Link and Navi were back in front of the Great Deku Tree. It said silently to Navi "Thou hast bound to the boy, and he lives yet."
Navi answered, "Yes. It was fate, and carelessness. I feared I would have killed the boy, else I would have disobeyed you! For you had no intention of keeping your word, did you?"
The Tree answered "No, Navi. I saw him two years ago! His heart was already too big for an ordinary fairy, then! It has grown stronger since!
"When I took your kind away from the Kokiri, I vowed that the Great Kokiri Warriors would never terrorize the realm again! Making them powerful beyond all the other peoples of the realm had been my biggest folly ever! They were why I blocked the Kokiri from leaving the forest! They were why I addled most of their minds! And it was because of them that I strengthened their bonds with their life-mates beyond all reason, so that the loss of one would kill the other!
"Never again, I vowed, would I allow a Great Kokiri Warrior to live! I never would break my word before. But to keep that vow, I would break every word I ever uttered! And you, who had seen all the suffering first-hand, who had to lead my people yourself in battle because of the wars the Great Warriors started with their pillages, would have agreed with this, I thought. But you create one in the giant body of a Hylean!"
Navi shot back furiously, "Tree, I've served you loyally for too many years to take this! The boy's heart is PURE! It will remain so for the rest of his life!"
The Tree answered Navi "I hope you are right! For this Great Kokiri Warrior will hold the Triforce itself! If he falls, Ganondorf's evil will be as nothing!"
"I will keep this boy's heart pure, Great Deku Tree" Navi answered. The Tree groaned. "I have looked into his heart again, Navi! His heart is pure! He is fixed as a man, not likely to be corrupted. But, for all his strength, he loves like the Kokiri of these times! Thou must keep him pure, and alive!"
This conversation lasted less than a second. Link and Navi stood in front of the Great Deku tree. Navi realized that even if the Tree had wanted to give Link an ordinary guardian fairy, he had neither the strength to uproot Navi, nor make a replacement. For Link had to have a fairy from now on, or else he would die horribly! The Tree had perhaps minutes to live. Though the curse had been lifted, the Tree had waited too long, guaranteeing its own death.
The tree spoke openly to Link. "Well done, Link… Thou hast verily demonstrated thy courage… I knew that thou wouldst be able to carry out my wishes… Now, I have yet more to tell ye, wouldst thou listen?" Link, still slightly stunned from the battle with Gohma, silently nodded his head yes. "Now…listen carefully… A wicked man of the desert, the one thou saw in thy dreams, cast this dreadful curse upon me… This evil man ceaselessly uses his vile, sorcerous powers in his search for the Sacred Realm that is connected to Hyrule… For it is in that Sacred Realm that one will find the divine relic, the Triforce, which contains the essence of the gods…
"Before Time began, before spirits and life existed, three golden goddesses descended on the chaos that was Hyrule: Din, the goddess of power; Nayru, the goddess of wisdom; and Farore, the goddess of courage. Din, with her strong flaming arms she cultivated the land and created the red earth. Nayru poured her wisdom upon the earth, and gave the spirit of law to the world. Farore, with her rich soul, produced all life forms that would uphold the law.
"The three goddesses, their labours completed departed for the heavens. And golden sacred triangles remained at the point where the goddesses departed this world. Since then, these golden triangles have been the basis of our world's providence. And the resting-place of these sacred golden triangles has been known as The Sacred Realm.
"Thou must never allow the desert man in black armour to lay his hands on the sacred Triforce. Thou must never suffer that man, with his evil heart, to enter the Sacred Realm of legend… That evil man who cast the death curse upon me and sapped my power… Because of that curse, my end is nigh… Though your valiant efforts to break the curse were successful, I was doomed before you started."
Link said, "You say I lifted the curse, yet you will still die?" He hung his head in grief.
The Tree continued. "Yes, I will pass away soon… But do not grieve for me… I have been able to tell you of these important matters… This is Hyrule's final hope…
"Link… Go now to Hyrule Castle… There, thou will surely meet the Princess of Destiny… Take this stone with you. The stone that man wanted so much, that he cast the curse on me…"
Link saw a glow of green light. Reaching up, he took hold of an emerald the size of a baseball, set in a gold bracket. This was the Kokiri Emerald, the spiritual stone of the Forest. The weight it put on Link's small shoulders was far more than just its gravitational mass. With this stone, the weight of the world was now his burden.
"The future depends upon thee, Link… Thou art courageous… Navi the fairy… Help Link to carry out my will….I entreat ye… Navi… Good…bye…"
The Great Deku Tree rumbled, and turned grey. A few leaves fell. The life-force of The Great Deku Tree departed, leaving the dead tree behind.
"Let's go to Hyrule Castle, Link!" said the obviously affected Navi. Link and Navi left the Great Deku Tree Meadow. "Good-bye…Great Deku Tree" said Navi as they left.
Link and Navi re-entered the heart of the Kokiri forest. At the entrance, they ran into Mido. The Helfdanes didn't tell Mido much, but what they did tell him had him scared! Seeing the sorrow on Link's face told him that Link wasn't successful in saving the Tree's life. This had him scared even more!
"Link! What did you do? The Great Deku Tree…did he…die?" he asked.
"The Great Deku Tree was cursed," replied Link. "I broke the curse, but it was already too late."
Mido, in his fear, lashed out at Link. "How could you let The Great Deku Tree die like that? You were supposed to save it, not let it die! The Tree is dead now, and it's all your fault!" exclaimed Mido. He then stormed off and disappeared. Link was in a terrible mood. Mido unknowingly avoided being beaten like a cheap rug.
One of the Helfdanes was standing in front of the village shop. Navi flew over to him while Link was talking to Mido. She told him silently "It was fate. Link is now bonded to a guardian fairy—me!"
The Helfdane asked, "Did you decide his heart was big enough for you after all?"
Navi answered "No. I accidentally brushed his heart with my tail, while sipping from his life-force. I almost killed him!"
"But he's now Kokiri forever, isn't he?" the Helfdane asked.
Navi replied, "He is a Kokiri Warrior of old, complete with battle fairy. But his heart is pure, unlike the warriors of old! He is truly the child of destiny, in the body of a Hylean!"
The other Kokiri reacted differently from Mido. Few even knew of the Kokiri Emerald, and Link told no one he had it. But Link was no longer "the boy without a fairy" to be pitied. He was no longer "The Kokiri Warrior" the butt of jokes for studying with the Helfdane brothers, whose valour had gone out of style. He was The Kokiri Warrior with not scorn, but reverence. He was the Hero who removed the curse from The Great Deku Tree. He confiscated the life-force from an evil monster, purified it, and made it his own. They were saddened and frightened because of the Great Deku Tree's dying. But they didn't blame Link. He had done all that could be done, and they knew it. The Kokiri now saw a small part of what Saria had seen in Link all along, and were in awe of it.
He was asked where Hyrule Castle was. He didn't know any more than they did, but told them he would find it soon enough. He went to Saria's house, but she wasn't there. He went to his house to gather his belongings. He got his other set of clothes and bundled it up. He looked for his ocarina, but couldn't find it. As he was about to leave, he saw it on his table with a note underneath. The note read: "You left this in the Meadow. The coat fits well. S."
He hoped Saria would stop by, but she didn't. He didn't take long. While he didn't know exactly where the castle was, he knew that it was over a day's journey from the Kokiri forest, and if he didn't leave quickly, that would mean two nights camped in Hyrule Field. With the rumours of monsters wandering the field at night and attacking travellers, this was not a pleasant thought. He went to Saria's house again, still no Saria. He asked all through the village looking for Saria. No one had seen her lately, but one of the twins said that Saria had been looking for him. He had to leave. As he walked towards the Lost Wood Bridge, he thought that he would have to pick up a gift for Saria as an apology for not seeing her in person. She would still be mad at him, but Saria never stayed mad at him for long. As he left the bridge gate, he was glad that Mido was still sulking. He didn't want Mido giving him any grief; he had enough of a burden as it was.
As he was halfway across the bridge, he heard that familiar voice. "Oh, you're leaving…" she said. "I knew…that you would leave the forest…someday, Link…because you are different than the rest of us. You can leave at will, where we are bound to the forest."
It was Saria's voice. It was Saria's body. But it was a different Saria than Link had ever seen. This Saria was as sad as the one he knew had been happy. This Saria was as defeated, and beaten down by life as the one he knew had been unbeaten and unbeatable, no matter what life threw at them. The Saria he knew never doubted his love. That Saria might be mad that he allowed himself to be drafted for this quest, but would wait for him to return. His Saria might even insist on joining him, though it would be dangerous, and would require them to marry on the spot to not offend public sensibilities. But this Saria already saw her beloved leave her for good, only his body being slow out the gate. If Saria was afraid he would die before he returned, fine. If Saria just couldn't wait, fine too. He loved her too much to try to hold her against her will. But, if she wanted to leave him, she would have to admit it to herself, and to him! Losing her alone would crush him. To have her leave thinking he wanted her gone was more of a burden than he could stand, even without the rest of the world on his shoulders. He turned and faced Saria, looking her squarely in the eyes. He spoke.
"But Saria," Link began, "it hurts me to leave the forest now. I am being sent by The Great Deku Tree to carry the Kokiri Emerald to Princess Zelda of Hyrule. I am doing this because it has to be done, not because I want to! I am fearful that the Princess will have me do more after I see her. If I can avoid that without bringing shame to both of us, I will. After all, the Princess has soldiers at her disposal. What use could she have of a Kokiri, barely a man, even if that Kokiri is good with a sword? But even if this errand is made longer, I'll return here first. And whenever I'm done with this burden, I'll never want to leave the forest again.
"Your love for me has been immeasurable. I have known this for as long as I can remember. You have always given freely to me, of your time, your friendship, your soul, and your heart. For as far back as I can remember; you were always there. When I needed a friend, you were the first. When I needed someone to cry to, you dried my eyes and lent your shoulder, without making me feel less a boy. When I couldn't sew, you showed me how to sew, and gave me a reason to do it well. When I had trouble with the ocarina, you helped me put my voice into it, and gave me someone to sing to with it. For this, I love you more than I will ever love anyone else, more than anyone will love anyone else, except for your having loved me.
"But I am unworthy… for I am weak, and a coward. I am so weak, that I could never hope to hold you against your will, though I would carry the world at your bidding. I am such a coward that I would never have the courage to leave you, though I would march through the jaws of death itself to be with you. If you must leave me, fearing for the danger of my quest, I will not stop you. If you leave me, thinking I don't love you, or don't love you enough, I can't stop you. But know this! If you leave, it will be as if you run a sword through my heart! My body will carry on. It will finish this quest. If it lives, it will return to the forest, for it has become Kokiri, as I have, and the forest is its home. It will bid sincere friendship to you, your life-mate, and your children. But I will have died this very morning, as if you had run a sword through my heart!
"I had hoped to share the rest of my days with you. I shared my heart and soul with you, expecting nothing, but hoping for the same from you in return. Have I hoped for too much?"
Saria's face lit up. Her green hair shone more radiantly than Link had ever seen it. "Link! I hadn't expected this, but I had hoped for it more than anything else in my life! I had decided to give this to you as a release, and as a memento, so you would always remember me, and the friendship we had. I give it to you now as a remembrance of the friendship we had, and the greater friendship yet to come! Besides, you always keep losing your ocarina. Perhaps you'll take better care with this one."
With that, she handed him an ocarina. It was crafted with the finest care, and smoothed to an almost glass-like finish. The deku wood had an amazing brilliance to it. "When you come back from the castle, come see me. Perhaps you and I can play it together."
Link was stunned! There were only two reasons a Kokiri woman would ever give a Kokiri man an ocarina. One was to break off a romance. The other was to make that romance permanent. But she had not recited the poem! When the Kokiri woman proposed, she not only gave the man an ocarina, she recited a short traditional poem. If the man agreed to marry, he took the new ocarina. He then took his old ocarina, played a short traditional song, and presented his old ocarina to the woman. If she accepted it, then each Kokiri was affianced to the other. Link almost stammered "Do you mean to give this to me… beloved?"
Saria was panic-struck. She had planned to propose to Link the previous evening, not knowing the real reason Link had been sent for. But the Helfdanes quietly visited her. They not only told her the real reason he was visiting the Deku Tree, but explained that Link had been promised long ago by his father to marry the Princess of the Hyleans, at the King of the Hyleans' request! She had been devastated, and had cried all that night! She knew that Link's sense of duty was strong. She thought that once he knew he was pledged to the Princess, he would marry her to keep his father's word, though it would hurt him badly to leave Saria. She had decided to give Link his freedom, so he could court the Princess without any guilt.
But Link had let her see into his heart more deeply then she ever had before. Now, she knew. He didn't know of any promises made to the Hyleans, and wouldn't give a damn if he did! He was bound to Saria, and Saria alone! She was so relieved to see this, that she had unthinkingly given Link the ocarina out of relief! Another time, and Link would have chided her for being so untraditional. He then would have recited both poems, played the song, and offered his ocarina.
But she had shaken him badly. He didn't know what she had in mind! She had given the ocarina she made to pledge to him, now she had to finish what she started. But she couldn't remember the words! And she knew that Link didn't have his ocarina with him. She took a breath, and answered nervously, remembering the words as she said them. "Beloved, I offer my heart to you. A new home, warm but not lived in. Strong, but not unbreakable. Do you wish to stay here?"
Hearing this, Link finally placed the cord of the new ocarina over his head. Normally, he never carried his ocarina like that. But it was the only place he could be sure not to lose it on this trip, so his old one was also there. He carefully took it out from the collar of his shirt, off of his head, and kneeled low to floor of the bridge. He played "The Skylark's Song," as was tradition. He started almost on the bridge floor, stood up on tip-toes, danced around Saria, and ended on one knee in front of her, holding his ocarina out to her on both open hands.
He said "Beloved, I offer my heart to you. It is a heart like a bird of the forest. It is soft, warm, able to float on air. It is strong and long of life, but easily crushed. I would that you cherish and protect it in your heart forever. May it stay there?"
Saria accepted the ocarina from Link, and put its cord around her neck. She placed it down her sweater, touching the skin over her heart and said, "Your heart is in mine."
Link placed the ocarina Saria gave him down the collar of his shirt, touching the skin next to his heart and answered "And your heart in mine, beloved." They kissed and embraced each other, softly crying tears of joy... and relief.
"I wish we'd done this in the meadow" Link said.
"Beloved, we didn't know the time," Saria answered. She went on "Remember when we were first friends? We used to brag to each other that when we betrothed, we would do it in the meadow in mid afternoon?"
"Yes," Link replied. "We even offered to be there with each other…to make sure we didn't blow it and get jilted by our lovers!" They both laughed.
Saria said, "I could have used some help beloved! I forgot the words for a second. My heart hid it from me that we would do this. I was certain that you had forgotten your ocarina, or had lost it."
"It was right where you left it, beloved. But except for this pack being in the way, I always used to carry my ocarina in the small of my back, beneath my belt. I guess I could have given you my butt like a bird in the forest…"
They both giggled coyly, and Saria said, "Link! Not 'til after we're married! And not on the bridge; we'd break it!" They giggled again, releasing the last of their jitters, kissed and embraced again.
"You need to get going, beloved," Saria finally said. They both turned and walked toward the far end of the bridge, the end few Kokiri ever crossed. "You have a long way to go to get to Hyrule village," she continued. "I've looked at this map my father got from a Hylaen trader. It's almost two days journey from here. I brought the map to give to you, too." She gave him a folded parchment. It was apparently at least as old as they were, but was still in excellent shape.
Link said, "Thank you, beloved. I hope I don't find a great need for it, but it will help me a lot. I won't need a map to find my way home, for I have you! When I find you, I'll know I'm home." They now stood on the dirt path, just over the bridge.
Saria replied, "Do your duty. Take care of yourself. Come back." They kissed and embraced each other one more time. Saria jogged back into the Kokiri village, almost unable to contain herself. Link turned toward Hyrule field and started running. The weight on his shoulders had just been halved.