I've always wanted to write some sad little piece about Saria and Link's relationship. Thus, this was born. I apologize that it turned out so glum.
Children don't fall in love. Saria didn't dispute this; she had always thought of love as some beautiful but unattainable thing that shouldn't trouble her. It was beyond her, and that was fine.
But when the boy in green came to the forest, he made her feel funny.
Now, of course, Saria had never been in love before. Therefore, she had no idea what love was supposed to feel like or if it was what the boy in green made her feel. Surely not. She assumed not, anyhow. The Greak Deku Tree was the one who introduced them; the boy had been left at the tree as a baby. The Great Deku Tree seemed to have great faith in the boy and insisted he stay in the forest, even though he wasn't a Kokiri.
That was alright by Saria because she liked this baby (Link was his name). The Great Deku Tree even assigned Saria the task of watching over Link as he grew. Saria picked up the little bundle of cloth. Link was crying and drooling, but none of this repulsed Saria. She smiled at the baby and began singing. Link's eyes drooped shut, and he fell asleep.
The peculiar thing about Link was that he was a Hylian. He grew in size, and Saria didn't. It was a bit awkward at first, transitioning from nursemaid to friend, but Saria managed it alright. And Link was the brightest part of Saria's days. As he grew taller and taller, from toddler to adolescent, he grew to be Saria's closest friend as well.
Link was made of adventures and dreams and wonder. Saria showed him the Lost Woods; the two of them could play there for hours at a time. Mido, another of Saria's friends, particularly disapproved of the way they could disappear for a whole day if they chose. Mido didn't like Link very much at all, actually. Saria never understood why.
Saria had a favorite tree stump, right outside the Forest Temple. She had never shown it to any of the other Kokiri, but she showed it to Link. Her favorite moments were when she would sit on her stump and play her ocarina. Link would sit placidly at her feet in the flowers, grinning lazily up at her and watching the clouds as her sweet music flitted on the breeze. Saria's heart fluttered whenever Link would watch her so adoringly. But she brushed this off as mere joy. Joy at knowing such a wonderful person as Link.
One day, Link outgrew the shoes Saria had sewn for him. Saria felt a knot tighten in her stomach that she couldn't explain.
"You spend too much time with that Link," Mido commented disdainfully one day.
He had come to visit Saria in her house. Mido was a good friend, but. . . well, Saria would never tell, but she preferred Link's company to Mido's. For the time being, she simply smiled peacefully, "Oh, I don't think so."
"Well, I do," Mido said bitterly, his words flavored with resentment, "I just said so. What's so special about him anyway? He's a wimp! He's always got his head in the clouds!"
Saria patted Mido's hand good-naturedly, and she didn't notice the slight cherry tinge to his cheeks as she did. "Don't fret over him, Mido," she suggested, "If his head's in the clouds, then he's just that much closer to the stars."
Saria didn't know anything about jealousy, so of course she didn't think much of Mido's grimace. But an echo of sadness accompanied Saria's words.
She now fully agreed with the Great Deku Tree: Link was something very special. She could sense it. Link screamed it without saying a word wherever he went. Saria knew he was destined to be among the stars, exploding across galaxies and holding the rest of Hyrule together in shimmering hands. But Saria couldn't even leave Kokiri Forest. And she didn't want Link to be so far away, practically unreachable.
The knot in her stomach came back.
Saria was in Link's house, visiting. She could tell something was on Link's mind by the way he kept twiddling his fingers. He was lying on his bed and staring straight up at the ceiling. "Is it because you don't have a fairy, Link?" she asked quietly. Saria had always been very perceptive.
Link didn't answer, but his shoulders bunched up, cringing. Saria had been right.
"Oh Link!" she exclaimed.
Link sat up in bed slowly, his head hanging with shame. Saria rushed to him, kneeling in front of him. "Just because you don't have a fairy doesn't mean you're not one of the Kokiri!" she told him, "You're every bit a Kokiri as I am."
Saria knew this wasn't completely true. She knew Link was a Hylian. But maybe he had become a Kokiri-maybe if Saria wanted it badly enough, he could remain as he was forever. Youthful and innocent and Saria's.
Link looked unconvinced. Saria wondered vaguely if Mido had been talking to him. "Listen Link," she said, "Having a fairy isn't what makes you a Kokiri. Having a good heart is. And you've got the best heart out of us all."
She-carefully-took Link's hand as she said this. He let her. A small smile flickered across his face, and he looked away, bashful and flattered. Saria's heart thumped wildly in her chest at this, a drumbeat ricocheting through her whole body, and she had never felt so pleased with herself before. Link wrapped his other hand around Saria's, holding it gratefully. Saria knew he was trying to tell her "thank you." A lovely warmth spread throughout her entire body, and Saria was truly happy.
Everything happened so fast, all at once. Destiny didn't wait for Link forever. It didn't even wait half as long as Saria would have preferred.
Link was meant for greater things than the Kokiri Forest; Saria had known it all along. But it certainly didn't make anything easier when Link finally had to leave to save all of Hyrule (Saria had always known he could).
Saria had never cried before, but she had never felt such a terrible sorrow before either. This was the kind of sadness that ached. And goddesses, it hurt so bad. Saria knew Link would keep growing. He'd see things she couldn't even imagine, and he'd meet people who were even better friends than Saria. He even had his own fairy now (at first, Saria had dared to hope that meant he would stay). Soon, he'd forget all about the Kokiri. About Saria, too.
Saria caught him on the bridge as he was leaving. He was a little taller than she was now. She had known him for nine years, but his eyes had never seemed more blue than they did on that bridge. Saria hoped they would be friends forever; she said so out loud. And she gave Link her ocarina-her most precious possession. She had to. She had to give him at least a chance of remembering her. She could never, ever forget him: her best friend.
Link couldn't linger. He had so many other more important things to do. And Saria couldn't hold him back anymore. . . what a selfish thing for her to consider! Link was ready to conquer demons and save everyone now. Saria would be so proud when he did. She had begged him to visit someday as he left. She knew he never would. But she didn't cry.
Saria was sitting in her house. Her fairy was hovering drowsily above her. She was whittling an ocarina. There was a knock on her door.
Saria's heart stopped. Link grinned at her, and, for a moment, he was every bit a boy as he had ever been. Saria flung her arms around his neck, so incredibly happy for just one moment.
But Link wasn't a boy anymore. He was a man. Saria had watched from a distance as he had saved all of Hyrule. He had done everything everyone had ever dreamed he could, and Saria had never doubted him for a moment. But she knew as she watched. She knew things could never go back to the way they were before. Link had undergone so much, and he was a different person now. He wasn't carefree and innocent anymore.
Saria could never have him back.
Even now, he barely fit in her house. He had to stoop over, and Saria's cheek brushed against stubble on his chin as they embraced. But he had come to visit her. That was something. . . . he had remembered.
Then Saria saw it: the blue ocarina fastened to Link's belt. She had never expected hers to last him too long, so she wasn't sure why that awful ache of grief returned.
No.
She was sure.
She knew it was all because that ocarina was Zelda's and not hers. She had seen the way Zelda, ruler of all Hyrule, had looked at Link when he'd slain the Demon King. And Saria had seen the way Link looked back at her. He wanted her so badly, and Saria had crumbled away when she'd realized it. Zelda was a princess, a woman. Probably the only person who could ever deserve someone as good and kind and brave as Link.
Zelda could love him. She did love him. She had journeyed alongside him during his darkest moments, encouraging him when Saria was miles away and out of mind. Zelda was an adult, and she had experienced the same traumas as Link. She could discuss such things with him and comfort him. Saria was just a ghost. All she knew about was youth and peace.
Who knew where her ocarina was? Rotting away.
Zelda was an adult and she had the thing Saria had always wanted most in the whole world, even if she had never said it: Link's heart. But Saria couldn't hate her for it. Zelda was too great of a person, every bit a hero as Link. They would be so happy together.
Link squeezed Saria tightly as they hugged. And Saria cried for the first time in her life, her little heart cracking and splintering and breaking in her chest.
Children don't fall in love. But in that moment, Saria understood that she already had.