LEGEND OF ZELDA
BOOK VI OF THE HYRULE TERMINUS SAGA
THUNDER PLAINS
CHAPTER V
REALLY LOUSY TIMING
As the duo continued traveling through the Thunder Plains. As they moved, Shadow said, “We need to find shelter.” Saria looked at him and asked, “Why? What's going on?” Shadow pointed to the sky and said, “Sky's starting to darken. Remember what I said about a storm here being deadly? I wasn't exaggerating.” Looking around, he saw a cave just a few meters away. Taking Saria's hand, they rushed to the shelter as fast as they could. As they got close, the weather worsened. The rain came down so hard that it cut their skin. They reached the cave bloody and sore, but otherwise unharmed. Saria looked at her arm and saw the cuts, saying, “This is bad. Link and Sheik are still out there.”
Shadow nodded. “I know. They'll be fine. I'm certain of it.” He took some dressings out of the bag and applied it to Saria's injuries before tending to his own. Once the wounds had been covered, the dark elf foraged the cave, pulling dead roots from their resting place and setting it in the center of the cave. The female watched in winder as he picked up two stones and started striking them together. Sparks flew out and to the ground until the dead roots ignited into a small fire. Blowing on the flame, it spread and grew into a size that warmed the cave.
Saria looked at him and said, “I'm going to go out on a limb and say you've done this before.” Shadow nodded. “Yeah. A few times. I never could settle into the village, so I did a lot of traveling. Often to Skull Mountain. I happen to have friends there. I found one of the Skull Kids lost in the plains, badly wounded. Normally, the nature of this world is to leave them to fend for their own. I couldn't live with myself if I did that. I carried her to this cave and tended her wounds. Storm got worse that night. When the storm lessened, I carried her home. As it turned out, She was the Heir to the Skull Mountain crevice city. They were grateful and I came often to make sure that everyone was doing well.”
Saria smiled. “The dark world Kokiri with a heart filled with light. That's pretty cool.” Shadow shrugged. “Yeah, they think so too. The Skull Kid back in Death Mountain is actually the lifelong friend of the princess I rescued. I don't think she's going to be very happy about us shooting arrows at him.” They both laughed and took a relaxed seated position next to each other. Saria looked at him and asked, “How do you cope being alone all the time? It must be hard.” Chuckling, he replied, “as long as you keep the ones care for in your heart, they never truly leave your life.” Smiling, Saria beamed, “A fighter AND a philosopher. What are the odds?” the duo burst into laughter again.
The female warrior sighed. “So, I guess that means they never really left you.” Shadow smiled. “I've lost a lot of people in my life, but I keep the feeling that even though they are no longer around, they never really left. That's sort of my theory as to how Fairies are born.”
“Looks like we're not as different as we first thought,” The female commented. “That's actually a Kokiri belief. That Fairies are loved ones who choose to stay in the world to help the living.” The two of them looked at the fire for several moments, not saying a thing.
The silence wasn't because they didn't want to say anything. If fact, there was so much they wanted to say to each other. They couldn't believe how much they were alike. No, the silence was because they simply wanted to enjoy each others company and were afraid that words would spoil the precious moment of bonding that they were experiencing. After a while, Shadow asked, “I don't want to throw a wet blanket over this moment, but why are you so nice to me? Sheik keeps me at a distance and Link has a serious attitude problem when it comes to me. Why are you always happy when you see me? It's kind of confusing.”
Saria leaned her head on the dark elf's shoulder and said, “What can I say? There's something about you that brings out the best in me.” Shadow smiled. “I'll remember that the next time you point a spear at me.” he teased. The female gave him a shot in the arm and laughed. “Couldn't resist bringing that up, could you?” They both broke into laughter. She pulled out her slingshot and looked at it for several long moments, as if there was a lot emotion existing in the small, wooden item. She looked at the warrior and said, “Here, Chain. I want you to have this.”
Handing his the slingshot, Shadow asked in surprise, “Your slingshot? This is your most important possession. Why are you...” She put her finger on his lips and said, “Sometimes, there comes a time where you need to give something up. Even if it's the most precious possession.” Shadow looked at the item and the pouch of seeds that went with it. He reached around his neck and pulled out a pendant, saying, “The princess of Skull Mountain gave me this amulet. It is a sign of eternal friendship held between the Skull Kids and those who aid them. I want you to have it.” Saria looked at the beautifully crafted ornament and shook her head. “No. I can't take it.” Smiling with a slight chuckle, the dark elf replied, “I'm not giving you the whole thing. It's a bond charm.”
Giving a slight twist, the pendant separated into two pieces. He took one of the halves from his neck and put it around hers. Saria looked at it and watched as it shifted and altered it's form into the shape it was when together, just on a slightly smaller scale. The warrior said, “It's called the bond that's blind. I don't know why it has that name, but I want you to have the other half.” Saria looked at him and smiled. “The bond that's blind, huh? I'm guessing that since you don't know why it's called that, you also don't know why you feel I should have it.”
Shadow chuckled. “I know the word for why I want you to have it. I just think that the name is a little weird.” Laughing, the female Kokiri retorted, “Really? Why don't you tell me what the reason is?”
“Can't find the words.” the dark elf replied, also laughing. The two sat there looking at each other for several long moments. For some reason that they could not explain, their faces moved ever so slowly closer. As the neared the embrace they longed for, a massive crash of thunder and lightning forced them to snap away from each other in shock.
Looking at each other, they laughed hard at their jumpiness. Saria smiled and said, “Round two?” They moved in to kiss each other, prepared for another crash of thunder. They would not be deterred by the same intruder a second time. Unfortunately, it was a different intruder who stumbled into the duo to ruin the precious moment. An intruder garbed in green of the poorest fashion sense and a red nose, with a voice that grated their nerves unlike anything else that could exist in both worlds. A voice that said, “Finally! Shelter!” a brief second later, followed with a cheerful, “Oh. Hello Mister and Miss Forest Fairy!”
The two elves snapped away from each other in shocked embarrassment. Saria let out a small whimper and said, “Tingle. Why, of all times, did you have to show up now? You have really lousy timing.” Shadow sat with his back turned to the map salesman and his face redder than the creature's nose. Shaking his fist in frustration, he muttered silently, “By the Gods, I'm going to Kill him for that...”
