Saria didn't so as look at the other Kokiri as she went though the little town, it was the same as it had been for as far back as any forest child could remember. For the Kokiri there was no history, and they had only vague ideas of what laid outside their woods that they had had hammed into them that if they left they died. No Kokiri had ever questioned their existence, until now. [i] How did we come to be? [/i] Thought Saria. [i] Where did we come from? Why all the races we have never met before speak the same language as us? The Deku Tree is said to of given us life. But how? Link did not become a Skull Child when he was here. But we were taught that outsiders who entered these woods became them, how does that explain the Skull Children we know to exist? Why have I never thought of these questions before? [/i] Saria knew it been roughly eight years now since the first Deku Tree had died. A year since Link's return which she alone knew of. She was fairly certain it had been seventeen years since Link was deposited among them. But why was the actual event so hard to remember? She had very clear memories of times before Link's arrival. Not that she could place a date to them. It wasn't like there was much in the lot in the life of a forest child.
Besides the cloths on her back, there was only one real personal item Saria owned, her oraconia, it was on her dresser, brownish beige with green highlights. She had given one like this to Link once, just before he left on that quest of his. ( The given to him with the Deku Tree's dying breath. ) Later, she saw Link had a new oraconia, one given as a keepsake from princess Zelda just before Gannondorf's Seven Year Rein. From then on he had used that one. Not hers. She wondered if there was some symposium behind that. The forest child decided not to think about it. Strange. Why was she the only who asked these questions? What made he different? Link had been among them all. Why had he affected her this way? Saria a feeling she knew the answer, but she couldn't put it into words.
Shaking her head she took the wood oraconia and pocketed it. Now there was only thing she really had to do before she left. The others were still in excitement over Mido's resurrection and didn't notice her. When Mido had 'vanished' suddenly, the twins reinstated their theory that that Mido was a ghost had gone back to where he had come from. The others didn't believe that so quick and were looking for him. Saria pitied Mido.
She glanced at Link's tree house when saw it. She had seen it a hundred times before and had grasped it's meaning. She ran over and looked at the crude drawing on what had been Link's tree house. It was a simple drawing of a knight fighting a dragon. [i] How did I know what those are? [/i] Thought Saria trying to remember where she had heard the term before and failing. She looked at the picture done by Link.
[i] Even before your quest you dreamed of what it was like outside Link, and now, I do too . . . . [/i]
I can't live like this anymore. Wondering when he'll be back. Only listening to his voice though the song spell of our oricana's. These woods are the only home I've ever known. Now they feel like a prison. And now like any prisoner, she wanted out.
Originally guarding the Deku Tree's clearing was Mido's task, no one had yet to take up the job. It was considered bad behavior to see their maker without a summoning. But there was a growing part of the girl that no longer cared.
Saria: offspring of the forest, slowly walked into the Deku Tree's meadow and stood alone before his successor the Deku Sprout. Her thoughts turned over and over again in her head about how to ask her request, for she had a very good
feeling of the answer. Saria, like any Kokkiri saw the Guardian Tree as practicality omnipotent, a belief somewhat shattered with her former guardian's death, but the green haired girl still felt as if her mind was naked before the great tree's power and
thought her perhaps he would answer her question with her needing to answer it. As the silence drag on however, it become clear she was going to have to ask this question on her own.
"Great Deku Sprout." She started. "I-I wish to leave the-"
"No."
Saria looked in the face of the fledgling tree a heavy feeling forming in her stomach.
"Don't ask me that. If you do. I will deny your request."
Saria was confused, he was asking her not to ask because he knew what she was going to ask and was going to say no? She didn't understand.
"Tell me what you want." It said. "Not what you plan to do but what you want."
Saria didn't need to think about it.
"I want to be with Link. I can no longer live here, I don't belong anymore."
"Why do you no longer belong here?"
"Before Link came to this forest as an infant, I never once questioned what lies beyond these woods, I never once thought there could be more to my life than what I already had."
"But the Hylian changed that didn't he?"
"Yes, he made me question, I don't know why of all the Kokkiri I should be the one to be affected by him. All the other aren't happy he's gone of course, but, they don't stop to wonder where he is, they don't stop to wonder what he's doing."
"You on the other hand do. You are the only Kokkiri ever to actually question your existence as far back as my father can remember. To ask what the stars though the tree tops are, instead of just thinking their pretty."
"Yes." Saria replied meekly.
"Child, I can not give permission for a forest child to leave the forest. But I also understand what you feel. I will neither give my blessing or my denial on your request. What you do, you must do of your own free will."
"Can you answer me one question?" She whispered.
"One." Came the billowing yet young voice.
"There Great Deku Tree said a forest child would die if they left the forest, but rumors have circulated about a forest child long before Link left about a Kokkiri that left this forest and lived. I have to know. If your predecessor knowledge is at
your command. Then please, is there any truth to what is said?"
"I can not tell you that."
Saria was no longer feeling awe or belittlence, she was now just feeling frustration.
"I will tell you this. I give you the free will to do as you chose, but once your decision is made, you will not be able to undo it, understand?"
"Yes." And in that moment Saria's decision was made. She slowly turned and began to walk out of the meadow.
"Good bye little one . . .. Loca return to me." The Sprout commanded.
Loca, Saria's fairy flew from his sleeping place under Saria's hair visor and disappeared into the late Deku Tree's massive branches. Saria felt as if a part of her had died.
"You are now beyond my authority to either aid or hinder. If you change your mind, I will be waiting."
"I won't." Simply, direct, quick, she just wanted out.
The tree made a sign of recognition. Saria made her way out of the meadow and knew there was no turning back now.

Navi at that moment was flying high above the Lost Woods , she had grown accustom to the skull kid's mysterious music as they flipped in and out of the shadows, she was almost beginning to like it. She hadn't gone back to the Deku Sprout like she should of. She would of been just assigned to another Kokiri as a guardian fairy. She didn't want another Kokiri to look after she wanted a ten year old Hylian, but she was bound by powers beyond her to depart from him, he needed to find his own destiny without her. But Skull Kids were not the same, they could never do what Link always did, he listened to her. Something no one else had ever done. People talked TO her, but never WITH her.
The Lost Woods encircled all of Kokiri forest, the thinnest part was small valley that held the ancient extension bridge that connected these ancient woods with the outside world. It was protect barrier against intruders. For all the good it did. Though the fairy bitterly! It couldn't stop the King of Thieves from entering and poisoning the Deku Tree. She had seen Link here twice and each time had not gone seen him. She simply didn't have the courage to face him. Navi was never one to forgive, she was afraid that Link was the same way. She had abandoned him. She, the only one who knew Link's secret that this had all happened before with them. They had defeated and sealed Gannon the Dark King. But it had happened once before. What had been that Zelda's final words? Regain your lost time? Events of course had played out differently with Link not trapped in the Sacred Realm. And there was one major difference, she hadn't been at his side.
Navi noticed a familiar figure moving though the mists and trees towards the bridge.
She flew down until she was right behind her.
"If I ever saw a Kokiri in need of a guardian fairy it's you Saria." She said, slipping into her sarcastic yet friendly as easily as a human put on a pair of shoes.
"Hello Navi . . ." Almost not caring.
Navi looked at Saria she seemed only half dressed.
"Hey, were's Loca?"
"He's back with the Deku Sprout." Saria said as if reading from a manual.
"Well why would you be without your . . . oh I see." She saw the look in Saria's eyes, it was the same she had seen in Link's eyes every time he had drawn his sword ready to fight whatever monster happened to be waiting in this particular dungeon room. It was a look of final decision.
Saria came to a stop. There it was. The edge of her universe. The dark tunnel made from one of the humongus hallowed out lodges that dotted the forest. And on the other side. She didn't know.
"Your becoming more and more like Link every time we meet recently," said Navi though she hadn't seen her since . . . oh boy. . . she had really disconnected herself from others.
. . .if any Kokiri should step outside these woods, they will die . . .
That was what the Deku Tree had said, Saria thought.
"That's what I'm hoping." Saria replied
"Are you really willing to take the risk?" The fairy knew what the girl was planning. And knew it was madness to try and stop her.
"Yes . . ." She said firmly though her insides were trembling.
"You want to be my partner?"
"Just watch me." Navi flew under the visor holding together Saria's green hair.
. . . they will die . . .
"Y'know you had the sprout's blessing before, you don't now."
. . . you will die . . .
Saria stepped onto the bridge.
"My only hope is that I have Link's."
"What do you mean by; hey!" Navi had to hold on as the Saria held her breath and ran above the valley and though the tunnel into the unknown. Everything was black. There was a blinding light.

Saria covered her eyes, she had never seen anything so bright, it was piercing her eyes and into her brain burning it. She was on her knees for several minutes before the light dimmed to a level her eyes could accept. Her eyes opened and focused on a sea of endless blue with islands of white above her, and a ocean of waving green before her. Her entire life had been in the filtered light of Kokiri forest. Now she was seeing pure sun light for the first time in her life.
"Your not used to bright sunlight are you?" Said Navi sarcastically.
"I-Is it always this bright?"
"Sometimes brighter, some times blacker than a skull kid's face."
"Perfect." She mumbled.
"You haven't been out two minutes and you already have sarcasm down."
Saria looked at herself. She wasn't changing into dusk. She didn't feel a sudden pain in her chest and die on the spot. The ground didn't shallow her up. She was alive. Alive! So the rumors of a Kokiri that had left the forest and had lived on WERE true! She could go to Link! In spit of everything, in spit of the weight of what every she had done meant, in spit of having lost Loca, and she was now burdened with never seeing her friends ever again, Saria couldn't help herself and shouted with joy. After she calmed down she got a better look at her surroundings. The forest was entirely to her back. To her right in the distance she saw a flowing river, where to and from she did not know. Further saw saw the outline of mountains. To her left was nothing but flat green fields becoming steady more rocky at the horizon. And directly in front of her was rolling hills one after the other.
"It's . . . " There was no edge in sight to the green field she saw. "So much bigger than I thought."
"What? Did you think there was going to be a big sign pointing to where Link was going to be?"
"No but . . ." Saria finally realized this was not going to be the simple task she thought it was going to be. She looked at the forest entrance. No too late to go back. No, she had made her decision. She wasn't going to give up now.
"Where would Link be?" She asked at last to her new companion.
"Well, this might be a stupid idea but .. . have you considered just ASKING him yourself? Or did you not pack your flute?"
"It's an ocarina and . . . I don't want Link to know about this, not yet, I want it to be a surprise for him."
"Some surprise if you can't even find him."
"I'm sorry Navi but I can't."
"Your just like Link, you always want to do things the hard way."
"I like it when you compare me to him Navi."
"Whatever, come one girl, if your this demented to this then let's do it."
"So you do know where Link could be?"
"Look Saria, the kid made more than a few friends while he was away. Even the Gerudo think of him as a friend and they don't like any body!"
Saria felt a heavy weight in her chest that sank to her stomach.
"Don't worry, if he was with Zelda when he left he's bound to still be with her. And even you know where she lives."
"Hyrule Castle? Link's talked about it several times."
"Bingo. If we keep a good pace, we'll be there by tomorrow morning."
"What!"
"Look around you girl. Did you think it was just five minutes from here to everywhere?"
"Eh . . ." Saria had spent her life somewhere where everything WAS five minutes away from everything else.
The winged point of light sigh. This was going to be a very long day. "Don't worry, there's a place we stop if worse comes to worse, as long as we're there before sunset, otherwise your sleeping on the dirt."
"Don't you mean the grass?"
"No!" Retorted the fairy. "There's a dirt road a couple minutes from here that can takes us to Market Town, that's a place that a rock's throw away from Hyrule Castle, but at night it very important not to go off the dirt path unless your prepared for a fight. And girl, you aren't.
"What's wrong with the grass?"
"Looks innocent enough doesn't it?" Said the winged creature solemnly. "That was what Link thought too, and it almost got him killed."
"But . . . it looks so . . . NORMAL!"
"Heh, you longer you stay out here girl, the more your going to find that 'look' and 'is' are not the same thing. It's not the grass that's the problem, it's the field, that's why no one's ever farmed or really built around here. That stop I told you about is on top of a rocky hill."
"But you STILL haven't told me what's so dangerous about the field!"
She was going to have to find out sooner or later. "The dead dislike intrusion in what they consider they're territory. The Deku tree told me and Link on how up until almost two decades years ago, Hyrule was a country of constant wars and strife. I don't know if Link told you this or not, but during the last war was when his dying mother deposited him under your race's care."
"What's a decade?" Forest children were not stupid, but terms such as centuries and decades really had no meaning to them. Why should they? Each year was the same to them. The universe and everything around them was a constant.
"Ten years . . . anyway, during Ganondorf Dragmire's Seven Year Rein, the Dark King used his magic to make them one of his armies and the fields became safe to travel at night. After he was banished however the dead returned to their rest place and they were just as territorial as before. If your on the grass after dark girl, the dead aren't going to be forgiving. They're only dangerous if your slow and unarmed. But you aren't armed."
Saria was beginning to realize just how ill prepared she had come for all of this. Saria began to turn around but stopped herself. No, she couldn't go back, she didn't know if she would have the resolution to leave a second time, she had to do this now.
"Lead the way Guardian Fairy." She said in mock drama.
"Just stick close to me girl. Nothing is going to go wrong."

Anyone want to read my Zelda glossary?

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