Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time belongs to Nintendo 64.
Re-written by: JoAnn C. Hopp
'And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
'And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
'And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
'Shall be lifted-nevermore!'
-"The Raven" Edgar Allan Poe-
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time PrologueIt was raining, raining hard. Lightening struck so often and brightly that a person standing outside could make his way about with no trouble at all. Yet the thunder that boomed so loud and sudden that it would scare the living daylights out of them before they had a chance to walk anywhere.
There was a boy standing out in the field before an eerie looking castle. The warm-welcoming torches that were usually on all night and on cloudy days were out; all that was left was the smothered ashes. The boy was looking at the torches with a cool, expressionless face. It looked the 'warm-welcome' he had wanted to receive was gone. His gaze turned to a-fairy?-ball of blue light floating beside him, fluttering-her?-its' wings furiously to keep afloat in the roaring winds and heavy rains. The fairy looked back at the boy with an expression of dread, one saying: "I fear something has happened…something bad."
The boy nodded, shaking his head to get water out of his hair. He was soaked head to toe, but he looked warm. It must be warm rain and wind.
A deafening crack! split through the air, causing the boy to jump and fall onto his bottom. The drawbridge was coming down. He looked happy for a moment, thinking-hoping?-that the bridge was coming down to let him in. The thought was soon abandoned when a beautiful mare in purple and blue-royal family colors-harnesses and saddle galloped past him in an unimaginable hurry. The rider-rider's?-looked even more frantic than the mare's erratic footsteps. A woman with white hair was controlling it, but was hunched over in an odd-she must be uncomfortable-position. The boy caught the glance of a young girl huddled beneath the person controlling the horse with a worried, hurt face.
She looked terrified, looking to him to help her.
The horse was gone before he had a chance to confirm everything. The boy stood up and shook his head again wildly, droplets of water splashing everywhere. He brushed mud and rocks off his kneecaps and green tunic. He tugged at the latter because it stuck to his skin a little to tight to be comfortable.
This done, he looked back to the fairy-it's a fairy I know it's a fairy-. They turned around to go to the bridge and walk in.
The boy let out a long, terrified scream.
Chapter One
Part One
When Link woke up he was still screaming.
Embarrassed, he closed his mouth tightly and lifted his semi-pudgy hands to wipe the sweat still building on his face, like rain-
He stopped, where had the thought of rain come from? It rained here often, yes, but never hard enough to make your skin slick with liquid. Time resumed, and he touched the skin on his forehead. He let out an inward gasp at how wet it actually was. Link never thought he could perspire that much.
He ran a hand through his sticky, cherry-blond hair, except for the moment it looked dirty blond. His thoughts were jumbled up from the abrupt start, but one question was clear. 'How could I scream so loudly at something? It couldn't have been that bad, whatever he had dreamed of.' He looked outside and saw it was still dark out. Link didn't like his rotten luck. He'd been waking up super early and going to bed late these days. To bed late because he knew 'the dream' would come again.
Link frowned and went across the room and out the door, pulling his wooden chair out with him. He set the chair on the corner of the balcony, leaning the back of his chair on his house. Sitting down as quietly as he could, he let the cool breeze give him peace. Link had always thought mornings were the best moments to sit outside and relax, but this was ridiculous. Judging by the position of the moon, he estimated it to be about two in the morning. He'd gone to bed at midnight, and had finally fallen asleep and one.
He sighed; a dumb hour of sleep was all he was getting? It didn't seem fair. But then again, a lot of things 'weren't fair' at his stage in life.
He was picked on by most of the boys, Mido the most. The others didn't really tease him unless Mido was in a bad mood (which happened to be a lot of the time, Link sometimes thought he was mad on purpose). The only one who didn't and refused to make fun of him was Saria. Right at the moment she was his only friend and person to talk to, or to help him with his injuries he sometimes got-sometimes? Most of the time-when he tried to play with everyone.
Link wanted to go to her right now and tell her what happened, but common sense forced him back in his seat. He'd bothered her about these 'dreams' for the last month, Saria deserved a break. She had so much stress on her shoulders already.
His dreams had started coming four months ago, in February, the night of his birthday. They hadn't been so vivid then, only a cloudy mess of nothingness; but it was still enough to see that person/thing to make him scream and writhe in his bed. He'd kept them to himself for a while, the dream hadn't hit him every day of the week. Only one day out of two weeks. Then a month passed; the dream became a level more real, and had started coming four days out of two weeks. Another month passed and it got worse. After three months he started to talk, having howled so loud that it had awoken three people.
The dream was coming all the time the now, haunting him during his waking in the dark corners of his mind, and making him lose even more sleep by them. If this kept on any longer, Link felt surely and honestly that he would lose his mind. Go bananas.
He shook the thought out. It was awful thinking. How could he lose his marbles if he couldn't remember what the dream was?
That was what sickened him. He couldn't remember a thing of the dream. Or chose to, he couldn't remember that anymore either.
Link put a hand over his eyes and then put it back on his lap. He'd decided to turn to meditating every now and then to clear his thoughts. It worked nicely even under the most extreme measures. It didn't completely blank out the memory of how concerned he was about how everything was going, but it dulled the nagging thought more than he could ever thank for.
He thought of a blank, white room and concentrated on it, breathing in and out slowly, controlling his body. Link relaxed fully into the chair, still focusing on the white room and how splendid it would be to sit in there and think of nothing…nothing at all…
And suddenly he wasn't in his chair, he was standing straight and tall in that white room. He dared to open his eyes.
Fire was eating away the room, and his body was right in the middle! He struggled to get out of here and into his mind…
Link nearly screamed again. He was stuck.
All in a few seconds the room was down to nothingness, ash. Link knelt down and raked a hand through the warm ash. He was suddenly saddened by it; everywhere he looked was ash. Link let the ask slip through his fingers and then stood up…
"Is this what will happen to the world?" he asked to the smothered land, frowning in pity.
A few seconds later he had to bite his tongue and squeeze his left hand, his smart hand, tightly to keep from letting out a shriek. As soon as it came it was gone, and he was free to look at the back of his hand. There, where the skin was perfectly fine before, was a triangle that looked burned into him, the shape took the whole middle of his hand.
He stared at it in wonder, entranced by it.
Suddenly, he felt strong arms wrap around him, startling the boy so much that he sagged in the person's arms without thinking much. Oddly, he felt warm and comforted in the persons arms; he lost all fear of anything, even when angel wings enveloped the both of them, and then carrying him upward, away from the scene.
He was taken overhead of a large, beautiful field where everyone lived in harmony, their differences past him or her.
"You can save this beautiful land of Hyrule, Link… You can if you believe and never give up hope. Do not despair when everything and everyone has turned against you, my child," the voice was that of a woman, speaking softly into his ear, like a mother to a frightened child.
"Can I choose?" Link asked quietly, "Do I even have a choice?"
"That…is up to you."
"Everything is going to be okay?"
The voice sounded hesitant. Then said, "Everything is going to be alright, Link. You just wake up right now!"
"Huh?" Link said dubiously, confused. Abruptly, he felt like he was falling to the ground, the prosperous land he saw was burning in a raging inferno. He was going to be burned to a cinder.
"Link! Wake up!" a frantic and worried voice shrieked, and the boy felt a light slap on his cheek.
He was back in his bed, where he'd been the whole time. Saria was standing over him with her eyes looking glassy and worried. Her emerald green hair was flowing freely over her eyes. Link felt his cheek was a little sore and his neck hurt. She'd been shaking him a little harder than she'd really meant to, and guessed after than hadn't worked, she'd hit him.
"It was a double dream…" Link muttered sadly, sitting up. He saw that it was still dark out, and faced Saria with a solemn face. "I'm sorry if I scared you."
He knew immediately that he'd said the wrong thing, because the next second she was horribly mad. She had fire in her eyes.
"Scared?" she asked, frustrated, rubbing her eyelids with her right index finger and ring finger. "You scared the living daylights out of me! Why didn't you tell me that that dream was getting this bad? You're sticky with sweat and I had to clap a hand over your mouth to shut you up! You looked like you were having a panic attack!" she stopped, anger fading. Then she leaned forward and gave him a hug, saying in a quiet voice, "I'm sorry I yelled, Link. But I'm really starting to worry about this. You should see the Deku Tree one of these days and tell him about it. You losing all this sleep are not good for your health."
"I know that. But I don't think the Deku Tree will help me with this… I have to grin and bear it, Saria. They'll go away, like the time I had nightmares when I was five. Remember? They went away."
"But that's because you grew out of it!" Saria was now standing in front of Link, twirling a strand in her fingertips. "You talked about those nightmares like they were bad memories! You never screamed at them either!"
Link remembered. Those dreams had been about a humungous war happening. And a lady running for her life to what looked like a wild looking Kokiri Forest. She'd been carrying a bundle of blankets in her arms-five year old Link had guessed this to be a baby-. She was sick, and Link was trying to pull her away, to get her away from the Bad Thing that loomed behind her like a black hole. He'd always failed, and ended up being sucked up into the vortex with her.
"Saria-"
The girl grunted in madness, saying in a hushed voice, "Boys," before stomping out of there.
Link didn't like that, when Saria got mad at him, so he ran out of the house to try and catch and apologize. But she was gone by the time her got out (he'd tripped over his feet on the way). He saddened, losing all this sleep was affecting him more than he thought, especially his attitude. As he was turning around to go in her thought he saw a figure looking at him through Saria's window, but the face disappeared before he could clarify.
Changing his mind, he walked into the house, got his green tunic cap, and boots and walked back outside. He dropped all his things onto a towel and rushed back inside to get a white loincloth, his blanket and bed sheets. He lay them all in the towel, closed it in to hold the objects like a bag, and jumped to the ground.
He walked to the pond that was his by rights. It was located near the lost woods in a thicket. He'd wanted a pond closer to his house, but that one was filthy and Mido used it as a playpen, often throwing mud at Link's house.
Link shook his head and put the towel on the ground, unwrapping it and taking the blanket at sheets out. He took off his socks and then sat down next to the pond, his feet in the warm water. Taking the blanket, he dipped it in the water, let it soak for a second, then pulled it out and squeezed it. Link did this for the next couple of minutes, and then when he was done, he pulled his feet out and squeezed the rest of the water out (as much as he could anyway). He walked over to where a long branch was, and hung the blanket.
He did this with the sheet, and after that he pulled off his blue shirt and turquoise pants and jumped into the pond with a cannonball. He made it so he could see his clothes at all times, because once, when he was seven, Mido and his cronies had stolen his clothes and towel. Link had sat in this very pond for hours after that. Then, when the sun was finally going down, he'd made a mad dash for his house, completely ignoring everyone laughing at him as he climbed up the ladder, into his house; and hid there, naked, under the covers for a long time. All the rest of his clothes in his house had been smuggled out also, so he was forced to just wait there.
When Saria had found out what had happened, she'd lent him some of her clothes for the day (she'd been wearing bigger clothes at the time, he'd always been small compared to everyone else). After that, Link had gotten his revenge by tying up Mido's fairy and throwing his bully's clothes into the mud pond, and cutting the ones he was wearing to ribbons (Mido had been asleep at the time). Later, Link found his clothes neatly folded in his drawers. Mido had left him well alone for more than a few months after that.
Link giggled at the memory, it still brought a flush to Mido's face whenever he mentioned it.
After he was done and dressed, Link's hands looked like old prunes. It was now around six-o'clock, and a couple of the Kokiri's were up. The twin's were playing catch with a ball made out of a certain tree bark. They waved to him and he waved back with a smile on his face. All the people that were nice to him were girls, really. He couldn't get along with the boy's living here very well, but on good days he sometimes helped them out with chores.
Link walked up to his house and looked at it. Here he was, going to be living in this tiny village for the rest of his life. His greatest dream was to get a guardian fairy and be a hero for all!
But no, he said to himself, I'm just here in this village doing nothing but being picked on; what a lousy life I'm going to have!
Link spotted a sharp rock and picked it up. Looking at the root that jutted out from his house, he smiled and sat down in front of it. He drove the rock into the wood, slowly carving a stick person holding a Deku Shield and a stick that was supposed to be a sword. A fairy floated high above the stick person's head as it watched him battle a gigantic monster…
"Is that supposed to be a fairy?" a feminine voice asked behind him.
Link turned around and saw nothing.
Shrugging, he looked back at his carving and let out a small squeak of a gasp, jumping backward.
A fairy, blue in color, was levitating in front of the picture, looking at it with intense curiosity; flying all around it to try and see from different angles.
Link stuttered, a fairy that was free was hardly ever seen. "W-Who are y-you?" he asked faintly.
The fairy faced him with a big smile on her face. "My name is Navi! And the Deku Tree asked me to be your partner from now on! Nice to meet you, Link!"
The boy blinked in obvious surprise, certainly befuddled by Navi's comment. "What? Why?"
Navi grinned in a tired out way, "Well, I don't know why either. But the Deku Tree wants to talk to you personally, and while he was at it, he asked me to be your buddy-buddy from now on," the fairy smiled jubilantly, "He didn't say why, except something weird like: 'the fate of Hyrule, nay, the fate of the world depends on this boy!' those are his words."
Link screwed up his face once more.
'Whatever, let's just go see him, okay? And after that I'll show you how to draw a fairy correctly!" she snorted at Link's drawn fairy, "You make us fairies look bad, shame-shame!"
Link glowered, "Gee…thanks for the compliment, Navi."
She smiled, "No problem."
Link grinned and stood up, chucking the rock away and turning around. He brushed off his knees and tunic. It was a habit he had, brushing imaginary dirt off his knees and then lightly tapping his tunic to get more imaginary dirt away; he didn't like the habit, but he made no obvious attempt to stop it. Feeling a sense of triumph went over him as he sensed Navi flutter near his head.
Wait until Mido heard about this! That bossy, lazy old fart!
Link went at a slow jog up the path from his house and took a right, forgetting about the bundle of clothes and blankets in front of his tree. When he was standing next to the lake he took a breather. He was not one for endurance, though he was slender, but that only came from his refusal to eat lately. Before his birthday he'd been a nine-year-old holding onto his baby-fat.
Navi hummed a little tune as Link hopped to the little island in the middle of the lake to the next one. After three was safely on the other side of the lake with the Deku Meadow in front of him. He was about to run in when he felt a harsh shove on his side, knocking him roughly into the soft grass.
Above him, Link saw that Navi looked furious; flapping her wings energetically with the blue aura she usually had now a blood red.
She was shouting, "How dare you! You cheap piece of garbage! How dare you do that to him!"
"Navi…"
Mido smirked, flicking the fairy away, "This is the fairy everyone's been talking about? Link, the Deku Tree must not like you, they say this fairy has the worst reputation of all," he began to laugh.
Navi was pissed, "Watch your tongue, you loser! I happen to have some dirt on you too!" she smiled at how much he paled, "You seem to have a great fear of heights, don't you? Can't stand the thought of climbing the ladder to Link's house, can you? I know you have a wart right on your butt! You're nothing but a cheap, crappy, used coward!"
Link gasped. He'd known all the things she'd said, everyone in the forest knew, but to his knowledge Navi was the first to mention any of this to him.
Mido began to laugh again, this time with a maniacal tone in it. "I've got some cheese on you too, Navi! They say-" but then he looked like he was talking, but no sound was coming out.
Link looked up at Navi and saw that she was forcing herself to breathe. It looked like she was so mad she'd blow up anytime now.
"There…that'll shut 'im up…" she said quietly.
Link glanced at Mido once more, whom was now trying to scream; yet no noise was coming out still. The boy shrank back when Mido swiped at him, just narrowly missing. He backed off even more when his bully threw his whole weight forward, and Mido ended up eating a gracious amount of dirt. Link turned around and speed-walked off, ignoring Navi's rants about taking advantage of the situation.
"I don't do things like that, I'm sorry," Link said.
"You mad?" she asked timidly.
Link stopped and faced his new partner, "No, I'm not. Not after barely knowing you for five minutes!" he slowly began to walk again, "I just don't feel right taking advantage of the situation for my own want, it makes me feel…well, you know, mean. I'd like to say I'm just not like that…"
"Even if it's Mido?" Navi asked.
"Even if it's Mido," he said, "I don't like him…but I don't do something mean to another unless I'm being hurt by them or have a solid reason."
"I thought you were…" Navi said quietly.
"I don't think Mido deserves anything better than how he makes me feel; I don't care that he's a total rock in the shoe sometimes… Mido just needs to learn that he's not the center of the universe," he added, "Saria told me that one."
They were at his house once more, but this time Saria was there. Link's expression changed completely when he saw her, a fact Navi noted with much interest. Everyone in the forest knew (except Link and Saria themselves) that the two of them were different than most, but strict orders from the Deku Tree forbid any mention of it in their presence, for their destinies are intertwined later on; he refused to say more. Navi slowly caught up with Link and greeted Saria shyly. The two of them talked sometimes, mostly to keep tabs on what was going on in their section of the forest…but that was it.
"Link, I'm so glad you finally have a fairy partner!" Saria said cheerfully, seeming to light up the shadows that showed clearly under her eyes. She grinned at Navi, saying a silent 'hello' that only the fairy could hear. When she faced Link again, her bright smile came back, "I also heard that the Deku Tree summoned you! Is that true?"
"I suppose…" Link said silently, and (to Navi's surprise), nervously. As if he thought it was all a lie. One big, wonderful dream…
"Yes," Navi said reassuringly, winking (though she knew Link couldn't see).
Saria smiled a little more and put her hands on Link's shoulders, forcing him to look at her. "That's good, Link," she glanced kindly at the two of them, "Don't be so down on yourself, it's a rarity to see the Great Deku Tree. A wonderful honor! You don't have to be so nervous," she patted his back.
"But you've seen him hundred's of times…" he uttered beneath his breath, looking down at the ground and gently pulling out of her grasp.
Seeming to have heard him, she stepped back, folding her arms and looking concerned. She knew her advice wasn't getting to him, and she'd heard what he'd said, Yes, she had seen the Deku Tree more times than all the villager's combined, and yes, it was true that her first time seeing the Great Deku Tree had been one of the scariest, awesome part of her long life. She gave a comforting smile to him and said, "Well, if you're that nervous and you want to prove yourself that badly, get a sword and shield.
"You know…you do know that there have been attacks by the monsters of the Lost Woods lately, correct?" she stated, her expression turning serious.
Link nodded, a Wolfos had attacked him a couple years previous, and the scar that draped on his chest was proof of that. "What's your point?"
"Perhaps if you get those weapons, you may be able to do a job for the Great Deku Tree…" she said this last sentence reluctantly, looking hurt as she said it. She felt guilt rip through her as he looked at her questioningly.
But no, it had to be done…
Part Two
It took a while for Saria to realize that Link had said something to her. Even when she'd asked him to repeat it, the words he'd said took the better of two minutes for it to register into her mind.
The question had been, "Job? What kind of job?"
It was asked innocently enough, but it made Saria's insides jumble inside out for a moment. When she'd regained control of herself, she shrugged, "Well, I don't know," Saria forced a pained smile, "Just a hunch is all, and plus some extra protection from bad things."
"If you say so…" Link said slowly. He was beginning to wonder if he was just going to become some errand boy, or pest-killing machine… But he, like all the others in the forest, was loyal to the Great Deku Tree, and would do whatever he commanded, even if the Deku Tree himself said that they might not mind him. They should make their own choices and therefore he hardly spoke to anyone. The only rule he had made was to never step outside the forest, or they shall die a long and painful death.
Saria interrupted his thoughts, "If you want, I'll help you find the sword. It's pretty well hidden, but I know the way. And I'll help you buy the shield if you want."
Link brightened, "Really? That'd be really helpful! Are you sure you want to?"
"'Course, anything for a good friend of mine," her eyes cut halfway as she turned around and said, "Be right back. Just stay there!"
Link nodded, physically punching himself when his eyes wandered to places he shouldn't be looking. Navi chuckled while blushing slightly.
"Uh huh, so that's how it is," she said knowingly.
He flustered, flabbergasted, "I-I, uh, uh…! I-I-I…wasn't! Nuh-uh…!"
"Sure."
"Don't tell…!" he pleaded.
"I don't know!" Navi teased, evading his hand when he tried to grab her.
"Tell me what?" Saria asked innocently, smiling jubilantly while trying to attach her bag of money to her belt.
Link backed away against a wall, his face completely red while Navi floated around, saying to her, "Oh, what shall I do? He'll be so angry…yet she'll know the truth! Perhaps at long last! Ohhh! What should I say?"
Saria merely smiled contently, snatching the boy's hand and dragging him along, all the while saying, "Don't mind Navi, I know her. She just likes to tease quite a lot, don't let it get to you."
"I-I…sure! Whatever you say, Saria!" he forced a laugh and the end of the statement, tripped and ended up with Saria on top of him.
His face nearly blew up.
Saria began to shake with laughter when she saw his face after getting off of him. She clutched her ribcage, doubling over and began to laugh aloud.
"S-s-so-horry!" he stammered, struggling to get up and regain what control he'd had before this embarrassing situation occurred. He was glad that everyone was inside because of the scorching heat, or was it just him, severely blushing?
She waved her hand at him, still laughing while trying to regain her breath. "T-That's alright…" she held a laugh in her throat, "It was an a-accid-dent! C-could happen to anyone!"
"It could?"
She nodded, then leaned in and whispered, "Mido does it all the time with his girlfriend," Saria paused, eyes flashing, "Though I'm not exactly sure if it's always on accident," she chuckled, "He nearly always seems to land on the poor girl in an awkward way that I'm not at liberty to tell you at the time." Saria pulled away.
Link giggled, "I see!"
Navi's glow darkened at the sound of Mido's name. No one heard her except Saria's fairy, she muttered under her breath. "So…he's a pervert also…a frickin' perv…"
Saria's fairy slowly floated over to comfort her, having seen and heard the argument between Mido and the two of them. She knew how hard it could be when meeting a person like that for the first time, and it was quite painful to expel as much power as she did to shut him up. Oh, Navi was strong, stronger than most, but it still required an immense amount of power.
"Thank you…" Navi muttered quietly, hoping Link wouldn't see.
"Your welcome."
Saria hid her glance from the two fairies, grabbing Link's hand and dragging him off again. When he tried to wrench his hand away, she gripped it tighter and he whimpered slightly, trying to regain his balance because his upper body was pitched forward while his legs were tottering backward.
When she stopped, Link nearly tripped once again and bumped into her back. But she was standing firmly, and let him use her as a post to recover his balance. Needless to say, he was pitifully a full-fledged klutz. Perhaps it was because his boots were two sizes too big.
He asked, "What's here?" at a seemingly dead end. The wall was completely covered with vines that were five inches thick. The flowers that bloomed were a beautiful cerulean color, yet if you tried to pick them it could be dangerous, because if the liquid that fed the plant dripped onto your skin, it could burn you to the bone.
Saria looked at him and muttered, "This, past these vines is a maze that leads to the Kokiri Sword. I…know the way," she put her hands on her hips, "Just follow me and you'll be fine."
"Isn't this a dead end?" he asked, poking the vine doubtfully. He then flushed when she looked at him sharply.
"No, it was hidden this way so you would think that… Hey, did you know that anyone who acquired the Kokiri Sword would be able to leave the forest unharmed?" she lied, yet she had to get him motivated, he'd always said that he'd wanted to explore outside the forest. "And that the jewel in the hilt is sacred and rare, it promises to protest those with a pure heart that are at least part Kokirian." She smiled, that part, at least, was true.
"How did the sword get there?" he asked, as they found a small hole and crawled on, Link going first out of modesty. It was a tight fit; he had to use his hands to pull himself forward while laying flat on his stomach. The ground was soft, something her was thankful for.
When he got out after fifteen minutes of pushing himself, he found that he was in the densest forest he'd ever been in, the Kokiri having named many forests around their area. He was surrounded by wild vegetation, and the dirt path (it looked like a path, anyway) was overgrown with grass. It was moderately cool, surprising, since forests this thick usually trapped heat below the canopy.
Saria made her way out, brushed dirt off her shirt and hair, and then walked a little ahead of him, looking around herself.
Navi and Saria's fairy both flew in after.
She looked at him, "A while ago, before you were born, there was a Kokiri, about the age you are now, who crafted a sword and asked the Deku Tree permission to leave the forest and explore the world for him. He didn't like being cooped up in the forest because he never understood the purpose and law of everything being equal. To him, trees were things that humans ruled and used for their own uses.
"Don't get me wrong, he was a very gentle boy, he was just a bit too stubborn on learning about life in particular," she glanced around herself a second time. "The Deku Tree granted him his wish, but he was to give up the gift of a very long life, nearly immortal, which is promised here, in the Kokiri Forest. He left a couple days later."
Link waited, seeing if she would go on. When she didn't, he asked, "If he left with the sword, how did it come back here?"
She jumped, startled. Saria looked at him sadly, "S-sorry. Zoned off there," she cleared her throat, "Um, well, a few years later, he came back. No one recognized him because he'd grown so tall. When he told us his name we couldn't believe it. No one would accept him," she sighed, "I'd like to say I did, but we were all so superstitious back then, and we kept the feeling that this man was not entirely pure, something had changed him, blackened his heart; and not even he knew it was there. A couple of us asked him a few questions, and even though he answered most of them sincerely, much of his memory was fuzz," she paused, "Even if he had been that boy, growing up so fast made him forget many of his childhood memories…" she cleared her throat once again.
"Saddened and disappointed that none of us recognized him, or believed, he went into a portion of the forest and inserted the sword into a tree, a symbol that he had indeed returned." She took a breather, "It's odd, if he had shown us that sword we would have believed him. To this day, I don't know why he didn't."
Saria was done; she started walking away quickly. Those were memories she liked to keep locked in her heart. Most of them were much too private.
Link sped up to catch he, Navi trailing soon after. "What was his name?"
"Roland," she said quietly, slowing down.
Link stopped, grabbing her had to make her stop as well.
"You two were friends, huh?" it was more of a statement, really.
She nodded. And then she said in a shaky voice, "C'mon…you don't want to keep the Deku Tree waiting, do you? It might be important, you know," she pointed in front of her, "that's the way, but I won't be going further than a certain point a little ways up."
He bobbed his head grimly, understanding it was a tender subject. He let her take the lead.
Nothing more was said.
Link noticed that the further they went, the cooler it got. All the plants grew droopy, like there was too much pressure and they couldn't hold themselves up. It was like the tree's themselves were mourning Roland's pain. For when they reached a clearing, with a sole tree in the middle, a large circumference around the tree was dead. Link didn't recognize what kind of tree it was, but it looked very old, yet it was still alive. Even with a sword plunged deep into it.
There was no plant life on the sword, as one would expect a tree to do if something were in it. The sword was perfectly clean, just like new.
He stopped, uncertain what to do. Taking the sword would disturb this peaceful area. Did he want that? No!
"There's nothing to be afraid of, Link…" Saria murmured from behind him, refusing to enter the clearing. "Whatever magic the sword gave off is gone now."
He looked at her questioningly, seeing her forlorn face, he turned back around quickly, not wanting her to see him seeing her. He was dimly aware that he was quite angry with this 'Roland' person for causing Saria so much pain. Link was loathe letting no feelings show, however, and took a tiny step forward.
As soon as his feet touched the long dead grass, he come to a stop, his heart pounding in his throat. Wind rustled around him, making his thumping heart seem louder. Whispers from the past echoed in his ears, and also he viewed memories that were not his own. So many voices…he could only make out one.
"One…pulls out sword…shall leave…in peace…to…save…" it ended, as if cut off.
Link rubbed his head, trying to force the voices out. He could barely hear Navi shouting at him, asking him what was wrong. He could hear the pity and sympathy in the voice that spoke, as if the whole world were on his shoulders. Link pinched himself, his head beginning to pound when pictures of war appeared, the shouting brutal. A higher shouts still, the scream of a child. His head felt torn, one side of his head ripped from the opposite in such force that he nearly passed out. His vision blurred, black tinting the edges.
"…Link…!" was the last thing he heard.
Part Three
Thunder woke him up.
At first, he was afraid that he was back at the luminous castle, just waiting to see that girl and then, dreadfully, seeing the Evil. But how could that be, if he felt immense pain in his head? He couldn't be dreaming, could he? Or has it just cranked up to a higher level of reality?
Link lifted his hand and felt a bandage around his head and ears. His eyes were covered with a wet cloth.
He couldn't remember a thing, except them going to go get the sword, everything past the clearing was locked in a thick cloud.
Judging by the bed he was in, Link guessed that he was in Saria's house. He felt someone take his hand and lay it neatly back onto the bed. He turned his head so that if he could see she'd be looking at her.
"Hi…" he muttered, head throbbing.
"Hi," was the quiet response, Saria scooted away to get something. While working, she said, "I'm glad you're awake, and a little surprised. You should've been out for a few days at least…" she tapered off, walking back toward him with soup in her hands.
"Though I wouldn't recommend you getting up anytime soon, you looked horrible when I was finally able to get near you." She picked up the spoon and scooped some liquid up, bringing it closer to him, "Here, drink this, it'll make the pain in your head go away."
He opened his mouth obligingly; trying not to show that he heard pain and sadness in her voice, like the kindness she was giving him was forced. She seemed a little afraid of him. The soup went down his throat easily, the heat a tad overwhelming. He recognized that it had an odd mushroom in it, a mushroom that only grew in Kokiri forest and had amazing healing capabilities. Because of its' abilities, they weren't used often because it was that powerful.
Link tried to get up and he heard Saria gasp sharply, dropping the bowl of soup and falling off the chair she was sitting on. His head was throbbing, but he had to get up, regardless of what Saria said.
"No…!" Saria whimpered meekly, backing away slowly; torn between telling him to lie back down, and, running away out of fear. 'Oh my God…he shouldn't be able to move…'
"Stop!" Navi shouted, her aura brightening to a blinding state, illuminating the house.
Link felt a strange sensation crawl through his body. At first it was like an immense pressure was squeezing him, and then it felt like he was floating. He didn't know it, but Navi had made him come to a complete stop…literally.
He fell back onto the bed, unconscious.
"T-thank you…" Saria said, struggling to stand up on her wobbly legs, one hand over a bleeding gash on her forehead.
Navi glanced at her in pity, "No need to thank me. You have an injury you don't want him to see. It's only natural," she looked at the gash, "Why don't you clean that up? He's not going to be waking up anytime soon."
"O-okay…" she stuttered, leaning onto a counter and maneuvering herself towards the kitchen section of her house, barely aware that she was crying.
Navi noticed her sniffling, but dared not say anything. Saria was a strong girl, and felt that crying was a fault, not something that would make her vent her feelings. Navi allowed she to look at the sword near the bed, inside a simple looking sheath. If she had pulled the sword out, she would see blood on the end of it.
"Navi?" Saria asked shakily, holding a wet towel over the gash.
The fairy looked at her, "Yes?"
"How was he able to wake up so soon?" she looked down, "I mean, all that pressure to his head… surely he should've been in a coma for several weeks! To wake up in just a few hours…"
"Concentrate on yourself, Saria. I don't know, nor do I care. What I do care about is that he was able to get the sword and then hurt you. Because of that…well…" she floated toward the window. "Because of that, I'm afraid that he'll hate himself once he finds out…" Navi looked at Saria, "I don't want that to happen…you know how this works…will you please do me a favor and not tell him what happened until we both think he's ready?"
Saria nodded without thinking. She hadn't been planning on telling him anyway.
Navi beamed at her, and then returned her attention to her unconscious partner. She didn't need to tell Saria why she was so centered on Link. It was ancient law in Kokiri Fairy that once given a partner, you will devote all your kindness, love, and care towards him or her, no matter if the choice they are making is a bad one. They were to follow them to the end of the earth and back, and all the way give your support. To disregard that law was to deny your existence as a fairy…and there was nothing that could change that.
'Well, Link…' she thought, 'you got the sword. The question is…how?'
He awoke again in the middle of the night, the rain battering loudly, and sounding like a mock imitation of thunder. Link remembered what happened a few hours previous, but now the cloth wasn't on his eyes anymore. Panic gripped him when he remembered that the Deku Tree wanted to see him. Of all times, how could he be sick now?
He grimly answered his own question, 'Because I brought this upon myself…'
It saddened him. He needed to get up and leave, no matter how badly he was hurting, and no matter how hard the weather would beat him to the ground! He would get…going!
"Agh!" he yelped, tumbling uselessly to the ground when he tried to stand up. His head felt like a bomb had just exploded inside his skull, blinding him temporarily. Yet he pushed that away and tried once again to stand up, tears stinging his eyes. When he could see, he saw Navi floating in front of his face, looking at him in pity.
"What do you think you're doing?" she asked quietly, as to not disturb the sleeping form of Saria on a futon on the floor. Her glow was dull, as if she'd used all of her energy on something.
He grimaced as he tried to talk, each sound hacking at his brain bit by bit. "I…need…to get…to…the Deku…Tree!" he gasped and crumbled to the floor.
Navi stayed silent.
"There's no…excuse…for my delay…!" he struggled to stand up, tears freely streaming down his cheeks.
"Do you intend on going…in that state?" she asked, motioning to the bandage covering his head and ears. "You can't even stand up…" she added meekly.
"Can…too!" he cried, pushing himself to a standing position, leaning onto a wall and breathing heavily. Sweat dripping down his nose. He looked over towards the bed, where the sword, and-to his amazement-a shield lay.
"…What?" he asked to the air, thoroughly confused and upset. "How…did I…get…those…?" with one hand he clutched the side of his tunic and slowly made his way over to the bed and sat down.
"How did these…get here…Navi?" he asked again, picking up the sword and examining it, the blade felt like a thousand tons in his weak arms. He pulled it halfway out of the sheath.
"You don't remember?" Navi asked testily, "You pulled the sword out and Saria bought the shield while you were asleep," she wouldn't say unconscious, wouldn't!
"I…" he stopped, somehow short of breath. "I…don't…remember t-that…"
Navi sighed. "I'm not surprised."
"Can we go…see the Deku Tree…?" he asked weakly, sliding the sword back into the sheath.
Navi didn't answer. She didn't need to. A fairy's purpose in life depended on moments like these.
"Alright, Link," she said absentmindedly. She couldn't refuse anyway, the only decision she could say no to was if it endangered the persons' life. This wasn't one of those situations, or so she thought.
He looked at her with a smile, slowly strapping the sheath around his shoulder, and then he clipped the shield onto a hook on the sheath, giving it easy access. Link got up and looked reluctantly at Saria. He glanced outside and back to her again, sadness in his gaze. He wiped his eyes free of moisture.
As he got over to the door, he stopped and looked back at Saria. Link then turned around and walked to her, knelt down, and kissed her on the cheek.
"Thank you," he said quietly, and turned around once again and walked out the door.
Saria, pretending to sleep, rolled over and swallowed her tears.
Link was immediately engulfed in shivers as soon as he entered the outdoors. The rain was icy cold, much different from their usual warm showers. Navi hid underneath his hood, finding it hard to fly fast enough to keep up with him in the rain.
He hugged himself to keep warm, and dashed in the direction where the Deku Tree lay.
When he got to the pathway that led to the Deku Tree, it became considerably warmer, and Navi was able to come out of his hood and fly steadily behind him (the rain seemed to have lessened), using magic to keep dry.
And then his breath caught in his throat, amazement and awe blocking it firmly. He could barely keep his mouth closed out of respect.
The Deku Tree was before him…