Chapter Four
Refuge in Kokiri Forest

Link, feeling a bit stronger by now, galloped toward the Kokiri Forest with Zelda holding onto him tight. Trees rushed past them and the light vanished as they entered the Lost Woods. As the horse clomped over the bridge, Link breathed a sigh of relief. They would never find them now. Entering Kokiri Forest, the child-like watchman nearly had a heart attack as the large horse galloped out of the tunnel.

"How is your hand?" He asked Zelda, who was still grasping her burned palm.

"It doesn't hurt as much but still..." She winced as she separated her hands to get off the horse.

"Let's get you up into the tree house and I'll see what I can do." He picked her up and walked over to the ladder. She was as light as a feather but by the time they reached the ladder, he was exhausted.

"Link? Are you okay?"

"Uh..." He stopped to take a breath. "Just feeling really drained... What was that that crystal?"

"I'm not sure..."Zelda replied, shaking her head. Link leaned against the ladder trying to regain his breath. "I've never heard of anything like this before, but I think that thing has the ability to absorb Triforce power, or even the Triforce Piece itself! When we were about to obliterate Ganondorf, I suddenly noticed that the Triforce wasn't glowing on his hand." She stopped for a second to think.

"Do you think it was Phantom Ganon?" Zelda shook her head again.

"No. Did you see the way he was glaring at us? I could sense the same hatred coming from him as the real Ganondorf. It was definitely him. What I find curious though is that the Stalfos had his hand behind his back. Do they normally do that?" Link looked perplexed for a second and shook his head. Suddenly a new wave of tiredness swept over him and he gasped for a few seconds. Concerned, Zelda pulled out a bottle with a green liquid. "Here, this will help your magic power." The princess heard the sound of footsteps and turned to see Saria running up to them.

"Hey Link!" Saria skidded to a stop right before she would have crashed into the ladder. "Hello your highness!" She gave the princess a respectful curtsey. Zelda gave the Kokiri girl a smile and was about to say something back when Link suddenly collapsed. "Link! What happened?"

"I don't know..." Zelda quickly checked his pulse and to her relief found a pretty healthy heartbeat. "A stalfos had a crystal of some sort that steals magic energy. More specifically Triforce Energy. The Triforce of Courage must be rejuvenating its lost energy from his life force! I hope the crystal didn't take too much power..." She looked at Saria and to her surprise; the green haired girl's face was very pale.

"St-Stalf-fos?" Saria stammered. "Wh-where?" She looked nervously at the forest entrance.

"Lake Hylia." Zelda looked curiously at Saria who was practically hyperventilating. "Have you seen one before?" Saria calmed down a little bit and nodded.

"Th-there are some in the darker corners of the Lost Woods. Supposedly they are the remains of travelers who became lost in these woods. I never really believed those stories until I ran into one when I was returning home from the Sacred Forest Meadow. I was just walking along humming my favorite song when I suddenly came face to face with a living skeleton! I-I kinda freaked and I ran as fast as I could back home. I remember it chased me until I got out of the woods." She gave Zelda a weak smile. "I didn't leave my house for two weeks!" Zelda gave Saria a comforting hug and looked over at Link, who was already getting up.

"Oy... Think one of you could help me up this ladder?" He asked wearily. The two girls looked at each other for a second and shrugged. "Oh, forget it!" Link said exasperated. He grabbed a rung and slowly climbed the ladder.

"Zelda?" The kokiri asked, noticing Zelda's finger. "Did Link…"

"Propose? Yes!" A grin appeared on both their faces.

"Well! I hope you invite me to the wedding!"

"Oh of course you're invited!"

The rest of the afternoon, the trio talked on endlessly about the important day.

In the ominous new Stalfos Tower, the Stal-King glared at the back of his hand. The top triangle glowed the brightest as usual, but the Triforce of Courage still glowed very dimly. It was brighter than the dark Wisdom slot but not by much. He looked at the crystal in his other hand. He had managed to get about ten percent of the Courage Triforce's power, but it wasn't enough. He growled and blasted a stone statue to pieces with a power blast. The first plan may not have worked, but his backup would! They'll wish they had never been born! He thought, clenching his teeth.

"Guard!" A stalfos just outside the door hurried into the room. "Time for 'Plan B'. Summon the children to the throne room!" The guard looked confused for a second.

"The children?"

"Yes, I have a...game for them." He smirked. The guard saluted and walked out the door.

Twenty minutes later, the first stalchild walked into the throne room, noticeably grumpy not being able to terrorize travelers in Hyrule field. The Stal-King chuckled to himself. They'll have fun tonight! After all the stalchildren had come, the King began to pace in front of them.

"We are going to play a game tonight!" The skeleton children looked at each other excitedly. Something that the king called a 'game' had to be far better than patrolling the fields! The King held his fist in front of him and the Triforce projected an image of the peaceful Kokiri Forest. "This is the home of a child-like race. I feel they have outlived their usefulness! It is my pleasure to let you do the honors!" He grinned as the children began to whisper excitedly amongst themselves. "Dismissed!" The stalchildren saluted and eagerly ran out the door.