Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda. However, I own everyone else when I play as Zelda in Smash Bros.
Saria blinked her eyes sleepily. She could feel the rise and fall of Link's chest beneath her cheek, his skin rubbing smoothly against hers. She lifted her head and turned slightly to see Link's eyes closed, blond hair falling into his face. His arms had fallen to his sides during the night, so Saria slowly stood up, being sure not to disturb him. She rubbed her hands along her arms as a cool morning breeze penetrated the forest. Saria wandered towards the center of what used to be Kokiri Village.
Her life was gone. That much was clear to her. The entire village, destroyed. All her friends, dead. The only things she had left were her forest and Link. And possibly revenge.
That thought stopped Saria dead in her tracks. She had never considered herself a particularly vengeful person, but she'd never before had a reason to be one. None of the Kokiri had ever done anything to warrant revenge, not even Mido and his pranks. But now, Ganondorf had stolen almost everything that was precious to her. And she wanted nothing more than to…to…
What did she want? Saria blinked rapidly. She no longer knew who she was. And it hurt.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Link awoke and immediately noticed that Saria wasn't with him. He rolled to his feet, a bit groggy, and soon spotted the small green figure standing in the center of the ruined village. He walked slowly towards his friend, not sure what to expect.
He stopped a foot behind her, her back turned to him.
"Saria?" he said softly.
She whirled around, startling Link. Her green eyes were bright.
"Oh, Link, it's you," she sputtered, wiping at her eyes.
"What's the matter?"
Saria let out an involuntary sob. "I…I've lost myself, Link. I don't know who I am anymore."
Link enfolded his friend in a hug. "It'll be alright, Saria."
The green haired girl continued to sob in his arms. "I'm so… so angry at him. I'm angry at my friends, for dying. I feel like I've become this…this stranger, with anger and rage in her heart." She looked up into Link's eyes, and he could read fear in her eyes. His heart gave a little twinge. "She wants revenge."
Link hugged Saria tighter, a little scared himself. "That's not the Saria I know and love." He pulled back and held her head in his hands, looking directly into her shining eyes. "You're still the same person, Saria. I know you're scaring yourself right now, but you… you have a strength inside you that even I don't possess. You'll fight through this," He smiled at her.
Saria looked at him, then let out a big, trembling sigh. She gave Link a quick hug, and when she pulled back, Link saw a smile on her face for the first time since the ambush. "Thanks, Link. I'm glad one of us doesn't lose their head in a crisis."
Link returned a lopsided smile. "Well, I've had an extra seven years worth of experience, you could say."
Saria shot him a slightly bemused look. "As I recall, you were sleeping through most of it."
"Like I said, good experience."
Saria chuckled softly. Not much, but it was improvement.
"So, what should we do now?" Link asked his friend.
Saria glanced at him, then looked pointedly at his bare chest. "Find you a shirt."
Link felt himself blushing and stammered, "I meant, about Ganondorf."
Saria sighed, wiping the last of the tears from her eyes. "I think we need to talk to Zelda. We can tell her what happened and try to organize against Ganondorf. There are two Spiritual Stones left, and he needs both to even attempt entering the Sacred Realm. We should be able to obtain at least one before Ganondorf gets there."
"All right, then, let's go see Zelda," Link exclaimed.
"After the shirt, buddy," Saria said tolerantly. She disappeared into one house that was still half standing, and after a few minutes, reemerged with a green tunic. She dusted some ash off it, then handed it to Link.
"It's one of mine, but I think it will fit you all right."
Link slipped it on over his head. It was a little snug, but it would do. At least until they got to the castle. Although, he still felt… somehow… naked.
"Hey," he said, realizing his predicament. "Shouldn't I have a sword of some sort?"
Saria blinked. "Yeah, that would probably be a good idea. You could use the Kokiri Sword. It's about your size."
"I'll run and get it," Link said. "You can try to gather any other supplies you can think of."
"All right."
Link turned and headed for the Forest Training Center. He stepped carefully through the broken fencing, avoiding the scorched earth. He quickly clambered through the small crawlway hidden in the cliff, and brushed himself off on the other side. He stopped a moment to get his bearings, then walked over to the stump. He slowly lifted the lid of the great chest, revealing the light Kokiri blade in its blue scabbard.
"Here we go," he muttered to himself, securing the scabbard on his back. He drew the blade and examined its polished surface, reveling in the feel of smooth hilt in his palm. He assumed a fighting posture, then made a few slices and parries, acclimating himself to the sword's weight and balance. To finish his impromptu session, Link spun and slashed… and sliced a nearby signpost in two.
"Oops."
* * * * * *
Link returned to the center of the village to find Saria waiting patiently, a tan satchel slung across her left shoulder. She saw Link emerge from the hidden grove and walked over to him.
"I managed to salvage my satchel from the ruins," she began, opening it. "I scrounged up some herbs for medicine and several berries for food. We should have enough for three days, if we eat sparingly."
Link surveyed the assortment of greens and foods. The satchel was nearly full with red and blue berries. He looked at Saria in wonder.
"You got all that in ten minutes?"
Saria blushed slightly. "I have spent most of my life in the Lost Woods, you know. I know where to find stuff."
"You're amazing sometimes. Let's go."
The pair started walking out of the village, and they had nearly reached the outskirts of the forest when Link stopped suddenly.
"Wait, if you're a Kokiri, you can't leave the forest, can you?"
Saria glanced at Link tolerantly. "I'm a Sage, Link. I think I can manage to nullify a simple curse."
"Ah, right. I keep forgetting about that whole sage thing."
"What am I going to do with you?"
* * * * * *
Link reached the top of the first hill and paused, surveying the landscape. All of Hyrule Field was laid out before him. To his right, the Zora River wound its way into the forest. Death Mountain pierced the horizon to the east, and the young Hylian could see Lon Lon Ranch in the distance. The Gerudo Desert stretched out to the northwest, and the path to Lake Hylia was just to the south of that. Off to the northeast, the great turrets of Hyrule Castle glistened in the morning sunlight. Link smiled. He knew this field well. From his alternate reality, that is.
Saria came up beside him. "Wow…" she breathed. "It's so… big!"
"We have to walk almost the entire length of the field to reach the castle," Link said, frowning slightly. "I think it will be a two-day walk. We'll have to find a place to sleep."
Saria surveyed the landscape before her. "It's so beautiful… what about that ranch over there?" she asked, pointing.
Link glanced over at Lon Lon Ranch. "We could probably make it there by nightfall. It's owned by a guy named Talon, who lives there with his daughter, Malon."
Saria made a face. "Their names rhyme?"
"Ahem. Talon's a really nice person, but he falls asleep all the time. We could probably find a place to stay there," Link mused. "At the very least, we could sleep in the stable."
"Well, then, let's get going!" Saria declared, marching down the hillside.
Link followed her, a spring in his step. It felt good to be on an adventure again.
* * * * * *
By the time the pair of travelers reached the ranch, Link had decided that he really didn't like adventures that much. His feet felt like lead weights, and he was sweating all over. It had been a rather hot day, and there wasn't much shade in the middle of a field. In fact, they had only managed to find one tree during their day's hike, so they had decided to stop and eat their midday meal in its shadow. The berries Saria had brought had tasted good, but they hadn't given much in the way of fuel. So as the sun set behind Death Mountain, it was two very tired children who dragged themselves into the ranch.
Link trudged up the entrance path, glancing back to make sure Saria was still with him. She gave him a tired smile. If Link had had this much trouble with their hike, he could only imagine how Saria felt.
As they approached the office, a little girl came running in from the pasture. Link immediately recognized Malon by her long red hair, which cascaded well below her waist. She caught sight of the two travelers and stopped short, a curious look on her face.
"Hello," she said. "Who are you?"
"It's good to see y-" Link started, cut off when Saria elbowed him in the ribs. She gave him a stern glare, then seeing his confusion, rolled her eyes and took a step forward.
"My name is Saria, and this is Link. We've been traveling across Hyrule Field and we're looking for a place to stay the night. We were hoping that we could stay here."
Malon's blue eyes lit up. "Sure! It's been a while since we've had visitors, but I'm sure Dad won't mind too much. Oh!" she exclaimed. "I haven't introduced myself. I'm Malon. My dad Talon owns the ranch. He should be in the office right now. Why don't we go in and ask him?"
"Thanks, Malon," Saria said wearily. The farm girl skipped ahead of them and opened the office door. Link followed Saria, rubbing his ribs, and more than a little confused. Why didn't Malon recognize him? He met her multiple times before, and she hadn't even blinked when Saria said his name.
Inside the office, the two travelers were met with a chaotic sight. Cuccos roamed around the room, cackling. Hay was strewn around the floor, and some tools leaned up against the walls. Perhaps the most amazing thing about the scene was the man lying against the counter. He was a round man, with a large beard below a perfectly bald head. Link had no idea how the man managed to sleep in the center of this maelstrom, but his snores only added to the chaos in the
Malon moved to the man's side and shook his brawny arm. "Dad, wake up, there's people here!"
Malon's father awoke with a start, arms flailing as Malon quickly backed off. "What in tarnation! Malon, can't a fella git any shut-eye 'round 'ere?"
"Dad, there's people here to see you," Malon replied tolerantly.
"Oh!" Talon exclaimed, noticing Link and Saria for the first time. "Howdy, there! What kin I do fer ya, now?"
Link stepped forward. "Hi. We were just wondering if we could have a place to stay tonight."
Talon frowned beneath his beard. "Well, this taint exactly an inn, ya know? We just have the one room that me an' Malon sleep in. Yeh could stay in the stable."
"That would be great," Saria stepped in. "We're just looking for a roof over our heads."
Malon clapped, hopping up and down. "Oh, this will be fun! I'll show you guys where to sleep." She bounced towards the door.
"Malon!" Talon called out, stopping his daughter. "You git right back in 'ere when yeh finish. It's time fer bed."
"All right, Dad."
"Thank you very much, Talon," Saria called over her shoulder.
Malon led them across the way and into the stable. Several cows lay asleep in their stalls along one wall.
"You can sleep in this stall here. It's fresh hay; we haven't kept anything in here for several months."
Link glanced at the straw. He was sure he'd slept on worse. He just couldn't remember it.
* * * * * *
Once Malon had gone inside, Saria set about preparing the stall. She placed her satchel in one corner, and Link laid his sword next to it. Saria spread all the hay in the opposite corner.
"We're going to have to do without blankets," she said, frowning.
"That's all right," Link said. "I've probably slept on worse."
"Probably?" she echoed.
"Well, it might have been a dream," he explained, eyes twinkling.
Saria shook her head, smiling. "I think your humor may kill me."
Link was silent for a minute. Saria finished smoothing out the hay and turned to see her friend's face clouded in thought.
"Better get some sleep," she ventured.
"Yeah."
Saria settled herself into the hay. It was a bit pricklier than she was used to, but she could deal with it. She felt Link sink into the hay beside her and closed her eyes. She wouldn't admit it to Link, but the day's hike had really exhausted her. The last thing she wanted to be, though, was a burden to Link on their quest. She was determined to get through it without complaint.
"Saria?"
"Yes, Link?"
"Malon doesn't remember… does she?"
"No, she doesn't. The only people who remember are the Seven Sages, Ganondorf, and you."
Link was silent. Saria could only guess what was going through his head.
"Goodnight, Link."
"'Night."
* * * * * *
Malon lay in bed, thinking about the two strangers. They seemed nice, but there was something a little bit odd about them. The girl – was Saria her name? – The girl had elbowed that boy – Link, was it? – in the ribs just as he was about to say something. Then there was their clothing… it was all green! Green just wasn't Malon's favorite color.
And besides… something about that boy seemed familiar. Almost as though she knew him, even though they had never met.
Malon's thoughts soon led her into a drifting sleep.
A/N: And I've updated… finally. I did get all the reviews that ff.net doesn't show. Here are the replies:
Dr. Sipp: A man(woman?) of few words… Thanks for the encouragement!
Lady Storm: Let me get you some Kleenex's. I know, it's a very sad way to start a story, but if you were Ganondorf, what would you have done? Here's your update.
Veilius(x3): I'm sorry I killed off Mido =(. Thanks for all of your comments; I appreciate you taking the time to analyze my story. I do have a descriptive style, and I am confident with it. I feel it paints much more vivid pictures for my readers. I have a longer response where I address specific points you indicated; if you're interested in it, I can send it to you, but it's too long to post here. Thanks for the reviews!
Anyways, next installment will be the meeting with Zelda. And the plot shall unfold from there. Please read and review!
-AE