Where did my shield go? How can I get a new one?

I have just finished the second dungeon in the dark world, and as I was leaving the dungeon I noticed I no longer appear to have a shield? I had recently upgraded this to a fire shield and I definitely entered the dungeon with one equipped so where did it go?

Where did my shield go? How can I get a new one?

It was most likely eaten by an enemy. You are going to need to buy another.

The enemy that took it is probably the flower like creature that sticks its tongue out while it attacks, called a Pikit.

If you are playing the Gameboy Advance version, it could also be a Like-Like that took your shield.

I'm still not sure where my shield went, but I found somewhere you can buy a new basic shield from; in the Dark World in the same location as the Magic Shop in the Light World, there is a general store which sells a shield:

From here you can purchase another shield, and then go through the process of upgrading it again.