Mido, self-proclaimed leader of the Kokiri, gasped when a certain, green-haired girl came bursting into his house.
"Saria! What the...? What happened? Did those monsters see you?"
"N-no, I think not," she said with a shaking voice. "Still, I believe they are looking for me. I can't stay for long, or else I will put you in danger..."
"Don't be silly, Saria! Of course I'll protect you! What were you thinking, leaving your hut with those monsters around? Everyone else has taken cover."
She felt a tiny bit of anger at him, but only as much as the gentle girl was able to feel at all. "Sure, let's hide and cower within our huts. I'm sure everything will turn out fine then. Maybe the big, evil monsters will even leave if we ask them nicely."
"You're not fair," Mido protested. "I just did that to not endanger any Kokiri. You know that most of us aren't trained with a weapon."
"I don't see you out there. What was it you said to Link before he and Ukyo left? Oh yes, I remember: Carrying a sword and shield is the privilege of the leader. Well then, fearless leader, time to put that sword of yours to action."
"I... I..." Mido winced. Did she had to mention that in this situation? It made him feel very uncomfortable. "I don't really have a sword..."
Saria rolled her eyes. "Why am I not surprised?"
Her fairy Sprite zipped into the hut through a window. "Saria, we have to hurry! That Moblin leader is suspecting that you are here and has ordered those Mad Dekus to get you."
"Just great," Mido's fairy companion Bark groaned. "As if those giant Deku Babas in front of our doorstep weren't enough."
"Stop whining!" Sprite scolded. "Why don't you make yourself useful and scout ahead to see if they are coming?"
"M-me?" Bark squeaked. "Go out there? Are you c-crazy? They'll kill me for sure!"
"Just make sure they don't spot you," Mido sighed. "I have to agree with Sprite this time, go out there and do something constructive for once."
Bark felt betrayed, but realized that both his leader and girlfriend were right. He sighed and carefully flew outside, followed by Sprite.
"Mido, you have to do me a favor," Saria then said.
"Anything!" Mido said, hoping at the same moment that he wouldn't regret those words. But he still wanted to make up for... Well, whatever Saria thought he did wrong.
"I will go into the Forest Temple and hide there. I don't think they will be able to find me there, it's a sacred place, after all. You have to make sure that no one follows me. You know the path through the Lost Woods, do you?"
"Sure, but what do you expect me to do? You know I'm no swordsman like Link was..."
Saria smiled. "Well, you still are quite the skilled slingshot user, aren't you? And I don't have to remember you just how often you prevented other Kokiris from going where you didn't want them to go, right?"
Mido blushed a bit, remembering the events shortly before the Deku Tree's death. He felt a bit bad for treating Link and Ukyo as if it had been their fault.
Still, even after all those years, why was Saria still talking about Link? To be honest, Mido did not believe that he and Ukyo would ever return. It has been seven years. And didn't the Deku Tree teach his children that every Kokiri who leaves the forest will die? He only didn't mention this possibility to Saria because he didn't want to hurt her.
"Okay then... I'll guess I can do it."
"Promise, Mido!" Saria begged. "Promise me that you will let no one go past there who is not one of my friends, okay?"
Mido sighed and nodded. "I promise!"
She smiled. "Good, then let's go!"
Sprite and Bark came flying back into the hut. "Saria, hurry! The Mad Dekus have arrived, and they are rampaging through the village. I don't believe they'll stop before they found you."
Saria was worried about her other Kokiri friends, but luring their enemies out of the village was the only way to make them stop.
She looked over to Mido and gave him a smirk. "Let's just hope the others are listening to their leader and stay within their houses."
They slowly opened the door and sneaked around the house. Careful not to be seen by the Mad Dekus, they tiptoed towards the entrance of the Lost Woods.
When they reached it, Saria turned to face her fairy companion.
"Sprite, I want you and Bark to find Konatsu and Tael. We got separated from each other when that witch attacked. I feel bad for not being able to help them, but... at least I want to know if they are safe or not. Especially Tael. He isn't used to taking care of himself all alone..."
"Don't worry," Sprite said. "We'll find them." Bark nodded.
"But Saria," Mido protested. "What about the Lost Woods? Without your fairy companion, you will turn into a Skull Kid if you spend to much time in there."
Saria smiled at him. "I don't think we have to worry about that. We have bigger problems now. Sprite, Bark, good luck!"
The fairies flew away while Mido and Saria entered the Lost Woods.
'Well, I have been hoping that Link might return one day,' Saria sighed mentally. 'But I suppose he's pretty lucky... If he would see what state our beloved woods are in, he would be as sad as I am...'
----
Link was in a state of shock. He stared around the beautiful forest, once filled with the voices of birds and other animals.
Now only the cold chill of an evil wind was blowing through the thicket, and the screeches of the Mad Dekus were mixing with the gruff shouts of the Moblins, as they were all rampaging through the forest.
"What happened here?" he muttered again and again as he crouched down next to Epona. "What did they do to our home?"
He could see it, the trees themselves were in pain. More brutal than ever, the Moblins were mishandling their trunks by chopping them down with their axes. The rotten stench of the undead skeletons was making their leaves wither and die. And more and more plant creatures were turning into evil monsters.
"We have to stay quiet," Ukyo whispered. "Or else they'll find us." There was the chance they might be able to beat them all, but from the big amount of voices, she doubted it.
And while her inner voice screamed at her to take revenge for the forest, her common sense told her that this might not be the most wise thing to do right now.
"We have to reach the village," she said. "We'll decide what we'll do once we see how the situation is back there."
Navi was sitting in the depths of Link's green cap, which he had taken off. She was pulling her legs close to her body and whimpered. She could not stand seeing her beloved home like this.
Tatl tried her best to soothe the blue fairy. She then looked through the trees with a growl. "If they hurt one of my friends, they'll pay for it! And if they even touch my brother, I will strangle them to death!"
Ukyo could have pointed out that most of their opponents would likely be more powerful than a common fairy, but she decided not to say anything.
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(Posted Tue, 10 Apr 2007 22:04)
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