He stared into the depths of the box, eyes fixed on the pendant. "Well Saria I don't know what to say…."
"C'mon try it on!" She bubbled.
She took the wooden pendant and tied the rough yarn that held it around Link's neck. "See? It looks great on you," she smiled.
Link looked down at his chest as the wooden heart laid next to his own, just a tunic and flesh separated it. He put his hand gently on top of it; it felt smooth like it was sanded with great care. As he looked closer at it he saw the carving was very intricate, there were small crevices on where the knife cut leaving artistic designs. Saria was great at her trade, and comparing it with other works he could tell she spent a lot of time on this.
After studying it he looked up at her and gave a warm smile. At his response her face lit up, but Link sensed something. Something different about her mannerisms, she seemed… nervous. He gave her a questioning look.
"Saria?"
She took a step closer to him. "You know Link; I've been thinking…" she paused. "I've been thinking, no, what I mean to say is… I think I really like you. More than what we are now…."
Link's face grew hot. He didn't understand, and a part of him didn't want to. "Why now?" he sputtered, heart beating faster.
"You had been gone for a few weeks and it made me realize how much I missed you… I missed your presence, your conversations. Whenever you called me on the ocarina I made you, it made me ecstatic with joy! Hearing your voice was the highlight of my days," she explained herself slowly in a low voice.
Link's stomach twisted itself into a painful knot, he never thought of Saria as a significant other. She was always just his best friend, and being something more… wouldn't it jeopardize the acquired status? And plus they were totally different races put together, did she know he was a Hylian?
Time stopped; for once it was going nowhere. Stagnant, forgotten, for once it wasn't reverting or embarking. He tried to picture themselves as a couple, but what was strange is he could actually see them as one.
Zelda's face suddenly popped in his mind.
Closing his eyes tight, he felt dizzy. "I'm sorry Saria, I need to think, and I do like you too but…" his voice trailed off.
Saria looked at him, trying to see through his thoughts. "Yes… that's fine. It's understandable," her voice finally emitted. She made a hurt face and tried to hide it, Link could tell.
"I am sorry," he expressed deeply. "It's just-"
"While you think I'm going to go the lost woods," she interrupted him, flashing a fake smile. With this last sentence she left him walking away slowly, then speeding up to a quick jog not looking back
Link nodded, "right" he said to no one but himself.
No destination in mind his feet took him to his house, he needed to lie down. He climbed up the ladder while letting out a sigh; he made it to the deck and about to walk into his own tree house when he heard a voice:
"Girl issues?"
Link looked around and found the owner; "is that you Fado?" he called.
She stood on the cliff and let out a forced laugh, "the one and only! Hee hee. Need some advice on girls?"
"No thanks," said Link a bit annoyed, his eyebrows knitted.
"Suit yourself! Heh heh," she said as he pulled the curtain which revealed the entrance to his home. He walked in and made a beeline to his bed and threw his body heavily down on it. Before he realized it he had fell asleep.
Link found himself in a black room. He suddenly felt claustrophobic; making it hard for him to breathe. At the far end of the room, a door appeared whilst moving like a reflection in the water.
Without thinking, Link made his way towards the door and entered. He could see Saria sitting on a humongous tree stump, which resembled the one from the sacred forest meadow. He could see that she was playing a song with her ocarina, one he didn't recognized. It was eerie and beautiful all at once, it scared him.
The bleakness of the song pierced Link's heart with a feeling of great sadness. He tried to reach out to her but, it was as though an invisible barrier was separating Link from Saria. His felt as if it his hand hit cold glass, he pulled it back and saw an imprint of it, it looked bigger, masculine.
"Saria!" Link called out, but Saria payed no heed to him. It was as though he wasn't even there.
The room suddenly shifted and Saria disappeared into the darkness. This time, he could spot Navi flying in circles near a forest. Link smiled and started to run towards her. With every step, Navi got further and further away from him.
"Come back, Navi! Don't go!" It was useless; Navi just flew into the forest towards a male figure, a Sheikah eye was emblazed across the chest and his face was covered. Navi flew past him, her fairy dust sparkled as it trailed after her. The Sheikah just stared as link, he ripped off his cover revealing long blonde hair and Zelda's face. "Thank you for saving my fate," she said as she turned around and jumped upward into the canopy, leaving Link stranded by himself. Everything seemed confusing to Link,
Why is this happening to me?
In the distance he heard someone laughing and with a sign of hope, Link made his way towards the commotion.
The atmosphere thinned, he saw a much older version of Zelda along with an older version of himself. They were both standing in the central courtyard located in Hyrule castle. He could see that they were both talking, but the audio could not be processed.
"I just want to understand!" he cried. And with that, everything went black and vanished.
Link woke up with a gasp in his bed and saw that it was all just a dream. He got up, took his green hat and made his way out the door.
