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Chapter 16
Link had come to Kokiri village to see how everyone was. He wanted to assure Saria that her friends were all well. But nothing could be further than the truth. Minutes ago, Link was awakened after having another nightmare. Again he saw Saria jumping off the bridge, but this time it was over the deaths of her friends. Link realized it could have been another vision of the future. But it couldn't be, as long as Saria didn't find out. But could Link really keep this from her?
He walked around the remains of the village and the sights he saw horrified him. The treehouses they lived in were all burned to the ground. The bridge to the vastness had been burned, so that no one may cross ever again. And when he made his way past the destruction, he saw a sickening sight. It was the Deku Tree, no longer a sprout. And it had been mercilessly slaughtered. On the side of the dead tree was something carved, likely by a Hylian sword. It read, "Death To All Elves."
Link knew there was bigotry and racism in Hyrule, especially against the Kokiri, but never in his wildest dream did he believe that a Hylian army would be so self-righteous and intolerant as to actually invade the village of the Kokiri and slaughter them and their guardian. He couldn't understand what possessed people to do such hateful things.
Link walked around, stepping over the fallen trees and houses. He went to his old treehouse. Like all the others, it was destroyed. But Link noticed something. The remains of his old home were still burning. The flames were almost out, but they were still there. Link pondered what this meant. If his house was still burning, then the attack couldn't have come more than a few days ago. He had wandered around the entire village and noticed something…no corpses. No dead Kokiri bodies and no green blood anywhere. 'Could they still be alive?' Link thought to himself.
"HELLO?!?!" Link shouted. Nothing. Only silence. "MIDO?! SOMI?! ANYBODY?!" There wasn't a sound. He then went towards the tunnel to the vastness. The bridge had indeed been burned down. The bridge that Sodo used to look after every day. Then Link saw something on the ground. It looked like a note. With a gleam of hope, Link picked up the note and began reading:
To whoever finds this,
We never saw it coming. I sat by, watching the vastness as I did everyday, and I saw an army approach. It was an army of at least 30. They all carried torches and began a chant that could only bring a chill to the spine of every Kokiri. "Death To All Elves," they shouted. They came wheeling in a cage and demanded we surrender. We all fought back, but the Hylian giants quickly overwhelmed us. They threw us all in the cage and began setting fire to all our homes. As I write this, they are taking our guardian, the Deku Tree, and slaughtering it with their swords and torches. As we are being removed from our homes, I can only find comfort in knowing that none of us have been killed, or even seriously harmed. We are being taken to Kakariko Village briefly, before we are taken to Hyrule Castle to be executed in a public display. It is at Kakariko that we hope to plan our escape, but if we do not escape and our time of death is indeed at hand, then let it be known that this is the last recorded message from our humble village. And let it be known to anyone who reads this, that we will not go down without a fight.
Link finished reading the letter and put it in his pocket. The letter was obviously written by Sodo, the boy who watched the vastness. He knew that finding the letter was a miracle, but hadn't a moment to lose. They were all alive. But they didn't have much time left. Link raced towards the shortcut to Zora's Domain to get Epona. He couldn't waste a second, or the survivors of Kokiri Forest would all be executed.
Chapter 17
It took Link nearly two days to get to Kakariko Village from Kokiri Forest. When he arrived, the sun had already set. He nearly collapsed in front of a building. He was completely exhausted, for he had not rested a second in his trip to the village and had nearly suffered numerous panic attacks. How was he going to get this done? He knew he couldn't just ask about them. Before Link could catch his breath, he was approached by a moderately tall man. He looked to be in his mid-thirties and had a head of auburn hair. He came out of the Potion Shop. 'He must work there or something,' Link thought.
"You look tired, stranger," the man said. "Why don't you come in and rest awhile."
Link didn't want to rest. But the body is weaker than the spirit. He knew his body needed to rest. "Ok," he said. It was all he could say.
The man took the exhausted Link and led him into his home. He laid Link down on his bed. "You just get some rest now," he said. "I'm sure my wife won't mind. We've…sort of taken in strangers before."
'Yeah. Sleep. That's what I need.' Link thought. He was too tired to concentrate on anything else. And Link fell asleep.
A storm
'Link…'
Rain poured down that night.
'Why did I have to take this life?'
Trees were blown to their sides.
'I took this life for my friends, and now they're all dead.'
And lightning shot down from the skies.
'There's nothing left to live for, is there?'
Saria looked down at the ground that had to be 70 feet below her…and jumped.
Then…everything went black.
'NO!!!' Link got up in a cold sweat. 'Not again,' he thought to himself. He couldn't stand seeing that vision of Saria taking her own life. But it was almost a blessing in disguise, for Link remembered why he was in Kakariko in the first place. He decided to begin asking about the abducted Kokiri in the morning, but for now, he just went outside.
He looked up at the sky and thought about many things. He thought about how Malon would have his head, because he had promised he'd be back in a week. She was probably worried sick. He thought about the sick people in this village who found it justifiable to invade a village of Kokiri and just take them against their will to be executed for no reason at all. And he thought about Saria. If he had to walk into the Forest Temple and tell her that everyone she ever knew, the people she spent most of her life with, were all killed...Link shuddered. That might the tragedy that pushes Saria over the edge. And Link couldn't stand to see that.
"Something troubling you, stranger?"
The voice startled Link, but when he turned around he only saw the same man who had welcomed him into his home.
"Uh…no, not really," Link said. He figured he should say something to the man who gave him shelter for one night. "Look, I want to thank you for letting me sleep in your home. I'm in your debt. Uh, what's your name?"
The man sat beside Link and introduced himself. "I am Pofrigitio. And don't worry about it. Consider it a gift. What brings you here, stranger?"
Link didn't know what to say. He couldn't just blurt out that he was looking for a cage full of Kokiri, could he? He thought it might be easier to ease into the subject. "Uh, just passing by. But I really didn't know if I should come by, I heard this place has been busy lately. Especially...the army."
Pofrigitio looked flustered. "Uh…uh…yes, the army did go out a few days ago. They just came back this morning."
"Oh, really?" Link asked. "Just where did they go?"
Pofrigitio was breaking into a nervous sweat. "K-Kokiri Forest."
Link was getting confident. He was getting the information he needed. "And why did they go out into Kokiri Forest?"
"F-For Kokiri, of course. H-Haven't you heard? Kokiri are s-some of most…h-hated things out there in Hyrule right now. Why any self-respecting Hylian s-spits on the name."
Link was beginning to grow angry. "And did they catch any?"
"As a matter of fact, they did. A group of twelve, I believe it was."
"And what's going to happen to them?"
"T-They will be taken to Hyrule Castle to be e-executed."
Link was about to blow. He just needed to ask this man one more question to decide whether or not he should meet the tip of his sword. "And you approve of this, Pofrigitio?"
He smiled nervously. "W-Why yes. W-Why wouldn't I?"
"BECAUSE I DON'T!!" Link blurted out. He began to tower over Pofrigitio, but to Link's surprise, he looked more…relaxed.
"Really? Whew, that's a relief. I didn't want to say it because it's a little embarrassing around these parts, but…"
"THEY'VE ESCAPED!!! THEY'VE ESCAPED!!!"
Before Pofrigitio could finish, he and Link turned around to see someone running towards them.
Pofrigitio had a look of almost false concern on his face. "Why whatever do you mean, Zacchuee?"
Zacchuee ran around nervously. "They've escaped. The Kokiri 12 have escaped."
"WHAT?!?!"
Another man, this one looking more imposing and decked out in the clothes of Hylian soldier. 'No,' Link thought. 'A Hylian general.'
Zacchuee looked at the man nervously. "They Kokiri 12 have escaped, Diaphor. No one's seen them or where they went."
A thought came into Link's head. He remembered the note Sodo left, saying that they would plan their escape at Kakariko Village. Apparently, whatever they came up with, it worked.
"Po?" It was the call of Pofrigitio's wife.
"Yes, Iogrotaye?" Po called back.
"Your…ahem…red potions have been…er…stolen."
"Oh, no. Not my red potions," Po said with a look of fake outrage.
Link couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something about the reactions of Pofrigitio and his wife, Iogrotaye. It's almost as if they don't care that they've been robbed. 'No.' Link thought. 'It's almost as if they EXPECTED it.'
Diaphor broke the silence. "Those cursed Kokiri. They must have stolen the potions. They know they can't survive without them."
"Oh, dear," said Pofrigitio with his fake concern. "I guess this means that we'll just have to give up. No use searching for them, I mean they can be anywhere. And the potion can't last forever, especially for twelve of them. Maybe we should just leave them be."
Diaphor had a look of actual outrage on his face. "You give up too easily, Pofrigitio. I'll lead the army out tomorrow. We'll have those blasted elves back by sundown." Diaphor and Zacchuee left, while Pofrigitio went into the potion shop.
Link knew he wasn't getting the whole story. Pofrigitio was hiding something and Link wanted to find out what it was and what it had to do with his twelve friends.
Chapter 18
Link quietly entered the potion shop. He didn't see a sign of Pofrigitio or his wife.
"For a minute, I thought we'd be caught for sure."
It was Pofrigitio. But Link wanted to know what he was talking about. What was he doing? And why didn't he want anybody to know?
"It's ok, Po," said Iogrotaye. "Diaphor can be so stupid sometimes. I don't think he suspected a thing."
"I think you're right, Io," Po said. "I mean, there's no evidence that the potions weren't actually stolen. They'll never suspect that we actually got them out ourselves."
Link was confused, but began to grow angry. 'HE stole the potions?' Link thought. Why would he do that? Then the thought hit Link, 'He's trying to frame my friends. He's trying to frame them for something they didn't do, just because they're Kokiri.' It was what a bigot would do. That sickened Link to his stomach and he decided to step out of the shadows. He leaped out of nowhere, with sword in hand and held it against Pofrigitio's chin.
"Hello, friend," Link said.
"S-S-Stranger," Pofrigitio said nervously. "H-How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough," Link said. "I ought to kill you right now."
"No…stranger, you don't understand."
"NO! I understand perfectly. You took the potions out yourself. So that you could frame the Kokiri 12. But why? They were already getting executed, did you want to see them get tortured too? Do you hate Kokiri that much?" Link was almost shouting now and ready to strike the man down. He had so much hatred for him right then.
"No, stranger. I did it to help them." Po said in a final plea.
"Po, No!" screamed his wife.
"It's okay, Io," said Pofrigitio. "I think he's on our side."
That confused Link. What did he mean by that? He was confused enough to put his sword down. "What are you talking about?"
Pofrigitio looked up at his wife, "Io, I think our secret's been discovered."
Link could only look at him curiously. Help them? What did he mean?
"Sit down, stranger." Po directed him to a couch and sat down with Link. "Maybe I should tell you everything."
Chapter 19
Link didn't know what to make of this situation. A minute ago, he was ready to slice Pofrigitio into a million pieces because he thought he was trying to frame his friends. But now a bunch of questions entered into the mind of Link.
Pofrigitio sat calmly, not knowing how to begin. "Well, maybe I should start with what happened this morning…"
Pofrigitio was maintaining his potion shop when he heard the blowing of several victory trumpets. It was the Hylian army. He saw them leave earlier, led by Diaphor, but he had no idea what they left for. Then as the army entered the village, Pofrigitio saw a sight that horrified him. They were wheeling in a cage. A cage full of Kokiri, twelve of them. And they, somehow, looked…familiar.
"What do you think of this haul, Pofrigitio?" It seemed that Diaphor read his mind because the next thing he said, "Do they look familiar to you?"
At first, Pofrigitio looked at them closely and didn't recognize them. But then it hit him, like a ton of bricks. "They're from the village. The village!" Pofrigitio remembered the friends of Saria, his surrogate daughter whom he raised for five years while she lost her memory. 'But if these are Saria's friends, then where's Saria?' he thought. He looked everywhere and she was nowhere to be seen.
Pofrigitio's blood boiled more than it ever had before. He grabbed Diaphor by the shirt and let his anger take over. "WHERE IS SHE?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER, YOU BEAST?!"
Diaphor just calmly shrugged him off and a smug grin came across his face, "Oh, you must mean your precious daughter. Terribly sorry, but she's not here…I'm afraid she may be…"
Po didn't let him finish. He grabbed him by the shirt again, "IF YOU HARMED HER IN ANY WAY, THEN I'LL…"
Diaphor shrugged him off more aggressively this time. "You'll do nothing. You can relax, because none of us saw her…as much as I wanted to find her. Let me remind you, peasant, that I now hold more power than you'll ever have. Touch me like that again, and I'll have you thrown in the dungeon." Diaphor turned his back to him and looked at the frightened Kokiri. "As for these little wretches, throw them in the new dungeon in the graveyard."
The Kokiri were taken away. Pofrigitio knew that he couldn't let Diaphor get away with this. That's when he came up with a plan. A plan that would free the Kokiri, at least temporarily. He would strike tonight.
Chapter 20
It was the middle of the night. Every resident of Kakariko village was either asleep or settled into their home for the night, except Pofrigitio. He planned to get the twelve Kokiri out tonight. He crept by most of the houses and into the graveyard, holding a sack of tools. He found the new dungeon that was built over the house of the late grave keeper, Dampe. He saw the guard sitting by the cell. It was Zacchuee. Being so trusted, Pofrigitio decided to take advantage.
"Zacchuee, wake up," Po said as he shook him. "I don't know if you heard, but the thirteenth Kokiri is here. She came to save her friends and she's outside the village right now."
"Really?" asked Zacchuee. "I'd better go get her. But I can't just leave this cell unguarded."
"Don't worry about anything. I'll find someone to guard this cell. You just go get that awful Kokiri."
"I will," Zacchuee said. He got up, took the key and left.
This was the opening Pofrigitio needed. He took out a file and began filing the metal bars. "Ok, don't make a sound. I'll have you all out in just a few seconds."
"Why should we trust you?" demanded one of the Kokiri boys.
"Shut up, Miso." Said one of the girls. "He's sawing the bars off, isn't he?"
"Yeah," said another. "Why would he send the guard out if he didn't want to free us?"
"Because," said another boy. "He wants to kill us himself."
"No, no," said Pofrigitio. "Don't any of you recognize me?"
One of them came up to Pofrigitio and looked him in the eye. It looked like the boy recognized him. "It's you. I remember you. Hey everybody, we can trust this guy."
The Kokiri seemed to be assured by that recommendation. It relieved Po. Maybe he could get them out before anyone noticed. Finally, he got one of the bars off.
"Ok, everybody out." One by one, each of the Kokiri children walked out of the cell. "All right, follow me and don't make a sound."
Pofrigitio led the twelve Kokiri outside near Hyrule Field, but the clock soldier was standing guard as usual. Po calmly sneaked behind the guard and conked him on the head with a brick, knocking him unconscious.
Po looked at the Kokiri. "Well, that was easy enough." He then looked behind the bazaar. "Ok, Io. You can come out now."
Pofrigitio's wife Iogrotaye came out from behind the bazaar wheeling out the cage that brought the Kokiri here. But the cage was filled with red potions. Pofrigitio handed a map to one of the boys.
"Follow this map. I promise that no one will find you there. These red potions will help you all. Take one as soon as you feel the disease of the vastness begin to take effect. I'll be around in a few weeks to bring you some more potions, but for now you need to get out of here before anyone notices you've escaped."
The boy with the map looked at Pofrigitio. "Thank you. We'll never forget this." Then the Kokiri 12 had left, wheeling out the cage full of potions.
Pofrigitio quickly scrambled to get back to the potion shop. He could only imagine the look on Diaphor's face when he finds out that they're all gone.
Link could hardly believe what he was hearing. Did this man really risk his life to save his friends? Had he been caught, he surely would have been arrested. Why did he help his friends?
Pofrigitio continued. "Anyway, stranger. I hope you see that I tried to help the Kokiri 12, not hurt them."
This was a lot to absorb and Link still felt a little skeptical. "How do I know you're telling me the truth?"
Po pulled out a large piece of paper, folded into thirds. "This is the map I gave to the Kokiri boy. It shows where they are."
Link's eyes brightened at that sight. "Please, Pofrigitio. Give me the map. I need it."
Po looked suspicious. "I will do no such thing. I don't know if I can trust you. I don't even know who you are."
Link almost felt a little embarrassed. The whole time he had been in the village and he never even introduced himself. "My name is Link."
Pofrigitio almost froze at that announcement. Iogrotaye dropped her glass. An eerie silence filled the room. Link didn't know what to make of the look in Pofrigitio's eyes. It was a look of shock. It was a look of awe. It was as if he'd seen a ghost.
"YOU!!" Pofrigitio shouted in utter amazement. "YOU!! YOU'RE LINK!!"
Chapter 21
Link thought he had the answers to everything. Suddenly, everything took a turn for the weird. Link had never seen this man before in his life, but apparently Pofrigitio knew him. But how?
Pofrigitio looked at his wife. "It's him!" he exclaimed. "This is the Link she was talking about."
Iogrotaye looked dumbfounded. "You mean…that's…him?"
Link was baffled. He had no idea what was going on. "Do…I…know you people?"
Pofrigitio simply smiled. "I don't believe you do. And we don't really know you either. But we have heard of you."
Link was still confused. Were they fans? Link knew he saved Hyrule, but he didn't think he had fans? "Uh…how have you heard of me."
Pofrigitio didn't know how to say what he wanted to say. "We…spent time…with one of your friends. Do you know…a Saria?"
This was too much. Link stood up, but he felt like he needed to lie down. Link thought he had seen everything possible. But how did these people know Saria? "Y-Yes. How do you know about…Saria?"
Pofrigitio looked a little tense. "Uh…y-you better sit down, Link. I think we should have a talk."
( "Thank you very much for your cares, Yedop. I'm sure the child will be quite fine."
In response, the Happy Mask Shop owner, Yedop, grinned comfortingly and stepped out the door. The man of the house closed the door behind the last of the worrisome visitors that had strolled by that day. Slowly, he spun around and leaned his back up against the door, sighing. That evening, Pofrigitio found himself busier than he ever had been. He had just seen his daughter, Cuellens, come running up to him in tears. He had no idea what she was so distraught about until she told him about a sick girl they found passed out in the marketplace.
Cuellens then led Pofrigitio to his wife, who was kneeling down beside his patient. It was a little girl wearing a strange, black cloak about her body. Even stranger was the green head of short hair under her hair braid. Grimacing at the pool of green vomit that was located just to the side of the ailing child, Pofrigitio quickly knelt down and examined the mysterious person.
She had a scorching fever, and her tongue seemed to have been swelled up. Her pulse was steady, however, her body continued to shiver involuntarily. He asked the many witnesses including his wife what had happened. They told him that she had experienced a coughing fit and collapsed. Whatever illness she had, it showed forth its worse side effects quite quickly....faster than anything Po had ever seen before. Po quickly took the young girl and took her to his house and laid in the bed of their daughter.
Po spent the whole night and all of the next afternoon using his best medicines on the sick girl, but nothing seemed to work as she remained unconscious. Iogrotaye and Cuellens sat by Po and the girl hoping to see some movement. There was none.
"Po..." Iogrotaye looked up at her husband. "What do you think?? Are we having any luck??" Pofrigitio sighed. He moved over and knelt down besides his daughter, stroking his hand through her short, dark hair lovingly. "I don't know, Io. I wish I did know. I tried nearly every medicine for such an extreme case as this. There's still been no response. But all in good time. I've heard of cases in which the patients are out for nearly weeks at a time."
"Yes...but do they have the same disease as this child's?"
"I don't know if it is a disease, honey," the potion man replied. "It seems as if every single part of her body is under attack by whatever's plaguing her. It's nothing like I've ever seen."
"Do you think it's contagious?"
"If it is....it's too late anyhow to make a difference..."
There was a moment of silence. Iogrotaye finally sighed and said, "I'm worried, Po. I'm afraid that she'll die and none of us will ever have a chance to tell her how sorry we are. I yelled at her, Po. Well...maybe not YELLED at her...but...I didn't show her much of a loving expression when I met her. If only I knew that she was just confused by this ailment....I wouldn't have been so harsh on her."
Pofrigitio remembered a few words of news that he and his wife had exchanged throughout the day. "What exactly did the child do that made you become riled up in the first place, Io?"
"You'd better ask Cuellens on that, dear."
Po looked down at Cuellens hoping for an answer, "Cuellens? Do you remember what our little visitor said to you before she got sick?"
Cuellens eyes watered as she searched for the answer, "S-she grabbed my arm, daddy. She told me something about me going back to some sort of forest! She told me to leave you guys before I'd surely die, or something like that."
"My goodness, Po!" Iogrotaye looked up into her husband's eyes. "Just what do you suppose that means?"
Pofrigitio shrugged, "The child may have been having a delusion. From what I can tell, her sickness is intense enough to spark just about anything!"
"But how do we know she wasn't spatting out nonsense?" Iogrotaye said. "She's so different, Po. Just look at her hair! Have you ever seen hair like that?!"
Pofrigitio took a deep breath as he looked. Yes, he knew. He had graced upon the invalid's green hair all afternoon. It was strange indeed, yet seemingly natural to the young person. "Zacchuee, the Bazaar owner, talked to me earlier and told me what he heard from one of the guards," Pofrigitio began. "Apparently, upon entering and meeting the front guard of the city, the girl shrunk away from him in terror...as though she had never seen such a person in her life. What's even more fascinating is that she asked the guard an odd question. She asked, 'What are you?' quite earnestly. From the looks of it, she truly meant her question."
Iogrotaye shook her head, sadly, "I wonder what kind of parents may have done this to her....to make her so downcast..."
Cuellens gripped hard to her dad's hand. Pofrigitio placed his hand on her small shoulder curiously, "What, precious?"
"Daddy," the girl swallowed. "Is she going to die??"
Po didn't know what the answer to that was. He tried to assure his daughter. "Oh honey.....don't worry. Everything's going to be all right...I promise."
Just then, their patient moaned. Iogrotaye gasped. Cuellens looked up from behind her dad's shoulder with shock. Pofrigitio quickly let go of his daughter and wandered over to the small bedside. The green-haired girl stirred, wincing in unknown pain, her eyes still closed. He placed his fingers onto her neck for a moment and bore a slight grin. "She's coming to. Quick!! Get me my medicine!"
Cuellens ran into the other room and hurried back with a bottle of gray liquid in her hand. She handed it to her mom, who quickly popped the lid off with her strong hands and handed it to Pofrigitio. The potion man hastily took the bottle and aimed it down the lip of the invalid's mouth, holding and propping up her head with his other hand. Silently, the little girl sipped down the potion and was laid back down, moaning less violently.
"Is she awake?" Iogrotaye asked.
"Not quite," the husband replied. He stood up and faced his wife. "Only in a subconscious state. We can expect that to occur on and off till I give her a dosage of a waking potion."
"....Link..."
The mother gasped and held her daughter closely. Pofrigitio spun around and looked down at the little girl.
".....Link...." she moaned again.
"Oh my...," Iogrotaye breathed. "Does she know what she's saying, Po?"
"Just like I said," the husband knelt down by the bedside and stared at the girl's face anxiously.
"...she's in a subconscious state. We might be able to communicate with her."
"Then let's try, honey."
"That I am," he said. He swallowed and spoke softly into the invalid's long ear, "Can you hear me, little girl?"
A moment of silence. The child slowly nodded her head, wincing in pain.
"Good...that's a good girl....now can you tell me--"
"Link...," the girl moaned. Pofrigitio looked perplexed. Nevertheless, he let the child say her unwitting speech. "...Link....must save Link......he needs help....I need him...the village needs him....must save Link....must....." The child coughed violently twice and continued, "....m-must go back to forest......go back to forest and live...."
Pofrigitio didn't know what to make of this. Nevertheless, he spoke, "Why? Why, little girl? Why must you go back to the forest?"
The girl swallowed, "It's where I live..."
"You live in the forest?"
".....yes......must save Link...."
"Who's Link?"
".....must save Link...."
The man decided to pose a simpler question to the ailing mind, "Tell me, little girl....what is your name??"
".....my name......."
"Yes."
"......Saria......Saria is my name...."
"Saria?" Pofrigitio continued.
"Yes...."
"Where do you live?"
".....the forest..."
"Where's the 'forest'?"
"....must save Link....must....s-a-v-e.........." Saria went back to sleep. )1
Chapter 22
"That night, Hyrule Castle Town was invaded by Ganondorf," Pofrigitio continued. "We took Saria and made our home here. The illness was so bad that she lost her memory. She didn't remember who she was or where she was from. Io and I thought it would be best if we raised her as our own daughter. We occasionally gave her red potions whenever the illness would pop up. But whenever she relapsed, she would always call out for 'Link.'…" Po looked up at the Hero of Time. "…which is you."
Link couldn't believe what he just heard. Saria went out looking for Link. She risked her life to find him, so that he may come back. She succumbed to the disease of the vastness, while Link was spending seven years in the Sacred Realm. That ate away at Link. His accursed quest had struck again. Only the end result could have turned out more tragic than he ever could have imagined. If it wasn't for the man and woman standing in front of him, his best friend would have died. There was nothing in the world he could do to express his gratitude to them.
"H-How long…?" He couldn't finish his question. This was too much to absorb.
Pofrigitio answered him anyway. "Five years. She stayed with us five years until she finally regained her memory…and we took her back to the forest."
Link felt that he was in no position to ask for the map. There was no reason he should get the map. He owed Pofrigitio so much. "Po, I'm in your debt. You have no idea what could have happened if she died…"
"Link, it's ok…"
"NO! You saved my best friend. I owe you everything. But right now, I'm begging you. Please…give me the map."
"Io, please leave the room." Link saw Iogrotaye leave and saw a sobering look on the face of Pofrigitio. It looked like he was going to collect on that debt. "Ok, Link. I'll give you the map on one condition. I need you to answer a few questions…TRUTHFULLY!"
Link was ready to answer any question Po had for him. Anything to get the map. "Ok, shoot."
Po began. "I didn't see Saria with the Kokiri 12. Is she really dead?"
"No," Link said. "She's very much alive."
Po continued. "If she wasn't in her village, then where is she?"
Link couldn't tell him. How would he take it? This man raised Saria for five years as his daughter. He couldn't…
"WHERE?! I want the TRUTH!"
"She's…she's…"
"WHERE?! TELL ME!!"
"She's in the Forest Temple. She's been there for the last five years."
"Forest Temple? Why?"
"You don't want to know…"
"Oh, yes I do," Po interrupted. "Why? What's she doing in there?"
'Not much,' he thought sarcastically. But he didn't say much.
"Link, answer me. WHY?!"
Link couldn't stall anymore. He needed the map. "She's the Forest Sage. She's been the Forest Sage for five years and she has to stay in the temple for the rest of her life."
Pofrigitio looked curious. "Doesn't it get lonely in there?"
Link could have easily made a smart remark, but now wasn't the time. "Unfortunately, yes. She rarely gets any visitors."
Pofrigitio looked sad. "I...just needed to know. I didn't see Saria brought in by Diaphor, so I assumed she might be hurt or dead. But I didn't expect to hear this. I can only imagine the pain she must be in."
'You have NO idea,' Link thought. "She really is lonely. It was so bad that when I went to see her, she was trying to…c-commit suicide."
Link saw that the revelation of Saria's attempted suicide hurt Po deeply. "I…had…no idea it was that bad."
Link continued. "It wasn't just the loneliness that got to her. It was not knowing how her friends were. She hasn't seen them since the end of the Imprisoning War. She doesn't even know if they're alive."
Po raised his head. "That's why you want this map. You want to see the Kokiri 12. But tell me something, Link. Do you really think that merely knowing they're all right now is enough?"
Link looked at Pofrigitio curiously, "What do you mean?"
Po continued. "I mean, think about it. They could be all right today. But they lost their village. And by tomorrow, an entire army is going to be hunting them down. Sure, they'll be ok today. But what about tomorrow? Or the next day? And how long will the red potion last? There's already talk that the army's going to destroy the crop that makes up the red potion. They can't possibly last."
That reality struck Link hard. "You're right. The village IS gone. There's nothing left. The only part of the forest left where the Kokiri could possibly survive is in the Lost Woods. Or…" A light bulb went off in the head of Link. He felt so stupid for not thinking of this before. "…That's it!"
Pofrigitio was puzzled. "What? What's it?"
Link had a smile a mile wide. He had the perfect solution. "The Sacred Forest Meadow. They can stay at the Sacred Forest Meadow. They can live right below Saria. They'll all have a home. They won't have to worry about the vastness. And Saria won't have to worry about not knowing if her friends are ok."
The potion shop owner seemed to pick up on what Link was saying. "You might have something there." Po realized he still had the map. "Thank you, Link. I feel much better knowing Saria's going to be ok." He handed Link the map.
"Thank you, Pofrigitio. That's another one I owe you." Link began to head towards the door.
"Think nothing of it, Link. It's getting early, we better get ready to go."
Link stopped dead in his tracks. "We? Who said anything about we?"
Pofrigitio smiled. "You can't suggest that I stay here. I have to lead you there. They won't know you. They trust me. It'll be easier that way."
Link wasn't convinced. "I beg to differ. They'll recognize me. And I don't want to risk you getting caught helping Kokiri. You could be executed."
Po wasn't backing down either. "I don't care. I know I have a wife and child. But Saria was my daughter too. And I want to see her happy. Even if I have to risk execution by escorting twelve Kokiri to the Lost Woods. If I have to confront Diaphor and his army, then so be it. I'd rather die fighting than see a jackal like that have his way with innocent Kokiri."
Link didn't want to bring him. There was no need to risk a family man like this.
"Link…you said you owe me."
Link knew he was defeated. He did say that and he meant it. "Ok, you can come. Get your things."
Chapter 23
Diaphor was gathering his army of 30. While he didn't have a large army, he knew it would be enough to overwhelm twelve Kokiri children. He couldn't believe that the wretched brats escaped in the first place. He had to ask the guard, Zacchuee, how it happened.
He approached the large bazaar owner and asked his question. "How did they escape? You were supposed to be watching them. Can you explain to me how twelve Kokiri managed to get past you?"
Zacchuee sheepishly answered, "I may have briefly left my post."
Diaphor was nearly fuming. "Why would you leave your post?"
"I heard that the thirteenth Kokiri was outside trying to save her friends."
Diaphor thought about that. The green-haired girl? Trying to save her friends? Diaphor remembered the one called Saria. Everyone in the village loved her, even Diaphor. But she was a Kokiri and there was no such thing as a good elf. A good elf is a dead elf.
He remembered the defiance her friends put up seven years ago when he, Pofrigitio, and his wife Harpyana tried to bring them to Kakariko the first time. He proclaimed that the Kokiri be taken to live in Kakariko and they laughed at him. When Diaphor brought an army to their village, they tried to defend themselves with child-like weapons like bows and slingshots. The army refused to attack 'children' and again made Diaphor look foolish for wanting to do so. He remembered Saria being among the more vocal of the Kokiri who condemned them for trying to take them away. Diaphor couldn't believe it. They wanted to protect them. And in return, they made Diaphor look like a fool.
But how did he know that the emerald girl was coming? "Who told you that the thirteenth Kokiri was here?"
"It was Pofrigitio. He told me that he'd find someone else to watch the cell and when I came back, they were all gone."
Pofrigitio? Of course. He always loved the Kokiri. He was the one person to challenge him when he wanted to bring the army to their village that day seven years ago. Now that he thought of it, the potion shop owner didn't seem too concerned when he found out he was robbed. It may have been a setup the whole time.
"Hmm…I'm starting to think that our good friend, Pofrigitio, had something to do with this breakout. I think we'd better go ask him a few questions." Diaphor was about to walk out, when he noticed something. It was Pofrigitio and that stranger he saw earlier, decked in Kokiri clothing. He also noticed they were carrying red potions. 'But wait. I thought all his potions…were…stolen,' he thought.
Diaphor knew that Pofrigitio was up to something. If he did indeed have something to do with the escape of the Kokiri 12, then he might know where they are.
"Men," Diaphor shouted. "Get ready. When those two start riding, we follow them."
Chapter 24
Link and Pofrigitio had been riding for hours. They looked to be headed around where Link came, which was Zora's River. Po turned a corner Link had never noticed before.
"This way," Po said, holding the map. "It's around here somewhere."
Link looked around in amazement. "In all the years I've traveled, I can't believe I never noticed this place before."
The potion shop owner smiled. "Hardly anybody knows about this place. I knew it'd be a perfect hiding place for them."
Po stopped his horse and so did Link. "Hello?" shouted Pofrigitio. "It's me, Pofrigitio. I've come back with a visitor."
Link and Po heard nothing but silence. That is, until three forms stepped out of the shadows. It was the Know-It-All brothers. They had each come out…holding bows each pointed at Link and Pofrigitio.
Author's Note- the ()1 was an excerpt from Saria's Story: Shimmering Emerald, by Post Rapture. I did change some of the words to make it a little shorter, but I acknowledge that the excerpt is taken right out of his story. I want to give credit now, before anyone comes to me accusing me of plagiarism. (Hey, I said in the very beginning that it's 90% original.)
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