Chapter 9- A Fairy-Boy in Need
Up in the sky above the Lost Woods...
Link was still scared stiff as the Guay flew in the sky with Link only being held by the leg by its beak. He was panicking outside and inside. This is just great! he thought to himself, Not only am I separated from the girls, but now I'm gonna be bird chow! Guess this is my lesson for picking on them all the time back at the ranch...
Link then remembered that his hands were still free, and he still had that twig from the swim earlier. Link thought for a moment and spotted a large tree out in the distance, then got an idea. This may be crazy, but it's much better than becoming food, I guess. t he thought, then reched behind his back and pulled out the twig. He took a good aim and flung the twig towards the Guay's eye. The twig hit it's mark and poked it square on the eyelid, causing the Guay to caw and drop Link. Link knew he was going to fall, but he didn't count on stopping short of his landing target. He screamed and panicked as he fell.
But just before Link lost hope, he saw a leaf floating in the sky. Link's eyes brightened as he saw it and reached out to grab it. He barely got ahold of it, took one end in one hand and the other hand on the other end and put the leaf over his head. Soon, his decent was slowing down considerably, as he had used the leaf as a sort of parachute. He gently swayed in the wind and landed on a large branch of the tree he was aiming for. Link collapsed on his rear end and gasped for breath. "Whoa...I thought I was actually going ot die there for a moment..." he said in between large breaths, "Thank the Goddesses that I'm alright."
Link got back on his shaking legs and looked around. The tree he had landed on was rather large indeed, larger than the Likan tree that he and the girls found earlier. The tree was so large, in fact, that Link was above the canopy of the forest! "Whoa..." Link said with an uneasy look, "This may be quite the challenge for me. I could wait here until the spell wears off and then climb down..."
Link began to think about doing that, but he shook his head. "Yeah, right. I could do that..." Link got a smile on his face, "but where would the fun be in that?! This oughta' be better than going through the Great Deku Tree!" With that, Link started walking towards the tree itself, and luckily for him, he saw a hole right at the end of the branch. "Well, guess this would just be another dungeon for me to go through, huh?" he said to himself, remembering all the dungeons and temples he went through on his adventure. "Then again...there's just one big problem this time..." he said to himself. He knew what he was talking about, since he didn't have any equipment this time around, since the girls removed it from him before Zelda shrank him.
Link then noticed something shiny hanging from a thin branch nearby, and it turned out to be a sewing needle. "Huh...I wonder how this got up here?" he wondered. Instead of answering, Link saw this as a bit of good luck and reached out to grab the needle and put it in his sword sheath. The needle was a bit large for the sheath, but it was the only place Link could put it without poking himself. Link took a deep breath and said, "Well, here goes nothing." As he ended saying that, he entered into the hollowed tree and started another interesting quest.
Back in the Sacred Forest Meadow...
Zelda was still on her knees, crying that she and the rest were not able to help Link from getting taken away by that Guay. Malon and Saria did thier best to comfort Zelda, and though Zelda thanked then for thier kindness, it didn't help all that much. She had lost not only her best friend, but future savior. "Zelda, please. It's not your fault." said Saria, putting her arm around Zelda, "If you remember, I was the one who threw him last. I should've seen that bird coming, and I was too busy having fun."
"Yeah...I know, Saria..." said Zelda, still sniffling her tears away, "But we should've been more careful, and now because of us he's probably-"
"NO!! Don't say that, Zelda! Don't even THINK that!" yelled Malon, surprising both Zelda and Saria with her expression. "If I know that fairy-boy, he's still out there! He said himself that he's been through a lot of dangers already, and I don't think getting carried away by a stupid bird is going to be anything he can't handle! C'mon, you two, we've gotta find Link!"
Malon's determination sparked something inside of Zelda and Saria, and they felt courage well up inside them. "You're right, Malon!" said Zelda, a determined look on her face, "We can't give up hope! Let's go and find him!"
"Yeah! Count me in too!" said Saria, feeling just as determined.
So, the three girls set out to the Lost Woods, hoping to find any trace of the little Link that got lost.
In the Hollowed Tree...
Link looked around at how vast the tree looked from the inside. "Wow, and I thought it looked big out there!" he said out loud. "Geez, even though I've been through a large tree already, this one sure seems creepier." Indeed, the interior looked more foreboding than the Deku Tree's was, as there was moss and spider webs all over the interior. Link knew that he'd probably have to fend for himself more than once in here, but he knew he was a brave person (despite the fact even he gets scared), and decided to march on.
As he did, he saw drops of water dripping from the ceiling, probably from the fact that since this tree was very high up, moisture gathered up here, thus giving the tree vital water, even in the dry season, which would explan why it got so tall in the first place. It was lucky for Link that there were holes in the tree providing light to creep in. As Link ventured down a slope, he knew that it was way to quiet in here. Normally hollowed-out trees would be home to many animals, especialy a tree of this size, and Link was questioning why there didn't seem to be any life around here, besides the tree itself. Link continued down the slope, ready if any bug or offensive creature decided to call him a snack.
It wasn't long before Link came to another opening in the side, but not one that led outside. Link was careful as to make sure not to startle anything around him, for as the Deku Tree told him a long time ago, anything could be watching him at any moment, so it pays to be cautious. Still, nothing seemed to be around, and Link carefully walked into the "room". When he did, he saw large mushrooms growing out of the sides, and that this section had a large hole in the center, with more mushrooms onthe wals of the hole. Link saw this and got an idea. "I can use these to get down!" he said in joyment, and he carefully inched his way down to the first mushroom, almost slipping at one point, but quickly regaining his footing. When he landed on the mushroom, he judged the distance to the next one down and when he saw it was safe enough, jumped down to the next one. He continued to do this until he got to solid ground.
Link looked back up and didn't even see the ledge he started on. "Whoa...that was a longer way down than I thought..." he said to himself. Unbeknowest to Link, he hadn't landed on solid ground, but on a beetle's back! Link gasped with surprise as the beetle moved out from under Link, causing Link to fall to the floor. Link then saw the beetle charge after him, looking as if it was agitated that something bothered it. Unlike the friendly ladybug he met earlier, this beetle didn't want anyone else around. Link unsheathed his "sword" and lept out of the beetle's way.
"Ugh! He's pretty fast for a bug..." said Link as he landed on the ground. The beetle charged him again, but this time, Link was ready. As the beetle drew near, Link lept up and thrusted the needle into its back. As much as Lik wanted it to go all the way through, though, he knew beetles had hard shells, and though it was wounded and the needle stuck in its back, it wasn't down for the count. "This didn't go quite as expected...ugh, I wish I had my equipment!!" Link said in a frustrated tone. Link then realized the beetle had slowed down because of it's wound, and Link had another idea. He rushed over to the wounded beetle and yanked the needle out of it's back, then rushed over to the opposite wall.
"Hey, black butt! Come and get me!" Link yelled in a mocking manner. Even though the beetle couldn't understand Link, it knew all to well it was mocking him, so in a desperate attempt to silence Link, the beetle rushed over to Link again. "Just what I wanted it to do..." Link said under his breath, and when the beetle was close enough, Link darted out of the way, but then rushed for the beetle's side and gave a strong kick to it's broadside, causing the beetle to fall over on it's back, exposing its belly, and Link knew that was where beetles were vulnerable.
Link decided that it was time for him to end this pointless battle, and ran towards the topsided beetle and jumped in the air, forcing the needle into it's abdomen, which also caused bug juice to spray all over Link. He was about to puke when this happened, but did his best to hold it in. When the beetle looked dead, Link pulled the needle out and jumped off the dead beetle, all the while covered in bug juices. Link felt disgusted that he was totally filthy, and tried to wipe away all the juices he could. "Gugh...I swear this is something I'll NEVER get used to!" he said out loud, and when he was wiped away of most of the juices, he looked aroung and saw another opening, and headed out, looking back at the dead beetle in disgust.
