Immediately after setting out, during an encounter in the Faron Woods....

"Hmm... am I reading this map right?"

It had been a scant few hours since Linkle had set out from her village; the brave hero setting out to the rescue of the royal Princess! Only... she could have sworn she'd be able to see the castle by now. As the blonde young Cucoo farmer looked around, though, all she could see were trees, trees, and more trees, all reaching high up into the sky and forming a dense canopy that left the whole area in shade.

"Huh. I don't remember there being a forest between home and the castle..." Linkle mumbled, taking out her compass. The compass was easily her most treasured possession- according to her grandmother, it was proof of her being the legendary hero, after all! - but... maybe being so old meant it had stopped working so well as a navigational tool.

"Hehehe!"

Linkle spun around, the high pitched laughter catching her off guard. She could have sworn the noise was coming from right behind her, but when she looked (one hand already on a crossbow) there was nothing there except more trees. Linkle looked out into the distance a few seconds longer, before sighing and shaking her head. The darkness of the forest must have been getting to her. Turning back to her path, she thought about setting up camp for the night, when--

"Oh!"

Standing- no, floating in front of Linkle, was a strange creature, a lanky little imp whose clothes and hat were made of long flat fibers. It's face was covered by a strange, unnerving mask, a purple, heart shaped thing lined with spikes, the two sharp eyes on its front piercing right through her. As it bobbed lazily up and down in the air, it was flanked by two fairies, one glowing white, the other purple.

"Hiya!" the imp said, "Have you come to play with me?"

"Ah, no," Linkle said, "maybe later! You and your fairy friends seem neat," and Linkle wasn't lying, because as unnerving as the creature's mask was, it really was interesting, it's fairies especially, for a girl so enamored with legends and fairy tales. "But I'm on an important quest! Hyrule Castle is under attack!"

"Aww, come on...." the Skull Kid said it's whole body seeming to droop, even as some unseen **** kept him floating, "It's so boring in this forest. And besides" it slowly drifted around her a ways, and then back slightly, "you brought a really neat-looking toy!" And, with another shrill giggle, the Skull Kid lifted first his head to look at her, and then his hand, dangling from which was-

"Hey! My compass!"

"Come on!" the Skull Kid laughed, "Let's play!" Linkle lunged for the Skull Kid, but he flew back faster than she could move. By the time she had her crossbows out and loaded, he'd already disappeared into the trees. Still, Linkle could hear his voice echoing throughout the woods. "Hope you don't mind if I summon up some of my toys, too!" Linkle's head shot around as she heard stomping feet and trampled branches; the Skull Kid was summoning monsters all around her. She grit her teeth, and raised her crossbows. If she wanted to get her compass back, she would have to fight for it.

It took longer than she thought it would to find the Skull Kid again, as he hid himself away in one of the clearings in the forest, and Linkle had to fight her way to each one to check where he was. What's more, she had to protect all the innocent Cucoos that apparently lived in the forest from all the mean monsters the imp had summoned. So, when she finally saw the Skull Kid again, in the middle of a monster filled clearing, turning her compass over in his hands, she was more than a little annoyed.

"Give that back!" she shouted, storming into the clearing while letting loose a flurry of Bomb Arrows. The Skull Kid just rolled out of the way of her projectiles, though, letting his minions behind him take the blast.

"Hehe! No way!" he replied, dancing through the air, "I'm just starting to have fun, silly! And look, you get to use more of your neat toys, too!" he punctuated this point by limply falling to his feet, letting another volley from Linkle's 'neat toys' fly over his head. Linkle growled, and ran up to him, ready to give him a good kick followed by a few point-blank shots, but as she leaped forward, foot swinging to connect with that dumb mask, the Skull Kid just vanished into thin air!

"Come back her with my compass!" Linkle shouted, but was only met with more giggles echoing out from the trees.

"Why would I listen to someone who looks so silly?" the Skull Kid teased.

"I do not look silly!" Linkle shouted back, firing a few warning shots at the bulblins trying to pick themselves up and come back at her.

"Yes you do! And the best part is you don't even know it!" the Skull Kid's laughter grew louder as a look of anger and confusion crossed Linkle's face. It grew louder still when she finally looked down, and blood rushed to redden her cheeks and ears, as Linkle saw that the Skull Kid had taken more than her compass this time!