Chapter Two: Damsel in Distress


Saria sat alone at the base of the tree stump, crying. For seven years, crying was almost all she could do. Saria was not strong enough to conquer the feelings of loneliness that she felt even when she was around other friends. The false sense of being the last person in the Realm had settled permenently in her heart ever since He left. From that point on, Saria was an island among the other Kokiri children.

Needless to say, there wasn't a living soul in the entire forest that did not sense Saria's sudden change of face. No one had ever seen Saria cry before, and as a result, Saria's depression seeped through the other children and spread throughout the village like a disease. Everyone endured for a little while...but soon Saria became separated and indifferent to all the other children, a wall was raised between them, and at length Mido searched out for someone to blame. Inevitably, it only became another reason to hate the one that left. The children, with all their hatred for this malady upon them, would never forget or forgive that boy for what he did.

Having someone to blame strengthened and united the Kokiri in a sense, and hieghtened Saria's disgust. To everyones extreme surprise, Saria disowned them all, and none of them could understand why.

Saira withdrew to the Holy Grounds of he Sacred Meadow and remained there in self-exile--crying in pity of the children whose hearts could not feel or see what she knew to be true. The only recourse Saria had from this unberable tormen was in believing that He would deliver her from the pain. She had never given up hope that He would one day come back, but her prayers had never been answered, and hope was beginning to run thin.

Saria suddenly stopped crying when she noticed a distant voice calling for help. She pricked her ears up and recognized the voice as that of the good spirits that resided inside the temple.

Without hesitation, Saria ran into the temple to save them. They were the last good spirits in the forest that were free of the King's control, and Saria would sooner be dead than let the spirits fall into his grasp. As soon as she had stepped into the main hall however, Saria saw with horror that the spirits had already turned evil, and had lured her there purposfully.

After blocking the exit and chasing her into the very center of the hall, the four spirits surrounded her, and slowly began spinning around her all the while uttering some ancient spell. Saria wanted to make a move. As soon as she saw an opening, Saria tried diving between two of the spirits, but suddenly found herself flat on the floor. Puzzled, she looked at her legs and noticed that they felt as heavy as lead.

Saria scrambled frantically to her feet and began to feel that petrifyed sensation moving up through her body. Presently, a ruby crystal began forming at her feet and continued upwards at a steady pace.

"What is this treachery?" She screamed. The crystal rose to Saria's neck, and a spirit looked at her mockingly.

So young...so naive, you fell right into our trap, Saria. The purple spirit, Meg replied. Hence forth you shall be prisoner of the Great Ganondorf!

Saria noticed something gravely different about the spirits. They were once four sisters, all sharing a life of happiness, and had become good fairies of the forest after their time; but now they looked different; evil, mean, and ghostly…

Ghostly! That's it! They're Poes! Saria thought.

"You wont get away with this!" Saria hostilly challenged, "Just you see! You'll regret thi--" but she was cut off by the crystal's completion and a great flash of red light. The four Poes laughed maniacally and disappeared.

Saria's crystal then seemed to lower into the ground, and drifted into the darkness. Consumed by fear and shock, Saria fainted.

The next thing she knew, Saria was in a large circular room, with paintings all over the walls. It looked odd to her. There was two rather artistic Kokiri siblings in the village that owned the shop; Saria had remembered that the back room had their paintings all over the walls like here. But in this place, all the paintings were the same. Saria was torn from her thought by the sound of someone clearing their throat, and nearly jumped.

There, standing before her with that vile smirk on his face, was Ganondorf. Saria again nearly jumped a mile as soon as she knew who the man was, and apparently, he noticed.

"Heh...did I scare you, sweetie?" Ganon asked, chuckling loudly.

Saria only swallowed, she wouldn't let the Dark King see her fear now (though at this point any effort was unecessary). She stared directly back into his red eyes defiantly and said, "No, your highness, you merely caught me off guard."

"Of course, how wrong of me," Ganondorf answered derisively.

Saria narrowed her eyes and said nothing. Ganon then took the next moment regarding her with an almost dissapointed and dismayed expression.

"Hmmm," Ganon thought aloud, "It obviously has bad taste in its hosts...why not someone with more significance?" He was muttering under his breath absentmindedly, but Saria could hear him all the same.

"Is that why you captured me? Because you think I'm important?"

She ripped Ganon out of his thought, and he smiled knowingly.

"Not because I think, sweetie. Because I know."

"…What?" Saria asked, at first appalled by the pet-name, and then confused by what he actually meant. "What are you talking about?"

"Hmm…I see you haven't found out yet," The King said scratching his chin. "But I wonder..." he was thinking aloud again. "I wonder if I can force it out..."

A bead of sweat rolled down the side of Saria's face--Ganon's eyes were flashing dangerously, and that twisted smile was back on his face. Ganon approached the crystal and Saria backed as far as she could against the other side. Ganon raised his hand and suddenly Saria was forced back into the center with her arms at her sides and her feet together.

Saria's eyes widened. He was going to kill her! …Just because Ganon thought she was somebody she wasn't!

...But why? Why does he think that? Saria thought fearfully, and she looked at Ganon with a scared and pleading expression.

Ganon smiled wickedly, and a black mist began to snake around Saria's body. "Yes, it certainly has no taste in its host...how pathetic..."

Saria then suddenly noticed a pain slowly piercing every inch of body. At once, she screamed and the pain grew worse and worse. It was like screws were being driven down through her shoulders and into her heart; likewise, that same pain was shooting up and down her legs like something was shredding her legs from the inside out.

Saria was in the worst pain she would ever feel in her life, and Ganon was simply waiting there--enjoying the spectacle for all the entertainment it could offer. Though amidst the pain and agony Saria felt something welling up inside her, something deep inside was slowly making its way towards the surface...but it wasnt pain. Inside, Saria felt like something was going to explode, and would take everything down with it...

"Show yourself! Mighty Sage of the Forest!" Ganon yelled impatiently.

It gritted its teeth and opened its eyes, which were now shining with an ultra green light, and stared back directly at Ganon. It clenched its fists and pulled them in tight to its body. Presently, its fists began to glow and it quickly thrust them apart, releasing a massive wave of energy in every direction and shattering the crystal around it!

Ganon smiled.

It spoke, but the voice was distorted and mixed. Not only was Saria talking in her own body, but another voice was present as well, deep and terrible. The combination of the girl's and the Sage's voice could have curdled stone, but Ganon didn't even blink.

"Well, here I am, Ganondorf..." The sage said. "You will regret ever bringing me out." It lowered and hovered a few inches off the ground.

Ganon snickered and said, "Oh? Well I'm terribly sorry, your holiness, but you alone do not have the power to defeat me. You have not been awakened yet after all."

"We shall see about that," The sage said contentiously, and backed up to the opposite side.

At once, leaves, vines, and roots conjured up from no where and began flying at Ganon. A whirlwind of razor-sharp leaves and petals surrounded the Sage, and it dared Ganon to attack with a smile.

Ganon grinned and chuckled as he simply walked towards the Sage's bastion of foliage. His shoulders were raised, and he swayed slightly when he walked. The Sage's smile dissapeared when Ganon neither slowed, nor stopped his advance on her.

"Fool" The Sage uttered, and immediately, an impassable barrier of spiked roots shot up and stretched towards Ganon with inexplicable speed.

Ganon kept walking. As soon as the spiked roots struck him, they were annihilated by the magic barrier he had around his body. The roots recoiled, and others took their place. Ganon raised his hand, and they, too, burst apart as if some explosion ripped them from the inside out. Just as quickly, however, a plethora of flower petals and leaves surrounded Ganondorf and began flying dangerously close to him in the whirlwind. One, petal, managed to graze his cheek, and it withered instantly. Ganon endured a few more steps with the nuisance before a burst of energy emitted from his body and the petals floated harmlessly to the ground.

The Sage gritted its teeth and conjured to thorned vines in its hands. Without hesitation, the sage flung them mercilessly and relentlessly at the approaching King. Ganon merely sidestepped or turned sideways whenever necessary, and continued his slow pace towards the Sage.

It was getting desperate now. For the final blow that would be Ganon's undoing (he was to close now to avoid the next attack), the Sage threw its arms behind it's back. The whips recoiled and lashed in a cross pattern away from Gannon (the ends had barely missed from the previous attack). The sage then thrust its hands forwards again and the two vines lanced straight out at Ganon with incalculable speed.

The Sage felt the whips tighten from the collision, but they had not pierced through the intended target. Rather, Ganon had only stopped walking, and was gripping the two vines in his hands.

"Im--Impossible," the sage muttered vapidly.

Ganon was smiling broadly as he pulled on the whips, and flung the Sage over to the other side of the Gallery, where it hit the wall and landed with a thud on the platform.

Saria shook her head, dazed from the fall. What was going on? She remembered being unable to control her actions, or even her own voice. For that entire time, it felt like someone powerful had taken the reigns for her...who--or whatever it was, had saved her life.

"Wha-? …What just happened to me?" Saria asked.

"It's not what happened to you, Saria. That's who you are!" Ganon said triumphantly, "You are the Sage of the Forest, and now that I have found you, nothing can get in my way."

Meg re-appeared. Master, the boy draws near…

Ganondorf's face faulted a bit. "E-e-e-except for that," He said quickly. Ganondorf turned to the purple ghost, not at all pleased with her timing. "Well, let's have a look then, shall we?"

The Poe giggled. Yes! Yes! She said and started to draw a giant ring in the air with her torch.

The purple ring swirled in the air, and suddenly an image began to paint itself inside the circle. When the colors came to and the image focused, it depicted a young man riding a great steed towards the forest.

The man seemed to be wearing green Kokiri clothes and a long green hat. When the image zoomed in closer on his face Saria was sure that it was Link...there was no mistake about it. She would almost have laughed with joy had Ganondorf not seen the look on her face.

"What's this? You know him?" He asked.

Saria stood up and dusted herself off. Her face was confident, and unafraid now. Ganondorf frowned; he saw that she had returned to her former-self just from seeing that little punk. She looked Ganondorf directly in the eyes, and did not cower under them. Ganondorf saw no break in her new composure, and began to wonder just how close those two were.

"Yes, I know him, that's Link," Saria answered confidently, "He's here because he wants to save me I'm sure."

Ganondorf raised an eyebrow.

"Don't underestimate what he'd be willing to do for me," she shot indignantly. "I can already tell you that he'll stop at nothing to make sure I'm safe."

Ganondorf laughed at her sudden arrogancy. "My dear I find him hardly worth my time."

"But still worth your time nonetheless." Saria grinned.

Ganondorf's eyebrows lowered. "You may be right, but I think I see something interesting between the two of you." He said. "And that's just the thing I need to take him down."

He snapped his fingers and the crystal formed around her once again. Saria banged her fists angrily on the inside.

"What do you intend to do?" She asked.

"Well, now that I know that you are a sage and in my possession, I don't have to worry about you giving your powers to him."

Saria shot back at him. "Well, in that case, the longer you hold me captive the more he's going to want you dead!"

"Exactly." Ganon said with a smirk.

"I don't get you…" Saria said. "If he kills you now all our problems will be solved."

"Oh, but not so," Ganon corrected, "For you see my dear, the Ganondorf you see before you is only my mirror image, my phantom. I am still in control of everything it does, but what you see here is my clone, with only a slight difference in power. So, if your 'hero' ever gets down here, my phantom will kill him. And, if by some miracle that he gets down here and manages to defeat my phantom, then I'm not defeated."

Saria narrowed her eyes.

"Of course," Ganon disclosed honestly, "If he succeeds, then your power as a Sage will be added to his own...however," Saria saw a glint in Ganon's eye that chilled her to the bone. "When you do add your power to his, you will never be able to set foot in the Living Realm again...That, is the destiny of the Sages."

"You Lie!" Saria yelled at him.

Ganondorf laughed deeply, "Perfect…So, he is your knight in shining armor, is that right? You can't stand to live without him, and he can't stand to live without you? Ha! What sap! This will work out better than I planned!"

A bead of sweat ran down the side of Saria's head. He…he can't be right. He can't be trusted…he's a liar! She thought. But suddenly the voice that belonged to the sage spoke to her. He's right Saria. You two were never meant to be together, this is, because of your duty, and his.

How can you say that? Saria asked the sage incredulously. We WERE meant to be together, we love each other! And besides, what duty do we have to fufill?

The sage-half of her flared. You insignificant fool! Have you not been listening to that abomination that haunts us so? Listen to me! Listen to my voice! I am the sage of the Forest; nay WE are the sage of the forest. Saria, you are two halves now. One, the happy and strong minded Kokiri girl that holds the heart of the Hero of Time. The other, a millennia-old sorcerer that maintains the element of the forest through its host…The Forest Sage. Believe what you want Saria, but know that this is the truth, and that your duty as the sage of the forest is to rid the evil from this realm. Long have I remained dormant, and now I must awaken to the evil…through you.

But that's! But...wait...what did you call Link? Saria asked.

I called him The Hero of Time. Long before he was even born he was destined to save Hyrule from Ganon and lead the land to a Golden Age of prosperity. And you, Saria, were destined to become the Sage of the Forest. Whether you love Link or not, the two of you were never meant to be in the same world together. You've known it all along in your heart...you and Link were different, you know Link didn't belong. You said it yourself when he left…

Saria's eyes showed understanding. She remembered telling him the day that he left that he wasn't one of them, and that he was bound to leave someday. Then she started to cry again.

It all ties in. She thought as she sank to her knees. But why us? Why us? It's not fair!

Ganondorf couldn't contain his delight. He had been listening to Saria's conversation with the sage…er, herself. Indeed, things would very much favor his side both ways. Whether his phantom was defeated or not, Link's soul would obviously rip itself apart. Having Saria suffering on the other side was just a bonus.

"My dear, I believe that we've chatted long enough. You can stay here until I kill that little wimp. Then I'll decide what to do with you." Ganon said then started laughing again.

Saria saw the world outside her crystal beginning to fade. In a whirl of colors, all disappeared except for the swirling image of her hero, and she was left alone in the black void.

How can you see into my eyes like open doors,
Leading you down into my core where I've become so numb,
Without a soul, my spirit sleeping somewhere cold,
Until you find it there and bring it back...home.

(Wake me up)
Wake me up inside,
(I can't wake up)
Wake me up inside,
(Save me)
Call my name and save me from the dark,

(Wake me up)
Bid my blood to run,
(I can't wake up)
Before I come undone,
(Save me)
Save me from the nothing I become.

Now that I know what I'm without,
You can't just leave me here,
Breathe into me and make me real,
Bring me…to life.

(Wake me up)
Wake me up inside,
(I can't wake up)
Wake me up inside,
(Save me)
Call my name and save me from the dark,

(Wake me up)
Bid my blood to run,
(I can't wake up)
Before I come undone,
(Save me)
Save me from the nothing I become.

Frozen inside without your touch without your love,
Darling only you are the life among the dead.

All this time I can't believe I couldn't see,
Kept in the dark but you were there in front of me,

I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems,
Got to open my eyes to everything,

Without a thought without a voice without a soul,
Don't let me die here,
There must be something more,
Bring me to life.

(Wake me up)
Wake me up inside,
(I can't wake up)
Wake me up inside,
(Save me)
Call my name and save me from the dark,

(Wake me up)
Bid my blood to run,
(I can't wake up)
Before I come undone,
(Save me)
Save me from the nothing I become.

Bring me to life
I've been living a lie,
There's nothing inside.

Bring me to Life


Well, I admit, I decided to take a bit of a different turn. This is a very small descriptive of Saria's side of the story. I decided to lengthen the entire story thanks to my dear reviewers (I haven't received so much positive feedback! Thank you so much!) I also admit that I'm not as happy with this one as I am the other chapter, but I think it'll suffice for now. The song at the end belongs to Evanesance, "Bring Me to Life." It suited the situation pretty well, or at least I think so. I could've put some of the story in between the verses, but I'm not to sure it would've turned out as I wanted it to…better safe than sorry.

Update Note: I went through and revised a lot of stuff in this chapter. Most of the stuff that is different is the dialouge and the action scenes. I amped up both sigificantly. Although I'm still not sure how well everything flows, I think that the additions made a better chapter. The song is still as it was before, but I think there was a slight formatting problem when put it down. Have fun reading this one, people!

Now for you previous reviews…

Kookie Dough: Of course I know! Zelda watched everything she knew disappear through a different point of view…Sheik's.

Spicey-Muffin: :grins evilly: Oh, I think I can be a bit more 'gentle.'

Junky: It's all in the deep scary blue eyes -

Link of Kokiri Forest: :panting: Writing! I'm writing!

Greki: Well…if you put it that way… -

Joe Nathan Roque: That's what its all about, it may be death and despair, but it works. -

Once again thank you so much for the positive reviews. Keep them coming!