The Lost Woods

As you have seen, Rayne and I caused our fair share of trouble. One of the most influential for me was when we were forced to take a stroll through the Lost Woods.

The forest held a lot of magic for us. I don't mean just for me and Rayne, but all of the Gerudo. It was the exact opposite of what we suffered day after day. The woods were full of amazing wild life, flourishing foliage, and fresh rain. I had been there on a handful of occasions, so when Rayne asked for me to take her, I couldn't say no to sharing this spectacle with my best friend.

Instead of breaking more rules, I received permission to take Rayne on what would have otherwise been a boring, single person job. There was a popular road traveled by merchants between Kokiri and Hyrule Town. The Kokiri made quite a profit off items such as Deku Nuts and Deku Seeds, which I understand are excellent cooking ingredients. There were also plenty of fresh fruits to pluck from trees to sell in town. Everyone made a profit from these natural growing resources. Although, I wouldn't know anything about what it's like to trade because we had nothing to offer but our bodies and jars full of sand.

We needed to travel into the woods to gather more fruit, and take what we could from the merchants, like flour and clothing. I figured an easy mission like that would give me the opportunity to show Rayne around the forest since she had never been there.

It was a long journey, so we woke before the sun and left just as it shined on the tips of the high cliffs that formed the valley. We mounted our horses, secure with bows, quivers full of arrows, and our trusted swords. Swords that we held on to dearly because they were incredibly difficult for us to get our hands on. Losing one meant taking on the dangerous and difficult task of stealing a replacement, and weapons were guarded well by traveling merchants.

We made our way out of the valley, with a small wagon pulled by my horse for our rewards. The earthy brown, barren valley at the bottom of the high plateaus gradually gave way to rolling plains of tall green grass. We kept a swift pace until the sparse trees grew in numbers. We were forced to slow down so the horses could maneuver around tree trunks and over thick roots. From horseback we could reach the lowest hanging fruits and fill our bags. I showed Rayne the fruits and nuts to gather while I focused on flowers and weeds for medicine.

I froze at an unfamiliar sound. My first instinct was to confirm we had not been discovered. I leaned my bag against the base of the tree and stood. I twisted around in circles, but the melody of the flute seemed to be coming from every direction. Rayne hopped down from the tree she had climbed and stood with me, a hand on her sword. "That is just eerie," she whispered.

I shushed her, but the music stopped. I drew my weapon, and Rayne followed. "Who's there?" I called.

A creature landed in front of me from above. His face was round, and appeared rough like the bark on a tree. He had huge, amber eyes and a beak for a mouth. He wore a torn orange shirt and pants, and a matching hat. He stuck his tongue out at me, giggled deviously, and then disappeared before I could gather my senses enough to swing at him.

"What was that?!" Rayne yelled.

"Sh! That was a Skull Kid," I hissed.

"What is a Skull Kid?" she asked.

I hesitated. I really preferred hiding that information from her.

"Dora," she said, suddenly firm. "What is a Skull Kid?" she asked more slowly.

I sighed, but kept my eyes sharp on my surroundings. "Someone who was transformed by the magic of the forest because they became lost in the woods."

The eyes she gave me were somewhere between disbelief and fear. "And why wasn't that important enough to tell me before?"

"Because we won't get lost," I promised, and turned to face her. "OW!" I shouted, as something hard hit my left shoulder blade and dropped to the ground. I looked to find a Deku seed at my foot. When I turned, I saw the Skull Kid deeper in the woods, holding a slingshot. He turned his back side to me and slapped his rear end. Before I could equip my bow and draw an arrow back to fire on him, he was gone. "How dare you disrespect me!" I yelled. His sinister giggle filled the air and seemed to reverberate off every tree. I stepped forward to chase him, but Rayne grabbed my arm at the elbow.

"Don't do it, Dora. Just let him go," she said.

"I can't just let that little jerk get away with it," I argued. The next thing I knew, a pair of feet landed on my shoulders. I didn't even need to look up to know it was the Skull Kid again. He covered my eyes with dry, rough hands. I was blinded, so I panicked and spun wildly. I'm sure it was quite a comical sight.

"Get off of her! If you don't get down she is going to kill you!" I heard Rayne shouting as she tried to knock him off without hurting me. He avoided her by pulling and twisting my head. I lost my balance and fell on my side. Rayne instantly ran to aid me to my feet, but in the process the Skull Kid yanked my sword from its sheath and disappeared with it.

"Now we have to chase him," Rayne groaned, and followed me as I ran.