"Whose brilliant idea was it to bring you?"
Slightly annoyed, Nayla whipped her pony tail around, clearly trying to hit the person who was unfortunate enough to evoke her anger.
"We're going to get arrested the moment we enter the damn room…You can't just leisurely walk back in there a few months after you killed their heir to the throne….I can already see king Zora's face when he gets his fishy paws on you…I would hate to be you when that happens"
Their small group had been arguing for what seemed a couple of hours, while in reality, they had only started fighting for about half an hour. Not that this drew anymore attention to them than they already had though, seeing as the group was a rather ragtag one. People don't often see a Kokiri, a Gerudo, a Goron and a rather murderous looking Hylian travelling together, none the less see a Gerudo pick a fight with a male Hylian (they're more accustomed to seeing them seduce them)
"Without me, you can't even enter the damn room, seeing as none of you know the royal family's song….and Darunia here sure as hell can't swim to the bottom of Lake Hylia without drowning first…I'll just wait outside"
"Well" Saria finally spoke up, for the first time today "I think you should come. This is the perfect time to apologise for what you have done. You ARE sorry right?"
Unfortunately enough (or fortunately for Link) Link's answer was lost as the group reached the waterfall which guarded the entrance to Zora's Hall. However, the rushing sound of the waterfall was soon replaced by the haunting yet elegant tones of what insiders would call Zelda's lullaby. Just as the last time faded into nothingness, the waterfall split apart, revealing a hole just big enough for Darunia to fit through.
"Uh…Brother? Remind me why I am here again..." The sight and most importantly, the sight of all that water had unnerved the otherwise so brave Goron. After all, it wasn't unheard off for a Goron to drown in large bodies of water.
"Same reason I'm here" was the gruff response "to find the new water Sage"
Nayla sighted annoyed and tried share a look of understanding with the ever so bubbly forest Sage. "He sure is Mr. Sunshine*, isn't he? Brighten up kid or do I have to light a candle for you?"
Rather oblivious to what was happening behind her, Saria kept on walking.
"He wasn't always like …Hey…Stop it, you're going to get us caught".
Oh well, so much for being oblivious.
During the conversation, the group had entered Zora's Hall as stealthily as one could with a 6 foot 5 Goron following you. All had gone well until the hero of time had decided to "screw" being stealthy and had tackled the newly appointed spirit Sage. Needless to say, this caused quite a bit of a ruckus as both rolled on as a tangled mass of limbs, their armours alerting anyone within a miles range when they hit the stones. Within seconds, the group found itself surrounded by vicious, hungrily looking Zora's, armed to their teeth.
Saria smacked her forehead, hard, and quickly separated the hero and Sage with amazing strength, especially for one of her built and species.
"Look what you two" She pulled on both Link's and Nayla's ears "have gotten us into"
"So we meet again…Decided to turn yourself AND your followers in, did you? What a pleasant surprise"
Right in the middle of the army currently surrounding them stood a rather lonely looking Zora, standing out because of his share height difference.
"I fly solo…" Link muttered.
"SHUT UP!!! You came here, months ago, marched right into my daughter's chamber, literately ripped her heart out and now you have the courage to merrily show your face you?! Why you little…"
Clearly not intimidated by the army ready to rip him apart, Link leisurely walked over to the previous speaker, eyes as wide as saucers and he barely avoided tripping over his own mouth, which was dangling just inches above the ground.
"Wahwahwah" Was all Link could mutter, quite incoherently as well "You're King Zora? No way, I thought you had your ass glued to that throne"
"Well… I did use to be severely overweight" the now rather handsomely (for Zora standards) King moved around, clearly embarrassed by the whole ordeal and his former lack of self-control "I lost a lot of weight after Ruto's death…But that's not the point, you killed her! You did this to me "
Huffing rather undignified, Link walked back to the rest of the group. "Seems like I've done nothing wrong then…Let's go guys, standing here all day won't help us find the new water Sage."
As they turned to leave, the guards closest to Link tried to grab hold of his arms, yet the Hero still had some of his former glory in him, and he easily knocked both of them to the ground, efficiently clearing the way for his comrades.
"It's no use, you won't find him or her"
A voice, sounding as clear as Lake Hylia, and as beautiful and soft as an ocean breeze broke free from the crowd which had gathered to watch the uprising.
"He or she hasn't hatched yet"
"That's correct, poor Ruto's eggs haven't hatched yet" Seemingly lost in memory, the king continued "She was nicely following the restraining order sent by Her Royal Highness, even laid her first batch of eggs" The king trailed on, his voice sounding somewhat proud.
"With all due respect, your majesty" Saria walked back to where the king was standing, and swiftly dropped in what appeared to be a formal bow, which made her green cloths and hair stand out even more between all the blue. "We were sent by Her Royal Highness, Princess Zelda, to indentify and appoint the new water Sage. Your dispute with Link will have to be settled another day."
"You will subject that piece of scum to me, or I won't cooperate."
Determination radiated from Saria as she confronted the hard headed king.
"We don't have the time for this your majesty (read you big stupid fish). He's back and unless you enjoyed being frozen for seven years, you will give us your full cooperation."
"Can't I just..."
"NO!!!"
"Sheez, there wasn't a need to shout, I'm standing right here…"
Nayla turned to Link, amazed as to why the hero was smiling. "Why aren't you scared out of your mind? I would have never guessed that that little girl could be so scary" He just smiled and faced her. "She raised me, I first handily experienced what invoking her anger will cost you"
Nayla turned an unnatural shade of white as the mental images flooded her mind.
"I'd rather not find out I think…"
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After some more persuading, and after giving him a couple of blows to the head, Saria finally got the King to take them to the throne room, saving them from the prying eyes and ears. Without the king occupying the throne, the room seemed strangely empty, as if something vital was missing.
Right next to the throne was a small shrine which held the Zora Sapphire, its pure rays lighting the room with an unnatural glow.
"It has shone this way ever since the temple has starting acting strange, which was around the time of Her Royal Highnesses death"
It seemed that the same voice which had spoken up from the crowd had followed them to the throne room, and the group finally had a chance to connect a face to it.
Lulu….
Link immediately recognized her, even though he hadn't really met her in the dimension.
"My name is Rutela, and His Highness appointed me as the caretaker of the princess'eggs…"
Sorrow seemed to spread over the young Zora's face, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come.
"I'm sorry, but we can't help you right now" King Zora walked over to Rutela, having noticed her despair. "Without an heir there won't be a Sage"
Everyone turned quiet as the room turned a cold cold blue. A large crack could be heard, and before anyone could do something about it, the pedestal cracked, releasing the Zora Sapphire.
Just as it was about to hit the ground and shatter, Link managed to grab hold of it.
"What's going on? Why is the temperature dropping?"
"It's the temple"
Before anyone could stop her, Rutela spoke up again.
"I'm going to go there, now. Something is amiss. You're welcome to join me, but don't try to stop me"
"I like your attitude lass, I think I might as well join you, I heard that pure Hylia water does wonders for your skin."
"Hey wait, you're not going to go without me." Saria brushed past Link and Darunia, trying to catch up with Nayla and Rutela. Link just shrugged his shoulders and started to leave as well when Darunia grabbed his hand.
"No way we're entering a water temple… They're nuts, NUTS I TELL YOU!!! Darunia isn't going"
"Aww come on you big wuzzie, it's not like you have really have a choice" Link started to pull a very reluctant Goron with him, which was quite a feet on itself.
"How about I treat you to a nice pair of rocks when we come back? I'll even play Saria's song for you"
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a/n :
Believe it or not, but I had a lot of trouble writing the last part of this chapter. I deprived myself of sleep for the better part of last night because inspiration hit me like a train, and I just couldn't let it go.
* If you truly need a laugh, listen to umbrella by vanilla sky while reading Nayla's comment about Link. It'll make it so much more enjoyable ^^
I hope you guys enjoyed this one, and I'm sorry for neglecting this for a while
~~destiny's charm~~