The Contest

[02.09.00] » by Tina Bauer

Link was a Kokiri, or a child of the forest. Kokiri, an elfin-like race, never grew old, and also never left their forest home. They were protected and mentored by the Great Deku Tree, the forest guardian. Link was different, however, in that he did not have a fairy guardian, another trait of the Kokiri. He was picked on because of this, mainly by the bully of the forest, Mido. Despite this, Link did not have an unhappy life. He had friends, his best being Saria, one of the most liked Kokiri. Link was also an adventurous soul, always dreaming about being a hero, even to the extent of drawing various pictures of himself battling some evil being on the trunk of his house.

Now, Link also had nightmares, ones in which he saw himself as an older person, seeing the torture of a woman by two evil witches. This bewildered Link, first because he was not a child in his dream, and also because it was not set in the forest.

"Hey, wake up, sleepy head!"

Link awoke with a start, for he had been having his nightmares again.

"What's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?"

Link rubbed his eyes and saw that it was Saria who was talking to him.

"Yeah, but I'll be fine. So, what's happening?" Link asked as he got up, eager to change the subject.

"Nothing, just wondering what you were doing. So, what do you want to do today?" Saria asked as she sat on the bed.

"Um, what do you want to do today?" Link asked.

Saria giggled at his response and thought for a moment. "Well, we could go over to Mido's house. He's having a stone throwing contest. I'm sure you'd win!"

Link thought about it. He really didn't want to be picked on by Mido today, but he could see how much Saria wanted him to go. Also, the thought of beating Mido appealed to him, even if it was just to show him that he wasn't someone to pick on.

"Ok, let's go. I can't wait to see the look on Mido's face when I beat him!" Link said with a mischievous grin.

Saria had to laugh a little at that, and said, "Well, let's go before it starts. Race you there!"

With that Saria was off, with Link chasing after her, and thinking about who the mischievous one really was.

When Saria and Link got there, the rest of the Kokiri was just showing up. Mido was there, getting everything set up. He stopped what he was doing when Link showed up, however, and walked over to where the pair stood.

"What are you doing here? People without fairies aren't allowed!" Mido yelled as soon as he reached Link.

Link stopped where he was for a moment and thought. No, he wasn't going to let himself get chased away that easily. He was tired of all the name-calling and teasing he received on a regular basis. He was going to end it right then.

Unfortunately, Mido was not all that interested in stopping the teasing.

"Why don't you go back home, you little worm!" Mido yelled at Link. Link became rather upset at this, and was just about to punch him in the face when Saria walked forward.

"Oh, Mido!" Saria said with exasperation and a touch of frustration. "Why can't you leave Link alone for once? He doesn't deserve this, and you know it!"

Link took a deep breath and waited to see how Mido would react to this. If he kept up the tormenting, Link was also going to say something, most likely with his fist. Fortunately, Saria had an impact on Mido, and the bully snorted and finally went back to what he was doing, making a point to ignore Link.

Sara turned to Link and said, "Don't let him bother you. He's just acting like this because you don't have a fairy."

Link had heard this from Saria many times before, but it always made him feel better knowing that she was on his side and would always stick up for him.

"Yeah, I know." Link said with a sigh. "But he doesn't have to remind me about it every chance he gets." Link thought for a moment. "Sometimes I wish I could punch him."

"That won't help anything, Link. I think the best way to deal with it is to try not to let it get to you, and to realize Mido would pick on anyone who didn't have a fairy."

Link also had heard this before, but he just nodded his head in agreement, and the two of them walked over to where the other Kokiri had gathered.

The rest of the Kokiri were talking amongst themselves, waiting for Mido to show up to explain the rules and start the game. The main topic was who would win the contest, of course, and most Kokiri thought either Mido or Link would win.

Mido soon appeared before the crowd, and announced the rules. Each contestant would have three small stones to throw as far as they could, and whoever threw their stone the farthest would be the winner.

Link looked at the playing field and studied it. The contestant stood behind a starting point, marked with a stick. Distances were also marked out with sticks at five-foot intervals, starting at five feet and ending with fifty feet. Link was fairly sure he could throw farther than thirty feet, but was not certain what Mido was capable of.

The contest began, and the first one up was one of the Know-It-All Brothers. The first throw went twenty-three feet, the second twenty-five feet. The last one, however, went sailing, and landed at the thirty-foot marker.

"Alright!" Yelled the Kokiri. "Ok, everyone, try to beat that!" He then moved over for the next contestant, confident he would still have the longest throw at the end of the contest.

The next one up was Fado, one of the girl contestants. She walked up to the line, and stretched her arms a bit. She threw her first stone, and it landed at the twenty-eight yard line. The second stone landed at the twenty-four yard line. Fado then picked up her final stone and said, "Ok, this is going to soar!" With that, she threw the stone, and it landed at the thirty-five yard line.

Fado turned to the crowd and was immediately congratulated by Saria.

"That was great, Fado!" Saria cried. "That distance might just be the farthest of the day!"

Fado smiled and thanked Saria, and returned to the cheering crowd.

Saria was right, for a while, anyway. The contestants that followed never managed to reach Fado's toss, although some did get close. All that changed when Mido stepped up to the line.

Mido took his place at the line with a smug look on his face. He picked up his first stone and said, "Now watch how it's really done!" With that, Mido launched it, and it finally landed at the thirty-eight yard line.

Everyone was surprised at the throw, and cheered Mido on. All except for Link, that is. Link began to worry about not being able to beat Mido, something he desperately wanted to do. He had thrown rocks all the time, but he was never sure how far they went. He figured they went at least thirty feet, but Mido was almost at the forty-foot line. Link sighed, knowing he could only wait anxiously for his turn.

Mido's second throw was only thirty-five feet, but his last one went an incredible forty-one feet. The crowd was instantly in an uproar, proclaiming Mido to be the champion. Link would not give up with a fight, however. He walked up to the starting line, filled with determination, and hoping for a little luck.

As soon as Link had reached the line however, Mido noticed him, and quickly decided that now would be a good time to give Link a hard time.

The ever-observant Saria, however, noticed the rising tension between the two, and was determined to stop it before it got any worse.

"Mido," Saria began while walking up to him, "Be civil once and a while, and just let Link have a turn. Besides, didn't we just have this argument?"

Mido let out a sigh, and conceded to Saria. He knew that little bug could never beat his throw, and this would be a chance to prove his superiority.

Link, who had been eyeing Mido the whole time, ready to pounce at any moment, picked up his first stone. He wished for luck, and threw it with all his might.

It landed at the thirty-five foot line.

Link scowled at this, and picked up his second stone. He again wished for luck, and threw it with perhaps a bit more strength.

It landed on the thirty-seven yard line.

Link's heart fell, knowing that he couldn't beat Mido at this rate. He then heard Mido snicker in the background, mocking his attempts to beat him. This sound renewed Link's determination tenfold, and soon sunken hearts turned to fury. He picked up his final stone, wished once more for luck and, with more strength he had ever mustered before, threw the stone.

It landed on the forty-four foot line.

Link looked at the stone in amazement, letting the fact that he finally beat Mido sink in.

The Kokiri cheered Link as champion, and soon surrounded him, each one congratulating him for not only having the longest throw, but also beating the runner up by three feet. Saria especially was thrilled, since She knew how hard Link had wished for this moment. As for Link, he was overjoyed, having completed his quest to stand up to Mido and show him he was not some weakling.

Mido, on the other hand, was not participating in the celebration. He was furious that Link, an outsider who did not belong, was able to prevail over him. He would get his revenge, however, and he was already planning it out.

After the celebration, which went on into the night, Link went home, still glowing from his victory. It had been a tiresome day, however, and he was ready to fall asleep. Link got undressed, and crawled into bed. In almost no time, he was fast asleep, and amazingly, not once did a bad dream haunt him during the night.