The Wind Waker provided many surprises for me as a child. I wasn’t expecting Jabun to be so gargantuan, I didn’t have a clue that Tetra would turn out to be a princess, and I certainly did not foresee a child to be the Queen of Fairies.
I had encountered a few Great Fairies before meeting their queen, and all of them looked so elegant and mature. It was a shock to see such a small girl proclaim her authority over them! I had so many questions that I couldn’t really enjoy my first experience with this character. What was with the doll she held? Were the other fairies mere puppets? The way she slouched over when your conversation was done, was she a puppet? Most importantly: Did she have a crush on Link? 11-year-old priorities.
As I got older and played through the game numerous times, I became more entranced with this scene and with this character. I’d even try to visit her sooner to see if there was any more secret dialogue that could be uncovered, but she said to come back later when the time was right. I was just so entranced by this fairy, but I couldn’t put my finger on just why. Perhaps it was just her mystical appearance and mysterious overtone.
You encounter the Queen of Fairies once you’re ready to explore the Ice Ring Isle and Fire Mountain. This will grant access to the items you need to enter the Wind and Earth Temples. You use the Ballad of Gales to escort you to a closed off isle, only accessible through air travel. The cyclone will lower you down into what appears to be an autumn scene, dropping your boat in a shallow fountain. In the center of the fountain sits a small pedestal that begins to glitter upon entry, and that’s when she appears.
A small child with the appearance of a glass doll materializes before you, giggling. She is surprised by Link’s young age and speaks maturely and with what seems like years of wisdom, and yet, laughing like the child she appears to be. She refers to Link as names such as “child” or “young one”, clearly letting on that she is much older than she appears. But then she reverts again to a child-like mind, simply giving him these powers because she likes Link. You can see why this puzzled me.
To grant Link the powers to enhance his bows, she takes the doll she holds in her hands and smacks it in her hands, transforming it into two fairies. The fairies fly into Link as if they are merging with him. If the power was for his bow, why did they need to fuse with him? Especially since it seemed to hurt Link (though not too much), I was always baffled by her methods. I won’t complain, though, seeing how useful these power-ups will be.
Before she vanishes, she tells Link that he is just her type, to which the King of Red Lions gives Link a sly smile and he bashfully looks away. It’s a little weird, but a little cute. If not for her majesty’s little crush, at least for the King and Link’s reactions.
The pedestal begins to sparkle once more, and her head and arms drop like a lifeless doll before she fades away. There is so much strangeness to this character and so many questions to be asked, just like the first time I saw this cutscene, and yet, I’ve also embraced it. I like this fairy because she’s exactly what a fairy is supposed to be. Whimsical, mysterious, odd, powerful — a being of pure fantasy. It’s a short moment spent with her, but to me, it adds so much to this already wonderful game and gives it just the right amount of magic it needs.
