In the Chamber of Sages, in the center of the Sacred Realm, A world once connected to the kingdom of Hyrule, stood six figures.
The Sages of Hyrule.
Impa, the Sage of Shadow, bodyguard and advisor of the Royal Family of Hyrule, and the Sages ambassador to Hyrule, had just broken the sad news to the rest of the Sages.
Link, the Hero of Time, was dead.
Link had slain the King of Evil, Ganon, and the sages had locked his soul within the Temple of Light to decay away for eternity. But that was two years ago. Link had been grievously wounded in the battle and had spent the years bedridden in the healer's clinic in Castle town.
He was gone. All of this time together, all of those happy days in the forest, and he was gone, just like that. Saria, the Forest Sage and Link's Childhood friend couldn't hold back her tears, no matter how hard she tried. Nabooru, Sage of Spirits, was blowing her nose loudly and trying, unsuccessfully, to be strong. Ruto, Sage of Water, made no such attempt, crying and sobbing loudly. Darunia and Rauru, the Sages of Fire and Light, managed not to cry, standing stoic at the sad news.
"I want to see him."
The other five Sages turned their heads to Saria. They all knew that if they were to leave the Sacred Realm for more than a day, their powers would diminish and the seal would weaken, allowing Ganon's soul back into Hyrule, where he would eventually reincarnate into a new body.
Saria felt the other sages disgust and anger at her request. Finally, Rauru spoke up.
"Saria, even one of us leaving here poses a great danger to Hyrule. If Ganon gets out, both worlds are doomed. If you truly must go, i require that you give me some of your own power, as it will be needed to maintain the seal."
A green orb of light materialized over Saria's left palm.
"You have twenty four hours to visit his grave, after which you may never again return to Hyrule."
Saria smiled slightly, as the green ball flew over to Rauru's hand, and Saria vanished from the Chamber of Sages in a flash of green light.
It was a stormy night in the Hyrulian graveyard. Dark Clouds blotted out the sunlight and rain trickled down. The wet grass made a squelching noise as Saria walked across to the gate. At the Cemetary's back end, near the Royal Family's Tomb at the bottom of the cliff leading into the Shadow Temple, was a tree with a Headstone beneath it. Written on the Headstone in Ancient Hylian was "The cursed swordsman and Hero of Time sleeps before the sacred tree…"
Saria buried her head in her hands and sobbed. Her friend was gone forever, and starting tomorrow, she would never be able to see or grieve him again. As a Sage of Hyrule and a Kokiri child, she was immortal.
Reaching into her belt pouch, she pulled out a steel knife with a bone handle, as she thought, "I cannot die, yet…." she looked at her reflection on the blade of the knife. "…yet, I cannot live." Making her decision, she pulled some charcoal and a bit of parchment, and began to write.
I'm sorry. She wrote.
I just couldn't take it anymore. Please bury me next to Link.
Goodbye.
Saria, Sage of the Forest.
She signed her name at the bottom, then clenched the note in her right hand so whoever found her would see it. Then she picked up the knife once more, and looked at the Headstone of her childhood friend for the last time.
"I guess I'll be seeing you soon, my Hero."
She drew in a deep breath, then stabbed the knife into her chest. She felt a sudden jerk of her nerves and coughed up a bit of blood as it went through her heart, then her vision began to fade, and everything went black as she fell forward onto the ground.
Her body was found the next morning, and after a short funeral prayer, Saria was buried in an adjacent coffin next to the deceased Hero of Time. A new Headstone was carved, written on it "The Hero of Time and the Forest Sage sleep before the Sacred Tree…".
Saria awoke, aware that she was seated. She was leaning against a tree growing in the middle of a vast field. The sun was shining brightly in the sky, and the meadow streched out as far as the eye could see.
"Awake at last I see."
Saria nearly fell over in surprise as she whirled around to face the speaker.
He was about the same height and age as Saria, he had blue eyes, blond hair tucked under a green pointed hat, and was wearing a green tunic and brown boots with gold buckles.
"L-Link?" She tried to ask, her voice was hoarse from the lack of blood flow. "Is that really you?" She coughed harshly.
"Yep, it's me." He grinned, he'd missed her so much when she'd become a Sage all those years ago, and then he had died. He held onto her as she stood up shakily. Getting used to standing, she did something no one was expecting.
Smack.
She slapped Link in the face, hard.
"That was for dying on us!" She scowled at the scared Link in front of her. Seeing his sad expression, she smiled hugging him tightly. "And that's because I missed you so much." She said into his shoulder, closing her eyes, she tried to stop the tears but it was no use, she was happy, yet sad. She didn't care that she was now dead, she had Link back and that's all that mattered.