The Legend of Zelda- Ocarina of Time

Children of the Forest

Chapter 23

Children of the Forest

Crossing the threshold into the temple's entryway, Link soon felt the lingering presence of the spirits within. They watched in silent reproach, making Link's hair stand on end. It was like an awareness of being stalked by some hungry predator, with no means of telling where it was, when it would choose to strike, or even what it was.

Their voices whispered in the shadows, their words chilling Link's core. "You don't belong here, mortal!"

The entrance hall was small, damp, and dark, with only a few rays of sunlight squeezing their way through the tangled mess of vines that clung to the windows. The brown creepers sprawled their way across the wall, running along ancient murals that were faded and peeling from centuries of neglect. Tree roots squeezed through tiny cracks in the masonry, running along the wall and making the temple look like a part of the forest—just as alive and just as ancient.

"Turn back," the spirits hissed. "You don't belong here."

Did I ever? Link wondered, suppressing an urge to shiver. Glancing at Navi and Mido, he saw that neither of them seemed troubled by what Link was hearing. Perhaps they couldn't hear them at all.

The scent of stale air and decaying stone washed over him as they entered the corridor just beyond the entrance chamber. Link almost jumped at the familiar clicking of a spider's mandibles, fearing to find a large Skulltula waiting in the shadows. Instead, he spotted a line of tiny Skulltula crawling into a crack in the weathered stone, fleeing from the light of the three fairies behind him.

Link hoped that didn't mean he was about to find an army of their adult counterparts.

Mido seemed to have similar thoughts; his face was white as he muttered, "I hate those things."

"They are only tiny," Link assured him. "I think those ones are more scared of us."

Link vividly remembered Mido screaming and running back up the tunnel beneath the Great Deku Tree, fleeing from the pincers of a fully grown Skulltula. Mido did not appear to flinch this time, and Link decided it would not be wise to dig up any memories of that fateful day.

"I've seen how big they can get," Mido said, apparently thinking along the same lines. He looked back up, frowning at Link. "That Sheikah lady called you Link, didn't she?"

Link didn't answer immediately, knowing full well where this was going and still unsure that he was ready to give an answer.

Before Link could think of something to say, Mido shook his head, looking far more solemn than Link ever remembered. "No. Link was a Kokiri, but..." his words trailed off as his eyes settled on Navi. Recognition kindled in those eyes like the stirred embers of a fire, and Link knew there would be no escaping the inevitable question that came next. "You're Link's fairy. Navi, right?"

Link and Navi exchanged glances, both certain there was little point in lying.

"Yeah," Navi answered. "I am."

"Then-" Link could see the boy was doing some serious thinking. A flash of fear flickered in his eyes, and he shook his head. "Then... you are Link?"

Noticing Navi's imploring look and trusting her judgment, Link nodded slowly.

"Yeah," he managed, fearing what would come of this revelation. For a moment, he held his breath, waiting for Mido to yell at him, to tell him that it was his fault the Kokiri had been torn from their homes and that Saria had been captured. In a way, he'd be right, too. The Kokiri's exile from their home was his fault, but Link intended to fix that, though he did not know how.