A dark figure stands in front of me, their hand raised. Suddenly a blinding flash of light erupts from their hand, and my head is filled with pain, as if it's clamped in a vice. The last thing I hear before I black out is a voice, female, desperate, and terrified. 'Zelda! No!'

-o-

When I come to, the first thing that hits me is the pain. It rolls over me in waves, making my head spin. I squeeze my eyes shut tightly and moan softly, begging for it to end. Eventually it lessens slightly, enough for me to open my eyes a tiny crack. I see… green. At this point my nose kicks into gear and registers a sweet, earthy scent.

Grass, I think fuzzily. I'm face down in some grass. Lovely. This is as far as I get before the pain suddenly returns with terrifying intensity. I close my eyes again and try to breathe, but the pressure in my head makes it hard even to do that. After a few moments of torture, I succumb to darkness once again.

-o-

'Hey, I think she's waking up!' A voice, one I don't recognise. Chirpy and high-pitched. A young girl? Possibly. I get this far before realising that I'm conscious again, and this time the pain is mercifully absent. I manage to creak open an eye, but close it immediately as a bright light from above blinds me.

'Are you alright? Sorry about the sun.' Another voice, male this time. Suddenly the bright light is eclipsed, and I risk opening my eyes enough to see a dark figure looming over me, blocking out the sunlight. 'Is that better?' he asks, and I nod slowly. My head may not be hurting anymore, but it feels like the pain has been replaced with cotton wool. It's hard to think, and impossible to remember anything.

Wait… I frown suddenly, trying to fight against the choking fluffiness in my mind. I… I don't remember anything! My eyes widen as I try to recall something, anything. The figure above me doesn't seem to have noticed my distress, still talking in the same calm voice.

'What's your name?'

'…don't…know…' I mutter, trying to get my lips to work properly. But now the cotton wool from my brain has spread around my body, and I feel almost paralysed.

'Sorry, I didn't catch that,' the man says.

'She's not looking too good. Hang on, I'll get the cloth.' That's the other voice again, the girl. There's a few moments' pause, then a blissfully cool sensation is draped across my forehead.

'Mmm…' I manage, trying to convey in that one sound how grateful I am to the girl for putting a damp cloth on my forehead, and how annoyed I'll be if she removes it. The cold does wonders for the cotton wool, and soon I feel strong enough to gently push myself up on my elbows.

'Hey, careful. We don't want you passing out again,' the man warns, but he moves to give me more space.

'Where… am I?' I ask slowly, glancing around the room as I do so. It's small, and built entirely of wood. There's a tree stump in the centre which I assume works as a table, and another table with a stump chair on one side. On the other side of the room is yet another stump, this time with a basin full of water in it. Next to this stands a small girl with vivid green hair, watching me with concern. I'm lying on the only other piece of furniture in the room, a small bed made of, you guessed it, a stump.

Perched on the edge of the bed is the dark figure, but in the light streaming in from the window next to me I can make out a few more details. He's younger than I thought, I would guess about seventeen. Handsome too, but I push that thought from my mind. I have more important things to worry about right now. If only I could remember what they were…

'Who are you?' I ask, trying to cover my confusion and find out a bit more about my mysterious saviours. At least, I assume they saved me. The last time I woke up I was lying on grass and this time I'm lying on a bed, a definite improvement, so I'm grateful to them for that at least.

'Oh! Sorry, we never said, did we?' the girl says cheerfully, coming over. 'I'm Saria, and this is Link! Don't worry, we're nice people!'

'I don't think she was worried about that until you just mentioned it,' Link says dryly, before turning back to me. 'How are you feeling?'

'Not great,' I admit, 'but better than I was.'

'That's good,' Link says with a smile. 'When I found you before, I thought you were really badly hurt. You were unconscious, but still groaning in pain. I didn't know if you were going to be alright…' I shudder, remembering the pain from before. But Link's words remind me of something else.

'What do you mean, when you found me? Where was I?' Link looks at me strangely.

'How much do you remember?'

'Nothing at all,' I say truthfully.

'Alright then, I'll start at the beginning. You're in the Kokiri Forest – that's a small village in the Lost Woods.' I nod slowly, although none of Link's words trigger any memories. I don't think I've ever heard of the Kokiri Forest before, or the Lost Woods. But I stop wondering about it and listen to the rest of Link's story. 'I was walking in the Lost Woods, going to see Saria, when suddenly I saw you. You were lying in the grass, and at first I thought you were just asleep, but then I wondered how an outsider had even gotten that far into the woods.' My brow wrinkles in confusion.

'An outsider?'

'Someone from the land outside the woods. Everyone in the Kokiri Forest is a Kokiri – that is, everyone except me. The Kokiri are a magical race who live under the protection of the Deku Tree, and remain children their entire lives.'

'I'm a Kokiri!' Saria interrupts. 'But Link's a Hylian. No-one knows how he got here, but he arrived when he was a baby and he's lived here ever since, even though he's a lot bigger than us now!' Link smiles at her, before returning to me.

'So you see, I knew you weren't a Kokiri. Partly because I know all of them and I didn't recognise you, but mostly because you're clearly not a little child. So then I wondered how you had gotten into the Lost Woods, and why. The only entrance to the woods is through our village. Someone would have seen you and stopped you, unless you specifically tried not to be seen. And why would someone go to all that effort just to enter somewhere so dangerous?' Again, I'm confused.

'What's so bad about it? Are there monsters in there?' Link and Saria share a look.

'…Not exactly,' Link says. 'The Lost Woods got their name because it's so easy to lose your way in them. They're enchanted, so even if you try retracing your steps, you might still end up somewhere else. There's only one safe way through them, and only the people of this village know it. Of course, it's not really a problem for the Kokiri: as children, they can stay in the woods as long as they like without any ill effects. But according to legend, if an adult strays into the woods and stays there too long, they turn into a Stalfos.'

'What's a Stalfos?' I ask. Again, the name doesn't seem familiar.

'It's a type of undead monster. Basically a reanimated skeleton,' Saria says helpfully. 'They're scary.'

'Yes, and not something you want to turn into if you can help it,' Link says firmly. I frown, wondering if he's ever seen someone go into the woods and not come out again. The thought makes me shiver. But if these Lost Woods are so dangerous, what was I doing in there? Surely I didn't want to turn into a Stalfos?

'So then what happened, when you found me?' I ask, hoping that the rest of Link's story will shed some light on my recent history.

'I tried waking you up, but you didn't respond. You didn't look injured, but like I said, you seemed to be in a lot of pain, even in your sleep. So I decided to carry you back to the village. I thought that maybe some kind of magic had been used on you, and if so maybe Saria could help.' I turn to the small girl, surprised. She doesn't seem like she'd be able to do much serious magic. She seems amused by my scrutiny, and smiles cheerfully.

'I know I don't look like much, but I'm actually the Sage of Forest! That's more an honorary title than anything else, but it does mean that I can use a little bit of magic. It's mostly healing magic, and not much, really only enough to heal a scraped knee. But being able to use magic means that I can tell when it's been used on other people, and as soon as Link brought you back to the village I knew that you'd been cursed.' I gasp, my eyes widening.

'Cursed? What does that mean? By who? What did the curse do to me?' Saria looks down, away from me.

'Sorry, I don't know,' she says apologetically. 'I can't tell who used the magic, or what it's supposed to do. All I know is that the spell was cast recently, probably a few hours ago – that would be sometime last night. And it's strong. It doesn't seem like the kind of spell that will wear off on its own, and like I said, I'm not strong enough to break it for you. It looks like you're going to have to figure out how to get rid of it the hard way.'

'But how am I going to do that if I don't even know what the spell does?' I ask, panic rising in my chest. First the pain, then the amnesia, and now a curse!

Wait… I think suddenly. Pain, amnesia… What if that's the curse? The pain at least seems to have gone now, so that was probably just a side effect of the spell, but the amnesia doesn't look like it's going anywhere. Someone must have cast a spell on me to erase my memories! But who would do that? And why? What do they not want me to remember? The sound of a throat being gently cleared startles me out of my reverie, and I remember that Link is still sitting there.

'So, now we've told you our side of the story, how about you tell us yours?' he asks. I shake my head regretfully.

'I told you, I don't remember anything.' Link sighs in resignation.

'I guess you have been through a lot. It'll probably take some time for you to remember what happened to you. But at least tell us your name.' I open my mouth, ready to tell him that I don't remember that either, when I stop myself.

Link and Saria have been very kind to me, but I'm not sure I trust them. After all, I only have their word for what happened. For all I know, they could have been the ones who cursed me. They might be enemies of mine, only I just don't remember. Their generosity seems genuine, but right now I have no way of knowing for sure. As long as I have this amnesia I'm vulnerable, and I don't like that. Until I get my memories back, I think it's best if Link and Saria don't know exactly how far my amnesia goes. I guess I'll have to make up a name, just so they don't think I've forgotten everything.

But can I really not remember my own name? I wonder. Surely that must have stayed with me. How could I forget who I am? Is the curse really that powerful? Suddenly a single word rises up through the cotton wool cloud that is my mind. A name. My name? I guess it must be. I turn back to Link.

'My name is Zelda.'

-o-

'Zelda, huh? Nice name,' Link comments, but to my equal relief and disappointment he doesn't seem to recognise it.

'So now what?' I ask.

'Well, you're welcome to stay here in my house as long as you want, but I assume you'll want to go home as soon as you've recovered.' I look down, thinking.

What do I do? Pretend I know where my home is, and wander off into the world all alone? Or admit to them that I have no idea where I'm from, and have them potentially take advantage of that fact? I realise that Link is watching me closely, and when I look up he speaks.

'You don't remember where your home is, do you?' he asks slowly. I guess there's no denying it now. I shake my head, not meeting his eyes. Saria gasps and rushes over to me, grabbing my hand.

'You really don't remember? That's awful!' Link frowns, thinking.

'But how did you lose all your memories? I'd understand if you'd been hit on the head or something, you'd be a bit out of it, but you don't remember anything at all. It's strange.' I'm silent for a moment, then I come to a decision. I may not want to trust Link and Saria, but I need help, and right now they're my only option. And if they're going to help me, they need to know the whole story – or at least, as much of it as I've worked out.

'I think that's the curse Saria was talking about. Someone cast a spell on me to knock me out and erase my memories. I just wish I knew why!'

'Well, at least you still remember your name!' Saria says brightly. 'That's something, anyway.' But Link is frowning at me again, and I sigh.

'I don't know if Zelda is my real name,' I say quietly. Saria looks shocked, but Link doesn't.

'Then why did you say it?'

'Because I remembered it! That's all I remember, just that one name, Zelda. I don't know if it's mine or not, but it must be, right? Otherwise why would I remember it? Surely if I was going to retain only one piece of information, it would be my identity… wouldn't it?' I sigh again, and sag. I really hate this uncertainty. I feel so lost, not knowing who I am or where I'm from. Link is sitting in silence too, but his is more thoughtful. After a few moments he smiles slightly at me.

'Well, we've got to start somewhere. Until we prove otherwise, let's assume Zelda is your real name.' I look up at this.

'What do you mean, "we"? And what are we starting?'

'We're going to help you, of course!' Saria says happily. 'We are, aren't we Link?' Her friend quickly nods.

'We can't just ignore your plight. So until you get your memories back, Saria and I are at your service.' I can't help but smile at this.

'Thank you,' I tell him, and I mean it. At least I'm not totally alone anymore.

'So all we need to figure out now is where to go from here,' Link continues.

'Hey, what about the Great Deku Tree?' Saria says suddenly. 'He might know something!'

'That's a great idea!' Link says.

'Wait, who's this tree?' I ask, confused. 'Is that the same one you mentioned earlier?'

'Yeah, he's the guardian of the Kokiri. He's also really old and really wise, so he might know something that could help you!' Link says, rising from the bed and heading for the door. I slowly haul myself upright, one creaking bone at a time. The pain in my head may have gone, but I still feel like I've been trampled by a herd of stampeding Bullbos. But Saria supports me, and together we make it to the door. As soon as I step outside, I gasp.

'Wow…' I murmur, looking at the forest around me. I'm standing at the top of a tree, with a ladder leading down to the ground. Several other treehouses are dotted among the clearing, some of them connected by rope bridges. I can see a few people milling about, all of them small and clad in green, just like Saria. I assume those are the other Kokiri.

As I watch, one of them, a small boy with bright red hair and freckles, catches sight of us and marches over. Link doesn't seem to notice, climbing down the ladder and leaping off when he's halfway down. I take it more slowly, placing both feet on each rung before moving to the next one. I'm not up to my full strength yet, and the last thing I want to do is slip and break my neck. Link grips my arm when I'm within reach, supporting me until I have both feet on solid ground, and I smile my thanks at him.

Saria practically skips down the ladder after me, landing with a soft thud and a beaming smile. Link looks like he's about to say something to me, but before he gets the chance the Kokiri boy arrives, standing in front of us with his hands on his hips. It's funny to see a child pouting like that but I restrain myself from laughing, reminding myself that although he looks young the boy could very well be older than me, given that the Kokiri don't age.

'Who is that?' the boy demands, pointing at me but speaking to Link.

'She's a friend of mine. She got stuck in the Lost Woods, and we're helping her recover,' Link says calmly.

'She's not a Kokiri! She's not allowed in the village!' I frown, looking at Link. Saria said earlier that he was a Hylian, and I only now wonder why he's the only one in the village. Is he not supposed to be here either? Link is about to answer the boy when Saria steps forward, her face inches from the other Kokiri. The boy for his part suddenly goes bright red and leans back, swallowing.

'She's hurt! It doesn't matter that she's not a Kokiri, it's our duty to help her! You should understand that!' I'm surprised to hear such vehement words out of the sweet little girl, and from the look of it, Link is too. But he recovers himself, and tugs on my arm.

'Come on, let's leave them to it.' He leads me away in the direction of a narrow path through at one end of the village.

'Who was that boy?' I ask, glancing back at the redhead. He's too busy stuttering an answer to Saria to notice me.

'That's Mido. He's… well, he calls himself the chief of the Kokiri. But to be honest, he just tells everyone what to do and struts around acting like he owns the place. It annoys the others, but they don't want to cause problems, so they never do anything about it. The only one who stands up to him is Saria, and she can only do that because Mido has a massive crush on her.' I look back at the Kokiri children again, smiling. That explains why Mido's attitude changed so much when he saw Saria.

'And what about you? Mido said that non-Kokiri people aren't allowed in the village.' For a moment Link's face darkens slightly, and I regret my words. But then he shakes himself, and the moment passes.

'Technically they're not. I'm the only non-Kokiri here, and the only one who's ever been here.'

'How did a Hylian end up in the Kokiri Forest?' I muse, half to myself.

'I'll tell you about it some other time,' Link replies, and I'm about to ask more when the path ahead of us opens up into a wide clearing. I stop dead when I see what sits in the centre.

-o-

'Is that…?' I ask, unable to form a full sentence. Link laughs at my awe.

'Yeah, that's the Great Deku Tree. I guess you've probably never seen anything like him before, have you? Or at least you don't remember it.' I shake my head slightly, staring. In the middle of the clearing is a gigantic tree, its branches stretching up to the heavens. But what shocks me most is the trunk. It's gnarled and twisted, but it almost looks like…

'Is that a face?'

'Why don't you go see?' Link asks with a smile. I step forward, but suddenly stop as the entire trunk shifts, and I immediately see that my guess was correct. The tree's facial features become more apparent: its eyes are completely hidden by two woodenly bushy eyebrows, and between them protrudes a bulbous nose. The tree also sports an impressive moustache. As I watch, a crack appears just below the moustache, and widens until it's a recognisable mouth.

'Ah… Link,' the tree says, its voice a series of tuned creaks. 'It has been many months since last I saw you.'

'Yeah, sorry about that,' Link says bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck. 'I've… been busy.'

'And who is your friend?' the tree asks, and Link looks at me as if he'd forgotten about me.

'Oh! This is Zelda. At least, we think it is.'

'Explain yourself, child,' the tree says gravely. 'And come closer. My eyesight is not what it used to be.' Link ushers me towards the tree, whispering as he does so:

'He's very elderly.'

'My eyesight may be fading, but my hearing is still excellent!' the tree reprimands Link sharply.

'Sorry,' he says with a grin.

'So you should be. Making fun of your elders,' the Deku Tree grumbles, descending into a mess of creaking I can't understand. Finally I'm standing right next to the trunk, close enough to touch it. 'So this is maybe-Zelda, is it?' he asks, his eyebrows furrowing as he peers down at me. 'Why only maybe?' Link quickly explains the situation to the old tree.

'…So we were wondering if you could help us,' he finishes. 'You're really wise, so we thought maybe you knew something about Zelda, or maybe you can even help us break the curse!' The tree creaks from side to side slightly.

'I will tell you now young one, I cannot break this curse. It is old magic, and powerful. It can only be reversed by the one who cast it.' I look down at the ground, crushed.

I need to find whoever cast this curse to break it, but I need to break the curse to find who cast it! How am I ever going to do this? Link puts a comforting arm round my shoulders, smiling sadly.

'I'm sure there'll be a way,' he says, but we both know that's a slim chance. Just when I'm ready to give up however, the Deku Tree creaks into speech again.

'I was not done talking,' he says reproachfully. 'There may be another way to break the curse. If, somehow, Zelda manages to regain a portion of her memories, the curse will be weakened. The more she remembers, the weaker the spell will become, until eventually it will fade away of its own accord.' I look up at this ray of hope, dim though it may be.

'But how is she going to regain any of her memories?' Link asks. 'All she remembers is one name, and we don't even know if it's hers!'

'I don't know the answers to everything,' the tree huffs. 'I do not know how you will manage this. However, I would suggest you try to trigger her memories. If Zelda goes to a place she knows well, or meets someone she used to be close to, she might remember them. It will be difficult, and it will take a long time, but it is your best chance of success.' I smile gratefully up at the tree.

'Thank you, for all your help,' I tell him. He smiles down at me, then pauses in thought.

'Oh, one other thing. I would expect that the curse is still tied to its caster.' When Link and I frown up at him he explains further. 'It means that the further you are from the caster, the weaker the curse is and the easier it will be for you to regain your memories. But if you are closer, especially if you are actually in the presence of the caster, it will be nigh on impossible for you to remember anything. You would have to find an incredibly powerful trigger in order to regain your memories then. So I would advise you to stay as far away from whoever cursed you as possible.'

I nod, thinking that it would be a lot easier to avoid this person if I had the faintest idea who they were. But I can't worry about that now. I have to start searching somewhere, and hopefully I'll remember enough along the way to be able to avoid my attacker. Thinking about this, I look back up at the tree.

'I know it's a long shot, but do you know where we should start? Do you know anything about me, at all? Do you recognise my name?'

'Hmm,' the tree says thoughtfully. 'Yes, I have been wondering about that, ever since I heard it. Zelda. Yes, it definitely rings a bell.' My heart leaps in my chest. What if this gruff old tree knows who I am? 'No, the memory is gone,' the Deku Tree says after a moment, and my hopes crash again. 'The name Zelda is certainly familiar to me, but I cannot for the life of me remember how I know it.'

'Don't you remember anything? Anything at all!' I ask desperately.

'Well… for some reason, whenever I think of the name Zelda, I think of Hyrule Castle.'

'Hyrule… Castle…' I murmur. Link looks at me sharply.

'Do you remember that?' he asks.

'I… don't think so,' I admit. 'For a moment there I felt like I remembered something, but I can't place it. And the feeling's gone now.' Link looks disappointed, but turns back to the tree.

'Do you remember anything else? And what can you tell us about Hyrule Castle?' The Deku Tree huffs again.

'So many questions! No, I do not remember anything else. And I am afraid that I do not remember anything about Hyrule Castle either. Only that the two are connected. The name Zelda is somehow linked to Hyrule Castle. That is all I remember.'

'I thought your memories went back hundreds of years!' Link says reproachfully. The tree creaks and grumbles, his eyebrows working furiously.

'They do indeed young one, but the problem with having hundreds of years of memories is that you become too full of memories! Things get forgotten! But I would not expect a mere sapling like you to understand that,' he mutters, creaking to himself. Link rolls his eyes.

'Come on Zelda, I think he's told us everything he can. We'd better leave the old geezer to mutter to himself and dribble.' Link then takes me by the arm and practically sprints from the clearing, as the Deku Tree yells behind us,

'I told you, you insolent boy, my hearing is excellent!'

-o-

A/N: That's it for today folks! Hope you enjoyed. Reviews, as ever, are much appreciated, so let me know what you think. Next chapter will be up tomorrow!