Ganon's Apprentice (Part Four)

[Vaati]

Golden rays of light streamed through the cracks in the boarded up window.  Link's heavy eyes pried themselves apart, and his mouth was as dry as a bone.  He staggered off the couch, and walked down the hall.  Neither Saria nor Tovia could be found in the lobby area, but Link could hear the sound of conversation and smell the scent of some sort of stew brewing.  He decided that they must be in the kitchen, so he wandered down the hall to the kitchen.  He took his time to notice the changes.  Other than the fact that everything looked very worn down, the hall still looked much the same as it had when he had been there all those years ago.  
   "More tea, hon?" Link heard Tovia's voice.  She sounded a little more cheerful, but still have a bit of a quiver in her voice.
   "No thank you," Saria replied.  "I still can't help but feel sorry for Link.  It seems that he and that Malon person were really good friends."
   "More than that!  I hear that they were married and were expecting a child."
   "Poor Link.  Losing his wife and his unborn child all in the same day."
   Link paused.  A lump started to form in his throat again. He bit his lip and stared at the ceiling as he tried to hold back the tears.
   "Wait, I think I hear something." Saria's voice whispered.
   "Link, hon, is that you?" Tovia called out. Link came into the kitchen and felt a little embarrassed for listening in.
   "Yes.  Yes, it's me." Link said as he tried to swallow the lump in his throat.
   "Glad you're awake, sweetums. Would you like some tea?" Tovia remarked as she held up an ancient-looking china cup.
   "Yes, please." Link said as Tovia handed the cup to him. Taking it tiny sips at a time, he tried to keep his mind off what had happened.
   "So, Tovia," Link began. "Is the Stock Pot Inn still in business?" Just then he'd realized how run-down the place was, and why anyone would really want to stay there.
   "Well, people are still allowed to stay here, but since this town is so abandoned, people rarely come here. So yes, in a way." Tovia explained. A cracking noise of something falling made the three of them jump.
   "That must be the roof again. This old place is falling apart. I better go patch it up before it rains again." Tovia left the kitchen and Link and Saria began to talk.
   "Saria, I've been wondering. What brings you all the way to Termina? I thought you were staying in the Kokiri Forest." Link started.
   Saria sighed sadly.
   "Are you okay?" Link asked, concerned.
   "Yeah, I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me." Saria looked away. Link knew right away that something was wrong, but he decided not to press the matter further.
   The pounding of Tovia hammering nails into the tiles on the roof was loud and percussive.  Every pound made Link and Saria wince.  "Perhaps we should go somewhere a bit quieter," Saria suggested.
   Link took Saria's hand, and led her outside.  Epona, tied to a post outside, whinnied when she saw Link.  "Hey, girl, remember Saria?  Huh?  Remember her, girl?"  Epona nuzzled Saria, and Saria giggled and rubbed Epona's back.  "She likes you," said Link.  Saria blushed.
   "Here," Link said, "I'll help you up."
   "Up?  Are we going for a ride?"
   "Just to find somewhere quiet, away from all the noise, so we can talk." Link patted Epona's mane, "Come on, girl. Let's go." Saria and Link accelerated on Epona. Link stopped the horse and called to Tovia, who was still fixing the roof.
   "We're going for a little ride. We'll be back!" Link shouted over Tovia's pounding. Tovia looked down at them, smiled, nodded, and continued to work. For such an old lady, she sure had a lot of energy.
   "Alright, off we go!" Link and Saria rode off on Epona.
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   Epona's hooves clip-clopped as Saria clung nervously to Link's waist. She had only been on a horse once, and that was when Link was a child, like Saria, and Epona was just a small pony. When riding on her then, it didn't seem as scary, but now, being that Epona was a full-grown horse, they were much higher up. And therefore, had further a ways to fall.
   They arrived at a large oak tree in Termina Field, right near where the path to Milk Road began. Link remembered Romani and Cremia, and how they so much reminded him of Malon. He hoped that they were doing alright.
   Epona slowed down near the tree. Link helped Saria off of the horse and they sat down under the old oak.
   "So," Link began. "Why did you leave the forest?" Link had forgotten that this upset her for some reason and right away regretted asking her. But he had been just itching to find out.
   Saria sighed, "Well, I suppose I'd better tell you." Link sat up against the tree and listened with fascination.
   "The fire from the explosion in Kakariko Village, it spread to the forest and..." tears filled Saria's eyes. "The Great Deku Tree...he tried to save us. He let all the Kokiris hide inside of him. The Kokiris survived, but he didn't..." Saria covered her face with her hands. "And then Ganondorf came. He started capturing the Kokiri and randomly killing them one by one. Just a ZAP! And you're dead! Only a few survived, but they were enslaved. I was believed to be the only one who actually got out of there. I figured I had to run as far away from there as possible."
   "But how did you escape?" Link questioned.
   "While Ganondorf was killing them all, I acted dead. When they dragged all the dead bodies out of the forest, they dragged mine out with all the real corpses. And that's when I escaped."
   Saria leaned her head against Link's shoulder and he stroked her green hair.
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It's getting better, eh? I must say, that my sister Kathryn helped me with parts of the story when I was out of ideas. Thanks Kat!  :)