Chapter Seven
Plagues of the Crown
Link carefully removed Zelda's bandage from her side and was relieved to find that the blue potion had done its work well. Not even a scar remained from the wound. Saria was also in excellent condition and was outside playing with the other Kokiri. It was two days after the battle and already things were cheering up. The number of Kokiri was noticeably smaller however. The morning after the battle, they had a small funeral for their fallen brothers and sisters, burying them at the top of the hill. The final count of the Kokiri casualties shocked them all, nearly half of their total population.
Saria walked along the path away from the others and looked around at the damaged forest. The most painful thing to see was the mounds at what used to be the "Kokiri Training Center". Now it was the "Kokiri Graveyard". Saria thought bitterly. She sadly watched the fairy partners of the fallen hover slowly over the graves in mourning. Shaking her head, she turned around toward her house. She took two steps and suddenly noticed something strange. Mido's door was closed. Curious, Saria walked up to the house and knocked.
"Go away!" Mido yelled with a frantic voice.
"It's Saria, is there something wrong?"
"You might say that! Just don't come in!" Saria shook her head over this strange event. She turned the knob and tried to push in. It was locked! Kokiri hated being cooped up in their houses let alone locking themselves in! She remembered the time when she had been chased by a Stalfos and didn't leave her house for two weeks. Even then, she hadn't locked the door! Worried, she went around the forest to find any other strange phenomenon.
Saria walked into the Lost Woods and found the site where the Stal-King had nearly choked her to death. Looking around the area, she noticed a golden crown lying in the exact center of a perfect circle of dead grass. Curious, she looked closer at it. This was the same crown that the Stalfos King was wearing! Saria reached forward and as she picked it up, an electric shock zapped through her and blew her back twenty feet into a tree. The crown continued to electrocute her until she managed to drop it. Had Saria been watching, the crown killed the grass within a foot radius.
However, all Saria cared about was getting away from thing. It felt like the shock had done something to her lungs, she could barely breathe! Slightly twitching, she staggered out of the Lost Woods as fast as she could toward Link's house. She vaguely noticed the other Kokiri giving her astonished looks.
"How are you doing?" Link asked Zelda who was getting up from the bed.
"A lot better, thanks." Zelda replied with a grin. "I feel like I can take on an Iron Knuckle!" She put up her fists as an example.
"Hmm, sorry, you missed your chance!" Link laughed. Zelda stared at him.
"When was there an Iron Knuckle?"
"Between the time you were shot and when you woke up." The princess stared at him in disbelief.
"Darn, I wanted to see one!"
"Stick with me and you'll probably get tired of them!" Link commented. Zelda gave him a playful punch in the shoulder. They heard someone coming up the ladder and saw Saria come running into the room.
"Some—(gasp)—thing's wrong!" Link and Zelda stared at Saria. Her face was flushed like she had just run a marathon. Her green hair was sticking out everywhere and singed. She was also twitching noticeably. Gasping, she just pointed out the door.
"What is it?" Link asked with a shocked tone. Saria took a moment to catch her breath and looked back up at the tall Hylians.
"The cr—(gasp) It—" Saria gasped for a few seconds as Link began to worry if Saria was asthmatic. She had never shown any signs of this problem before. "It…"
"Calm down." Link said soothingly
"Crown…(gasp) In woods…" Saria managed to wheeze out before she crashed to the floor. Link and Zelda both went over and checked her vital signs.
"Her heartbeat is okay if not a bit irregular, but her breathing doesn't sound too good…" Zelda said nervously. Saria barely heard it. Images shattered her mind, becoming more and more terrifying as they came. Link nearly had a heart attack when the little girl suddenly let out a loud wail. They managed to steady her and they carried the trembling girl over to the bed.
"Oh man… Link, look at her hands!" Zelda said prying open her fists. Link saw strange nasty burn marks scarring her palms.
"What would burn her like that?" Link wondered. He noticed a spark flash on a metal bracelet that he had given Saria, several years back. Curious, Link tapped the bracelet and regretted it. Bzztt! "Aah!" A tiny lightning bolt sprang from the bracelet and zapped him. "What the…"
"I would have thought you would have understood the rule of 'Don't touch what you don't understand' by now!" Zelda scolded him as she bandaged his finger.
"I'm forgetful." He winced as she wrapped the last bits of the bandage around the burn. Zelda simply shook her head and grabbed a pair of leather working gloves on a table. Putting on the gloves, she picked up something that looked like wooden pliers and removed the bracelet from Saria's arm. The metal ring zapped furiously as Zelda dropped it onto the wooden table. Right as the bracelet left her skin, Saria stopped trembling. Zelda carefully touched Saria's forehead half-expecting a shock but none came.
"Link, get a damp rag!" He nodded and ran out the door. A minute later, he came back with a damp cloth and put it on Saria's forehead. Revived by the cool water, the kokiri girl flinched, interrupting the steady flow of images through her mind.
"Link?" She muttered practically inaudibly. Terrifying images of death and torture continued to shatter her innocent mind. Zelda removed the rag and felt her forehead for fever. She got something she didn't quite expect.
"Aahh!" Zelda jerked her hand away with a shriek as a grisly image of a decaying skull intruded into her consciousness. "What the hell was that?" She managed to gasp out after finally purging the graphic picture. Link didn't respond for he was looking at Saria with fear. Saria had awakened, revealing glowing red eyes.