I drew my sword and shield, this creature was going to pay for what he had done! I was at full health now, so there was no way I would lose to him this time, he was cornered.
"Oooooo looks like we got a tough guy!" the Skull Kid proclaimed. "What do you fairies think?"
The fairies had no chance to respond, I darted forward, aiming to plunge my blade through the Skull Kid's mask. The child howled a malicious laugh, and suddenly my sword transformed into a large tulip and my shield shattered into a powdery cloud. Taken aback, I stumbled and tripped over myself, landing in the shallow water that separated me from the masked skull child.
"HA! You think you can take me as I am now? You think a big, strong man like you can stop me?" Skull Kid said in a threatening tone. "Well… we'll see about that!"
I quickly leapt to my feet, searching in the water for something I could use as a weapon. From the corner of my eye, I saw the strange, heart-shaped mask begin to emit a strange purple aura. I attempted to dodge aside, assuming he was about to throw some kind of magic bolt at me, but I couldn't move, my legs were paralyzed! The translucent purple aura had begun to surround me, and I feared that the worst was about to happen and I would be soon joining my ancestors.
The aura slowly closed in around me, encasing my body in its glow. Suddenly ice cold, ethereal tendrils surged from the aura and wrapped tightly around my body. The air thickened and I began to smell a pungently sweet odor as the ghostly tendrils writhed around my form. I felt an intense burning sensation, like something was boiling me from within! Tears of pain welled up inside my eyes as the fiery sensation swarmed over me, completely overtaking my body and mind. The ghostly stands pierced into my very being, and I felt them twisting and churning my spirit. I cried out in pain, but it was muffled by the dark energy. Just when I was about to give up the last of my ebbing consciousness, the pain stopped. The purple aura retreated and I fell to my knees, my lungs heaving and gasping for fresh air. I felt off… different… something was wrong with me!
"Heeheeheehee! Take that!" the imp giggled. "That'll teach you to threaten me!"
I once again began grasping around the shallow water looking for a stone, a fish, anything to throw at the Skull Kid while he laughed at me. My vision wobbled, but I managed to grasp a decent sized rock and got to my feet, throwing it straight for the heart-shaped mask. The rock smashed into the mask and the Skull Kid shrieked in pain.
"Yeeaarrrghhh! You'll pay for that!"
The ground suddenly began to shake, and losing my balance I fell back into the shallow water. I felt weak, off balance, and I could hardly stand! The Skull Kid nervously looked around.
I was horrified at what I saw when I looked into the water. I turned fierce, once sapphire blue eyes that were now hazel, green to the masked skull kid, with a growl, I tried to lung forward, but the skull kid went through the door behind him before I could do or say anything. "You! If I wasn't dealing with you, I wouldn't have gotten separated from my brother! Well, don't just sit there little hero! Do something! Why are you looking at me like that? What, is there something on my face? Will you stop staring and just open the door for me?! Please! C'mon, a helpless little girl is asking you… so hurry up! Oh Tael… I wonder if that child will be alright on his own…" the fairy started mumbling unintelligibly.
"How is this my fault? Your little imp friend stole my ocarina and my horse… and then he has the nerve to turns me into a girl! I was just minding my own business looking for my guardian fairy!" at those words the fairy gaped in shock and exclaimed, "wait, did you say a guardian fairy? You're a kokiri? Why are you out of your forest home? Don't kokiri die if they leave the forest?" The fairy asked me, her light dimming slightly in confusion.
"By the way, my name's Tatl." She said after a few moments of silence.
But before I could reply to Tatl's rapid-fire questions, another fairy appeard a vary familiar fairy to me, "hay, you're Saria's fairy arn't you?" I asked and the fairy nodded. "When you left Saria told me she was going to follow you so I-" at that very moment a green haired girl came sliding down the whole. I bolted up, my reddish-brown hair flying behind me, hazel eyes wide with fear for my friends safety. "H-How are you not dead?!" I spluttered, not understanding how she wasn't dead from leaving the forest.
Saria shrugged and gave me a critical look. "What in Din's Fire happened?!" She almost shouted, her eyes wider than a scared cat as she prowled around me like a lion stalking there pray.
Feeling a bit uneasy at her strange behavior, I stepped back a few paces and put my hands up in surrender. "Ok ok what the heck is up with you? Why are you acting like this?" Saria finally stopped circling me and stared into my hazel eyes.
"You didn't answer my question, Saria."
She sighed and shook her head. "I have no clue," she replied with a heavy sigh. "But if I were to guess… I'd say it's something to do with my connection to the forest."
"That makes sense… but how? I mean, you're still a Kokiri, how were you able to follow me?"
"Forget that, I wanna know about you!" she pointed at me with a raised eyebrow. "What happened to you?"
Saria gasped and looked at me, knowing who I was, but my best friend was furious when I told her the masked skull kid turned me into a girl.
"WHAT? H-how dare that masked skull kid turn my best friend into a girl!" I raised my hands in defense and replied nervously, "hay, just calm down for a moment and think about it, now maybe this spell can be fixed! We have to stay positive!"
Saria sighed and calmed down a little at my logic. "So… now that you're a girl, you need a girl name don't you?" I sighed in defeat but replied, "I have a few names that I thought of. Lynkura, Linore, or Linkette," I replied with a sigh.
"I like the name Linkette!" She grinned at me, and I grinned right back. I then asked Tatl to show us the way out of here. It took us about an hour to find the door. "Wow, we could get in and out of the lost woods five times by now!" I exclaimed in frustration, tugging at my hair and glaring up at the sealing.
We finally arrived at the door that would lead to the exit, but a man wearing a large and heavy-looking bag stopped us in our tracks. Saria scowled and snapped, "hay, what's the big idea? We need to get out of here!" I glanced at my friend and turned to the unknown person.
"My name is Linkette and this is my best friend, Saria. These two are our fairy companions, Tatl and Ember." I said politely with a smile.
"Hee hee hee! You've been placed under a terrible fate haven't you?" I scowled and bitterly replied with a cat-like hiss, "well obviously! Oh, my StarClan, what does it matter to you anyway? We don't even know you!" I was going to continue, but the man spoke up before I could. "Please just calm down little hero, I understand your anger and I am sorry for-" I snarled and tried to lunge at him but Saria pulled me back and Tatl yanked my crimson hair.
"Ow! That hurt!" Tatl sighed in irritation and flew in front of my face. "I won't pull your hair, but you need to calm down little hero!" I sighed and gave one last cold glare to the man before Saria and I continued walking in silence.