Upon entering the Cave of Ordeals, Link is unaware of what challenge awaits him. Only a mysterious voice guides him, telling him when he is ready to complete the trials ahead. After facing the first ten floors, Link finds a fountain with a strange glowing aura. When he approaches the structure, the mysterious voice reveals herself as the Great Fairy.
A woman manifests before him, seated in the spring. Magnificent, translucent wings unfurl behind her as she reveals her identity to Link. This incarnation of the Great Fairy appears as if she had stepped out of a renaissance painting, her natural beauty and angelic properties being prominent in her appearance.
She welcomes the hero and gifts his efforts by releasing fairies into the Ordon Spring. When revisited several more times during the course of the trial, she will continue that trend and release her fairy subjects into all the springs of Hyrule. She also gives Link hints to what tools he will need to progress throughout the trial. She also does something rather unexpected; she offers Link an escape if he is weary.
As a game mechanic, this makes sense. Allowing players who have taken a beating to leave and return once they are better equipped should be an option as to prevent a game over or if for any reason the player needed to stop. In lore, however, this option intrigues me. Perhaps she is worried for Link, thinking only for his safety. Or perhaps, she does not expect him to finish the trial at all.
As a (presumably) immortal being, the Great Fairy had probably seen many adventurers who sought to complete the Cave of Ordeals and has watched as many of them failed. There were probably many poor souls who begged her to release them back to the world above as they were not fit to complete the tasks ahead, and perhaps many of them did not make it back at all.
The Great Fairy may have been expecting Link to fail, which is why she continues to ask him if he would like to return to the surface world. Instead, he continues to fight and prevail. As you continue to go deeper, upon each visit to the fairies fountain, she will show more signs of intrigue to his success. She is seated when the two first meet, and she physically stands up the second time, praising Link that she is impressed by how far he has come. She is already standing upon the third and fourth visit, seeming excited to greet you as you get even closer to the trial’s end.
Finally, the final floor. Link had just defeated the remaining trio of Darknuts and enters the final floor of the dungeon. The Great Fairy approaches Link, impressed by his feats, and gives him the Great Fairies Tears; a rare and wondrous healing potion. She gently touches his face, smiling like a proud mother, offering her assistance at any of the springs if he needs her again.
Before parting, she says that many people need a hero like him. He must return to them. She sees how strong and capable he is in how he had completed her trials and perhaps, through this, she regained hope for the land that was crumbling in despair. With a flash of light, she sends him back and from that point on offers her service to the hero worthy of her trial.
