Chapter 7
Link stood at the entrance to the Forest Temple, eyeing the huge structure. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that this edifice is where Aracnatha had chosen to nest. Having had no trouble getting to this point whatsoever, it was obvious that the creature was in there...somewhere.
He was grateful for Zelda's apothecary skills. Indeed, at the entrance to the Sacred Forest Meadow, the smell had become so strong that he had to cover his nose and mouth; and even that didn't work all the way. As he proceeded through the meadow, the smell became stronger. Once he reached the stairs leading to the temple he stopped and knelt down, feeling like he was about to pass out from the stench. He pulled out some of the Baruba powder, inhaled it and quickly covered his nose and mouth again, careful not to ingest too much. Link waited for a couple minutes, and he soon began feeling the effects of the plant. A tingling feeling snaked its way through his nostrils and down his breathing passage. Being confidant that the plant would work, he uncovered his face and breathed a sigh of relief. The Baruba plant worked, for he could not smell a thing.
He thought of Saria and the other Kokiri as he stood gazing at the entryway. He was sure Saria would come along with him, but he wasn't surprised at her silent refusal. He could see the fear in her eyes as she told him she thought it was necessary to stand by Mido's side until the problem was solved. He nodded and said he understood; she should do what she felt was best. Link wasn't about to force her to accompany him; an indentured accomplice would be of no use, and wouldn't be ethical, anyway.
As for the rest of the Kokiri, it came as no surprise to Link that no one else wanted to accompany him. The rest were just as frightened as Saria, if not more frightened. It seemed as if they were looking to Saria for some sort of help, and since they saw her in such a state of apprehension, they had no motivation to do anything.
It was up to Link and Link alone to purge Kokiri Forest of this scourge and restore sanity and balance to the Kokiri. They are his friends after all, and they are in need of help.
Taking a deep breath, he walked forward to the entrance, stopping right at the door. He took another quick inventory of his arsenal to make sure he had what he needed to proceed.
Broadsword—check. Master Sword—check. Hylian Shield—check. Fairy Bow—check. Fire, ice and regular arrows—check. Bombs—check. Din's Fire, Farore's Wind, and Nayru's Love—check. Magic potions—check.Strength and bravery—check. Good; all is present.
Link entered the Forest Temple. He could not see a thing, but he knew where he was facing—the foyer, the main area that connects to the other parts of the temple. He grabbed his bow and prepared a fire arrow, letting it loose in the direction of one of the torches at the corner of the elevator in the middle of the room. It lit without hesitation, and Link smiled, proud of himself for having the skill to aim in the dark. Walking to the center of the torches, he cast Din's Fire and lit the rest of them. The huge area was well lit, now.
He looked around for any signs of the foul beast. There were none. The place was silent. The doors leading to the other areas were closed, and it seemed as if nothing or no one had been in here since he himself was in here a long time ago fighting Phantom Ganon.
Looking at the elevator, he considered the likely possibility of Aracnatha being down in the bottom floor. It wouldn't be surprising if the beast was in the gated room with all of those pictures, he thought.
So be it; if that's where the beast is, that's where I'll go.
Link took a step forward and was about to step on the elevator to go down when he stopped at the sound of something behind him. It was the sound of an animal landing on the ground as if falling from a distance high above it. He heard paws on the stone floor.
Turning around, he saw a wolf. This wasn't of the type of wolves he was accustomed to seeing in Hyrule. This creature was bigger and had a lot more fur. There was smoke surrounding it, and there were streaks of purple and gray flashing all around the creature. This being was definitely from another world, for sure; perhaps it came from the same place as Aracnatha.
The wolf growled and pounced, not giving Link a good chance to prepare for defense. Link had always been quick, though. He somersaulted under the wolf as it flew through the air, instinctively grabbing the broadsword and jumping up to slice the creature. Link gasped, as it appeared that the wolf did not take any damage from the sword.
The wolf jumped at him again, and Link held up his shield, blocking another attack. He quickly sliced at the wolf's neck and jumped back, and was surprised to see that the wolf remained unaffected. How is this creature not taking any damage?!
Another pounce, but Link jumped out of the way and fired an arrow at the wolf's underbelly. The arrow went right through the creature, causing no damage at all. No fire arrows or ice arrows would faze it either. Link was at a loss as to how to slay this beast.
It jumped at him again, and he flipped under it. It occurred to him that he hadn't even pulled out the Master Sword. This creature was obviously from another world, so the Master Sword may be to only means by which to slay it. No other Hyrulean weapon seemed to work. Of course, the Master Sword dwelt in Hyrule, but it was imbued with the magic of Hylia and gifted with the power to slay evil forces, even forces from other realms.
As Link pulled out the Master Sword, the wolf howled and growled at him. This creature can sense the sword's power, and it doesn't like it one bit.
The wolf spit at Link. It looked venomous, having a glowing green color. Link raised up the shield to block the spit, but not in time to fully avoid it. Parts of the venom bounced off the shield and landed on Link's face. It burned, and Link grimaced in pain; but he could not let that hold him back. He had a wolf to slay.
Feeling the Master Sword's energy, and seeing its slight glow, Link charged toward the wolf, blade poised to strike and shield raised for defense. The creature sensed its impending doom, but it didn't want to go without a fight.
It jumped at Link, growling in rage. Link swung his blade, managing to cut off one of the wolf's front legs before the creature slammed into his shield. The force of the impact knocked Link back a couple of steps, and the wolf landed on the floor. Its eyes bore into Link, and Link could sense that the creature knew its time was almost up, but it wouldn't go down easily.
Link jumped up with the blade pointing down, preparing to impale the other-worldly being. The wolf hobbled up just in time to avoid death, and in the process snapped its jaws at Link's thigh. Link cried out, as the wolf's jaws locked onto his flesh.
Down to the floor he went, with the creature's jaws fastened to his leg. Raising the sword once more, he jabbed it into the wolf's neck. It let go of Link's leg, and blood began to pour out of the wound.
He stood up and looked down at the impaled wolf. The Master Sword remained in its neck, and the wolf lay there on the floor howling in pain and not moving. Link grabbed the sword's hilt, and with his foot he smashed the wolf's skull with one powerful stomp. The screaming stopped immediately.
As soon as he pulled the sword out of the creature's neck, the dead wolf began to dissipate. Its body turned into a mist and floated upward, vanishing into thin air.
Link breathed a sigh of relief and looked down at his bleeding leg. The wound wasn't too bad. Blood trickled out of it in smaller amounts now. Soon the bleeding will stop.
All of a sudden he heard a flurry of small noises. He couldn't tell exactly what the noises were, but they sounded like a bunch of rats squeaking and running around on the floor. Scanning the area around him, he didn't see anything of the sort. From where were the noises coming?
It didn't occur to Link to look up at the ceiling. Gazing upward, he noticed something he didn't see when he first lit the torches. Spread out all around the ceiling were tiny little sacs. They were attached to the ceiling and were moving back and forth at a rapid pace.
Link stared at them in horror as he realized what was likely in those sacs. Aracnatha probably laid eggs, and it looked like they were about to hatch.
He released a flurry of ice arrows at the eggs on the ceiling, hoping to freeze them before they hatched and jumped down at him. Some of the eggs opened before the arrows reached them, and the spiders dropped down to the floor just as the eggs were hit and froze.
Link cast Nayru's Love, knowing that avoiding damage in this situation was virtually impossible. To his surprise, the wound caused by the wolf healed the rest of the way and closed up quickly, leaving no trace of teeth marks or blood. Interesting, he thought. A new use for this spell has been discovered. He knew of course that Nayru's Love prevented any physical harm to the body, but he didn't know that the spell healed already inflicted wounds.
A sea of small spiders scurried across the floor towards Link, drawn to him like a magnet. Not having enough time to cast Din's Fire, he had to think quickly. He jumped up and out of the way of the oncoming creatures, flipping in the air and shooting several fire arrows in their direction. Squeaks of pain filled the room as the arrows hit their mark; but that wasn't enough. There were still a lot more of the little things—a lot more!
He sliced at a few coming at him from the right, and they yielded to the broadsword, flying in the air and landing on the floor in the distance. He didn't have time to check to see if they were dead, as more of the spiders were coming towards him from all directions now.
He swung the blade in a spinning motion, sending more of them flying. Jumping backwards, he shot some regular arrows, noticing quickly that very little damage was dealt to the little creatures.
He needed time to cast Din's Fire, for surely that would kill large amounts of them with ease. But how could the time be found to do it? The spiders were relentlessly coming at him in droves with no signs of stopping. The whole floor around him was covered in them; he couldn't even see the bottom of the elevator.
An idea came to Link: the bombs! Hopping atop the elevator—which he realized should have been done at the beginning of the attack—he pulled out bomb after bomb and threw them all around him. Explosion after explosion after explosion, with more of the spiders being killed. The little creatures sounded like mice as they died, he couldn't help but notice.
There was an opening in the floor about halfway between the elevator and the entrance to the temple. Seizing the opportunity, Link jumped down, squashing some of the spiders in the process, and ran to where there were currently no spiders. That would give him the time needed to cast the fire spell. He threw a few bombs behind him as he ran, just for added measure.
Reaching the small clearing, Link cast Din's Fire. It worked like a charm, with the expanding orb of fire going from Link to the advancing spiders and burning them to ashes. Screams of pain and agony filled the air, and the flames consumed his attackers.
Link breathed a sigh of relief. All was silent once more. Remains of the dead creatures lay strewn about all over the floor. There were ashes mostly, and some bones here and there off in the distance.
He wiped his brow, glad at the small victory he had obtained. It appeared as if there were no more of the little things left. But the problem was not solved. Aracnatha was still here in the temple—somewhere.
Link made his way to the elevator, having decided to go downstairs to check for the source of the problem. He stopped and cursed under his breath when he saw more of the spiders coming at him from the other side of the elevator. There was yet another problem, too. The stench was slowly coming back.
He threw a few more bombs at the oncoming creatures and ran toward the entrance, noticing that his bomb supply was running low. When he reached a far enough distance from the second wave of spiders, he nearly fell to the floor from the smell. He held his breath while he grabbed a second pinch of the powder. Consuming it, he released several arrows while waiting for the plant to take effect again. Link couldn't help but wonder what sort of negative effects, if any, there would be from using the powder too much. This was going to be a tough battle indeed.
The regular arrows knocked several of the creatures backward. Link made a mental note to watch his arrow inventory as well, though the arrows will not be as much of a problem because he could reuse the ones he already used.
He felt the familiar tingling feeling again. Releasing the hold on his breath, he exhaled deeply and pulled out a magic potion. He had felt low on energy after the last casting of Din's Fire, and with all of the fire and ice arrows that were shot, he knew his magic would soon run out. Link drank the whole bottle and felt a surge of energy flow through him.
More spiders were advancing on him, and quickly. How are there this many spiders? He wondered. It doesn't look like it's going to end.
He glanced upward and looked around at the ceiling, not seeing any more spider eggs. He threw the empty bottle at the spiders coming toward him and unsheathed the Master Sword, feeling energetic from the magic potion.
As he ran toward his pursuers he swung the blade in a horizontal arc, slicing the spiders that were closest to him in half while sending a curved beam of magic toward the rest of the advancing creatures. The magic beam seared the oncoming rush of spiders as it flew through the air, finally dissipating at the opposite end of the huge room.
Link stared in horror as he noticed something he hadn't seen until now. At the other end of the foyer, above the door where the eye on the golden, diamond-shaped plaque was once placed, was something similar yet much bigger. A huge eyeball bulged out of the wall right above the door in the place of the golden plaque. The eye had a greenish red hue, with a black hole for a pupil. Out of that hole poured scores of spiders.
Link realized he was dealing with a creature whose strength far surpassed what he had originally surmised. He knew what he needed to do; he needed to somehow destroy that eyeball. He ran toward the thing, slicing all of the spiders that dared to come at him. Those things didn't stand a chance, now. They were as good as dead.
A giant fireball shot out of the black hole on the eye as Link approached. It soared through the air directly toward Link with such speed that he didn't have time to jump out of the way. Instead, he held up his shield and blocked it, but not without recoil. The force was so powerful it knocked Link back several paces. He did a backwards somersault and quickly got back on his feet.
Another fireball shot out the eye, and Link jumped out of the way and sliced more spiders in his path. Nayru's Love had worn off, and it looked like he wouldn't have the time to cast it again, as more spiders and fireballs came his way.
He shot some ice arrows at the eye. They hit their mark, freezing it in place. No more spiders came out of it. Seizing the chance, Link dashed to the eye and sliced away at it, wanting to destroy the thing before the ice melted. He squished spiders as he jumped and sliced at the thing. Executing a spin attack, he released a huge wave of magic that flew from him in all directions. The ice was destroyed, but the eye was still alive.
Link could see another fireball being formed, and without hesitation, he impaled the eye with the Master Sword. A sizzling noise emitted from the thing, and smoke drifted out of the pupil where the sword was. The eye dissipated, and Link sheathed the sword, staring at the golden plaque.
Good. That problem is solved now. Looking behind him, he saw a few straggler spiders running around aimlessly. Without their source, they were lost. He squished the few that were remaining and walked to the elevator.
He stopped right as he was about to step on the elevator and descend to the lower region of the temple. It occurred to him that he'll probably have a very hard time fighting this creature, and in case something happens to the elevator, or if he doesn't have time to get to it, he'll need a means by which to get back up here to the main floor.
Casting Farore's Wind, he secured a spot to return to right where he stood—just in case something happens.
Down to the lower floor Link went. He noticed a clear path right away, with the doors leading to the chamber where he fought Phantom Ganon in plain sight. He ran toward the chamber, unable to shake the feeling that he was being watched.
Arriving in the chamber, he ascended the steps and beheld the source of Mido's nightmare, the scourge of Kokiri Forest. It looked fierce indeed, every bit as frightening as Link had expected. A menacing creature from another world sat in the middle of the circular platform. This is a huge creature, he thought as he looked up at Aracnatha.
Two red, beady eyes stared down at him. The creature rose up on its legs, legs whose ends were encased in a rocky substance. A slick sheen swirled around Aracnatha's legs and body. It had to be some sort of other-worldly shell that protected it. The rest of its legs were dark and hairy. Two huge fangs protruded from its mouth right below the eyes. Link couldn't tell from where he stood, but he was sure there was a symbol on the spider's bulbous body. Aracnatha opened its mouth, and a rattling noise spewed out of it. Link's eyes widened as he stared at the foul beast.
How on Hyrule can I take this creature down?
The huge spider lifted its two front legs and swung down at Link. Link flipped out of the way just in time to avoid being impaled and drew both swords, cursing under his breath for not casting Nayru's Love ahead of time.
Zelda sat quietly in her room on her bed, deep in meditation. She had withdrawn into her chambers ever since Link had departed. Concerned for his safety and that of the Kokiri, she deemed it necessary to watch the encounter. She would not let him be slain by that foul beast if she could help it.
The princess could sense something far more sinister with the arrival of this spider beast from another world. Creatures like Aracnatha do not merely break through the dimensional space-time barriers without some sort of a catalyst to put it there. No, someone, or something, had to have helped it.
As Link approached the huge spider, Zelda gasped. It was truly a foul creature, and it came as no surprise that it would strike fear into the hearts of many. The mere presence of the thing can paralyze those who are unequipped to handle its energy.
She noticed something on Aracnatha's underbelly. A glowing symbol, but because of Link's current distance, she could not tell exactly what kind of symbol it was. Zelda gasped again just as the spider lifted its two front legs and swung down at Link. She had a clear vision of the symbol now. It was glowing brown, and there were small red hairs surrounding the unmistakable Gerudo crest.
Link! You MUST slay this creature at all costs! He has somehow found a way back into this realm! Be strong and brave, my hero!
Be strong and brave, my hero!
Zelda? Link wondered.
The princess was reaching out to him. Clearly she was watching to see how things unfold. As the spider swung its legs at him again, he dodged and swung both blades in a spin, unleashing a twofold attack: one with blades and one with magic. Unfortunately no damage was dealt, as the rock-like casing on the spider's lower legs did a very good job of protecting the beast.
Link jumped back and shot some fire arrows at Aracnatha's mouth. There were two talons placed on either side of the creature's mouth, and both of the talons crossed each other and deflected the arrows, sending them back in Link's direction.
Since Link didn't have the shield in hand, he used both swords for defense. Crossing both of them, much like how the spider blocked the arrows, he managed to block the arrows from impaling his face. The magic from the Master Sword halted the arrows with a quickness.
The powder began to wear off, and Link ran in the opposite direction as fast as he could, throwing bombs behind him in hopes of buying enough time to consume more of the powder. Link stopped right at the elevator and hurriedly inhaled more of the plant, hoping he didn't consume too much.
Aracnatha reached him just as he put the powder away. The bombs appeared to have done a minimal amount of damage, though Link could see that some of the hairs on the spider's legs have burned. If only I had enough time to cast Din's Fire and Nayru's Love!
The beast spat and swung its two front legs at him. Link flipped to the side and avoided a venomous and bloody mess. He swung both blades—slash slash!—in a crisscross arc, and managed to cut into the spider's legs. The blood that flew out of the wounds landed on Link's face, and he felt a painful sting.Aracnatha spat more venom at Link, who flipped out of the way. While Link was avoiding the spit, the beast jumped atop the elevator and smashed it to smithereens. Broken pieces lay strewn about the floor. Shooting webbing in the opening leading to the main floor, the spider made its way upward. Link saw the glowing symbol and immediately took action, shooting an ice arrow at it. Hitting its mark, the spider screamed in pain, but continued to go upward.
As the beast made it through the opening and onto the main floor, it looked down on Link and spat at him again, shooting more webbing and covering up the opening. Link realized he must have done at least some damage to make the spider run away from him; perhaps it needed to recover a bit.
He stared at the covered up opening and wondered how he would get back up there to finish the job. He started to fit a fire arrow into his bow, but realized that he still would have to have a means by which to bridge the gap from where he stood to the opening; even if he burned the webbing, he still couldn't get up there.
Then he remembered Farore's Wind. He cast the spell, and then he felt himself being transported to the main floor. During transit, the image of the Gerudo crest on Aracnatha's underbelly popped into his mind. Ganondorf must be behind this. But how? How has he found a way to get back into this realm?
Appearing on the main floor, Link saw the spider far off in the distance, right where the golden plaque above the door lies. It was licking the wounds that he inflicted upon it with the swords. It appeared not to have noticed Link as it continued to attend to the wounds.
Link fired an ice arrow at its face, and a blast of ice hit the beast right between the eyes. It howled and looked in his direction, and got back up and advanced toward him.
Running to meet it head on, Link jumped over the spit being shot at him and swung the two blades in horizontal arcs, starting from his torso and ending away from him. The blades sliced the two talons that were situated on the sides of the spider's mouth and fell to the floor. As Link landed on the floor the beast swung a leg and tripped him, causing him to fall flat on his back. Aracnatha shot more spit at him and raised its two front legs to swing down and impale him.
Link managed to block the spit and one of the legs, but the other leg stabbed through Link's left leg, pinning him to the floor. He cried out in pain. AHHH! How could I have forgotten Nayru's Love?
Link thought he heard the spider giggle. It probably thought Link was almost finished, soon to be dead. The beast swung a leg down at him, which was knocked to the side with a swing of the Master Sword. It continued to poke at Link, knowing that it was playing with him before the kill.
The pain of being pinned down with one of the spider's legs was getting to be too much for him to bear. Blood was pouring out of the wound, and Link couldn't do a thing about it. What was worse, the powder began to wear off once more.
Link readied himself and held his breath, fending off the spider's poking leg with a powerful swipe of the Master Sword. Knocking the leg back far enough, Link seized the opportunity and fitted an ice arrow onto the bow and let it fly at Aracnatha's underbelly, hoping it would hit the glowing image. It was going to be very difficult to get to the powder with the spider leg continuously poking at him.
Having knocked the leg back again, Link grabbed the container of Baruba powder. The spider swung its leg and knocked it out of Link's hands just as he was about to consume some more of it. He watched in horror as the powder landed on the floor several paces away from him. He couldn't reach it from where he was pinned, and the powder had probably worn off completely by now. What to do, what to do?
Link continued to knock back the spider's poking leg with the sword. Time was running out, and it looked like he was about to be finished by this other-worldly spider.
His strength was running low, and soon he would quit from exhaustion. Then, the spider would finish him off for good. And who knows what would happen to the poor Kokiri at that point.
Sorry, my friends, for I have failed you!
As Link was on the verge of going unconscious, Aracnatha raised its leg up for the final blow. He held up his sword in an attempt to block it. The leg came down on him.
But the leg never reached him. The Master Sword, with its magic and what little energy Link had left, held the spider's leg at bay. But it wouldn't last for long, as the leg was slowly coming down on him.
And then something unexpected happened. A beam of light, brighter than anything Link had ever seen, shot out of the middle of his forehead and hit the glowing Gerudo crest right in the center. The beam continued to flow into Aracnatha's weak point, and Link seized the opportunity.
He furiously swiped at the leg that pinned him to the ground. Slash—slash—slash—slash! Link managed to sever the leg that held him to the floor. The spider flew back from the twofold attack: the beam of light and the Master Sword.
Link stood up at looked at the beast who was lying on its back. It let out a deafening roar, and Link had to cover his ears. Aracnatha's legs folded inward, but Link could see that the spider wasn't dead yet. It was still breathing, but only slightly. It had a little bit of life left.
Not for much longer. It is time to finish it off once and for all.
As he advanced toward the beast, a stinging pain shot up his leg. He looked down to see part of the spider's leg still inserted into the wound. He had forgotten about it when the spider was knocked backward. Casting Nayru's Love, the wound quickly healed and the leg disappeared.
Link walked up to Aracnatha. The creature was still breathing but in pain. He couldn't see the powder anymore; perhaps it had blown away during the attack. He continued to hold his breath, but he wouldn't be able to much longer; the end was coming, and soon, for either him or the beast—maybe both. Either way, this creature had to be killed.
He climbed onto the beast's bulbous body and looked into its eyes. The creature stared at him as if to say go ahead, finish me.
I'd be much obliged, Aracnatha, Link thought as he pulled out his bow and placed an ice arrow into it. "May you never live to cause anymore harm here again," he said as he aimed at an eye. He shot the creature's left eye, watching it freeze. He shot another ice arrow, this time at the creature's right eye, watching it freeze.
Grabbing the Master Sword, Link jumped up into the air with the glowing blade pointing right at the Gerudo crest. Letting out a fierce battle cry, Link slammed the blade right into the symbol. A sickening, swishing liquid sound emerged as the spider's body exploded.
Link jumped back and covered his face using his arm. The stench was overwhelming, and he could feel himself slowly drifting out of consciousness. After a few seconds Link uncovered his face, only to see no trace of the spider whatsoever. He walked over to where it was, but nothing had remained.
And he could no longer hold his breath. His body had given out on him, and he dropped to the floor, unconscious.
"Link, you're finally awake!"
Link sat up and surveyed his surroundings. He was in Mido's house, on his bed. He was surrounded by several Kokiri: Mido, Saria, and a few others.
There was another person in the room as well. Standing right next to the bed was the princess of Hyrule herself. Her, along with everyone else in the house, was smiling from ear to ear; the delight and excitement was evident in their eyes.
"Thank you so much for your help, Link!" Saria said. "You truly are a hero and our friend. We will never forget your bravery!"
Link rubbed his eyes. "What happened? I killed the spider, but I thought I had died from the stench."
Mido stepped closer to Link. "I can't quite explain it, my friend, but something in me snapped me back into the present moment. As soon as Saria filled me in on what was going on, I ran as fast as I could to the Forest Temple. I didn't care about the stench, but I had to come help you.
"The funny thing is, is that I didn't smell anything at all. I mean no stench. It was like the creature had vanished. And when I got to the temple, I saw you on the floor. It looked like you were dead, so I ran up to you. I noticed you were still breathing, so I dragged you—yes, I dragged you—all the way back here. I guess once you killed the creature and it vanished, the smell went away."
Link looked at Zelda. "That beam..."
She nodded, knowing exactly to what he was referring. "'Twas I, Link. As soon as you left the castle I went right to my chambers and sat down in meditation. I watched over you the whole time because I didn't want anything bad to happen to you. If I could've helped you, I would have." She smiled again. "And I did, right at the moment you needed it."
A tear of gratitude trickled out of Link's eye. "Thank you, Zelda."
"No, Hero, thank you!. Because of your courage, the Kokiri are safe once again. But I can't help but wonder, since Ganondorf seemed to have been behind it, will he somehow try to make his way back into this realm again, if he hasn't already done so?"
"Most likely," Link mumbled.
Saria stepped closer. "Link, please know that I'm very sorry for not having been there. I don't know what came over me! Will you forgive me, Link?"
"And me too," Mido chimed in. "As the boss of the Kokiri I should've been right by your side the whole time. Instead, I cowered."
Zelda looked around at everyone before speaking. "Fear has a way of binding those with seemingly unbreakable fetters. It can control those whom it targets, and it can be so powerful that those who are bound by it may not even realize that they have been subjected to a form of slavery that they can actually overcome. Every single one of us are powerful beyond our wildest dreams. We must not forget that we have the ability to conquer whatever hardships come our way."
Everyone nodded, agreeing with the princess's words of wisdom. Saria looked back at Link with pleading eyes, her question having been unanswered.
"Yes, Saria," Link said. He knew what she was thinking. "And you too, Mido."
They both smiled and said nothing for a moment; words could not express their gratitude.
"Well, Link," Zelda began, "I imagine you're quite hungry after that intense battle. Why don't we all have a feast in your honor?"
A chorus of yeses and "that would be a great idea!" filled the air. "We'll have to prepare a table big enough for everyone!" Saria exclaimed. "And the food! Oh yes, I'm excited just thinking about it!"
"Yes, I could go for some food right now," Link said. He smiled, wondering what delicious victuals the Kokiri would cook up for the feast.