In the dimming glow of the sunset, a pair of humans find some shelter in the shadows of the trees at the edge of the big forest.
Life hadn't been fair to either of them. After the death of the little girl's mother, she and her father had to take care of the family business by themselves. It was a hard time, but they've been happy. The young girl even found a friend, a young boy her age.
But then, another disaster struck in the form of the boy's greedy father: He swindled her father into signing a marriage contract in which he promised to hand over the family business cart in case she would marry the boy. Her father hoped that this way, the family tradition would survive.
But the gluttony father of the boy stole the cart after tricking his son... and they both left, leaving the heartbroken little girl behind.
Now that their main income had vanished, it was even harder for both of them to survive. The girl trained as hard as she could, so that the family's fighting style at least would survive. But she could do nothing to stop her father's illness, which started with a deep depression.
And now, two years after the disaster, the illness seemed to claim its prize...
"Leave me behind, Ukyo..." Kuonji Senior gasped with his final breath. "Go... go to the Kokiri! They would never refuse a young girl like you... The guardian of the forest will make sure that you are safe, and you will grow up to be a beautiful woman..." He smiled. "Just like your mother..."
"NO!" young Ukyo Kuonji sobbed. "Please, daddy, don't leave me! I need you! I love you! You can't do this to me!!"
Her father smiled weakly at her. "Goodbye... my daughter..."
And then he closed his eyes.
----
A glittering ball of light was zipping through the forest, two insect-like wings sticking out of it. If someone would look more closely, he would see the body of a cute, if tomboyish girl within the yellow light.
"C'mon, Tael!" she shouted as she stopped in mid-air. "Don't fall behind, you slowpoke!"
Another ball of light, this one a dark purple, appeared behind her. "But sis," he whined. "Gimme a break... I can't fly as fast as you."
Suddenly, they heard a groan, followed by a sob.
"A human?" Tael said in fright. "Quick, we have to hide..."
"Don't be such a wuss," his older sister scolded him. "That voice sounds like that of a child... and it looks like it needs help. Come, follow me!"
And the two fairies quickly followed the sobbing, until they reached a small clearing, in which a little girl with torn clothes was lying.
"The poor thing," Tael said. "Tatl, can't you help her somehow?"
Ukyo looked up... and saw a yellow and a purple ball of light. "F-fairies?" She murmured. "Please... help me... my father..." Then she lost her consciousness.
Tatl gasped. "She looks like she needs help badly..."
"But we can't carry her by ourselves," Tael reminded her.
Tatl nodded. "Quick... we have to inform the Kokiri! I'll stay here and guard the kid. You go and fly to the village."
"Got it!" her brother nodded and flew away.
Tatl hovered near the ground and softly put a hand on the girl's cheek. The other fairies always called her brash and a tomboy... but actually, she was a very nice girl, with a soft spot for small children.
The girl opened her eyes and saw the smiling face of the fairy. "Who... are you?"
Tatl patted her cheek. "I'm Tatl! Don't worry, hon... My brother is getting some help. Hang in there!"
Somehow, Ukyo felt she could trust the words of the little forest sprite, and she nodded weakly. Then, she fell into a deep slumber...
----
Ukyo woke up with a gasp. As she sat up, she saw that she was lying in a bed inside some small, wooden hut. And everything... the furniture, the entrance... looked as if it had been made for a child her size.
"Am I... in the village of the Kokiri?" she murmured.
Suddenly, two young children came inside, a boy and a girl. They were both wearing green tunics, and the boy also wore a green cap. The boy was blonde and the girl had green hair.
"Oh, you're awake!" the girl said with a sigh. "What a relief! Tatl and Tael told us about you, and when we realized how weak you were, we brought you into our village. I'm Saria... and this is my best buddy, Link!"
"Hey there!" the blonde boy greeted her.
"Hello... um, my name is Ukyo. Thank you for saving me... Um, I hate to impose, but... I'm starving! Do you have something to eat?"
"Oh, of course! Link, could you...?"
"Yeah, sure!" the boy ran to a table and fetched a bowl with fruits. "Here ya go!"
"Thanks!" Ukyo said and began gobbling down the fruits.
"How did you get here?" Saria asked. "You've been lucky the fairies found you and we could bring here... A few more days within the Lost Woods, and you would've turned into a Skull Kid."
"Skull Kid?" Ukyo asked curiously in-between bites.
Link nodded. "Yeah, that's the magic of the woods: If someone who's not a fairy or Kokiri stays for too long within the Lost Woods, they're turned into a Stalfos, or a Skull Kid, if it's a child." He smiled. "But don't worry: In our village, you're safe. The Great Deku Tree protects us."
"Are you alone?" Saria asked. "Where are your parents?"
Ukyo dropped the bowl of fruits and looked down with a sad expression.
"Daddy... is gone..."
The two Kokiri gasped. "I'm... I'm sorry, Ukyo..." Saria said. "I didn't know..."
Ukyo had to think of her father, how he had smiled at her one last time and began sobbing. Saria came close to her and hugged the distressed girl. "There, there..."
"What am I supposed to do now?" Ukyo sniffed after calming down a little. "Where should I go?"
"Don't worry! You can stay here, in our village!"
Link nodded. "Yeah, we can be friends! How'd you like that?"
Ukyo sniffed and smiled back at him. "That... would be great!"
Link smiled back at her, not knowing, that a few years ago, an unknown woman had come to the Lost Woods, also leaving her child in the care of the Kokiri...
And that child was him.
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(Posted Sun, 26 Nov 2006 15:43)
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