Everything felt off. The air smelled foul as a stale wind swept over the large plain, sending shivers does the spine of a young boy. Although he felt it to be around midday, the sky was dark with menacing clouds, as if a heavy, cold rain was on its way.
Usually, the boy would be glad for rain. He loved the feeling of raindrops splattering against his skin, and the tinkling melody it made as he stood beneath a tree. But today, that was not the case. There were no trees here, at least not as many as he was used to. The boy knew he belonged in the forest, with the small creatures and the comforting aura of the trees as they pulsed with life.
But here, in this dreaded plain, everything felt… dead.
The boy cast a wary glance around him before turning around. To his surprise, as he turned, something giant lay before him.
It was a castle.
The boy had heard tales of such buildings before, but he had never left the forest before, and so had never seen one.
Speaking of which… What was he doing here?
Why was he out of the forest?
Shouldn't he be dead by now? He was a Kokiri, after all. Kokiri could never leave the forest.
What was going on?
As if in reply, the clattering sound of hooves resounded over the castle's drawbridge which was down over its small moat. A pure white steed streaked out, and on its back rode a tall woman with white hair, who wore pride an honor in the very way she sat. Her face, however, displayed plain fear.
What could a woman like that be afraid of?
The boy stared after her as she rode by him in a gallop which sent a burst of fresh air rushing into his lungs. It was refreshing at first, but he could almost taste the fear that radiated from it.
As the horse rode past, the boy spotted with surprise that a young girl sat in front of the woman. He hadn't spotted her at first, for she was behind the horse's bobbing head, and she only now sat up to look at him. Their eyes locked for an instant, and the girl's face at that moment cemented itself in the boy's brain.
Why was she afraid?
What was going on?
The confused boy remained in the same spot as he watched the pair disappear over a small hill in the plain.
Turning back to see the castle once more, the boy almost fell onto his back as something now stood before him.
A huge black horse with flaring red eyes stood but inches from him, but that wasn't what scared him.
What scared him was its rider.
"Link… fate... lazy… wake… Link!"
The boy, whose name was indeed Link, felt something small bumping against his back. Bright blue eyes fluttered open as the boy sat up in his bed. His heart fluttered for a moment before he realized that he was back home, in his treehouse. It had all been just a dream, then.
But… It had all seemed so real! He had felt as though he could really smell the smells, and feel the rain. It had all been too real for comfort.
Link's eyes immediately caught onto the sight of a small glowing object fluttering before his eyes. Blinking a few times, he realized with surprise that it was a small blue fairy.
All of the Kokiri had a fairy companion sent to them by the Great Deku Tree. All, except for Link. Because of that, he had been some sort of an outcast from the rest of the forest children. It wasn't that no one liked him, but it was just the fact that he was… different.
But could this be the day where all that changed? Could this be his fairy?
As Link waited for the fairy to speak, a sense of excitement filled his chest. He loved new things, which wasn't a common occurrence in the forest.
"You finally woke up! I'm Navi the fairy."
The fairy's voice was soft and yet urgent all the same. Was something wrong? Was she not to be his fairy?
"The Great Deku Tree asked me to be your partner from now on! Nice to meet you!"
Link let out a sigh of relief. Finally, he could belong. Everyone would be so excited, especially Saria. She had been waiting with him, giving him a sense of hope when he thought his fairy would never arrive.
"The Deku Tree has summoned you! So let's get going!"
Link's eyes widened. He wanted to see him? But he was a nobody! What could the Great Deku Tree possibly want with him?
The boy simply nodded and got clumsily to his feet. He felt as though he could trust this fairy with telling the truth. After all, what could possibly happen?