A/N. Well I've been obsessed with music and movies lately, so writing hasn't been as popular as I would have liked. This one took me awhile to write. Thanks Masked Critic, I know my grammar sucks. I don't know how I Ace English class. I know the rules that you listed, but sometimes my mind and typing can't work the right way. I rush and it comes out sloppy. When I have a chance I'll re-read the other chapters (including this one) for errors.

…I never did like typing class…does that explain a lot? :D Thanks again!

Disclaimer- Like probably everyone else here, I don't own Zelda, or the song "Annie".

Remedy In The Shadows- Chapter 8-

By the time the ones from the forest had nearly reached their home, the sun had begin to disappear beneath the trees. The colors of twilight begun to fill the sky, and the stars were starting to shine. As the sun sank in the sky, the temperature in the air did as well. The once scorching heat was now a more cooler, comfortable temperature to be surrounded by.

Link and Navi were currently nearing the edges of Hyrule field and were about to walk into the tree-filled pathway leading to Kokiri Forest. The journey there hadn't been too bad; Link had started a conversation about the vision that he had seen when he passed out. He told Navi that it worried him, that it brought back memories about Ganondorf and all of the terror that he caused. As Link spilled out all his worries, Navi had just assured him that it was just a nightmare recapping on their past. He was told not to worry about them unless they returned. Even though Navi's advice seemed reasonable, something about the situation still aggravated him. The feeling that he felt as the dark magic had hit him was indescribable. It had rushed throughout him as if searching for prey. As it flowed it left behind shock after shock of a piercing pain. He wondered if the power had brought up something from his past…

Link dropped the conversation soon after the name "Ganondorf" was mentioned. He didn't want to think about the darkness that made up his past, therefore the rest of the journey was mostly silence. Occasionally Navi had brought up the subject about their current plans, Link gave her small answers. He tried to show his friend that he needed time to think, and she respected him.

"Link, are you ready?" Navi fluttered in front of him, causing him to halt. He looked at her glowing form, and realized she was concerned. He looked ahead of them, and gave her a nod. The simple gesture moved Navi back to his side as they continued. He took one step, one rough step around a bulky tree, Link realized that, that one step meant he was now entering a completely different environment.

The World around them seemed darker now that they were surrounded by the forest. Shadows that grew from the trees covered the ground, making illusions of life occasionally appear. The further the pair walked the more trees fill the area, soon they were surrounded, the life of Hyrule field was far behind them. Just when the shadows grew to almost the ultimate darkness and they seemed to be lost in oblivion, a soft twinkling light could be seen in the distance.

'Home.'

Another rough step was taken, and suddenly the two were no longer surrounded by trees. The world around them opened up; Kokiri Forest's circular area was protected by the surrounding wall of trees. A light fog covered the luscious jade grass; hiding the dirt pathway that was in front of them. The pathway lead directly to the entrance to where the Great Deku tree was, it would fork off to the many households that were in the forest. Each of the houses was created from the resources in nature. The remains of giant trees were formed into the shelter that protected the children of the forest.

Link's worried eyes searched the land, hoping to see any one of the children. When he saw nothing he walked away from the entrance torches that burned brightly, they were the only light that the village had, usually light from the homes leaked outside, but none of the homes held light. He continued to walk forward, the mist shifted with each one of his steps. When he passed the first household he heard a noise behind him. Naturally, he reached for the hilt of his word as he pivoted backwards to face the noise.

The house that he had passed belonged to the one who calls himself the Kokiri "leader"; Mido. Sure enough that was whom Link had heard. The young boy stood at his doorway leaning against the frame, as always he was accompanied by his fairy partner. He gave Link a confused stare, as if he didn't believe what he was seeing. A green cap sat above his reddish hair, his hair was tangled, he brushed it away from his face, exposing his blue eyes; even in the dark Link could see the redness in them. Link wondered how long it had been since Mido had slept.

For a moment neither of them moved, Link released his grip on the sword's hilt, and folded his arms against his chest, not taking his eyes off of the boy. In that moment of the boys not moving something flashed through Link's mind. He remembered everything that Mido had done to his life. Link was branded the village scapegoat because of him. One way or another, Mido had always found a way to blame Link for tragic events, he even blamed him for when the Great Deku tree had passed away. However now that a new tree was growing, most had forgiven Link. Link didn't know why Mido did the things he did, but he suspected that it was jealousy, that one characteristic can turn the most likable people unpleasant.

'And now I have to have a civilized conversation with the guy. I know I don't want to be reasonable, but this is no situation to act childish, people's lives are on the line.'

"So, you actually came back." Mido detached himself from the doorframe and strolled over to Link. For the first time Link noticed that his green Kokiri clothing was more tattered than they usually were. He stopped when the distance between them seemed too little.

"I always intended to." After Link spoke Navi fluttered in front of him blocking his vision slightly, but he was sure that he saw Mido roll his eyes at the comment.

"I'm sure, so why are you back? What do you have?" Link wanted so badly to answer Mido's question, but he hesitated, knowing that he wouldn't give the wanted answer. Link finally let his eyes leave Mido's, he looked to the ground and listened to the words that followed, "You have nothing? Nothing at all? Your whole point in leaving was to find SOMETHING! Yet you return empty handed."

Link returned his eyes to Mido, "I may be empty handed, but I am certainly not empty minded!"

"So you're saying you have a plan?" Mido raised an eyebrow, now he was the one looking at the ground, "Psh…well it better be a good plan."

"Mido, we're serious." Navi broke her silence. She had never really been fond of Mido, but she knew that having his help would be better than having no help.

Mido returned his gaze up, his eyes softened a bit, "And so am I."

There was an another moment of silence between the group, it was uncomfortable, but it had taken a while for Link to form words to give an explanation, "I need some forest herbs."

Again Mido raised an eyebrow, "Link, you know the majority of the herbs grow with the Deku Tree."

"Well then that's where I'm going." Link was sick of what Mido had to say; he turned his back to him and began to walk strait down the path.

Soon after he moved he heard footsteps follow him, "Besides we tried everything!"

"Doesn't matter." Link muttered as he passed a few more houses. He heard Mido follow him, he heard the things he said like "They won't work" and he ignored them. Ahead of him was the small stream that ran through the forest, a small wooden bridge ran over, it led to the path that lead to the meadow where the Deku Tree was.

A soft cry entered Link's ears as he passed a familiar home, he instantly turned towards the sound. Stringed-leaves hung along the doorframe, hiding the house's contents from view. The piercing cry filled the air again; Link cringed at the sound, as it filled his head he realized it belonged to a girl.

For awhile he stood there, even in the silence he still heard the cry in his head. He didn't even realize it, but Mido was now standing next to him. Both of the boy's fairies exchanged a few words that Link could not hear.

"You don't wanna see her." Link turned to Mido at his side; he was staring at the doorframe. His face held sorrow, Link had never seen that look on his face before.

'Who is it?'

Link ignored Mido's words and moved towards the tree-like house, Navi followed lighting up the way. In one swift motion with his hand he brushed the leaves away, exposing the room, Link shuddered at its contents. The room was small, only one of the children lived in it. The inner part of the tree gave the room's walls a comforting rough surface. On the walls were multiple colorful drawings, all of them were pictures of the forest. The rest of the room was simple; it had a small kitchen area with a small dining set and woodstove, by another wall was a small dresser decorated with multiple stuffed animals. Link turned to see that similar toys occupied the windowsill near the door. It was what was directly in front of him that disturbed him.

'Dear god, she doesn't deserve this…'

First he saw Maina, she was dressed in dark green pants that were ended tattered, and they were supported by a brown belt, the belt had chains looped into it, they flowed down her legs. On her torso was a jet-black shirt, small silver rings hung where it ended above her belt. Whenever she moved the metal jingled slightly. Over everything she wore she had a black cloak, the hood was down; exposing her short, dark cerulean hair. She had a cloth tied over her jaw used as a way to reduce the spread of germs. She was sitting on a wooden chair next to a patient.

In the small bed was the owner of the cries, he recognized her as Sachi. The small girl was dressed in a yellow nightgown, but it was hidden underneath the white blanket that was placed over her tired form. Her frail arms were crossed over her abdomen as she continued to let out cries of pain. It was hard, but Link forced his eyes to look to her face. Her skin was pale, the illness did that to all of its victims. With fairies in the dark room, their light made her sweat covered face seem to glow, from afar it looked as if her face was melting away. Link stepped closer, Maina noticed him and moved away. Link took small steps to the now empty chair and sat down. Sachi looked at him, and he felt his heart almost freeze. Her once bright eyes were now almost completely bloodshot and full of tears. Her once red lips were pale, and chapped, Link noticed a cut on her upper lip. Her light-brown hair was loose and tangled against the pillow where he head rested.

The young child took a deep raspy breath and let words leave her lips, "Link, you're back."

A weak smile formed on Link's face, Sachi was one of the smallest Kokiri, she had always treated Link like an older brother. He took her hand in his and squeezed it gently, "Yeah, Yeah…but I have to leave again…soon"

"…So…you came back to visit us?" Her words were unsure, her tired eyes pierced through his heart.

"...Yeah…I came back to see how everything was…" He left out the part about him not having a cure to end her pain, he knew that would make nothing better.

Sachi's gaze left his, she looked down at her other hand. She gasped in a rough breath as set of tears flowed down her eyes. After a short moment, she looked back to Link, "You haven't found any medicine yet have you." It wasn't a question; she saw right through him and picked out the facts.

'She knows how serious this is. She wasn't this bad when I left, I could have been her to help.'

"Link you need to come her now." Maina's voice whispered into his ear. He turned and saw that she was joined by Mido. "Come join us outside." She pulled the cloth down over her mouth and turned to leave.

Link gave Sachi one last look, she looked right back at him, tears continued to flow down her face, "I'll be back again, don't worry." He gave her hand one last squeeze and joined the Kokiri children outside, he felt Sachi's gaze on him as he took every step out of the room. Again, he brushed the leaf-door aside and re-entered the night. Mido was talking to his fairy, while Maina was reading through a piece of parchment, her fairy was talking to Navi who fluttered beside Link.

"She has never been through pain like this before. She can't even get out of bed to eat." Maina folded the parchment into her inner cloak pocket and rested her hands on her hip. She stared at Link, and soon Mido did the same.

Link didn't know how to respond, Maina was the forest nurse, he had hoped that she would had found her own cure by now, but by the looks of it, she had nothing, "What are you saying Maina?"

"I'm saying," She took her cloak's hood over her head, "That I hope your plans are going well. That's all I'm gonna say." Before Link could say something, she turned her back to him and headed off to another household. However, before she did, she gave Mido a slight pat on the shoulder as she passed. He didn't show any sign that he noticed the gesture, he just turned his gaze to the ground and exchanged a few unheard words with his fairy.

The stars were out now, with the help of the moonlight they illuminated the forest. The nightlight made the crystal stream sparkle, as if is was just a long line of sapphires. The pathway to the Deku Tree caught his attention, and reminded him his main reason for being there.

Without saying anything, Link began to walk towards the wooden bridge. When he reached it, he noticed how his footsteps made a soft sound on the bridge with each step, he also noticed that he heard more than just his footsteps. He spoke without even turning around or even stopping what he was doing, "Mido you have no reason to follow me."

"I live here too. I care about the Kokiri future. If you have a plan that could effect the future than I want to know what it is!" As Link entered the dark pathway he felt Mido's presents behind him. He realized that it would be useless to attempt to get rid of him, so he ignored him.

The pathway was narrow, the sides were closed of with trees that grew so close together they made a wall. It was lit up with the many fireflies that thrived within the trees. The small balls of light danced in the night air, creating patters of color and light. With each step forward the insects seemed to follow them, some even seemed to lead the way to the opening ahead. The trees moved outward, allowing the boys to enter a new area. Before they entered. Mido ran in front of Link, leading him inside.

"Great Deku Tree, Link has returned with a request." Link walked in front of Mido to gaze at what stood before him. Like the village, the meadow was circular, however there was barely any open field. In the past, the original Great Deku Tree grew in the meadow's center. Link remembered how tall the forest spirit had been, his strong branches had seemed to reach the heavens. Now, the corpse of the spirit had gone back to where it had come from, the forest; it had decomposed into the soil quickly, making room for the one to take its place. A slightly smaller Deku Tree grew in the heart of the meadow now, Its height just reached over the surrounding trees. The Deku Tree's Trunk was gigantic! One of the larges tree trunks Link had ever seen. As it rose up millions of large branches grew outward; full of luscious green, leaves. However it wasn't the size of the tree that gave it its unique look, on the side of the trunk facing the boys was the tree's "face". The bark had naturally given the tree a pair of eyes, and a mouth.

At that moment Link took another few steps forward so that he was in front of Mido, "Great Deku Tree?"

"…Thou has returned empty handed…" The words of the Spirit filled the air, they seemed to come from the environment instead of from the actual Tree. That would make sense since he ruled over the forest. "What does thou need?"

Link ignored the fact that the god knew that he was "empty-handed", and was about to answer the question, however Navi shot out in front of him and answered for him, "We need some forest herbs Great Deku Tree." Her voice was cheerful; she had been close friends with the original God of the Forest, and she had great respect for the one whom now held the title.

"Great Deku tree…" Now Mido stepped forward making sure his tired voice was heard, "They said it was necessary to see you, nothing could be done--"

Nothing moved, but a feeling arose within the cold air, it caused a sudden gush of wind to roar through the trees, Link shivered slightly. Whatever it was, it silenced Mido, allowing the Great Deku Tree to talk, "Dear Mido, if you could please step out of the area. I would like to talk to Link and Navi alone."

A rare look crossed Mido's face, Link recognized the look of defeat. Without saying a word Mido gave Link one last glare and returned to the pathway, accompanied by his fairy.

For awhile all was silent, Link felt another odd, chilling feeling in the air. When the feeling passed, the mighty God spoke, "The herbs are here, take what you wish." Suddenly a new feeling was blown through the air; it was more warm and pleasant than the previous one. A bright light shown down from the heavens, Link looked up to see it coming from the moon, it parted through The Great Deku Tree's branches and highlighted a small circular area on the ground. Link didn't move, yet then he realized that numerous plants grew underneath the light. Navi flew over to the area, Link soon followed. Indeed plants did grow in the small area. Dozens of different types of herbs grew against the Forest God's roots. Some held flowers of a variety of colors, while others were simple leafs.

'Herbs of the Forest…the girl never told me what herbs!'

Link shook off his satchel, he had plenty of room within it, therefore he plucked a few of each herb, and placed them within his leather case.

'They wont last forever…but I know where I need to go, therefore I shouldn't be gone too long.'

"Great Deku Tree, I give you my thanks." When Link had finished carefully placing and replacing the items in his satchel, he smiled, taking a few steps backwards. But something slowed him down, the same uncomfortable chill blew through a powerful gust of wind. Link struggled to keep his cap on, while placing a hand on his head, he re-placed the satchel on his shoulder. When he had a free hand he brushed his light hair away from his face since the wind continued to blow furiously, "As I said, I am very grateful, but I must be going--"

"Please wait one more moment child." As the Spirit spoke, the sudden wind stopped dead. The air was still, and normal again, "I want to give you something."

Again, Navi fluttered in front of Link, "What is it?" Unlike Link she seemed eager to know what the God possessed. Link wanted to leave the Spirit alone in such a hard time, and he wanted to retrieve the rest of the herbs. He looked at the sad expression that the Tree's bark held, and took a step back towards it.

"I see you have been traveling much lately, correct?" The God spoke sternly, Link wondered why the God asks the question even though he was sure that he already knew the answer.

Link answer with a slight nod, "Yeah, we've been around. Why do you ask?"

When Link's final words left his lips, a gust of wind wrecked havoc yet again. However this one was different, it held no feeling, no aura, it was just a powerful force that caused the fallen leaves to dance through the air, however this gust of wind did not die down. The air continued to blow until all of the leaves that had been placed on the forest floor were in the wind's grasps. The leaves swirled, as if being lead. After a long moment of erratic movement, the items came together in front of the Great Tree, they formed great, swirling pillars.

Even as the Great Deku Tree spoke, Link still eyed what the wind had done, "Child, you have seen what I am about to give you. Therefore you understand its power. You have protected it before, and I want you to protect it once more." Before Link could ask the obvious question of what the "item" was, the spiraling leaf pillar burst into the air. The wind had died, and the leaves were now falling back to where they had come from. However, as the leaves fell, a bright golden light appeared in-between where the pillars had stood. The small bright light soon grew into a large glowing sphere. Link was mesmerized by the magic, but soon the light grew to bright, and he was forced to block his vision from the blinding light.

"Please except it…" Link opened his eyes at the Great Deku Tree's words and was astonished at what his eyes saw. Right in front of him, not even two feet away from him, levitating in the air was one of the three stones that he had protected so long ago. It was the same color as the forest; bright green. The stone sparkled in the starlight, Link could slightly see his reflection within the green orb. The sacred stone was held within a piece of gold, the two colors met, making the stone look just enchanting.

'What?'

Link had no breath to speak, he stared at the stone in front of him. The fireflies had begun to dance around it, making the whole area around it sparkle. As Link's mind was on the stone, Navi's was on the Great Deku Tree, "What!? Great Deku Tree! That's the Kokiri Emerald!"

"I see you remember it…now take it, and keep it safe. If you return with the a medicine, you can give it back to me then." The Great Deku tree said with a slight laugh.

'If we make it back with a medicine? Does he doubt us? Why does he make it sound like we won't come back?'

At that moment Link had found his voice but he didn't take his eyes off of the stone, "No, Great Deku Tree I can't take that! I have no need for it!"

"But it may have need for you dear child. I shall explain. With the Forest in its current state, I fear for the safety of the Kokiri Emerald. I want you to take it, hide it from the dangers." The air around them cooled again, Link hugged his clothes closer to him to keep warm.

When the air didn't die down, Link yelled over the roar of the wind, "What dangers? Great Deku Tree?--"

Before Link could finish his words the intense cold grew around him, the air entered his lungs, the sudden coldness sent shivers throughout him, his lungs seemed to freeze at the brush of cold, "You take it Link, you take it and you protect it!" The words from the God of the Forest stuck in his mind as he left the meadow.

-"Tell me now can you feel it?
I've been keeping company with a ghost
She comes to me like a piece of summer
She comes to me on the days when I need it most

Well summer dies and nothing lasts forever
And you're so fine, the way you stand up to your fears
The summer dies and its just moments we have together
I'd give my bones for you to get a few more years
For you and me, oh Annie
More than life than trying to survive, oh Annie"-

-Vanessa Carlton- Annie

A/N Gha! I don't know…This chapter was hard to write, I hope I didn't rush eek!