He left Epona in the fields where she could graze for hours without having to travel far. She was a smart horse, and knew what to stay away from, and Link was certain that he would return before nightfall, so he suppressed his worry. The trip across Hyrule Field would have taken him three days on foot, but thanks to his speedy mare, he reached the edge of the forest in a single day's time. The sun was high now, but he didn't plan to take long.
He hesitated at the hollowed out fallen tree that marked the entrance to the woods. He took a few steps closer, then paused again before he entered, lifting his arm overhead and touching the top of the old bark. He thrummed it with his fingers. Navi fluttered out of her resting place in his cap and circled his arm until she was level with his hand.
"Link? What're you up to?" She asked. Link instantly dropped his arm, self-conscious.
"Oh, nothing." He responded, impulsively. It was the same reaction he'd been conditioned to have when Mido and the other Kokiri bullies asked him that same question, though their childish voices had been lined with taunts and malice and Navi's only help sweet curiosity. He sighed, realizing again that it had been seven years since he'd set foot in those woods. It felt like only a few days…a week or so, at most. But he once again reached up and experimentally touched the tree. "I...wasn't able to touch the top like this, even when I jumped." Link admitted what was truly on his mind. Suddenly everything was smaller. He was still startled at how quickly he could move himself from one side of a room to the other; often discovering this by knocking over bottles in the cramped shops of Kakariko Village.
He closed his eyes briefly to clear his head.
He would be seeing Saria again.
His eyes opened, and he smiled involuntarily as his mind wandered to his friend. Their goodbye had been so sad, and he couldn't wait to see her again. Especially now! What would she think of him? So much taller and…he even had to wear leggings because his tunic only fell to his upper thighs now!
He blushed slightly as he began to scrutinize his new appearance again, wondering how she would react to his adult features.
"Link!" Navi chimed, pulling him from his nervous excitement. He dropped his hands from his newly pierced ears and smiled at her sheepishly.
"Yes, you're right. We better go." He fixed his eyes on the dark tunnel, determined.
…Would she really look the same?
He took the first step, and already his footsteps sounded heavier and stronger and stranger as they echoed in the wood. They sounded like they didn't belong.
There was that familiar blink of darkness, then he emerged into the world of the Kokiri. The air was thick and heavenly, dotted with glowing lightning bugs and falling leaves dancing through the misty air. He heard the familiar sounds of the wood; the chirping bugs, and the voice of the wind through the tree leaves, the calm rush of streams over heavy roots, and distant laughs of children echoing through the tunnel trees. Before he could move on though, he stared at the place on the bridge where he'd seen Saria last. She somehow knew he was leaving- she was always so insightful- and had waited patiently for him to come by…she was always so patient. They wouldn't have become good friends if she hadn't been.
Link's childhood was even foggier now that he'd been asleep for seven years, but he remembered how hard it had been making friends. He hadn't learned how to speak when the others had, and when they mocked him for it, he hid away even more. His voice would have been lost forever if it weren't for Saria. He hadn't done anything for her, but she always smiled and tried to start conversations with him. And finally, he wanted to talk with her as well, and he found his voice before it had run away for good.
They still knew how to communicate through smiles and nods better than anything though. Link hadn't told Saria he was leaving, though he also hadn't anticipated he'd be gone for so long, but she must have seen him gathering up his things.
Link walked across the swaying bridge in just a few strides of his long legs, and then into the next tunnel tree, and finally into the village.
The myth claims that Kokiri are forever youthful, and never grow old and change. Growing up with them, it was hard to see that as fact, but when seven years pass in the blink of an eye, change is evident. And as Link stared at the small tree houses and gardens, he saw none. Like the forever children, their forest was frozen in time. Perhaps the trees had grown taller by an inch, and gained a few extra leaves…but none he could place. The grass was the same height, the stones were in the same place…and his friends had not aged by a day. The ones nearest him paused and stared, somewhat nervously.
He scratched a nervous itch on his cheek and smiled. For a moment his voice was choked out, and just as he felt it rising in his throat-
"Hey!" A small foot stomped down in front of him, barring his path. Link came to a stop, and looked down in awe at the petite Kokiri boy that was so nobly attempting to block his way into the village. "Who are you! And what're you doing in the forest!" Link had lost his voice…it was killed with shock! The freckled youth stomped his foot again, waving the wooden sword menacingly. "I warn you, I'm the Great-"
"Mido!" Link exclaimed, never having been so delighted to see him. The Kokiri stumbled back, though recovered quickly and readied his meager weapon.
"How do you know my name? You must be a monster, come to take me away too!" Link suppressed a laugh and shook his head.
"No, I'm not a-" Mido crossed his arms.
"We can't trust you!" He said firmly. Link's initial surprise was slowly fading, replaced with an aching curiosity.
"Mido…it's me, Li-" Mido covered his ears.
"Lies! Treachery! Don't listen!" But Link wasn't speaking anymore. His voice had fled.
'He doesn't recognize me!' He realized, looking himself over once again. He didn't think he looked so different. After all, it was the same hat and tunic; they just appeared smaller on him now.
But just as quickly as Mido had started, the Kokiri stomped again and walked away in a huff.
"Just leave us alone!" He shouted back. Link watched him go in awe, and the other Kokiri gradually relax and continue their routine lives. Navi fluttered around his head, watching Mido go.
"Wow, he hasn't changed a bit!" She said, flapping her wings rapidly as if taunting him from behind. Link nodded unsurely.
"Y-…yeah…" But then the prospect of seeing Saria again lifted his spirits. He smiled to himself, and hurried to her house. His boots hardly fit on the rings of the ladder leading up to her tree house, and he slipped many times until he gave in and reached up for the balcony and heaved himself up the rest of the way. Navi giggled as he dusted himself off, trying to look confident and composed before he saw her. He knocked on the bark outside the door, and called her name. His voice sounded so small and tentative that it may as well have been his ten year old self. When no reply came, he stepped inside on his own. Her room was empty. He circled it once, frustrated that he hadn't been able to find her easily, and left. His hope was renewed though, when he saw his own tree house from across the way.
He hurried over the bridge and back to the ground, jumping instead of taking the ladder, and scrambled up his own tree trunk until he was inside his old home. It was tiny! His head smacked the ceiling when he first walked in, and he bumped right into his desk when he stumbled from the impact. Navi shouted at him to just hold still before he hurt himself further, and he held onto his head and complied as if he were waiting out a landslide. When the pain ceased, he peeked out from around his arms, and saw his wooden wall decorated with drawings Saria had made for him. They were childish sketches, of them together and of common scenery in the forest, as if they didn't see enough of it by living there. But the paper was browning and crumbled at his touch, so he left them alone.
He glanced at his old bed, made from a small fallen tree and carved out to fit his once small body. Now, it would only fit half of him, and his chair would have only held a single boot! Reminders of his transformation were everywhere, but what he didn't see was Saria.
That childish part of him wanted to stomp his feet like Mido had, but even as a child, Link had been able to suppress those urges.
He closed his eyes to think, and his mind defaulted to her lovely music she made on her ocarina. The forest seemed to hum to her melodies. She was everywhere. But she liked her secret spot the best!
Through the Lost Woods!
He gasped and bolted out of his tree and towards those ominous woods. He raced through the first hollowed out tree tunnel that he saw, and was instantly brought back to the Kokiri village. He steadied his breathing and nodded at Navi before the fairy could chastise him. He knew he had to listen for the music…but he'd gotten excited. Saria was so close! But she had waited seven years…she could wait a few more minutes.
Link was careful not to lose any more time though by taking a wrong turn. He tested each turn with his well-tuned ears and easily found the path that led to the forest maze. He remembered the massive monsters that would charge you if they saw you, and was careful to avoid them as well. But on the last turn he was spotted by one, and Link was too far into the alley to turn and run. He braced himself behind his shield, and as the monster approached, he noticed that it wasn't quite as large as he remembered. Its spear broke against the Hylian Shield, and with a swift tug of the Master Sword, he'd felled the very monster that had given him so many nightmares.
He smiled as he sheathed the holy blade, and examined his hands, fully realizing the power they offered him. He still had the courage he'd been blessed with as a child, but now he had the body to help him face those challenges better now. He clenched his fists and his brow furrowed as memories played back behind his stormy eyes. Ganondorf wouldn't toss him aside so easily the next time they met.
Link fixed his eyes on the long row of stairs that separated him from Saria, suddenly guilty that he was spending time in the peaceful woods when Hyrule was in shambles and the Bandit King was sitting in the castle's throne room. 'It's been seven years,' he reminded himself. 'You can spare a day to visit her. Nothing in Hyrule will change in a day.' Self-assured, he climbed the stairs and emerged into Saria's favorite place. It was a beautiful, strange clearing that sat in the shadow of some old forest ruins that Link had been afraid of the first time he saw them. The building was old and ominous, but Saria didn't fear it, so Link learned not to as well.
Link's elated heart fell when he saw that the clearing was empty. It was empty and silent.
'Of course it would be silent,' he told himself, his eyes drifting to his boots so he wouldn't have to look at the emptiness any longer. 'she gave me her ocarina…'
"Hey, what're you doing here!" Mido shouted. Link was too crestfallen to be startled, and he acknowledged the Kokiri with a weak nod. Mido stormed past him, shoving Link by the hip, and waved his wooden sword at the ruins.
"Hey, give her back already!" he shouted. Link was beside the Kokiri instantly, suddenly alert.
"Give her back?" He repeated, eyes wide. Mido clenched his hand around his fake sword.
"They took my friend, Saria. The forest spirits. She's been missing for a week already, and…no one knows how to get her back!" Mido looked up determinedly, but Link saw the tears in his eyes. "I'll fight you for her!" He declared at the unseen forest spirits, but the clearing remained silent and empty.
"They took her into the ruins?" Link clarified, looking ahead at the ivy-covered walls. Mido nodded. Link nodded back. "All right, I'm going to go get her then." Mido jumped.
"What! You will? But…you don't even know her!" Link smiled back sadly. There was no recognition in the Kokiri's eyes, but Link had accepted that.
"We've…we met once before. Besides, you don't need to know someone to want to help them, right?" He offered. Mido crossed his arms.
"Fine. If you bring her back…well…we'll see!" Link nodded in agreement.
"I will."
Link entered the forest temple that night, with fears abundant, but none so great that they could stop him. His fear channeled into courage, and he faced the horrors of that dungeon alone and determined. He couldn't afford to let his fear stop him like it had when he was a child, because no one else would come along to save Saria. And somehow…he felt like it was he who was meant to save her. Mido couldn't, but Link was tall enough to reach the entrance, and brave enough to go forward.
Yes, having an adult's body had its benefits, but lucky for him, his heart had remained the same.