The Legend of the Hero of Time:

Long ago there was a country chosen by the god's power. The people who lived in this blessed land, called the Hylians, were said to be able to hear the voices of the gods. They, together with the Gorons, Zora, Gerudo, and Kokiri carried out unique lives. Even in this rich land, the footsteps of destruction began to creep in. The Evil One seized the power of the gods, and wrapped this land in evil, and the once beautiful land fell into ruin. It was at that time a being clad in green appeared out of nowhere. Granted the power of the gods, defeated the evil power at the end of a furious struggle. Peace returned to the land. Having appeared by crossing time this person was called the Hero of Time, and became a legend in the kingdom.

Prologue: The Letter

After a very hot and sticky day, the old potter smiled. Extra time in the curing oven did not appear to have damaged the porcelain. When he walked into the small brick building and found his granddaughter napping propped up on the only chair's two back legs, he could not resist and startled her awake. Luckily, she managed to catch herself before she crashed to the floor. He grinned at the memory. Lunnaei slept, the porcelain cooked, but no harm done. His granddaughter would be very relieved.

As he looked at his latest batch of wares, most everything looked better than expected. Well, all but one, though it would be the perfect gift for his granddaughter. She wanted one of her own for years, but he put off giving her one. Fragile objects and Lunnaei were never a good combination. As he put some of the items away on the cooling shelves, he heard the door open behind him. He did not turn, he knew who it was.

"Grandpa?" she asked quietly, "Did everything come out alright?"

He set the last of the pieces on the shelf, mustered up his best frown, and turned around. "Well, Lunnaei, everything appears in order, though the ocarina meant for Lord Dorian's son didn't fare so well."

"Oh?" She said and turned to leave. As she reached for the door she stopped, turned back around and said, 't his letter came for you." she held it out without looking at him.

'Thank you," he said as he glanced at the seal and she was almost out the door when he stopped her, "Lunnaei?"

"Yeah," he heard a sniffle.

"Lunnaei today is your birthday. We can't have you crying on your birthday."

"I'm not crying." another sniffle.

'Then your nose appears to have sprung a leak."

She ran over and gave him a hug and said, "I'm really sorry Grandpa."

"No, don't cry." he said as he returned a squeeze and felt a twinge of guilt for making her worry.

"But I wrecked?"

"Bah, those pieces will be fine. In fact, that ocarina looks good. It's just the wrong color, not quite what was ordered."

"Really?" she sniffed again as she pushed her tears away with her sleeve. "What color is it?"

"You can find out after it cools," he said and turned her back toward the door, "besides you'll have to hurry if you're going to be on time for you lesson."

"Oh my, I forgot about that," she said in a rush and bolted for the door. Again, she stopped and came back to him. After one more hug she said, 'Thanks Gramps, you're the best."

"You're going to be late." he shook his head as she rushed out the door and cringed when the door slammed shut.

"Sorry!" came a muffled apology through the door.

He looked again at the letter; it held the Royal Crest of Hyrule on it. "Well what do you know about that." He did not open it; instead, he put it in his pocket and set about preparing the molds for another ocarina.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So when are you leaving, Pop?"

The potter looked up from his mug. He regarded his only child with a tired expression and said, "Who said I was leaving?"

"I read the letter." The potter looked at the table he had left it on when he came into the house, and then looked back at his son. The younger potter shrugged, "You shouldn't leave stuff lying around if you don't want people to read it."

"Well, I wasn't really considering going."

"Sure you were." Lem said as he took a seat at the table. "Otherwise you would have thrown it into the fire the way you did the last three," he added when he noticed his father strange look. "I clean the ash out of the hearth remember?"

"Obviously next time I'll have to toss it in the kiln."

"You'd never do that," his son said flatly. His gray eyes twinkled with mischief as he said with a grin, 'the smoke would've contaminated the glaze."

"Hmmphth, know me that well do you?" He took a longer drink of his tea. "So you think I should go?"

"I think you've planned to for a long time."

"You think so?" He responded without looking up.

"Yes, I think. Don't worry Pop, Lunnaei and me will be fine. How long has it been since you went on vacation?"

"I wouldn't consider it a vacation."

His son smiled. "Fine, call it a working vacation. It would do you good. Besides, you're not gonna get many more chances like this. I hear the weather in Hyrule is nice this time of year. See the sights, visit the market, tour the castle?" His son's voice was lost in the clatter of his own half forgotten memories as he looked out the room's only window. The sound of someone knocking at the door pulled his attention back. His son got up from the table and answered it and from the voice, he knew it was the town constable.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The older potter sat quietly at the table, still nursing his tea as his granddaughter sat dejectedly at the other end of the table. She nervously pulled on the long braid she kept her black hair in as she waited for her father to finish speaking to the Constable. Her eyes flicked to her grandfather and she sunk a little lower in her chair. She did not have to wait long as her father shut the door and asked, "Lunnaei, what possessed you to pick a fight with that boy on today of all days?"

"I didn't," she retorted, "He picked one with me."

"That's not the way the Constable tells it," he said arms crossed.

"Yeah? Well, he wasn't there when it started," she sat up a little in her chair.

"Don't get smart," he said with a frown. "This is the third time this month the Constable has brought you home! What's going on with you?"

"Nothing is! Why can't you just believe me! I didn't start that fight!"

The old potter watched the pair with growing amusement. His son, it seemed, had forgotten his own not so uneventful childhood, "Lem? Lunnaei?" The two did not seem to hear him as the argument started to escalate.

"Four witnesses Lunnaei!"

"You mean four of his cronies!" She was up and out of the chair. "You know they'll say whatever he wants them to," and to herself said, "stupid jackasses..."

"Watch you language missy." Lem was pacing back and forth. He stopped and looked the door, "What am I gonna do with you?"

"Well you could just solve all your problems and sell me to the Gerudo!"

"Don't tempt me!" He shouted as her rounded on her.

Things were starting to get out of hand and a little louder the potter said, "Excuse me?"

"WHAT?!" they both yelled at him. He blinked. Lunnaei covered her mouth with her hands. Her father sighed, "Sorry Pop." He turned back to Lunnaei, "Just go to your room. We'll talk about your punishment later."

Lunnaei sniffed and turned quickly away from them and she was through the door and up the stairs before either could comment further.

"You know Lem," the older potter said carefully, "I could take her with me."

His son looked back at him as if he had sprouted another arm. "I don't know Pop. She's gotten so wild lately and I have no idea what's gotten into her. First the lesson skipping, now she's picking fights with the village idiots."

"It's not all that bad. Lunnaei was never one to jump thoughtlessly into anything." He said as he sat back down, "Personally, if she says the boy started it, I'm inclined to believe her."

"Four witnesses, Pop."

"Like she said, four of his cronies, besides I am going to need some help when I get to Hyrule. I'd prefer not to rely on some snot nosed castle apprentice."

"Don't think I can handle her by myself?" his son asked as he sat across the table. The potter said nothing and they sat in silence for a while as each took turns taking sips of their tea. Lem broke the uncomfortable moment when he stood up to get more tea from the kettle. He picked up a small picture above the hearth and said quietly, "I wish Teresa were here, she always knew how to handle things like this."

"She's a good child Lem, just a little stubborn, like her father. Just remember that and it will all work out. Oh," he said as he reached into his pocket, "I never got to give Lunnaei her gift. Give her this and tell her happy birthday."

Lem smiled and took the ocarina from him he held it up to the light and admired it, "Its beautiful Pop, how'd you get the two tone shades of blue?"

"You can thank Lunnaei for that, she dozed off and the extra time in the curing oven made the colors bleed a little."

"She fell asleep." Lem's brow furrowed.

The potter could hear the anger as it returned to his son's voice and said, "Lem, there was no harm done and she's already tormented herself enough about it. Besides, it is her birthday."

"I guess." He said and sighed. After a moment he started toward the stairs, "You coming?"

"No, no I think I'll let you tell her that her punishment is walking all the way to Hyrule and back." He said and watched his son head up the stairs. He reached over and picked up the letter and read it again:

Dear Master Potter,

In commemoration of this, the thirty-fifth year of the reign of His Majesty King Ashtad, please accept this invitation to come to Hyrule. As Earl of the Eastern Province, I would like to commission a number of items to present to the Royal Family during the Feast of...

He turned the letter over in his hands. He'd received so many others like this in the past and ignored them all. Hyrule was the land of his birth yet he never intended to return there. It never felt like home and his promise to return someday hung over him like a dark cloud. He refolded the letter and slipped it into his pocket. Angry shouts above his head told him Lem had informed Lunnaei of her punishment. He smiled, lit a short bit of candle before he blew out the oil lamp on the table. He made his way to his room and set the candle in its holder. All the while, random thoughts of his past before coming here skipped around like rocks on water through his head. With a sigh, he blew out the candle and went to sleep.

In the weeks that followed Lunnaei, at her grandfather's request, managed to stay out of trouble. Not only with the local law enforcement, but also with the boys who had been harassing her. On the day they were to leave, she lay face down on her bed, arm hanging askew, buried under her favorite blanket. Her traveling gear and pack were stacked neatly in the corner. She had spent a good part of the night before deciding what to bring along for the journey to Hyrule. She was completely oblivious.

It was no surprise that she did not wake when her father and grandfather came into the room for the fourth time that morning to get her up. It was however brought to her attention, when she felt herself falling out of bed. She hit the floor with a thud and yelled, "Huh? What the hell?!" Still groggy she struggled out of her blankets. When she did manage to poke her head out she was met with a pair of devilish grins as her Dad and Grandpa set the bedposts back onto the floor. She hated when they did that. "Uh...morning Dad." Her eyes flicked to her grandfather, "Morning Grandpa...sorry bout the, uh...hell thing," he hated it when she swore.

Her attention went back to her father when he said a little too cheerfully "Good Morning Lunnaei, so glad you could join the land of the living." He sighed and shook his head, looked at the neat stack of supplies in the corner, "Well, at least you're packed." He turned back to his father and said, "Good luck Pop," he said as he patted him on the shoulder. She could still hear him when he lowered his voice and added, "you're gonna need it." He chuckled to himself as he left the room and her eyes slid from the vacant doorway back to her Grandpa. "So we're leaving today?" she asked in hopes of changing the subject. His face still held that grin. The one that said, just wait til later. With a groan, Lunnaei pulled her blanket back over her head.

When she heard him leave and close the door behind him, she cautiously looked out from beneath her blanket. The coast was clear, she got up and dressed in the clothes she had set out the previous day. She shuffled into the small kitchen and immediately was handed a bowl of steaming oatmeal topped with berries and cream. Her father smiled when her eyes lit up at the site of her favorite breakfast. She took the bowl from him, gave him a peck on the cheek and sat down at the table. "Where's Grandpa?" she asked between bites.

"Out getting the rest of the supplies," he responded and he noticed she had finished every spoonful and examined her now empty bowl. He looked at her and said, "There's more if you'd like."

"Yes please!"

She got up but her father stopped her and took the bowl, "No, let me get that, you just sit and enjoy your breakfast." He went over to the pot and scooped out more, emptied the rest of the berries into it and topped it off with the cream, "I want this morning to be special," she noticed then he had not frowned once, which was good cause he seemed to do it a lot more since Mom died. She finished the second bowl almost as quickly as the first and when she was done, she smiled, "That was the best breakfast ever."

"Lunnaei," her father said as he collected her bowl, "I want you to do something for me while your gone."

"Sure Dad."

He reached up into one of the cabinets and pulled out a leather bound journal and writing kit tied together with thick string, "Take these with you and write down the things you see and do, so when you come home, I can read about your trip. I made sure there were some pencils in there so make sure you draw a few pictures. I always enjoy seeing the things you draw." She stood up, took the items from him, and gave him a big hug. "Be careful, and listen to your Grandfather. He knows a thing or two so make sure you do what he says," and he lifted her chin, "the first time Lunnaei."

"Okay."

"Good," and he hugged her again and planted a kiss on her head, "I'm gonna miss you girl, so you make sure to hurry home."

Lunnaei felt like she was going to start crying, "Okay, I will."

She heard him clear his throat, and after one more squeeze he returned to the sink and fiddled with the dishes there. Lunnaei sniffed once and returned to her bedroom with the journal and kit. She pulled out a book out of her pack that she had planned to read, she tossed it on the bed. Carefully she put the journal and kit in its place and re-did the laces of her pack. After one final look around her room, she grabbed the pack and bedroll and headed downstairs to see if her Grandfather had returned.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Lunnaei only looked back once as they crossed the bridge that lead out of their small village. In a few minutes, she would be farther from home than she had ever been in her whole life. Her Grandpa, who was walking behind her, noticed her hesitation. "Are you worried Lunnaei?"

"A little. Mostly about Dad. Do you think he'll be alright by himself?"

"I'm sure your father will find something to fill up the day. We had several orders that needed filling. Are you sure there's nothing else?"

"Yeah...No...not really it's just, I've never been this far from home before."

He looked back, "It's the farthest I've been myself in over fifty years."

She knew her grandpa was more than fifty, so it made her wonder, just where had he been before he came to the sleepy fishing village of Durstin. It also occurred to her that she had never asked, "Grandpa?"

"Hmmm," he said as he turned back.

"Where did you live before you met Grandma?"

"A lot of places."

"Well like where?"

"Oh, here and there. I never stayed any place for long though."

"Have you ever been to Hyrule before?"

"Yes, I was born there."

Well, she thought, there's something she did not know, "Why did you leave?"

He did not answer right away. He walked on and said a little sadly, "Couldn't find a compelling enough reason to stay. Why all the sudden interest in my past?"

"Dunno, got to talk about something while we're walking all the way to Hyrule."

He chuckled and said, "How about a story then."

"About the hero?" she heaved a sigh, "Haven't you told me all those already?"

"Actually, no."

"Okay, but make it a good one."

"Hmmm, lets see. We should start at the beginning. I've never told you the how the hero came to live with the Kokiri."

"Yes you did, you said his mom brought him there."

"Yes, well you were much younger then and I didn't want to scare you with the details and left out quite a bit of that. But you're older now so you should be able to understand it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The hero was born the son of a Knight of the kingdom of Hyrule. It was during a time of war, so this also made him a target. When the village where he lived came under attack, his mother knew that if she stayed in that place her son would surely be killed. The stories that had preceded the enemy told of whole villages burned to the ground. The stories said they were searching for a child, a very special child. Babes were taken from their families. None were ever spared as the invaders slaughtered even the youngest of children when they were found not to be the one they sought. His father had sent them there in the hopes they would be safe, but now, the enemy was at the gates. So she did the only thing she could. She ran.

She wrapped the boy tightly in a blanket a secured him to her breast, grabbed what supplies she could and headed out into the night. They enemy were everywhere so it was not surprising that they spotted her and gave chase. She skirted the forest rather than entering it. They were called the lost woods for a good reason. For many a Hylian who entered those dark woods never came out again. The forest was said to be haunted and though she was not a superstitious woman, she knew that all stories had their start in fact and was wary. This changed as the enemy drew closer. She found herself surrounded and was forced to enter the dread wood or be captured.

As with all enchanted forests, this one too had its guardian. Known to the forest creatures as the Great Deku Tree, it watched over the forest and knew of all who entered. On the night of the attack of the hero's village, the Deku tree shuddered. For it knew, a great evil passed its wood. The tree then felt a strange and wondrous thing. The touch of the Three, it showed the forest guardian the boy and his mother. The tree understood that this child must live or the evil that now roamed the land would someday destroy it. So when the woman and her son dashed into his forest. The Deku Tree caused the ghosts of all those who had been foolish enough to enter to there, to rise up and block the enemy that gave chase.

Only a few of them entered the woods when they saw the woman run into it. She heard them behind her and heard their shrieks of terror that fell suddenly silent. No others followed though many drew their bows and began to fire into the woods, and it was by chance that an arrow grazed the woman's shoulder but she dared not cry out, lest her location be given away. As the sounds of the enemy grew more distant, she sat with her son and soothed him. He whimpered and she loosened the ties enough that she could see his small face. She brushed his blond hair from his sleepy blue eyes and sang to him quietly;

Hush now, baby
Please love, don't cry
Drift now and slumber
And we'll be together
When you dream
Rest and remember
Safe in my arms
Remember my lullaby

She sang to him softly and within it was a prayer to the Goddess's to show her the way. Her arm ached, her head felt light, and she realized the arrow that had found her must have held some kind of poison. She rose and realized she would need to find someone, anyone who could take her son. She was sure that by morning, the poison will have done its work and she would be dead. Therefore, she did not question the path the seemed to open through the dense forest before her. Nor did she pay any mind to the girl that shadowed her every step deeper into the woods. "Follow the path," she thought, "follow the path."

The trail eventually took her to a clearing. Dawn was coming and she was losing strength quickly. She leaned carefully against the large tree at the center of it and undid the bindings that had held her son to her. She sat and fed him from the supplies she had brought. She felt unsteady as she tended to him and when he was clean and dry once again. She watched him as he struggled to stand and took a few tentative steps away from her. Proud of his accomplishment the boy turned and smiled at his mother. She felt a tear slip down her face as she watched him toddle this way and that. Had the Goddesses brought her and her son here to die? Her vision blurred a little and the girl who trailed behind her stepped out into the clearing. A forest child? She always believed them to be a myth. She felt her fear drift away as the poison worked to steal her life from her. She smiled and collected her boy to her. He lay his head on her and yawned, as she held him for what she knew was for the last time, as she again sang his favorite lullaby;

Hush now, baby
Please love, don't cry
Drift now and slumber
Rest and remember
Safe in my arms
Remember my lullaby

Hush now, baby
Sleep love, don't cry
Be peaceful, be calm
Though we must part
You're here in my heart
Drift and remember
My last lullaby
And we'll be together
My little Link-kun
when you dream

Her breathing began to slow, and she lay down with her son nestled there in the soft grass. As the girl approached them cautiously, she kissed the top of the boy's head. She knew he would be safe here. The woman smiled, closed her eyes and quietly passed into her next life. The boy named Link, slept, unaware that he would never know the gentle touch of her voice again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The story ended, Lunnaei stopped and wiped a tear from her cheek, "Goddesses, Grandpa, that was the saddest story you've ever told me. Did she really sing that song?" He paused and looked back at her but instead of an answer, he gave her a small smile. He turned and walked away. He did not look back again and did not respond when she repeated her question. He continued down the road lost in his own thoughts and Lunnaei decided she could ask her questions later.

Lunnaei trudged down the 'road' her feet hurt and her new boots were still not quite broken in. They'd already walked most of the morning without a break. Her stomach grumbled, but she had no wish to stop. The woods all around were dark and so thick she wanted to be out of them and fast. The mist that rose up from the forest floor partially obscured her feet and had a mossy smell that made her want to sneeze. The only sounds beyond their footfalls were the croaks of frogs, the buzz of some unseen insects and the occasional squawk of an angry bird.

Her nervousness was not helped by the fact that even though they had arrived on the outskirts of these woods early the day before, her Grandpa insisted that they wait until morning before going in. He had gotten her up just before dawn and gave her a list of specific instructions.

One: She was to stay on the road at all times.
Two: She should avoid looking behind them until they left the forest.
Three: And most importantly, she was not to stop for any reason.

Of course, he did not give her a reason when she asked. He only parceled out some rations and they ate as they walked. Her grandfather neither slowed nor looked back since they entered. "Are we there yet?" she asked as she scanned the woods to her left. Did something just run by? Not wanting to find out she picked up her pace a little, "Grandpa," she repeated "are we there yet??"

"Nope."

"Well how much longer?"

"Haven't we had this conversation?"

"Yeah, but this place is creepy."

"Remember my instructions Lunnaei, stick to the road and we'll be out in no time."

She snorted, the 'road' was nothing more than a thin dirt trail that meandered this way and that through the forest. It was barely wide enough for them to walk side by side. "Yeah, you keep saying that, but we've been walking all morning." He only smiled in reply, "Are you sure we're not lost?"

"Pretty sure."

She sighed and continued down the road. "Since you won't tell me why we can't stop, can you at least tell me a story?"

"Which one?"

"The one about the fairy." She noticed he almost paused mid-step, almost. Still, he never took his eyes off the road.

"Why that one?"

"It's always been one of my favorites and since you probably left all the juicy details out of the first version you told me, I figure there might be some other stuff you left out cause I was too young."

"Really."

"Yeah, so make sure you tell me everything."

"You're sure there isn't there something else you'd rather hear? "

"Nope."

"Alright Lunnaei, I'll tell it as long as you keep your questions to yourself until the end."

"Okay, you got it, not a word outta me." She said as she rubbed her hands together in anticipation.

The old potter laughed a little and began his tale.


In the months that led up to the beginning of the Hero's quest, the boy Link, was living peacefully within the Kokiri Village. The forest children were special creatures, for they never aged beyond the appearance of a ten-year-old child and were always childlike in their thought and manner. Unaware that his dying mother had entrusted him to the care of the Great Deku Tree, he could not know his quiet existence within the forest was about to end. The passage of time was meaningless here and he was free to exist without the burdens of regular children, for he thought of himself as one of them. He dressed in the Kokirish style, green tunic, heavy leather boots topped off with a green cap. He looked for all outward appearances to be one of them, with one very obvious exception. He had no Fairy.

This was unusual and always puzzled him. All the other Kokiri had fairies and it was, at times, a source of great torment. For though the Great Deku Tree bade the others to accept him, there were still a few among the group who did not. Referring to him as 'Mr. No Fairy' or 'Fairy-less boy'. Worst among them was Mido, self-proclaimed boss of the clan. His red hair, freckled face and turned up nose made him look angry most of the time. He was also a little shorter than Link and seemed to take offense to it. Often, he would lead others of the group into teasing the boy without a fairy.

Though he accepted the fact that he had no fairy, he never felt at ease with the others because of it. All except for one. Of all the children in the woods, she was the one who never teased or bullied him. She accepted him and loved him as he was and her name was Saria. She had a green tint to her dark hair that almost exactly matched her eyes. It was often at her intercession that the teasing would stop and she would frequently cheer him by playing a special song for him on her ocarina.

His home, like all the others in the village was a hollowed out tree. Sparsely decorated, he lived alone. This was okay because of late Link had been having nightmares. The evil that had brought him to his life with the forest children was gaining strength. Because the hero was Hylian, he was sensitive to this change of climate and could sense the evil as it seeped into Hyrule. This brought images filled with things Link had never seen before and did not understand. Every night the frightening visions came. He was never even sure if the boy he would see standing in the rain was him, for this child had a fairy.

What he saw though was always the same. It would be raining furiously, lightning and thunder everywhere. A large wooden door would lower from a massive stone building. A woman on a beautiful white horse carried a young girl and they would gallop by at top speed. The horse would speed past him, the girl would look at him with fright-filled blue eyes. Within them he always thought he heard a silent plea for help. A sound behind the child would draw his attention back to the wooden door. He would turn around and see the nightmare that followed them. A large muscular man in black armor would ride out. He would stop his large black horse and look down at him with gleeful cruelty. He was frightening with sallow skin that looked green against his red slicked back hair. Always the man would say something in words he did not quite understand. There would be a flash of light and he would wake up crying.

The Guardian of the Forest also knew of the evil. The foul King of the Gerudo, Ganondorf, had entered his woods and demanded the Spiritual Stone of the Forest. When he was refused, he grew angry and, using his black arts the thief of the desert cast a deadly curse upon the Guardian. Vowing to return and collect what was rightfully his. Being a rooted thing the Guardian Tree could do nothing to stop the parasite that now burrowed down into its roots. Sensing his time was short, the Tree called to one of the last of the fairy folk that inhabited his branches.

Navi... Navi, where art thou? Come hither... Oh, Navi the fairy... Listen to my words, the words of the Deku Tree... Dost thou sense it? The climate of evil descending upon this realm... Malevolent forces even now are mustering to attack our land of Hyrule...For so long, the Kokiri Forest, the source of life, has stood as a barrier, deterring outsiders and maintaining the order of the world... Alas before this tremendous evil, even my power is as nothing... It seems the time has come for the boy without a fairy to begin his journey... The youth whose destiny it is to lead Hyrule to the path of justice and truth... Navi...go now! Find our young friend and guide him to me... I do not have much time left.

Fly, Navi, fly! The fate of the forest, nay, the world, depends upon thee!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Grandpa, it's a tree!" Lunnaei cried in disbelief forgetting her promise not to interrupt, "Trees don't talk."

"Well this one did," he said and kept walking down the road.

"That's just nuts!" she said. "He would have run away for sure, I sure the hell.... uh...heck," she looked at her Grandpa to make sure he had missed that last slip, "...uh...would." He did not look over at her but he did heave a sigh. Nope didn't miss it. Damn.

"Lunnaei..."

"Yeah, I know, no cursing."

He did not say anything for a few minutes and she was worried he was not going to finish the story. When he did speak again, he did not start up where he'd left off, instead he said "You're forgetting he grew up with the Tree so why would it speaking make any difference?"

"I guess...are you sure you're not making this up?"

"Pretty sure, though the details have gotten fuzzier over the years."

Lunnaei listened as they walked, while Grandpa's stories about the hero were the best. She still didn't believe the tree could talk, but Grandpa was gettin' up there. She remembered she'd once asked her Grandma if he made up all the stories about the hero. Her Grandmother had only smiled and said 'Grandpa never lies.' When she returned her attention back, she heard a voice, which was not her Grandpa's say, "Hey lady how'd you get so deep into the woods and not turn into a monster?"

Lunnaei realized she must have stopped walking. Her Grandpa was nowhere in sight and the 'road' on which they had been traveling had vanished as well. She got a sinking feeling and said to herself, "Oh crap."

Lunnaei stared at the boy in front of her. Red hair? Turned up nose? Freckles? It all added up to one thing. Mido. But that was impossible she told herself, since the Kokiri did not really exist, right? Grandpa never lies. Her Grandmother's words floated up in her memory and her eyes got wider. She blinked when a fist sized ball of light shot from behind her and hovered over the boy. He laughed at her shocked expression, turned and ran laughing into the forest. Lunnaei felt a moment of panic and though she had no idea where the boy was going, it was better than being alone and bolted into the woods after him.

***** ********* ******** ********* ******* ********

The Potter sensed the shift in the magic as the road before him adjusted itself to accommodate only one traveler. He walked a few paces further, stopped but knew that Lunnaei was no longer next to him. He stared at the now narrowed path, and thought, they had almost made their way through. He mentally berated himself for bringing her here at all. The chances of him losing his way here were small, but he should have known his granddaughter would set off every magic trap this forest had to offer. He sighed and turned away from the path. He scanned the dense woods behind him but knew there would be nothing to see. He closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of the forest around him. As he turned in a slow circle, he caught the sounds of childish laughter in the distance. With eyes still closed followed it.

***** ********* ******** ********* ******* ********

No matter how fast Lunnaei ran, the boy was always just ahead of her and gaining ground. She came to a halt in a small clearing, breathing hard, she sat heavily on the ground. "Gods I am such a dolt!" She kicked the small stump in front of her. "Grandpa!" she called into the air, "Grandpa! Where are you?" It's no use she thought. If that boy really was the Mido from Grandpa's stories, then she was in serious trouble. She was lost in the Lost Woods.

She racked her brain to remember the details of the story that her Grandpa had told her. "Think Lunnaei, you can do this," she said aloud. "What did the Hero do to find his way through?" She paused and looked around. She was surround on four sides by what looked like tunnels carved out of fallen trees. Each was pitch dark so she could not see what lay on the other side. She would have to pick one and probably soon. She had no wish to stay the night where she was as all the stories said very bad things happened in these woods after sundown. "Okay," she said as she tried to muster her courage, "You want to live to be fourteen? Yes you do," she answered herself, "Good. Then like Dad always says, when in doubt, go right." So she did.

***** ********* ******** ********* ******* ********

The sounds of laughter the Potter had been following stopped and so did he. He opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. He traveled this part of the world on more than a few occasions many years ago, but was unsure of which direction to take next. Three sides held the hollowed out trunks of some very large trees, the last a hedge. Each tunnel led somewhere different and if he chose poorly, he knew his chances of finding his granddaughter were that much less. Time was not something any Hylian could afford to waste in these woods. He sat on a stump in the middle of the crossroad and thought about the problem. Maybe he could bring Lunnaei to him. He pulled out his ocarina, a two-toned affair of brown and green it was much smaller than the ones he made. However, this one was special. Given as a gift, he always had it with him. He put it to his lips and played a simple tune that was comprised of only twelve notes. It was the melody attached to the lullaby. He just hoped she would remember it well enough to realize it was him.

***** ********* ******** ********* ******* ********

Lunnaei stepped out of the tunnel and looked around. There was a target hung from a dead tree in front of her and she absently tugged at her braid and said, "I'm forgetting something I know it." She looked to her right and thought 'Well, never take the same way twice or you'll end up going in circles.' Since her only other option was to go left, she did. Again, she found herself in a clearing. It was exactly like the first, with the exception of a large rock near the uppermost tunnel. She stared at the rock. If Grandpa's stories were true then that led to Death Mountain. "Nope, I definitely don't want to go that way." She glanced at the left tunnel and sticking with her original plan, this time went right. She exited the tunnel and saw in front of her a stone basin, as well as two new tunnels to the right and left. She glanced at the new tunnel to the right. No that just didn't seem right? After one look back at the basin and she headed for the left tunnel. She stopped as she came out of the trunk. It was exactly like the last two four tunnel crossroads but this time minus the rock or the bushes.

Following her decided pattern she went right, halfway through she heard a 'whump', and thought, 'That can't be good.' Stepping into the clearing she soon figured out why. She was right back where she had started. "Why do I get the feeling it's going to be a long day?" Weary she retraced her path back to the clearing after the fountain. So it was either left or straight. She chose left, heard the 'whump', and stepped back into the first clearing. "Gah!!" she shouted as she stomped on the stump, "Why do the Goddesses hate me!!!" She sighed and muttered, "Stupid damn lost woods."

***** ********* ******** ********* ******* ********

The Potter paused in his playing, when he thought he'd heard his granddaughter's voice. He smiled, and shifted his song a little. He increased the tempo and added an additional six notes. If she had been close enough for him to hear her, she should hear the ocarina. He looked up at the sky. The sun was getting lower and soon it would be too dark for her to see. He closed his eyes and focused all his energies into playing the song and within it a prayer to the Three that she would find her way to him safely.


***** ********* ******** ********* ******* ********

Again, Lunnaei retraced her path back to the clearing. The only way left was straight ahead. She approached the opening slowly and stuck her head inside. Nothing. She took a few tentative steps forward and heard music. It was an ocarina, she was sure of that. But who'd be playing an... "Grandpa!" excited she stepped through the tunnel without incident.

When she found yet another clearing with another set of tunnels, she almost began to cry. She could not hear the music anymore and her earlier confidence was starting to wane. She went first to the right and stepped inside. No sound was heard. Moving on to the uppermost she listened there as well, still nothing. In the last, she heard the music as it echoed off the walls of the trunk. She closed her eyes and stepped through. No ominous 'whump' sounded so she looked around. Another four way.

This was really starting to make her angry. However, if she did something stupid now, she would never make it through all the turns before the sun set. She was relieved when she stepped into the first trunk on the right. She knew the song it went to the lullaby, but why was Grandpa playing it so quickly? She poked her head out of the trunk and saw her Grandpa, eyes closed, sitting on a stump playing his ocarina. She almost fell over when she saw the small ball of light, similar to the one the boy had with him. It hovered over him and bounced about in the air as it kept time with his playing. She took a step further out mesmerized by the song as well as the fairy. Two steps further and the fairy abruptly headed for the hedge and disappeared but that did not matter as she ran now half afraid she was seeing an illusion.

Her approach was still noisy enough to get his attention and he dropped the instrument and stood. Lunnaei all but tackled him when she reached him. He caught himself and steadied her. She only spoke after he had wrapped his arms around her. It was only then she was sure she was safe and he would not fade away leaving once again alone. "I'm so sorry Grandpa, I don't remember stopping, but I must have. And then the road was gone and you were gone and then there was this boy and I ran after him..."

"No, no," he said gently, "I should never have brought you to this place." he stroked her hair said, "I am thankful the Goddesses forgave my folly and brought my little Luna back to me."

'Little Luna.' She smiled and hugged him a little tighter. He'd not used that pet name since she was seven years old and she informed him that it was a stupid name and she never wanted to hear it again. She realized now that she missed that. "Grandpa?"

"Yes Lunnaei?"

"You can call me Luna again, if you want to, just not in front of the other kids." She amended.

She felt him chuckle as he said, "Alright but we still need to get to a safer place before the sun sets"

Lunnaei untangled herself and took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm ready. Which way?" she asked as she grabbed hold of his hand. There was no way she was letting go until they were out of these woods.

"Not far." He picked up his instrument and led her through the hedge. It lead into a maze and after a number of turns she was completely lost again. All she saw around her in the waning light were more hedges. When they reached the base of a set of stairs he stopped for a moment and examined them and when he started up them and she followed along. "Be careful," he said when she slipped a little, "these steps have a lot of moss on them." She nodded and noticed a number of broken and rusted weapons littering the way. When they reached the top of the stairs she looked all around but it was almost full dark now and she could not make out any of the details of the large building in front of them. "Wow. What is this place?"

"This is the Forest Temple."

She waited for more, but he said nothing else. She looked over at him, he was looking at the Temple with a small smile and she wondered what he was remembering. She was sure now the stories he told meant something more. She had already written out the story about the hero's mother in her journal, not because she believed him but because she had thought it to be a wonderful fable. After today though, she decided she would have to get him to finish the fairy story tonight.

“This is the Forest Temple.” He said and looked back up at the building in front of him. The courtyard was permeated with the smell of the moss that covered the Temple. It woke memories of people and things he’d not thought about for a long time. The night air carried the sounds of buzzing insects and the occasional owl but was otherwise quiet. The Potter pulled himself out of his memories long enough to look back at his granddaughter. He noticed her thoughtful look, one that told him he might have some explaining to do. However, the question she asked was not the one he expected.

“Do you think he loved her, Grandpa?” She asked as she watched the moon rise over the courtyard wall.

“Loved who?”

“Saria.” She said simply.

He weighed his answer for a few moments. “I think she was the best and truest friend he ever had.”

Lunnaei said nothing, just continued to watch the sky. When she looked back at him, he noticed the smile on her face and she said, “That’s so sweet.” Something in his expression made her smile turn mischievous. “Ha! That means yes! Ha ha!”

The Potter shook his head, a little unsure of how to respond. She continued to grin so he decided it would be a good time to change the subject and said, “Well since you have it all figured out, let’s get camp set up and then I’ll tell you the rest of that story. Where did we stop?”

“You mean when did I stop listening?”

“Same difference.”

“Link just got his fairy,” she tapped the end of her nose and asked, “what was its name again?”

“Her name was Navi.”

“Okay, her name. Like ‘navi’-gator?” and laughed to herself at her joke.

“In a way, yes.” He laughed too and said, “Why don’t you collect some wood and I’ll clear a spot for a fire.” She nodded and walked a short distance away picking up the stray wood she found on the ground.

The Potter walked past the broken staircase that led to the Temple’s front entrance. The vines that always covered the walls were sparser now he thought. He stopped when he thought he heard on the breeze something very familiar. He paused and listened very carefully but did not hear it again. He moved nearer to a round marble disk inset in the ground and after he pulled away the grass that had almost covered it surface, stared at it. The design carved into was simple but intricate. He traced the swirled pattern that reminded him somewhat of the crescent moon with his left hand and felt a buzz of latent magic. Not wanting to risk setting fire to the dry grasses nearby he instructed Lunnaei to pile the wood there.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small red stone. He blew on it once whispered a few words and when he touched it to the dry wood a small fire started. He looked up and saw Lunnaei watched him very carefully. She’d seen him light the kiln this way since she was a small girl, but her expression held a level of interest that was new. Again, the expected question did not come and she sat next to him and pulled out the dinner rations. For the most part, they were both silent while they ate and it was not until after they set up their bedrolls that Lunnaei reminded him he was supposed to be finishing up his story.

“Make sure you don’t leave anything out either.” She admonished.

He chuckled to himself and began his tale.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The fairies of the Kokiri were unlike any of the others that were scattered about the environs of Hyrule. Born of the Fairy Queen they were made for a special purpose, to be the guiding spirits of the perpetually young Kokiri. The fairies never left their charges alone and were always there to warn or give advice to the forest children if they needed it. Navi, was such a fairy but she like the hero, never had a partner so had always dwelt within the Great Deku Tree’s branches. Flying through the Kokiri woods was a new experience for her, and after only a small amount of trouble, found her way to Link’s house. She’d seen the other fairies with their charges, but never having had one of her own, she felt unsure of what she should do when she found Link in bed, whimpering from the nightmares.

“Hello, Link! Wake up!” The boy did not respond. “The Great Deku Tree wants to talk to you! Link? Get up! Hey! C'mon!” Still the boy did not wake up, ‘Can Hyrule's destiny really depend on such a lazy boy?’ she wondered. Irked, the fairy let loose a mighty yell, it was actually quite jarring for one so small and Link finally sat up. His eyes held a haunted look until he rubbed them and looked at her. Navi said in a much calmer tone, “You finally woke up! I'm Navi the fairy! The Great Deku Tree asked me to be your partner from now on! Nice to meet you!” Navi was amazed that the boy said nothing at all; in fact, he stared at her with his mouth slightly open. She was beginning to wonder if he was perhaps, a little dim. “The Great Deku Tree has summoned you! So let's get going, right now!” The boy only nodded and she followed as he headed for the door.

When they reached the base of the ladder outside his tree house home, one of the female Kokiri was waiting for him. Navi flew closer to the girl she recognized as Saria but was forced to back off a little when the girl’s own fairy intercepted her, “Hey! You’re Navi right?” the green glowing fairy asked, “Why are you with Link?”

The girl turned and spoke to Link, “Oh, you have a fairy now! That's great, Link!”

Navi glowed a brighter blue when the girl turned that smile on her. “The Great Deku Tree asked me to be Link’s partner and bring him to the meadow.”

“What?” Saria said with awe as she looked back at Link, “You've been summoned by the Great Deku Tree?”

He nodded, and murmured, “Yes.”

“What an honor!” she cried and gave him a quick hug. Link blushed and stared at the ground.

Navi realized why this boy was not like the other Kokiri. When he spoke, he used his normal voice. The other children spoke through their respective fairies. Navi wondered then just what the Great Deku Tree was thinking asking her to partner with a Hylian child. Perhaps he would explain when they returned and Navi reminded Link that they needed to be on their way. “I’ll see you when you get back,” Saria said as she turned to walk back to her own home. Link waved and Saria seemed to vanish and only her fairy remained.

Link hurried to the entrance of the Deku Tree’s meadow, but again he was halted, this time by Mido. “Hey you Mr. No Fairy! What's your business with the Great Deku Tree?” Link only sighed as the other added, “Without a fairy, you're not even a real man!”

Anger now clouded Link’s face and it was clear an argument was in the works so before it could start Navi piped in, “The Great Deku Tree has summoned him! We need to get going, right now!” and she took on a slight red glow.

Mido’s eyes bulged out of his head in surprise, “What! You've got a fairy!” he blinked in further surprise and shot a sidelong glare at his own orange tinted guardian as it flashed to get his attention. “Say what? The Great Deku Tree actually summoned you!” After a moment he said begrudgingly, “If you want to pass through here, you should at least equip a sword and shield, Sheesh!” The red haired Kokiri chortled when Link’s expression showed that he had no idea where to find a sword, let alone a shield. Navi did not understand why this Kokiri disliked her charge so much but she was determined not to let this one stop them. She brightened and said, “Let go talk to Saria, she will know!” Her boy cheered at this and ran to Saria’s house. When they arrived Navi did all the talking as Link fidgeted nervously near the door.

“What? Mido won't let you go to see the Great Deku Tree?” Saria’s normally calm expression took on a look of irritation and said, “Ohh...That bum! I don't know why he's always so mean to everyone! What he said is true, though.” With a sigh she smiled and said, “In the forest, strange things have been happening there lately. You need to be ready for anything. You'd better find a weapon! You can buy a shield at the shop, but there is only one sword and that’s hidden somewhere in the forest. The entrance to the grove is over near the training grounds.”

“Thanks!” Navi heard Link shout and he bolted out the door. She could see it was going to be hard to keep up with her quick moving charge and flew out the door after him.

Three enchanted boulders guarded the grove they found connected to the training grounds. They rolled in an endless cycle around it, ready to squish the unwary. Navi did her best to warn Link whenever one approached and after several near misses, he finally came upon an old treasure chest. He flipped it open with a cry of triumph, pulled out a sword and held it up in the sunlight. It was the Kokiri Sword, which was only to be used in times of emergency. She saw his smile fade when he looked at her and the same haunted expression she had seen earlier returned to his eyes. He shook it off and they went in search of the rupees they would need to purchase a shield. On the way out of the grove, during yet another narrow escape, Link dove into a small alcove. In it was a smaller chest that contained one red rupee. Link slipped it into his pouch and they finally made it back to the village.

Once he scrounged up enough rupees, he went to the shop and bought a Deku Shield. They returned to the entrance of the meadow where Mido again, stopped him. “Eh, what's that! Oh, you have a Deku Shield and what's THAT!” and he pointed at Link’s newly acquired weapon, “Is that the Kokiri Sword! GOOD GRIEF!” Only then did Mido begrudgingly let him past as he said bitterly, “Well, even with all that stuff, a wimp is still a wimp. I, the great Mido, will never accept you as one of us!” Again, Navi wondered at Mido’s dislike but understood better, when she heard him say, “Shoot! How did you get to be the favorite of Saria and the Great Deku Tree? Huh! Grumble...grumble...”

As they entered the Deku Tree’s meadow, they both noticed the Tree state of ill health. The normally green leaves, were browned and curled. Sections of his bark were peeled back exposing the soft wood underneath to the elements.

“Oh... Navi...Thou hast returned. Link, welcome. Please sit down and listen carefully to what I, the Deku Tree, am about to tell thee. Thy slumber these past moons must have been restless, and full of nightmares. As the servants of evil gain strength, a vile climate pervades the land and causes nightmares to those sensitive to it."

Navi saw how the boy squirmed under the Deku Tree’s gaze.

Verily, thou hast felt it.

Link only nodded and the Deku Tree continued, “This evil ceaselessly uses vile sorceries in its search for the Sacred Realm that is connected to Hyrule. For it is in that Sacred Realm that one will find the divine relic, the Triforce, which contains the essence of the gods. Before time began, before spirits and life existed, three golden goddesses descended upon the chaos that was Hyrule. Din, the goddess of power. Nayru, the goddess of wisdom. Farore, the goddess of courage. Din. With her strong flaming arms, she cultivated the land and created the red earth. Nayru. Poured her wisdom onto the earth and gave the spirit of law to the world. Farore, with her rich soul, produced all life forms that would uphold the law. The three great goddesses, their labors completed, departed for the heavens, and golden sacred triangles remained at the point where the goddesses left the world.

Since then, the sacred triangles have become the basis of our world's providence. The resting place of the triangles has become the Sacred Realm. Link, though thou art young, the time has come to test thy courage. I have been cursed. I need you to break the curse with your wisdom and courage. Dost thou have courage enough to undertake this task?”

Link looked at the sword again and up at Navi. He set a determined look upon his face and nodded.

“Then enter, brave Link, and thou too, Navi. Navi the fairy, thou must aid Link. Moreover, Link, when Navi speaks, listen well to her words of wisdom.”

With one last nod, Link embarked unknowingly toward his destined future as the Hero of Time.

The spirits that dwelt within the Great Deku Tree were restless and Navi sensed the perils that awaited them. She listened to the voices of those spirits as they warned her of the dangers of this place. Some whispered to her of the weakness of those enemies, while others spoke of traps and snares that had been set to stop them. All this she passed on to Link, who often used the information to destroy the enemies they faced. She discovered they were a good team and decided she liked this Hylian boy. His determination never seemed to lessen, even when they were face with terrible odds.

When the time came to face the last and worst of the monsters inhabiting the Great Tree, she did her best for him. She could see he was tired. They had been at this for almost three days now, and it was all beginning to take it toll on him. In those three days, she saw the Deku Tree was already doomed. That parasite, the deku scrubs called Queen Gohma, had done her job. She wondered why the Tree would ask this of Link or even if the Tree knew he would succeed. ‘All questions for later.’ she thought, and once again flew nearer to the parasite to help her charge aim the slingshot they had found earlier. When he struck the final blow, the parasite came apart and Link had to take a step back from it. The Tree shuddered as a portal of shimmering blue light opened before them.

“Thou hast verily demonstrated thy courage.” The Tree said when the boy returned from his trial, “I knew that thou wouldst be able to carry out my wishes.” Navi saw then the first genuine smile on the boy as he stood proudly before the Tree that all the Kokiri looked to as father and teacher. Though Navi could tell the Tree was pleased that Link managed the test he had set for him, she knew it was not to last.

“No, Link.” The tree said sadly, “Thou must know my time is short.” Link’s smile faded as he put away his sword and shield. “Now, listen carefully. A wicked man of the desert cast this dreadful curse upon me. Thou must never allow the desert man in black armor to lay his hands on the sacred Triforce. Thou must never suffer that man, with his evil heart, to enter the Sacred Realm of legend. That evil man who cast the death curse upon me and sapped my power.”

Navi flitted from the Tree to the boy and back. She watched the sparkling green stone that descended from the branches of the dying Guardian and floated in front of her charge. “This is the Kokiri's Emerald.” The Tree said, “This is the Spiritual Stone of the Forest, now entrusted to you Link.” Link reached up, took the stone, and hugged it to himself, “Go now to Hyrule Castle. There, thou will surely meet the Princess of Destiny. Take this stone with you. The stone that man wanted so much, that he cast his curse on me. Because of that curse, my end is nigh. Though your valiant efforts to break the curse were successful, I was doomed before you started.” Navi felt a moment of panic when she saw the boy was crying and she flew back to him. She knew now why she’d been sent to the boy. When the Deku Tree died and Link went to the castle, he would need looking after.

“Yes,” The Tree said in a voice so gentle it belied his great size, “I will pass away soon. But do not grieve for me. I have been able to tell you of these important matters. This is Hyrule's final hope." A warm gentle breeze blew through the Trees branches as his final words left him, “The future depends upon thee, Link. Thou art courageous. Navi the fairy, help Link to carry out my will, I entreat ye, Navi. Good...bye...”

As they left the meadow and passed Mido, the red haired, Kokiri boss stopped him, “Hey, Link! What did you do!" Mido noticed Links sad expression then, “Did something happen to the Great Deku Tree?” Link did not respond, “The Great Deku Tree...did he... die?” Link nodded and Mido shouted at him, “How could you do a thing like that!” Confused by the accusation Link turned and walked away. Navi suppressed the urge to crack that boy in the head, but Link ignored Mido’s insults and she followed Link back to his tree house. Link lay on his bed and examined the Kokiri emerald. He turned it over in his small hands and after a short while fell asleep. Almost immediately he fidgeted in his sleep as the nightmares returned. He needs to rest, his fairy thought, so she stayed with him and warded off the spirits that came to haunt his dreams. The boy’s face calmed and he sighed and for the first time in a long while, Link slept undisturbed.

Link awoke the next day to find that Mido had called a meeting. He was not invited it seems since they were going to talk about what sort of punishment he should get for killing the Great Deku Tree. Link asked the other Kokiri where Saria was but none of them seemed to know. Navi could see this saddened him. The Great Deku Tree had given them a mission and he would have to leave the forest that had always been his home soon. After half a day of searching, he gave up and resigned himself to the fact he would not get to say good-bye to his best friend.

He gathered up the few things in his tree house he thought would be useful and headed for the exit. He was stopped there by another Kokiri who said, “We Kokiri will die if we leave the forest!” The other’s face looked worried and he said, “You're not going to try to leave the forest, are you!” Navi told the other’s fairy they were leaving on a mission, “What? Where are you going!” His worry turned to confusion as he asked, “To the castle? What’s a castle?” Link shrugged and stepped for the first time beyond the tunnel that led to the outside world. It was dark and hazy here as his footsteps echoed around him. It smelled a little different too, but not in a bad way. When he stepped out and onto the last bridge, he saw Saria standing alone at the center. She was looking out over the forest and turned when she heard his approach.

“Link, you're safe!” Navi spoke to the other’s fairy and Saria asked him, “Link, are you going to go away?” he nodded. She fell silent and looked back out at the woods, “I knew that you would leave the forest someday, Link. Because you are different from my friends and me.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out her ocarina, “Can you stay long enough for one more song?”

“Yes,” Link said, “I’ll always have time for that.” Saria smiled and played the special song she only played for him. It was gentle and flowed like the wind through the trees. When she finished, she held out the instrument and said, “Take my ocarina and think of me when you play it? Okay?” Navi watched Saria very closely she had genuine tears in her eyes. Navi knew the children of the forest were never meant to feel sorrow or regret. Link took the ocarina and held it just as he had the stone given him by the Tree. He bowed to her and started toward the last tunnel that led to the outside. He stopped when he neared the other side and looked back again. He hesitated until he heard the voice that had always reassured him and given him strength say;

“Saria and Link will be friends forever.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Potter looked over at his granddaughter to see if she had any questions. She looked back at him with an unreadable expression and said, “That was a good story Grandpa.”

“Thank you.”

She smiled and yawned. “I’m so tired, I’m going to sleep now. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight Luna, sweet dreams.”

Lunnaei curled up under her blanket and was asleep in minutes. The Potter took a deep breath and sighed. He was about to go to sleep himself when heard that familiar sound again. Curious he got up and walked nearer to the entrance of the courtyard. He looked into the gloom of the staircase, but found nothing. He shrugged and turned back toward their campsite but stopped when he heard it again. A little nervous he closed his eyes to help clear his head and was amazed by what he saw when he opened them.

All around him fist-sized balls of light flitted about. Each was different color and their wing beats sounded like the tiniest of wind chimes he made back home. They flew around him in a tight circle and just a quickly fluttered off in different directions into the night. All but one, the blue tinted fairy floated in front of him and flashed. He just stood there staring at her with his mouth slightly open. The fairy flashed again causing him to blink and smile. The fairy flashed several more times and the Potter looked past her and pointed at the campsite. “That’s Lunnaei, my grandchild.” The fairy now flashed very brightly for a few moments and he paid close attention. When she returned to her normal glow, he nodded. The fairy flew very close to his face and he waved as she rose up and away from him and disappeared into the moonlight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: What! Yes, I can be vague (looks up at last two paragraphs) you’ll just have to get used to it. At times, I do expect the reader to make a few leaps of logic. Nevertheless, the question will really be, are you jumping in the right direction or is that a cliff. Hahahahahah.

I truly did not remember how chatty the Great Deku could be.

Chapter Five:
I remember when….

When Lunnaei woke the next morning, she was a little sore and stiff from her adventure of the previous day. She lay there and looked around the courtyard of the Forest Temple. She had to admit it was a beautiful place, in a creepy sort of way. Thick vines climbed up the red-bricked walls, fat enough, she decided, they could be climbed like her Grandpa's stories said. She sat up and looked over at the broken marble staircase that led to the Temple itself. An unusual pile caught her eye and she got up to look more closely at them. She took a step back when she realized they were the bones of some long dead animal. The skull was frightening enough, with its unnaturally long canines, but when she noticed the long claws on the feet, she shuddered.

A little nervous now, she looked around until she spotted her Grandpa. He sat a ways away, legs crossed, eyes closed, deep in his morning meditations. At home, he always sat near the large cherry tree that grew near the edge of shop. Even in winter, she always knew where to find him in the morning. Not wanting to disturb him, she went about her morning routine as quietly as she could but knew he could sit like that for hours no matter what was happening around him.

Sometimes though, she wondered what he thought about and when she looked at him now, she noticed his normally calm face wore a sad expression. As she wondered, a light breeze blew through the courtyard and brought with it the smells of the forest beyond, all mossy and wet. She rubbed her nose to stop from sneezing. She looked up when something fluttered in front of her vision. Tiny blue and green flowers dropped down from the surrounding forest. It reminded her of something that had happened when she was much smaller. The last time Grandpa wore that expression, was following her Grandmother's death. He did not move from under that cherry tree for a long time. It was as if he'd turned to stone.

Lunnaei was just six years old and her memories of that time were scattered at best. She remembered, her Dad stayed with Grandpa the first few days and her mother brought tea. She recalled being worried that Grandpa would get sick in the damp spring air. Her father tried to ease her fears, but everyday she watched him from the window of her room. She'd been told not to disturb him, but after a few days, she went out to see him anyways. He did not respond or open his eyes. He just sat.

When her father noticed, he came out to the yard and scooped her up. As he carried her away, she asked why Grandpa didn't want to talk to her. She was afraid she'd done something wrong. Her father assured her that her Grandpa loved her very much, but had lost something. When she asked if she could help find it, he smiled and reminded her to leave him be and told her that he would come back if that was what he wished. She looked back at him over her Dad's shoulder; come back? From where? That did not make any sense, he was right there. Motionless, as the cherry blossoms fell from the tree and drifted over him like snow.

This went on for almost a whole week.

Being young, Lunnaei had not understood what her father meant about losing something and a few days later, she skipped her lessons with the elder and scoured the village. Sure, she could find whatever it was her Grandpa needed. She was good at finding things, but after several hours of searching, she came home empty handed. Her Mother, who watched her as she wandered the village, knew what she was about and met her at the door. When she asked her if she found what she was looking for, Lunnaei remembered she said no and did not protest as once fed her mother shuffled her off to bed early.

She lay awake for a long time before she returned to the window. She lifted a small stuffed bunny she named Stella onto the windowsill and pushed the window open. Stella slipped from her hand out onto the grass below, she looked out her window, but it was hard to see where it had fallen through the darkness. She also knew she couldn't sleep without her, so wandered outside. Thinking her Grandpa might be cold; she dragged her blanket behind her and after she found Stella, she went to where he sat and stared at him.

After a few minutes, she asked him if maybe Stella would do instead, she was a bunny after all and all bunnies had magic. If fact, he could call her Luna and then they would always be together. When she took one his large hands in hers, he still did not move or even seem to respond. They were too cold and the feeling he was leaving her wouldn't go away. So Lunnaei made a wish of her own and tucked the recently re-named Luna into his weather beaten green coat. Very tired now, she curled up in his lap with her blanket, and fell asleep.

Her memory of the next morning was very clear, when she awoke, it was in her own bed; she sat there and wondered if it was all just a dream. She reached down to ask Stella, but her toy was missing. It wasn't a dream, she thought, and clamored out of bed. She ran to her window and her eyes widened when she saw her Grandpa was not there. Afraid he'd left without her, she burst out of her room and almost tumbled down the stairs as she yelled at the top of her lungs for her mother. Instead, her father caught her and tried to calm her.

Frantic now she told him Grandpa was gone, and squirmed in his arms until he set her on the floor. She pulled him to the back door and paused only long enough for her mother to come up behind them. Lunnaei pointed to the now vacant spot where here Grandpa had been sitting. The three of them stared and her father held her back when she tried to go outside. Everyone jumped and turned when a tired voice said quietly behind them, "What is all the racket about?" Her parents just gaped at him for a minute then looked at one another. Her father shrugged and her mother sighed while Lunnaei ran over to him and grabbed one of his legs.

"You came back, does that mean you found it?"

He looked down at her and smiled, "Yes, Luna, thank you."

Even though she didn't know what he'd meant then, she did now. The sickness that took her mother had been so swift and sudden; she'd barely had time to realize what was happening. Then she was gone and for a time Lunnaei joined her Dad and Grandpa under the cherry tree. Now he sat again, face masked in that sad expression, still and unmoving. Something must have happened after she went to sleep and it occurred to her just how little she knew about him. Like the fact, he was Hyrulian. She munched on some cheese and sat down.

She pulled out her journal and drew a picture of the boy she'd seen, and her own idea of what the fairy, Navi, looked like. She grinned at it, her Dad would like that one, he was always telling her 'fairy stories'. She wrote out the story and added her own little adventure in the Lost Woods at the end. When she finished, she bundled everything up and put it in her pack. Grandpa still hadn't moved and she decided it was still early enough that she thought she might have a look around. She went closer to the steps that led up into the courtyard; it wasn't near as scary as it had been in the dark. As her foot hovered over the first step, she heard her Grandpa say, "Lunnaei, wasn't being lost once enough for you?"

Lunnaei turned slowly around, "I wasn't going to go far."

"Right now, out of my sight is too far," he said, as he got up and brushed the flowers off his head. She stole another glance down the staircase all was quiet. Of course, she couldn't see the end of it.

"Lunnaei!"

She jumped and ran back over to where he stood by the campsite. He was frowning at their gear and Lunnaei had a feeling that his frown was for her and her little adventure the day before.

"I'm sorry Grandpa."

He blinked and asked, "For what?"

"Getting lost, not paying attention-"

"Luna," he said as he gently grasped her shoulders, "if I'm angry with anyone, it's with myself."

She looked at him in confusion, "But..."

"No, no, I meant what I said. You did nothing wrong. It was my own pride and foolishness that put you in danger, I should never have let you set foot in this forest because I knew what could happen." He sighed and let go of her. His frown returned as he bent down to start packing up their gear. He worked quietly and Lunnaei set about collecting her things. They were almost finished when he said without looking up, "It all comes down to this, Luna. Pride is a sin the Goddesses do not lightly forgive." His voice sounded flat. "I almost paid an awful price to re-learn that lesson yesterday." He straightened and pulled on his pack, "I let it cloud my judgment long enough to let my guard down," He looked over at the piles of bones on the Temple steps, "and in these woods, that will only get you killed or worse."

Never, not even once in her life, had she heard a disparaging word from him about the Three, but the bitterness of his tone frightened her. She nodded and pulled on her own pack and thought, 'Worse? What the hell could be worse than yesterday?' As they started down the steps toward the meadow, Lunnaei had a random thought pop into her head.

"Grandpa? How could the hero find the castle if he'd never been out of the forest?"

He did not answer her at first, just continued down the stairs. As they passed a large broken battle-axe, he paused and stared at it. He picked up what looked like the broken handle that lay nearby and examined it very closely. To Lunnaei, it appeared that something very sharp had sheared it off. He hefted it for a moment, and then stood it in front of him. It was almost as tall as he was. He turned and said, "Have I ever told you the Legend of Kaepora Gaebora?"

That was not a name she recalled. "No, I don't think so."

He started down the stairs again and brought the broken piece of axe handle with him. "Once there was and maybe still is, a great owl who went by the name of Kaepora Gaebora. The Legends said he was the reincarnation of an ancient Sage by the same name."

"Don't tell me, talking owl right?" Lunnaei asked and rolled her eyes when he nodded. "Fine, I guess if a tree can talk, so can the owl."

When they reached the base of the stairs, he stopped and said with a puzzled look, "It's odd, but I didn't think of him again until you asked that question."

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes," he said and held out an arm to keep her from passing beyond the end of the stairs. He pointed to a ladder set in the hedge directly in front of them. He leaned forward and looked in both directions and asked without turning, "Did you pack those bottles, like I asked?"

"Yeah."

"Good," he said, "Follow me and be as quiet as you can." She nodded and followed him as he crossed the short distance to the ladder. He climbed it quickly and helped her up as she reached the top. She worried for a moment that they would fall through the hedge, but was surprised by how sturdy it was. The maze they had passed through yesterday was laid out before her. It was immense, with a number of dead ends and circular paths. She stood there with her mouth open and wondered how he managed to find his way through that with out ever having to stop.

Her Grandpa tugged on her sleeve and she looked to where he pointed. The hedge on which they stood completely surrounded a small area. There was a hole at the center, and another ladder on the opposite side from the one they just climbed. He climbed down the ladder and waited for her to join him. He grinned and pointed at the hole for a moment then jumped into it and Lunnaei knew she had to follow.

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Yes, that was a long time coming, I apologize for being so slow with this chapter. I think it’s starting to dawn on Lunnaei, Grandpa is full of interesting surprises. So that’s about it. Once again thank you for taking the time to read, I hope you enjoyed it and please leave a Review!

Lunnaei waited a moment and sent a quick prayer to Farore, for a little extra courage before she stepped into the hole. She also hoped she wouldn't land on top of her grandfather who had jumped into it a moment before. Not sure what to expect, she was surprised by the floaty feeling she felt as she descended. This must be one of those portal things her grandpa told her about she thought as it set her down gently. She stepped off it and looked around for him.

She didn't see him and said to herself, Ten minutes ago I wasn't allowed out of his sight, now he's up and disappeared on me. The dim light cast by the portal that lent an eerie glow to the place and she scanned the darkness for any signs of him. She took a few steps further into the cavern but what caught her interest was the sound of water running.

Her grandpa, she decided, wouldn't let her come down here if it were dangerous so started forward. The air around her cooled as she neared a small fountain. Water bubbled up from the center from some unknown source and formed a small reflecting pool whose waters overflowed its edges. Tiny motes of light drifted over the clear water on an undetectable breeze. She looked up and noticed the lichen on walls made for a peculiar light but the ceiling was lost to the darkness. She hadn't traveled that far down, had she?

"So what do you think?" The sound of her grandfather's voice made her jump.

"Gah!" she cried. "Don't do that! You trying to give me heart failure?"

Her grandpa smiled and pointed at the water. "Do you see those bits of light?"

"Yeah I noticed them, what are they?"

"Fairies."

She looked back at them and became aware for the first time, they were pink. "So that's why you wanted the bottles?"

"Yes." A mischievous grin crossed his face and he said; "Now all you have to do, is catch them."

"I have to catch them?"

"Yes, you're young so it shouldn't be too hard for you."

"How the hel- uh...heck am I supposed to do that?" Lunnaei waited for the expected lecture. It didn't happen, instead she felt him reach into her pack and pull out the four bottles inside. She heard him uncork all but one. The last he gave a shake.

"Should I ask how this got in here?" he asked as he showed her the small lizard inside.

Lunnaei scratched the top of her head and looked back over the water. "So, how do you go about catching one of those..." she said and pointed.

She heard him chuckle as he replaced the bottled lizard in her pack. He turned her around, took a step back and said, "You hold the bottle like this," and he firmly grasped the wide neck of the bottle. "Then you walk into the water and scoop them up." He demonstrated as he made a broad swoop with his arm.

"Just scoop them up?" she asked.

"Yes. They're quick though and not real partial to being stuffed in a bottle."

"Does it hurt them?"

"No."

She reached for the bottle, hesitated, "You're sure?" He nodded and she stopped again and asked, "They can't hurt me, right?"

"They're health fairies Luna, if anything, you'll feel great when you're done." He handed her the bottle and shooed her toward the fountain. "Remember only one per bottle and put the stopper on quick so she stays inside."

"She?"

He nodded. Lunnaei sighed and stepped into the fountain. There were a few nearby so she tried for those first. She splashed toward them and sent fairies scattering in all directions. Crap, she thought, 'they are fast. She caught one, after a several near misses and grinned as she held up the bottle to show it off. Her grandpa smiled and motioned for her the put the cork in the bottle. She lowered it quickly and stuffed the cork inside.

She got the next bottle and caught the second without much incident. This was hard work and though she'd slept late, she was tired. She was surprised by a sudden and almost overwhelming feeling of well-being. All her aches and pains from the day before melted away as she found herself twisting her head as she tried to watch the little pink fairy that swirled around her. When the fairy passed by her face, she followed it as it flew a short way up into the air and disappeared.

"Where did it go?" Lunnaei asked, as she came back to get the last bottle.

"She."

Lunnaei rolled her yes and sighed. "Okay, where did she go."

"I'm not sure," he said, and handed her the bottle, "She's fulfilled her purpose so..."

"She's just gone?"

"Yes."

Lunnaei looked at the still empty bottle in her hand, she liked it better when they were still 'its' and asked him, "Why didn't you tell me that before?"

"I didn't realize it was a problem."

Lunnaei sighed and turned back to the pink motes still free and caught the last one she needed. When she left the fountain, she shrugged off her pack and placed the bottles carefully inside. She looked up at her grandpa and said, "It's just so sad."

"Is it?" He asked, as he walked closer to the fountain. Lunnaei nodded but noted he did not go near the water's edge. "Lunnaei, every fairy has a purpose. Whether it's to guide a forest child or aid a weary traveler. They are gifts from the Goddesses to aid in times of need."

"I guess...but." She faltered then.

"But what?" he asked.

Lunnaei pulled on her pack. What she really wanted to do was ask a question about Navi, but with everything that had happened, she felt uncertain if she should. She knew that Navi had left the Hero at the end of their journey and she wondered why Navi would do that. Did she leave because she'd fulfilled her purpose? Did she just fade away too?

However, if grandpa knew the answer to that question, well, that would mean he was someone she did not really know at all. Her hesitation made her feel nervous and a little sad. He's still your grandpa, she told herself. Though her heart told her he was the same man, her head said something else. She just wanted everything to be the way it was before, so she asked a different question instead.

"So are you going to tell me about the big talking owl?"

Her grandpa gave her a questioning look for a moment, raised an eyebrow and let out a hmmpth. She knew he only did that when his curiosity was piqued or he heard something he just did not believe. He always knew when she was avoiding a question, but was relieved when he did not mention it and said, "I'll tell you more once we're out of the forest. I'm not taking any more chances in these woods. I'm very sure yesterday happened because I was not paying enough attention to the obvious."

She nodded. That was definitely not an experience she wanted to repeat. "Alright, so how do we get out of here?" she asked as they neared the portal.

"Just step into the column of light, like this."

Lunnaei watched as her grandpa lifted silently from the ground and out of the fountain. She shook her head and said: "Ask a stupid question." Closed her eyes and followed.

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The Potter stood atop the hedge and looked across the maze that guarded the entrance to the sacred meadow. No wonder Lunnaei had gaped at it. He was surprised himself he'd been able to make it to the Temple so easily. He did not remember it being so large. "I guess there are some things you just don't forget," he murmured. His granddaughter, he knew, must be full of questions and had most likely come to her own conclusions by now. It worried him that she was holding back, it was not like her to do so and he was starting to wish he'd never left home at all.

Eventually though, he knew her curiosity would get the best of her and he wasn't sure how he would respond when she did finally ask. His long dead past was never a subject he'd planned to discuss with her or anyone else for that matter; better for it to remain a legend and nothing more. His stories, he thought of as just so many fanciful tales, told by an old man to entertain his only grandchild. He heard, rather than saw, Lunnaei climb up the ladder. She came and stood next to him and rested her head on his arm.

"So where now?" she asked.

"I'm not really sure," he said quietly.

"That's a problem, Grandpa."

"Yup. We should get moving though. First we need to find out exactly what time it is."

He walked across the top of the hedge toward the furthermost edge. Unlike the magical path they had traveled on yesterday, the hedge only allowed enough room for one person to walk at a time so Lunnaei followed close behind. He noticed she kept at least one hand on his coat, she was clearly still a little shaken up about her mishap yesterday. He could not even take comfort in the fact she had managed find her way to him on her own. Never in his life had he felt that kind of helpless fear, he didn't like it and once again admonished himself for being so incredibly naïve and foolish. As he neared the last area before the edge, he turned to his left. The hedge thickened here and Lunnaei came up next to him and asked, "Why did we stop?"

He pointed to and approached a large gray stone etched with a large eye. The eye sported what looked like a teardrop dripping from its center. It poked up out of the hedge and was decidedly out of place.

"What is that creepy looking thing?" she asked.

"A gossip stone," he said and whacked it a few times with the axe handle he picked up earlier. It shuddered, jiggled a bit and made an odd clockwork sound. Once it settled itself, a rather loud off pitch voice said:

"BOINNG! BOINNG!
The current time is: 08:45

Lunnaei jumped and grabbed his arm. "Honestly Grandpa, could you warn me before you do stuff like that?"

"Sorry, Luna." He replied absently as he turned away from the stone. He held the stick in front of him and with the sun behind him, noted the position of the shadow on the ground in front of him. He nodded to himself and headed back toward the edge. He leaned forward and looked carefully from side to side.

"What are you looking for?" Lunnaei asked in a whisper.

"Deku scrubs."

"You mean those bush plant people that spit rocks at you?"

"Yes, they guard the maze."

"Why didn't we see any last night?"

"We were extremely lucky. Deku's have excellent hearing but they also have notoriously bad eyes sight. It was dark and it also doesn't hurt that they tend to be afraid of their own shadow." Lunnaei let out a giggle and the Potter smiled. He pulled a pair of worn fingerless gloves from one of his pockets and said, "I'm going to lower you down to the ground. Just told on to the end of the stick until your feet touch the ground."

His granddaughter gave him that look but did as she was told. The Potter put on the faded yellow gloves and felt the magic go to work as he easily lowered his granddaughter to the ground. Once she released the stick, he sat and stared at the drop for a moment. "I'm getting too old for this nonsense," he muttered, and he let himself drop off the hedge. His half forgotten reflexes kicked in and he felt himself tuck and roll as he hit the ground. Instead of getting up as he would have then, he lay a few feet from where he landed and stared at the sky and thought to the heavens, You're laughing at me again...

Lunnaei ran over to him and asked, "Gods Grandpa, are you alright?"

"I'll be fine in a moment," he said and sat up. "Glad that's over with." He waited a bit longer and pulled himself up with the stick. He led her out of the past the final hedge and looked at the clearing. He scanned the three tree trunk tunnels as he asked Lunnaei, "Which of these did you come out of?" She pointed to the tunnel straight ahead. He nodded and thought, Death Mountain? Or Kokiri Village?

Taking Lunnaei through either one held it own set of problems, but then he remembered his friend...

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The Village of Durstin's only tavern was located on first floor of the Crooked Hook Inn. An odd name for an inn, in a village almost fifteen miles from the nearest coastline, but it was here that Lem sat, nursing his mug of ale as he stared out the window. He'd started taking his evening meals here three days after his father and Lunnaei left for Hyrule. This is when he discovered he missed the sounds of other people around him. They'd only been gone a little over a week and he'd already filled most of the back orders, the house was spotless and he'd read just about every book in the house...twice.

With a sigh, he pushed himself up from the table and swallowed down the rest of his drink as he fished a blue rupee out of this pocket. The serving girl waved and smiled shyly, he waved back as he struggled to remember her name. Nervous, he dropped the rupee on the table and headed toward the exit.

As he made his way toward his home, he paused and looked around. He had an odd feeling, like he was being watched. He rubbed the back of his neck and continued walking. Lem paused when he reached the front door and instead of going inside, he headed toward the back of the house. The evening air was warm for this time of year so he decided to spend a little more time outside.

He sat cross-legged near the cherry tree and stared at the empty house. Again, the hairs on his neck prickled and he glanced up into the tree only to discover, he really was being watched. The luminous yellow eyes moved closer and Lem leaned back as the largest bird he'd ever seen stared down him from the cherry tree.

"Hoot, hoot." It said. Lem found himself wondering if the owl were hungry, he sure hoped not.

"Hoot!" It said and left the tree, sending a shower of cherry blossoms into the air.

Once the flurry of petals stopped, Lem looked up; the owl was gone. 'Well that was different.' He thought and started when he saw the bird had landed right nearby.

"Hoot, hoot," it said again.

"Hoot, hoot, to you too, friend owl." Lem said in what he hoped was a jovial voice, "How are you this fine spring evening?"

"I am well, friend potter, thank you for asking."

Lem looked around for the source of the voice, but there was no one else around, just him and the owl. He looked cautiously back at the bird, and thought, Okay, I know I didn't have that much to drink... Nevertheless, he decided he'd better make sure and said to the owl, "Is a beautiful night, no?"

"Hoot, hoot," It replied.

Lem let out a relieved sigh and said to it, "You had me worried there."

The owl cocked its head and twisted it as it said, "No, friend potter, you have nothing to fear from me."

"Holy Din! You can talk!"

"Of course I can," the owl said unruffled. "I have always been able to."

"Well, where I come from, this is not normal...for an owl."

"No?" the owl asked, head still twisting.

"No," Lem replied. "So what brings me the honor of your presence?"

If an owl could smile, this one seemed to as it said, "This." It held up something in its clawed foot then set the object down and backed away from it. Lem decided the owl probably wasn't dangerous, so leaned forward and picked up the object. He recognized it at once; it was the ocarina his father had given Lunnaei. He also knew his daughter had taken it with her.

"Where did you get this?" he asked, but when he looked back up the owl was gone. In its place was folded piece of parchment. Lem picked it up and carefully unfolded it. A map of Hyrule? He noted he could only see a small portion of the geography, the rest seemed obscured by age and was too faded to read properly. A small red dot on the page caught his eye and as he watched it seemed to move, though very slowly.

Lem knew enough of his father's past to know that something must have gone wrong and he decided, it was time he made a trip of his own.

"You ready?" the Potter asked his granddaughter. She nodded and he wrapped an arm around her and walked toward the tunnel on the left. When she realized where he was going Lunnaei hesitated. "It'll be alright Luna, I'll explain where we're going on the other side." Lunnaei nodded but the Potter felt her already iron grip on his arm tighten. He had to duck as they walked together through the trunk.

He heard the expected 'whump' but was surprised at the area they'd ended up. He'd half expected to see the entrance to the Lost Woods within the Kokiri Village. Instead, they were in the clearing that lay just beyond it. It was similar to the one they had just left, only it had four trunk tunnels and no hedge.

"Hey!" Lunnaei said as she looked around. "This is the clearing I started in yesterday."

"You're sure?"

"I went through here at least four times, Grandpa," she said as she stepped away from him and turned around. "I must have kept coming through there."

"That's odd."

"Why?" she asked.

"I'm pretty sure, just through that tunnel is the Kokiri village."

"The village?" Her eyebrow shot up and she asked, "Then that boy I saw yesterday, he might have been Mido, right?"

"Mido?" Mention of self-proclaimed boss of the Kokiri still sent the Potter's hackles up.

"Yeah, remember I told you, when I first got lost. There was a boy. He asked me how I got so far into the woods without turning into a monster. Then he ran off and I chased after him, but I couldn't catch up and I ended up here."

Truthfully he'd forgotten that detail of her story. "What did he look like?" the Potter asked cautiously.

"Just like you described him; red hair, turned up nose, freckles and he had a fairy with him too, Grandpa." She paused and asked, "They all have fairies, right?"

"Yes," he said and looked back at the tunnel behind him. Once again, the Potter marveled at his good fortune. If the boy really was Mido, he could have taken Lunnaei anywhere in the lost woods...anywhere. Instead, he led her here and the Potter grunted to himself at the irony. Obviously, he was not the only one changed by the scattered events of the past. Of course, it irritated him that he now owed a debt to the overbearing Kokiri.

His thoughts were interrupted when Lunnaei asked, "Can I see it?"

"Hmm? See what?" She must have mistook his look of puzzlement with irritation, because she responded in an impatient voice.

"The village."

The old man looked back once again and knew he could not take Lunnaei through that tunnel. He'd already been given one reprieve by the Great Deku and decided he'd best not push his luck. So he shook his head and replied, "No, Lunnaei, I don't think that would be wise."

She responded somewhat angrily, "Why not?"

"Remember the big talking tree?"

"Oh yeah...probably wouldn't like too much if we started tramping through his village." She fell silent for a moment. "I thought you said the Great Deku Tree died?"

"He did. This forest though, would not last long without a guardian so the Goddesses provided another."

"Really?"

"Yes, in the Hero's time he was just a sprout, though I'm sure he's taken on some good growth since then."

He could tell his granddaughter wanted to ask something more, but again withheld her questions. Which meant she'd either made up her mind to ignore it all or something was wrong. Maybe, he thought, it would be better to just get it all out in the open. Still, he knew the longer they stayed in these woods, the more it was likely Lunnaei would get hurt and that is something he'd never forgive himself for.

A plan took form in his head and the Potter looked back at his granddaughter. To do what he wanted, he was going to have to explain a few things to her and deal with the aftermath later. First, though, they needed to be somewhere else.

Lunnaei walked over to the stump and sat down. With a sigh she rested her head on her knees and said, "So, where are we going that you need to explain it?"

"It more like, who I'm taking you to meet. I'm assuming he's there of course."

"Who is he?"

"A friend I shared an adventure with once, a long time ago."

"What would he be doing in these woods?" The level of impatience in her voice surprised him, but he said nothing knowing she was already well on the way to figuring out a part of the problem. "Wouldn't he have turned into some kind of monster by now?" Lunnaei's puzzled look turned to one of disbelief and her eyes narrowed as she said, "Okay Grandpa, what kind of monster is he?'

The Potter cleared his throat. "A skull kid."

"What?! Where did you meet a skull kid?" Lunnaei stood up and paced around in a small circle. When he opened his mouth to answer, she threw her hands up in the air and shouted, "No! I've changed my mind, don't tell me! I don't want to hear anymore stories!" She turned away from him then and said in a quieter voice, "I just want to go home."

Her tone said it all, though he'd hoped for a better reaction. Just too much too fast, he thought. Still, it would be a long walk back if all they had to talk about was the weather. When Lunnaei turned back to face him again, the Potter nodded to her and said, "Alright, Lunnaei, we only have a short way to go from here. Through that tunnel there," he said and indicated the trunk to the left, "is a small glade. From there, it's only a short walk to the bridge that leads out of the forest."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It took most of the next day to get everything in order and with the house settled, Lem started on the last of the orders in the shop. He finished and packed all the ones that needed to be shipped and delivered them to the inn. From there, they'd be taken to the patrons who ordered them in the nearby villages. He walked around to the back of the inn and found the innkeeper in the stable. He was busy directing his one stable boy in his daily chores. The boy straightened when he saw Lem enter and directed the innkeeper's attention to him.

While everyone in town referred to him as old Auggie, his real name was August Leyton. He was a large rotund man, with thinning gray hair and a somewhat sour disposition. Not only did he double as the village mayor, he was also Lunnaei's maternal grandfather. The bulky innkeeper turned and nodded to him and said, "Master Lem."

Lem returned the nod and replied, "Mayor."

"What brings you by? Has my granddaughter returned from Hyrule early?"

"No, they aren't expected to return for a few weeks yet."

"So what can I help you with?"

"I've a delivery to make down near the Goron Crossing," Lem took a deep breath, he never liked asking for favors, but he needed a horse. "I would like to borrow your horse for the trip."

The innkeeper gave him an odd look and asked, "Why not just have it delivered like the rest?"

Lem was not sure how best to answer that question. How do you explain getting a cryptic message from an overgrown talking owl? He also hated lying, but couldn't think of a better solution at the moment.

"I've a good friend who lives out that way. I've not seem him for quite some time and since Lunnaei is away, I thought I might go for a short visit and deliver the ocarina we made for Lord Dorian's son personally."

Auggie nodded in approval and said, "Good business that, very well, you can take him. You'll be wanting to leave early tomorrow then?" Lem nodded and the innkeeper turned back to the stable boy and said, "Zatchi, be here before sun up, and make sure Anope is saddled up before he gets here."

"Yessir," the boy said as he nodded and went back to mucking out the nearest stall.

"Join us for dinner then?" Auggie asked.

Lem, surprised by the offer, forced a smile and nodded. "Thank you, Mayor, I'd be delighted."

"Good, I'll expect you at half past seven." With that, the big man left the stable and walked back toward the kitchen.

Lem was a little astonished at how easily he'd achieved his goal. It was no secret to anyone that old Auggie and his father had never gotten along. Even after Lem married the mayor's youngest daughter, nothing much changed. It wasn't until after Lunnaei was born the pair managed to be civil with one another. He wondered about that sometimes but why they'd called an end to their feud would most likely always remain a mystery since neither ever spoke of it.

Before he left the stable, he said to the stable boy, "Zatchi, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like for you to wait for me to come tomorrow. I don't have a lot of experience with horses, so I'd like to watch while you saddle Anope."

The boy gave him a puzzled looked and shrugged. "Sure, Master Lem."

"Thanks." He said and smiled. He waved to the boy and turned to head home. Once there, he looked around to see if the owl had returned. It hadn't and since he'd already packed most of what he thought he'd need for his journey, he got ready for what he was sure would be an interesting meal.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as the words left her, Lunnaei instantly regretted letting them escape her mouth. She felt worse when she turned back around. Her grandpa's expression was unreadable as he nodded to her.

"Alright, Lunnaei, we only have a short way to go from here. Through that tunnel there," he said and indicated the trunk to the left, "is a small glade. From there, its only a short walk to the bridge that leads out of the forest."

She wanted to apologize, but the words just would not come out, so she nodded instead. They walked together through the tunnel and she was surprised by how dark it was. It made the fireflies that zipped through the air seem all the more brighter. She looked up to notice her grandpa had pulled out his ocarina again.

"What ever happens," he said as he scanned the trees, "don't move from this spot until I tell you."

He did not hesitate as he played a song Lunnaei had never heard before. When he finished, he looked around with an expression that made Lunnaei a little nervous. She could tell he was waiting for something to happen, she simply had no idea what that would be and it was making her fidget.

When it came, she bit her lip to keep from crying out. She felt her grandpa put an arm around her and she leaned into him. She'd have crawled into his coat, but stood stock still as the glowing eyes of the skull kid now in front of her looked her up and down. It had no face that she could see, just those eyes. The skull kid circled them a few times, its hands and feet were huge compared to its stick like legs and arms. It wore a beat up straw hat and what clothes it did have on looked about ready to fall off.

"You know Saria's Song, are we friends?" The skull kid asked.

Lunnaei blinked. His voice was not at all what she expected. Instead of being fearsome and strange, he sounded just like any other little boy and she wondered to herself, Is this what happens to kids who wander into the forest? She felt her grandpa give her arm a squeeze and she nodded to the gangly creature and pointed to her grandpa. The skull kid shook its head, causing the bone necklace it wore to clink. Lunnaei took that to mean he didn't like grownups, so it seemed she would be doing all the talking. She felt something cold and smooth slip into her hand and she held it up.

"My mask!" the faceless boy shouted as he took the object from her. "Thank you for finding it for me!" He placed the small horned skull mask over his missing face and did a little dance. Lunnaei almost jumped out of her skin when her grandpa said in a low whisper, "Ask him if he wants to play a game of dodge with the scrubs guarding the bridge with you." Lunnaei relayed the request and the Skull Kid paused in his dance.

"That sounds like a great idea!" he said happily and headed off deeper into the forest. They followed not to far behind and her grandpa stopped her at the edge of another glade. From the screen of trees, they watched the skull boy as he harassed the scrubs that popped out of the taller grass. The skull boy 'played' with the scrubs, easily dodging out of the way of the stones they spit at him. She and her grandfather made a slow circle around the outer edge of the clearing.

Lunnaei saw the bridge and it was just the way she imagined. Thick wood planks strung together with sturdy ropes, suspended several feet off the ground. While it was certainly too high for the average ten-year-old to reach, it would not be too high for an adult. Her grandpa handed her his stick and lifted her up. She grabbed the rope nearest her and sat on the edge as her grandpa pulled himself up. He tapped her shoulder and she stood up and followed him toward the largest tunnel they'd come across.

Before she entered it, Lunnaei turned and watched her grandpa's 'friend' as he continued his game of dodge with the scrubs and wondered who he had once been. She waved a farewell to him but the boy was so wrapped up in his game, he'd forgotten about them and did not return the gesture. With a sigh she turned and followed her grandpa out of the Kokiri forest.