You have been warned: These chapters are long. Enjoy!
Chapter 1
The Boy of the Forest
Link sprinted across the boundless plains as lightning shredded the murky black sky. He didn't know how long he'd been running, and he didn't care. Every instinct in his body told him to keep going, to keep moving, to keep running. His chest was struggling for air, his legs fought to keep his body moving, but he knew he couldn't stop, not now.
A torrent of icy air struck him head on, forcing the grass at his feet to bow while bringing him to a slow but eventual stop. He raised his arms to shield his face as the wind doubled in ferocity, whipping at his body with claws of air. When his surroundings finally calmed down, Link cautiously lowered his arm; what he saw before him caused him to stagger.
An endless wall of stone had mysteriously appeared before him. Link looked to his left, right, and straight up, but no matter where he turned, he could not find an end to this colossal monument. Then, a series of metallic clanks diverted his attention forward to a foreign section of the wall. In the center, directly in front of him, a massive slab of wood was starting to lean forward, pivoting at the base. The drawbridge was being lowered by a set of chains thicker than his torso, crossing a churning moat at the base of the stonewall and slamming to a ground-rumbling halt at his feet.
Link stared into the new opening, mystified as to what was going on. He could see foggy shapes and figures lumbering beyond the stonewall, but everything past the threshold of the drawbridge was shrouded in a veil of mist his eyes couldn't pierce.
Then a jolt ran down the length of his spine, a signal screaming a single word: Danger! He hurled himself to the side, narrowly avoiding a four-legged beast that burst out of the mist's boundaries and nearly trampled him. He broke his tumble with a roll the moment he hit the grass, using the momentum to push him to his feet a mere second later so he could spin around and get a better look at the beast before it disappeared beyond the distance.
It was an animal unlike any other, with four long but sturdy legs that allowed the rest of its body to gallop away at an incredible speed. He noticed two cloaked figures mounted on the creature's back. One was around his stature and height, while the second towered over the first, clutching its smaller frame in its larger arms while repeatedly whipping the creature they rode on, urging it to go faster. They were fleeing, but from who or what, he couldn't tell.
Link opened his mouth, wanting to call out and demand to know what was going on, but before he could, another shock of peril coursed through his body. He twisted around to face the drawbridge and froze. Another beast, similar to the one before, towered before him, only this creature was pure black and armored in layers of sinisterly designed metal. On its back was a figure, a lone man whose very existence screamed of evil.
This man of evil wasn't cloaked; he was open for all to see. His shortly cut red hair was like fire, not warm and comforting, but fierce and consuming. His skin was the color of venom, his eyes like droplets of blood, and when he pulled his lips back into a sneer, his bared teeth portrayed nothing but merciless vice. He wore an orange pendent that hung on the center of his forehead. His body was draped in interlocking sets of black metal armor and leather chest plating which tightly fit his muscular form.
Link knew he had to run, he knew this man, this figure of pure evil, would kill him without a moment of hesitation. But he didn't move; he couldn't. His feet stayed rooted to the ground he stood upon, and his body remained defiant. It wasn't fear that held him, but responsibility. His gut told him the pair from before were fleeing from his man. Link stood his ground because he knew he had to buy them as much time as possible to get away, whatever the cost. He didn't know why he was protecting them, but he knew it was the right thing to do.
It was also the last thing he did. The man of evil's beast suddenly reared on its hind legs, lashing out with its front set before smashing its hooves directly into Link's face.
Creak!
Link nearly tumbled headlong out of his bed, almost falling over the side and onto the cold morning floor. Still panting heavily, he brushed a few strands of his golden hair from his blue eyes. His dream was still echoing at the back of his mind, the vivid images flashing before him inside his darkened, circular home.
Still, it was just a dream, Link reassured himself, taking a deep breath of fresh morning air. He shivered as the breeze caught onto his sweat drenched tunic. Giving himself a few seconds to collect his thoughts, he kicked aside his leaf-blanket, swung his legs over the side of his bed, and slipped his bare feet into his brown leather boots resting on the floor. Then, he lifted his left hand and pointed it at the shadows in the center of his coned ceiling. He closed his eyes and let the image of a ball of light dance in his mind. Within seconds, a soft glow of light shone from the Light Flowers, a set of white roses growing from the ceiling, illuminating his home with an easy glow.
He looked out the window, a square cut in the wall to his left in his single room home, to see that the rest of the village was sleeping away the early morning. With a weary yawn, he got to his feet and pulled his tunic off from over his head. He tossed his soaked tunic onto his table, a sizeable wooden stump growing out of the floor in the center of his home. The moment the fabric touched the table, a vine reached out from the walls, plucked the clothes and hanging it beside another line of laundry dangling from the ceiling. All Link had to do now was wait a few hours, and it'd be as clean as sunshine.
As soon as that was done, Link wandered over to his closet, which was to the left of his dining table. His closet was another accessory which had been grown out of the circular walls of his home and was fully stocked with several sets of clean clothes. He pulled open his wardrobe and took out the first green tunic his fingers touched. He pulled it over his head and onto his body, pleased to find it still fit him snuggly. He yanked a brown leather belt from the hanger and fastened it around his waist, then swung the closet shut and grabbed his green hood from the hanger attached to the side of the closest. He placed his hood on his head and brushed his hair so it would stay out of his eyes. Fully dressed, he started for the doorway, a large rectangular opening covered by a doodled white tarp opposite from his bed.
Before he left, Link paused at the entrance to complete his most hated daily routine. He pressed his back against the wall, straightened his spine, and marked his height, scratching his progress onto the wall with his thumbnail. He stepped away, turned around to look at the markings, and groaned; he'd grown another centimeter. He lightly thudded his head into the wall, where numerous thumb scratches marked his growth over the course of the year.
"It'll stop someday," he told himself, trying to push down his growing concerns. "It has to … it has to."
Determined not to let this small event ruin the rest of his day, Link tossed aside the tarp with one hand and greeted the morning of the Kokiri Village.
It was beautiful. Link lived in this village all twelve years of his life, and no matter how many times he saw this sight, "beautiful" was the only word he used to describe it. Standing on the fenced porch of his tree house, with the ground over ten feet away, he had an excellent view of his village. Widely decorated and numerous little homes dotted the village, each of them magically grown from the ground up. The grass was neatly kept as always, with smooth sanded pathways linking every home to one another. The Little Riv, a freshwater river which smoothly lapped across the village and pooled into a large pond at the corner, was as clean as ever. The Kokiri playground, a section of the village filled with sand and jungle gyms, was already occupied by the Triplets, three identical sisters.
There was never any danger here, for the village was surrounded by towering close growing trees, forming a protective barrier around the village (everyone called these trees the Wall). Their branches even reached outward to block out the sky over the village, and after Link's first impression of the sky in his dreams, he was glad they did. The village's light came from the thousands of Light Flowers growing from the Nest (the branches cloaking the sky). The Light Flowers would brighten during the day and dim at night. As Link watched, the light from the flowers was growing stronger, transforming the dim morning glow into a brighter shine. Occasionally, some of the Light Flower pedals would fall from the Nest and drifted towards the village in a cascade of diamond dust, bursting into a soft shower of light whenever they touched the ground.
This was truly a magical place.
Link reached for an apple sprouting from one of the branches sprouting from his tree house. As soon as he plucked the fruit from its stem, another immediately grew back to take its place. He dug his teeth into the morning dew coated skin, enjoying the crisp flavor dancing in his mouth.
"Link!"
He looked down from his porch, letting his eyes trace out the source of the voice. He grinned as he recognized his best friend.
"Saria!" He called back, waving at her with his free hand. He chewed away at the rest of his meal and tossed the core onto the grass below, where the green blades wrapped around the remainder of the fruit and sucked it into the ground. A moment later, an apple tree sapling began to grow from the very same spot.
A Kokiri girl an inch shorter than Link was jogging down the pathway leading to his tree house. Her shortly cut leaf-green hair was bobbing with each step she took; if it hadn't been held back by the jade headband on her head, Link was sure her hair would be everywhere. She wore her favorite long-sleeved shirt that matched her lime short pants and deep green boots. When she reached the wooden ladder connecting Link's porch to the ground, she took a moment to catch her breath before climbing up. Her fairy partner, on the other hand, flew right up to Link and greeted him with jingling salutations.
"Hi, Link!" Tatl giggled, hovering in front of his nose.
"Hey there, Tatl," Link replied, tickling the fairy's glowing round, green body with his finger. Her translucent pixie wings twitched as she enjoyed the tease.
"Hey, guess what?"
"What?"
"Saria had a sweet, sweet dream about you!"
"Tatl!" Saria's voice came up from somewhere down the ladder. She sounded mortified.
"Want to know what it was about?" Tatl snickered, playfully flying in circles around him.
"Are you sure you should tell me?" Link asked, trying to put on a straight face.
Tatl started giving off the ringing sound of bells, a sure sign she was enjoying herself. "Positive! It was about the night you two snuck out of the village to explore the Sacred Grove! Only it was way more roman—!"
"Tatl!" Saria's fingers snapped closed around her fairy partner. Her peachy skin was now a flustered red, and Link couldn't tell if her hard breathing was due to exhaustion or embarrassment.
"You dream about me?" He asked, picking off with Tatl's teasing.
"Only … every now and then," Saria mumbled. She leaned close to Tatl, still trapped in her fingers, and muttered furiously. Still, with Link's keen sense of hearing, he heard everything she said. "Tatl! You're not supposed to tell him about my dream! I told you about it because you're my partner! You're supposed to help me keep these kinds of secrets!"
"Aw, but it'd be way more fun if Link knew about what happened in your silly little head too!" Tatl giggled back. "Besides! You want to be closer to him, don't you?"
"Not by telling him every embarrassing fact about myself!"
"But that's the only way the two of you can be true friends! By knowing everything about one another!"
That gave Saria a pause. "R-Really?"
"Really! Oh, Saria! You should totally tell him about the gift you've spent years—!"
Saria started shaking her cupped hands violently, and the only words Tatl could squeeze out after that were, "Oof!" "Augh!" "Help me!" "Hanging by a Wolfos' tail!"
Link watched the two of them in envy, feeling a dull but familiar ache beat in his chest. Saria and Tatl had something Link always yearned for, something every child in the Kokiri Village was grown with: A bond between Kokiri and fairy.
In the Kokiri Village, all the children were grown by the Great Deku Tree, the protector and father of the village, and given life by his magic. After they were born, the Great Deku Tree would give them a companion that would be their lifelong partner, a fairy partner. This was what Link wanted: Another friend, someone who would be beside him no matter what, no matter where. A few years back, he repeatedly approached the Great Deku Tree and asked to know why he was never given a fairy partner. However, the Great One would only reply with the same answer, each and every time: "It is not thy time, young one." Each time he asked for a fairy partner, the Great Deku Tree shot him down with the exact same response. Just last year, he asked yet again for a fairy partner, and when the Great One refused, he let his childish angst build up into one loud outburst he deeply regretted to this day.
He hadn't spoken to their father ever since. It was then, however, that a deep root suspicion of Link's came to light, an idea he fought against with every fiber of his mind, yet could never fully reject. Perhaps, after all this time, he wasn't—
"Link!"
Saria's voice cut through his mind and snapped him back to reality. She liberated Tatl from her fingers, and the two of them were staring at him with concern.
"Link, are you okay?" Saria asked.
Link hastily reprimanded himself for worrying his friends and put on a grin. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I was … thinking about a few things."
"Like?"
"It's nothing."
"Like?" Saria pressed, leaning forward a little.
Link leaned back a little. "Do you have to know?"
"We're friends! If there's anything worrying you, you can tell me!" Saria said, spreading her arms as if she were about to embrace him. "We've got to tell each other everything, so we can help each other with anything!"
Link smiled. "So you're going to tell me about your dream?"
"T-That's a different matter all together!" Saria protested, waving her hands wildly as her blush returned. Link chuckled lightly at her flustered response, but she had a point; she was his friend, and he didn't want to hide anything from her.
"I was thinking about the Great Deku Tree, about what I said to him last year," Link replied. He stared to his right, towards the pond created by the Little Riv. There was a small peninsula of land at the far end of the pond, leading into the only opening in the Wall. This pathway led to the Great Deku Tree's meadow, where their father resided.
"You're worried about the things you said to him that day."
"It was stupid of me," Link chided himself, feeling the regret boil in his stomach. "I shouldn't have said any of that! I know everything the Great Deku Tree does, he does for a reason. I … I just couldn't help but feel like he was purposely denying me a fairy partner."
"It's only been a year," Saria offered, standing beside him and gazing towards the Great Deku Tree's meadow. "Give it a few more, and I'm sure you'll get over it."
"A few more?" Link laughed.
"Why not? It's only been just a year."
It was only natural for time to flow differently for the Kokiri children. After all, they were all immune to the ebb and flow of time. In a sense, they were immortal, never growing older, taller, or changing in any discernable way. Though they had the appearance of children, some of the Kokiri were over hundreds of years old. That was why they considered one year to be inconsequential. But to Link, a year felt a lot longer.
He bowed his head with a sigh. "You're right, maybe I'll wait a bit."
"Everything will work out, you'll see!" Saria said cheerfully, wrapping her arms around his and resting her cheek on his shoulder. He felt at peace with her, and was grateful for Saria's company and friendship. He would've been satisfied if Tatl hadn't been hovering behind them chanting, "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" It took Saria a bit longer than him to realize what her fairy partner was reciting in their ears, and when she did, she jumped away from Link like he was a starving Wolfos, grabbing Tatl, and hurled her across the village.
"Won't she be hurt?" Link asked, watching Tatl fly over several homes, laughing all the way.
"She'll be fine!" Saria puffed, wiping her hands on her sleeves. "So, what do you have planned for today?"
"My plans? Don't you have any?"
"Sneaking off to the Sacred Grove was my idea, and we did that last night! It's your turn now!"
Link took a second to ponder for an idea. "Why don't we get something to eat first? It's a new day, and we can do anything we want afterwards."
"Sounds good to me! I saw a new honey pear tree growing next to Branda and Appi's house! Let's try that!" Saria eagerly suggested.
"Race you there?"
"No! You run too fast!"
That incited a chuckle from Link. "Then let's be on our way." Rather than climb the ladder down, he placed his feet near the edge of his porch and back flipped towards the ground. The fall was short enough for him to easily bounce on his feet, stand, and look up at Saria grinning.
"Show off," she said, not bothering to hide her smile.
Link bowed. "I do my best."
Saria cautiously climbed down the ladder one step at a time. Her slow pace gave Link ample time to glance over the small doodles he made of him fighting evil monsters on his tree house's roots when he was a lot younger. When Saria reached the bottom, they walked side by side down the set pathways and took a left to head towards the undeclared center of the village. Tatl managed to catch up to them as they did.
The Light Flowers were now shining at full capacity, bringing the rest of the Kokiri children out of their slumber. Link heard them stir within each house they traveled past. Some managed to roll or crawled out their front doors and wave to them. It didn't take them long to reach Branda and Appi's place, a tree of wide circumference and low height decorated with a door and set of windows. Unlike many other homes that randomly cropped up across the village, Branda and Appi's house was part of a set of homes that created a loose circle. These homes were close to the village playground, which was why so many considered it to be the unofficial center of the village.
Like Saria said, a honey pear tree was growing alongside Branda and Appi's home. Its tall frame leaned against the side of their house, but its thin branches dangled close to the ground, weighed down by the honey-yellow pears growing from their tips. He plucked two honey pairs from the branches, tossing Saria one while keeping the other for himself. Like his apple tree, another set of pears immediately grew back from the freshly plucked stems.
Link took his first bite, flinching from the overabundance of sweetness that flooded his mouth. The taste of honey and fruit equally balanced each other out, creating a harmonious flavor which was a little too sweet for his tastes. He knew, on the other hand, that Saria loved sweet things. She was already nibbling away at the honey pear's core, spitting out seeds and watching them grow. Tatl shared Saria's sweet tooth, and was frantically making gnawing sounds as she assaulted the honey pear tree's fruit.
As a prank, Link mischievously caught a droplet of honey oozing from one of the hanging pears with his finger and flicked at Saria, holding back his laughter when it landed right between her eyes. Saria wiped away the droplet of honey, put on an equally playful smile, and tossed a small piece of her fruit at him. It managed to latch itself to the tip of his nose, and Saria doubled over laughing.
The window to Branda and Appi's house suddenly swung open, and an irritated voice shouted, "I'm trying to sleep in here!" Branda stuck her head out of the window, her yellow eyes hidden by her drooping eyelids and her long brown hair disheveled by a night of sleep. Her yellow fairy Appi was snoring peacefully inside her wicked nest of hair.
"Sorry about that, Branda," Link apologized. "We were just having a little fun."
Branda's eyes shot open. "L-Link! W-What're you doing here? Oh!" Branda grabbed her window and slammed it shut in his face. Four seconds later, it reopened with Branda's face freshly washed and her brown hair neatly combed backwards so that it draped over her shoulders. Appi was nowhere to be seen, but Link could hear the fairy's muffled voice somewhere in the house. "Hello there, Link."
"Duh-Duh-Duh-DUN!" Tatl chortled. "A rival appears!"
"Good morning, Branda. That was … fast." Link noted her rapid change in appearance.
"Morning, Branda," Saria interjected. The two Kokiri girls made eye contact, and Link was afraid a fire might spontaneously combust between the two of them. For one reason or another, the two of them greatly disliked one another, yet he could never figure out why.
"Great, it's you," Branda hissed, her eyebrows lowered into a sneer. When she turned to Link, she was all flowers, sunshine, and smiles. "What brings you here, Link? Did you come to play?"
"Actually, just having breakfast," he replied, showing her his unfinished honey pear.
"Well, I see you missed a spot," Branda whispered, reaching out and motioning for the speck of on the tip of his nose. Saria swiftly jumped between the two of them, swiping the honey pear from Link's nose and tossing it into her mouth.
"That was mine," Saria informed Branda, daring her to try anything else.
"What a messy eater, tossing your crumbs all over Link like that," Branda scoffed, giving Saria a little "tut, tut, tut" with her finger. Then she did another 180 and flashed a smile at him, "Do you want to come in? I've got a lot of honey pears growing inside if you want!"
"We're full, but thanks for the offer!" Saria said politely, taking Link by the arm, slapping his half-eaten meal from his hand, and tugging him away from Branda. "Let's go, Link."
"Wait, since when were we full?" Link demanded as Branda stuck her tongue out at Saria and banged her windows shut. "Tell me something, why are you and Branda always fighting?"
"A difference in opinion," Saria replied shortly, tugging harder on his arm.
"About what?"
Saria's lips press tightly together.
"Don't bother," Tatl said, landing on his shoulder so she was beside his ear. "Just laugh when things get funny and nod when you don't get what's going on."
"That's really not helpful."
"No, but it's hilarious to watch!"
"Link!" a voice shouted behind them.
Saria spun around and called, "Not interested, Branda!"
But she had the wrong Kokiri. It was Dentri and Hapi, Branda and Appi's next door neighbors. Dentri was a limb-lanky Kokiri with long russet hair covering his eyes and nose, revealing only his mouth. His sleeveless olive outfit was bloated thanks to his large belly and was stained with countless fruits and vegetables. Along with his green pants, he wore brown slippers caked in mud and loose grass. He also had his favorite hat that said "Kiss the Cook." Right now, he was trying to drag a large wooden table out the front door of his house. His brown colored fairy partner, Hapi, was trying to help by pushing from the other side, but neither was having much luck.
"A little help?" Dentri asked as he tugged unsuccessfully at the table's legs.
"Sure!" Link called. He, Saria, and Tatl hurried over to assist. Link and Saria stood by Dentri to drag the table while Tatl flew inside the house to the other end to help Hapi push. It took a bit of effort, but the five of them managed to drag the table out the door and set it up in front of Dentri and Hapi's house. Once it was fully outside, Link saw why the two of them had so much trouble in the first place; the table was huge, large enough to hold twenty Kokiri children if they all laid down on the surface.
"Thanks, much obliged," Dentri panted, leaning forward with his hands on his knees.
"We couldn't have done it without you all," Hapi added, landing his small body on the corner of the table to catch his breath.
Saria asked the question that was on Link's mind: "What're you two doing?"
"Ah! Glad you asked!" Dentri beamed (in a manner of speaking). "Hapi and I have just perfected our latest masterpiece! It was so spectacular we knew we had to let the whole village experience this joy! So we brought out the biggest table we could find to set our food outside!"
Saria staggered away from Dentri. "Latest ... masterpiece?" Even the normally humorous Tatl glowed white in shock.
Their concern was understandable. Dentri and Hapi were the owners of the strangest taste buds in the entire village. They loved experimenting with whatever food they could find, creating new and exotic tastes. Sometimes they really did manage to concoct amazing meals the whole village loved, but most of the time they gave birth to monstrosities which made the Kokiri scream for the Great Deku Tree's aide. Their previous "masterpiece" was one such atrocity. They called it So-Flow Leftovers, a type of gray pudding slathered in enough sweets, sugar, and fruit extract to make it smell divine. However, once consumed, the eater would find themselves stuck to their toilets for the entirety of the following week.
Link stepped in, not excited to see the village suffer through another plague. "Dentri, Hapi. The two of you remember what your So-Flow Leftovers did, right?" He saw Saria and Tatl nod furiously in agreement.
"Well, it was experimental," Dentri shrugged.
"We didn't think it was that bad," Hapi said, fluttering his wings and hovering by his partner's side.
"Did you two even try it?" Saria demanded; she and her partner were hiding behind him, nervously peaking over his shoulder.
"Um … no?" Dentri blushed.
"The ingredients were … questionable," Hapi added.
Link suppressed the urge to pinch the pair of them, real hard. "And you still thought it was okay to feed the whole village your So-Flow?"
"It wasn't the whole village," Dentri protested.
Hapi bobbled in agreement. "He's right! You didn't try anything!"
"Because I was wary to begin with."
Saria tugged at his shoulder. "Link, how did you know the So-Flow Leftovers would be such a disaster?"
"What's So-Flow spelled backwards?"
Saria turned as white as Tatl. "Oh."
"I hope the two of you didn't use anything 'questionable' in your new masterpiece," Link asked, looking to the experimental cooks.
"Absolutely not! Our last experiment taught us otherwise! This time, we've only used all natural ingredients!" Dentri assured them.
"But one could argue that Wolfos leftovers are also all natu—"
"—Hapi!" Dentri cut off his fairy partner. "Don't! You'll scare away our customers."
"Wha—? Ah! Sorry! Don't worry! All natural! Fruits! Wheat! Sugar! That kind of stuff! Nothing to worry about!" Hapi quickly corrected himself. "So! Who wants to be the first to try our latest and greatest?"
Link sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he considered the proposal. From the way Saria was tugging at his sleeves, he was pretty sure she wanted them to high tail out of there. For a moment, he considered politely declining the offer and walking away, but when he looked around he saw they were already surrounded by a growing ring of wary Kokiri children. Almost all the Kokiri and fairies of the village had awaken, and from the way they were giving Dentri and Hapi's house a wide berth, all of them remember the after effects of their So-Flower Leftovers; no one was willing to risk suffering that curse again.
Link was at a crossroad. Honestly, he didn't place much stock in Dentri and Hapi's cooking, and he certainly didn't want Saria and Tatl, or any of his other Kokiri and fairy friends, to go through another So-Flow incident. On the other hand, if Dentri and Hapi really did create something worth eating, it was definitely a joy the whole village should experience.
It took him a moment longer to make his choice. "Give me a sample."
Saria and Tatl looked as though Link had just forfeited his life.
"It'll be fine," Link said before either of them could protest. "I'll take a bite and see if it's good or not. If it's good, then everyone can have some."
"And if it's not?" Tatl asked.
"I'm trying not to think about it."
Saria's grip tightened ever so slightly. "Why do you always have to be so brave?"
"Eating strange food is being brave?" Link chuckled.
"You know what I mean."
"Someone has to be, so why not me?" He gave Saria's hand a small pat, and she reluctantly let go and backed away slowly. "So what've you two got for me?"
Dentri's grin spread so wide Link started to doubt his decision. "You won't regret this, Link! Hapi!"
"On it!" Hapi zipped into their home, reemerging a second later with a wooden platter balanced atop of his body. "Prepare to be amazed! We give to you … the PANCAKE!" The fairy hovered to a stop before Link and presented their meal. It was a round bun of bread with a warm chocolate glow and covered in honey. He took a careful whiff, inhaling a collective aroma of apples, sugar, bananas, and more. In terms of appearance and smell, there was nothing wrong with it. Still, prior experience with Dentri and Hapi's meals kept Link on alert.
"Well, moment of truth." Link pinched off a small piece of the honey slathered pancake, rolled it between his fingers, and popped it into his mouth.
It was amazing.
The flavors danced upon his tongue like nothing he'd ever tasted before. Small chunks of apples were hidden away within the bread, popping in delight each time they were crunched between his teeth. All this was enhanced thanks to the sugar and honey, bringing about a wonderful taste he couldn't help but smile to.
"This is good," Link muttered between chews, picking off another piece of the pancake and chewing it thoroughly. "This is really good. You two really did an amazing job with this one!"
Until Link spoke, Dentri looked like he was suffering from a serious case of constipation, and Hapi turned a sickly yellow from worry. The moment they heard his praise, the two of them dropped a hundred pounds of fret from their shoulders.
"YES!" Dentri roared, punching at the air. "The pancake is Link approved! Hapi, keep them coming!"
"On it!"
Murmurs immediately started to ripple throughout the gathered Kokiri children, and Link heard them all.
"Link approved?"
"Link said it was good?"
"The Rude Food duo made something good?"
"It has to be! It's Link approved!"
"Link said it was good!"
"It's Link approved!"
"It's something good!"
Like a breaking dam, the Kokiri children stampeded towards the table while the fairies swarmed the sky. Dentri and Hapi hurriedly piled fresh batches of pancakes onto the table, but they were about to be overrun. Knowing he was currently standing in a very precarious spot, Link made a dash for the table before he could get trampled. He grabbed two more plates and ran straight for Dentri and Hapi's house. He didn't head for the door; instead, he stacked the pancakes into a pile on his right hand so his left was free and sprinted towards the wall. A mere moment away from a head-on collision, he brought his foot up and ran up the bark wall. Four steps up, he lashed out with his free hand and managed to grab onto the edge of the roof, where he yanked the rest of his body onto the top of Dentri and Hapi's house. He looked down in time to see Dentri, Hapi, and the pancake table get buried beneath a sea of hungry and eager Kokiri children and fairies.
"Hope they leave seconds," Link laughed, skirting around the rim of the rooftop and jumping down to an open space free of clustered bodies. He found Saria and Tatl a short distance away, watching the ravenous pack of Kokiri from the clearing in the center of the village.
"Really? You had to climb Dentri and Hapi's house to escape?" Saria asked with a playful grin.
"Don't mind her, it was an awesome looking escape," Tatl cheered, buzzing merrily towards the stack of pancakes in Link's hand.
"I do my best to impress," He replied, taking a seat on the ground. Saria sat beside him and Tatl perched herself on her partner's knee. Seated and comfortable, Link passed out the pancakes he managed to secure.
Saria persisted with her wary look, balancing her plate in her hands as if she wanted to hold it at arm's length. "You're absolutely sure about this?"
Link glanced at the riot of Kokiri children and fairies mobbing Dentri and Hapi for pancakes. "Yeah, I think I am. Are you still fretting? These pancakes are actually really good. Trust me."
"I do trust you! It's just—"
"—you don't trust Dentri and Hapi, right?"
Saria slowly nodded. "Are you sure you're okay Link? No violent headaches, chest pains, sudden muscle cramps, extreme stomach pain, or maybe even—?"
Link plucked off a piece of his own pancake and accurately tossed it into Saria's mouth as she spoke. At first, her expression was one of extreme shock, possibly fear. Then her mouth began to move as she slowly chewed the tiny morsel he'd given her. Gradually, her face lightened with a smile and she eagerly dug into her own pancake.
"See? Nothing to worry about."
"This stuff is awesome!" Tatl whooped, rolling her body across her own plate; pieces of the pancake randomly disappeared into the fairy's body as she devoured her meal.
"I'm … gasp … glad you … wheeze … think so!"
Dentri and Hapi collapse face flat between Link and Saria, who choked on the pancake in her mouth at the duo's sudden appearance.
"Dentri, Hapi. What happened to you two?" Link asked, running his eyes over the two chefs. Dentri's tunic was ripped and torn like it'd been the rope of a tug of war game, while his "Kiss the Cook" hat was stuffed up his left nostril. Hapi was gasping for air on his partner's back, with one of his lucent pixie wings bent at a strange angle. "The two of you look like you ran into a swarm of angry Deku Scrubs."
"We'd forgotten … how dangerous … pant … satisfied customers were!" Hapi gagged.
"I don't know … huff … if we want this much popularity anymore," Dentri groaned, refusing to move his body as he pivoted his head to get a look at Link. When he noticed Saria was staring down at him with concern, Dentri did his best to smile. "Hey there, Saria. You like our pancakes?"
"They're amazing," Saria nodded, licking honey from her fingers. "But the two of you don't look so good."
"We tried to keep up with the demand," Hapi supplied as Dentri continued to smile at Saria. "In the end, the customers always win. We told everyone there were more pancakes inside, so that's where they went."
Link took a glance over his shoulder; the giant table he, Saria, and Tatl had helped Dentri and Hapi move outside was now broken into several pieces. The Kokiri children and fairies who'd managed to grab themselves a plate of pancakes were mimicking Link, Saria, and Tatl by sitting on the ground and enjoying themselves. Those who hadn't gotten their meal were storming Dentri and Hapi's house; Link highly doubted the cooking duo would recognize their own home after breakfast was over.
A thought clicked in Link's head. "Dentri, can I ask you something? Dentri?" He turned back to the Kokiri chef to see he was still grinning at Saria, who was beginning to look uncomfortable beneath Dentri's unintended scrutiny. Link slapped the back of Dentri's head. "Dentri!"
"Whoa! Easy there, little hero!" Dentri moaned, pushing himself off the ground and into a seated position between Link and Saria. "I wouldn't dream of stealing Saria from you."
Link cocked an eyebrow. "Steal Saria from me?"
"Yeah, what chance would I have?" Dentri sighed dramatically. Hapi produced melodramatic tunes from his body. "The greatest son of the Great Deku Tree and the emerald rose of the village. I wouldn't stand a chance."
"Wait, wait. What?" Link demanded, seriously confused. Since when was he the greatest son? He was the only one in the Kokiri Village without a fairy. If anything, he was the awkward son. "One thing at a time! Since when am I the greatest son? When has Saria been called the emerald rose? What did you mean when you said you didn't have any chance?" He tried looking to Saria for answers, but her reddening expression told him she wouldn't be doing much talking. Tatl, on the other hand, doubtlessly would be babbling away if she wasn't having a seizure of laughter.
Only Dentri and Hapi looked as confused as him. "Wait, you seriously don't know? You're totally the Great Deku Tree's favorite! Almost every time someone goes to the Great Deku Tree for advice, he smiles and says you would have the answer! If we ever ask him for help, he says you can help us! Remember that time the Triplets came to you because they couldn't find their matching earrings? Remember the time Fresta asked you to help her weave together a new dress? Or that time Cupin ran up to you asking for help on a problem he couldn't solve? They all came to you because the Great Deku Tree said you could help them, and you did! The Great Deku Tree totally adores!"
"But he always refuses to give me a fairy partner! How is that a sign of affection?" Link protested. Although, this explained why Kokiri always seemed to come to him for help and advice, but it also made him suffer a greater deal of guilt for what he said to the Great Deku Tree a year ago. He'd been so blinded by his lack of a fairy partner he ignored the rest of the Great Deku Tree's kindness. He was the favorite child? Well, not anymore, not after what he said.
"Well, okay, fine! Maybe I used to be the Great Deku Tree's favorite. But since when has Saria been called the emerald rose of the village?" Link turned to Saria; her back was turned to him, but he could tell from her burning red ears he could probably confuse her face with an apple.
Dentri and Hapi's astonishment only grew more profound.
"It's true, what they say," Hapi mumbled. "You never see what you've got right in front of you."
"I can see Saria perfectly!" Link objected. "I know plenty about her! She was grown by the Great Deku Tree seven years ago, and we became friends almost immediately!"
"Then you know Saria is considered the prettiest in the village?" Dentri added. That gave Link a pause; he'd always considered Saria pretty, but prettiest in the village? "C'mon, Link! Half the village wants to be friends with her, and the other half wants to be friends with you!"
Link couldn't resist the urge the stare back at the crowd of pancake eating Kokiri behind him. He spotted Branda and Appi again when she started waving at him so hard he was afraid her hand might fall off. Link returned a small wave back, and Branda started squealing in joy. "This … is strange."
Dentri laughed aloud. "You're telling me. You mean to say you've never known you're the most popular boy in the village?"
"No," Link shrugged. Personally, he didn't really care. "But what did you mean when you said you didn't have a chance?"
"Aw, c'mon! You're not that thick, are you?" Dentri asked. Link could only stare at him blankly, perplexed to the core. "You're kidding me! The most popular boy in the village and the most popular girl! And the two of you are best friends! You don't see where this is headed?"
"Headed where?" Link demanded, irritated by how everyone else seemed to know something he didn't.
"Obviously, the two of you will be sitting on the—!"
Saria's hands flew out of nowhere, clasping over Dentri's mouth while her face portrayed desperate haste. "A-A-A-Anyways! L-L-Link! Didn't you want to ask Dentri something else?"
"But Dentri was about to tell me something important! Can't you let him?" He asked, pretty sure Dentri was starting in suffocate in Saria's hands.
"NO! Ask him something else!"
Now this was a side of Saria he'd never seen before. "Um … okay? Dentri, if it's okay with you, could you give me the recipe to your pancakes?"
Obviously, neither Saria nor Dentri was expecting such a question. Both their expressions slackened as Saria slowly pried her hands from Dentri's mouth, and the chef said, "Well, I guess so. I mean, usually Hapi and I don't hand out our recipes, especially our good ones."
"But," Hapi added, "Since you're pretty much the reason why our pancake is so loved by everyone, we can part with a little secret or two."
"Thanks, I'd love to try and make some myself," Link said gratefully as he finished the last of his own pancake. "Of course, I don't want to trouble you by asking this."
Dentri stood up straight and stuck his nose in the air. "The one and only Link is asking for our recipe? I'm sure I can bear sharing its deep secrets!" He threw back his head and laughed, and Link couldn't help it; he laughed along. Their laughter was infectious, because soon enough, Saria, Tatl, and Hapi were mirthfully giggling along with them. Link loved moments like this; small moments where he could spend time, get along, and enjoy himself with his friends. It was moments like this that made life in the village so much more magical.
Link quelled his fit of laughter and licked the rest of his plate clean. "I'm glad you're sharing it with me, Dentri, because I bet I can name one Kokiri who would love to bury your pancakes."
"Really?" Hapi asked. "From what we can tell, everyone seems to love our pancakes. Who would do such a thing?"
"WHAT'S ALL THIS FUSS ABOUT?"
The village, which was filled with mirth and cheers, went silent.
Link let out an internal sigh. "Great Deku Tree's bark, here he comes."
A Kokiri child and his fairy came strutting out from one of the center village homes. His narrow head and wide freckled cheeks were held high, as if they were supposed to be seen and praised by all. His swung his gangly arms and stomped his big-toed shoes with a vigor that didn't go well with his loose sleeveless green tunic and pants. A hood, similar to Link's but smaller in size, swung precariously on his dirty-blond hair as he jutted his head from side to side. His murky-blue fairy partner stayed close by.
"Mido and Varl," Dentri groaned. "I totally forgot about them."
"Mido looks to be in an especially bad mood today," Tatl noted, flying beside Saria.
"I said, WHAT'S GOING ON?" Mido roared in his unsuited high pitch voice. Several voices shouted back at once.
"We're eating!"
"Yeah, what's wrong with that?"
"Get a better life!"
"Don't be rude!"
"But what are you eating?" He demanded, stomping over to the Kokiri and fairy pair closest to him (Cupin and Balo) and glaring down at the plate of pancakes in Cupin's lap. "What is that?"
Cupin was an incredibly shy and withdrawn Kokiri, and Link could see him trembling beneath Mido's glare. "It's … it's a pancake. D-Dentri and Hapi m-made it."
Mido looked like a Deku Baba bit his rear. "Who did what?"
"I made a pancake!" Dentri shouted, treading heavily towards Mido with Hapi. "You got a problem with that, Mido?" When Mido noticed Dentri walking forward to confront him, he did the same. The two of them didn't stop until the bridges of their noses were brushing against one another. The two hissed at one another in low voices. Some of the Kokiri tiptoed towards them to try and hear what they were saying, but Link could easily tell what was passing between them from where his was, several yards away.
"Get rid of this garbage, now!" Mido growled, craning his head back to keep staring Dentri in the eyes (Mido was a good two inches shorter than the village chef).
"Don't wanna," Dentri snarled back, bumping his rounded stomach into Mido's. "Look for yourself! The whole village loves my pancakes!"
"I'm the leader of this village! You'll do as I say!"
"You're the self-proclaimed leader! The Great Deku Tree has never called you a leader before!"
"I still do whatever I need to do to keep this village safe, and the trash you make isn't safe!"
"Link approved of my pancakes! The whole village knows it's good!"
"Who?" Then Mido immediately locked onto a new target: Link. "Him!" He pushed Dentri in the face and arrogantly made his way towards Link with his chest puffed out.
"Here we go again," Link sighed, getting to his feet. He didn't walk towards Mido, but instead remained where he stood to make the self-proclaimed leader come to him. He knew Mido absolutely abhorred him, and after his enlightening chat with Dentri and Hapi, he was beginning to understand why. Mido had a crush on Saria; the entire village knew this (even Link) when he tried professing his feelings to her by standing in front of her house and reciting badly written poetry in the middle of the night a few years back. Only problem was that Saria and a few other friends were having a sleepover at Link's place the same night, so Mido became a laughing stock for that particular incident. Then there was the fact that Mido was always trying to win the Great Deku Tree's favor, which was the reason why he claimed to be the leader of the village. However, if Link really was their father's favorite son, then that position was taken. Though he better understood the negative feelings Mido harbored towards him, he doubted he'd ever become friends with him, because Mido always used the most painful subject possible to mock Link.
"Mr. No-Fairy!" Mido jeered when he was a few feet away.
"Hello to you to, Mido," Link replied, watching the self-proclaimed leader stop when he was an arm's length away, his hands on his waist and his head held high.
"You're the one who approved of this junk?" Mido cocked his head at Tatl's half-eaten pancake on the ground.
"It's not junk, it's good cooking."
Mido spat at the ground. "Junk is junk! The Great Deku Tree has already provided us with all the food we'll ever need! We shouldn't be changing what he created for our sakes!"
"The Great Deku Tree loves it when we improvise! It shows we mature! Develop!" Link countered, though he knew none of his words would ever reach Mido's ears. "He loves it when we start thinking for ourselves by coming up with new and exciting things!"
"Oh, of course!" Mido said with mocking false agreement. "After all, Mr. No-Fairy is the Great Deku Tree's favorite! We should always listen to what he has to say!"
"Stop it, Mido!" Saria cut in, scrambling to her feet and coming to Link's defense. "The Great Deku Tree knows what's best for us, and Link always tries his best! Why do you always have to pick on him?"
Mido did a little jump when he saw Saria, and his flabby cheeks started to blush. "O-Oh! S-Saria! N-N-Nice to see you here! Gee, t-the morning is great, isn't it?"
"Mido, please answer the question," Saria asked. Link felt her hands slowly wrap around his left arm.
Mido must've noticed this too, because his embarrassment reverted back into spite. "You know why! Mr. No-Fairy isn't a Kokiri! All of us have fairy partners! All of us are Kokiri! He doesn't have a fairy, so he's not a Kokiri!"
Link knew he shouldn't pay any heed to Mido's words, but everything arrogant Kokiri said only fed his own festering suspicions. His accusations were the very thing Link feared: What if he wasn't a Kokiri? Link wanted to deny these accusations, but Mido's verbal abuse cut him deeper than he wanted to admit. All he could do was avert his gaze, clench his hands and bite his tongue.
"Enough!" Dentri shouted. Link glanced back up, surprised to see Dentri and Hapi standing behind him, with the chef's hand on his shoulder. "What kind of leader says something like that, Mido? Link is a Kokiri! He's our family! He's done more for us in a month than you've ever done in your lifetime! Stop being such a bully!"
"Yeah!" another Kokiri shouted out, "Stop picking on Link!"
"What've you done for us, anyways?"
"Dumb Mido!"
"Stupid Mido!"
"Link's our friend!"
"Stop being a bully!"
"Little Kiddo Mido!"
"AUGH! SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU!" Mido screamed, beating his feet into the ground.
"Whoa, Mido! Calm down!" Varl, Mido's fairy partner, said. "You're the leader! You don't lose your cool!"
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" Mido bawled. Link noticed a small tear forming at the corner of the self-proclaimed leader's clenched eyes and immediately felt bad. Mido was a bully, but he was still a Kokiri child of their village, so he was still family. He stepped forward to apologize, but Mido had something else in mind; he dove for Tatl's unfinished pancake, grabbed the plate, and threw it at Link's face.
Link's instincts were faster. The moment Mido took one step towards Tatl's pancake, he knew what was going to happen. He ducked beneath the honey-slathered projectile, and immediately wished he hadn't. When the pancake made a slurpy splat behind him, he turned to see who the unlucky victim was.
Dentri.
The pancake smacked Dentri full in the face, even managing to drench Hapi, who was perched on his partner's shoulder, with a large glob of honey.
"Oh no," Link groaned.
The pancake slowly slipped off the front of Dentri's face and splat wastefully against the ground. The two chefs gaped at the pancake in horror as their masterpiece became inedible. Dentri and Hapi were cooks, so when they made a meal the village actually enjoyed for a change, they never let a single crumb go to waste. Now one of their pancakes was soaking up gravel and dirt, and their dumbstruck faces erupted into outrage.
"MIDO!" Dentri and Hapi ran to the nearest orange tree. He grabbed the biggest one he could reach, and threw. One after another, Dentri threw. Some would strike Mido, and others would arch far above the intended target and hit a spectator. These victims would grabbed their own edible missiles and lobbed them back in revenge, only to strike yet another innocent bystander, who immediately retaliated and became a participant in the inevitable battle.
"Food fight!
"Food fight!"
"FOOD FIGHT!"
"Saria! RUN!" Saria's hands were still wrapped around Link's arm; this time, he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her along as battle exploded all around them. Kokiri children were bunkering down in whatever shelter they could find, grabbing fruits and vegetables by the dozen and chucking them at whatever moving target crossed their path. Link sprinted beneath the downpour of lemons, heads of lettuce, and pomegranates, racing down the route leading back to his home with Saria and Tatl in tow.
"Where are we going?" Saria yelped as a banana narrowly missed her.
"My place!" Link shouted back, tilting his head to the side as a tomato flew past his ear. "Hopefully we can get there—!" He skid to a stop as he saw his fear come true, "—before anyone decides to use it for themselves."
Too late. Several Kokiri were already scurrying about in his tree house, raiding the fruits and lobbing their ammo into the fray using the higher positioning to their advantage. Link recognized one of the Kokiri children as his friend Tref, along with his partner Dann, inside his tree house.
Tref spotted Link as well, brushing his long brown ponytail from his shoulder as he waved at him. "Hey Link! Wanna come in?"
"No … thanks, we're good," He called back, pulling Saria and leading Tatl away.
"Wait," Saria said after they put a few more steps between them and Link's home. "Why aren't we going in? Isn't it a good place to hide?"
"Too good," Link replied, lifting his right foot as a cantaloupe fell from the sky and nearly crushed it. "Since there are actually Kokiri using it to their advantage in this food fight, other Kokiri will start attacking my home to get rid of them. We want to avoid this food fight, not be a part of it. We need a place to hide where no one will bother us."
"Then what about there?" Tatl suggested, drawing an arrow in the air with her glowing body. Saria's partner was indicating a small hut grown in a secluded corner of the village, pressed against the Wall. As far as Link could tell, the battle hadn't reached that lonely edge of the community.
"Good idea, let's go!" Link led the way, jumping off the designated pathway to take a more direct route. Together, the three of them navigated around fruit trees, passed a few self-made swing sets, and came upon the Little Riv cutting across the village. The perfectly clear river was still rather deep, so Link and Saria used a column of stone protruding from the water's surface to jump across. From there, it was a short jog to the isolated residence.
Link pulled the door open for Saria and Tatl. Once they scurried in, he stepped in as well, swinging the door closed and locking it shut.
"Greetings! Are you here to buy something?"
Link turned away from the door, immediately recognizing where they were. It was a one room house with a cone-shaped ceiling. Against the far wall, opposite from the door, was a counter stacked with various goods such as ropes, wooden shoves, cups, buckets, and more. The walls behind the desk were shelved with more fight-oriented objects, like deku sticks, deku nuts, and deku seeds.
This was the Kokiri Store, owned by Larro and Lepp. Larro was standing behind the counter with his fairy partner, greeting them with a very business-like smile on his massive face. His head was a cone, wide on the bottom yet narrow on his top, making his smile all the more eerie.
"We hope you're here to buy something," Lepp, the brown fairy partner, said.
"What're you two doing here?" Tatl demanded.
"We live here, duh!"
"I know that!" Tatl snapped. "But why are you here right now? Why didn't you go out for pancakes?"
"Tatl, we tried the So-Flow before," Larro replied. "And from the way Saria is acting right now, I'd say it's a good thing we didn't touch their lasted experiment."
"Saria?" Link looked towards his friend; his heart nearly clawed its way out of his throat when he saw her sitting on the floor, back pressed against the wall with her head in her hands. "Saria! Are you alright?"
"I … I'm fine," Saria whispered, smiling slightly when he knelt next to her in concern. "A little dizzy. It's probably from running so fast after eating so much, you know?"
Link breathed in relief. "And here I thought you were suffering another So-Flow attack."
Saria groaned to that. "Don't remind me."
"Oi!" Larro snapped his fingers to get their attention. "Are you two here to buy something or not?"
"I do hope you noticed there's a food fight going on out there," Link said, pointing at the open window. The volume of the battle was increasing, and from what he could tell, that meant the food fight had reached every corner of the village.
Larro and Lepp were far too excited. "A food fight? Really? YES!"
"Hey! This is a bad thing!"
Lepp laughed, his body's glow lighting up with his mirth. "Bad for you? Maybe, but great for business! They'll be swarming in here, begging to buy our stock to give them an edge in battle!"
There was no point in trying to argue with the two of them. Larro and Lepp sold their goods in exchange for favors and promises, meaning they had a lot to cash in when the food fight eventually ended. But that was the problem: Eventually. A normal food fight between children was bad enough, but a food fight with unlimited ammo? It was a nightmare. The last food fight that occurred within the Kokiri Village took place three months ago, and it lasted for two full weeks. Link knew this food fight had to stop before anyone got hurt.
"It's so strange, isn't it?" Saria murmured.
"Food fights?" Link shrugged, looking out the window and watching his buddy Tref nail a different Kokiri in the face with an apple. "Not really. They've been happening way too often."
"That's what's strange! Before, the Great Deku Tree would stop something like this in an instant!" Saria pointed out. "He's always teaching us how we have to respect our food and home! Now he doesn't do anything."
"You're right, that is strange," Link muttered, scratching the side of his head. "When was the last time the Great Deku Tree intervened in a food fight?"
"Um … about a year ago, I think," Tatl replied. "Why?"
"A year ago?" Link groaned. "What if this is my fault?"
"It's not!" Saria assured, jumping right back to her feet; at least she was feeling better. "It's Mido's fault for picking on you like he always does!"
"No, that's not what I meant. What if it's my fault the Great Deku Tree has become so lax with keeping the rules? What if what I said hurt him so badly, he doesn't want anything to do with us anymore?" The more he thought about it, the worse he felt.
Tatl scoffed loudly at the idea. "Please, get a grip. The Great Deku Tree has been around for thousands upon thousands of years. I doubt the words of a twelve year old Kokiri would shake him up. I bet the old tree is just trying to get your attention."
"You think so?"
"The Great Deku Tree is wiser and more powerful than you could possibly image. He's also witty and cunning to boot. I bet he wants you to go see him."
"He wants me to visit him?"
Tatl spun in several small circles: Doubt. "Heck, who knows? One thing is for sure, we're going to need his help to put an early stop to this food fight. Meeting him is the only way."
Link frowned; what Tatl said made sense. Talking to the Great Deku Tree and informing him about the village's current predicament was the best way to end the food fight. On the other hand, it also meant he'd have to meet with his father and apologize for all the things he said a year ago. "Well, better late than never, right?"
Saria's eyes went wide. "Link, you're going out there?"
"How else am I going to meet the Great Deku Tree?"
"Have you seen how badly this food fight has gotten?" Saria asked, pointing to the Kokiri Store window. He took another peek outside; what he saw was not encouraging. As he suspected, the battle had spread throughout the village. He could see a few Kokiri children hiding in their homes, hoping to avoid the fight, but those who were participating already stretched the warfare throughout the village, and each and every one of them was consumed by the rhythm of battle.
"Well, it's not like I have to stop the food fight to get to the Great Deku Tree," Link pointed out, keeping his attention on the battle long enough to see one Kokiri dunk another Kokiri's head into a watermelon. He peered to his left, spotting the small gap in the Wall which led to the Great Deku Tree's meadow. The only things standing in his way were Branda and Appi dueling bananas with their nemesis Twiggs and Oran in front of the Kokiri Store's door. After he got past them, he needed to avoid a random downpour of food and cross pond isolating the entrance to the Great Deku Tree's meadow from the rest of the village. Thankfully, there was another pathway of stone column steps in the pond Link could use. "Yeah, I can make it."
"Well, if you decide to go through with your plan, be careful with Mido," Larro called out.
"Believe me, I intend to stay as far away from Mido as possible."
"Eh … it might not be that easy," Lepp said.
Link narrowed his eyes at the pair of them. "Why?"
"Well, you see, Mido made us a promise that was pretty hard to refuse, and in exchange for that, we gave him a piece of merchandise." Larro explained.
"Which piece of merchandise?"
"Um … our Fairy Slingshot?"
Link whipped his head back towards the window and frantically searched for Mido and Varl. He promptly spotted the two of them standing atop of their house on the other side of the village, armed with a sturdily built slingshot and firing cherries into the fray.
"You're not serious!"
Larro grinned guiltily. "I'm pretty sure the moment Mido sees you, you'll be target number one. He's pretty good with that thing, too."
Link rest his head against the wall and closed his eyes. Regardless of what Mido was armed with, he knew he still had to get to the Great Deku Tree's meadow to stop the food fight, even if that meant being Mido's personal target practice.
"Don't you have anything Link can use to defend himself?" Saria protested.
Link glanced at the store owners. "Do you?"
"Hey, we're all business!" Larro declared firmly. "You want something of ours? Then you've got to give us something in return!"
"I won't tell Fresta you've got a huge crush on her!" Saria suggested.
The effect was immediate.
"Coming right up, our greatest invention!" Larro and Lepp disappeared behind their store counter, followed by the shuffling and rummaging sound of a desperate search.
Link couldn't resist a smile. "How'd you know Larro has a crush on Fresta?"
"You should see the way he looks at her."
"Yeah!" Tatl added. "It's the same way Saria looks at—!" Saria snatched her partner out of the air and trapped her fairy in her fingers.
"Here it is!" Larro and Lepp reemerged, plopping a wooden object onto a clean spot on their counter. Link stepped up to their front desk to get a better look. Whatever it was, it certainly didn't look like a great invention. Instead, it looked like Larro and Lepp ripped off a large piece of bark (about as big as Link's chest) from a tree, smoothed the edges until it was somewhat round, and painted a red symbol of the Kokiri on the front.
"What is this?" Link asked, tapping the surface of the item with his knuckle. He was hardly impressed. Saria was a little disappointed. Tatl flew in a small circle around the piece of bark and smirked.
"We call it the Deku Shield!" Larro declared, as if the shield were a deity in need of reverence.
"It's a piece of bark."
Larro gasped. "You dare insult our craftschildship? This Deku Shield was made from the shell of a Big Deku Baba! It was sanded down with the fang of a Big Skulltula and hardened with powder made from grinded Stalfos bones!"
"Larro, none of those monsters live in the Kokiri Village, and none of us are allowed to leave the village," Link pointed out. Though he and Saria regularly snuck out of the village at night, this was a fact they kept between themselves. Still, he knew this slab of bark was a better deal than nothing. He hefted the Deku Shield and found leather straps that fastened to his arm on the underside. He equipped the shield to his right arm and experimentally swung it around. Its lack of weight was both surprising and disturbing; Link felt as though the shield would shatter after receiving a single hard blow. "This thing feels like it'll break if I swing it around too fast. You really don't have anything better?"
"Hey, we spent a great deal of time and sweat creating that!" Larro shouted. "And the Great Deku Tree enchanted it with his magic so it'll never break!"
Now that got Link's attention. "He did what?"
"After we finished crafting the Deku Shield from old bar—I mean—our superb ingredients, we showed it to the Great Deku Tree! He was so impressed with our work he blessed it with his magic so that it'll never break!"
A shield imbued with the Great Deku Tree's magic? Now Link could live with that. "Alright, that makes me feel better. Thanks for lending it to me, Larro, Lepp."
"No problem, just don't tell … you know …" Larro turned to Saria with a look of desperation. She smiled back, drawing her fingers across her lips as if she were zipping it closed. Larro sighed in heavy relief.
"Then I'll be going, the sooner the better," Link said, walking to the door and reaching for the lock.
Saria touched his shoulder. "Be careful."
"C'mon, it's only a food fight. I won't die from a stray lemon," Link joked. When he saw that Saria's mood refused to lighten, he grew worried. "Saria, what's wrong?"
"I … I don't know. I'm getting a bad feeling, that's all."
"It'll be fine. I'll make my way to the Great Deku Tree, ask him to stop this food fight, and … and hopefully get a chance to apologize for what I said to him."
Saria tried at a smile. "Good luck."
Link grinned. He unlocked the door, pushed it open, stepped outside, and slammed it shut behind him. The roaring food fight assaulted his ears from every direction, but when he heard the door lock from the other side, he charged forward.
Branda and Twiggs were so absorbed in their epic banana battle with one another they didn't see him rushing headlong towards them. Even their fairy partners, Appi and Oran, were too busy butting heads. Link could easily give them some space and run around them, but he didn't want the two of them to hurt each other. So instead, he slid forward feet first, stretching out his arms and sweeping the squabbling children off their feet and onto their faces.
"Sorry!" He called as they lay dazed on the ground. From there, it was a twenty feet sprint to the pond, a short jump from one stone step to another atop of the water's surface, and he'd be at the Great Deku Tree's meadow. Three steps forward, he saw the shadow of an apple flying towards him; his swung out with his Deku Shield and battered it aside without turning his head or pausing to stop. The shield held strong, which came to as a great relief.
Four feet away from the edge of the pond, a tingling sensation jumped down Link's neck. Without thinking, he slid to a stop and ducked. A cheery traveling at blurring speeds brushed into his green hood and knocked it off his head; if he hadn't ducked when he did, he would've taken that cherry right to the back of the head.
"MR. NO-FAIRY!"
"Of course it comes to this." Link grabbed his fallen hood before it hit the grass, placed it back on his head, and spun around with his Deku Shield raised. Mido had spotted him and unleashed four additional cherries from his slingshot. Link blocked each red missile with his shield.
Mido screamed, but his voice was lost beneath the tide of noise already stemming from the food fight. He jumped down from the roof of his house, staggering when he landed hard on his feet. Link considered his chances of making a break for the Great Deku Tree's meadow while Mido recovered, absentmindedly knocking aside a carrot that was flung in his direction. No, it wouldn't work. There were eight stone steps traversing the pond's surface, each a foot and a half apart in distance. He had to cross those first in order to get to the entrance of the Great Deku Tree's meadow, and Mido could freely shoot him in the back while he was jumping rocks.
It was time to make a stand.
Mido took several more seconds to get back onto his feet, but when he did, he started rushing towards Link in reckless abandon, firing cherries from his slingshot all the while. Link calmly knocked aside each and every shot, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike while slowly skidding his feet backwards towards the edge of the pond.
When Mido was less than four yards away, he reached into the underside of his belt (the place where he'd been storing his cherry ammo) to discover he'd run out. In a careless fit of anger, Mido threw the Fairy Slingshot at Link instead, who snatched it out of the air with his left hand and tucked it under his belt. He scooted back a few more steps, making it look like he was trying to retreat, until he felt his right boot heel splash at the edge of the water.
"MR. NO-FAIRY!" Mido bawled, aimlessly swinging his balled up fists in sloppy circles. He was six feet away … five … four … three … two …
The moment Mido was a foot away, Link knelt onto one knee and jabbed his Deku Shield against Mido's legs. Using his own momentum against him, Link lifted Mido's feet off the ground and sent him soaring above his head, forcing him to fly head first into the pond. Mido landed in the shallow areas of the water and hastily resurfaced; Link had been counting on that. As the self-proclaimed leader's head broke the surface of the water, Link jumped, using Mido's head as a foothold and leaping towards the stone steps crossing the remainder of the pond. He reached the steps with an easy bound, landing lightly on his feet. The entrance to the Great Deku Tree's meadow was right in front of him, but before he could take off, he turned back to Mido, who was coughing and sputtering out pond water.
"I need to ask you something."
Mido crawled onto dry grass, refusing to stand up or look at him. "I don't care, Mr. No-Fairy! I hate you! I don't want to talk to you!"
"Please, talk to me! Why do you hate me so much? I know you like Saria, and I know you want the Great Deku Tree to recognize you, but those can't be the only reasons for why you hate me! What've I done to you?"
"Everything! You've taken everything from me!"
"That's not true! I haven't done anything to hurt you!"
"Shut up, Mr. No-Fairy!" Mido screamed. It took Link a moment to realize that it wasn't water dripping onto the grass, but tears. "Stop talking like you're so kind and innocent! You're Saria's best friend! You're so much closer to the girl I like than I'll ever be! I've tried so hard to let her know my feelings, yet you've done nothing! You're even the Great Deku Tree's favorite! I do everything I can to prove that I can take care of this village like he can, but he never acknowledges me! He always praises you, always says we should follow your example! Even after you said those terrible things to him, he still loves you more than me! You have everything I could ever want without even trying!" Mido's head jerked around to face him, and for the first time, Link saw past the bully that was always tormenting him, and saw the grief Mido had been hiding away all this time. "I'll never acknowledge you! Never! I wish you would leave! I wish you would disappear from this village and never come back!"
EDIT: Well, I took a bit of free time to reread the first chapter of my story. Looking back makes me blush, and I ask myself, "I wrote this...dang, all those spelling and grammar errors." Eck, instead of improving my writing skills, I should probably improve my proof-reading skills. I almost laughed at myself when I reread this chapter and saw all those mistakes and frequently used words. I've fixed most of the errors and rewrote a few (small) parts. There may still be some errors, but I will find them eventually. As always, thanks for reading.
EDIT: Sorry I haven't been updating at all these days, but I've had a few things on my plate, including the revision of the Three Spiritual Stones. This is a new version of Chapter 1, thank you for reading! (7/4/12)