Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time or any other LoZ properties. They are the property of Nintendo and any other owners. Nor do I own undeadpenguin37's fanart, I use it with permission.

Betaed by: Zim'smostloyalservant and Trackula.

Chapter 3

Reunions

Saria made good time on the road, heading south toward the Forest. The road would not lead to the entrance, of course, with the Kokiri Path and the bridge, but it would take her close enough.

Malon had insisted on filling her saddle bags with supplies for travel, and Saria was grateful for it. She'd finally come across inhabited farmsteads on this leg of the trip, but at the sight of her approach, the farmers fled into their houses and barred the doors. The one time she knocked, asking after shelter for the night and offering to pay, she'd been shouted down as a bandit trying to trick them.

The only inn she'd passed that was intact had been at midday, so she chose to keep going. Though maybe that was a mistake, Saria thought, watering Epona by a strong stream.

Another day's ride would see her at the Forest. It was so hard to believe she was finally going home. How had Mido, Fado, and all the others been doing? The goings on in Hyrule shouldn't have affected them, but the Sage had implied otherwise, and Ganondorf had done something to the temple, the venerable ruin in the heart of the Lost Woods.

And also, someone had been stalking her since she built her fire. That was annoying.

"Fi, I'm going to call them out," Saria said, finishing brushing down Epona.

"Maybe. Surprise. Would. Be. Better."

"They could just run off. If they're tough enough to fight right up, I'll take care of them; if not, they'll leave. Besides, I really need to use the bushes and I can't do that with them spying on me," she said, before turning to face her surroundings, "Hey, show yourself! I know you're out there."

…

"And who are you, to command those who hunt the fields for ner-do-wells!?"

"Not a ner-do-well! And my name is Saria of the Forest."

Saria raised the Hylian shield Malon had given her in reaction when a dagger hurled out of the dark. But it landed at her feet. Glancing down at it, she did a double take. She knew that hilt, the guard. What she could see of the blade.

"The Kokiri Sword."

"Yes. Yes, it is you," the voice wavered, and a tall figure dropped down from a tree rather than rise from the bushes Saria had been watching. Had the sword curved in her throw? And it was a woman's voice.

"I saw a bandit had it not long after the Domain fell and Lakton was parched. That was when I started to fight back again; I had memorized everything about our time together, including the weapon of your people. It was my only lead on what happened to you after you were lost along with Hyrule's capital and the royals. He could only tell me he'd taken it from another bandit. And I knew you'd never lightly part with a treasure of your tribe."

A tall Zora woman with a spear on her back stepped into the firelight, tears glittering on her cheeks.

"Oh, my shiny grasshead. Where have you been?"

"Shiny? Are you Ruto?"

"Yes!" Ruto said. Saria dropped the sword and lowered Fi. Ruto took that as an invitation to close the distance and sweep Saria up into an embrace. The Zora was taller than Malon, and to Saria's ribs' regret, stronger. And because of the height difference, Saria found herself struggling to breathe as her face was smooshed into the scaly chest of the blubbering Zora princess.

"Mistress, might I suggest using escape hold grapple maneuvers?" Fi asked. It wasn't like Saria could answer, so she dropped the sword and tried to calm Ruto down by patting the Zora's back.

"Oh, but I'm doing all the talking!" Ruto said, loosening her grip enough for Saria to get breath.

"Stop choking me with your chest bumps, please," Saria gasped. Ruto gasped and dropped Saria, who landed on her rear, taking deep breaths as Ruto began to pace.

"How shameful! We haven't had our wedding yet! Oh, what would father say?! The collapse of general civility is no excuse to be so, so, so uncivilized. Thank the Goddesses you are so clear-headed, Saria. That could have gone like one of Lulu's books that she thought I didn't know about."

"It's okay. Good to see you. You got big," Saria said. Ruto blushed and adjusted her chest before picking Saria up and placing her on her feet. Brushing the grown Kokiri off, Ruto kept talking.

"My, you are as forward as that day you asked for my hand at first sight! Well, fortunately for you, as the Princess I am well-trained not to give in to base impulses. And frankly, where have you been? I even went to your village looking, but aside from the Kokiri Sword, there was no trace! And then… Jabu-Jabu's glorious uvula!" Ruto cursed, standing up straight from brushing Saria's leggings off.

"Huh?"

"Oh Saria, I lost Crimson!" She grabbed Saria again, though not squeezing to death this time.

"What?" Saria demanded, pushing herself out of the embrace.

"It was about four years ago! I was scouting upstream, he'd gotten big and tough enough that I thought he could be on his own or hide if trouble came. But when I came back, he was nowhere to be found. His tracks ended, and even the fish I'd caught didn't bring him running! I lost our first child! I'm unworthy of you! I'm a princess without a domain, a loser!" Ruto cried, falling to her knees and glomping Saria. Saria took it, eyes narrowed.

"Start at the beginning," Saria demanded, breaking the grip to grab Ruto's shoulders.

"The beginning? Well, after you left, Crimson tried to eat my hand so I smacked him. Then started to drag him off, already planning how to organize a proper royal education program for dragons-"

"Start with things about how you lost him!" Saria snapped.

"Right. Well, I suppose that started when we got word of what happened at Hyrule Castle, and my father had to prevent a panic."

"Wait, what exactly did happen in Hyrule Castle?" Saria demanded.

"Do you want me to be elaborate or brief?" Ruto demanded, frowning at Saria. The Kokri glared, and Ruto took a breath.

"Okay then. There was big banquet, we heard. King Daphnes was going to sign a new treaty with Dragmire Ganondorf, a new protocol and set of mutual obligations between the Gerudo and the Hylian royal family. It was supposed to offer redress for the Gerudo's suffering under Harkanian and end any raiding by the Gerudo on the peoples of Hyrule. They had a big fancy table set up with a banquet to follow. The King signed it first, then Ganondorf was called, but instead of signing it he struck the treaty and table with a blow full of magic. The table exploded and he, along with his Gerudo, started killing people. They say the King got his head ripped clean off before he could even get back to his feet. And monsters appeared from the castle's depths, armed and bloodthirsty. Rumor has it Princess Zelda escaped and Ganondorf fled with his Gerudo. Last we heard from Castletown, the surviving courtiers were occupying the damaged castle with the guards having managed to barely defeat the monsters.

"Of course, now we know Ganondorf wasn't done. But he came for us next. None of our guards or patrols saw him coming; he strolled up to the falls and stood before the royal entrance, and he didn't play the song. He just reached out into the air in front of him and forced the waters and stones apart, and walked inside. Our warriors tried to stop him, and when they got close he struck them down with magics, or worse with casual blows of his fist that shattered bones… and skulls.

"I took Crimson to the throne room so I could protect him and my father. I told Father to run, at the very least to Lord Jabu-Jabu's presence. He told me he couldn't escape before his people, so he would not flee the throne, whatever demons came. He actually thought, I would run," Ruto managed to say, eyes drifting down, "Father ordered the guards to make way for the invader, and when he arrived demanded an explanation. Ganondorf, he was terrifying. He offered as answer that he had claimed his redress with all of Hyrule and declared he was now King, with the royal family deposed. He demanded my father's submission."

Ruto blushed, pushing her fingers together.

"Father rather forgot some etiquette lessons, and told him to do some deeds that are quite impossible for all known races. Ganondorf did not seem surprised. He spoke words that hurt my head with power, and slammed his fists to the ground. And from the impact, the winter spread."

"Winter? Wait, is this that thing about ice in the Domain?"

"Ice, snow, unnatural cold. It spread quick as a grass fire in summer, Saria. M y father froze to the throne before I could even cry out. Lord Jabu-Jabu's power enveloped me and Crimson, and when the light cleared we were by the border checkpoint on Zora River. And watched winter march downriver. The border guards were dead, so I went back with Crimson to keep me warm to find answers. The Domain was frozen solid, everyone frozen where they stood, and the depths of the city hidden away under ice. Even Lord Jabu-Jabu is frozen. I could sense his magic through the ice. The kind lord abandoned hope of escape or battle to use his power to protect the Zora of the Domain, so they will not perish in the frozen sleep. Ganondorf had left something, though. Words carved on the throne room, that my father would have eternity to regret his mistake in defying him. Even testing Crimson's fire on some Zora I don't like, we couldn't thaw anyone out, or budge them from where they stood. It is fell magic of elder days, I tell you."

"And Crimson?" Saria asked, putting a hand on Ruto's shoulder. Ruto nodded; Saria noted her tiny scales felt quite smooth and cool.

"Crimson and I left to get help. We traveled to Lakton in Lake Hyrule. I had guards watch him while I went to meet with the city elders. They were dismissive of me, said I was just a child and should let them take care of things. One even said Father should not have let me get engaged on a whim! They sent me and Crimson into hiding at a large pond in eastern Hyrule Field. Lulu came with me; she'd been sent there by my father on business once word of the Castletown reached us.

"They were rude, but they might have saved me. Ganondorf returned about a week after I left Lakton with an army of massive iron armors, undead, and monsters of all sorts. The Gerudo were like an afterthought, I heard. He destroyed Castletown, no terms offered or anything; some magic he used collapsed the whole castle into a lake of ever-boiling mud. Everyone surrendered after that. Boss Darunia voted to fight, but the Goron elders were swayed by some other Goron to oust the Boss and make him Boss to preserve the city. Lakton, dried up."

"Dried up?"

"Yes, the water just started to recede at that time, the Gerudo river and the lesser streams still flowed into Lake Hylia, but the water drained more every day. Lakton began to peek through the surface for the first time in centuries. Then the roofs were dry. Then the entire city was exposed. It kept going until even the Water Temple was exposed to the open sky! There's still the deepest parts of the lake there, but they're so infested with monsters it's useless to the Zora. Lakton dried up and died, and the Zora became refugees as everyone was afraid, and Ganondorf's demands of tribute were impoverishing everyone. The monsters seem to crave our flesh in particular, though I've never heard the so-called King verify it.

"There… aren't as many Zora as there used to be, Saria. I know where Lulu and Miaku are, he found us, but I told anyone who would listen that if we gathered we'd be massacred. So we scatter and hide. And me, I fight," Ruto growled the last word, her fins vibrating for a moment in her elbows.

"Lulu wanted me to stay safe, but I got big enough that she couldn't stop me. I'm taller than her now, if you didn't notice. All those years being a runt in my father's hand, and I finally got some of his regal proportions," Ruto chuckled merrily for a moment into the back of her hand. Then her expression dropped again, "Crimson grew with me. When he got big enough, I rode him to better travel over land."

"Lucky!" Saria couldn't repress the image.

"Quite! And he was so handsome with his new spikes, and teeth getting longer every year. Why, I never needed flint to start a fire, and undead were easy with him mowing them down with jets of flame like they were impertinent scarecrows trying to get me to listen to their music."

"Scarecrows?"

"Never accept a drink from old men who live alone by lakes staring at fish corpses. Anyway, we were a great team. And I did not neglect his education. He was good about roll cleaning himself in the sand for polish, let me hand polish him, and didn't eat anything until I commanded it. As for speech, we were on the cusp of paragraph-length statements, and I'm certain he was getting a handle on verbs. And his tail wagging when I polished bis belly was just precious!"

"Aww."

"Very much aww. But then he was gone! Oh, Saria, I left him by the Hyrule River in a glade to do some serious fishing. We'd burned up a convoy of Ganondorf's tribute collectors, and he was miffed at me not letting him eat the Gerudo along with the monsters. So I was going to get him fish, his favorite. Especially when I grilled it. But when I came back, he was gone. No tracks, no signs, like he'd settled down to nap and vanished. I LOST OUR ADOPTED SON! I AM AN UNWORTHY FIANCEE AND PRINCESS!" Ruto wailed, once again grabbing Saria up in another smothering embrace.

"Ruto, focus!" Saria snapped, breaking the hold on her to stand before the weeping Zora princess, "When was this? When did you lose him?"

"A little over a year ago."

"Then there's no point dropping my quest for the Forest Temple right now. But after that, we'll start making inquiries."

"Forest Temple?" Ruto asked. Saria sighed and tried to summarize her own story since she parted ways with Ruto, leaving out the parts she'd rather not talk about.

Ruto held Fi after they were finished, looking the blade over with interest.

"The Master Sword of legend, what an honor, and what a burden. Truly, we were meant to face these dark times together."

"Uh, Fi says she'd rather me hold her. And I think she's getting irritated I haven't sharpened her yet."

"So the sword's name is Fi? I'm sorry, it just doesn't have the potency of 'Master Sword'."

"Well, 'I' am calling her by name."

"Well, let's get going to the Forest Temple. I don't fear the woods, having been there."

"Actually- wait, you went in the Forest?"

"Well, yes, I'm sure I mentioned that. Weren't you paying attention?"

"Well, you do say a lot of stuff."

"Well excuse me for having a lot to say, it's not like I haven't seen my own intended for seven years."

"Anyway, it's probably better I go alone. There's not much water around the Forest Temple, and who knows what evil is lurking there. Also, you can watch Epona here to make sure she doesn't get stolen," Saria said. Epona looked at the two from where she was grazing. She seemed rather unimpressed with the two heroines, and returned to grazing.

"Hold on, we just reunited and you want to split up?"

"Well, it makes sense."

"What about strength in numbers?"

"I can't bring Epona in."

"And speaking of this horse, you seem rather friendly with this Malon. Do you happen to remember our little chat about no polygamy?"

"No, actually. And I really want to see how my tribe is doing, so I had better get going," Saria huffed, turning her back on the fire.

"Fine, best get going then."

"Right."

"I'm not stopping you."

"I was not saying you were."

"…"

"Actually, it's still dark out, so I am going to wait until morning to leave."

"Well of course, can't have my intended breaking her neck tripping over a tree root. Hardly a dignified fate for a hero that will be worthy of legend."

"So, dinner?"

"I have dried fish that is positively delightful with wild mustard and sage," Ruto proclaimed as they settled in around the fire.

X X X

Ruto had not entered the Forest by the path. In fact, it occurred to Saria that outsiders may not be able to find it, as she mostly found it by smell, after spotting sights familiar to her departure in the trees and land.

Ruto had warned her that the few Kokiri she had met were nervous as squirrels, and mainly trusted her because she was unlike the Hylians and Gerudo that had been intruding in the Forest over the years. The fact Ruto had risen from a creek to save the twins from a group of bandits had helped. But even then, she hadn't been to the village, and she had not been back since a Kokiri, who judging by the blonde hair was Fado, asked her to stay away along with the other Bigs. Ruto had come to the Forest hoping to find Saria, and more or less decided Saria was probably dead when her own tribe knew nothing.

The Forest seemed fine at first, the familiar smells enveloping Saria as she entered the trees, the way her feet even through her boots rolled from grass and soil underneath, to moss and fallen leaves with roots twisting aboveground and ferns curling up to drink in beams of sunlight.

"Home," she breathed it in. She turned her head, and her eyes widened before closing.

'We're back,' that's what she almost said to Tuia. The relief took on an unwelcome shade as she continued down the path of the knowing into the forest, the sights, smells and sounds somehow sad from not sharing with her fairy. She could practically hear Tuia say something in relief at being back. Musing worriedly over the tribe. Asserting they should never do that again. And even inquiring about the possibility of brewing them some wine.

Almost but not quite. Tuia was not with her, and these echoes brought little comfort. Fi seemed to have nothing to say, and Saria did not feel like prodding conversation from her sword friend.

The trees had also been attacked, she noticed. Low branches had been chopped off, and small trees cut down to stumps at intervals. Ruto had told her that people in wider Hyrule believed there was a mystic quality to timber from the Forbidden Woods. Taking it had been a taboo alongside the hazards, but desperate times had led people to intrude here and take wood for either personal protection or to sell.

It was an unwelcome sight to a Kokiri who had lived quite well harvesting fallen timber or dead wood for her purposes alongside her tribe. Let them cut down trees elsewhere, it was not her role to judge such. But this land was not the Kokiri's land, it belonged to itself, and this casual disrespect irritated her as one of its rightful inhabitants.

Thankfully, she was distracted from such thoughts, by the bridge being out.

"Oh, there's a thing," Saria said, kneeling down in the trunk passage that had led to the bridge connecting to Kokiri Village. She could see the remains of the bridge in the valley below, and checking the still dangling ropes it was clear this was not a recent problem. Not quite seven years though, she'd guess.

"They must have brought it down themselves," Saria decided.

Shrugging, she made her way to the edge and started to climb down. This valley was part of the Lost Woods. Dangerous for unprepared Kokiri alone, or any sort of outsider, according to the Great Deku Tree.

Reaching the bottom, she nodded to herself, taking in the familiar sights. Pollen was not catching the light as thickly as it should, and the smell seemed a tad off. But she knew this spot well. And yes, the Lost Woods was already shifting in its way around her, but Saria had been wise to this wood's mischief long before she entered the depths of the Great Deku Tree.

Confident in her imminent homecoming, Saria set off.

"Gah!"

"Mistress. You. Are. In. A . Foot. Snare," Fi commented.

"Thanks, Fi," Saria said, giving a look to the sword lying on the ground below her. Stretching and swinging showed she couldn't quite reach the sword. So Saria began to bend to try and reach the rope around her left ankle.

"Hiyaaahhh!" A tiny figure yelled, busting from an autumn-colored bush that now obviously stood out.

At first she thought it was a Mad Scrub, but as it drew near, Deku stick raised, Saria realized it was just someone small wearing a mask and leaf cloak like the monster.

"Great costume," Saria remarked, smelling the Kokiri scent under the leafy smell. Then she was smacked in the face. With the deku stick, which broke.

"Hey! Rude!" Saria objected, reaching out to grab the stump of the now broken stick from the disguised Kokiri. Ripping the stick away, Saria glared as the Kokiri leapt back. She started to object as the disguised fellow Kokiri pulled out a fistful of Deku nuts from their cloak and raised their hand.

"Oh-!"

The force of that many Deku nuts going off in her face sent her into muddled darkness.

X X X

"Mistress?" Fi's voce called to Saria through the babbling. She tried to roll over and go back to sleep. A familiar squeak made her brow wrinkle, and she realized she couldn't roll over because she was hanging upside down. Her hands were tied too.

"Huh?" Saria groaned, blinking away the remains of getting knocked out. At first she thought a bunch of Deku Scrubs had taken her home. But they were just wearing cloaks with masks on top of their heads.

"The Big is awake!" a familiar voice called from the crowd.

"Are its teeth pointy?"

"Those ropes are tight, right?"

Saria's hands were tied behind her back, with her arms also bound and a snare over her feet that had her dangling from the ceiling. She spotted a familiar podium.

"This is Mido's house," she muttered.

"It's talking!"

"What did it say?"

"I wanna touch it."

"No! It could bite you!"

Those last two voices had Saria hone in. The Twins. Though in addition to wearing Mad Scrub brown leaf disguises, one of them had leaf wrappings bound over her eyes and the two were roped together at the waist. The one with uncovered eyes, Acorna, fear was apparent in her wavering gaze.

"Could you cut me down, please?" Saria asked.

"Ha, as if we would! You made a mistake invading the Forest, you clumsy Big!" Fado called. Her voice was easy enough to remember. And she had taken off her mask entirely as the crowd parted to let her walk up close to Saria, a Deku stick in hand. Saria wondered why she had smeared red berry juice in lines across her cheeks and brow. Fado weirdness, she'd assume.

Fado grinned and cackled, no doubt trying to be scary as she sometimes liked to be. Saria had not been prone to fearing the strange Kokiri before leaving the Forest, now this was just coming across as playtime going a bit too far.

"Where is Mido, Fado?" Saria asked.

"It knows Fado's name!"

"It's been spying on us!"

"I told you there was something lurking outside the house last night."

"Let me touch its ears, they must be huge to hear that well."

"SHUT UP!" Fado yelled. And oddly enough, the tribe obeyed, Saria noticed. That was not typical. Kokiri could be talked around, but yelling at them rarely ever did the job.

Fado stepped up to Saria and grabbed a handful of her hair.

"So, you have been spying on us, eh? Are you the one guiding the deadlights after dark?"

"Deadlights? Poes are leaving the Lost Woods?" Saria asked.

"So you admit it," Fado accused.

"No, I don't. I just got here today, I have no idea what is going on beyond there being trouble with the Forest Temple. Something about decay, I think it was?"

"Fado!" a new voice broke in. Fado turned to face the voice and accidentally set Saria spinning, slowly letting her see the door where Mido had entered. Closing it behind him, he shrugged off his own scrub cloak and dropped a mask on top of it. His clothes were dirtier and more worn than she'd ever known them to be. He'd never wanted to look like a stay-home like Barter, but he'd always been trying to keep up a good appearance regardless. One of the many strange things about the bossy Kokiri boy.

"What are you doing, Fado?" he demanded.

"Your job as Boss. Protecting our tribe from the Big invasion while you waste time at the temple," Fado shot back.

"You brought a Big here?"

"Yes, we caught one in my masterful trap," Fado declared, grinning widely and puffing out her chest.

"Where?"

"Near the Fallen Bridge."

"So, you're protecting the village by dragging an invader that was all the way by the border all the way to my house, in our village?"

"Uh, that's because, shut up Mido! This Big is our prisoner, and once we interrogate her for all she knows we'll cut off her toes and make her wear them like a necklace!"

That brought mutters and a few blerghs from the tribe. And a certain voice asking to touch the toes before they got cut off.

"Why?" Mido asked.

"So the other Bigs will know they should never come into the forest, duh!"

"Excuse me, what is a Big? Just to be clear," Saria broke in, still turning slowly.

"Someone bigger than us but looks a bit like us," Mido said, coming to stand next to Fado as Saria's spinning came to a halt. Fado glared at him and crossed her arms.

"Well I am that, I guess, but I am also Saria of this Tribe, so please cut me down and stop being so rude," Saria stated.

The assembly was stunned silent. Saria was silent and uncomfortable from the blood continuing to rush to her head. As such, she wasn't sure if she blushed or not when the stunned silence was replaced by laughter.

"What?" she insisted, as some Kokiri were sent to their knees.

"What a stupid thing to say, Kokiri aren't Bigs," a pig-tailed Kokiri said, leaning in from the crowd.

"Yeah, Saria left, so she's not here," one of the Know-it-All brothers said, with his two brothers nodding to back him up.

"And Saria would be too nice to invade besides," one of the twins said.

"Not to mention she's dead," Fado said, wiping some tears from her eyes. That shut up the laughter.

"Faadddooo," one of the Kokiri whined. Fado glared in the general direction of the whiner and rapped her stick on the floor beams.

"Saria's not coming back, the Walking Fish Girl couldn't find her and came here looking. And it's good riddance. We all know what she did. The Great Deku Tree is dead, and now the Forest and everything is bad. Why, if she did come back, even begging and saying she was sorry, I'd say the least she deserved is for all of us to run her off back into that Big scary world out there where she belongs, with the other nasty things."

"You're not Boss, Fado. And no matter how many times you say it, you're wrong about Saria," Mido said. The other Kokiri pulled back further, pressing against the walls, leaving a circle held only by the two leading Kokiri and the tied-up Saria, who now noticed Fi's pommel jutting out from behind the podium.

Mido crossed his arms and glared at Fado. She tilted her head down and stared hard at him, growling a little. Mido upped the ante, shuffling his feet around to look taller. Fado gripped her stick until it started to pop. And so it went, a classic, maybe even excellent, example of a Kokiri staredown, each trying to dare the other to submission, defiance, or…

Both their stomachs growled, breaking Fado's stare to look at Mido's stomach and then grip her own, looking queasy.

"Mido wins!" the Twins declared. Even without eyes, Walla could recognize that fact. Saria yawned; she never cared for this particular tradition.

"Okay, this is stupid, gathering just to talk over a Big we don't know what to do with. Everyone go home, it's getting late and the night's too dangerous even in the village these days. Everyone have something for dinner?" Mido asked.

Mido never asked if others had enough to eat, Saria thought with surprise. Unfortunately, it seemed a pertinent question. The ones who seemed the best supplied with food, the subsequent discussion revealed, were the Twins, who it seemed were growing mushrooms in their house quite well. And then got a bit of sass for their smell, leading to them refusing to share with anyone who laughed at that bad joke and their house.

Fado was the only one with enough proper food to share, it seemed, but Saria added up in her head and it still came up to not enough. Yet Mido nodded at the end and told them how to divide it up fairly.

"What about you, Mido? You've been failing at foraging," Fado pointed out.

"The stuff at the temple is important."

"Nuh-uh, the Great Deku Tree said we shouldn't ever go in there without his permission. Now that he's gone, it's forbidden. We shouldn't even spare a moment on forbidden things with all the problems in the forest."

"The Biggest are living around it. We need to find out what they want so we can get rid of them."

"You'll provoke them! They tore up half the village last time! What will we do if we lose the other treehouses? Do you want us to live like squirrels!? We've lost too many, Mido, and ever since the Great Deku Tree died, not one Kokiri little has come out of the forest. Not one!" Fado yelled, her pitch turning shrill and brittle.

Mido offered no answer, and given the way Fado scratched her chin irritably before pulling her mask on, she wasn't expecting any answer.

There was grumbled agreement in the group that Mido was brave enough to guard the Big for now and the Tribe left. Saria took note now, with the door narrowing it down, there really were fewer Kokiri than she had ever remembered there being in her lifetime. And their fairies bobbed along oddly quiet, their luster seeming a few fingers short of the shine it should be.

Then she was alone with Mido, who closed the door and turned back to her.

"You say you are Saria?" he asked her.

"No, I am Saria."

"Mistress. You. Should. Be. Able. To. Escape. Those. Bonds."

"What's the best blackberry pie?" Mido asked, leaning in close to her face.

"The one I'm eating, of course. I wonder how it would taste with cheese, though? I should have brought cheese; not sure if you would like it, but it seems like something Fado would like, and Fado seems crankier than usual. And why is there a food problem? It's not winter, and I could tell the forest has bounty. Have you gotten lazy, not going out? What about the gardens? And another thing, why are you all dressing up like Mad Scrubs? The Deku Scrubs aren't going to like that at all. And one more thing-"

"It is you!" Mido said, grabbing her in an upside down hug.

"…Well, who else would it be?" Saria laughed, enjoying the most oddly shaped hug she had ever had. Mido let go and seemed to stumble back, looking her over again. He fell back onto his butt.

"What happened?"

"Can you cut me down first? This is getting pretty uncomfortable."

"Oh, right," Mido said abashedly. Getting up, he pulled out a good blackstone knife, grabbed a ladder, and started to saw on the rope. Saria sagged in relief, then tensed, realizing something.

"Hey, aren't you going to lower me fir-"

WHAM

Her head smacked against the floor as the rope gave way.

"Whoops, sorry Saria," Mido said, kneeling down next to her as she groaned and blinked the little lights from her eyes. Giving him a small glare, she twisted to pull her bound writs in front of her and held them out. Mido stayed silent a bit, red in the cheeks as he cut her loose.

"Good," Sara said, cracking her wrists and brushing the fibers of the rope away. Getting up, she walked off the stiffness and went to the podium. Pulling Fi out, sheath and all, she quickly reattached the sword to her belt, patting the pommel.

"Please. Try. Not. To. Lose. Me. Again," Fi said.

"Did the sword just talk?" Mido asked.

"Why, yes she did! You can hear her?"

"Of course, she's talking."

"Well, lots of people can't hear her."

"Bigs, right?"

"I suppose," Saria nodded, "Anyway, this is Fi."

Saria drew the sword and held her out, point first toward Mido, who took a step back at the quick motion. And his fairy Otvil buzzed along the blade, blinking irritably.

"If you are Saria, where is Tuia?" the fairy demanded.

"Must be hiding? Hey, come out Tuia!" Mido called.

"Mistress?" Fi asked. Saria noticed her grip had turned white-knuckled. As Mido called, she sheathed Fi and hooked her hands in her belt.

"Mido, stop."

He did, looking at her with eyes she was sure were bigger.

"I… lost Tuia."

"Lost? Then what are you doing here instead of finding her!?" Otvil seethed.

Saria leaned on the podium; the wood was smooth and cool to the touch. She ran her hand along it as Mido pressed her and Otvil yelled at her.

It took a bit for her to notice the questions had stopped. Turning her head, as she didn't see Mido, only to jolt a bit as she realized he had come in front of her. Looking at her with his hat off and held like a bag, she could hear Otvil's muffled outrage in the green cloth.

"Saria?" he asked softly. She looked up and saw her hand on top the podium had broken off the chunk under it, mostly, and her other hand was a fist. Unclenching her jaw, Saria let herself slide to the floor, back to the podium and dropping the part she had broken off.

Mido let out an odd sound when her other arm scooped around him and pulled him into her side. He didn't try to get away though, and Saria eventually made her way around her talk of the outside world to what happened to Tuia.

Next thing she knew, she was opening her eyes to the sound of morning. A reed blanket was tucked up around her, and she caught the smell of dawn leaking in through the boarded-up windows. And the smell of mushrooms and berries drew her eyes to a plate laid nearby. She spotted Otvil above her on the podium, and heard Mido messing around in the side room as she ate.

She wasn't sure now how much she'd told Mido, but she felt heavier and lighter at the same time.

Pulling out Fi and setting the blanket aside, she started to sharpen her friend, smiling at the buzzing sound she made.

"So, you replaced your fairy with this?" Otvil asked. She frowned at the question, but the tone was not as harsh as normal. Otvil had his hands full with Mido. Darrii, Fado's fairy, always seemed as strange as Fado herself, but Otvil had always seemed to be closer to what Mido thought he was than what he was.

"Nothing could replace Tuia. But, I am lonely," Saria said. She stopped at that, in the midst of breaking a nut she had plucked on her brief trip through the forest. She'd meant to say she 'was' lonely. But it was… just as nice as Fi was, she wasn't Tuia.

'There'll never be another Tuia,' Saria thought, finishing the cracking and then trying to focus on the flavor of the nut's pulp.

Mido entered as she folded up the blanket and set her plate on the podium top. She'd have to fix that, Saria thought, noting the missing chunk from the announcer's spot.

Mido was not wearing his Deku Scrub disguise. Instead, he had a pack on his back that looked to be nearly as big as him, torches and Deku sticks protruding from the top.

"Well, Saria? Ready to go?" Mido said.

"Where are you going?" Saria asked.

"To the Forest Temple, of course. You said you need to cleanse it or something, right? Well, as the Boss of the Kokiri, it's my job to look after the tribe. The stuff at the temple, I'm sure is the cause of all these monsters and rot. Not to mention, you're a Kokiri, and you've been having way too rough of a time. I need to do my bit and take care of ya this time!" the Boss of the Kokiri said, puffing out his chest.

"You're going to protect me?" Saria managed to hold down her smile, walking over to him and opening the pack to start adjusting the content. It wasn't a bad mix of supplies and weapons. Though she quickly plucked out his extra slingshots. Tucking one into his belt next to the ammo pouch on there, and taking one of his spares for her own belt. She had lost her own slingshot somewhere along the way.

"Well, yeah! You managed to slip away by leaving the forest, but not this time. I don't want to see you sad like before again, so I'm going to help. Put your heart at ease, the Boss is on the case!"

Otvil groaned and slipped under Mido's hat. Saria couldn't handle it entirely and patted him on his head. He was being rather dashing and adorable right now. But maybe she could offer him something in place of this? She recalled how she'd seen a number of Hylian women express pride on boys smaller than them.

She planted a light kiss right on his hairline.

"Ah, no!" Saria exclaimed, as instead of calming him from his little rant, he froze, turned red, and toppled over on top of his backpack.

It took finding his water pitcher and dumping it on his red face to get him sensible again. Though Otvil said leaving him down there might be a better idea.

It was when she had unstrapped him and put his head in her lap to make sure he was reviving properly that she heard the door creak open. She was not fooled into thinking a Mad Scrub was invading. And sure enough, a Kokiri hand came from under that leafy cloak to snap the mask up, revealing Fado's painted face.

"Ah ha! I knew you couldn't be trusted in this, Mido! You've fallen under her wily spells like the foolish fool you are!" Fado pointed an accusing finger.

"Wha?" Mido said only partway back to his senses.

"Fado, shhh! I accidentally broke him a bit," Saria pleaded, waving a hand at the advancing Kokiri.

"Accident? A likely story! You probably wanted to be captured to destroy us from within. Well, I already sent my fairy to tell everyone he cut you loose! They'll make me Boss for sure now, and the first order of business will be taking those toes of yours and all your fancy Big weapons, too! And the second is, I'll make Mido clean my house. He was always ready to do anything for Saria, but he always had to go count the bark strips when I needed him for help!"

"Your house is creepy, you fill it with Lost Woods stuff! And you always stare at people too much from up on the tree bridges," Mido protested.

"Well, you won't be able to say that about me when I am Boss," Fado said, stomping her foot.

"Fado?" Saria said, standing up her full height. The only blonde Kokiri of their time had always been slightly taller than Saria. That was no longer the case, and Fado grabbed a Deku stick from her back.

"You won't fool me! Hiyah!" She swung the stick at Saria. Saria almost grabbed it. Instead, she let it break over her face. She didn't blink, tilting her head to look down on Fado who clutched her broken stick and bit her lip.

"Fado, you can't replace me as Boss," Mido said, walking up to put a hand on the trembling girl's shoulder.

"Yes I can!"

"No, we can only vote for a new Boss when the moon is full, and that's not for five days. So come back in five days with the tribe, and we can settle this."

"…Darn, you're right! And you, lying Big! You'd better be gone by the time I'm Boss, or maybe I won't even let you keep your toes once we cut them off! And Mido, I'm going to let my house get extra dusty just for this!" Fado said, storming off, cheeks puffed wide. She slammed the door on her way out, making Mido's prized fish skull fall off its hooks.

"Where is her fairy?"

"Patrolling. Fado's been sending her off on lots of errands, even as she patrols and sets traps. I think separating so much is why she's gotten weirder. And despite all the stuff she says about you, I know she went and cleaned your house at night. Well, before the Biggest Big wrecked it."

"Ah, she does care- wait a minute, what happened to my house!?"

X X X

Saria laid a hand on the familiar trunk. Her house had a broad white squiggling stripe painted on it, because it was cool. She'd taken it over from Daria, her Kokiri mentor who had gone back to the Forest shortly after Saria became her tallest. They'd painted it together; Daria had been a blonde Kokiri, and the white paint getting in her hair had annoyed Saria as a little Kokiri for not showing up like it did in her own green hair.

Tuia had suggested they build the wrap-about ramp to the roof. Daria had just used a ladder, but ladders could be scary. She'd liked to go up there among the broad leaves that flew from the roof to play her ocarina or just nap. That was how she and Fado had first gotten close, their fondness for high places, though Daria preferred solid ground so much more to Fado swinging about with that reckless fairy of hers.

Now its roots were ripped up, she could barely reach the door with it rolled up on its side. She could smell it rotting from here.

Stepping back, Saria took the village in. Half of the treehouses were ripped up in a similar fashion. The gardens too. It was as if someone had unleashed a giant insane plow, ripping up the ground and everything in its way. Even the treehouses still standing had scars on them. The Kokiri had healed the trees as best they could, but it couldn't erase the marks — the paths of packed dirt on the ground were in chaos, with weeds creeping in. The tree bridges had been torn down, the planks and rope rotting in the grass and weeds.

The day was growing brighter yet, but there was no sound of Kokiri at play or even at work. Saria reached out and caught a bright bit of spore falling in her palm. Too little of this, she thought, and it crumbled in her hand like dust.

"The ones who did this? They're by the temple?" Saria asked Mido who stood a few paces behind her.

"Yeah, but I can sneak past them. I'll show you."

"I'm not sneaking past them, Mido. I'm going to drive them out."

"You're going to fight them?!"

"Probably kill them, but if they apologize and run, maybe we can work something out," Saria rumbled, fingering Fi's pommel.

"Well, I'm definitely coming with you, then. You'll only be half as outnumbered with me along."

Saria was about to order him to stay, then thought. Ruto had helped her in the fish guts. And Darunia under the well.

"You'll probably come anyway. So you can come. But you will do what I say when I say it, understood young Kokiri?!" Saria commanded, planting her fists on her hips and trying to channel Impa talking to Zelda.

It seemed to work, as he bowed his head and muttered: "Yes, Saria."

"Good. Then let's get going. The sooner we do something about this, the better."

Meanwhile:

Ganondorf, King of Hyrule, King of all Evil, and Master of the Triforce of Power and rightful owner of the two missing pieces, sat upon a throne of black stone, iron, and a dark red velvet cushion, which still failed to make it comfortable. His teachers insisted all thrones had to be uncomfortable because otherwise you slouched, and no one obeyed in awe and terror someone who slouched.

He glared at the witches of Twinrova floating to his left and right, looking entirely too pleased at their relative comfort compared to him, still after all he had achieved, having to receive petitioners.

He rested his chin on a mailed fist, glaring at the Gerudo captain that had dared to add to her report by a request. She was just entering middle-aged, lines starting in her face, receding hairline displayed by her horsetail hairstyle, and thighs getting thicker in a way that had nothing to do with muscle.

His throne room was designed to discourage Gerudo and collaborators from wasting his time. But alas, skulls and decorative spikes and fire weren't enough to deter stupid, it turned out.

"To be clear, your troops are complaining about doing their jobs?"

"No, we are pleased to serve our king. But the tribute demands, coupled with penalty… we are concerned at this rate, we may run out of peasants to take tribute from."

"That's a problem above your pay, next."

The captain withdrew, and a Gerudo steward wearing the silks and flaring pants of her office kneeled next.

"Karina, Steward of the Western Quarter," the page said, rapping her staff of office. Too loud; this little girl was a terrible page.

"Great King Ganondorf, we petition you once again to lift your ban on the right of plundered daughters. The Gerudo are poised to expand, daughters will be needed in abundance, and there are an abundance of Hylian and Sheikah girls that are simply being left to rot in overcrowded towns."

"You have the husband farm to increase the numbers, there is no need to give the Hylians and their Sheikah flunkies mercy they don't deserve."

"Yes, but the farm… many of our women, even those who prefer men, find it distasteful."

"That is their problem. Next."

This one was a common soldier clad in purple, with her face veiled.

"Great Ganondorf, all the wine has turned into vinegar again."

"This is not a new problem. Either bring less or drink it quicker. Next."

Another common soldier, this one with shorter hair.

"Great Ganondorf, I am pregnant."

"I am not the father. You caught it very early," he noted, glancing at her figure a moment.

"Er, yes, sire. I would like to transfer back to the Gerudo fortress until I have given birth."

"Why?"

"Well, the wine keeps turning to vinegar, and the food spoils quicker than it should. I have concerns for my daughter."

"Your child is neither wine nor something from the pantry. Don't bother me with such trivial concerns."

"Can I at least go home to tell my mother?"

"Are you literate?"

"A bit."

"Then send a letter with the next caravan. Next."

The page girl rapped her staff too loudly.

"Ingo Gorman, master of the Ingo Ranch, home of Chateau Romani and fine cheeses. The horses are also quite studly!" she read off a scrap of paper. That was it, that girl was fired; good luck explaining to her mothers how she lost a prestigious post so quickly.

He raised his eyebrow as the Hylian rancher entered. The man had taken to dressing like a dandy now; he mostly reminded the former Dragmire of Hylian nobles in the heady days he was toppling the kingdom. A right old mess and underfed.

"You are early, and I take it you did not bring my new mare?"

"Oh, Great Ganondorf, misfortune has befallen me."

'Not as much as me having to listen to your whining.' He paid half-attention, nodding at times. In short, he'd hired a lady sellsword and unsurprisingly, she'd bonded with that wretched Tukar and they'd run him and his thugs out.

How annoying.

"All my support and the threat of my name and still you manage to fail, Hylian?"

"I, I will reclaim the ranch with your aid."

"I have nothing to spare for such petty defiance. Soon enough, all of Hyrule will be reminded of my power and tormenting that Tukar further is a coin too thin to be worth kneeling to pick it up. Begone; return and you'll feed the ReDeads."

"But, but, I have served you faithfully. Where will I go?!"

"To the underworld if you don't leave my fortress quickly. Go."

The fool went, earning chuckles from the Gerudo in attendance at his undignified run.

"That's all for today. I will be in my high chamber," he said, getting up.

"The King has closed the court!" the page rapped with her staff. He grabbed the staff from her as she passed and tossed it into the wall. The casual motion left them stunned when the staff shattered into toothpicks.

Twinrova followed him through the door and up the stairs.

"Is it wise to accept such rebellion?" Kume asked.

"Once, you'd strike them down for so much as an ill glance," Kotake noted.

"Not as hard as he used to be, is it?"

"That tends to happen to men as they get older."

"KEHEHEHEHEHE!"

"That ranch doesn't matter. It was only of interest to let that blood traitor properly pay for her deserter mother's sins."

"So petty!"

"How delightfully scornful!"

"But still, quite the girl out there running amok. Maybe she has some Gerudo blood to defy you so openly?"

"Nonsense, Gerudo never have green hair."

Ganondorf paused on the steps.

"Green hair? A Hylian?" he pondered.

"Eh? That's what you get for not paying attention."

"Tch, first he goes soft down there, then up there. Hopeless men, even kings!"

"KHEHEHEHE!" Twinrova laughed, following the frowning king as he stroked his chin.

Author's Note:

And this story is back as I take a break from one of my Dragon Ball fics that has been on a roll. I have also been chipping away at "Ye Mighty" and thinking on how to get Show of the Titans properly rolling again. i have the side stories for that chapter set but the main event just doesn't seem to want to come together

Anyway, the Forest Temple awaits and the next sacrifice with it; for which the story is named. The Kokiri were fun to write, I wasn't planning on so much humor as it were but that's how the cookie crumbled eh? I hope it was enjoyable.

Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated.

Long days and pleasant nights to you all.