Disclaimer;
I do not own The Legend of Zelda.
The plot is dang confusing, so I
wouldn't know what t'do with it
if I did.
Author's Note:
I was gonna write one with this pairing,
but the more I thought about it the more
confusing the plot was. Now, since at the
end of Ocarina of Time Link was a kid again,
I'm gonna leave him a kid and continue the
plot of it. If you have a problem with it,
tell someone who cares and don't flame me.
Zelda/Link fans, don't flame me. Heck, don't
flame me period. I've been roasted enough overb
the years. This story only revolves around the
plot of Ocarina of Time. If you like this
pairing, hope you enjoy =)
ADDED NOTE:
Look, I'm glad you people feel like spending
time to state your opinion. But it's annoying
to hear people whine about the pairing, when
even the Summary tells you who it is. If you
don't like it, don't waste both yours and my
time by reading/flaming it. ANd hopefully, the
spacing will be FIXED this time...
Elongated Summary:
FF.Net has FAR TOO LITTLE of this pairing.
I'm here to solve that problem. =)
Link was brought back to the past by Zelda
to keep Ganondorf from ever rising to power.
And now our young hero has the chance to live
his life the way he wanted. This tale will go
through Link and Ruto's childhood together.
But despite all this carefreeness, Ganondorf
has fallen eerily quiet.... Enough rambling
and stalling, you're probably sick of reading all
this by now. On with the REAL reason you clicked
here.
((Note: In this story, Link and Ruto are both
at the age of 13 to begin with, and both have
a tendency to act immature around one another.))
=][)Serenade of Water(][=
Chapter One
=The Hero and the Tomboy=
Link looked around him, then at his hands and
feet. He was young once more, and surprisingly,
it felt good. The familiar sight of the Temple
of Time was warming, but there was one sight
he'd much rather see as he walked down the long
hallway of the secluded temple, grabbing a precious
stone he valued along the way.
The young hero pulled out his ocarina and began
to play the Serenade of Water, to visit a dear
friend he felt very lucky to have.
In moments, Link surfaced in the middle of the
watery cavern and gazed in awe once more at the
wonder that is Zora's Domain. He took a deep
breath of the surprisingly fresh air in this place
and paused to listen to the familiar, welcoming sound
of tropical music, played by a Zora band from a
part of the cave he's never been able to find. It
was like coming home after fighting a war for years
on end.
The hylian hero climbed up out of the main pool
and began his trek up to the throne room. It had
been a little while since he'd been able to visit,
so Link was going to surprise his dear friend.
As he made it halfway up the long curving path,
a white blur leapt out of the shadows beside him
and pounced him into the water, giddy giggling
echoing throughout the caves along with Link's
startled cry of "Aaaaaahhhhhh!"
((a/n: Anyone who's played the game knows what
cry I'm talking about.))
The pair plunged back into the crystal-clear waters
of Zora's Domain, clinging to one another and surfacing
moments later, now both of them laughing happily.
"I knew you wouldn't forget about me!" squealed the
young Zora princess, giving Link a quick peck on the
cheek. The hylian hero grinned. "How could I forget
you, Ruto?" he said. Ruto grinned widely, as well.
"Stay right there, I got something for you!" she
said happily, diving underwater towards a cavern
Link was never quite able to reach.
He floated there, looking around at a few other
Zoras who were staring at him. They all seemed
to be giving him very strange, confusing looks. He
was bewildered at this, but quickly dismissed it
as the pale blue-tinted girl surfaced in front of
him. She pulled up a blue tunic, which seemed to
be the perfect size for one his age. "Ta-Daaa!
What do ya think?"
Link took it and observed it closely... he felt
the presense of some sort of magic within the
material, which felt similar to that of the blue
tunic he was given by Ruto's father as an adult
seven years in the future, in a time that will
never have to take place again.
((a/n: Yes, I know that sentence broke every
known law of verb tense. I even confused myself.))
Something was different about this one, however.
It felt tough, as if durable enough to withstand
any blade, yet at the same time it was as smooth
and soft as silk...
"Well?" Ruto said impatiently, interrupting Link's
train of thought. He grinned and hugged Ruto
tightly. "It's great!" he exclaimed, much to
the Zora girl's content.
"You better like it, I made it myself." she said
with a mock-serious tone of voice. Link blinked
and stared at the tunic, then at Ruto. "You
made this?" he asked, amazed.
"Of coarse I made it. Is that so hard to believe?"
she asked, seeming a bit offended. Link shook his
head sheepishly. "N-No, of coarse not! Sorry,
I didn't mean it like that..."
Ruto smirked at that, finding it rather amusing.
"Well the least you could do to make up for it
is to try on your new tunic." she said in a
feigned irritation.
Link nodded and shed his old tunic, quickly
slipping on the new one, which fit as perfectly
as it looked like it would. It was as light as
it felt, as well - as if one were wearing nothing
but a sheet.
Ruto grinned mischieviously. "Wanna give it a
try?" she asked, though she left him no choice.
All that could come out of Link's mouth was a
startled cry as Ruto pounced him into the depths
of Zora's Domain. Deeper the pair plunged, into the
very same place the young Princess had retrieved
the hand-made blue tunic.
The hero decided to experiment, only hoping the young
Zora princess had tailored the suit right. He felt the
collar of the tunic hug his neck a bit tightly as
water rushed through his nose as smooth as air, and
best of all, no drowning. That was a big relief, as
they had just entered an underwater tunnel near the
bottom of the pool.
He couldn't help but wonder where the young princess
was taking him, though after what seemed like an hour,
they finally resurfaced in a large air pocket, which
had to have been the most beautiful place in the
entire Zora domain. The walls around them consisted
of a thick layer of some type of crystal, which
brilliantly reflected light from the middle of the
circular room, where a small prism jutted up, a single
beam of light from the surface world pouring into it
to radiate the entire area. The small cave itself was
about twice the size of Link's small treehouse in
the Kokiri villiage, and around a meter of water surrounded
a white-sanded isle in the middle. Well-constructed
seaweed and coral furniture littered the isle, not too much
but enough to make for a cozy living space. The temperature
of this room wasn't quite as chilly as the rest of Zora's
Domain, either. The tropical zoran music was very soft
now, nearly impossible to hear.
Ruto smiled at Link's reaction - probably more out of
humor for his gaping jaw than anything. She climbed out
of the ring of water, her body glistening in the
crystal light as she walked over to a red chair and sat
down, turning to face Link.
"I know I look good, but that's no reason to stare." Ruto
joked, knocking Link back to his senses. His face reddened
just a bit as he climbed out of the water. "Sorry, this
place is just amazing. I've never seen anything like it." he
said - unlike Ruto, who looked natural when covered in
water, Link shared some resemblance to a drowned rat.
The young hero took a seat next to Ruto in a blue chair.
It was incredibly soft - he felt himself sink into it a
bit as he sat down. "This is my secret room. No other
Zora has ever even seen it." Ruto said proudly.
"So this is sort of like having your own house?" Link
asked, giving a more attentive look around the room.
Ruto nodded. "And best of all, no one outside of
this cave can hear us."
Link blinked and looked at her. "Why would that be
a problem?"
"Because I need to talk to you about something my
father can't understand." she said, leaning closer
to Link. "A Gerudo man has been visiting our
Domain for a couple of weeks now-"
"Ganondorf?!" exclaimed Link.
"No, not him. He rarely even passed by the Domain.
I sensed evil in him, but this..."
"You mean he's worse than Ganondorf?" Link
asked. "That's hard to believe..."
"It's the truth, though. I don't know why he's here, him
and Father won't allow me to hear them discuss business."
Ruto said with a sigh. "I don't trust him... he's
plotting something, I'm sure of it."
Link felt what many refer to as deja vu at this. It
was just like when he and Zelda were talking about
Ganondorf long ago. "Link, I need your help." Ruto
said. "I fear for my people... he couldn't have good
intentions for coming here."
"I'll do whatever I can." said the Hylian hero as he
began to ponder. "We'll have to figure out what he's
planning first..."
"Yeah... we can't just run up and beat the crap out
of him." Ruto said. "That's for after we prove he's
evil."
They both chuckled a bit at this, before Link
continued. "Isn't this place full of small tunnels?
Surely one of them leads to a good, concealed opening
to spy on the throne room." said Link.
It was like turning on a lightswitch in Ruto's mind,
for she was already plotting out every detail.
"I used to play in many of those tunnels as a child...
and I'm sure I remember one of them exiting into the
Throne room. With a little luck..."
She jumped up and pulled Link with her. "I've got
an idea, let's go!"
He had little chance to object even if he'd wanted
to as he plunged into the cool waters of Zora's
Domain once more. After a minute of simming, they
resurfaced in the main room of the Domain, climbing
up the nearby ladder and onto the main path. And
once again, Link shared similarities with a
drowned rat.
As Ruto was about to take off running, (dragging
Link with her of coarse) she as halted by an older
male Zora. He had the pale white skin kin to nearly
all Zoras, with red-tinted spikey fins. The man
was rather tall, though he quickly closed the height
difference as he kneeled down.
"Hello, Princess. I don't believe I've seen you
today." he said, then peeked around to look at the
young blonde behind her. "Ah, and this must be the
famous Link you've told me about!"
The Zora extended a hand to him, which Link quickly
shook - he knew Ruto wanted this to get done so she
could continue her plans.
"The name's Stryker." he said with a grin, revealing
sharp, sharklike teeth.
"Yes, yes, the whole Domain knows you. We're very
busy right now." Ruto said, sounding impatient with
the man. He feigned a look of insult.
"You're too busy for your buddy Stryker?" he said,
trying to sound like he was hurt. "Fine, just walk
off. I'll get by somehow... I'm sure there's a nice
rock somewhere to keep me company..."
He seemed to have had practice at being over dramatic.
"Yes, go find a nice rock to talk to. We'll find you
later." said Ruto, grabbing Link's hand and dragging
him away once more.
She seemed to have had practice at ignoring his drama.
Stryker laughed as they ran off, proving further his
sympathy act was just that - an act. He strode off
up the main path, watching the pair untill they
vanished around the corner.
Link and Ruto climbed through the smaller, mostly
ignored tunnels in Zora's Domain, and began searching
for the one path Ruto found years ago which could lead
them where they needed to be. "Are we just scouting
to find the tunnel, or...?" Link asked as he followed
Ruto.
"Well, yes and no. We do need to know where it is, but
the Gerudo man should be talking to my Father any minute
now, which is why I'm in a hurry." Ruto explained as she
turned left at another fork in the tunnel. Link nodded and
they crawled along in silence the rest of the way, untill
finally they came to the end of the right path.
The young duo peeked their head out of the exit. They were
high in the Throne Room, and a little to the left they could
see Ruto's father, the King of the Zoras. And, just now
kneeling in front of him, they noticed a young Gerudo man,
possibly nineteen or twenty. He had short fiery red hair,
a draping black cape, with black armor that had the
Triforce in shining gold on the chest plate.
"That's him, that's Garland." Ruto whispered.
".. my liege, I mean no disrespect, but my business
here has been drawn long enough." the Gerudo Prince
said in a strong but gentle voice. "I have problems
to deal with elsewhere, and I fear if we cannot come
to a conclusion, the negotiations will have to come
to a halt for the time being."
"You know well the laws of our race, Garland." the
King said firmly. Ruto sighed softly as he said
those words. "A Zora could not marry a Gerudo. Why,
if something of that sort was allowed, next thing
you know we'd have Deku Scrubs and Gorons running
wild in our Domain!"
"He better not be trying to marry me off again!" the
Zora princess whispered angrily.
"I came to ensure, not only the Princess' future,
but the future of your royal line." Garland said.
"How about young Stryker? I know he wouldn't hurt
the Princess. And a Zora to boot."
"Eww!" Zora whispered in disgust. "Stryker's a
funny guy, but... to be married to? Eww."
"Yes, Stryker would be a suitable mate... It would
be for the best for her, but-"
"As long as I see the young Princess wed, I will be
content that your royal bloodline will be preserved.
And the Gerudo will be here for you if you ever need
us." Garland said. As the King seemed to be pondering
something, Garland looked straight up at Ruto and Link
with a smirk. The two quickly ducked into the tunnel
and out of sight.
"D-Did he see us?" Link asked. Ruto shook her head.
"I don't know.. he looked straight at us though..."
"Garland, send someone to fetch the Princess to
us. We need her opinion on the matter." the King
said.
"It'd be no trouble at all for me to go find her
in person, my Liege. I haven't seen her in a while,
and we've been such good friends."
"Pch, yeah right." Ruto said, rolling her eyes.
"We better head back..." Link said as Garland began
to walk off. Ruto nodded and the two quickly scurried
back through the tunnel.
"I know a shortcut." Ruto said.
"Where?" Link asked, looking around.
"Right here!" she said, pouncing Link down into a
split path and straight down over the main pool in
the Domain, plunging both of them down several
stories into the cool, refreshing water below.
As they floated under the crystal waters of Zora's
Domain, Ruto leaned over and whispered, "Pretend
like we've just been swimming around."
Link merely nodded, for though his tunic altered
his body so that he could breathe under water,
he was still unable to speak - all that would have
come out was a gargling noise.
Ruto looked up and didn't see Garland coming, so she
decided to have some fun while they played innocent.
The young princess grabbed Link's hat and shoved it
down to cover his face.
"Hey!" he yelled, pulling his cap back up to face
a Zora princess with a playful mischievious grin.
"Catch me if you can!" Ruto said as she dived into
the pool. Link grinned and dove in after her, and
the chase was on.
Of coarse, Ruto was being easy on Link; she knew
he'd never keep up if she swam as fast as she
could. But at the same time, she toyed with him
by making sure to swim just out of his reach.
She looked back and smirked at the hero behind
her. 'A pity he can't swim well... I'll have to
fix that.' she thought to herself. Right as she
turned to face the front again, she slammed
into something and hit a dead stop.
"Ahh! What the...!?" she squealed, looking around,
before suddenly feeling the arms of a young
Hylian surround her waist as Link pounced her
in the water.
As both surfaced, with Link clinging to Ruto
and Ruto letting out cries of "No fair!!",
the laughter of Stryker could be heard right
next to them. Ruto glared at the Zora before
her. "That was so unfair." she muttered at him.
Link chuckled a bit.
Stryker grinned. "Unfair? I was merely evening
the odds, your Highness." he stated. "Besides,
word is the King wishes to speak with you. Had
I not stepped in, you two could've gone at it
all day."
The Princess nodded, then looked at Link.
"Hmm, you can let go now." she said with a
grin. Link blinked then loosened his arms to
release her. "Sorry about that." he said with
a sheepish grin. Stryker laughed and picked up the
Princess, setting her on the path and jumping
after her.
Ruto turned to face Link as Stryker strode
ahead of her a bit. "I'll be back in a minute,
Link!" she called out, before running to catch up
with her escort.
Link swam up to a rock and sat down, then he
noticed a Zora or two was staring at him once
more. They quickly diverted their eyes once they
realized he noticed them.
He began to wonder why they stared at him like this.
They never did before...
'Why do you think? You're Hylian, they're Zoras.'
called a voice in his head, a deep, calm, collected
voice that sounded much like his own, only older.
"But they were much more friendly than this
before... Is it my tunic? Because I like my tunic." Link
said in his head in response to the voice.
'You and I, we both know what's going on.' the voice
said. 'You and Ruto have spent a lot of time together.
She always talks about you...'
"But we're just friends, why would that matter?"
'Just Friends? Just as well. We both know she will
be wed to Stryker, as her Father's wishes.'
"So?"
'So? This bothers you, Link. And don't lie to yourself.
I wouldn't be here if you weren't bothered.'
Link tilted his head and continued his thoughts.
"The only thing that bothers me is the fact that
Ruto doesn't want to marry him."
'That isn't the whole story... is it?'
"Yes, it is."
'Then answer yourself this question.'
"What?"
'Reach into the left pocket of your tunic.' said
the amused voice.
Link did so, and felt the object he'd taken from
the Temple of Time.
'Why do you hold on to it if you don' t care?'
"Just shut up!"
'Suit yourself.'
Meanwhile, in the Throne Room, Ruto and Stryker were
just entering. The Zora man kneeled in front of his
King as Ruto merely crossed her arms.
"Ruto, there's something very important we need
to discuss." the King said. "You'll be fourteen this
year, and it's about time you found a suitable mate
to become engaged to." the King said. Ruto rolled
her eyes; she was probably the only person in all
of Hyrule who showed the Zora King little respect.
"Ruto, are you even listening to me?"
"Yes, father." she said. "And what if I've
already found one?"
Her father looked rather surprised at this, though
Stryker looked even more stunned. Her father seemed
to like the idea, however.
"Who might this Zora be who's taken your affections?"
the King said.
"Er... I can't say." said the princess with an
inward sigh.
"Why not?"
"Because... I'd rather it be a surprise." she
said, pretty much lying. Fortunately, her father
was somewhat dense, and she was somewhat good at
keeping a straight face when lying. She couldn't
tell him the truth... She knew she could easily
have any Zora she wanted, but instead, she just
had to fall in love with someone from another race...
"Well, you realize of coarse you can't marry anyone
without my consent. You'd have to get past me to
do such, anyway." the King said. "I am relieved
to find that you are maturing, however. Stryker
and I have some things to discuss in private now,
so go play with your young Hylian friend."
Ruto nodded and dashed off, relieved to get away
from the questioning. As soon as she was out of
earshot, Stryker reached up to his face and seemed
to be pulling it off.
A brilliant light surrounded him, and when it
faded, Garland could be seen with an enchanted
Zora-face mask in his left hand. He looked up at
the King. "Doesn't law say if she doesn't choose
a suitor by her fourteenth birthday, that the King
gains the authority to choose for her?" he asked.
"Yes... but it would seem she has already chosen."
"She isn't married yet, is she? She still has
her Sapphire." Garland said. "Trust me, I want what's
best for our precious Ruto, for your wonderful
kingdom. I'm willing to permanately fuse the Zora
form to my being if need be."
"This is a matter that takes a lot of time, and
a lot of thought." the King said. "You may take
your leave, Garland."
The man nodded and began to walk back down the
main ramp of the Zora domain. He looked down
at Ruto and Link playing together, and scowled.
"I bet I know who she's chosen... and I intend
to rectify this mistake." he said, striding
out of the Domain.
[End Chapter]
I do not own The Legend of Zelda.
The plot is dang confusing, so I
wouldn't know what t'do with it
if I did.
Author's Note:
I was gonna write one with this pairing,
but the more I thought about it the more
confusing the plot was. Now, since at the
end of Ocarina of Time Link was a kid again,
I'm gonna leave him a kid and continue the
plot of it. If you have a problem with it,
tell someone who cares and don't flame me.
Zelda/Link fans, don't flame me. Heck, don't
flame me period. I've been roasted enough overb
the years. This story only revolves around the
plot of Ocarina of Time. If you like this
pairing, hope you enjoy =)
ADDED NOTE:
Look, I'm glad you people feel like spending
time to state your opinion. But it's annoying
to hear people whine about the pairing, when
even the Summary tells you who it is. If you
don't like it, don't waste both yours and my
time by reading/flaming it. ANd hopefully, the
spacing will be FIXED this time...
Elongated Summary:
FF.Net has FAR TOO LITTLE of this pairing.
I'm here to solve that problem. =)
Link was brought back to the past by Zelda
to keep Ganondorf from ever rising to power.
And now our young hero has the chance to live
his life the way he wanted. This tale will go
through Link and Ruto's childhood together.
But despite all this carefreeness, Ganondorf
has fallen eerily quiet.... Enough rambling
and stalling, you're probably sick of reading all
this by now. On with the REAL reason you clicked
here.
((Note: In this story, Link and Ruto are both
at the age of 13 to begin with, and both have
a tendency to act immature around one another.))
=][)Serenade of Water(][=
Chapter One
=The Hero and the Tomboy=
Link looked around him, then at his hands and
feet. He was young once more, and surprisingly,
it felt good. The familiar sight of the Temple
of Time was warming, but there was one sight
he'd much rather see as he walked down the long
hallway of the secluded temple, grabbing a precious
stone he valued along the way.
The young hero pulled out his ocarina and began
to play the Serenade of Water, to visit a dear
friend he felt very lucky to have.
In moments, Link surfaced in the middle of the
watery cavern and gazed in awe once more at the
wonder that is Zora's Domain. He took a deep
breath of the surprisingly fresh air in this place
and paused to listen to the familiar, welcoming sound
of tropical music, played by a Zora band from a
part of the cave he's never been able to find. It
was like coming home after fighting a war for years
on end.
The hylian hero climbed up out of the main pool
and began his trek up to the throne room. It had
been a little while since he'd been able to visit,
so Link was going to surprise his dear friend.
As he made it halfway up the long curving path,
a white blur leapt out of the shadows beside him
and pounced him into the water, giddy giggling
echoing throughout the caves along with Link's
startled cry of "Aaaaaahhhhhh!"
((a/n: Anyone who's played the game knows what
cry I'm talking about.))
The pair plunged back into the crystal-clear waters
of Zora's Domain, clinging to one another and surfacing
moments later, now both of them laughing happily.
"I knew you wouldn't forget about me!" squealed the
young Zora princess, giving Link a quick peck on the
cheek. The hylian hero grinned. "How could I forget
you, Ruto?" he said. Ruto grinned widely, as well.
"Stay right there, I got something for you!" she
said happily, diving underwater towards a cavern
Link was never quite able to reach.
He floated there, looking around at a few other
Zoras who were staring at him. They all seemed
to be giving him very strange, confusing looks. He
was bewildered at this, but quickly dismissed it
as the pale blue-tinted girl surfaced in front of
him. She pulled up a blue tunic, which seemed to
be the perfect size for one his age. "Ta-Daaa!
What do ya think?"
Link took it and observed it closely... he felt
the presense of some sort of magic within the
material, which felt similar to that of the blue
tunic he was given by Ruto's father as an adult
seven years in the future, in a time that will
never have to take place again.
((a/n: Yes, I know that sentence broke every
known law of verb tense. I even confused myself.))
Something was different about this one, however.
It felt tough, as if durable enough to withstand
any blade, yet at the same time it was as smooth
and soft as silk...
"Well?" Ruto said impatiently, interrupting Link's
train of thought. He grinned and hugged Ruto
tightly. "It's great!" he exclaimed, much to
the Zora girl's content.
"You better like it, I made it myself." she said
with a mock-serious tone of voice. Link blinked
and stared at the tunic, then at Ruto. "You
made this?" he asked, amazed.
"Of coarse I made it. Is that so hard to believe?"
she asked, seeming a bit offended. Link shook his
head sheepishly. "N-No, of coarse not! Sorry,
I didn't mean it like that..."
Ruto smirked at that, finding it rather amusing.
"Well the least you could do to make up for it
is to try on your new tunic." she said in a
feigned irritation.
Link nodded and shed his old tunic, quickly
slipping on the new one, which fit as perfectly
as it looked like it would. It was as light as
it felt, as well - as if one were wearing nothing
but a sheet.
Ruto grinned mischieviously. "Wanna give it a
try?" she asked, though she left him no choice.
All that could come out of Link's mouth was a
startled cry as Ruto pounced him into the depths
of Zora's Domain. Deeper the pair plunged, into the
very same place the young Princess had retrieved
the hand-made blue tunic.
The hero decided to experiment, only hoping the young
Zora princess had tailored the suit right. He felt the
collar of the tunic hug his neck a bit tightly as
water rushed through his nose as smooth as air, and
best of all, no drowning. That was a big relief, as
they had just entered an underwater tunnel near the
bottom of the pool.
He couldn't help but wonder where the young princess
was taking him, though after what seemed like an hour,
they finally resurfaced in a large air pocket, which
had to have been the most beautiful place in the
entire Zora domain. The walls around them consisted
of a thick layer of some type of crystal, which
brilliantly reflected light from the middle of the
circular room, where a small prism jutted up, a single
beam of light from the surface world pouring into it
to radiate the entire area. The small cave itself was
about twice the size of Link's small treehouse in
the Kokiri villiage, and around a meter of water surrounded
a white-sanded isle in the middle. Well-constructed
seaweed and coral furniture littered the isle, not too much
but enough to make for a cozy living space. The temperature
of this room wasn't quite as chilly as the rest of Zora's
Domain, either. The tropical zoran music was very soft
now, nearly impossible to hear.
Ruto smiled at Link's reaction - probably more out of
humor for his gaping jaw than anything. She climbed out
of the ring of water, her body glistening in the
crystal light as she walked over to a red chair and sat
down, turning to face Link.
"I know I look good, but that's no reason to stare." Ruto
joked, knocking Link back to his senses. His face reddened
just a bit as he climbed out of the water. "Sorry, this
place is just amazing. I've never seen anything like it." he
said - unlike Ruto, who looked natural when covered in
water, Link shared some resemblance to a drowned rat.
The young hero took a seat next to Ruto in a blue chair.
It was incredibly soft - he felt himself sink into it a
bit as he sat down. "This is my secret room. No other
Zora has ever even seen it." Ruto said proudly.
"So this is sort of like having your own house?" Link
asked, giving a more attentive look around the room.
Ruto nodded. "And best of all, no one outside of
this cave can hear us."
Link blinked and looked at her. "Why would that be
a problem?"
"Because I need to talk to you about something my
father can't understand." she said, leaning closer
to Link. "A Gerudo man has been visiting our
Domain for a couple of weeks now-"
"Ganondorf?!" exclaimed Link.
"No, not him. He rarely even passed by the Domain.
I sensed evil in him, but this..."
"You mean he's worse than Ganondorf?" Link
asked. "That's hard to believe..."
"It's the truth, though. I don't know why he's here, him
and Father won't allow me to hear them discuss business."
Ruto said with a sigh. "I don't trust him... he's
plotting something, I'm sure of it."
Link felt what many refer to as deja vu at this. It
was just like when he and Zelda were talking about
Ganondorf long ago. "Link, I need your help." Ruto
said. "I fear for my people... he couldn't have good
intentions for coming here."
"I'll do whatever I can." said the Hylian hero as he
began to ponder. "We'll have to figure out what he's
planning first..."
"Yeah... we can't just run up and beat the crap out
of him." Ruto said. "That's for after we prove he's
evil."
They both chuckled a bit at this, before Link
continued. "Isn't this place full of small tunnels?
Surely one of them leads to a good, concealed opening
to spy on the throne room." said Link.
It was like turning on a lightswitch in Ruto's mind,
for she was already plotting out every detail.
"I used to play in many of those tunnels as a child...
and I'm sure I remember one of them exiting into the
Throne room. With a little luck..."
She jumped up and pulled Link with her. "I've got
an idea, let's go!"
He had little chance to object even if he'd wanted
to as he plunged into the cool waters of Zora's
Domain once more. After a minute of simming, they
resurfaced in the main room of the Domain, climbing
up the nearby ladder and onto the main path. And
once again, Link shared similarities with a
drowned rat.
As Ruto was about to take off running, (dragging
Link with her of coarse) she as halted by an older
male Zora. He had the pale white skin kin to nearly
all Zoras, with red-tinted spikey fins. The man
was rather tall, though he quickly closed the height
difference as he kneeled down.
"Hello, Princess. I don't believe I've seen you
today." he said, then peeked around to look at the
young blonde behind her. "Ah, and this must be the
famous Link you've told me about!"
The Zora extended a hand to him, which Link quickly
shook - he knew Ruto wanted this to get done so she
could continue her plans.
"The name's Stryker." he said with a grin, revealing
sharp, sharklike teeth.
"Yes, yes, the whole Domain knows you. We're very
busy right now." Ruto said, sounding impatient with
the man. He feigned a look of insult.
"You're too busy for your buddy Stryker?" he said,
trying to sound like he was hurt. "Fine, just walk
off. I'll get by somehow... I'm sure there's a nice
rock somewhere to keep me company..."
He seemed to have had practice at being over dramatic.
"Yes, go find a nice rock to talk to. We'll find you
later." said Ruto, grabbing Link's hand and dragging
him away once more.
She seemed to have had practice at ignoring his drama.
Stryker laughed as they ran off, proving further his
sympathy act was just that - an act. He strode off
up the main path, watching the pair untill they
vanished around the corner.
Link and Ruto climbed through the smaller, mostly
ignored tunnels in Zora's Domain, and began searching
for the one path Ruto found years ago which could lead
them where they needed to be. "Are we just scouting
to find the tunnel, or...?" Link asked as he followed
Ruto.
"Well, yes and no. We do need to know where it is, but
the Gerudo man should be talking to my Father any minute
now, which is why I'm in a hurry." Ruto explained as she
turned left at another fork in the tunnel. Link nodded and
they crawled along in silence the rest of the way, untill
finally they came to the end of the right path.
The young duo peeked their head out of the exit. They were
high in the Throne Room, and a little to the left they could
see Ruto's father, the King of the Zoras. And, just now
kneeling in front of him, they noticed a young Gerudo man,
possibly nineteen or twenty. He had short fiery red hair,
a draping black cape, with black armor that had the
Triforce in shining gold on the chest plate.
"That's him, that's Garland." Ruto whispered.
".. my liege, I mean no disrespect, but my business
here has been drawn long enough." the Gerudo Prince
said in a strong but gentle voice. "I have problems
to deal with elsewhere, and I fear if we cannot come
to a conclusion, the negotiations will have to come
to a halt for the time being."
"You know well the laws of our race, Garland." the
King said firmly. Ruto sighed softly as he said
those words. "A Zora could not marry a Gerudo. Why,
if something of that sort was allowed, next thing
you know we'd have Deku Scrubs and Gorons running
wild in our Domain!"
"He better not be trying to marry me off again!" the
Zora princess whispered angrily.
"I came to ensure, not only the Princess' future,
but the future of your royal line." Garland said.
"How about young Stryker? I know he wouldn't hurt
the Princess. And a Zora to boot."
"Eww!" Zora whispered in disgust. "Stryker's a
funny guy, but... to be married to? Eww."
"Yes, Stryker would be a suitable mate... It would
be for the best for her, but-"
"As long as I see the young Princess wed, I will be
content that your royal bloodline will be preserved.
And the Gerudo will be here for you if you ever need
us." Garland said. As the King seemed to be pondering
something, Garland looked straight up at Ruto and Link
with a smirk. The two quickly ducked into the tunnel
and out of sight.
"D-Did he see us?" Link asked. Ruto shook her head.
"I don't know.. he looked straight at us though..."
"Garland, send someone to fetch the Princess to
us. We need her opinion on the matter." the King
said.
"It'd be no trouble at all for me to go find her
in person, my Liege. I haven't seen her in a while,
and we've been such good friends."
"Pch, yeah right." Ruto said, rolling her eyes.
"We better head back..." Link said as Garland began
to walk off. Ruto nodded and the two quickly scurried
back through the tunnel.
"I know a shortcut." Ruto said.
"Where?" Link asked, looking around.
"Right here!" she said, pouncing Link down into a
split path and straight down over the main pool in
the Domain, plunging both of them down several
stories into the cool, refreshing water below.
As they floated under the crystal waters of Zora's
Domain, Ruto leaned over and whispered, "Pretend
like we've just been swimming around."
Link merely nodded, for though his tunic altered
his body so that he could breathe under water,
he was still unable to speak - all that would have
come out was a gargling noise.
Ruto looked up and didn't see Garland coming, so she
decided to have some fun while they played innocent.
The young princess grabbed Link's hat and shoved it
down to cover his face.
"Hey!" he yelled, pulling his cap back up to face
a Zora princess with a playful mischievious grin.
"Catch me if you can!" Ruto said as she dived into
the pool. Link grinned and dove in after her, and
the chase was on.
Of coarse, Ruto was being easy on Link; she knew
he'd never keep up if she swam as fast as she
could. But at the same time, she toyed with him
by making sure to swim just out of his reach.
She looked back and smirked at the hero behind
her. 'A pity he can't swim well... I'll have to
fix that.' she thought to herself. Right as she
turned to face the front again, she slammed
into something and hit a dead stop.
"Ahh! What the...!?" she squealed, looking around,
before suddenly feeling the arms of a young
Hylian surround her waist as Link pounced her
in the water.
As both surfaced, with Link clinging to Ruto
and Ruto letting out cries of "No fair!!",
the laughter of Stryker could be heard right
next to them. Ruto glared at the Zora before
her. "That was so unfair." she muttered at him.
Link chuckled a bit.
Stryker grinned. "Unfair? I was merely evening
the odds, your Highness." he stated. "Besides,
word is the King wishes to speak with you. Had
I not stepped in, you two could've gone at it
all day."
The Princess nodded, then looked at Link.
"Hmm, you can let go now." she said with a
grin. Link blinked then loosened his arms to
release her. "Sorry about that." he said with
a sheepish grin. Stryker laughed and picked up the
Princess, setting her on the path and jumping
after her.
Ruto turned to face Link as Stryker strode
ahead of her a bit. "I'll be back in a minute,
Link!" she called out, before running to catch up
with her escort.
Link swam up to a rock and sat down, then he
noticed a Zora or two was staring at him once
more. They quickly diverted their eyes once they
realized he noticed them.
He began to wonder why they stared at him like this.
They never did before...
'Why do you think? You're Hylian, they're Zoras.'
called a voice in his head, a deep, calm, collected
voice that sounded much like his own, only older.
"But they were much more friendly than this
before... Is it my tunic? Because I like my tunic." Link
said in his head in response to the voice.
'You and I, we both know what's going on.' the voice
said. 'You and Ruto have spent a lot of time together.
She always talks about you...'
"But we're just friends, why would that matter?"
'Just Friends? Just as well. We both know she will
be wed to Stryker, as her Father's wishes.'
"So?"
'So? This bothers you, Link. And don't lie to yourself.
I wouldn't be here if you weren't bothered.'
Link tilted his head and continued his thoughts.
"The only thing that bothers me is the fact that
Ruto doesn't want to marry him."
'That isn't the whole story... is it?'
"Yes, it is."
'Then answer yourself this question.'
"What?"
'Reach into the left pocket of your tunic.' said
the amused voice.
Link did so, and felt the object he'd taken from
the Temple of Time.
'Why do you hold on to it if you don' t care?'
"Just shut up!"
'Suit yourself.'
Meanwhile, in the Throne Room, Ruto and Stryker were
just entering. The Zora man kneeled in front of his
King as Ruto merely crossed her arms.
"Ruto, there's something very important we need
to discuss." the King said. "You'll be fourteen this
year, and it's about time you found a suitable mate
to become engaged to." the King said. Ruto rolled
her eyes; she was probably the only person in all
of Hyrule who showed the Zora King little respect.
"Ruto, are you even listening to me?"
"Yes, father." she said. "And what if I've
already found one?"
Her father looked rather surprised at this, though
Stryker looked even more stunned. Her father seemed
to like the idea, however.
"Who might this Zora be who's taken your affections?"
the King said.
"Er... I can't say." said the princess with an
inward sigh.
"Why not?"
"Because... I'd rather it be a surprise." she
said, pretty much lying. Fortunately, her father
was somewhat dense, and she was somewhat good at
keeping a straight face when lying. She couldn't
tell him the truth... She knew she could easily
have any Zora she wanted, but instead, she just
had to fall in love with someone from another race...
"Well, you realize of coarse you can't marry anyone
without my consent. You'd have to get past me to
do such, anyway." the King said. "I am relieved
to find that you are maturing, however. Stryker
and I have some things to discuss in private now,
so go play with your young Hylian friend."
Ruto nodded and dashed off, relieved to get away
from the questioning. As soon as she was out of
earshot, Stryker reached up to his face and seemed
to be pulling it off.
A brilliant light surrounded him, and when it
faded, Garland could be seen with an enchanted
Zora-face mask in his left hand. He looked up at
the King. "Doesn't law say if she doesn't choose
a suitor by her fourteenth birthday, that the King
gains the authority to choose for her?" he asked.
"Yes... but it would seem she has already chosen."
"She isn't married yet, is she? She still has
her Sapphire." Garland said. "Trust me, I want what's
best for our precious Ruto, for your wonderful
kingdom. I'm willing to permanately fuse the Zora
form to my being if need be."
"This is a matter that takes a lot of time, and
a lot of thought." the King said. "You may take
your leave, Garland."
The man nodded and began to walk back down the
main ramp of the Zora domain. He looked down
at Ruto and Link playing together, and scowled.
"I bet I know who she's chosen... and I intend
to rectify this mistake." he said, striding
out of the Domain.
[End Chapter]