Chapter 18

Saria kicked the blanket off of her, and Link looked up from the sand. He had been watching over her all night.

Very quietly, he crawled to her side. Her face was blank because she was sleeping, but when she had been awake her face had been filled with pain.

Link covered the girl back up and gently kissed her forehead.

Please live Saria. He thought as he crawled back to his place.

Saria had gone against him, and had followed the group out to Pinnacle Rock. She was already exhausted from the day before, so fate wasn't really in her favor.

A sea snake had grabbed Saria in its teeth as she attempted to stab it. Link had been there to save her, but she was bleeding badly. The group was forced to retreat for the day.

Mido had been furious with Link when he had seen Saria's injuries.

Link looked over at the boy as he slept near Saria. He had told her he wouldn't leave her side until she was better, and he intended to keep his promise.

As the sun slowly rose, Link heard Epona not too far away.

He reluctantly turned from Saria's sleeping form to see Kou running towards him. He was breathing heavily.

Link shot to his feet, and met him half way.

"Kou, what is it? Are you hurt?" He grabbed his shoulders, shaking him a little when he didn't answer right away.

"Look." He gasped, handing holding the scabbard out.

Link stared at the scabbard as Kou held it out to him. He knew what it was, and was in awe of it.

"Hiroshi's scabbard." He breathed, taking it from Kou.

"Darunia gave it to me after I helped him and Princess Zelda out of a hole. Well, Darunia did most of the work, I just had the rope."

Link looked up from the scabbard and rested his hand on Kou's shoulder.

"Are they alright?"

"Well," Kou thought, "Darunia looked tired. I think he head a bump on his head, or maybe it was one of his spikes. Princess Zelda was sleeping and she had a sling on her arm."

"A sling?"

Kou nodded.

"Well it was a piece of cloth that had been ripped from her tunic."

"Are you sure she was sleeping?"

For all Link knew, she could have been passed out or…dead.

"Yeah, Darunia told me so. She was talking in her sleep. She said your name."

Link blushed, and let go of Kou's shoulder.

"Get some sleep Kou." He said softly.

Kou didn't need to be told twice. He rushed off and flung himself down on his mat. Link could hear his snores from where he stood.

When he saw Saria stir again, he made his way back to her side. He set the scabbard down next to him as he sat watching the girl sleep.

Mido woke up not too long after Link came back.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" He snapped as he sat up.

"You were sleeping." Link said in a voice that seemed to suggest Mido was a complete idiot.

"But I told Saria I would stay with her."

"You did." Link shrugged.

"Yeah Mido don't worry about it." Saria muttered, her eyes still closed.

Mido looked over at Saria as she spoke, and crawled closer to her.

"Are you alright Saria?" He asked quietly.

"I was attacked by a sea snake. What do you think?" She opened one eye, and smiled weakly up at Mido.

Link admired Saria's attitude. He couldn't even imagine how much pain she was in. Sure Link had been hurt before, but he had never been chewed on.

"Is there anything I can do for you Saria?" He asked.

"If she needs anything, I'll get it for her." Mido snapped, glaring at Link.

"Mido, heel." Saria sighed and turned away from the two.

Link chuckled under his breath, and walked over to where the rest of the Kokiri were slowly waking up.

"Listen guys," Link said loudly, "Darunia and Zelda found a sacred item."

"Really?" Maya asked.

"Really. So hopefully we can find the shield soon. Today I'm taking Maya, Kaylee, and Tek with me. The rest of you need to be on your toes, especially since we have the scabbard."

"Link?" Mido's worried voice asked.

Link turned to see Mido looking over at him. He went to his side, and kneeled next to him.

"Yeah?"

"What if something happens…" Mido's voice trailed off as he looked down at Saria.

Link looked at Saria too. He wanted to believe that she would pull through, but he really didn't know if she would.

"Just try and keep her comfortable. If anything serious happens, ride Epona into Clock Town and find Anju."

"Anju." Mido repeated.

Link nodded, and threw one more glance at Saria before getting to his feet.

The swim out to Pinnacle Rock was tiring for the Kokiri. Link looked back and watched as Maya, Kaylee, and Tek struggled to keep up with him.

The water was cold, adding to their struggle.

"Alright guys," Link said in his hushed Zora voice, "from here grab onto my legs. You need to rest up before we fight."

The kids didn't seem to have any problem with that. They latched onto Link's clammy legs, and caught their breath.

Once Link was sure they were holding on tightly, he began the rest of the swim to Pinnacle Rock.

The murky water had cleared up after Link had defeated the monsters at the Great Bay Temple. Link could easily see their destination ahead.

Each of the Kokiri were equipped with a dagger, while Link had his razor sharp fins and magic power. He wished he could give the Kokiri more to protect themselves with, but if they had anything heavier they wouldn't be able to fight at all.

Finally Link stopped, and the kids let go of his legs.

"We're going to try and kill two of the sea snakes today guys. If anyone gets injured, get me as fast as you can. If you get tired, swim to the top to rest a minute."

The kids nodded, and Link led them down to the bottom.

They had to be cautious not to provoke any of the sea snakes to shoot out from their resting places before they were ready.

The kids kept very close to Link as they swam to the bottom. Once they reached the bottom, Link pointed to one of the holes. He then pointed to Maya and Tek, and they swam towards the hole.

Meanwhile, Link led Kaylee to a different hole.

The sea snake immediately shot out, but Link grabbed Kaylee, and pulled her against him. He turned so that his back was to the monster, and felt a burn as it rubbed fast against him.

Kaylee looked worriedly up at him, but Link smiled at her.

Once the sea snake was back inside its hole, Link let go of Kaylee. She swam towards the hole, and slowly swam inside. She stayed close to the edge.

Link swam out fast in front of the hole, and when the sea snake shot out, Kaylee stabbed it with her dagger.

Link swam inside the hole on the other side, and used his magic power to weaken the sea snake further.

It thrashed about, and slammed Kaylee against the wall. She smacked her head against the wall, and Link looked up to see her pinned.

He bravely swam right over the sea snake and grabbed the girl, pulling her loose. She shook her head, trying to get rid of the dizziness.

Link looped an arm around her waist, and with his free arm, stabbed the monster in between the eyes as it shot out again.

It thrashed around some more as Link twisted his fin inside of the sea snake's head.

Once it was still, Link rushed to the surface. He held Kaylee up above the water, forgetting that she was wearing a Zora tunic.

"Are you alright?" He asked her.

"Yeah, thanks." She smiled at Link.

Suddenly, the other two kids surfaced. Tek was holding onto Maya, and she was breathing irregularly.

"Maya?" Link left Kaylee, and pulled Maya to him.

"Her Zora tunic got ripped off. She was drowning but I got her." Tek explained.

"Maya, I'm going to put you on my back. When you need to breathe, just tap my back alright?"

She nodded, and coughed up some more water.

"We didn't kill it Link…but I think I saw the shield."

Link's heart nearly stopped.

"Are you sure?" He asked Tek as he slid Maya onto his back.

"Yeah."

"Alright. We'll take Maya back and I'll come back for it."

"I'll come with you." Tek decided.

"Grab onto my legs."

Once Tek and Kaylee had grabbed Link's legs, he started for the shore. He had to come up a lot for Maya to breathe, and he guessed she had swallowed a lot of water.

But as Link reached the shore, he stopped and stared.

Anju was kneeling next to Saria, and Mido was standing next to her.

"Oh no." Link whispered.

Darunia and Zelda made their way up the mountains in the direction Nabooru and the Gorons had gone in when they had split up.

Zelda was able to take her sling off, and her arm felt much better. It was still sore, but she didn't want to complain.

"Look." Darunia said suddenly, rushing to a sage brush bush.

"What is it?" Zelda asked, taking a step.

She stopped when she felt the familiar feeling of a blade at her neck. The voice behind her whispered not to scream, and Zelda's world went black.

"It's a piece of cloth. It looks like a piece of Nabooru's clothes." Darunia turned, but didn't see Zelda anywhere.

"Zelda?" He rushed back to where she had been standing. "Zelda!"