"Hey! Talo, open up in there!"

Beth pounded hard on the front door, while Colin stood waiting behind her.

"Cut it out!" A voice shouted from the other side. "You're gonna get us in more trouble!"

"Relax, I know your mom's not home."

The door opened, and Talo peeked outside.

"How'd you know? Even I didn't notice."

"We passed her on our way here, smarty pants. Didn't you notice your mom leave your own house?"

"No," he said as he stepped outside. "Did you know mom left?"

"Yes," Malo said as he followed him out, closing the door behind them. "She tried to be quiet, but I saw her."

"Why didn't you say so?!"

"What would you have done if I had told you she'd left?"

"Duh! I'd have gone to see Link!"

"That's why we're here," Beth interrupted. "Link's gone missing. And so has Ilia."

"What? When?!"

"Come on!" She grabbed Talo's arm and dragged him along. "The adults are talking about it right now. We gotta get to Colin's place before they finish."

"Let go! That hurts!"

The kids ran up the path until they came to the villagers standing around Colin's house, where his father was receiving a blaring earful from Mayor Bo. From their hiding place at the bottom of the hill, they could hear Bo roaring into Rusl's face.

"…INSANE?! YOU OF ALL PEOPLE! SOME STRANGE MAN NONE OF US HAVE MET COMES WALTZING INTO MY VILLAGE, AND YOU LET HIM TAKE MY DAUGHTER INTO THE WOODS TO DO WHO KNOWS WHAT!"

Rusl, undeterred by Bo's rage, angrily retorted, "Shiek didn't do anything to Ilia! He's not some predator who goes around kidnapping teenage girls! He's here with Link, for Din's sake! They came here to help us, not terrorize us! For once in your life, Bo, I wish you'd stop and think for one second!"

"THINK? THINK?! HOW DARE YOU?! I ORDERED ILIA TO STAY AWAY FROM THE FOREST NOT TWO HOURS AGO, AND YOU LET HER GO WITH SOMEONE SHE DOESN'T KNOW! NOT ONLY DID YOU UNDERMINE MY AUTHORITY AS HER PARENT, YOU ENDANGERED HER LIFE! TELL ME THIS INSTANT WHERE THAT SON OF A BITCH IS, OR I'LL WRING YOUR NECK IN HIS PLACE!"

"For the last time, he went into the woods looking for Ilia and Link! If you go hunting him down, you'll ruin our chances of finding them!"

"Wow," Talo whispered while they peeked up at the angry, arguing adults. "I've never seen Ilia's dad get so mad before."

"Or Colin's dad, for that matter," Malo added, sneaking a glance Colin's way. "Is Ilia really missing?"

"I didn't see her leave, but Colin did. Tell them what you told me."

"Ah- I- mm…"

Colin tightened his hands into fists. He became aware of his breathing, and couldn't help holding his breath. He could feel his forehead getting hotter as they stared, their eyes burrowing into him as they silently interrogated him.

"I don't…"

"C'mon Colin!" Talo blurted. "Tell us what happened to Ilia!"

"Sh- she and Link, were… were returning from the ranch. I watched them from the window of the house when… when Dad thought I wasn't looking. I saw that guy―the one Mayor Bo is mad at―talk to her and Dad for a bit, then Ilia went with him out of the village. After that, Dad started showing Link how to use his new sword."

"That's when I came along," Beth continued, taking over for poor Colin. "We were watching his dad train Link when that guy came back, but Ilia wasn't with him. They started getting real worried, thinking she'd gone back into the forest, so Link dropped his sword and went to go find her. But that was a long time ago, and no one has seen them since!"

"Then Mayor Bo is right!" Talo declared. "That guy did something to Ilia, and I bet he did something to Link, too!"

"But Dad said… that Shiek was a nice guy."

No one heard Colin's mumbled protest. Instead, Beth cried out, "No way! If Link could beat up a bunch of thugs when he was our age, there's no way he'd lose to somebody like that!"

"And besides," Malo pointed out, "We have no proof it was that guy who did anything to Link."

"How would you know?"

"When Link went into the woods to look for Ilia, did you see that guy go with him?"

"No, Link went by himself."

"And when did that guy go into the woods?"

"Almost a whole hour after Link left."

"Then there's no way that guy could have hurt Link. The woods are too big and easy to get lost in, especially for someone who isn't from the village. If he wanted to do something bad to Link, he would've gone in a lot sooner."

"Wow, Malo!" Talo exclaimed. "That's really smart!"

"But that doesn't mean he didn't do something to Ilia," said Beth. "They went into the woods together. It would've been the perfect chance to do something bad to her."

"Yes," replied Malo. "That's where the mystery lies."

"Mystery?" Talo's ear twitched at the word. "A real mystery? Like the ones in some of Mr. Rusl's books?"

"So it would seem."

"Then what are we standing here for? We have a mystery to solve!"

"You idiot!" yelled Beth. "Ilia could be hurt, or even… you know! I don't want to say what she could be, and you think this is a game! This isn't a stupid mystery, this is serious!"

"Who said mysteries aren't serious?! Besides, look at all the adults. All they're doing is standing around in front of Mr. Rusl's house, yelling at each other. If anybody's gonna find Ilia and Link, it should be us. Mystery or not, we have to help them!"

"But how? The woods are too big, even for us! We might never find them, and we'd end up lost like them!"

"Then instead of looking for Link or Ilia," said Malo, "We should look for the person who saw them last. We should look for the suspect."

"What's a 'suspect'?"

"And Impa wonders why I work alone."

Shiek paced up and down the forest path, Sheikah Slate in hand, retracing his and Ilia's steps. His footsteps crunched in the dirt and fallen leaves as he walked. He zoomed in on the map on his screen, and followed the traced green path as close as possible, mumbling to himself the whole way.

"We came down here… I stopped here to look at the flowers. We came to the spring, saw the spirit, then headed back, and I mentioned Link's voice to her. Sometime in between that and returning to the village, she vanished. But… where? And how?"

His footsteps slowed to a halt. His eyes came to rest on another patch of the Twilight Daisies. He stared at the flowers, then turned to the slate. He minimized the map, opened a new window on the screen, then pointed the slate's lens at the flowers and pressed a button on the side edge. The slate's shutter snapped shut and flashed, and the next instant, Shiek's picture of the flowers appeared on the screen.

"I doubt Shad would know anything about this," he thought as he opened a third window, "But he has connections at the university who might."

He attached his image to a new message, and was in the middle of typing out letters, when he heard rustling behind him.

"Oh, Lord."

He finished and sent the message, clipped the slate to his belt, then said aloud, "I can hear you. You're not very good at sneaking up on someone."

"Shoot!" said a tiny voice. "I think our cover's blown!"

"What do we do?"

"Let's stay quiet. Maybe he'll forget about us and move on."

"I can hear you talking," he repeated. "I won't hurt you, so you might as well come out from there."

The four children came sheepishly out of their hiding spot; a scraggly bush that offered little coverage.

"Hey you!" shouted Talo, pointing a shaky finger at Shiek. "Give us back our friends!"

"Yeah!" Beth agreed, "Or we'll make you regret it!"

"You morons," Malo grumbled under his breath.

"Children," Shiek groaned, "What do you think I'm trying to do? I imagine you're out here for the same reason as I. Would you like to help me look for Link and Ilia?"

"No way! They're our friends, not yours! If anybody's gonna find them, it's us."

"And we're not letting you out of our sight either. So you're comin' with us!"

Shiek put two fingers to his temple and rubbed fiercely.

"At least it's you and not the other villagers. I'm not in the mood to be lynched today. Very well, lead the way. Where should we look first?"

"Let's check the spring," said Beth. "If Ilia would go anywhere, it'd be there."

"Yes indeed," thought Shiek. "Let's check the place I've already checked five times."

"Wait," said Talo. "Colin, keep an eye on our surface."

"Suspect," corrected Malo.

"Why me?"

"Cause we said so. Just do it."

The three kids marched ahead, and left the two trailing behind before either could protest.

"Such kind children," Shiek said aloud as he and Colin walked after the others. "I can see why you spend time with them."

Colin said nothing, but his face turned red in response. Shiek eyed him carefully.

"You know I didn't do anything to Link or Ilia, right?"

"Yes," Colin mumbled. "Dad says you're nice."

"Then what's with your friends?"

"They just want to help."

"I get the feeling they want to play more."

Colin's face grew hotter each time Shiek made an offhanded comment.

"You could help me."

"How?"

"You could let me go."

"I don't think I could, sir."

"Why not?"

"Because, I bet you could leave whenever you wanted."

"You're pretty smart."

"Why don't you run away?"

"Because now that you and your friends are here, I can't leave you. Something in these woods is making people disappear, and you're in danger."

Colin whipped his head toward him, wearing a look of panic, but before he could say anything, Shiek's slate buzzed. He unclipped and opened it.

"An email, BCC'd to me."

He opened the email, saw Shad's message, and recognized his own image of the daisies.

"'A friend of a friend came across a strange specimen and sent me this image, attached below. If any of you in the botany department recognize this plant, please let me know at your earliest convenience.' Good. Maybe that'll get us some answers."

He reclipped the slate and walked in silence beside Colin as they followed the children. When they arrived at the spring, there was no sign of Ilia or Link.

"No sign of the spring's spirit, either," thought Shiek. "I wonder if it's resting somewhere else."

"Now what?" said Beth, "No one's here except us. What do we do?"

"We have to search for clues," said Talo.

"Clues? What kind of clues?"

"Anything that'll help us solve this mystery!"

Beth groaned, and the children split up. Shiek leaned on his elbow against a nearby tree and watched in silence. Talo stomped across the spring to the waterfall, and lifted rocks aside to look underneath, then dropped them haphazardly in their original places. Malo and Colin pulled up tufts of dry grass from the banks and threw them aside as they combed from one side of the spring to the other. Beth buried her hands into the sand and shifted them as she dug. They searched relentlessly, but after half an hour, Beth cried in exasperation.

"I can't find anything!" She called to the others. "And I'm getting dirt under my nails."

"Check in the spring," Malo answered. "Maybe you'll find something in the water."

"Good idea. I can wash my hands while I'm at it."

Beth stood upright and moved into the center of the spring. She bent forward to dip her hands in the water, but stopped.

"What is that?"

She reached into the shallow water, wrapped her hands around a wooden object, and pulled, but it was sunken deep and stuck in the bottom sand. She grabbed it with both hands and yanked, and it came out, leaving a cloud of dirt in the hole it created in the spring.

"Guys, I found something!"

Talo came running over, splashing as much water as he could.

"What is it?"

"I don't know. It looks like some kind of doll."

"Let me see!"

Talo reached out to rip it from her hands, but Beth pulled away.

"No! I'm the one who found it, and I'm not done looking at it!"

"I said gimme!"

He shoved Beth's arm aside and grabbed at the object, but she shoved him with her elbow and started to run. He chased after, hot on her heels, and was within grabbing distance when they ran past Shiek, who easily snatched the object out of Beth's hands.

"Hey!" she cried, "Give that back!"

"I know this."

"What?"

Shiek's eyes opened wide at the wooden statue that fit snugly in his hand. Intricate designs were carved into the totem handle, but what set him off was the figurine's head.

"This is the Sheikah Emblem, the symbol of my people..."

Beth's face softened as she asked, "Do you know what that thing is?"

"It's a talisman, made by a member of my tribe. It's supposed to protect its holder from bad luck."

"I've never seen anything like it. It's so weird."

"Hey, I recognize that," Colin said as he approached Shiek from behind. "I've seen it in Ilia's room a few times."

"Then that means we've found a clue!" Talo exclaimed.

"Why in the world would Ilia have such a thing?" asked Malo.

"Not only that," added Shiek, "Where did she get it? Or... who gave it to her?"

"...you suppose it is?"

"Who cares? It looks cool and I'm keeping it."

"Oh man... my head..."

"Look, it's moving."

"I think it's waking up. Are you sure that collar is nice and tight?"

"Positive. It's not going anywhere, Your Highness."

"...Highness?"

"Good. Now get lost."

"Of course."

Echoes of scurrying bounced off the walls while Link's eyes blinked open. At first, he could only make out dark, blurred shapes. One smooth shape stood upfront and center, and as his vision cleared the shape took form, but Link still didn't recognize what was before him. It stood with its arms folded, watching him with half-closed eyes and a subtle, sly smile. Two things came to his mind upon seeing the creature before him: it was some kind of imp, and it had the brightest orange hair he'd ever seen.

"What's up, dog?"

He recognized the voice as one he'd heard earlier, in his muddled consciousness. The imp's voice was high-pitched, but soft and breathy. Its voice, and the curve of its hips, finally told Link he was dealing with a female. A female what, though?

"You're not scared, are you?"

She took soundless steps forward. Link glared wearily as she approached.

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of you. How does having a treat sound?"

She held up a thin slice of meat, dangling it in front of his face, and Link was surprised by how much the smell tantalized him.

"I am kind of hungry, now that I think about it."

He reached up to take the food, but stopped in horror. He stared at his hand, no longer a hand but a furry paw.

"AAA-?!"

He glanced down. His other hand was also a paw. He spun in a circle, and realized he was walking on all fours. Link began to panic.

"Oh god! Oh my god! What is wrong with me?!"

He caught a bowl of water in the corner of his eye, sitting a few feet away, and ran to it. He looked into the surface, and started hyperventilating. Staring back at him, reflected in the water, was the face of a wolfos.

"Oh... oh no... this isn't... this can't be happening..."

"What's wrong, puppy? You look scared."

He retreated from the bowl. His limbs stiffened, and his stood on end.

"Gotta get outta here! Gotta get away!"

"Hey, it's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you."

The imp moved closer, extending a hand toward his head.

"DON'T YOU TOUCH ME!"

Link's throat rumbled, and he bared his fangs. He began to snarl. The imp took her hand back and refolded her arms.

"Aren't you scary?" she giggled. "Look at you, all growly like that. Guess you're braver than you look. But it won't do to have you like this."

She snapped her fingers, and a dull bolt of red electricity ran through Link's neck and into his body, making him jump. The bolt lasted a split second, but it snapped him out of his building rage. He instantly stopped snarling.

"There, that's better."

"Wha- what did you do?!"

"You be a good dog and calm down, or I'll use that collar again. No need to bite, okay?"

Link trotted back to the water bowl. Past his fur in the reflection, he saw the metal collar around his neck.

"Get this thing off me! Let me outta here!"

He shook his head back and forth, trying to loosen the collar, but it held tight. He could only glare angrily at the imp.

"I guess you don't want to be good. Fine, have it your way."

Another bolt shot through him, and lasted twice as long as the first. At this bolt, Link's wolfos body yelped in pain.

"Now then, be good and I'll give you some food, 'kay?"

She dangled the strip of meat again, and this time, Link sat at attention.

"Roll over."

He groaned and flopped onto the floor, rolling onto his back and back onto his belly.

"Oooh! You already know some tricks. That's even better! Now play dead."

He flopped onto his back again and let his tongue roll out of his mouth.

"So cute! You're pretty smart for a dog. Can you shake?"

Link sat up and extended a paw to the imp. She took it, and they shook hands.

"Good girl... or boy. Whatever you are, you've more than earned this."

She tossed the meat at Link's feet. He tried picking it up with his fingers, but only succeeded in batting at it with his paw.

"Oh, right."

He knelt down, grabbed the meat with his teeth and ate it whole.

"Now then, how'd you like to get outta this cage?"

For the first time since he'd awoken, Link took notice of his surroundings. Three stone walls surrounded him on all sides while iron bars separated him from a hallway. The cold floor made the pads of his feet uncomfortable. In one corner of the room was a misshapen pile of hay, and in another the water bowl, sitting beside a bowl of dry food. In the corner between the stone wall and iron bars sat a rotted wooden box. Its top was splintered beyond use.

"This looks more like a cell than a cage."

"I was thinking of letting you out, but you're such a smart dog, I bet you could figure it out yourself."

The imp danced onto one foot and spun in a pirouette. To Link's surprise, she vanished in a flurry of turquoise and orange bubbles, and reappeared on the other side of the iron bars.

"I'll make you a deal. If you can figure out how to get out of there, I'll let you sleep in my room instead of this cold little cage. I'll even take that collar off for you, if you promise to be good for the rest of the day."

She yawned and stretched her arms.

"Well, c'mon."

"Wait, you mean now? Right now?"

"What're you waiting for? We don't have all day."

Link trotted over to the iron bars, where a barred door locked him in. A heavy padlock dangled from the latch on the other side.

"Not getting out through there. Even if she had the key, I doubt she'd open it."

He paced around the small cell, observing the room. He dug through the hay but only found the floor underneath. When he scratched at it, he only succeeded in breaking one of his claws. He walked over to the bowls and pushed them aside with his snout. Finally, he approached the rotten box and sniffed it.

"This thing is in pretty bad shape. I wonder..."

He moved to the opposite end of the cell, braced himself on all fours, lowered his head, and charged. He jumped forward and bashed his head into the box, and it exploded. Link shook the wood bits out of his fur and peered at the spot where the box used to stand. The bars were bent out of shape near the floor, where tiles of stone were missing. A hole in the soft dirt separated the open tiles in the floor.

"This hole is awfully deep. Could I fit through here?"

He sniffed and started to dig. He scurried his paws across the dirt, sending it flying behind him, and making the hole bigger and bigger until he squished himself under the bars and came out on the other side of the cage. Once he was free, he shook the dirt from his body and looked over to the imp, but she was gone.

"Wha- where'd she go?"

He circled around looking for her, when something landed hard on his back.

"Ack! Hey, that hurt!"

He looked up, and realized she was sitting on his back. He started spinning in circles, trying to buck her off, but his attempts only made her laugh.

"Whee! Ride 'em, cowboy!"

"Why you-!"

He snarled again, but she yanked on his ear and stopped him immediately.

"Ow! Will you stop it?!"

"Listen. I like you, so here's what we're gonna do. I'm gonna show you around, help you get used to this place. You'll be living here, so you might as well know you're way around, y'know? While I'm giving you the grand tour, you're gonna be meeting a lot of important people. The whole palace is in a tizzy over something, so all the big wigs are running around like cuccos with their heads cut off. I don't know why, and I don't really care, because it's the perfect chance for me to take advantage of everyone while they're distracted. Get what I'm sayin'?"

"I don't think I like where this is going..."

"In other words, it'll be a cinch convincing them to let me keep you, but you have to do EXACTLY as I say. As long as you follow my lead, we'll be smooth-sailing. Just don't get all growly like you were a moment ago, and don't get any funny ideas. Capiche?"

"All right all right, geez! Just let go already!"

He shook his head, and she released his ear.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'. Now, let's go!"

She kicked at his flank, but instead of going, Link glared up at her.

"C'mon, giddy up! Move, already!"

He rolled his eyes, and started forward.

"You'll wanna take the staircase at the end of the hall here, and that'll take us outside. From there, it's a short walk to the palace. You can't miss it."

"All right, let's think for a second. I was running through the woods looking for Ilia, when I fell through the Twilight Daisies. Last thing I remember was my body hurting all over. Next thing I know, I'm a wolfos locked in a cage with some girl who's decided to keep me as her pet, and now she's taking me to some kind of palace. I gotta think of something soon, or I'll be doing tricks and eating jerky for the rest of my life."

"You know, you're pretty comfortable riding like this," the imp remarked. "I bet you'd make a good battle mount. Just think, the great and mighty Midna, and her trusty steed!..." Her sentence trailed off.

"I guess I'll have to think of a name for you, huh?"

"What have I gotten myself int... Wait a minute! If I fell in, did Ilia fall in, too? Is she here somewhere? Did she... did she turn into a wolfos, too?! Oh man, I hope she's okay. Please let Navi be with her. Please let her be okay..."

"Ilia. Psst! Hey, Ilia!"

Ilia paused when she heard Navi whispering behind her.

"What is it?"

"Not so loud. Hold on a second."

"Why?"

"Just do it, please."

Ilia watched Shiek pass through the wooden gate into the village. She began tiptoeing backward when he was out of hearing range, until she stood at the base of the vacant tree house. Navi fluttered to the ground, while Ilia knelt down to her level.

"Is something wrong?"

"I don't want to go back to the village yet."

"Why not?"

"No reason."

"But you heard what Shiek said; the sooner we get the Sage of Light to the spring, the sooner we can restore the forest."

"I know."

"Then why can't we go back yet?"

"I don't want to."

Illia put a finger to her chin, then stood and said, "Why don't you wait for us at the spring? Link and I can gather the other villagers."

She turned to leave, but Navi flew up into her face, forcing her to take a step back.

"No, not yet!"

"Why not?"

"I'm mad at Link, okay?"

Ilia watched the entrance to the village. She sighed, letting her chest rise and slowly fall, then turned to Navi.

"How about this? We'll go to the spring for a while, so you can unwind. But while we're there, you have to promise you'll tell me why you're mad at Link."

Navi frowned and folded her arms. Nevertheless, she nodded and sat herself again on Ilia's shoulder, and they started at an uneasy pace, slipping quietly through the woods. Despite the dead leaves littering the path, Ilia's footsteps made no crunch. Empty branches from naked trees clawed at the suspiciously grey sky. The forest was still and silent.

"Navi," Ilia whispered. "Look over there."

Navi followed Ilia's gaze and squinted into the woods, staring beyond the path, where the open area faded into woodlands.

"I don't see anything."

"Quick, there it is!"

Deep in the forest, a lone bush rustled and blue light glittered through its brush.

"Oh!" Navi lowered her voice, "I see it!"

The source of the light popped up above the bush.

"What is that?"

"It looks like a white rabbit."

"But why is it glowing?"

The rabbit stood on its hind legs and stared directly at the girls.

"I've never seen rabbits in these woods before."

"Let's go, Ilia. That thing's creeping me out."

She didn't answer Navi's pleas. Instead, Ilia matched the rabbit's intense gaze. All at once, the rabbit bolted, running on all fours toward them. Navi let out a squeak and hid behind Ilia. As it came closer, the rabbit slowed its running to a gentle hop.

"What in the world are you?" Ilia gaped, realizing the rabbit was no rabbit. It had a cottontail torso, but its eyes peered out at her from the face of an owl, with gold horns sprouting from behind its ears. The rabbit chimera approached Ilia cautiously, and sniffed her bare calves.

"Navi, do you know what this is?"

"Heck no! Please Ilia, let's just go. That thing could be cursed!"

The not-a-rabbit hopped a few paces back into the woods. It stopped and stood up on its hind legs, staring at them.

"What's it doing?"

"Who cares? Let's leave it alone. I'm sensing something really weird about that thing. It almost feels like its... dead."

"What do you mean, 'dead'?"

"I don't know. I can't think of any other way to explain it."

The not-a-rabbit kept its eyes on the girls, tilting its head as it took a few more steps into the woods.

"I think it wants us to follow it."

"I hope you're not considering it."

"You're the one who doesn't want to go back to the village, remember? Besides, I've never seen anything like that before. I want to see where it lives."

"But what if it's a trick? What if it's some kind of demon that leads people to their doom?!"

"Or, what if it's one of the Spring Spirit's children, and it knows how to heal the forest?"

"Uggh," Navi let out an exasperated cry. "Fine! But don't say I didn't warn you!"

Ilia stepped off the path, and started walking after the rabbit. When it saw her moving toward it, the rabbit hopped ahead of her into the forest, but stopped again before it was out of sight.

"See?" said Ilia. "It wants us to follow."

"Let's hope that's all it wants from us," Navi mumbled, clinging to Ilia's hair. They followed the rabbit past trees, trunks and bushes deep into the woods.

"Ilia, wait a sec."

"What's wrong?"

"I can hear Link calling. He's searching for us. We should go back."

"We can't now."

"Why not?"

"Haven't you noticed?"

Navi looked up from Ilia's ear, and trembled. The sunlight filtering through the branches was gone, having all but faded behind blue darkness. A thick mist rolled in and surrounded them up to Ilia's knees. The trees surrounding them were black and gnarled, altogether different species from those bordering the village.

"What happened? Where are we?!"

"I'm not sure. I don't think we're in the Ordona Woods anymore."

"I told you this was a bad idea! That thing is leading us into a trap!"

"It's too late now. If we try to find our own way back, we'd likely get lost."

"What do we do?!"

"We don't have much choice. We'll have to see where that rabbit leads us."

Ilia's footsteps echoed as her bare feet crunched through the leaves, walking briskly after the rabbit which always hopped out of her reach, but never out of sight.

"Where are you taking us... No. Where are you taking me?"

Ilia's heart pounded in her chest. The farther she followed the rabbit, the heavier the fog and the darker the forest grew. A cold dampness pervaded the new forest, and she began to shiver, so she clutched at her shoulders. The sound of crunching leaves disappeared, and Ilia suddenly recognized the feeling of dewy wet grass under her feet.

"That's strange. It hasn't rained since New Year's Eve."

The rabbit stopped one last time, and watched Ilia walk up beside it. Parting through the trees beyond was a glowing, blue light that stretched up to the skies, high above the treetops.

"What is causing that light? Is that where you want us to go?"

The rabbit resumed its hopping, starting toward the light.

"Why did I ever agree to this?" pleaded Navi. "I should've listened to you! We should've gone back to the village!"

"Calm down, Navi. I don't think it's leading us into a trap."

"How would you know? How are you so calm about this?"

"I've never seen that thing, or this place before, but for some reason this feels familiar."

Navi clung to Ilia's neck and they walked in silence, following the rabbit toward the light. Ilia nearly tripped over a tree root when the forest parted around them, and they found themselves face to face with a mountain, green and covered in trees. On the mountain's summit was one huge cherry blossom tree.

"Wow," Ilia breathed. "We're definitely not in the Ordona Woods anymore. There aren't mountains like that anywhere in our province."

"But if that's true," Navi shivered, "then where are we?"

"Only one way to find out."

Navi took a deep breath, and spoke, "You know I can hear what you're thinking, right?"

"I haven't forgotten."

"You're looking for something, aren't you? I can tell that much, at least."

"Not something. Someone."

"Do you know who?"

"I wish I did, but no."

"Why are you looking for them?"

"Because the Spirit from the Spring asked me to."

"You mean that gold wolfos we saw? When did it tell you to do that?"

Ilia stopped walking, and her shoulders slumped.

"She told me a few weeks ago," she said quietly.

"That long ago?" asked Navi, "And you've been looking for them this whole time?"

Ilia nodded.

"That's why you go out to the woods everyday, even though your Dad gets mad."

"It's one of the reasons."

"Do you think she wants you to find the Sage of Light?"

"No."

"What about Link, then? He is the Hero of Time, after all. It makes sense that the Sp-"

"It's not him either."

"How do you know? Why didn't the Ordona Spirit tell you who it is she wants you to find?"

"I wish I knew. She only told me to look for someone, and that I'd know them when I saw them."

"Wait a minute," Navi breathed. "You've been looking for this person for weeks now. You have no idea who they are or what they look like. All you know is the Ordona Spirit wants you to find them. Why didn't you tell us about this? Shiek could've helped you. Link and I would've helped you. Why did you keep this to yourself? Why didn't you tell us when we came to the village?"

The rabbit had stopped moving, watching the two of them speak. Ilia took up following after it, this time walking much faster.

"Hey, I want an answer! If the Spirit needs help, it's Link's job to help, and mine too! What if this person could help you save your forest? Ilia, why didn't you tell us this? Does anyone else know? Why didn't you tell anybody?!"

"Stop yelling!" Ilia suddenly shouted, and Navi flinched. Ilia stared at her with unnaturally wide eyes.

"I'm sorry," Ilia breathed hoarsely. "I didn't mean to shout."

"Ilia, what's going on?"

"I didn't tell anyone because the Spirit told me not to. She said that if anyone found out what I was doing, she and I could both be in deep trouble."

"Why?"

"Because the person I'm looking for is dead."

"...What? You're looking for someone who's DEAD?! I- you- how- how would that even work? What're you supposed to do, find this person's body and dig it up?! And then drag it back to the spring?!"

Navi lowered the note of her voice to the point of mocking and waved her arms, "Hey! Ordona Spirit, I found this lovely corpse for you just like you asked! Here you go!"

"It's worse than that."

"Worse than looting a dead body?"

"Yes, actually. I'm not looking for this person's body. I'm looking for their spirit."

"You..."

Navi stopped mid-flight, and gave Ilia the same unnaturally wide-eyed look Ilia'd given her earlier.

"Oh... oh my god Ilia, you can't do that!"

"I have to."

"But you can't! The dead need to stay dead! They can't be brought back to the world of the living! So many things could go wrong! And even if they don't, it's just- it's not right!"

"I know."

"Why in the world would the Spring Spirit ask you to bring a dead soul back to our world?! She knows better than anybody how wrong that is!"

"That's why she wants me to find them. She told me that the soul I'm looking for is one who's been dead for years, but never made it out of this world."

"That's- that's even worse! A soul who's been wandering like that could be corrupted! They could be evil by now, and the Spirit's asked you to bring back a Poe or a Ghini! What a horrible thing to do!"

"I know, Navi. I know."

"And you still want to find this person?"

"Yes."

Navi's lowered eyelid twitched, and she began to groan.

"NnnggghhhaaaAAAAAGGHH!"

Her groaning grew louder until she was screaming at several octaves simultaneously, until she finally exhaled softly and rubbed her forehead.

"Fine. You know what? This is fine. This isn't the weirdest thing I've done in the last week. So, let's do this. Let's go find a dead person."

She flitted up to Ilia's head and sprawled out flat in her hair, drooping her wings and resting her chin on her folded arms.

"Are you okay?" asked Ilia.

"No. I feel really weird."

"I'm sorry I dragged you into following that rabbit-thing."

"It's okay. That's not why I feel weird."

"Is it because of Link?"

"Yeah."

"Well, we've got plenty of time. Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, but I promised I would. To be honest, I think I'd rather talk to you than anybody else. You kind of remind me of Saria."

"Who's that?"

"My friend. From the Faron forest. I'll tell you about her later, if you like."

"I'd like that."

The rabbit hopped through the grassy fields with Ilia short behind, and just as Navi was telling her of Saria, they came to the foot of the mountain, and the source of the light. The rabbit started scurrying up the hill, stopping only to make sure Ilia was still following.

"This doesn't look nearly as steep as it did from the woods," Ilia commented. "It'll be a bit of a trek, but I can think we can walk to the top without too much trouble."

"Ilia, how long have you known Link?"

"Gosh, since we were toddlers. I don't even remember when we first met. Why?"

"..."

"Navi?"

She mumbled something under her breath that Ilia couldn't make out.

"What was that?"

Navi mumbled again, and again her words were lost.

"I can't hear what you're saying."

"I said I like him! I like Link, okay?"

"Like Link? I do, too. And so do lots of people. He's a really nice person when you-"

"Not like that. I mean, like like."

"Like like? You mean you have a crush on him?"

"Yes," Navi pouted. "I admit it. I like Link."

Navi peered up at Ilia nervously, but grimaced when she started chuckling.

"Why is that funny?"

"Sorry," Ilia giggled. "I think it's really sweet. You should tell him that, I bet he'd l-"

"NO! I can't tell him!"

At Navi's outburst, Ilia laughed again.

"It's okay to be embarrassed. It's completely natural."

"No it's not."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm a fairy. Fairies don't get crushes, especially on humans."

"Why not?"

"I don't know, it's complicated! It's not that we're not allowed to have crushes; we don't ever have them. Period."

"Why not?"

"Because we just don't, okay?! I hate this! I'm so confused! I don't understand what's happening to me!"

"Navi, are you all right?"

"NO, I'm not! I should be DEAD!"

As the words left her mouth, Navi began to wail. She dropped out of the air and collapsed onto the dirt path that wound up the hill. She wiped away the big tears that rolled from her eyes with her arms.

"What's wrong with me?!"

Ilia scooped Navi up in her hands.

"Navi," she soothed. "Why do you think you should be dead?"

"Because," she hiccuped, "I healed Link when he got stabbed in the Temple of Time. Healing a wound like that is guaranteed to take a whole fairy's life energy, but I'm still here, alive."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

Navi sniffed before answering, "I don't understand how I'm alive, and that's why it's bad."

"So, it's not your crush on Link that's bothering you? It's the fact that you have a crush, and that you're still alive even though you spent all your energy bringing Link back to life."

"Yes."

"And fairies can't do either of those things?"

Navi sniffed before answering with a shaky, "Yes."

"Hmm." Ilia sat on the side of the path with Navi cupped in her hands. The rabbit came back and squatted in the dirt beside her.

"Well," Ilia began, "I don't know much about fairies, but I do know a thing or two about crushes. There's nothing wrong with having a crush on someone, and it doesn't make you weird or unnatural."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. If anything, it probably makes you a better fairy."

"Really? How?"

"If what you said is true, about fairies not being able to have crushes, then I think you just have so much love in your heart that you can do things no other fairy can. And so far as I can tell, that makes you better fairy than all the others. As for when you healed Link, how do you know you used all your life energy?"

"I don't remember what happened, but I'm pretty sure I fainted right after I healed him."

"Have you considered the possibility that maybe you have more energy in you than any other fairy?"

"I- I hadn't. Now that I think about it, I did manage to fly all the way from Faron to Hyrule City all by myself."

"It sounds to me like you're a lot stronger than any other fairy, and you just don't realize it yet."

Navi's face flushed bright red.

"Gosh," she mumbled, "When you put it that way..."

"Now as for why you're stronger than other fairies, I can't say. You'll have to find someone else to answer that."

"I have a few people who'd know."

"That's good. Who?"

"My parents," Navi said so firmly that Ilia didn't ask any other questions. The fog that had rolled into the forest was now at the mountain. They couldn't see the forest they'd wandered through anymore, or much farther than their extended hands.

"We'd better keep going," Ilia said, and stood up.

"Let's," Navi sighed as she jumped back onto Ilia's shoulder. "I don't like this place."

"Neither do I. Something about this mountain, and that fog, feels alive."

"How does it feel alive to you?" asked Navi. "It feels dead to me. Like we're walking into a cursed ruin."

"I don't know, but we need to hurry."

The rabbit stood from its haunches and restarted its traipse up the mountain. Ilia continued following after, but instead of walking slowly, she took to jogging behind it.

"Ilia," Navi hissed. "Look!"

Ilia turned back and looked, and found the fog was curling around her ankles.

"What the heck? Is it following us?!"

"Run, Ilia!"

Navi jumped off her shoulder and flew toward the rabbit. Ilia broke into a sprint, catching up with and running at the rabbit's side along the path, but no matter how fast she and the rabbit ran, the fog nipped at her heels as it rose higher and higher up the mountain side. The blue darkness that had pervaded the forest now took over the skies, and made the beacon on the mountain the only source of light.

At their speed, it didn't take Ilia and Navi long to reach the summit, where the giant cherry tree stood in the center of a pond, the surface of which was covered in cherry blossom petals and lily-pads. Gathered at the banks of the pond were more glowing rabbits with golden horns.

"I hear something," Navi whispered.

"I do, too," Ilia agreed, "It sounds like... ringing? Like a bell getting hit over and over again."

The rabbit gave Ilia one final head tilt before hopping away to join its brothers at the pond.

"Look at all them!" Ilia whispered. "There's gotta be hundreds of rabbits!"

"Holy crow! That one's huge!"

"Which one?"

"What do you mean, 'which one?' I'm talking about that giant horse thing in the middle of the pond!"

"What horse thing? I don't see a horse thing."

"It's right-" Navi stopped mid-speech and froze. "Um," her voice rose in alarm. "Where did it go?!"

Suddenly, Ilia felt herself shoved forward. She recognized the shove immediately as the kind a horse would give, pushing her in the back with its soft snout. Ilia gulped, slowly turned around, and found herself looking straight into glowing red eyes. A tiny whimper bubbled out of her throat when she noticed the horse had no snout to speak of.

"Navi," Ilia's voice cracked, "It has two faces." All Navi could do in response was whimper and hide behind Ilia's neck.

Golden laurel antlers crowned the horse's head, and long white hair draped from its faces and neck down to its knees. The horse turned the first of its faces to examine Ilia, and held its gaze on her for what felt to Ilia like an eternity, before turning the other to look at her for an equally long time. Never at any point did the horse blink while staring unrelentingly into her.

"Who are you?" Ilia finally asked.

"WHO ARE YOU?" Her own voice answered back, and Ilia shuddered.

"How did you-?!"

The horse finally dropped its penetrating stare, and turned its neck and faces toward the cherry blossom tree at the summit. The fog was now up to Ilia's knees.

"LOOK THERE."

Ilia looked to where the horse's faces looked, to the base of the cherry blossom tree.

"Navi," she spoke, her voice barely audible. "There's something over there."

She didn't bother waiting for a response. Ilia took an uneasy step toward the tree, then another and another, until she came to the foot of the pond. The rabbits carefully parted as she approached, backing away to make a path for her. When Ilia stepped into the water, she gasped.

"It's him!"

She ran straight through the pond, sending water flying, until she came to the other edge and sprinted toward the tree.

"Navi, it's him!" Ilia repeated.

"Who?" Navi finally spoke.

"The one the Spirit of Ordona wants me to find! He's here!"

She fell to her knees and slid the rest of the way to the tree's base. Sitting up and leaning against the trunk of the tree was an empty suit of armor, molded and overgrown, and broken in several places. A cracked shield and sword laid at the ground by its empty gauntlets.

"Ilia," Navi mumbled. "There's no one here. It's just a suit of armor."

Ilia grabbed the suit by its spaulders and shook its shoulders.

"Wake up!" she cried. "The Spirit of Ordona sent me! Please, wake up!"

"Ilia, stop! Whoever was in that suit decomposed a long time ago. There's no one-"

A long groan hissed as it erupted from the suit. Every rabbit in the vicinity of the pond jolted at the hiss, twitching their ears at the sound, and sprinted away. Ethereal arms and legs began to fill the suit's vambraces and grieves, and a skull materialized inside the helmet. One of the skull's eyes opened and glowed from the helmet's slit.

"Oh my God!" Navi screamed. "It's a stalfos!"

"Where... is... he...?" The stalfos spoke, its voice an empty, rasping hiss. "Where... is my brother...?"

"Can you stand up?" asked Ilia. She took the armor by its elbow. Its arm creaked and groaned as she pulled him away from the tree.

"My brother... my son... my family... please... where are they?"

"I don't know where your family is," Ilia answered. "But I can help you find him. You have to come with us."

"Come with us?!" Navi shrieked. "Are you crazy?! That thing would kill us the second it had the chance, and you want to help it?!"

"We don't have time to argue," Ilia said. "We have to get out of here." She wrapped the stalfos's arms over her shoulders, and lifted him onto her back.

"Not with him, we don't!"

"We have to! He's the one the Spirit of Ordona's searching for."

"But... why?!"

"We'll have to ask her when we get back, won't we?"

"And how do you plan on getting back?"

"I... I don't know."

"WAIT FOR THE QUEEN." Ilia's voice answered from the glowing horse.

"The queen?" Ilia thought to herself. "What queen?"

"Ilia?!" Navi cried out. "Where are you?!"

Ilia looked up and realized that though Navi's voice was close by, she was nowhere to be seen. The fog had rolled in and surrounded Ilia on all sides. The cherry tree, the pond, the horse and its rabbits, and the mountain had all vanished.

"Navi!" Ilia cried out. "I'm right here! It's okay!"

"Where?!"

"Follow my voice!"

Navi suddenly leapt out of the fog, smashed headfirst into Ilia's chest, and took cover under her shirt.

"What're we gonna do?! If we weren't lost to begin with, we sure are now! Everything's gone!"

"It's okay, Navi. We'll figure something out."

"But how?! This fog is so thick, we'll never find our way in it! We could end up walking in circles and never know the difference! We'll be trapped here forever! We're gonna die! We'r-"

"Stop for a second!" Ilia hissed. "I'm trying to listen!"

"Listen? To what?"

A distant, gentle tap answered Navi before Ilia could. It was by another in quick succession, and another and another.

"Those are footsteps," Ilia whispered. "Someone's coming."

"Not again," Navi whimpered, and ducked her head under Ilia's shirt. The footsteps grew closer and closer, and soon Ilia could make out a silhouette in the fog. A tall robed figure was quickly approaching them.

"Who is it?" Navi whispered.

"We're about to find out."

The figure walked so quickly toward them that Ilia had no time to react, or to decide what to say to the figure. Within minutes of noticing them in the distance, the figure had already strode up to and towered over Ilia. She was an aging woman, with turquoise skin, dressed from head to toe in black robes. She wore a silver crown, from which a jewelry piece dangled down and decorated her forehead. The orange hair beneath her crown was dull and thinning. She glared at Ilia with slanted, yellow eyes.

"Hmph," the woman snuffed. "You're not what I expected."

"Are... are you the queen?" Ilia asked nervously.

"I am," the woman said sharply. "In my realm, anyway. When the Lord of the Mountain told me to expect visitors, you're not exactly what I had in mind."

With both of her hands on her hips, the woman knelt toward Ilia and sneered bitterly at her, her brows deeply furrowed.

"What's your name, girl?"

"I- Ilia?"

"Are you asking me, or telling me?"

"Ilia," she blurted. "My name is Ilia, Your Majesty."

"And why are you carrying that stalfos, Ilia?"

"I'm... I'm taking him with me."

"Why?"

"Because someone asked me to find him, and bring him home."

"Who asked you to do this?"

"The... the Spirit of the Ordona Spring."

At Ilia's words, the woman's bitterness lifted from her face. She now gave Ilia a wide-eyed, suspicious glare.

"Where are you from, girl?"

"I... I don't- I don't know what you mean."

"The only springs I know of, with spirits inhabiting them, are in the Light World. Are you from the World of Light, little Ilia?"

"Y-yes, ma'am."

"Well now," the woman smiled. "Maybe you're exactly what I was expecting, after all. Tell me, girl, are you lost?"

"Yes, ma'am," Ilia answered quietly.

"Would you like to go home?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Well then," the woman's smile creeped even further across her face, until she gave Ilia a full, toothy grin. "Let's take you home."