Note: Hello! So sorry for the delay! Truth is, I was sort of stumped in how to do this particular part of the story, but I think I've figured something out.
Ok, here we begin the trip back to the Lost Woods, as well as learn more about who led Ganondorf to the Kokiri Forest.
This particular small arc is based on a bonus chapter in the manga that takes place before the events of the game. The character I've taken from there has been tweaked a bit and expanded on, but for the most part, aside from his origin, nothing is really different.
Also, I am so, so, SO sorry for being late. The truth is, I've actually been experimenting with Clip Studio Paint, as I'm thinking of trying to adapt this into a comic/storyboard eventually. But I want it to have that illustrated look to it, so the assets in the program have been helping tremendously.
I don't know where I'd post comic pages, aside from DeviantArt, but I could perhaps present some examples if anyone is interested, as I have some based on the Prologue/First Chapter.
That said, here's the beginning of the Lost Woods section of the story! I hope you enjoy it!
Entering the Lost Woods
Previous Year
When autumn came in the Kokiri Forest, it was one of the few times that there was a distinct change in the environment. True, the seasons affected the Great Deku Tree's Domain, for what crops grew best depended on the time of year, yet, unlike elsewhere, the trees never lost their leaves in the winter, nor did they shrivel up and die. But come fall, the leaves began to change. They didn't fall off the branches and cover the ground, but greens transformed into vivid displays of yellow, gold, brown, and red. Crops such as beets, eggplants, and carrots were ideal for growing, and yams, while somewhat difficult to maintain, were always a sought-after item when they were harvested, especially for roasting over a fire.
But the most desirable products of the season were the large round pumpkins that Saria grew. Specifically in a reserved field hidden away from the rest of the small community of children. No one knew how she exactly did it, but they always came out fat and perfectly orange. They were emptied and the seeds roasted and seasoned with autumn spices (especially the coveted allspice, which Saria made every year as well). The pumpkins were then carved, and every child fashioned their individual squash with a face. Some were joyful and chipper while others appeared sullen, and some, like Flint's, had no emotion at all.
Mido always tried to carve an actual face into his pumpkin, as if he were trying to display his artistic talent. He almost always fashioned his crop in the likeness of either himself or Saria. Yet, no matter what he did, her eyes always seemed to fall on whatever Mr. No Fairy was making. The redhead didn't understand, it wasn't as if he had spent hours trying to hone his craft! Let alone trying to get Saria's attention! But she always paid attention to him more.
It drove him crazy.
By Saria's home, the green-haired girl and Link were carving and hollowing out their respective pumpkins. "So, what are you going to carve onto yours?"
Link pondered the girl's question. The truth was, he wasn't entirely sure. Yes, he had ideas, yet whenever he tried to execute them, they always came out looking weird. Carving a pumpkin was different than carving into the trunk of a tree. When Link made the outline of the shapes he wished to draw onto the surface of the pumpkin, the section he had cut out fell into the squash, ruining the image he was trying to carve. His ideal pumpkin would be one where the same picture he carved into his treehouse was on the orange surface of the squash, the lines outlining the fire-breathing monster and warrior with a sword shining when the fireflies came to light up the inside.
Saria always carved flowery shapes and patterns into hers, the shapes were somehow always perfectly symmetrical. It was as if the green-haired girl was a certified master at anything relating to plants. "Say, are you going to participate in the play this year?"
Link gazed curiously at the girl, confused.
"Don't tell me you've forgotten!" Saria said. "The play about the Hero and the Princess?"
Oh right! He hadn't even realized it was that time of the year already! Of course, the truth was, he hadn't really thought about it, mainly because, well, the play was a little…mushy.
"So, are you going to try out?" Saria asked the boy again.
"Uh…" Link's blue eyes shifted for a moment, the girl looking rather intensely at him as if she were waiting for an answer. A very specific answer. "M-Maybe?"
The other denizen of the Kokiri Forest grinned. "Great!" she said, quite pleased with Link's response. "I'm going to try out for the role of the Princess," Saria informed her blonde companion. "What are you going to try for?"
Whoa, Link thought. Not so fast! All of this had come onto him so suddenly! Still, he hadn't really been in the play before, but despite its more…lovey stuff, he liked it. After all, it did have monsters and swords and all that. Plus, the battle with the big bad villain at the end was always awesome! Of course, that left him with what role to try out for.
Although from the way that Saria looked at him, he began to suspect that she already had a role picked out for him.
Present Time
He was completely weightless, the wind ruffling his clothes as the great horned owl flew, carrying the boy in his talons as they flew from the ranch to the edge of the great forest of Hyrule. Then, finally, at long last, the massive bird reached his destination, landing with Link at the entrance to the Lost Woods.
"Now," Kaepora Gaebora told the boy, flying up to perch himself atop a nearby branch. "Even with Navi by your side, you will not find where you're going by simply running around," he said. "This forest is a dense and winding labyrinth, and while you meant no harm by it, the Great Deku Tree was right in not wanting you wandering off too far."
Link looked at the entrance to the woods, his home. Well, the entrance to it, at least. But still, even if he was here to help Saria, he couldn't go back. Not yet.
"Just what is going on?" Navi questioned. "Just what has happened to Saria?"
"She is unharmed," the great owl answered. "But the one who took her has hidden her well. And he will set out to stop anyone who he believes is coming to save her." this news was a relief to hear for Link, for at least the green-haired girl wasn't hurt. Still, there was something that the boy wondered about.
"Well, who took her? And even more, why?" the fairy inquired in Link's sted.
Kaepora Gaebora's eyes narrowed. "You have never met him, nor do you know of him, yet he has dwelt in the forest for ages. Perhaps as long as the forest has come into existence," the owl informed the child and his winged guardian. "He has been enemies with the Great Deku Tree for a long while, and so far, the Guardian of the Forest has been able to keep him at bay."
Link bit his lip. "But…" he murmured, knowing well why things had changed.
"Since the Great Deku Tree's departure, he has been encroaching on his rival's territory, the land that your fellow children reside in." Kaepora Gaebora finished. He saw the boy's features fall somewhat, the memory of his parental figure's death still fresh in his mind.
"And Saria?" the boy piped up.
The owl was quiet for a moment, yet ultimately decided that he would relay to Link a secret regarding his long-time friend. But just one, for he wasn't ready to hear the rest. "Your friend, she has a…connection to the forest. More so than the other Kokiri. Surely you've noticed it throughout your time with her, yes?"
If Mr. Owl meant that she had what was called a "green thumb," then Link supposed so. Although, he never understood the term. Thumbs weren't green, they were peach. And, if they were green, that was usually a sign something was wrong with you.
"Well, it is due to that trait that she is both the protector and target of this very sea of trees," the dark-feathered bird relayed. "Protector, in that she keeps the evil at bay in this forest, but target, in that she has not yet matured into her role as of yet."
"Role?" Link questioned.
"Yes, role," the owl answered. "Just as you have yours."
Link didn't entirely understand.
"Look, even if I've lived here my entire life," Navi began. "I still don't know everything about the Lost Woods. No one has seen how far it goes, and I'm sure only the Great Deku Tree himself knew that."
"Indeed," Kaepora Gaebora confirmed with a nod. "But, rest assured, once you enter, she shall know," he told the boy and fairy. "And then, she shall help you find her."
"How?" Link asked.
"Those ears of yours, boy," the great horned owl said, stretching out a wing, the tip of a long feather lightly brushing the cartilage of the green-clad Kokiri's elongated body part. "Use them," he then stretched out both his wings. "Now, I must go. There are things stirring in the west," his eyes turned in the direction he spoke of. The direction of the desert. "Unearthly, terrible things."
"What terrible things?" Navi inquired.
"It's nothing you need to concern yourselves over," Kaepora Gaebora told the two. "For now, focus on the rescue of your friend."
Link nodded, a determined expression forming on his face. He then turned and began to walk into the forest, through the entrance in the growing collection of trees that steadily grew taller and more full with fertile, green leaves.
"H-Hey!" Navi cried out, realizing she had been left behind. "Wait for me!"
The pale-blue-winged woman flew after her young charge, disappearing from view. Kaepora Gaebora began to take flight, his keen eyes spotting his destination from afar. "I may not be able to take care of all of your spies," he muttered. "But I can perhaps slow you down in ways you didn't anticipate."
Previous Year
"Ok, so everyone's put something in the pot!" Phoebe exclaimed, holding a pot composed of clay and mud painted with dyes made from plants. She set it on her table, the meeting to decide everyone's roles taking place in the Twin's home. "Now, everyone's agreed on what belongs to who, right?"
Everyone nodded in response.
"And there's no going back on who gets which role, right?" Karya asked, seeing the rest of her fellow children were in agreement. "Ok, first thing, we need to figure out who's going to be the background characters. We'll need three, maybe four."
She then reached into the pot and pulled out three leaves from three different trees and a single branch. Karya gazed up at the brunette-haired boy among them, clearly unamused. "Seriously, Flint?" she asked. "A stick?"
"What?" Flint shrugged. "You said to put something in."
"Yeah, but…couldn't you have been a bit more…creative?" Phoebe questioned.
"No less creative than putting leaves in." the stone-faced boy replied, turning his blue eyes to the Know-It-All brothers.
"Hey, ours have significance!" Cypress argued.
"Yeah, they match our names!" Elm proclaimed.
"It's still obvious," Flint answered.
"Yeah, well…it's better than a stick!" Birch retorted.
"Ok, ok, simmer down," Saria urged, trying to ease the tension. "What matters is that you got your roles."
"Hm, right," Flint said, pondering his task in the upcoming play. "Just as long as there aren't too many lines to memorize."
"Eek! A script!" Karya suddenly yelped clutching her head. "We don't even have a script yet!"
"Well, pick someone!" Mido urged the other redhead, who then proceeded to reach into the pot and pulled out a small, crushed-up flower.
"Aw…" Fado held the mishapen, squished plant. "I was hoping to take that one home with me."
"The Great Deku Tree doesn't like it when we pick flowers," Saria said, remembering the words the mighty Guardian of the Forest told her once.
"This one was already dead, he said I could make some potpourri out of it," Fado explained. "Anyway, great! I'm writing the script!"
The boys inwardly groaned, knowing well that the blonde was probably going to fill the play with all sorts of romance and all of that yucky stuff. Still, at least the fighting scenes would be cool.
"Ok, now we get to the main three roles!" Phoebe declared. "First up, the Princess!" she reached inside and pulled out the pit of a peach. "Who's is this?" the red-haired girl asked, confused as to who the center of the stone fruit even belonged to.
"Oh, mine," Saria responded. "I tried to plant that seed, but it seemed that this one is a dud."
"Well, still, congratulations!" Karya said. "You're the Princess!"
Saria grinned, although she felt somewhat put on the spot.
"Now, to decide the ultimate two roles," Phoebe said, building up the anticipation. "Who shall play the Hero, and who shall play the Monster?"
Her hand entered the shaped, spherical shape of clay and paint, Phoebe felt around, trying to find the last two objects that were placed inside.
"Well?" Mido asked, impatiently.
"I'm looking!" the other redhead said. "It's just…a little harder when it's nearly empty already. You could've chosen something bigger."
After a few moments, he could take it no longer. "Oh, heck with it," Mido said, rising from his seat and reaching into the pot. Instinctively, he grabbed an object with both hands and brought them out, unfolding his fingers to see just what he had seized. In one hand was a torn piece of green cloth from one of his outfits (that he had yet to repair) while in the other rested a single pumpkin seed. "Who's this belong to?" he asked but then realized that there was only one who could've put it in. "Great job, Mr. No-Fairy," he scoffed. "No one was going to find that in there."
Link scowled. The item placed in the pot had to have some relation to them so everyone would know who put in what, and the boy liked pumpkins, so why not put a seed in?
"Wait a minute," Flint then spoke up. "You grabbed both at the same time," he told Mido.
"Yeah, so?" the self-proclaimed leader of the Kokiri asked with a raised brow.
"Well," the brunette boy continued, folding his arms. "Who gets to play who?"
Present Time
Kokiri Forest
Finally, her charge had come to a stop. "Mido!" the red-haired boy had stopped at the entrance of the Lost Woods, standing before the darkened void that eventually led into the winding maze of trees and various other flora. Some of which weren't all that friendly. "Look," Recti huffed, stopping for a moment to catch her breath, standing atop Mido's left shoulder. "I get that the Great Deku Tree could be a stickler for rules," she wheezed. "But the Lost Woods isn't really a place for a kid to go. Especially at this hour."
Mido said nothing, continuing to gaze up at the entrance, his body trembling slightly. Though whether it was from the night air or tension, he didn't know, but he wasn't going to admit weakness either way.
"Ok, now you're beginning to sound like Link," the pink fairy said. "In that, you're being really weird right now."
"Do you think she's in trouble?"
Recti raised a brow. "What?" she asked. "Who?" it didn't take her long to realize just who he was talking about. "Yeah, I'll admit, Saria's been gone for a while," she said. "And she has been going out more since the Great Deku Tree…" she paused. Even if it was a harsh reality that everyone had been forced to accept, that didn't translate it to being easy to acknowledge. She knew that the boy would never admit it, but he cried just as hard as everyone else when it finally sunk in that their parent wasn't coming back. "But she's always come back so far!"
"But why hasn't she this time?" Mido questioned his fairy. "She's never been out for this long."
"Maybe she's just a little late?" Recti suggested. "Or maybe she's practicing her ocarina. You know that song she always plays."
Indeed, Mido thought. "Well," he then began, puffing out his chest. "There's only one way to find out!" then, with a spring forward, the red-haired boy dashed forward, going through the entryway to the maze of greenery and unknown depths.
"Mido!" Recti called out. "Wait!"
"Don't worry, Saria," Mido said. "Your Hero is on his way!"
Note: Shorter chapter yes, sorry. But I'm still working out just how I am going to write this section of the story, as it's not really canon to the game or manga adaptation. But, in all honesty, there isn't a reason for Link to return to the Lost Woods in the context of this story, as he certainly doesn't feel welcome there anymore.
That said, sorry for the delay, and I hope to see you in the future!