Linkle sat near the bank of a river, watching the sunrise. Floating in the sky, like a bad omen, was the Demon King's castle. Only those who could fly could get there. No human had ever set foot there. The sky was a dark orange with black, angry clouds. In other places may be the sky was blue and the clouds were white, like that place where she saw the white wolf, but here the sky spoke of darkness. Only at night did the sky look natural. The moon shining its perfectly natural light upon the sleeping inhabitants of Hyrule, the humans woefully unaware of how pleasant the night was compared to the day. Linkle sighed. She didn't like the way things were going at the moment. The Gorons had been too friendly towards her. Like they had been expecting her to come. And the way Shiek had just given her the information to each spring.

Now, the wolf. Linkle didn't like to admit it, but the wolf had frightened her. His eyes were the thing that had scared her the most. yes, they were like hers, but the pupils. They had been cat-like and glowing amber. Maybe it was time to visit the monument again. Gods, when was the last time she had gone there, let alone thought of it? Before she left home, most likely. Well, maybe she could get some information from the Zora, and then maybe she could make some sense of this whole mess. Voices snatched her away from her thoughts, "why are we here, Zora?" a woman's voice, a Zora. She was just thinking about them. How convenient.

" Princess Amaya, we have to find someone to help us," said another voice. Male, likely a Zora, "we cannot fight off the dark lord much longer"

As Linkle moved closer, she noticed that one was indeed female and was quite beautiful. The smokey grey fins that hung on the sides of her face were long and reassembled tentacles, the long tail like appendage that came from the back of her head had fins like those on her arms were fan-like. The fins on her lower torso were layered, making it seem like she was wearing a dove grey skirt that turned to silver as it went down. This same pattern could be found on her other fins as well. She was adorned with jewellery draped all over her shapely body. Pearl and silver bracelets shone at her wrists. Her companion was an old male Zora, whose scales were navy blue. His fins were not as extravagant as his companions, and the tail-like appendage was fin-less and had white dots going along the sides. Linkle thought the woman was most likely the "princess" the man was talking to.

"And so I have to run away?" Amaya said to him,

"yes" the man replied, " I'm sorry, Princess. It cannot be helped, your mother is the Queen and so I follow her orders, Zora"

"My mother is currently inside the Temple and refuses to come out, let alone be seen by anyone" she hissed "even me, her- what was that?"

Linkle silently cursed. She had stepped on a twig, that had, in turn, alerted them to her presence. She stepped out of the bush she had been crouched in, hands raised in surrender.

"Who are you and why were you listening to our conversation?" Amaya said to her,

" My name is Linkle, Your Highness" Linkle replied, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I couldn't help but hear that your mother has shut herself inside the Temple. It just so happens that I came this way because I wish to enter it."

'If you heard that then you must know that the Temple is off limits," huffed Amaya, angrily, "especially to your kind, Zora"

"Your Highness, you are assuming things again, can you not see that this woman is neither human nor demon?" interjected her companion, "Shifter, I do not know why you seek to unify yourself in this dark world, where someone such as you would be more or less at home, but I ask that you disregard her words and not take her words to heart."

" Elder Wyvern! You can't be serious!" Amaya said indignantly,

"I'm afraid I am, your Highness," replied Wyvern warily, "the Lukami has long held ties with the Zora. When we are in need, they help us, and in return, we allow them to unify themselves in the temple spring, Zora."

Linkle had forgotten about that. She had forgotten about the ties her family had held since the Twilight era. She was actually quite surprised they still held to this day. From what her father had told her, the reason her family held these ties was because of a promise that one of her ancestors had made. The promise that was made stated that if the Zora ever called upon them, then they would help. The promise also made her family convenient messengers for the Hylian Royal family. It was no secret that the Lukami were shifters and bound to a promise. It was most likely this that had prevented her family from being wiped out.

"Why have I never heard of this?" Amaya asked, still angry. She was starting to get on Linkle's nerves.

"You have not heard of this, because of the fact that the family was thought to be dead, having disappeared alongside the Hylian queen and her daughter," Wyvern turned to Linkle, "I'm sorry, but as you wish to go into the temple. I believe me and her Highness could be of help, Zora"

"What!?"

this shout from Amaya caused Wyvern to give her a hard look, "you are not used to this, but you need to learn that when it comes to threats to everyone, including the Zora, that you must do what you can to help. And this girl is our best shot, Zora"

"How am I your best shot?" Linkle said quietly, "I haven't said that I would help you, yet"

"See!?" Amaya said, "she's not going to-"

"Let me finish," Linkle said a growl seeping into her voice, "I don't know what has happened, but I do know that I am bound by that ancient promise to help you."

It didn't take very long for Wyvern to explain the situation to Linkle. Amaya had gone on to the Zora village, while Wyvern had stayed to speak with Linkle.

"if the only way to the Temple is through the village, then how am I going to get there?" asked Linkle, "I'm not a fish"

"No" Wyvern agreed, "you are not, but there is a way. The Item has never been used due to the fact that the Temple has never been fully submerged and if it has, there wasn't an issue"

Linkle questioned the logic of that. The hero of twilight allegedly had gone into the old water Temple, wearing Zora armour. Which had been given to him by the dead queen of the Zora. she watched Wyvern dig around in a satchel and bring out what looked like the bottom half of a translucent fish costume.

"This is a mermaid suit" he explained, "when you put it on, you should make sure that it's in full contact with your skin, otherwise it might not work properly, Zora"

She took it from him, "so, it changes me into a mermaid?"

"Yes and it should change colour when it does," he replied to her, "put it on now on the river bank, we'll take the river to the village"

Linkle did as he said, stripping down to her underclothes. Wiggling herself into the tail, she felt it fuse to her skin, she was also aware of that fact that now she was also wearing a tight fitting crop top. The tail had indeed changed colour, now being opaque and deep emerald green. After making sure everything was tightly packed into a small pot that hung off her waist, she followed Wyvern downstream. It occurred to her that technically speaking she shouldn't be able to fit all her items into her satchel, let alone the pot. Funny, she had never really thought about it, but it did seem odd to her that she was able to fit what she did in it. Her clothes, spare sword and bow, quiver, and grappling hook, to name a few. Either her satchel was really a small pocket dimension, or she was really good at stuffing things into small spaces. Linkle opted for the pocket dimension, as unlikely as it sounded, it made the most sense. Even though men had the stupid thought that the superpower of all women was putting things into small spaces, Linkle was pretty sure that she shouldn't be able to fit a sword into her fist-sized satchel. She thought about what kind of enchantment was on the tail. It had actually turned her into a mermaid, evident by the fact that her legs had fused together into one singular object. Transformation magic was powerful and usually was only done as an absolute last resort. The reason was simple, if you weren't all that powerful in the first place you would die; your life force forging the spell that would transform you. This was a danger that Linkle knew very well. It was a danger all shifters had to face in the first transformation, and it was scary to transform that first time. The first time, you feel the magic you had always been aware of but never used, take over. You would feel it boiling your blood as it forces your body to take on a form that it had never taken on before. If you survived you would wake to find yourself in a form that you believe to not be your own, and then realize that, yes, it is you, just a lot different. If you died? You would die in a cross between that of your other form and your human one. The magic that Linkle felt in the suit and covering her felt like that magic. It slowly dawned on her that the enchanter who had cast the spell had given up their life in casting it. Magic was a dangerous thing, some races were able to handle it better than others, Hylians, in particular, were like that. Even though their magic weakened from time to time (sometimes being non-existence) they retained the ability to use, or at least be somewhat immune to it. She shivered. The water was getting colder. She looked at Wyvern and realized something was wrong. Rather clumsily she swam faster, "what happened?"

"T-the Temple," Wyvern replied, badly frightened, "we noticed that the water was getting colder and the walls were covered in ice."

So, it's spread, she thought, "You stay here, I'll go ahead and see what's going on,"

"No!" Wyvern cried, "you'll die! The truth is, is that the Queen is frozen solid! If you go there, you'll freeze too!"

Linkle laughed darkly, "I doubt that a little ice is going to freeze me. If you are so scared, go to Lake Hylia and wait there. If the ice goes there, then go to Kakariko,"

Wyvern looked at her and saw that she looked sane, yet her eyes were emerald and sapphire fire. What could have pissed her off so much? The shifter barely knew the Zora, and Wyvern got the distinct feeling that she was more wolf than human. He nodded towards her and wished her luck.

Linkle watched him go. She had meant what she had said. Fear was a useful emotion, yes, but it was not of use in this situation. It would only get in the way. Moving forward, the water grew colder. Without even really thinking about it, she used her magic to warm herself. Her skin took on a golden hue as a gentle flame coated it. The river went underneath a cliff and opened into a large underground lake. Small caves were carved into the side of the walls, she had reached the Zora village. Linkle saw that the Zora here were frozen solid. Some floated near the surface, others were on the bottom. Near a tunnel, where the water was at its coldest, she found the body of Princess Amaya. The Zora had a soft 'oh' look on her face; as if surprised. Her arms were raised slightly, her fins permanently spread out; a statue of her former self. Linkle grimaced as she swam past the unfortunate princess. Whatever had happened here, had happened quickly. Another gift from the Demon King? She didn't know, but this was pissing her off. The Gorons had been fine, they had been in no immediate danger of death; The Zora, however, were different. They lay as statues in their home. Frozen, never to see the daylight again. She had failed in protecting the Hylian princess, she would not fail in protecting the Zora. Even if it killed her, she would not allow herself to fail. Her mind made up, she went into the icy tunnel.

Linkle looked around, everything was covered in ice. It was rather unnerving to surrounded by so much ice. It was like someone had gone and painted everything in shades of blues and whites. As she went deeper, she saw it. or rather her. Seated upon a throne of what looked like shells carved from ice, was a very large female Zora. The Zora looked very much like her daughter, the only differences being that she had only one fin on each side of her head. They were elegant and had silver sapphire earrings hanging from them. There was also the fins that formed a 'skirt' that were also longer and gave her the appearance of no legs. Queen Mephala... Linkle couldn't tell what her colouring was, but she that the queen was still quite beautiful. Linkle began to explore the rest of the Temple. Jumping at the slightest sound, it was eerily silent. Everything she came across, was frozen. however, when she came to a door, the ice melted, and she could open it. going through one such door, she found herself in a room that wasn't covered in ice. Linkle quickly attributed this to a weak flame concealed within a small orb. she went closer to investigate it. The orb had a weird shimmery look to it, and Linkle thought that it looked a bit like a bubble. An actual bubble, not the fiery skull with wings. Reaching out to touch it, the flame sprung into life. Linkle drew back her hand in surprise. The orb didn't get any bigger, but it now looked like a fiery pearl. A massive moaning sound could be heard throughout the Temple. What did she do now?

Sorry about Amaya. I was trying to get her to seem like a spoiled princess who's used to getting what she wants. I feel like I either didn't do it enough or I overdid. Also, when I was describing Amaya, I was thinking of her having fins like those on a beta fish. For Zora royalty, I thought it would make sense for them to appear a bit more flamboyant than your average Zora. I also kinda forgot about giving the Gorons an accent, something I'll fix later on, and hopefully, I did the accent for the Zoras correctly. I'm only using the manga for reference as I can't currently read Japanese.:)