"Morning Link!"
Navi waits for Link to wake up.
"C'mon, can Hyrule be saved with such a lazy boy? Get up!"
Link groans, what time was it?
"I know you are tired, but it's been a few days now. Wake up!"
Link yawns and stretches. He was sleeping in his old place, his treehouse. He gets up.
"About time. Saria came home to visit. Guess she heard you came back. Let's say hello!" Navi flew outside to wait.
Link goes over to his trunk, and quickly changes his clothes. Unlike his time as an adult, being a child was easier, he kept his junk at home. He went to make himself breakfast, he was hungry. Once he was done eating, he took out his pencil to write down his records for his horseback riding and points.
"Link? It's Saria! Come outside to play!''
A few hours later, both kids were looking up at the former Great Deku Tree.
"It won't be long now before this place loses its protection." The kokiris spent their nights inside, the forest was starting to get invaded by monsters.
"The Great Deku Tree, I never realized how much we took things for granted." Saria's fairie guardian sighs. "Navi, Link. The outside world, is it as dangerous as the Deku Tree says?" The old dead tree had bouquets by its trunk, its children, the kokiri already held a funeral for their 'father.'
"It is, but it's full of adventure." Navi was always curious about the outside world, she didn't regret leaving with Link. Before her adventures with Link, she lived in the trees.
"Did you meet the Princess?"
"Of course he did. Link bragged for days afterward." Saria giggled. Hearing a noise, they saw a deku baba coming out from the ground. "Oh oh. It's getting dark, we better go home."
Link helps Saria up, but not before killing the deadly plant.
"Thanks. Their bites hurt." Mondo tried his best to defend the forest, but he and the other kokiris were getting overwhelmed by the monsters. Saria picks up the deku stick from the corpse. "The Know-It-All Brothers invited us over for a party, it's their birthday in a few days."
"It is? Whoops." Navi forgot. Luckily the triplets weren't picky about gifts. "Link, what should we get for presents?"
"I have a few ideas." Saria grew up with all three, and along with Link, knew what boys liked.
"Sweet!" James was looking at the new boomerang, Link bought it from a deku seller. It wasn't as strong as Link's weapon, but it was just as nice. "Those meanies won't stand a chance now." He waved it around.
''Don't throw it around the house, I just cleaned it." Jamie was admiring his own gift, a mask. He always liked playing outside, but ever since the Great Tree's death, he rarely did. The Skull Kids claimed that by wearing a certain mask, the monsters would leave the kokiris alone, they'll think they were one of them. When he put it on, the kokiris made a disgusted noise.
"Eeeewwwww!"
Jaime started laughing. He was wearing a monster mask, similar to the ones the skull kids had.
"Perfect."
"That's one ugly mask!" Daria was jealous, she always was curious about the outside world. How the Skull Kids managed to get their own masks, they wouldn't tell her. "Where can I buy one?"
"You know we can't leave the forest! It's the law!" Mido tells her with a bossy tone.
"Link did, and he's okay!" Jacob had his own gift, a new slingshot. His was old and wasn't looking forward to making a new one. "Thanks guys." It was made of steel, Link bought it used from a passing saleswoman.
"Just don't aim at us!" Fado said with annoyance. "But lend it to me whenever I go collect mushrooms." She looked critically at Link. "You seem different. More grown up." Link seemed different, more taller.
"That's because he goes on adventures!" Her fairie exclaims. She was worried about Fado, Fado was talking about leaving the Forest soon.
"The outside is overrated. What better way than home?" Mido was curious himself but remembered the Tree's warnings. "It's way better here. Besides, I heard the old kokiris turned into Stalfos when they left!"
"That's just silly rumours. Link left, and he's fine!" Jasper didn't care much about material things, out of his brothers, he was more mature. But he did appreciate the gift he got, a small wheelbarrow. Link made arrangements to have it delivered a few days ago. Jasper was always moving rocks and materials around. Link figured this would make his chores easier.
The party went on till ten. Once the cake and presents were opened, the guests went home. Link escorted his friends, although they knew how to defeat monsters, there were too many.
"Tell me about everything!" Saria was sleeping over, she missed her best friend.
"Yeah, we're curious ourselves!" Her fairie was sad she wouldn't be with Saria anymore, Saria told her she had her own destiny to fulfill soon.
Link and Navi exchanged glances. They talked to Saria in the future, would telling her things now change things?
"If you don't want to tell, we'll understand." Saria respected Link's privacy too much. "But tell me about the Princess."
Link and Saria were outside looking at the night sky, they waited till their fairie guardians fell asleep to talk.
"So it's true." Saria had her visions about the Man on a Black Horse running out of Hyrule Castle. "He...caused things didn't he." The Tree dying, the monsters taking over their homes, Saria didn't know what to do next.
Link nodded.
Saria looked across the village. She saw the fairies flying about, they watched over the kokiris while they slept in their homes.
"You asked about our ancestors, the old kokiris." Saria always wondered about them herself. She saw the book Link carried around and asked what it was about. When Link handed it to her, Saria only read the first few parts. She refused to read any further once she read about the Poe murders, she hated scary stories. She figured the book got worse with each page. "To be honest, I don't know. The Great Deku Tree, He didn't like talking about it. He said he was too young to remember." Saria heard stories from both Mido and Fado, that they found a stone in the Lost Woods with names similar to theirs. When they asked about the Great Deku Tree, all He said it was a memorial site. He refused to say more, that the kids needed to mind their own business. She sighed. "I have something to tell you. I'm, I'm leaving." She teared up.
Link already knew. But he held her hand.
''Thanks Link." They look out at their home, not caring it was getting overrun with monsters. "The Princess, what was she like?"
A few days later Saria was showing Link the memorial site.
"I wonder who they were?"
Link and Navi didn't say a word. They knew Saria saw the names, but all three were curious about their disappearance.
"Whoever they were, I'm sure they had their reasons." Saria put down a flower. "Let's play our ocarinas, that way we can send messages to one another anytime we want to!"
Later that night, Link and Saria were sharing a tent. They were camping in the woods, Saria didn't want to be alone. It was completely innocent, they were children.
"So the outside world is more different than I expected." Link gave her a censored version of the diary's contents, he didn't want to upset his best friend. "I cannot decide what story is my favourite." She loved the story about the gorons, but the one about that actress was exciting. She yawned. "Tell me more." Their fairies went home for a few days, they knew Link would protect Saria.
Link opened the book.
Din huh? Nothing surprises me anymore. The screams, they are getting more and more rare. Which is a bad thing. Goddess, I never thought I'd miss them.
Link stopped reading when he saw Saria covering her ears.
"No. Don't stop. I have to be brave." She forced herself to stop her trembling. "Keep going."
Remember those kokiris? There was one among them, an outsider. He was a grown man, however, he was found wandering alone in the forest as a young child.
Where was he? The last thing he remembered was having a few ales at the milk bar, the next thing he knew he woke up in the middle of nowhere.
"Just one more Romani, what could it hurt?" He mumbled. "Hell of a party at least." One last hurrah before the wedding, at least he got that out of the system. He held his neck. "The hell?" Did he lose weight? His clothes felt smaller. "Mom was right, I lost too much weight." He looked around and blinked. "Huh?" Why was he in the woods? Before he could wonder about his bearings he was startled by a voice.
"You're not a kokiri, who are you?" When Kenric turned around, he was startled by what was behind him.
"That's it, no more alcohol." It was bad enough that he was lost, but a ghost was staring back at him. "Excuse me, where is the path back to town?" Kenric hoped it wasn't far, he only had a few rupees.
"Kokiri Village is not that far from here. Are you a Hylian?"
When Kenric looked closer, he realized the kid in front of him had no face.
"A imp?" The last time he saw one was when he was a little boy. "You're so tall!" Every story he heard was imps were small kids that wandered away and died when they couldn't go home. Those lost kids who were lucky or unlucky to die in a forest became something else, a creature who lived forever as a living ghost. Hating adults, whom they blamed for abandoning them when they were still alive, stayed forever as imps, always playing with small children whenever they saw one nearby.
"Tall?" The imp looked confusingly at Kenric. It turned its head in a tilt. "You must be new. My friends, they can help you. Follow me." He vanished in the trees.
"Hey wait!" Where did he go? Kenric was about to follow him when he tripped hard on his face. "Owwwww!" He was embarrassed when he started crying.
"Oh no!" Kenric looked up from his sobs when he saw a fairie flying above him. "Don't cry."
Kenric was embarrassed when he saw the young fairie looking concerned. He forced himself to wipe his eyes.
"Just allergies." He lied. He was about to take out a handkerchief from his pocket when he realized how small he felt. "What the..."
If an outsider was staring in the direction of the forest, I'd imagine they'd see birds flying away from the screams.
"Wh...My clothes. Why are my clothes so big?" He panicked. He looked down at himself. "My hands. They were so small. "My body. My voice." He pulled up his sleeves, but when he tried pulling up his pants, he couldn't. They were too long. Dazed, he sat down.
The fairie felt sorry for him, poor kid must've been abandoned by his parents. She heard the stories about a possible war.
"Um, not to be nosy, but how did you get here? Did your parents abandon you?" She wasn't sure if she should take him to the Great Tree.
"My parents?" He shook his head. "Father's always busy, but he'll never abandon his family. And my mom." He gave a wiry smile. "She always was super overprotective." His fiancee always called him a mama's boy. He stood up, trying to recall his memories of the night before.
The fairie watched as he pulled up his pants which were falling off him.
"My shoes too?!" Kenric was in disbelief. He patted his body. "Wha..What happened to me?"
"You hungry?" Hearing her voice, Kenric's stomach growled.
"Yea..." He was too confused to say anything else. He followed the small fairie into the woods, walking barefoot since he couldn't walk with his shoes while carrying his things.
"Well whatever happened to you, we'll make sure you're okay. Your family, they may be looking for you."
Kenric, not many go to the Forest, never mind meeting the kokiris. He was in awe meeting them.
"Where are we? Where are all the adults?" Every house had kids walking in and out of them.
"The Forest. Home to the Kokiris." The fairie tells him. She waved to a kokiri who was staring at them with curiosity. "This is Sara, my charge." Sara nodded at the stranger.
"Hi." Kenric holds out his hand. Sara, not knowing what to do looks at him with curiosity. Embarrassed, he takes his hand back.
"My apologies." Kenric looks around the small village. "Are there any adults I can talk to? Especially a mage?" Kenric wondered if he was under a curse.
"A mage?" Sara shook her head. "I'm sorry. We don't have anyone like that around here. Although we do have a doctor that comes around once in a while."
"A doctor? What the hell." Kenric needed to see someone, anyone to return him to normal.
Sara blushed at his language, she wasn't used to hearing swears.
"You're lucky you came here, the dekus, their village is open to do their annual trade."
"A deku?" He knew the dekus came around to trade once in a while, his mom had an account with one of them. "Can you take me to them?" Maybe they'll take him to a healer.
Sara, not knowing what to do, takes Kenric to the woods.
"Isn't this the path to the Lost Woods?" He heard the stories. The path ahead of them was dark and ominous looking. He was dressed in the kokiri's clothing, his old clothes no longer fit.
"Yes, but don't worry, I know every path there is, just stay close to me." Sara takes his hand. "You have money, the dekus charge a lot."
"I think so." Kenric usually didn't carry many rupees, he usually charged to his family's accounts. When he saw Sara take his hand, he looked curiously at her.
Sara blushed and let go.
"I just don't want you getting lost." She felt silly, she held her friends' hands all the time.
"Just lead the way."
Kenric follows the young kokiri in the woods, not knowing what to expect. The Lost Woods was not a friendly place for strangers.
Kenric dived out of the way, luckily the rock missed his head.
"Damn!" Stupid dekus. Wild dekus were naturally distrustful of outsiders, they attack if you go near their territory. Spying a rock, he hits it at the bush, making it dive back underground. "Sara? You okay?" Poor Sara was hiding behind a tree.
"I'm fine." Sara was embarrassed when the deku attacked. Usually, they didn't mind kokiris, but there were some meanies that lived among them. "I should have mentioned not all are friendly." She wasn't much of a fighter, she usually preferred to play music while her friends fought.
"I'll protect you. Although I'll need a weapon." He used his belt as a crude slingshot. He picks up a few pebbles. "Is the village far?" Sara was taking him to Deku Village.
"We are getting close. But we must hurry, darkness will be here soon, that's when the monsters come out." Sara heard wolves howling in the distance.
They walk through the forest, luckily there are signs pointing to the village. When they got there, Sara forced him to stop.
"Why are we stopping? It's getting dark now." He heard keese flying in the trees.
"The dekus here, they don't get many visitors, whatever you do, be on your best behaviour. The village chief is very protective of his daughter." Sara met her once, she tended to be a bit spoiled.
"Okay." Was there an inn? He hoped the beds fit him and Sara. He followed Sara to the hut at the top of the hill.
Knock, Knock
Both children wait for the door to open.
"Yes?" A formal-looking deku was looking at them with distrustfulness.
"Sir Butler," Sara curtsies to the butler. "My friend and I need medicine. Kenric here, he is under a curse." She elbowed Kenric to curtsey.
Kenric bows politely.
"Please. I can pay." Hopefully, he had enough rupees.
The butler looks at the boy.
"Come in. But keep your hands to yourself." He opens the door.
"Thank you." Sara was grateful, she wasn't looking forward to sleeping in the dark woods.
"Stay. I'll be right back." The butler gestures for them to sit on wicker chairs.
"These dekus are small, good thing we fit in these." Kenric met a few dekus, most were shorter than an average adult. "Once I'm cured, you know where I can catch a caravan back to Clock Town? What?" When he heard Sara giggling.
"I've never been outside these woods, you have to ask the dekus." She straightened up when the door opened. "Sir Deku." She bowed her head. She snorted slightly in Kenric's direction.
"Your Grace." Kenric bowed his head as well. When he heard Sara moving her head, he looked up. A large deku was staring at them with distrust.
"Isn't it late for children to be out this time of night? Especially after curfew?"
The kokiri had no curfew, but all went to bed after a certain time, however, Kenric was an adult.
"Forgive us, my friend here, he needs aid. We wouldn't have come all this way for nothing."
"Yeah, um, I'm in the wrong body. I didn't look like this yesterday." Kenric wished he knew what happened to him.
The deku walks over to Kenric and studies him closely.
"Hmm." He starts poking him.
"Hey!" The deku's arms were dry, it made his skin itch.
"Shush. He's just doing his job." The butler scolds.
"Sorry Sir." Kenric tried not to flinch, the probing made him itchy.
The deku leader examines him for a full minute, then after he was done with his examination, he asks Sara to leave the room.
"Will you excuse us? Butler, show her to a guest room."
"Yes sir." He leads Sara out of the room.
"Goodnight!" Sara wondered what was wrong with her new friend, Kenric was so nice. Once she was gone, the deku started asking him questions.
"Did you make someone angry recently? Or encounter a witch?"
"A witch? No." Kenric closed his eyes trying to remember the night before. "I had a few drinks, but nothing too excessive." He didn't drink Chateau Romani often, but it was his bachelor party. "I remember getting into a mild scuffle, but that's about it."
"Hmm." The deku looks into Kenric's eyes. "I see. Powerful magic at work."
"Magic?" He wasn't a mage, as far as he knew magic was banned at the Milk Bar. "How long will it last?" His wedding was in a couple of weeks.
"This magic is nothing I've ever seen, were you cursed recently?"
"Cursed?" Kenric was incredulous. "Why would I be cursed? I have no enemies." Sure his parents ruffled a few feathers, but as far as he knew, no one downright hated them.
"Son." The deku had never seen magic such as this. "You literally turned back the clock."
"Wow." Saria was in awe. "There was a deku village around here?" She knew there was a small clearing with a few dekus, but not a whole village. She and her friends used to attend the Forest Stage to watch the shows the dekus performed.
Link didn't say anything, but wondered if Kenric went back in time without knowing it. The kokiris didn't age, whatever happened to Kenric he must have travelled back in time. He yawned.
"You too? Yeah, it's getting late. Goodnight Link!" Saria snuggles in her sleeping bag and falls asleep.
As tired as Link was, he had to make sure the fire outside was still lit, he had to keep the monsters away. Once he finished feeding the fire he looked up at the sky, the moon shining bright across the sky.
He closed his eyes for a few seconds, listening for any danger. Sensing none, he goes into their shared tent, snuggles in his own sleeping bag and falls asleep.