Chapter 30

The Next Course

Malon took a step outside, breathing in a grateful breeze of afternoon air. Zelda and Saria had already spent several hours jubilantly exchanging stories with one another, first about Link, and then moving onto their personal lives, eager to share everything about one another. The two fashioned a pleasant atmosphere Malon would've loved to appreciate, but as she slowly lost her place in their conversation, she knew she wasn't needed and excused herself. She wasn't mad or hurt when Zelda and Saria accepted her departure with barely a nod; rather, she was a bit lonely. She missed the constant company of her friends, and now that all of them were spread throughout the paradise village, Malon felt like she had little to do.

Make no mistake, she wasn't bored at all. Now that paradise was no longer being threatened by outside forces, she had plenty of time to kick back and soak in the details. Watching the forever-young interact with one another, while mindlessly gazing at the village's splendor, always made her heart race, but after holding such needlessly high expectations of paradise, reality was a bit harsher. Endless meadows of vast fortunes? There wasn't a green rupee in sight. Waterfalls of syrup and honey? The river was refreshing, but it definitely wasn't honey. Eternally young children who grew golden lilies just by touching the ground? Sure, they were immortal, but none of the Kokiri knew what gold was. At least paradise was a sight to behold regardless of her crestfallen expectations. Already, the village was repairing the damage wrought to it, covering patches of burnt land with an overgrowth of grass and re-growing torn down homes from the bottom up. Malon was fascinated by how a sapling could suddenly design itself into the perfect living space in a matter of hours.

Since it was unbecoming to act so sullen in the middle of this sacred dwelling, Malon clambered down the tree house's ladder for a little exploration time. When her feet touched the ground, she promptly peeled off her shoes and left them at Fairy Boy's front lawn in order to savor the cool sensation of grass tickling her toes. While there was a slight tingle of sleep prodding at the back of her mind, it'd be a crime to close her eyes to the magnificence around her.

She strolled beside the trodden trail stretching throughout the village. As her prior delusions of ill-fitting grandeur slipped away, she appreciated the village for what it truly was: A welcoming place for children to forever live and stay. Though her focus was mainly directed towards the magical scenery (like the gentle shower of flower petals cascading from above), she couldn't help but notice how many of the Kokiri stopped what they were doing and stared at her as she walked by. Some tried to avoid eye contact, pretending like she wasn't there, but the others enthusiastically jumped up and down, desperate to catch her attention. Malon understood why some of the Kokiri would shy away; who wouldn't after having their homes ransacked by a bunch of greedy adults? It was the excited children who puzzled her; how could they be so animated after such a nightmare? Maybe an abundance of optimism came with eternal youth.

"I see her! There she is!"

"Grab her!"

The burst of commotion made Malon swivel her head left and right to see who the perpetrator was. A small mob of Kokiri was running towards her, pointing fingers with exciting eyes and zealous smiles. Malon glanced over her shoulders to see if their target was standing behind her, but there was no one there. A seed of uncertainty began to take root, so Malon stepped aside hoping these fervent kids would run past her. They didn't; instead, they readjusted their course so they were charging directly at her.

Her instincts kicked in, and she arbitrarily blurted out the first thing on the tip of her tongue: "I didn't take the cookies!"

Bam! The collective mass of Kokiri rammed into her with the momentum of a raging pony starving for some sugar cubs, causing her eyes to spin and hallucinate fairies (or were those fairy partners?). As she struggled to make butter-up or butter-down of the situation, she felt the Kokiri pick up her winded body, hold it over their heads, and jog away while shouting: "We got her! We got her!"

Next thing she knew, she was paraded into one of the forest homes and seated on a plump chair, with a startled Fairy Boy sitting directly across from her. Admittedly, Malon's befuddled head sharpened into an instant of panic; it was hard to forget the bloodstained beast he'd become, lashing out against those who threatened his friends and home. Having anger issues was a serious understatement; Fairy Boy was a whole different person when enraged, someone you really didn't want to meet in a dark alley at night. Right now, he was neither the bloody beast nor the Fairy Boy she knew and cared for; it lasted only for a second, but Malon swore she saw the defeated expression of a depressed boy before he concealed it with an impartial glass mask.

"We found her!" The Kokiri who roughly transported her cheered, hastily sitting in their own chairs to form an anticipating circle with Malon and Fairy Boy.

"I know I told you to find one of my friends if you wanted to know more about the outside world, but I didn't think you'd bring her here," Fairy Boy laughed lightly, twisting his lips into a forced grin; something was totally wrong. When Malon tried to voice her concern, Fairy Boy shook his head, a wordless plea that said: Ask me later. "Sorry for the surprise, Malon."

"I'm okay … I'm okay," Malon said slowly, urging her brain to piece together a reason for Fairy Boy's despondent mood.

"Everyone," Fairy Boy spoke to his forest friends, "This is Malon of Lon Lon Ranch, my first friend outside the Kokiri Forest. Malon, these are a few of my pals, Fresta, Sally, Yally, Tref, Jaspin, Branda, and Cupin, along with their fairies Appi, Sani, Yani, Hani, Karl, Tish, and Balo."

"Hi?" Malon murmured, greeting them with a little wave. The Kokiri and their fairies responded with an onslaught of salutations. "Fairy Boy, where am I?"

"This is Fresta's place," he answered, motioning at the rectangular room. These magically-grown homes were impressive on the outside, and now she knew the same applied for the inside. The inner walls were draped with mint-scented branches, and while the odor was not overpowering, it was very relaxing. Valley lilies were thriving on the room's chandelier, growing from the center of the ceiling; the lantern-shaped lilies illuminated the house with a spellbinding light, requiring no fire or oil. When Malon checked to see what she was sitting on, she was delighted to find herself on a chair-shaped pumpkin, and saw the others were seated in their own fruity/vegetable stools. The bed was her favorite addition; it was a hammock hanging from the walls, sewn together by interlocking lengths of vine and looking royally comfortable. Malon would've done anything to have a room like this.

Poke.

Something tapped her on the shoulder, and when she turned to see who it was, she jumped up in fright to spot a branch extending from the house's attic, moving as if it had a life of its own.

"Don't be scared, it doesn't bite," one of the Kokiri girls (Fresta) assured.

"W-Why is it moving?" Malon asked with an involuntary stutter of surprise. When she tried backing away, the wooden limb followed her movements.

"It's asking for your permission," Fresta's partner (What was it again? Snappy? No. Happy? That wasn't it either. Wait, it was—) Appi answered. "Doesn't the outside world have laundry?"

"Not like this," Fairy Boy said. "Malon, say 'Yes' and then'please,' and you'll see."

"Y-Yes please?" Malon hesitantly spoke. The next instant, the branch grabbed her by the waist and dragged her into the attic and out of sight. Before her fear had time to kick in, the house dropped her back into her plushy pumpkin seat with a new makeover. Her clothes had been effectively changed; her favorite one-piece dress was replaced with a jade outfit consisting of short pants and a sleeveless turtle-neck shirt. Even her hair was freshly cleaned, groomed, and tied into a ponytail with a lime ribbon. Her feet were still bare, but there was a small rose wrapped around her pinky toe. A few seconds later, her white dress (which had been stained with sweat, dirt, and days without soap) dropped from the attic's porthole and onto her lap, fresher than the day her daddy had bought it. "That was … that was cool!"

"We call it lazy," Fairy Boy chuckled (Malon detected a hint of strain), glancing at Fresta. "Sure, no one in the Kokiri Village actually washes their own clothes, but some of us take the time to put them on ourselves."
"You all know I'm not good with mornings!" Fresta pouted, strangely unaware of Fairy Boy's depression despite being his friend. "I need a house that can clean my used clothes, change my outfit, give me a bath, and brush my teeth!"

Malon ran her tongue against her teeth, then cupped her hand and breathed into it; Fresta was right, and Malon was surprised to find her breath smelled like cinnamon. Now she wanted a home like this even more than before, because it took room service to a whole new level.

"Can I keep these clothes?" Malon asked longingly, loving the pristine fabric the Kokiri clothes were fashioned from. Its quality effortlessly rivaled Zelda's old royal dress, and was the perfect souvenir to take home.

"Sure, Fresta's got way too many anyways," Appi teased.

"I do not!"

"You can keep them," Fairy Boy concluded. "But Fresta, you should really change that command. I remember that one time Jaspin and Karl came over to borrow one of your chairs."

"Seriously!" The Kokiri in question, Jaspin, fumed. "Do you know what happened? Fresta asks 'Do you want the watermelon chair?' and I say 'Yes please' and then—NO, NOT AGAIN!" The boy was snatched out of his chair by the magical house and dragged into the attic screaming. When he came back down, he was in an outfit almost identical to Malon's, but with a skirt instead of pants, his short copper hair tied into three stubby ponytails, and a set of flowers sticking out of his nostrils. "I hate your house, Fresta."

The Kokiri laughed, and their mirthful cries were dangerously contagious. Malon couldn't help herself; she laughed along, almost to the point of crying as jollity overtook her. There was something abnormal about the Kokiri's laughter; their innocent enjoyment made her belly warm, wishing for the joyful cries to never stop. Only Fairy Boy stayed unaffected, barely raising the corner of his lips as his friends amused themselves. When the Kokiri settled, Malon found she was surprisingly depressed, though the sadness left as quickly as it came.

"So," Sally (or Yally, since the two were identical twins and impossible to tell apart) asked, "If your house doesn't wash your clothes for you, how do you clean them?"

"By hand," Malon said simply.

Her answer brought about an unexpected gasp of pure horror from the Kokiri.

"By hand … you mean … you have to wash them yourself?"

"Oh Great Deku Tree, that must be terrible!"

"I feel so sorry for you!"

"I-It's not that bad," Malon tried to assure them. Using a metal washboard and a hard bar of soap wasn't the most luxurious way to remove a stain, but she didn't realize the Kokiri would be this aghast.

"What about the giants?" Yally (or Sally) whispered in a low, almost frightful, voice. "The giants who were hurting our homes were really bad people, and Link says there're even more of them outside the forest! What's it like, living with so many awful giants?"

"Normal, really." Again, a collective of gasps, like the Kokiri couldn't believe their ears; these kids were a bit too excitable. "Not all grown-ups are evil! There's Natasha, and she helped beat the bad guys!"

"The big lady in the library? That's true, but she's weird."

"Every time I see her, she's calling one of us 'adorable'."

"But if she's Link's friend, she can't be a bad person, right?"

"Yeah, Link doesn't make bad people his friends."

"I know you were scared because of the other adults, but there's no reason to be afraid of Natasha," Malon said in the guild leader's defense. "She is a little strange, but she's super nice if you give her the chance!"

"We're not scared!" Jaspin protested. "It was kind of freaky to see them ruining our homes and stealing our fairies, but now that Link's back, there's nothing to be afraid of! He always knows what to do to keep us safe!" The Kokiri boy's statement was met with a round of approval, and Fairy Boy did his best to look humble.

"Speaking of which, where are the men who came to the Lost Woods?" Malon asked Fairy Boy. "I didn't see them anywhere. You didn't—" She swallowed her apprehension, "—do anything bad to them?"

"We moved them," Fairy Boy said, strangely expressionless while mentioning the men who were once the objects of his unadulterated rage. Malon was pretty sure the looters who died had been buried far away from the village thanks to Rail and Natasha's efforts, but those who were merely unconscious were bound and gagged, and Malon didn't know what had happened to them until now.

"Is it safe to keep them? Shouldn't we let them go?"

"No, not yet. I want to make sure they never come to my village again." For a moment, Fairy Boy's words were sharpened with a harsh edge, yet none of his forest friends seemed to notice; they were so secluded from violence that they couldn't see it emanating from their closest friend.

"Y-Y-Your hair's really p-pretty," Kokiri Cupin suddenly stammered; Malon fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat when the immortal boy started leaning towards her, stroking her hair with one finger. Out of all Fairy Boy's friends, Cupin was definitely the shyest (and perhaps the strangest). She could tell from the way he hugged himself to make his body as small as possible, trying his best to go unnoticed.

It must've taken him a substantial amount of courage to speak, so Malon put on her brightest smile and said, "Thank you, that's really nice of you."

She might've overdone it, because Cupin's face burst with an infusion of heat as he declared: "I like you! Please go out with me!"

"No thanks." Malon replied before she knew the words had left her mouth. She might've felt extremely guilty about her instant rejection if Cupin's friends hadn't start patting his back while chuckling in amusement.

"Don't worry about Cupin," Balo, the Kokiri's partner, said. "Cupin gets a crush on every girl he sees, and he's been rejected by everyone in the village; I think the last one who shot him down was Saria. Cheer up Cupin, you weren't actually expecting her to say 'Yes' were you?"

"I … hiccup … was …"

"Do you really want to go out with me?" Malon asked, just to be sure.

"Yes please!" Cupin cried loudly, moments before the house threw him into the attic and dropped him back in his chair moments later. The poor kid ended up worse off than Jaspin, with an ankle-long dress, a T-Shirt with frilly ribbons attached to the collar and sleeves, and a wreath of flowers sewn into his hair. Thankfully, Cupin found his silly attire just as hilarious as the rest of them as he laughed along.

"See, you've got to change that phrase," Fairy Boy said.

"But it's so funny to watch what happens!" Fresta giggled, clapping her hands as she approved of Cupin's new attire.

"Let's get out of here, Cupin," Jaspin coughed after his fit of glee subsided. "I don't think either of us wants to stay like this for the rest of the day. We'll catch up with the rest of you later!" The two, along with their fairy partners, exited Fresta's house; Malon could hear the riot they were causing as they walked by.

"Let's get something to eat," Sally (or Yally) announced.

"We're kind of hungry," Yally (or Sally) continued, their stomachs growling in unison.

"Then we visit Dentri and Hapi," Fairy Boy confirmed, catching Malon's confused look and saying, "They're the chefs of the Kokiri Village, if you're willing to call them that. They're the ones who came up with the pancake."

"Then I bet Suvi's still there," Malon smiled at the thought.

Their little group picked themselves up, pushed aside their edible chairs, and made their way to their next destination (Malon left her cleaned dress on the pumpkin chair, a little unwilling to carry it around with her). The Kokiri scampered ahead, hungrily scrambling towards the prospect of a fulfilling meal, leaving Malon behind with Fairy Boy and Navi.

Knowing this was going to be one of the few chances she'd get, Malon wrapped her arms around Fairy Boy's to prevent him from escaping before asking: "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," came Fairy Boy's automated response; from the way Navi jingled in defeat, Malon knew it had to be something.

"Talk to me Fairy Boy, because I won't let go of you until you do," Malon said, trying to enunciate her words to sound threatening; unfortunately, Fairy Boy found it to be more humorous as he cracked a smile.

"Those clothes look good on you," Fairy Boy said, his out-of-the-blue praise catching Malon off guard as she pressed her hands against her cheeks to stop her blush; the moment her hands wandered away from Fairy Boy, he picked up his pace, almost power-walking out of Malon's reach. Almost.

"Not so fast!" Malon yelled, jumping onto his back and binding her arms around his neck and her legs on his waist to thwart anymore trickery. "You're a crafty one, Fairy Boy. But I've got you now!"

"I'm terrified," Fairy Boy chuckled, continuing to walk on unhindered. "Alright, what do you want?"

"I want to know what's bothering you," Malon pressed, squeezing her arms ever so slightly. "I thought you'd be happy to be back home, but you're not. Then I thought you were still angry with those bad men, but that's not it either. Something's really bothering you, and it's making you all gloomy."

"It's nothing much."

"It's about his promises to the Great Deku Tree," Navi answered.

"Navi!"
"Hey, Malon's right," the fairy partner snapped. "You told me what you wanted to do, but even she can tell it's eating you up inside. If I can't change your mind, maybe she can. You've got friends for a reason, Link. Let them hear your dilemma."

Fairy Boy sighed, picking up where Navi left off. "I promised the Great Deku Tree I'd defeat Ganondorf, so I left the Kokiri Village to keep it, but that wasn't the only reason. Ganondorf wanted the Kokiri Emerald, and as long as it stayed within the forest, I knew he'd come back and threaten the lives of my friends."

"Oron City," Malon whispered, remembering how Fairy Boy taunted the intruding Gerudos by flashing the Spiritual Stone of the Forest in their faces. "You told them that Ganondorf better come at you to get it, but you also said all that to keep him away from the Lost Woods!"

"Yeah, and I was naïve. From all the stories you told me about Hyrule's perspective of the Lost Woods, I should've known the Gerudos weren't the only threat to my home, but since I only saw Ganondorf and his pirates as my enemies, I failed to consider other dangers. After the Great Deku Tree passed away, it was only a matter of time before his power, his magic protecting the forest, waned away. When he was still alive, it took someone of Ganondorf's caliber to break into the village. Now there were Hylian bandits and kidnappers walking in like they owned the place. Every day I'm away from my village is another day it's placed in danger. With all things considered … I don't know if I can leave."

Alarm rang in Malon's ears, (though she later realized it was Navi's ring of distress) at Fairy Boy's words. "What do you mean? Are you saying you won't leave the Lost Woods? You're not going to stop Ganondorf?"

"I've thought about it for a while, and between chasing revenge and keeping my friends safe, my friends are far more important. If I can keep the Kokiri Village out of harm's way by abandoning my quest to stop Ganondorf, I will."

"B-But what about the Spiritual Stones you have! If you say here, then won't Ganondorf end up coming to the Lost Woods again to look for them?"

"I'll give them to Zelda before she leaves."

"So … you're really giving up," Malon murmured, finally understanding Fairy Boy's brooding emotions.

"Revenge has been on my mind for so long it's a bit hard for me to accept as well, but if I will if I have to."

"A-Are you sure? Zelda still needs your help! Rail too! Maybe Suvi … well, not really … but we need you!" Malon gently shook Fairy Boy's shoulders. "We only got this far because of you! Zelda trusts you more than anyone! Rail admires and always follows your lead! Suvi will never admit it, but he respects you! If you go, everything will fall apart! They can't get along without you! You're the only reason we're all still together!"

"Malon, I watched my best friend die right in front of my eyes. Zelda couldn't stop, and neither could I. I know she's okay now, but only thanks to some strange twist of luck. It might all be in the past, but I keep thinking what if, what if. What if I'd been here before those kidnappers arrived? What if I'd faced them in the forest, outside the village, using the terrain to my advantage? I could've prevented the village from burning, stopped Saria from dying. I know I can't go back in time and change things, but if I could, I would."

"If you could, you'd have never met any of us," Malon whispered, pained by the trouble Fairy Boy was tormenting himself with. "Would you still be okay?"

"Of course not," Fairy Boy growled, his steps adopting on a more frantic pace. "You're all important to me, you, Zelda, Rail, and even Suvica. Thanks to all of you, I got to meet my mom, my cousin, and learn about my family. These are things I'll cherish, and I'd willing die to protect it all, but I seems I can't have everything go my way. Malon?"

"Yes?"
"Thanks for listening, and don't tell anyone else what I just said to you. When the time comes, I'd rather tell them myself, tell them that this is it for me."

Unable to muster her voice, Malon solemnly nodded as she rest her head against Fairy Boy's; the whole idea of him forfeiting his pursuit to save Hyrule was too much to swallow. How many times had they escaped certain death and defeat thanks to his ingenuity? He was their center, the keystone supporting them all. He may not know it, but he was a natural leader; how else could he get a princess, a child of lost royalty, a farm girl, and a dragon to boot, to co-operate with each other to work towards a single goal? Having Link leave would be catastrophic, something that had to be avoid at all costs, but how? He was already burdening himself by placing his desires and responsibilities on opposite sides of a scale, and Malon didn't want to pressure him into changing his mind, breaking his balance.

She mulled for an answer until someone's screams snapped her concentration. There was a loose semicircle a wide distance away from the commotion, so Fairy Boy put Malon down and walked towards the source. Malon incorporated herself into the crowd of Kokiri to see what was going on; the moment she saw who the troublemaker was, she sighed.

"What do you mean you've never heard of bacon?!" Suvi roared, grabbing a terrified Kokiri by his tunic's collar while keeping the forest kid's partner caged in his other hand. "How can you be alive and not know what bacon is?! You two disgust me!"

Fairy Boy came to his friend's rescue in a heartbeat, smacking Suvi's head and releasing Dentri and Hapi; the two almost cried in relief at his arrival.

"It's evil Link," Fresta murmured, keeping her distance as Fairy Boy and Suvi started arguing with one another. "I never knew Link had a twin!"

"They're not twins, so to say," Malon spoke in "Suvi is … different."

"So he's not a Kokiri like Link?"

Fairy Boy isn't a Kokiri either, Malon thought woefully, though she refused to say so out loud. "Nope, he's not a Kokiri."

"Then he's like you, a … a …?"

"Hylian?"

"Yeah! A Hylian?"

"Nope."

Fresta frowned at the lack of answers. "But … so then … what is he?"

Unable to come up with a suitable fib, Malon shrugged and said, "A dragon." Naturally, she expected the Kokiri to react in terror, maybe walk away slowly or run in the opposite direction. What she did not expect was for them to break out with wide smiles and charge towards Suvi, screaming, "Dragon!" Suvi was still squabbling, and never saw the Kokiri coming as they jumped on him. They hung from his arms like monkey bars and wrapped themselves around his legs, begging to see his wings or to watch him breathe fire.

The sight was so entertaining Malon sat down to enjoy the show, finding it funny to see the big bad dragon helpless against a group of immortal children. When his annoyance peaked, he started grabbing the Kokiri mobbing him before hurling them across the village. His reaction horrified Malon, who was worried the Kokiri would splat against the ground with bone-cracking impact, but her qualms were swept aside when she saw how the village would not permit any harm to come to the Kokiri. Each time a thrown Kokiri was about to hit the ground, a massive fern exploded beneath them, softening their landing and causing them no hurt. Instead of instilling fear, all Suvi got was delight as the Kokiri ran back to him begging to be thrown again. It was heartwarming; the Kokiri no longer had a parent, yet they still did their best to be happy, and from the way they interacted, they were all an inseparable family.

Family.

First Fairy Boy's shocking decision, and now this. Out of the blue, a tear wet the corner of Malon's eyes as she thought about her dad; she missed him. It was painfully easy for her to recall her moment of defiance, when she commandeered the family wagon and helped Fairy Boy kidnap Zelda from Hyrule Castle. During the rush of excitement, she'd completely forgotten the face her dad made when she left him: Terror. To know she was the one who brought about that fear made her stomach tight with remorse. She didn't need to think to know what her dad was doing now: Drinking, drowning his grief at the bottom of an ale barrel. Her absence was making her only living relative suffer, and the unconscious guilt was making her tears act up. Remembering Fairy Boy's selfless decision to stay made her guilty conscious worse. How could she have been so selfish? She knew how susceptible to misery her dad was after her mom died, yet she'd forgotten all about it due to the prospect of an adventure. Malon pulled her legs close and rest her head on her knees, resolving to make things up to her dad when she got back. If Link was going to stay in the Lost Woods, then it was only a matter of time before the rest of their group broke apart without their center; she'd be able to hitch a ride home within the week. Maybe a self imposed curfew and a year of chores without an allowance would do it. No, it had to be something more. Simple errands could hardly compensate for the pain she was causing her dad after leaving with barely a goodbye. What would her mom do? As far as she could remember, her mom was a champion at cheering others up, possessing a friendly and vibrant aura that could bring a smile to a crying baby's face. Mom always knew what to do, what to say, to resolve problems such as these.

Her mom.

Mom.

"Mom!"

"Run Malon, run! It's okay, mommy will be right behind you! Go to daddy!"

"But—!"
"Run!"

Fire. Rain. The inn was collapsing. Mom was making sure the others escaped. Malon didn't want to go. She wanted to stay. The ceiling collapsed. Mom pushed her out of the way. Blood. So much blood.

"Mommy? Mom?"

"MOM!"

"Malon!"

"Whoozere?!" Malon jerked her head up so fast it smacked into Suvi's nose, causing him to recoil in a pang of pain.

"Ow! What was that for?" Suvi scowled, rubbing his bruising snout. "I come over to see if you're okay, and this is how you respond?"

"You're a dragon, I've seen you take worse. And I'm fine, thank you."

"Then why are you crying?"

"Me? I'm not crying."

"Then what's that coming from your eyes?"

Malon brushed her fingers against her cheeks, startled to find Suvi was right. As quickly as she could, she gathered the broken fragments of her memories and buried them in a lonely corner of her mind. Today was really starting to loosen her tear ducts. "It was just a nightmare, nothing to worry about!"

"What kind of nightmare is so bad that you start crying?" Suvi mumbled, gruffly taking a seat next to Malon; the Kokiri had shifted their interest away from him and towards their next meal.

"The really bad kind. Don't you have nightmares? Like really big monsters coming after you in your dreams?"

"Psh, if something tries to pick a fight with me, even if it's in my head, I'll rip its head off and eat it for dinner."

"Sounds like you."

"And speaking of dinner, can you believe this place? There's no meat! Not even bacon! How can this be paradise and not have bacon?!"

Malon felt a smile return thanks to Suvi's ludicrous complaints. "There's no meat because it's paradise. You know, a place where even animals can live without worrying about being chopped up for a meal. And since when have you liked bacon?"

"Since I was a baby, long before I became like this," Suvi cackled, drooling to whatever fond memory was playing in his head.

"But you hated cooking before you met Fairy Boy. Doesn't bacon come from cooking?"

Suvi smirked. "Cooking? Ha. Just find a pig, gut it, make it roasty-toasty, and then you've got bacon. What's there to cook?"

An unrestrained giggle squeezed past Malon's lips. "So why were you harassing that poor little Kokiri from before?"

"Poor? Don't let his appearance fool you. That kid as old as my old man, maybe older. I was bugging him because he's the one who taught Link how to make pancakes. I wanted him to make me a bacon pancake, but when he said he didn't know what bacon was, I was ready to cut him up and show him exactly what it looked like!"

"You weren't actually going to eat him, were you?"

"Of course not! He smells like spinach! I wouldn't eat that stuff even if I was starving in the middle of the Gerudo Desert!"

Malon laughed freely, always amazed at how Suvi's crude humor improved her mood considerably. "Suvi, vegetables are good for you, you know?"

"Spinach gives a dragon serious constipation."

"I can't imagine you having constipation."

"It's easy, just picture me having the same face as Forest Boy when he was slaughtering the bugs messing with his home. That would be my constipated face."

This, Malon did not find funny. "I know you're playing around, but that's still not very nice. Fairy Boy was really angry, and now he's … he's going through some hard stuff!"

"Then tell him to suck it up. Homes burn all the time. I don't even want to count the number of times glory-mongering humans raided my family's dens in the middle of the night."

"That's because you don't know how to count."

"Besides the point. All I'm saying is that it's pathetic for Forest Boy to get so moody. It's not like anyone died."

"Saria died."

"And she came back to life. Problem solved."

"Mr. No-Fairy!" The two of them were interrupted by a high-pitched and squeaky voice whose hostility was directly aimed at Suvica; the shrill voice also attracted the attention of Fairy Boy and his Kokiri friends, who were a few yards away at Dentri's place. Approaching them was a Kokiri trying to walk like he was a figure of importance, with his chest puffed out, his shoulders square, and his tiny hands squeezed into little balls. At his side was a musky blue-green fairy; even without a face, Malon could tell the fairy did not want to be here. "So! You came back, Mr. No-Fairy! I don't see your fairy partner with you anymore, which probably means she abandoned you, just like how you abandoned us!"

"And what are you?" Suvi asked, eyebrows crossed.

"Hmph! Trying to act tough?" The Kokiri boy sneered, stopping once he was leering down at Suvi. "You can stop pretending you're strong! Just because you rescued the village before I could doesn't mean anything! I know the real you! You're a coward! You ran away the moment I told the village the truth about how you killed the Great Deku Tree!"

Malon slowly leaned over to Suvi and whispered in his ear, "I think he's confusing you with Fairy Boy."

"Bah."

"You can change your clothes, dye your hair, and throw away your fairy partner, but I can spot your gutless face from the other side of the forest!" The Kokiri boy rambled on.

"Mido?" His fairy partner spoke up. "I don't think Link can change the color of his eyes. Are you sure this is him?"

"Shut up, Varl!" Rude Mido snapped, furiously waving off his partner. "I know Mr. No-Fairy when I see him, and this is him. I'm right, aren't I, No-Fairy! You were afraid of facing me when you came back, so you tried to change your appearance to fool me! It doesn't work! You're too stupid to trick me!"

Suvi got up so abruptly Rude Mido almost jumped out of his shoes. "Listen here, chump. I came here because I wanted to try some bacon pancakes, but then I learn you squirrels don't eat meat! I was hoping Link was the only vegetarian, but no, it's the whole dang village! I'm in a bit of a bad mood right now, so walk away so I don't hurt you!"

Rude Mido gulped twice before he could stop the knocking in his knees. "Say w-whatever you want, Mr. No-Fairy! I know you! I know how your stupid brain works! I know what kind of coward you are! I know—!"

"Um, Mido?" Varl butted in.

"Not now! I'm talking!"

"Mido!"

"What?!"

"Over there! Look!" The fairy pushed at Mido's cheek to make the Kokiri turn around. Fairy Boy and his friends had been watching the entire affair, and when Mido's mistake finally dawned on him, his body was petrified by incomprehension.

"T-That's Mr. No-Fairy …"

"Yeah, that's Link," Varl sighed, sounding extremely tired.

"Then …" Mido gawked at Suvi, who letting out a small burst of static from behind his teeth. "Who … who are you?"

Suvi's hands clasped around the front of Rude Mido's tunic, lifting him so the Kokiri's feet dangled inches off the grass.

"Suvi! What're you doing?" Malon yelped in alarm, afraid the dragon was about to do something rash.

"I'm answering his question," Suvi growled, pulling Rude Mido close so the two of them were nose to nose. "You want to know who I am? I'm a gutless, stupid coward who just wants his FRIGGIN PANCAKES!" The dragon drew back his free hand and squeezed it into a fist, but before he could land the first sure-to-be-lethal blow, Fairy Boy ran up and grabbed Suvi's arm before he could strike.

"That's enough. He just confused you with me, so there's no reason to hit him," Fairy Boy said; Malon saw his fingers strain to hold back Suvi's trembling fist.

"Forest Boy, there are a lot of things in this world which piss me off, and this thing did two of them; he insulted me, and then mistook me for you. I really want to hit him, really, really badly."

"Be nice and calm down. There's nothing to get angry over."

Suvi voluntarily dropped Scared Mido, holding Fairy Boy with a curious glance. "What's up with you? This is usually the part where you smack me and I try to bit your throat out."

"Suvica … there's something I have to say."

"Then spit it out."

Fairy Boy breathed deep. "I can't leave my village, not after what it's been through, and what could possibly happen again. I need to stay and protect it, meaning I can't chase after the Spiritual Stones anymore."

"Did you bust something in your head when you were having your hissy fit? Stop messing around, because it's pissing me off."

"I'm serious," Fairy Boy said with an ounce of determination. "I want to kill Ganondorf just as badly as ever, but I can't leave the Kokiri Village knowing it could be attacked again!"

"Don't screw with me, Forest Boy!" Suvi roared, his bloodlust generating a storm of electric crackles from his clenched teeth. "You expect me to buy that piss-weak excuse?!"

"Sorry."

Suvi spat in disgust, leering with barely controlled rage. Malon knew he was going to start throwing punches, but then he did what she would've never expected; he calmed down. Their dragon breathed so hard he was blowing sparks from his mouth with each gust, and when he was certain his will was his own, he said, "Then I'll protect your village!"

The answer was so unlike him that Malon was stunned off her feet; even Fairy Boy was visibly shaken as he barely managed to mutter, "You … what?"

"I'll protect your pathetic village!" Suvi howled, bashing his knuckles together to make the air shudder. "If some brat-snatching punk comes along, I'll break them! If a fame-chasing idiot waltzes in here, I'll smash them! I'll keep doing this until all of Hyrule knows that the Lost Woods is now my turf! I carve the message in their bones so that no one will ever dream of setting a toe in these woods!"

"But why? Why would you do that? I said I'll protect my village! There's no reason for you to!"

"Yes there is! You know what your goal is, Forest Boy? It's to beat the snot out of the Gerudo's precious king! My goal is to kill you once it's over, to break every bone in your body before smashing your head into a pulp! I'll do anything, anything, to make sure I get my death match with you, even if it means looking after your trash! You remember what we are to each other? I'm not your friend, I'm your bloody enemy, the worst rival you've ever met! Screw Sheba, screw Glen, screw Zladimir, screw Ganondorf, screw them ALL! You're the only human in this world I've wanted to slaughter this badly, and I'll never let you get away from me with such a weak reason! I'll make sure you become the strongest, even if it means defending you, fighting for you, or forcing you! So yeah, I'll make sure a scratch doesn't come to a single leaf in this pitiable forest! The moment you've got Ganondorf's head on a platter, the two of us are going to fight, and one of us is going to die!"

Utter silence.

Not a word was spoken as Suvi's unpredictable reasons for following Fairy Boy settled in. Suvi wanted to kill Fairy Boy? Malon had known their relationship was a strange one, but never on this level. Plus, his final words left an acidic taste on her tongue: One of us is going to die! It was the crude, selfish, and ultimately plausible logic of a pride-fueled dragon who had his hearts devoted to a single goal.

Someone laughed.

It was Fairy Boy, throwing back his head and shaking with so much hilarity he fell onto his knees while clutching his sides. His wild chortling even had him rolling in the grass and shaking his head in gratification before he stood back up with a perfectly serene face.

"I wish I was as stupid and simple as you," Fairy Boy smirked. "You'd really do all that for me? You'd protect my friends and village?"

"I'll be killing you anyways, and when I do, I want you free from distractions," Suvi smiled widely, flashing his incisors.

"I suppose I should say thank you," Fairy Boy continued, abruptly discarding his sword and shield, tossing them aside. "But there's one thing I've got to do first."

"And what's that?"
"This!" Fairy Boy's left fist slammed across Suvi's face, sending the dragon back three steps, with blood trickling from the corner of his lips. "That's for calling my village trash, and there's a whole bunch more I want to pay you back for!"

"Works for me!" Suvi shouted in restless rapture. "My arms were starting to get a little rusty! Bring it!"

The two literally met each other head-on, smashing their skulls together before savagely exchanging a tempest of blows, using every ounce of strength, skill, or pride to crush the other. Usually, such a violent display of conflict would send Malon running for Zelda so the princess could end the squabble with a few fireballs. Instead, she preferred to let these two work out their differences; after all, there wasn't much to worry about, not when those two were wearing such ridiculously joyful grins.

"Uh, is this a bad time?" Rail asked, startling Malon as if he'd appeared from thin air; he must've approached her while everyone was focused on Fairy Boy and Suvi clobbering each other.

"Not at all," Malon said, patting the grass beside her as a gesture for Rail to take a seat. "What's the matter?"

"We've got a situation in the library, and we kind of need Link's help."

"Then you've got perfect timing!"

Rail glanced at the struggling duo. "Are you sure about that?"

Whenever Malon heard the word "library," she immediately thought of a musky old room filled with infinite columns and rows of boredom. The Kokiri Library was nothing like that. Instead, it was a spacious underground meadow spanning beneath the entirely of the village above. There were ample levels of light, provided by the flowers which produced sunlight instead of pollen. Greenery thrived in the subterranean grove, yet instead of leaves, these plants grew scrolls, documents, and scriptures from their stems and branches. The trees, bushes, and even flowers, were blossoming with rolls of parchment filled with endless lines of information.

Malon quickly fetched Zelda and Saria as Fairy Boy (who was being tended to by Navi) Suvi (whose bruises disappeared within minutes), and Rail waited at the library's entrance. Zelda and Saria were worried when they saw Fairy Boy and Suvi's condition, but the two boys stubbornly insisted that they'd "tripped." After taking the staircase down, the newcomers entered the library with popping eyes and dropped mouths.

"T-This is a library?" Zelda stuttered as she hungrily took in the endless grove of information; the princess was shivering so badly she almost looked sickly instead of excited.

"What's wrong?" Saria asked her newest friend. "Don't all libraries look like this?" She turned to Fairy Boy, hoping the boy who'd explored the world outside the forest could answer her question.

He shrugged in response. "I haven't been to any of Hyrule's libraries before, so I can't tell."

"Of course they don't look like this!" Malon gasped, mainly due to the magnificent sight before them. "Our libraries are just long aisles of books and books and books! But this … this is so cool!"

"That was my reaction when I first saw it," Rail agreed as he led them deeper into the treasure trove of knowledge.

"This place is huge," Suvi mumbled, craning his neck to judge how far the ceiling was. "How come you forest brats didn't hide in here when your village was getting renovated?"

"We couldn't do that!" Saria strongly argued. "The Kokiri Library is—" She swallowed her lingering grief, "—was—the Great Deku Tree's most prized treasure, second only to us, his children. Everyone in the village knows how much our father loved the library, and when we realized the intruding men were only after us, we stayed far from the library to keep it from getting destroyed. Our father's treasure is our treasure, and with him gone, it became all the more important to us."

"That's stupid," Suvi scoffed. "You value a bunch of letters on paper than your own lives? Yeah, I bet your dead old man would be real proud if you all died but his precious collection of paper stayed intact."

"Please feel free to ignore the lizard," Zelda said pleasant, stomping on Suvi's toes with her heel, causing the dragon to spit out a naughty word. However, the moment he did, a thorny vine sprung out from the grass and whipped Suvi in the rear, inciting a vicious roar.

"What was THAT?!" He howled, grabbing the assaulting rope of greenery and yanking it out of the ground.

"Words like that are forbidden in the village," Fairy Boy answered rather smugly, obviously enjoying Suvi's irritation. "Good to see some of the Great Deku Tree's magic lives on."

"Talk about parent supervision," Rail mumbled; Malon watched his hand protectively hover over his behind.

"Is that so," Suvi growled, glaring at the ceiling as if it had ears. "Well why don't you take your stupid rules and shove them up your—!" A rock dropped down and corked Suvi's mouth; he gagged and spat out the obstruction, continuing with: "Is that all you got you piece of—!" The library retaliated by slapping Suvi across the face with bushel of paper-flowers.

"I know the lightning newt can take the pain," Rail said as Suvi hung back to curse at the library while it retaliated, "But if one of you Kokiri got hit by something like that—" He pointed as one of the trees came to life and stepped on the dragon, "—you wouldn't get away with just a few scratches. These punishments all seem a little too severe, don't you think?"

"I can't really say," Saria frowned, appearing fascinated by the library's reaction towards Suvi's foul mouth. "The Great Deku Tree has always warned us about using bad words and how he'd punish us every time we did, but I never even knew words like that existed until a few minutes ago."

"Suvica the Thunder Dragon, spreading corruption wherever he goes," Navi sighed, darting between the scrolls growing from trees. "But tell me this: If the magic forbidding you from cursing is still around, where's the magic that protects you all from intruders? They might've busted the Wall, but there has to be more than that, right? I can't imagine the Great Deku Tree wouldn't take such precautions into consideration."

Saria fiddled with her shirt's sleeves, troubled. "There are plenty of spells that protect our village. The Great Deku Tree never talked about them, but I know they were there. I could always feel it, our father's magic channeled throughout the forest to keep us safe. But then something … something dark began to suppress the Great Deku Tree's magic. Soon after that, the outsiders came. I don't know what happened."

"It was the Gerudo mage," Zelda answered. "I heard her talk about keeping the Curse of the Forest at bay with her dark powers. She was the one who disabled your protector's magic, allowing those crude villains to invade your village. If it were not for her, the Stalfos roaming the forest would've torn those men asunder the moment they set foot in the lost woods."

"So it's still there? The magic protecting the Kokiri Village is still there?" Fairy Boy demanded.

"It is," Zelda confirmed. "It is only because of the Gerudo mage that these men managed to intrude upon your home. Your village is not as defenseless as you think."

Saria wasn't as animated as Fairy Boy by the knowledge. "The Great Deku Tree's magic might keep us safe for now, but not for much longer. Now that he's gone, his magic's influence is slowly starting to wane. In a few weeks, it may disappear all together, and then there'll be nothing to protect us from outsiders."

"Don't worry, I know someone who'll take care of that. But what about this Gerudo mage?" Fairy Boy repeated. "I remember Suvica saying something about Gerudos and magic back at Hyrule Castle, when we first met you. He said there are only two Gerudos in the world that can use magic."

"And as far as I know, he's correct," Zelda confirmed. "Those two are Ganondorf and Twinrova."

Rail jumped in wonder, though Malon was thoroughly perplexed at his surprise. "Twinrova?! I know that name! She's the Gerudo who initiated the Great War against Hyrule so many years ago, and one who wanted to use Link's dad as a bargaining chip during the war! You mean she's still alive? No, wait, wait. Twinrova is pretty much the Gerudo's second-in-command, like Ganondorf's right hand man, or woman, or whatever! So what was someone of her importance doing in the Lost Woods?"

Malon noticed Zelda's eye linger on Saria, trying poorly to conceal her concerns and doubts. "I … I do not know. Yes, Twinrova is a prominent figure amongst the Gerudos, and she only acts on Ganondorf's orders. If she was here, it means Ganondorf sent her, although I do not know why. Regardless, no one was harmed in the end, thus we can safely assume Twinrova failed to achieve her objective. Now let us move to the matter at hand. Rail, you asked us here because you said there was a problem. What is it?"

"A problem? Ah, right. Here, take a look," Rail approached the nearest tree, which was easily over twenty feet in height, and strained himself to reach for the lowest hanging scroll dangling from the branches.

"What're you doing?" Fairy Boy asked, sounding amused as he watched Rail struggle.

"What does it look like? I need one of these scrolls to show you what's wrong," Rail grumbled as he tried and failed to climb the trunk of the tree.

"Which one do you need?"

"Any of them!"

Fairy Boy nodded, then clapped his hands and called in a clear voice: " 'Early Days of the Demon King,' chapter seven please." The tree obeyed, tossing the specified scroll from its branch, where it neatly landed in Fairy Boy's open hands.

Rail's jaw hung open as his hard work was proved fruitless, sliding back down the tree to glare at Fairy Boy. "How'd you do that?"

"Do what?" Fairy Boy asked innocently.

"Get the scroll so easily?"

"How else would I get it?" He said as-a-matter-of-factly. "You ask nicely and the library responds. Isn't that how it always works?"
Rail buried his face in his hands, mumbling, "That's it, I hate magic."

Zelda cleared her throat to reclaim the humiliated boy's attention. "Rail, you were saying there was a problem?"

"Right, right. Link, open that scroll."

Fairy Boy obliged, unrolling the parchment and holding it up for everyone to see. The moment Malon tried to read the story, she spotted the problem: It was written in Kokiri.

"Indeed, this is a problem," Zelda agreed, taking the scroll from Fairy Boy and scrutinizing the words. "Still, it is an obstacle I should've foreseen. Because this is a library belonging to the Kokiri, it would be obvious that everything here would be written in Kokiri."

"Wait a sec," Malon spoke up. "You and Natasha have been in here for hours, haven't you? Why tell us now that there's a problem?"

Rail's head sunk even further as he pointed to the reason rather than verbally explain himself. He was referring to the small gathering of Kokiri in the center of the library, where a round and wide tree stump was serving as a stage, surrounded by comfortably seated Kokiri. Malon hadn't noticed it before, but there was someone on top of the elevated platform, and she was dynamically speaking to the Kokiri audience, who went "Ooh" and "Aah" at her tale.

As they approached, Malon saw that it was Natasha, displaying more emotions in these few seconds than she had in the last few days; she was portraying whatever sentiment necessary in order to embody the characters in her tale, shifting from face from bliss, sorrow, grief, or rage. The light-producing flowers surrounding the base of the forest-amphitheatre glimmered with different colors each time the tone of Natasha's story changed.

"That's when the evil monster bared its wrenched fangs, its tongue salivating as it lusted for its next kill," Natasha whispered menacingly as the flowers cast her in a scarlet glow; many of the Kokiri leaned back in fright. "But before the big bad beast could devour the young princess, in came the dashing prince, galloping to her rescue on his noble steed!" The petals flashed with a pearl sheen to further dramatize Natasha's story, and the Kokiri passionately cheered.

"How long has she been doing this?" Fairy Boy asked as Natasha continued to narrate.

"Too long," Rail groaned. "The moment we entered the library and found out nothing was written in Hylian, Natasha asked for me to fetch you, since you could help us translate some of it. That's when a bunch of the Kokiri came to us and started asking Natasha a bunch of strange questions. In the end, they managed to convince her to tell them a story, and she's been up there ever since. I will admit, Natasha is scary good at this; my granddad could learn a thing or two from her. She had me, along with the rest of the Kokiri, captivated for hours before I remembered we were in a hurry."

"Story time is over, we have much to do." Zelda cupped her hands around her mouth and called out Natasha's name, but her shout was easily drowned by the collective cheers of the forest children when Natasha ended her tale with a bow. Navi stepped up, warning them to cover their ears as she released a ear-splitting screech from her body, causing everyone within the library to bury their heads in their arms.

Natasha, finally noticing her presence was needed, apologized to the forest children (who were begging for one more story) and jumped off the stage; her face returned to its naturally emotionless mask. "What's the matter?"

"I'm sorry to end your enjoyment, but we are here for a reason," Zelda explained after expressing her apologies to the dissatisfied Kokiri. "We wish to locate the hidden entrance to the Zora's Domain."

"I know, but I was sidetracked," Natasha replied, turning to her Kokiri audience and smiling fondly before looking back at Zelda with zero emotions. "Their pleads were too adorable to ignore."

"You've got a weakness for cute things, don't you?" Malon deduced.

"And if you value your life, you won't breathe a word about it to anyone."

"Actually, this could be a good thing," Fairy Boy added. "Not Natasha's obsessions, but the Kokiri she's gathered. None of you can read Kokiri, so let's ask for their help instead."

Zelda readily agreed to the suggestion. "A brilliant idea. Having the Kokiri aid us in our endeavor will greatly reduce the time needed to locate the information we seek."

"Then let me ask them." Fairy Boy quickly leapt onto the stage, and when he made his appearance, the Kokiri were suddenly screaming their applause, probably expecting another story from their favorite friend. It was near-painful for Malon to see their communal disappointment when Fairy Boy told them otherwise. "My friends and I came to the village searching for information that might be in our library. However, none of them know how to read Kokiri, and I could use your help."

At first, Malon expected Link's old friends to volunteer their services without a second of pause. Thus, she was shocked when none of the Kokiri responded. In fact, most of them seemed strongly opposed to the idea.

"Link?" One of the forest children stood up to speak. "Can you tell us what you're looking for?"

"A backdoor, or secret entrance, into the Zora's Domain. My friends and I need to know where it is, which is why I came back."

The speaking Kokiri uncomfortably squeezed his hands together. "And once you know where it is … are you going to leave again?"

This question was obviously excruciating for Fairy Boy to answer, probably because his answer would've been different a few minutes ago. "Yes."

"Then we don't want to help!" Another Kokiri cried.

"You can't leave us again, Link! We need you!"

"The Great Deku Tree always trusted you, and you always know what to do!"

"We need you here! We don't want you to go again!"

"You're always doing everything to keep us safe! We don't know what to do without you!"

The outburst of protests was so loud another batch of unaware Kokiri flooded into the underground orchard, attracted by the loud commotion. When they understood what the others were arguing about, they added their own voices to the collective scream of complaints.

A burst of magic silenced them; Link drew his sword and used his Spin Attack to release his expanding ring of blue magic. It harmlessly passed over the heads of the Kokiri gathered around the stage, but ceased all speaking. The Kokiri were wide-eyed, stunned by the display of power.

"Thank you," Fairy Boy said, soundlessly sheathing his sword. He breathed in deep, then spoke with renewed confidence. "Thank you for wanting me to stay so much. It means … it means a lot. You've all trust me this much, then maybe it's time I trust all of you. You all know I left the village without saying goodbye, and it's time you knew why."

"Mido … Mido said you left because you killed the Great Deku Tree," one of the Kokiri said, guiltily staring into the ground. "I-It's not like we believed him! You'd never do such a thing!"

Fairy Boy smiled humorlessly. "Yet in a way, it's true. When the Great Deku Tree died, guilt was part of the reason I left. However, my main reason was, and still is, revenge. Our father was cursed, condemned to die because of a man who came from the desert. The Great Deku Tree had something the man from the desert wanted, and when our father refused, the evil man put a killing curse on the Great Deku Tree. I couldn't break the curse in time, and as a result, the Great Deku Tree died. I left the village in order to track down this man and claim revenge for the Great Deku Tree. Learning the secret entrance to the Zora's Domain can help me do just that. If you don't want to help because you're afraid I'll leave again, then at least help me so I can defeat the man who killed our father. That's all I ask. Please"

Fairy Boy finished with such heartfelt emotions Malon was ready to slap the first person who refused. Thankfully her intervention was not required, as a forest child asked, "When you're done … and the bad man is gone, you're coming back, right? You'll come back, and everything will go back to normal?"

"I'll come back, and I'll do everything I can to make things better. It's a promise."

"Then we've got your back!"

"We'll do everything you ask! Leave it to us!"

"Let's do this!"

As Fairy Boy tried to settle down the overly enthusiastic Kokiri from atop of the tree-stump-podium, Malon asked the others, "So where do we start? Even with the Kokiri helping, there's got to be millions of scrolls in here."

"It shouldn't be too hard," Zelda replied. "Link was able to receive the scroll of his choice by calling out its title, and the magic within this library did the rest. Perhaps we can do the same. We may not know the individual labels of each and every scroll here, but I think there's a fair chance this library responses to general topics as well."

"Let me try," Rail offered before shouting, "We need a scroll telling us the secret entrance of the Zora's Domain, please!"

Nothing happened.

"I think you were too specific," Saria explained. "After all, the Great Deku Tree wrote everything in the library, and to him, the secret entrance you seek might not have been labeled as a 'secret' to the Great Deku Tree."

"Good point. All pathways into the Zora's Domain, please!" Rail tried again.

Yet again, nothing.

"Still too specific?" Malon wondered.

"Then we go general," Zelda declared; for whatever reason, the princess's words horrified Saria, yet before she could stop her, Zelda shouted, "All information on the Zora's Domain, please!" A result: A scroll popped off from a nearby tree and landed squarely in Zelda's delighted hands. "There, that was not so difficult, though I honestly expected there to be more."

"Oh no, oh no," Saria gasped, her skin paling by the second. "I'm so sorry, Zelda. I should've stopped you, but I couldn't. I'm so sorry."

"What is the—?" A baffled Zelda began to ask, but was cut off when another rolled up parchment was thrown at her, lightly smacking the back of her head. "Ow, how crude."

Saria backed up slowly, like she was afraid any sudden movement might trigger a catastrophe. Then she sprinted away, screaming, "TAKE COVER! TOO GENERAL!"

Immediately, as if acting upon prior experience, the Kokiri scattered, fleeing to farthest corners of the library to escape from Zelda. Even Fairy Boy was urgently ordering everyone to take cover; he sounded so frantic that Malon was compelled to do as he said, dragging Rail and Natasha with her, though she had no idea why.

Another scroll was tossed at Zelda, hitting her back when she bent over to pick up the second roll. As she tried to grab the third, in came a fourth, fifth, and sixth. Soon, the library was lobbing thousands of years worth of information on the Zora's Domain directly at Zelda, who didn't have enough time to gather her wits and run. Malon watched in a mixture of interest and terror as the air was filled with flying paper, all of which was dive-bombing the helpless princess. After minute long downpour of parchment, a gargantuan mound of information was piled onto the very spot where Zelda once stood.

"A … little … help," a meek voice pleaded from within the heap.

"King … Zora … the … fourth … ordered … the … proposal … of … the …" Malon tediously translated, taxing her brain to the limit as she strained to read Kokiri. When she couldn't translate the following letters, she leaned back to stretch out the numerous cramps encompassing the back of her neck and shoulders.

Her strict teacher, Navi, rudely bopped her on the side of the head. "The word is 'aquatic'. Let's move onto the next sentence."

"Aw, do I have to?" Malon whined, rolling around in the verdant soil; it was more comfortable than the softest of beds. That, combined with the late night, threatened to drop her to sleep at a moment's notice.

"You're the one who said she wanted to learn how to read Kokiri," Navi countered, spinning in dizzying circles in front of Malon's eyes until she sat back up. "If you don't want to learn, then don't push yourself."

As if Malon could do that. She grumpily glanced around at the Kokiri library, where all of the village's denizens were scattered throughout the room. Each Kokiri had a separate scroll filled with extensive details about the Zora's Domain, scanning through each line at an impressive pace. Zelda and Saria were sitting with Link, along with a large group of his other forest friends, while Natasha playfully read unrelated bedtime stories to her own group of admirers. Zelda and Natasha had been a part of Navi's tutoring session along with Malon and Rail, but they mastered the Kokiri language in a matter of hours, and Malon didn't want to get left behind; sometimes she envied geniuses. Right now, she was stuck with Navi and Rail. Suvi was the only unproductive one amongst them all; he grew bored of the library's documents within the first two seconds, and was now testing out the strictness of the Great Deku Tree's magic.

"Mother … funky donkey! Dang it. You soggy piece of … shitake mushrooms! Still nothing? Rotten egg of a … bitter hag! Stupid, stupid magic! I'd kick your ass if I—!" Wham "—OW!"

Rail, Malon's fellow student, had a very scattered understanding of Hylian text, so to move on to Kokiri was a challenge he refused to turn down. He acted like he was in a life-or-death battle against the language, dedicating each symbol he translated to memory as if his life depended on it. Despite his admirable commitment, his progress was worse than Malon's.

"Hey, hey, don't let your mind wander," Navi snapped, rudely tackling the center of Malon's forehead; none of the little fairy's impacts hurt the slightest, but they sure were annoying.

"I'm not!" Malon protested, locking her tired eyes onto the scroll on her lap. She'd been at this for hours, and was fairly certain it was past midnight, even though the shining flowers never dimmed. A good night's sleep was definitely on the top of her "To-Do List," but with everyone working so studiously, she knew her conscious wouldn't let her get a wink of peaceful sleep. At the very least, she wanted to concentrate without the drill sergeant floating above her head, so she asked Navi, "Are you sure you don't want to play and talk with the other fairies? Fairy Boy is catching up with his old friends, so why don't you?"

"Because I don't know any of them," Navi replied curtly; Malon could tell this was a topic the fairy would like to avoid, but since Malon was feeling a little agitated with Navi's strict coaching, she pressed on.

"Why not? You're a fairy, just like the rest of them. Since you're all the same, it should be easy for you to make new friends."

There was a slight gloom to Navi's glow, and Malon knew the fairy was dealing with some conflicting emotions. "If I were just like the rest of them? I guess that'd be nice."

"What's wrong?"

"Quite a few things, but they're none of your concern."

"Bad Navi, you should never use the words, 'none of your concern.' "

"Why not?"

"Because now I want to know even more! You can tell me what's wrong!"

"Shh! I'm studying here!" Rail growled, his bloodshot eyes furiously scanning across his roll of parchment.

"Sorry!" Malon and Navi said in unison. To continue their conversation without causing any disruptions, they crawled over to a secluded spot under the nearest literature tree, labeled "The Coup of Roup" (or "Scoop that Poop," Malon really couldn't tell).

"Alright, since you're obviously not going to drop it, I'll talk," Navi said, resting in Malon's hair. "Now this is a perfectly hypothetical question, and it's in no way related to me or anyone I know."

Which pretty much means it's about Navi, Malon deduced, but said aloud, "Sure! So what's it about?"

"Let's say there's a … girl, of sorts. She lived a long time ago, and was created to be the perfect companion. Now this girl is impassive, lacking all the feelings that humans have. Yet overtime, she grows to appreciate her companion, and in the end, considers him her one and only friend."

"I still don't get what the question is."

"Look, I'm getting there, okay? Now let's say this girl is reborn in a different form, and meets the reincarnation of her only friend. Is it wrong for her to … to miss the person he used to be?"

"You don't like Fairy Boy?"

"Wha—no, no! I never said that! And this isn't about me, remember?"

"Of course," Malon agreed. "So what's wrong with Fairy Boy? Is there something about him you don't like?"
Navi groaned, resigning herself to Malon's perception. "There's nothing wrong with Link. Out of all the people in his old life, I'm glad I was one of the few chosen to return to his new life. Still, he's not the Link is used to know. I thought I knew everything about him, yet when he rushed into the Kokiri Village screaming for blood, I didn't recognize the thing he'd become. Worse yet, when he needed help, it was Suvica of all people who came through. I am getting to know Link better, but in my mind, it's hard not to compare him to the person he used to be. Because of that, I keep holding expectations that may never come to pass."

"You lost me at the very beginning," Malon said, thoroughly confused as to where Navi was headed with her argument. "Can you repeat all that, maybe talk a little slower?"

"Never. Now if you really want to learn Kokiri, get back to your studies, because Zelda's making you look bad."
"How so?" The princess asked, surprising Malon and Navi; she'd snuck up behind the both of them and was smiling pleasantly over their shoulders.

Navi recovered before Malon could. "I taught you and Natasha, and while you mastered Kokiri in one hour, it took Natasha two. On the other hand, I'm still tutoring Malon, and I don't think Rail's been making any progress at all."

"You don't need to push yourself," Zelda said, taking a seat beside Malon. "We've gone through about half the scrolls already, and while your help would be a great appreciation, you need not worry."

Malon took a quick peek at the paper grave Zelda had previously been buried beneath; half the scrolls were returned to their trees, while the remaining stack was being thoroughly dissected by almost all the Kokiri in the village (she noticed a few absences, like Rude Mido and his partner).

"Something wrong?" Navi asked, probably noticing Malon's scrunched eyebrows.

"Nothing. Okay, there's something. How long have we been at this for?"

"Six hours," Fairy Boy called out from over twenty feet away; honestly, Malon hated those super ears.

"We've been at this for six hours," Malon continued, "And we're only half way there? Are we going to go at this for another six? Can't we all take a nap and start again in the morning?"

"Personally? I do not think we have time to waste," Zelda replied, doing her best to appear calm and resolute without much success. "We departed from Koon several days ago, the same time we learned demons are threatening to invade Lake Hylia to eradicate the Zoras. By now, I suspect the demons and Zoras have already engaged in their first battle, meaning we have precious little time to assist the Zoras and secure the Spiritual Stone of Water. Every day we waste is another day hundreds of Zoras die in combat."

"You don't think the Zoras can defeat the demons, do you." Navi said; it was more of a statement than a question.

"Who knows? Perhaps the demons are overconfident and are letting their lesser comrades, the monsters, wage the war without them. Perhaps my father succeeded in sending more reinforcements to Lake Hylia before the battle began. Perhaps the King Zora is without restrictions and is using his tactical prowess to the fullest. There are too many variables, but I will do my best to remain optimistic."

With Zelda's words put into consideration, Malon knew they were all going to be pulling another all nighter. There was no way anyone was going to sleep with such dire tidings looming over their heads. "I guess that means no napping?"

"Here it is! I found the info you're looking for!"
"Wake me up in the morning," Malon yawned happily, throwing herself onto the plush grass and dozing off instantly.

Malon had a weirdest dream (or nightmare). Cows were sprouting like daisies all across the lush vegetation of the Lost Woods, and when each animal reached maturity, they barfed out so many Spiritual Stones that the plentiful relics flooded Hyrule. To make things creepier, she spotted Ganondorf prancing across the Spiritual Stones, singing, "It's a beautiful day!" When the Gerudo King noticed her, he suddenly crowned her to be Queen of Hyrule, where she accidentally ordered the disposal of all of Hyrule's candy. She was more than relieved when the sound of Zelda's anxious voice spurred her awake, driving her barely conscious body to its feet.

"Believe me," Malon mumbled before the princess could ask the obvious question. "I don't need five more minutes. I'm ready to go right now." She rolled out of bed and crawled out of the home she was sleeping in (with no idea about how she got there). Ignoring the nearby "Good mornings" of her friends, Malon made her way to the crystal river and dunked her head into the water. The crisp cold slapped the sleep right off her face, and she resurfaced with a revived gasp. With her senses sharpened, she could see Zelda, Fairy Boy, Navi, and Saria standing next to her, while the rest of the village was dining at the Kokiri chef's house. Suvi, Rail, and Natasha were nowhere to be seen.

"Are … you alright?" Saria asked hesitantly as Malon's Kokiri clothes squeezed the water from the fabric; the tickling sensation almost made her giggle, but she was dry in a matter of seconds. "I've never seen someone wake themselves like that before."

"I'm okay, I just had the weirdest dream," Malon replied. "So where's breakfast and when are we leaving?"

"Breakfast is everywhere," Navi replied as Fairy Boy plucked an orange from a tree and tossing it to Malon; she gaped in awe as the fruit peeled itself in midair and the naked fruit softly plop into her hands. The discarded skin was consumed by the patch of grass it landed it, leaving no waste behind.

"Amazing isn't it?" Zelda said with wonder. "A self sustaining village. Look at that." She pointed at the tree Link secured Malon's breakfast from; already, another orange was taking its place. In less than half a minute (the time it took for Malon to finish her appetizer), the newly grown fruit was ripe and ready for the pickings. "The magic here continues to astound me. Oh, if only I had a chance to speak to the Great Deku Tree myself! I would've relished the opportunity! His magic could solve almost all of Hyrule's food shortages, making starvation an inconceivable notion of the past!"

"But his magic is dying," Saria said in a low, somber, tone. "I wish you could've seen our village in its prime. When the Great Deku Tree was still alive, our food would re-grow in the blink of an eye. Now … it takes so much longer. And look at the grass."

Malon did, and though she tried really hard, she didn't see or feel anything wrong with nature's mattress..

"I see nothing wrong," Zelda said, just as unaware as Malon.

"There's a tint of brown, meaning it's starting to wilt," Fairy Boy replied. "That never happens, not in this village. And it's not just the grass; everything the Great Deku Tree made for us, everything grown by his magic, is starting to die. After we kill Ganondorf (Malon shuddered at the notion) I have to find a way to fix my home next."

Malon tried to understand why Fairy Boy and Saria were giving the Kokiri Village such a hard look. This place was beautiful, with autumn-aged leaves dancing down from above, strong trees with only the slightest hint of chipped bark, and the occasional breeze with only the faintest chill in the air. This place was close to perfection in Malon's opinion, yet the two of them acted like it was only a shadow of its former self.

"It's time to go," Fairy Boy decided. Malon felt his revulsion at his decision to leave, but knew him well enough to know he wouldn't be deterred.

"Wait, what about the bad guys?" Malon pointed out. "We've still got a bunch of them tied up somewhere, right? What'll happened to them?"

"Honestly? We don't know," Navi answered. "The funny thing is, for someone who barely expresses herself, Natasha is creepy good at reading other people. She, like you, found out Link was troubled and asked if she could do anything to help. When he told her about Suvica protecting the Kokiri Village, Natasha said she had the perfect idea. We don't know what she's plotting, but she enlisted the dragon's help, along with half the village, and took all the kidnappers into the library."

Right on cue, a petrified scream echoed from the Kokiri library, followed by a group of men stripped down to their dirty undergarments. Several of them appeared to be bleeding, but the color of their blood was a little wrong. Malon and the others observed their actions in bewilderment as the adults tripped over each other racing for the exit.

Malon asked the question that was on everyone's mind. "What was that about?"

"I think they can explain," Fairy Boy pointed as a cluster of Kokiri, each drenched in the same reddish liquid, emerged from the library cheering. He identified one of the Kokiri and called out, "Jaspin!"

The summoned Kokiri and his fairy heard Fairy Boy's voice, and they excitedly skipped towards them while wiping the scarlet water off their clothes and bodies; while the adults had been splattered in the stuff, the Kokiri looked like they'd taken a bath in it. "Did you see that, Link? We totally scared off the giants! Us! We did!"

"What happened?" Fairy Boy asked.

"The story teller was asking for our help," Karl, Jaspin's fairy, explained. "She said there was a way for us to protect the village on our own, even when you're not here!"

"But what did you do?"

"Nothing much, really," Jaspin shrugged, still elated with their results. "The lady giant gave each of us one of these—," he held up his hand to reveal a dagger in his babyish fingers, "—and told us to cover ourselves in tomato juice! That's when she brought the sleeping giants into the library and told us what to do! She said when the giants woke up, we were supposed make a circle around them and put on our best scary faces while saying the words, 'Time to eat, time to eat,' over and over again! I don't get what happened, but those giants ran away screaming! You should've been there!"

As Jaspin carelessly threw aside his borrow weapon and took a dive into the village's river to clean himself, Malon, Fairy Boy, Navi, and Zelda all glanced at one another as they understood Natasha's devious ploy.

"Wait, I'm confused," Saria moaned, rubbing her head. "Why were those men scared? Is there something scary about the words 'Time to eat'? What's going on?"

"All you need to know is that you never want Natasha as your enemy," Navi said with a cold shudder. "Those men are about to spread a new rumor throughout Hyrule, about how the Lost Woods is populated by immortal cannibal children who eat all who venture into these woods. That'll keep them away for sure."

"But how does Suvi fit into all this?" Malon wondered.

Her answer came with the sound of thunder in the distance, accompanied by the revived screams of the fleeing would-be villains.

"A cannibal village protected by a dragon child," Zelda concluded with a hint of awe. "Natasha is a devious one."

"I will accept that as a compliment," Natasha said as she stealthily materialized behind Malon, scaring five years off her life line; why was everyone sneaking up on her like that? "Sometimes the greatest shield is not one of magic and steel, but lies and misconception."

"Thank you," Fairy Boy with heartfelt words. "But did you have to give my friends those blades? They could've hurt themselves on accident."

Natasha picked up Jaspin's discarded dagger and ran her fingers down the edge. "Extremely dull. Only good for decoration and intimidation. And your thanks is not required, for you've fulfilled a longtime wish of mine, and I am merely repaying you one bit at a time. Now, I believe it's time for you all to depart, am I correct?"

"Yes," Zelda nodded, holding a borrowed scroll from the Kokiri library in her arms. "We've retrieved what we came here for, and the Zoras need our help. We should go."

"Without saying goodbye?" Malon asked, looking around to see the excited and satisfied faces of the Kokiri, still celebrating their accomplishment.

"Not likely," Fairy Boy said, taking in the sight of his precious home. "I left them once without warning, and I don't want to do that again. This time, I'll do things properly. What about you, Natasha?"

"I will stay. While Suvica is scaring those men to make a point, he is also making sure they successfully escape to tell the horrid tales of the Lost Woods. Still, it will take time for the rumors to spread, so I will keep your village safe until then."

Fairy Boy extended a hand for a farewell shake with Natasha, but the guild leader chose a different parting; she bend down and kissed Fairy Boy on the forehead, whispering, "Maybe your sword stay sharp, son of Cross." As Natasha stood up to return to the library, Malon noticed how Zelda and Saria's faces were tingling with a rosy color.

"Fair and square," Saria whispered, almost menacingly, to Zelda.

"We let him decide, as we promised," Zelda agreed.

Reacting at the same time, Saria grabbed Fairy Boy's left hand while Zelda latched onto his right.

"What's wrong?" Fairy Boy, the ignorant, asked the two of them.

"L-Link! I h-h-have something I w-want you to do for me before you go!" Saria said with such a serious stutter Malon was amazed she didn't bite off her tongue. "B-B-Because we might not s-see each other for a while, can you do something for me before you l-l-leave? Perhaps a … a … k … k … k!"

"Keaton Mask!" Zelda blurted before Saria could finish. "Saria told me she really likes your Keaton Mask and wishes to keep it!"

"Really? Wait a second, I never wore my Keaton Mask in the Kokiri Village, so how does Saria know about it?"

"That's unfair!" Saria hushed at the princess. "I thought we were friends!"

"Falsifying the enemy's reports is a tactic used in war!" Zelda muttered back. "Plus, you broke our promise first! Link! I have an urgent request for you to heed!"

"W-What is it?" Fairy Boy asked with uncertainty.

"Please close your eyes and count to ten!"

"That's it?"

"T-That's it!"

"Sure, that's easy enough," Fairy Boy said as he obliged, unaware of Zelda's burning-red face as she leaned towards him, their lips inches apart. Then: "Ack!" His eyes were snapped open as Saria sharply yanked on his arm. "Seriously, what's with you two?"

"They each want a kiss," Saria's fairy partner willing divulged, turning the pair of arguing girls into guilty statues.

"A kiss? Why?"

"Because you've kissed them both before," Tatl continued, thoroughly savoring this moment (what a naughty fairy). "Now they want to know who gets to keep the second kiss. Time to choose! Who will it be?"

"Choose? I can't kiss them both?"

"NO!"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

Zelda and Saria stared deep into Fairy Boy's eyes; he was now feeling the voluminous tension of his situation as his brow collected sweat.

"It's either me or her," Saria said as she and Zelda tightened their grip on him to annihilate any chance he had of escape.

"Please decide," Zelda added, trying to curry things to her favor by giving Fairy Boy a teary-plea with her eyes.

"B-But why do I have to choose?"

"Because these two don't have the guts to pucker up and smooch you," Tatl cackled, enjoying the three-way deadlock a bit too much. "After all, they both kissed you without meaning to, right?"

"Stay quiet/Be silent—Tatl!" The love-struck girls ordered.

"Zelda's a good friend."

"And Saria is a wonderful person."

"But we can't stay friends because of you, not like this!"

"So we need you to choose who you want. Please, Link."

Judging from the way Fairy Boy teetered on his feet, his eyes nervously darting towards the village's exit, he was estimating his chances of successfully making a break for it. Since he evidently wasn't about to decide any time soon (and Malon was a little tired being on the outside of the fun circle), she stepped up to rescue Fairy Boy from his predicament. "You both kissed Fairy Boy before? Aw, don't leave me out!" Before either of the two girls could figure out what Malon was plotting, she leaned forward and gave Fairy Boy a quick peck on his lips. "Now we've all kissed Fairy Boy! I'll go get Rail and tell him we're leaving! It was nice to meet you Saria!"

With that, she ran before either Zelda or Saria could get their hands on her.