-1Chapter III: The Princess's Deed and a Sea of Envy
Copyright: I do not own Zelda, Nintendo does. Story by Habuki productions.
Where was that man and the rest of his weird little women, was what she was wondering. The young girl kept peeping through the window into the kingdom, there was her father, and the royal chancellor, but that was it. Some of the older knights hung around the king, the ones he was close too, but he wasn't there! Did the dream mean anything, or was she just going crazy, had her father been correct at acting with her. Was she being delusional in her own accusations about this, the promotion didn't seem to be true. No! Her father didn't believe her, but she believed herself more than she ever had in the past few weeks. She wasn't being irrational; she was serious as she could be.
Nothing made the nightmare come, nothing at all, at least yet, the dream didn't even give a time or day. Impa believed her, of course Impa did, she was her guardian…her nanny, maybe she needed to because that was her job? Furrowing her brow, she positioned the headdress in the right way, so it covered up all of that luscious blonde hair, all that shone out were those blonde eyebrows. Well, she couldn't spot anything at all, but nevertheless, she kept her head positioned there. Sitting here would have been the best course of action, otherwise she might miss the appearance.
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"Link…look." Navi was sitting on his shoulder, whispering lightly into his ear, so that she wouldn't be able to hear. "I think that's the princess…"
Link stood back up from the patch of sunflowers and peered over at the girl. Yes, it was a girl, maybe the princess. She was dress very weirdly; from what he could see there was a long white dress that fell down to her feet, and violet robe-like felt upon the dress. Jewels were adorned upon her waist, it wasn't a normal belt, and he spotted the end of a necklace around her neck. Walking quickly, not seeming to eager, he stepped upward and spoke out, at the top of the stairs. "Princess?" He whispered out, as not to disturb her, though she seemed to be content in deep thought.
"H-Huh?" She spun around, her hands clasping to her chest and let out a tremendous gasp. W-who was that! There was this little boy dressed in…green? Perched upon his shoulder was a blue, velvet creature with…it had wings? The boy was dressed with a shield and a sword; a long cap fell down through his blonde hair. The boy had a simple innocence about him. Yes, he did seem a very innocent, quiet boy. Brushing the dirt from her robe, she looked up at him. "What are you doing here?"
It seemed he was correct, the girl, upon her robe had some of the most extensive little symbols ever. It showed that Triforce symbol, with a red eagle under it and another upside down triangle upon it. Maybe that was the Hyrule crest, he really hadn't seen any of the guards' uniforms, so that could have been it. He was more interested in trying to get past them without getting himself thrown into prison. He figured so and began to speak, well almost, but Navi cut him off with her own voice coming out.. "Princess?"
"Y-yes? Who're you?"
"I am Navi, the farie. This is Link, he is from the Kokiiri forest, and we were asked to bring you something. Link, the emerald?" He knew what she was speaking of, it was just that the princess didn't have an idea.
"O-Oh, yea." Reaching swiftly inside of his pack, he pulled out the simple stone. The stone was shaped like a flower, the rims adorned in a beautiful gold. Inside the flower, or the leaves, were made of pure emerald. The stone was untouched, unscratched, and looked like it hadn't been fooled with in a number of years. Placing the small jewel into her open hands, the boy looked up at her and smiled. "This is the Kokiiri Emerald."
"T-the Spiritual Stone of the Forest!"
"Well, I --" Navi nodded her head and cut the child off.
"Yes, this is the Spiritual Stone of the Forest."
"And you are his farie? So, he is a Kokiiri?"
"Yes, he is a Kokiiri."
Zelda closed her palms around the jewel and walked towards a small chair in the garden, it was still up on the platform, and there she rested her feet. Looking past Link, and at Navi, she nodded a little. Gasping, she jumped up and walked right infront of them, bowing her head. "Forgive me, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Princess Zelda, or known as the Princess of Destiny."
"That's what the Great Deku Tree-sama said…" Link watched her pace around the room, and he sat upon the left balcony-end of the staircase, looking up at her. "He said that we were to look for the Princess of Destiny."
"Who is this?"
Navi fluttered over at the Princess, and hovered a few feet from her face, speaking out once more. "The Great Deku Tree is the guardian of the Kokiiri forest, he is--or was the guardian. Now the forest is by itself."
"H-he passed on?"
"Unfortunately so. A man in dark armour, from the desert put a curse on him. He released Gohma the spider and the spider poisoned the Deku Tree. Link went inside and vanquished the spider, with my help, but unfortunately we were too late and he soon passed on."
"A man from the desert! What was his name!"
"We don't know, either the Deku Tree didn't know, or he chose not to tell us." This was Link who spoke up; he had reclaimed the stairs and now looked up through the window. "What were you staring at?"
"O-Oh, I was looking for a man. I think he maybe the one who you are looking for." She took one look and her cerulean hues brightened in fear just a little bit--a little bit too much.. "He's here! Link! Navi! You look in the window and see if he gives you a feeling."
Feeling? Link didn't know what the princess meant, but when he looked in through the window, he did. A slight chill overcame his and Navi's body. There was a man, dressed dark armour. He was an over-bearing six feet with seven inches on the end. Not only black was on him. Heavy armour adorned his short, red hair and that darkened skin. A brown breastplate with those iron shoulders padded on top. At his hands were some gloves with diamonds on the back of his hands.
Spiked ends were at his kneecaps and his pants were heavy and brown, almost like a weight-training event. Just staring at this…this…tyrant was the only word. Staring at this tyrant made the boy get sick to his stomach, and then it happened. Those piercing black eyes turned towards Link. The man was kneeling next to a man in a throne, obviously the king, but when the man stared deep into Link's eyes. He jumped back and fell against the floor, Navi right beside him.
"What happened!"
"He saw us, well me mostly."
"Don't worry. I had a dream, in the dream there was this land, Hyrule and a dark clouds were swirled around the whole land. Then a beam of light appeared and the light took the form of a young boy with a blue circle with wings at his side. The light was coming out of the forest and held a green stone. I think you represent the light, and he represents the dark. My father doesn't believe me…. But do you?"
"Yes, Zelda I do. I have had bad dreams, for the past few weeks, every few nights. And I have dreamt of this man, never his face…but his clothes look so familiar. Navi?" He was sure that this man he had just seen was from those dreams, the man's face seemed so devious.
Navi had beckoned herself back on his shoulder, it was a very seemingly natural event she had pressure herself into.. "Huh? Yea…I-I…the man frightens me, Link. I think we should take actions. Zelda, I do believe you. I read something like that in a temple about this; it mentioned Spiritual Stones and the Ocarina of Time. What is that?"
"You've been to the Temple of Time?" Of course they had, they had been to the Temple of Time, it wasn't like it was hidden from the rest of the world.
"Yes, if that's what you call it." She knew the name, sort of, she thought she had read it, but the text seemed to not be recalled in her memory.
"Well, let me tell you my story first and I will get to the part of the Ocarina. So, will you two listen to my story? The story of the Goddess'." She looked like she liked to tell stories, for she began to smile and bent down, as if to tell one.
"We already heard it from the Great Deku Tree." Link replied and sat himself upon the hard floor; he crossed his legs Indian-style, and looked upon her.
"This is the royal family's version. More specific, it deals with something more detailed. Would you listen." A different version from the last, there was something much more significant than the last one.
"Alright." Navi nodded her head and decided to give it a go, looking over towards Link as he nodded his head silently.
"I won't go over the part of the creation, since you've heard it, but when the Goddess' finished they left there work and formed three triangles. The triangles represented each of them and it was as followed: Din, the Goddess of Power, Naryu, the Goddess of Wisdom, and Farore, the Goddess of Courage. They each formed a piece of the Triforce. These three things and they were Power, Wisdom, and Courage. Now anyone could get to the Triforce, so they created a Sacred Realm. This Realm held the Triforce and that are where it was secure, not just anyone could get it. To access the Triforce you needed three things. One, the three Spiritual Stones of Forest, Fire, and Water were needed for the special ceremony. Next, the being needs the Ocarina of Time. The Ocarina of time is an Ocarina made of indestructible glass, it has been a family secret for generations."
"This is what I am talking about." At this point, she pulled out of her pocket a small Ocarina. It was just the size of Link's except it was made of glass and blue. On the tip of it, instead of a leaf, was a small Triforce symbol. Placing it back into her pocket, she continued.
"The third thing you need is the Song of Time. It's a special song meant to open that large door, because in that door is the Sacred Realm. A man with a righteous heart can lead Hyrule to a golden age, but a man with an evil heart can rule and destroy the world. Ganondorf, that's his name, he hails from the Gerudo Desert. They are a race of women, who have a male child every one hundred years, but he couldn't settle for King of the Gerudo, and he has pledged loyalty to my father, but I don't believe him a bit. He wants the Triforce, but he can't get the Spiritual Stones."
"Why not?" Navi stared up at her as Link asked the obvious question.
"Well, no one trust the man, he is an evil being and he threatened your Deku-sama. He obviously planted the curse when the Deku wouldn't give him the Spiritual Stone. I have a feeling he is going to try to hunt down the others, that's where you come in. I want you to find the stones. I wish I could travel with you, but I'm a princess and need to keep the Ocarina of Time safe from Ganondorf's hands. Would you go and hunt down the Spiritual Stone of Fire and Water?"
"Of course we will, Princess Zelda, me and Link will hunt them down, but where are they?"
At this moment a tall woman enters the garden, no one notices her presence, except Zelda and she keep quiet about it. "That's the other part of my dream, to get into those places you have to be known to the Royal Family. The Gorons' hold the Spiritual Stone of Fire, but I don't know about the Water. The Gerudos hold none, and the Kokiiri have the Forest. I'm sorry about the Water, I just don't know. The other element is to go and learn a song from the Royal Family, you do have an instrument, right?"
"Sure." Link spoke, pulling out the wooden Fairie Ocarina.
"Wow, the same instrument. Well, turn around and go see my guardian, she will teach you the song." She motioned her hands outwards, revealing what was behind the both of them, for quite a few minutes actually.
"… I don't see any…" Link stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the woman, wow and what a woman she was. The woman was over six feet tall, dark brown skin, with short, white hair upon her head. Not prenatal white hair, but natural, not the kind that got you frightened, as if her genetic code allowed it. She looked like a warrior too, she had the build and the muscle of one, but a gentle smile caressed her beautiful features. Letting forth a small laugh, she motioned him forward, bending down on her knees. That was how she wanted things to be, the boy was cute, not especially a hero of the dreams.
She older woman grinned a bit and kept those arms crossed about her chest, speaking out sweetly. "Come here, little one, I won't bite."
"Link, go." An urged Zelda, spoke out and nodded, wanting him to just go ahead and get on with it. "She looks tough, but she is just a softie."
The woman frowned and kept her arms open for the boy to come near. Reluctantly, he went forward, Navi perched at his side, ready to take this woman on. The woman just smiled broader staring at the two, and when they came near, she spoke to Navi. "I can see you are quite protective of him, aren't you?"
"That's right, and who're you?"
"I am Impa, Zelda's protector. My role in the dream it to teach this young lad a melody to show you are with the Royal Family." She stood up when he was a foot from her, and patted his hair, ruffling it. "You are a cute young lad, much too soft to be a warrior and unskilled. All right, before the melody I am going to train you a little. Come at me…"
"C-come at you?" Link looked at her, a little surprised and there he motioned out with his words, speaking out clearly. "Your much stronger…you'll hurt me, a lot more than I ever have."
"You took on a Gohma spider and I am a little tough?" She smiled and shrugged her shoulder uselessly, as if she was all at ease--a very bad defense.
"I used my sword, Impa…" Nodding, he wasn't really going to cut her to ribbons with his own sword, that was not it. Being responsible for killing the Princess of Destiny's maid was not a crime that he needed.
"No swords, just come at me." Speaking as calm as possible, she reached down and unsnapped all of her own equipment.
"...Navi?"
Navi nodded her head and smiled. "It's alright, I am by your side and if she harms you, I'll take care of her." Another burst of laughter, but not a mocking tone, just a surprised tone, yea that was what she was.
"You really care for this boy." Navi flushed under the veil, and shrugged her shoulders a bit. It seemed like the veil shrugged.
Impa nodded her head solely and backed away from the boy as he slipped his sword and shield aside. "And the belt, I see what you have in there, you cute boy. Deku Nuts and other surprises."
"…Sorry." Link threw his side-pack aside, along with his satchel and readied himself. Impa nodded towards him, a signal that she was ready anytime she was. Navi went towards the woman and surrounded her head not blinding her, but just staying up in the air and turning a bright yellow. Yes, Link followed the light, and then he turned and jumped at Impa. A smile formed her lips, as an afterimage was what he fell into…collapsing into the grass.
"Impa! Don't do that, you are just teasing!" Zelda was back in the small chair, watching from the stone stairs, her little behind sat down firmly.
Link jumped up and stared at Impa; she was standing still, the smirk still upon her face. Yes, the boy had been trained a little in fighting and this training for the last week was the best he had been at. The boy ran straight at her, but he jumped to the side, slamming into a wall. He had moved with all his speed, that's how he was going to do it, his own willpower would instruct him here and so he went on with it. No, that's what he would have done, but he propelled himself off the wall and was spiraling towards her side.
It never happened, as he spiraled, she jumped right to the side and grabbed his small body. Turning him towards the side, she slid him down into the grass as he slumped inside the bushel of flowers. The attack didn't hurt, she was going easy on him, and of course she could break his little neck easily. She wasn't going to do that to him, he was such an adorable little boy. So sad that he was chosen for this wicked fate, a fate Zelda had no idea was going on.
Link spun himself up and stared up at her, he nodded his head just looked off to the side. Tears began to stream down his cheeks in embarrassment; his cheeks were crimson as he cried outlook to the world. Navi was still at Impa's side, but she didn't move, she just watched the two of them, as mad as she could be. As much as she wanted too, she wouldn't of been able to move and help, this seemed to be a pact of honor. The surprised Impa walked to the boy and knelt down beside him, about to wrap her arms around him.
"Link, it's alright, I didn't. --" Yes, she stopped when he pushed her down on her back and jumped onto of her chest. He put his arms at her arms, holding them down, and held down her legs with his own, locked around them.
"Ha! I got you!" He let out a squeal and smiled sweetly over towards her, not the least bit surprised in his conquest.
"So you do, lad, but monsters aren't so compassionate." She reached up and grabbed a part of his neck, pushing a finger to it; the boy fell to the ground and cried out in surprise. He couldn't move! Impa bent down and picked the lad him, taking him to a small bench in the back of the garden and sat him down. This was going to take time, and indeed a lot of patience, but back to the melody, that was another matter. He needed to be taught that, the training was more important, but she had an idea about the tune. This tune could be the most important thing that the boy learned--if he anything he needed that..
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"Link you learn this melody, write it down and learn it." Ten minutes has passed since the fight ended, and now the numbness was gone. He sat up from his position and looked back at Impa, at the victorious woman of herself. She had bested him, he wasn't afraid to admit that and just watched as whatever came next came about. The lad had been watching ever since he was cushioned down, but now she had a small flute upon her hands and pointed to a small chalkboard with notes upon it. The notes were written in a beautiful fashion, aligned so that the keys could be taught just right.
"Okies, I guess I shall learn it." At his side was the satchel, so he reached inside and found some stationary and a pencil. Looking up, he drew the station and wrote down the notes, quite easy, but the verses looked difficult as they got on.
"This melody is part of the royal family heritage, but I have sang it to Zelda as a child, so we all refer to it as 'Zelda's Lullaby.' This tune is quite simple to remember and you must practice, have you practiced on the Ocarina, how long have you had it?" From the way he handled it, holding it inside of his hands, he was still an amateur at the ocarina.
"I got it as a goodbye present about eight days ago, I haven't practices but a few times…sorry." He shrugged a shoulder, he blew a few notes a night, he understood some of the scales, but no songs as of yet.
"It's alright. Now you have it written down, let's go." Impa had said this and the way she spoke seemed to scare Navi, the 'go' part was initially weird.
"G-go? Where!"
"I am going to train you, but without your little farie." A good riddance with double training would be good, the two needed to learn to fight alone.
Navi was only a few yards from the scene, but she heard it and flew up to Impa's face. "Without me! I am his guardian, he needs me!"
"I am going to train you also, young farie. I need to train you two separate and then you may train in battle together. " Her way was law, she was stronger than the two of them, and the two desperately needed this.
"B-But." She tried to argue, though she knew it was worthless, being able to argue would the woman, that is.
"No buts, you know you two need training alone. There maybe a time you have to defend him in your sleep and vice versa, I want you two ready for this. You are eventually going to have to fight Ganondorf, and he has powers even though he doesn't have the Triforce. He can manipulate chi." Chi, it was a wonderful thing that the two of them would learn, she had to formulate it.
"C-chi!" No explanation was given because there was no need for it, since there wasn't enough time, it was a hard definition.
"Yes, now let's go. We are going deep into the castle, away from this all and then we will train." A darkened area would for one keep the attention away if Ganondorf decided to snoop around, or the king. Either way it would keep the two of them away from there--maybe an abandoned little dungeon.
"Alright." She decided that was it, her voice faltered a little, the training would probably be one of the best things for them.
Link just nodded his head, agreeing with Navi that the submission was given for the two of them. Being without her was scary, but it was better if he learned to protect her from the danger. Next time a blue light might not be there to save her, his power was too weak the last time and before that. Next time she might d…no, he couldn't say it, and there he shook his head a little bit, knowing getting strong was the answer. Impa went off towards the dark end of the garden where a tunnel was, and the partners left the small Zelda alone.
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Eleven days passed before the two were ready for the time to leave. In that time Link was trained in art of defense, the art of using his sword, the art of using his fist, and learning to control his spinning attack. It had none, but a little chi in it, which would change in later weeks to come, though. He was also formed in the art of back flips, front flips, dodging, and slash attacks. Item using was perfected, also, as in using the nuts properly and aiming with his slingshot. Jumping attacks were also prefixed, so when he came out a week and a half later, he showed better improvements. Navi, on the other hand, was trained in the act of using her chi as a bit of a defense mechanism, and also she was trained on targeting, as was Link when they were together. Her different barriers would change colours to indicate which was what.
Dark blue when they were looking for stuff, green when a friendly person was near, and yellow when she wanted to target and enemy. Navi was also trained to direct her chi towards some enemies and use them to blind or paralyze them. By the end of the eleven days, the boy and his farie had been on their journey for two weeks and five days, and the two were about one hundred and ten percent better. A final battle between them and Impa occurred, and the two conquered Impa, not by much, though.
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Two hours after the battle, and some bandaging and showers, the hero with his tunic back on. It had been sowed so that the tatters from the training and the roughing were all gone, the boy looked up at Impa and nodded. "Am I better?"
"Yes, Link, you have grown much. Not physically, but your strength and power are ten fold. The same for you as well, Navi, and when you two visit the Fire Spiritual Stone, you will conquer." In all honestly, she believed it, she believed in the both of them, even though she had not been using full power,
"Hee, so where is the stone?" The Stone of Spiritual Fire, he meant, that was the next one that the two of them were searching for.
They were now outside of Hyrule, just outside the large castle, not the one where Zelda resided, but the one he say more than two weeks ago. The one he had gaped upon for a few minutes, now Impa was at his side with her whistle. "Are you ready to try again? We practiced this rarely, but I want you to learn it."
"Yes, ma'am, I am." He pulled out the farie Ocarina and began to prepare the play. First Impa played the Royal Family song twice, and let Link perform it. His lessons had not been in complete vain, he was getting a little better at performing. By no means would be a professional, though soon he might be able to play an entire song. It took a few minutes, but he got it in five minutes flat. The second time he did it, he had no interruptions or any incarcerations. Looking up at Impa and Navi, he burst into giggles and hugged the little farie, and she hugged him back.
Impa smiled and knelt down beside the two, staring back at them. "You two…I can't believe how far you've come. Surely the mountain would have killed you, if you had gone without my training. I am glad I got know you, Link-kun, I am sure we will meet again." Leaning forward, he kissed his cheek and stood up with something in her hand, and there she threw down something with a flash sparking. Link sprung around and stared forward, but she was gone!
"Navi! Where is she?" His cheeks were still red from the kiss.
"I don't know, she said she was a Shiekah, so maybe she is like a those ninjas in those old stories. She has the power to disappear." Just like those of the old stories, she knew that they weren't the same, but at the same time, they were the same.
"W-wow. Okay, where do we go from here?" They had said to leave for the flame stone, though he wasn't sure if they would head there exactly.
"I want to go back and see Saria, besides, I have things to take care of." Navi's voice wasn't mean, she was just looking up towards the boy and smiled sweetly, nodding.
"The mob, Navi…remember?" Of course the two of them hadn't forgotten it, the group of Mido's boys had almost maimed the two of them.
"I remember, we'll have to sneak in at night and slip off the rope ladder, and then we can travel through the lost woods." The Lost Woods, that was the prefect distraction, no one ever traveled through that part of the forest. Even if they did, there were enough places to hide and Mido wasn't that smart as to post a guard so close to the forest, most everyone thought he was dead.
"N-Navi, have you ever been in those woods!" His voice was stern as he sighed, staring forward over towards the horizon, where the forest was.
"…No. Not in a long while." In her honestly, she had come close a few times, maybe even traveled long ago, but not recently.
Link slapped his forehead and they began to walk, they walked the path while Link explained just what went on in the Lost Woods. "I've been in there about three times, each time Saria leads me because, for some reason, she can get through to the Sacred Forest Meadow. Going in there alone you get lost and die, then you turn into a skull-kid, remember those legends. I think they are real."
"Link, you are silly! There are no skull-kids. Anyway, let's go to Lon-Lon for tonight, we can make it if we take the easy path. Last time you lead us around for a few days, that's why it took so long." Smiling sweetly, she stroked her hair with her small fingers and nodded as she took the lead.
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When they finally got inside the ranch, it was late past six and the sun had already dropped. The path had led them this way, the duo deciding for the night they would stay here instead of on the road. The chance of another attack by the evil skeletons was not something he wanted to go ahead with. At least they were on the path and saw no Skullchildren that evening, his prayers had been answers. When they entered the ranch Talon was already asleep, but they could see Malon putting the horses away. Navi fluttered up towards Malon and spoke. "Miss Malon."
Malon spun around and gasped, there was the farie-boy and his farie, the two of them seeming somehow different. "Farie-boy, Navi! Hello there, you have been gone so long, what happened?"
Link caught up with the two, they were just outside the stables, and he leaned against one of the stalls. "We were trained by the Great Shiekah, Impa, Zelda-sama's guardian. She trained us for eleven days so we can be on our next quest."
"Quest? Just what are you doing, farie-boy?" She had never been informed on the journey, her meeting had just been a little trip for her ranch.
For the next three hours, they talked about what they were doing on the trip; inside the large barred fences where only that brown mare was running around the arena. He told Malon of how he found the stone, which Zelda had given back, and talked up until the training part, with Navi speaking in occasionally. Then they were served supper by the grouchy old Ingo. He was a nice man, Malon said, a sweet working man, but he didn't like how her father was lazy. The man treated the horses right and was good to her, sort of like a mean uncle. She laughed it off and began to eat her eggs and drink the milk.
Link gulped down the LonLon milk and finished off the eggs, and then Navi began to talk, since she finished her meal before the two. The boy listened contently, he did respect when she spoke, that really wasn't the matter between the two of them. She spoke of her training, let Link talk of his, and then she said how they fought together and the whole trip here. He just sat back and allowed her story, listening and adding different parts when his voice was needed. Also mentioning they were on their way out to the Kokiiri Forest, not mentioning they would go visit a girl.
After the three hours were done Malon stared in surprise at the time, the sun had already sunk deep below. "Wow, farie-boy, you are a hero?"
"…Not really." He shrugged his shoulders softly and was looking at the ground, hands curled upon his lap.
"Yes you are, Link." Chimed Navi, bopping him on the head, giggling and truly believing what she had just said. "Stop being so modest…"
"…I don't feel like one." He smiled a little bit and looked up at his fairie, giggling just a little bit, she had that affect on him.
"You seem like one, Faire-boy. But, let's no argue it's nine o'clock and it's my bedtime. Do you want to sleep in the barn…we don't have any beds and my daddy won't allow me to have boys in the room." Spoke Malon, pulling the dishes from the grass and walked over to the mare, the dishes held in her pouch.
"Why?" Boys and girls slept together in the village, actually a lot of them had over the past few years. He used to sleep with Saria, until he turned about eight, then she said Mido wouldn't allow it, he was still confused as of why.
"I don't know, he's just weird, like that." She giggled a little bit and shrugged her own shoulders, watching the mare with her beautiful eyes.
Malon left and returned a few minutes later with two glasses of milk, each held into her own hands. She had hers and Link had his, letting Navi sip from his own, since she had forgotten to get her one. During this time, Navi kissed his cheek and went under the hat for some rest; she had had a hell of a day, as she said. An hour passed of talking before Link stared at the mare and blinked in surprise, he had almost forgotten. Finally Link looked over her, remembering what she had said only a few weeks ago, when they had met at Hyrule Castle. "Oh…hey! Where's my song!"
"Huh? Oh, yea. I remember, well might as well do it now." Her gracious smile stayed upon her lips and she nodded a little bit, stroking the mare softly.
"I've gotten better on my Ocarina, too." He pulled it out and played the song of the royal family, the kid had actually learned to do it. Malon clapped her hands together and smiled when he was done, he had preformed a great song.
"Wow, you have! All right, let me sing it for you. Gimme some stationary so I can write it down." Link pulled out the same paper with the Royal Family song on it and she wrote it right below it. That was when she stood up and began to sing the song, and what a song it was. Malon had a beautiful voice, so the notes went out clearly from her diaphragm and a few minutes into the song, the mare went up and starting licking Malon. She giggled and turned towards Link. "Play it, it's her song."
"Whose?"
"Epona's, silly."
"Whose Epona?"
"The mare, dummy. Now play."
Again, the first time he screwed it up and Epona sort stared at him in utter disbelief. Frustrated, he tried again and this time it actually worked, the mare ran up towards him and started to lick his face all over. Running his hands through her silver mane, the boy giggled and rested his head against her body. "How old is she?"
"Hee, she loves you, farie-boy! Oh, she's about seven months. "
"Alright, thanks for the song, well I am going to bed, okies?"
"Night, farie-boy!"
"Night, Miss Malon."
On the way to the barn, he ran into a busy Ingo, Ingo just acknowledged him when he climbed into the hay and fell asleep. He didn't mind the boy, it was actually nice to see a young lad on this ranch, maybe he would marry Malon and start working…he was a strong lad, that's for sure. Ingo wasn't greedy; he just hated the fact Talon did not care for the farm, yet he was rolling in the rubies from Hyrule marker. Milk was brand new in this town, because these were the only cows around these parts. The man closed the shop up, locking the barn, so Link could get out in the morning and went to his bedroom in the LonLon house. As he lay they're asleep, all he could thing about was Talon…he hated the man, but he would never betray him, they were best friends.
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The next morning, before he left the ranch, the boy explored the ranch house behind the fenced gating. Behind there, he searched onward. Link was alone this morning, because Navi had overslept, and that was quite unusual for her, since she was usually the one to wake him up. Maybe the training had mentally tired her, too. It was only four o'clock in the morning, so everyone was asleep when he slipped past the gates and stared up at the large tower, gasping silently.
He had noticed it in the distance and asked about it. Malon had answered that the cows were out their and some boxes of milk. That didn't satisfy his curiosity, and so here he was. Pushing the side door open, he poured in and was rebounded with the smell of the cows. A nice smell, the barn had been cleaned recently, or so it seemed. Peering inside, he saw seven boxes, each matching the ones he had saw at the castle, surrounding a particular space. Hrm, was there a present? Cows were also surrounding his the barn, but they were all stocked up to the sides.
Maybe it was a coincidence about the boxes, maybe it was fate, but something was behind those boxes. Pulling all the boxes back, they seemed lighter than the ones from before, but these were full of jars of milk. It seemed that Impa's training had helped him gain a little muscle. Hopping on top of one of the boxes and climbing over, he saw a small hole that had been hidden before. On his hands and knees, he went, crawling inside the hole a discovering another piece of art.
Yes! He couldn't believe his luck! Grasping the fourth of a heart container, Link climbed back out of the hole and went out of the barn. There he followed by his way out of the barn house and back to the stables. When inside the house, he picked the other heart container up and pressed the two together. Automatically, the heart containers disappeared and a new one appeared, but this one was made of three-fourth's heart. He smiled and headed back to his sleep position, where he fell asleep within minutes.
I'll tell Navi-chan in the morning.
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Later that morning, Link awoke and ate breakfast, while Talon pestered him about helping with some work for staying the night. Agreeing, he helped them out that morning and at about ten that morning they said goodbye to the Lon-Lon Ranch. The next destination was the Kokiiri forest, where they would meet Saria and maybe she would teach Link a new song? Maybe so, maybe so. For the next day and half they traveled, the two had restocked some real food at the castle. They had milk, a lot of it, and the water in canteens. Some weird bread from Hyrule, not bad, as a matter of fact and some meat.
Meat was different, but it tasted wonderful, it really got the boy's blood pumping and his strength always increased with it. The two reached the Kokiiri Forest at nine o'clock that night. Everyone slept around that time, so he was afraid Saria was, no she wasn't. Somehow, in his heart, he knew Saria was waiting for him. Twenty-two days had passed since he had left the forest and now he was back here…he was home. Three weeks and one day, it was weird, it seemed longer.
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"I think the jump is too far, Navi, I am not going to follow that stupid Deku's advice and break my neck." Link was standing on that long rope bridge, peering over at the end. Sure, it led into the Lost Woods, but the fall was like twenty feet! The little farie couldn't help but agree with the boy, and nodded her head in conformant. "You're right, Linky-chan, besides, it's only eleven-thirty and everyone has to be asleep by now."
"But we pass right by mid--."
"I don't care, I will take him down myself, if I have too."
Link smiled and stared down sheepishly… "Alright, thanks Navi, you're the best." Navi smiled back and perched upon his turquoise hat, looking forward into that brown log that led into the Kokiiri Forest.
"I'm ready…two weeks is a long time."
"Sure is, so hurry up." That was all the encouragement Link needed for his encouragement, so he pushed forward into the log. Into the twenty feet deep log, he ventured; noticing there wasn't a guard at the entrance. Loki must have been slacking off, because this was his time, at night. Walking upon the balls of his feet, he pushed forward into the Kokiiri Forest.
Crickets murmured all through the forest, as the pale moonlight shimmered in through the day. It's been so long… Will she not care? Link had passed by the training center and went right to Mido's house, the Lost Woods were right above his house, about fifty feet up…was the large wooden entrance to the path of destruction. That wasn't a fifty feet climb, though, a small ledge was sticking right off of Mido's house and he climbed up that easily. Then there was a space forward and some vines that led up to the main path and he had climbed this path before and was for certain that the vines would hold.
"Link? Will they hold, remember the Deku Tree's."
"I've been to the Lost Woods, Navi, I know they will work." Indeed, they did work, because within fifteen minutes he was up the forty-foot climb, only after three breaks. The boy was growing indeed, because last time he and Saria stopped for at least six times. Wow...it seemed incredible that in just a few weeks he was twice as stronger! After the climb was the real scary part, the woods… Climbing in through the hollow log, he released into a small area with four entrances that were the following: North, South, East, and West. South was where he came from, so he stared around and heard the music…that beautiful music. "She's here, we just have to follow her music!"
"Her music, that's her playing?"
"Yea."
"She's a great player…"
"Mmhm! She's been playing since I was an infant, and I remember it all. She would play and I would dance…"
"You dance?"
"…Well, not a very good dancer."
Giggling, she fluttered down to his shoulder and pecked his cheek. The boy would be able to hear better than him, her ears were just as long, but the boy's were bigger and could withstand greater distances. She heard it though and pointed to the east. "There?"
"Yea, that's great, I can hear her music clear as day!"
To the east he went, and he was correct, because if you got lost in the Lost Woods it sent you back to the end or you got lost in the middle. He knew it was the correct way for the target was there. What target? There was small target hanging from a tree that was planted at the bottom of the small cliff. You see, when he entered he was on top of a small cliff, that fell about seven feet, and hanging up was a oak tree with a small clothe target upon it. Pulling out the Farie Slingshot, he aimed and struck the target a few times, that was when the scrub jumped up. His shrub was planted on the top part of the tree, away from the bull's eye and he trotted to the end of the tree where Link was firing. "Very good!"
"H-huh?" He was about to fire when the voice sprang free, he looked up and stared at the shrub, but this one looked friendly. "S-sir?"
"You're firing, you got three bull's eyes."
"Oh, well…I've been practicing."
"I see, well take this. It'll bring you great use, you smell like a warrior, and a warrior needs ammunition. From his muzzle spat a bag and it landed right before Link's feet. Before he could complain or reply, the shrub was back in his deku hole and gone to the world.
Navi fluttered down and lifted the bag up to Link's height, it was not wet, and was made of a clothe material with little seeds sticking out. "A Deku seed bag, wow! Link, this is great."
"Wow…how many are in it." He had been sparsely collecting them in his pocket, and now scrounging around; he felt that none were inside his pockets.
"It can hold forty and it has forty in it! Wow, this great, it saves room and has easy access."
Grinning, he slipped it into the pocket of the side pack he usually kept his seeds in and it fit firmly. Yes, this was turning to be quite an adventure.
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With the Deku bag, the new one, replaced. Link wasn't ready to go deeper into the woods. Peering over the balcony, he saw two skullkids upon the branches, and they were playing some small flutes. Each of them looked strange in their habitual mode, they were a little different than he had read of. Some had said they weren't even children at all, but giant monsters that could gobble you up. In an instant, he watched them and knew that was them, the masks and markings seemed the same.
"N-Navi! Look at those Skullchildren." Navi had seen it all right; she just stared down at the Skullchildren. As the legend went, if a Hyrulian child or any other race, is lost in the woods that he or she would turn into a Skullchildren. Kokiiri's were the only kind that would not turn into the children. Not at all like the Stalchildren, those were friendlier to the Kokiiri, but adults disgusted them.
The Skullchildren, only being small showed their only resemblance to children, but they were dressed in such a tribal manner. Each seemed to have a domestic look upon it, though, like they were acting without the looks. Their eyes also seemed more intelligent than the natives that were already read about. Ancient masks adorned their faces, keeping what was behind, and away from the public. The two were about half the size of Link, their clothes in a rebellion manner.
"Should we go see them?"
"It wouldn't hurt, Link, they do seem to favor Kokiiri." Walking to the ladder, Link slid down the seven feet and walked over to the smaller stump, a few feet from them. From this point of view, he could view what the Skullchildren were on weren't stumps, but half-cut trees. Pulling out his Ocarina, he blew a note to get their attention.
Abruptly, they stopped playing and looked towards the little Kokiiri. One of them, the one upon the taller stump-tree, spoke. "Who're you, Little Kokiiri?"
"M-my name is Link. A-and this is Navi." He pointed to Navi, who was sitting upon his hat, shaking with fear.
The taller one began to laugh full heartily. "Don't worry, little farie. Neither my friend, nor I shall harm either of you. Ah! I see you carry an Ocarina, young Kokiiri, might we play? I shall give you a present if you could follow my tune great enough. What do you say?"
"Well, sure." He needed the practice with the Ocarina, anyway. Somehow, these certain notes gave off special powers, or a special aura, wasn't it?
"Great, then let's begin." He and his friend both began to play their flutes. First they were a simple three notes pressed together, and then Link followed them accordingly. That was when they skipped to some more difficulty, play six notes this time. Link was hardly able to follow them, but now he had finished the six tunes together. Now was when they skipped past six and then the Skullchildren went to eight notes. Taking a deep breath, trying to remember their order, he stared forward and played it. Wow, he thought he had done it right, but then the Skullchildren looked forward at him. Link frowned, stepping off the stump a headed back towards the ladder.
"…Where are you going, young Kokiiri?"
"I messed up, didn't I?" Of course he had, he just knew it.
"No, young Kokiiri, you've preformed well."
Giggling, he went forward and stood on the stump proudly, holding the Ocarina in his fist. Reaching into his pocket, the Skullchild threw a glass-jeweled case at him. Link caught the jewel case and gasped at the kid. "The fourth heart! Oh, thank you! Than--" But the Skullchildren were gone, and the two partners were alone.
"Link, you did it. What did he--Oh!" Navi saw the fourth section of the heart and fished the three-quart's part out. Handing it to Link, she sat upon his shoulder, eagerly watching. "Link them."
Pushing the two parts together, they disappeared and a newly formed heart appeared. The heart turned into two smaller, each a little bit tinier than the others did. The new heart's pushed inside of Link and Navi, with full force, causing Link to scream out loud. Newly energized and a newfound strength flowed through his pulsing body. Reaching forward, he felt his warrior presence grow a little more than it usually was. It seemed that Navi's grew too. Her barrier turned brighter blue, and she stared at Link. It was new, the only way to describe the feelings were of accomplishment. The process was over in only about seven seconds, but it was gone.
"W-what happened, Navi?"
"The heart piece was just like the blue light!" She buried her face into his cheek, kissing it gently. "If we find these, we can beat Ganondorf. These hearts and the blue lights strengthened, healed, and re-energized us."
"Heal us, hey, you're right." He just noticed this. The boy had been dirty and tired, but now he was fully advantaged and clean. Running her hands over his tunic, he noticed it was clean. Even though it had been repaired at the Hyrule Castle, he had torn it on the way to Kokiiri.
"Okay, the blue light and heart containers. Let's find as many of those as we can!" Climbing up the ladder, the young hero walked deeper into the woods, following her melody.
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There were a series of eight more paths before he reached the garden of the Sacred Forest Meadow. The meadow was grassed out on the left and right ends of it leading up to the brown dirt wall that protected the meadow from intruders, but more peculiar of all was the entrance. Usually a small entrance was there for the boy and Saria to pass through. A now there was a gate that was standing right before them, blocking their entrance. Four bars sharp as hell, sticking up and keeping him from getting inside the meadow.
"Link, I thought you said you came here all the time." She huffed a little, Navi had never been this far out before.
"I don't know, it's never been locked…"
"Is there a magic word?"
"…Navi…"
"I don't know! Goddess, hmm, where too now. Let's just try coming up to it and yelling."
Link didn't mention that the inner meadow, as he sometimes called it, was four miles through puzzles of garden mazes. Quite fun this place was one reason Mido never got in and he and Saria spent their time alone there. The 'secret' place is what the two called it, because no one else knew about it. Or no one else could grant access to it, even if they did survive the Lost Woods. While he stepped forward and thumped the bars, he didn't seem to notice something staring at him, a particular something with gleaming yellow eyes.
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Delicious, it was delicious. The creature had been hidden in the woods for quite sometime, and this was rare. Kokiiri! Yes, there was that older one that she saw occasionally, but this one was young and pure. Only ten years! Thanking her luck, the strong beast snapped her jaws once and rushed forward. Beautiful gleaming fur adorned the seven foot tall structure, and able to stand on two legs, the paws extended double razor sharp claws. Fur of ash condemned the muzzle filled with teeth of sharp resonance. Pushing both paws into the ground, it leapt forward and was determined to sink her teeth into his flesh, that beautiful body was going to be a meal worth years of enjoyment.
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"Wolvo!" Navi screamed out when the howl burst out, yes, they always howled when they attacked. If Link had been slower and not known what a Wolvo was, he would be dead, but he didn't…the boy blocked. This creature, a wolf of some sort, slammed into the shield with all its might, growling and screeching for his blood. Quickly acting, she streamed to the monster's eyes and flashed an incredible brilliance of light. The light was too much, and the Wolvo hid quickly inside the lush grass that covered it completely, howling with ear-piercing intensity.
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Wolvo, as in that thing she talked about? It seemed so because when his shield went up, in sort of an instant stability, instead of defense he felt the most intense pressure in the world. Two hundred pounds of muscle slammed into the shield, smashing him against the dirt-clogged wall. Leaping upward, he stuck the shield in his left hand and fished out his Kokiiri Blade. Yes, this was it, a challenging battle with a monster! Almost bloodlust filled his mind, but he wasn't that crazy, all he wanted was to distinguish the monster, then get to Saria. So, he leapt forward, into the bushes, after that demented wolf.
The blade went instantly forward and that would have been the end of it, but it wasn't, now was It? It was just the beginning… the claws were raised up and blocked the sword! What's happening? How did it block the sword! Nevertheless, one of the claws blocked the sword, while the other went for his gut, and would have made it, if not the Deku Shield. That Deku raised and hit right above the eyes, stopping the claw flat. Leaping up, at least four feet, he came down with sword at full risk into the Wolvo's torso. It began to struggle and threw him aside, like a rag doll.
"I shall do what I can, hopefully the training will help." She muttered out as her entire body began to shine a pure yellow colour. This yellow was surrounding the Wolvo, but of course she didn't see the farie, that farie was so small and dull.
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This thing was stronger than it looked was, he blocked her and then she was blinded by something. Some sort of farie, she didn't know the guardians actually protected their masters and mistresses! Wow, this was a new turn of events, that was for sure, she had expected none of this. Nevertheless, it wouldn't stop her, the determination was pushed even further now. Blocking that cold metal, she was then blocked and stabbed through the torso.
The pain! This pain was immense, like being boiled into a thousand suns. The suns were already cold and survived inside of her breast…growling out a guttural cry, she threw the boy aside and stared off to the side. The wound was fatal, unless she found a farie garden and groped them out against there life…no, no time, just enough to take him out. Indeed, he was out for the count, so why not taste that flesh for a quick second? Leaping forward, she landed right beside him and licked the muzzle, below lowering her head to feed.
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No! He was not going to die! Her own force would make sure of that, with or without the training, she would do what she could to care for him. That was something this force was going to make sure of. Thank the Goddesses that Impa trained them, because there was no way he could have dodged this enemy, without the training. How foolish of the Deku Tree to send him off without any proper training, did they want him to die! Now, with her barrier shining a bright yellow, she stared at the Wolvo as it pinned him down and concentrated for a second more.
The second seemed like eternity, but it was over before its teeth pieced his flesh, the second ended and a beam of chi light slid into its body. The chi light began to disintegrate its entire body, right before her eyes, the whole body was done in about five seconds and all that remained was a light of dust. T-this power…it was incredible, there was no way to describe the feelings she felt. Instinctually, she fluttered to his side and kissed his wound, a small gash was on his forehead, not a deep one…it was only bleeding light, but the gash was nasty. Saria would be able to heal it.
Clink!
What was that! Looking forward, Navi saw the small little gates give way and slid down into the earth, wow, it seemed the Wolvo was the triggering device to open the gate.
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He was able to raise himself up and limped forward through the maze, the maze surprised and irritated the young Navi. She had to help him hold his shield, to deflect the Deku Nuts, at those mad scrubs. They were off running like cowards, so there was no reason to execute them. Over five mazes, and two hours later, they reached a small area that had two Mad Scrubs and stairs descending upward into some new area, that is when Link ran.
Not even bothering to block, he slammed the down the first one's throat, dodging the second's nut and sliced the second one in two as it tried to desperately hide in it's protective bush, but that wasn't enough, nothing was enough for him. The bleeding, when they reached a small lake, was washed and wrapped a small tear from his tunic…he desperately needed to stop tearing the tunic and get some first aid-supplies. The tear of clothe wrapped around his forehead, like a bandanna, but that didn't matter…nothing mattered, he could hear the Ocarina closer than ever! She was just up those stairs.
There he ran inside of the inner meadow and stared forward, in amazement. There was a small gossip stone to the right, and inside the middle was one of those platforms of the Triforce! He surely hadn't noticed this before, and it was the same colour as the original one, but the small medallion in the middle had a different insignia upon it. Up forward ahead, about twenty yards, were a few stumps and upon the one in the center, she was.
Those beautiful blue tiers pressed down into a closed expression, blowing into the small instrument that was the resemblance as his. She hadn't even noticed him yet, well, that was great. He crept forward, a few paces, the tears escaping his eyes, and when he thought of that day…so long ago, he cried even harder to himself. Finally, three feet from her, he collapsed onto the ground and fainted. What he fainted from was always hard to tell maybe the joy of seeing her? Maybe the blood losses from his scalp earlier or maybe a little of both?
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Huh? A sound? No one can get up here, unless a Wolvo! She was too scared to look, and stared down for the next ten seconds. There was no howl, no pain, and nothing else, but the fluttering of her own farie's wings. Saria began to blow on her Ocarina, until she realized something.
Wait! Her farie was sick today; she was at Saria's house, in the bed! Then whose farie…Mido was here? Maybe, but she hoped to Farore that wasn't true. Looking forward, the sight she saw made her eyes widen in excitement and then in fear. There was her Kokiiri boy, lying on the ground, a few feet from her, and Navi was at his side trying to awaken the beauty. Why wasn't he waking up! She dropped her Ocarina on the grass and leapt forward, slamming into the soft patches, two inches from him. "N-Navi!"
"Oh, Saria! H-he fought a Wolvo to get the entrance open and then smashed into a wall, do you have a farie!"
"N-no, but hold on!" Saria literally leapt to her satchel; right by the stump she rested on, and pulled out a small red potion. Sprawling back to the scene, she sat Link's head inside of her lap and tried to make him drink it…no deal! He wouldn't take it! So, she opened her own mouth and let her take all the liquid inside of her mouth, but instead of swallowing, she opened his mouth deep-mouth kissing Link. That was a better way to do it, this way the liquid wouldn't get sapped out of her lips.
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"What are you doing, Saria, he needs that…elixir?" Well, she couldn't believe her eyes. There, right before her, the wise and sweet Saria deep-mouth kissed her Linky. Jealously flared inside of her body and she flew to her face, having a curse out, in the Faric language, before speaking in the understandable tongue, Saria not hearing a word of it.
"I am doing something, now stop bothering me." She didn't sound mean, just stern in her thoughts and nodded a little more, going back to kissing her.
"What are you doing! This is not the time for romance. Don't you see he is dying!" She didn't stop, though, she kept pouring herself into the kiss, which boiled and burbled the jealously inside of Navi's heart. How dare she, how dare she kiss his Linky!
Why is that? Spoke another voice.
Because, he's-- Because he's-- Because he's…
Because he's what? Yours? Don't make me laugh, you can't handle him, he is not yours!
Yes he his! Cried out Navi, silently. He is mine and I am his.
Think what you want, but he is hers. The voice stopped, and Navi stared out into space, ignoring Link and Saria…maybe it was true. Maybe they were nothing but partn-- wait, isn't that what she wants! So confused, so confused… Moving over to his shoulder, she lay upon it and fainted, dead to the earth.
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Did the fairie have some sort of nervous breakdown, she wondered aloud as the fairie began to slide down to the earth. No, she just fainted, that was all, was all that he could conclude. Saria concluded that and continued to kiss the boy, but in actuality, she was putting the liquid inside of his throat, from mouth to mouth resuscitation. When she finished that bottle, she fished out another and did the same thing, watching the little farie go to a faint. Yes, nothing but a faint. About ten minutes later, and after the third and last bottle, Saria sat back, wiping her lips and glanced down at him. This would work, the elixirs always worked.
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All he could remember was some gates and a wolf…or something like that, a sharp pain and that was all he could remember. Maybe not in that order, but he came too and could hear breathing right at his chest, which was most likely Navi. Sometimes during the night she would rest on his chest, or anywhere else, then stare at him longingly for hours. Her presence on hers was something he adored to do it with, the fairie felt so lovely around her. It was weird how she did it, sometimes he asked if she was sick, and her reply would be as usual.
"…Yes I m-mean I'm fine, Linky!" Then she would smile and lay her head back down. She was sick with something all right, but he couldn't quite place it. Sometimes, he even caught her watching him bathe, not in a perversity way, but she watched his face from the sleeping bag, occasionally. But, I'm not with her, at a tent, now am I? She was there, no one breathed as softly, yet as deeply as she did, but he wasn't asleep. Had he been unconscious? Yes, that was it.
Rising up, he felt a hand push him back, while a beautiful voice, not Navi's, speak. "Hey, you sit back and rest. You took a nasty gash to the head." Hues of cerulean stared up into the matching ones of an older girl.
"S-saria! Oh, Saria!" Disobeying her orders, he leapt forward, and tackled her to the ground. Laughing wildly, he giggled and nuzzled her neck affectionately. He had found her! He had found her, finally! Yes, kissing her cheek, he pushed himself back, but was promptly pushed back into the grass.
"…I'm glad to see you, now lay back and get some rest! Now!" She could be quite demanding, when she wanted, so he sank into the grass…gathering up unconsciousness Navi, placed her under his hat and sank back into dreamland.
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Five more hours passed before he awoke again, Navi had awoken about three hours before and left sulkily. When Saria had asked where she was going, Navi had replied that she was "taking care of some business before they leave, tomorrow." That was the last she saw of her, the entire day. Overall, Link had been asleep for eight hours, since arriving in the forest. It was around five o'clock, when he raised up and stared at the ground, moaning.
He had such a headache, the bandage from his forehead was gone, but when he traced his hands up there a scar was in its place. The headache subsided when something was pressed to his lips and he gulped it down, but then he peered up and met into her gaze. "…Saria?"
"That better?" She pulled the bottle away from his lips, slipping it into her satchel and rested right down beside him. Still wearing that forest dark sweater, with the lighter shirt under it, and those small shorts that showed off her legs. Bending down, she sat down right beside him, and stroked his cheek.
"Mmhm…it feels much better, what was that?"
"An ole' Deku elixir, believe me, Link…you don't want to know the ingredients." Her smile came upon and she giggled a little bit, shrugging her shoulders off a little bit.
He let out a small stream of giggles, then gasped and felt under his hat. Noticing this, because each morning, when he awoke with her under his hat, a small warmth was around his hair, but this morning it was as cold as the rest of his body. "Navi, where is she?"
"I don't know, she was mad and left about three hours ago, she seemed sad." Saria frowned, after she had woken up, she had left with little or few words for the older Kokiiri.
"Navi's moody sometimes, she just stares at me sometimes…she's a little odd, but she's sweet." He wouldn't mind her, fact was she was a great person to have around with sound, body and soul.
A quick nod from her and then moved a bit closer, wrapping her arms around his body, before taking him inside of her arms. Those arm were so warm, wrapped around him, placing him right in the center of her lap, turning him towards her. It was fun to be held upon, to be held in those arms they were so comfortable just like when he was younger. Except now they had another use, the feelings were different, he couldn't help but be nervous. Link couldn't help it as the dark colour rushed to his cheeks, and giggling nervously. "Saria, did you miss me?"
"…Of course I missed you, silly. Without you here, I had Mido to deal with…" She nodded a little, and stroked her fingers along those blonde streaks, smiling a little bit towards him.
"…Sorry." Mido could be a pain, that was for sure, he seemed a bit sad that she had to go through that.
"So, why haven't you been back sooner?" A subject change, there was no way she was gonna dwell on the past, he was here and that's all that mattered.
"Oh my Goddess, Saria! You won't believe how big Hyrule is, it took me about a week to get there!" His eyes misted before, were night illuminating with excitement.
"Really, wow, what did you see." Adventure stories, like Link, had always interested her--she was the one whom had always told him about them.
"Oh, I brought you a present!" Jumping from her lap, he fumbled for his satchel and sat back on her lap (he always enjoyed it there) taking out the bottle of Lon-Lon milk, propping it to her lips. "Drink."
"What is-ugh!" Her mouth was filled with the sweet taste of liquid. Mm…it was so delicious, and she couldn't help gulping down the whole bottle. When she was done, Saria let out a small burp and giggled a little. "What was…that, Link?"
"Milk." Great milk, the boy just nodded his head a little bit towards the girl and kept his hands in his laps, curling around her fingers.
"K-Kokiiri Milk?" The feeling from that made her want another taste of this strange and new type of beverage. The older Kokiiri really did love it, and smiled a little, holding his own fingers in her own, entwining them. She had drunk great milk from the Deku Tree had been saplings, but the taste wasn't as great as this. Of course the Deku Milk was sweeter, while this one had a better taste too it, it was hard to explain. With this, she wanted to knew exactly how you could get more of this drink, that would be a great way.
"No, it comes from an animal called a cow, and the milk is for their babies, but this is different. It comes out of their udders, or…err." His cheeks flushed a little, and he shrugged his shoulder a little bit, smiling cutely and nervously.
"…What?" She blinked, Link could usually tell her anything, there had never been any secrets between them
"Teat." He pointed at her chest uncomfortably, and stared off to the side, his shoulders getting another shrug again.
Link blew a sigh out and began to explain the process of how Hylians got their milks from their mothers. From the way Saria was looking at him, she couldn't tell what he was talking about. So he had to spill out what it was, and nodded a little bit, beginning his own explanation. The Deku Tree fed the Kokiiris, when they were infants, from small saplings of some kind of milk. This explanation was very different, and when he was done, Saria was flustered with embarrassment, too. "Oh, there."
"Y-yea, there. Did you have a funeral?" A nice change of pace, he would get her back to a better subject so that the conversation wouldn't get any more embarrassing.
"Yes, we had a ceremony the day after you left, for the Deku, not you. Have you been in the Kokiiri Forest?" Everyone assumed that he was dead, though a small ceremony preformed by Saria and a few select girls was given for them only.
"Well, some, I passed by Mido's house and that was it, why?" He watched her mouth move and seemed to understand, what came next her knew what it was, that wasn't that surprising.
"…Don't go to your house." Frowning, she nodded a little bit more and looked over towards him, then stared down sadly.
Link's eyes widened, his possessions were in there, what did they do to his place, he wondered. No…what did he do! Link stared deep into her eyes; she was staring to the side. "What did Mido do!"
"Don't worry, sweetheart, I got out all your stuff. It's all in here, it's in the tree off to the side." Of course that was a premonition for what was going to come next, the only reason was the house.
"Saria…?"
"Mido and his men, not the women, they had no part in this. Mido and his men went inside your house, the day after you left, and burnt it down." She sulked down somewhat and nodded.
"Burnt it down! What do you mean!" Of course there was nothing else to say, nevertheless he wanted to know what the hell happened.
"Mido and his men burnt your house, and the tree down. I got out all your stuff, Link, but I know it hurts. I was mad, too. But now he is being overbearing, insisting you are a traitor and never can come back. What time did you sneak in?" She nodded, and decided to change it before he started crying, that was one of the first gifts she had created for him.
"Nine o'clock."
"Alright, well, let's stay here for the day, Navi said she's going on some "Farie business."
Link just stared at Saria with a confused look plastered upon his face. "Farie business? Well, never mind; let's stay here. I want to tell you all about what I've done. You eager to listen."
"You bet!"
The rest of the day was spent with Link telling Saria all about his adventures. He told her about how he went inside the Deku Tree, the entire puzzles, and battle with Gohma and what happened to the Deku Tree. How he really died, and not Mido's lies. Of course Saria already believed him. Next was the trip to Lon-Lon Ranch, the fight against the Skull Children and traveling down to Hyrule Castle. Talking about the Temple, how he played those weird games, which delighted Saria all together and sneaking into the castle, and then he got to the part where they were trained.
"You were trained for eleven days? Wow…by whom?"
"She was Princess Zelda's guardian, and she was tough. I think I am tougher than any of the Kokiiri's around."
"You beat Gohma, of course you are."
"Hee…Saria…"
Link didn't leave out a single detail, he told her the Deku Tree's of creation (which she already knew), and the Royal Family's version of the story (which she didn't know), about Ganondorf, and the Ocarina songs he just learned.
"Let me play them for you?"
"Sure, I want to see how great you've gotten."
"Well, not as great as you, Saria-chan." Stepping off her lap, and sitting down a few feet infront of her, there he pulled out his wooden Ocarina, from his side pack that was still around his waist. Pushing the circular bodied instrument, with the tube-shaped blowing piece off the top and blew into it. While he played into it, the tune of the Royal Family streamed out. The tune was soft and sweet, having a nice melody. Next was the melody he learned from Epona, and he didn't even need the papers for the tunes. He knew them by heart! When he was finally done, the boy sat eagerly, watching her with full attention.
"Wonderful! You have gotten so much better, Link, honey! Want to learn my tune?"
"Oh, yes! I want to learn your tune so much!"
"Alright, but it is a bit more advanced than those two." Saria reached out and pulled her own Ocarina from her pockets. The difference between the two Ocarinas was that Saria's didn't have the little inscription that she had written upon his. Hers was also a little more use, and showed the signs of it. Grabbing his stationary, and a small pencil, she wrote down the notes for him, under the Lon-Lon Melody and handed it back to her. Blowing into the Ocarina, she played the tune beautifully, but this tune was different from the others. This tune was quicker than the others and had a fast-paced movement to it. Link couldn't help but hum the tune; it was, after the entire one he grew up with.
After she finished, she nodded to him and smiled. "Now your turn." The first time was disaster, as with the other songs, but she simply patted his head and made him try again. Since the tune was longer, he spent about twenty minutes trying to learn it. When he didn't need to memorize it, he placed the paper back inside his satchel and began to play it by heart. A little tuning, three hours later, he was back up to speed with her, but not as great as she was.
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During that time Link didn't see Navi, but Navi saw Link. There actually was some business, she traveled and mourned to the Deku Tree. On her way, she viewed the Link's disastrous house, that was quite sad, but that was about it. When she went back to the Sacred Forest Meadow, after getting lost through the woods about seven times, she came upon the part where Link told her about his adventures. She just perched up a tree and watched the whole scene, he was only at the parts about where they first entered the Deku-sama and she wanted to see if she would actually seem important. Wow, and this was very surprising, he talked about her with the deep most respect.
"She saved me…I don't know why, we had known each other for only seven hours, and she saved me. It's weird, Saria; she makes me feel good. I feel the same when I am with her, when we are together. She and I, we are two, and partners until I find my way out of this mess."
"What mess?" Saria had asked.
"I'm getting to that…"
Several other times she was mentioned and greatly respected, it was shown in the way that he acted. It was the way that Link acted towards her that seemed to renew her faith in the boy, his feelings. That voice was wrong, that voice didn't know what it was talking about, though she was even more confused. She loved Link and Link loved her, and so what if Link had a crush on Saria, she was much older. Saria didn't feel the same about Link, he was obviously too young for her, it was a great thing for her.
You're a Farie. The voice had returned.
So what! This new person she hate and detested, though she just nodded along and kept intact with it.
You are just a Farie, get over it.
And he is just a Kokiiri!
About ten times your size. The voice rambled on for a few more minutes, before she closed her hands over her ears and it left. The voice was gone and he loved Link…that was what there was all too it. She could see a lot of people liked Link. He was strong, brave, and he had faults. He showed them, and for that he was her hero. As she had said before. "...If no one else isn't your hero, than your mine." That wasn't the exact quote, but something around those words. It was corny, yes, but true as could be. There were a few other ladies who admired Link from afar. There was Saria, Malon, the farm girl, and Zelda-sama. Of course, Impa had kissed him, but she was just being coy, nothing else. Each had nice qualities, but he was a hero and only needed one person. A partner.
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That night, he told her of where he was going next, a weird village named Kakariko Village. From there he was going up to Death Mountain to visit a race of Gorons, some rockeaters. Saria told him as much as he could possibly hope to know about the Gorons, or about Death Mountain. They were an ancient race of large monster-like creatures, but they were friendly. The people were connected with the Royal Family, or so the Deku had said, and they lived off of rocks.
"Rocks?' His voice dripped with sarcasm.
"I am serious, they eat rocks."
"…Wow, that's weird."
"I forgot something, when you play the Ocarina, you can use it as a communication device."
"Communication? What do you mean?" He held out the Ocarina and stared at his, slowly speaking into it. "Hello…hello."
Saria slapped his cheek playfully, and giggled. "No, you little dummy, you play the tune when we are far away and we can speak to each other. It's actually a much better way we can communicate and stop this long trip, but you will be back?" A tone of sadness caught in her voice.
"Yes, Saria…I will travel back, of course I will. After I get the Spiritual Stone of Fire I will come back and after I get the Spiritual Stone of Water. I will come back before I report back to Zelda, so do you have any idea where it might be?"
"No, I don't, but I'll do some research and get back to me after you have the Fire Spiritual Stone, or before. I might be able to tell you, by then."
Nodding, he sat laid down upon the grass, laying on his sides. He stared at the ground, running the grass through his fingers, and pointed towards the end of the meadow. "You can go."
Lying down, right beside him, she stared into his eyes. "Where shall I go?"
"…Well, you can go back to your house, I mean, I am alright alone." Even though he was sad, he kept it on as a mask and decided to her warmth was more important than his well being.
"Well, I'm not going, Link. I hardly see you, let me sleep here, please?"
"O-oh, it's alright! I don't mind, I just thought you were worried."
Saria sat up and scooted over to his side, pulling him up in her arms. "I am worried, but I want to stay with you, why would I rather sleep alone and have Mido banging on my door all night, when I can be with a you, Link."
Flushing, he shrugged and laid his head against her soft shoulder, and wrapped his arms around her neck. There the boy slowly nestled his head into her neck and fell asleep within seconds. His dreams that night were nice and happy, he didn't know what he dreamt of, but the nightmares weren't there. Even before the journey, he'd been having those horrible nightmares for quite some time. Now he really wasn't like that, his dreams seemed a lot better than before, as he wished hers were. Saria couldn't sleep that way, so after twenty minutes of it, she laid him down on his body and laid right beside him, where she fell asleep minutes later.
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Navi spent the night asleep in the tree, all night she dreamt of him, and when she floated across and saw them in the morning, she didn't mind. Her own dreams, since she had been with him had been full of nightmares as well, not as bad as his though. She had decided long ago to stick with him, over this time they had traveled, and push the dreams away. Bad dreams were worth the price of being with her, and she knew that within her heart. He needs me more. That was when she went to his shoulder and rested on it, snuggling herself to sleep.
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The boy earned another piece of heart, as he, Saria, and Navi were coming out of the Lost Woods. As they came near the exit, the group ran into another Skullkid. This one was in it's own little meadow. When Link sat up on the stump, the Skullkid looked up towards him. This one seemed quieter than the other two, and from the looks of it, didn't have an instrument at all. A little sad, he felt bad and decided the only way to take care of it was to deal with the problem.
"You can't talk? Hey, how about this?" Pulling out his Ocarina, he slowly played Saria's tune. When he looked up, the skullchild was dancing around joyfully. Reaching into its pocket, and throwing out a small piece of another heart. Link caught this piece, as the Skullkid disappeared.
"Wow, what's that?" Saria peered over his shoulder.
"A piece of heart. " The boy slipped it into his satchel. He looked over at Saria and explained just what was the deal with the lights and the blue fires. That took a few minutes, but when he was done a fascinated Saria glanced lovingly at him.
"Wow, you sure do a lot of stuff here." For the rest of that day, the group looked for any other heart pieces, but found no more than that.
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The very next day, Saria and Link met the same bridge they had met at only a few weeks ago. This time, however, there were no tears or short good-byes. Link, with Navi inside of his hat, wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "I'll miss you, Saria."
"Don't speak that way, I am going to see you again." There she slowly leaned forward and kissed his lips, as before, this time not spur of the moment. Those feelings swirled around and he felt the pressure inside his body. The boy felt hotter than ever and when he pulled back, he refastened the satchel and spoke.
"Yes… Yes, of course, I will come back, Saria."
"Goodbye, Link."
"Bye, Saria. You don't worry about me, just be near at our secret place and always…Always be with me."
"I will, in my heart." She knew that she would always be with him, with or without the cool song, which was not the issue here. What was the issue was her affection for her would always be the same, no matter how long it took.
"And in mine, too." With that, he turned around and ended the bridge, and there he went on to the weird village of Kakariko.