Link watched his shadows dance in the torchlight. The stone walls were smooth, carved by a long evaporated river. Despite being a part of Death Mountain, the air was quite cool. Every now and again, Impa would steady herself against the walls before moving on without a word.
After ten minutes of walking, Impa looked at Link. "Will we be walking all the way to the forest?"
He shook his head. "I'm not sure how to describe it. The Lost Woods are… alive, in a way… Like a massive plant. It has roots. If the Woods let you, you can move through those roots."
"So this is a root?" She muttered, looking around her.
"No. This is just a cave that had something that made the Woods decide to connect with it."
"I think I understand."
A moment of silence passed between them.
"Link?"
He tilted his head. "What is it Impa?"
"I feel the need to apologise."
Link turned to her quizzically. "What?"
"For my… outburst."
"Oh." Link looked away. "It's fine. You're right, I should have stayed."
"Well, I agree. But I must apologise for the way I turned my anger on you." She paused. "I never meant to make you cry."
Link remained silent.
"I will concede, you did the right thing. You saved lives. But I cannot allow your defiance to be unchecked, or unpunished." She looked at the boy. "But know this. I will put more faith in your judgement from now on."
Link looked at the walls around him. "We'll be there soon."
Impa frowned. "How can you tell?"
He pointed at the walls, and Impa brought the torch closer. Vines and roots clung to the stone, and droplets of water seemed to build up around them.
"When we cross over, you need to stay close. Don't want you turning into a Stalfos."
Impa nodded, and they pressed on. The vines grew thicker and greener, and the tunnel was filled with smell of morning dew. After a couple more minutes the torch was blown out, leaving them surrounded by darkness.
"Blasted thing." Impa muttered, trying to reignite it.
"No need." Link reached out ahead of him and pulled away a curtain of vines. "We're here."
Impa assessed her surroundings, soaking in the strange environment. Trees taller than she had ever seen surrounded them, with sunlight barely filtering through mess of branches and leaves. A thin fog hung over the area, hiding the forms of distant figures. The grass around them way chaotic and untamed, with droplets of water clinging to their blades.
Impa turned to the tunnel they had emerged from. Rather than an entrance to a cave, there stood a weathered stone gateway, with vines and grasses growing off it.
Link stepped forward and took in a deep breath of the forest air. No matter where he went, the air always tasted best in the Lost Woods. It reminded him of playing hide and seek with Saria and the others.
He reached down and tore a clump of grass and held it up, watching how the wind made it fly. Satisfied, he turned to his left and took a few steps forward, peering through the gloom.
"What are you looking for?" Impa asked, intrigued.
"A big oak." Link muttered. "We walk to it, then over to an small elm. Well, small for the Lost Woods."
"And from there?"
"You stay close to me."
Impa raised an eyebrow. "Please tell me there's more to navigating the forest than just stumbling around?"
Link ignored her. "There." He pointed to a thick trunked tree with low hanging branches.
"Right." Impa started forward only for Link to stop her.
"You should probably hold my hand." He muttered. "I don't think I could find you again if I lost you."
Begrudgingly, Impa complied. With the Sheikahs hand in his, Link led Impa through the gloom. Impa felt the cool air against her skin, sending shivers down her spine. As they got closer to the oak, the true appearance of the tree became apparent. The branches twisting and curling like the limbs on a dried out corpse. Link only let go of her hand when they were at the base of the tree.
"Which direction now?" She asked.
Link pressed his sword hand against the trunk. He said "Follow me." and began circling the tree. Confused, Impa followed. They circled the tree several times, with Link keeping his eyes glued to the distance.
Eventually, Impas patience wore thin. "Link. We have been going nowhere for too long now. What direction did we come from?"
"I don't know." He admitted.
"Then how can you find your way?"
"We get lost." Suddenly, Link stopped. "There. You see that tree?" He pointed out to the fog. "The thin one. Looks like a funny mushroom."
Impa frowned. "You mean that one?" Link nodded. "That looks like a cone."
Link shook his head. "Forget it." He held out his hand for Impa to take and led them forwards once again. When they reached the tree, Link told Impa to sit down and began patrolling the tree, arm outstretched into the fog.
Impa watched him, fascinated. He seemed to be probing the fog, testing it, as if trying to find a rock hidden under muddy water. She was tempted to ask him what he was trying to find, but thought better then to distract him.
Eventually, he let his arm fall to his side. "This way." Impa stood up and rejoined him as they walked forward.
They walked for some time, and every now and again Link would shift their path slightly. Though despite her trust in Link, Impa felt as though he was leading them astray, but kept her mouth shut.
They walked for some time, each step making Impa feel more uneasy. Eventually, she reached her breaking point and jerked her hand out of Links.
"What are you doing?!" The boy hissed.
"We've been going this way for ages now, yet still we are nowhere!"
Link grabbed her hand back. "You said you trusted me. You said that you thought I could get us through the Woods."
"This is the wrong direction!" Impa snapped back. "I can feel it."
Link rolled his eyes. "That means we're going the right way." Impa frowned, confused, so he continued. "The Woods want you to get lost. I said it was sort of living-ish… thing."
"Sentient, you mean?"
"Yeah! Mind of its own, kinda."
"Meaning?"
"That it makes any way you go feel the wrong way, and the way you want to going feels the wrongest. That's way I was waving my hand around in the fog."
Impa nodded, understanding. "I… see. Forgive me for doubting you."
Link waved his hand in dismissal. "Forget it. I should have told you before." He turned back to the way they were headed. "We just need to walk a bit more. Come-" He froze in place, and sniffed the air. "Do you smell that?"
Impa rose her nose and inhaled. "Smoke."
He snatched her hand and ran ahead. Dragging Impa behind him, Link was consumed with panic. Smoke meant fire, and fire in a forest was disastrous.
He ran, following the uneasiness in his gut as the fog grew dark and warm, past the flames until the feeling of displacement was consumed by smoke.
Impa covered her mouth. "We're close to where it began."
Link coughed. "There's so much…"
The Sheikah turned to him. "Which way now?"
He looked around, trying to find a landmark. His eyes settled on a dead tree with a single branch, with a target hanging from it, and pointed in the opposite direction. "That way."
Impa picked him up and put him on her back. "Cover your mouth and nose with your hat." Link complied, and she carried him through the black air. Every step stung at their eyes, so much so that Link struggled to see the passage into the Kokiri Forest. He shook Impa's shoulders and pointed her towards the small passage. With a curt nod, Impa marched through the smoke and flames until both subsided and the home of the Kokiri was revealed.
Impa knelt down coughed violently, cleaning her lungs, and Link climbed off her and looked over his home.
He looked over the carnage. The Destruction.
The dead bodies.
Link ignored Impa's pleas to wait and charged down the hill, his eyes stinging from more than just smoke.
Holy crap, right?
Yeah, this is a bit edgy. Sorry about that. Trust me. The next chapter is gonna make me seem evil.
I hope you guys don't hate the way I made the Lost Woods to be an entity to itself. I dunno, I'm trying to make it vague for you guys.
Don't expect much more for a little while. I'm way behind on school work and it's terrifying. I need to focus on that. Upmost priority. Scary school crap.
See you guys then.
Oh, nearly a year since I got BOTW. That was a good name. So until then, Happy St Patricks day.