AN: Thank you for the reviews! ^_^ I made two characters, Edgar and Telar, because I couldn't think of anything to call them, so heh! ^_^;; Sutaro Kiddo is Skull Kid in Japanese btw!
Stolen Mask
Chapter 2
"You're lying to me!" Link snarled as he tackled Mido. Mido shouted in surprise, but otherwise fought back. Saria and the girls screamed in horror at their behavior. Finally, one of the other Kokiri boys managed to pull Mido off of Link.
"Why do you hate me so much!?" Link demanded, still panting heavily, "All you do is pick on me and pick fights with me!!!"
"You're a freak!" Mido spat, "You don't feel like the other Kokiri! And you get attention for being a weird freak!!!"
"You're arrogant!"
"FAIRYLESS!"
"AAAAAAARGH!" Link threw himself at Mido again, whereas Mido lunged at Link as well. The two boys scratched, bit, and punched at each other until the other Kokiri boys once again separated the two.
Link was panting heavily, his eyes glimmering with sheer rage. Finally, Link had calmed down.
"Link...?" Saria asked quietly, "Are you okay?"
Link shook his head. "No."
Finally, it seemed that Link had made up his mind. Mido threw the other boys off at him and regained his now proud stance.
"Fine. I'll prove to you that I'm just as good as you, Mido!" Link said angrily as he marched off. Mido only snorted and walked away.
"Link!" Saria yelled, "What're you doing? That's the Lost Woods!!"
Link didn't pay any attention to his dear friend, all he was doing now was making his way to the woods.
"Link..." Saria whispered, "...we can make another mask. It will be fun, Link. Please?"
"There are monsters in the Lost Woods, right?" Link muttered, "Then I'll beat the monsters and bring Mido proof. Proof that I'm a Kokiri."
"No! Link! You know the legend!" Saria pleaded, "You lose sight of the exit...and you never come back...you become...one of them,"
Link ignored her and ran off, deep into the Lost Woods.
***
"All anyone cares about is Link," Mido mumbled.
His fairy glowed brightly in response as she watched her Kokiri boy carve out his mask, the mask of the villain.
"They always make me look like that bad guy," Mido said sadly. "It's not like it's my fault he's a freak,"
"Mido!" one of the boys came running up to him, "Link's gone into the Lost Woods!"
"Yeah? And? Maybe the twerp'll get lost forever," Mido said hopefully.
"Saria's followed him!"
"Maybe they'll never come back!"
"Shaddup! Don't jinx them!" Mido commanded. He sat down on the tree trunk and stared at his finished mask, an idea hatching inside of him. If he...saved Saria from the monsters deep within the forest and managed to make Link look like a blubbering fool, then things would change for the best!
"Let's go."
"What!?" the boys said in surprise, "You can't be serious!?"
***
"Link!" Saria called, "Link! Please wait for me!"
Link swirled around and saw Saria fast approaching. "Saria?" he asked, a little perplexed, "Why are you here?"
"Because I was worried about you," she answered simply.
Link groaned, "I can handle things myself..."
"Please, let's go back,"
"Not until I can show Mido that I'm a real Kokiri! I'm gonna prove it!"
Saria frowned.
"Go home, Saria," Link said, "There's nothing you can do here,"
"I'm not going until you come back with me," she said stubbornly, crossing her arms.
"Saria! Go home!"
"No way!"
"I said go home!"
"Do you always have to act tough when you're scared!?" Saria demanded.
"...I-I'm not scared!" Link said angrily.
Suddenly, a dark figure flashed by.
"AHHHHHHHHH!" Link screamed, clutching to Saria, "It's the man from the dream!!!!"
Saria raised an eyebrow at Link's behavior, but otherwise followed his instructions when he ordered her to hide.
"Is it a monster?" Link thought aloud as he said the dark figure jump swiftly from limb to limb of each tree. Link gasped when he caught a glimpse of his mask in the hands of the monster. "Hey!" he shouted, "Hey! Come back! That's my mask!!!"
Saria got up and followed Link as he ran deeper and deeper into the Lost Woods.
Suddenly, a dark voice loomed over the forest.
"Go home while you still can," it said loudly, "This is the Lost Woods. If you lose sight of the exit, you can never return home again. The path winds round and round the Lost Woods, tiring of walking, losing your souls until you're nothing but skeletons. Go home now, while you still can,"
Saria shivered, "Link, what was that?"
"I dunno," Link said quietly, "But...we lost sight of that jerk,"
"Link...the brothers told me that there are monsters here that manipulate the hearts of those who come here...the monsters trick visitors into staying forever, until they're nothing but skeletons...d'you think...it's...true?"
Link shook his head, "No, it can't be. The Great Deku Tree would've told us..."
"Link..." Saria whispered, "D'you think...we've already been trapped by the forest?"
Link didn't reply. Instead, he turned around in a panic, but found that he had lost sight of the exit. "Saria..."
***
"Be quiet!!" Mido barked.
"I...I didn't say anything," Telar stammered.
"I know that!" Mido said irritably.
Telar and Edgar exchanged glances, but otherwise kept quiet. "Mido, why are we here with you? Can't you go alone?"
"Because!" Mido said, "A prince needs his loyal guards!"
"It's really because he's scared to go alone," Telar whispered.
"Shaddup!!!" Mido shouted.
(Don't worry, Saria,) Mido thought, (You're true prince is coming for you!)
"Onward!" Mido commanded.
"M-m-monster!" Edgar screamed as he pointed at a dog-like creature, who was carrying a spear and charging straight at them in a rage.
Mido screamed at the top of his lungs and ran with Telar and Edgar right behind him.
"I thought guards were supposed to protect the prince!!!" Mido wailed.
***
"Did...did you hear that?" Saria asked.
"What?"
"It sounds like...music..." Saria whispered. Her eyes were filled with adoration, "Oh, it sounds so beautiful, Link!" Saria cried as she quickly made her way towards the music.
"Saria! Wait! It's dangerous to go out like that!"
Link followed her and slowly began to hear the sounds of a flute being played. "What is that?"
"It's a Sutaru Kiddo*!" Saria cried as she found an odd imp-like creature playing a flute on a tall tree stump.
Link, however, notice something more important then the flute. "It's my mask!" he said angrily.
"Tee, hee, hee!" The Skull Kid giggled, "You two are Kokiri kids, right?"
Saria nodded hesitantly.
"That's my mask!" Link said, "Give me my mask!"
The Skull Kid merely paused and looked up at the mask that he had hanging from his straw hat. "You mean this?"
Link nodded.
The Skull Kid grinned as he performed an elegant jump off the tree stump and landed right next to Link. He unfastened the mask from his hat and held the mask out to Link.
"I didn't know it was yours. I found it."
"It's..." the Skull Kid pressed his face right into Link's, staring curiously, "...okay?"
"D'you play your flute out here in the forest all alone?" Saria asked.
The Skull Kid turned his attention away from Link and nodded. "Hee, hee!"
"Please, can you play it again? I'll play with you with my Fairy Ocarina!"
The Skull kid nodded and began to play a song with Saria. Link and the Skull Kid danced happily, bouncing around the forest. "I thought you were a scary monster," Link said.
The Skull Kid only stared silently.
"Why do you keep staring at me like that?" Link asked.
"You have a familiar scent. Like I've met you before," the Skull Kid answered before adding hastily, "But I've never seen you before! Teeheeheeheehee!"
Link glanced at Saria, who was laughing along with the Skull Kid.
"You're weird,"
"Link!" Saria frowned.
The Skull Kid paused and stared at Link curiously, "What?"
"It's okay, though," Link smiled, "I'm always told that I'm a freak or a weirdo. The two of us have a lot in common, huh?"
The Skull Kid beamed, "Sure! Let's be friends!"
"Would you like to come to the Kokiri Festival?" Saria asked quickly.
"Festival...?"
"The day where the Great Deku Tree makes new fairies! Maybe I'll get one!"
The Skull Kid was silent.
"You can play with us!" Saria said brightly, "And we have great food! And games, too!"
"No way!" the Skull Kid answered as he bounced away to his tree stump.
"But why?" Link demanded.
"Because...I don't have a face,"
"A...face?"
"It's very lonely not to have a face, and where you're from, everyone has faces, right?" the Skull Kid didn't let them answer, "I don't have a face. I'll only be another freak."
"So...you took the mask because you wanted a face?" Link looked down at the mask that he had worked on with Saria for the entire day. That he had carved with care.
"You...you can have this and have a face," Link said, offering the mask to the Skull Kid. "You can go if you have a face, right?"
The Skull Kid nodded. "You're...you're giving this to...me?"
Link nodded, "That way, you can come!"
"Heeheehee!!" The Skull Kid laughed, "I have a face! I have a face!"
Saria danced happily.
Suddenly, the Skull Kid stopped dancing and stared at the mask silently.
"Skull Kid, what's wrong?" Link asked, stopping as well as Saria.
(He's an enemy...he'll grow...when he becomes big, he'll come back and kill our friends! When he comes back!!! He'll KILL! He'll kill everyone! KILL!)
"Skull Kid?" Saria asked cautiously, "Are you...okay?"
The Skull Kid threw the mask down and pulled out his flute, this time shooting small darts at Link.
"AGGGH!!" Link cried as one of the arrows snipped his ear.
The Skull Kid stopped and grabbed Saria roughly, "I HATE THIS MASK!" he bellowed, "Bring me a mask I like! Or," he shook Saria violently, "I'll take her face instead!"
"Saria!" Link cried. "What's wrong with you, Skull Kid!? I thought we were friends!!!"
