CHAPTER TWO
The rain continued on for hours, transforming the Kokiri Forest from idyllic hideaway to sopping mess. Link was bored out of his mind, and after he braved the rain to go back to Saria's house, now he and Saria were bored. They sat at the table, so that they were facing each other. Link was leaning right back in his chair with his legs outstretched, and Saria was sitting upright. They both weren't saying anything. Link thought about Zelda. He hadn't seen her in a while, and he wanted to visit her. Saria thought about Mido, and how she was going to say "no!" to him.
"Hey," Link said, breaking the silence. "I want to see Zelda..."
"That's nice for you," Saria interrupted. She didn't want Link to leave her alone while she was so bored.
"Hang on, I thought we could both go."
Saria looked surprised. "But I'm Kokiri."
"You're also the Sage of Forest. You're different, you have certain powers," Link argued. When he had an idea, he always wanted other people to try it out.
"But how do I know if I can leave or not?" Saria asked, unsure.
"Remember the Chamber of the Sages? That's not in the Kokiri Forest. You can go anywhere you want to!"
"I guess..." Saria agreed.
"So let's go!"
Saria let Link drag her out the house, and then they both ran to the exit from the forest. The rain had subsided into a light drizzle. They stood on the bridge that led out of the forest, when Saria hesitated. She still wasn't sure if she would be able to make it outside, yet ever since Link had first left the forest, she had often wondered about the adventures he had outside. She was very curious and even a bit jealous of the stories that he told her.
"Well come on!" said Link, waiting for her to go first. Saria paused, still debating in her head as to whether she should go or not.
"Are you still worried?" Link asked. Saria nodded.
"Look, you'll be fine. Here, take my hand," Link extended his arm, but Saria still didn't take it.
"I - I can't," she said. She felt like she was going to cry. Link didn't know what to say.
"Please go," said Saria. "Don't stay here because of me." Then she turned and fled back inside the forest to her house, leaving a bewildered Link standing at the entrance. He was a little disappointed because he'd been looking forward for some time to taking Saria into the outside world. Still, he knew that she'd be really embarrassed and was probably upset, and so he decided to go and visit Zelda anyway. He just wouldn't stay for long. With this decision, Link turned and left the Kokiri Forest.
* * *
Saria sat down on her bed and burst into tears. An opportunity to do the one thing she'd always wanted to do was given to her, and she couldn't even take it. And worse, she'd disappointed her best friend. If only she had been able to just summon up the courage. Of course she'd left the forest before, when she went to the Chamber of the Sages, so why couldn't she do it again? Saria felt very weak and upset and annoyed with herself, and spent the rest of the afternoon inside her house.
* * *
The now-familiar trek to Hyrule Castle had taken Link no time, and he was so happy to see the Princess Zelda again. Likewise, she was also happy to see him, and she managed to convince the castle cook to whip up a scrumptious afternoon tea. The weather outside was still quite dreary, but Link didn't mind being inside the luxurious castle. Zelda, on the other hand, was bored with the place and wanted to run outside with Link. However she was content enough to just spend time with him. Even her father, the king, had joined them for tea.
Link really liked Zelda's father, however there was such an aura surrounding the royal man that Link made an effort to sit up straight, talk properly and eat nicely whenever he was around the king.
"So, Link," the king began. "How's life down your end of Hyrule?"
"Uh, fine sir," Link replied. Immediately the king began laughing, but it was the kind of laugh that made you feel like joining in.
"Link, please, no formalities. Any friend of Zelda here is a part of the family!"
This time it was Zelda's turn to giggle. "Tee hee, you should call him daddy as well!"
Despite the good humor, Link felt a bit embarrassed. "Okay... daddy," he said, trying to make a bit of a joke. Both Zelda and her father laughed again.
"You're so funny," said Zelda, but Link didn't understand why. Zelda could be a bit weird like that. She also called him 'cute' sometimes, even though at 13 he was a year older than she was and a bit taller. He didn't understand how he could be cute. He certainly didn't see himself as being cute. Link just settled for the fact that Zelda could act a bit strange sometimes.
Just then a young man came sprinting into the room. He looked tired, and spoke in between gasping for air.
"Sire," he said, "I have something I think you should see."
"Why certainly Jamie," the king replied, sensing something important. He immediately stood up.
"Sorry, kids," he said. "I'll have to leave you on your own now." He turned and followed the young man, Jamie, out of the room.
Link looked at Zelda. She was staring at him with a wicked glint in her eyes.
"What?" he asked.
"I know what we can do," she said. "Let's go and spy on the adults doing their important business!"
"Won't your father get mad?" Link asked, unsure. He didn't want to get into the king's bad books.
"No, he might get annoyed, but I'll just say that I wanted to know the sort of business that I might have to do one day!"
"You're too good," said Link.
Zelda led Link to her father's office. The door had been left open a crack, and Zelda and Link hid next to the door, so that they could peer around and see what was going on. The king was talking quite seriously.
"So what is it about the Army Group Three mission? The last report I heard was that all men had been killed and that the map had been stolen, and that this was the work of some as yet unknown group."
"Well, yes, that's right," Jamie agreed, "However, the corpses, or rather remains of corpses, were brought back into town this morning so that they could be given a proper burial by the families. Anyway, one of the men, Talle Dewsith, do you know him?"
"No, I didn't," the king replied.
"Well, it turned out that his body wasn't too badly damaged. His family wanted to bury him in his favorite suit. And when they undressed him, they found this hidden in an unusual spot."
"The map?" asked the king, gasping.
"Not quite," said Jamie. He pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. Link and Zelda were too far away to see what it was.
"He must have been making a secret copy!" The king exclaimed.
"That's what we think."
"How funny," the king mused. "This man was doing something illegal, and yet now I am thanking him for it!"
"I agree. But what I wanted to say was that I am sure that the party who stole the map is going to be after the treasure as soon as they can. We must hurry if we want to protect it. This map is going to be the only help that they can get."
Zelda looked at Link, her mouth wide open. "Wow," she whispered.
"So who do you propose we send?" The king asked.
"I thought maybe a team of our best soldiers," Jamie replied.
"That sounds good," the king said. "Imagine that they really found it. After being lost for hundreds of years!"
"It would be great," Jamie said. "But we must get to it first!"
* * *
After a while Saria stopped crying and lay on her bed, still feeling angry and depressed at her lack of courage. She got up and looked at herself in a small mirror that was lying on the table.
"You could do better," she told herself firmly, staring into the reflection of her own eyes. And then she made a decision. "And you are going to do better," she stated. She paused, and then said it again, much louder.
"You ARE going to do better."
She jumped up and wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks. Then, before she could change her mind, she began jogging back towards the exit from the forest.
The tunnel drew closer and closer, yet Saria didn't stop. She decided that if she stopped, she wouldn't be able to start again. When she was on the bridge, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then increased her pace. She jogged blindly for half a minute, and then sat down on the ground, still squeezing her eyes closed as she waited for the worst.
Five minutes later, Saria was still on the ground, shaking, holding her knees against her body, with her eyes shut, but very much alive! When she realised where she was, she extended her right arm and felt the ground. It felt different to the floor of the forest, more grassier. She extended her other arm and then opened her eyes. What she saw shocked her. Behind her was the entrance to the forest. In front of her was a short passage, and to her right was the largest place she had ever seen in her life. Saria slowly stood up and began walking across the grassy plains. There were so few trees, and rocks, and the grey sky seemed to stretch on forever. She decided that it was the most beautiful place she had ever seen. Patches of grass had been worn out in some places, forming long narrow paths. Saria began following one of them, and saw a signpost stuck in the dirt. It had arrows pointing in two different directions. One said Lon Lon Ranch, and pointed slightly to the left. The other said Hyrule Castle, and it pointed directly ahead. Feeling excited now that she would get to go and see him, she began following the path that lead straight ahead.
* * *
Lyla moved so that the long dining table was in between herself and the four men. Three of them had drawn long knives, and they immediately began advancing towards her. She looked left and right for a way to escape, but there was none. The large windows were covered with bars. Delfire had always been big on security. She decided to move to the right, where there was more room. Lyla's mind was rushing overtime, and she wasn't quite sure what to do. As soon as she moved, the men changed formation. Zol hung back, while the other three surrounded her, on in front, one on her right and one on her left. Lyla edged closer to the right until she approached a long, thin coat stand. She picked it up, and held it horizontally. Before she even decided to do it, she swung the stand at the man on her right. It caught him by surprise, and hit him squarely in the jaw. He was flung to the floor, and lay there, clutching his mouth in agony.
"You'll die for that girl," said the man in the centre. Lyla recognized his voice as that of Bowan. Lyla tensed and stood poised holding the stand like a baseball bat and ready to swing. Then the attack came. Lyla expected the men to charge at her, and she was prepared to hit at them. But instead Bowan raised his knife arm behind his head and then flung it at her. The knife cut through the air at an incredible speed, headed directly for Lyla's head. At the last second she ducked out of the way.
The men where waiting for this opportunity, and it was not until after her defense was down that they charged at her. Instantly Bowan and the other man had her pinned to the floor. Zol stood over her, and glared menacingly into her eyes for a second. All Lyla saw in the dark eyes were absolute hate and anger. Then, Zol's tall figure bent down and picked up the knife that Bowan had thrown. Lyla desperately tried to escape from the tight grip holding her to the floor, but it was no use.
The rain continued on for hours, transforming the Kokiri Forest from idyllic hideaway to sopping mess. Link was bored out of his mind, and after he braved the rain to go back to Saria's house, now he and Saria were bored. They sat at the table, so that they were facing each other. Link was leaning right back in his chair with his legs outstretched, and Saria was sitting upright. They both weren't saying anything. Link thought about Zelda. He hadn't seen her in a while, and he wanted to visit her. Saria thought about Mido, and how she was going to say "no!" to him.
"Hey," Link said, breaking the silence. "I want to see Zelda..."
"That's nice for you," Saria interrupted. She didn't want Link to leave her alone while she was so bored.
"Hang on, I thought we could both go."
Saria looked surprised. "But I'm Kokiri."
"You're also the Sage of Forest. You're different, you have certain powers," Link argued. When he had an idea, he always wanted other people to try it out.
"But how do I know if I can leave or not?" Saria asked, unsure.
"Remember the Chamber of the Sages? That's not in the Kokiri Forest. You can go anywhere you want to!"
"I guess..." Saria agreed.
"So let's go!"
Saria let Link drag her out the house, and then they both ran to the exit from the forest. The rain had subsided into a light drizzle. They stood on the bridge that led out of the forest, when Saria hesitated. She still wasn't sure if she would be able to make it outside, yet ever since Link had first left the forest, she had often wondered about the adventures he had outside. She was very curious and even a bit jealous of the stories that he told her.
"Well come on!" said Link, waiting for her to go first. Saria paused, still debating in her head as to whether she should go or not.
"Are you still worried?" Link asked. Saria nodded.
"Look, you'll be fine. Here, take my hand," Link extended his arm, but Saria still didn't take it.
"I - I can't," she said. She felt like she was going to cry. Link didn't know what to say.
"Please go," said Saria. "Don't stay here because of me." Then she turned and fled back inside the forest to her house, leaving a bewildered Link standing at the entrance. He was a little disappointed because he'd been looking forward for some time to taking Saria into the outside world. Still, he knew that she'd be really embarrassed and was probably upset, and so he decided to go and visit Zelda anyway. He just wouldn't stay for long. With this decision, Link turned and left the Kokiri Forest.
* * *
Saria sat down on her bed and burst into tears. An opportunity to do the one thing she'd always wanted to do was given to her, and she couldn't even take it. And worse, she'd disappointed her best friend. If only she had been able to just summon up the courage. Of course she'd left the forest before, when she went to the Chamber of the Sages, so why couldn't she do it again? Saria felt very weak and upset and annoyed with herself, and spent the rest of the afternoon inside her house.
* * *
The now-familiar trek to Hyrule Castle had taken Link no time, and he was so happy to see the Princess Zelda again. Likewise, she was also happy to see him, and she managed to convince the castle cook to whip up a scrumptious afternoon tea. The weather outside was still quite dreary, but Link didn't mind being inside the luxurious castle. Zelda, on the other hand, was bored with the place and wanted to run outside with Link. However she was content enough to just spend time with him. Even her father, the king, had joined them for tea.
Link really liked Zelda's father, however there was such an aura surrounding the royal man that Link made an effort to sit up straight, talk properly and eat nicely whenever he was around the king.
"So, Link," the king began. "How's life down your end of Hyrule?"
"Uh, fine sir," Link replied. Immediately the king began laughing, but it was the kind of laugh that made you feel like joining in.
"Link, please, no formalities. Any friend of Zelda here is a part of the family!"
This time it was Zelda's turn to giggle. "Tee hee, you should call him daddy as well!"
Despite the good humor, Link felt a bit embarrassed. "Okay... daddy," he said, trying to make a bit of a joke. Both Zelda and her father laughed again.
"You're so funny," said Zelda, but Link didn't understand why. Zelda could be a bit weird like that. She also called him 'cute' sometimes, even though at 13 he was a year older than she was and a bit taller. He didn't understand how he could be cute. He certainly didn't see himself as being cute. Link just settled for the fact that Zelda could act a bit strange sometimes.
Just then a young man came sprinting into the room. He looked tired, and spoke in between gasping for air.
"Sire," he said, "I have something I think you should see."
"Why certainly Jamie," the king replied, sensing something important. He immediately stood up.
"Sorry, kids," he said. "I'll have to leave you on your own now." He turned and followed the young man, Jamie, out of the room.
Link looked at Zelda. She was staring at him with a wicked glint in her eyes.
"What?" he asked.
"I know what we can do," she said. "Let's go and spy on the adults doing their important business!"
"Won't your father get mad?" Link asked, unsure. He didn't want to get into the king's bad books.
"No, he might get annoyed, but I'll just say that I wanted to know the sort of business that I might have to do one day!"
"You're too good," said Link.
Zelda led Link to her father's office. The door had been left open a crack, and Zelda and Link hid next to the door, so that they could peer around and see what was going on. The king was talking quite seriously.
"So what is it about the Army Group Three mission? The last report I heard was that all men had been killed and that the map had been stolen, and that this was the work of some as yet unknown group."
"Well, yes, that's right," Jamie agreed, "However, the corpses, or rather remains of corpses, were brought back into town this morning so that they could be given a proper burial by the families. Anyway, one of the men, Talle Dewsith, do you know him?"
"No, I didn't," the king replied.
"Well, it turned out that his body wasn't too badly damaged. His family wanted to bury him in his favorite suit. And when they undressed him, they found this hidden in an unusual spot."
"The map?" asked the king, gasping.
"Not quite," said Jamie. He pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. Link and Zelda were too far away to see what it was.
"He must have been making a secret copy!" The king exclaimed.
"That's what we think."
"How funny," the king mused. "This man was doing something illegal, and yet now I am thanking him for it!"
"I agree. But what I wanted to say was that I am sure that the party who stole the map is going to be after the treasure as soon as they can. We must hurry if we want to protect it. This map is going to be the only help that they can get."
Zelda looked at Link, her mouth wide open. "Wow," she whispered.
"So who do you propose we send?" The king asked.
"I thought maybe a team of our best soldiers," Jamie replied.
"That sounds good," the king said. "Imagine that they really found it. After being lost for hundreds of years!"
"It would be great," Jamie said. "But we must get to it first!"
* * *
After a while Saria stopped crying and lay on her bed, still feeling angry and depressed at her lack of courage. She got up and looked at herself in a small mirror that was lying on the table.
"You could do better," she told herself firmly, staring into the reflection of her own eyes. And then she made a decision. "And you are going to do better," she stated. She paused, and then said it again, much louder.
"You ARE going to do better."
She jumped up and wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks. Then, before she could change her mind, she began jogging back towards the exit from the forest.
The tunnel drew closer and closer, yet Saria didn't stop. She decided that if she stopped, she wouldn't be able to start again. When she was on the bridge, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then increased her pace. She jogged blindly for half a minute, and then sat down on the ground, still squeezing her eyes closed as she waited for the worst.
Five minutes later, Saria was still on the ground, shaking, holding her knees against her body, with her eyes shut, but very much alive! When she realised where she was, she extended her right arm and felt the ground. It felt different to the floor of the forest, more grassier. She extended her other arm and then opened her eyes. What she saw shocked her. Behind her was the entrance to the forest. In front of her was a short passage, and to her right was the largest place she had ever seen in her life. Saria slowly stood up and began walking across the grassy plains. There were so few trees, and rocks, and the grey sky seemed to stretch on forever. She decided that it was the most beautiful place she had ever seen. Patches of grass had been worn out in some places, forming long narrow paths. Saria began following one of them, and saw a signpost stuck in the dirt. It had arrows pointing in two different directions. One said Lon Lon Ranch, and pointed slightly to the left. The other said Hyrule Castle, and it pointed directly ahead. Feeling excited now that she would get to go and see him, she began following the path that lead straight ahead.
* * *
Lyla moved so that the long dining table was in between herself and the four men. Three of them had drawn long knives, and they immediately began advancing towards her. She looked left and right for a way to escape, but there was none. The large windows were covered with bars. Delfire had always been big on security. She decided to move to the right, where there was more room. Lyla's mind was rushing overtime, and she wasn't quite sure what to do. As soon as she moved, the men changed formation. Zol hung back, while the other three surrounded her, on in front, one on her right and one on her left. Lyla edged closer to the right until she approached a long, thin coat stand. She picked it up, and held it horizontally. Before she even decided to do it, she swung the stand at the man on her right. It caught him by surprise, and hit him squarely in the jaw. He was flung to the floor, and lay there, clutching his mouth in agony.
"You'll die for that girl," said the man in the centre. Lyla recognized his voice as that of Bowan. Lyla tensed and stood poised holding the stand like a baseball bat and ready to swing. Then the attack came. Lyla expected the men to charge at her, and she was prepared to hit at them. But instead Bowan raised his knife arm behind his head and then flung it at her. The knife cut through the air at an incredible speed, headed directly for Lyla's head. At the last second she ducked out of the way.
The men where waiting for this opportunity, and it was not until after her defense was down that they charged at her. Instantly Bowan and the other man had her pinned to the floor. Zol stood over her, and glared menacingly into her eyes for a second. All Lyla saw in the dark eyes were absolute hate and anger. Then, Zol's tall figure bent down and picked up the knife that Bowan had thrown. Lyla desperately tried to escape from the tight grip holding her to the floor, but it was no use.
