Zelda Universe Forums - View Single Post - ZUCWR III

LEA · #2 (**permalink**) [ ] 05-20-2008, 11:07 AM

Wow, no one has submitted yet? Doesn't this thing close on Thursday? ^^; Anyway, I guess I'll be the first to post. I hope this is in keeping with all of the rules. If not, I may or may not get a chance to fix it before Thursday.

Quote:

The Parting Gift
Taken from The Ocarina of Time (the scene where Link leaves the Forest just after receiving the Kokiri's Emerald from the Deku Tree)
Rating: E (for everyone, haha)

The Great Deku Tree was dead.

Link ran, chased by shouted accusations of murder. Logically—at least in the eyes of the arrogant Mido—the death of the Kokiri’s guardian spirit was the fault of the fairy-less boy who had been the last to visit the tree. Link was nothing short of a freak to the self-proclaimed Kokiri leader, and the ceaseless torment Mido inflicted upon him rose afresh in Link’s mind as he fled the only home he had ever known. Rather, he appeared to the rest of the Kokiri to be fleeing in guilt, when in fact he was set on a course to save Hyrule, according to the Deku Tree’s dying words.

Navi, his newly acquired fairy companion, brushed his ear and attempted an offer of comfort. “Don’t listen to Mido. He doesn’t know anything—none of them do. You and I both know the Deku Tree was already doomed before I brought you to him.”

Link kept his eyes focused ahead of him, locked on the rapidly approaching exit to the outside world. He muttered a soft, “I know.”

The weight of the Kokiri’s Emerald resting concealed within his clothing pressed against his chest. It felt like an entire moon, a burden much heavier than its physical size suggested. Thoughts of goddesses, unknown powers, and a man in black armor seeking to destroy swirled inside Link’s head and threatened to overwhelm him. He had been tossed into the swift current of destiny without much of a choice—either he did as the Deku Tree bid or Hyrule would be consumed by the dark desert man’s greed.

The castle. He had to get to the castle—more importantly, the princess. How exactly he was supposed to secure an audience with a member of the royal family, Link had no idea. He was running blind, stumbling along without a shred of a plan.

The forest’s exit loomed ahead, and without a second thought, Link hurtled through, glad to at last be rid of Mido’s incessant cries for justice. Link’s feet pounded against the wooden bridge connecting the Kokiri’s sanctuary to Hyrule Field, the echo masking the lilting animal calls. Focused as he was, he almost didn’t see her. He ran halfway across the bridge before her gentle yet clear voice stopped him.

“You’re leaving, aren’t you?”

Skidding to a halt, Link whirled around to face Saria. Their eyes met in silence. The sight of her hair—its hue matching that of the forest leaves—and the way it framed her face, accenting her equally stunning eyes, momentarily robbed Link of the ability to respond to her question. Those same eyes that were always imbued with a playful light were now looking at him sadly. Or was there a hint of regret in them, too? Link mentally kicked himself. Wishful thinking.

Saria was staring at him expectantly now, waiting for any sort of answer. Link snapped out of his thoughts and dipped his head. “Yes, I am.”

She leaned against the ropes supporting the bridge, a soft sigh escaping her lips. Her eyes trailed away from him and down to the wooden planks at her feet. “I always knew you would leave the forest someday.” In a faint whisper, she added, “I just didn’t think this day would come so soon.”

Although hesitant, Link moved closer to her. “Saria…I have to go…”

She closed her eyes, refusing for the moment to look at him. “I know. That…doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

Blinking in surprise, Link gazed at her. The tremor in her voice squelched any response he had prepared.

Saria slowly opened her eyes and turned toward him, her hands outstretched. Link thought at first that she was about to beg him to stay. And had she done just that, he was half-inclined to oblige her. What did it matter to him what happened to the rest of Hyrule? The Kokiri could shelter in the forest. The Deku Tree had been in the thralls of a diseased delirium—there was nothing a boy like Link could do to save the world.

“I want you to have this ocarina.”

Link once again pulled himself out of his reverie and looked down at her hands. They were not open and empty in preparation for pleading. Instead, they held a tiny ocarina, its surface a polished brown. There were no distinguishable markings, nothing to denote the sentiment in which Link was supposed to receive this gift. He briefly wished she had carved “Love, Saria” on the instrument’s back. But no, there was nothing.

She inched the gift closer to him. “I want you to have it so that when you play it, you’ll remember the forest. And me.”

Link’s heart skipped a beat. She wanted him to remember her specifically. That was something, at least. He gently took the ocarina from her and ran his fingers over the holes, familiarizing himself with their position. While he did have a little experience playing ocarinas, he did not by any stretch of the imagination consider himself particularly good. But that didn’t matter—it was enough that Saria wanted to present him with a parting memento.

“Thank you,” he said. “I’ll take very good care of it.” With a careful tenderness, he slipped the ocarina into his tunic. It softly clinked against the Spiritual Stone, reminding him of the Deku Tree’s directive. He knew he had to leave her. There was no escaping the fact.

“We’ll always be friends, won’t we?”

Link jerked his head up and met Saria’s eyes. The question was filled with…longing, perhaps? Why she was so concerned about staying friends with him in particular was beyond Link’s understanding. She certainly had many other friends among the Kokiri. But there was genuine care in her voice, and it made Link’s hopes soar. Yes! I’ll be your friend and more, if you want. Just tell me to stay, and I won’t go!

He wanted to shout the declaration at her, but instead, he could only bring himself to nod and say, “Of course, we’ll always be friends, Saria. I won’t ever forget you. I promise.”

A smile broke across her face for the first time during the conversation—a smile that further dispelled Link’s willpower. “I won’t ever forget you, either. I know we’ll see each other again someday.”

He wanted to run to her and wrap her in a hug. She reached her hands out and gently grasped his. The goddesses themselves were in her smile, her eyes, her hair, her touch. Thoughts of his mission plummeted from his mind. There was only her and no one else.

“Link,” she whispered, “I know you have to go. Just remember me. Hyrule is a big place, and it will probably be easy to forget the forest at times. But you can always come back here.”

Link stared at her in silence, struggling against his innate desire to remain in the forest with her. She was right. He could not disappoint the Deku Tree, nor could Link allow him to have died in vain. Without a word, he slipped his hands from hers and took a tentative step backward. Then another step. He tried to communicate to her through his eyes that he cared just as much, if not more, for her as she did for him. Gathering every ounce of his willpower, Link suddenly turned and fled to the outside world and didn’t look back. Despite the Emerald’s cold pressure against his chest, he did not care at the moment about the fate of Hyrule.

Saria alone dominated his thoughts.