Chapter 2: The Great Arachnid

    The inside of the Great Deku Tree was horrifying for the forest-raised children. He was as hollow as a drum, and they stood within a great hollow cavity of rotting wood that reached up into darkness. Ragged spiderwebs stretched across huge spaces like decaying shrouds. Link was very glad he had a small glowing fairy following him.
    After staring upwards for a while, the boy took a deep breath and squared his shoulders, his small sword and shield at the ready, and walked forward to a depression in the floor. Before he came to the centre of the chamber, he stopped short. The centre of the ground was actually a deep well, but covered over with a thick gooey spiderweb.
    Rana came up behind him and saw it too. “Gosh, this place is freaky.”
    An enormous spider, as long, with its legs extended, as Link, scurried across the bottom of the web, making it tremble violently. The spider glared at them with its eight black eyes.
    Link shivered. “I agree.”
    “Are the spiders poisoning the tree?” asked Rana.
    “I think so,” Navi answered. “They’ve poisoned it, and then part dies, and then the ordinary bugs come in and eat. It’s horrible. Let’s get fighting.”
    “Good idea,” Link said, adjusting his grip on his sword grimly and setting off in search of something evil he could hit with it.

    An hour later, an hour of climbing walls of rotten wood, slashing at giant spider-monsters, picking off smaller creatures with Link’s new slingshot, and one heartstopping moment when first clumsy Rana and then the more graceful Link fell off a very high drop only to land in soft, cushioning water, the two small heroes and their fairies rested in front of a large cave practically oozing with darkness and poison. Their only illumination had been the fairies, not to mention one improbable torch in a cave dripping with cobwebs. Link burned them all away and found more bugs to kill.
    Link turned to Rana.
    “I think this is where all the evilness comes from. You don’t have to come in if you don’t want to.”
    “Link, I’ve been with you this far, and though I’m not much help, I’m going to stay with you.” Link hesitated, and then threw his arms around Rana in a big hug.
    “If I don’t make it, give Saria one from me.”
    “Link, I’m really absolutely positively definitely completely certain that you’ll make it.” Link grinned at her and turned to the cave mouth.
    He found himself in a cavern the dimensions of which were out of his sight. As Rana came in, a heavy rock collapsed behind them, locking them in. Rana shivered noiselessly. Boldly, Link charged into the darkness.
    “Link!” whispered Rana as loudly as she dared.
    “What is it?” whispered Link.
    “Where are you?” whispered Rana. Following the sound, Link ran back to Rana. She put her shield up defensively, but lowered it when she realized it was him. Link pulled out his slingshot and looked around.
    A light appeared on the ceiling. A dot in the centre light twitched, rolling all around. Rana nudged Link. The light in the ceiling turned into an eye and a gigantic spider-scorpion leapt down from the ceiling, hissing at them. Rana gasped.
    “What is that thing?”
    “I don’t know.” Link charged at it. The creature’s single large eye lit a small area of the cavern around it, and he used that light as a target. The spider was too fast, though, and knocked him aside in a heap. It swatted at Rana, coming up to help, too.
    Link picked himself up, bruised and determined. He was the one the Great Deku Tree had chosen... He would accomplish this task, that no one else could!
    He ran forward again, dodging the claws – Rana had a long scratch on her arm now – and used his prime distraction, an exploding Deku Nut. The spider went limp in a confused tangle of legs.
    Link was transformed into something new that Rana had never seen before. His teeth were bared, his hair and hat were flying, and his eyes shone with a strange grim light as he hacked at the spider’s body. The girl was frightened of her friend, but ran to help and was knocked aside again as the giant creature recovered itself and lashed out at them.
    The two Kokiri landed in a heap on top of each other, and Link hit his head hard against Rana’s shield. The spider-scorpion crawled over to where they had fallen and prepared to strike with wicked looking fangs. Rana shoved Link out of the way.
    She screamed.
    Link, fumbling with his dazed head, sprang up at that sound. He grabbed the first thing that came to hand – Rana’s knife – and threw himself at the spider, stabbing his weapon so deep into its head that it collapsed, dead.
    Rana sat up weakly and giggled. “I should get hit more often; it’ll make this very quick if it makes you go crazy like that.”
    “You got hit?”
    “Uh-huh. That’s why I yelled, right?”
    “Where?”
    “Here,” said Naeri, hovering behind Rana’s right shoulder.
    Link and Navi hurried around to see. Rana peered at them anxiously with her green eyes as the young boy solemnly inspected the ragged, black-stained gash in her Kokiri tunic.
    “This looks bad,” Navi said. “Saria will know what to do!”
    “Yes, let’s go see Sar- What’s that?” Rana asked, pointing to the centre of the cavern. A blue light shone there, as if stirred up from some great depth.
    She got up, a bit unsteadily from wobbly, adrenaline-fired knees, and shuffled over to it. “It’s pretty.” She put a foot in it.
    “It’s a portal!” Navi said. “It’ll take you somewhere. Probably out, since, you know, that rock’s still there.”
    “It is?” Link looked around. “You’re right.” He stepped in the portal as well.
    His vision blurred and turned white, and then he found himself falling, descending, and finally touching the ground outside of the Great Deku Tree.
    “Well done, Link and Rana, and Navi and Naeri,” the Tree said ponderously. “You have slain the monster that was destroying me… This is your reward: a greater challenge.”
    “What is it?” asked Link.
    “You must go to see the princess. She will tell you.”
    “The princess? Of Hyrule?”
    “Wow,” Rana said.
    Link stood up straighter. “I’ll go.”
    “Give her this stone, and ask about the Legend of the Triforce…” The great tree’s voice sounded thin and faint.
    A bright light appeared above them, and faded gradually, so they could see what it was: a brilliant green stone, wrapped around with vines of gold.
    “Pretty,” Rana mumbled, staring innocently up at it. Link took a step forward and received the emerald as it descended gently into his hands.
    “A man named Ganondorf wanted this. Go to the castle…” the tree repeated, the rich colour of its leaves fading quickly. “Your efforts were valiant, but my trust in my own strength has been misplaced against the power of the murky malice rising… Do not fear for the forest… Another Deku Tree will grow. Now, go… Link, the turning of the tide rests on you…”
    “…Farewell…”
    “Farewell!” the children and their fairies cried unhappily.
    A few grey leaves fell, but the tree was motionless.

    “What happened!?” screamed Mido, meeting them when they returned to the village. “Did the Great Deku Tree…” his voice broke and dropped comically to a whisper, “did he… die?”
    He saw their sombre faces.
    “WHAT!!! Well, this is all your fault! How could you do a thing like that!?” Link drooped visibly as the short Mido turned away in disgust. Rana patted his shoulder encouragingly.
    “Don’t listen to that idiot. The Great Deku Tree told you himself.” Link wasn’t listening anyhow. He was looking around, pulling Rana after him urgently.
    “Saria!” he yelled anxiously. Sometimes Saria went to her own private place, and it would take time to get there... but fortunately, Saria came running out from her house.
    “Saria, she’s poisoned or something. Can you help?”
    “I don’t know anything about poison or the creatures it comes from,” said Saria worriedly, inspecting Rana’s shoulder.
    “Let’s just go to Hyrule Castle, I’ll be fine,” Rana said stubbornly.
    “You will not be fine for another two days,” Link told her firmly. “I’m going to get you to Hyrule Castle in less than six hours. There will probably be a professional healer there, or someone of the sort.”
    “Six hours?” groaned Rana.
    “Good luck,” Saria called after them.
    Link nipped into his house to grab some food, while Rana started to leave. One of the Wise Brothers stopped her.
    “You’re not allowed to leave the forest, or otherwise you’ll die,” he said. Saria came to her rescue.
    “She’s allowed, by permission of the Great Deku Tree.” Rana and Saria walked onto the bridge separating the forest from the world.
    “Rana, we’ll always be friends. I’ll always think of you while you’re gone.”
    “Thanks, Saria. I know you’re older than me, and you really ought to be the one following Link…” Rana trailed off. “I think what I’m trying to say is… You’re my best friend. Goodbye, Saria…”
    “Goodbye, Rana.” Rana ran off, waving over her shoulder and looking back often, grinning cheerfully. As she passed out of sight, Link ran over the bridge. He almost got to the other side when he realized that Saria was standing there. He turned and came slowly toward her.
    “Rana has gone on ahead?”
    “Yes.” A pause occurred. “I have something for you. I was going to give it to Rana, but you’ll need it more.” She pulled a little ceramic instrument out of her pocket.
    “You won’t be coming back soon… I know it… I want you to have one of my Fairy Ocarinas.” Link held it carefully.
    “Link… You’ll always be my friend.”
    “Goodbye…” Link whispered. He walked backwards slowly, then turned and ran without looking back. A single tear ran down his cheek.

    As they travelled, approaching exhaustion for the children, Rana still had the energy to ask questions.
    “I was wondering… that thing was a monster, but… Was it right to kill that spider creature?”
    “Yes,” said Navi. “It was making its home in the tree guardian of our forest. It may have been innocent and not malevolent, not planted there by Ganondorf, but it was killing our forest and working to his plan.”
    “Oh, okay.”
    Hyrule Castle Town’s wall rose higher on the horizon.

Chapter 1: Darkness in the Morn    Contents    Chapter 3: The Princess's Premonition