Exhausted, Link looked up from his spot flat on his back on the cold ground. Tatl floated above his head, chiming softly.
"Hey… wake up!" She urged. "There's somebody in that room over there."
What happened…? Link's head was foggy as he stood up. I was fighting that jungle warrior guy… I beat him… grabbed that mask he left behind… went into the light… giants? Oh, right. The giant. He taught me a song.
"Link!" Tatl chimed again, expressing clear annoyance that she was being ignored. "Look behind that wall of ivy!" She floated over to the false wall.
His curiosity piqued, Link made his way over to the strange plant-wall. He could see through it easily. Behind it was a small Deku girl, her leafy hair tied in a ponytail by wilting pink flowers. Her tiny wooden body quivered as she hid her face behind her long sleeves, scared by Tatl's chiming.
Not wanting to scare her by approaching her in his Hylian form, Link fumbled around for the Deku mask. He pressed it onto his face, stifling a scream as his body shrunk and turned to wood. His transformation complete, he twirled through the fragile wall of ivy, successfully decimating it. The Deku girl squeaked, peeping out from behind her flowing sleeves, but relaxed when she saw only a Deku boy her age wearing a green hat, with a fairy flitting around his head.
"Who… who are you?" She squeaked out.
"This is Link, and I'm Tatl!" Tatl replied for them both.
"Ah… I see. I'm the Deku Princess. Pleased to meet you. Were you… by chance… asked to rescue me by the monkey?"
Link nodded furiously, doing another twirl in his place. Tatl rammed herself into him.
"Stop being weird, Link." She whisper-yelled at him. The Deku Princess gave them a strange look, but continued nonetheless.
"I thought so. You smell kind of like monkey. I'm glad he's safe now." She scurried to the now-open entrance of her small prison and sighed. "I was afraid that when I got stuck here, Father would think the monkey had somehow captured me, and would punish him… he's such a nice monkey…"
Alarmed, Link twirled up next to her, gesturing furiously. The Deku Princess was a quick guesser, and drew a conclusion before Tatl could even translate.
"Are you saying my father is punishing the monkey?" Her high voice grew shrill with anger, and she shook all over in fury. "Oh, please, Mr. Link, take me to him! I have to help the monkey!" She held her head in her hands and shook it violently.
Link looked to Tatl for guidance, not quite sure what to do with the distressed princess. Tatl just bobbed up and down around his head, and Link sighed. Typical Tatl. Only helped him out when he didn't need it.
He forged through his hammerspace, or wherever he keeps all his things, until he came up with an empty bottle. He cautiously approached the Deku Princess, but Tatl flew at the bottle and knocked it out of his hands.
"No, Link!" She snapped at him as he dove to save his precious bottle. "How rude of you to even think of stuffing royalty like her into a bottle! Find another way!"
Link barely heard her, focused solely on the empty bottle. He picked it up, inspected it for cracks, brushed the dirt off its clear surface, and then carefully stowed it away back in his hammerspace. He shot Tatl a glare. Mine.
"Oh, Mr. Link!" The Deku Princess cried. "Please take me to my father! I have to save the monkey!"
Link sighed. With his genius bottle idea out of the question, he could only do one thing now. He knelt down in front of the princess, his back to her. A piggy-back ride was the only thing left he could manage.
Sniffling quietly, the Deku Princess climbed onto his back, and Link quickly learned how bad of an idea this was. She was more or less the same size as him, and her flowing red and pink skirts only added extra bulk. Not to mention he would have to deal with her whimpers and sniffs. But Link was forever a hero, so it was his duty to escort the princess to her father.
Just putting her in a bottle would be so much easier. He mentally griped as he made his way out of the dungeon. And why do I even have to carry her? Can't she walk? Royalty is so lazy!
"Oh, Mr. Link." The Deku Princess shivered on his back. "Please hurry. I would hate for the monkey to be harmed because of me."
And for some reason, Link sped up, the sound of her voice pushing him on. It was… odd, and he didn't quite understand it – hey, he's only ten! – but at least he had the strength to keep going now.
It didn't take as long as he had expected for him to stagger up to the guards at the entrance to the Deku Palace, half bent over from the wooden weight of the princess. Seeing the guards, the Deku Princess hopped off his back and rushed forward. They recognized her immediately and ducked inside their flowers, hoping to avoid her wrath.
"You had better follow her, Link!" Tatl urged, and Link carried on, wanting nothing more than to fall on the floor and rest.
He arrived at the throne room just in time to see the show.
"Foolish Father!" The Deku Princess shrieked at the sight of her monkey friend being tied up on a pole above a fire. "How dare you harm the monkey!"
The Deku King's mouth worked silently for a moment, and the princess launched herself at him, jumping on his chest several times before turning to the rest of the palace guards, quivering with rage.
"Let the monkey go right this instant!" She ordered, her leafy ponytail flapping wildly behind her.
"Yes, Princess! Right away, Princess!" The guards were very agreeable about the whole thing, and in a matter of moments the monkey was free.
Hesitantly, Link approached the Deku Princess and her monkey friend, unwilling to admit even to himself that he was hoping for a reward. Hey, he did just have to carry someone his own size for quite a long walk!
"Oh, Mr. Link!" The Deku Princess gave him a winning smile. "Thank you so much for bringing me back here! The monkey is safe now!"
"So your name is Link?" The monkey smiled as much as a monkey can. "I owe my safety to you!"
"He even cleared the poison water from the temple." The princess informed her furry friend, much to Link's embarrassment. If he had been in his Hylian form and was made out of flesh and blood instead of wood, he would have been blushing.
"It was no problem." Tatl answered for him, a bit put out that she got no thanks for 'helping Link out,' as she claimed it was. "All in the line of duty."
"Of course. You're a hero." The Deku Princess cooed and giggled. "Of course, we'll have to give you something in reward. Mr. Link, please meet me tonight in the shrine by the palace. I'll have something nice for you!"
After Tatl had promised for Link several times that he would show up, the two were allowed to leave the palace. The first thing he did once he was out of sight of the guards was take off his Deku mask. His mind suddenly felt much clearer and he quite enjoyed being back in his Hylian form. It was no fun waddling around everywhere and having to jump to reach doorknobs.
"Link, look at the moon." Tatl suddenly prompted, and Link immediately glanced up. The moon loomed over them, its evil eyes staring down at Clock Town, the bull's eye of its target. "You spent a lot of time in the Woodfall Temple. We're nearing the end of the three days. You had better play the Song of Time soon."
Distressed, Link pointed back at the Deku Palace. Tatl snorted.
"Your promise to meet her at the shrine? You're not going to find the other three giants in a few hours. You're going to have the play the Song of Time, and she'll forget that promise. Even if you do go, as soon as time resets she'll forget about you, and you can't keep saving her."
Link stamped his foot. Tatl was always so insistent about everything; now it was his turn to be stubborn.
Tatl floated in front of his face and looked into his determined blue eyes. Immediately she knew there was nothing she could do to change his mind.
"…Fine. Be all stubborn if you want. But you're going to have to play the Song of Time sooner or later."
Link didn't see much of Tatl after that. She floated off, claiming she was going for a short trip to Snowhead to scout out the place. He knew she was nearby somewhere out of sight, but thought nothing of it as he waited outside the Deku Palace for nightfall.
The world was shaking violently by the time the Deku Princess finally exited the palace. She hopped over the lily pads towards the shrine, and Link quickly slapped on the Deku mask and followed her.
After nearly drowning a few times, he made it to the shrine. The Deku Princess giggled. "I knew you'd show up, Mr. Link. Now, follow me! I want to take you someplace."
Now Link was really wondering why he was forced to carry her back to the palace when she was in such a rush then. For such a small girl in a long flowing dress like hers, she was almost impossibly fast. Link was forced to follow her through corridors, up stairs, and across wooden platforms until they finally arrived at the end.
"You're fast." The Deku Princess twirled around him. "We're almost there! Just up this flight of stairs here and we'll have arrived."
Link followed her up the stairs obediently, occasionally twirling forward to keep up. At the end of the ascending stairs he could see the faint light of the outdoors. The Deku Princess was the first one to the top of the stairs.
"Isn't it beautiful?" She called to the panting boy several steps below her. Finally reaching the end of the stairs, Link took a moment to catch his breath before looking up.
The midnight blue sky stretched endlessly above them, broken only by tiny pinpoints of light. The dark expanse only lightened slightly over the Great Bay, where the sun had just finished setting.
"I love the stars." The Deku Princess whispered, sitting down. "They're so unreachable… untouchable… They're just… there."
Link went and sat down next to her, tilting his head up to see the cold distant lights. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the ever-looming moon with its cruel face and burning eyes. Unknown to him, the Deku Princess was also gazing at it.
"The moon really is going to crash into Clock Town and destroy the world, isn't it?" She said wistfully. "I thought it would stop before it got too close, but it's so low already… It's only a matter of time."
Link felt a pang in his heart. What a horrible existence it was for her. If he played the Song of Time, she would be transported back to her tiny prison cell in the Woodfall Temple, waiting for a hero that would never come. Of course, not playing the song would result in death for both of them, along with every other living creature in Termina, but he still hated to leave her alone.
"Mr. Link?"
He was snapped out of his thoughts quite rudely once again, and turned to face the Deku Princess. In a feeble attempt to keep her mind off her own impending doom, she giggled quietly.
"You're cute. I like you."
Link covered his cheeks with his hands, despite the fact he couldn't blush because he was made of wood, like all Dekus. The princess laughed again, moving one of his hands away so she could lean forward and kiss his cheek.
"I know I just met you today, but if I'm going to die tonight, I want to die with you."
The world shook suddenly, knocking them both off of their feet. The nose of the moon was mere feet away from Clock Town's towers, and Link knew he couldn't stay any longer. On a sudden impulse, he pulled the Deku Princess to her feet and wrapped her arms around her in a hug. She squeaked softly, but didn't have time to hug him back before he pulled away and brought out his Deku pipes.
The last thing she heard was a sad song filling the air before she was back in her prison cage, afraid and
Utterly alone.