"I will do this," said Loranna when she returned, lifting her hands to reveal that they'd been colored a deep black, "But you must agree to my one term."
Zelda uncrossed her arms. "Which is?"
"Saria must return to—"
"No." Zelda met Loranna's gaze with a hostile glare, her arms once again crossed. "Saria will not be a part of this. She has chosen to remain with me and she will stay with me."
Loranna stood rigid and unwavering, directing her own eyes towards Saria, who turned away and retreated backwards. She lifted a blackened hand towards the girl, who backed away even further. Beneath the stone, something saddened in Loranna. She lowered her hand, then her gaze.
Zelda smirked. "How long do you think Ganondorf will be content to rule just Hylium? He's not taken Catalia yet because he's biding his time. If he wanted to invade, nothing would stop him."
She pointed to the Dark Link construct that remained in its place on the stretcher.
"That thing is your only chance. Either you give it life, or Ganondorf takes yours—and the lives of this little forest cult you've started. Isn't that too much blood for an old woman to handle?"
Zelda coyness disappeared when Loranna's hand reached out and wrapped around the wrist of Zelda left hand, lifting it into the air till Zelda struggled to stand on her own two feet.
"I know what you are," Loranna said, her features and tone cold. "Play your games with Saria, but I know what you are. I know why you do not bear the mark of the Goddesses on your hand. Your conscience is no cleaner than mine."
Zelda finally pulled herself free, stumbling backwards in the process. For the first time, she tripped over her words, holding her wrist as her mouth spouted all number of mumbled retorts.
Saria looked to Zelda for answers.
Zelda, catching Saria's gaze out of the corner of her eye, provided none.
Returning to the stoicism of before, Loranna continued her negotiation undeterred. "Saria will return to us and complete the coming of age ceremony. You will do nothing to interfere. Your influence has corrupted her enough already."
Loranna turned her attention to the Dark Link construct.
"If we are in agreement, we may continue."
Zelda did not speak. Eyes wide with both of fury and terror, she turned to Saria, not knowing what sort of reaction to expect. She found a girl who seemed suddenly older as she studied the one she'd long considered her mentor, her eyes glowing with a gradual realization.
Zelda looked away and nodded numbly to Loranna.
"Then our pact is formed. The Dark Link must be taken to the Guardian." Loranna knelt down and grabbed hold of one end of the stretcher. "Saria."
Acting on old instinct, Saria obeyed the unspoken command, squatting down to take hold opposite of Loranna, her lanky limbs displaying much strength for their size. When the platform had been raised to waist level, Saria's eyes wandered from Loranna to Zelda, her eyes curious.
Zelda followed them in silence as they went deep into the forest, wandering dark sections where only slim beams of sunlight found their way through the deep covering of leaves above.
She bit her lip and stared at the ground, the confidence of before all but vanished.
They walked till their feet ached and the cries of the forest faded. When silence and darkness surrounded them completely, Loranna came to a stop, forcing Saria to do so as well. Helping the younger girl to lower the stretcher, Loranna continued several steps forward on her own, her braided hair moved by a breeze that did not exist.
Loranna fell to her knees and placed both hands on the ground before her, taking soil between her fingers as she spoke again in the unknown tongue.
There was silence.
The earth before them moved. A hand twisted together from plant and dirt burst forth, grasping at the surface as it wrenched itself from the ground.
Saria fell to her knees and repeated Loranna's movements, speaking a thousand apologies.
Zelda held onto her surprise, revealed nothing of her emotions, and crossed her arms.
The being revealed itself to be humanoid—childlike even—comprised entirely of plant life and earth, its eyes empty and black. Where hair should have been, long grass fell from its head as though the creature itself was a forest. "My daughter," it said, its voice feminine, as it reached forward and placed a hand on Loranna's head, "you have returned to me. I have missed you, child."
Loranna said nothing, standing when the being removed her hand.
Zelda recognized two voices as the being spoke. One was that of a girl—young, even younger than Saria. The second was something powerful, something describable only as "godlike".
"I did not mean to call you away from your duties, Guardian," said Loranna, her accent gone.
"No harm has been done," the being said, speaking slowly as though it feared being unheard. "I wish my children may to speak with me as often as they will."
Loranna bowed her head. "News has been brought to me, Guardian, news that may undo the rule of Ganondorf and free us from his shadow."
"The trees carried this news to my ears." The being walked forward, uprooting itself with each step, only for life to spring up in its wake. It approached the Dark Link, circling it slowly and deliberately.
When it neared Zelda, she met the being's gaze with her own, watching as blackened eyes analyzed her.
"I felt a darkness enter the forest," said the being after a moment's consideration.
Zelda narrowed her eyes and met scrutination with scrutination.
"But not this creature." The being returned its attention to the Dark Link, kneeling down beside it. "A puppet possesses no will of its own, only the will of its master. When evil does not manipulate the strings, the puppet is nothing more than an empty shell."
The being placed a gnarled hand on the shadow construct's chest.
"This creature is empty, devoid of purpose. It contains no evil."
It retracted its hand.
"Why have you brought this to me?"
"I brought it," Zelda said, crossing her arms and making herself known; pacing, but not making eye contact with the forest creature.
The being stared. "This creature is a tool of the Prince of Darkness."
"Was, which is why I'm here." Zelda came to a stop, reaching into her pocket to remove her golden pocket-watch, paying no attention to the time as she diverted her gaze from the forest guardian. "I am here because the Hero of Time was a part of your little tribe and that he was buried here some time ago."
The being was silent, so Zelda continued.
"I want you to bring him back. Use the Dark Link as a vessel and bring him back." Zelda drummed one set of fingers on the opposite elbow. "This 'tribe' thinks of you as a god. You have enough of the Hero of Time to bring him back."
The being remained silent for several more second, its feet taking root in the earth where it stood. Its hollow black eyes stared forward; looking through Zelda to something beyond that only it could see. "The Hero of Time is at peace," the creature said at last, its eyes regaining focus. "Your place is not to question the n—"
"Your people will die, forest god." Zelda's eyes locked with the empty black orbs of the forest guardian. "The Kokiri will endure genocide for a second time—all because you were afraid to act." Zelda reached into her pocket and drew from it her golden pocket watch.
"The cycle has taught us that violence will not quell violence."
"And pessimism will?" Zelda shut the pocket-watch with more force than necessary. "Ganon will kill you all—and you're content to sit here and die not once, but twice. If that is what you wish, fine. We will find another way."
"Saria." She indicated with a slight motion of the hand that her assistant was to follow. Saria did, keeping her eyes down so as to avoid Loranna's gaze.
Zelda counted the second each second that passed.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
"Zelda," the guardian called, the dual voice of god and girl reverberating through the forest.
Zelda paused, but she did not turn to face the creature.
The forest guardian drew her roots from the ground with each step, her arms swinging slowly at her sides. "I will return the Hero's spirit to us, but he will belong to the forest, just as he did in his own life. He will be as he was when he passed from the living and you will do nothing to interfere."
Zelda smirked, though she allowed no one but herself to know of it. "Then all the pieces finally fall into place," said Zelda, words rank with smugness.