Link wasn't even sure if he screamed on the way down. He didn't remember doing so, or if he did, he somehow didn't hear it. What he did remember was the infinite darkness around him. The light above soon faded away, and he saw nothing below. He would also be able to later recall the strange noises he heard, a strange buzzing sound like hundreds of people talking at the same time. It was the only thing he was able to hear as he fell, not even the wind going past him was audible.
This freefall was a brand new sensation to him, and he had no idea what to do with his body. He could struggle against the fall all he wanted, but that wouldn't accomplish anything. In the end, he just braced his body for the inevitable impact. He buzzing of the voices got louder and louder, and he swore he saw shapes fading in and out in the darkness around him. Link never got a good look at these shapes, and he had no idea if they were even real or not.
The fall felt as though it lasted several minutes, yet also seemed over in an instant. With a surprisingly soft thud, Link made his landing and the buzzing noise stopped instantly. What was even more surprising was the fact he survived without any serious injury. He would probably bruise a bit, but that was all. His heart hammering against his ribcage, the boy found himself shakily standing up for the third time that day, looking around to see where he was. A new unseen source of light allowed him to at least see a bit of his surroundings.
Sadly, Link wasn't able to see very much of the room he was in. The walls around him seemed to be made of wood, as would be expected given he entered a tree. It didn't feel cold like he would expect it to. If anything, it was almost a bit warm. Ahead of him was a small pool of shallow water. How did that get in here?
Moving on, Link looked down to see what he landed on and was surprised to see a massive flower, larger than any he'd ever seen before. How did he manage to fall so far and land without injury? At least, he thought he fell far enough to die on impact. It was all such a blur…
Link's thoughts were interrupted as new sources of light appeared. Bright, blinding lights from above illuminated the room, making Link flinch and cover his eyes with his arm. After a moment, he lowered his limb and saw him. The Skull Kid. To Link's surprise, the imp was actually floating in midair, lying horizontally as if on an invisible sofa. The two fairies floated behind him, having finally caught up with the little thief. Link couldn't help but glance at the room now that it was fully lit. A grassy floor was beyond the large puddle, leading to the other side of the odd room, which held a large wooden door.
The Hylian didn't even stop to consider why there was grass in a place without sunlight. Not wasting a second, Link once more gave the imp an icy glare. "Where. Is. My. Horse?" He demanded, doing everything in his power not to yell out, his voice barely managing to hold back his rage. Link knew he had to keep a level head here. Freaking out and starting to scream wouldn't help him.
The Skull Kid let out a mocking laughter. "What? That useless thing?" He chided, shaking his head. "It wouldn't listen to a word I said! So, I did you a favor and got rid of it!"
A tranquil fury bubbled within Link as he processed the words. At the same time, he was so shocked that he found himself unable to move forward. That, and there was one last thing stopping from simply charging forward.
Fear.
There was something seriously wrong with this Skull Kid. At worst, the imps were mischievous but weak beings. The most danger they posed was shooting small rocks from their flutes. On top of that, the most magic they were able to use was being able to go about the Lost Woods with ease, almost seeming to vanish before unprepared eyes.
Jumping so high in the air? Floating? That was beyond the abilities of a Skull Kid. Something unique was going on here, and Link believed it was that mask. While no expert in magical objects, that mask gave off a disturbing aura. Just looking at it, Link was able to tell that there was something wrong and sinister about it. The eyes of it almost seemed to glow orange, and the green irises seemed to be staring right into Link's dull blue ones.
"What's with the dirty look?" The Skull Kid went on. "I just thought I'd have a little fun with you…" He said in a blatantly fake apologetic voice.
It was that last push that got Link to draw his sword, body almost shaking with unbridled fury. "My horse…You…" A part of him didn't want to believe it, that Epona was gone. Yet it was clear this thief had strange powers, so killing a horse wasn't hard to believe. The young child put his fears aside.
He was going to cleave the floating monstrosity in two.
The violent thought surprised Link, who despised the act of killing, even if the one being killed was some sort of horrific monster. Yet something about the Skull Kid really brought out something nasty in the boy. Maybe it was the mask. It felt so hard to think straight…
Instead of being intimidated, the Skull Kid let out a nasty laugh. "What, you think you can defeat me as I am now?! You're a fool!"
With those words, the imp shook his head erratically, a disturbing rattling sound echoing through the room, the mask's eyes glowing intensely. Instantly, sharp pains stabbed throughout Link's entire body. He collapsed to his knees, eyes wide open and mouth agape in a silent scream. He felt as though something invisible was crushing him, contorting him into a smaller form. While a lot of internal pain was raging through him, the boy's very skin was oddly starting to feel numb. The worst part was that Link's vision went white, so he was unable to simply look and see what was happening to him. In his hears rang the angry shrieks of dozens of creatures. Dekus? It was so hard to concentrate…
Link's vision went from white to black, and he passed out once more.
Aching pain. As Link roused again from unconsciousness, an aching pain throughout his whole body was what he instantly noticed. The second thing he noticed was how the room seemed bigger than before, with the Skull Kid and the two fairies floating in the same place as before. He had to see what that imp had done to him! Slowly, he leaned over and looked into the water, flinching at what he saw.
There was a Deku underneath the water's surface! A wooden, sad face stared up at Link from within the large puddle. Orange, depressed eyes lying over a perfectly circular mouth while underneath a head of yellowing leaves. To Link's surprise, the Deku was even wear a large green hat. A hat…like his. It also wore a green loincloth of sorts, leaving it with a bare chest. The only other clothes it had was strange leather gauntlets and small leather shoes. Almost forgetting about the Skull Kid, or even Epona, Link reached towards the Deku and stopped. He glanced over to his arm. It was small and wooden…a strange leather gauntlet on it. He gazed back at the puddle, the Deku's arm was raised in just the same way.
Link screamed.
At least, he tried to. The realization of what had happened to him would have normally made him scream at the top of his lungs, but the bizarre, alien vocal cords, throat, and mouth he had to work with stopped him. What came out of his circular mouth instead was a strange, raspy gurgling sound.
The Skull Kid erupted into a harsh laughter at the Deku Link before him. "That's great! That's rich! Honestly, it's a good look for you!" The imp's body shook at the giddy tittering he was directing at his victim. "You can stay like that forever!" With that, the Skull Kid started to float towards the door, which opened on its own as he got near, his two fairies following close behind.
Not even thinking, Link charged forward on his shortened wooden legs. He didn't even consider how much smaller and weaker he was, all he thought about was stopping the imp and destroying that mask! "Hey! Don't you dare!" Tatl yelled out, charging at Link and repeatedly ramming into his head. Normally, such an assault would have no effect on him, but his smaller and lighter form was actually knocked over as a result of the fairy's attack.
As this went on, the Skull Kid and Tael were on the other side of the doorway. The purple fairy paused, looking back into the room. "S-Sis! Hurry, you have to-"
The door slammed shut.
Seeming to forget about Link, Tatl flew towards the door at top speed. "WAIT! Skull Kid, I'm still in here! Come back!" Silence. The fairy tried bashing against the door in a vain attempt to open it, to no avail. She turned as Link got up on his feet, her light going red. "You!" She practically hissed, flying into Link's face. "This is all your fault, you little freak! If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have been separated from my brother!" Link simply stared at her. "Well, don't just stand there, Deku brat! Help me out!" She yelled at the top of her tiny lungs.
Link was simply stunned at being yelled at like this. It had been so long since anyone had raised their voice at him in an angry manner. For two years, everyone walked on eggshells around him at all times. They seemed almost scared to say anything negative towards him, allowing him to be a worthless and terrible person without being called out on it. It was as if going against him would somehow shatter the boy into pieces in their minds. If the circumstances were different, it would almost be a relief for someone to treat him normally.
"What are you staring at?!" Tatl went on when Link didn't answer, or really react at all. "Do I have something on my face? Come on, just go over and open that door!" She let out an irritated sigh, seeming to calm down a bit as her light went back to normal. "A poor, defenseless fairy is asking for your help!" Without waiting a for a response, she turned towards the door again. "Tael…will he be okay without me?" The fairy murmured to herself as she floated towards the door.
The shock wearing off, Link started to get his thoughts together. Okay. He was a Deku now, but surely this was something that could be undone. It was clearly some sort of a hex or curse, and those can be reversed! Somehow, he'd get his Ocarina back, return home, and perhaps one of the Great Fairies could help him out. There had to be someone in Hyrule that could reverse the spell. There just had to be! Besides, freaking out about it now would accomplish nothing anyway.
As he thought this all over, Link finally realized was he wasn't wearing his gear anymore! He whipped his head about, even looking towards the large flower, but saw no signs of his sword or shield or anything! Did the Skull Kid somehow nab those as well? Yet he also had this large hat, but not his tunic? Despite just thinking about how freaking out wouldn't help, the Deku couldn't help but feel panic rising within him. Without his sword and shield, how could he hope to defeat someone with that kind of magic?!
Taking a couple of warbly, deep breathes, Link forced himself to calm down. He'd…He'd just think of something along the way. Once more, he reminded himself that freaking out over the situation would get nothing done. He decided to try and keep his mind on other things, looking over at the fairy that had helped get his horse stolen and was now asking for her help. A part of him wanted to swat her out of the air, but that would also not get anything done.
Besides, she was too high for him to reach.
With small but rapid steps, the cursed child made his way to the door and looked around it. There was always some sort of panel to push to get these things open. Ah! Just as Link thought, a small indentation in the wall nearby was visible and almost begging to be pressed in. When the Deku did so, the door opened up again and revealed a wooden hallway. Wasting no time, Link dashed ahead. The hallway was short and, though Link didn't notice, decorated with strange paintings along the wall. Oceans and plants mixed together in strange hybrids followed Link as he went down the hallway and past the artwork. Before long, he came to another room.
Link wasn't able to get a good look at the new area he just entered before a white light filled his vision. That fairy again! "Hey!" She belted out, backing off a bit. "Don't leave me behind!" After catching her breath for a second, she let out a small sigh. "Look…about back there…I'm sorry about what I said, okay?"
May Din strike Link down on the spot if that dastardly fairy was even slightly sincere. Link found himself using the names of the Goddesses in vain at times, just a habit he picked up from hearing others do it over the last two years. It was something he hated, as he still had a hatred for the Golden Goddesses.
In any case, Link could tell she wasn't remotely sorry for what she said. The cursed child decided to speak his mind to the one who had helped cause so much trouble for him. Simply put, he wanted her to just fly away and leave him be! "Ngh…kkko…ggg…" Was all that came from the Deku's strange mouth. His throat seemed to clamp in an odd way when he tired to talk, and his mouth couldn't move like it did when he was a Hylian, the feeling unbelievably unnerving to the boy.
Instantly, Tatl burst out laughing, clutching her stomach as she nearly tumbled out of the air. "Oh! That's rich! Giants abound that's really good!" Any signs of remorse, real or otherwise, was out the window apparently. "You can't even talk right!"
In his haste, Link forgot about his failed attempt to scream correctly earlier. If he couldn't even do that, how could he hope to talk? Still, he wanted to try again. "Mmaaa…Llll…ckck…" A part of him wondered how he was able to make sounds that required lips and a tongue to make. The other part decided he didn't really want to know.
"Okay! Okay, stop!" Tatl demanded after another fit of laughter. "I won't be able to take it! Listen, I actually don't care at all if I hurt your feelings, but I need you, and you need me!"
Need her? When would Link ever need her? "Gggh…!" The Deku was hoping if he kept practicing, he'd managed to at least form half-coherent words at some point…
The fairy, clearly trying to hold in more laughter, cleared her throat. "Listen, you want to know more about that Skull Kid, right?" She asked rhetorically. "Well, I have an idea on where he's going. You help me get to him, maybe I'll talk him into changing you back. Deal?"
It was at this point that Link made another discovery about his body. He found that he was unable to make any changes in his facial expression when his attempt to glare at the fairy failed. He was just so filled with disgust towards her that he didn't care about his mask at that moment. It was odd because he had seen Dekus express before. He supposed it was like his voice, where with practice he could pull it off. For now, he was stuck with miserable looking eyes. Either way, he hated to admit it, but the fairy was right. He couldn't do this alone, and maybe the conniving fairy might be grateful enough to get his Ocarina back. Epona, sadly, was another matter entirely. What would he tell Malon?
He could already feel the guilt eating away at him, but as cruel as it may sound, he couldn't worry about that at the moment. Getting the Ocarina back was his first priority. Maybe he'd be able to play it, even with the strange mouth he now possessed. After a few moments, he gave a slow nod to the fairy. "Ghh…Mngga…."
"Alright! Deal!" Tatl said, clearly not caring what Link actually thought. "Not that you can even say it, but my name's Tatl, by the way. I guess I can just call you Deku Boy for now, huh?" Her tone was belittling and nasty, the kind of nastiness that came from someone who knew they could say whatever they wanted with no repercussions.
"Yagg…Rnggh…" Link wasn't even sure what he was trying to say at this point. Right now, he just wanted to say one actual coherent word. Anything at all. It was almost a bit frightening, as he now had no way to communicate if needed. His inability to read and write meant that, at best, he could mime what he wanted to say if the situation called for it.
"Yeah, yeah…" Tatl dismissively said, turning away from the Deku to observe the room. The foundation was unusual, with another one of those large flowers dead in front of them, and then a drop into a pit, one deep enough where the bottom wasn't visible. Across the pit, the path continued on, a door being the only barrier. "Well, this should be easy. Even someone as stupid as you should be able to get across!" She turned back to Link, who simply stared at her. "…What?"
"Hh…Bghh…" Link tried in vain to speak. With yet another sigh, he walked over and pointed down the pit. "Ngghhh…Oooo…"
"You don't know about the flowers?" Tatl asked, floating above the large plant. "Dekus use them for flight, don't you know that? Look, just try burrowing into it and you'll see!" She talked as though she was speaking with a particularly stupid toddler.
Dekus could fly? In all his years in the forest, Link had never heard of such a concept. That being said, the Dekus and the Kokiri weren't exactly friends, but he still saw a number of them around growing up. One thing Link knew for sure was that these large flowers were nowhere around the Lost Woods. Or…so he thought. Where was he right now anyway? Inside some giant tree he supposed, or he guessed he was underneath it? Was he still in the Lost Woods?
Thoughts for later.
For the time being, Link approached the flower and stood on it, not sure what to do. Looking down, he noticed the large hole in the flower's center. Not sure what else to try, he placed a foot in it, and then the other. Like some sort of switch was triggered, something unseen within the flower practically dragged the Deku into it faster than he had a chance to cry out. Before he knew it, Link found himself in a cramped yet somehow comfortable dark place within the flower. There was a momentary panic within the cursed child. Was this some sort of trap? Did that dastardly fairy trick him? Maybe this species of flower ate Dekus dumb enough to walk over it!
Link's thoughts were interrupted by Tatl, her voice somewhat muffled. "Hey! Look, I don't really know how it all works, but try…I don't know, grabbing for something? The Dekus I've seen do it come out with flowers!"
That at least eased Link's nerves. If Tatl was really trying to kill him, she probably would have mocked him and left instead. So, he took her advice and groped about in the darkness. For a few seconds, he couldn't find anything to grip on, then suddenly he wrapped his hands around what seemed like two stalks. Something else within the flower's biology got triggered as suddenly Link found himself shot straight up into the air; the wooden boy so startled he didn't even try to scream.
Next think Link knew, he was floating in midair! Looking two his hands, he saw each gripped a giant flower, the petals spinning around and keeping the Deku aloft. The next thing Link noticed was he was very slowly descending, the flowers only able to do so much.
"There! Maybe you're not as useless as I thought! Just…lean forward, I guess, and you should get to the door!" Tatl called from below, flying across the gap herself and waiting by the barrier for Link.
Taking the fairy's advice, Link leaned forward, slowly making his way across the gap. He found himself feeling a lot less nervous than he probably should have been. Compared to a lot of things he had done, this was nothing. Before long, Link found himself joining Tatl on the other side and by that point was close enough to the ground to simply let of the flowers, which instantly fell to the ground. "Brggh…Lkoo…"
Letting a snicker loose, Tatl shook her head. "You're really bad at the whole talking thing huh? Keep trying, though, the attempts never get old!" She floated closer to the door. "Now make yourself useful and open this up!"
"Kkkcchee…" Withholding another sigh, Link quickly found the door's panel and opened it up, allowing the two to continue on. The next stretch of the trip was long and uneventful. The Deku and fairy found themselves walking through what seemed like an infinitely long wooden hallway which consisted of a number of twists and turns. This time was spent with no real discussion. Tatl didn't seem to want to really talk with Link, but the cursed Hylian spent a lot of the time trying to talk, if only to himself. As the time crawled by, he actually found himself getting closer to real words.
It was hard to tell how much time passed with no sun to use as a reference. It could have easily been an hour, but Link didn't bother keeping track. "Hey! Look!" Tatl suddenly called out, nearly startling Link, who was looking down at his feet. The boy jerked up his head as the fairy flew over to what she had seen. Before the duo were two things. One was that the tunnel ended at a wall with a smaller, square opening leading even further. It was what stood before this opening that intrigued the cursed boy.
Tatl hovered near what seemed like an unusual, very small tree. It was only a foot or so taller than Link, and oddly enough didn't have roots going underground. Perhaps some kind of a wooden carving? Yet, there were a few leaves growing out of it at its top and out of its only two branches. The most disturbing aspect was the face. On this tree-like object was a simple face, a disfigured circular mouth underneath two sad eyes.
It looked remarkably like a Deku.
"Li…ke…mmme." Link managed to say. After all that practicing, he was able to at least form the words he wanted to some extent. Despite everything, he couldn't help but be embarrassed by the difficulty in saying just those two words, or how much smaller and squeakier his voice was.
"When did you manage to talk? On our way here?" Tatl asked, turning to the Deku. "Your attempts at talking stopped being funny a while in so I stopped listening." Not allowing Link to even respond, the fairy looked back to the tree. "It does look like you though. It looks so depressed, actually. It's kind of sad…" For once, the minx actually sounded sincere about something aside from cruelty, seeming almost sad herself.
A Deku-like tree along the same path the Skull Kid went, and now Link was a Deku himself? Could the two things be connected somehow? Not wanting to think of the implications, Link went past the tree, Tatl following behind him after a moment's hesitation. The smaller opening lead into a narrow hallway, one lined with small trees, none of them much taller than a fully grown adult. The other side was mere yards away, with another square opening leading into darkness. The duo pressed onward, and Link swore the hallway twisted and turned as he walked. Despite this, his vision remained the same, so he ignored the sensation.
The Deku and Fairy entered a dark room and immediately heard the sound of large wooden gears somewhere further ahead along with what sounded like running water. Link didn't even have time to get used to the darkness and make out what the room looked like before he heard a strange grinding sound behind him. He whipped his head around to see a pair of thick metal doors closing behind him. A wheezing, alarmed sound came from his alien mouth, but before he could even make a move, the doors slammed shut.
Wherever he was now, there was no going back.
"What the heck?!" Tatl exclaimed, going to examine the blockade. "Those were never here before!"
Link ignored Tatl's words, looking about the door and the wall surrounding it for some sort of button or switch to get it open. When nothing of the sort was found, he even tried opening it with his little wooden hands, not making them budge an inch. "Ge..t…ba..ck…?" It was hard enough to talk so speaking in full sentences was just impossible right now for the cursed boy.
"It'll be fine!" Tatl assured, sounding confident. "Someone from town probably knows how to open it." Her tone shifted to one of urgency, clearly wanting Link to just keep moving.
The Deku turned to his uncaring companion. "You…beennn h…ere…be…fffore?" That actually managed to calm the boy down a little, who was internally starting to panic. He felt foolish for doing so, in hindsight. Every door that closed could be opened again. Just because there wasn't an immediate way to do it now, didn't mean it was impossible.
"Well, yeah. I'm from here." Tatl said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Tael, Skull Kid and I only go into Hyrule to mess about in the woods, that's all."
So, Link was no longer in Hyrule. While that wasn't a good thing, he at least knew where he wasn't. Given it took less than a day to get here, that meant he must be in some neighboring country! And, assuredly, there were other ways back home than some strange tunnel found in…where was he now, again?
Turning away from the steel doors, Link looked about the area he was in, wanting to get his bearings. He was inside some old, stone building of sorts, that much was clear right away. Another obvious aspect was that the interior didn't seem particularly maintained well. There were brick walls, floor, and ceiling, all of which were full of cracks and chipped corners. There was moss or fungus all about too, a green mass that seemed to find great comfort in the damp area. It was too dark for the Deku boy to tell what it was exactly.
Walking forward, Link started to see the source of some of the noises he heard. Ahead of him spun a green, moss-or-fungus-covered waterwheel that seemed like it hadn't been checked up on in decades, yet it seemed to go about just fine. Below it ran a shallow torrent of water, both going and coming from a place off in the darkness and shut off by iron gates. Thankfully, a third path in the form of what seemed to be a rickety ramp lead upwards into what must have been a tower of some kind. "Place is always so disgusting…" Tatl murmured to herself, as if reading Link's thoughts.
Not offering any response, the Deku child made his way up the ramp with the fairy following, which was a lot less creaky than he expected. It could of course be the lessened weight of his new form. After the short walk, the two came across what seemed to be the only other room in the building. It was nicer looking, though that wasn't saying much. The main appeal was the lack of disgusting greenery, and the bricks were in slightly better condition. Link looked about and saw a rotating wooden pole in the center of the building, extending far into the ceiling passed massive wooden gears that spun continuously. Worn and with slight cracks, it didn't seem like anything like age or lack of maintenance would stop anything in this building from working. It seemed like the machinery could simply keep going until time reached its end.
And, as everyone knew, Time was eternal.
Despite the situation, Link found himself fascinated by the wooden pole and the gears. He had seen gears before, but not ones of such large size. It didn't seem like the devices really…did anything. Yet, as the Deku listened closer, he swore he heard some kind of wooden grinding coming from outside. Pointing upward, the cursed boy looked towards Tatl. "What…isss…this?"
"What? You don't know? With you being in the woods, I'd thought you'd have come here at least once." The fairy replied, speaking in a way as if Link was missing something obvious. "Look, you'll see when we get outside, alright? Save the stupid questions until then. Or, better yet, just keep them to yourself." The fairy floated further into the room, over a small stone staircase leading to a pair of wooden doors. Like everything else in the building, they were old and worn. Adorned on the wood was a strange and intricate symbol painted onto it, one that Link didn't recognize. In the cracks of the door, a faint sunlight spilled in and revealed the bits of dust floating about the air. The Deku went on to follow the fairy and nearly reached the door when-
"You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?"
"Gah!" Tatl exclaimed as she and Link quickly turned around. "Who's there?!" She, almost seeming to do so instinctively, hid behind the Deku's head, only to peek out a moment later.
Before Link was a surprisingly familiar face. One he hadn't seen since Princess Zelda had returned him to his childhood. The man standing before the duo was tall and lanky, wearing a neat and clean purple outfit, complete with a matching robe, even his shoes were purple, ending in curled points and showed signs of wear and tear. He wore a pair of golden arm bands, and a matching ornament around his neck, suspiciously expensive for someone of his trade. The face of the man itself was just as it always was. A pair of squinty, almost closed eyes above a toothy and serene smile and below a neatly combed head of red hair. The grin was paradoxically calming and unnerving, and Link had never seen the man without it.
The man, the Happy Mask Salesman, was someone Link only met at all in the alternate timeline. By the time the boy was able to effectively go back into the marketplace after his quest, he had found out the Happy Mask Shop had closed, and its owner had moved on elsewhere. For reasons unknown, even to Link, he had felt saddened by the news. The salesman wasn't someone Link had grown attached to, the boy didn't even know his name, yet he still felt melancholy about knowing the two wouldn't cross paths again.
It seemed fate had decided to finally rejoin the two, however. Link had noticed that the man hadn't change at all these past two years, even wearing the same outfit. The one and only difference was the Happy Mask Salesman now carried a massive pack, one large enough that the Deku was surprised the man didn't fall onto his back. He could see a few masks clipped to the outside of the pack; one displayed an unnerving screaming face, another a red and black demonic looking visage, and even the familiar Spooky Mask.
Link had to wonder just why the salesman was here. To get into this building, at least the way that the cursed boy got here, was through the Lost Woods. It wasn't exactly a secret that those woods were dangerous, and it was very foolish for Hylians to enter it. Even Link was nervous about going in, but his desperate need to find Navi got him to enter. Besides, with the Ocarina of Time, he had a way to escape if needed. Why would a mask salesman be going through the Lost Woods, presumably all alone? Despite the dangerous area he had to go through, the ever-smiling man looked perfectly fine, no signs of injury or fatigue.
Still, in a way it was kind of a relief to see a familiar face all the way out here, even if the Happy Mask Salesman had no idea who Link was anymore even without the curse now placed on the child. "Who…arrre…y-you?" Link asked, having to play dumb. He couldn't help but internally wince at his alien vocal cords making him stutter.
The Happy Mask Salesman let out a jovial chuckle, as if Link had told him a humorous joke. His toothy grin spread even farther, and he placed a hand over his chest and bowed to Link as the Deku took a few steps closer. Tatl continued to partially hide behind the cursed child. "I own the Happy Mask Shop, you see. I search far and wide in search of rare masks." His voice was rich and cheery, Link almost thinking the man was about to open his pack and show him his wares. "During my travels, a very important mask was stolen from me by an imp in the woods." Despite his words, he still sounded like all was right in his life.
An imp in the woods? "Ssskull Kid?" The Deku boy asked, feeling he already knew the answer. That strange and terrible mask the Skull Kid wore belonged to the salesman then? Why did he have such a mask? He didn't notice it, but Tatl went entirely out of sight behind his head.
The grinning man let out another small laugh as he stood up straight again. "The very same! I was at a loss, but then I came across you." Another small bout of laughter. "Now, don't think me as rude, but I've been following you."
"Nggh?" Link asked, his speech coming about so suddenly that he was unable to get the word out correctly. Just how did the Happy Mask Salesman follow him all this way? The area where he needed to use that flower alone should have stopped the man in his tracks, never mind the fact that neither Link nor the fairy noticed the man following them. At least, he assumed Tatl didn't notice, thinking she would have spoken up if she had. Link was tempted to simply back up and make his way through the wooden doors, but he found his legs frozen in place.
As if reading Link's mind, the salesman put his hands up in a surrendering gesture. "Now, I know that sounds sinister, but I assure you I have good intentions! After all, I can return you to your normal form!"
So, the Happy Mask Salesman even saw Link's transformation? How? That room was so small, there was no way he could have been hiding in some corner somewhere. Perhaps…the man could turn invisible? What else could allow such a thing to happen? The Deku was tempted to ask about those sorts of things, but the promise of returning the cursed boy to his former self took priority. "R-R-Really?" He asked, his alien body forcing a stutter out of him.
"Really!" The man echoed back cheerfully. "If you can get back the precious item that was stolen from you, I will return you to normal. And, in exchange, all I ask is that you also get that mask from that imp and return it to me!"
Precious item? The Ocarina? How did the salesman know it had been stolen? Just how long was the man following Link? His initial comfort in the familiar face was now replaced with paranoia. Still, the salesman promised he could restore Link to normal…sure, he could be lying, but at the moment this was Link's best bet. Despite this, he felt nervous about trying to get that mask back. Even if he was still a Hylian, there was something very off about the heart-shaped object and the Skull Kid that wore it. As a smaller, weakened Deku, he felt almost entirely powerless.
"You must not doubt yourself." The salesman said, once more seeming to read the cursed boy's thoughts. "Is it not a simple task? Surely for someone like you, this shouldn't be difficult."
Link wasn't sure if he had blood anymore, but something inside him grew cold. The once-Hylian's adventures through time were kept as a secret from the general public of Hyrule. Only the Royal Family, Sages, and Malon knew what had happened. No one else, especially a man Link technically never met, should know about his quest. Yet, what else could he mean by what he said? The most incredible thing he had done in the forest was managing to keep a grip on Epona for more than a few seconds as she sprinted through the trees. At the moment, Link wasn't sure what to do or what to think, finding himself unable to move or talk.
"Yes, not difficult at all!" The smiling man continued on. "Except…" For the first time, he started to sound serious, actually sounding grave although his expression didn't change at all. "…I am a very busy man, and I must leave this place in three days. I would be most gracious if you could gather your precious item and my mask within that time. Yes…you are young, and I know you have tremendous Courage within you. You'll get things right away. I just know it." He let out one last chuckle. "I am counting on you…"
Three days? That seemed like a lot of time, at least, but it depended on where exactly Link had ended up. If it was somewhere where the Skull Kid had a lot of places to go or hide from him, that three day period could be difficult to follow. Still, though, he felt a great sense of paranoia in regards to the man before him. Just how much did he know? He seemed so calm and jovial, yet he so clearly knew something he wasn't supposed to, and that greatly unnerved the cursed boy.
Realizing that the man was expecting Link to start his search, the boy turned and had to resist the urge to run away from the Happy Mask Salesman, instead walking towards the door as he normally would, Tatl practically clinging to his hat. With a deep breath, not sure why he was even taking one, the Deku placed his hands on the door and pushed them open, letting the sunlight stream in…
A/N: The second half of the Prologue is done, though I guess really the entire first set of three days could count as that. In any case, each of the days will be its own chapter, so still another three chapters until brand new material crops up. It'll be nice actually writing up with new interactions and events within Link's time in Termina. Feels almost nostalgic to have Link back in this sort of setting again.