A young man relaxed in the afternoon sun. He had sandy blonde hair, and he wore simple homespun blue clothes, which looked like small silver scales had been added to them. A large wolf rested at his side, enjoying the sun's warmth. They were resting on blue paving stones, and a river of clear water rushed by nearby and ended in a fabulous cascading waterfall which descended hundreds of feet. At the other end of the river, a small but exceptionally deep pool sat before a large throne.
"Are you just going to lounge around all day?" A voice asked playfully. The young man opened one eye. Before him stood a boy roughly his same age, except he was covered in small silver scales which gave his skin a blueish tinge. His arms had large yellow fins protruding from them, and he looked as if he was wearing a large hat. In reality, it was more of a fish tail. His feet were long and webbed, which made it easier for him to swim through the water quickly.
"Of course not Wenglock. But what good is the sun if you don't enjoy it?" The man asked. Wenglock shrugged.
"That may be your philosophy Throm, but I would rather be out and about. Swimming, fishing, diving…" Wenglock listed.
"I like all that stuff too, but sometimes you just need to relax and enjoy life," Throm said. The wolf stood up and stretched with a toothy yawn, revealing a row of sharp teeth. He flicked his ears, which had been pierced and now held blue earrings.
"Want to have a race?" Wenglock asked.
"Where to?" Throm asked.
"How about to the fishing hole?" Wenglock suggested. Throm nodded. The two boys stepped into the river, facing the waterfall.
"3… 2… 1… GO!" Wenglock shouted. They dove into the water and Wenglock quickly propelled himself through the water and rocketed ahead, leaving behind a trail of bubbles. Moments later, he flew over the edge of the waterfall and plummeted to the large pool down below. Throm followed behind, and shot over the edge of the waterfall moments later. The wolf they had left behind watched the boys race away, and shook his head in a very human way with an indignant look on his face. Then he padded away, in the opposite direction.
Throm and Wenglock were neck and neck by the time they reached the front door of the fishing hole. Wenglock and Throm both climbed onto the bank and laughed.
"You're certainly getting faster!" Wenglock said.
"Either that or you're getting slower!" Throm teased.
"Excuse me," A soft voice said. Throm and Wenglock both sat up to look at the speaker. Before them stood a nervous looking girl dressed with a lavender dress and with long black hair. She had clear blue eyes, and very pale skin. She looked slightly younger than Throm.
"Are you a Zora?" She asked Wenglock. Wenglock stood up and made a fake bow.
"Wenglock the Zora at your service," He said. The girl smiled with relief.
"Oh good. I've been lost for days. Hyrule is just such a big place! Who knew? Can you take me to Zora's Domain?" She asked. Wenglock and Throm glanced at each other.
"Sure, I guess. I don't see why not…" Wenglock said.
"Follow us," Throm said. Deciding it was better not to make their guest swim up the river, Wenglock and Throm led the way through a newly installed tunnel that led to Zora's Domain. The girl followed quietly.
"What business do you have with the zoras?" Throm asked.
"I'm a representative sent by Queen Zelda. I have a message for King Ralis," the girl said.
"I suppose you could always just tell me," Wenglock said.
"Tell you?" The girl repeated.
"I'm Prince Wenglock of the zoras. My father is King Ralis, my mother is Queen Ruto," Wenglock explained.
"Oh! Why didn't you tell me before?" The girl asked in surprise.
"Don't worry about it. Anyway, this is my best friend Throm. What's your name?"
"I'm Rose," the girl said. Wenglock glanced at her dress and the flower designs.
"No kidding," he said.
"So you've been to Hyrule Castle?" Throm asked enviously. He had always wanted to leave Zora's Domain, but he was never allowed too. He didn't have any parents who stopped him from leaving, so that wasn't the problem. King Ralis and Queen Ruto had always acted like Throm's adopted parents. They never let him travel farther from Zora's Domain that the fishing hole. The tunnel leading to the mountain was absolutely off-limits. Throm had tried sneaking away from Zora's Domain several times, but each time he was either caught by a zora or his wolf would do something to keep him from leaving. Throm hadn't given up on leaving, but he had decided that he needed to wait for the perfect moment.
"Of course. I'm Queen Zelda's handmaiden. I'm the ambassador between all of the races. The gorons, the humans, the zoras, the yeti, everyone. I also spend an awful lot of time with Princess Tanti," Rose explained. Wenglock snickered.
"What's so funny?" Rose asked.
"That's an interesting way to say that you're on nanny duty for the disabled princess," Wenglock said. Unlike Throm, Wenglock was allowed to leave Zora's Domain whenever he pleased. Whenever he returned from his adventures, he would tell Throm all about the world. His favorite topic whenever he returned from castle town was how Princess Tanti was always shut up in the castle. As far as Wenglock and Throm knew, she had never set foot out of the castle.
"She's not disabled! Queen Zelda doesn't want her to get hurt, that's all," Rose said angrily.
"Sure," Wenglock said with another snicker. Throm could tell that Rose was starting to get upset, so he changed the subject.
"You're Queen Zelda's handmaiden and personal ambassador? You look awfully young for that kind of responsibility. You're only what, eighteen? Nineteen?" Throm asked.
"Twenty-one," Rose corrected.
"You look much younger than that," Throm said. Rose blushed.
"Sorry I'm late Rose! I got lost!" A voice suddenly said. Wenglock and Throm looked around. A small glowing purple orb zoomed towards the trio until it started hovering in circles around Rose's head. Throm watched with undivided interest. He had never seen a creature like this before. Rose held out her hands, and the glowing orb landed on them. Throm realized that it had small, tissue-paper wings.
"Is that a real live actual fairy? I didn't think that they existed anymore!" Wenglock said in surprise. The fairy launched into the air and started bouncing up and down on Wenglock's head.
"Of course I exist! I came here from Kinkaro Village. There are loads of fairies there," the fairy said.
"Kinkaro Village? Never heard of it," Wenglock said.
"It's a well-kept secret. No outsiders have ever been there. I came here on a mission," the fairy explained.
"This is Pala. She's been with me as long as I can remember," Rose said.
"I'm Wenglock," Wenglock said.
"I'm Throm," Throm added. Pala gasped. She zoomed over to Throm, stopping to hover in front of his face. She flew up above his head and began circling him.
"This is him! This is the one I was sent to find!" Pala exclaimed.
"Are you sure?" Rose asked.
"Definetly! I can sense it! But I always assumed he would be older . . ." Pala said.
"What is she talking about?" Throm asked.
"Later. We'll talk later. Right now we have more pressing business," Rose said. At that moment they reached Zora's Domain and the throne room, where King Ralis and Queen Ruto were. And that was the end of the conversation between Throm and Rose.
