Both shrieking at the top of their lungs, Link and Saria hurtled through the air.
Eyes clutched shut, neither could bear to look as the ground approached rapidly. However, when their bones should've been shattered against the earth, nothing seemed to happen. Nothing at all. All drew to silence, no longer could even the rain be heard.
"...Are we dead?"
"That is for you to decide. Ehahaha!"
Confused to say the least, both children opened their eyes, to find they were in the palace of lost souls once more. Not only that, they were ghosts again! They seemed to be in a different leg of the palace, but the Poes were still surrounding them.
"You have completed the trial of power! Quite impressive, we must say. Most interesting to see the possessor of the triforce of courage demonstrate his ability to wield power!"
"We weren't wielding anything! Unless you count that crummy old mirror."
Saria ran her fingers across her wispy hand. Though she had been in the mud, she was spotless.
"But you were! See, you have shown you are capable of controlling the future! Is that not what power is?"
Link cricked his head to the side. Ganondorf, essentially the definition of power hungry, was rather fixated on control. It made sense. After all, how could anyone control anything but the future?
"Well... I think I get what you mean. We manipulated the- er... the thing's beam and used it against it. We showed we were more powerful than it?"
"Right you are, forest sage. You have completed the trial of power. Now, you must complete the trial of wisdom. Are you ready to face the second trial?"
"It can't be anything worse than the last one, right?"
"You will see, eehahaha!"
Like they had before, the Poes began to spin around rapidly. Link and Saria felt as if they were being carried off to another land, which they were, in a way. The pair landed on a stone pathway with a thud. No mud this time, they landed indoors.
"Ow! Couldn't they at least put us down gently? Where are we this time? This place seems awfully familiar..."
As Link appraised the structure around them, the color left his face. Saria could instantly tell something was wrong.
"I don't like that look, Link. What is this place?"
He knew this temple all too well... the Temple of Time. The legendary keep of the Master Sword, and gateway to the sacred realm. It was this very temple that had put the boy where he was in life. Well, the temple, along with several other things.
"The Temple of Time? I've been in here at least once before. Why would the trial of wisdom take us here? This place seems to carry an odd aura... whether it is good or bad, I do not know."
As much as his past haunted him, Link did his best to shake the odd feeling off, and press on. Surely the trial would make itself apparent in some fashion or another. Walking forward, Link found that the Spiritual Stones were in place, and the Door of Time was ajar. Anxiety welled up within him yet more as he walked up the steps to the door. Saria in tow, she admired the beauty of the Spiritual Stones, especially the Kokiri Emerald's green hue. Pointing foward, the young girl gasped.
"Is that-?!"
What lie in the next room made Link's skin crawl. The Master Sword was in there, but it was not in its pedestal! They boy rushed forward like a bombchu on a mission, but stopped just short of the weapon. All around, a mysterious voice echoed.
"The blade of evil's bane, just before you it is lain.
Heroes with its shaft held high, smite demon and bring their time nigh.
When adventure is done and the hero no longer quests, in the pedestal shall the Master Sword go, lain to rest.
Where is the sword's true home? In the hand of a hero, or the pedestal that is known?
Show which is true. Either return the blade to the pedestal, or take it in hand out the door with you."
Staring into the air, Saria tried her best to make sense of what the ethereal voice had said.
"It's some sort of riddle. I think we're supposed to either put the Master Sword in the Pedestal of Time, or take it outside of the temple. But which is the blade's true home? In the hand of a hero, or at rest in the pedestal?"
While Saria contemplated the odd rhyme, Link stared back down at the sword. Though it was the blade of evil's bane, the Master Sword seemed to carry an ill omen with it. It always meant trouble was in the foreseeable future. Though the sword was purposed for smiting aforementioned trouble, who was to say it didn't cause it? Something seemed ominous yet nostalgic about the way it lay.
"What are you waiting for? I'm not picking it up! To be honest, I doubt I'm even capable of holding it. You're the Hero or Time, Link. It's your weapon to wield."
Despite his friend's insistence, Link continued staring at the blade... something about it really didn't sit right with him. If he picked it up, would it put him into suspended animation again until he was of age? Saria knelt down before the sword and observed its careless placement. Why wasn't the Master Sword in the Pedestal of Time? It was as if someone had just yanked it from its resting place and tossed it to the ground without another thought.
"It's not like anyone could just do this... only a hero destined by the goddesses can draw the blade from the Pedestal of Time. What careless fool would just leave it lying on the floor?"
In an instant, it all came back.
"... I did..."
"Come now Link. I know you're the only in our time to wield the Master Sword, but that doesn't automatically mean you did it. I meant that as more of a rhetorical question. This is obviously just some messed up illusion created by the Poes. Now help me solve this riddle."
"No, I did it. I remember doing it..."
"Wait a minute... so did the Poes recreate the Temple of Time as it is in one of your memories?"
With a simple nod, the boy confirmed Saria's theory. Yes, he remembered it all very clearly now. The blade was lain to the ground carelessly, right across the steps to the pedestal. Exactly as it was now. Of course, he hadn't done it with slothful intention. He wasn't sure whether he was angry or sad then. Perhaps he was both. All he knew was that it was all too much. If this was when he thought it was, then...
"Hey, listen to me Link!"
Both children's ears perked at the familiar high voice. Was it really her? Accompanied by the voice was soft sobbing. This had to be when Link thought it was. Apparently, the Poes went a bit further than just a static recreation.
"For the goddesses sake Link, look up at me and listen!"
With silent footsteps, Link and Saria crept out the door of time, and toward the one-sided emotional exchange. Saria put a hand to her mouth in shock.
"Are they-?! No... they couldn't be..."
A young man wearing a green tunic sat sobbing into his white leggings, a small blue fairy buzzing around his blonde hair. Those two were exactly who Saria thought they were.
"You can't change the hand fate deals you, Link. You can only change how you react to it."
The young man responded not, and only continued his soft weeping. The poor blue fairy seemed quite at a loss for words.
"... I'm sorry Link... I'm not sure what else to say. I of all people didn't know you weren't a Kokiri. There's no way I could have just told you! I may be an immortal being, but I am not all knowing."
The scrunched up young man's crying softened a little. His head was still bent into his body, against his knees. He let out a loud sigh, before going silent. Link looked back at Saria with slight remorse, who only returned his gaze with an empty frown.
"I suppose it is only fate that you were a Hylian. After all, if you have the blood of heroes in you, then you must be of Hylian descent. But Saria... I'm hardly sure the goddesses could have even predicted that... But that's fate for you. It never does quite what you think it will."
The young man sniffled, but didn't sob. Clearly, this was a man who had been broken.
"Heck, I even thought you two were meant to be... even if you didn't. But then... well... you know what happened."
For the first time, words left the young man's mouth. His voice was smooth and tender, but broke as he spoke.
"She's gone now..."
"You don't know that!"
Saria turned her head away from the man toward Link. The boy had a steely gaze fixated on the young man, but she could read a bit of sorrow in his eyes. Perhaps even a bit of regret.
"Link... some things just aren't meant to last forever. Saria has her part in fate, and you have yours. It's a shame that's how it has to be, but that's how it is. I can't do anything about it... but you can."
Slowly, the young man turned his head up to meet the fairy. His face was red from wiping away tears, but Saria could recognize those big blue eyes from across Hyrule Field. She turned her head back to Link, his own eyes seemed to have a sheen to them. Was it was also tears?
"Can I? What can I do? What can I possibly do to change fate?"
The fairy flew so close to the young man's face, that she may well have been leaning forward to kiss his nose.
"Nothing. But you are a vessel of destiny. While Hyrule's fate may be set in stone, you alone can alter Hyrule's destiny. Only you can wield the Master Sword against Ganon, and bring an end to his reign of terror!"
"No! I'll never touch that blade again as long as I live!"
Sadly, the fairy's wings drooped.
"You are our only hope Link, please don't give up on us... on me. The Master Sword rightfully belongs in your hands."
"You can't make me touch it..."
The blue fairy landed on the young man's knee, defeated. Saria could not help but feel she had done something wrong even though she hadn't even taken place in the conversation. If only she had known how bad she had left her friend... not that she could have done anything to change it in the first place. Why had those odd Poes brought them back to this sorry moment in the past? It was the past to Saria's world anyway, but from a chronological standpoint, the event took place about six years in the future. There had to be reasoning behind this moment in particular... For an unknown period of time, all remained quiet. While Saria mulled over the riddle, Link recalled the exchange between the young man and the fairy. After running the conversation through his head for the fifteenth time, Link had an idea.
"I know what we must do."
Still captivated by the nostalgic pair before her and how they may tangle with the riddle in her mind, Saria didn't hear Link behind her. Before she even realized the boy had left, she heard a scraping noise. She whipped around to find something genuinely surprising. Link had lifted the Master Sword! Link, as a child, had lifted the Master Sword! For a moment, Link hesitated. He felt the urge to put the weapon back into the Pedestal of Time. Should he? No... this wasn't his weapon to replace. It was the Hero of Time's. The boy strutted forward without a word, despite Saria's look of utter disbelief. He strode right out the Door of Time, straight up to the young man and the fairy. The young man's harsh expression instantly vanished in favor of one of shock. He rubbed his eyes, blinked twice, and looked at the boy again. He wasn't hallucinating.
"Link? Link, what are you staring a- oh. Oh my."
The blue fairy flitted back into the air to appraise the visitor.
"Have we misused the ocarina of time? What's going on here?! That's y-you!"
Craning his neck forward, the young man tried to make sense of his younger counterpart. Link knelt down before them both, and held up the Master Sword.
"But... you traveled through all this time because you weren't worthy of the sword before. Yet he holds it... why is this doppelganger even here?!"
"To give you a choice."
The young man's face unveiled a whole new level of stupor as Saria strode down the steps. If his back weren't against a pillar, he would have collapsed then and there.
"Saria?! But you're supposed to be in the sacred realm! What in Nayru's name are you doing here!?"
Saria giggled at the fairy's exclamations.
"I'm not of this world, I'm not the Saria who lies in the Temple of Light. Yet, I am still the Saria you know."
The young man could only stutter as he looked at the girl. He stood to his feet, and looked down at the pair of children. Done appraising the two, the fairy spoke again.
"Where do you come from then? If you're the same person as Saria, then where do you come from?"
"Both me and my friend are from a different world. One that runs parallel to this one."
"But... why are you here? If you are of another world, you aren't here without reason."
Saria cut a glance to Link. Truthfully, neither of them knew exactly why the Poes had put them at this moment in time. But this was a trial of wisdom. Both seemed to have the same idea. Biting her lip, Saria continued.
"Like I said, to bring you a choice. More specifically, a choice to you, hero. We know your adventure has brought you no shortage of heartache. Therefore, we offer you a choice. If you so wish, you can lay down your duties as the Hero of Time. Place the blade back into the Pedestal of Time, and the responsibility will be yours no longer. No more hardships, no more smiting monsters."
The young man was enticed, but not convinced. The blue fairy seemed to speak for him.
"What's the catch? Something like this is never offered without a catch."
"You're not wrong, miss fairy. For every choice, there is a consequence. Should you chose to replace the blade, Hyrule will be forever confined to Ganondorf's tyrannical rule."
The blue fairy immediately dismissed the idea, but the young man gave it his contemplation.
"That doesn't sound good at all! What's the alternative?"
"You take the Master Sword, head your way, release the sages, and defeat Ganondorf. In short, you leave the Temple of Time with the sword in hand."
Link turned his head over his shoulder sharply. That was one way of solving a riddle. Let someone else solve it.
"Well that's obviously what we're doing, c'mon Link! Grab the sword and let's go! ...Link?"
The young man responded not. He just continued gazing up at Saria's eyes in thought, to the point that she became a bit uncomfortable.
"Wait, you're not actually thinking about this, are you? You do know what's at stake, right? All of Hyrule is counting on you!"
Snapping out of his stupor, the young man snapped at the fairy.
"And that's the problem!"
Surprised by his proclamation, the fairy reappraised her argument.
"Oh... I guess no one ever asked if you wanted the responsibility... it was sort of forced upon you by fate. By the Great Deku Tree, if I'm going to be completely honest. But life doesn't ask if you want something... it just gives it to you. But now you're being presented a choice Link. A choice to take control of your own life. Even as your guardian fairy, that's not my decision to make. Choose wisely, Link. Your choice will affect more than just yourself."
Hesitantly, the young man took the blade from Link's hands, and looked it over. He strode to the middle of the room, then back over to the pillar. Though his musings were scarcely audible, one could tell he was thinking. Saria started to feel a little guilty about the whole scene she and Link had just created. She wasn't quite certain what would happen if the young man took the sword or left it, she had only been speaking using her limited knowledge of the Master Sword's lore. At the thought that the young man may put the sword in the pedestal and have nothing to show for it, Saria's face turned a beet red. Link meanwhile had just been along for the ride. Though it really had been his idea, he didn't bother explaining it to her, she herself just went with it.
Sweat at his brow, the young man stepped through the Door of Time. The fairy seemed to sink a bit as he did so, but she voiced no opinion. After taking a long look at the Pedestal of Time, he thrust the Master Sword into the air with both hands. With a mighty swing, he prepared to drive the blade back into its resting place. But... he couldn't. In the gleam of the blade, the young man saw the reflection of the green haired girl behind him. If he quit now... Saria would have sacrificed herself for nothing. She would forever await the other five sages, and forever be trapped in the sacred realm... he couldn't do that to her. And he would only leave hundreds more in Hyrule with a similar fate. What would that make him? A selfish boy who was only after his own well being. Lowering the Master Sword from the air, he released a sigh he didn't realize he was holding in. He couldn't possibly make himself into such a self consumed fool. There was a reason he had been chosen by the goddesses, because of just how selfless he was. He stepped down from the pedestal, and back out the Door of Time. The fairy was delighted to see him change his mind, but still did not voice her emotion. With a newfound pride in his walk, the young man stepped up to Saria. Kneeling down, he gave his friend a heartfelt hug.
"Thank you..."
Saria all but melted from the embrace. It carried with it more gratitude than she had ever felt before. Meanwhile, Link watched the moment play out as if he were reliving some past scene from his life. The young man stood up, and the fairy discovered the newfound invigoration on his face.
"So have you chosen? Are you leaving the Master Sword or taking it with you?"
With a light smirk, the hero responded.
"If I don't take it, who will?"
The fairy's color brightened into an incredible blue. Saria hadn't heard her friend sound so lighthearted in years.
"I knew you would come to your senses! Now come, we must be off to Death Mountain! We have to rescue the sages, like Sheik said!"
The Hero of Time and his fairy companion made headway for the door. Before they could leave, Saria called after them.
"Link!"
The man span around, a light curiosity in his eyes. Saria missed when he had been so jaunty. With a soft smile, she nodded to him.
"You can always talk to me by playing my song, never forget that."
Author's Note
That was a close one, the Hero of Time almost left the Sword of Time in the Pedestal of Time beyond the Door of Time within the Temple of Time.
All and all, this is probably my least favorite chapter. I may revise it later, I may not.
