Chapter 10: Brave Enough To Leave Home
Every day of Link's life he felt alone, different. Separated from the other children of the Great Tree. They had fairies to guide them, while none ever bound themselves to him. They could manipulate the magic of life in the winds and trees, and he couldn't perform the simplest trick. They always treated him different, the weird one who preferred to work with his hands and wandered off in the night.
Only now did he realize how close to his siblings he had been before, and how separate from them he could truly be.
"Hello Fado," he waved to the girl as they walked to the village, she carried a basket of mushrooms. "How was-"
Fado jumped when he spoke to her and clutched her basket all the closer. She gave him a smile after, but Link knew she didn't mean it. "Sorry," she said. "Busy." Even her fairy didn't say anything as they rushed away from him.
No one spoke to him, not since he dragged his sword and the emerald through the village to his home. Perhaps he should have explained what happened. Maybe he told them, if he explained everything, they'd understand. But that day all he could do was crawl into his bed and cried himself to sleep. When he awoke the next morning, everyone knew their father was gone. And they all blamed him. Even if no one said it out loud.
If he had known the worst days of his life were the ones that Mido avoided him, he would never have believed it.
Fado made her way to the cooking pots to give Helvia and Lotho her mushrooms to add to the night's meal. Everyone gathered around the cooking fires, chopping vegetables and talking together.
It had been the best part of the day, except for when Link snuck off at night to practice. The fairies told them stories or led them in song. And all his siblings came together to prepare their meals and just be together, and happy.
But now everyone would be much happier if he wasn't here. They could all talk and play amongst themselves without avoiding him, staring at him. He could just sit in his room and remember the happier times.
Link returned to his tree home. Gave one last look to his family before he climbed up and into his bedroom. Stepping over the gem and the sword still where he dropped them days before. His birthright. That's what the Great Deku Tree called it. Filthy with grime and the blood of the spider-beast.
He sat before the sword. Most days he avoided looking at it, but some days he couldn't help but stare.
It wasn't so hard to figure what father meant: violence, death, and failure. That's all Link could offer the world. All those fanciful dreams of becoming a wandering warrior, righting wrongs, and being a hero of a fairy story seemed so stupid now. He couldn't even save his father from a bug.
'I'm so proud.'
What had he meant by that? What had he ever done worthy of pride? The Great Deku Tree must've been wrong. He hated the wars of the outside lands, he hated violence. Why would he be pride of Link?
He reached for the sword. Even after everything, it felt right in his hand.
"Link?" came a voice from behind him.
He spun around still brandishing the sword. Saria yelped and stepped back, near dropping the bowls in her hands.
"Saria!" Link put the blade back down on the ground. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean- I mean. Are you ok?"
"Put that away!" Junmi said, the fairy flying about Link's eyes before she hovered protectively in front of Saria.
"I'm fine," she said. "I'm sorry. It's just scary, is all." Her eyes didn't leave the blade until Link kicked it under his bed. "I didn't think about that … thing. I hadn't seen it since, you know, that day - I didn't think you'd- I mean it was just there and it's dangerous. And I was- I'm sorry, I'm babbling now."
"It's gone now," Link smiled hoping to calm her down. But her eyes were no less anxious. "Is something wrong?"
"Of course, something's wrong," Saria said as she pressed a bowl of steaming fish stew into Link's chest. "The fairies are scared. The Great Deku Tree is... And my best friend doesn't eat, spends all his time alone, and every day looks sadder and sadder. I don't know how things can get more wrong."
"I'm not that-" he averted his gaze from her. "Do I really look that sad?"
"Yes!"
How could he explain it? He started to, several times, but nothing he thought to say sounded like anything more than whining. "I'm sorry."
"Can we eat?" Saria sat down before he could answer. "It's good. Lotho made it, but I helped with the stirring."
Link sat across from her, careful not to spill any of the stew. Lotho's cooking was always the best. As he ate he realized just how hungry he'd been. Soon he shoveled the food into his mouth.
Junmi landed atop Saria's head. Link could feel her light on him, staring at him. Saria watched him as well, though she hid it better. Sneaking glances between spoonfuls. To make certain he was eating, or perhaps she wished he'd say something. Hard to know which one.
"I'm sorry, Link," Saria said once they were halfway finished with the stew. "I should have come up here days ago. I just thought you needed some space, like how you used to go on walks to-" her eyes went wide. She must be remembering what happened the last time she followed him during one of his 'walks.'
"Don't worry about it," Link said. "I liked being alone," he lied. "Not that I'm saying you should leave, you can stay if you want."
"Of course, I will," Saria smiled at him, and for the first time in days it seemed like a genuine grin of someone happy to see him.
Link tried to do the same to her, but it didn't feel right. He wasn't in the mood for smiles and ended up looking back down at his food and continuing to eat.
"Just give the others time," Saria said. "They'll realize that you're just the same you, you've always been. They're all just scared. But you'll show them there's nothing to be scared about."
"I'm not. The same me, I mean," Link mumbled.
"What?"
"The Great Deku Tree told me something."
"What did he tell you?" Saria looked concerned.
Why had he said that? Now she'd pry at him. Like she used to about where he disappeared at night. But he couldn't tell her he wasn't a Kokiri. That he was a Hylian, one of the monsters from the outside lands they've been told about all their lives. "Nothing."
"Come on, Link. You have to tell me."
Link sighed. He couldn't tell her what he was, but, his best friend deserved to know what he planned to do. "I've been thinking about this a lot. I think-" he took another deep breath. "I think I'm going to leave."
"What?" she dropped her spoon into the bowl.
"Leave where?" Junmi asked.
"I don't know," Link said. "Away, I never fit in here anyway. And after what happened with the Great Deku Tree… I just, I can't stay here."
"Don't be silly," Saria said. "You can stay here for the rest of our lives. I told you, just give the others some time. In a week we'll laugh about you wanting to leave."
"No. Saria, I don't belong here."
"Yes, you do! You're my friend."
"Saria, when father- when the Great Deku Tree passed, he gave me a duty." He stood up and went to the Emerald, picking it up from the ground he rubbed away some of the gray residue that still clung to it. "This was what the outsiders were after, this is why they killed him. I'm supposed to protect it, to make certain that the man never gets his hands on it."
"A green rock?" Saria took the emerald from his hands. "Some evil outsider attacked father because of a rock? Why?"
"I don't know. But he'll come again, unless it leaves the forest. And I have to take it away." He reached out to reclaim the Emerald, but Saria pulled it away.
"We can hide it. If all of us use our magic together-"
"No, they have a way to turn magic against us. That's why Navi brought me, and not the rest of you. If we use magic to hide the stone he'll find it. I have to take it away, before he returns."
"What if we bury it? No magic, we get some shovels and dig a hole."
"He'll find it. Saria, I need to do this." And I need to go home. I need to go someplace where the people are like me.
Saria took the Emerald, frowning. Then looked into Link's eyes, and he saw tears in hers. "We can try something else."
"I've thought about this a long time, Saria."
She sniffed and her lower lip wobbled as she held back tears. And that made Link struggle to hold his own. Why had he thought this was better?
"The Great Deku Tree told you this?" Junmi asked.
"Yes."
"When are you leaving?"
"Junmi!" Saria said. "He's not going to leave."
"There's no point waiting. Tonight, I guess. When everyone else falls asleep."
"That might be for best."
"Stop telling him that!"
"That stone can't remain here. And someone needs to take it away. A fairy will have trouble leaving the magic of the forest, but, Link doesn't have a fairy. It makes sense."
"Junmi," Saria said. "I want to be alone with Link."
"Saria, I know it's hard to hear, but it's best-"
"Go home," she said. "Please."
The fairy flew off her head and headed toward the window, before she stopped and returned. "You're not leaving with him."
Saria huffed.
"I won't let her. She belongs here."
Saria glared at him, but Junmi seemed satisfied. "I'll see you at home. If you're late, I'll follow you."
As soon as the fairy disappeared, Saria charged at him clattering over the forgotten bowls of stew and hugging him. "I don't want you to go."
"I'm sorry."
Link could feel her shake, and tears drip down onto his shoulder. They stayed there, until their tears were spent. Only then, red eyed and sniffling, Saria broke away from him.
"Would you follow me? Please? I need to show you something, before you go."
"Anywhere."
They left the tree. Saria leading as they crept along the outskirts of the village. Making certain none of the others heard or noticed them.
"This way," Saria said as they approached the mist of the forests. "Stay close."
Link trusted Saria, of course he did. Yet, stepping into the dark made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Getting lost among the fog meant death, as the fairies drilled into their minds near every day. He took Saria's hand, and she squeezed it as they stumbled through the uneven grounds of the woods.
"Almost there," she whispered. "We just need to reach- here we are."
Link took a step and the fog dispersed revealing a small meadow clearing. A creak passed through the land, surrounded by tall unkempt grass sprouted. Trees reached toward the sky, with vibrant green leaves that looked of mid-spring when father stood at his grandest. Healthy and so tall the branches disappeared into the fog that returned far overhead.
"Well," Saria let go of Link's hand and made her way to a stump in the middle of the clearing. "This is my special spot."
"It's beautiful."
Past the trees the fog returned, but it seemed thin. Vines prodded out of the fog as if they crawled up a tree near as wide as the Great Deku Tree himself. But that was impossible. There were no other trees like him.
So, what was it?
Link stepped past Saria and reached for the vines.
"I wouldn't do that," Saria said as she plopped onto the stomp, laying across it on her stomach. Looking for something on the other side.
"Why not?"
"The sisters live there, they don't like being disturbed."
"The sisters?"
"Here it is!" Saria grabbed something from behind the stump. Link reached her as soon as she righted herself and smiled at Link. "I was making this for you."
She held a meticulously carved round instrument. An ocarina, Link knew. One of the instruments the fairies sometimes brought out for them to play after supper.
"Here try it!" Saria sprang to her feet and forced the ocarina into Link's hands.
Link fumbled a bit to right his grip and smiled. "It's amazing."
"Go on."
Link brought the instrument to his lips, took a deep breath, and blew. The first note blared, loud and ugly, but it held strong. He worked his fingers on the holes, until he got the feeling of the sound. As he played, a warmth spread about him, as if he was being embraced by someone not quite there.
Saria smiled and clapped. "It worked."
"Saria, this is… How long did it take you? How'd you hollow out the wood? Or get the holes right? It must have taken months and a lot of broken ones to make this."
"It took a bit, but it wasn't as hard as you'd think." She held out her hand and Link gave her back the instrument. "A few months ago, when Mido was being real mean I went to the Great Deku Tree and asked him how I could help you. He took one of his branches and gave it to me and told me how to build it. And then how to put a little bit of my magic into it. That was the hard part, shaping the wood was easy. I never needed to start over, not once. It was like the wood wanted me to shape it."
Just like forming the shield. Link never got to thank him for that.
Saria closed her eyes and nodded her head as if listening to music only she could hear. She began to play, and the melody flowed out of the ocarina. Not the most complex melody, but one Link had never heard. Fast and happy. Like older days in the summer heat, when the children danced in the Great Deku Tree's shade. And no one ever danced half as hard as Saria.
Happy days when all Link had to worry about was waking up on time. Not even so long ago, and yet, those days would never come back.
When she finished, she lowered the ocarina and looked to Link, waiting for his approval.
"You're really good!" Link said. "What was that?"
"Father told me for the spell to work I needed to make my own song, and well that's it. Do you really like it?"
"Of course. But what spell?"
"Good, umm," she looked at the ground. "I know you said you didn't want any help, but I thought you might accept this. When you play my song, you'll call me to you."
"What? Why?"
"I don't know, I thought that if you ever got stuck and needed some magic to do your job, you could just play on the ocarina and I could come help you. And no one would have to know that you needed my help at all. Because I know you hate that. Don't be mad." She shoved the ocarina back into his hands as if worried hearing that would make him refuse her gift.
Link looked to his hands, and rubbed the smooth wood, a gift from Saria and his father. When he looked back to his best friend, he felt his eyes water. "You were willing to do all that for me?"
"Of course. You'd do the same for me if you could."
Link stepped forward and embraced Saria. "I could never get mad at you Saria. You're the kindest person I know."
When they broke the embrace, Link could see that Saria was crying too. She sniffed and wiped her eyes and nose. "I don't know how well it will work when you leave the forest. It's the Great Deku Tree's magic, I don't know if it works so far from his roots. But if you want, you can try to play my song out there. And if it works, I'll be able to see you, at least for a little bit."
Link brought the ocarina up and played, it took four tries to get the fingering correct. But once he had it, he played Saria's song. She laughed and danced and clapped along as he played, and for a moment he thought if it would really be so bad to stay in Kokiri.
But when the song ended, and Saria fell back on her tree stump still laughing, he knew he still needed to leave. He could not let the evil man return to the village for the stone. And would he really want to grow old while all his friends remain children of the woods? Every year growing more different from everyone, from Saria.
Would they even still be friends?
But for now, he sat down beside Saria on her stump, and remembered happier days until well into the night. When Saria could no longer keep her eyes open.
The Emerald glowed the faintest green in Link's hand, even with all the muck still clinging to it. He'd need to clean it before he left, along with the sword. If he could get the stone uncovered, maybe the light from it would be enough to lead him through the fog. He went to the pond near the center of the village. He dipped the water bucket into the pool, in the dark the water felt like ice as it splashed up Link's hand. Once full he poured the bucket over the stone and sword, making certain the corruption didn't run into the waters.
Something rustled through the leaves. Footsteps walking along the edge of the village clearing. Link covered the emerald and ducked low. Was he too late? Did the evil man already arrive? He was so stupid! He should have left the day that the Great Deku Tree died. Now he'd doomed everything, he really was a failure.
"You should go to sleep," came a familiar voice. Dori the fairy flew into vision. But he wasn't speaking to Link. Mido marched along the edge of the forest, green magic working his way through his hands. "The Great Deku Tree's barriers are holding."
"And I'm going to make certain they stay strong,"
"But you checked them last night, and the night before."
Mido didn't answer that, he continued waving his hand over the trees until he nodded with satisfaction then marched to the next one.
"You're going to wear yourself out."
"If you don't want to help me, you can just stay back home."
"Of course, I want to help you," the fairy sounded exasperated. "I'm trying to, you need your sleep to stay strong."
"I am strong," Mido said. "I'm as good with magic as Saria. Just because you and the Great Deku Tree couldn't see it-"
"He did see it!" Dori protested, "we all see how hard you work. How much effort you put in to maintaining the village. He relied so heavily upon you."
"Then why didn't he ask for my help?" Mido shouted, sending Dori flying back away from him. "I could have helped him. He could still be here."
"Mido," Dori flew back toward him, landing on top of his head. "You can't think that's true."
"Go home, Dori," Mido brushed at his head to force the fairy off him. "I'm going to make certain everyone is safe."
The fairy didn't leave, he just stayed behind Mido's shoulder as they kept walking around the village.
Link watched Mido's back, wondering if he should talk to him. He'd never liked Mido, not once. Mido was bossy and mean. And so self-important it made talking to him annoying even the few times he tried to be pleasant. But he needed to restrain himself from walking over to him right now and telling him what had truly happened to the Great Deku Tree. How the creature had turned the Great Deku Tree's magic against him, how he truly could not have done anything even if their father called for him.
But he stayed low to the ground, until the light of fairy and magic was gone. He didn't want his last words in the village of his home to be spent arguing with Mido, or getting called No-Fairy or whatever other hurtful thing the boy would say.
When there was no sign of anyone, Link picked himself from the ground. Dried off his things as best he could and stepped to the trees. Even in the dark of night he could see the difference the enchanted fog made, where all light and shapes ended into pure blackness. He took a deep breath. One more step and he'd be out of the village. One more step and he may never return home again.
"So," came a soft voice behind him. A dim blue light floated toward him and landed on his shoulder. "Where are we going?"
"Navi?"
"It's a bit hard to go to Navi. I'm already here."
"How did you- where have you been?"
"I'm sorry, I should have come sooner. But with the Great Deku Tree gone… I'm sorry there was so much I needed to do." she said, her voice tinged with sorrow. "And I knew him a long time, I needed some time to mourn him. Now!" She said and a bit of sunniness returning to her. "Where are we going?"
"I'm leaving the forest. I'm going to see the land of my parents, don't try to stop me."
"I wasn't planning on it."
"Oh. Good. Well, you can't come with me."
"Don't be silly, of course I'm going with you."
"You'll starve, won't you? I thought the fairies needed to be around magic, and I'm not touched by the Great Deku Tree's magic. You'll die."
"About that," Navi floated from his shoulder to land on the ocarina Saria had given him. "For some strange reason, I'm feeling quite refreshed right here. Now, are we going?"
Link's brow furrowed, would that even work? Would Saria's ocarina be enough for her? He didn't think so. "I can't take you away from everyone. The Village is your home, everyone here is your family. They need you, now more than ever."
"Link," Navi rose from her position on the ocarina right in front of his eyes. So near he could almost make out the figure that flew within the light. "The Great Deku Tree was not the only one who watched over you since you were a baby. Even if I had not given him my word, I'd be going with you. And that's final."
"But- you-" Link didn't know what to say, or even why he was protesting. He had not thought about it before, but he found he wanted Navi with him. They had already gone through so much together, having Navi with him felt right.
"Were you just going to march out into the fog with no idea where you're going?"
"I would have figured it out."
Navi sighed then dashed in front of him. "Typical, Link. Stay close and follow me."
Link smiled as they entered the fog. This time, the hairs on his neck did not stand on end. And the knot of worry in his stomach he'd held all day was gone. He made his way through the dark mists of the woods with Navi's light to show him the way.