A/N: In case anyone had read the beginning for this before and recognized part of it, this is the rewrite of a former story I had begun writing about two years ago called Dragons of Hyrule. Now that I finally took a good look at it and finished revising the plot for the story, I feel more comfortable writing and posting it. Please enjoy.
It was a calm peaceful night at Lake Hylia. The round white moon let soothing beams of soft silver light gaze upon the lake and its shore. The waves glinted as the light touched the water, each wave rimmed with silver before it sank to the water's surface. In the middle of the lake, an island with a large dead tree sat in the silver lake. Underneath the dead tree, ignorant that the night had cast a shadow over the land, was the Zora Princess, Ruto. She leaned against the dead tree, finding a strange sort of comfort in its strong husk.
"It seemed so long ago, those seven long wretched years when the world was shrouded in never-ending darkness and ruled by that demon Ganondorf. Now we can only hope that our children will remember the trails we sages and Link had faced," She murmured, a grief-stricken sob rattling her thin frame when she muttered Link's name. She felt foolish for a moment, she had not meant for her thoughts to escape her.
"Why, Link? Why did you not accept the proposal?" A single tear leaked from the corner of her eye as she muttered to herself. It slipped down her cheek and quivered at the tip of her chin. She looked down at her lap, where a coral pink ocarina sat docile. The Ocarina of Water, the instrument passed down from Water Sage to Water Sage. It recorded the memories of the sage, passing on the information of the past to the next sage awakened during times of turmoil. All of the sages had one; they were embedded in their hearts unless they are awakened as the sage. For a moment, she wished she never woke up as the sage. After she was awakened, Link drew farther and farther away, until the marriage was destroyed.
Then the land and the lake around her became steeped in shadow, the bright moonlight vanishing in an instant. She suddenly looked up to the sky; the thick summer storm clouds had drifted temporarily in front of the moon's silver face. Her startled face quickly melted back to another expression of grief and she tried to return to her sad thoughts. However, she heard the sound of movement, the rustle of grass and the muffled steps of boots. She looked towards the noise, wondering dully who it was. A figure stood there, stiff and tall in the swaying grass, and it looked like the one she treasured deep in her heart.
"Link!" She exclaimed, standing up and walking quickly over. Then, the moon's light shifted through the clods and she faltered. Her blue eyes dulled with dark surprise, the glee that had momentarily bubbled from her heart crushed in an instant. It was not Link. It looked like him, but her Link was different. The thick blonde hair she remembered was black as the night, ruby eyes gleaming with dark energy a contrast to Link's majestic blue. Then, there was a silver flash and his sword cut across her chest, leaving a thin line of blood in its wake. She stared down at the cut in shock before looking back up at the person before her.
"Who are you?" She asked quietly. The doppleganger smiled, a thin twisted smile that made Ruto's skin tingle with fear.
"Give me the Ocarina, sage," It hissed, bringing the weapon back up as if ready to attack. Ruto nearly allowed a sob to escape her, the demon had a voice just like Link. However, her precious Link would never hold a weapon towards her like this doppelganger was. She quickly put the precious ocarina into a small magical pouch, deep inside her body. The creature scowled, its sword flashed again before she could blink. She screamed and stumbled backwards, clutching her eyes. Something hot and sticky surged past her fingers, dripping down her face despite her efforts to stop the bleeding. A rough boot slammed into her chest, knocking her onto her back. Something in her chest cracked and sharp pain erupted in her lungs as she tried taking a breath. The breath she had taken was immediately forced back out in the form of a shrill scream as cold merciless steel sliced into her stomach.
"It would have been much less painful had you just given the ocarina to me, foolish Sage. Your death would have been swift and simple," She heard the demon laugh as it pulled out the sword and slashed at her thigh, stopping as the blade encountered bone. Then, the sword became motionless as she heard the loud outraged voices of her fellow Zoras from under her screams. The blade was pulled free from her thigh and the demonic aura above her vanished into the night.
"Princess!" She dimly heard one of them exclaim in horror. The two Zoras fell to their knees beside her, their soft cold hands trying to comfort her and stop the bloodflow. She stared blankly up at their horrified faces and knew that she had little time left; she summoned the ocarina with what little magic that remained in her and concentrated as hard as she could. She had to trap her memories inside the ocarina, all she had left to give, so that Princess Zelda could know what had happened. With the last of her strength, she pushed the precious instrument into the hands of the Zora nearest her.
"Make sure…that Princess…Zelda gets…this…immediately…" She gasped, ignoring her swollen throat's pain and the burning sensation in her lungs. She dully noticed that the pain and burning sensation had started to die away, leaving those spots heavy and hollow.
"No, Princess! Please, hold on! It's will be okay, I promise!" The Zora cried, dropping the ocarina as he cradeled Ruto in his shaking arms. Their terrified sobs of despair were dim to her ears. She gently reached up touched the scared Zora's face, smiling even though she couldn't feel the touch. Her ruined eyes tried searching in the new darkness that hid the world from her gaze, still trying to see despite the injury.
"Please…hurry…"