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Chapter 1/Introduction
A storm. A large storm had struck; the wind was blowing at high speeds. Trees were nearly blown off their roots, while lightning shot down from above. Yes, it was dark in the forest that night. Storms of that magnitude hadn't been seen since the Imprisoning War. But the storm was a perfect reflection of the mood inside the Forest Temple that night. Inside the vast temple was emptiness. Not a living soul inhabited the large temple, but one. It was that of Saria, the Sage of the Forest. She was sitting atop a bridge high above a garden that seemed to open to the sky on the second floor. It had been five years since the Imprisoning War ended and Saria began living her new life as the Forest Sage, which unfortunately meant eternity guarding the Forest Temple.
She found herself crying that night, much like every night for the last five years. She never got out of the temple. With the exceptions of her friends, Post Rapture and DoomRater, she never had any visitors. She cherished every moment they were around by telling them stories of her past, and she had quite an adventurous past.
But that night, a reality dawned on her. She was a Kokiri, and as a Kokiri she was destined to have a long lifespan. She nearly went insane surviving lonely nights in the Forest Temple for five years, but she would be guarding this place for at least the next 500 years. Saria couldn't take that and as much as she wished for it to be so, she knew that Post Rapture and DoomRater wouldn't be around to keep her company in 100 years. That night, she questioned her existence. "Is this really worth it?" she said to herself, "Does it really matter if I live or die?! Link was right! It isn't worth it! No one's going to invade to stupid temple! And as far as I'm concerned, my life ended five years ago!!!" With that Saria stood up. She looked down on the ground, which had to be at least 70 feet below her…and jumped.
And then…everything went black…
Chapter 2Link suddenly woke up and nearly screamed at the dream he just had. What had he just seen? Did he really see what he thought he saw? Link, covered in sweat, got to his feet. He knew there was no storm. It was a clear night at Lon Lon Ranch, so Link decided to go outside. He stepped out quietly, hoping not to wake a sleeping Malon. He went downstairs and heard something he could have sworn was a cross between a roaring Dodongo and a growling Goron. Of course it was just Talon, whose snoring was loud enough to wake the dead. Link smiled, knowing that even if he tripped and knocked over the stack of Lon Lon milk bottles in the corner it wouldn't wake Talon, the deepest sleeper he knew. He opened the door and walked over behind the corral and sat down.
He couldn't get the disturbing image out of his head. A despondent Saria, jumping to her death. Committing suicide. It couldn't be possible. Saria was Link's childhood friend and one of the strongest people Link ever knew in his entire life. Was she so overcome by the loneliness of the Forest Temple that she actually took her own life? Link hadn't seen the young Forest Sage since the Imprisoning War, when they parted ways. She told him that they could no longer be friends, and Link was crushed. He was so depressed at that moment that he never noticed the look of pain in Saria's eyes. He never noticed how much it pained her to be saying goodbye to the boy she raised in Kokiri Forest.
"I told her," Link said to himself. "I told her she would regret it." He remembers telling Saria that she would live a lonely existence if she chose to become the Sage of the Forest. But she did it to protect everyone in her village, his village too. She did it to save Hyrule and ensure Hyrule had a future. She did it for Link. She sacrificed herself so that Link may finish his quest. A quest Link never wanted in the first place.
"Told who?"
Link turned around and saw that he was no longer alone. "Hey Malon. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. I thought I was by myself."
The young farm girl sat beside Link and looked into his eyes. Malon knew Link practically her whole life. She met Link when she was ten. Then Link spent seven years in the Sacred Realm in preparation for the fight against the King of Evil, Ganondorf. He came back and won Epona from Ingo and won back the ranch for her and her father, Talon. And she remembers Link saving her from a thrashing at the hands of Ingo shortly after Epona was taken. When the Imprisoning War ended, Link was sent back to live his life at age ten, but so did Malon. Link and Malon couldn't explain how it happened, and didn't really care. What mattered was that they were together. And she knew Link long enough to know when he was troubled.
"Is something wrong Link? Who were you talking about?" Malon looked at Link who was just looking at the sky.
"I…I…I don't want to talk about it." Link honestly didn't know how to describe what he saw in his dream.
"Link, something's bothering you. Haven't we known each other long enough to be able to talk about anything?" Seeing the Hero of Time in the dazed state he was in couldn't help but bother Malon.
"I had a…dream. It was more of a nightmare." Once again, Link saw the image that horrified him do much. He saw Saria, a look of futility in her eyes, ready to commit suicide. And he honestly didn't know if it was too late. Was it a vision of the future? Or was it a vision of something that already happened? "I saw Saria, the girl who raised me back in the forest. She looked…sad…more than sad…she looked hopeless…suicidal. And she jumped off a bridge. She killed herself."
Malon felt embarrassed at that moment. She didn't remember completely who Saria was. She remembered Link talking about her that one night during the Imprisoning War, when Link spilled his guts about pretty much everything he was feeling. But she did remember that Saria was the one who raised Link and was just about the only one in the forest who didn't treat Link like a freak.
Link continued. "It looked so real. Like she really wanted to end it all right there. I told her. Malon, I told her!!!"
"What did you tell her? What are you talking about?" Malon saw that Link was now shaking. She saw an unchanging expression of sorrow on his face, almost as if he were mourning.
"I told her not to take that life. I told her she would regret it. I told her that living that life would be torture for her." Again, Link saw the image of Saria jumping off the bridge.
Malon was getting nervous and frustrated. She didn't grasp what Link was saying, and she couldn't help him if she didn't know the problem. "What life? What did she do?"
Link looked at Malon and saw a look of worry and confusion. "She became the Forest Sage. She became one of the seven sages who helped banish Ganondorf into the Sacred Realm."
Malon looked even more lost. "Is that bad? That sounds pretty good to me. I'd love to go down as one of the legendary sages who helped save Hyrule."
"You don't understand," Link said. "By becoming a sage, she's forced to spend her life guarding the Forest Temple. With no one around, no one to talk to, for as long as she lives."
Malon began to realize what Link was saying. She remembered Link saying how Kokiri never grew up and always kept the appearance of a child through their entire lives. But they also had the emotions of a child. The thought of a lifetime of solitude almost made Malon's heart wrench. "I guess it is pretty bad. Having to live about 50 or 60 years being lonely in a dark old temple."
"Try 500 years. Kokiri have longer lifespans than Hylians. By the time our grandchildren are running Hyrule, she'll still be in that temple without a friend in the world." Unless she killed herself. Once again, Link saw Saria leaping to her death. Link tried desperately to put that image out of his head.
"And you saw her committing suicide? How awful. She must truly be at the end of her rope to think about suicide. I mean…endless nights of being alone would make anyone want to kill themselves." Malon saw Link shaking a little more and began to think she was making things worse.
Link tried hard to relax. "I don't know why I saw that. She's probably the strongest person I've ever known. I mean there are lots of times I can remember when she showed such spirit and bravery."
Malon thought that now would be the time to ask more about Saria. She even thought the sharing of a fond memory might help Link to calm down. "Really? Why don't you tell me about one?"
Chapter 3Link wasn't expecting Malon to actually ask about one of his experiences with Saria. But there are plenty of moments he can remember off the top of his head. "Well, there was this one time…"
"Link, what are you doing?"
Saria turned away from her fishing pole and looked at the five-year old Link, who was staring at an anthill. Saria had always gone looking for crawfish, but lately she hasn't seen a bite. She found it easier to stick the pole in the ground, rather than hold it herself.
"Looking at all the ants, Sissy." Link had a look of child-like amazement at all the tiny creatures wandering back and forth from the little hill.
"Link, how many times do I have to tell you? My name's Saria, not Sissy. Call me Saria!" Saria had this argument with the young boy all the time. For some odd reason, he loved to call her Sissy.
"Sissy, nyah!!!" Link sat there sticking his tongue out. Saria only sighed and could only smile. That's when she heard something. It was her fishing pole and it looked like the crawfish were actually biting today. She went to the pole and indeed pulled out a crawfish that she thought had to weigh at least ten pounds. She couldn't wait to bring this back, especially since the other Kokiri often made fun of her never catching anything.
"Link, wait here. I just need to find a place to put this." Saria ran into her house leaving Link alone with his anthill. And no sooner did she leave…
"Where're my guay eggs, squirt?!"
That was the unmistakable voice of Mido, the boss of the Kokiri. No one could actually explain why he was the boss of the Kokiri, and no one could explain how he managed to remain boss for so long. Mido's power was never challenged, except on rare occasions by Dore, one of the Know-It-All brothers. But Mido had always been able to remain on top and make himself look superior. He especially made it a point to prove he was greater than young Link, whom Mido hated because he always had the attention of Saria.
"Well? Answer me?" Mido approached Link with a menacing look. He walked up to Link and stood on his anthill, crushing it into a mere mound of dirt.
Mido was in one of his bad moods and Link didn't want to add to it by making a big deal out of the crushed anthill. "Uh…they're right here, Mido." Link reached for the basket of eggs behind him and presented them to Mido. "Three dozen, just like you wanted."
Mido yanked the basket from Link's hands and began counting. When he was done, he counted 37. "Enough to feed the entire village…and you, I guess." Mido held the extra egg in his hand. "Hmm…but there seems to be one extra…Oh, I'm sorry, shrimp. How could I be so rude, did you want to keep one of these eggs?"
"Uh…ok." Link stood up and saw Mido's trademark evil eye and a mischievous grin cross his face. Mido removed Link's hat and squashed the egg on his head and put the hat back on.
"You asked for it. FREAK!!!" Mido began to walk off when he heard a feminine scream.
"It could only be Fala," said an approaching Dore with a tone of cynicism in his voice. "Our resident cucco." Fala's scream was followed by another scream. It was from Miso, who was running right towards them. Mido stopped him in his tracks.
"What's going on? What's got you so spooked?" Miso stopped long enough to answer Mido's question in one word.
"WOLFOS!!! It's heading this way."
A wolfos attack wasn't common around the village, but when it did happen, it left everyone in a state of mass panic.
"What do we do?" asked Link, with a cracked voice and a look of fear on his young face.
"Up here!" came a voice from above. It was the voice of Mira, the young recluse. She could always be found standing atop her perch above the village. No one knew why she was always there, and they all decided it was better to not ask.
"Everyone on the perch!" Mido shouted. Everyone in the village began running towards the high perch on which Mira was standing. Miso, Fala, Ralo, Somi, Rala, Domi, Dore, Dila, Sofa, Sodo, and Saria all at once stampeded towards the safety up above. Mido himself then began to run towards the perch…knocking down Link in the process, leaving him a sitting duck for the ravaging wolfos.
"Is everybody here?" asked Mido in a panic.
"We're all here," answered Dila.
"Great, how do we get our weapons from up here?" asked Dore. They all knew the weapons were stored near Mido's house.
"Use bait," said Sofa, the youngest of the Know-It-All brothers.
"What, or who, are you going to use as bait?" asked Rala.
"Link," blurted out Miso. He was the first to notice Link was still down there, now being approached by the angry wolfos.
"He's trapped."
"No way he's getting out."
"Scratch one freak."
Saria's face was full of horror at the sight of Link being approached by the horrible beast, and looked right at Mido.
"How could you leave him down there?! He'll be killed!" Saria looked down and could barely make out the look terror on Link.
"Oh well, so we're minus one freak. Big loss. Nobody cares about the little shrimp anyway," said Mido.
Saria fumed at that comment and felt like pushing Mido off the perch herself. But she knew she had to help Link. "Oh yeah? I care about him. And I'm not just gonna let him die." And Saria quickly jumped down from the perch and ran towards Link, who was backing the creature close to the lake.
Link soon found that he was out of land and had nowhere to go. Then the wolfos made his move. He howled and leaped towards him.
"LINK, NO!!!!!" Saria dove and pushed Link out of the way and was taken down by the large wolfos. Her shoulders were pinned to the ground by the arms of the hairy beast. She could smell the unbearable breath of the drooling monster, ready to move in for the kill.
ZING!
But it was the Know-It-All brothers who struck first. The distraction was enough for them to run into Mido's house. They were able to launch a barrage of arrows at the wolfos before he could make the final move. The beast fell to his side, allowing Saria to get up.
Dore spoke first. "Is it dead?"
Miso poked the wolfos with a deku stick and saw no movement. "Yeah, it's dead."
Mido went straight to Link and pushed him to the ground. "You stupid freak!!! You could have gotten her killed! Why couldn't you just die?!" Mido had a murderous glint in his eye when he reached for the basket of guay eggs that was sitting next to his house. "When are you going to understand that you're not one of us and you never will be?" He took the basket and splattered the eggs on Link's head. "NOW GO GET ME MORE GUAY EGGS, FREAK!!!"
Link literally had egg on his face. He could see the guys, and even some of the girls, laughing at him. He wanted to run home and cry, but was stopped by a friendly face.
"Are you ok?" Saria asked softly. She had a gash on her forehead from the bump with the wolfos, but it didn't look too bad. But Link, even in his infantile state of mind, couldn't understand why Saria risked her life to save the life of the village freak.
"Sissy…you saved my life." Those were the only words to come out of Link at that moment. He didn't know what else to say. Well, there was one more word. "Why?"
Saria almost looked shocked. "Why? Link, you're my friend. Friends stick by each other. I would've gladly put my life on the line to help you or anyone else in the village."
Link still looked sad. "But I'm just a freak. Why would anyone want to save me?"
That got Saria angry. Not angry at Link, but angry at creeps like Mido who only try to put Link down. "Link, don't listen to Mido. Or for that matter, anyone else who calls you a freak. You are not a freak. You're just different. No, not different. You're special. And someday, you'll fly higher than Mido ever wished he could."
Those words made Link feel better and relieved some of the pain. The physical pain of having three dozen eggs cracked on your skull remained, but the emotional pain was gone.
"Come on, Link. Let's get you cleaned up." Saria took Link's hand and led him to her house.
Chapter 4
Link continued to look up at the sky. "I never forgot that day, Malon. Saria put her life on the line for me, when everyone else in the village would have left me for dead."
Malon saw that Link was beginning to relax more. He stopped shaking and didn't have the fear in his voice she heard in him when she came out. Malon hoped to ease his anxiety a little more and hoped to learn a little more about the young girl Link grew up with. "Can you remember anything else?"
Link thought for a while and finally said, "Hmm, I do remember…"
"ORDER! ORDER!" shouted Mido, over the raucous Kokiri.
"I'll have a boiled Deku Scrub and a bucket of fried cucco," blurted Miso. The room laughed.
"You know that's not what I meant," said Mido angrily. After the sudden wolfos attack, Mido thought it would be a good night to call a meeting at the house of the Know-It-All brothers. Everyone else didn't exactly feel the same way.
"Ok then, I 'order' you to end this meeting," said Dore loudly. Again, everyone laughed.
"HEY! That's not what I meant either. I called this meeting for a reason, you know," Mido shouted.
Dila spoke up next. "Why? To bore us to death?"
Mido let out a quiet cry of frustration. "NO! We just had a wolfos attack."
"Ooh. He's got a firm grasp of the obvious," said Ralo.
"Yeah," added Sofa. "Next, he'll be telling us that Link's a freak." The room laughed, except for…
"Hey, don't pick on Link," said Saria. She looked down at Link, who got that sad look again. "He's just a kid."
"Aren't we all?" shouted Dila. Everyone laughed again.
Saria thought about what she just said. "No, that's not what I meant…"
"QUIET!!!" yelled Mido. The room grew eerily silent. "Have we all forgotten why we're here?" he continued. "We just had a wolfos attack and we need to make sure that we prevent any future attacks. As the boss of this village, I say we begin preparing for any future incidents."
Dore spoke up. "What incidents? This is the first wolfos attack we've had in years. I think you're just looking for a way to make yourself look good."
"Yeah," said Rala, who was standing beside Domi. She was one of the more attractive girls in the village and the guys couldn't understand why she always spent her time with a stump like Domi. "I mean, you just HAVE to find a way to show off your 'leadership' skills."
"What skills?" added Fala. Everyone burst into laughter again.
"Here we go again," Somi whispered to Saria.
"I know," Saria said quietly. "I just hope it doesn't turn out too bad, like last time."
"Just what DOES make you such a good leader, Mido?" challenged Dore.
"I just am, that's all," answered Mido. "I'm a natural born leader."
"Where have you led us to lately?" said Ralo. Her twin sister, Fala, chuckled beside her.
"I think we're forgetting why we're here," Mido said, desperately trying to change the subject. "Anyway, I proclaim that from this day forward, no one goes in or out of the Lost Woods." The room groaned at that. The Lost Woods were a part of daily life for most of the village. Especially Saria, who always went to the Sacred Forest Meadow to play her ocarina whenever she needed to be alone or in touch with nature. "And furthermore," he continued, "I propose that the entrance to the Lost Woods be guarded day and night. So who's going on guard duty?"
"Don't look at me," said Sodo, the peaceful boy. "I have a hard enough time as it is guarding the bridge to the vastness." Sodo had been guarding the bridge to the vastness for as long as Saria could remember. She didn't even think Sodo could remember a day in which he didn't have to guard the bridge.
"Well, I can't do it," said Miso. "I have to cut Saria's grass every day."
Saria hung her head down at that. She couldn't believe Mido had Miso cut her grass every day in a vain attempt to impress her.
"Don't look at us," said Dore. "We're too busy with our training." The Know-It-All brothers trained for combat every day for as long as Saria could remember. The girls always thought it was just a way to show off, until the rare occasion of a wolfos or Deku Scrub attack.
Mido then spotted his target. He saw young Link sitting behind Saria, trying not to be seen. "What about you, freak? Maybe you should guard the entrance to the Lost Woods."
Saria tried sticking up for Link. "Mido, he's only five. He can't guard the Lost Woods."
Mido shrugged. "So, he'll get used to it. Like Sodo."
Sodo only looked down and grumbled. He was peaceful, but sometimes he hated his life of having to guard the bride every day. It was a thankless job.
"Anyway, with that, I think I'll end this meeting. Meeting adjourned." Mido was about to pound his gavel when the top part flew backward and struck Dore's bow, breaking it in half.
"NO! My bow," Dore went and held each half of the bow in each hand. "Mido, you are SO going to pay for that."
"Hey, it's n-not my fault you guys gave me a cheap gavel," Mido responded.
"Uh, l-let's go Link," Saria said nervously. The last thing she wanted to see that night, was violence between Mido and Dore. As they went outside, Saria could still hear the shouting match between Dore and Mido. She knew that the real winner would be Domi, who made a living off selling things like bows. The only issue was who would pay for it. She quickly forgot about that when she felt Link tugging at her arm.
"Sissy, do I really have to guard the entrance?" Link asked.
"I'm afraid so, Link," Saria said. Then an idea popped into her head. "But don't worry, it won't be for long."
Chapter 5
Young Link stood by his post near the Lost Woods when Mido came by to give him instructions.
"Ok Mr. No-Fairy. You are to keep anything and anybody away from this tunnel. No one goes in or out. Got it, freak?"
Link just nodded and Mido left.
Saria saw Link there sitting alone from her house and knew she had to do something. Not just for Link, but for herself. She knew that if no one could go into the Lost Woods, she couldn't go out into the Sacred Forest Meadow. One of her favorite pastimes has been going out into the Sacred Forest Meadow and playing her ocarina. Not that she couldn't get past Link, but if she did, it meant Mido would punish him. No, instead she decided to play a trick that hopefully would rid the village of Mido's paranoia, if only temporarily.
"Somi, do you still have that long cloth that Mira gave you?" Saria asked her friend.
"Yeah, why?" Somi asked curiously.
"Do you have a bottle of Baba glue lying around?" she continued.
"Yeah," answered Somi. "What do you need it for?"
"And do you know if that wolfos' carcass is still lying around somewhere?" Saria asked.
"Yeah, but why do you want to see an old carcass?" Somi began to see a smile come on to her friend's face.
"Do you still have that knife we used to carve the Deku meat?" Saria asked, ignoring Somi's question.
"Yeah. Saria, why do you want to know all this stuff?"
"I have an idea to get us all into the Lost Woods again without having to get Link punished."
Three days later, Link continued to stand guard. 'Stupid Mido," he thought, "It's so boring here. Doesn't he know there's no wolfos around?" Suddenly Link heard a roar. It was a different kind of roar though. But when Link turned around he still saw a sight to terrify him. It was a wolfos, but it looked different. It looked thinner and he couldn't see any visible legs, but Link took no chances and dove out of the way. Surprisingly, the wolfos went right past him. It headed straight for Mido's house.
The wolfos went straight into Mido's house and approached Mido. It growled into Mido's face. He knew that it didn't look like a regular wolfos. "Maybe it's was wounded by Link," he thought to himself. "But a wounded animal's always more dangerous." Mido could barely let out a whimper, much less a scream. The only thing that saved Mido...
"Mido, I thought I heard something in here."
It was Sodo. The wolfos turned around and slowly headed straight for the peaceful boy and let out its painful roar. But Sodo didn't seem to be phased at all.
"Hey, Saria. Hey, Somi. Hey, Mira. What are you guys doing?" Sodo grinned as Saria, Somi, and Mira took off the giant wolfos fur. They couldn't believe Sodo recognized them.
"Hey, how'd you know it was us?" Saria asked.
Sodo only chuckled. "You actually thought I'd fall for a disguise like that? You don't even look like a real wolfos. You didn't even look like you were walking, it was more like sliding or even limping. Plus the head hung down a lot, which only looked like it was a broken neck or a disfigurement. And you didn't have that charming wolfos breath. And not to mention the bad, and let's face it, 'feminine' roar you guys had. I mean, only a complete idiot would fall for a disguise like that."
As if on cue, they all simultaneously looked at Mido.
"Uh…I-I knew it all along," Mido said sheepishly. "But what exactly was the point of this little exhibition?"
"Come on Mido," Saria said. "You don't really think Link would last that long guarding the entrance to the Lost Woods, do you? I mean, if a real wolfos were to come into the village, it'd devour Link in seconds."
Mido grinned evilly. "I'm not seeing a downside to this."
Saria wanted to knock Mido's head off for that remark, but she kept her composure long enough to make her point. "And after Link goes down, who's next? Link wouldn't even have enough time to let out a warning. The wolfos would just come in and pick somebody off without anybody knowing. No one would see it coming. It could be Somi, or Sodo, or me, or even…YOU!!!"
It couldn't be seen in Mido's cocky exterior, but that was enough to scare him. "Hmm…Ok, I'll take the little freak off guard duty until I can think of something else."
Saria smiled and saw Sodo's face brighten as well. A light bulb had gone off in the peaceful boy's head.
"How about me, Mido? Can I go off guard duty, too? Please? I've been guarding the bridge to the vastness for so long. Can't I please stop now?" asked Sodo with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
Mido chuckled and said, "Sorry, not in this lifetime." And he left.
"Aww!" Sodo muttered something incoherent and left. Saria, Somi, and Mira having accomplished their mission decided to take their leave as well. As Saria stepped out, she could see some shaking in a bush. Then she remembered Link. When she looked behind the bush, indeed she saw the young five-year old quivering in fear making Saria's heart sink.
"Link?" she asked softly.
"Aaahhh!!! S-Sissy, there's a w-wolfos. It had huge teeth and b-big eyes and it tried to eat me…"
"Calm down, Link. It's gone." She still saw that he was afraid.
"Sissy, I don't want to guard the entrance anymore. It's too scary. And the wolfos might come back and…"
"It's ok, Link. I talked to Mido and you don't have to guard the entrance anymore." Saria was happy to see Link's face light up at that.
"Really? You mean it?"
As Saria took Link's hand to go home, she couldn't help but feel guilty for scaring him like that. And she figured it'd be better she told him instead of from the other girls' gossip. "Yeah, but I sort of have a confession to make…"
Chapter 6
Link smiled at those memories. "You have no idea how much she scared me that day, but she did it for me," Link told Malon. "If she hadn't, I might still be guarding the entrance to the Lost Woods."
"She must have meant a lot to you. I guess it's a good thing she stood up for you so much, or who knows how you might have turned out." Malon hated the thought of Link growing up to be like Ingo was during the Imprisoning War. She was glad he had someone like Saria during his childhood. Suddenly, the cucco crowed. "It's morning. We must have spent the whole night talking."
Link got to his feet. "Yeah. I guess it was a long night." There was a moment of silence. Then Link said, "Well, I guess I better get ready to go."
That took Malon by surprise. "Huh? Where are you going?"
"The Forest Temple," Link answered. "I need to see if Saria's all right. If you saw what I saw, then you would go too."
As funny as it sounded, Malon was so wrapped up with Link sharing his past that she completely forgot why he came out there in the first place. But still, she knew he couldn't just get up and go. "You have no supplies, you can't just leave."
Link got on his horse, Epona. "I have to stop by Zora's Domain anyway. I'll get supplies there and I'll take the shortcut to the Lost Woods."
"Can't I at least go with you?"
"No. This is something I have to do by myself." Link was heading out of the ranch when he told Malon, "I'll be ok. Tell Talon I'll be gone for a few days, a week tops. It's been too long." 'Assuming she's even alive,' he thought. He shook off that grim thought, but didn't dismiss the possibility. The dream he saw did look real. Maybe it already happened. That's what he's going to find out. But he also sensed anxiety in Malon. So he gave her a quick kiss on the lips and prepared to ride off. "I'll be back." And off he went.
"Good luck." Those were the only words that Malon could come up with as Link left towards Zora's Domain.
Chapter 7
Link had been riding for nearly two days and was finally approaching Zora's Domain. He got to the waterfall and decided to camp out. He felt it was better to just sleep there than sleep in the coldness of Zora's Domain, which had quite a few arctic winds blowing in from Zora's Fountain. While he laid out his tent, he could see the shortcut to the Lost Woods. When he used to travel during the Imprisoning War, he could hear Saria's Song coming from the shortcut. He couldn't hear it anymore and honestly didn't know what to make of it. Had she stopped playing for that night, or worse, was she even alive to play it? Link knew that couldn't be it. Saria was always a strong person, in touch with the forest and nature and could often be heard playing her song in the Sacred Forest Meadow…
Young Link was exhausted. He had just battled a large wolfos to get into the Sacred Forest Meadow. But more than that, he was also mentally exhausted. He had seen the Deku Tree die, gone out into the vastness, and seen the princess of destiny. He had been sent on a quest to find three Spiritual Stones and open the Door of Time into the Sacred Realm before Ganondorf, the King of Thieves, could do the same. He had one, the Spiritual Stone of the Forest, and was almost ready to set off for Death Mountain. But before he did, he knew he had to see Saria again. And Mido told him she was in the Sacred Forest Meadow. The thought of this giant quest being thrust on the shoulders of ten-year old boy boggled Link's mind. Link climbed a large flight of stairs that seemed to go on forever, but then Link found her. Saria was sitting on a lone tree stump, serenely playing her ocarina. Link couldn't bear to interrupt the peaceful scene, but Saria had already spotted him.
"You're looking for me, aren't you Link?" she asked.
"Uh…what makes you think that, Sissy?"
Saria grinned. "Come on. Who else is out here?"
Link couldn't argue with that. "Sissy, I have something to tell you." But he knew she didn't hear him. Saria looked into space and seemed to be spaced out.
She finally got out of her trance and broke the silence. "I have a feeling, Link. It's more of a vision. I have a feeling that this place will become very important one day. For both of us. I can't explain how, or why, but it will."
Link had to say something about what he's experienced in the last few days. "Sissy…I'm sort of going on a quest. I have to find some stones. And…"
Saria's cheerful expression turned somber. "I think I know what you're trying to say. You won't be coming back. Will you?"
Link looked down. He honestly couldn't answer her. He didn't know.
Saria had a gleam of hope in her eye. "Take your ocarina out, Link."
Link took out the Faerie Ocarina that Saria gave him just before he left the forest to go out into the vastness. It was freshly carved, and Saria probably wanted to give it to him on a special occasion. Of course, since he left, she probably wouldn't have another opportunity.
"I'm going to teach you a song, Link," she continued. "Whenever you play this song, we'll be able to speak telepathically through the ocarina. It's not exactly how I wanted things to turn out, but at least we'll be able to stay in touch."
Five minutes later, Link found himself playing simultaneously with Saria. The sounds of the ocarinas were in such perfect harmony, that one couldn't tell them apart. Link learned the song so fast that Saria's face lit up in a smile so bright it warmed his heart and he would never forget it.
He could have easily used the ocarina to keep in touch with Saria. It would have been a way to make her time in the temple less lonely. But Link had given the Ocarina of Time back to Princess Zelda, and Link had discarded his Faerie Ocarina given to him by Saria. He was left without an instrument, and out of luck.
Chapter 8
When Link was done with his business in Zora's Domain, he came out ready to leap into the shortcut to the Lost Woods. He tied up Epona and made sure she was under the tent. Link saw storm clouds moving in and he didn't want his horse to be drenched in a possible rainstorm. Link leaped into the water shortcut and came out on the other side. It was a dark night in the Lost Woods and rain began to pour down. As he began walking towards the Forest Temple, he couldn't help but think of the last time he talked to Saria. It was when they had their falling out, back when Link had awakened her as the Sage of the Forest.
"Saria?!" Link asked in utter shock. He had just defeated the Phantom Ganondorf and gone through all the perils of the Forest Temple. He was told by Shiek to do it to awaken a forest sage. But he didn't care about a forest or his stupid quest. The only thing that brought him to the temple was the revelation that Saria was being held prisoner there. But when he was brought back to the Chamber of Sages, the last thing he expected to see was Saria as the Forest Sage.
"Yes, Link. It's me." It was all Saria could say. "I'm the Sage of the Forest."
"Saria…Saria, no! Why did you do this? Do you realize what you've done?" Link couldn't stand the harsh reality of Saria's decision. He knew what a life as a sage would bring to her.
Saria had a solemn look on her face. "I know what I've done Link. I became the Forest Sage so that I could help those I love. You and everyone at the village. Link, I told you a long time ago that I would gladly lay down my life to help you. And that went for everyone else in the village. If the time came, I would sacrifice myself to save them. And it looks like the time is here."
But Link saw the hopelessness in this situation. "Saria, you HAVE laid down your life. Becoming the Forest Sage means you have to live the rest of your life in some decaying temple, with no one around you but the walls. Night after night, year after year, living alone. I can't let you live like that! YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND!!!"
Saria began shedding tears. Her voice began to crack. "I'm afraid we have no choice. I've made my decision and I'm sticking by it. It's what's best for you, for the village, and for all of Hyrule. It's what has to be done. It's my destiny."
"Sissy, no." Link said quietly. He knew he was defeated and could do nothing in his power to change this. Fate had dealt a cruel hand. He hated this quest. It had taken so much from him before, including seven years of his life. But never in his wildest dreams did he think it would take his best friend from him.
Saria presented Link the Forest medallion and fell to her knees, crying. "Take this medallion and complete your quest Link. Fly higher than you've ever gone and forget about your past. We…can no longer be friends."
"Saria, NO!!!" Link saw a flash of white light. He was beginning to leave the Chamber of Sages. The last sight he saw, was that of Saria crying. Knowing that she would never see her best friend, or any of her other friends again.
It pained Link to remember that day. He had warned her of the agony the life of the Forest Sage would bring her. The only thing that would pain Link more that day, would be to enter the Forest Temple and see that the dream he had was, in fact, a vision of the past. The rain was beginning to pour down on the Sacred Forest Meadow. Trees were nearly blown off their roots. Lightning shot down from the sky as Link saw the empty tree stump in which Saria always used to sit, playing her ocarina. Link thought hard about what he would say if he saw Saria. She certainly wouldn't be expecting this. But the inevitable time has come.
He took out his longshot and went up to the door of the temple. That cursed temple. The temple that has brought so much misery to his best friend. He entered the temple and he began searching for Saria…or, should worse come to worse, her corpse. He looked everywhere on the first floor, with the exception of a door that was mysteriously locked. He then went to the second floor. He looked everywhere without success. Until he reached one door and remembered, "This is it. This leads to the garden I saw in my dream." Before he opened the door, he heard something. It was the sound of someone crying. It was Saria! She was alive, but obviously from the magnitude of her crying, not well. He opened the door and saw a sight that horrified him so much he nearly froze. He saw Saria, his childhood friend, standing atop the bridge…ready to jump.
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