My name is Saria.

And I've got quite a story to tell. But first let me tell you more about myself or absolutely nothing I say will make sense.

I am a Kokiri child, born in the forest with the Great Deku Tree to watch over me, in the land of Hyrule. There couldn't have been more than eight Kokiri, living there in the forest. Mido, Fado, me, etc.

And Link.

And until recently, I thought that was all I was. I mean, I knew that I was more in touch with the Forest Spirits than the others, but if you saw me, you wouldn't say that there was anything different about me. Just an average child. The Kokiri never fully grow up. So I would look like a child for the rest of my life.

But I remember the day everything changed. I was running to Link's tree house. Link is my best friend. And who would you share such exciting news with besides your best friend?

I was lucky, and caught him just as he was leaving. "Hey, Link-" I began, but then noticed the fairy following him. "Wow, you finally got a fairy partner?" I exclaimed. "That's great!"

You see, out of all of us, Link is the only one that doesn't have a fairy to protect him.

Not that he needs it.

"She said that the Great Deku Tree summoned us," he answered with a shrug. He grinned a wicked grin. "We're off to save Hyrule!"

"Wow!" I cried. I wished I could go too. But you don't mess with the Great Deku Tree. Especially if you're only ten years old, which we all were. The Great Deku Tree was like an adult to us. We didn't dare argue with it. Not that kids don't argue with the adults, but, I don't know, the Tree had more power than any adult Hylian. We respected it. "That's a great honor," I added. "I'll wait here for you."

"Okay." That said, he took off.

Waiting got boring, though, and I used the Forest Spirits' help to watch him travel the small village. He talked to all of my friends (though not really his friends . . . thanks to Mido), and went to the training grounds. I had spent hours there, reading the signs with fascination. But I didn't dare take the Kokiri Sword. Well, actually, I did, but that’s another story. Let's just say I got in trouble for that.

Link, however, after dodging the boulders, and going around in circles a few times (that boy has no mathematical skills sometimes), he finally found the Kokiri Sword. But nothing bad happened to him. I sulked a little at that, but soon gave up. Link was now headed to the shop to buy a shield, I gathered. Forty rupees! Not exactly a bargain deal. But for some reason, there are always rupees in bushes and under rocks. He found enough and bought a shield.

Now, Mido had been blocking the way to the Great Deku Tree. As "Leader" of the village, he figured it was his duty to stand around and look important. And act important. And for some reason, which I can't guess, he doesn't like Link.

It can't be because of me . . . nah.

Mido's just weird. He can be a real freak sometimes.

I didn’t say that . . .

Mido saw that Link now had a sword and shield, and was forced to let him through. Link, ignoring Mido's glaring, hurried toward the Great Deku Tree.

I was really beginning to get annoyed with Mido. What was his problem, anyway? And he was always following me around . . . I was prepared to go and knock him over the head, but luckily, I figured that that wouldn't do any good. I wasn't the smartest ten year-old, but I was certainly the most outspoken with my opinions, that’s for sure. And I was all for the direct approach, usually. But back to that day.

I'm not going to narrate Link's every move, and my vision began to get fuzzy after a while. I was still young, and my skills weren't that great at using the Forest Spirits as my allies. Or for anything, for that matter. I soon broke contact. But I could still feel Link's fears as though they were my own. I got a sudden flash--- a picture of a giant spider . . . no, arachnid. Queen Ghoma! I couldn't help gasping out loud. This wasn't just some dumb game anymore. This was serious.

But that was all I was able to see. I could still catch flashes, when Link was hurt, and I felt the pain like it was my own.

That's one of the cool things about this Forest Spirit telepathy-type thing. You don't only see the person, it's like you are them. Like you are in their bodies, but have no control. Pretty cool.

But it is also one of the worst things. I felt Link's agony as well as triumph. I could feel it every time he was hit. I certainly don't know how he survived it, being there for real.

Later I would learn that there was another way to watch, like you were following the person. It’s not as cool, in my opinion, but sometimes more useful, as I found seven years later. But, once again, I jumped ahead of myself (actually, if you take that literally, it’s pretty hard to do ^_^). Back to that day. The day that started it all.

I caught a flash of Ghoma falling down dead. Link had defeated her! He was alive!

And so was I. I honestly didn't know what would have happened if he had died while I was linked to him.

Not something I wanted to experiment with. Luckily, and unluckily, it only covered a certain distance.

Then, I saw the Great Deku Tree talking to him again. He/she/it was telling him to leave! To leave the forest!

My best friend!

At ten years old, that would normally have been the end of the world for me. But now that I think about it, I must have already started growing up, at least emotionally. In time, I knew could accept it. I knew it was unavoidable.

But it still made me mad.

I leaped up with a start. I noticed all of the Kokiri, including Mido, watching me curiously. Ignoring their stares, I fled to my tree house. I was still on an adrenaline high from seeing--no, being--Link defeating the monsters. I could feel my head pounding. I was going to explode! Link was leaving! My best friend . . . gone.

No, not yet, he wasn't.

I was suddenly filled with determination. I reached into my trunk and pulled out one of my ocarinas. My favorite one, the "Fairy Ocarina." It was incredibly special. There's a long story behind that. Not as long as this one. But I wasn’t thinking about that then.

With my mouth set in a grim line, I headed for the bridge.