"You ready?" the Potter asked his granddaughter. She nodded and he wrapped an arm around her and walked toward the tunnel on the left. When she realized where he was going Lunnaei hesitated. "It'll be alright Luna, I'll explain where we're going on the other side." Lunnaei nodded but the Potter felt her already iron grip on his arm tighten. He had to duck as they walked together through the trunk.

He heard the expected 'whump' but was surprised at the area they'd ended up. He'd half expected to see the entrance to the Lost Woods within the Kokiri Village. Instead, they were in the clearing that lay just beyond it. It was similar to the one they had just left, only it had four trunk tunnels and no hedge.

"Hey!" Lunnaei said as she looked around. "This is the clearing I started in yesterday."

"You're sure?"

"I went through here at least four times, Grandpa," she said as she stepped away from him and turned around. "I must have kept coming through there."

"That's odd."

"Why?" she asked.

"I'm pretty sure, just through that tunnel is the Kokiri village."

"The village?" Her eyebrow shot up and she asked, "Then that boy I saw yesterday, he might have been Mido, right?"

"Mido?" Mention of self-proclaimed boss of the Kokiri still sent the Potter's hackles up.

"Yeah, remember I told you, when I first got lost. There was a boy. He asked me how I got so far into the woods without turning into a monster. Then he ran off and I chased after him, but I couldn't catch up and I ended up here."

Truthfully he'd forgotten that detail of her story. "What did he look like?" the Potter asked cautiously.

"Just like you described him; red hair, turned up nose, freckles and he had a fairy with him too, Grandpa." She paused and asked, "They all have fairies, right?"

"Yes," he said and looked back at the tunnel behind him. Once again, the Potter marveled at his good fortune. If the boy really was Mido, he could have taken Lunnaei anywhere in the lost woods...anywhere. Instead, he led her here and the Potter grunted to himself at the irony. Obviously, he was not the only one changed by the scattered events of the past. Of course, it irritated him that he now owed a debt to the overbearing Kokiri.

His thoughts were interrupted when Lunnaei asked, "Can I see it?"

"Hmm? See what?" She must have mistook his look of puzzlement with irritation, because she responded in an impatient voice.

"The village."

The old man looked back once again and knew he could not take Lunnaei through that tunnel. He'd already been given one reprieve by the Great Deku and decided he'd best not push his luck. So he shook his head and replied, "No, Lunnaei, I don't think that would be wise."

She responded somewhat angrily, "Why not?"

"Remember the big talking tree?"

"Oh yeah...probably wouldn't like too much if we started tramping through his village." She fell silent for a moment. "I thought you said the Great Deku Tree died?"

"He did. This forest though, would not last long without a guardian so the Goddesses provided another."

"Really?"

"Yes, in the Hero's time he was just a sprout, though I'm sure he's taken on some good growth since then."

He could tell his granddaughter wanted to ask something more, but again withheld her questions. Which meant she'd either made up her mind to ignore it all or something was wrong. Maybe, he thought, it would be better to just get it all out in the open. Still, he knew the longer they stayed in these woods, the more it was likely Lunnaei would get hurt and that is something he'd never forgive himself for.

A plan took form in his head and the Potter looked back at his granddaughter. To do what he wanted, he was going to have to explain a few things to her and deal with the aftermath later. First, though, they needed to be somewhere else.

Lunnaei walked over to the stump and sat down. With a sigh she rested her head on her knees and said, "So, where are we going that you need to explain it?"

"It more like, who I'm taking you to meet. I'm assuming he's there of course."

"Who is he?"

"A friend I shared an adventure with once, a long time ago."

"What would he be doing in these woods?" The level of impatience in her voice surprised him, but he said nothing knowing she was already well on the way to figuring out a part of the problem. "Wouldn't he have turned into some kind of monster by now?" Lunnaei's puzzled look turned to one of disbelief and her eyes narrowed as she said, "Okay Grandpa, what kind of monster is he?'

The Potter cleared his throat. "A skull kid."

"What?! Where did you meet a skull kid?" Lunnaei stood up and paced around in a small circle. When he opened his mouth to answer, she threw her hands up in the air and shouted, "No! I've changed my mind, don't tell me! I don't want to hear anymore stories!" She turned away from him then and said in a quieter voice, "I just want to go home."

Her tone said it all, though he'd hoped for a better reaction. Just too much too fast, he thought. Still, it would be a long walk back if all they had to talk about was the weather. When Lunnaei turned back to face him again, the Potter nodded to her and said, "Alright, Lunnaei, we only have a short way to go from here. Through that tunnel there," he said and indicated the trunk to the left, "is a small glade. From there, it's only a short walk to the bridge that leads out of the forest."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It took most of the next day to get everything in order and with the house settled, Lem started on the last of the orders in the shop. He finished and packed all the ones that needed to be shipped and delivered them to the inn. From there, they'd be taken to the patrons who ordered them in the nearby villages. He walked around to the back of the inn and found the innkeeper in the stable. He was busy directing his one stable boy in his daily chores. The boy straightened when he saw Lem enter and directed the innkeeper's attention to him.

While everyone in town referred to him as old Auggie, his real name was August Leyton. He was a large rotund man, with thinning gray hair and a somewhat sour disposition. Not only did he double as the village mayor, he was also Lunnaei's maternal grandfather. The bulky innkeeper turned and nodded to him and said, "Master Lem."

Lem returned the nod and replied, "Mayor."

"What brings you by? Has my granddaughter returned from Hyrule early?"

"No, they aren't expected to return for a few weeks yet."

"So what can I help you with?"

"I've a delivery to make down near the Goron Crossing," Lem took a deep breath, he never liked asking for favors, but he needed a horse. "I would like to borrow your horse for the trip."

The innkeeper gave him an odd look and asked, "Why not just have it delivered like the rest?"

Lem was not sure how best to answer that question. How do you explain getting a cryptic message from an overgrown talking owl? He also hated lying, but couldn't think of a better solution at the moment.

"I've a good friend who lives out that way. I've not seem him for quite some time and since Lunnaei is away, I thought I might go for a short visit and deliver the ocarina we made for Lord Dorian's son personally."

Auggie nodded in approval and said, "Good business that, very well, you can take him. You'll be wanting to leave early tomorrow then?" Lem nodded and the innkeeper turned back to the stable boy and said, "Zatchi, be here before sun up, and make sure Anope is saddled up before he gets here."

"Yessir," the boy said as he nodded and went back to mucking out the nearest stall.

"Join us for dinner then?" Auggie asked.

Lem, surprised by the offer, forced a smile and nodded. "Thank you, Mayor, I'd be delighted."

"Good, I'll expect you at half past seven." With that, the big man left the stable and walked back toward the kitchen.

Lem was a little astonished at how easily he'd achieved his goal. It was no secret to anyone that old Auggie and his father had never gotten along. Even after Lem married the mayor's youngest daughter, nothing much changed. It wasn't until after Lunnaei was born the pair managed to be civil with one another. He wondered about that sometimes but why they'd called an end to their feud would most likely always remain a mystery since neither ever spoke of it.

Before he left the stable, he said to the stable boy, "Zatchi, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like for you to wait for me to come tomorrow. I don't have a lot of experience with horses, so I'd like to watch while you saddle Anope."

The boy gave him a puzzled looked and shrugged. "Sure, Master Lem."

"Thanks." He said and smiled. He waved to the boy and turned to head home. Once there, he looked around to see if the owl had returned. It hadn't and since he'd already packed most of what he thought he'd need for his journey, he got ready for what he was sure would be an interesting meal.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as the words left her, Lunnaei instantly regretted letting them escape her mouth. She felt worse when she turned back around. Her grandpa's expression was unreadable as he nodded to her.

"Alright, Lunnaei, we only have a short way to go from here. Through that tunnel there," he said and indicated the trunk to the left, "is a small glade. From there, its only a short walk to the bridge that leads out of the forest."

She wanted to apologize, but the words just would not come out, so she nodded instead. They walked together through the tunnel and she was surprised by how dark it was. It made the fireflies that zipped through the air seem all the more brighter. She looked up to notice her grandpa had pulled out his ocarina again.

"What ever happens," he said as he scanned the trees, "don't move from this spot until I tell you."

He did not hesitate as he played a song Lunnaei had never heard before. When he finished, he looked around with an expression that made Lunnaei a little nervous. She could tell he was waiting for something to happen, she simply had no idea what that would be and it was making her fidget.

When it came, she bit her lip to keep from crying out. She felt her grandpa put an arm around her and she leaned into him. She'd have crawled into his coat, but stood stock still as the glowing eyes of the skull kid now in front of her looked her up and down. It had no face that she could see, just those eyes. The skull kid circled them a few times, its hands and feet were huge compared to its stick like legs and arms. It wore a beat up straw hat and what clothes it did have on looked about ready to fall off.

"You know Saria's Song, are we friends?" The skull kid asked.

Lunnaei blinked. His voice was not at all what she expected. Instead of being fearsome and strange, he sounded just like any other little boy and she wondered to herself, Is this what happens to kids who wander into the forest? She felt her grandpa give her arm a squeeze and she nodded to the gangly creature and pointed to her grandpa. The skull kid shook its head, causing the bone necklace it wore to clink. Lunnaei took that to mean he didn't like grownups, so it seemed she would be doing all the talking. She felt something cold and smooth slip into her hand and she held it up.

"My mask!" the faceless boy shouted as he took the object from her. "Thank you for finding it for me!" He placed the small horned skull mask over his missing face and did a little dance. Lunnaei almost jumped out of her skin when her grandpa said in a low whisper, "Ask him if he wants to play a game of dodge with the scrubs guarding the bridge with you." Lunnaei relayed the request and the Skull Kid paused in his dance.

"That sounds like a great idea!" he said happily and headed off deeper into the forest. They followed not to far behind and her grandpa stopped her at the edge of another glade. From the screen of trees, they watched the skull boy as he harassed the scrubs that popped out of the taller grass. The skull boy 'played' with the scrubs, easily dodging out of the way of the stones they spit at him. She and her grandfather made a slow circle around the outer edge of the clearing.

Lunnaei saw the bridge and it was just the way she imagined. Thick wood planks strung together with sturdy ropes, suspended several feet off the ground. While it was certainly too high for the average ten-year-old to reach, it would not be too high for an adult. Her grandpa handed her his stick and lifted her up. She grabbed the rope nearest her and sat on the edge as her grandpa pulled himself up. He tapped her shoulder and she stood up and followed him toward the largest tunnel they'd come across.

Before she entered it, Lunnaei turned and watched her grandpa's 'friend' as he continued his game of dodge with the scrubs and wondered who he had once been. She waved a farewell to him but the boy was so wrapped up in his game, he'd forgotten about them and did not return the gesture. With a sigh she turned and followed her grandpa out of the Kokiri forest.