New Legends: A Second Power

I had unintentionally used the name Ruto for one of my own characters without realizing that there was already an LoZ character with that same name. It is too late to change it now; so please note that the original Zora Ruto is nowhere near this story – the Ruto in this story is a 15-year-old boy!

Ch. 1

"Hey, that's not funny!" Haeda breathed as he rubbed his cheek. He snapped the branch that had slapped him across the face when he was racing his best friend, Ruto, through the forest.

Ruto reined his horse, Pellopa, laughing loudly the whole time. "You rode right into that branch just as you were saying that you were to beat me in a race! But instead, you fall off of Etota while I cross the finish line and circle back!"

Haeda stopped rubbing his throbbing cheek and quick remounted Etota. She was a beautiful chestnut-colored horse with a white lightning bolt on her right side. She lightly tossed her dark mane and whinnied. Haeda took note of this and looked around him. He felt like he was being watched. But in the Kokiri Forest? Probably just a squirrel that wanted to use his vast amount of fair hair for its nest. "Rematch back to the village?" He jeered quickly, spurring Etota. She sped off down the dirt trail.

Ruto called, "Hey!" and urged Pellopa after him. The two friends thundered down the trail, passing their friend Midaylia who had been picking berries. They blasted into the village but abruptly stopped when they saw the shop. It was roughed up and shelves were off-set, knocked over, or smashed to pieces.

Haeda and Ruto jumped off of Etota and Pellopa, who obediently trotted home to their stables as they were told. The shopkeeper, Grogan, was walking around with a sullen expression, checking to see what inventory was broken, repairable, or stolen. His hands were on his head, which in turn shook shamefully. "Who would do such a thing to my shop? And only for a few pieces of fruit?"

Haeda walked up to him and put a hand on Grogan's shoulder. "I'm sorry to say this, but I doubt that a person did this." He said, surprising himself. Then he remembered that presence in the forest. "I think it was there in the forest. Watching me." He added for no one in particular to hear.

Ruto was puzzled. "There was something watching us?" He shivered. "I hadn't even noticed."

Just then, Midaylia came hurrying toward them from the trail. "Father, what happened?" She cried.

Grogan turned to her and caught her in a hug as she reached him. "Something ruined my shop."

Midaylia looked up at him, her bright blue eyes full of sadness and worry. "Something?"

Haeda and Ruto helped them clean up the rest of the day, and even replaced the stolen fruit. Midaylia hugged them both as the sun started to sink and whispered, "Thank you."

Haeda felt warm and tingly. "You're welcome." He replied.

Ruto firmly hugged her back as she came to him. "I'll always be here to help." He lightly blushed, but the late afternoon sun made it invisible.

Ruto and Haeda strolled back to their tree houses. Haeda lived alone. His parents had mysteriously disappeared shortly after he was born. Ruto's family had raised him until he was old enough to live in his parent's home by himself. They called "Goodnight!" To each other and fell asleep comfortably.

Haeda shifted in his bed; pillow pulled tight over his ears. He was having a strange dream. Someone was screaming. He rolled onto his side, trying to get rid of the screams. His heartbeat became faster, and then he abruptly sat bolt upright, eyes wide open. The screaming wasn't in his dream, it was in the village! He jumped down the ladder that led up to his tree house; his crude but strong sword in hand. Ruto was standing there, also with a sword. He squinted as he tried to look through the crisp morning sun. Ruto shouted, "Haeda! Moblin!"

Haeda was hit by a wave of fear. The moblin jumped out of the underbrush and tackled him. Haeda fell into a roll, crushing the monster, and then sprung onto his feet. He swung at the moblin with his sword. The moblin ducked and tried to clobber Haeda with a club encrusted with spikes. Ruto jumped in and tried to gut it, but was kicked off of his feet. The moblin tried to hit Ruto in the face, but Haeda parried the blow just in time.

Just then, Grogan ran up to them with a pitch fork in hand. "No one and no thing destroys my shop!" He cried, lunging forward. The moblin screeched and just barely dodged the attack. It broke into a run for the forest. "After it!" Grogan cried.

The three chased the moblin and simultaneously swiped at it with their weapons. It clumsily but effectively managed to keep away from them, and then came to a wall of thorns. It regretfully thrust its way through the sharp thorns, leaving Haeda, Ruto, and Grogan on the other side. "It got away." Grogan whispered. His lip was trembling with anger. He turned to the teens beside him. "That moblin is a bad sign, you hear? Bad things will happen. I can feel it." His voice was tinted by fear as well.