Disclaimer: I do not own Zelda.
I wrote this simply because poor Saria doesn't have enough fanfics about her. Also, I've had Zelda on the brain for a while now and this is the result. My first Zelda oneshot.
Enjoy!
A simple melody.
That is Saria. That is who she is.
That is all she will be remembered by.
Saria is one with the Forest. She is the only child who is not afraid of the Lost Woods. Saria has never quite understood why that is. At least, not for a long time. Some Kokiri have tried to navigate the woods too, but they don't get very far. Saria, while she doesn't like to say it, is glad of this. The Lost Woods is where she goes to be alone. She doesn't want people like Mido to follow her. They wouldn't understand.
There is only one other person in the world Saria can think of who would understand.
But, of course, it's not understanding that she wants.
Saria's eyes flickered open. She was in her favourite place in the world. The tree she lay under swayed slightly, almost in time to the familiar melody that echoed eternally through the forest.
The melody she taught him.
Breathing slowly in, Saria recollects the day Link left for the first time.
The fairy ocarina looked strangely delicate in Saria's pale hands. They tremble very slightly as she hands it over to Link.
He stares at it for a moment, then looks back at Saria. Blue on blue. Saria wonders why they both have eyes the exact same shade. The silence that descends is not awkward, exactly, but it is laced with something close to regret, and Saria hurries to fill it, because she can't stand it much longer.
"I want you to have this Ocarina...please take good care of it."
"When you play my Ocarina...I hope you will think of me and come back to the forest to visit."
It was hard to say. But she has to say something. Anything.
Link just looks at her, and then he runs away, her gift clutched tightly in his fingers as if he can't let it go. He runs to his freedom.
But Saria cannot follow him. She knows this.
"Goodbye, my hero..." Saria sighs, her voice blending with the melody of the forest. Link didn't hear her, or if he did, he pretended not to. Maybe it was for her sake as much as it was his. Maybe he didn't want to leave on a rejection.
Maybe he just didn't want to say goodbye.
Mido had always been jealous of Link. He resented Link for being the Great Deku Tree's favourite. For being Saria's.
It was a common fact amongst the Kokiri, even if they didn't say it. Why else would Mido pick on Link, out of all the Kokiri, the most? Why else would Mido refuse to let Link get past him, on numerous occasions? And why else would Mido blame Link for the death of the Great Deku Tree?
As if a boy like Link could do such a thing!
The Great Deku Tree, after all, was the one who saw something special in Link. He knew that he couldn't keep Link safe in the Forest forever. Saria, unfortunately, learned this as well.
It was a lesson she had grown to despise.
She knew the Legend well, after all. She had asked the Great Deku Tree to tell her it enough times, never getting sick of it.
Of how the three Golden Goddesses had descended upon the desperate land of Hyrule. Of how they had created a new world, each with their own unique gifts. In her fanciful moments, Saria liked to imagine they are sisters.
Each Kokiri knew this tale, at least to some degree. Saria suspected, however, that not all of them knew of the full tale. Only Link knew all of it, the parting words of the dying Tree. The Great Deku Tree had told Saria, once, of how the races had emerged and developed, adapting to their surroundings. The Gorons become tough and strong to survive up on the harsh terrain of Death Mountain. The Zora, becoming swift and wise, becoming one with the water. The Kokiri, learning the secrets of the forest.
But what kind of Goddess allows a race that never ages to exist? Saria had once asked the Tree, resentment spiking her words. Are we to stay in this Forest, for eternity? Is that our role?
Saria's fairy had been shocked at such a display of blasphemy. But the Great Deku Tree had been cryptic in his answer. He had said, "Child, ye think too deeply into a single thing. Ye must have faith in the Golden Goddesses, for they would never forget the lives they created."
At the time, she didn't know what to make of that. And so Saria had retreated to her Forest- She called it hers, because she loved the forest more then anyone else, to ponder.
In that way, Saria is an outsider. The other Kokiri don't know the Lost Woods like she does. They don't understand. They aren't jealous, they just admire her for it.
Link is the only other child who can navigate his way through. And he always manages to find Saria, no matter where she is. He even finds her special hiding spot; the one you must cross the maze to get to. Even Saria didn't think that Link could find her there.
Saria sometimes wonders why she felt so compelled to teach Link her song. The obvious reason is there- it's because she wanted to help him. There was something in his eyes that told her he needed to know the song. She wanted him to know that. She wanted to feel close to him.
But Saria knows that what she wanted- more then anything- was for him to come back for her.
Did she want rescuing? Rescuing from the Forest that held her there in so many ways? Was that it?
No. Yes.
She loved the forest. But she yearned for freedom.
Saria sighed.
How very like a child. Wanting something without thinking about why.
Wanting something she can't have.
"Saria will always be your friend, Link..."
Friend?
To Link, is that what Saria always is? The girl from his childhood. Nothing more.
Only seven years after Link leaves does Saria's questions get any kind of answer. Because ever since Link disappeared, strange things happen to the forest. Monsters rise up from the earth, a sickening darkness hangs over the village. Saria knew the other Kokiri wouldn't be able to live with the woods acting like this, not for long. She's the only one brave enough to do something about it.
And then she herself is taken.
Being kidnapped, she finds out, isn't as scary as she had first thought. It's more like being asleep, after the monsters finally let her go. They say the Hero will come for them, and they sound afraid. Saria just closes her eyes and waits. The Kokiri worry, but they can't do anything.
The Hero of Time...
Saria hoped she would like him.
And when Link comes back, like Saria had always hoped he would, for a moment she thinks that maybe she was more to him then just a friend. Maybe he would choose her over princesses and destiny. Maybe the flaws in her never mattered to him.
He is the Hero of Time. She's not all that surprised, really.
But Link is an adult. Seven years, and he has become a young man. Seven years, and Saria has not changed.
He doesn't even use her Ocarina anymore.
He says that Princess Zelda gave her the strange, blue Ocarina and that it has strange powers. Her own Ocarina looks crude and basic by comparison. Like a child's toy.
Part of Saria wants to snatch her Ocarina out of his hands. To reach into his mind and wipe her song from it. To run to the forest and lock him out.
Another piece of her wants to show him that she will wait for him. That she isn't all that different. Just because he is not a Kokiri. Just because he's a Hero.
The last part of her doesn't know what to think.
But then, when Saria's own destiny is revealed to her, everything suddenly seems to make sense. It explains why she was different. It explains why the forest allowed her to learn its song and claim it as hers.
But that doesn't stop her from being disappointed. Why? Because it confirmed that she was different from her friends?
Because she now has a duty to follow?
Sage...
"Isn't this what I always wanted?"
It's not a question of want. Now, it's destiny.
But Sages are bound by destiny. Saria is once again bound to stay in one place, to only be a small part of Link's life.
A simple melody.
That is Saria.
Good? Bad?
Reviews would be greatly appreciated!