Shylock, the Happy Masks Salesman, waltzed into Kokiri Village as if he were the governor. As he and Link entered the clearing he spread his arms out wide and took in a huge breath. The man made a popping noise with his lips before exhaling,
"What a beautiful village! What a beautiful place to spread happiness!"
As it was early afternoon, nearly all of the Kokiri were out and about, bustling about their jovial lives. It was not long until the "big person" and Link were spotted. Someone ran off to fetch the brothers while everyone else slowly began to shrink back into their homes. Shylock was not discouraged.
"Oh come now children! I am not truly a big person! You can see me as I see you!" The man laughed then reached over his head into his pack. After shuffling around blindly his hand returned with a mask in it. Shylock offered Link a mischievous wink, then put the mask on.
"That's not going to fool them," Link said dryly. The salesman had hidden his face behind what looked like a cheap piece of fabric in the shape of a face, with what must represent green hair on top.
"Unless it can fool you."
Link blinked his eyes and looked at the mask again. A mouth had moved when the man spoke, yet there had been no mouth on the mask a moment ago.
"What. . ." Link started to ask, but with each blink of his eyes the mask seemed to change more and more. It was almost as if the material were molding itself, melting around the man's face, even changing it. No, not just the man's face, Link realized. The man was shorter! Link had been looking up at the adult but now the two were almost of the same height. Link brought his hands up and rubbed his eyes. When he removed them Shylock was gone. A kokiri child carrying the merchant's pack stood in his place.
"He has transformed," Navi said, as shocked as Link. Link took a step back, away from the mysterious child.
"How did you do that?" he demanded.
The child grabbed the straps of his pack and threw his head back laughing. "Does my mask impress you? Doesn't it fill you with joy?" Then turning to the village, "Come my brothers and sisters! I bring gifts for all!"
The villagers peered out of their respective holes to see not Link and a big person, but Link and a fellow Kokiri. Curious without trepidation the children of the village came out to greet their brother. The now kokiri Shylock performed a little jig of joy, which only encouraged the energetic villagers.
"Where is your fairy?"
"Were you with Link?"
"What happened to the big person?"
"Are you going to grow a new home?"
"Are those masks for us?"
All of these questions rained down as the villagers jostled about the newcomer. Without dropping his pack Shylock took the children's hands and had them join him in his dance.
"Oh how I have missed you all!" he cried.
"Hey!" Link shouted. "You aren't going anywhere until we find Impa." The group of kokiri and Shylock were steadily pulling away towards the village.
Shylock looked around his pack, over his shoulder, at Link and offered an innocent smile. It unnerved Link that the man now looked more like a Kokiri than himself.
"But I have spent so much time away from my brothers and sisters! I do not wish to see the big person."
The other children agreed and glared at Link. They and the mask salesman disappeared inside Ellie's home, which doubled as the village's restaurant. Dumbfounded the hero of time could only stand there with his hands in the air.
"What in the hell just happened!?"
Navi flew a quick circle around her friend's head. "I don't trust him Link. We should go warn Impa and Sheik."
Link could not agree more. At a jog he set off for Saria's house, hoping "Aunt" was still there.
"Impa said she was meeting someone in the woods," Saria said when Link arrived. Malon and Sheik had already left as well.
"Of course she didn't tell you who she was meeting did she?"
Saria shook her head. "Why? Is something wrong?"
"A strange. . ." Link thought for a moment how best to explain what he had seen. "Kokiri has arrived. I don't trust him, I was going to have Impa check him out."
"A Kokiri arrived?" Saria asked shocked. "From The Great Deku Tree's clearing?"
"No. From the north side of the woods. He is at Ellie's with half the village now."
Saria jumped to her feet jostling Sprite who buzzed unhappily. "I'll go see him. You go find Impa."
"Maybe take Mido with you," Link advised. "He might be dangerous."
When Saria said she would take his advice Link left and headed for the woods to find the Sheikah. As he approached the field where his daily training was conducted he heard the loud, angry voice of a woman.
"And what has the realm ever done for us?" the foreign female voice said. There was an accent there that Link had never heard before.
"There has been peace for nearly fifteen years. Your people profited under the rule of the royal family before and after the war." Link recognized this as Impa's voice right away.
This must be who she was meeting, He thought. Link entered the clearing slowly and finally laid eyes on the visitor. The woman, standing only a few feet away Impa was unlike any Link had ever seen before. She was slender, with skin the color of raw, red clay. Of her skin, much of it was exposed. More than Link had seen any woman in Hyrule expose. Despite her outfit being what Link would consider indecent, he couldn't pull his eyes away. The foreigner wore pants made of a fabric that flowed freely about her legs, even in the slight breeze. From afar it looked as though the material were see-through but Link couldn't tell. Her flat stomach was wholly exposed from below her navel all the way to her breasts, which were covered by a purple material similar to that of her pants. Beyond what was absolutely necessary to cover her bosom, there was nothing. Her red shoulders were bare aside from the locks of dark hair that rested on them.
After taking a moment to gather his composure, so as not to embarrass himself with any gawking or staring, Link approached. The red woman saw Link immediately, but paid him little mind, focusing her attention on the Sheikah warrior.
"Not so much as you say! During the war the hylians turned to the humans from the north concerning the trade of spices and dyes. Even after the war ended their merchants would rather pay outrageous sums than deal with my people."
Link could see this woman, who he now figured must be Gerudo, was passionately angry. And while her exposed body suggested an alluring softness, her dark brows and eyes showed only harshness. An incredibly curved blade protruded from behind her that also exhumed fierceness.
The Gerudo continued, "What difference does it make for Din's people if that usurper keeps the throne?"
"I can see that you're angry, but shouldn't your anger point at Ganondorf?" Link asked. The Gerudo War had happened after A History of Hyrule and Its People had been written but Link recalled the details he had been told by Sheik and Impa. Ganondorf had turned on his own people, fighting for Zelda's father, King Harkinian. Surely the man's very existence enraged Gerudo people.
The woman turned to Link and eyed him top to bottom. Her eyes dark brown eyes lingered on the hilt of his sword. With a "tsk" she turned to Impa once more.
"Who is this infant? And why does he carry Din's Wrath?"
That word, infant, felt like a knife being driven through Link's chest.
"He is Link, the one who retrieved the three spiritual stones." Impa said quickly. "He is the one who slew Queen Ghoma, and King Dodongo. He carries Din's Wrath because he is worthy of it." She snapped.
Link silently thanked his teacher for her praise. The gerudo woman however was not impressed.
"That vile man could have eradicated my people during the war if he had so chosen." She addressed Link now, glaring at him with pursed lips. "But he decided to let us exist. He would not spare us then just to crush us a decade later. No, there is nothing to fear from him that has not already been done. As for my anger," she lowered herself so that her face was directly in front of Link's. Her slanted eyes pierced Link as she gazed over her long nose. Link smelled honey and something he couldn't identify.
"I pray to Din and the gods of sand that Ganondorf be castrated then bleed out from the wound." She pulled away from Link, who sniffed at the air once more, trying to lock the woman's aroma in his memory. "But prayers are meant to be answered by the gods, not the further bloodshed of my people."
"Nagina," Impa said folding her arms across her chest. "It is not like you to fear bloodshed. Nor is it like your queen to hide behind emissaries."
The woman, Nagina, hissed at Impa bearing her bright white teeth. "Unlike your spoiled witch, Nabooru was raised in poverty as a thief. She learned when it was foolish to show her face to a fence, or a self-declared ally. That is how people lose their hands," A sideways look and grin at Link. "Or their heads."
Impa took an authoritative step forward, causing the red woman to take a reflexive step back. "I have a request of Nabooru all the same," She said. Link thought it strange that she was not speaking up in Princess Zelda's defense. "The realm's most powerful leaders meet here tomorrow. If your queen would grace us with her presence, I can offer her something I know she greatly desires."
Nagina scoffed. "What could you possibly have," a sudden realization spreads across her face. "You have it?" she asked becoming excited. "You have the treasure of Antaeus?"
Impa did not move or blink. "Bring Queen Nabooru, and I offer what she has so long desired."
Taking on a much calmer, more elegant demeanor, the red woman bowed her head slightly. "I will speak to my queen. Until we meet again Sheikah."
Impa offered a slight nod. Nagina cast one last skeptical look at Link, who had been staring at her, then took off into the forest. She moved surprisingly fast despite the strange pointed shoes she had been wearing.
Link turned to Impa. "You did not say the gerudo would be there tomorrow."
"Until Nagina arrived I was not sure the queen would come."
"I thought she said the queen didn't come?"
Impa shook her head. "I know Nabooru. She only sent her emissary so that she could watch us from afar. She is indeed a careful woman."
Link scanned the trees just outside the clearing. He could see no sign of either Nagina or Nabooru. "How is it you know the queen?" he asked.
"From my time as the king's ambassador. Did you seek me out for a reason?" she asked changing the subject quickly.
Link had almost forgotten. "That man from Castletown, the mask salesman, is here in Kokiri Village."
Impa dropper her arms. A look of concern spread across her face. "Take me to him."
On the way back to the village Link did his best to explain how Shylock had put on a mask then transformed right before his eyes. He then went on to explain how quickly the whole village embraced him in his disguised form. Impa said nothing the whole way. Link assumed she suspected him to be a spy, here to find and report on the princess.
Link and Impa found Shylock, and the entirety of the village, inside Ellie's home. Everyone was gathered around the "big person" in disguise who was handing masks and costumes around. The villagers were putting on the masks and costumes and dancing about, having a laugh and enjoying their new toys. They really did look like children as they were now.
As soon as Impa crossed the threshold of the entrance everyone stopped. The villagers were still put off by Impa, particularly her stature.
"Oh do not let the big person stop us!" Shylock cried. He waved a mask with ribbons all over it, in the air. "You must try this one! Yes yes! Now run about! See how the ribbons chase you!" The kokiri wearing the masks with ribbons squealed with delight as he pranced about. The other children heeded their friend and went back to their games.
Not wishing to draw further attention Impa crouched over to avoid the ceiling, and made her way to the back of the room where Saria and a sleepy Mido were sitting.
"Good grief Link! You'd think you'd recognize a kokiri when you see one" Mido said. Link could see that his eyes were bloodshot and his hair was a mess. Likely he had jumped out of bed just for Saria and rushed over, anxious to be of help.
"That is no Kokiri." Link pointed at the salesman, who was sitting cross legged amongst the other children. His disguise was now perfect, Link had to admit, but surely the villagers wouldn't be so quick to embrace a complete stranger.
"Link, that is Shylock," Saria said.
"You know this one?" Impa asked.
"We all do, all except for Link," she answered. Link cocked his head to the side confused. "Before you arrived," she explained. "Several Kokiri decided to leave the Lost Woods. One of them was the one you see there," she gestured towards the salesman. "Shylock."
Link shook his head in disbelief. "Saria Shylock was a man. I met him, even worked for him, over a year ago while I was chasing down the spiritual stones. I ran into him in the woods as a man, then he put on that disguise."
"I've known Shylock for longer than you've been alive," Mido said. "And that's Shylock. You're just jealous that you aren't the only villager to leave and come back."
"It's true Link, that IS Shylock." Saria confirmed.
"Fine, Shylock is a Kokiri," Link said putting his hands up in defeat. It was clear he was not going to be able to convince these two of what he saw. "Then where has he been this whole time? And where are the other villagers he left with? Where is his tree?"
"Good grief Link you said it yourself! He was in Castle City or Town or whatever. He says he was selling masks, and that he even ran into you a year ago." Mido jumped to his feet. "I've had enough of this. I'm going back to bed." He waved at Shylock from across the room. Shylock waved back excitedly. "Good to see you back Shylock!" Mido called then walked out the door. Link could swear he heard one last "good grief" on his way out.
"And the other Kokiri?" Link asked Saria. She looked down sadly. "Shylock says they got lost along with his fairy. They are still out there somewhere. Since all of their tree homes withered, we assumed they had all died." Saria looked up, forcing a smile. "But maybe since Shylock's tree died and he's okay, the others are okay too."
Link couldn't believe what he was hearing. He knew this man! Knew that he was in fact a man! He looked at Shylock one last time, desperate to find a flaw in his disguise. Nothing. Aside from the giant bag on his back there was nothing that stuck out. Link turned back to his friend who was still looking at him with hopeful eyes. Sweet sweet Saria he thought. She was still thinking about the other lost children.
"I'm sure they are fine." Link offered putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Probably selling hats, jackets, and making shoes somewhere in the kingdom."
Saria was pleased with the answer and turned back to watch Shylock and the villagers play. Link gave the room one last look over, then gestured for Impa to join him outside.
"You are sure?" Impa asked when they were outside. He could tell from her tone that she already believed him.
"I am, but how could everyone already know him? And how is it even possible for him to be so well disguised? I mean, he's actually shrunk and everything."
Impa stroked her chin while she thought. "I do not yet know, but we will keep an eye on him." Stooping down she whispered into Link's ear "And do not let him be alone with Sheik."
Link agreed and promised to instruct Saria to do so as well.
"Good, now go bathe and prepare yourself for tomorrow's meeting. Your 'brother' and the rest will look to your confidence to decide whether or not your plan will work." With that Impa took off for the woods again.
After a long rinse in the spring, and washing his tunic, hat, and boots, Link headed for home. As he was about to climb his ladder up to his porch he noticed that Malon was at the stables on the other side of his tree.
"I thought you would be out with Epona." Link said walking over.
"Oh we did go out earlier. But since you were busy with planning I thought I would let her have an early night." Malon rubbed Epona on the nose as she spoke. The mare was now almost twelve hands tall, and more muscular than either Bart or Mayfair. Link had worried she would be too big to ride but luckily so far he had been able to manage.
"That's good! I'm sure she appreciates it." Link reached over and gave Epona a pat as well.
"Are you nervous?" Malon asked timidly. She did not like to pry into the hardships of her friend's life, but she was concerned for him. She wasn't sure what Impa, Sheik or Saria saw when they looked at Link, but what she saw was a boy, vigorously trying to be a man.
"What is there to be nervous about?" Link asked with a shrug. "Brother Darunia and I get along great! And King Zora XVI said he was in my debt after saving his daughter and Lord Jabu Jabu. The meeting will be a piece of cake."
"But the meeting is about going to war right? Isn't that scary?" she asked. "I mean, you are just a kid."
Link clenched his jaw. "I'm not a kid Malon." He said defiantly. Infant rang out in his head.
Malon brought her hands up in front of her. "I don't mean that in a bad way Link but it's true. We are children. Daddy said you were the most grown up child he ever met, but that doesn't change the fact that you are barely twelve years old. You, me, Saria, Sheik, we can't go to war with adults. We can't fight."
"I HAVE fought, Malon!" Link shouted. All the horses except Shimmer flinched. "You've seen me fight adults. You've seen me KILL adults!"
"LINK!" Navi slammed into his face as hard as he could. Link turned to her angrily. Looking into her blue light brought him back to his senses. He turned to Malon to apologize but the damage was done. Tears were starting to well up in her eyes.
"Malon I'm sorry I didn't mean to," But Malon put her hand up to stop him.
"No I'm sorry Link. Goodnight." The rancher's daughter put her face in her hands and ran away, nearly tripping over her dress in the process.
Epona reached over and bit Link's exposed arm.
"OWW! I know I know I'm sorry. Damn."
Epona snorted at him but released her hold. Link let out a sigh.
"I'll make it up to her in the morning."
"You had better." Navi said with a "humph".
Link climbed up his ladder and got into bed, his mood soured. Lying in bed he thought about how bizarre his day had been. Shylock, yelling at Malon, Impa and Nagina.
"Hey Navi?"
"Yes?"
"What was that smell coming from Nagina?"
Navi crawled out from under Link's pillow.
"Why?" She asked in a suspecting tone.
Link rolled over putting his back to her, embarrassed.
"Nothing, forget about it."
"Uh huh. . ."
"Goodnight Navi."
"Goodnight Link."
Author's note: Shylock is a weird character right? I'll leave figuring him out to you guys. "Antaeus" is a character from African mythology/lore. The summary of his story is that he was the strongest man on Earth, but only while his feet were touching the ground. If he was in midair he was as weak as any mortal. If you are familiar with Ocarina of Time and the Spirit Temple I am sure you can figure out what the treasure of Antaeus is. Zelda's fathers name is Zoma Harkinian. Zoma, coming from one of the late emperors of the Byzantine empire. And Harkinian, the King of Hyrule's name in the old Legend of Zelda cartoon. Anyway I hope you are all enjoying the story! I have gotten some great reviews and messages that are really helping me with both this story, and my writing process. Shout out to ITSYERFELLA for all his constructive criticism and help! Thanks guys!