Suddenly the world shook. I was rocked from my slumber as Epona reared up at an unseen force. I grasped the reins, but they slipped through my fingers. I was launched off her back, and tossed to the ground. Darkness overcame me. When I came to, I heard voices.
"Great job you two! You scored a pretty decent catch this time!" A raspy and childlike voice rang out, "Let's see what he's got on him!"
I felt a swift kick as the creature rolled me onto my stomach. Hard, skeletal hands probed my belt pouches. I was still too dazed to get on my feet to confront the entity. All I could do was try to snap out of it.
"Hey Skull Kid! What did ya find?" Another voice chimed in, boyish, along with the faint twinkle that fairies are notorious for. "Lemme see! Lemme SEE!"
"Shut up, Tael! You'll wake him up!" The third voice was feminine and delicate, aside from the abrasive tone anyway.
"He's got a sword, so who knows what he's capable of!"
"Awwww, but Sis I wanna know!" Tael whined.
The other fairy groaned in annoyance.
"Quiet you guys, look at this thing!"
The Skull Kid plucked something from my pouch and began to blow into what sounded like...
My ocarina! I thought, and shook myself awake!
While the thief giggled in childish delight, I mustered all the strength I could to stand up. I managed to get to my feet through sheer force of will, balancing precariously as my vision still wobbled. The thief playing my ocarina was a skull kid, just like the ones I'd seen from Kokiri Forest. The creature wore a large straw hat and ragged patchy clothing and his thin, fragile- looking limbs poked out from under the tattered rags. Figuring I was still in the Lost Woods, I prepared to draw my sword and attack the prankster. Yet before I could act, the two fairies, one white and the other purple, saw me and twinkled in alarm.
The skull child stopped playing, and slowly turned to look at me. The thing jumped in surprise and attempted to hide my ocarina behind his back. On his face, he wore a deep purple, heart -shaped mask with colorful spikes that formed the sides. But what stood out most to me were the eyes. Large, round, incredibly disturbing, orange and green eyes that bulged from the mask. I felt them pierce into my mind, until I remembered that he had taken my priceless instrument. A rush of anger flared up and I thought of Zelda. I lunged at the mischievous runt. The thief suddenly leapt high into the air with unprecedented agility, and landed straight onto Epona's saddle! Epona reared up in fright while the skull kid spurred her to move. Stunned only for a second, I threw myself at the now galloping horse, just barely catching hold of the stirrup.
I clung for dear life, desperately trying to pull myself closer to the insufferable imp! Poor Epona was scared out of her wits, which infuriated me even more. Even though my anger gave me the strength to hold on, I was dragged through sticks, rocks, roots and thorns. My legs were cut and I bled profusely as I felt my tunic being torn to shreds. The two fairies tried their hardest to keep up, but even they struggled against Epona's marvelous speed. The skull kid laughed and danced atop the saddle with unnatural balance, treating the ordeal like a hilarious game!
Moments later, Epona suddenly leapt over a fallen tree. I couldn't hold on any longer, and my hand went numb. I flew off the saddle, lucky to miss Epona's rear hooves, and I helplessly watched as they galloped away, disappearing into the gloom of the forest...
What seemed like an eternity passed as I painfully stumbled along after my stolen horse. Thankfully the sleepy forest received minimal foot traffic, and Epona's trail was fairly simple to follow. My legs, though battered and sliced beyond recognition, managed to carry me to a series of massive tree trunks. It was here where the clear trail ended, but I was not going to give up on Epona, or my ocarina. They were beyond priceless to me now. I just had to get them back!
Thinking I'd get a better view atop one of the tree trunks, I forced myself to clamber up the tallest one. Reaching the top and gasping for breath, with my entire body in agony, I observed my surroundings. Aside from the usual lethargy of the forested atmosphere, I managed to spot a cave where several horse tracks led to. The cave looked as if it was carved into a tree that stood a short distance away, it had to be their hideout! Thankfully it was much easier to climb down... er... fall down… than it was to struggle up the imposing trunk, but I made it. I crawled my way to the entrance, totally exhausted at this point. I had no idea what I was going to do in this state, I could barely move my arm let alone swing my sword! But, being the stubborn lad I was, I made my way into the cavern despite my injuries. The darkness of the cave enveloped me, I couldn't make out anything. I fumbled around the floor, forcing myself to plod forward, when suddenly I was falling!
Greeeaaaaat... I thought. So much effort and pain just to fall to my death. FANTASTIC!
I glanced down, trying to see the very bottom of the pit. This must have been an incredibly deep hole, as I had been falling seemingly for a few seconds. But my thoughts of doom were interrupted by a pinpoint of light below me. As I prepared myself for the crushing blow of the floor below, the tiny dot multiplied into many dots, and then those dots became pictures. I was suddenly falling through faces! Faces upon faces stared me down. Either due to this new development, or from overwhelming pain, my vision faded and I drifted into unconsciousness...
I had no notion of how much time had passed, but I was cast out of my comatose state by the feeling of a soft thud against a spongy substance. I opened my eyes slowly and saw that I was no longer falling through empty space. The padded flooring I had landed on was in fact a large, purple flower that had the faint scent of blueberries. I gently pulled myself to my feet, anticipating the return of the extreme pain. To my surprise I felt fine! I looked down at my body to realize I had been completely healed! Not only that, but my green-colored Kokiri tunic and white pants had been fully restored as well. Just when I began imagining that I was dead and in the afterlife, bright lights flooded the chamber, temporarily blinding me. I covered my eyes against the sudden brilliance and heard a voice. The same scratchy, childlike voice that I remember stealing...something... from me. I was still disoriented from the fall, and could barely remember a thing...
"Whew, what is with your stupid horse?! It wouldn't listen to a thing I said!" the voice taunted.
Suddenly, everything came flooding back to me! Epona! My Ocarina! The lights dimmed slightly and there, menacingly floating above the ground a few meters away, was the Skull Kid. The two fairies were with him, but where was Epona? I gazed around the grotto in desperation, but my mare was nowhere in sight. All that could be seen, aside from the thieves, was a tiny pond between us, and a few cave sketches carved into the walls. Other than that, it was an empty room.
"Where is she!" I growled.
"What? There's no need of a disobedient horse, so I did you a favor and got rid of her!"
I blinked in disbelief. Epona? Gone? I clenched my armored fists in rage.
"NOOOO!" I shouted. "You're going to regret ever meeting me!"
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.
"Uughh. You're lucky, I have more important things to deal with right now. I'll finish you off later! You'll be much easier to get rid of by then!" Eww
I was horrified at what I saw when I looked into the water. I turned fierce, once sapphire blue eyes that were now hazel 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 little cream-colored fairy gaped in shock and stared at me wide-eyed. "Wait, what? Did you just 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 for a moment. Maybe this spell can be fixed, we have to stay positive!"
Saria sighed sioftly and shook her head, emerald locks flying in her face as her head shook from left to right. and calmed down a little at my logic. "So… now that you're a girl, you are going to need a girl name aren't you, Link?"
I sighed in defeat but replied, "I have a few names that I thought of. Lynkura, Linore, or Linkette," I replied with a small sigh and a tired smile forming on my face.
"I like the name Linkette!" she grinned at me and I grinned right back. I then turned to face Tatl, who blinked up at me from her place on my shoulder. It took us about an hour to find the door leading out of this strange underground place or whatever it was. "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.
After what felt like three hours of non-stop walking, we finally made it to the door leading out into the town outside. However, before we could take another step, a strange-looking man wearing a large and heavy bag strapped to his shoulders, stopped us in our tracks. Saria scowled at the man in disgust and snapped at him angrily. "Hey! 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, and these 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 harshly on my now crimson-colored 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.
The intense burning sensation was back. As I laid there, curled into a fetal position, I began to feel a tightness in my body that only intensified the invisible flames tormenting me. The pain was so excruciating that I could do nothing but whimper and fight to stay conscious. My bones ached and my muscles spasmed. My head was pounding as if it was being used as a goron drum!
Suddenly, the crushing fire that was raging inside me faded just as fast as it had begun and the pain subsided. I gasped for air, tears rolled down my face, and my spine was tingling. I could do nothing but lay there in the soft grass, my body heaving with shaky gasps.
Tatl was hovering over my, and she twinkled to get my attention. I glanced at her as she flew closer to my face. I heard a faint gasp escape her lips, and my heart sunk. Apparently my predicament was worse than I had imagined.
I could do nothing but lay still on the ground, struggling to comprehend what was happening to me...