Chapter Text
While Link and Malon had started their journey at the Hyrule Castle Town Market, it was just as lively if not more so when they returned. Many hylian kids ran around in masks together, others were with loving parents. There were even a few zora and goron trying the festivities out, although they appeared puzzled.
Keese flew over in the night sky, adding to the spooky atmosphere of banners, monster cutouts, and the eerie music performed by a live band at the center.
Link took their mask off, looking at Malon curiously. “Where to next?”
“The closest by is right here! Let’s go in here first!” She points at a building labeled “Treasure Chest Shop”.
The four of them come in to see a tattooed man wearing the Mask of Truth. He leans over the counter. “Welcome in, kids! Tonight, we have a special game called ‘Trick or Treat’! As the name suggests, we have two chests and you have to pick between one or the other. Pick wisely, get a treat! Choose wrong, get a trick!” He takes his mask off, and flashes a flashlight from under his face, making a spooky sound. “Oooooh!”
He lets out a chuckle as Mido jumps slightly. “Our special tonight is that the first game is free. Wanna give it a go?”
Link nods enthusiastically, and the others agree. “Alright kiddos, just walk through the doors there, and give it a whirl! Have fun!”
Link took the lead, followed by Malon, Saria, and Mido in the rear. The room was its usual gray brick walls, but it was filled with stickers of various monsters. The chests had eyes painted all over them.
“Huh. They look about the same,” Mido cocked his head to the side. “I was expecting some sort of hint.”
Saria pointed at the one on the right. “I don’t like the way this one is looking at me.”
Everyone then looked at the one on the left. “You could say the same about this one,” Malon shrugged. “It’s best we go with our gut feelings.”
“How about we put it to a vote?” Saria suggests. “All in favor of the one on the right?”
Link was the only one to raise their hand.
“What!?” Saria said in surprise. Why?”
Link smirked from underneath their mask, acting as if they had no idea.
“Well, the majority votes left. So, let’s open it,” Mido concluded, waddling over to it and opening the chest.
The hinges give a slight creak and revealed a face that sprung out. It had a creepy smile, and it cackled. Mido jumped back in a panic. “I should have known not to trust Hylian traditions! You lot are bananas!”
Malon lowered her voice in disappointment. “I guess our first is a trick. We got two more chances left, so we gotta make them count!”
The next room had boxes with poes painted on them.
“Well, Link was right on the first one. Maybe we should listen to them this time,” Saria thought aloud, turning to her friend. “Which one do you think is the treat?”
Link raises a hand, indicating to wait. A moment or two passes, everyone still staring at them. Finally, they point to the one on the right.
“Again? Huh,” Saria said, sounding puzzled. She opened it, and lo and behold, a small pile of candies happened to be inside.
Link clapped, smiling in excitement. Everyone took from the chest, dividing the prize evenly among them.
Approaching the final room, stalfos were painted on the last pair.
“So far, the first two were on the right. So therefore, this last one has to be on the right as well,” Saria began.
“Well, that’s what they want us to think. It could still be the left,” Malon rebutted. “What do you two think?”
“No way! I’m not getting in on this! I cannot afford to get jumped at again by some freak!” Mido exclaimed.
“Link?”
Simply, the young Hylian pointed left.
“That’s two votes for left, Saria,” Malon finished. “I suppose that’s what we’ll go with.”
Saria and Mido gulped. “O-okay.”
Malon lifted the chest’s lid, and everyone’s faces filled with delight when they saw their prize: a bunch of mini toys and candies. In the center is a giant stuffed keese.
Everyone excitedly divided the skulltula rings, rubber stalfos, squishy bubbles, mini wolfos plushies, and the several sweets in the pile.
“That was crazy, Link! How did you manage to guess correctly like it was nothing every time?”
Link, hiding the Lens of Truth behind their back, shrugs and chuckles nervously.
“Uh, who gets to take this?” Mido asked, holding the keese in his hands. He added in disgust, “I don’t want it.”
“Maybe we can decide later,” Malon replied, placing the bat in her sack. “There’s more to do, and so little time!”
The kids were in a single file, working their way backwards from the final room back to the entrance, where the man waved at them. “Hope you had fun! Care for another game?”
“Nope!” Malon said bluntly, closing the door behind them.
“Huh. Happy Halloween, I guess.” The man scratched his head.
Next, Link’s crew went through the back alleyways, stopping by any house that had a lantern hanging by a door, or had a pumpkin lit up. The lady that could not scratch her back struggled to turn around to hand them a bowl or candy. Of course, someone’s dog in a vampire costume followed the four around, but with a few guards patrolling the streets, it did not do anything. Mido however, felt a bit uneasy.
Back in the main area of town, the lovers were spinning by the fountain in their contrasting orange and black ball wear. A few others were dancing too, formal and freestyle.
Malon took everyone to the Bazaar and the Potion Shop. The Bazaar offered something they had never seen before: hard orbs of golden yellow goodness in a white wrapping.
“These are honey candies, a new specialty in Hyrule,” the shopkeeper explained. “Pop it in your mouth, and let it melt. That’s the best way to enjoy it.” He does a chef’s kiss motion.
Shortly, they make it to the neighboring Potion Shop, where it looked like a laboratory. It was lit by colored lanterns instead of the usual lighting.
“Step right up, poes, wolfos, and monsters of all ages, for the experiment of the century!” the potionmaster began, wearing what resembled a warlock’s cloak. “Create your own concoction, if you dare! Will you turn into another form, live 100 years, or become super strong? No one knows, until you take your first sip!”
Saria took her mask off to take in her surroundings, and frowning. “Will any of that stuff actually happen to us?”
Malon shook her head, whispering, “Nope! It’s pretend!”
“Oh, okay! Sounds fun.” She places her mask back on.
Link jumped up in front, eyeing four different colored glowing pools of liquid.
The potion master behind the counter waved his fingers. “Hello, Keaton! Dare to try?” He hands them an empty bottle.
Studying the four colors carefully, Link first took a dip in the red, than the blue, and finally two dips in the green. The potionmaster instructs them to close it with a cork, and to shake it. As a result, it began to fizz, turning into a greyish color, still illuminating.
Saria gave it a try next. She dipped two scoops yellow, and two scoops green, giving it a yellow-green color. Malon did hers half red, half green, turning it into a brownish color. As for Mido, he dipped his three ways evenly into the blue, green, and red, giving his a purplish color.
After all four drinks had been fizzed up, the potion master waved his arms in a circular motion. “Ooooh! The spirits have foretold what the potions will do.” He faced Mido’s first, fingers wiggling. “Yours will give you the strength of a wolfos, but the determination of a stalfos.” He moved over to Saria’s. “Yours will grant you the ability to speak to spirits, deep in the darkest crevices of the woods.”
The girl with the brown concoction, shall have the sense of the beasts,” he stopped, appearing the most animated of all towards Link. “You will possess bravery no Hylian, monster, or beast has ever seen!”
Purple smoke mists up from a pot from behind the counter, covering the room.
“Now drink up your new concoctions, if you dare…” he hid his face behind his robe, sneaking behind the shelves of the shop and disappearing.
Coming back outside, everyone held their new drinks in their hands. “Are you sure that was all pretend?” Saria asked. “I’m not sure if I could handle all of that responsibility.”
Link eyed their liquid, swirling it around, and cocking their head to the side.
“Positive! He said I would become a frog last year, and look at me! No frog,” Malon giggled.
“If you say so,” Mido looked at his with disgust. “It better not taste like deku baba drool.”
“Only one way to find out.”
“Alright, down the hatch,” Mido replied, holding his nose. Everyone removed their masks, opened their corks, and took a sip. As they savored their creations, expressions remained neutral on their faces.
“Huh, it doesn’t taste like anything.” Mido shrugged.
“Are you sure? I’m pretty sure I got a hint of deku nut in mine,” Saria looked at him confused.
“I’m sure. I only taste spring water.”
Link looked down into their bottle, and Malon put her mask back on. Suddenly, a triangle dinged in the direction of the castle. Everyone’s attention was diverted there.
There was a podium, where the king of Hyrule stood. To his right was the queen sitting in an outdoor throne, and to his left was a younger girl in a smaller throne. All three of them wore special black and orange royal garb.
“Hear ye, hear ye,” The king began. “Before we go into the wee hours of Halloween night, I want to thank everyone for such a pleasant carnival, and your contributions throughout the year. This year’s bounty has been more prosperous than ever, and tonight is meant to celebrate Hyrule’s prosperity. First I would like to thank our…”
As the king continued, Link could not help but stare at Zelda. Although she appeared festive, and sat in a proper posture, her expression looked bored and empty. Link sighed at the sight.
“What’s the matter?” Malon whispered, who was beside them.
Trying not to be rude, Link tried pointing, but his hand went down. Then, he simply whispered, “Princess Zelda.”
Malon’s eyes flicked towards her, and then back to Link. “Yeah, she looks like she isn’t having a very good Halloween. I guess it’s from being the princess. Do you think there’s a way we could put a smile on her face?”
Link put a hand under their chin, thinking. Then, they whisper into Malon’s ear. She nods as she listens.
When the king’s speech came to a close. He steps off of the podium, and the queen and Zelda follow him back to the castle.
“Alright gang, there isn’t a moment to lose!” Malon raises a finger in the air. “There’s just an hour left before trick or treating ends, and we have a few stops left! Plus, one special, secret stop.”
“I don’t like the sound of it given your tone,” Mido replied sternly. “What ‘secret stop’?”
Malon chucked. “You’ll see Mido. It’s nothing bad. I haven’t steered you wrong thus far.”
For their final minutes, the farm girl guided her forest friends to two buildings with games in them: the shooting gallery and bombchu bowling. In the shooting gallery, everyone tried their best to shoot the targets; their goal was to win the top prize. Mido was embarrassingly the worst shooter, while Saria was not much better, only hitting one more target than him. Malon, with her farming roots, was frustratingly close to the grand prize. Twice!
As for Link, to everyone’s surprise, was able to shoot perfectly on the first go. Happily, they held their arms out when the gamekeeper, wearing a cowboy costume, presented them with a bug net.
“Oh, sweet! I’d love one of those,” Malon smiled. “We get a bunch of critters crawling around the ranch.” Link handed it to her. “Are you sure? Don’t you want to catch bugs?” Link nodded enthusiastically, and showed her the four empty bottles they had.
“Thank you so much!” She squealed with joy. “Well, in that case, you can have my bottle if that’s your method.”
Hastily, they went to the bombchu bowling building. Inside, the lady behind the counter seemed very tired. Nevertheless, the kids were dazzled by her witch costume.
The bombchus were also a snazzy orange and black that night. Spooky music played as the rodent timetickers slid across the stage. At first, Mido and Saria watched due to their low confidence. Link and Malon did decently, but not enough to win the top prize.
Then, hesitatingly, Saria tried, but failed. Mido, to his disappointment, did as well.
“Do you want to play again? It’s okay, you don’t have to,” the witch said, yawning.
Mido rolled up his nonexistent sleeves. “You know what? I’m going to. I did only pebbles in the shooting gallery, and I didn’t really play the treasure chest game. I wanna win something today!”
So, Mido tried again, with the advice of Malon and Link on how to position the bombchus. After barely missing the first time, he got the groove of it afterward. Towards the end of the game, it was make or break; just one bombchu left, and one more point to win.
As Mido released the final bombchu, it zig zagged across the spooktacular stage, and landed in the right position. Loud dings could be heard.
The lady’s drowsy eyes popped open from the loud sound. “Oh! We finally have a winner tonight! Here you go!” She hands Mido a giant stuffed Cucco. “Have a good night, and a Happy Halloween!” She weakly cackled like a witch, and then coughed from straining her throat.
The four trick-or-treaters leave the bombchu bowling facility full and content, each one of them gaily walking out with their sacks bursting at the seams.
“Alright everyone, I believe that is everywhere I can take you! I hope you had fun!” Malon started, sounding satisfied. “Happy Halloween everyone.”
Link, concerned, takes their mask off, showing Malon their confusion.
“Oh, I almost forgot!” She hopped up in shock. “We still have our secret stop!”
Link leads everyone to the path outside of the town, towards the castle. “W-what!? Are you crazy?” Mido says in disbelief. “We can’t go in there! We’re probably going to get thrown in jail!”
The quiet Hylian child turns around, lifting up a finger over their mouth. “It’s okay, Link has done this before and knows the way. We’re just going to see Princess Zelda and surprise her,” Malon whispered.
Because it was a Hylian holiday, it was more heavily guarded than normal, but this did not discourage the Hero of Time. They knew all of the spots where people of their size could blend in with their surroundings; not once did the guards suspect a thing along the hill and the bridge.
Getting to the small secret entrance to the castle, Malon chuckled. “I can’t believe Dad fell asleep here! What a silly man he is.”
Link pushed the crate out of the way, and their companions followed inside.
Here, the guards seemed a little unusual. Some of them held glasses and laughed merrily. Their gait was still normal, but they were talking gossip, about their next shifts, and even their romantic interests. As a result, they seemed more bunched up, and gave four kids less leeway to hide.
Link led them against walls, over the vines, and past the statue. A close call came towards the end when Saria had to sneeze, but thankfully her nose calmed down, just as they entered into the grove.
To no one’s surprise, Zelda was there, sulking. She was still in her holiday outfit, watching her father through the window negotiating with other Hylians. When she changed her gaze towards the flowers is when she heard footsteps. Naturally, she turned around to the direction of the sound.
“Happy Halloween!” A quiet voice came out of Link’s mouth as they took off their mask. The other three followed suit.
“Oh my! Link! And your friends, I presume?” Zelda asks, startled and in joy.
Link smiled, opening their sack full of fun things. They hand all of it to her.
“A trick or treat bag? You’re so sweet.” She grabs the bag, looking inside. “Wow. So many lovely things. I…I can’t take this from you.”
Link shook their head and did a shooing motion with their arms.
Malon smirked. “I think you need this keese plushie too! It looks lonely, just like you.” She gives it to her.
“How adorable,” Zelda smiled, staring into its red buttons. “You know, it is lonely being a princess on Halloween. I have to attend meetings, sit the whole time at the carnival, and have a feast with just adults…” she sighed. “I’ve never gotten the chance to go out and trick-or-treat, or…”
“Just be a kid?” Saria asked.
“Exactly, Kokiri girl.” Zelda gasped. “Oh! So sorry for being rude. What is your name?”
“I’m Saria, and this is Mido. Nice to meet you!”
“To you as well,” Zelda smiled.
“Say, Princess,” Mido began nervously. “Hylians aren’t usually allowed in the woods, but tonight, the Kokiri usually have a traditional party. This sounds irresponsible of me, but I was wondering if…you’d like to go? Malon can come too, of course.”
Zelda glanced back at the window, and then back to her new friends. “Well, I would have to get me back at a certain hour before they know I’m gone. And, as for Impa, she–”
“Impa what?” An adult woman's voice echoed from behind the group. They spun around in a jolt.
Zelda waved. Nervously, she said, “Hi Impa. These are just my friends. They mean no harm.”
Impa nodded. “As long as Link is involved, I trust that there is no harm.” She approached everyone, and knelt down. “What is this about a party?”
“I…was invited to a party in Kokiri Forest, and I felt like it would be wrong to leave, but I want to go.”
“Well…if Link here promises that they can protect you and make sure you stay out of danger, I believe that can be arranged. Just come back before curfew, and I can cover your post so to speak while you’re gone.” She gave a wink and a small chuckle as she watched Zelda’s eyes brighten. “Have fun, Princess. You won’t be young for much longer.”
Link gave a salute, and everyone else let out a “hooray!” as Impa walked out of the grove and started listening to a guard yack about his grandfather’s ghost.
Because of Impa being a distraction, leaving the castle was far easier. The stahlchildren outside of the town also seemed milder than they were earlier. When the group was near the forest, Navi popped out of Link’s hat one more time. In response, Link slowed down, falling behind everyone.
“Link? I’m sorry I was so pushy about saving the world. I think I understand why we came back here tonight.”
The Hero or Time had a hand against one of their pointy ears. Navi continued. “Duty is needed, but I understand stress is also a beast all on its own. To tame it, you must spend time having fun and being around those you care about. I feel bad particularly for the princess.”
The young hylian removed their costume one last time, raising their eyebrows. “Oh, and you of course. You do have a lot of weight on your shoulders. Now come on, and go have fun! We need to fuel you up for the rest of our journey!”
Link placed their Keaton mask back on, and ran towards the others. Together, laughing and talking joyously, everyone entered the forest for the most fun they ever had until Hyrule had found peace again.