Classes start for me tomorrow, so I don't know just how fast I'll be updating from now on. But, I only have classes two days a week, so I'll try really hard to work on this as much as I can :)

And now, the temple we've all been waiting for... Well, some of us, anyways :) Including me :)

Enjoy XD

It was nothing like he remembered.

Their rest had passed too quickly, eating leftovers before falling asleep, sleeping through the day. It was now night, and as Link looked over what used to be Lake Hylia, he couldn't help but gasp.

The once large lake was no more. He had remembered it as being large, full of crystal clear water of which he had been able to easily see the bottom of, so far below them. Now, there was no more than twenty feet of water pooled at the bottom of the lake, and the water was murky and stale.

"Oh goddess," Maple said from next to him.

Despite the sadness in his heart, his mouth twitched at her words. He knew deep down that she was this goddess he was supposed to find, even if she wouldn't admit it. She was immortal, with powers unlike any he had ever seen: how could she not be? And yet, here she was, either sending out a silent prayer or using her nature as a curse. The thought made him smile.

"What happened here?" Maple asked as Epona nudged Link between his shoulder blades. He reached behind him and patted her nose.

"It seems the freezing over of Zora's Domain has had its effects on Hyrule..." He muttered.

"You've got that right," Maple said as she approached the edge of the shore, where the water used to rest. Link joined her after the horses walked away to do their own thing.

It was strange, the dirt that used to be the under the water. Traces of dead sea plants littered the rocks, and the dirt had the consistency of something that was always wet. Apparently, the lake had been like this for some time.

They started walking to the only pool of water left in the lake, in the deepest part. As they descended, the rocks below their feet steadily grew slick, until their weight caused muddy water to seep from the ground. When they reached the edge of the water, Link reached down and dipped his fingers in, testing the temperature. He sighed in relief as he realized that the water was comfortably warm. Now, he found himself actually looking forward to traveling into an underwater temple. He had always enjoyed swimming.

"You might want to put that tunic on," Maple said, interrupting his thoughts.

Link nodded, reaching into his pouch and grabbing for the soft fabric. It took him a moment, since there were quite a lot of things in there now, but he pulled it out soon enough. He left on his undershirt, putting on the blue tunic over it, changing his hat as well. As he was tightening his belt, there was suddenly a sharp pain on either side of his neck and sides.

Link screamed, falling to the ground. He heard Maple saying something, but what he couldn't tell through the pounding noise in his ears. His vision swam, Maple's face going in and out of focus.

The pain suddenly disappeared. Link breathed heavily, rubbing at his neck and sides. That's when he realized that there were strange ridges on the sides of his neck, and bumps on his sides, under his shirt.

Link stood up, his legs shaking. His fingers ran along the sides of his neck, where there were now three, long slits.

"You have gills!" Maple exclaimed at the same moment he realized this himself. Link then gasped and yanked off his belt, lifting his tunic and undershirt, exposing his side.

Maple gasped. Even Link could see them: three slits that ran along his ribcage, each right over a rib. They were closed at the moment, tight against his skin, but he didn't miss them: anyone could see that the skin between the slits was oddly transparent, pink muscles showing through from underneath. With every breath he took, they flexed slightly, barely opening before closing back up. It gave him the strangest sensation, cold air barely seeping through, straight to his lungs.

He lowered his shirts and fumbled with his belt. He couldn't seem to get his fingers to stop shaking. Maple seemed to recover, because she stepped in front of him and helped tighten it, her fingers steadier than his. He took in a shaky breath.

"Not what I expected," he said.

"Neither did I..." Maple replied as she cinched his belt.

"Does your power give you gills as well, then?" He asked.

Maple shook her head. "No. It just makes it so I have no need for air." She took a deep, shuddering breath. "Let's go, then."

Link took one last look behind him, seeing the horses off in the distance eating some hay. He then nodded and stepped into the water.

It was just as warm as he had thought. It was oddly pleasant, especially after being in such cold water before. As it traveled above his waist, he suddenly felt the strange sensation of water rushing in through the gills on his sides. It made him shudder, but then he couldn't take it anymore. He needed to get in the water. He couldn't wait any longer.

Link dove, plunging into the water head-first. As water rushed in through his gills, he grabbed at his throat, the feeling of water rushing into his lungs oddly painful. He gasped, water rushing in through his mouth, and for a brief moment he choked, sputtering and coughing. But then, quite suddenly, the water stopped rushing into his mouth when he took a breath: instead it rushed, in and out, of his gills.

His breathing calmed, and soon the strange sensation felt quite natural. He looked around, surprised that his eyes easily cut through the murky water, so that everything around him appeared crisp and clear. He looked above him, where Maple was floating. Her lips were closed tight, but despite this she was smiling at him. She then pointed down.

Link saw it: a door sealed off at the very bottom of the lake, embedded in the rock of the island above them. Link swam to it, seeing that there was a strange crystal switch above the door. He tried to pull at it, but it didn't budge.

Link turned when he felt Maple tapping his shoulder. He then watched as she made strange motions in the water with her arms, first looking as if she was holding something, then pulling a trigger, and making a motion like something shooting off into the water...

Link nodded, suddenly understanding. He reached into his pouch, surprised to find that the contents were completely dry, even after opening it wide to see inside. It was like there was a bubble covering the opening of the pouch, which didn't allow the water to flow inside.

Neat!

Link pulled out his Hookshot, swimming back a little ways. He then aimed, surprised that the laser sight worked perfect despite the water, and shot.

Instead of pulling him to the wall, the hook grabbed the crystal, pulling it out of the wall before letting it go. Link watched as the crystal switch slowly started floating to the surface, and now that it was exposed he realized that the entire thing was shaped like a fish. He then looked down to see the door was unsealed.

Maple swam passed him, straight through the door. Link smirked and swam after her. The passage wasn't very long. Soon, it stopped altogether and shot straight up. Link could see the rippling surface above them, so they surfaced.

There was a corridor in front of them. Maple climbed out first, Link not far behind. However, the moment his gills surfaced into the air he started to choke, his gills craving water. He fell to his knees, and vaguely heard the sound of Maple's bow twang from somewhere in front of him. After a moment, Maple knelt down in front of him, her face painted with worry.

"You okay?" She asked.

Link, whose breathing had returned to normal, nodded. "I think so." He sighed, straightening. "Why do you think that keeps happening?"

She stared at him for a long moment and then ran her fingers along the gills at his neck, the sensation making his body shiver in pleasure. He would have to tell her not to do that so suddenly, otherwise he might find himself pouncing on her in the middle of the Temple if she wasn't careful. "I think that you just don't know how to transition smoothly between breathing air and water. I think after a few times, you'll learn a technique that makes it easier for you."

Link sighed, partly out of frustration at her words, and partly to gain control of himself. "Really? So, I'm going to have to choke each time I go from one to the other while we are down here?"

Maple gave him a small smile, but didn't answer. Link sighed again as her hand dropped. Now he wasn't looking forward to this very much.

The room they entered into was three stories high, them being on the highest floor. Water flooded the room, right up to the third floor. In front of them was a giant square pillar, on which was a ledge, which they jumped to. Link looked down, seeing that there were many other doors on the other floors below them, all submerged under the water. At the bottom, he noticed that there were four corridors, one at each compass point.

Link and Maple walked around the ledge, it curving to the right with the pillar. There were a couple of doors and corridors across from them, but most of them were inaccessible.

"Only one way to go..." Maple said, once they had done a complete circle. Link silently groaned to himself, watching her gracefully dive down into the water, which was just as murky as the water in the lake. Link then sighed, took a deep breath, and dove in head first.

Link took short breaths once he was under the water, trying his best not to start choking. He still gripped his neck, instantly coughing, but it wasn't quite as bad. As long as he didn't take in a lungful of water right off the bat, his choking didn't seem as bad... Maybe that was the technique?

Maple wasn't far ahead of him, since she had stopped to wait, her hair floating all around her face like a curtain of black satin. When he had recovered, she motioned for him to follow, down to a corridor on the second floor.

The passageway was tight and hard to maneuver while swimming, so Link sighed as he reached into his pouch, pulling out the boots. They weren't as heavy under the water, but they were heavy enough that his arms jerked painfully as they fell to the bottom of the passage. Link quickly took off his boots, putting them in the pouch, and slipped his feet into the Iron Boots, tightening the buckles on them so they wouldn't fall off.

Link looked up to see Maple floating awkwardly on the roof, her head bumping up against it. When she saw he was done she swam down to him, lightly hooking her arms around his neck so as to stay grounded, her feet still floating out behind her. He smiled at her over his shoulder as she kissed him on the cheek.

Walking underwater with the boots on was much easier than he had ever expected. If it weren't for the fact that his movements were slow because of the pressure of the water, he could have thought that he was on land because of how easily he moved.

The corridor wound around to the left, and then to the right farther down. Ahead of them, Link thought he saw what looked like giant spikes hanging from the ceiling and growing out of the floor. The moment they turned the corner, however, Link saw three odd shapes heading toward them.

Quickly, Link pulled out the Hookshot, aiming it at the nearest Stinger that was coming toward them. He shot, the Hookshot just as slow and sluggish as he was under the water, but the aim was true, the hook shooting straight through the thin membrane of one of the Stinger's flippers. It squealed, falling to the floor. Link turned, barely managing to dodge another stinger that was coming at him, but backing into a third as he did.

Maple screamed, Link instantly turning around to get her away from them as he shot. This one was closer, and he was able to kill it faster than the other. He then aimed again, quickly shooting down the last of them.

Link was about to turn and check on Maple, when he saw three more Stingers appear. Link worked as fast as he could, trying his best to keep Maple away from them. But after a few seconds, he felt Maple's grip leave his neck, and he watched as she swam back down the passage, an eagerness in the movements of her limbs. Link quickly took down what was left of the Stingers before turning back around and following her.

He emerged back into the bigger room, just in time to see Maple dive back under the water. She approached him, pointing at her mouth and chest. For some reason he understood: she didn't have gills, so that scream she had let out a few minutes before had let out the only air her body was surviving on. Apparently her spell that allowed her to go without air only worked as long as she was holding her breath. If she let it out, the spell wouldn't work.

Link nodded as she rewrapped her arms around his neck. As she did, he felt her fingers lightly touch his now open and pulsing gills. He shivered, enough so that Maple noticed, giving him an odd look over his shoulder. He shrugged, hiding his now blushing cheeks from her. He found himself hoping that they weren't going to have to surface in the next couple of minutes. If they did, well...wet clothes weren't good for hiding anything...

Link walked down the now clear passageway, seeing one of those Hookshot targets on the other side of the spikes. He aimed carefully, making sure he was standing in just the right position, before pulling the trigger. The Hookshot then slowly pulled them up onto a ledge, slow enough that Link was able to dodge the spikes so they didn't hit Maple. Once on the ledge he looked up, seeing more Hookshot targets on the ceiling of the room above. Link moaned silently to himself as he realized that the surface was just feet above them. Couldn't the temple have been nice to him, just once?

Link chose carefully, making sure the Hookshot pulled them up into the room above without dropping them back on the spikes below.

Once their bodies broke the surface of the water, the Hookshot yanked them with a burst of speed, no longer having to drag them up through the water, and Link gasped, instantly choking. The Hookshot dropped them to the ground and Link spent a moment gasping for air. Even though he hated the sensation, he was silently glad. Lack of oxygen was not good for stimulation...

His gills adjusted, and Link stood up and saw that they were in a very small room. Next to them was a crystal switch. On the other side was a treasure chest, inaccessible because of a strong jet of water surrounding it.

Link, who was still holding the Hookshot, shot the switch, and instantly the jet of water dropped. He started to cross the room, his boots clanking loudly and slowing him down, but the jet of water suddenly reappeared.

It was a short switch, then.

Link turned to go back to the switch when Maple stopped him. "Hold on. I've got an idea." She then snapped her fingers.

Instantly, he felt the weight of the boots disappear. He looked down to see that he was now wearing his normal boots. He smiled.

"That will come in handy, I bet."

Maple smiled. "Go stand by the chest. I'll trigger the switch so you can open it, okay?"

Link smiled at her, feeling a rush of gratitude toward her, solidifying everything he already felt for her.

"I love you," he sighed. Maple smiled and touched his cheek before walking over to the crystal. Link stood by the chest and looked back at her, nodding.

She pulled out her bow, pulling it taut, and let the arrow hit the switch with a loud 'clang'! Link then quickly jumped at the chest, pulling it open before the jet came back. He pulled out the compass before jumping back.

Maple joined him as he stood next to the hole they had come through, submerged in water. She snapped her fingers, switching his boots, and then he jumped down, Maple right behind him. After he landed on the platform, she wrapped her arm around his neck again before he carefully dropped back down, avoiding the spikes.

Again, her fingers lightly touched his gills, and he suddenly had a feeling that she was doing it on purpose, inspecting them. He politely moved her fingers, hooking them around his neck so that they were no longer sending shivers down his spine. At first, she gave him a very odd look, but the blush on his cheek seemed to register to her, for her cheeks flushed as well as she shrugged in apology. He then walked back down the corridor, and once they were back in the main room, Link jumped down again.

They floated down slowly. When Link's feet touched the sandy bottom, two strange creatures came after them, completely round with many spikes sticking out of its body. Link quickly shot them both with his Hookshot, watching the spikes retract, leaving behind a strange, scaly bodies. Link shot them again, each dying with the second hit.

Link turned and walked down the corridor directly behind them. This door had two unlit torches next to it, and an elaborate border surrounding it that seemed to glow with a strange, yellow light. He followed it as it curved twice, Maple still hanging on, and gasped when he reached the room at the end.

Ruto was standing there.

Maple let go of his neck, her hand sliding down to his arm to keep her rooted, but so that she could see better.

Link couldn't help but notice that Ruto was just as strangely pretty as she had been when they first met. Her scales grew in such a way to make it look like she was wearing an elaborate dress, her fins on her arms, legs, and hips pulsing as the water rushed around them. Her amethyst eyes were also bright and strangely mesmerizing, so much so that Link realized that his mouth was hanging open lazily. He quickly closed it.

"Oh...you..." Ruto said, her voice oddly clear. "If I'm right... Link? You're Link, aren't you?"

"Yes," Link said, surprised to hear that his voice was clear as well. It seemed the only person who couldn't speak underwater was Maple, and by the look on her face, she was wishing she had taken that tunic.

"It's me, your fiancee, Ruto! Princess of the Zoras!"

"F - fiancee?" He stammered. He had completely forgotten about Ruto's stone, how she had called it an 'engagement ring'. He hadn't really thought she would take the arrangement seriously...she was a fish, after all.

He also didn't miss the murderous glint in Maple's eyes at the sound of that word.

"I never forgot the vows we made to each other seven years ago!" She said, placing her hand on her hip like she had as a child. "You're a terrible man to have kept me waiting for these seven long years..."

Link felt something tug at his hand, looking down to see that Maple was now trying to pry the Hookshot from his grip, the look on her face scaring him a heck of a lot more than was comfortable. If looks could kill...

"But now is not the time to talk about love..." Ruto sighed. "I'm sure you've already seen it!"

"Seen what, exactly?" He said through his teeth, discretely trying to stop Maple from taking the Hookshot, which was getting exceedingly difficult.

"Zora's Domain - totally frozen! A young man named Sheik saved me from under the ice... But my father and the other Zoras have not...yet..." Her hand balled into fists, her face determined. "I want to save them all! I want to save Zora's Domain! You! You have to help me! This is a request from me, the woman who is going to be your wife!"

At this point, Link felt Maple finally pull the Hookshot from his grip, and it took a lot of restraint for him to grab her hands, pulling them down so that the laser sight was no longer pointing between Ruto's eyes. As much as Ruto's claims of marriage bugged him, he knew that they needed her help.

Ruto hadn't missed the exchange, and her face was murderous. Link backed away slightly as her and Maple stared daggers at each other. Ruto finally growled and turned to Link, her face contorted with rage.

"Link, you have to help me destroy the evil monster in the Temple!" She demanded, her cheeks red with anger. "Inside the Water Temple, there are three places where you can change the water level. I'll lead the way. Follow me, quickly!"

She then pushed off the ground, gracefully swimming up, Link and Maple's eyes following her. The corridor ascended a good few stories, and when Ruto reached the top, she disappeared as he pulled herself out of the water and onto some unseen ledge.

Link looked over at Maple, who still had his Hookshot in her hand, and was surprised to see that she was now giving him a murderous glare. He shrank away slightly, wondering what he had done to make her look this mad. Maple then crossed her arms and kicked off from the bottom, not giving him a second glance, leaving him at the bottom with his Iron Boots still on.

Oh yeah, she was definitely mad at him, though for what he wasn't sure.

He was going to have to do this the hard way, and hopefully before Maple caught up to Ruto to murder her with his Hookshot.

Hopefully you guys liked :)