The Legend of Zelda- Ocarina of Time

The Boy Without a Fairy

"Get him, Forenz!" one called.

"Yeah, get him!" another shouted.

"Just ignore them," Forenz mouthed.

After a loud "Hyaah!" followed by yet more laughter, Link struggled to concentrate as Forenz pressed his attack.

"I don't sound like that," he muttered, attempting to suppress his embarrassment, all too aware of his burning ears.

"Keep your eyes on me," Forenz advised. "I'll handle them."

Nodding, Link gritted his teeth as he lost his balance and nearly fell. His muscles ached from the awkward parries, every bruise making itself painfully known. Forenz deflected his thrust, executed a backflip effortlessly, and circled him to confront the other Kokiri.

"Alright," Forenz called out, blocking another of Link's thrusts. "The next one who insults Link can take me on. I'll give you till the count of five. One," Forenz blocked again. "Two..." Swiftly parrying Link's next jab, Forenz continued, "Three... What's that? You three can't count?" Link almost grinned at Forenz's taunt, but the sound of the boy's sword whistling past his ear in a near miss jolted his attention back to the fight. Link narrowed his eyes, knowing it was a feint to keep him focused.

The jeering from the other Kokiri faded into an awkward silence. Link caught a glimpse of the three bullies as they exchanged hesitant glances, unsure how to respond. They all knew Forenz would beat them in a fight. When Forenz saw this and suggested randomly picking one of them, they skulked away into the shadows.

Link watched them go, preoccupied by the constant torment he received at the hands of Mido and his friends.

Crunch!

Still unfocused, Link failed to notice Forenz's wooden blade striking towards his chest, pain exploding across his ribs. Stumbling backward with a pained grunt, he landed flat on his back, his breath knocked out of him.

"Are you okay?" Forenz asked, furrowing his brow in concern and lowering his weapon. "I warned you about getting distracted."

"Yeah... I know," Link wheezed, struggling to one knee and attempting to catch his breath. "I'm sorry."

Forenz extended a hand, and Link allowed himself to be pulled up again. All too aware of his wobbly legs and unable to help himself, he turned his eyes towards the trees where Mido's cronies had disappeared.

I doubt they've gone far, he thought.

"You want to stop for today?" Forenz suggested.

"No," Link replied, rubbing his bruised side. "Not yet."

Forenz snorted. "Alright then..." following Link's gaze, Forenz frowned. "Are they still bothering you?"

Link shrugged. "I guess."

"Is it Mido?" Forenz questioned with growing concern. "What's he done this time?"

"Nothing," Link said glumly. "But I know he sent them."

It was no secret Mido hated Link, as did most of the boy's friends. Their favourite game was 'Link hunting' or 'half-man chasing' as Mido called it, which was amusing when Link was the taller of the two. The game usually involved Mido, or his gangly cronies, chasing Link with Deku stick so they could whack him with it. Sometimes, they would start throwing rocks, forcing Link to clamber up a tree and out of range. Even now, he could still hear their taunts.

"Stop spying on us, loser!"

"Freak!"

"Coward!"

"Wimp."

"He's such a freak, not even a single fairy wants anything to do with him!"

"Not so brave now your girlfriend isn't here to protect you, are you?"