Chapter 1: Forest Life
He wasn't sure where he was.
The first thing he made of his surroundings was the field of grass that stretched out all around him. The second was the unnatural darkness that permeated the area.
The third thing he noticed was a large, unnatural stone wall stretching out in front of him, illumined just barely by moonlight and barely backlit by a distant orange glow. He could not say why, but something about it felt nostalgic, sad, like a distant memory buried deep within his mind.
He began to creep forward, low to the ground. But as he drew close, suddenly, a wooden part of the wall fell forward, and he sprang back in alarm. Something, a large, white animal raced out, a clothed in purple and white and a darkly clothed, cloaked woman on its back. The child looked back, and for a moment, he locked eyes with her, her eyes wide with alarm and fear. Then they disappeared, fading into the darkness.
He began to turn back around and cried out in alarm. A second, darker animal reared up in front of him. Atop this one sat a man. He wore dark clothes, his hair contrasting like a flame. His sharp eyes were a deep red, matching the color of the stains that spattered his clothing.
The man locked eyes with him. The horse reared up. The man gave him a cruel, wicked grin as the horse dropped down, giving him no time to move.
He screamed.
Link startled awake with a gasp, scrambling to a sitting position. In his panic, it took him a moment to recognize his surroundings. He was still safe in bed, gripping his scratchy hand-me-down blanket. Sunlight filtered down through the cracks in his roof onto his face, little spots of light in the dim room. He took a moment to blink and steady his breathing.
It was all just a dream.
Still, it had felt so vivid, so real.
He shook his head to clear it of his thoughts. Nonsense. Dreams were not real, that was just silly, childish thinking! … Right?
But he was a child, and he'd always be a child, so there was nothing wrong with childish thoughts like that, was there?
Having calmed himself and reclaimed his mind from the dream's grip, he finally stretched and threw the blanket off. It was another beautiful day, and he for one was looking forward to spending it with his best friend in the world, as usual.
Raising quietly, he crept to the entranceway of his stump, and carefully pulled the leaf curtain away, glancing around. Usually, his friend was already here before he woke, but this time, they seemed to be late. That, or they were waiting to sneak up on him. He wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter.
And yet, the clearing seemed perfectly peaceful, with the sound of birds chirping and smaller forest life going about foraging. He could even hear of the scratch-scratching of insects burrowing if he really strained his ears. But still, he did not see hide nor hair of his friend (did they even have hair? He was pretty sure they did not). He could not even sense a trace of vanishing magic in the air.
Satisfied that he was probably safe, he crept out of his home and into the clearing. Wow, was his friend really going to be late? They were never late! He had no interest in a quiet, boring morning; if his friend was late, then something terrible must have happened! Then he looked up.
There was a flash of orange and green and brown, and Link barely had time to brace himself as he was tackled and rolled to the ground, tumbling with his attacker. As his head cleared, he was greeted to a bright orange beak, the corners twisted in an attempt of a smile, and the glowing eyes and barky skin of his best friend crouched over him.
"Good morning Link!" The skull kid exclaimed.
"Aw, no fair Skull Kid!" He exclaimed, pushing his friend's face away and pushing himself into a sitting position. "Where were you? On top of my house?"
Skull Kid - or Skully, as Link had taken to sometimes nicknaming him (as the boy said he had no name that he could remember) just shook his body, rattling, and gave him an amused chuckle before backing off and letting him get up. "It's all fair, silly. Next time be faster! You were still asleep when I got here, so I thought I'd have a little fun!"
Link climbed to his feet and watched as his friend sprang back to the top of his house as soon as he saw Link up and moving. "Sorry, I was having a… um… a bad dream."
Skull Kid paused for a minute, then crossed his arms with a pout. "Bad dream? Those are the worst. You should just punch those big bad dreams right in the face. Do you know how much it hurts to be punched by wood? One of the other skull kids said they punched an adult once, and the adult cried!"
Link was not sure he believed that. Still, he took a moment to look down at his hand, flexing it experimentally as he watched the pieces of bark that formed around his wooden, shadowy joints shift around and even bend in some parts to allow for movement.
The passage of time was all relative to Link, but it seemed like so long ago that he had become a skull kid.
He couldn't remember much about the change, or really anything about himself prior to his transformation. Not even what he must have been doing here. He remembered his name. He remembered pain, and fear. But when the world went dark, the fear and pain went away. Skully had told him before that the pain and fear was dying. He didn't know for sure if his friend was being truthful but figured it didn't matter anymore. All that mattered now was living as he was and having a little fun.
And maybe figuring out whatever it was that he always felt like he was forgetting.
Speaking of Skull Kid, his friend's voice shook him out of his thoughts.
"Hey, Link, are you paying attention?" The other boy waved a gloved hand in Link's direction. "I said what do you want to do today?"
Link tilted his head slightly and flashed Skull Kid a toothy grin. He wasn't much of a talker most of the time. In fact, he talked more to the other skull kid than anyone else. And even then, it was often short bursts in a quiet voice. Not that he knew or hung around many other people anyways.
His friend took his motion as an invitation to decide himself. The boy tapped his foot for a moment. Then his face lit up; he hopped down and took hold of Link's hand before taking off at a sprint.
No two skull kids looked exactly the same, but he stuck out a bit more than most of the others, it seemed. Just in comparison to Skully his body was darker and ashier in color than most. His eyes shone a brilliant blue. Admittedly, though uncommon, he had seen others with that trait at least. His face otherwise was, for the most part, the same. But instead of the beak formation, like most of the skull children chose to use to appear friendlier to the other forest inhabitants, he allowed his face to take its more natural, featureless appearance. Only when he opened his mouth to speak would anyone see the row of razor-sharp teeth he sported. And unlike the orange and green that other skull kids wore, he chose to wear an old, worn kokiri tunic he had found tossed away. Or maybe he stole it. He couldn't actually remember where he got it anymore. Oh well, it didn't matter now!
The two came to a stop in a small meadow. Link recognized it as the area where the two of them often played or performed music together. It also happened to be the place they first met, many, many moons ago. He could only assume that meant Skull Kid's idea was a lazy morning full of music and laughter. He began to pat his pockets in search of the handmade flute his friend had given him. But as he finally found it and began to pull it out, his friend stopped him.
"Wait Link! Wait, wait, wait! I have something cool to show you first! It's over here."
Link slipped the flute back into his pocket and pattered behind his friend over to the taller of two tree stumps. Skull Kid sifted among a pile of leaves at the base, then pulled something out.
"Check out what I snagged last night!" The boy held in his hands a small, child-sized sword. It was rather plain looking - only a blade and a brown hilt, a small red gem decorating the cross guard. But still the shiny metal caught Link's eye. He tentatively reached a hand out to pick up the blade and held it carefully. For some reason as he gave it an experimental swing, he could not help but feel like there was something nostalgic about it, despite never having held a sword as far as he could remember; the closest he had come would have been his and Skully's little play fights.
His friend watched and let out another giggle. "I thought you might like it. You're always swinging sticks and stuff around, it seemed perfect for you. One of the kokiri ran off without it. You know that orange-haired one that tries to act tough? Yeah, he left it behind." He tilted his head slightly. "What do you think?"
"It's so cool," Link responded, letting it rest at his side. "Can I keep it?"
"I don't see why not?"
Link nodded and made a mental note to find something to sheathe it in later. Maybe he could steal – or buy – a shield or something to go with it, too. Sure, he did not need them, but it could be fun! Running around, playing with swords, slicing down the deku baba's that dared to nip at his heels, he could have his own sort of adventure here in the forest.
Satisfied with his gift to his friend, the other skull kid leaned back into the leaves and pulled out an old, busted up basket, filled with fruit and nuts. "Are you in the mood to eat, by the way? I still have some leftovers from yesterday."
Link considered it for a moment, then shook his head. No, he wasn't all that hungry at the moment. The nightmare, as much as he was trying to forget it, was still in the back of his mind, and affecting his appetite.
"More for me then." Skull Kid shrugged, then tossed a berry up into the air, popping it into his beak with a snap. But afterwards, he sat the food aside, and sprang up to sit on the taller rock, finally pulling out his own flute.
"Do you think Saria might come out here today? It's been a while since she ventured out here hasn't it?"
It was Link's turn to shrug. Admittedly, he had not seen the Kokiri in a while. Not in the forest at least. But perhaps she had things to do in her village. She seemed to be fairly popular there. Sometimes, he wondered what his life would be like if he had lived there instead. Maybe that was why he chose to make his home so close to Kokiri Forest, even if it was more isolated from where most skull kids chose to live. He still had Skull Kid to hang around with, who lived not much further from the village of forest children but still closer to most of their kind.
"I'm sure she'll show up soon enough," Skull Kid finally said, his eyes going dim. "I hope she does. I hope she's not mad at one of us or something. I haven't put any bugs in any of the Kokiri houses lately, but that sounds like a great idea. I bet I can dig up some baby tektites if I look around enough."
The boy stuck out his tongue indignantly as he brought the flute up to his lips. He paused, pressing his fingers against the holes as he took a moment to remember the song the fairy girl had taught the two of them. "I don't know why they don't think it's funny. It's not like those tiny little bugs are gonna eat them or anything. Their house, maybe. But they'll be fine!"
With the thought out of his mouth, he took a deep breath and began to play. The first few notes came out slowly as he warmed, then quickly picked up into the lively tune. Link was quick to join in, standing on the shorter stump after setting his sword aside. After a few minutes of playing in unison, his friend hopped down and began to dance, throwing in a counter melody of his own creation. Link had to hold back giggles as his friend pranced around in a silly manner.
After a few rounds of Saria's Song, the two began to play their own melodies, songs they had made up over time. They even played a few experimental notes to try and create something new. In what felt like no time at all, it seemed like the afternoon sun was filtering from directly overhead, and the two finally settled in for a break to eat.
The two sat with their backs against the larger stump, relaxing almost shoulder to shoulder as they quietly ate the fruit and nuts from before and gazed out into the forest.
It seemed like the silence lasted a while, but Skull Kid was the one to finally break it.
"Do you ever wonder what it's like outside the forest?" He asked.
Link tilted his head, an invitation for his friend to continue the thought.
"I mean, it must be so different out there, you know? Kokiri can't leave the forest – at least, that's what I've been told – and I've never heard of another skull kid who has wanted to. Some of the Deku venture out for business and trading, sure. But they rarely come back, and even fewer will give us the time of day to tell us about the world out there. Do you ever wonder what it could be like?"
Link's response was a shrug before using his teeth to cut into the thick skin of an orange. "I never really thought about it."
Skull Kid looked like he was going to continue, but instead, he shook his head. "Aw well, it's not really important anyways." Unexpectedly, he reached over and pulled Link closer, putting him in a headlock long enough to give him a noogie. Link let out a startled cry that quickly turned to laughter "Why would I want to leave when my best friend is right here!"
After a moment, he let go, and Link flopped over onto the ground and rolled onto his back, looking up at his friend with a toothy smile. Skull Kid was so sweet to him, it was nice having a friend like that.
He genuinely hoped these happy days could last forever.
Again, there was a moment of silence between them then Skull Kid stood up and offered a hand out to Link. Link gratefully accepted and climbed to his feet.
"So, what next Link? Do you want to play a game? Maybe play a prank on some of the Kokiri? I have a great idea for one that might just literally knock their socks off."
The offer was enticing…
But before Link could answer, the two were interrupted but the tell-tale sound of someone approaching. The jingle of a fairy in flight, and in a hurry at that.
"Hey! Hello! Is anyone out there?"
This chapter was edited 8/24/2019 for a few grammar, flow, and clarity enhancements.
