Saria: Chapter Three

Breena finally caught up to her Kokiri friend and shouted her name, “Saria! Are you alright!”
Saria wiped a tear then said, “I will be.” Breena, having such a strong bond with Saria, instantly knew what was wrong.
“The owl is right, the Deku Tree will come back, and Link will return as well. Everything will be alright.” Breena assured, “And once they come back, the others will be happy again!”
Saria gave a weak smile and said, “Thank you Breena, I’m sure you’re right.” She then pulled herself up and climbed onto the stump letting her legs swing along the side of the bark.
The Ocarina appeared in her hands and in a few hesitant seconds, Saria began to play her song for the forest, though it was a bit slower than usual. She got a reaction from the forest as the tune began to grow and become more uplifting with each note of that song.
The Skull Kid felt the power in the song, and began to sway at its majestic beat, and when the tree he was standing on began to sway with the song, the Skull Kid lost his footing and fell onto the forest ground in front of where Saria was playing.
The girl stopped playing in alarm and asked the kid if he was alright. The Skull Kid picked himself up as he was saying, “Of course… I’m fine.” He had a slight attitude in his voice but it broke midway through the reply. Saria looked at the boy with kind eyes, and could tell that he was nervous or at the very least, embarrassed at falling from the sky.
“You play… pretty.” He said, putting his hands behind his back. Saria gave a blank look back at the child then smiled sweetly. “Thank you, I made this song and this ocarina myself.” She accepted the compliment from the strange boy, it made her feel a bit better.
“You did well with it.” Skull Kid said becoming a little less shy, “With both… I mean.”
An awkward moment passed for a moment, and then Skull Kid decided it was time to leave. When he turned around to walk away Saria asked, “Hey! Where are you going? You didn’t even tell me your name!” The Skull Kid stopped then turned around, Saria started off by introducing herself.
“And this is Breena. She’s my fairy.” Saria continued making sure her fairy didn’t feel left out.
“I’m over here!”Breena shouted to the kid, from atop Saria’s shoulder.
“A fairy?” He asked taking a few quick steps forward to get a better look. Breena felt upset at how he said ‘A fairy’ and so replied in a harsh tone, “Yes, a fairy. I’m just sitting here. What? Didn’t notice me?”
“It’s ok Breena, I’m sure he didn’t mean to make you mad.” Saria said to her friend, then addressed Skull Kid, “I am a Kokiri, a forest child, we each have our own fairy friend to help guide us in life.” Saria explained then realized she still didn’t know his name, “So then what was your name?”
“I guess I’m just… Skull Kid.” He stated nervously.
“Well, Skull Kid, would you like to listen to me play?” Saria asked raising her ocarina a bit.
The Skull Kid excitedly nodded his head, so quick actually, that he almost had his hat fall off. With that approval Saria played for the Skull Kid, letting this chance encounter hide her from her worries and had the song happy again. When the music began, the Skull Kid danced and danced, hopping from one foot to the other as the tune carried its rhythmic pattern.
While he danced, he decided to spin and his flute fell out onto the lush grass. The flute was just a simple grey piece of wood that had been hollowed out and given the holes so it could play music. Saria stopped and noticed the flute while Skull Kid dropped down to quickly pick it up.
“Do you play?” Saria asked, Skull Kid gave a Sheepish smile and said, “I try…”
“Why don’t you play with me?” Saria offered. Skull Kid looked at his flute in both his hands and put it up to his lips in response. He began to play discord of notes that made the ground shudder. He hopped from one foot to the other as he played.
When he finally did stop he looked at Saria with bright, expecting eyes waiting for Saria’s take on the piece.
“It was… different… Is that the only one you know?” Saria asked, trying not to upset the poor boy.
Skull Kid looked down and his arm fell to his side with the flute. “I’m not that good am I?”
Breena hovered near the kid and said, “Nothing some practice can’t fix.” She tried to make the words as optimistic as she could but the boy began to shake.
“The other Skull Kids laugh at my music.” He said, bringing the brim of his hat down. “They don’t like me at all.” Now there were some sobs in his voice, and he was shaking quite a bit.
“No, no don’t cry.” Saria said as a mother would, “It’s ok. Would you like me to teach you my song?” The Skull Kid turned and looked into Saria’s blue eyes and her smile and became visibly calmer.
Once the boy finally calmed down, Saria began her first lesson and that was to get the Skull Kid familiar with the sounds of each note that he would play. She had him try a different note at a time so that he got an idea as to what each sound was.
After a few hours of practice Saria decided it was it for the day. The Sun had begun to set with the call of the forest birds began to die.
Saria said her goodbyes with the Skull Kid and listened to him continue to practice the different notes in the Forest Meadow. Breena flew excitedly around Saria chiming all the time.
“You’re a great teacher!” She kept saying, “He already knows the notes!”
“It’s not that hard Breena,” Saria said modestly, “He just caught on quickly.”
Breena kept giving Saria compliments all the way back to the village, to each of which Saria tried to deny, but it did feel good to be around that Skull Kid. He was lonely for sure, she knew, and giving him something to learn was helping out everyone quite a bit.
When Saria got back to the village, the Kokiri children had all gathered with the seeds they had been collected all day to perform the ritual, the ritual to honor the passing of the Great Deku Tree. When a forest guardian died, the residents of the forest would gather seeds to place at the foot of the passed diety.
The Kokiri were all silent as they moved to the Great Deku Tree, not even Mido was making a sound, though he did give a long look to Saria when he saw her. Saria had a seed that she found many years ago, and kept rolling it around in her fingers as she walked. The seed was bright green with a brown hat atop, and gave a soft glow when the sun went down. Breena fluttered around with the other Kokiri fairies that formed a group above the children.
When they all finally stopped at the base of the great tree, they each, one by one, placed their seed on the ground. A few of the male Kokiri pulled shut the Deku Tree’s mouth, to prevent creatures from getting in and destroying the guardian. When Saria made it to the tree, she gave the green seed a tight squeeze and let it drop from her hand to the top of the pile, which at this point was almost as tall as her.
Mido walked up to give a seed and looked to Saria with deeply sad eyes. Once the ritual was complete, the Kokiri walked back to their houses where they would sleep and wait for the creation of their new leader.
Saria pulled her covers up when she laid down and closed her eyes. Scenes flashed about her mind from the day, ranging from Link and the death of the Deku Tree to the Skull Kid, whom she could still hear practicing deep in the woods.
At daybreak, Saria woke up and made breakfast and lunch for her and the Skull Kid that day. The Kokiri watched her enter the woods but told themselves it was her way of coping. Even Mido was not too concerned when she left at first. This was the pattern for the next few days: Saria left for the woods and taught Skull Kid how to play the flute all day then would come back and sleep. Each day the Skull Kid improved, and the two would play for the forest.
One morning however Mido waited outside Saria’s door in the morning. Saria walked through and said to Mido, “Good morning.” She was pleasant but still was surprised to see him.
“Good morning Saria. Going to the Lost Woods again?” Mido asked. Saria nodded. “Going there a lot huh?” Again she nodded. Mido went silent for a moment then said in a small voice, “We all miss him too. And… I’m sorry…”
With that he walked away, and even when Saria said his name, continued to walk toward the Great Deku Tree.
Saria’s day continued on the same as usual after that, she made it to the Sacred Forest Meadow and was greeted by the Skull Kid and his flute.
“Saria! Saria! I almost had it!” Skull Kid exclaimed.
“That’s great!” Saria said excited.
The Skull Kid began to play the song and this time did it completely correct and as he played, hopped from one foot to the next.
“I did it Saria!” Skull Kid yelled. Saria smiled brightly then the two began to play her song. When they were done, the Skull Kid thanked Saria and said, “You are my first friend Saria! I hope we stay friends forever!”
The two smiled and Saria wished the same, but the two were disturbed by a loud explosion coming from the middle of the forest.
Skull Kid jumped and yelled, “What was that! I’m going to check it out!” He vanished into the air and appeared on a branch, which he used to jump to the next. Saria looked onward as the boy rushed off to investigate and hoped the Skull Kid wasn’t in danger.