Disclaimer: I do not own the character/locations in this story. It belongs to Nintendo.

I was riding through the forest on my horse. Her fur was light brown and soft. She suddenly stopped and looked around. I asked, "What is it, Star?" I heard some rustling in the bushes to my left. A yellow rat looking thing with red cheeks and a lightning bolt shaped tail jumped out and knocked me off my horse. Some skeleton warriors came in after it. I shouted, "How did monsters get inside the Kokiri forest!? I thought the Great Deku Tree was guarding it!" I took out my Kokiri Bow that I had, because I was one of the few Kokiri archers. I drew an arrow, pulled back, and released. I hit one of the skeletons and shattered its skull. The rat tackled the other one and ripped its arm off. Then, I crushed its head with my boot.

I asked the mouse, "Do you know how these got into the forest?" It replied in a high pitched voice, "No, but the Great Deku Tree needs to see you." I exclaimed, "You can talk!? Well, I wasn't really expecting an answer, but okay." I hopped on Star's back and let the mouse get on my shoulder. I told Star, "To the Deku Tree, quickly!" We hurried through the forest. While we were headed there, I asked the mouse, "I never learned your name. Do you have one?" It responded, "Blackbolt is my name." I questioned, "Why do they call you that?" He showed me his arms. They were yellow, but each of them had three black stripes on them.

We arrived at the Great Deku Tree. There was a large crowd. I pushed myself to the front. My best friend, Link, was standing next to his worst enemy, Mido. I asked, "What's going on Link?" He turned around and said, "Oh, hi Shadow. I just got a fairy, but the Great Deku Tree is dying." The tree said, "Link, you have destroyed the evil inside me, but my life cannot be saved. Make a shield from my wood. It will protect you from all evil." All of the Kokiris gasped. One shouted, "No! You can't die!" Link asked Mido, "Can I borrow the Kokiri Sword?" He handed Link the sword. All of us, including me, started crying. Our leader that helped us survive had just died right in front of us, so it was sad. Link said, "Here's your sword back Mi-" Mido cut him off and yelled, "Just keep the sword!" Saria, the girl Link was friends with offered her ocarina and said, "Here, play this when you need to remember the forest." Link accepted it and left. Without my best friend I only had two left. They were Star and Blackbolt. All the other Kokiris hated me and Link because we were different.

Blackbolt asked me, "Why do they call you Shadow?" I rolled up my sleeves. I also had three black stripes on each of my arms. I said, "That's not the only reason. It's also because I'm usually very silent and obviously I don't have many friends." I hopped back on Star, "Follow Link, I need to talk to him," I commanded. We found him and his fairy on a dirt road. I jumped off Star's back and sprinted to him. By the time I got there, I was panting. I said, "I can't stay back there without my best friend or a leader. Everyone will just make fun of me." He whispered, "My fairy is so annoying." She smacked him and shouted, "I can hear you!" He groaned and said, "That's why."

I laughed and he pushed me playfully. We played around for a little bit. Then, a caravan came by and the man asked, "Where are you two boys going?" I replied, "Wherever the road takes us." He said, "Well this road takes you to Castle Town, and I can help you get there." He let us get on the back and gave us both a cup of Lon Lon Milk. We drank the milk. I said, "We sure are lucky we found this nice man." He said, "Yeah we are."

When we got into treasure town, we split apart. He went with a girl and his fairy, and I went with Blackbolt and Star. I found a lot of games to play, but I had no rupees. A man on the street was giving out free rupee bags, and that seemed kind of strange, but I grabbed one anyway. It was empty, but I did see one game that you could win rupees in. It was a game where you had to hit a bunch of bottles with a ball. I won it on my first time, because I was and archer, so naturally I had good aim. The man at the game said, "Wow, you are very good at this for a young boy like you." I said nothing and continued playing. I filled my rupee bag and went to play other games. I saw a game that had a completely black mask for the winner of an archery game. I spent fifty rupees to play the game. The girl that was supposed to help us told me, "Okay to shoot the bow you have to-" I cut her off and said, "Yeah. I already know." I released the arrow and landed right in the bullseye. I the person asked me, "What would you like to get. You can pick anything you want." I pointed to the black mask. He said, "How did you do that? You look very young to be able to shoot a bow that well." I explained, "I'm a Kokiri Archer." He looked surprised, he said, "We don't see many Kokiris, and you're the first archer I've seen." I walked away and put on the mask. I hated getting into conversations with people.

I felt my stomach rumble, so I went to a place that looked like it had good choices for meals. I walked inside and Link was there with that girl. He shouted, "Hey Shadow! Come sit with us!" I walked over to their table and sat across from him. The waiter came over. He had a funny curled moustache. Link ordered chocolate chip pancakes. He always liked sugary foods. I got some chicken and mashed potatoes. The waiter walked away. Link asked, "How was your day?" I responded, "My day was good I guess." He questioned, "What do you mean 'I guess'?" I explained, "You know that nothing amuses me." He said, "Well, that is true. By the way, that black mask really suits your personality."

The waiter came back with our meals. It smelled delicious. It was unlike the Kokiri forest's food. I removed the mask and let my long black hair fall over my eyes. We still both had our hats on. I took a bite out of the chicken. It didn't taste like the forest's food either. I said, "This is the best thing I've ever eaten." Blackbolt, who was still on my shoulder, took a piece of my chicken and his eyes lit up. He exclaimed, "This stuff is wonderful!" I called for the waiter. He came over and asked, "Is there anything I can help you with sir?" I replied, "Yes, can I please have another plate of the chicken. Thank you." He went off to get another plate of chicken. I finished mine. He came back with a silver platter of it. When he walked away I said, "Here Blackbolt, I ordered this for you." He said, "Really!? Thanks!" He pretty much dove into the food. He looked like he was really enjoying it.

After we finished the food, the girl took us to the castle. Link said, "So I'm guessing you're the Princess Zelda that you were talking about earlier today?" She nodded. We walked up to the front gate. There were two guards in iron armor. They stepped aside and let Zelda and Link in, but they said to me, "We won't allow animals in the castle." They pointed to Blackbolt. He stood up on my shoulder and yelled, "I'll have you know I'm not an animal. I just like these people here! I can walk, talk, and fight." The guards started to laugh. One said, "If you say you can fight, prove it." Blackbolt jumped off my shoulder. His tail seemed to turn into shining iron. He hit the two guards in the face with the iron tail, which Knocked them both unconscious. He asked, "Is that a good enough example? For them, it probably isn't, but who cares?" We walked inside the castle.

There were marble pillars and the floor was made from a beautiful green stone that I had never seen before. Zelda showed us our room. It had a blue stone floor and the walls had wonderful designs on them. I asked her, "Where is Star?" She responded, "I have kept her in a special stable that has food and water. It also looks very pretty." There were two beds in the room. One for Link and the other for me and Blackbolt. I sat down on one. It was big and soft. It was filled with cotton, so it felt really good. I removed my boots and laid down on the bed. Blackbolt climbed up and curled up on the pillow with me. I yawned and fell asleep.