Golden rays dropped down lazily through the treetops, falling into the misty stream that flowed peacefully through the quiet forest, where only a few flowers grew amongst the tender grass. One single tree stood out among the rest, an old tree that had seen much in its lifetime, that had been there since the forest's creation, and that was its watchful eye. It was called the Great Tree and later known as the Great Deku Tree as the plants in the forest began to be known as Deku.

The morning was beginning to shine more brightly, and the Great Tree reached out his branch, a small branch that had something laying upon it. It was a sleeping child, no older than a day, growing by the light of the sun as if a plant itself. "The firstborn of Kokiri Forest," the tree stated simply. "Thou shalt be great, little one." He rocked the sleeping babe tenderly as Farore's wind rustled the leaves around them, creating music so soft and pleasant.

A small fairy hovered before her leader, bowing slightly at the waist. "I shall protect this child with all my might. I will make sure to keep the little one happy and safe."

"Very good, my servant. Thou shalt make an excellent guardian fairy, I am certain." Such blessings surrounded the small sapling of a child, the blessing of the goddess, the great one, and the guardian, for this little firstborn child would indeed become great. This child was the only Kokiri to be born among the branches of their father, and the only one that was promised… "Thou shalt be a hero, a protector, a leader…"

…

"Lead the way, Saria!"

A little girl bounced across the stream on stones that seemed to grow out of the bottom of the water. She was small, with big sky-blue eyes and tiny green ponytails that danced as she jumped across. She wore a sleeveless green tunic with a darker green strip of cloth tied around the waste, right where the tunic formed into shorts. She was barefoot, just like her friend that followed behind. He wore a green outfit as well. His was long sleeves and long pants. His eyes were equally blue and more round. His cheeks were round and covered in large orange freckles, and his messy auburn-orange hair covered his forehead and pointed Hyrulian ears.

The children's fairies followed their respective child closely. Chalis, the fairy of the girl, had a pink tint to her common white glow. She sometimes felt that she was overprotective of Saria, who she knew was wise beyond her years. But at the same time, she worried constantly about the girl, for she was an excitable and adventurous child who was rarely afraid of the unknown.

Tella, the other fairy, was a whitish green, and she was charged with the task of watching over the boy, Mido. Mido was often a handful for Tella, who usually preferred not to interfere. She wanted only the best for the child, but sometimes her decisions with him would be for the worse. He was a troublemaker, she could already tell, but she didn't fear his selfishness, at least not at such a young age. Besides, she would tell herself, Saria was a great influence on him.

"Hey, Saria! Hold up!" Mido was on his knees, looking at a bud.

Saria stopped and plopped down next to her friend. She scrunched up her face, "What is that? A weed?" The bud hardly looked like much. The outer layer was a rusty, unfriendly brown. It had stripes of yellow in it, but the coloring actually made it more unattractive than beautiful.

"No! It's not a weed!" Mido looked at her. "It's the Deku Mask Flower."

"Mask flower?"

"Deku Mask Flower."

"It doesn't look like a flower, Mido," Saria shook her head.

"You'll see. I'll show you it when it blossoms… You'll be amazed!"

"I can't wait!" Saria stood. "Now come on!"

The two children were getting closer and closer to the Lost part of the woods. "Saria, stop!" Chalis called.

"Aw, Chalis! Please, let me go in!"

"Absolutely not! You'll get lost and turn into a skull kid!"

"No, I won't! Listen!"

The four of them tilted their heads.

"I hear music!" Mido shouted.

"Sh!" Saria hushed. "Yeah… It's the music of the forest. Isn't it beautiful?"

The music calmed Chalis, who agreed, "That's the way to know where you are… you follow the music to the sacred temple!"

"Yeah! Come on, Mido!"

The children continued deeper into the woods. The Lost Woods, to anyone else, was quite foreboding and often terrifying. But to Saria, she saw the beauty in everything. Even that Deku Mask Flower, which seemed anything but beautiful, she knew would soon bloom into the most beautiful flower of all the woods. She didn't doubt Mido one bit.

Mido closed his eyes and his mouth. Tella looked at Chalis, who stifled a giggle. Mido was never one to shut his mouth, so when he did, it came as a surprise to his fairy guardian. And it always seemed to happen when Saria was around. Perhaps Saria saw the beauty in him as well.

They had made it to the foot of the temple, where Saria lay by a fallen tree and closed her eyes, listening to the melody of the forest. Mido straddled the trunk of the tree, which was already starting to deteriorate into the ground. "Hey, Saria! Check this out!" He didn't stay seated long. He ran over to a tree, jumping up at the last second to try to snatch a branch. He couldn't reach it.

"What are you doing?" Saria opened her eyes and giggled. "You're not big enough yet, Mido!"

Mido scowled and stomped his foot. "Tella!"

"What do you need, Mido?" the fairy quickly asked.

"I want that stick up there! I wanna make a slingshot!"

"You have a slingshot already, Mido," Saria stood up and walked toward him.

"I wanna make my own!" he whined.

"Here." Saria put a hand on his shoulder to get his attention. "Give me a boost."

Mido knelt on the ground and held out his hands. Saria placed her foot in them, and Mido chanted, "One, two, three!" With a great toss, Saria sprung up to the branch and grasped it. She used one hand to break off a piece and dropped it down to Mido.

"Now you have to catch me!" she laughed.

"Wait, what?"

Saria dropped down, landing on top of Mido, laughing so hard she was clutching her stomach.

"Saria!" Mido moaned. But he was smiling shortly after. He laughed along with her as their fairies looked at each other happily. The two of them were best friends since they could both toddle. And the fairies foresaw a friendship that would go deeper than any between the other Kokiri children.

…

Mido aimed carefully at his freshly painted red target. He pulled back the elastic vine, setting the stone perfectly between his fingers. He closed an eye, stuck out his tongue, and fired. "Bullseye!" he cheered.

Saria smiled. "Good job, Mido. You're getting better and better at that!"

"But of course!" Mido winked. "I can only get better, because I'm the best!"

The two of them were sitting on the side of the store, where Mido had painted a red target on the wood just seconds before. He had collected small pebbles from the creek that ran nearby and had all but begged Saria to watch his target practice. Saria, of course, had no problem watching Mido. She stretched her legs out on the grass and sat, holding the most beautiful flower in all the forest.

This was right after they left the Lost Woods on their tenth day of going in. When they left, Mido had stopped her and pointed. There, sprouting from the ground, was a magnificent flower. Its petals were golden with a center of a royal purple. The edges were a sunset orange and within the gold, there were speckles of red. It was the most beautiful flower Saria had ever seen. Mido picked it from its place and handed it to her, with a smirk and a whisper, "Told you so!"

Now she held the beautiful blossom. The Deku Mask Flower… she was barely able to keep her eyes off it. It was almost enchanting to look at. "Mido…" she started.

"Huh?" Mido was examining one of his pebbles, holding it up to his eye-level, peering at it with only one eye.

"The Deku Mask Flower…"

Mido turned to her and smiled really wide, as he often did. "That's my favorite flower of all, Saria!"

"Is that so?"

"You know it!"

Saria laughed. "Then why did you give it to me?"

"I knew you'd like it!" Mido shrugged. Tella fluttered proudly beside him. Saria always brought out the best in this child. She wondered if the little girl knew that.

…

Any other moment, Mido was very much a troublemaker. One could find him pulling pranks, especially on the Know-It-All brothers, as he called them. Domi and Doti were twins, both having long orangish hair that was straight as the tree trunks of the forest.

They were pretty smart, if Mido had to admit it. Their fairy guardian, a white and yellow fairy by the name of Yearla, had been a teacher to them as well as a parent. She had taught them everything about the forest, and even some things about Hyrule beyond their sanctuary. She was the first to speak of the dreadful idea that Kokiri children would die if they ever left the forest, as the Great Deku Tree had told the fairies. None questioned her.

Then there was Fado, the little girl with short, puffy curls tied up in a large round ponytail at the top of her head. Her pale orange and white guardian, Glina, could usually be seen sitting in the nest that was her puffy blonde hair. Fado was usually able to counter Mido with her own sass and sarcasm. She was highly energetic and bubbly, an amazing foil to Saria, who was normally calm and quiet.

There were, of course, many other children in the forest, girls and boys and their guardian fairies. Every fairy had a child to watch, and Yearla had both twins. However, there was one fairy that did not have a child: the fairy servant of the Great Deku Tree, Navi. It was an honor to directly serve the Great Tree, as many of the fairies did before their children were born. Many of the guardians, such as Chalis and Yearla, felt it a greater honor to raise the Kokiri children. They would forever be children, they were told, and therefore, they determined, forever be learning and playing, forever be innocent and protected in the forest.

Every fairy had that opportunity to protect and guide a child. Every fairy… including that different one, the servant one, the bluish one, Navi. Her story came when the children were a bit older. She discovered a child of her own that she had to help. Not only would she guide him and give him advice, but she would lead him to his destiny, the destiny that would save all of Hyrule, not just their secluded Kokiri Forest.