Title: Was Once
Genre: General
Rating: K
Summary: Saria knows that Link is different from the other Kokiri, because she was there the day he arrived . . .
"My turn! My turn!" One of the twins (who knew which one?) called when they called out Sam's twentieth swing. "My turn on the swings! Push me! Push me!"
Sam jumped off and Saria and the other twin pushed the girl higher and higher into the air, until she swung nearly even with the branch the swing hung from. They all loved the swing; it was the newest toy that the Great Deku Tree had taught them how to make. Saria had already tried to tell them that if they made more than one swing, they wouldn't all have to wait so long for their turn, but no one wanted to get out of line to start building a new one, so she just sighed and took turns with everyone else.
Her fairy, Leiko, tugged a lock of Saria's hair, "Saria?"
"Hm?" Saria answered, keeping track of the number of swings in her head.
" . . .The Great Deku Tree is calling."
She turned in surprise and had to jump to one side to avoid being hit by the girl's swinging foot. "What?"
"He says it's important. We have to go see him right away!"
"Of course! Um . . ." she turned to the other Kokiri, "The Deku Tree's calling me, so somebody else has to take a turn pushing now. Bye!"
"Hey wait! Saria!" Mido battled himself for a little while between wanting to follow Saria and not wanting to lose his place in line. He finally turned to the boy behind him. "Save my place! If you don't, you'll be sorry!" The kid nodded his assent and Mido took off after the running girl.
"Wait! Hang on!"
She turned, "What?"
"The Great Deku Tree's meadow is sometimes kinda dangerous. It has Deku Babas and stuff. I'll protect you!"
She smiled, "That's okay, Mido, I'm not scared of anything in the Meadow. The Great Deku Tree will protect me! Bye!" She waved over her shoulder as she continued running. Mido just stood, crestfallen. He wanted to see what he'd called her for, but he knew better than to go into the Great Deku Tree's Meadow uninvited. It was a special place. He trudged back up the hill and got back in line for his turn on the swing.
Meanwhile, Saria had hopped over the stepping-stones in the pond and entered the nearly tunnel-like grove of trees that led to the wide-open space that the Deku Tree alone inhabited. She'd seen him before—all the Kokiri had seen him at one point or another—but Saria was called to his meadow more often than anyone. Great Deku Tree had told her that this was because she was different than the other Kokiri.
"Kokiri are not like the children of other races," he had explained to her, when she'd asked why she was different, "They take a much longer time to grow up. A Kokiri, after all, does not become a grown-up Hylian. A Kokiri is actually a baby fairy. That is why each one has a fairy partner to take care of it. When a Kokiri is old enough, it goes back to the Sacred Forest Meadow, and becomes a fairy."
"So . . .someday I'm going to be a fairy?"
"No, Saria. You have already been a fairy. That is why you are so much wiser than the other Kokiri. You spent your time here as a child, and then became a fairy. After you changed, however, you thought you might be more help to the Kokiri if you returned to your original form. I did this for you."
"But, if I did all this, why don't I remember it?"
"When you change forms, it is difficult to retain memories—the experiences of a Kokiri and the experiences of a fairy are very different. But you still retain the wisdom of your fairy form."
She knew this was why it was her job to make sure that the other Kokiri were well taken care of, and why the Great Deku Tree called her to the meadow more than anyone else. But when she came to the Meadow today, she found something that was completely outside either of her experiences.
There was a grown-up lady. She was leaning against the Great Deku Tree's trunk as she sat, asleep.
"What is that?" She asked, unable to restrain her curiosity, but unwilling to walk any closer to the sleeping lady.
"That is a Hylian woman, and the reason that I called you here."
Saria's eyes grew as wide as dinner plates. And not just any dinner-plates, but big, grown-up-Hylian-sized dinner plates. "But only the Forest Folk are allowed here!"
"Yes, but this is a special situation."
That definitely piqued Saria's curiosity. Up until now, hers had been the only 'special situation' in this forest. She walked closer to the Deku Tree and sat near a root, leaning one arm on it affectionately. The Deku Tree began to explain.
"The world is not at peace outside this forest; it rarely is. That is why I tell my children to not leave the safety of these trees. A dark force is rising, though it has not yet shown me its face. The fate of this dark force, whether it shall be healed or whether it shall infect the world, depends largely upon each of us. If the peoples stand together during this time of trial, calamity can be avoided, but if we do not help our brothers, we shall each of us fall alone. That is why I ask you, Saria, for your help."
"Of course, Great Deku Tree. How can I help?" Saria pressed her cheek against the root, expressing her willingness as best as she could.
"Then, Saria, take that which the Hylian brought with her, and care for it in her stead."
One of the Great Deku Tree's branches bent low, until it was level with Saria's arms. Huge leaves unfolded, revealing a sleeping infant. Saria looked at it in shock, and then turned back to the sleeping woman near the tree. "But . . .she's his mother . . ."
"She was, Saria," The Deku Tree said gently.
Understanding suddenly dawned on Saria's face. She'd never seen a dead thing before, except for a grasshopper that the ants were already carrying away. But this was a lady, and she was just lying there, sitting against the trunk. She reached out a hand to touch her smooth cheek.
"Don't." The Great Deku Tree said. Then, more softly, "I know death is hard to understand for someone who has never left this forest, but believe me, she will not wake. Take the child."
Saria forced herself to look away from the lady and held out her arms for the child, over half her own size, who stayed mercifully asleep as she carried started to carry him back to her house.
"What is his name, Great Deku Tree?"
The tree looked down upon the child in her arms, the connection between so many forces in this world, and, eventually, between this world and others.
"Link," he answered.
