Chapter 25: Dreams and Nightmares
Link's chest hurt. His head hurt. His arm hurt. And everything else ached. "Hello?" he called. The trees did not answer him, nor did the green grass, or the pool of water. He looked around and saw Mido's rock. His eyes roamed up the trees and found the houses where he and the other Kokiri slept.
He was home.
How did he get here? It didn't seem right, shouldn't he be off somewhere? He had a reason for leaving, didn't he? He couldn't think of it, it must not have been important. Familiar laughter rang through the village. As beautiful and joyful as any song he had ever heard. Stomping feet in the rhythm of a dance, and the instruments the fairies made for them played high and loud. He followed the sounds hoping to see all his friends.
What had they been doing? It seemed like months since he last saw any of them.
"Hello!" he called again as he found a crowd of children in green. All of their backs were pointing toward him. "Hello! Hey! I've missed you."
They did not seem to notice, too captivated by what they stared at. He reached out and grabbed one of their shoulders. "Fado, do you want to play? Vernus? What's going on?"
But they refused to hear or notice him. They would turn back to face their center. Only when he peered over their shoulders did it become clear what they were entranced by. Saria played her song, the same one she taught to Link. The one that never worked for him outside the woods.
"Saria?" He walked through the crowds to reach her. He smiled, certainly his best friend would at least say hello to him. "Hey, Saria!"
The song continued unabated until the final notes. Only then did Saria take the ocarina from her lips and finally looked to Link. "Link! I was worried about you!"
"Worried about me? Why?"
"You never played my song! I told you to play it and I'd come. But you never did."
"But I did play it." Hadn't he? He remembered playing the song, and nothing happened. He tried to tell her, but he did not know how to explain. He had been away from home, away from her magic. Doing… something.
"Play again, Saria!" the other children begged.
And she did, just as she played it for him. And this time she did not need to appear, because she already stood beside him. She was here. Everyone was here. Well, almost everyone, he couldn't find Mido anywhere within the crowd of Kokiri. But that just made this place better.
Still, he should be here with the rest of his family. He turned to his shoulder to ask Navi where he went, but she wasn't there.
That's strange. She's always there, wasn't she?
No.
No, she's far too busy. The Great Deku Tree relied on her, by far the bossiest and busiest of fairies. She'd need to secure the defenses around the village, organize the rations, took time to teach lessons, and a thousand more tasks. Of course, she had more important things to do than spend time with him.
So, why did he still feel like she should be on his shoulder, or resting by his hip? Why did he want to sit down and watch the sunrise? You couldn't see the sun at all within the village. But he wanted to, for some reason. To leave this place, and all his friends, and sit on a building and watch colors spread across the grey sky. But didn't he have everything he needed right here?
"Do you want to play?" Saria asked.
"Yes!" It had been so long since they played! Leave the strange thoughts for later. They weren't important. He reached out and tapped Saria's shoulder. "You're it!"
"Hey, no fair!" Saria yelled after him through her laughter.
Link turned and bolted away, through the clear openings that allowed him to race around the entire village. Weren't there people standing around them a moment ago? Where did-?
Isn't this fun?
Saria chased him around the village, laughing the entire time. She was always close behind him. But never fast enough to quite catch him. At times he needed to juke away from her arm or run around trees to get away from her.
Which was a bit strange. He was always a faster runner than Saria. Saria was his best friend, obviously. And he always enjoyed playing with her, but Fado was the better chaser when they played. And Vernus had this great ability to cut corners to get ahead of everyone.
Saria was one of the worst chasers.
She's diving at your leg! Jump!
Link laughed as he leaped completely over her and made his way back through the village. He ran and ran and the village never seemed to end. They played through the rest of the day, only stopping to catch fish. And they caught so many! One after another until their cooking pots were full. And when they ate every one tasted delicious. It was a wonderful day.
"What do you want to do now?" Saria said as she laid down in the grass, having eaten all their food. Enjoying the brightness of the day. Not a cloud in sight. No fog covering up the sky.
"Well Malon was teaching me how to ride horses. And that was-" No. They couldn't ride horses here. He hadn't met Malon before he left home. There were no horses among the Kokiri.
"Who's Malon?" Saria asked, her voice strange, more mature. Then her eyes went wide as she remembered. "Of course, Malon. She's such a darling."
"How do you know Malon?"
"I've always know Malon," Saria said. "She's so kind and always just the sweetest. No. She's funny! That's it. Always such a tease, always so clever."
"Yes," Link said, relieved. "That's more like her." His head hurt. So did his left arm. Why did his arm hurt now? Like something stabbed into him.
"I have an idea!" Saria stood up and held her hand out to Link. "We should go see the Great Deku Tree."
"No," Link said. "We can't go see him. He's-" Why couldn't they again? It was something important.
"Come on, Link!" Saria pulled him to his feet and together they ran across the village once more and headed down the path that led to the Great Deku Tree. And he was there! Link didn't know why he was surprised to see him. It wasn't like he could move. He was a tree, where else would he be?
"Beware my son!" The Great Deku Tree said. "For a villain hath come for me!"
"Who!" Link ran in front of him. "I'll defend you, father! Come on, Saria." But Saria wasn't beside him. When he looked to his right he saw a shield in his hand, and when he looked to his left he held a sword. He was ready. He could defeat whatever was trying to take his father away from him.
"Make use of my teachings, greatest discipline of mine," the Great Deku Tree said. And the mouth of his barken face twisted and stretched until it opened. Out from the tree crawled a great demonic spider, with one bright eye searching for Link. "Strike true, my son. And let strength guide thy hand in retribution."
The Great Deku Tree would never say that. He hated fighting. He hated that Link had to use a sword. He had been cold at the end. Or was Link cold? Why had Link been cold just before. What happened?
The spider screeched and lunged at Link. Fast, despite its massive size. A creature that could face down a hundred knights and blot out the sun with its corruption. And yet Link dodged every limb with ease. He was the greatest discipline of the Great Deku Tree! A warrior unparalleled in the entirety of Hyrule. With a simple strike of his sword the spider keeled over, its massive eye just above Link's face.
"Navi! Now!" But nothing happened.
Why had he said that? Navi wasn't with him. He didn't need her, anyway. He could defeat the monster all on his own. With a mighty yell, he thrust his sword forward and felt it pierce into the creature's eye. It died writhing on his arm.
"Thou hast done well, my son." The Great Deku Tree appeared over him. "But I fear the beast harmeth me. Make haste, use thy magic to heal me."
"But I can't use magic."
"Of course, thou canst. You are a Kokiri. As you-thou always wished to be-eth."
He looked down and instead of a sword and shield his hands were empty. And a green energy swirled around him. Magic. Real magic. The kind he had always wanted to use his entire life. To be like all his friends.
"No." This wasn't how it went. The Great Deku Tree still died. He had done everything he could, but the monster had still killed him. And Navi was there. Navi had helped him. "Where's Navi?"
"She is well," the Great Deku Tree said. "But hasten, my son. Use thy power. Save me."
"No," Link said again. His head hurt again. Why was his head hurting? And his arm, it didn't feel as bad as it did before. But he could still feel it. And something was wrong with his side. A memory of an ache. "No. You died. I cried. I cried for so long. And I made you a promise."
"Never would I do such a thing."
"But you did. You made me promise. I had to do something. The Emerald! I had to protect an Emerald."
"Why would I ask that of thee? Only a vile and vindictive father would place such a burden upon his son. Dost thou think so ill of me?"
"No." But that wasn't it at all, the Great Deku Tree had a reason for everything he did. Even if Link did not understand. "There was no other choice. I had to do it. There was no one else." It was so clear to him now. He remembered the Great Deku Tree dying, his leaves withered around him, his branches snapping, and bark splitting apart. He remembered the Great Deku Trees last words.
"So much pain I have caused thee," the False Tree spoke before him. "Use your magic, as thou hast always wished. Thou can save me. Thou canst be at peace unto the end of your days."
"I can't!" Link said. "I gave him my oath to protect the Emerald. I swore to help the world, to grow up to become a good man. And I'm going to!"
"Why wary thyself? Join me."
Link glared down at his hands, still alight with magic. "No. This isn't real." The magic died, and he willed his sword to appear back into his hands. The same sturdy blade he had carried with him for months in the outside world. He raised the sword above his head. "And you are not my father!"
He threw the sword with all his might. It dug deep into the False Tree, cracking him in two. The False Tree screamed long and painful, his voice grew higher, wilder. The sky went dark, and so did the ground. Until everything turned black and empty. Except for that insane twisted scream.
Link's eyes opened. The world was bright, so bright it hurt. He shut them again and tried to move his head only for water to splash over his face. Was he swimming? Why was he swimming asleep? The water went up his nose and down his throat. He coughed and tried to stand up. His feet touched a slick smooth surface and slid. It took him three tries to get his footing and get upright.
He was in a pool of completely clear water. Around him lights hovered through the air. Lights on translucent wings. "Navi?"
"He's awake," said one of the fairies.
"Huh," said another. "How about that?"
Neither of them sounded like Navi, or any of the Great Deku Tree's fairies. Where was he? He trudged through the water until he reached the edge of the pool and pulled himself up out of it. His arm ached a bit from the movement, but not too terribly much. "Where's Navi?"
"Oh, that the fairy that brought you here, right?" said the first of the fairies, a little green light that made Link's head hurt just to look straight at him.
Link blinked a few times. "Yes, where is she?"
"Hold a moment," the second fairy had a faint blue coloring and a higher voice. "I think it's best if you talk to the Great Mother."
"Who?"
"Just stand back." The green fairy flew over Link and landed at the edge of the pool. "Great Mother!" he called as loud as the fairy's small voice would let him. "We stand at your pool and ask for your guidance!" Then he flew up and away from the water.
Link looked about him, trying to find this Great Mother. His confusion did not last too long. The pool bubbled as if boiling over a hot fire. Link took a step back, his hand reached for his sword, but it wasn't at his hip.
From the waters a figure burst in a pillar of foam. She streamed up to the sky, her arms wide. Her voice an echoing manic laughter. Was that the same voice as the False Trees last shout from his dream? What was going on? When the water splashed down at his feet, Link could get a clear look at her. She wore nothing but some leaves and vines that did little more than cling to her figure. Around her a thousand glimmering lights.
"Oh," Link said, as his eyes widened. "Oh." He did not know exactly why, but he had a distinct desire to stare at her. With an even more distinct voice in the back of his head that told him if he did, then he would somehow disappoint every woman in his life, from Navi, to Saria and Malon, even the Princess and her bodyguard. So, he did his best to avert his eyes. Which proved to be a mighty difficult task indeed. No matter how hard he tried to look away, his eyes flickered back up to catch glimpses.
The figure swooped from the air, even after he got his eyes to firmly fix on the ground, Link could feel the figure spiral around him before she landed with a mighty splash back into the water.
"Awake, is he?" came her voice, a rather pleasant one were it not for the cackle that followed. "Awake, awake. Strong will on this one. Surprising, but here you stand." She did not sound altogether pleased about it. "And all healed up. Mostly anyway. Don't worry, I'm certain you will find a way to tear yourself back to pieces soon enough. That's the way with you Hylians, isn't it?"
What was this woman talking about? Tear himself up?
The battle came back to him. The Goron in trouble. The Lizalfos outnumbered him, and yet he still fought. And he won. And then the darkness. So, this is how he survived. Navi must have brought him here to heal. Thank the Goddesses for her.
"Where's Navi?" Link said, peaking back up to the large woman, trying very hard to look only at her eyes.
"Navi? Navi? Oh, the little darling!" Then the big woman frowned, and her eyes went dark. The sparkling water that glittered around her turned still. "You don't want me to talk about Navi."
"Is she hurt?" Link stepped toward the pool. "Where is she?"
"Of course, she is hurt," the gargantuan woman said. And she was gargantuan. She grew and grew until there was barely any room between her and the ceiling. "You hurt her." She pointed an accusing finger at him.
"No! I would never-"
"You starved her! You forced her to travel for hundreds of miles, slowly dying. You made her waste all her magic on you. Until she was little more than a speck! On you! Why did you think you were more important than a fairy?"
"I didn't. I don't. I didn't mean to starve her."
"Oh, you didn't mean to?" Her voice barely disguised her hatred. Around her head, the colors that followed her turned bright red. They were fairies, all of them. Hundreds of small fairies, even tinier than Navi. All circling around the woman. Laughing with her. Shouting with her. Accusing with her.
"We were just trying to do what was right. Trying to help."
"Right? Help! What deluded nonsense is this? Did the Lord of Root and Leaf teach you that with your swordplay?"
"Who?"
"The Great Deku Tree, boy! The Guardian of the Forest and friend to all Faekind. He who teaches. The Great Mentor of the Woods. Are you not his last disciple?"
"Oh, I suppose. But he never taught me to hold a weapon. He hated fighting."
"What are you saying?" She looked at him as though he was the crazy one. "People from all over the world would come to him to learn the path of bravery. Goron, Zora, Hylian, and Gerudo. I think at one point he even tried to teach a Moblin." She bobbed on the water with a cackle, clutching at her stomach. "How hilarious that was! Doomed to failure! Doomed! Doomed!"
"That doesn't make any sense." How could father teach bravery and swordsmanship? He preached that only death and pain came from violence every day until his last.
"Bah!" the woman said. "Sense is for Hylians with small minds. Trying to make a world play by rules you make up!" She then stopped and stared intently at Link. "If you are not the last of the Great Tree's disciples, what are you? Why have I let you into my pool? Why have I wasted so much time healing you? It was such a bore. You made my pool foul with blood and dirt."
"He was my father," Link said. "He told me to protect…" his eyes went wide. "The Emerald! Where is the Emerald? I am sorry, thank you for what you did for me. But I need to go get-"
Her laughter cut him off again. She waved her arms over the pool and another burst of water splashed so high into the air that it near hit the ceiling. When the wave subsided the woman held the Emerald in her hand. "This little old thing? So pretty, isn't it?" She held the stone up and then held it around her chest. Vines formed around the back of her neck and twisted about the stone leaving it hanging low, like the necklace he had given Malon. And for some reason, that made Link blush and turn his eyes away from the large woman again. "I think it makes me look absolutely marvelous. Don't I?"
The fairies around her gave a chorus of agreement and cheers.
"It's not an ornament," Link said. "The Great Deku Tree told me I have to protect that stone. I need to find a place for it that no one will find."
"Wonderful!" the woman said. "You're there!"
"You don't know what it is."
"Oh, I think I do! It's the only thing keeping me from casting you out into the dark. I can still feel the touch of the Great Deku Tree on it. Not much, just the barest hint. But it's there. What a wonderful homage to my dear old friend! I shall keep this in his honor, for all my days."
"He would have wanted no less, Great Mother," the green fairy that summoned the woman said, and all the fairies nearby agreed.
Link looked around the pool. The ceiling looked to be made of dirt, he thought he saw roots peeking through in places. Were they underground? How had they come here, there didn't look to be any entrances. The tiled floor stretched out into several far tunnels that Link could not see the end of. Perhaps this place was hidden, but all the same, he did not think this woman would be someone to trust to protect the stone. Even if she had saved him.
"Where's Navi?" Link said. "Please, I need to talk to her."
The woman rotated her hand and clasped her fingers shut, and immediately all the chatter of the fairies silenced. Her eyes fixed back on Link. Her body stretched about, her torso rotating as if it was not made of skin and bone, but as liquid as the very water she had appeared from. "But does Navi need to talk to you?"
"Why wouldn't she?"
"She came here starving! Dying! Enslaved to a petulant child who had no clue of her needs."
"But… she told me she was getting better. That she was getting stronger." But Link stumbled over the words. He knew that had not been true. He knew she had been in pain, that was why he asked her in the first place. But he did not know how to change it.
"Do you expect me to believe that a fairy would tell such a lie? No, no, the little darling is far too noble in countenance for that, too honorable in word and deed. Truly she should be a queen among fairies if ever I saw one."
"She should," Link agreed. "But I still-"
"And to think!" she cut him off as though nothing he said mattered in the slightest. "That she should be saddled with someone such as you. A little boy with a play sword. This not-discipline of the Lord of Root and Leaf who even the great teacher of arms did not see fit to teach?"
"No, the Great Deku Tree didn't teach anyone. I-"
"She is satiated here. We have spoken and she has told me all about you, boy. You do not listen. You throw yourself into danger and destruction and you carry your fairy along with you."
"No, I-" he had done that. Several times, in fact.
"What would happen if your foolishness had gotten your fairy hurt or killed? What would you do then? How can you possibly help her?"
"I'd… I'd still try."
"Little good that does, boy. Little good at all." She waved her hands, and something flew in the air toward Link. He tried to duck out of the way, but it stopped right in front of him. His sword placed in its scabbard hung in the air beside his shield and ocarina. A tattered sack that looked almost like the rucksack that the Princess had given him came a second behind. But it was torn to shreds and stitched back together. Some of it discolored in brown splotches. The pieces of the bag did not fit together well, and it looked a good deal smaller. "Take your things and go. My fairies have provided you sustenance for your journey. Run along."
Above him, the ceiling opened in a small circle of bright sunlight. The roots of the grass grew and twisted together into a rope, descending to him. Link took hold of his sword. As soon as his hand was around it, it fell from the air, nearly causing Link to lose his grip on it. But he steadied his arm, and attached the scabbard to his belt.
He paused, looking at the bag, then back down at his sword. "No."
"No?" The woman blinked, as if she did not recognize the word. "No?" Her eyes went wide, and her lip pulled back into a sneer. "You dare say no to me? Don't you know who I am?" With each word she grew, larger and larger until she was too big for the room itself and she hunched over him, while her waist never left the shallow pool she stayed in. "You little worm! You base foul creature. I saved you out of the kindness of my heart. And you refuse to leave my abode? I should squash you right here!"
Link unsheathed his sword. "I am not leaving, until I speak with Navi. Where is she?"
"Impertinent whelp," the woman shouted and lifted her hand in a claw. Link grabbed his shield from the air and braced himself to face whatever she would throw at him. But then she stopped and gave a large smile. He was not certain if it was just because of how large she was, or if her very face stretched to contain the toothy grin. "Very well," she sang. "I was trying to save you from this pain. But since you insist. Little darling, come out!"
Behind the large woman a blue light shone from down one of the tunnels. Navi flew past the woman and all the other fairies. Her wing finally healed. She flew just as she had when they lived at the Kokiri village, her glow brighter than all the other fairies almost as brilliant as the lights that swirled around the woman.
"Navi," Link said. "You're better."
"I am," she said.
"So am I, let's get out of here."
"I'm not going to go with you," Navi said, simply.
"What?"
"If I leave here, I will just grow weak again. And you will continue to endanger both of us. It is exactly as the Great Mother said."
"It won't," Link said. "I promise. I- I- I I'll listen to you. I promise. No more fighting. We don't even have to go search for the other stones. We can do whatever you want."
"I want to stay here," the fairy said. "And I want you to go."
How could she say that? After everything they'd been through together. It didn't make sense. No, it made perfect sense. He had dragged her around the world. She had never been happy, Link had never been able to make her happy even when he tried.
"This isn't real," Link tried to say. "No, this is just another bad dream." But it did not feel a dream.
"This is real. And you need to get out of here. For my own good."
"But," Link didn't know what to say. "But I need you."
"It's always about what you need, never about what your fairy needs." She turned around and flew back through the tunnel she came. "It is time for you to leave, boy."