A.N : Hi ! This is a day late because we were celebrating my dad's birthday yesterday, so I had no time to edit and upload the new chapter. The next one will be published on Sunday, as originally planned.

Chapter 2 : The Outsider

As Link stepped outside of his home, he saw his childhood friend, Saria, running toward his house.

"Yahoo ! Hi, Link !"

"Saria !"

Excited, Link went down his ladder to meet up with his friend. He had barely reached the ground that he heard her gasp in surprise.

"Wow ! A fairy !"

Her smile was radiant as he turned to see her, eyes sparkling with delight.

"Finally, a fairy came to you, Link !"

"Yes ! Saria, meet Navi, my partner ! Navi, meet Saria !"

"Hello !"

"Hello, Navi ! So, this is real ? She really is your guardian fairy, Link ?"

"Yes ! We just met and Navi said the Great Deku Tree sent her to be my partner !"

"Wow ! That's great news ! I'm so happy for you ! Now you're a true Kokiri, Link ! Even Mido won't be able to deny it anymore !"

Link laughed at the thought of the face Mido would make when he would learn the news. He couldn't wait to tell him ! However, Navi had other matters on her mind :

"Link, we don't have time to chat, we need to go ! The Great Deku Tree wants to speak to you !"

"Is that right ?" Saria asked. "The Great Deku Tree has summoned you ?"

Link nodded and Saria's eyes started to sparkle even more.

"It's quite an honour to talk to him ! I'll wait for you here. Get going !"

Though he would have liked to talk with Saria a little more, Link knew he couldn't make his Father wait, so he nodded and, with a wave for his friend, left toward the Great Deku Tree's clearing. However, as soon as he had set foot on the main road, he realised something was amiss in the village : most of the Kokiris around him were looking toward the village's entrance, which was also the Forest's exit. Voices could be heard coming from there, not quite shouting but close. Intrigued, Link ignored Navi's calls and went around the slope leading to the training centre to get a better view.

He could see the boy in charge of guarding the village's entrance and, in front of him, a girl Link had never seen before. She was around the same height as the guard, perhaps an inch or two taller, dressed in white and grey, with long, light brown hair mixed with blond locks. From her position and that of the guard, it seemed like she had come from outside the village. Link's eyes went wide at the realisation ; for as long as he could remember, no one had ever come to the village from the world outside the Forest ! The Great Deku Tree had told all Kokiris that, should they leave, they would die, and should an outsider come in, they would lose themselves and be transformed into a monster. How could this girl be here ?

Without even thinking about it, Link started to walk toward the arguing pair. Belatedly, he realised that Navi wasn't trying to stop him or tell him to go see the Great Deku Tree. Even she must have been intrigued by this strange event.

As he got closer, Link started to hear both belligerents better :

"Outsiders are not allowed inside the village !"

"That's not true and you know it ! There have been Hylians coming to the Forest across the centuries ! Most died on their way there, but some managed to get to the village and meet the Great Deku Tree ! I'm here, so let me see him !"

"No ! I don't know you ! Even us Kokiri can't go see the Great Deku Tree whenever we want, so an outsider like you isn't allowed to even think of it !"

The girl puffed out her cheeks and clenched her fists. Now that Link was almost next to the guard, he could see that her attire was a little different from that of the Kokiris : she wore white pants and a white shirt under a cloth made of metal and a grey tunic, had what seemed to be a sword and shield attached to her back and her hands and forearms were covered with gauntlets made of leather and dark cloth. She looked like the Hero in the plays the Kokiris produced and enacted for each Summer Solstice Festival.

The girl's silver eyes flicked to him for a second, then she took a deep breath and tried to relax her posture. She turned to Link and crossed her arms :

"Are you here to help your friend force me out of the village or will you talk some sense into him ?"

The guard, who had not noticed Link up until then, gave him a smile before standing up a little straighter and crossing his arms over his chest, trying to appear stronger and more stoic. Link couldn't help but smile at the display before turning his attention to the outsider.

"I've just come to see what all the shouting was about. We never get visitors from the outside world ; how did you get here ? And why ?"

"I walked. And I'm here to meet the Great Deku Tree, by order of my liege."

"Your... liege ?"

"The Lady I serve. I'm a squire for now, but I intend to become a knight. As part of my training, my Lady gave me the mission to come meet the Great Deku Tree and offer my help for whatever trouble he may want my assistance with."

"Well, there's no trouble in Kokiri Forest, so you can just go right back home, outsider !"

The guard punctuated his argument by making a face and Link had to negotiate a bit for him to drop it and let them talk a little more.

"The Great Deku Tree says that outsiders who stay too long in the Forest will turn to monsters ; it would be best for you to leave."

"That only happens to those who do not have the protection of a fairy though. And I do have one."

The girl tapped a silver earring on her left ear and out of it came a ball of light that soon grew wings and...

"Hi ! My name is Zaïla ! Are you two Kokiris ? It's my first time meeting your people ! Gosh, you're sooo cute !"

Link felt his jaw drop at the sight. A fairy ! With an outsider ! How was that possible ?! The Great Deku Tree once said there were fairies outside the Forest, but they were supposed to all be pink and simple fragments of the Great Fairies's power, with no real mind of their own and no ability to speak. This one had a golden light and spoke as well as any fairy from the Forest !

Navi flew right past him to get into the new fairy's face :

"What ?! How can there be a sentient fairy outside of Kokiri Forest ?!"

"The world is full of mystery !" Zaïla joyfully answered. "All I can tell you is that I'm Nienna's partner and we really do need to talk to the Great Deku Tree."

"Nienna ?"

"That would be me," the girl said. "Will you let me pass now ?"

"No !" the guard shouted and stomped his foot.

"Well..." Link was intrigued, to say the least. And surely, the Great Deku Tree would want to meet this girl, right ?

"The Great Deku Tree wants to talk to Link. This girl could come with us. We'd keep an eye on her." Navi offered.

"I've been tasked with protecting the village's exit ! I'm not letting her go through !"

"Exactly : your job is to watch the village's exit. To stop the Kokiri from leaving. Has the Great Deku Tree ever said anything about stopping outsiders from coming in ?"

"Uhhh..."

"No ? Great ! Then the girl's coming with us."

And that was that. Navi flew away, toward the Great Deku Tree's clearing and Link, Nienna and Zaïla just followed her while the guard was still visibly trying to come up with something to say about all this.

"... Well, your fairy is rather... assertive, isn't she ?"

"Uh, maybe... What's "assertive" ?"

"Hmm... You could say it means that someone is confident and a little... forceful ?"

"Oh ! Then yeah, I guess. I only met her this morning. Probably around... 10 minutes ago ?"

"Is that so ?"

"Link ? Who's this ?"

"Oh, Saria !"

They had come back to Link's starting point, on the main road in front of his house, and now Saria was looking at them with big, curious eyes.

"Hello ! My name is Nienna. I'm a Hylian. I'm here to talk to the Great Deku Tree."

"You too ? Well, that's a lot of events and talking with the Great Deku Tree for one day ! Is something going on ?"

"I'm not sure... I'm starting to feel a little anxious with all this."

"No need. Like I said, I'm here to help with whatever task may need dealing with. No matter what the Great Deku Tree wants to talk to you about, I'll be right there with you."

Nienna gave Link a big smile, so pure and sincere that he couldn't help but feel reassured by it.

"And I'm here too !" Navi exclaimed.

"You're right, Navi. We're a pair now."

Link smiled at the two, eliciting another smile from Nienna and prompting Navi to come sit on his head. He giggled a bit at that, then turned his attention back to Saria.

"I'm really going to the Great Deku Tree this time. See you later !"

"Yes ! Take care !"

Link and Nienna continued their walk toward the Great Deku Tree's clearing. However, as they approached the entrance to the path leading there, a new obstacle made itself known :

"Hey ! Where do you think you're going !"

Link held back a groan at hearing Mido's voice. He swore that the very sound of it made him want to punch something, or rather, someone.

"Hi, Mido. I've been summoned by the Great Deku Tree, so would you please let me pass ?

"Haaaa ? You, summoned by the Great Deku Tree ? Don't make me laugh, "Mr. No Fairy" ! Without a fairy, you're not even a real man !"

Link smirked at that.

"Well, guess what ? I just received my fairy partner this morning ! Meet Navi !"

The little fairy flew right into Mido's face.

"Yeah ! I'm Link's partner ! So keep your insults to yourself !"

The boy was taken aback, to say it lightly.

"What ?! You've got a fairy ?!"

"Yes ! Now, move ! The Great Deku Tree has summoned me and I don't want to keep him waiting !"

"Whaaaaaaat ?! Why would he summon you and not the great Mido ? This isn't funny..."

Nienna, who had crossed her arms when Mido started pestering Link, raised a single eyebrow at that.

"Should I assume that you are "the great Mido" and are referring to yourself in the third person ?"

Mido looked at her, dropped his jaw, and stood there, gaping, for about five seconds before shaking himself.

"Who the hell are you ?!"

"I'm Nienna. I come from outside the Forest. I need to talk to the Great Deku Tree."

"Whaaaaaaaat ?!"

Nienna sighed and Link resisted the urge to do the same. He knew from experience that Mido would only get more unbearable if he showed his annoyance.

"Now you know everything. Come on, Mido, let us pass. The Great Deku Tree won't be happy if we keep him waiting."

"No ! I don't believe it ! And even if I did, you're not fully equipped yet !"

"Equipped ?"

"How do you think you're going to help the Great Deku Tree without both a sword and shield ready ? The girl has those, so I'd let her pass, but you ? Not in a million years !"

"... You know I don't see your equipment either, right ?"

"What ? Well, you're right that I don't have my equipment ready, but... My duty is to guard the passage ! And if you want to pass through here, you should at least get yourself a sword and shield ! There are some nasty plants beyond this point, after all ! Sheesh !"

Link did let out a sigh this time. There was no arguing with Mido when he was like this. Guess he had no choice.

"Alright. I'll go find a sword and shield. But once I come back, you better let us through !"

Mido smirked.

"I'd like to see that. Especially since there's only one sword in all of the Forest ! Good luck, loser !"