**Whew! Okay, so I guess I kind of lied when I promised myself that I
would stick with this one. Sorry about that. But you know, school, social
life, and the fact that procrastination is my middle name has kept me from
this! I'll try really hard to upload chapters faster. (A whole lot
faster!) I say that all the time, but I mean it this time!**
Link tried hard to get some sleep that night, but he couldn't. He tossed and turned in his bed until he decided that there was no way he'd get to sleep that night. He sat up and snuck out of his house into the damp night air. He didn't want to think about the awful week before, but he did, and relished in the fact that he wouldn't have to face another day the way he'd spent the past seven.
He could remember the message like it was yesterday. Mido, of all people, had come to tell him that Saria had been in an accident, and was dead. At first, he had waved it away, thinking it only a big, sick joke. He and Mido had never gotten along, and ever since Link had returned the big hero, Mido's envy and dislike had increased. But Mido had tears in his eyes and Link knew that something must be wrong. He allowed Mido to lead him to the bridge that linked Kokiri Forest to Hyrule Field. There, lay Saria's body, a bloody, mangled mess.
"You told me it was an accident," Link whispered, trying to take it all in. He hadn't been prepared for such a gruesome sight.
"It was. She'd been trying some sort of magic in front of the Forest Temple, and it backfired. There was an explosion, and we found her here. I was with her when it happened. I saw it all. I -" but Mido couldn't finish. His voice cracked and tears streamed down his face. Link looked again at Saria's body.
"Saria wouldn't have messed with magic too powerful for her. She knew her limits. She gave herself boundaries. Look at her. There are no burn marks. She was flung out of the forest maybe, but it was no accident. The explosion was made to make it look like an accident! Someone killed her. Saria's been murdered!" Link said through clenched teeth. He bent down closer to her body. Her face was a mess to the point where the only reason that Link knew it was Saria, was her green hair. Hot, angry tears flowed down his face and he yelled at the top of his lungs. He drew his sword and slashed at the bridge wishing that it were Saria's killer he was hacking. But soon, his energy left him, and he collapsed, sobs racking his body.
"Link, I saw it happen. Saria made a mistake. She wasn't perfect, you know," Mido said quietly as he put a gentle hand on Link's shoulder trying to sooth him. Link tossed off Mido's hand and stood up.
"No. You're wrong. You don't know who she.what she.was. Someone did this to her. This is the work of.something darker," said Link. He glanced down at the bloody mess that was supposed to be his best friend's dead body and kneeled beside it. He pushed back a piece of her shiny green hair and it hit him that she was really gone.
He gently slipped his arms under her, and picked her up. He couldn't leave her out here. He and Mido walked back into Kokiri Forest together, and laid Saria in her bed. Not able to stand the thought of leaving his dear friend alone that night, he slept on the floor until the morning, when he, Mido, and the rest of the Kokiri children took Saria to the base of the dead Great Deku Tree. It was here that all children were taken to rest. It was here where Link said his final good-byes.
In the week that followed, Link would visit the site where they had buried her, and lay down a bouquet of Raldiri flowers on her grave. They were a precious plant that grew only in the Lost Woods, and had been Saria's favorite because they're unique coloring matched her hair. He would visit the entrance to the Forest Temple, and play his ocarina, remembering the day that he had learned Saria's Song, and had been able to communicate with her at any moment.
Link and Mido became closer, laying aside their differences to help comfort each other in their time of grief. They traded stories that they had of Saria growing up, and marveled at the way that she had tried so hard to make the two of them get to know one another better, and it had taken her death to make them finally get acquainted. They talked about how they would have made things different if they'd had a second chance as they took long walks to visit some of Saria's favorite spots.
Despite the comfort that Mido's company brought to Link, he preferred to mourn alone. He felt that he had to put up a tough front in front of Mido. They had shed tears together only at her burial. He felt that Mido expected strength from the Hero-of-Time, and he hated to let anyone see his emotions. He was the kind to keep everything bottled up inside. Only Saria had been able to get anything out of him.
Although talking made him feel better, Link also found solace in being alone with his thoughts in the woods, or in front of the Forest Temple or the Deku Tree. There he could think about the Saria that no one else knew about. There he could think about just how he would make it without her. He even thought about if he actually wanted to try to make it without her. His sword was so close, and in one swift movement he could end it all. But he decided against it. He figured that Saria would want him to try to move on, and be happy, and would be upset if he ever tried something as brash as suicide.
Link had put away the ocarina of time and now preferred to play the old wooden one that Saria had given him at the very beginning of his journey. The notes were somehow clearer, and fuller when he played this one. His hand felt like it fit this one better than it fit the other one, and the notes that sounded soothed his nerves when he played it.
Yes, Link remembered the hell he had suffered through that week. He remembered the awful pain he felt when they laid her body in he grown, as if a piece of his heart had been wrenched out of his chest and buried with her. He remembered the pain he felt in the quiet woods, waiting to see her green hair hopping towards him, and listening for her contagious giggle echoing through the trees. But it never happened.
But now Link had a new memory to add to the horrid week. He had the memory of meeting his friend, alive, on the mountain. The memory of her face revealed beneath the dark hood, the memory of her warm embrace and her nervous frown as she apologized for not telling him sooner, and the memory of his heart being restored. Now that he knew Saria was all right, questions burned in his mind. These were what had kept him from sleeping. There were so many things that he was confused about, so many things he needed to know. He wondered when Niamh would show up to tell him that she was able to see him again. He wondered how long his next visit would be, and if Saria would allow his questions, or if she'd want to get right down to business.
All this thinking suddenly exhausted him. Link turned from the river that ran through Kokiri Forest and walked quickly back towards his house. He climbed the ladder and let himself slide into the welcoming sheets, and let go of his thoughts, surrendering himself to sleep.
Link tried hard to get some sleep that night, but he couldn't. He tossed and turned in his bed until he decided that there was no way he'd get to sleep that night. He sat up and snuck out of his house into the damp night air. He didn't want to think about the awful week before, but he did, and relished in the fact that he wouldn't have to face another day the way he'd spent the past seven.
He could remember the message like it was yesterday. Mido, of all people, had come to tell him that Saria had been in an accident, and was dead. At first, he had waved it away, thinking it only a big, sick joke. He and Mido had never gotten along, and ever since Link had returned the big hero, Mido's envy and dislike had increased. But Mido had tears in his eyes and Link knew that something must be wrong. He allowed Mido to lead him to the bridge that linked Kokiri Forest to Hyrule Field. There, lay Saria's body, a bloody, mangled mess.
"You told me it was an accident," Link whispered, trying to take it all in. He hadn't been prepared for such a gruesome sight.
"It was. She'd been trying some sort of magic in front of the Forest Temple, and it backfired. There was an explosion, and we found her here. I was with her when it happened. I saw it all. I -" but Mido couldn't finish. His voice cracked and tears streamed down his face. Link looked again at Saria's body.
"Saria wouldn't have messed with magic too powerful for her. She knew her limits. She gave herself boundaries. Look at her. There are no burn marks. She was flung out of the forest maybe, but it was no accident. The explosion was made to make it look like an accident! Someone killed her. Saria's been murdered!" Link said through clenched teeth. He bent down closer to her body. Her face was a mess to the point where the only reason that Link knew it was Saria, was her green hair. Hot, angry tears flowed down his face and he yelled at the top of his lungs. He drew his sword and slashed at the bridge wishing that it were Saria's killer he was hacking. But soon, his energy left him, and he collapsed, sobs racking his body.
"Link, I saw it happen. Saria made a mistake. She wasn't perfect, you know," Mido said quietly as he put a gentle hand on Link's shoulder trying to sooth him. Link tossed off Mido's hand and stood up.
"No. You're wrong. You don't know who she.what she.was. Someone did this to her. This is the work of.something darker," said Link. He glanced down at the bloody mess that was supposed to be his best friend's dead body and kneeled beside it. He pushed back a piece of her shiny green hair and it hit him that she was really gone.
He gently slipped his arms under her, and picked her up. He couldn't leave her out here. He and Mido walked back into Kokiri Forest together, and laid Saria in her bed. Not able to stand the thought of leaving his dear friend alone that night, he slept on the floor until the morning, when he, Mido, and the rest of the Kokiri children took Saria to the base of the dead Great Deku Tree. It was here that all children were taken to rest. It was here where Link said his final good-byes.
In the week that followed, Link would visit the site where they had buried her, and lay down a bouquet of Raldiri flowers on her grave. They were a precious plant that grew only in the Lost Woods, and had been Saria's favorite because they're unique coloring matched her hair. He would visit the entrance to the Forest Temple, and play his ocarina, remembering the day that he had learned Saria's Song, and had been able to communicate with her at any moment.
Link and Mido became closer, laying aside their differences to help comfort each other in their time of grief. They traded stories that they had of Saria growing up, and marveled at the way that she had tried so hard to make the two of them get to know one another better, and it had taken her death to make them finally get acquainted. They talked about how they would have made things different if they'd had a second chance as they took long walks to visit some of Saria's favorite spots.
Despite the comfort that Mido's company brought to Link, he preferred to mourn alone. He felt that he had to put up a tough front in front of Mido. They had shed tears together only at her burial. He felt that Mido expected strength from the Hero-of-Time, and he hated to let anyone see his emotions. He was the kind to keep everything bottled up inside. Only Saria had been able to get anything out of him.
Although talking made him feel better, Link also found solace in being alone with his thoughts in the woods, or in front of the Forest Temple or the Deku Tree. There he could think about the Saria that no one else knew about. There he could think about just how he would make it without her. He even thought about if he actually wanted to try to make it without her. His sword was so close, and in one swift movement he could end it all. But he decided against it. He figured that Saria would want him to try to move on, and be happy, and would be upset if he ever tried something as brash as suicide.
Link had put away the ocarina of time and now preferred to play the old wooden one that Saria had given him at the very beginning of his journey. The notes were somehow clearer, and fuller when he played this one. His hand felt like it fit this one better than it fit the other one, and the notes that sounded soothed his nerves when he played it.
Yes, Link remembered the hell he had suffered through that week. He remembered the awful pain he felt when they laid her body in he grown, as if a piece of his heart had been wrenched out of his chest and buried with her. He remembered the pain he felt in the quiet woods, waiting to see her green hair hopping towards him, and listening for her contagious giggle echoing through the trees. But it never happened.
But now Link had a new memory to add to the horrid week. He had the memory of meeting his friend, alive, on the mountain. The memory of her face revealed beneath the dark hood, the memory of her warm embrace and her nervous frown as she apologized for not telling him sooner, and the memory of his heart being restored. Now that he knew Saria was all right, questions burned in his mind. These were what had kept him from sleeping. There were so many things that he was confused about, so many things he needed to know. He wondered when Niamh would show up to tell him that she was able to see him again. He wondered how long his next visit would be, and if Saria would allow his questions, or if she'd want to get right down to business.
All this thinking suddenly exhausted him. Link turned from the river that ran through Kokiri Forest and walked quickly back towards his house. He climbed the ladder and let himself slide into the welcoming sheets, and let go of his thoughts, surrendering himself to sleep.