The Legend of Zelda: Zelda's Honor

Chapter 11 - Preparations

Link looked on worriedly as Impa gently held him back away from the bed. The doctor was looking at the Kokiri intently, feeling her pulse, placing a hand on her forehead and checking other vitals. Saria had taken a turn for the worse that day. The doctor confined her to the bed, not that he had to since she hadn't the strength to move much. It wasn't until she fell out of bed due to lack of muscle strength did they call for the village doctor that previous evening.

Saria's breathing was weak and her skin sallow. When Link brought in some food for her on a tray she merely turned away, the thought of food simply unsettled her stomach. As the doctor continued his examination with little protest from the Kokiri, Zelda and Link exchanged knowing looks. Is this what happens when Kokiri are ripped from their forest? Do they slowly wither and die? Zelda looked away when a tear started crystallizing at the edge of his eyes. She granted him the serenity to cry in peace without someone staring at him.

 With a seasoned sigh the doctor rose up and turned towards Talon and Impa, the other two adults in the room, and simply shook his head. As he walked out of the room, Impa motioned for Talon and Malon to follow suit. Malon wanted to protest and stay in the room with Link but was shushed out into the hallway. She lurched back to get one last glance into the room at Link; all she could see was him staring at his friend slowly dying in the bed before the door closed.

Link didn't bother asking why Zelda elected to stay behind, he was glad at least one other friend chose to stay with him in Saria's time of need. Zelda was sitting on a stool next to Saria's bedside; she adjusted the wick in the lamp on the nightstand so it gave off a little less light. The Kokiri needed as much rest as she could get. The two waited in silence as the last rays of dusk left the room, leaving them in near darkness as the lamp became the sole source of light.

"I always pretended I was one of them." Link said abruptly, Zelda said nothing but turned to listen to him, "Playing through the forest, the trees, the grass, all of our fairies enacting out great, epic battles or just simply played sticks. There was a time that I was one of them."

"Link," Zelda's heart ached for her friend, "a part of you will always be one of them."

Link nodded absently, "She and I would always sit upon my bed in the tree house and talk about what it would be like to grow older. We wondered if our arms would grow longer than our legs; if we would be as tall as the trees themselves." He smiled at his reminiscing.

"Link..."Zelda began.

He shook his head cutting her off, "But it was I who started getting older." He spoke through gritted teeth, "I started to tower over each of them by almost a head. It was then that I knew I was different. Navi would always tell me otherwise; I couldn't possibly be anything but a Kokiri. She was just saving me the pain of finding out before my time." He placed a hand to his face covering his eyes. "Oh Navi...I have failed you. I couldn't find you."

Zelda rose from the stool and went over to comfort her friend as a sob racked his frame. She embraced him with a hug which he warmly accepted. He held her tight, drinking in her scent of roses and ivy. At length, they parted and he stared into the lamplight before continuing.

"That's not the worse part Zelda," he said gravely, "I no longer have the Triforce of Courage. I know this now."

"Link, I don't understand." She truly didn't. "Is this...a part of the stories you've told me?"

"Yes Zelda! Please believe me! I did go to the future! The Triforce was split. You had a piece, I had a piece and Ganondorf had a piece." Zelda merely hung a smile on her face despite not feeling any reason to smile. Link surged onward, "I tried to prove it to myself that I still had the Triforce of Courage in my body by driving out the Dodongos for the Gorons, by helping the Zoras with Lord Jabu Jabu and his illness, by sneaking through the Gerudo camp undetected and into the Spirit Temple to warn Nabooru of going any further because of the witches. I did all those things. Now I know why," he took a shuddering breath, "because I had done all those things before. There was nothing to be courageous about since I knew I could do all those things."