Author's Note: I'd like to give you guys a friendly reminder that this is still a Hyrule Warriors fanfiction. That means you're gonna see whirly sword-beams, Agitha's giant bugs, and whatever it is Tingle does.

The Faron Province is the largest province in Hyrule. From the center of Hyrule's southernmost border, it extends northwest, skirting around the provincial border of Central Hyrule, to just west of the province, where it extends further west, to the kingdom's western border. One of its locations, Faron Woods in the far south, is a popular hiking spot for young and middle-aged couples, as well as families. One infamous attraction would be the Lost Woods, which is located south of the southernmost border of Central Hyrule, and north of Faron Woods. Many people have gotten lost in these woods, never to be seen again, as they searched for the mythical Sacred Forest Meadow. As far as its population goes, it is the most work-oriented province in Hyrule, mostly inhabited by those who study various branches of science, lumberjacks, carpenters, merchants who deal mostly with the aforementioned groups of people, and those who simply desire to live close to the wilderness. The province also has the highest population of monsters, as well. Those in Castor Wilds - a swamp in the far west reaches of the province, as well as the kingdom by extension - features some of the more dangerous creatures. The swamp is one of the few places in Hyrule yet to be touched by the Humans, due to the environmental advantage the monsters there have over their kind. Due to the Faron Province featuring several differing biomes, as well as its sheer size, it has the largest variety of raw goods out of any province in Hyrule. However, due to the nature of the kingdom, these goods are not as lucrative as those found in the Eldin and Lanayru Provinces.

Chapter 13

Repercussions; Part 1

In the late hours of the night, a messenger arrived from the Eldin Province to Hyrule Castle. A property in the region had been attacked by the White Sorceress the previous day. Upon hearing these news, Herbert of the Disciples of Dragmire convinced Ganondorf to take further action, in order to avoid mass hysteria among slave owners once the news reached their ears. But in order to take action, Ganondorf needed a plan.

Originally, Ganondorf decided to combat the White Sorceress's actions by strengthening security at what would be considered prime targets, and placing more patrols throughout Hyrule Field, as well as rewards for any sighting of the sorceress. This lax reaction to the sorceress was due to the decision that, until Ganondorf was sure she knew where Link was, she was no threat to he or his goals. With this recent attack however, Ganondorf and his allies came to the conclusion that the sorceress wasn't working alone.

"According to that guy from last night," Wizzro reasoned, "the property was attacked, yet no one saw the attackers, and no one saw the slaves being taken away. Everything was over before they knew it. That would have had to have been a planned attack. Not even I would have been able to pull that off by myself, so I know that sorceress couldn't have done it!"

"Of course the sorceress isn't working alone." Cia said, "She has an ally in this room. Isn't that right, Princess?"

All eyes moved over to Zelda.

The princess responded, "How could I have orchestrated an attack on a large property in another province from my bedroom?"

"Let's not pretend it isn't something you wouldn't do." Gerald told her, "Your family does have a history of treachery, after all."

"I haven't set foot outside this castle in over nine years." Zelda said, "And how would I have been able to sneak anyone inside the castle without being seen? It's a preposterous notion. But I imagine that, had either of you possessed the intelligence think otherwise, you wouldn't have let the sorceress escape the castle dungeon in the first place."

Cia, seated at Zelda's right, glared at the princess, gritting her teeth as her anger soaked through her mask.

Though they were supposed to be allies, not all of the Saints got along with one another. Cia had never liked the princess, though few knew why. It wasn't until two years ago, however, after Tingle's disappearance from the castle, when Cia began suspecting Zelda of assisting the sorceress.

"If I may offer a suggestion," Zelda continued, "due to the fact that this attack was carried out on a property with a decent number of slaves, we can assume that the sorceress's base of operations is in the Lost Woods, the closest option to its vicinity." The princess turned to Cia, "Perhaps, instead of pestering me with your idiotic accusations, you could look there yourself."

"Cia cannot enter the Lost Woods." Ganondorf finally intervened, "None of us can. Unless you know the correct path to take, you will be trapped there."

"Then that lets us know that the sorceress has incentive to use it as a base of sorts." Zelda said, "Perhaps she has found a way to safely navigate through the forest."

"If that's really where she's set up shop," Wizzro started, "I don't see them going straight there." Wizzro looked over at George, of the Disciples , "Roll down the map."

In the room, on the wall to the left of the door Ganondorf entered through, was a pull-down map of Hyrule.

"Good thing Tingle made us this map before he mysteriously vanished." Cia said, "Now that I think about it, wasn't the princess the last person seen with him?"

"That's enough." Ganondorf told her.

"If I were them," Wizzro began, a skinny finger pointed at the general location of James's estate, "Instead of going southeast to the Lost Woods, I'd head southwest," He pointed at the location of a village, "here."

"What's over there?" asked Ghirahim.

"Only one of the locations of the most popular restaurant chains in Hyrule."

"For now." Cia scoffed, "The last 'most popular restaurant chain in Hyrule' went under after the princess killed the owner."

"Uh..." Wizzro continued, "Anyway, they'd probably try and lead any pursuers in the direction of the Gerudo Desert. Since it's on the way there from the last place they attacked, they could head to the village, and take the slaves working there in order to lead us away from the forest."

Zelda cleared her throat, calling for the attention of her peers and others, "I believe we concluded that the sorceress was capable of magic that could allow her to travel to any location in seconds. It explained how no one was able to find her after nearly five hundred years."

"Seeing how the sorceress has yet to attack the place," Zant argued, "it would stand to reason that she cannot instantly travel there. After all, one cannot teleport to a place they have never been to. Not unless you possess the same ability as Ghirahim."

Both Ghirahim and Zant were capable of teleportation. However, Zant's teleportation is limited to places he had already been to. This applies to Ghirahim as well. However, the self-proclaimed "Demon Lord" can bypass this rule with another ability: Ghirahim is in possession of a "dowsing" ability, and with it, he can search for individuals he had previously been in close proximity with. Once he senses their presence, he is then able to teleport to where they are. A major drawback to this ability, though, is that it takes time and concentration to utilize. Therefore, he would be unable to use this ability in pressing situations (example: if Ghirahim is being attacked, he would not be able focus well enough to use his dowsing ability).

"If the sorceress is indeed capable of teleportation," Zelda reasoned, "then she wouldn't need to draw our attention away from the Lost Woods. She could simply teleport there, and bring anyone she is with along with her. And once she leaves to search for a new target, she would have to find it without using her ability, since she would never have visited the place in question. I propose that we stake out near the entrances of the Lost Woods, and wait for them to exit the forest."

"I agree." said Ghirahim, "Why waste time drawing attention away from a place my enemies cannot get to, when all I have to do is teleport there?"

"Then that's what we'll do." Ganondorf concluded, "It has only been a day, so the enemy is more than likely still there."

"Good." Volga finally spoke, "Then I volunteer to wait for them."

"Don't you have to watch over the Gorons?" asked Wizzro.

"Those weaklings are unable to defeat even the monsters keeping them from escaping. I crave a greater challenge."

"Ghirahim." Ganondorf called, "You will take him there. If you find a sign of the sorceress, report to me immediately. The rest of you are on standby."

"Why'd we have to wait 'till morning to head back?" Midna complained, "If I have to sleep in the dirt again, I'm gonna hurt somebody."

"It took us until nighttime to finish packing up our supplies," Lana told her, "if we just show up in the village in the middle of the night, it'd cause a stir, then we'd have to answer to the Deku Tree."

"You'd think by now those kids would be used to us just showing up in their village. You hear that slowpokes?" Midna shouted at the others, "Don't take so long next time!"

"Not all of us have a giant arm sprouting from our head!" Darunia shouted back, "I'd ask how you did so little to help when you have three arms, but given how little the other two are..."

"You wanna piece of me?!" Midna yelled, turning towards the Goron.

"A 'piece'?" Darunia chuckled, "You're already tiny enough as it is!"

"That's enough, you two." Impa interjected.

Linkle smiled at the interaction. She paused as she walked past Agitha. The girl was squatting, her eyes fixated on the assortment of bugs in front of her.

"What are you doing?" Linkle asked.

"I'm watching the buggies!" Agitha whispered.

Linkle fished for something to talk about, "I used to play with bugs when I was younger, too."

"Really?" Agitha asked, turning her head to her, "What games did you guys play?"

"I just picked them up and let them run all over my hands and arms. What game are you playing?"

Agitha shook her head, "I'm not playing any games. Thanks to Mr. Grasshopper and the other brave insects, Queen Ant's kingdom is free from the tyranny of the termites. But right now, the ants want to change their kingdom from a monarchy to a democracy, because they feel Queen Ant's too young to rule over the kingdom, and she has no other relatives left."

"Oh...uh...okay."

"Is everyone ready?" Lana asked her allies, "It takes a lot of energy for me to keep open a portal big enough to bring all our stuff, so everyone make sure-"

"We've been doing this for two years, Lana." Midna said.

"Well Linkle hasn't."

Midna turned to look at the girl in question, "You catch all that, rookie?"

Linkle pulled her gaze away from Agitha, "Oh, er-, yeah!"

The standard procedure for the group - when returning home - consisted of Lana opening a portal to their destination, and using it to transport their belongings along with them. While traveling the fields of Hyrule, they usually bring with them camping supplies, food, water, a means of entertainment, crates to carry them all while moving - plus one full of their money - a freight wagon to carry the crates, and two horses to pull the wagon.

With a few waves of her arms, Lana opened the portal. On the other side, from what Linkle could tell, were trees that had been hollowed out, and made into homes. There looked to be children dressed in all green forming a crowd as well.

"All right." Lana said, "C'mon!"

Impa led the two horses inside. The portal didn't seem to bother them much. Closely following them were the others.

"C'mon, Linkle!' Midna called, "You don't wanna get left behind, do you?"

Crossing through the portal was like stepping into another room in a house. Given how easy it was, Linkle was taken aback at how the air of this new environment differed from the wooded area they had previously camped in. The grass felt more moist, and was much easier on her feet. It had taken until now for Linkle to realize that she had left her shoes in her room at James's estate. Oh, how much had changed since just yesterday morning. What amazed her even more than that, though, was how quickly she was getting used to everything, though, it wasn't the first time she had to get used to a different environment. It had only been two years since she was separated from her brother, after all. She wondered if her brother was as good at adapting as she was. Surely any life away from her would-...

No... That's all in the past. Thinking about it won't do any good.

This new place Linkle had found herself in was called the Kokiri Forest, it was a village deep inside the Lost Woods that few have ever been to.

"We've been using this place as our base of operations for the last two years." Lana explained to Linkle, "It's very convenient since it's one of the few places in Hyrule that the Humans or Ganondorf haven't gotten to, and the only place they can't get to."

"Why not?" Linkle asked.

"Because there's a specific path you need to take in the Lost Woods. The only way anyone can get into the village is if they guess the path right."

Two years ago, the guardian of the Kokiri, the Deku Tree, prepared two houses for the group: one for the men, and the other for the women. The Kokiri, the citizens of the village, helped make the furniture inside.

"We need more guys here," Darunia complained, "It's just me and Tingle."

"If you want," Midna suggested mockingly, "you can get some of the boys in the village and you can all have a slumber party!"

"If I did, would you come? I mean, given your look, you could pass as a boy or a girl."

"I'm gonna kill that guy!" Midna growled as Lana tried to calm her down.

"So what's the plan?" Ruto asked the sorceress, "We know where we're going next, don't we?"

"Yeah," Lana answered, "but I think we should take a day to rest. It's been a while since we've been here. Plus, it'll give us a chance to train Linkle."

"You're going to train Linkle?"

"Not by myself. Impa wants to help."

Ruto chuckled, "That's a relief."

Lana frowned, "What are you implying?"

Linkle took in all she could of the village from where she was standing. It was quiet, save for the occasional laughter of the village children. Any difference between it, and the Human villages was obvious in appearance, though appearance seemed to be the only difference.

"You're new!" a Kokiri boy said as he and another boy approached, "What's your name?"

"I'm Linkle!" the girl answered with a smile.

"Wanna be friends?" the young boy asked.

"Ew!" another boy shouted from a distance, "You're gonna be friends with a girl?"

The boy turned to look at Linkle, "You're a girl?!"

"Quick!" the boy next to him shouted, "RUN!"

The children bolted away, leaving Linkle confused as to what just happened.

"I look like a girl," she asked Agitha as she walked past, "don't I?"

"Oh, don't listen to those kids." Midna told her, "I mean, they're kids."

"Actually," Lana interjected, "there's a good chance the Kokiri are older than all of us."

"All of us?" Impa asked.

"Uh...hey, Linkle! Impa and I are gonna go make you a weapon to fight with. We might be a few hours, so go ahead and get settled in while you wait."

Linkle turned to look at her other comrades as Lana and Impa went on their way. They were still gathered in front of the two houses they were to sleep in.

"Hi!" she greeted as she approached Tingle.

"Oh! Hello!" he replied, tearing his gaze away from the sheet of paper in his hands.

"What're you doing?"

"Tingle is studying our map. He's trying to see what path to the Lanayru Province we should take."

"A map?" Linkle said, "Can I help?"

Thomas looked over at Link as he opened the door to the room he kept him in.

"What were you all talking about?" the asked the two slaves in the cages across from Link.

"We were telling him how it didn't make sense for him to still be putting up a fight." answered one of his slaves, Samantha. While not an "Elf" name, it was the name he had given the formerly prideful girl, forcing her to relinquish the name she had been so proud of.

"They're right, you know." Thomas told Link, "Why don't you just give in already? You've already lost."

The boy ignored him, not even giving him the courtesy of eye contact, as usual.

Thomas let a chuckled pass through his lips. Not telling him about his relationship with Malon was getting harder by the day. Maybe he'll bring her there one day so the boy to see for himself that she was his. Maybe that would be the day he'd finally break him.

Ghirahim sighed, "The sorceress sure is taking her time, isn't she?"

"It matters not." Volga answered as he walked in front of him, "Once she appears, the battle we'll have will be legendary."

"If you say so."

As per Ganondorf's orders, Ghirahim and Volga had been watching over the entrances to the Lost Woods for hours. The two were had just gotten started on their second full circle around its perimeter.

"You'll be fine here by yourself, won't you?" Ghirahim asked, "I had no idea she would take this long to appear. Perhaps Wizzro was right when he said she may go elsewhere in order to lead us astray."

"Or perhaps the princess was right, and she may have used her magic to instantly appear inside the forest. Like Zant said, she won't be able to appear in a place she hadn't yet attacked. So whether she's coming from or going to the forest, we'll be able to intercept her here."

"...Regardless, I have other matters to attend to. I'll see you around."

With a snap of his fingers, Ghirahim made his leave.

"Pft. Coward."

Volga looked up at the towering trees. Even their branches seemed to lead his eyes in a manner of directions. It's little wonder why this place is referred to as the "Lost Woods".

But it didn't matter to Volga.

Five hundred years ago, Volga took his position as a Saint, and accepted the gift of eternal life from Cia, in hopes that he would be able to clash blades with the Hero once he appeared. Almost sixteen years ago, he, along with Ganondorf and the other Saints, received the news that the Hero had been born. And ever since that day, Volga had been preparing himself for an eventual battle with him, along with the White Sorceress, for it was certain that she would be helping him.

And now that time was nigh. Though he wouldn't be fighting the Hero just yet, he was willing to settle for the sorceress.

Meanwhile, Ghirahim had returned to Hyrule Castle.

"Greetings, Master." he said, announcing his arrival into the throne room.

"I take it the sorceress hasn't appeared yet?" Ganondorf asked.

"Not yet. I returned because I feel I should return my attention to my other duties."

"Very well. You may go, but be sure to check on Volga regularly."

"That aside," Ghirahim said, "there seems to be quite a few people in and around the castle."

"It looks like word of us being here reached the commonfolk." said Cia, who had been speaking with Ganondorf prior to Ghirahim's arrival, "They've been out there for hours."

"Even if the princess is sneaking someone into the castle like you keep accusing her of doing, I'd barely be able to sense a thing."

"Don't talk to me about that little shrew."

Ghirahim chuckled, "Well, I'll be off."

With a snap of his fingers, Ghirahim vanished again.

Link let out a bored sigh.

For the second day in a row, Malon hadn't come to visit.

He glanced up at the afternoon sun. He wasn't late this time, so what could it be? Why was Malon not coming to see him?

He sighed again, resigning himself to another day of boredom.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Tingle shouted, "Tingle said north is up, and west is left, so in-between would be...?"

Linkle scratched her chin, deep in thought, "Um...westnorth?"

"NO! North-west! Northwest!"

"Oh! So what's in between west and east?"

"...Tingle needs a break..."

Darunia laughed silently to himself as he watched, lounged on a double-reinforced bed. He looked over at the front door, or at least where one would be, as Lana walked inside.

"So did you end up making a weapon for Linkle?" Darunia asked.

"Yeah, yeah." Lana answered, "But right now, we need everyone outside."

Lana and Impa gathered the others, and they all congregated near an entryway into the Lost Woods.

"So what's going on?" Darunia asked, "Do we have to leave?"

"That depends on you all."

"Well, don't leave us in suspense." Midna said, "Tell us what's going on."

Lana looked around at all her allies before took a deep breath and answered, "Volga and Ghirahim are waiting for us on the outside."

To be Continued!

Bonus Chapter

Mother; Part 2

Nima glanced back, confirming that their mother was out of earshot.

"Hey, Onia." she whispered, "There's this cool place I found deeper into the woods. Let's check it out!"

"No!" Onia whispered back, "We have to go straight home!"

"Fine then, I'll go by myself."

Onia watched, halted by a bewildered daze as Nima continued on, away from the direction to their home, alone. "Nima!" she called, "We have to go home! Nimaaaa!"

The girl in question carried on her way, ignoring her sister all the while. Onia stomped the ground in anger before charging after the girl. "Nima, wait!"

The siblings had just been sent home by their mother after a day of work. Nima used this opportunity to try and take her sister to a location she had found, which led to Onia's current predicament.

"Ugh," Onia growled when she finally caught up to Nima, who broke into sprint once her sister began tailing her, "I hate when you get like this!"

"Shut up for a second. Look!"

Onia followed her sister's pointed finger to a good-sized body of water.

"I found this while I was out wandering around the other day!" Nima told her twin, "C'mon! Let's take a closer look!"

Onia followed Nima closer to the water. Upon closer inspection, the water seemed deep enough for them to envelop most of their height.

"Wanna go for a go for a swim?" Nima asked.

Onia inched closer to the water. Upon approach, she stuck a toe forward, looking to dip it into the water before Nima rose an obtrusive arm to stop her.

"What?" Onia asked.

"I'm going in first."

"Why do you get to go in first?"

"'Cause I'm the oldest. Duh."

Nima took several steps back. She jumped inside after a short sprint, resulting in a large splash that tracked water onto Onia's tunic.

"Mom's gonna find out you were in the water!" Onia called.

"She's gonna think you were in here, too!" Nima said, referring to her sister's wet tunic, "You might as well get in here!"

Onia's brows furrowed before she gave a relenting sigh. "Fine!" She dipped a toe into the water before she let out a yelp, pulling her foot away.

"What?" asked Nima.

"The water's cold!"

"Stop being a sissy and jump in! You're not gonna wuss out and go home, are you?"

Onia's face hardened into a frown. She shut her eyes before leaping into the water, joining her sister.

SPLASH!

"See?" Nima bragged, "It's not so bad, is it?"

Onia's wiped at her face, inexperienced hands looking to clear the water away from her eyes. "So," she asked, "what do we do now?"

Nima slammed her hands forward in the water, earning a surprised yelp as she splashed some onto her sister.

"Nima!"

"Come and catch me!" the girl teased as she bounced away in the water.

Onia wiped her eyes and gave chase. The two filled the part of forest of laughter and playful squeals as they chased each other in what they considered their private pool.