Saria's Lament
Dedicated to Taylor (NCISBALTOFAN read her stuff its pretty cool :))
Introduction
When Link was a little boy, a young forest girl named Saria used to care for him. She used to feed him, cloth him, and provide him shelter. One could imagine the pain felt by her when Link left the forest to start a life of his own. He did not return for seven years. By then, Link had grown into a well adjusted swordsman, but Saria stayed the same age, for she was bound to the forest eternally. What happened during those long, trying, seven years? Let us find out.
Chapter 1: What Now?
Saria turned away from the hollow log, the only hole in the impenetrable bastion that was Kokiri Forest. The hole through which her best friend had left, leaving behind nothing but footprints and an empty tree house. She slunk back to her house, friends call out to her, but she no longer has anything to smile about, even though her 'father' the Great Deku Tree has just passed away (because of Ganondorf) she could not mourn, for there could be nothing to feel sad about. He was like a son to her, considering she is eternally trapped in the body of an eight-year-old, children are hard to come by, and because the Kokiris live eternally, there's not much need for childbearing anyway. As much as Saria desired a child of her own, losing Link was like losing a son. Spending seven years without him, a time that would, however, seem short to an eternal being, were the longest seven years of her ceaseless life. With all she cared about gone, she wondered only one thing: What now?
Chapter 2: 2 Months Later
Saria trekked through the labyrinth of foliage, encountering many dangerous plants and animals. She was on a mission and she would not fail. Simply dressed in her traditional Kokiri garb, she had little protection against the foul creatures that lurk inside the maze. She was ready, she would find it. She saw a sparkle of light within the shrubbery. She used her utility Deku wood knife to slice through the creepers that block her path. Deku wood is among the strongest and lightest wood known to Hyrule, but is extremely rare on account of the availability, for only Kokiris may ever go about obtaining this precious wood. Much like the diamond, this wood can cut through everything, with the exception of Deku wood. She had no problem cutting through the creepers. She had found what she was looking for. A meadow ruled over by ancient ruins of some sort. Directly in front of the ruins were a stone pedestal marked with the Triforce and the ancient symbol of the forest. To the right of the ruins was a lonely stump, carefully guarding the ruins behind it. Saria approached the wooden sentinel and carefully lowered herself onto his wound. She reached in her pocket to get her ocarina, but she could not produce it. "I must have left it at home," she pondered. "Oh well," she said with a smirk on her face "I always have my voice." She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and started singing a song that she had written long ago. I love when people hear my songs, she reflected as she sang. Especially when Link would always find me here, he always said he would be able to find me because of the music I play for the forest. It has been two months since I last came here. Wonder how this place has changed…When she had finished her song, she opened her eyelids to find a green figure standing in front of her with a sword at his back. Before she could draw her Deku knife, the figure let out words so familiar to Saria that within them hung enough emotion to kill a few people: "Hi Saria…"
Chapter 3: Goodbyes Aren't One Act
"I…I…" Saria choked on her surprise as she saw that familiar face that she thought she would never be able to see again. She ran up to him and hugged him with a very tearful face. "I'd thought I'd never see you again," she said through her tears. "Guess you were wrong as usual," Link joked. Saria let out a little chuckle despite her serious mood at this moment. "How are things going?" Link asked. "Well things are just fine ever since you helped the Deku tree." Saria explained everything that had happened in the past two months. "I have to go." The words cut through Saria like the Deku knife resting in her pocket. "Wh-What? But you just got here, you can't leave yet!" "I'm sorry, but I have responsibilities that I need to take care of, but don't despair, we will meet again, I promise!" Link smiled and held out his hand. Saria swatted his hand away and took one step towards him and, with one movement, planted her lips onto his. "You had better come back" she said with a soft voice, but with the same ferocity that made Link heed those words as if they were that of his queen. "I will be back"
Chapter 4: Shadow of a Doubt
Everyday after that fateful day, Saria came to the same meadow. She sang her song every single day in the hopes that Link would find her when he returned. Hours she sang, each day, but hours turned into days and the days turned into months. She came back to that spot and sat down to sing. She sang so loudly that she did not notice the shadow creeping from the ruins. She just kept singing and singing. I know Link will come back, I'm sure of it! The shadow started to creep up her back, and she knew something was amiss, but before she could do anything, it was too late, the shadow swallowed her up and she disappeared without a trace.
Chapter 5: Saria's Awakening
The absence of light from within the fortress was unbearable to see when Saria pried open her eyes. Up until this point, she had assumed she was dead. The first view of the interior of the dark room was both relieving and terrifying at the same time. She quickly scanned the room, a room she had seen many times, even though something was off. Someone had put up some paintings, unheard of in this sacred place for art was considered too distracting to the patrons who came for worship. There was something quite mysterious about these paintings. They were all the same, a winding road in a barren forest leading to an old house. She approached one of the paintings to examine it, when she noticed something in the background of the painting. It seemed like it was a man on a horse, miniscule, but undismissable, for it was moving toward the foreground of the painting, slightly getting larger. What is this? Some sort of sorcery? As she stared at the painting she quickly realized that this was a place not as familiar as it seemed. The horseman got larger by the second, until she noticed a purple cyclone-like entity spewing from the painting as the horseman was birthed from the womb of the painting, taking form before her very eyes as a being that was certainly not human. He loomed suspended in the air seeming weightless, graceful, and sinister all at the same time. He drew a great raspy breath and prepared to speak.
Chapter 6: Prisoner
"You must know why you're here." the man said. "I must assure you, I do not!" yelled Saria, who had recognized the man's face, but for some reason, did not feel like the same person as that day. Although her words were strong, her inside began quivering in fear of what fate beholds her. "Do not toy with me girl! I know you are his descendant!" "You must be delusional, for I am clearly not who you think I am!" "Are you not Saria of Kokiri Forest?" "I most certainly am not you are insane to think such a thing!" She is a terrible liar. The man garbed with obsidian armor descended from his black steed and marched over to Saria and grabbed her by the throat and held her five feet off the ground. "You are a fool to lie to me, wench! You must not know the extent of my power!" He held up one writhing, green hand and seemingly from nowhere produced a ball of light about the size of a basketball. He positioned the ball dangerously close to her face. Saria recoiled in fear, for she did not know the danger of the ball, and was not willing to find out anytime soon. The man released his grip, letting Saria fall to the ground, gasping for air. "I do not wish for you to free your brethren, therefore I will keep you here until His Majesty can come here and kill you himself!"
Chapter 7: Revelation
Although Saria realized that the apparition taking the form of the King of Thieves was not as powerful as the form it is taking, she knew that his power was still a force not to be reckoned with. She had no choice but to stay imprisoned, for his power was too great to allow her an escape. If she tried, it's highly likely that she would be banished to the nether regions. She decided to not formulate an escape plot. Better to live in the Forest Temple than to live in eternal darkness right? All she could do is sit and wait for her hero to come rescue her from her incarceration. Physically, she had an eternity to wait for him, but mentally, her hope was wearing thin. Everyday she would pray to the goddesses before the man would brutally assault her. Din, give me the power to survive until Link comes. Nayru, give me the wisdom to take fate into my own hands. Farore, give me the courage to stay sane.
Chapter 8: Under Attack
Saria was finished. It had been nearly seven years since she was first captured. The man had chained her to his wrist like a dog, further humiliating the once proud Saria. At this point, she had thought that her precious Link was dead, killed by the Moblins that patrol the labyrinth outside the ruins. It was not until she heard the man in black armor say "What do you mean the Moblins are dead?... A man in a green tunic? What is going on? Is this some kind of joke?" It's him! Its my hero! Saria targeted the shiny key attached to the waist of the man, but her hands were bound by the handcuffs that the key was paired with. She knew she had to be extremely careful as to not alert the black-suited man. She carefully reached over to his keys to try to unlatch them from his waist. The key was now in her hands, she just needed to detach them. She fondled the keys, hoping to break them free, until she made a slight, subconscious jerk, which pulled on the man's waist. Busted… "How dare you try to escape my chains! Just when I had thought you were finally submissive to my supreme authority! Betrayal will not go unpunished!" Suddenly the floor burst into a familiar purple vortex. "I will banish you to the region between dimensions! That'll teach you some respect!" Saria screamed and pleaded, but to no avail. The merciless man did not falter. She was finished.
Chapter 9: Darkness
Saria saw nothing, she breathed nothing, her world was infected with darkness, no light to be found. She couldn't even see her own body. Now Link will never find me, ill be here forever, cursed with immortality, I will never die, I cannot find solace. She then took a useless breath and began to sing the prayer hymn of the Forest Temple. At least I have my voice…
Chapter 10: Hope
Link entered the Forest Temple, greeted by a slew of monsters. No problem for a hardened swordsman like him. He passed through the temple effortlessly, but like the labyrinth, he was completely lost. If only Saria could help me find my way through this. It was then that Link heard the faint sound of chanting coming from the center of the temple. It's Saria, but somehow… different… corrupted and muted by demonic presences. He knew he had to hurry, or Saria would be gone, and his work would be in vain. At least he had a lead, he was nearly there.
Chapter 11: What Took You?
Saria stopped singing, she had seen the first twinge of flickering light emanating from the darkness. Phantom Ganon must be getting weaker, you've got this Link. She inched towards the light in anticipation for what would happen next. Either the hole will close forever, or the darkness would be vanquished. Saria had high hopes. The hole was getting progressively bigger until she could almost squeeze through. She pushed and pushed but the darkness sucked her back in like a vacuum, all she could do is wait and watch as her hero fought the villain in a spectacular fury of metal and lightning sparks. Within the chaos, Saria knew her hero was winning. She would be out very soon. That much was clear. Moments passed before the darkness around her suddenly was vanquished in the greatest light. Saria felt a holy presence enveloping her, cleansing her darkness away. She found her hero once more, dressed in his green cloth armor and his flowing cap. She ran up to him and gave him the biggest kiss anyone could ever fathom. Saria, through the tears uttered softly, "What took you?"