Chapter 10

"It's finished!"

"Woo-hoo!"

Every kokiri in the forest had been waiting for this moment for the last few days. Word had spread quickly about Sido's work on the deku bark shield. Sido was the best craftsman among them, so expectations were high.

Ironically, Link ended up at the back of the group as Sido brought the shield forth. He sat quietly on a stool and listened to the reactions.

"It's pretty!"

"So smooth!"

"It looks kinda plain."

"Why is it shaped like that?"

"Can I hold it?"

"No, Link gets to hold it first. Where's Link?"

"He's right there."

The wall of children parted as Saria said, "What are you doing back there, Link? Get over here!"

As Link stood up, he beheld his prize. The shield seemed to have been crafted from a single sheet of bark. It narrowed to a point at the bottom. At the top, the left side was taller than the right side.

"So why is it shaped like this?" he asked as he accepted it from Sido's reluctant hands.

"It's so you can either hide your head behind one side or look over the other side," Sido proudly answered.

Link tested Sido's design. He frowned and arched an eyebrow.

"That wasn't necessary. I could look over it regardless. Now there's less area for me to hide behind."

Sido sighed and donned an apologetic expression.

"To be honest, the wood in the upper corner was just so ugly..."

Navi groaned. "We don't care how it looks. We just want it to be able withstand a sword."

Everyone jumped as Mido suddenly appeared and said, "I can test that for you."

Snatching the shield out of Link's grasp, Mido threw it on the ground, drew a dagger, and began hacking at it.

The other kokiri began to protest, but Link simply held out an arm to keep them from interfering.

Making only shallow scratches in the surface, Mido dropped the dagger and began jumping on it. The shield merely flexed a little. Mido found a heavy metal beam and began bashing the wooden construct, and soon he grew tired of trying in vain.

Picking up his knife, Mido pointed at Link and declared, "You may have a quality shield now, but if you think you can beat me because of that, you are dead wrong!"

Mido left the shop. Everyone exhaled in relief.

Remi asked Link, "So are you going to challenge Mido?"

Link paused. He turned towards Navi. "What do you think I should do?"

Navi pondered for a moment and replied, "I think we can afford a few more days of preparation. After all, you don't plan on going into battle with a shield you've never practiced with, do you?"

Link grinned sheepishly. "Well, until you mentioned that..." An anxious expression manifested in Link's features. "But who will I practice with? Mido was always my trainer whenever it came to fighting."

Navi scanned the faces around her. She folded her arms and pursed her lips. Then her eyes brightened.

"You could ask Soldo! I've seen him practice. He's almost as skilled as Mido. Maybe even better in some regards."

Link considered the possibility. "Soldo usually says he doesn't have time or energy for anything other than guarding the Great Deku Tree and the forest, but perhaps I can convince him to give me advice at least."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Misol asked as he bounded towards the exit. "Let's go!"

Link hesitated, gazing back upon Sido and Solmi.

"What time is it?"

Misol peered outside. "There's still a few good hours left before nightfall."

Link placed the shield on the counter and picked up a broom.

"Then I'll ask Soldo tomorrow. The rate is one deku nut per day, and this day isn't finished yet."

The next morning, Link asked Soldo to teach him in the ways of shield wielding, and Soldo accepted the task. They trained from dawn to dusk, taking breaks only when deemed necessary. The next day was spent likewise. On the third day, however, Link awoke and discovered that his shield was missing.

"I bet Mido stole it."

It took a while, but Link and Navi finally found Mido waiting in the Kokiri Shop.

Navi demanded, "Mido, give Link his shield back!"

Mido's eyebrows raised with surprise, and Sido said from behind the counter, "Oh, he didn't take it. I did. Sorry, but I just had to fix it up a little. It's back here..."

As Sido went to retrieve the shield, Mido smirked and said, "What would I want with a deformed little shield like that, anyways? No, I'm getting my own shield."

Ignoring Mido's comment, Navi called to Sido, "This isn't going to cost anything extra, is it?"

"No, of course not," Sido answered. "It's my pleasure."

Sido brought the shield forth. It was immediately noticeable that he had painted a red spiral of a symbol on its front.

"So... What do you think?"

Link smiled and touched the smooth surface. "It's neat! What is it?"

Sido declared proudly, "That, Link, is the official symbol of the Kokiri: the Kokiri's Emerald!"

Navi asked, "Aren't emeralds green?"

Sido froze, then smiled confidently. "Yes, they are! But... I think red is more intimidating than green, don't you?"

Navi giggled. "Yes, I suppose so."

With a scowl, Mido queried, "If this Kokiri's Emerald is our official symbol, why haven't I heard of it before?"

"Yeah," Link joined. "What is this emerald? Why is it so important?"

"Um," Sido faltered. "I don't know. I just recall Soldo talking about it and sketching it on the Wall of Slate a year or two ago. He said it was really special, but he didn't say why. It's a secret the Great Deku Tree entrusted only to him."

Link became slightly worried. "If this emerald is such a big secret, are you sure I won't get in trouble for carrying a representation of it?"

Sido shrugged. "I think you'll be fine. Just tell them it was my idea."

Link was surprised. "Are you sure you don't want to just paint over it and spare yourself from trouble?"

Sido shook his head ardently and slammed his hands onto the countertop. "It is too beautiful to paint over! Come what may, I'll give it its chance to gleam in the light!"

Squinting from the sudden outburst, Link responded with a simple "Okay."

Mido leaned towards Sido. "So... Are you going to paint that symbol on my shield, too?"

Sido stroked his chin. "I don't know. It depends on how the Great Deku Tree responds to Link's shield."

Mido crossed his arms and growled, "So you're willing to risk your own comfort for the symbol on Link's shield, but not the one on mine?!"

Sido shook his head slowly. "There is no symbol on your shield, Mido. Not yet. There is a difference between art that could be and art that already is."

Mido glared at the wall. "Harrumph. Fine. Whatever. So when will my shield be completed?"

"Sometime tomorrow," Sido answered, still admiring his own work on Link's shield. "By the way, if Fado is going to help you pay for it, she needs to be present as well."

"Yeah, yeah, okay," Mido said as he left.

Link raised an eyebrow at Sido. "So you're willing to empower someone like that just because he can pay for it?"

Sido shrugged. "It's just business."