harwin continued to wipe down the counter, on occasion glancing back at the young woman who was staring downward. Sighing himself, he finished up one section of the counter and stuffed the damp rag into his pocket. He could tell something was the matter with Terra, one of his most loyal and common customers.
“Something wrong Terra?” Harwin asked, as he placed his arms on his side of the counter, leaning down toward the Hylian girl who was blanking looking into the countertop. The bartender was sure he knew the answer to his question anyway.
Being stubborn, Terra said nothing, but continued to look straight downward.
The bartender shook his head in frustration at the girl. “At least one thing is still alright with you, you’re still as stubborn as usual…” he said with a slightly annoyed tone “…Now come on, what’s wrong.”
Once again Terra said nothing, the blurred memories of the days before slowly coming back to her mind.
“There is no sense in lying to me Terra. If you don’t mind me saying, you look terrible…Something is wrong…Here, let me get you something to eat, you look like you haven’t eaten in days…Maybe then we can talk…” Harwin then pushed himself up off the counter and vanished through the double doors behind the bar.
Terra groaned, she could feel her tired body being drained by the memories that were now imprinted into her mind. Ever since the night at the Ranch Terra had barely slept or eaten, it was no surprise the one of her closet friends could notice her expression with such ease. She could feel her stomach turn from the lack of food, and her mind was tired due from the lack of sleep.
“Well…Well…Well…Look who it is…” A sly voice purred from behind her.
“Oh no…” Terra cried to herself, slouching down a bit lower in sadness.
“…Where is your friend Terra? He hasn’t come back yet?” The voice purred again, somehow taking pleasure in Terra’s discomfort.
“Go away Sennett…I’m not in the mood…”
“Of course…You’re never in the mood to talk to me huh Terra?” Sennett growled, coming to the counter just besides the princess, not taking a seat.
With only a grunt of frustration Terra prepared herself for Sennett’s verbal annoyance.
“You know Terra, do you really think that knight will want you when he comes back…Heck…If he comes back?” Sennett began, chuckling to himself.
Terra turned her head to the side, not saying anything but letting the man continue.
“That guy probably only liked you because he wanted in with the royal family!”
Sennett’s words were like needles in Terra’s head. A part of her wanted to lash out at the castle guard, but the other half wanted to let him continue.
“Speaking of which…Are you sure you’ll even want him if he gets back?”
“Go on…” Terra whispered silently, the side of her head that wanted to hear Sennett’s words won the fight.
“That guy has changed Terra…” Sennett babbled on. “…I could see it in his eyes when he was leaving, that guy isn’t the same anymore.”
“W-What do you mean?”
“Didn’t you see him, he killed all those criminals…Are you sure you’re going to want that Alec guy after all that has happened? Are you sure he is even going to want you? But never mind that…I personally think you should find someone else…Someone with a little bit more, nobility…If you catch my meaning…”
Confused, Terra’s mind began to race again; something about Sennett’s words had gotten to her.
“…Someone like…Me…For example. You shouldn’t be wasting your time with some stable boy. At least I was actually born in the city!” Sennett continued “…That guy doesn’t have an ounce of nobility in him, unless you can count how much hay he can shovel in a given day!”
The princess raised her hands to her face and ran them back through her smooth blonde hair in frustration. But in her mind the image of her and Alec’s kiss flooded back to her, and Terra had heard enough. “I think you should go now Sennett, I don’t want to hear anymore…” The girl responded in a low growl.
Ignoring the comment Sennett continued. “Just think of what your parents would want? Would they want you to marry some peasant ranch hand, or someone who actually knows how to help rule an entire kingdom?”
Terra once again slouched onto the counter; she began to feel sick to her stomach.
“Just think about it Terra…What would your…”
“Sennett, go away…Now…” The Hylian princess growled loudly, turning her head giving Sennett a death glare.
The castle guard snarled and opened his mouth one last time in frustration. “But you know Terra…What happened to that boy’s mom…It’s your fault…” And with those words Sennett bolted out of the room, hearing noises from behind the counter.
Sennett’s last words stabbed at Terra’s heart like a sword. Her face grew pale and her mind shattered, any happy thoughts that she once had were now gone. And a single tear dripped from her eye.
Harwin burst from the back room. In one hand he carried a single plate with a large piece of bread and in the other a small mug filled to the brim with the remaining fresh milk that the bar had.
He set both on the counter in front of Terra. “I’m sorry…This is all I have…I hope you don’t…” Harwin’s words stopped cold when he saw Terra’s distressed expression. “…What’s wrong?”
Clinching her teeth Terra didn’t want to say, but in seconds she finally broke down, laying her head back in her arms. “It’s my fault Harwin!” the princess cried. “It’s all my fault!”
“What’s going on? What’s your fault?” Harwin responded frantically, confused by the sudden change of emotion.
“W-W-What happened at the Ranch, What happened to Malon…It’s all my fault!” Terra could barely make out the words she wanted to say. Her upper body shook violent as she attempted to catch her breath, although the emotion running through her mind almost made it impossible.
“Terra stop!” Harwin shouted, pounding his fist on the table. Even though Terra barely said anything he already knew where the conversation was going and wanted to end it. “What happened at the Ranch is nobody’s fault…It’s not yours and it wasn’t Alec’s! Now you stop this right now!”
Terra grew instantly silent, never before had she seen Harwin so angry.
“Listen…If you’re thinking that Malon’s death was your fault you need to stop it. Things like that happen, Terra, people die, it’s a fact of life…There was nothing you or anyone else could do that could’ve stopped that from happening!”
Looking away from the bartender Terra’s cries began to settle, but tears still poured openly from her eyes. Terra couldn’t speak; she shivered slightly as she watched Harwin take a few steps away, the man’s expression cooling as he looked around the room.
Knowing that he startled the Princess, Harwin calmed down and looked back to the girl slouching at the counter. “You know Terra?” he began, waiting for a response from the young woman.
“H-H-Huh?” Terra stuttered, looking back to Harwin once again.
“This place…The Milk Bar…It was your father’s idea. He said he had been to one in a distant land long ago on his travels…” Harwin was thinking a story might calm the princess down. “…While the idea was genius, your father and I needed help…And do you know where we got that help?”
Terra shook her head.
“We got it from Malon…with the occasional help from her father, Talon; but she began to supply this place with the best milk in all of Hyrule. Those were the days, Terra; you should’ve seen this place being built. Your father and mother were your age at that time, and me, well I was still old to their standards…” Harwin chuckled, the memories coming back to him.
Smiling, the princess let Harwin continue, her mind began to settle down.
“…Back in the day, after this place was built, I used to see your Mother and Father in here, much like you and Alec. You two remind me of them you know? But anyway, this place was pretty much built for young men and women like you…”
“My mother and father used to come here?” Terra said, accidently interrupting Harwin.
The bartender glanced to the young woman at the counter and smiled. “Oh yes, they used to come here a lot. They would have a drink and dance…It was so happy back then, they were such a beautiful young couple. Even Malon would sometimes appear when she got time away from the Ranch…” Harwin paused for a moment, thinking back. “…She used to hang out with some lad, I couldn’t remember his name, but he looked a lot like Alec, if I must say…I’ve even saw that loony Mask Salesmen in here from time to time…”
Feeling even calmer, she let Harwin get back to his story.
“…But…No matter how many times I asked your father, he would never tell me where he got the idea for a place like this…It was strange, every time I asked him he seemed to get angry, like I had brought back some bad memory…Although it wasn’t the fact that I asked him that got him mad, but like that bad memory that had returned had somehow stuck with him, came back with him to Hyrule, and he wanted to…get rid of it.” Harwin shrugged, he still didn’t understand Link’s methods. “Oh well, I don’t see how such a bad memory could have a place like this in there somewhere!” He motioned around the room.
Terra, looking much better, spoke up once again. “What are you going to do now?”
Sighing, Harwin leaned against the counter. “Well…I guess when the time comes I’ll close this place down…It pains me to do it, but without any supply of milk you can’t exactly have a milk bar…And I’ll be damned if I make this place to a hangout for drunkards!”
Picking herself up off the chair, Terra took a deep breath. “I…I think I’m going to head home now Harwin…I’d love to hear what’s left of the story…But…I’m tired, It’s been a long couple of days….” Her words were heavy, the lack of sleep beginning to take hold on the young woman. The bartender’s story took her mind off the events of the past few days and calmed her nerves.
Snapping out of his nostalgia, Harwin looked at the princess. “Why yes…Of course.”
Taking a few steps toward the door Terra looked back at Harwin. “And Harwin…Thank you…for the story…”
Nodding Harwin replied. “Anytime dear girl…And Terra…Alec will be back soon, I’ll be sure of it…”