му нєяσιиє (Prince!Link x Hero!Reader)

ᴛʜᴇ ғᴏʀᴇsᴛ ᴘᴀʀᴛ 1: ᴅᴇᴇᴘ ᴜɴᴋɴᴏᴡɴ

The forest in the north was most likely the most calming and serene thing you were gonna see throughout this whole trip. The welcoming trees were a luscious green that lightly brushed the ground with the sunlight, some small birds chirped about in their nests, every so often a fairy or two had fluttered past, and the shadows danced across the plains as they led farther into the Deep Woods. The entirety of the area hardly seemed to show that the fate of Hyrule hangs in the balance. It all simply looked normal. You thought this right as you walked through the gorgeous green before you. Grass so sleek and untouched you almost felt bad for walking through it, seeming almost like disturbing some peace. Your life changed so much, and all so fast. One minute, your about to be appointed the knight of the prince of Hyrule, ready to finally show everyone who doubted you who was boss. The next minute, you're a supposed hero trying to save that prince from an evil force. You wondered how it all came to this, what you had done to earn such a title. You honestly never truly believed in the tales of old, as you mostly found them sources of inspiration. But now that it was happening, you had no choice but to believe. If this part was true, then how much of other tales were…?

As your thoughts continue to reel, you look around at the calming woods. The goddesses did fine work over their land. You've heard each region of Hyrule was named after one of the three who spread their love over the land from which you stand. Lake Hylia, after the great Hylia, Faron Woods, after the courageous Farore, Eldin Volcano, after the powerful Din, and Lanayru Desert, after the wise Nayru. One region, one goddess, one step closer to saving your prince.

You slowly bring your hand up to your amulet, lightly wrapping your fingers around it as you think of your fate. Even so, you still couldn't help but constantly think about how gorgeous the Faron region was. Everything seemed so deliberate, so carefully planned to look as if an angel blessed the sacred place. A beacon of hope in the darkness that attempted to pry through the light. Everything was so endearing, so full of serenity, almost making you forget your worries about travel...

But tripping over some bushel of leaves snapped you out of your thoughts. You yelp and quickly fall to the ground, groaning as you hold your side. You look back to see a tiny Deku Scrub pop up out of the ground, maybe a few years old judging by its pale brown bark-like skin, looking at you angrily. "Hey! *pi* That was rude!" It said with its voice high pitched and creaked.

"O-oh!" You said, sitting up so you were more properly looking at it. "I'm sorry!” You shuffled a little closer to it, kneeling about a foot in front of it.

It huffed a bit. "Well... *pi*,” It added, “Okay, as long as you're sorry, *pi*."

You smile a bit and stand, causing the scrub to shuffles back a little to look up at you.

"Hey... *pi* Who're you? *pi* You aren't from here! *pi*" It asked.

"No, I'm not...!" You say, gesturing to yourself. "My name is (Y/n). I'm a traveler from Hyrule Castle on a mission to rescue Prince Link, as well as Hyrule."

"*pi* Prince Link?!" The scrub said in surprise, hopping up once from the shock. “Really?!”

You nod, holding out your medallion for it to see. "See? He gave this to me long ago. This is my proof of my rank."

"That's amazing! *pi*” The Deku exclaimed, shuffling side to side in excitement. “But what happened to the prince? *pi* Why does he need to be saved? *pi*"

You decided to not scare such a young creature, as it seemed unaware of what was happening, so you only said, "It's very dangerous, and a little scary. But don’t worry. That silly ol’ bad guy can’t stand up to a Heroine. I can save him, I promise. Now, in order to rescue him, I need to go through the Forest Temple. Do you, by chance, know where it is?"