Chapter 6: Kokiri District

Past the Windmill, Link came to the wooden bridge that led into the Kokiri District and walked slowly across it. About midway, the mist that surrounded the District covered the bridge, obscuring the clouds below the bridge which made Link's passage a little more difficult. Once he was safely across, he beheld a place that was full of thick trees and dancing lights which Link presumed were Fairies as Proxi seemed to be interacting with them. Meanwhile, Link looked on the ground for any signs of Bugs with the Bug-Catching Net in hand.

After what seemed like hours of doing this, Link stopped and sighed.

"What's wrong, Link?" Proxi asked.

"I can't seem to find any Bugs around here," Link replied.

"That's because you're not looking in the right places. The Fairies told me that there's a grove nearby that Bugs like to hang out in."

"All right, then let's go there."

###

Later, Link and Proxi came to a grove-like place with Fairies lighting up the misty air accompanied by the humming sounds of insects. In the center of this grove was a shaft of sunlight filtering in through the thick canopy of treetops and there stood a young woman who was looking down at the ground.

"Um, excuse me," Link said nervously.

The young woman looked up cautiously. She had blonde hair tied up in pigtails, purple eyes, and pointed ears. In her gloved hands she carried a small parasol to shield the sun's rays and a picnic basket under one arm. A pair of artificial butterfly wings protruded from the back of her dress which was turquoise with white sleeves and trimmed at the end with embroideries.

"Are you…Agnes?" Link asked.

"Princess Agnes, to be exact!" replied the young woman. "The Kingdom of Insects is my domain, and my loyal subjects are the Bugs themselves."

Link was about to say something but thought otherwise.

"But you've caught me at a bad time as I'm desperately searching for the guests I invited to my tea-party yesterday," Agnes said with downcast eyes that made their way slowly up to Link's. "Can you help me find them?"

"Sure, what do they look like?"

"They're Golden Bugs, and there are twenty-four of them in total. If you find all of my guests, then I'll give you a special reward."

"Okay, but I was wondering if you could help me as well. I'm trying to find a Horned Colossus Beetle. Can you tell me what it looks like."

"A Horned Colossus Beetle?" Agnes looked around and pointed at one of tree-trunks. "I believe that's one."

Link followed Agnes' finger and saw a large beetle with red circles around its eyes, a turquoise exoskeleton, and horn-like structures protruding from its head. Assuming Agnes was correct, Link dashed toward the beetle with the Bug-Catching Net raised. He swung it down on the beetle, but its yellow wings unfurled and the beetle became airborne.

"Catch it now, before it flies away!" Agnes cried.

As the beetle flew up toward the opening in the canopy, Link leaped into the air and swung the Bug-Catching Net in an arc. The beetle was inside the net, but was about to fly away again until Link closed the net up.

"Yay, you did it!" Agnes cheered. "Was he a friend of yours?"

"Sort of," Link said turning to Agnes. "I'm going to return this Bug to its rightful owner, and then I'll help you find the Golden Beetles."

"All right, I'll be here," Agnes said waving as Link left the grove.

###

"Wow, I can't believe you actually pulled it off," Beakon said looking at the beetle that flew around inside the Bug-Catching Net Link carried. "That's the one who went missing. Put him in that cage over there and then you can have the Talon Clasp free of charge like I promised."

Next to the window, Link noticed a small wooden cage that was yellow and red in color. He walked up to it, unhitched the lock, and laid the net up against the door to the cage. The beetle flew inside and as soon as it did Link hitched the lock. While the beetle flew around in the cage furiously, Link walked up to the counter and picked up the Talon Clasp.

"Be sure to hide that thing well," Beakon said reaching for the trapdoor lever.

Before Link could ask him further, the trapdoor was opened and he fell out like he did before.

"That guy really needs a better system than throwing his customers out of a trapdoor," Proxi noted as Link fell flat onto the ground below. "Then there would be fewer broken bones."

"I'm fine," Link said as he got up. He then examined the Talon Clasp. "Might want to test this out to make sure it still works."

Holding the Talon Clasp on one arm, Link aimed the talons at a nearby pole and then he pressed a switch on the back of the tube which caused the talons to unfold. Next, he pressed what looked like the trigger, and the talons came flying out of the tube attached to a line of metallic rope that became stiff once the talons were imbedded into the pole. A few people noticed and looked surprised, including a pair of metallic canisters with red eyes, arms, and feet.

As the canisters made their way over, Link pressed the trigger again which caused the talons to come flying back. Then as he ran from the mobile canisters, Link flipped the switch to fold the talons once more. A pair of hands suddenly reached out from behind a tree and dragged him behind it. While the metallic canisters ran past, Link saw the person who grabbed him. It was a young girl with pigtails of red hair peeking out from underneath a green cap, wearing leather fingerless gloves that went up to her forearms like Link's, a white shirt underneath a green vest, brown-colored breeches, and knee-length leather boots.

Once the canisters were completely gone, the girl sighed. "Good thing I was here. Ganon's Clockwork Policemen would've overtaken you for sure."

"Um, thanks," Link said, unsure whether the girl was a friend or an enemy.

"What's your name?" the girl asked suddenly.

"Link."

"I'm Karoline. Nice to meet you," the girl said, holding her hand out.

Instinctively, Link shook the girl's hand. Then the girl who called herself Karoline pulled him toward a wooden bridge around the bend of the hill that led to a large building that looked abandoned on the west side of the floating island.

"Where are you taking me?" Link asked.

"To the abandoned Knight Academy," Karoline answered. "I've got some friends there I want you to meet."

"Okay," Link responded though he wasn't sure what lay in store for him.

To be continued…