DISCLAIMER: All properties upon which this story is based are owned by Nintendo. I own nothing.

FOUND AND LOST

Nobody knows where it originated from.

It is an artefact of chaos, shaped like a heart with spikes lining its edges. It is an object of immense power, once used by an ancient tribe in their obscure hexing rituals. It is an item of evil that, if in the wrong hands, could plunge everything into eternal desolation. It is known as Majora's Mask.

He brushed the uneven surface of the mask with his thumbs, staring into its forest green irises with a cheerful and somewhat carefree satisfaction. The glowing orange eyes stared back at him, unblinking and emotionless. It was only a mask, after all. Masks were not living creatures.

Whistling casually, he placed the mask inside a large pack which was already filled with other various masks that he had gathered in his travels. Slinging the pack over his shoulder, he began to head back to his shop in the marketplace.

He did not plan to sell his new mask. He had gone to great lengths to acquire the ancient artefact, after all, and he knew that the owner of such a dark item would be surrounded by misfortune for as long as it was in his or her possession. He was very sure, of course, that he was immune himself, but it would be rather unethical to sell an object of chaos like Majora's Mask to a paying customer. No, it would be impossible to convince him to part with it.

As he hobbled home, supporting the weight of both himself and the pack with a thin wooden cane, he was tapped on the shoulder by a pale woman with a book under her arm.

'Excuse me, mister,' she said, adjusting her glasses in a businesslike manner, 'I'm gonna have to ask you to hand over that mask you just picked up, 'kay?'

The Princess of Hyrule's nursemaid frowned at the green-clad young boy in disdain, although there was a hint of a playful smile only recognisable to one who knew her. The boy – a friend of the princess – had just managed to sneak past the royal palace's security with troubling ease.

'That was fast,' commented the nursemaid.

'Oh, come on, Impa!' pleaded the boy. 'Please let me through!'

'What's the pony for?' asked Impa, crossing her arms. 'And how on earth did you get it past the guards?'

'Epona's only here because I'm leaving soon,' said the boy. 'Now, please! I want to see her before I go!'

The nursemaid was blocking the entrance to the garden. It was the place Hyrule's princess spent most of her time, whether studying, reading or playing.

'I can't simply grant you an audience with the princess if you don't give me a good reason to,' she said to the boy.

'I don't want "an audience with the princess",' said the boy, 'I want to see my friend!'

Impa sighed, then stepped away from the entrance to let the boy pass. 'You can see her, but you have to remember that she's the princess of this land as well as your friend, not just one or the other. You could at least attempt to show some respect for once.'

The boy ignored her and walked right by, leading his pony with one hand.

The princess stood atop a small platform, facing the window through which the throne room could be seen.

'Zelda!'

The princess was not in the least bit surprised to hear her friend's voice, having listened to his short conversation with Impa.

'You're leaving soon, Link?'

The boy released his pony's reigns and took a few steps towards the young princess. 'Yeah.'

Princess Zelda turned to face her friend, clutching a polished and ornate blue instrument in her hands. The boy frowned curiously at the instrument.

'Is that …'

'The Ocarina of Time, yes,' finished the princess. 'I had a feeling you might leave in search of your lost fairy, so I decided I'd lend it to you as a going-away gift. You know, for good luck!'

'But … I can't,' protested the boy.

The princess took one of the young boy's hands and placed the ocarina gently on his palm, folding his fingers around it.

'Listen,' said Zelda quietly, 'if you have this, there's no way for Ganondorf to open the Gate of Time, which I'm sure he'll attempt to do once he finds out we're aware of his evil intentions. Trust me, it's safer with you.'

Link gulped. 'But … it's such a precious artefact for someone like me to carry around …'

'Oh, don't worry, you'll give it back later!' assured the princess. 'Besides, as long as you have this, the Goddess of Time will watch over you and aid you in your quest. Surely, you'll have better luck finding your friend this way!'

'Th-thank you,' said the boy sincerely. 'I promise I'll take good care of it!'

'Farewell, Link! Good luck!'

'Bye, Zelda!'

For the first nine years of his life, Link had believed himself to be an immortal child of the forest, created by the Deku Tree as a member of the hidden tribe known as the Kokiri. However, there was always a single thing he had lacked: a fairy partner.

Each member of the Kokiri had a guardian fairy assigned to them by the Deku Tree, and Link had always considered himself to be the unfortunate exception to this tradition. The day Navi had come to him and announced she would be his companion from then on had felt like a weight off his shoulders; as if it would finally allow him to be accepted as a true Kokiri.

Alas, the young boy was never meant to be one. He was, in fact, Hylian by birth; an ordinary mortal, brought to the forest to take refuge from the civil war that was taking place in the main kingdom. Despite this apparent insignificance, however, the boy soon found greatness as the legendary Hero of Time when he travelled seven years into the future to save the land from an immense evil.

At the end of his long adventure, he was sent back in time to relive his lost childhood, and he and Navi had parted ways – the fairy's task was over – and they had had no subsequent meetings since.

Link was not willing to believe that he was never to see the fairy again. Thus, he packed his things and rode off into the woods in search of her, determined to find her and speak to her one last time.

The young filly upon which the boy rode went by the name of Epona. She was a trustworthy horse and the only horse Link was ever willing to ride. It just so happened that Link was the only one Epona was ever willing to allow on her saddle as well, so they made the perfect team.

It was unfortunate, then, that they were about to be separated.

Dried leaves and twigs crunched under Epona's hooves as she plodded along the soft forest floor. She was starting to feel the effect of a full days' walk, and so was Link, even though he had been seated on her back for the duration of the journey. In fact, the boy was beginning to nod off, and would have fallen asleep if not for the sound that next graced his ears.

It was the tinkling of fairy wings.

Link immediately snapped to his senses and jerked his head around in various directions, surveying every inch of the forest with newfound vigour, but poor Epona was caught off-guard by the motion, causing her to rear violently, throwing Link tumbling off her back and onto the dirty ground.

The world spun around in dizzy circles before the young boy's eyes, darkness seeping in from all corners of his vision. Link planted his hands firmly in the soil beneath him in an attempt to push himself to his feet, but he found, to his dismay, that his body had suddenly gained so much weight that his little arms could not support him on their own. The ground was getting closer and closer to Link's face. His whole body fell in slow motion until he found himself passing through what should have been solid ground, sinking into an inescapable abyss with no bottom in sight.

A/N: What's this? A novelisation of Majora's Mask? But actually, it's more than that. What could the twist be?