''Well done, Link...''
They arrived back outside in Kokiri forest, back to meeting up with the Great Deku Tree as all evil inside of the magical tree had been destroyed. ''Thou hast verily demonstrated thy courage... I knew that thou wouldst be able to carry out my wishes...''
''Link has been very brave, Great Deku Tree!'' Navi proudly told him. ''He was brave for you!''
''I can tell, Navi... Now, I have yet more to tell ye... wouldst thou listen...'' A nod came from Link in response, willing to hear what the Great Deku Tree had to tell him. ''Now...listen carefully... A wicked man of the desert had cast this dreadful curse upon me...'' The boy sat down in the grass as he was willing to listen to the story the Great Deku Tree had to tell him. ''This evil man ceaselessly uses his vile, sorcerous powers in his search for the Sacred Realm that is connected to Hyrule... For it is in that Sacred Realm that one will find the divine relic, the Triforce, which contains the essence of the gods...''
''Before time, before spirits and life existed... Three golden goddesses descended upon the chaos that was Hyrule... Din, the goddess of power... Nayru, the goddess of wisdom... Farore, the goddess of courage... Din... With her strong flaming arms, she cultivated the land and created the red earth. Nayru... Poured her wisdom onto the earth and gave the spirit of law to the world. Farore... With her rich soul, produced all life forms who would uphold the law. The three great goddesses, their labors completed, departed for the heavens. And golden sacred triangles remained at the point where the goddesses left the world. Since then, the sacred triangles have become the basis of our world's providence. And, the resting place of the triangles has become the Sacred Realm.''
''Thou must never allow the desert man in black armor to lay his hands on the sacred Triforce... Thou must never suffer that man, with his evil heart, to enter the Sacred Realm of legend... That evil man who cast the death curse upon me and sapped my power... Because of that curse, my end is nigh...'' That had both Link and Navi surprised. Link's eyes widened at such words, crawling up as quick as he could to stand on his feet. ''Though your valiant efforts to break the curse were successful, I was doomed before you started...'' In pure shock, Link shook his head. No... this couldn't be true! The Great Deku Tree couldn't be dying! ''Yes, I will pass away soon... But do not grieve for me...'' It was easier said than done, Link felt tears coming up in his eyes but blinked them away the best he could. The protector of their forest was about to die, this couldn't be happening! ''I have been able to tell you of these important matters... This is Hyrule's final... hope...''
''No!'' Navi flew towards the Great Deku Tree, desperately and not being able to accept this. ''Great Deku Tree... please, no! You can't- this can't be!'' Link watched her fly around in despair. ''The forest- what about the forest, the fairy children, ME?'' This was too cruel, too sudden. ''You're... our... Great Deku Tree, you can't just die...''
''I'm sorry... Navi...'' He truly was, but it was as it is. ''Link... Go now... to Hyrule castle... There, thou will surely meet the Princess of Destiny... Take this stone with you. The stone that man wanted so much, that he cast the curse upon me...'' In the air, a green light a beautiful stone appeared and it flew in Link's hands. It was green with gold, shiny too. ''This is the Kokiri's Emerald... This is the Spiritual Stone of the forest... Please protect it... The future depends upon thee, Link... Thou art... courageous... Navi the fairy... Help Link to carry out my will... I entreat ye... Navi... Good...bye...''
''NO!'' Navi yelled loudly, flying around the Deku Tree that had died. Link tried to reach for Navi with his hand, but she had fled away closer to the Great Deku Tree. Seeing his new friend in so much sadness hurt the young hero. Not only that but for himself, this was painful too. The Great Deku Tree... their protector, their father. Something like a very cold wind breezed through the air, leaves losing their green colors as the Great Deku Tree passed away. It was over... Navi had no other choice but to accept this new part of life. She stared at the Great Deku Tree for a very long time. ''Good-bye... Great Deku Tree...'' The fairy said, flying down to pick up a single flower she saw and placed it next to the Deku Tree. ''I will never forget you.'' Link stepped up to the fairy, having wiped a few tears that had rolled down his cheeks away. ''We must go, Link... Let's go to Hyrule Castle.'' There really was no time to grieve. Link nodded, picking up the same flower as Navi had and placed it next to hers with the Deku Tree. It was their way of goodbye. Link turned around to leave the place. Navi followed but hesitated. She flew back for a moment, but it was pointless. She went after Link; it was time to leave the Great Deku Tree forever.
They reached back to the forest. Mido had heard it, everyone already knew about it. ''Link!'' He yelled at him in an angry voice, stomping up to him. ''What did you do, what have you done?! The Great Deku Tree... did he... die? How could you do a thing like that?! It's all your fault!'' Mido angrily yelled. Link took a step back, shaking his head. It wasn't his fault! He only had tried to save the Great Deku Tree, he had never meant to kill him! Mido grabbed Link's green tunic, pushing the boy against the wall in anger. ''I've never liked you... I will never accept you as one of us, especially after this. What would Saria say? You're a murderer!'' Mido had it all wrong, Link truly felt just as bad and emotional as everyone else. ''Hold your excuses.'' He hissed, shoving the blond once more against the wall before letting go of him. ''Don't you dare to think that I will ever forgive you for this, fake fairy boy.'' With that, the boss of the fairies walked away.
''Don't listen to him, Link.'' Navi tried to reassure him as Link stared down at his feet in sadness and rubbed against his chest where Mido had pushed him. ''It's not your fault... I know. I am sure Saria will believe you too. You know how Mido is to you...'' A big, mean bully. ''You've done what you could, Link. There is nothing else you can do except to fulfill the Great Deku Tree's will.'' The young hero looked up to his friend, nodding and rubbing his face with a hand. It was just too sad that they had lost an important creature in their life. Would the Kokiri forest ever be the same without the Great Deku Tree? ''Let's pick up what you need and we will go to the castle, okay?'' Link nodded. Navi was all right about this. He walked to his tree house to find things that might be useful on the way, but he didn't have much.
It was time to leave Kokiri forest. A forest that was known as a happy place with the fairies playing music together. Link was going to miss this place. He got to the exit of the forest, taking in a deep breath. He looked behind him. So much had happened in such a short amount of time. He entered the large tree trunk, walking over a bridge.
''Oh, you're leaving...'' A voice behind him spoke. A female's voice. Link paused and turned around, surprised somewhat to see Saria standing on the side of the bridge. They shared a look before Link slowly walked up to her. Saying goodbye to her was going to be hard for him, he knew. ''I knew that you would leave the forest someday, Link...'' There was a sad tone in Saria's voice. ''Because you are different from me and my friends...'' Link always had been different from all the other fairy children. He had been the only one without a guardian fairy. ''But that's okay because we'll be friends forever... won't we?'' Link nodded his head quickly. Of course, they would be friends forever. Saria smiled at that. She had something in her hands and showed it to Link. ''I want you to have this Fairy Ocarina. Please take good care of it.'' It was an instrument, a special instrument. It was played by the fairy children and now Saria gave it to Link as a memento. ''When you play my Ocarina, I hope you will think of me and come back to the forest to visit.'' Link stuffed the Fairy Ocarina in his pocket, nodding his head. He could never forget Saria; she was one of his closest friends. ''And Link...'' There was something he had to know, something that might bring the boy at ease. She too had heard about it and it was awful. ''I know you didn't do it. I know you did it to save him and us.'' She knows that Link was a good person. ''And I know you have to go now.'' She added, smiling sadly. ''But please visit whenever you can.'' She would truly miss him. ''Good-bye, Link.''
Two goodbyes in one day. His chest felt heavy with sadness and pain. Link took a few steps back, running away. He couldn't take it. Saria watched her friend leave their hometown. She could only hope and wait for his return someday...
