"Alright, so what are we up against?"

From behind a snow drift, Link and Saria observed the entrance to the mountain springs, marked up with two banners displaying the Zora crest. There appeared to be no one outside. Could this really be that easy?

"Hmm, I don't see any guards, but the Zora are cold blooded, aren't they? They're probably inside the cavern, keeping warm."

"Should we try just waltzing in?"

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt."

Were they being serious? Would it not be foolhardy to alert the guards before they tried to sneak in? Clearly, neither the girl nor her fairy had snuck into anywhere before. Under a heavy breath, Link muttered his thoughts.

"Bad idea..."

"Bad idea? Well alright then, what's your plan? You've done this before, right?"

What was his plan? They needed leverage, something to get them inside. The Zora weren't exactly the type of people one could bribe, they were a society based on glory and honor. Maybe they wouldn't need to bribe anyone, perhaps they could distract them? From his pouch, Link pulled a bottle with a fish caught in inside. It seemed to swim around in circles, doing laps inside the container.

"Now where did you get that?"


"Eh, this is boring. I'd much rather be swimming in the spring."

"Can it, Teedo. Somebody has got to guard the entrance. Baron's orders, remember?"

Just inside the entrance of the cave, there stood two Zoras armed with spears. Generally, a job as a guard was quite dull, let in those who were allowed, kick out those who weren't. The only thing to do was talk to fellow guards, even if on paper, it counted as flouting protocol.

"I know, but how often do people even sneak in here anyway?"

"Not often, but when they do, it's always a trouble maker."

"Heh, tell me about it. Hey Giltar, remember that girl?"

"You mean the Plurbian kid? How could I not?"

"She was a real piece of work. From a glance, she looked just like any other kid, but you let her slip by for one second, talk about mass hysteria."

"I think you were the one who let her slip by."

"Eh, maybe I was. When is lunch break anyway?"

"Your shift just started, you're already hungry?"

"You know me, I'm always hungry! It's not like there's been an abundance of food as of late anyway."

Abruptly, a fish landed in the middle of the room with a loud and slimy *plop*, gathering both the guards' attention.

"Oh boy, a snack!"

"Where did that come from?"

Teedo rushed over to the slimy morsel, while Giltar tried to get him back to his post. With the distraction in motion, Link and Saria silently ran around the Zora guards. After they managed to escape the room unnoticed, the group stopped behind a pillar to continue formulating their plan.

"That was brilliant Link!... Now what?"

"We need to find the springs. Mandgrova said that's where the piece of the harp is. We look there, we're bound to find it!"

"Right, of course... so how do we find the springs?"

"That shouldn't be too hard, it's probably where all the Zora are hanging out."

"So if we find the Zora, we find the springs, and if we find the springs, we find the harp!"

While Mari and Saria reasoned together a decent path of logic, Link observed his surroundings, and realized that the entire conversation was moot. He cleared his throat and pointed over Saria's shoulder. The spring was right behind them.

"Oh... well, skip the first two steps."

Exercising a fair amount of stealth, the heroes crept from pole to pole towards the body of water that sat at the end of the hallway. Something stuck out to Link as they snuck down the quiet room, he couldn't see any Zoras near or in the pool. Quite peculiar, given the size of the spring, and how much the Zora loved water. Something felt off, but he just couldn't lay his finger on it. Like a slap on the back of his wrist, the answer to the dilemma hit Link's mind, but before he could relay it to his companions, Saria had already bolted off.

"C'mon, no one is here! The water is warm, right?"

In a burst of excitement, Saria sprang into the air and dove for the water. It was too late to say anything now. He should have remembered, Zoras swim underwater, not above. When Saria splashed into the spring, several of the silver-skinned humanoids sprang to the surface, and started shouting their protests at the girl.

"Hey, what are you doing here?! You're not a Zora!"

"You think you can just jump into our hot spring without an invitation? Who do you think you are?"

"What? But- uh-"

"Take her to the cells until we figure out what to do with her!"

"Hey! Put me down you big bully!"

A pair of Zora picked up and hauled Saria down a different wing of the cave, the feisty girl kicked and shoved all the way. Neither of the guards were gentle with the girl, when she would kick one of them, they would kick back with a sharp flipper. Perfect, just perfect. Now Link had to spring her from whatever prison they were stuffing her into.

"Well that couldn't have gone any worse. Quick, after them!"

Like a pair of ghosts, Link and Mari followed after the Zora captors, making naught a sound. At the other end of the path, there sat a few small cells. The Zora guards carelessly tossed Saria on the stone floor, and slammed the barred door shut.

"You're going to be sorry! Just wait until I get out of here!"

"Keep talking, girl. Heh heh heh. She's a real fighter, isn't she?"

"I think we need to have a word with Teedo and Giltar."

"Yeah, those oafs aren't doing a very good job. This must be the third scamp this month."

The two Zoras waltzed off, likely to confront their subordinates. Inside the cell, bruised and battered, Saria sat in a huff. How could she let herself get captured so easy? The waters looked harmless enough. It always seemed that things were worse than they looked in the cruel world. Now she would have to suffer in a dank prison, likely be forgotten.

"Hey! Psst, Saria. Over here!"

A familiar voice was enough to perk up her drooping ears. Saria rose from the ground to find Link and Mari standing at the cell door.

"Yes! C'mon, quick! Bust me out!"

A scowl on his face, the boy was not pleased with the distasteful situation. Drawing his sword, Link stuck the blade in the crack of the door, and attempted to pry it open. With all the strength he had, he pushed iron against iron, but neither wanted to budge. He was going to need a better plan. The cell door had a keyhole, so there must be a key somewhere, obviously. Giving a shushing motion to Saria, he crept off through the damp cavern to search. Somebody was going to pay for mistreating his friend.

"Hey, wait! Don't leave me here alone!"

"It's okay Saria, I'll stay with you."

"Well where's he going?"

"No doubt, he's looking for the key."


Author's Note

Just a fair warning, this story is probably fixing to get a fair bit darker, so buckle your seat belts.
Don't worry though, the fun and games aren't over.