Note: Sorry for the delay, but the next bit of content is very loosely based on a side story in the manga, but there are changed elements to fit this retelling better. Shorter chapter this time, sorry!

Plus, wholesome? I didn't expect that, but I'll take it. Of course, things will get darker over time, yet I do want to capture a more innocent tone in the beginning while the characters are still children.

Anyhow, here we go!

Deciding the Roles

"Ok, does everyone know what the rules are?"

The two participants nodded, the rest of the Kokiri standing outside of the fenced-off area. Despite the votes having been cast, given that both Link and Mido's items were pulled out at the same time, an argument about who should play the role of the Hero was had. Of course, given that Saria was the Princess, Mido immediately proclaimed the role should go to him, yet some of the Kokiri protested that Link had just as much of a claim to it, seeing as his item was pulled out too. This, of course, led to a heated discussion that eventually led to flaring tempers and harsh words exchanged by both. Especially Mido's obvious but still painful observation that Link didn't have a fairy.

Just as Link and Mido were about to get physical with each other, Birch suggested that the two decide who would play by the results of a competition. If anything, Saria was just relieved things hadn't escalated into violence. True, Link and Mido were just as worked up, but better to exert that energy on things other than exchanging blows. Not long after this decision did everyone come out to a small obstacle course situated by the Know-it-All Brothers' house.

"Ok!" Phoebe said. "The first one to get through and come back is the winner! And the Hero!"

The very mention of the coveted role got both boys into the frame of mind necessary to accomplish the task before them.

"Are you ready?" Karya asked instead of her twin. Both Link and Mido nodded, silent as they readied themselves to achieve victory. "Ok…" Bothtwins got on either side of the fenced walkway, arms raised. "On our mark…" Karya said.

"Get set…" Phoebe said after.

Then, they both swung down their arms, shouting in unison. "GO!"

Present

Go. Link repeated this to himself as he continued his journey through the dense sea of trees, the canopy above blocking out the moonlight the further along and deeper he went. Of course, upon stopping to catch his breath, he realized he had missed one crucial detail.

Go where?

"Hey!" Link felt a tiny form plop down on his shoulder, a glowing orb with wings panting, her flying appendages sore from trying to catch up to the boy. "You…you dolt!" she wheezed, wiping some sweat from her brow. "What do you think you're doing, charging in here? You don't even know which direction to go in!"

Yes, he kind of realized that now, Link thought. Still, even if it stung for Navi to state the obvious, he had no choice but to accept the harsh reality of his stupidity. True, while he had never exactly been "allowed" to wander the Lost Woods, that didn't stop him from going, seeing as, well, sometimes the boy needed time to himself, away from everyone else. Everyone that, unintentionally, reminded him that he, despite Saria's assurance, wasn't like the others. Even with Navi by his side now, Link couldn't help but feel out of place. True, he was on a special assignment from the Great Deku Tree, but as far as he knew, no Kokiri had been able to leave the forest, let alone return alive. No one besides him.

"Hey!" a familiar exclamation brought the boy out of his musing and back to the present. Having finally caught her breath, Navi sat herself on her charge's shoulder, letting her tired wings rest. "Look, I guess it's good you're starting to think about your foolishness NOW," she said, adjusting her hair. "But that still doesn't change the fact that you'll get yourself lost if you don't follow me!"

Link raised a brow upon hearing this. "You…" he began. "You..know…a way?"

"Well, not exactly," Navi confessed. Link appeared disappointed with this answer. "True, I know SOME areas of the Lost Woods, but not the entire forest," she then surveyed the environment around the both of them. Despite having dwelt here all her life, the fairy couldn't help but notice some changes in the world surrounding her and her boy.

While the thick collection of trees and other various forms of flora always appeared wild and untamed, there was never anything off-putting or malevolent. The forest, while still deep and vast, was no more dangerous than the home of the Kokiri, the only hazard being a possible sprained wrist or ankle from climbing trees. Upon entering the nostalgic setting, both boy and fairy couldn't help but feel that something was…different. True, nothing appeared out of sorts, the trees still towering and thick, the bushes full and fat with fertile, green leaves, and some flowers sprouting nearby were blooming, trying to catch whatever sparse moonlight they could in the small open areas between the branches. And yet there was a strange tension in the air, a form of unease that permeated the entirety of the once peaceful woodland.

Link didn't express it openly, but it almost felt as if they were being observed.

Watched.

"Well, never mind," Navi said, having grown tired of the silence. "Let's get moving."

"Where to?" Link questioned.

"I…don't entirely know," the fairy confessed. "But, from what you told me, she must've been somewhere close to where that area she took you before."

Link nodded, remembering what he had seen in his dream. Of course, the only question was where that place was.

"It can't be too far away," Navi mused aloud. "I think I remember her taking a left here…"

As the two began their unknown, but assumedly long journey deeper into the greenwood, they didn't realize that their suspicions of being watched couldn't have been more correct.

The Previous Year

This was becoming a little harder than he thought it would be. True, Mido knew the Know-it-All Brothers went all the way with everything they did, but how did they get giant boulders in their obstacle course?!

Regardless, the red-haired boy jumped out of the way in time, falling on his face. He saw a shadow above him and saw it just as quickly pass, realizing that Link had gotten ahead of him.

"Darn it…" he hissed, watching as the blonde boy continued moving on. "Always trying to show off, aren't you?" he got up and dusted himself off. Even if he didn't see it, that blonde was probably smirking at him when he walked by! "Saria's probably waiting on you at the finish line instead of me…"

In truth, Mido couldn't have cared less about who got what role, as he wasn't really interested in a story about romance anyway. But now that Saria was the Princess, he had to make sure he secured the role of her love. He HAD to. Had she been anyone else, he probably wouldn't have minded who he got to play, but he had to win now! He had to win for her!

"Then maybe she'd actually notice me."

Still, Mido, despite his frustration, knew that, as much as he hated to admit it, Link always somehow managed to be faster than him, especially as the years went on. As if his body was slowly becoming stronger and stronger, even if a Kokiri's form was supposed to never change past a certain point. If anything, it was just another trait that made Link a total weirdo. Still, if Mido didn't do something, Mr. No-Fairy would be the one to fill the role that he needed to seize. But what could he do?

Mido's blue eyes then fell on a pebble small enough to fit in his hand or pocket, but should someone trip over it, it'd certainly give them a bit of a tumble.

Perfect.

Present

"Hey!" Navi whispered, getting LInk's attention. More so by tugging on his hair than him actually heeding her voice. "Listen," she then said. "Do you hear that?"

Link looked around, ears tuned in to pick up what his fairy was seemingly detecting. It was then, after a few moments, that he heard a soft moaning a short distance away. And, upon looking ahead, he noticed a green glow from in between the leaves of a nearby bush. He began to put a face and name to the light's appearance, and as he drew closer, it became clear as to who he had just heard.

"Compa!" Navi exclaimed, fluttering down to the green fairy on the ground, who was now just starting to recover. "Are you ok?"

"Navi?" the green-winged creature questioned. "What are you doing here?" she then gazed upward, noticing a far larger shape observing her. "And Link? How did you…?" she then got to her senses, shaking her head. "You know what? It doesn't matter how you got here," she said, getting airborne once again. "The important thing is that someone is here to help!"

Link bit his lip, Compa's words confirming his fears. Saria was in trouble, just as Mr. Owl had said.

"Where is Saria?" Navi asked, helping her friend fly upward upon realizing she was struggling.

"I don't know," Compa confessed. "But I do know she was taken."

"By who?" Link inquired, drawing out his sword.

"The Imps," the green fairy said.

"Imps?" Link asked, raising a brow. What were those?

"The Lurkers in the Trees," Saria's guide and companion explained. "The Dwellers in the Dark," she then fell against a nearby leaf, the bush it was attached to supporting her weight.

"Compa, what are you talking about?" the blue fairy flew over to her fellow fay being, who was slowly slipping into unconsciousness.

"The…Stick Children," the green fairy breathed out. "Those who serve…the Baga Tree."

"Hey, what's that?"

Mido stopped for a moment, Recti having caught up with him. The redhead was stopping for a moment to catch his breath, yet in doing so, he stood just mere feet away from an object in the grass.

"Hm? What's what?" He asked his fairy.

"That!" the pink fairy said, flying over to a small item.

Mido followed and immediately recognized what it was. "That's Saria's ocarina!" he cried out, blue eyes growing wide in terrible comprehension. "She never goes anywhere without it!"

"Then that means she's…?" Recti looked over, her charge standing before another tree hollow that led deeper into the Lost Woods. "Mido? We've got to get back and tell the others!"

"There's no time for that!" Mido shouted back. "Saria's in danger, and she can't wait!"

"Mido, wait!"

"Comfy?" Navi asked, Compa adjusting her posture.

"It's manageable," she said. Due to her exhaustion, she had taken to nesting in Link's pocket for the time being. "But that's not what's important. We have to save Saria."

"Right." Link nodded.

Unknown to either boy, both Link and Mido traveled further, their fairies tagging along, each with the sole goal in mind of rescuing the green-haired girl they had known throughout all of their lives.

Previous Year

"Here they come!"

Upon hearing Fado's declaration, everyone gathered at the finish line to see the two participants in the competition approaching it fast. Everyone was cheering for Link and Mido to hurry if not just so they could get on with working on the play, but Saria's eyes centered on the blonde boy, her upper teeth biting down on her lower lip. She didn't dare say it out loud, but, if she had her way, she already knew who her Hero would be.

Mido cursed that he was on the losing end. Just why did that stupid kid have to be so good at everything?! Well, everything that didn't involve being a proper Kokiri. But Link could run faster than him, was stronger than him, in every way physically, was just more capable than him! It wasn't fair!

It was then that Mido remembered the item he picked up beforehand. And that also came with the realization that it would be very handy to make use of right now.

Link approached the finish line, just a few feet away. He was so close! Just a bit more, and he would…?!

"Oof!" the blonde boy suddenly found himself falling forward, his foot having hit something hard and dense. This caused a chain reaction of the young child falling forward down on his face, just a short distance away from the end goal. It only took a short amount of time for Mido to cross before him.

Link realized he had lost.

"Guess that means Mido's the Hero!" Fado proclaimed, cheeks growing hot and she fawned over the race's victor. "Still…" she muttered. "It makes me wish I was the Princess."

Among the crowd celebrating Mido's triumph, Saria walked over to Link, who was just now recovering from his fall. "Are you ok?" she asked the boy, kneeling down to assist him.

"Mm-hm," Link responded, although his foot still ached somewhat.

"Hey, what's that?" Saria asked, noticing a small object by her friend's brown boot. Inspecting it closer, the green-haired girl realized it was a small rock. A rock that, while she couldn't exactly prove it, seemed to not have been there before. Almost as if someone had picked it up to carry around with them.

A scenario immediately began to form in her head, the girl's lips tightening with anger. But before she could say anything, Link got up and dashed off, going off into the Lost Woods despite his friend's pleas to come back.

Note: Sorry, short one again, but the next one will be longer, I promise! The truth is, I was super paranoid that I'd screw this section up, hence why I'm going slow with it. But I think I found a way I can make it work, both in pacing and in the overall narrative, for hints of future events and discoveries will be seen.

Thank you for reading, and I promise I'll deliver something longer next time!