The Lost Fairy

<---Index

The group traveled through the blowing sands, protected by the seeds they wore around their necks. As they traveled, Link looked back and said, “The Great Deku Tree if finally with his children again.” Shadow nodded. “I know. I feel it too.” The group stopped their travel to whisper a silent prayer to the deity they worshiped. When they were done, Saria said, “Sprit, can you take a quick look around? I want to be sure nothing's hiding just outside our field of vision.”

The green fairy replied, “You got it,” and took off. They waited patiently for a while for the creature to return. After a while longer, the patience turned to frustration, then to worry, and finally fear. “What's keeping her?” Navi exclaimed. “I'm going to look!” The four adventurers yelled, “Navi! No!” the fairy said, “Why not? She has to be nearby.” Dilt said in a worried tone, “Uh, sis? She's not around.” The group looked at the red sprite and yelled, “WHAT?!?”

“Dude! Didn't you hear me? She disappeared! She's nowhere near here! Hasta La Vista! Adios Amigos! Sayonara! Arividerchi!” Sheik looked at him and said, “Uh, what language WAS that, exactly?” Sighing, Dilt yelled loudly, “SHE'S BLOODY GONE, DUDES!!!” The group now stood there worried. “Gone? Where did she go?” Letting out a loud  roar of frustration, he yelled, “To Disney World with Mickey Mouse and Luigi! How the hell should I know! Dude! And you say I'm Stupid!!!” After a brief pause, he added in a tone of surrender, “Which really isn't that far off...”

Link nodded, “We need to find her. We don't know how long she'll last in this desert without one of these Deku Seeds to protect her.” After a pause, Sheik pulled out the map and saw that the page had not fared well with the weather. There were holes that made the map all but useless and the compass ineffective. The warrior said, “Not to make a bad mess worse, but... Do you hear screaming?” A loud crashing sound came just outside their field of vision. Link sighed. “Should we help him?”

Saria let out an upset whine. “Do we have to?” Shadow sighed and muttered, “Maybe if we ignore him, he'll go away... Where did Sheik go?” Just outside their vision, Sheik said, “Are you okay, Mr. Tingle?” Tingle replied, “Yes, yes, Thank you, Mr. Fairy. Where are the others, Hm?”
“Over this way,” he replied. The three other elves palmed their faces and groaned, “Oh, no!” As the five were again, to the dismay of three of them, reunited, Sheik said, “You happened to come at a very good time.”

Saria waved her spear, saying, “Why? We about to whack the Tingle Pinata?” She got hit in the head with a Deku seed and yelled, “Dammit, Sheik! You're the bastard who took my slingshot!!!” Chuckling, he replied, “I'll think about giving it back to you. I'm beginning to see why you like it so much” Instinctively, she reached for her slingshot faster than her brain reminded her that she just found out it was taken and yelled, “DAMMIT!!!”

Sheik turned to Tingle and said, “We need a map.” Interest piqued, he said, “Did you say... A map?” Nodding, Sheik replied, “Yes, and was the pause really that necessary.”
“It's a hereditary problem in my family. I can't really control it.” Tingle replied awkwardly. The group nodded, finally understanding the creature a little better. Link finally asked, “Why do we need a map? We got one from the Deku Tree.” Sheik handed him the ruined paper and said, “The years haven't been kind to the paper.”

Tingle smiled and said, “Well, I do owe you for letting me have the chance to be a hero...”
“Completely by accident...” Saria added. Ignoring the comment, Tingle said, “It just so happens that I was passing overhead and felt an uncontrollable urge to draw one of this very area.” Shadow smiled. “Oh! My people have a name for that. It's called Obsession.” Tingle stood there a fair bit annoyed, but not about to let the snide comments get the best of him... Which was becoming a task in itself.

Link said, “Well, if you have a map that you can sell us...” Tingle smiled. “I just so happen to have a very remarkable map right here!” Pulling out a strange, almost glossy material and said, “It's guaranteed not to be damaged by the conditions of this environment for thousands of years!” Sheik smiled. “Fascinating paper you use...” Blankly he finished, “Did you make that out of plastic...?” Smiling, Tingle replied, “Yes! I noticed that maps are hard to keep in good condition in a lot of areas on this world, so I've been making maps out of plastic in order to keep them protected.”

Saria sighed. “Okay, I planned out every possible stunt this Imp could come up with and this somehow didn't make the list!” Tingle attempted to tear the map and said, “See? Unbreakable! It's the perfect map!” Counting his rupees, Link asked, “How much?” Tingle smiled. “Since you are my first customer for this revolutionary product, Fifty rupees!” The group almost fell over in shock. “What?” yelled Shadow. “Why so cheap?” Smiling, Tingle gave a surprisingly honest and understandable answer. “Because I'm no longer working for commission. We have a deal, yes?”

Everyone said ecstatically, “Deal!” smiling as the transaction was made, Tingle said, “Oh, by the way, Next time you'll need to pay the full price!” Tossing a leaflet with a stone on it, he flew off. Sheik picked it up and read out loud, “Tingle's maps, two hundred rupees. The most durable maps you'll find anywhere.” Link smiled. “Reasonable prices too.”
“Stop with the commercial talk,” muttered Shadow. “We still have to find that fairy.”

The four started thinking. “Sprit is smart,” Link said. “She would have found cover from the storm.” Even though the news was hopeful, Saria was still on the brink of tears. The others could understand why. Sprit had been with her her whole life and was like a member of her family. It was only natural that she would be upset. About that time, a stone landed on Link's head and he adopted a dumb look. “Huh?” he muttered.

Picking up the stone, he noticed a note attached. Sheik took it and said, “Dear forest fairies. I saw one of you little glowing fairy friends a few minutes ago while I was making a new map. Something seems to be holding her in the center of the desert. Use the map I gave you and you'll find her in no time. Signed, Tingle the Mighty... He's STILL using that line?” Link got up and said, “We'd better get to the middle of this desert and rescue Sprit.”

Looking at the map, Sheik said in a worried tone, “Two skulls on the map. One on the way and one more at the center... Say's there's a port tile there. That means the thing that got her...” Link drew his sword and said, “We have to get there at all costs. If we don't, The mask in this area... I don't want to think about it.” The four stood up and Saria yelled, “Lets go, and may the Goddesses help that monster if it so much as harm her even a little.” The group took off at a run to find the lost fairy, before it was too late.