Author Note: No characters are mine, all are by rights from the Legend of Zelda series, if they were mine this more than likely would-be canon.
Ch 1 Prologue
As an all too familiar song filled Link's ears, he knew that he was, at long last, home in Kokiri Forest. He had just gotten back from Termina, a land parallel to Hyrule, though not without its fair share of changes. He could recall how near everyone he encountered as the Hero of Time had their own replicas, their own copies, of themselves in Termina. Even though they had their own names and personalities, Link had a hard time differentiating them from their originals, often calling them by their Hyrule names, much to their confusion. But that was all over now, now that he defeated Majora and returned to Hyrule, to the Lost Wood. Even though his journey had ended prematurely, he was glad to be home, though he would start out anew in a few days to continue his search for Navi, his fairy companion. After her departure after defeating Ganondorf and returning to the past, he couldn't understand why she left, nor feel complete without her. But, as much as he cared for his partner, all he could think about was his best friend, the friend he failed in the future that led to her eventual "death", Saria.
As he reached the entrance to Kokiri Forest, and the rope bridge that connected the forest and the outside, he stopped. 'I don't want to deal with everyone else right now. Though the Know it All Brothers are probably keeping tabs on the entrance as usual. I should probably sneak around' Link thought to himself. As Link pulled out his hookshot from his kokiri bag, he aimed for the tallest branch it could reach and shot, shooting the hook and chain straight into the tree, and pulling him up into its branches. He hooked from tree to tree along the perimeter of Kokiri Forest, although he wasn't exactly stealthy, no monsters ever climbed that high in the trees, especially not that close to the little village, so the Kokiri never looked that far up, so it worked all too well in Link's favor, maximizing his speed to reach Saria. 'This ought to be far enough' Link concluded as he reached the entrance to the Lost Woods. He lowered himself slowly down from the tree with the hookshot and walked into the woods. He didn't dare shoot from tree to tree inside the woods, the higher you are the harder it is to see, and he did not want to get lost, not now, not before seeing Saria again. She was always there for him, not only when she gave him his ocarina when he first set out on his adventure, not only when she taught him her song to play for the gorons, and not only when she gave him the power of the forest to stop Ganondorf in the future. No, she had always been there for him even as he was growing up.
As Link was growing up in his early years, which is normal for those of the Kokiri, being fairy-less was not. Kokiri get a fairy companion at birth, to help look over them, grow accustomed to them, and to help them become the best of themselves they can be. But Link had no fairy, and this made him an easy target for Mido, who had picked on him nearly everyday of his young life. Especially the day the Great Deku Tree died, but that wasn't mere bullying, that in itself was pure hatred for Link. Truly believing he had killed The Great Deku Tree. But, that is all in the past now, now all Link had left to do was to take just a few more steps, to enter the Sacred Forest Meadow, to see Saria.
He walked along the slight maze to the temple, remembering the moblins he had to deal with in the future, though menacing, proved easy to deal with. The song became louder as he made every turn towards the meadow. Coming to the clearing he saw her, Saria, back faced to him, lost in her song. As he slowly closed on her, he also heard the next break before the loop started again approaching, but as that last note was blown on her ocarina, the loop never started. Saria had begun to turn around on her tree stump with tears in her eyes, and looked him dead in the eyes, and muttered a single word, "Link?"