(A/N: This is my first Zelda fic, ever.... so go easy on me. I don't even own a copy of Ocarina of Time yet, but I rented it. (Thus, I haven't beaten it yet, heh...) This is really just a fic I wrote spur of the moment, after awakening Saria as a sage... It's all written from Saria's POV. I guess I'm kind of a Link/Saria shipper, even though I know they couldn't work out unless Saria grew up, heh... Anyway, here goes...)

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I wrapped both my small hands around the flower, trying to uproot it with all my strength. Come on, I thought, You're ready to pick, and you would make a great decoration. Plus, you're not the only flower of this type in the patch, so I know you're safe to pick.

"Having trouble, Saria?" a voice asked behind me. I turned around to see my best friend, Link, standing beside me. He helped me pull the giant flower from the ground. "What do you need that for?"

"Decorating the house, of course!" my fairy spoke up before I could. "It gets boring looking at the same things all the time. Saria needs a better sense of fash— I mean" my fairy trailed off while I glared at him, "Saria just needed to, uh, spruce things up!"

"Yeah, that's right." I sighed. My fairy could be pretty annoying sometimes, but since I was a Kokiri, I had to have one. That was the rule. Every Kokiri had to have his or her own fairy, to make sure that they didn't get in trouble and never left the forest. Of course, I don't think too many Kokiri had ever left the forest. The great Deku Tree had told us that if we left, we would die. The outside world was not equipped to handle us, and thus had banished our race to the forest.

Why we had to be so different from normal Hylians, I didn't know. I once asked the Deku Tree about that, but he said that it was not something our young minds could comprehend. It was better kept a secret. Just like the strange green medallion I always wore around my neck. A secret.

"House decorating?" Link made a face. "Why are girls so obsessed with that?"

"Because we're special," I couldn't help but grin.

"It's boring!" my fairy whined. "I'm just trying to hurry her up so that we can play later."

Link laughed, though I saw he looked a little pained. I knew why. For some odd reason, the Deku Tree had never assigned a fairy to Link. Once again, the Deku Tree had said it was something that our minds could not comprehend. Even so, most of the Kokiri accepted Link as one of our own. Everyone but the self-proclaimed leader, Mido

Link, my fairy, and I went to my house, where Link helped me re-arrange things and find a place for the flower. We were still working when a knock came from outside my door. "Yo! Saria! You home?"

I gritted my teeth. "I'm a little busy, Mido. Come back later."

"Huh?" Mido walked in. "Redoing things in your house?! You should have told me! I would have helped!"

Link shook his head. "Mido, when you say you're going to help her all you do is make someone else do the work for her."

"But that's still helping, isn't it, Mr. No-Fairy?"

"Not really," I muttered.

"I wasn't asking you!" Mido nearly snapped. "Mr. No-Fairy, that's still helping, eh?"

"No it isn't, you lazy bum," Link retorted.

"Lazy bum?! ME?! You don't know what you're saying, kid!"

"Shut up!" Link growled. "Leave us alone. We're busy."

"Hmph. Very well. See you later, Saria." Mido left without saying goodbye to Link.

I sighed. "I wonder why he doesn't like you," I wondered aloud. "I mean, we're all of the same race and have to live with each other anyway, so why can't we all get along?"

"But I don't have a fairy," Link pointed out. "I wonder why the Deku Tree won't let me have one."

"There must be some reason, Link. A good one," I assured him. "You're not like any other Kokiri, you know."

"That's just because I don't have a fairy," Link grumbled.

"No, more than that," I told him. "You're special, I just don't know why. Or how."

After we were done re-arranging my house, Link, my fairy, and I spent some time playing in the Sacred Meadow. That was our very favorite place, though few other Kokiri dared go there. It was in the Lost Woods, where, of course, it was very easy to get lost! If a Kokiri was lost for too long, he or she might become a Skull Kid, which was a rather frightening thought

Link soon went home, though. He was tired. I noted that it looked as though he hadn't been sleeping well of late. Nightmares, maybe? He never spoke about it

I wandered out of the Lost Woods and went to the Deku Tree, where I stayed for awhile, playing my favorite song on my ocarina. To my surprise, the Deku Tree wanted to talk to me.

"A great change is about to befall the forest," he said. "My time hath run short."

"Huh?" I asked, confused. "What do you mean?"

"I man from the desert hath put a curse upon me," he explained. "The forest is in much danger."

"What?!" I exclaimed. "Why?!"

"It is something too much for thou's young mind to comprehend – at the moment," the tree explained. "One of thou's friends shall soon be leaving the forest."

My jaw dropped. "What?! But we can't leave the forest; we'll die!"

"Ah, but one of you is different. If you leave the forest, thou wilt not wither away, but thou will not be accepted by most outsiders, so it is much better to stay here, where thou is safe and has a place to stay."

"Who's leaving?" I asked.

"I cannot tell thee. You shall find out soon."

I went home soon after. Someone's leaving the forest? I thought in awe. Who? And why?

My question was answered a few days later

I ran up to Link's house, with the intention of waking him up, as we had plans to play in the forest that day, and reached the ladder of his tree-house when I realized that he was already coming down. "Hey, Link!" I called. "You're up early!"

"Saria? Saria!!" Link jumped down, missing a few rungs, "Guess what?! I got a fairy now!!!"

My eyes widened when I say the winged blue ball with Link. "All right!!" I exclaimed, hugging him. "Link! You're a true Kokiri now!"

"And guess what else? The Deku Tree summoned me!"

I felt a pang at my heart, remembering what the Deku Tree had told me. Oh no, I thought, The one leaving the forest couldn't be Link, could it?! "That's great! I'll see you later, OK?"

"OK!" Link ran off. Mido, however, wouldn't let him through. Link had to go find the Kokiri Sword and buy a Deku Shield in order to get to the Deku Tree.

Hours passed. Link came back, covered with some kind of sticky goo. I made a face. "Link, what the?"

"I had to fight this scorpian-like thing named Gohma," Link explained. "I broke the curse and the Deku Tree gave me this," he held out a beautiful green jewel, "But I'm afraid"

"LINK!!!!" Mido came running up, fuming angry. "HOW COULD YOU, YOU HORRIBLE TRAITOR!! You might have a fairy, BUT YOU'RE NOT A KOKIRI, AND NEVER WILL BE!!!"

"MIDO!" I shouted, "Be quiet! Link did nothing wrong!"

Link shuffled his feet at this, looking nervous.

"HE KILLED THE DEKU TREE!" Mido screeched. "The Deku Tree is DEAD! Because of HIM!"

"No!" I gasped, looking at Link. "Link"

"I'm sorry." Link was near tears. "But just before he died, he told me he was already doomed! I just helped him to have a less painful passing."

"LIAR!" Mido yelled again. "I'm in charge of the forest now! And you're BANISHED!!"

Everyone within earshot gasped. Banished?! Mido couldn't do that!! Link would die

But Link didn't seem afraid by this. "Actually, the Deku Tree told me to leave," he said proudly. "I'm destined to be a great hero of Hyrule! I have to go to meet the Princess of Destiny', whoever that is"

My eyes widened. "Link" I gasped, "You're really going?"

I gulped. "Link when you're ready, meet me on the bridge to Hyrule Field. No one follow me!" I commanded the rest of the Kokiri.

I waited until Link met up with me, armed with all kinds of weapons and such. "Saria I'm sorry about the Deku Tree"

"That's OK, I know he was cursed by a man from the desert. He told me that a few days ago."

"He did?"

"Yes. He knew he didn't have much time left. He also told me that one of the Kokiri was going to have to leave I didn't think it would be you"

Link sheathed his sword and attached his shield to something on his back, before taking both my hands in his. "Saria You knew? The Deku Tree told you?"

I nodded. "He said that the forest was in danger. I, I'm scared"

"Don't be. I'm going to Hyrule to make everything right again." He smiled. "When I come back, we'll play and live just as we always did before!"

I smiled, though I was blinking back tears. I wanted to go with him. I wanted to travel across Hyrule and see new and strange places. But most of all, I wanted to be with him. Link and I were best friends No, we were more than that. We had a more mutual understanding. But we were children. And we would forever be children. "Link, take this," I whispered, giving him my favorite ocarina. "If you play my song, we can talk to each other. Always."

"Oh, Saria, thank you!" Link hugged me. "I'll treasure this forever, I promise."

"Take care of yourself, Link." We hugged again and then he ran off, waving goodbye.

He did a good job communicating with me for awhile. He told me where he was, what he was doing He was in Hyrule Field, running toward Castle Town then he was in the market, trying to help a girl named Malon find her father He told me about the "grown-ups" – people who were much bigger than us and were always the ones in charge He told me about meeting the princess, meeting the Gorons, and the Zoras, and his quests for the Goron's Ruby and Zora's Sapphire

"I'm on my way to the Temple of Time," Link told me one day, via the ocarina. "I'm going to take the Master Sword and defeat Ganondorf forever!! I'll come right back when I do, OK?"

"OK," I told him. "I can't wait to see you again, Link!!"

"Me, too!!!!! Bye!"

That was the last I heard from him for a long, long time

I don't know how long it was. I waited every day by the bridge, expecting to see him running in from Hyrule Field, happy and breathless, but each day I saw the same thing: nothing. Nothing at all. Then, weird things started happening. The sky grew perpetually dark. Monsters started popping up everywhere. Frantic, one day I went to the Sacred Meadow and got trapped within the Forest Temple! There was nothing I could do, but cry and hope someone would save me.

One day, I sensed someone had played my song on their ocarina. "Saria," a voice, a strange, rather deep-sounding voice I didn't recognize, called from it. "Saria? Are you still there?"

"Huh?" I asked. "Who are you?"

A pause. "You don't recognize me?"

"N, no Who are you?"

"Link," came the answer. "I've gotten Big, somehow Saria, I've been told a girl is trapped in the Forest Temple. Do you know who it is?"

I gasped. "It's me!!" I exclaimed. "Link, come save me, please!!"

"Will do," Link chuckled.

Some time passed, and Link did indeed free me from the temple. "What happened to you?" I gasped, seeing him again. He was still wearing a green tunic and cap and Kokiri boots, and still had Navi by his side. But he was wearing white leggings and a white undershirt, as well as brown gloves. I also noticed that his ears were pierced.

"I'm not sure. I slept in the Temple of Time for seven years; that's why I never spoke to you," he explained. "And I got big somehow"

It suddenly hit me. Like the sun shining its first rays of light down from the forest foliage. "Link. I know why. You're not truly a Kokiri. You must be Hylian!"

Link furrowed his brows. "Why would you say that?"

"Kokiri never grow up. But Hylians do. You must really be a Hylian," I whispered. "That's why you were so different. You somehow got placed with us when you were a very small child. You were always braver and stronger than the others. You truly were different."

"Saria I have news about you, too. You know that medallion you have?"

I touched it, on a chain around my neck. "Yes?"

"It means you're a sage. The rightful – and wise – ruler of the forest. Only with your help can we defeat Ganondorf."

I was shocked. "Me?! A sage?! That can't be"

"It's true, Saria. We need you to come to the sacred realm." He held out his hand. "Are you coming?"

I nodded. We both warped there, and he took my medallion. He also gave me back my ocarina.

I waited, and waited One by one the other sages appeared, and we knew we had a job to do. Help defeat Ganondorf.

Still, I wasn't worried

I knew that with Link's help We could do anything.

Anything at all.