Prolouge:

Alea Dassin held her baby closer to stop his whining. Sound would alert the people around her, and attention was the last thing she wanted. The young mother watched and waiting, acting like just another browsing market shopper. Timing was everything. Suddenly, Alea's moment came.
While the shop keeper running the booth made a sale to a customer, an inexperienced street child reached for a piece of fruit. He was quickly spotted. Alea took the moment when the shopkeeper was reprimanding the child to execute her task. She slipped a loaf of bread next to her son, and hid a few apples under her robes. She walked away casually, as if nothing had happened. Tonight, her family would eat.
"Her family" was small. It consisted of herself, her baby and her husband Barive. Money had been tight before the baby was born, but they were even worse now. They were very poor, and had to steal to survive. Alea had once belonged to a noble family. Her parents had known the king when he was just a boy. But when Alea fell in love with a peasent criminal, her family deserted her. She would not smear their reputation! Though they still lived the good life, they denied their daughter's existance. Alea was determined to show them that she was more than what they thought of her.
Alea snapped back to reality when she left a strong hand fall on her shoulder.
"What are you holding, miss?
The Royal Guard stood much taller than Alea. She'd never been caught before, and she was petrified.
"My baby." she answered, "My son."
"May I see the little one?" He eyed her bundle suspiciously Trembling, she revealed her baby's face. the child gurgled, and gave the Royal Guard a huge grin. Then he gve an eager kick, as babies often do. The blanket slipped, and the few stolen goods she had were revealed. Alea cluthed her possesions tightly to her and bolted away from the Guard's iron grip. He was quickly after her.
Alea fled east. On her way, she tripped on a rock when she looked back. At the time, it was nothing but an inconvenience which made her curse with pain, but she began to fell it even worse a few minutes later. Cursing again, she realized she had broken her ankle. But it would take more than that to stop her. She continued to run, though now she was reduced to more of a limp.
An arrow grazed her shoulder. A Royal Guard would never miss a target, so Alea knew he must have been aiming only to slow her. Petty theft was not a crime punishable by death. Still, she refuesed to give up her escape, though she knew it was futile. She saw a hollow log which formed a path through dense trees. She ran for it. the minute she passed through the log, she looked back and saw that the guard hadn't followed her. He stood on the far side of the log, looking in. With an air of pride, Alea crossed the short bridge she now stood on and walked through another log.
On the other side, she found herself immediatly short of breath. But the place she was in did not look menacing at all. It was a forest, untouched by technology in any form. If not for the houses carved out of trees and the children running through the roads (which were simply worn down from use, not paved), it would have seemed like a totally isolated place, that no Hylian hand had ever touched. An odd place, really. Maybe no Hylian hand ever had touched this place, she thought. Suddenly, she realized in horror where she was.
Kokiri Forest.
She couldn't stay here. She was Hylian, she'd die. That explained why she was short of breath, and why the guard hadn't followed her here. She had already been in here long enough for the toxic forest air to have destroyed any chance of her survival. But perhaps her son could yet be spared, for he didn't seem to ahve trouble breathing. The question was, how?
"Excuse me, but you're not allowed here." a small boy stood before her. "I am the leader of the Kokiri. I'm sorry, but you must leave." he noticed her shoulder and bleeding foot. "Say, you're injured! Come along, I'll help you. The Deku Tree will, that is."
Alea nodded her thanks, choking on the toxic air. "My son...help...I'll die...save him!"
The Kokiri boy took her yound son, who was just beginning to be affected by the air, and led them through Kokiri Forest to the Great Deku Tree. They attracted everyone's attention, but most just assumed it was none of their buisness and occupied themselves with something else, no matter what questions were burning in their minds. All except one girl, who was make a daisy chain crown when they walked by. Somehow, she felt drawn to them. As she wove her chain, she followed not too closely behind them. Soon, the Kokiri boy, Alea and her son were in the meadow of the Great Deku Tree. Upon seeing teh strangers, the Tree knew immediatly who they were. He spoke to Alea, and didn't deliver the best news, but it was all she could ask for.
"I can offer no hope, maiden, for yourself. Your son, however, I can enchant and raise as a Kokiri. Neither the forest nor the outside world will kill him. As for yourself, I can only end your suffering. To leave you for dead would be a slow and painful process. I will work my magic only with your permission, of course. Will you approve, maiden?"
Tearfully, Alea croaked, "Yes. Kill me." she glanced at her child and added, "Raise him...here."
The Tree did not acknowledge her requests, but she felt death slowly washing over her body. As she faded from exsistance, she said, "My son...take care...of...him." With a sad smile on her face, Alea died in the Great Deku Tree's meadow. There was amoment of silence as the Tree and the leader of the Kokiri mourned Alea, as briefly as they had known her. The poor baby was too young to understand that his mother was gone forever.
"Mido," said the Deku Tree to the Kokiri boy before him, "Leave the child with me and fetch me Saria. I wish to speak with her privately regarding this child."
"Yes, sire." Mido bowed slightly and was gone. In his wake, there came the girl weaving a daisy chain. She didn't know the Tree had summoned her.
"Great Deku Tree," Saria began nervously, "forgive me for intruding, but whowas that woman that came here? I don't know why I ask, but..." she let her voice trail off.
"I am glad you asked, Saria. You are my favorite, of all my children. I am giving you this honour because there is no one who I can trust more to carry it out properly. The woman you ask about lies here, no longer alive. She was a mother who came here already near death. I spared her the pain of letting her injuries kill her, and her son remains alive. I am asking you to raise this child."
Saria looked skeptically at the child, and knelt near him. "He is Hylian," she said, "How am I to raise him? He can't survive here! Besides that, I don't know how to be a mother! I wasn't created to raise children, you know. I'm a Kokiri."
"Then don't be his mother. Be his friend. Teach him the ways of the forest. Show him how to get food, clothes and weapons from this forest's resources."
"Weapons? War is not the way of the Kokiri." "Just beleive that you will know in time wh I ask you this, for in time you will see. Raise him to beleive he is a true Kokiri, by blood. Never speak of his heritage to anyone, least of all himself. He is your responsibilyity now, but I will guide you. I know the two of you shall be friends, when he is old enough. He is being raised in your image, after all. I beleive in you, Saria."
Still, Saria did not quite beleive in herself.