The Sacred Meadow was still, the grass barely moving. The air was warm, free or the fog that obscured the Lost Woods, drenched in the late afternoon sunlight. It was calm, as it always was.

I breeze moved the grass outside the old temple, and the old stone pedestal began to collect stray particles of light, particles that fused together, taking form, until Link opened his eyes and the wind faded and the disturbance faded.

Link took in a deep breath. The air filled him with warmth, and with renewed confidence, absorbed his surroundings. The smoke that had choked him moments ago was completely unfound in the meadow. Link often wondered if this was the centre of the Lost Woods, though it was impossible ever find out.

The flow of time.

Link looked behind him to the tree that reached up to the old temple, memories stirred. Just looking where he had stood, or rather, where she had stood, caused a wave of melancholy to wash over him. Sheik always had that effect, a calming sadness. A feeling he knew all to well.

Link ran down the steps away from the temple. He needed to find Saria. He had no time for melancholy. He had no idea where to look for Saria, and no plan on how to find her. While he often disregarded proper planning and acted on instinct in the past, he knew when such a strategy, or lack thereof, could only make things worse, and now was one such time.

I need help. He thought. Maybe I can find Skull Kid to help me look for her. Tatl and Tael too. He shook his head. Skull Kid liked to stay close to the Kokiri Forest, so they likely far away from the lake in mind. But he didn't abandon the idea. Help. If he could find others willing to search the area with him, then the chances of finding Saria would would be far greater.

But who?

A question with no answer. No Hylians, or any other human races lived this far into the Lost Woods, and the chances of finding another species were even smaller. If only Saria herself could tell him where she was. If she knew he was there, she could do something to help him out. Maybe she could send out Esco, if she was in a really tight spot. Maybe-

Wait.

Fairies. Something about fairies made him think. Why? What about Saria's fairy made him stop? No, just fairies.

Fairies…

He gasped. Of course. The ocarina.

He looked down to the ocarina, still warm from the magic of the Deku Tree. It was created in the same as Saria's personal ocarina, linking them. Back in what was once the future, they could talk to each other, but he couldn't now. Not without a fairy.

Then… do you want to talk to me?

No, without a fairy, he could only resonate with her ocarina. But that would be enough. She would know he was trying to find her. Then, maybe Esco could help him find her. It wasn't much of a plan, but it was all he had. He took in a deep breath and played Saria's Song. He repeated the song again, then placed the ocarina back on his belt. He prayed it was enough. Hopefully Esco would be there to help him. But first, he needed to the lake. Once he got there, he would focus on that issue then.

Link climbed up the ladder, not wanting to navigate through the corridors. It was fast to simply jump over all of them rather than stopping and starting with every turn. He doubted it would remove much more than a minute or two from his time, but every moment that passed was another moment Saria was in danger. He leapt from each stone block, his hat whipping in the wind, and even for the briefest moment, he let a out childish grin, feeling young again, again. He frowned. I am young. Time travel is confusing.

He jumped off the final stone block and hit the ground rolling. He looked forwards into the mist of the Lost Woods. Somewhere, in that mist, there was Saria. He sprinted ahead, being devoured entirely by the mist, and silence returned to the meadow, as if it had never been touched.

Saria was paralysed with fear. Four gargantuan monsters stood over her, their beady eyes glaring at her. She didn't know how they had found her, she had been careful, but the path the army had carved through the forest had left her exposed, and the four stragglers had seen her and given chase. They were inhuman and intelligent, surrounding her and ensuring she couldn't escape, and one had clubbed her on the head. That was where her memories ended, and when she came to, her arms were tied and there was a chain around her neck, held by the biggest and ugliest of the monsters. Her right sleeve had been torn off and her shoulder scratched, and her hair felt sticky where she had been hit. They looked down on her, grunting. She had no idea what they were saying to each other, but she feared the worst.

The moblins were, in fact, arguing over her fate. The one that had clubbed her wanted to eat her, there and then, but another wanted to bring her to the Swordsman, let him decide, and that besides, there wan't enough meat on it for all four of them, to which the first argued that they would just be told to kill it anyway. The third one didn't care, it just wanted to rejoin the rest of the army, but it didn't want to miss out on anything the other three decided on. The one holding her chain, however, thought it best to keep her alive, comparing it to what humans use wolves for. Like a pet, or slave. Teach her to kill for them, serve them, entertain them. While this seemed to sway the indecisive one, the other two remained unconvinced. This, to Saria though, only caused her fear to grow.

"Saria!" A voice whispered in her ear. She jerked her eyes towards the noise, still to afraid to move her body, and saw a faint glow close to her body. Esco huddled closer to her ear. "Your ocarina. Do you hear that?"

Around the waist of the third moblin hung her ocarina, confiscated after she had been knocked out. The was no wind, so there was no way for sound to be produced, yet faintly, barely audible, she heard her song, echoing inside it.

"It's Link!" Esco allowed a tiny amount of hope to creep into her voice. "Who else knows that song?"

Esco was right. He had to be looking for her. The hero coming to save them.

Saria swallowed her fear, and managed a small voice. "Esco. Can you… you please find… Link? Find Link?"

Esco flexed her wings. Her head was throbbing, suffering the same pain as Saria, but she could still fly. "I will. Promise." Saria felt a flutter by her ear, and then Esco was gone, leaving her with the moblins arguing over her fate.

Link stopped and pulled out the ocarina and once again played Saria's song. Even if Saria didn't have her ocarina, if she heard her song on an ocarina, she would head towards it. Wouldn't she? Perhaps she wouldn't if she thought it was a trap. Maybe if he called out. No, the idea was stupid. It was the only option he had, so he resolved to simply continue on. He placed the ocarina back in it's place and began to run. However, he didn't get far before he froze. He could smell something. There was the faint smell of smoke in the air. He shifted on his heels, trying to pinpoint the direction. Smoke this deep into the forest could only mean the path the army had walked. He was close enough to the lake Mido had mentioned, but the smell of smoke would mean more danger and, with his luck, Saria in the midst of it. He honed in on the direction and began sprinting. Within a couple of minutes, he found himself at the path of the army. The ground had been completely trampled and singed, with several ancient trees uprooted and reduced to embers, with the only reason Link could think to harm such a mature vessel was because they couldn't be bothered to move around it. It made him seethe with anger.

He looked the way the army had headed. It was in the opposite direction from the lake, but any monster's would be closer to the village. He didn't know which way to go. He hissed a curse. After a moment, he growled and turned towards the lake.

"Link!" A small voice called from behind him. He spun around to see a winged ball of light floating towards him.

"Esco!" He sprinted up to her and cupped his hands, to which the fairy gladly settled into. "You're all right! Is Saria safe?"

"No." The Fairy panted. "She's been captured by you moblins."

"Moblins!?" Link bit his tongue. "Is she nearby?"

"Not far."

"And if you can fly," He said as he brought Esco up to his shoulder to sit. "Saria isn't badly hurt. That way?"

"Yeah."

"Hold tight." With Esco guiding the way, they headed deeper into the forest, following the trail of destruction.

"Just here."

Link slowed down and slinked behind a tree. "Where is she?"

"Just off the trail." Esco explained, pointing "She was running when they got her."

Link crouched down to help hide himself in the grass and moved slowly. It didn't take long for him to hear the grunts and snorts that he could only assume was some form of communication. He looked through the undergrowth to see four moblins huddled together.

Esco shuddered. "That's them. They're around Saria."

Link nodded. He couldn't see her, but Esco was connected to Saria in a way only they could be. If this was where Esco said Saria was, that was where Saria was.

He slinked to a tree near the group and pressed his back against it, looking up into the branches. "Esco," He muttered. "can you fly up there, find some Deku Nuts?" The Fairy rose off his shoulder and shot into the tree, dancing between the thick leaves. Link in turn began to climb the tree, moving carefully as not to create too much noise. He soon reached the crown of the tree, brushing away the small collection of twigs and dry leaves so he wouldn't step on them. Once he was sure he was secure, he moved his gave to Esco, hovering around a small collection of nuts. He reached out and slowly took them from the branch and pocketing them, ending up with just over a dozen. More than enough.

He shifted his footing and looked down on the monsters. Sure enough, there was Saria, chained and terrified. She was a bit beaten up, and there was blood in her hair, but the wounds were only superficial.

But they wouldn't go unpunished.

Link began to strategise. He doubted he could take all four moblins, especially not without his shield, but he could take half of them, that he was sure of. He took a Deku Nut in his right hand and aimed at a hollow tree. Readjusting his positioning, he steadied his arm, and took a deep breath, then hurled the Deku Nut into the husk of the tree, the sound of the nut going off echoing off the wood. The Moblins spun to the sound, weapons ready. Link took another Deku nut and, aiming beyond the hollow tree, threw it as hard as he could. With another flash and bang, the moblins were certain the was something there, with two of them breaking away to investigate, leaving the one holding Saria's chain and one with a club. As the separated, Link unsheathed his sword and grabbed three Deku Nuts in his free hand. He threw one more to draw the moblins as far away as possible and once, they had faded from sight, curled his body, ready to act. He took a deep breath, exhaled, shielded his eyes, and threw the Deku Nut to the ground. The flash caught the moblins of guard, with the one holding Saria's chain recoiling, stumbling towards the tree.

Link pounced.

He landed on the back of the moblin, stabbing it the neck, the surprise of the attack causing the monster to lose its grip on its spear and the chain as it blindly tried to grab at Link, but he was too fast, jumping off its shoulders and withdrawing his sword in once movement, and landing behind it. As soon as he hit the ground, Link lunged forwards, stabbing the moblin in the back, his sword deep. The moblin made a swipe at him, but he easily ducked under it, making a cut on the arm before darting between it's legs, slicing it's calves, toppling it. The other moblin began to recover it's sight, making a charge at him. Link turned quickly and threw the third deku nut right at it's face, the flash of light burning the monsters eyes, making it howl in pain, and though it's swing still managed to dislodge Link's cap, it missed him entirely. The wounded moblin had begun to recover its sight, too, and though it's legs were useless, it's arms were still strong. Using them, it barrelled towards Link, and while Link darted away from it, it managed to get close enough to take a punch at him. Unable to dodge out of the way, Link tried to brace for the attack with his sword, yet to little effect, the blow sending him to the ground, yet his sword had cut deep into the moblins hand, the pain distracting it long enough for him to recover. Getting to his feet, he charged at the moblin, which did the same, and just as the got close, he jumped over the monster and landed on its back, and with a wolf like howl, he drove the sword under the base of the moblins skull and into it's spine, before slashing the sword out, killing it. He turned to the other moblin, now with it's right eye completely blinded, and very angry. He moblin glared at him, but his attention was drawn to it's club, his eyes to Saria's head. Link snarled, taking his sword in both hands and charging. The moblin swung its club upwards, and link darted right, slashing at it's leg. While it didn't cripple it, the wound drew a guttural bellow from the monster as it took another swing at Link, which he easily dodged. He kept in it's blind spot, taking small jabs at the monster, always out of reach. The moblin jumped out of Links range and, with him its sight, threw its club at him before picking up it's fallen comrades spear. The club clipped link on the shoulder but he drove forwards, the moblin keeping him at a distance with jabs from the spear. While the jabs were slow, just one would be enough to take him out of the fight, making himself really wish he hadn't thrown his shield away. Link shifted his weight from foot to foot, keeping himself ready to move, waiting for an opening as he darted and deflected the attacks. The moment came when the moblin lunged at him, fully committing to the attack. Link twisted beside the attack, letting the target do the hard work, and slashed at the moblins stomach, cutting it open, before dancing around it's gargantuan body. The moblin stumbled, trying to keep its organs inside its body, but Link denied it the chance, skewering it's heart from behind. He withdrew his blade and stepped away from the dying creature. It seemed pitiful, trying to get him as it crawled at him, breathing it last breaths, but he looked at Saria, bloodied and afraid, and coldly slashed at the monsters face before flicking its blood off his sword and turned his back to it, leaving the monster to die in pain.

He picked up his cap and placed it firmly back on his head. He wiped his sword on his tunic, getting the remaining blood off, before sheathing it back on his back. With himself taken care of, he turned to take care of his closest friend.

Esco had already returned to Saria, the fairy pressed against Saria's face quietly. Saria turned to Link and managed a smile. "Knew you'd make it."

Link didn't respond. He stood there for a moment, then ran over and buried her in a hug. "I was so worried." He choked, feeling tears sting at his eyes. "Thank the goddesses you're safe."

Saria smiled and leaned on his shoulder. "Sorry to worry you. I'm fine, really."

Link broke off the hug and looked at her. "Sorry I took so long. It must have been awful."

Saria laughed weakly, fighting back tears of her own. "Yes, I was terrified. I thought they were going to eat me."

"Here." Link spoke softly as he stood up and drew his sword. "Let me get you out of those." He cut her hands free before moving to the first moblin, grabbing the keys off its waist along with Saria's ocarina. He handed her the ocarina and walking behind Saria, unlocking the chain, which fell and hit the ground heavily. "There you go." She turned to him and he smiled. "All better?"

"Better." She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him in for a hug of her own. "You always talked about being a hero, but seeing you like that?" She shook her head. "It was incredible."

He frowned, concerned. "You're taking this all very well."

Esco pouted. "We have gone hunting before, Link."

Saria's eyes, however wavered. "I'm still scared, but I'll be fine." She looked down. "Could you please help me up? I don't think I can stand up myself."

Link knelt down put her arm over his shoulder and help her to her feet. She shaky, and even when he helped her up, she held onto his arm.

Link gave her a worried look. "Can you walk?"

She nodded and smiled. "Mhmm. But I think I might need you to stay up."

Link flashed a smile of his own. "Don't worry about it. I'm here for you." He glance behind him. "We should get out of here before the others come back. Come on."

Clinging to Links arm, Saria took trembling steps with Link leading her towards the Village. Slowly, they faded into the forest. For the time being, they were safe. Saria was safe.

Guess who's back, back again?

What's up? Sorry it took bloody forever for me to update this thing. As you know, I was being a shit friend, and I took a break to try and rectify that. Have I succeeded? Not sure. God I hope so. And a couple of weeks ago, I wanted to get back at this, and gave you an update saying I was back at it.

Then my parents realised I hadn't been a diligent student. I fact, I was outright lazy. So, I got my entertainment technology confiscated and I had to do the work that I was supposed to have done in the first place. So, I couldn't get back at this, so I updated you guys again.

So, how do I make it up to you? Give you guys one of the longer chapters I've written. Hope you like it.

It's hard, trying to write Saria. I want to show her friendship with Link, and I didn't want it to be the same as with Zelda or Malon. With Malon, it's very much they can say anything and they know that it's all in good fun, with Zelda it's a bit more like someone you can always turn to and you can talk about anything. With Saria, it's harder. She's always been there for Link, stands up for him and makes him feel happy. The friend that supports you, makes you feel good about yourself. Maybe. I have no idea. I think I'll aim for the supportive big sister type with her, though not like an actual sister because siblings are evil. If you have a sibling, you know they are evil, and if you are a sibling, you are also evil. I kid, but I'm going to try to write Saria to not tease or make fun of Link. That's just how I see them. Sure, they argue, but that's just a given. If you don't argue with people you like, you relationship is just a formality. Even if it's just the little things you argue about. Hell, they can be the signs of a stronger friendship if you argue about silly minute things that both of you know doesn't really matter. Then again, I don't have many friends.

Anyway, hope I keep you guys satisfied. Please tell me what you think of this chapter or the fiction in general in a review or share it with people that might like it. You have no idea how much it means to me. What can I say? I'm vain.

By the way, I was thinking of creating a tumblr or something in order to communicate with people and advertise my mediocrity, but I'm not sure just yet. I will need the help of you guys later on with something, because I have no idea how to describe something and the something that I can't describe needs to emotionally punch you guy's in the guts. Love you all, really.

ArcaneMadman out!

Just putting the old updates here, you know, for future reference about my life as a failure.

[Hello everyone. Some bad news.

I am going to being taking my attention away from this story for a little while, until I can better myself. I haven't been the best friend, and while this isn't a result of me being a bad friend, it has distracted me slightly. I need to reshuffle my priorities, and right now, this is not one of them.

This fic will continue, so please don't unfollow or unfavourite (please, there's barely any of you), but there will be a hiatus.

Please understand. I need to do this. I have broken enough promises.

ArcaneMadman.]

[Sup guy. Remember me?

Just felt I should throw you guys another update. No, I have not forgotten about this fic, and I will be returning to it. I'm thinking about starting up the next chapter, though after such a long time my brain is very GIRUBSVUINREANIONTRSUINUBITU, you know? Yeah, you know what I mean. Anyway, hopefully I'll get it out in November or something, though I truly have no fucking idea if that's realistic.

And another thing. Next year... I doubt there will be many updates for this fic. I'm sorry, entering my final year of school, I gotta focus on not failing everything. This is what my education has been building towards, you know? God, just thinking about it makes me feel stressed. The problem is I'm lazy. I procrastinate and do nothing and switch focus and I'm just a human disaster. We'll see what happens when the moment comes. In the meantime, I'll be seeing you guys in the future.

ArcaneMadman]

[So, I'm pretty much grounded.

Yeah.

So, I haven't been focusing on my school work enough, and my parents noticed. And by not focusing on my school work, I mean I didn't summarise my notes for 4 out of 6 of my subjects for the whole year.

Yep. Just reaffirming my position as the family disappointment.

Anyway, expect a delay on the next chapter. I know there wasn't much of a set date, but with all of my time for the next couple of weeks being taken up looking at History, English and all the other crap, and considering that it took the whole of today to get to term 2 of 3 for one subject, it'll take every waking moment to get on top of it. Then there's exams.

Yeah, this isn't coming any time soon.]