Departure

"It's not his fault, Mido!" Saria protested, slamming her hands on the table. Everyone, save for one, was gathered at Mido's house. The reason? Discuss what should be done about their current predicament and what to do regarding Link. The green-haired girl, of course, spoke in the boy's favor, as well as her fairy, Compa. "The Great Deku Tree said so himself!"

"Oh, so that makes everything ok then?" the redheaded boy questioned sarcastically, his fairy, Recti, flying close by. "The Great Deku Tree is STILL dead, and he's dead because that stupid mute brought that egg into the forest!"

"Not to mention," Fado spoke up. "If the Great Deku Tree is dead, what will we do?" she inquired openly. "We have no source of protection from anything outside!"

Flint appeared uncharacteristically nervous. "Then...creatures like that Skulltula the Know-it-All Brothers saw...and the monsters Link saw in the Great Deku Tree..."

"They'll all come here!" Phoebe exclaimed, clutching onto her twin.

"What will we do?" Karya asked, trying to comfort her sibling. "I've never had to fight monsters before!"

"Everyone, please!" Saria hollered, her voice rising above all others. The children, even Mido, were shocked at the volume, having never heard her raise her voice before. "There's nothing to worry about," she assured everyone. "The Kokiri Forest will be protected. The Great Deku Tree has told me himself."

"When did he tell you this?" Cypress asked Saria.

"Why didn't he tell any of us?" Birch added.

"Are you keeping secrets from us, Saria?" Elm questioned.

"No, of course not!" the green-haired girl said. "But...I need you to trust me on this. Everything is going to be fine."

No one was entirely sure what to make of Saria's claims, many now becoming suspicious of the Kokiri girl. Yet, ultimately, the main focus was on what to do regarding Link. "Well, I still say that Link should be punished for this!" Mido declared. "Accident or not, it's STILL his fault the Great Deku Tree is dead!" despite the boy's animosity toward the selectively mute blonde, it was clear to everyone that his parent's death upset him greatly. He was angry and wanted some form of retribution for it all. "And who's to say there WAS some giant spider? What if Link's lying about the whole thing? What if he's the one that killed the Great Deku Tree?"

Saria clenched her teeth. "His fairy said the same thing, so that would be calling her a liar as well," she said. "And how would he kill the Great Deku Tree? For what reason would he have to do that?"

They were all grieving, yet many found that, with that, came the craving for justice. "Well, given Link IS technically responsible, I would say that's fair, giving him some form of punishment," Fado said, crossing her arms. But, on the other hand, Saria was quite displeased at the girl's agreement with Mido. "Like it or not, it's unfortunately true."

Saria was about to argue with her, but Flint spoke up. "Well, if that's the case," he said, the green-haired girl shocked that he was indulging in the idea. "What should his punishment be?"

"Well, the Great Deku Tree wouldn't want anything TOO bad to happen to him," Elm said. "Responsible or not, I say we should do what he would've done."

"And what would that be? To have Link say he's sorry?" Mido inquired. "Like that'll do anything!"

"Then what would you suggest?" Karya asked the de-facto head of the Kokiri.

Mido narrowed his red brows, eyes wet with tears but still rageful. Saria lowered her head, regretting that all of this had happened. She knew she could do no more for Link now; his fate was sealed among his peers. "Where are you going?" Mido questioned Saria. "We're in the middle of a meeting here!"

"I'm going to check on my friend," the green-haired girl told Mido. "I have something I need to say to him as well."

Inside his treehouse, Link was curled up underneath his bed sheet, eyes red and in pain, from the excessive tears he had shed all day. Navi sat on the headboard, trying to comfort the boy in any way she could. Unfortunately, though, she wasn't very successful. "He told you so himself; he doesn't blame you," Navi told the boy, only to receive a sniffle in return. "That Gohma is to blame for everything. She's the one who sapped away all of his energy." the fairy stopped when she heard someone enter the house, her surprise dying when she recognized who it was. "Saria?"

Link pulled back the sheet and saw the green-haired girl standing in his room, along with her fairy. Link was about to ask what the girl was doing here, assuming the meeting was far from over. But before he could speak, Saria interjected. "Listen," she said. "I'll explain everything, but we need to get you out of here right now."

The meeting continued at Mido's house without Saria, and after some debate and argument, the children decided what to do about Link. "Then, it's settled," Mido said, crossing his arms. "We throw him and his fairy out of the Kokiri Forest."

Fado nodded. "In the end, it's only fair." she had voted for Mido's suggestion of Link's banishment.

"But why his fairy too?" Phoebe questioned. "She didn't know anything about the egg brought into the forest."

"A fairy can't leave her Kokiri," Flint said matter-of-factly. He didn't like sending Link out into the Lost Woods, but he agreed that he shouldn't be allowed to stay in their community. "She has to go with him; it's the only way. She and he are now bound to each other."

Karya said nothing, and the Know-it-All Brothers were torn between Link being sent to the Lost Woods or him staying in the Kokiri Forest. "Even if he did bring the egg here," Elm began. "He did kill the monsters inside the Great Deku Tree."

"And kept them from spreading out into the forest," Cypress added. "We can't forget that."

"But who knows if any of what he said is real?" Birch questioned. "Mido said he could just be lying to cover himself."

Mido was somewhat thankful Saria wasn't here, as that comment would've indeed sent her into a rage. "I don't believe that Link is a murderer of any kind," the red-haired boy said. "But...he still killed the Great Deku Tree, even if it was all an accident, he's responsible. So, he has to be punished."

"And seeing as the Great Deku Tree is no longer around, I suppose you're in charge now, right?" Fado asked.

"Looks like I have to be," Mido said. He then rose from his chair and went outside, everyone else following him. Their sights were on Link's treehouse, and Mido was the first to climb up the ladder. He entered the boy's home but made his exit just as quickly. "He's gone!" he cried out, looking over everyone from his position high up.

"And Saria's gone too!" Phoebe shouted, peeking into the green-haired girl's house.

No one said a word, needing little else to deduce who went off with Link and where to.

"Where are we going?" Navi questioned Saria as she led Link through the Lost Woods.

So far, they had been going through various isolated spaces separated by tree hollows, each with unique features. Finally, Saria and Link stood before a great, towering stone gate, a pathway set before them, seemingly beckoning them in. Link had momentarily forgotten his grief and confusion, staring up in awe at the entrance to the darkened tunnel. Where did this lead, and why hadn't he seen this place?

"When the Great Deku Tree was alive, he could relatively control where you could go," Saria suddenly spoke, her voice cutting through the tranquil silence of the woods. "But now, the Lost Woods will be much harder to navigate if you're on your own," she then looked back at Link. "Don't worry, where we're going, only I know the way. And it's perfectly safe."

"Unfortunately," Compa interjected. "With the Forest's Guardian passing, this place will become more dangerous."

Link lowered his head. Still, regardless of his guilt, he wondered if what he saw in the Great Deku Tree would be similar to what Compa was speaking. Would the Lost Woods become a den of silky, thick webs, or did other dangers lay in wait? And if so, how long had they been here? Before Link and the other Kokiri came to be? Before the Great Deku Tree?

"Even if we've never seen them," Saria said. "Monsters live in the Lost Woods. Now, they might move in closer," but she turned back to face Link. "But the Kokiri Forest will be fine. The Great Deku Tree made sure of that."

Link was puzzled. "H-How?" he questioned.

Saria turned her gaze downward, biting her lower lip. "It's just...taken care of," she told him. "But trust me, everyone will be fine. Come on," she began leading him through the Lost Woods again. "I need to tell you everything that the Great Deku Tree couldn't."

The green-haired girl pulled the blonde boy through another hollow; the two and their fairies then ended up in a section of forest with a sizable body of water in the center, its depths going to unknown fathoms. Link found himself drawn towards it, but he couldn't examine it further as Saria pulled him along. They went through the Lost Woods, on paths Link didn't even know existed. The boy and girl rushed through the woodland, passing areas he recognized and those he had never seen. Then, upon passing through another tree hollow, Link and Navi were greeted with what appeared to be raised sections of land covered in foliage, ivy leaves coiling and weaving down the sides.

Saria led Link inside and down narrow pathways that almost resembled a maze, hopping over a small pit of water before she took Link up a stone staircase. Leading him up, she took the boy to a small clearing with a single, large stump situated in the center, and a large structure, unlike any Link had seen before towering above them all. "This is a secret place I come to whenever I want to be by myself," Saria spoke, her eyes fixed on Link's. "But it's also a place that's special for other reasons. I suppose you could call it a Sacred Meadow of sorts. Kind of like the Great Deku Tree's."

Link didn't say anything. What was there to say? As much as he hated it, he couldn't change the reality that the Great Deku Tree was dead. Whether by his fault or the one who cursed the great tree in the first place, the tree was still deceased. Yet, despite his grief, the boy found that this place offered a strange sense of serenity. But still, he was curious as to why Saria had brought him here. "Is..." he began, trying to sound out his words. "Is this...where I'm going to have to...stay now?"

Saria shook her head. "No, Link," she answered. "This is where you'll sleep for the night, but as for the future, I can't say for sure."

Link was about to question her, but Navi spoke up for him. "Pardon me, Saria, but could he please have an explanation? What was the Great Deku Tree trying to tell Link?" She flew over to the green-haired girl. "He still knows nothing about anything outside these woods," she whispered. "He told me that, up until the day before yesterday, he had no idea that the outside world looked the way it did before he saw it above the trees."

Saria nodded. While he did so to protect him, the Great Deku Tree confined Link to where he could go in the Lost Woods. Hence, even without a fairy, the boy always found his way back to the Kokiri Forest. But this also limited him in what he could discover and what was kept hidden. And the density and thickness of the trees served him well to keep Link from peering out of the tops to see what lay outside the forest's borders. Nevertheless, the fact that the boy could do so was enough to indicate that things were changing and that something beyond anyone's control was again put into motion.

"Link," Saria said, getting the boy's attention from his period of self-loathing and guilt. "The Great Deku Tree meant to tell you this, but he never got the chance to," she knew it was inevitable, but her heart ached when she saw the boy wince at her words. "But before he...left this world, he told me the story."

Link tilted his head. "What story?" he questioned.

"The story of the Triforce," Saria told him. A period of silence fell over the entire meadow, the very mention of the golden enigma giving everything pause. She then went to the stump and sat down, urging Link to sit closer to her. The boy sat cross-legged before her on the grass. "I'll tell you everything as the Great Deku Tree told me," she said. "Before the Kokiri Forest, before the Lost Woods, before there was even the first tree on the surface of the world, there was nothing but the outer darkness and chaos." she began.

Link nodded in acknowledgment. And as she spoke, the boy found the mighty tree's voice coming to mind, overtaking his friend's as she told the account given to her.

"But then, things changed."

In her place spoke the Great Deku Tree, Saria also reflecting on her father's words. "Suddenly, three Divine Beings out of Space and Time descended into the chaos and gave it shape. These three were Goddesses of Old, belonging to no record, for they were here in the beginning. And before even that," the Great Deku Tree explained to Saria, the girl's account allowing Link to imagine the tree speaking to him. "They saw the formed but lifeless world and descended from high to give it shape and life."

Link did not know what a world without the Lost Woods or even a forest would be like, yet Link found his mind wandering to the image of a black abyss, swirling and endlessly tumbling within and into itself. Whether anything lived in this abyss, he didn't know, but suddenly, within the all-encompassing darkness, a single drop of liquid fell from above. What this was, and if it indeed occurred this way, Link knew not, but his young-minded imagination filled in the blanks of Saria's tale. The droplet met with a solid object and began to spread throughout the shape. It trailed down, defining its edges and curves, the liquid traveling and splintering into various directions until a full-fledged form was created, hanging in the abyss—a sphere floating in an endless sea of black. Then, in three blinding flashes, "they" appeared; three figures made their presence known to the lifeless world below their gaze.

"These three Divine Sisters were," the Great Deku Tree's voice gave each of them the respect and reservation he saw due to them. "Din, the Goddess of Power," her name made Link ponder and envision loud, boisterous noise, violent eruptions, and thunder. And yet, there was a regality, a sense that the name didn't belong to a mindless, destructive force. "Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom," Link found that Her name was easier on his sense of fear and his mind, images of smooth, flowing things going through his head. Water, the wind, the sky, clouds, something that went by without issue unless provoked. "And Farore, the Goddess of Courage." She was the one that Link found himself at ease with the most. Her name was inviting and bore a naturalness to its sound, a familiar warmth he didn't know but recognized.

"They descended onto the world and began their work," Link envisioned these three figures coming to the barren wasteland and crafting material from nothing, even if his imagination presented him with the image of giant hands quite literally shaping the earth. "Din, with her flaming arms, cultivated the ground we stand on and created rock and soil," the sight of a giant, flaming hand, feminine but powerful, crushing stone and bending the foundation of the once formless landscape to Her will flooded Link's mind. And, at that moment, he became seized with fear. "But she provided flatter places so all life would love the land, as the land was made for those that would come to be."

Those that would come to be? Link didn't know what that meant, but Navi urged him to listen before asking either her or Saria to explain.

"Nayru produced the skies and the waters, the two forever reflecting in one another. And with the sky and water came the laws of the world that maintain its stability and function. Without this, the work of the other two would have no meaning or order."

Nayru sounded a little persnickety, Link thought. Nevertheless, he continued to listen. He thought of the color blue, the same as the skies and waters she supposedly created. Long, flowing hair, and fair skin, yet not entirely human in appearance.

"And Farore, with her vivid imagination and rich soul, breathed life into the very ground, and from it arose every living creature. But she made these creatures to uphold and obey the laws set into motion on the world they now inhabited."

Again, the name "Farore" filled Link with a familiar warmth. He liked the last of them even if he knew nothing about them. She sounded, even if she was as old as the world itself, young and perhaps with a sense of humor to match.

"Once they saw the fruit of their labors, they ascended to the heavens, but the Goddesses left a parting gift to the creations they left below."

Upon the newly created world, Link envisioned dozens, perhaps hundreds of creatures, great and small, some that looked like him while others were utterly unnatural, looking up at the skies as the Three left them. They all converged into one single beam of light before they vanished altogether. But, in their departure, something was given to those despondent over the Goddesses leaving. And a relic that would tie them to the Divine forever.

A shimmering set of golden triangles, perfectly aligned in a larger triangle composed of the three crests, each handcrafted by their respective Goddess. They floated before the creations of the Divine, and all who saw the crests adored and loved them as they did their makers.

"What they left behind is what the man in black seeks. The Link to the Gods, the Power of Gold, the Triforce," The Great Deku Tree's voice died down, Saria's taking its place. Now Link found himself back in the meadow, the green-haired girl sitting before him on the stump. "You can find it in an area called the Sacred Realm, but The Great Deku Tree never told me much else," she then gestured to the building towering above her and Link. "He said this place once held the Key to the Sacred Realm, but that Key's been removed, and thus, this place is little more than ruins now."

"Key?" Link questioned.

Saria nodded. "But... that's something you'll probably have to wait a while on," she said. Link didn't understand what she meant. "I'm sorry, Link," she continued. "But the Great Deku Tree only told me so much. I don't think he planned on things like this happening so soon," she sighed. "He didn't want me to get too involved, I think. And to keep you from finding out as long as he could."

Link averted his eyes for a moment before looking back at his friend. "Saria," he said. "What's going on? Really?"

The green-haired girl closed her eyes as if contemplating something of great importance. Then, after a few short moments, she spoke again, opening her eyes to look into Link's. "I'll say in the morning," she said. "Do you remember what the Great Deku Tree told you? About the castle? And the Princess?"

Link nodded. That's right, he thought. The boy had forgotten all about the castle, and the Princess mentioned earlier in his grieving. It was then that it all came back to him. Even in his death throes, the Great Deku Tree presented Link with the task of taking the green stone given to him to the Princess. But just what was this stone? Saria had taken it when they left the boy's house, the object having surrendered ownership to him. Though, she was allowed to touch it if necessary.

"This is the Kokiri Emerald," Saria explained to him. "The Great Deku Tree never mentioned how it came to be, but it's been in his possession for a long time," she told her friend. "He told me that it's one of three stones needed to open the Door to the Sacred Realm," she said to the boy. "But you can't open the Sacred Realm without the Key. And, to get that Key, you have to open the Door. And to open that Door, you need the Three Spiritual Stones."

Navi was taking in Saria's words as well. While she was knowledgeable in the world's creatures, such matters lay out her field of expertise. As with Link, this was all new to her. "And where would these stones be?" the pale-blue fairy questioned.

"The Great Deku Tree told me that one is with the Rock People of the Mountains of Death," the girl said. "While the Water Dwellers of the Rivers and Oceans hold the other. Either way, you'll need them to open the Door to the Sacred Realm,"

"So the one who cursed the Great Deku Tree would set his sights on the other two," Navi said.

"Exactly," Sara agreed. She then turned her attention to Link, who appeared to be piecing together and absorbing everything he had just heard. Indeed, it was a lot, both what he heard from the Great Deku Tree and Saria, but the events that took place prior had worn the boy down to exhaustion. "But we can discuss and prepare for that later. For now, you need sleep."

"But..."

"No, you need sleep. Look at yourself."

Link didn't need a reminder that he looked rough but wanted more. He NEEDED more. Still, Link found it increasingly difficult to deny his exhausted body any further rest. "But..."

"We can talk more in the morning," Saria said. "Find a place anywhere," she told her friend, settling in the shaded area underneath the broken stairway of the structure in the forest. "Goodnight."

As Saria and her fairy settled in, Link sighed and laid back on the grass. There was so much that he wished to ask. Just what was this about Goddesses and creating the world? And of this Triforce? Why does that shadowy figure want it so badly?

And even more, did he have to curse the Great Deku Tree to get what he wanted? Then again, Link wasn't one to talk. After all, he's the one who stupidly believed what that man told him. Even if the Great Deku Tree was correct in that the Gohma Queen would've found him eventually, Link still set her right in the tree's backyard! The Gohma would've hatched, but it would've given him time to practice with his newly acquired sword, ask more questions, and be a hero for the Great Deku Tree and everyone.

If only he had set the egg far away from the Kokiri's dwelling, as far as he could've gotten. He could only go so far into the Lost Woods without a fairy, but he never entirely lost his way. He could've done something different, Link thought. He could've given himself more time to prepare, given the Great Deku Tree more time. He could've given everything more time.

"Time…"

"What was that?" Navi questioned the boy.

"N-Nothing." Link answered, quickly tightening his lips once again. He then rolled over to his side, trying to make it appear like he was falling asleep.

"Ok, fine. I won't pry," the fairy said. "But I would like to ask you something," Navi admitted to Link. "You said that man told you the egg was a seed, right?" To her surprise, she feared she had pushed too far, but Link answered. With a nod, but it was an acknowledgment nonetheless. "Well, what kind of seed was it?"

Link bit his lip; he knew that this would eventually come up. But how would he answer? "He said," the boy began. "He said that it would…grant you a wish. If you planted it."

Navi scowled. Even if Link should've known better than to take things from strangers, that was still a horrible thing to do! If that Gohma busted out, the whole forest would've been doomed! And the other children! This darkly-clad fiend honestly had no regard for life.

Despite her rising anger, she calmed herself, remembering her charge was more important. Although, Link felt less like an assignment now. "Well, what did you wish for? If I can ask?"

Link was quiet for a few moments. "A fairy." He finally answered.

Navi felt her heart sink. Giving the boy that egg under such a false premise was genuinely despicable. And as she showed up the next day, he would believe it! Still, it puzzled her. "Why a fairy?" She asked.

"Because I didn't have one." Link responded.

Navi was quiet at first but ultimately had to ask. "Do you regret it?" Link whirled around and looked at her, shocked. "No! I mean, of course, you regret that!" Navi clarified. "What I meant was, do you regret wishing for a fairy? Because, well, I'm here."

Link pondered this for some time, as a few moments passed before he finally answered the fairy. "That…" he began, Navi anxious about what he would say. But, to her surprise, her fears were unfounded. "I don't regret that," Link said. "I… don't regret wishing for you."

"Me?" Navi asked.

"Yeah," Link said. "You're…" he paused. "A little chatty," he said. "And a little bossy," he continued. Navi hoped there was some good he saw in her. She wasn't THAT chatty or bossy! Right? "But… you're my fairy," the boy concluded. "The Great Deku Tree gave you to me. So, you're my fairy."

"I'm my own person, you know," Navi retorted, crossing her arms. "Still, it's nice that you accept me as your fairy," she told him. "Although, as your fairy, I'd advise that you go and get yourself some sleep," she urged. "We don't know what tomorrow will bring."

Link didn't want to admit it, but it was true. There was nothing else he could do but sleep, so he tried to tune out the world around him and not focus on the thoughts plaguing his mind. How successful he would be had yet to be seen, but steadily, he found his eyelids fluttering. As time passed, the boy grew increasingly tired, the world blurring in and out of his vision. Finally, despite himself, his young body could stand his exhaustion no more and fell, plunging into the soft, inviting darkness that encompassed Link's entire consciousness in its shroud.

Although, this period of unconsciousness didn't last long. Sometime later, Navi began stirring in her sleep and found that the boy she was sleeping next to wasn't by her side. Her eyes searched around, finding a slumbering Saria and Compa, but no Link. Then, she found him standing in front of the stairway leading up to the meadow, back to her, and his cap lightly flowing in the wind.

"Link?" Navi asked, flying over to the boy. "What are you doing up? It's not morning yet."

The boy didn't say anything. Navi flew past him to look at his face, surprised at what she found. There was a sense of determination but also cracks in his brave face. His lip trembled, and his brows furrowed, but his eyes appeared uncertain. Navi could easily see what he was going to do and immediately made her voice heard.

"No way, absolutely not!" She said, shaking her head. "Saria said to wait until morning!"

Link heard her, but he couldn't wait any longer. Shouldn't he go now if he was supposed to be a hero? What was stopping him from going out and finding the Princess herself? Besides, he owed the Great Deku Tree that much.

"I know how you feel; I get it," Navi told the boy. "But you can't just go; it's dangerous to roam alone! Not to mention, you don't know what you'll face out there!"

That was why Navi was here, right? Besides, if time was of the essence, the sooner they got going, the better, right? At least, that was Link's line of thinking.

"Well, what are you going to do?" Navi questioned. "You don't have any food or water, and you certainly don't have anything to carry them in."

Right, Link didn't think about that. Curses. Still, he had to get going soon. He HAD to. For any number of reasons, whether it be the Great Deku Tree's request, Saria's tale, or the thought of the man in black, it didn't matter. Link just knew he had to go and go now. He had to find the Princess. He had to make this right.

"She's right, you know," Link turned around to see Saria standing right behind him. "You won't travel far on an empty stomach." Link opened his mouth to speak, but Saria shook her head. "I know what you want to do," she said. Link was about to ask for a chance to explain himself, but she shook her head before he could start. "Don't bother denying it. You want to go," the green-haired girl said.

Link was about to protest but was stunned at his received answer.

"And…I know that I have to let you go."

He waited outside the tree hollow for her, not daring to set foot back in the Kokiri Forest. Finally, after a short time of waiting, Saria returned with some necessities Link would need. In her arms were two bottles of water, some apples, and, to Link's surprise and delight, a jar of pickled radishes. "I had one saved from the last harvest, but I think you'll need it more," she then placed all of these things in a small sack that she gave to Link. Link then attached the bag to his back by his baldric underneath his shield.

"I knew this day would come," Saria said. "I knew, one day or another, you would leave this place, Link," she lowered her head. "Mido's wrong about you in so many ways, but you're indeed different," she told the blonde boy. "You're different from me and the others."

Link nodded, acknowledging her words. Yes, it hurt him, but he couldn't deny it. After all, he had been The Boy without a Fairy since he first sprouted, so he was already an oddity among the other children. And bringing a Gohma egg into their living area gave them a reason to hate him. Perhaps Saria too.

"But," Saria began speaking again, catching Link's attention. "I don't care about that," she said. "I never cared about that," she then raised her head to face Link, the boy spotting the beginnings of tears in her bright, blue eyes. "Because you and I are friends, no matter what!" She took the boy's hands in her own. "I knew this day would come, but that made me hate it even more! I don't want you to leave, Link! I don't!" she cried, but she stopped herself, Link holding onto her trembling form. "But...it looks like I don't get a say in the matter," she whimpered. "You have to go," she whispered, "The Cycle demands that you come out into the world now." She didn't let Link hear her.

Link's chest ached at seeing his best friend in tears, and his emotions began stirring from within. But before he could say or do anything, Saria took him by the hand and led him through a hollow in front of them, leading them to a place Link had never seen before. A long bridge lay before them that led to another tree hollow, the interior dark and not allowing any light to seep through.

"This path leads to the outside world," Saria told Link. "Go through here, and you'll enter the land of Hyrule. The Princess lives at the castle, so head there," Link nodded in reply. "Navi," the green-haired girl said. "Be sure to look out for him. He might get in over his head, so you'll need to pull him out."

The fairy grinned. "I suspect the boy will do just that," Link then gasped, offended. "What? I'm speaking the truth." the boy scowled, but his face didn't remain the same for long upon seeing Saria.

"I don't know what'll happen from now on," she said. She could see Link was trying to contain himself but steadily losing control. "I don't know if you'll ever come back," she continued, her voice getting more and more choked up. "But, even if no one else thinks so, you're always welcome here in the forest and my secret place."

Link nodded, a small tear trailing down his cheek.

"But, before you go," Saria reached into her pocket and pulled out a woodwind instrument. "I meant to give you this earlier, but the Great Deku Tree called you before I could finish it." the instrument was a simple, palish-brown ocarina, and she gently put it in Link's hands.

The boy gazed at the instrument before putting it in his pocket. "Th-Thank you," she told Saria.

She nodded in reply. The two children and their fairies gazed into each other's eyes before they embraced tightly, tears falling onto the other's shoulders. Then, after a short while, Saria eventually loosened her grip, signaling to Link that it was time.

"I won't forget you." Link told her.

"Neither will I," she answered.

Link stepped back, tears clouding his vision. True, he wanted to do this, he had to do this, but now that the moment had come, he felt himself hesitating. He looked into Saria's eyes, engraining the image of the girl in his mind. Then, with a sniffle, he turned and ran down the bridge, leaving the green-haired girl and her fairy alone on the bridge in the silent forest that would soon welcome the dawn, just as her friend would quickly receive the outside world.