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Chapter 25
Link was surprised to see the Know-It-All brothers. Not because it had been such a long time, but because he thought for sure they would recognize him. But apparently, they hadn't because they were standing there pointing arrows at him and Pofrigitio.
"Uh…hey, guys." Link said nervously. "Remember me?"
Dila spoke first. "I knew it. We shouldn't have trusted this guy. He brought someone out to kill us."
"Pofrigitio has betrayed us," Sofa said angrily.
"Last time we listen to Mido," said Dore in his usual, cynical tone.
"No, you don't understand," Po said. "Don't you recognize this man?"
"Never seen him before," said Dore. "But we know he's a Hylian. And Hylians can't be trusted." Dore looked at his two brothers. "Prepare to fire, bros."
"STOP!!!"
The Know-It-All brothers laid down their bows at that scream. And it didn't come from either Link or Pofrigitio. It came from another boy who stepped out of the shadows. It was Sodo. The young, peaceful boy walked between Link and Po and The Know-It-All brothers.
"Have you guys already forgotten that this man saved us?" Sodo said pointing at Pofrigitio. "Don't we at least owe him the benefit of the doubt? Don't we at least owe him a chance to explain?"
"We don't owe him anything," said Dore. "He did save us, but he's still a Hylian. And we can't trust Hylians."
"But we can trust this one."
It was another voice. Link turned his head to see someone else. It was Somi, one of Saria's best friends. "Don't you know who this is," she said pointing at Po. "This was Saria's father. He took care of her. He brought her back to us."
"We're Kokiri," said Dila. "We don't have any parents. And when he did bring Saria back, he tried to take us all away."
"That wasn't him!" exclaimed Sodo. "It was that mean Diaphor. This man isn't like Diaphor."
"Hylians are all the same," said Sofa.
"Not this one," said Sodo. "He's a friend. He was friend enough to set us free. And he was friend enough to make sure we're all here this morning, instead of at Hyrule Castle getting ready to be executed."
The Know-It-All brothers remained silent. They didn't like Hylians, but Sodo made a valid point.
Sodo looked at Pofrigitio. "Well, we got you this chance to explain. Explain. Why are you here? And who is this?"
Po began to speak, but was stopped by Link. "Sodo, Somi, don't you remember me?" he asked.
Sodo and Somi began to look closer at the young man decked in Kokiri clothing.
"It can't be," Sodo said in shock.
Somi made the first guess. "Link? Is that you?"
Link only nodded. He saw a smile cross the faces of Somi and Sodo.
"Hey, everybody!!" Somi shouted. "It's Link!!"
Link and Po noticed that the other Kokiri began coming out of the shadows. Miso, Fala, Ralo, Rala, Domi, Mira, and Mido all came out and looked at Link in amazement.
"Is it really him?"
"Where did he come from?"
"I thought he was dead."
"I thought he wasn't coming back."
"How did he find us?"
"Why is he here?"
"Uh, oh," Dore said. The Know-It-All brothers picked up their weapons again and pointed them at Link. This time though, they were trembling in fear.
"He's come back for r-revenge," said Dila.
"I knew he was a freak, but I didn't think he was a Hylian," Sofa said nervously.
"D-Don't come any closer," said Dore. "We know how to use these."
Link looked surprised. For the first time in his life, the Know-It-All brothers were shaking in fear in front of Link. It was something he'd always wanted to see when he was growing up back in Kokiri Forest. But this isn't what he wanted now. He wanted to help them. He wanted their trust. And he wouldn't get their trust if they were afraid of him.
"Guys, I'm not here to hurt you," said Link, putting his hands up.
"Why should we believe you?" Dore demanded.
"Yeah, we thought Hylians were bad because they wanted to kill us for no reason," Sofa said. "But you're even worse. You're a Hylian with a motive."
"HEY!!! Put those down!"
That voice was unmistakable. Link had heard the voice so many times. It was that of Mido.
"Link's not here to hurt us," said Mido. "If he wanted to, he could've wiped us all out a long time ago."
"How do you know he doesn't want to kill us, Mido?" questioned Dore.
Mido looked more serious than Link had ever seen him before. "Because I talked to him five years ago. He had a chance to strike me down. He could have easily done it. Frankly, if he did, I wouldn't blame him. I mean, out of all of us, I think we can all agree that I gave Link the most grief. And he had a chance five years to take that sword of his and chop my head off. But instead, he chose to forgive me and I thank God for that. No, I don't believe Link's here to kill us." But Mido looked up at Link with a look of curiosity. "But…why are you here?"
Link looked out towards the Kokiri 12. "I came to help you. I don't know how to say this exactly, but I've found a new place for you to live."
At the sound of that, the Know-It-All brothers again raised their bows.
"Oh, no," said Dila. "No, no, no. We've heard this before."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Link asked with a tone of confusion.
"Don't play dumb with us," Dore said. "The last time someone said they had a place for us to live, we had an army come in to take us to Kakariko. No way! We're not falling for that one again!"
"Yeah," Sofa added. "What do we look like? A bunch of gullible kids?" Link smiled and began to say something… "Answer that, and I'll shoot," said Sofa. Link didn't say anything.
"No, you don't understand," Link began. "It's not to Kakariko or anywhere near Kakariko. In fact, when you go there, you'll never have to worry about seeing Diaphor or his army ever again."
The Know-It-All brothers began to lower their bows again. "Go on," said Dore. "We're listening."
"It's not exactly the old village, but it is near the forest," continued Link. "In fact, it's the Sacred Forest Meadow."
This got the Kokiri 12 talking. They wondered if this was a trick. They wondered if it was really possible for them to go live in the Sacred Forest Meadow.
It was Dore who finally broke the silence. "Ok, we're going to have a vote on it. We'll be out later with our answer." With that, all the Kokiri 12 entered the giant tent placed within the shadows. All except two. Somi and Sodo stayed out there with Link and Pofrigitio.
Sodo broke the silence. "We…have a few questions."
Chapter 26
Link was sitting on a log beside Somi and Sodo. Pofrigitio had gone to gather water from the river. "Well…" Link began. "You guys had questions. Go ahead, shoot." After being threatened so many times by the arrows of the Know-It-All brothers, Link wondered if it was the best time to use the word 'shoot.'
"Well…" Somi began. "How did you know we were here?"
"I asked Pofrigitio," Link answered. "He led me here."
Somi frowned a little. "That's…not exactly what I meant. I meant…how do you know we were taken in the first place?"
"Oh," Link said. He didn't say anything. He just pulled out a piece of paper.
Sodo recognized it immediately. "Hey, my note."
"Yeah," Link said, "I saw it near the tunnel to the vastness. I got to the village pretty soon after you guys were abducted." He could almost imagine what they went through, but his curiosity got the better of him that moment. "Can I ask you guys a question?"
"Sure," Somi answered. "What it is?"
"What was it like? Seeing the army come in? Watching them destroy everything? Being thrown in the cage?"
Sodo and Somi sat there silent for a moment. Link felt ashamed and stupid for asking. How insensitive of him to ask about such a traumatizing moment.
Surprisingly, Sodo broke the silence. "Well, it wasn't something that I'd care to remember. But it's something that I'll sure never forget…"
Sodo was bored. He had wanted to fall asleep that day. He had been watching the bridge to the vastness again, as he had everyday for as long as he could remember. But it was years since anybody crossed the bridge. The last person he saw cross the bridge, was a Hylian about five years ago. No one had been around since then. But suddenly he heard footsteps coming from outside the vastness. The footsteps sounded like they were coming closer.
"Hey, everybody!" Sodo shouted. "I think we have visitors."
Everyone began coming towards the tunnel to see who was coming. The figures couldn't be made out. Suddenly they could be seen. It looked like an army. There had to be at least thirty of them. They were each carrying torches. As if that weren't enough to declare their hostile intentions, they were chanting something that brought a chill down the spine of each of the twelve Kokiri.
They were chanting, "Death To All Elves."
"Hey," Miso said nervously. "You don't think they mean us, do you?"
"I don't see any other elves around," Rala said, obviously panicked.
"Oh, no," Fala said. "It's the Hylians. They're back."
"I thought they weren't coming back," said Ralo, Fala's twin sister.
Mido and Dore stood in front of the other ten panicking Kokiri. "Stop!" Dore shouted. "People, the time is upon us. Everybody get in position. If we go down, we'll go down fighting."
The Know-It-All brothers got out their weapons and prepared to fight. The Hylians were crossing the bridge.
Chapter 27
The battle was over. The Kokiri had lost. To make it worse, it wasn't even a long battle. The only good thing to come out of this, was that none of the Kokiri had been killed or even seriously hurt. But that would soon change. They were all thrown into a cage and were to be taken to Kakariko village, before going to Hyrule Castle to be executed.
The twelve Kokiri were nearly all in tears. They were witnessing their homes being burned to the ground. They witnessed the village they had grown up in their whole lives, being destroyed. And they noticed their guardian, the Deku Tree, being butchered ruthlessly by the cold Hylians. The Kokiri could not keep silent during this, their worst hour.
"No, don't do this."
"Why are you doing this?"
"Stop, that's enough."
"Please, stop."
"No, not the Deku Tree!"
But the voices all went silent at once. A large Hylian approached the cage. He looked to be the leader, but worse for Sodo and the other eleven Kokiri, he looked familiar.
"Hello, kiddies," he growled. "Remember ME?!?!"
The twelve Kokiri were frozen in fear. It was Dore who confirmed the worst. "Diaphor!"
"That's right, you little brats. I told you I'd be back. And this time, it's nice and legal."
Sodo couldn't believe those words. He couldn't believe that this act of hatred and brutality was completely justified.
Diaphor turned around and addressed his army. "Get ready to take them. We'll go back to the village and take them to their public execution tomorrow. An execution which I will see to…PERSONALLY!"
Sodo had only one hope. He had a paper and pencil from earlier. He was going to use it to help relieve him of boredom that day. Instead, he began writing a note, praying to God that someone would find it:
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.
It may not have been a big help, but Sodo knew that if Kokiri did indeed die the next day, this would be the last record left by his village. Something someone could remember them by. The cage began moving as they were all taken into the vastness. And behind them, Sodo could see fire being set to the bridge. The bridge he had spent his whole life guarding.
"It was something that I'd never forget," Sodo continued. "There were so many times I wanted to be taken off guard duty. But when I saw that bridge go up in flames, a part of myself went with it. I…" Sodo was stopped. He fell to his knees coughing violently. Link had no idea what was happening.
"Link!" It was Pofrigitio. "It's the disease of the vastness. Quick, give him some potion!!"
Link began panicking. He never knew it was this bad. Sodo began throwing up green vomit. He didn't think it was possible, but the disease of the vastness was even worse than Pofrigitio had described it. Somi quickly handed him a bottle of red potion and gave it to Sodo. He drank it and his coughing fit stopped almost instantly.
"Link," Sodo said, still coughing a bit. "You have no idea how bad that feels."
"Link?" Somi asked. "You said you found the note, but why were you in the village in the first place? It's been five years. Why did you come?"
Link knew that he had only one answer to that. "I came to see if you were all ok."
Sodo looked at him strangely. "You…never cared for our well-being before…why the sudden change of heart?"
Link couldn't beat around the bush on this one. He had to come right out and say it. "It wasn't exactly for me…it was…for…Saria."
Link saw Sodo and Somi's jaws drop open on that one. The shock on their faces was beyond description. They were dumbfounded.
It was Somi who finally broke the long silence. "SARIA?! YOU SAW SARIA?! WHERE IS SHE?! IS SHE OK?! WHERE HAS SHE BEEN?!"
Somi was out of breath, so Sodo decided to continue for her. "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! I THOUGHT SHE WAS DEAD! LINK, IS SHE REALLY ALIVE?! WHERE IS SHE?! TELL US! PLEASE!"
Link tried to start, but Somi caught her breath and yelled towards the tent. "HEY, EVERYBODY! SARIA'S ALIVE!"
The other ten Kokiri ran out immediately upon hearing that.
"You mean she's really alive?"
"Where is she?"
"Where has she been?"
"Where did she disappear to for five years?"
"I thought she was dead."
"I thought she was killed by the vastness"
"I thought the monsters killed her."
Link realized at that moment…that he had A LOT of explaining to do.
Chapter 28
Link heard the barrage of questions being thrown at him. He couldn't take so much. "HEY! HOLD IT!" The anxious Kokiri 12 grew silent. "One at a time."
"Is Saria really alive?"
"Yes," Link said. "She's alive and…" Link didn't actually know if she was well. "...she's alive."
"Where did she go?"
"Um, she went to the Forest Temple."
"Why?"
"She saw all the monsters in the village and decided to go look for herself." Link said. It was the best answer he could think of.
"Where is she now?"
"She's…still there," Link frowned. "She became the Forest Sage. And she has to live the rest of her life in the temple.
"Doesn't she have any friends in there?"
Link's heart crumbled. He knew the harsh answer to that question. "With the exception of one or two, no."
Mido stood up. "Link? Having to live alone in the temple sounds awful. Having no friends, not being able to say goodbye to her old friends. Why did she do it?"
Link honestly didn't know the answer to that question himself. But he did remember what Saria told him. "She did it for Hyrule. She did it for me. And…she did it for all of you. She sacrificed her life, so that you may all live yours peacefully."
Mido thought about that answer. Suddenly, he got a determined look on his face and turned around to face the other eleven Kokiri. "Ok, everybody. We're being faced with a decision. We know that we won't be able to live out here much longer. The red potion won't last much longer and we can't ask Pofrigitio to keep risking his life to send us supplies. Now Link has come here this day, after all we did to him, to offer us salvation. He has offered us the Sacred Forest Meadow. There, we will no longer be dependent on this red stuff to help us keep living. We can live happily for the rest of our days without having to worry about creeps like Diaphor or anyone else who lives for the bloodshed of Kokiri."
Mido looked at Link. "But I'm sorry, Link. We can't accept. We say Deku nuts to the Sacred Forest Meadow. We want the temple."
Link grew surprised by that. It's not exactly what he had in mind, but it was an idea.
Mido turned around and continued. "Saria's lived five years being lonely in that old temple. And why? For us. Did she have to do it? No. But she did it all for us. She took a life of eternal solitude for us. Well, now we're going to pay her back. She won't have to rot in that old temple by herself anymore. We'll all rot with her!!"
The other eleven Kokiri erupted in cheers.
"Our old lives have ended. We have no village. We have no homes or treehouses. We have no Deku Tree. But when we get to that temple, we will have one thing. And that's each other. My friends, when we get to the temple, we will no longer be the Kokiri 12, but we will be 13 once more. And mark my words, we will be a family united for the rest of our lives!!"
Again, cheers erupted from the rest of the Kokiri 12.
Dore spoke next. "Mido, I believe I speak for all of us when I say that, for once, you've actually made a good decision." The Kokiri cheered. "I think it's time to vote. All those for joining Saria in the Forest Temple say 'I'."
"I!!!!" Shouted everyone in unison.
Dore smiled. "Then it's unanimous. We leave immediately."
The Kokiri 12 were putting up their tents and getting ready to leave. Link and Pofrigitio had accomplished more than they anticipated. They had gotten them to agree to living at the Forest Temple. And Link knew that Saria wouldn't be lonely any longer.
"Well," Mido said. "We're all ready."
"Ok," said Link. "Let's go." They began on their way when…
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, YOU LITTLE WRETCHES!!!"
They all turned around. It was the last thing Link wanted to see. It was Diaphor. And he was standing in front of his army.
"You're coming with me, you little brats. CHARGE!!!"
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