Since I'm incredibly stupid and doing this alongside Hyrule Warriors Warped, I can't promise quick updates, but I'll see how I go with this.

As per tradition, dungeons and certain parts that are not story relevant will be skimmed over a little, based on the assumption that you have played the game. All forgone conclusions to this fic come from Skyward Swaps, Twilight Twists, and Hyrule Warriors Warped (So, in a way, they aren't really spoilers.)

This will take a few nods from the manga (So, I recommend reading the manga first, if you do not want it's respective spoilers.) The first one, is the one I'm about to mention:

Young Zelda's hair style is based off the one in the manga when she wasn't wearing her headdress. (It's near shoulder length, with two side braids tied in the back, with a few font hairs/bangs sticking out.)

Also, Navi is a guy for this series: her male name is... basically her name spelled backwards, and it's a joke that's been done before, so I don't own that right.

Time's Trade

Chapter one: Time begins to tick.

Time is a strange thing. You can always go forward, but never back, which is a gift no one can ever have- unless you were like me.

Had I known things now, there was a lot that I could have changed or prevented, and yet even with time as my ally, there was still things that were out of my power.

This is my story.

Long ago, I grew up amongst the children of the Kokiri Woods, where each child had a fairy companion- all but me. At first, it seemed like it wasn't my time yet, but as the days passed, it became evident that I probably would never get a fairy, and the others began to question if I was truly a Kokiri or not. I even started to feel isolated because of this, and I worried that even my closest friend would abandon me altogether.

The day I finally received mine was when everything changed and it started with the nightmare:

It was night time, and there was rain and thunder. I would be standing in front of some strange stone structure and I would watch as a wooden door would fall down, in time for a large white four legged creature to run off.

On the creature, I saw two beings- the smallest turns his head to face me, but he was too far away for me to see him.

And that's when I sense something behind me. I turn in time to face a similar four legged creature- only black and more evil- and on it is a dark figure. I don't know who he is but he fills me with terror as he raises his arm towards me and-

"Hey! Wake up! The Great Deku Tree wants to talk to you!" A voice broke the dream and I awakened to reality. But I didn't want to get up out of bed, so I moaned and rolled to the side.

"The Great Deku Tree sent me bring you to him! Are you lazy or something?!"

I finally pushed myself up and sat on the bed to take a look: sure enough, there was a blue hued fairy floating in front of me. "Oh good!" He was pleased and introduced himself. "My name is Ivan. The Great Deku Tree asked me to be your partner from now on and-

Everything came together, and my sleepiness disappeared when the excitement kicked in.

"FINALLY!" I let out a cheer and jumped out of bed. "I finally have a fairy!" I danced and threw my hands in the air. "This is amazing!" I laughed. "Wait until I-"

"Whoa, wait a minute, girl!" Ivan protested. "I'm not finished yet!"

"You don't get it!" I protested as I rushed to him. "I'm the only child that doesn't have a fairy! The others bug me about it and especially Mido." I snickered. "I can't wait to see the look on his stupid face when-"

"Calm down for a second!" Ivan yelled, and I quietly obeyed. "Now, the Great Deku Tree want's me to bring you over to him. He said something about a great destiny waiting for you."

"Ok?" I was confused, but nodded. "Oh, by the way, my name is Zelda." I introduced myself.

"I already knew that- the Great Deku Tree told me so." Ivan huffed. "Why do you think I was able to find you?"

I quickly fixed my hair free from it's wild bed induced nature, before I went on ahead out of my house in time to see a green haired girl with her fairy run towards me.

"Hey Zelda!" She happily greeted me.

"Saria!" I happily waved and hurried down my ladder: Saria was my best friend for as long as I could remember, and she was the nicest person of all the Kokiri. She didn't make fun of me for not having a fairy, and she taught me how to play the ocarina too.

"Look!" I eagerly pointed to Ivan after I joined up withe her. "I finally got a fairy!"

"Finally!" Saria happily put her hands to her cheeks. "That's great news! I'm so happy for you!"

"Hey Ivan!" Sunny- Saria's fairy, who was very friendly and as kind as Saria was- greeted Ivan. "It's about time you paired up with someone." She giggled.

"Yeah... I suppose." Ivan replied as if he wasn't thrilled by it for some reason.

"So, I'm supposed to see the Great Deku Tree." I eagerly told Saria as I bounced on my feet. "I wonder why."

"Well don't let me keep you from him!" Saria laughed. "Go! It's an honor to talk to him!"

"Alright, bye!" I ran ahead and Ivan followed suit. "So, Ivan." I immediately began. "What do you like? I like to play music on the ocarina, pretend to fight, explore the woods, draw on the trees and-"

"Whoa, slow down!" Ivan protested. "I can't hold that much information at once!"

I giggled- I felt like I was flying on air, and I was too excited to be calm.

That is, until I saw who was blocking the way to the Great Deku Tree. That's when I felt like a stone was tied to my legs. A stone created by a chubby faced jerk who almost everyone either respected or couldn't stand.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Mido held a hand up as he stood his ground in front of the pathway. "Only a real Kokiri can see the Great Deku Tree."

"Guess what I got." I jabbed a thumb at Ivan, who let out a groan of annoyance.

"So Mr. High-and-mighty finally decided to pair himself with a Kokiri." Mido's fairy greeted with a sneer in his voice. "Finally lowered your tastes and landed with the misfit?"

"I see your as charming as ever, Bark." Ivan dripped.

"So, now you got to let me pass!" I boasted to Mido. "Cause I'm a real Kokiri now!"

"Nuh-uh." Mido shook his head. "Not good enough. You have a sword and shield with you?"

"Oh come on!" I snapped. "I finally got a fairy, and your still being a jerk to me?!"

"It doesn't change the fact that your a weirdo." Mido spoke. "Girls go pick flowers and stuff- they don't go trying to fight and play in the dirt and go fight off monsters like you do."

"Your just mad because Saria likes to hang out with me!" I pointed out. And it was true- Saria never hung out with Mido that much, which was mainly due to how nasty he could be to the others.

"If you keep acting like a boy, you'll drag her down to your level!"

"Look, could you please let us go?!" Ivan snapped.

"She's not good enough to meet the Great Deku Tree. Why does he like her anyway?"

"...I'll be back." I told him and turned around.

"Where are you going?!" Ivan demanded. "Sure, he's a jerk, but you can always push him out of the way and-"

"Give me ten minutes to do that." Anger burned inside me. I finally was accepted, and that jerk-face still kept being mean to me. Well I'll show him!

-Five minutes later-

I laughed in triumph as I held up a sword that I took out of a chest. "I got the kokiri sword!" I beamed at the child-sized blade with the blue stone in the hilt.

"You just dodged a rolling boulder!" Ivan gapped. "How did you do that?!"

"Practice. Lot's of practice." I replied. "Now it's time to see how many rupees I have at my place for a shield."

-Five minutes later-

"Tah-dah!" I beamed at Mido was I held both sword and shield. "Now you have to let me pass!"

As I hoped, the boy's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "You have the... and you have the-?! GOOD GRIEF!" He tossed his head and stamped his foot. Hah!

"Well, even with all that stuff, a wimp is still a wimp, huh?" He turned back to me. "I, the great Mido, will never accept you as one of us!" He walked off and grumbled.

"Well, thank Farore that's over." Ivan sighed in relief and floated away. However, I was still looking at Mido and I was still bitter.

So I stuck my tongue out and slapped my butt at him before rushing off to Ivan.

"...Are you seriously that immature?" Ivan asked.

"He deserved it." I chirped as we walked along the pathway. Before I knew it, a deku baba popped out of the ground, and Ivan let out a shriek and felw behind me.

"What are those doing here?!" HE demanded as I took my sword out and waited until the baba reared it's long neck up and then I chopped it in half. Despite that, it was still a surprise to see them here. Normally they were in the Lost Woods.

"Is this what he meant?" Ivan wondered as I finally came to the clearing where the Great Deku Tree- father of all kokiri- waited.

"Great Deku Tree!" Ivan flew ahead of me. "I brought Zelda with me, like you asked."

"Great Deku Tree?" I timidly began. "Why did you call for me?"

"O, Ivan..." The Great Deku Tree greeted in his low, yet mighty voice. "Thou has't returned. Zelda... Welcome... Listen carefully to what I am about to tell thee."

"Of course." I nodded.

"Thy slumber these past moons must have been restless and full of nightmares... As the servants of evil gain strength, a vile climate pervades the land and causes nightmares to those sensitive to it. Verily, thou hast felt it..."

"I have seen a dark figure in my dreams." I confessed. "I don't know who he is, but he scares me."

"The time has come to test thy courage." The Great Deku Tree continued. "I have been cursed. I need you to break the curse with your wisdom and courage."

"What?" I gasped and turned to Ivan. "Is this true?"

"I think so." Ivan admitted.

"Zelda... Dost thou have courage enough to undertake this task?"

"Yes!" I replied. "For all you have done for me, I would do anything!" The Great Deku Tree was like a father to me, or at least someone who protected me from harm from the greater monsters. He was as powerful as he was kind.

There was a faint chuckle. "Then enter, child... and thou too, Ivan, for thou must aid Zelda."

The Great Deku tree then opened his mouth to reveal an entrance to inside his trunk.

"Well, let's go!" I hurried on ahead.

-Inside the Great Deku Tree-

The inside was quite impressive, but I couldn't believe how many monsters had invaded the Deku Tree, like a disease into a body. That and he was built like a huge maze for some reason.

"So Ivan." I asked as I killed a Skulltula. "Why haven't you been partnered up until now?"

"I didn't care that much for the other children." Ivan admitted. "And most of the other fairies, which was why I was with the Great Deku Tree until now."

"For some reason, a fairy never came to me, so the other kids picked on me." I told him. "I wanted to ask the Great Deku Tree, but I was afraid of what he'd might say. He's been like a father to all of us, and I don't want him to get angry at me."

"Oh." Ivan's wings drooped a little in shame. "...Maybe that was why he kept bugging me about partnering up with you. Sorry about that."

"It's ok!" I laughed. "I'm just glad it happened sooner, rather than later!" I then opened up a chest to find a slingshot. "Oh!" I grinned as I took it out and pulled at the rubbery part of it. "This ought to come in handy!"

"Why is there a slingshot in the Great Deku Tree?" Ivan wondered. "In fact, why isn't this whole place built like a regular hallowed out tree? He never told me about this!"

Despite Ivan's confusion, I had a little bit of fun exploring the inside of the tree, and I even made sure to kill off all the monsters inside the tree.

"Why aren't you scared of them?" Ivan asked.

"Meh, it's just the same as squashing bugs, isn't it?" I asked. "I mean, I haven't done it on purpose, but it's no big deal."

"So, when Mido said you go fight monsters-"

"Hey, it helps to protect the forest." I proudly told him. "I've gained a little practice with deku sticks, but with a sword, I can be even more helpful!"

And so, things were normal for me- or as normal as it could possibly be- until I got to the last room, where it was almost pitch dark and there was mist on the ground.

"Well, this looks ominous." Ivan noted as we entered the room. Just when I was about to ask what 'ominous' meant, the door slammed shut behind us. I turned in time to see it completely close, and before I could speak, I heard a rustling noise.

"What was that?!" I looked around and looked up in time to see a red-yellow eye peer down upon me. For the first time today, I felt actual fear and drew the kokiri sword out, just as the creature fell to the ground and towered over me, like some sort of arachnid.

"It's a Gohma!" Ivan panicked. "What do we do?!"

Gohma approached me and I began to back away because I had never faced something this large before- I ran away from wolfos and especially something like this. If this was the cause of the curse, then how could I defeat it? This was a monster that the Great Deku Tree could protect us from, and yet it was here inside him.

"It's eye!" Ivan realized and yelled. "Get the eye with your slingshot!"

As Gohma reared up, I snapped out of it and pulled the slingshot out. I sent a deku nut from the slingshot and into it's now red colored eye and it reared back and turned green.

"Take this!" I yelled and lashed at it as much as I could. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough, and it crawled away from me and up onto the ceiling.

"Maybe it's eye will turn red again!" Ivan spoke. Sure enough, the creature's eye turned red as it moved closer to me and readied to do something. Another nut from the slingshot knocked Gohma back to the ground and I let it have the sword again.

To my surprise, the monster reared up one last time and before I could start worrying again, it collapsed and burned away in blue fire until all that was left was a pile of ashes.

"Is... is it dead?" I asked in amazement. "Did I just kill that thing?!"

"You did it!" Ivan cheered. "You actually did it! That's so- uh- I mean-" He collected himself. "Well done Zelda."

I heard a strange sound and turned to see a ring of blue light. "Is that the way out?" I wondered. "Because that would be nice- I can't stand this room." I turned to Ivan. "Hey- thanks for everything." I smiled. "I would have been Gohma lunch if it wasn't for you."

"...Your welcome." Ivan replied, and I could hear the gratitude in his voice.

And with that, I entered the ring and left the darkness behind.

-outside-

Ivan and I found ourselves outside, right in front of the Great Deku Tree.

"There were so many monsters inside you!" I spoke. "I did my best to get rid of them all, so you wouldn't be sick!"

"It's true!" Ivan gasped. "There was even a Gohma, but Zelda brought it down! You should be feeling better soon!"

There was a weak chuckle. "Well done, my child. Thou hast verily demonstrated thy courage. I knew that thou wouldst be able to carry out my wishes... Though, I have yet more to tell ye."

"What else is there to tell?" Ivan asked as I sat down in interest.

"Listen carefully," The Great Deku Tree spoke. "A wicked man of the desert cast this dreadful curse upon me."

A memory of the dark figure from my dream flashed in my mind as my guardian continued. "This vile man ceaselessly uses his vile, sorcerous powers in his search for the Sacred Realm that is connected to Hyrule. For it is in that Sacred Realm that one will find the divine relic, the Triforce, which contains the essence of the gods. Thou hast remembered the tales I told thee, of the creation of our world and what the goddesses left behind?"

"Of course." I nodded. "I know it by heart. Din, Nayru, and Farore created the world and left behind the Triforce, which was hidden away from those who have evil in their hearts."

"Thou must never allow the desert man in black armor to lay his hands upon the sacred Triforce." The Great Deku Tree sternly told me. "Thou must never suffer that man with his evil heart to enter the Sacred Realm of legend."

"Wait a moment." I realized. "Your asking me to stop an evil man from finding the Triforce? But how would I do that? I'm only a child of the forest! I'm not as powerful as you!"

"I fear that the evil man who cast the death curse upon me as sapped my power." My guardian told me with much regret. "Because of that curse, my end is nigh."

"What?!" I shot off the ground as Ivan twitched in alarm. "But I killed the beast!" I was horrified.

"Though your valiant efforts to break the curse were successful, I was doomed before you started." He continued.

"You can't die!" Ivan protested as the realization began to hit me and bowed my head in sorrow. "You are our protector, and we care about you too much for you to die."

The great tree sounded sad, but unafraid. "I will pass away soon... But do not grieve for me, dear children. I have been able to tell you of these matters, for this is Hyrule's final hope."

"What must I do?" I asked as I finally looked up.

"You must go into Hyrule Castle, beyond the woods. There, thou will surely meet the Prince of Destiny. Once you do, you must present this stone: the stone that the man wanted so much, that he cast the curse upon me."

There was a flash of green and I felt something in my hands. I looked to see a beautiful emerald in a gold binding shaped like the symbol of the forest.

"The Kokiri's Emerald!" Ivan gasped. "That's the village's most precious treasure!"

"The future depends upon thee, Zelda..." The Great Deku Tree spoke in a voice that was growing weaker. "Thou art courageous and good of heart."

"What can I do out there?!" I asked. "I don't know the world beyond the woods, and how can I tell the others that you are dying?!"

"Ivan... help Zelda in her quest. Never abandon her, and provide what aid you can."

"Please don't go!" Ivan protested. "Your the only real family I ever had!"

"I entreat ye..." His voice began so slow down and fade. "Good... bye..."

With nothing else that I could do, we were forced to watch as leaves began to fall from the branches of the Great Deku Tree, whose wood slowly withered and became petrified. Our father and protector... died before our very eyes.

It happened all to sudden. I never knew what true death was until that moment, and I was left with a feeling of emptiness, as my father was now gone, like the birds who flew off and never returned, or the plants that turned yellow and died.

Silent tears fell from my eyes as Ivan- who was losing his composure- spoke.

"We should go, Zelda. Let's fulfill his final wishes, in his memory- it's the least we could do for him.

"Y-your night." I sniffed. I wiped my tears away as I looked at the Great Deku Tree one last time.

"Good bye... Great Deku Tree."

And so, I turned and hurried without looking back.

Unfortunately, the last person I wanted to see was waiting for me at the end of the tunnel.

"Hey Zelda!" Mido demanded. "What did you do?! We heard a strange noise from the Great Deku Tree's meadow!"

"...The Great Deku Tree..." I tried to speak. "He... he's dead."

"He... died?!" Mido's smugness dropped in place of shock.

"It's true." Ivan admitted. "He was placed under-"

"How could you do a thing like that?!" Mido yelled at me. "It's all your fault!"

"W-what?!" I protested. "No! I didn't do anything!"

"I should have known!" Mido sneered. "The fact that you didn't have a fairy until now was bad enough, and then you went off and killed him!"

"That's not true, you little brat!" Ivan sneered before turning to Bark. "Farore, no wonder you two are a match!"

"And how do we know that you weren't a part of it?!" Bark sneered back.

"I ought to-" Ivan grumbled, but then I dashed past Mido and he was forced to fly towards me.

"Where are you going?!" Ivan demanded as I hurried to my house as fast as I could.

"I can't stay here anymore!" I told him as I ran and more tears began to fall. "Mido is going to tell the others, and they'll think I'm responsible! And then I'll never be able to come back! I won't even get to see Saria anymore!" Sad as it was, it was true: Mido would tell them, and the death itself would make them believe me to be responsible.

I would have to leave, before something would happen. I didn't stop running, even after I reached my house and entered it.

"I don't have much time!" I gathered what rupees I could find and stuffed them in my wallet. I then quickly grabbed what food I could possibly need, a few necessities, and I grabbed a special pouch that could fit almost anything inside of it.

"You might need a new change of clothes." Ivan noted. "Yours look really dirty and torn up. They aren't fit for the journey ahead."

I glanced at what I wore: the kokiri green clothes were already becoming too small for me, and it was time for a new outfit. I only had a few sets left, but they wouldn't do, so I hurried to a dresser where I pulled out an outfit that Saria found one day for me for my birthday, even though it was too big at the time. It was a short sleeved white dress that fell to my knees and it had stripes on the sleeves. With it was a sort of dark pink vest and even a belt.

There would be no time to put them on now. I put those away and I was about to turn when I saw a gold brooch with a pretty red stone on the dresser. I had it for as long as I could remember and the Great Deku Tree said it came from my mother.

Kokiri's don't have a mother spirit to watch over them, so when I asked what he meant by me having a mother, he promised he would tell me when the time came. I guess now I'll never know. I grabbed the brooch too: whatever it was, it felt very important to me and was my greatest treasure.

I was finally ready to go, and Ivan followed me as we rushed down the ladder, through the open area, and into a tunnel that was usually blocked off by a Kokiri on guard. I was halfway across the bridge, when a voice stopped me.

"Oh, you're leaving..."

I turned to see Saria by the side of the bridge, along with Sunny. She looked rather sad.

"I didn't do it!" I frantically told her. "I wasn't responsible for his death!"

"I know." Saria replied. "You loved him as much as we did."

"Then why are you here?" I asked as I approached her.

"Because I knew..." She hesitated. "I knew that you would leave the forest someday."

"What does that mean?" I asked in confusion. "I thought we would be here together forever."

"It was going to happen one day." Sunny quietly spoke. "You weren't meant to stay here forever."

"You are different from me and the others." Saria continued as she closed her eyes with a smile. "But that's ok. We will be friends forever, won't we?"

"Of course!" I finally smiled, despite the pain. "Forever and always, no matter what!"

Saria took out something from her pocket and held it out. "I want you to have this ocarina." She spoke. "When you play it, I hope you will think of me... and maybe one day, you can come back to the forest to our secret place, and visit. Whenever you play my song, I'll be able to hear you, and know that you are safe."

"Saria..." I looked at the clay ocarina. I finally took it and smiled. "Always. I'll play everyday, and I won't forget." I promised her before drawing her into a hug. In turn, she returned the hug.

"See you later, Zelda." She whispered. "I'll always be your friend."

"I'll always be your friend too." I replied back before I let go of her and raced on ahead.

"Take care of her, Ivan!" Sunny yelled to my companion. "She's worth being your companion- trust me!"

"I will, Sunny!" Ivan yelled back.

And so, I ran. I never stopped running until, for the first time ever, I left the woods and past the trees to see a wide field as far as the eye could see. There were no trees to be seen: all there was, was grass, hills, and unfamiliar landmarks. It was all overwhelming and it was all so new to me.

"So... this must be Hyrule." I realized. "It's- it's amazing!"

"It sure is!" Ivan spoke. "I never knew it could look so beautiful!"

I looked up into the sky in time to see a great owl fly across it. It was a good sign for the freedom I gained.

"Ivan." I began. "Thank you for being my fairy. I'm glad you stuck with me, despite all that's happened."

"I should say that I'm glad the Great Deku Tree paired me up with you." He sincerely told me. "And I'll stick with you for as long as possible- just as he asked of me."

I grinned. "So then- off to Hyrule!"

"Yes!" Ivan cheered as we hurried towards our destiny.