Episode I: A Friend

Long ago in the deep forest of Hyrule was a village known as the Kokiri. During the Great War a weary mother came to the village holding her beloved son, and told the Master of the Forest her plight and he willingly adopted him as a child of the forest. Thereafter she died peacefully, knowing that her son would be in good hands.

Ten years later, the Hylian child known as Link was different than the other children. He had inferior strength of at least a dozen full-grown men, sharp eye vision, and a victim to mysterious dreams. Every night he would have the same dream: He would be standing near a bridge, as if waiting for something, and then a white horse with two women riding on it would pass by, the younger girl having a sad look in her eyes. After they leave, a man with blazing red hair wearing black armor and riding on a black horse would stop before Link and give a sinister smile at him. Link immediately awoke, sweat on his brow and a chill all over his body. The dream followed him like his own shadow. What ever could the dream mean?

Link was a curious and perceptive boy and loved to wander in the Lost Woods. Sometimes he would walk with his friend Saria and listen to her play on the ocarina. But overall Link was more of a loner, which he quietly accepted. Everyone knew that all he wanted was to have some friends--or maybe just one, one friend who would accept him for who he was and love him for it.

One day Link was wandering in the Lost Woods by himself, admiring the tall height of the trees and playing with the forest spirits. As he played with them he heard of the music of the forest suddenly grow soft, as if a new song was ready to be played. It was strange because it was always the same song over and over, and it never grew soft. Was someone interrupting the flow of music? He sat down on a tree stump and closed his eyes. He lifted his head a bit so he could hear the song. He heard a small, yet melodious voice echoing in the forest. The voice became stronger throughout the course of the song and its volume grew louder. He then started to hear an instrument accompany it. He never heard such a strange sound from an instrument like this before.

Link's curiosity shot in and he followed the spirits that calmly flew to the mystic voice with the strange instrument. The voice was becoming more clear as he got closer, and he started to see a plethora of colorful fairies and spirits surrounding the figure that sang and played the instrument. He got close enough to see a young girl wearing a white dress and playing a stringed instrument. She was singing at the same time.

Link sat down nearby the girl, not too closely so that she would notice him, but just enough so that he could hear the song clearly. He became totally entranced in it and didn't seem to care about the fairies and spirits around him. He wondered if the girl was a Kokiri, but she couldn't be because she would have to wear a green dress instead of white, but she did have a pink fairy flying near her.

Suddenly the pink fairy that flew over the girl's head saw Link and flashed her magic as a warning to him. He ignored it and the fairy quickly flew near the girl's ear and whispered something to her. After that the fairy receded back to her normal position, but her eyes were on Link, as if suspicious of what he could do to her master. The girl in white stopped playing and stood up and turned to him. Link's eyes widened and didn't know what to do, and he was about to get up when the girl lifted her hand to tell him to sit down. When he obeyed the other fairies and spirits that were listening flew away.

The girl gave a friendly smile and sat back down on her stump. She set the stringed instrument down by her side and then looked up at him.

"Surprised, are you? You don't see non-Kokiri people wander in the Lost Woods very often. Usually they turn into minions--well, that's if they get lost..."

Link stared at her blankly. He was confused.

"Alright, alright. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ruby. My fairy floating near me is Naomi. If you're wondering what I am, then I guess you could say that I'm not human, but I'm not a Kokiri either. To put it simply, I am the princess of fairies. That's why I can wander in this forest without penalty."

Link became shocked of what she said and still didn't say anything.

Ruby got up and picked up her instrument. Link looked at it questioningly.

"Oh, this? This is a harp. I guess you Kokiri folk don't see these often either..." She turned to him and smiled again. "You talk, don't you? I feel like I'm talking to myself. Oh yes, I introduced myself, so...what is your name?"

"My name is...Link." he said softly.

"Link, huh? What a different name for a Kokiri--" Her eyes widened as if she just got an idea. "Wait a second! You don't have a fairy, so then you must be that boy the Great Kokiri Tree was talking about. No wonder you seem so different! Well then, Link, I hope to see you again sometime. Maybe I can teach some useful things before--before it's time."

Link got confused again, but before he could speak she got up. "Perhaps tomorrow is a better day to explain," she smiled at him. " See you later!" Suddenly there was a bright flash and she and her fairy were gone from sight.

As days passed Link returned to Ruby's usual spot in the forest. She began to teach him about many things, like about the history of the forest, of the world, the origin of fairies and so forth. And as time passed Link felt like he was becoming closer to Ruby--just like he was to Saria. Was he getting a new friend?