Welcome back! I wonder what sort of place Aria will find Kokiri Forest to be... Will her mother be ok, or will she have to cope with another death? Maybe Aria will finally grow up a little in this chapter. In any case, her journey is about to unfold….

Chapter Three- Prelude to a Transformation

The Kokiri person led me to another hollowed out tree down the road. Inside was my mother, and she was looking much better. She was talking with another elf person, but stopped when she saw me. "Aria! I'm so glad you're awake!" she called out to me. I was so happy that she was ok; I ran over to her and leapt into her arms and she squeezed me tight. "Mother….I was so worried about you. Are you alright?"

She let me go and nodded.

"I'm fine Aria. These Kokiri people brought us here after you fainted in the forest. Aria, these are the people you're father grew up with." Suddenly another Kokiri person ran into the tree, out of breath. She was a girl Kokiri, and she had green hair. She was dressed differently from the other Kokiri people. She had on a green dress and a golden headpiece on her head. She was obviously someone of importance. My mother waved her over. The elf girl looked at me as if she knew me forever. I smiled awkwardly at her and a huge grin crept over her face.

"You look so much like Link…even that smile…" she said, "I'm a good friend of his; we grew up together. My name is Saria, the Forest Sage."

I felt even more awkward after she said this; how should I speak to her? Should I bow? Before I could even acknowledge this, my mother stepped in. "Saria, everyone, thank you for showing so much hospitality towards us. It means so much to know that there are still people like you willing to help others in need." Saria and the others nodded, and then Saria dismissed the other Kokiris, though she stayed behind to talk with us.

"Um, Saria…you know what's happening out in the world right now?" I asked. I then realized this was a stupid question… Of course she knew; she was a Sage!

"Yes, I know what has been going on. We do not yet know the source of these monsters. However, we people of Kokiri have been doing our best to ensure peace in our forest, and that's about all we can do. You will be safe here, at least for as long as we are here." I was happy to know that my mother and I could be safe, but I still worried for some reason.

"What's to become of everyone else though? My father is dead. He cannot protect us or defeat all the monsters now…" I said with a sound of disgust. I was still angry at my father for dying. Saria looked at me as if she did not understand. She probably didn't know that my father was dead, even though that would be strange since my father knew the Sages; they should know if he was dead or not. However, I did not go any further, just in case she did not know he was dead. I didn't want to have the feeling knowing that I spread sadness to someone so cheerful. My mother saw this long awkard pause, so she tried to cheer the atmosphere up. "Aria! Guess what? …I opened up a shop here in the forest!" I looked over at her and finally snapped out of my daze.

"That's great, mother. What do we sell?"

"Well, herbal medicines, and we will also do medicine deliveries. I figured we could put Deah to good use by using her to deliver the medicines between towns. That way we could help people who need the medicine but cannot leave their own town."

I thought this over. It seemed like a good idea, but I don't think my mother thought about how we would defend ourselves against possible attacks while we were making the deliveries. Also, I became angry at why we should help the people who cast us out because of my father's death and the coming of the monsters. "I don't see why we should have to help them! They didn't care about us, they only let us be at peace when my father was alive; they only used him! Well, they used him too much, and now he's dead! Who do they blame? Us! Why do they deserve to be helped! They can all die for all I care!" I went too far at that remark. My mother waited for me to finish my tantrum, and then spoke. "Aria, I know people can be cruel, but they are still people. Would you rather be alive knowing that they are being killed and that we will soon be neighbors to monsters instead of them?"

"I don't see a difference!" I screamed. I had had enough. I just wanted to get out of that room. I know my mother meant well, but I couldn't believe that we had to risk our lives for them. I turned to leave, but my mother stopped me.

"How can you be so selfish? At least we're still alive, right? And while we're alive, we need to help our fellow humans and stick together!"

By now I was too enraged to understand, and so I left. If my mother needed help running the shop, I'd be glad to, but I wasn't going to take any part in this delivery business that she wanted to do. She didn't bring the delivery subject up after that. That was a choice I would regret for the rest of my life.

A couple of years went by, and I grew to be very attached to Kokiri forest and its people. I learned so many stories about my father. He grew up in the forest never knowing he was half human; and even though he was half human, he was welcomed anyway by the Kokiris and the Great Deku Tree. He was a good kid, they said, growing up, and he was brave. There was one Kokiri that didn't take too kindly to Link, however, Link proved himself by saving The Great Deku Tree from Gohma, a giant spider that was living deep inside of the tree. After that, Link left and didn't come back for a long time. My mind wandered when I learned of this. Maybe my father wasn't dead; maybe he just went somewhere and will come back one day. Even though it made me a little happy knowing that there was a possibility that my father was still alive, I couldn't help but hate his selfishness. What gave him the right to just get up and leave whenever he felt like it? A voice in my head told me that he had a good reason to, but I didn't want to listen.

After hearing of all these stories about my father, I felt I had mixed feelings about him. One part of me hated him and was glad he was gone, and the other was proud of him and loved him and missed him. Whatever I was feeling, I became inspired by these stories and began my training, and I learned quickly.

Our shop in Kokiri village was doing very well. This surprised me since it didn't seem we were selling too many things, yet we managed to make a profit and live comfortably off of it. I didn't think too much on this though, and just went on my own way living happily in the village until something terrible happened.

It was late at night, and I was sleeping soundly in my room. I heard a frantic knock that wouldn't stop. Wearily I got up and answered the door. It was Saria, and she was drenched from the rain and panting from what it seems like running. She had a worried look on her face, so I asked what was wrong.

"It's…...you're……mother…." she said between gasps of air. My first thought was that this was some sort of sick joke, but that was probably only because I was half asleep. I stared at her in disbelief until she finally grabbed my arm and started pulling me. "Come with me now! This is serious! You're mother is in serious trouble!"

This woke me up quickly and we ran until we got just outside of the forest to Hyrule valley. A few yards away, I saw my mother propped up against a tree. Deah was standing nearby with spilled packages around her feet. A few Kokiris were standing around my mother and guarding her. I ran over and pushed my way through. What was she doing here so late at night? Then it struck me. She had been making deliveries for the past couple of years without me knowing…that's where the money was coming from. Why didn't mother tell me? She knew it was dangerous to go alone! "Is she….." I said with my throat choking on the words.

"No, she still has a pulse. We… don't know exactly how she got like this, but we do know….she's in a deep sleep." A Kokiri said.

"A deep sleep? What does that mean? Like, comatose?" I asked as I picked her up. I had gotten stronger these past two years so I could pick her up with relative ease. Another Kokiri nodded. "Is there any medicine we have that can wake her up!" I yelled at them. They were taken aback. Saria stepped forward. "Aria, please come back to the forest. I'd like to talk with you." I snapped my head at her and my anger went away. I had been kept in the dark about many things, it seemed. It was time for an explanation, and I knew I had to be calm to take it all in. The Kokiris helped gather the spilled medicines and Deah and we all went back to the forest. I put my mother on her own bed and tucked her in and then I followed Saria to the main meeting hall. We went into a back room and we sat down. Saria adjusted herself and began.

"Aria, there are a few things you must know…first, your mother has been making the deliveries in secret. You have to understand though; she only did it to be able to support you and herself. Second, this is something I've only just confirmed. Your father, Link, .is……alive. He's alive Aria." That's when time stopped. I couldn't believe what I just heard. My father was alive this whole time! I stared at Saria until she looked away. "Why didn't we know! You had a feeling he was alive this whole time everyone has been suffering!"

Saria looked hurt. "I said I didn't know for sure until a few days ago…"

I was hurt. "It's not like it matters if he's dead or alive anyway! He's not here! Mother….who knows what's wrong!"

Saria replied, "I think….your mother wanted to do the deliveries to find out the whereabouts of your father. I don't think she ever believed he was dead. You can tell she really loved him…she's dedicated…she just didn't let go. You must admire her for her loyalty to him.."

I thought about this for awhile. I knew what I had to do now.

I had to go find my father, and make him come back with me to my mother Maron, even if it killed me….I would find him. There may be no medicine that could awaken her, but I knew if she heard my father's voice…maybe...just maybe…she would wake up.

Well, that was the third chapter! It was a little longer than the other two chapters, but it's getting quite exciting, I think. I wonder how Aria will react if she ever finds her father? She's so tense…..but I think she realizes what she has to do. She can no longer be the delicate girl she wanted to be. She has to do something to save her mother and teach herself, and her father, a lesson. How will she go about it, I wonder I wonder?