Hey. Thanks a bunch to the people who reviewed. Let me just say now, I have nothing against Christians, but it was the first dominant religion I could think of. So, please don't be offended… Enjoy!

To Find The Future, Find the Past

Chapter Eleven

The Forest

"The poor thing…" Zelda heard a child's voice, as she came to the edge of consciousness. She wasn't sure how long she was out, or how she got there.

"She's waking up!" another voice, also a child, exclaimed. Zelda's eyes fluttered open. She groaned, and tried to sit up.

"Don't move too fast," Another little girl said, bending over and helping her stand, "You'll just hurt you head more."

"Someone go get Saria!" someone called out.

"No need," a sweet little voice cooed, "I'm already here. Take her to my house. Find her some clothes and food. I'll be there in a minute, and I'll dress her wound myself."

Zelda was dimly aware of what was happening. All she was aware of was that there were a bunch of little girls around her, her head hurt, and that she was cold. Very cold.

Looking down at herself, she realised that she had no clothes on. This startled her to full alert. She remembered everything to do with how she got there. The rest of it was still enveloped in a thick fog.

Her parents had forced her into the car and accused her of sleeping with Link. She had tried to protest, but they hadn't believed her. She had argued with them, and her mother had hit her over the head. She had fallen unconscious, and had woken up in the… Forest?

"Where am I?" she mumbled, confused, as the little girls led her to a small village. All of the houses were made of hollowed-out trees.

"This is Kokiri Forest!" The children chorused. Zelda just looked around as they all dragged her to a house in the middle of the village. They left her inside, and told her to wait.

Head thumping, she shivered, and curled up into a sort of ball. She waited there for about five minutes, before a little girl with green hair and clothes came into the house. Zelda stared at the girl as she examined the wound on Zelda's head.

"Who are you?" Zelda asked softly. She had the feeling that she was safe here, in this village.

"My name is Saria." She smiled at Zelda in a reassuring way, "I am the Sage of the Forest. Don't worry, you're safe here."

Sage… That rung a few bells in Zelda's head. But she was so out of it that she couldn't pinpoint it. Giving up, she busied herself with staring out the window.

Saria touched her finger to Zelda's forehead, and the pain was gone.

"What did you do?" Zelda inquired, looking at the little girl who was, apparently, more than she seemed.

"It's Sage's magic." The Saria said simply, looking at Zelda with a raised eyebrow, examining her for more wounds.

Zelda remembered where she had heard about Sages! She was supposed to find Rauru! But… How would she?

"It looks like that was your only wound." Saria told her, sitting back on a log, "You should consider yourself very lucky. Most of the young women from the outside world who get dropped in this forest naked have usually been raped. Or are dead. Or both."

"My father might be a bastard, but he wouldn't do that." Zelda spat out, "It is a sin, after all. My name is Zelda, by the way."

"Ah…" Saria muttered, apparently not surprised, "He follows the Christian faith?" Zelda nodded, "That's what tore Hyrule apart, you know… The Christians came from the east, and tried to overthrow our King and Princess, simply because they believed in the Triforce myth. Even the Gerudo, the fiercest fighters of Hyrule's six races, would not stand a chance when the first waves of attackers came from the east—"

"We have clothes and food!" three girls appeared at the door.

"Good, just leave them there." Saria pointed to a log near the door. The small girls deposited the bundles on the appointed spot. They then disappeared into the fog of the forest.

Saria then jumped up and drew a curtain over the windows and door. She then headed over to the bundle, and unfolded it. In it was some sort of clothing, a flask of clear water, and some type of Kokirish food, Zelda guessed.

"Here," Saria handed Zelda the strange garments, "Put this on. I'll help you. It will be a little tight, but it shouldn't be too much of a problem. You seem small enough."

The dress, as Zelda guessed it was, was tiny. Zelda was small for her age, but this was ridiculous! The little green dress came up to the top of her legs, and just covered her bum. There were little shorts that Zelda supposed was underwear. A belt went across her waist, heightening her figure even more. The green stockings, which were the largest in the village, were too small for her, so her legs remained uncovered. The boots were alright. They actually fitted her perfectly. She took one look at the headband, and refused it instantly. Zelda had always hated green, but today she was clothed in it. She certainly was not putting it in her hair!

Now that she was dressed, Saria gave her the food and water. Zelda didn't care what it was. She was so hungry that she could have eaten dung and not complained. She actually found that the food tasted rather nice.

"Now," Saria whispered, looking around to make sure no one was listening, "No one around here, except for me and maybe Mido, knows who you really are. They all think that you're just some woman who was dumped in the woods by another man and woman. They have no concept of age, so don't ask them how old they are. I am the only one in this forest who does—"

"Why don't they know how old they are?" Zelda cut in, quite rudely, but she didn't care about manners at the moment. All she knew was that she was dumped in a forest with little elves that looked like human children with pointy ears.

"Well… how to put it?" Saria seemed to be searching for the right words, "The Kokiri never grow up. It's been exactly one thousand, eight hundred and eighty five years since Hyrule fell, and almost everyone in this village was around before then."

Zelda was taken aback. Never, even in her wildest dreams, did she think something like this would happen.

"And…" Zelda had a few more questions to ask, "Do you know who the oldest is?"

"Well, we are always created two at a time. One boy and one girl. The oldest two are Mido and myself. Only by a few years, mind you. For about five years, it was just the two of us, and the Great Deku Tree. Mido nearly drove me crazy." she paused for a moment, "I know it's rude to ask, but how old are you?"

Zelda giggled. For a child, she certainly was wise. Zelda realised that the only way to figure out what was going on was to answer any of Saria's questions.

"I'm sixteen."

"And have you been having the dreams? The ones where you and the Hero of Time fought together?"

"Yes, but they've stopped recently." Saria nodded. This was apparently a good sign.

"And have you got the Triforce of Wisdom?"

"The what?" Zelda was stupefied, "What's a 'Triforce'?"

"A sacred relic," Saria sounded shocked that she didn't know, "The source of power for the Sage of Destiny."

"And who is that?" Zelda inquired politely, looking at the, decidedly strange, little girl.

"You." Zelda fell off the chair that she had just sat on, out of shock, and was headed straight for the pointy end of a pitchfork. She screamed, and put out her left hand out of instinct. There was a flash, and she was standing on Saria's bed, nowhere near the pitchfork.

"I'll take that as a yes." Saria was rubbing her eyes, "But it's not supposed to be on your left hand. It's supposed to be on the hand that you use most frequently. You are right-handed, correct?"

"Yes, and no." Zelda was forced to admit, "I'm actually left handed. I just got into the habit of using my right hand when my father told me that only the Devil's slaves used their left hand. That was when I was about, umm, four, maybe? Definitely before I stated school. I guess you could say that I taught myself to be ambidextrous."

"I guess so…" Saria considered for a moment, "Well, Zelda, you'll have to get back into the habit of using your left hand. You'll need to be able to put it up to defend yourself if something should happen."

"No problem," Zelda seemed rather sure of herself, "I use my left hand at school all the time. It's just at home that I use my right hand."

"Good." Saria nodded, "Now, I have two more questions. Do you have the ancient Princess' diary?" Zelda nodded, "Did you read the little red letter inside it?" Zelda nodded again, "Well, at least you know the basics."

"But," Zelda cut in, "They're at home. I don't have them with me."

"That's alright." Saria got up and walked over to the door, motioning for her to follow, "We're going to see the Great Deku Tree. Come on."

Curious, Zelda followed her. Looking around the village, she noticed many children. And, for the first time, the little balls of light that followed them around.

"What are the little balls of light?" she asked Saria.

"They're—" Saria began, but was cut off by three of the things, seemingly without a child of their own, who just missed her face by an inch.

"Tatl! Tael! Stop it!" a little blue one, strangely familiar, scolded the other two, "You nearly flew into Saria!"

"Navi…" Zelda breathed, as she recognised the little ball of light.

"Yes?" she turned and gasped. She seemed to try to bow to Zelda, "Navi the fairy, at your service, Your Majesty."

"'Your Majesty'?" Zelda was befuddled, "Why are you calling me 'Your Majesty'?"

"You are Princess Zelda, correct?" Navi flew up into her face.

"Navi," Saria spoke sternly to the blue fairy, "She is simply Princess Zelda's reincarnation. She knows nothing of you."

"Then how did she know my name?" Navi demanded haughtily.

"Dreams…" Zelda muttered, "I saw you with Link in my dreams…"

"Link!" the three fairies chorused, all paying rapt attention now.

"Tael, you didn't know him like me and Navi did, so you don't have to be so happy that she knows him!" The little yellow fairy yelled at the little purple fairy.

"I'm allowed to!" Tael yelled back at the other fairy, which Zelda assumed was called Tatl.

"LOOK!" Saria yelled to get their attention, "Let's just go see the great Deku Tree, OK?"

"OK!" all three fairies chorused in unison. They followed Saria and Navi over the stream, and up to a boy clothed in similar clothing to Zelda and Saria.

"Halt!" he put a hand in front of Zelda, blocking her path, "No outsiders allowed! Saria, Navi, Tatl and Tael can go past, but not you!"

"Mido!" Saria put her hands on her hips and pulled a face, "Let her through!"

"No!" he pulled the same face. Zelda got increasingly irritated by the second. She could see how he almost drove Saria insane. Zelda was now aware of the power of the Triforce surging through her, giving her strength.

"Look, you little pipsqueak," Zelda threatened, grabbing the collar of his tunic and holding him up off the ground by it, "let me through, or I'll flog you into next week!"

He didn't understand the words, but he got the gist of the threat. He squeaked, and nodded, showing that he would let her through.

"That's better." Zelda cooed, as she deposited him on the ground again. She followed Saria and the three fairies into the narrow tunnels. As soon as they rounded the corner, Saria and the fairies burst out into laughter.

"Oh…" Saria chuckled, "He deserved that! Serves him right!"

Zelda grinned as she followed them through the tunnels. They emerged into a meadow, with a huge tree in the middle…

Well… That's over with… phew! There will be a little bit every now and again from Link's POV. NOTE: I say a LITTLE BIT, not a lot. Maybe a few paragraphs here and there, just to let you know how he's coping without her. The next chapter will skip about 16 hours, so it will start the next day. :p

Please R&R? PLEASE?