CHAPTER 1
It was almost midnight before the Carnival's exuberant noise faded away entirely. Link was once more embraced and comforted by the near-silence of the trees, broken only by the chirping of crickets, the croaking of frogs and the clopping of Epona's yearling hooves.
Despite the lateness of the hour, he wasn't fatigued at all. But, rather than travel through the night and risk being waylaid again, he sought out a reasonably-sized patch of grass and made his camp therein. He fastened Epona's reins to the largest tree that he could find – large enough, in fact, for Link himself to use the tree's roots as a makeshift pillow. He wasn't particularly keen to sleep out in the open, especially without a proper bedroll to protect him from the elements – but, between its sensible construction and the many enchantments that he'd placed upon it, his Kokiri tunic rendered a bedroll unnecessary.
For now.
He rested against the tree's trunk, his hands nestled behind his head, and watched the stars in utter silence. As his mind gradually eased into the realm of sleep, he saw a single shooting star streaking across the otherwise-motionless night sky – and nearly leapt to his feet.
"Navi?!" he shouted in momentary ecstasy – startling Epona, who'd been grazing.
But, just as his voice uttered the fairy's name, the shooting star vanished into the night, refusing even to acknowledge the voice of a mere ten-year-old boy. Epona whinnied to protest the interruption of her evening meal, then continued grazing as though nothing had happened.
Disappointed but not disheartened, Link leaned back against the tree's trunk and slowly sank into sleep, his thoughts stumbling along behind his fairy friend. A final whispered "Navi. . . . . . . . ." crept past his lips before slumber fully claimed him.
As his mind comforted him with dreams of a boyhood long since lost and innocence never truly to be reclaimed, his heart finished the sentence unspoken:
Wherever you've gone, Navi, I'm going to find you. I promise.
Meanwhile, high above the tranquil forest, the shooting star continued its nocturnal journey – but, unknown to Link, this was no ordinary shooting star.
Leading the magnificent blue streak across the night sky was a luminous core – composed, not of mere heavenly ice and rock, but of a consciousness that pulsated like a living heart. A consciousness that carried interminable regret, loneliness and longing. A consciousness whose every brooding thought dwelt upon a love that it believed to be unrequited.
The consciousness made landfall some distance from Link's humble camp, descending gracefully and with poise, like a petal plucked from its flower and gently thrown upon one's deathbed. The luminous orb, whose form the consciousness had hitherto assumed, bathed its surroundings in only the faintest light – and, slowly but surely, unfurled to reveal a small spherical creature with fish-like flippers, onyx-colored eyes and a long tail with a small fin.
The dimly-pulsating glow gradually faded from the creature, and it searched its surroundings with momentary trepidation. As soon as its oversized, mirror-like eyes rested upon the sleeping green-clad boy, they began to overflow with tears of silent anguish. Having no mouth to utter the boy's name, the creature was forced to make do with the thought of it:
Link. . . . . . . . .