Hello! This is my first ever fan fiction and I hope you enjoy it. It is after LoZ: TP and from the POV of Ralis, so pardon me if it is a bit out of the canon- his personality wasn't shown enough, for he was passed out for most of it. It is rated T because of later chapters and only as a precaution. Please review and tell me how you felt about this first chapter. I don't own any of the Zelda Characters, but I do 'own' Lord Dura and Joulee. Enjoy!

The crowning to king in my youth changed my outlook on my future. I knew, being only eleven when I was crowned, that the childhood that I had been officially over. My mother died as an example to our people when those… beasts filled our land with Twilight and made our river freeze. I was sent to warn the king, but something happened. My memory of my fail attempt to warn the Princess is vague, only remembering the kind voice of the woman whose name she didn't even know, then a hard ride to the town of Kakariko that rest just below Death Mountain. Only then did I awake, finding that I was being cared for by others of her creed, kindness seemed to just lace itself into their actions. All I could do to help was to tell the Hero of Hyrule of a creature that lived in the snow and give him the one thing that was left of my mother. After that, I did not mourn, and I returned to my people to help them feel as if their monarchy was restored. I, Prince Ralis, was soon after crowned king. Though my power as king was very limited since I was young, my great advisor -Lord Dura- helped me in my decisions. I felt confident, that once I turned sixteen, I would have complete control of my Kingdom and help my people even more. I would rule as my mother had and make allies that would last a lifetime. But one of them I never expected…


Auru came to Zora's domain only one year after the sealing of the evil being called Ganondorf. I was twelve, still getting my feel for the crown that I wore when he had come for a visit. I always had welcomed members of the Resistance, knowing that they had helped the great Chosen Hero defeat him and tried to save my mother. It pleased me to have an unexpected visit from the older man, so I welcomed him with open arms and asked that my personal guards escort him to the throne room. As soon as he stepped into the room, I noticed that he wasn't alone. A small figure stood next to him, their hands interlocked as they both walked over to me. The guards who escorted them looked weary of the being that was with them and I didn't know why at first. Dura tensed as well, glaring at the small figure as it and Auru approached us.

"King Ralis. It is good to see you again." The hoarse, kind voice of Auru finally broke the silence of the Zora around me. The small figure, now seen in better light, was that of a small girl.

She was younger than myself, that was obvious, but not much so; maybe three to four years. But I was slow to realize why my guards and advisor were weary of her, but when it hit me, it hit me like a Bomb Fish to the stomach. Her skin was tanned, but it was obvious she was born to be pale. Her hair was that of a crimson hue, cropped fairly short; ending just above the ear. Then her eyes; they were gold. So gold, you could have mistaken them for the gold coins that were at the bottom of Lake Hylia. The emotion in them was masked and she never looked anyone in the eye. Auru looked to the girl, and then returned his gaze to me. I snapped out of my stare when a hiss was heard from Dura.

"What is that Auru?" The words came out as venom, causing the child to look up. It seemed to me that she was used to being called an object. Auru turned his attention to Dura, his own sort of glare transfixed to his features.

"She is my ward. Her name is Joulee." He added a lilt to his words, making it obvious he hated that Dura referred to the child as an 'it'. "Shad was too busy to watch her, so I thought it to be no trouble to bring her with me."

"That is nothing but trouble!" Dura pointed to Joule, his gills flaring.

The girl stood as tall as she could, her features prideful. No words passed her lips, but they were not needed; for Dura quickly got angry.

"Go! Leave Zora's Domain with that… thing and never-"

"No, Lord Dura. You will not treat my friend this way." I had to interject, knowing what he was going to say. Auru was a good friend and a trusted ally, if he thought it was safe to bring with him a Gerudo child, then I trusted him. A sigh escaped me as I saw the horrified look on my advisor's face and some shocked expressions from the guards. "Auru, You and Joulee will join me in the meeting room…" I turned to face both the guards and Dura, "Alone." It wasn't a direct order, but I made sure that I used a similar tone to my mother's when she 'suggested' something to the Zora court. A nod came from my guards and after a short time; one came from Dura as well. A small grin came to my features as I lead Auru and his ward to the meeting room that was placed just behind the throne itself.

The room was large, about as big as I remembered Telma's tavern to be. A table made of stone and coral sat in the middle, while the walls were covered in books of many kinds and ages. The decoration was elaborate but sparse, for my mother had designed to so that it wouldn't intimidate allies. The room had tapestries hanging from the ceilings and then attached at the bottoms to the wall, the pictures depicting previous Zora royalty.

"Please, sit." I motioned with my hand to one of the many chairs at the table, and then once they sat down, I took a seat across from them. "It is good to see you Auru." I finally spoke after a slightly awkward silence came between us.

"It is good to see you again, too. I am sorry that I might have caused… confusion to your guards when I brought Joulee." It was obvious, even to a twelve year old boy, that he was avoiding many of the other words that could have better described the feeling my advisor and guards shared. But, two children under the age of thirteen were in the room, so the older man refrained. "They were confused to see a child with her eye and hair color." He stated again, acting as if Joulee was paying attention.

She wasn't though, her eyes looking around the room with shock and awe. For someone of her age, it must have been strange to see the Zora meeting room for the first time. Even grown adults were caught off guard by it.

"Joulee?" I murmured, looking to the small girl who sat across from me. At her name, she looked to me with surprise. "Auru and I need to speak to each other. You can go to that door and play in my room if you want." I pointed to the far right door.

Joulee looked at me confused again, but stood up and walked over to the door. As soon as she was out of ear shot, I shot a glance at Auru.

"A Gerudo, Auru? You found a Gerudo?" A spoke, concerned slightly for the mental capacity of Auru. A low chuckle came from his lips.

"You speak as though you are my age, Ralis." He chided, a smirk on his lips.

"I have to be older. I am king of my people." I looked down to the table, "I can no longer be a child…" I then suddenly realized what Auru was doing and I shot a look back up to him. "You are side stepping my question." I said sternly, my palms flat against the cold stone and coral table.

Auru sighed.

"Aye, she is half Gerudo and sadly the half that is most noticeable." He murmured. "I found her wandering the desert; filthy, thirsty, confused, and her hands caked with blood." Another sigh escaped his lips.

"Blood?" I asked, confused as to how that girl could have killed anyone.

"Aye, but it was her own." Auru spoke quickly, knowing that I would jump to the conclusion that the blood was from someone else just because of her lineage. Sadly, he was correct. "Later, when Telma cleaned her up, she found claw marks on her shoulders… as if she was trying to rip something from her skin." He shook his head, his hand now rubbing under his eyes.

"Makes you wonder what happened…" I said softly, my own hands loosely linked under my chin and my head resting on them. I raised an eyebrow at Auru and then spoke; "It wasn't because Shad couldn't watch her. You could have easily left her with Telma." A small ounce of suspicion laced in my words, though the tone was overpowered my mock anger.

"I know but…" Auru had a concerned look on his face and his eyes strayed over to the door that Joulee was now in. "I needed you to meet her, for I am worried for her safety." He looked back to me, the concerned look still in his eyes. "If something happens, I would feel better if she had somewhere to go." Auru sat up straight then, looking me straight in the eye. "Hylians don't trust her, even if she isn't one hundred percent Gerudo. I want her to have friends that can protect her, for I'm an old man." I was completely shocked to hear Auru speak as if he was on his death bed. Was this child of the desert really someone he was worried about in the near future?

"But what about Telma, Shad, Renado, Rusl, or even Ashei? They could-"

"No. A Gerudo in Telma's bar would drive away customers." The man held out his hand and began to count out the other reasons. "Shad is a young man who wouldn't know how to entertain a little girl. Renado has a town and a daughter of his own to protect; if someone… or something found out that they took care of Gerudo, the town could be in danger. The reason is same for Rusl, even if Link is with them. And Ashei…" A sigh escaped his lips, which was soon followed by a chuckle. "Joulee wasn't born to last in extreme cold." His fingers ran through his beard. "Darbus has already begun to call her sister, loving the fact that she seems to have enjoyed the mines' heat."

"Then why…?" I was still confused. Gorons were large creatures- they could make sure a child was safe.

"Because you are so close to her age and you have lost family as well…" Auru murmured, his eyes looking to me as if I was the little child that had no one.

In a way, I was. This young girl and I had more in common then I would ever expect. I sighed, looking over to my room where Joulee was most likely playing with my old toys.

"Auru, she will always be welcome here." I finally answered as I turn back to Auru. A smile broke across his face as he sat up straight in his chair.

"Thank-you Prince Ralis."

"One question;" I asked, leaning forward slightly. "Why? Why help a child you just found in the desert?"

Auru looked at me for a moment, seeming as if he needed to think of the correct words. Then he leaned forward as well, a small smile on his lips.

"Because she deserves something better. That child has been through things I could only imagine, yet when people see her they see a Gerudo. Somehow they see that little girl as a threat to them and throw words or stones. They think she will end up like him." Auru didn't speak his name, but I knew who he spoke of.

I nodded, and then stood from my chair. Auru looked at me curiously and I returned his look with a smile. I turned then, heading toward the door at which Joule had entered. As I opened the door, I expected to see her sitting on the floor; playing with my old toys that I have yet to move into storage. But as I walked into my large room, I didn't see her on the floor.

In fact, I didn't even see her in my room. The door that lead to my personal library was open and with a confused look, I walked into the large room. It smelled of musty books and was lit by both candles and the one lone stain glass window. My eyes scanned across the room, when finally they landed on the small figure that sat in one of the many very large chairs. A book, two sizes too big, lay open in her lap and her eyes curiously looked through the words that were written on the paper. I approached her and as I got closer I noticed a doll was clutched in the crook of her free arm.

I inhaled gently, seeing as it was the doll that looked exactly like my mother. I had almost completely forgotten about it.

Joulee must have heard my intake of breath, for she quickly jointed her head up and she clutched the small fabric doll tighter against her chest. My face became gentle and I walked over to her.

Though we were close enough in age, I was much taller than her and I kneeled before her so that I could look her in the eye.

"Hello Joulee." I spoke softly.

She didn't respond, her golden eyes masking any emotions she might have felt at that moment.

"I'm Ralis; Auru is a good friend of mine." I spoke again, looking to the book in her lap. "Do you like to read?"

Again she didn't respond and she pulled the doll close to her face. The doll of my mother looked to me and I could almost sense that she would have fallen in love with this little girl. Then the idea to make her talk to me struck. I looked to the doll, then back up to those metal eyes.

"You like her?" I motioned to the doll with a small nod of my head.

Joulee nodded, squeezing it tighter to her.

"I can tell you her name if you wish." The words I spoke seemed to have caught her attention, for she let the doll slip ever so slightly from her face. "But you have to answer one question, alright?"

She seemed to think my offer over, looking to the doll and then back to me. A short time passed before she nodded. A smile came to my lips.

"How old are you?"

Another pause came from her as she looked to her hand, seeming as if she was counting out the years.

"Eight." Joulee whispered. Her voice was soft and low, as if she had never spoken before. The accent was new to me, a strange mix of her two heritages. I smiled.

"I'm twelve." I looked to the doll then, gently reaching out my hand to touch the soft fabric of the toy. "And this is Rutela; she was the queen of the Zora not too long ago and was my mother." I smiled up to the small girl, who looked at me. It seemed as if she was no longer tense around me, for soon she spoke again.

"I was gonna to read her a story, but I don't know how to." She looked down to the words and her small hand moved across the pages. I saw the sadness in her eyes and I gently took her hand in my own.

"I can teach you. Would you like that?" I asked with a smile as I gently held the small hand in mine. Our hands were so different from each others', but it didn't seem to bother either of us.

Joulee gave a small nod, and then smiled up to me. A little bit of my heart was there and then reserved only for this small child.

I nodded too. I stood and gently picked her up into my arms. She held onto Rutela and the book as I held her in the air for a brief moment so that I could take a seat in the chair. Putting her gently in her lap, she then showed me the chapter I was to read to her.

My voice echoed through the large room as I spoke each word and at that moment I felt like a King.

Thank-you for reading through this very long first chapter. I was just going to have this as a one-shot, but then I realized how much I loved writing for these two. It had ended up long because I was trying to fit in a bit of background info about how Auru found Joulee. In a way, this is like a prologue. Each chapter is going to be a different year in both Ralis's and Joulee's life, for not every week or every day is full of adventure. Though later on, it will be. Please review and tell me what you think!