Chapter One – Undying Memory
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She remembers how briefly his fingers touched the palm of her hand... just for that moment...
As he released his grip on the item he held in his hands, her eyes sparkled. He actually thought of her during his journey.
"I had it made for you," he said. He was kneeling in front of her, and had both of his arms draped across his lap. He was so tall now, that even when he crouched, he was still bigger than her.
In awe, she drew her brand new possession closer to her own body, silently gushing over the elaborate details and... what was that? Was that her name? And hi-
"Hey, hey! Don't look at that yet." he smiled, gently pushing the ocarina down. He covered it with his hand in the process.
She looked up to him, and a knowing grin crossed her lips. She saw the carving of a heart somewhere around their names. Should she have confronted him?
He shook his head away from her and sighed, his face slowly turning an odd shade of pink. "Just don't start laughing at me... It'll hurt my pride."
...No. Of course not. She knew what was between them. She knew how they used to feel about each other... And so did he, obviously. There was no need.
"Saria?"
Her eyes fluttered open.
"Saria, are you out here..."
Slightly angered and confused, she found her arms pushing themselves from the ground, and her body sitting upright. She had fallen asleep in the grass.
"Fado, what did I tell you about coming out here alone..." she called, hazily taking in her surroundings.
The rustle of branches and leaves sounded somewhere nearby. "Well, I know what you said... but..."
With a plopping sound, the young Kokiri girl fell through the barrier of forest shrubbery. "We wanted you to tell a story before bed," she grinned.
Saria had been standing by now, and walked over to help Fado from the forest floor.
"You know every story I know," she said as she pulled Fado's arm upwards.
"Yeah, but no one tells the story of the Hero of Time with your enthusiasm."
Saria, though only slightly bigger than Fado, pushed back the wall of the forest to let her through the bushes.
"Nor does anyone tell it with your vivid descriptions of his glittering blue eyes, either."
Saria nudged the smaller girl in her side, and Fado giggled.
"So you'll do it?"
She was answered with a quick nod and a smile. "I'll go get the rest of us and come back, then."
Saria's smile instantly dropped as she watched Fado go. It was painful to watch others come and go from her domain, no matter how hard she tried not to show it... but she had to accept it. She had no choice.
Ever since Mido and Fado stumbled upon the area, and a surprised forest sage along with it, they'd always come back to visit her. Of course it was better than sitting there every day and playing her beautiful ocarina alone, but she still never liked to see that she'd be trapped here forever, and they wouldn't. It was part of being a sage, apparently.
After a few moments, Fado had returned with a line of Kokiri faces, some familiar to Saria, some not. Many years had passed, so there were bound to be new children in the village by now.
They laughed amongst themselves as they entered, some smiling at each other, and some smiling at Saria. She recognized the star-struck looks they gave her, and though she felt grateful and somewhat flattered, she mentally scolded them that they had no idea what it cost to be her. What it cost to be Saria, a lonely, immortal forest sage...
Suddenly, a hand was on her shoulder. Her empty eyes turned upon Mido.
"Saria... I'm glad you agreed to tell a story. Though I wish it were a different one... I'm still happy to see you every once in a while."
She forced a smile. It was slow, but it was something. She couldn't let anyone know that the loneliness of the meadow had changed her. And so she turned, walking away from Mido and to her stump. She never needed to do anything other than that to excuse herself from his presence anyway.
As she told the story, she'd put on a great smile, and emphasized the big 'plot twists.' She raised both of her hands in the air, filling the children's hearts with high hopes of the Hero's abilities during the events of the climax, and her voice drifted into a much gentler tone once she neared emotional parts, and the ending. Hiding one's true opinion of a story was a necessity for a tale-teller of course, but it was even more important with this one.
Because she hated this story. More than anything in the world.
"Now, off to bed. I hope you will remember this story for the rest of your lives. The Hero of Time just may come back to visit this village one day."
'Whoa! The Hero of Time? Come back here?'
'I know! That would be so cool!'
It might've been. But it was a lie. And yes, she should've known better than to say that, but she didn't care. The chlidren would have to face disappointment one day in their lives, whether it be the moment they realize they'll never age, or the day they have to come to terms with the fact that they'll never be allowed to share a mutual feeling with their closest Hylian friend...
She patted many heads of soft hair, and shared plenty of hugs before humbly making her way to her silent, crumbled temple. And as soon as she set foot in her domain, she let out a long, frustrated grunt.
That dream she had earlier was torture, and it never left her mind. Even while she was surrounded by dozens of bright-faced Kokiri children, that dream stuck itself to the back of her eyelids and was there every time she blinked. And it didn't help that when her eyes were open, she was telling every detail of that horrid story. The story of how her life became miserable.
You didn't have to be a witch to know that reviving old, painful memories in an empty soul, devoid of any greater purpose, was a bad idea. Doing so was the means of corruption, something Saria had tried to stay away from. But a desperate need had filled the place of Saria's existence now... A need to talk, a need to touch, and a need to taste. She was bitter. And she wanted life.
No, A life.
A real one, like his...
She found it humorous sometimes. She wanted a life like his so much, yet, she had no idea what his life was even like. She laughed to herself a little. He could have been a retired hero by now, sitting on the balcony of his out-of-the-way mansion, resting in silence, peace, and solitude. Proud of his accomplishments, but too good of a person to boast to anyone else about it.
...No. He had grown too handsome for a future in solitude. And he was too humble and shy, if his looks failed to lure anyone in.
Saria hated the thought of it, but over time, she'd realized it was very probable... that he was probably somewhere serene, in the embrace of the Princess.
The princess... from what she had seen, was a beautiful woman, with long, rose-blonde hair, and starlit eyes. She was very intelligent and sweet, but she knew when to be serious, and how to be crystal clear about what she wanted.
The "Hero and Princess" fairytales never changed with time. The chemistry between a young warrior with a ethereal flame for a spirit and a graceful, beautiful and wise princess would never die. And just how could Link resist her anyway? Even if he didn't take a liking to her upon first glance, he had to've at least thought about her romantically once.
Link... That ignorant, selfish child... Man, she corrected herself. He was an ungrateful and selfish man, and once he was done with the people who had given him a home and a fairy... given him happiness... the start of his life... he forgot about them, and moved out into the world to be with the beautiful princess of Hyrule.
He'd left and never come back...
He forgot about where he had came from, and all that the Kokiri village had done for him. More importantly...
He forgot about her... abandoned her...
And she would hate him for it. Forever.
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A/N: Erm, does anyone still read Link/Saria stuff? *cough*
Why I decided to try to write for a pairing that's so difficult as my 1st LoZ fic, I don't know. My beta has often said "you're doing too much" or just "...no" to my ideas, but I have a hunch that he's just a boy and he doesn't know what he's talking about. Just a hunch. ;P
But I suppose this isn't exactly AU since these things could happen, but in the same way I suppose it is, because NONE of this actually would happen. So, don't come throwing rocks with "THAT'LL NEVER HAPPEN" written on them through my window, you Zelink fans. We'll fight.
(And yes, I am aware that Saria is not 'trapped' in her temple, but I got the idea from TheKiro's story and for some reason I can't shake that concept. :D)
Also, I know my chapters might start off short and my wording may be weird. But I can't help it... that's how I write stories after I've taken a looong break I guess. They'll get longer once I need to add more descriptions and eventually, LINK'S train of thought. Squee! :3
Please review/critique what you can, there's probably a ton of stuff I should fix... but I'd like to know what I'm doing right, too, mmmk?
