Someone kicked Link roughly in the side, shouting for him to wake up. Cold air surrounded him as his blanket was thrown off of him. Quickly he sat up, reaching for his sword. He froze, cold steel brushing against his neck.
“Don’t move.”
Narif and Vinn, the two guards traveling with the small company of researchers in the Forbidden Woods, were looking down at him. It was still night, but the fire was large enough to light the area, revealing the severe expressions on the guards’ faces. Narif had his sword out and was drawing it away from Link’s neck, but still pointed it at him.
“Recognize this?” Vinn thrust out a scrap of cloth towards Link.
Reflecting the firelight was a gold leaf symbol. With a small gasp, he recognized the symbol of the Royal Family of Hyrule: the Triforce, with a pair of wings cascading out from underneath it.
“I knew there was something strange about you,” Narif muttered. “I wouldn’t have thought a dumb-looking kid like you would be working for the royal family—or is it some aristocrat?”
“No! I’ve never seen that thing before in my life,” Link said firmly, looking at the two guards.
“Really? Then, why did I find it in your things?” Vinn shot loudly. Link could hear the researchers waking and mumbling inside their tents as Vinn went on, “Only someone working for the royal family or a high-ranking aristocrat would have this.”
“Get up and move aside.” Narif pointed his sword closer to Link, inches away from his chest. He held up his hands defensively on impulse, but lowered them as he arose and walked away from his blanket, sword, shield, and his pack.
“Sit down.”
Link did so immediately, his eyes darting from Narif’s sword to Vinn, who had started to search through Link’s things, untying the leather straps, making everything fall apart. Trying to keep his breathing steady, Link grabbed hard onto his knees. The researchers were awake, and soon Faron came out from his tent. As Narif explained the situation loudly, Gutoh and Roe also appeared, silent, their faces pictures of confusion and worry. Faron remained calm, focused on the Narif’s explanations, though his expression grew darker and more severe with each passing moment.
Looking back towards Vinn, only Link could see as the guard pulled a piece of paper out of his long sleeve, and then, as if pulling out from under Link’s waterskin, slowly held it up and began to unfold it.
“I knew it. He stole our contract.” Vinn held the paper up, showing it to the researchers. “It has all the information about you lot and our group going to the Forbidden Woods. If he brought this back to the castle—”
“I’ve never seen that before,” Link interrupted, clenching his fists painfully tight.
“Silence.” Faron’s voice was so cold and hard that everyone stared at him. Biting his lip, Link felt his hands began to shake. He tried not to guess what might happen next.
“I knew something was strange with him,” Vinn said as he walked over to the others, looking down at the contract. “Muttering to himself last night, and tonight…”
“Not to mention going to Castle City in the same caravan as Talno when his poor mother is supposedly so ill,” Narif spat.
Gutoh and Roe were whispering together, while Faron snatched the document from Vinn and read it over quickly. He glared at Link, shaking his head.
“Who are you working for, boy?” Faron slowly walked over, and was now looking down at Link. The man’s brows furrowed, his salt and pepper colored beard almost seeming to bristle in anger, yet his eyes were hard and cold.
Shaking his head, Link answered, “No one. I don’t—”
“If he returns to tell anyone of this, it’ll be the ruin of us all,” Gutoh groaned, rubbing his forehead wearily, anxiously.
“If we left him alone in the woods, he’d never find his way out,” Vinn suggested.
“I don’t want to take chances,” Narif said testily, his sword inching closer to Link. “Don’t you agree?” The question was a general one, but he looked pointedly at Faron, who did not respond.
Link’s gaze darted quickly to the other researchers. Roe was now staring dumbly at the scene unfolding before him, his eyes wide in confusion and fear, his mouth hanging open as if a word got stuck and would not go forwards or back. Gutoh was just shaking his head, his eyes closed, deep frown lines suddenly standing out on his face, making him look much older. For some reason, his arms were shaking and his knees unsteady.
Tensing, Link immediately looked back to Faron. He was stepping back from Link, looking down at him again, his eyes tired, but still hard. His expression was firm as he nodded.
Immediately Link sprung and rolled out of Narif’s reach just as his sword thrusted forward. Vinn swung after him. Link dodged and rolled over near his things. Still crouching down, he just had time to grab his shield and bring it up to meet Narif’s sword. It swung down on him with the man’s full weight, sending Link on one knee with the force of the blow. When the weight gave and Narif drew his sword back for another attack, Link immediately rose up, bashing his shield into Narif’s face as hard as he could, sending the man reeling, unbalanced, stunned.
Vinn attacked and Link scurried backwards out of his reach, almost running into the trees. Behind Vinn, he could see Faron coming ducking into his tent and pulling something out. It was a quiver of quarrels and a crossbow, light enough to be drawn back by hand. Narif and Vinn had regrouped and were about to attack together as Faron began to load his crossbow.
Immediately Link ducked and ran away, dashing through the trees and into the forest. He heard a bolt from the crossbow whizz just above his head before he turned and ran a different direction, heading downhill. The forest was pitch black, as the sky was covered in sheer clouds, as he haphazardly ran through the forest, his shield ahead of him, covering him from most of the lower branches and helping him feel out what was ahead and avoid the large trees rather than run straight into them.
There was a rustle behind him, and he heard a sharp moan overhead. Looking around wildly in the dark, he took another quick turn, aiming uphill. Jumping up, banging his knees on a few stones, he hurried upwards until he found solid ground and kept running. Nothing struck at him save for high bushes, and he let his shield arm down, focusing on running as fast as his legs would carry him.
Something sharp struck him on the fore head, and his feet struck ice. Letting out a sharp gasp, his feet flew out from underneath, and he fell flat on his back. Something cold and hard hit his head, and white spots popped up in his vision, consumed quickly by black.
The first thing he was aware of was his shield, now very heavy on his right arm. His body was not cold, but when he tried to move even the slightest, he realized he had gone completely numb. In his ears he could hear the wind whistling, but could not feel it. After a moment, he heard a soft chiming, like tiny silver bells floating on the air above him. There was a small glow of warmth, like a tiny candle. There was another chime, and then the warmth vanished.
His eyes flew open. Lying on his back in the middle of the Forbidden Forest, he had the smallest layer of frost spotted on his clothes. The woods were lit by a sun of late morning, revealing he was surrounded by the dark, bare trees just outside of a small bare thicket, laced with ice. Sitting up stiffly, the frost snapping on his clothes, he saw fog in the distance of the woods as they stretched downwards, while the woods above running up the mountain were clear with pale light.
“Oh, you woke up on your own! That’s a first.” Link quickly looked back up to see Truett flying over his head, slowly coming down to circle around him. “I was going to wake you up. Seriously, you hit your head, I didn’t know when you’d come to.”
“My head…” Automatically he reached back, but stopped himself. Instead, he looked at Truett, opening his mouth to speak, but then shutting it.
“Confused, eh?” Truett observed, a slight trace of amusement in her voice. “Don’t worry. Those guys aren’t trying to track you down after you went running off into the Lost Woods all alone. They’re not as crazy as you are! But what happened? I saw you running from them, but that’s all.”
Link started at her for a moment, then shrugged. Sitting up straighter, he pulled his shield off his right arm and placed it down on the frosty ground. Slowly he stretched out, focusing on moving his fingers, toes, and feet. After a moment, feeling was rushing back, though it was painful. Reaching his arms out, he stretched until he could reach his boots. Taking a slow breath, he sat back up straight, pulled his legs in and slowly stood up. His body felt like stone, but after he managed to stand up straight and then began to pace around the area, he began to feel the cold and, when he rubbed his hands together, warmth. He kept pacing and stretching as he slowly said, “I don’t know what happened. I don’t know why, but the two guards, Narif and Vinn, they were trying to set me up.”
“For what?"
Link stopped, rubbing his arms, looking at Truett thoughtfully. “I don’t really understand, I can’t remember well. They pulled out—they said they found a cloth with the insignia of the Royal Family of Hyrule on it. From the way that everyone else acted, I guess it was the real thing, but they must have planted it. I had never seen it before.”
“Was the insignia gold leaf?” Truett asked, swooping down to hover closer to Link.
Frowning, he answered slowly, “Yes. Why?”
“Oh…” She began to fly in circles above his head. “That was mine. I was going to use it.”
“What?!” He stared at her, his mouth open, then snapped, “Why didn’t you tell me you had it in there? Why—”
Shutting his mouth, he looked away from her, rubbing his forehead, glaring at the ground. Truett did not say anything and just continued to fly around. Eventually Link sighed, sitting down in defeat, his hand running through his hair, noticing he had left his hat. After another sigh, he said, “I guess it doesn’t matter. They thought I was working for the royal family, and…” The memory of Faron’s crossbow and the guards attacking him rushed forth his memory and he shuddered. “They think I’ll get them into some kind of serious trouble.”
“Did they try to kill you?” Truett asked.
He nodded, feeling a small chill running down his back. His mind flashed back to running away in the dark woods, the sound of the crossbow’s quarrel narrowly missing him. Shaking himself, he stood up, brushing the rest of the frost off his clothes.
“Well, it doesn’t matter,” Truett said eventually, flying down onto his shoulder. “I can lead you through these woods no problem anyways. But, they have your things. I saw them, I went looking for them after you got knocked out here.”
“Can you lead me to them?” Link looked at her.
“Sure. And listen, you don’t need to worry about fighting them to get your stuff back.”
Link frowned, raising his eyebrows at her.
“They were being stalked by a pack of Wolfos,” she explained dismissively. “The pack will attack at evening, and everyone will be dead by morning—”
“Truett!” The fairy tumbled off his shoulder as Link jerked away from her. “What are you saying?!”
“What are you getting upset about? They tried to kill you, right?” the fairy asked irritably, flying back up into the air jerkily.
“Yes, but…” He just shook his head furiously. “We can’t let them be eaten.”
“You want to save them? Really?” When he nodded she groaned in exasperation. “You’re so naïve.”
He reached down and snatched up his shield, pulling it back onto his right arm. “What I am or not doesn’t matter. You said you saw the Wolfos—can I save everyone from them?”
The fairy snorted before answering, “Yes, if you insist! It’s not impossible. There are magical nuts in these woods that can stun the monsters. We can pick them up on the way, but we won’t be able to catch up until evening. I don’t think we’ll be able to forewarn them about the Wolfos—”
“Then let’s go.”
Link immediately began to head off into the woods. After taking a few paces, he stopped, turning around and returning to Truett, who had not moved, hovering in one spot in the air. For a moment, they stood still.
“…Please lead the way,” Link asked meekly, wondering what expression the fairy was making on her small face right now.
She gave a small “tch!” then began to fly ahead up the mountain with him following.
As they walked out of the area, Link looked back once. The previous night’s memories becoming more and more clear in his mind, he automatically tried to match them with this present, sunlight forest.
Stopping, he tilted his head, his eyes scanning back over the area repeatedly.
“What is it now?” Truett flew right in front of his face, her voice irritated. He sidestepped, squinting at the area below.
“These trees aren’t right,” he said in a low voice. “They’re different than last night.” He pointed and outlined the low branches and the thin trees he remembered getting hit by, yet now they were replaced by taller, fatter trees with higher branches. Rubbing his head, he wondered, “Is it because I hit my head?”
“Oh, no, that’s not it.” Truett began to fly away again, and Link followed, looking back a couple times as she continued, “Your head is fine, unless if there was something wrong to begin with. No, these trees have been moving around on their own.”
Link pursed his lips, looking at the fairy. “Really?”
“Yes, of course really.” Her voice was turning hard. “Do I sound like I’m teasing you?”
“N-no. Just, last night Gutoh was making jokes about the fire frightening the trees or something.”
“Well, he was joking because he doesn’t know anything. The trees here are really the same as everywhere else in Hyrule, except these are still awake. Way back when the gods were still living among the people here, all the trees were awake, moving, living—at least as much as trees can. Once all the gods left, all the trees slowly fell asleep until just these woods were left.”
“Why here?” Link asked, looking at the trees around him. He wondered if they could hear him talk, and gulped.
“Oh, there are lots of reasons for these woods to be awake. There are lots of fairies and good and bad magical things here, so that stimulates them. And…the Great Fairy sometimes said that these woods also connect to the catacombs, which are a gateway to another world.”
Link frowned, the ache in the back of his head beginning to redouble. “Another world?”
“I don’t really know what it means,” Truett said quickly. “But there are just a lot of fantastic things around here and magic that keeps the trees awake. Though they’re much sleepier than back in the day, I’m sure. But even in winter, they’re still awake. They’re a big reason of why everyone gets lost here, sooner or later.”
“But, you won’t get lost?”
The fairy cleared her small throat, her voice impatient, “Let me rephrase that: they’re the reason all Hylians and other mortals get lost in the woods. Understand? And…” She flew down closer to him, her voice low and clearly purposefully ominous, “Do you know what happens to any mortal lost in the woods?”
Looking at her warily, Link slowly shook his head.
“You turn into a monster. Usually Stalfos. The children of the woods turn into Skull Kids, but I haven’t seen them around anymore, for a very long time. Maybe the woods ate them in the end.”
Link waited for her to somehow explain how the woods could “eat” anyone, but she did not. Soon he decided not to pursue it and remained silent as they continued along. Focusing on his surroundings turned out to quickly be necessary, as the path grew more treacherous and steep. Every now and then they would stop for a minute. Link’s ears were starting to pop with the altitude change, and Truett frequently commented that they should not go too far up the mountain too quickly. After noon, they began to take a less steep path, but still continued upwards.
Just as the light first began to fade towards dusk, they came across a tiny clearing, just large enough for four people to stand in, not including a tiny spring, hardly big enough for a child to sit in.
Truett had forbidden Link from using any of the snow or ice in the woods for melting and drinking, but immediately okayed the spring, so they took a break as he drank. His head had felt a little strange from the altitude, and his breath had been going shallow. As he finished drinking and sat by the small spring, looking at its clear surface and dark depths, his head began to feel more level and his breath more natural.
“Link.” Truett sat down on his head. “I want you to see something, so sit still.”
“What is it?” he asked before he could stop himself.
“Just be quiet. Just sit still, and wait.”
He rolled back his shoulders and loosened his knees, letting his legs relax, sitting more comfortably. Thanks to fishing all his life and the time spent hunting in the forest near his home, he was used to sitting in as complete stillness as was humanly possible. Truett also went silent and motionless; if it was not for her warm light on his head, he might have not known she was there.
After a few minutes passed, he began to see lights in the air. At first he wondered if it was snowing and the sun was reflecting off of the snowflakes, but the entire clearing was in shade. Keeping still, he watched as the lights began to float around, becoming brighter by the second. At first they looked like fireflies whose lights never blinked, but then they began to dance around the air as if to a slow waltz. Slowly, trails of light appeared, following the first lights wherever they danced. His mouth was hanging open at the sight and when he noticed and closed it, he did not gulp.
“They wouldn’t appear at the campsite,” Truett was saying in a low voice. “The fire was always moving and burning. It made the trees stop moving too, waiting for the fire to go out.”
“What are they?” As Link asked the question, the lights suddenly dispersed, flying away like a swarm of bugs, disappearing into thin air.
“They are the wood’s magic.” Truett flew back into the air. Link followed and they began to walk back into the woods. “That magic used to be everywhere around these trees. But now it only shows itself in the Lost Woods when you’re still.”
“Oh.” Link frowned. “How long did you say it’s been since you’ve last been here?”
“I don’t know, who cares? Let’s get going. Keep up with me, Link!” She began to fly faster, and he found himself running after her through the woods. The path was clearer, the trees older and the ground was devoid of young trees or bushes blocking his way. Eventually they slowed, but kept a steady pace as the woods grew darker and darker.
A keening noise came out from the distance. Instinctively Link froze, looking around, his arm with his shield held up, ready. Truett flew around him, and they listened. The noise faded, but then returned, stronger. At first Link thought it was a wolf’s howl, but it was throaty and raw, less haunting and melancholy, more of a roar or growl. Its strangeness made Link rub his arms, feeling himself going cold as the sound returned again, this time higher, louder, and accompanied by a chorus of similar calls.
“That’s the Wolfos pack,” Truett whispered. “We’re getting close.”
The Legend of Zelda and characters copyright Nintendo
"The Legend of Zelda: Deluge" writing and original concepts and characters copyright Mahira / Mahira-chan
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