Oh God guys, i am so sorry for the late update.
I was busy with other fanfics and almost forgot about my Zelda fic.
Shame on me.

I really hope you will like this chapter here :).

And i am sorry for grammer/spelling mistakes.

Chapter 11

Silence.

Not a word left Link's lips.

His eyes sparkled with joy and excitement at the same time and the only thing his ears could still hear was the beating of his own heart.

He had guessed that he would meet Salia here, but to see her in person now was just like a dream to him. Above all, he asked himself the question of how she had made it out of the Chamber of Sages to come to the lost woods. She had told him there was no way back for her because the Chamber of Sages would be her new home now.

But Link didn't think about all of this any longer.

His thoughts went back to the past, back to the days in which he and Saria had so much fun together.

At that time there were no horrible monsters that had haunted these woods, the temple had not been cursed, and all was well until the gruesome day when Ganondorf had usurped the power and everything was doomed.

Link had to leave the village of the Kokiri's with a heavy heart and it still hurt him, as he thought of Saria's sad eyes when he had to leave.

He would never be able to forget this sadness in her eyes ever again.

The last time they had met again was in the Chamber of Sages and since then not anymore.

Since that day, many months had passed, but it had not passed one day on which he had not thought back to his best friend and now here she was, at the place that was for both of them of momentous importance.

The Hylian felt his lips curled into a smile and he slowly walked up to the little Kokiri girl.

She raised her head and smiled at him so lovingly that his heart almost jumped with joy in his chest and now he was sure that he was not dreaming.

Slowly, she stood up and moved towards him.

Her eyes sparkled with so much joy Link had not seen for a long time in the eyes of a human and it also fulfilled his own heart with joy.

"Are you really here? Or is that a dream?"

She shook her head, confirmed him that he was not dreaming and his smile widened.

He opened his mouth to say something again, but Saria didn't give him the slightest chance, because as soon as she came to a halt in front of him she tossed herself around his neck and hugged him tightly.

Link's eyes widened at this friendly gesture, because he had not expected it. But he relaxed quickly and replied the hug with a slight blush on his face and pressed her gently against his body. He felt her clawing at the fabric of his green tunic and only seconds later a quiet sobbing came to his ears.

"Saria?"

There was no answer; she tightened her grip around him just a little.

"Hey, Saria. What's wrong with you? Why are you crying?"

"I-I am not crying…"

Nevertheless Link's lips graced a small smile as he leaned back slightly, his fingers slid under her chin and turned her head gently upwards so he could look into her face.

"What is wrong?"

She wiped the tears from her eyes before she looked at him and tried to answer his question, but she couldn't stop the tears running down her cheeks anymore.

"You simply disappeared from the forest. You were gone and none of us knew why. Can you imagine how worried I was about you? Don't do that ever again!"

During her last words she beat him half-heartedly with her fist against the chest and immediately buried her face back into his tunic and began to sob again.

"Shhh, calm down Saria. Now I am with you and I promise you that I'll never leave you alone again."

"You're a bad liar, you know that?"

"What do you mean?"

She lifted her head and looked at him with tears in her eyes.

"You will leave the forest again. Soon you will go again. Link, you forget that I am a sage. I know what your destiny is and I know what you have to do. You can't hide it from me."

The Lord of time sighed and closed his eyes briefly.

"I don't hide anything from you, I just don't want to talk about it, let alone think about what lies ahead of me. I know that I have to go to the castle and that I will face Ganondorf there. Also, I feel the fear, which is deep hidden in my heart, but I will not let it get the upper hand over me. I will face him boldly and I will defeat him and thus bring peace back to Hyrule. And then..."

He deliberately made a break, which made her look up again.

"...I come back to the Kokiri Forest."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

Now a small, barely recognizable smile crept on Saria's face and she buried her face back into his chest, listening to the soft beating of his heart and slowly but surely she calmed down. Especially when Link knelt down to her and pressed her gently against his body and stroked her back soothingly up and down.

"Calm down Saria. I'm here and I won't leave you."

She didn't answer, but clung tightly to him, burying her face in his shoulder, which made him sigh softly. His lips curled into a small, mischievous smile and he slowly ran his index finger gently and teasingly at the same time over her side.

A squeak came from her lips and she jumped back a little and rubbed over her side with a quiet giggle before she glared at him playfully. Link pretended, however, as if nothing had happened and looked at her innocently.

"What?"

She grumbled, stepped a few steps forward and poked him in the side.

"That was not fair!" She giggled which also conjured a small grin on his lips.

"What was not fair? That?"

Again, a squeak, which quickly turned into happy laughter broke from her throat when Link dug his fingers into her sides and tickled her gently. She nodded with a laugh and he continued, grinning as she squealed again and she desperately tried to grab his hands, push them away or trying to block his devious fingers, but he was too strong for her.

"L-Link! No! Stop it," she laughed, but he seemed to be deaf.

"Come here," he laughed and within seconds he had his arms wrapped around her body and pressed her back against his own body, holding her with one arm. With his free hand he searched every little spot on her body, which he knew was ticklish.

But Saria herself did not sit idly and she collects all her remaining strength and pressed her fingers now against his sides and tickled him in the same way back which also drew a laugh from him. Within moments, the sage of forest had gained the upper hand in their playful combat when her fingers brushed over his stomach and made him almost burst into hysterical laughter.

Although he tried to launch a counter attack, but his attempts went under quickly in his laughter and he let himself fall back into the soft grass of the clearing and just laughed happily.

"O-okay! Okay Saria! I-I give up! Please! You have won!"

Immediately the green haired Kokiri girl let go of him and raised her arms triumphantly in the air.

"Haha! Look at me! I have vanquished the Lord of times!"

Link chuckled softly, wiping tears of mirth out of his eyes and then looked up at her with a wry smile as she sat on his thighs and grinned at him.

"You all fight unfair."

"You all? Are you saying that the others have found out as well?"

A growl came from Link's throat and he turned his head away from his best friend in embarrassment.

"Yes...Mido has found out...well, no, my own fairy betrayed me."

Salia laughed and patted him on the stomach.

"Awww did they tickle you~?"

"Yes, and apparently Mido is not done yet. This is also the reason why I came here without a sword and shield. I left it in my house. Had I left the roof, on which I had saved myself...I don't even want to think about it."

Saria laughed again and she stood up and helped him into a sitting position.

"What do we do now?" Link wanted to know after a few moments of silence and he looked at her questioningly.

Saria grinned and pulled him unceremoniously to the entrance of the forest temple.

"I hope you took your long shot with you."

"What? Why?"

"Let's go into the forest temple."

"I-Into the temple? But...why? You should know Saria, I didn't have made good experiences in this temple."

"Link. You broke the curse, it is safe. Trust me. The monsters are gone and I must know best. I'm the guardian of this temple. Come on, let's go."

Link sighed and finally gave in and pulled out his long shot.

"Fine. You persuaded me," he grinned and he wrapped his arm around Saria's waist and held her tight.

Then he pulled himself and the Kokiri girl up with the long shot on an old tree trunk and moments later, both entered the forest temple...