Chapter Seventeen

Ashes

   Rolondrof sat in his tent, still in deep meditation, as he had been ever since he last spoke with his half-brother.  He had not eaten, or even moved, in that time.  As commanded, he waited.  Waited for the signal to begin the final act.

   "Now!"

   He gasped in surprise and his eyes snapped open.  He hastily rose to his feet, almost tripping over his robes.  Throwing open the flap to his tent, he rushed through the town, the morning sun only just risen, searching for his brother.  He found Skorn sparring against one of the newly constructed Iron Knuckles to test it's worth.   "Skorn!" he hollered.  "Gather the task force!  The order has been given!"

   Skorn nodded and yelled at the top of his mighty lungs, "Fire Squad, to me!"  The command carried through the entire camp, and within moments a dozen mercenaries and two Lizaflos were gathered around Skorn and Rolondrof.

   Rolondrof stepped forward.  "The time has come, Fire Squad.  You will ride hard to the destination, and you will complete your mission as quickly as possible.  Follow your orders, and Lord Ganon shall reward you beyond your wildest dreams.  Now ride, for the glory of our Lord Ganon, and the destruction of the Hero!"

                                    *                                  *                                  *

   "Please Link, get some sleep.  Epona and I can stand guard tonight."

   "It's all right, Malon, I'm fine.  Stop worrying."

   Link, Malon, and Epona were camped on the southern shore of the Zora River.  It was three days after Link's return from the crater.  Malon had insisted that he take a day to recover as she administered her cure to the ailing Gorons.  They were out of danger now, and Link and Malon were both hailed as heroes.  They had started down the mountain the next day, and now here they were.  Link steadfastly refused to relinquish his guard, much to the dismay of both the girl and the horse.

   Malon's face hardened into a mask of determination.  "Well if you won't sleep when you're told, then I'm going to talk till you fall asleep."

   Link sighed.  There was no way he was getting out of this now.  "All right.  What do you want to talk about?"

   "Your forest.  Since I'm never going to go there, I want you to at least tell me about it."

   Link thought for a moment and shuffled closer to the fire.  "Well, out of all my journeys, out of all the places I've been, it's still the most beautiful land in the entire country.  In the spring, all the flowers bloom, some that have never been seen by any outsider.  The trees seem to speak to each other, whenever the wind passes through them.  When the fall comes, all the leaves turn gold and red, and when the fall, they always fall into huge piles," Link laughed at the memory.  "We—the Kokiri and I—we'd always search for the biggest ones and see who could scatter the most leaves.  Bofo, the fattest of my age, would always win, just because he had the most weight.  And the winter is always fun, especially around the Yule season.  All of us Kokiri and fairies would decorate the evergreens with berries and holy and pinecones, and then the forest fairies would light the boughs at night.  During the day we'd slide down the biggest hills on pieces of bark from the old trees, and in the evening we'd gather around a fire—usually in Saria's house—and just sit there, drinking home-brewed cider and eating cakes."

   Link paused, holding onto the memories.  "It sounds wonderful," Malon said.  "You're so lucky to be allowed to live there."

   "Yeah.  These past couple of days I've been wondering what life would be like if I had grown up in the castle.  But then I remember all my memories with the Kokiri in the forest…and I realize I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world."

   Malon stared across the fire.  "I wish I could see it, could meet your friends.  But if it's so great, why did you leave?"

   Link sighed.  "At first, I didn't really have a choice.  It was believed that I had killed the Great Deku Tree, the Kokiri's creator and guardian of the forest.  And then there was that whole business with…" he paused again.  Again, he was getting too close to the truth, and he couldn't share that with her yet.  "Anyway, after the first year or so, the Kokiri accepted me back into the forest.  The 'leader', Mido, even though he had always disliked me, saw that everyone else missed me and repented all the rumors he had spread about me.  As I grew older, and it became obvious that I was a Hylian instead of a Kokiri, they were a little frightened at first, afraid I'd become like all the other Hylians in their legends.  But it soon became apparent that I was the same boy they had grown up with, only bigger, and as it turned out, capable of the more difficult tasks.  So I've lived there ever since, whenever I get a break in my travels."

   He stayed silent for a while after that, reflecting on his past.  He never realized how much he missed his home until he was away from it.  Like all good things, you don't appreciate them till they're gone.

   "LINK!"

   The voice in his head was forceful enough to knock him onto his back.  Malon was at his side in an instant.  "Link, what just happened?  What's wrong?"

   Link tried to sit up.  "I—I don't know.  I thought I heard…"

   "Help us!"

   "Put it out, put it out!"

   "Get to the Tree!"

   "Mido?  MIDO!"

   "Link, come back!"

   Link cried out in pain.  The voices; they belonged to the Kokiri, but most of all one of them belonged to Saria.  He leapt to his feet, startling both Malon and Epona.  "Quickly!" he said, dousing the fire and strapping the gear to Epona's saddle.  "C'mon, we have to go!"
   "Go where?" Malon asked, totally confused.

   "The Forest!  It's in danger!"  Link leapt onto Epona's saddle and pulled Malon up behind him.  The steed reared back, and they were off, running as fast as Epona could go.

   "Link, what's going on?" Malon yelled over the wind.

   He didn't answer.  All he did was spur Epona on.  "Faster Epona, please!  We need to get to the forest!"

                                    *                                  *                                  *

   Link had seen many horrifying sights in his life.  He had seen fields riddled with mutilated bodies.  He had been witness to hellish sacrifices and had fought creatures only seen in nightmares.  But nothing—nothing—could prepare him for the sight before him.  They had ridden hard all night, not pausing for a rest, east towards the Lost Woods, Link's home.  It was the middle of the morning when they arrived.

   In the mid-morning sun, the Lost Woods was burning.

   Malon gasped.  "Oh, Link…"

   "No…" was all he could say.  "NOOOOOO!!!"  He spurred Epona on so hard that the horse was taken by surprise.  They raced through the trees, over the bridge, through the long, dark tunnel, and emerged in Kokiri Village.  Every house was on fire.  All the Kokiri were running back and forth, yelling out names, carrying buckets of water in a futile effort to douse the flames.  Link leapt from Epona's back and joined in the melee.  He took his ocarina from his pouch and played the Song of Storms.  The sky immediately above the village clouded over, and with a crack of lightning rain poured from the sky. 

   By now Malon was on the ground, Epona right behind her.  She saw Link dart in and out of the burning homes, pulling out trapped children.  "C'mon Epona," she ordered.  "They need help with those buckets."  Malon lead Epona into the midst of the Kokiri.  "Everyone, bring your buckets over here!  We're here to help!"  The children listened, and soon Malon was lifting three Kokiri a turn onto Epona's back, each one with a bucket of water in each hand.  The horse carried them from house to house, and then back to the small pond to refill.  Malon cared for those that had inhaled too much smoke and had minor burns.  All the while she kept her eyes open for Link.  In the smoke, flames, and rain, he was nowhere to be seen.

                                    *                                  *                                  *

   "Saria!  SARIA!" Link searched frantically through Saria's home, even while flaming pieces fell to the floor around him.  She wasn't there, but Sasha, one of her best friends was, huddled in a corner.

   "Link…" she coughed, her normally orange hair darkened by ash and soot.  Link jumped through the wall of flame separating them.
   "Hold on Sasha, I'll get you out of here."  He wrapped her in his cloak and began to make his way through the door.  He pushed his way through debris scattered along the floor and out the crumbling door.  He took Sasha over to where Malon had gathered the other Kokiri, in front of the entrance to the Deku Tree's glade.  Link quickly counted all the heads, and his eyes widened as he discovered who was missing.  "Where are Saria and Mido?  Where are they?"

   Nik, one of the Know-It-All Brothers coughed and pointed to Mido's house.  Between the rain and the efforts of Epona and the Kokiri, the fire was almost out.  But from Mido's stump at the far edge of the village, flames still licked the air.  "Mido was still asleep when it started, and he got trapped in his house.  Saria went in to try and help him."  Link was already up and sprinting before Nik finished.  Malon and the others all ran after him. 

   He wasted no time as he leapt straight through the fire blocking the entrance, his eyes searching through the smoke.  "Saria?  Saria, where are you?"

   "Here…*koff*…here Link!  Mido's unconscious!"

   Link followed the voice to the back wall.  Saria was there, curled over Mido's prone form, trying to protect him.  Link burned his clothes and his hands as he pushed his way through the flaming wreckage.  Lifting them both in his arms, he wrapped his singed cloak around them and started moving towards the door.  The smoke was too thick to see through, but he pushed on.  Saria's sudden cry caused him to look up, just as the roof collapsed on top of them.

                                    *                                  *                                  *

   "Liiiiiinnnkkkkk!!!!"

   Malon's scream joined with those of the Kokiri as the roof to Mido's house collapsed.  The flames had been doused by the rain, but not soon enough to save the structure.  She stared through tear-streaked eyes, as the salty drops cleared small paths on her ash-blackened face.  The girl, the horse, and the children all stood there, in the rain, watching, hoping.

   "Look!" one of the Kokiri cried.  Through the smoke, a tall figure lurched forward through the doorway.  His clothes and cloak were burned and singed, even as the rain washed away the soot.  In his arms he held a little green haired girl and another blonde boy with freckles.  He set them down, and the green haired girl stood the boy up and helped him walk to the others.  Malon choked, and ran towards Link.  She leapt into his arms, wrapped her arms around his neck, and placed her lips against his, tears of joy flowing even as they kissed.  They stayed that way for a while, as the rain did it's best to wash away the sorrow of the past hour.

                                    *                                  *                                  *

   Link, Malon, and Saria sat in what remained of Link's tree house.  Since it was so high up, only the base had been badly damaged by the flames.  The rest of the Kokiri huddled in the relative protection of the Deku Tree's glade, which had magically been protected from the fire.

   "The fire started only an hour before you arrived," Saria tried to explain, wiping tears from her eyes.  "No one saw it coming.  All we saw were a group of horses fleeing through the tunnel.  You must have just missed them coming through.  We tried our best to fight the fire, but…" she choked on the words.

   Malon reached over and touched her shoulder.  "We managed to rescue everyone, though," she pointed out.  "That's all that matters."

   Saria nodded her understanding.  "Yeah, but that doesn't change the fact that our home is gone.  Destroyed by a bunch of stupid Big People."

   Link just sat on the edge of the bed, staring at his walls, lined with weapons and masks.  Finally, he spoke, almost in a whisper.  "They took it."

   Both girls looked over at him.  "Took what, Link?" asked Saria.

   He didn't answer.  He merely stood up and headed out the door.  Malon and Saria followed him down the ladder, and all the way to the home of the Deku Tree.  All the Kokiri were huddled around it's roots, seeking protection.  Link stepped right up to the Tree.  "Tell me," was all he said.

   "Link, you must understand…"

   "TELL ME!"  Link's command was accentuated by a clap of thunder.  Malon, Saria, and the other Kokiri jumped in surprise.

   The Tree sighed, it's voice filled with sorrow and regret.  "This was not supposed to happen, Link.  It was not foretold, I swear it.  He is working against the flow of destiny.  And there was nothing…" it choked, "Nothing I could do to stop it.  I…I am sorry."

   "Is Ganon returning?" Link asked.  The Tree remained silent.  "IS HE?"  Again, thunder struck as Link raised his voice.

   "Yes.  And there is nothing we can do to stop it."

   Link stood there several moments longer.  "Take care of them until I get back," he said, looking to the other Kokiri.

   "I always do," but even as the Tree said this, he realized how inappropriate that last statement was given the past couple hours.  Link turned and stalked back towards the entrance to the glade.  He stopped once to look at his friends.

   "I'll be back.  I promise."  Many of the children nodded, but Malon could tell that not all of them believed it.  He continued back through the entrance, Malon and Saria falling into step behind him.

   "What will you do now?" Saria asked.

   "We're going back to the castle," Link replied.  "You should come too, Saria.  Zelda will want to talk with you.  I'm sure all the other Sages are already there."

   Malon had no idea what he meant by Sages, and she didn't think he would explain, so instead she asked, "What did they take from your house Link?"

   Link paused as they reached Epona.  Finally, he answered.  "My mask.  The Fierce Deity Mask.  I brought it back with me from one of my travels.  It was the most dangerous weapon of that world.  I thought only I could use it, but if it was taken by Ganon's followers, they must know something about it I don't."  He mounted Epona and pulled the girls up, Saria in front, Malon behind.  "Come on.  We have no time to lose."

   "But Saria can't leave the forest, can she?  I thought you said Kokiri would die if they left the forest," Malon queried.

   Saria looked back at her and offered a small smile.  "Don't worry about me.  I'll be fine."

   The three travelers left the charred village behind them, along with any innocence they may have had left.  It was only after the were back on the plains of Hyrule, heading towards the castle, that Malon realized that, during Link's confrontation with the Deku Tree, there had been no clouds to produce the thunder.