OK, time for shout-outs! Yip yap! And then you can get on to chapter three! Yay for you.
Final Fiction X Why thank you dear. Yes, Chapter one was a dream. Heh, you've always been the bright one of the bunch…
Smalltowngurl No problem Becca… just figured I had another chance to bug you! And I find it funny that none of my friends know about Zelda… hmm… TIME TO SABATOGE SADIE!
C'mon, more reviews, peeps! I need to keep myself motivated! -Jumps around on one foot-
Chapter 3
"No, you can't go through. Whutdoya think I am, an idiot?" Mido leaned back and let out an over exaggerated guffaw causing his red-brown bushy hair to fall out of his eyes for a moment.
"Yes, you are," Saria retorted hotly, glaring at the Kokiri boy.
Link stayed silent and looked at the ground as the discussion continued. 'The Great' Mido, as he called himself, wasn't, in Link's opinion, all that great. He'd bullied his way to the top of the Kokiri standings, self-elected himself as the guardian of the Deku Tree's entry way, and made sure that no body disobeyed him. It was Mido that led many of the taunts and sneers against Link when he didn't, in fact, have a fairy. It was Mido that usually found the time to beat him down.
Mido shrunk a little at Saria's comment. It wasn't a secret at all that this supposedly Great Mido's weakness was Saria—most unfortunately for the poor Kokiri girl. He quickly regained his composure, however, and shot back.
"The Great Mido would never let that scum through to see the Deku Tree!" Mido jerked his head in Link's direction with a look of disgust on his face that showed exactly what he thought of the previously fairy-less Kokiri. "Besides, you actually think I'd believe that the Great Deku Tree sent for a pitiful 'Kokiri' who doesn't have fairy?"
It was at that moment that the straggling—pouting—Navi came up behind Link and stood on his shoulder. She had overheard Mido's comment. Crossing her arms, she looked him square in the eye and fixed a smirk on her face. Mido stared back, dumbfounded.
"You… stand… corrected?" Navi offered, as if trying to put words into his opened mouth. Link grinned, suddenly appreciating the little sprites attitude. Saria tried to surpress a giggle.
"That's… b-but…" Mido stuttered. His fairy—whose light was green—spun angrily around his head, frowning. She glared at Navi, who returned the guesture. Saria's fairy, also green, cheerily flapped over to Link's shoulder, standing next to Navi, indicating her point in the argument.
An odd spectacle… three Kokiri and their fairies, all quarlling.
"I think you're outnumbered, Mido," Saria said softly.
Mido scrunched his face up into an awkward sneer. "Well… even if you have been summoned, you can't just walk up to the Great Deku Tree! You need to arm yourself properly, like a real man! With… uh… a sword and shield!" Mido puffed out his chest, deciding that he'd won the fight.
"You don't have either," Link pointed out flatly, raising an eyebrow.
Mido's chest deflated with a wheeze. "I… argh. Look, I'll make you a deal. If you come back here with a shield and sword, I'll let you through." He snickered.
Saria scoffed, rolling her eyes. She grabbed Link by the forearm and pulled him away from Mido, back over the creek.
Link nervously chewed on the inside of his cheek as they walked past the cluster of tree-homes in the forest.
"Saria, we—"
She cut him off by quickly shushing him and dragging him off towards one of the hollowed trees. She continued pulling him until they passed through the open entry way and into the dimly lit interior. Blinking, Link waited for his eyes too adjust. They had entered the small Kokiri shop, filled with all of the necessities that a Kokiri needed. Saria finally released her grip on her companion and strode over to the counter.
A Kokiri boy at the counter looked up as she stormed towards her. "Saria…?" he said blankly, wondering why this normally calm and collected Kokiri was so frustrated.
"Get me one of the Deku shields. Now." She took a small pouch from her belt and slammed it on the table. The pouches drawstring loosened, sending piles of colorful Rupees—the gem-like currency—flying across the counter.
The store attendant nodded quickly and rushed behind a curtain.
"Saria, you don't have to pay for me," Link mumbled, walking up behind her. In the forest, it was rare to see anything remotely of danger in those parts, with the exception of the Lost Woods. This being the case, no known weapons consisted in the forest; the only product made for battle were wooden shields made from Deku wood, painted with the emblem of the forest. These were hardly ever used as a defensive weapon, however; Link had seen one Kokiri girl using one to repel the rain as she ran to a friend's house.
The attendant returned while blowing a layer of dust from the curved piece of wood. Without saying another word, Saria lunged for the shield, grabbed it, and whirled around, storming out of the store, leaving Link and Navy watching confused. Link turned back and awkwardly smiled at the attendant, apologizing for Saria.
"Stupid ingrate… why, if I could…" Link caught tidbits of Saria's words which slipped rapidly through her clenched teeth. Abruptly stopping, she turned around and faced Link, shoving the shield at his stomach. "He makes me so mad!"
Link grunted as the solid wood slammed into his torso. He stumbled back a pace, and grimaced. "Thanks," he groaned; the wind had been rather forcefully knocked out of him when Saria 'handed' him the shield. He slung the shield around his back, adjusting until it felt comfortable.
Saria huffed, letting out her breath, causing a loose bunch of hairs float upwards and fall back into her eyes. "Sorry," she muttered, touching the stray hairs behind her ears. "I just can't stand him… thinks he knows everything… hah! I know everything about this forest! Trying to stop you because you're not 'armed properly.'" She folded her arms across her chest.
Link frowned uneasily. "Well, Saria, then… you know there aren't any swords in the forest, right?" The Kokiri didn't need swords; their small forest was peaceful and safe. A sword would just sit in the corner and collect dust.
The Kokiri girl stood for a moment, not reacting to Link's comment. After a hesitation, she shook her head, clearing her thoughts. "Three steps to the north of the old oak tree…"
"Wha--?" Link stood confused as Saria began walking off, muttering something that sounded like a spell. He cast a desperate look up at Navi, who simply shrugged. Dashing after her, he caught his friend by the shoulder. "What are you doing?"
She looked at him as if she had never seen him before in her life. The odd gaze lasted a moment, and then she smiled. "The Deku Tree told me once. He said it might come in handy. Guess it did.
Three steps to the north of the old oak tree
Head towards the east, but careful you must be
Five steps south, again three north, and follow the west winds as they blow
To find the ancient sword of the forest. Away, then, you go."
She finished the poem and grinned. "The ancient sword of the forest! A sword, Link!"
Link frowned, not convinced. "Yeah, but—"
"The Great Deku Tree told me! Trust me!" She repeated the first line to herself, and took three steps away from the large oak they had stopped at. Navi came up behind her.
"You sure you got it right? We can't afford too many mistakes. Time ticks!"
The girl stopped a moment and turned back, smiling confidently. "Yes, I'm sure. North, then east, then south, and north again, then go west 'till we find it!"
"Find what exactly?" Link wondered aloud. He knew Kokiri Forest quite well, and he also knew that no 'ancient sword' was lying around a few steps away from a tree. He was ignored, and Saria, along with Navi, began walking an odd zigzag line.
"Five south," Saria murmured, now nearing the end of the poem. She took the steps, and then the three north. "Last one," she said softly, and began stepping to the west.
"East, Saria," Link said, aggravatingly pinching the bridge of his nose.
The girl whipped her head around at him. "No, the west winds."
"Yes, follow the west winds. The west winds only come from the west. They blow east."
The girl's brow furrowed, not pleased about being proved wrong. She briskly turned east and began walking very quickly in that direction, her head down.
Navi had stopped following Saria's path, looking ahead. She turned back to Link.
He looked up as well, noticing the destination that Saria was headed for. He cleared his throat. "Uh, hey, I would—"
Too late. Saria collided with a stone wall. She yelped, and fell backwards onto her back. She put her hand up to her head and grimaced. "The one wall in Kokiri… and that's the one I run into…"
It was the only wall in Kokiri. The stone barrier had been built on the edge of the Lost Woods to keep out any monsters that may find their way to Kokiri's entrance.
And that's where their scavenger hunt ended.
Navi looked around. "Gimme a sword…" she said, pursing her lips and squinting at the wall.
"It won't take a password," Link stated, making his way over to the wall. He ran his hand across the mosaic of stone, looking for something, anything, that might be… well, something.
"I don't get it," Saria said angrily. She sat up and leaned her back against the wall. Pressing her fingertips to her temples, she began repeating the poem again, retracing her steps in her mind. "Something is supposed to be right here!" She pounded on the ground with her fist.
And then she was gone.
The ground had seemingly evaporated beneath her punch, taking Saria along with it.
Both Navi and Link stood dumbfounded for a moment as they herd her shriek echo through the earth.
"Saria!" Link rushed over to where she had fallen and dropped to his knees next to a oval shaped hole. He couldn't see into it because there was no light present.
Saria's fairy—who had been in the air when the hole formed, saving her from the fall—dashed towards the entrance, sputtering something about poems and faulty trees. She screeched out the girls name before diving through the hole herself, momentarily lighting portions of the vertical tunnel.
"I'm okay," a small voice said softly, rising up to the surface. Saria's fairy finally reached the bottom, and the girl's shadowy figure appeared.
Link smiled, relieved. "And, right there, you go," he said, mocking the poem.
Saria smiled sheepishly, and then waved him down. "C'mon, it's a soft landing. She stood, and then disappeared, apparently going through another corridor under the earth. Link gazed hesitantly down the hole before jumping in, feet first. His legs quavered and buckled as he landed with reasonable force. The light emitting from Saria's fairy bounced ahead of him. They both turned back, looking at him. Saria gestured for him to get up and follow.
Navi's blue light enveloped him as she came towards Link. They both then followed after Saria until she finally stopped. The two fairy's lights blended together as Link joined her where she had halted. Saia's hand went out and touched the dirt wall in front of them. "Dead end," she said, disappointment flooding her voice and echoing throughout the tunnel. "There wasn't another way, though, was there?"
Link shook his head and folded his arms across his chest. "Maybe it caved in… this swords is supposedly ancient, right? Or maybe someone else found it first."
"No," Saria insisted, shaking her head. "It's here, I know it!" She rammed her fist into the wall, as if the wall would give way like it had last time.
"It's alright," Link said in an attempt to comfort her. Oddly enough, she was the one becoming distressed, instead of Link, who was the one in need of the weapon. He put his hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down. "Really, it's fine. I mean, I can just wait 'till after Mido goes to bed to go to the Deku Tree."
Saria shook her head from side to side. "No… it's not that. It's just that… never mind." She sighed, exasperatedly rubbing her eyes.
Navi huffed, crossing her arms impatiently. She spiraled in a downward circle around Link, ending inches from the ground. Her new position illuminated the floor of the cavern, along with where the wall connected with the ground. Link's eyes dropped down suddenly, seeing something in the light. Saria's eyes followed, and a quiet gasp escaped her.
"It's another tunnel," Navi stated, landing on the ground and walking towards the small opening. It was perhaps a foot and a half high, and only a bit wider. Navi shot a mischievous grin up at the two Kokiri before dashing into the opening. Her light faded and the opening dissolved into the darkness.
Link dropped on the ground and looked down the small tunnel. Navi's blue light glowed at the end, moving about from time to time. The glow suddenly began to grow with a surprising pace. Link realized, in the nick of time, that Navi was headed straight for his head, and he rolled away from the opening, allowing the fairy to burst through and fly into the air.
"Watch it," Link groaned while pulling himself back to his feet.
The smile that had been on Navi's face fell for a moment as she turned to him. "Sorry, didn't see you," she said in a rush. Her smile quickly regenerated, however, and delivered the rest of the news. "It's down there, Link! Go, go! The swords in there!"
"Huh? Through there?" His gaze trailed down to the hazy opening. "I'm supposed to go through that?"
"Yes," Saria jumped in, shoving her friend towards the tunnel.
"Alright, alright, just a second." He removed the shield from his back and handed it over to Saria so that he would have more room to maneuver. Rubbing the back of his neck, Link hesitated. Was it really worth all this? He shrugged it off and dropped to his knees. "You coming Navi? I'm gonna need some light." The fairy nodded and dove out of the air, entering the small tunnel ahead of Link, illuminating the path. "Great. Here goes everything." Flattening himself to the ground, Link pulled himself into the small path, pushing with his feet.
Smaller than it looks. And longer, he thought in dismay as the walls enveloped him. Navi had already exited, standing at the end of the passage, waving for him to follow. He continued pushing and pulling himself, all the while simply wondering what could lie on the other side.