"Beware of the Big Bad Wolfos"

"Mother, may I visit Saria in the Forest Temple today?" asked seven-year-old Princess Emily. "Please?"

Princess Zelda smiled down at the blue-eyed, fair-haired child. "Yes, you may, Emily. But I want you to be careful. Your father and I may have banished Ganondorf to the Evil Realm but his servants may be lurking about--especially at night."

"Thanks, Mother!" Emily cried as she hugged Zelda.

"Be back before nightfall, Emily," Zelda called after her as the little girl began charging out the door, her guardian fairy, Navi, flying after her at top speed. Navi had once been Link's guardian fairy and had taken it upon herself to look after his child.

On her way through the courtyard, Emily saw her father, Link, talking with Darunia, who was King of the Gorons and Link's Sworn Brother. "Hi Daddy, I'm going to see Saria!" she said as she ran up and hugged him around the waist. "Mother said I could. Hi Uncle Darunia!"

"Hello, Princess Emily," said Darunia, laughing as Link pretended to stagger from Emily's having thrown herself at him. "Good thing she isn't a Goron, Brother!"

Link laughed at that as he kissed his daughter on her forehead. "Well, if you're going to go, you'd better hurry along so you have more time to play in the forest," he said. "And be very careful who you talk to along the way!"

"I will, Daddy! Bye Darunia!" Emily called as she ran out.

"She has your energy and her mother's spirit," Darunia chuckled to Link.

"That she does, my friend," smiled Link.

Emily happily skipped along the path that led to Hyrule Castle Town, the guards nodding at her as she skipped past them. During the daytime Hyrule was pretty safe; at night one never knew if something might pop up.

The guard let her through the gate, and Emily followed the path through the bustling marketplace. She looked like any little girl in town in her white blouse and blue jumper, and her golden hair pulled back into a ponytail.

Soon Emily crossed the drawbridge and stepped out onto Hyrule Field. Up ahead and to her right was Lon Lon Ranch, run by her parents' friends, Talon and his daughter Malon. Straight ahead a good distance was the entrance to Kokiri Forest.

Emily resumed skipping once she was on the dirt road leading to Kokiri Forest. She shrieked when a Wolfos suddenly appeared in front of her. "Emily, let's just get going!" hissed Navi.

"Why are you in such a hurry, Princess Emily?" it asked.

"Well, I want to hurry up and see my godmother, Saria, in the Sacred Forest Meadow," said Emily, ignoring Navi.

"Why hurry? Why don't you go to the ranch and say hello to Malon's horses?" it suggested. "You have plenty of time before dark, Princess. And the ranch is so close by...."

"Well, I suppose I could say hi to Talon, Malon, and Ingo," shrugged Emily.

"That's right, just take a few moments. You know, Princess, you keep rushing and hurrying, you'll miss a lot of what life has to offer," said the Wolfos.

Emily turned to her right and headed for the ranch. The Wolfos smiled and made haste to the Lost Woods to pursue his hidden agenda--now that he knew where to find the Forest Sage.

Emily hugged and petted a horse while Malon looked on. "I think they like you," smiled the red-haired girl.

"Maybe my father will get me a horse for my next birthday. I've been asking for one," said Emily. She glanced at Navi, who had her arms crossed over her chest impatiently. "Oops...I'd best be on my way, Malon."

"All right, Emily," laughed Malon. "Maybe tomorrow you can come here and just ride the horses all day."

"I think I will. Bye, Malon!"

Saria dreamily sat next to a stream in the Forest Temple, playing her ocarina. Life had been pretty good the past eight years, since Link and Zelda had banished Ganondorf to the Evil Realm. Saria had even been to their wedding, which had taken place maybe two months afterward, and now she was the godmother of Princess Emily, who'd been born a year after that.

She was glad that Link had found his place in life, she reflected as she played her song. No longer was he a timid ten-year-old boy whom Mido had liked pushing around--or trying to push around. Link was now a grown man of twenty-five, married with a daughter. She was happy for her best friend--he still was her best friend and always would be.

Suddenly, Saria heard a snarling noise. Standing up, she screamed as she saw a Wolfos charging right at her! There hadn't been any of those creatures here for eight years, when Link had freed the Forest Temple from any evil.

The Wolfos pounced on her, knocking her ocarina from her hand. "Well well well. I have me a little Sage," it said in a low, laughing growl. "You and Princess Emily will be bait. My master, Ganondorf, wants Link and Zelda--and he wants me to kill you and weaken the bind you Sages have put on him."

"Leave his daughter alone!" Saria gasped, struggling against the Wolfos.

He pressed his paw against the Kokiri girl's throat until she passed out. Then he dragged her out into the great hall, up the steps, and into the west hallway, which was twisted up, making sure the doors were locked so she couldn't get out.

"Now to test how sharp my claws are," grinned the Wolfos as he prepared to slice into the green-haired girl.

Suddenly, he heard voices. Drat! Well, he'd kill Saria later. Then he'd deal with this interloper. Emily apparently hadn't spent as much time as he'd thought she would. Probably that stupid fairy that was with her.

"Maybe you should have had your father warp you here with his ocarina," Navi scolded as she and Emily entered the Sacred Forest Meadow.

"I'm surprised my father didn't feed you to a Poe. I said I was sorry!" snapped Emily.

Navi, however, wasn't through yet. "And what's the big idea, talking to a Wolfos? They're dangerous!"

"Well, he didn't attack me," said Emily. "So just pipe down, okay?"

"You are just like your father," sighed Navi.

"Thank you," smirked Emily.

Emily went up the steps leading to the Forest Temple. "It's so quiet around here...usually Aunt Saria's playing her ocarina," she remarked.

The little girl went through a few doors and stepped into the great hall. In the middle was the elevator that led to the basement. Four sets of staircases were around the perimeter of the circular room. Emily chose the one that was to the left and towards the back; this one led to a stream that Saria liked to sit by.

"Saria?" Emily called.

"Look, Emily--her ocarina!" squeaked Navi.

Emily bent down and picked up the fairy ocarina, then put it into her pocket. "Saria?" she called again.

"She's not here," snarled a voice.

Emily turned around. "I told you so," muttered Navi as she dove into Emily's pocket.

"Would you like to join her?" asked a Wolfos--the same one Emily had encountered in Hyrule Field. "You know, I purposely had you go to the ranch so I would have time to take care of Saria. You'll make excellent bait for your parents--and the other Sages!"

"I knew I shouldn't have trusted you!" cried Emily.

The Wolfos laughed. "Now you will come with me--or I will kill Saria."

Emily reluctantly followed the Wolfos. He led her to the twisted hallway in the west end of the temple and pushed her inside. "I'll send someone to tell your parents to come here or you die," the Wolfos grinned. "Then I'll come back and kill Saria--and weaken the spell that keeps my master, Ganondorf, in the Evil Realm." With that he slammed the door.

Emily started to cry.

"Emily--there's Saria!" Navi said excitedly.

Drying her tears, Emily went over to Saria, who lay on the floor. "Saria?" she said, shaking the other girl.

Saria moaned. Her blue eyes fluttered open and she slowly sat up. "Emily! He got you too?"

"Yes, and it's my fault," said Emily. She then told her story to Saria.

"He didn't want you to interfere with his plans," said Saria. "If only I had my ocarina...I could summon your father for help!"

Emily reached into her jumper pocket. "Look what I found," she said as she pulled out an ocarina.

"Oh, thank you, Emily!" Saria exclaimed. She put the ocarina to her lips and played.

Emily watched as Saria closed her eyes in concentration, knew that the Kokiri girl was sending a telepathic message to Link. Moments later Saria opened her eyes. "Your father got my message--and he's going to use his ocarina to warp here!"

"Uh-oh," said Saria's fairy, Nita, as the door opened.

The Wolfos entered and slammed the door shut behind him, grinning evilly. "I sent a messenger crow to the castle," he said. "Now to have me a little Sage for dinner!"

The two little girls held each other, trembling, as the Wolfos unsheathed his claws. Their fairies tried to distract him, but he swatted at them. Emily screamed as loud as she possibly could.

"Get off the Sage. I need you alive to con your parents!" the Wolfos snarled, pulling on Emily's arm.

"No! You leave Saria alone!" Emily cried, as she clung to Saria.

Suddenly the door was kicked down, and Link was standing there, Master Sword in hand. "Paws off those girls," he commanded.

"Where is your wife, Hero of Time?" the Wolfos grinned, turning his attention to Link. "Didn't you get my message?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Link as he and the Wolfos moved in a circle, facing each other. Saria and Emily still clung to each other.

"Don't worry, your father will take care of that beast," Saria whispered to Emily.

Link swung at the Wolfos, who blocked the sword with its paws. He used his Hylian shield to block the animal's attacks; then he flipped over the Wolfos and got it from behind.

Emily and Saria watched as Link repeated this move until the Wolfos lay dead at his feet. After a moment the dead animal vanished. "Are you two all right?" Link asked as he sheathed his sword.

"Daddy!" Emily cried as she jumped into her father's arms.

"I'm all right, Link," said Saria. "He was trying to free Ganondorf...he was going to come after us Sages."

"I--I'm getting a telepathic message from Zelda," said Link. He stared blankly ahead for a moment. "She got that message the Wolfos sent...and I let her know that you and Emily are safe."

Later on, when Link took Emily home, the little girl received a lecture from her mother about what she'd done.

"You should have ignored that Wolfos...even though it seemed friendly," said Zelda to her daughter. "I think from now on your father should accompany you. These days you never know who you'll run into."

"And I'll teach you how to defend yourself in the meantime," Link added. "And a good place to start would be where I started, in the Kokiri Training Center."