Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda world and its characters belong to Nintendo.

Author's Note: As classes wind down, I had some time to write this. There is a little bit of theory in this chapter, and I went the route I did because it gave more weight to things. You'll see what I mean. Hope you enjoy, sorry it's been so long, and thanks for reading! P.S. This chapter is a bit sad, but I promise it will be okay again eventually.

Ruto sighed to herself as she watched the slow rise and fall of her fiancé's chest as he slept. It had been two nights since his proposal, but it still felt like it was all a dream – not always in a good way. In another world, she and Honu would be considering dresses together, discussing the possibilities of the wedding night with hushed voices and stifled giggles. Jireto would be leering at them, overcome by jealousy, but he would not be a traitorous idiot. And her father would look at her from his throne with proud approval, always with some sort of pleasant surprise up his sleeve, for delighting and spoiling his daughter was one of his greatest joys in life.

How different this world was from the one she imagined.

Thora had offered her help planning, but there was too much uncertainty. Ruto did not know when it would be safe to return to the Zora Domain or if she would ever be welcomed. Had the Zora learned to be happy with Jireto as their king, or would some of them secretly wish for her father's return? And what of her father – where exactly was he? Link had never answered her questions about him, except to say that the future had changed when he brought her along with him.

She placed her hand on Link's arm and shook him, but he slept soundly. He had been so tired after his latest mission, he'd fallen asleep in the middle of his bowl of stew. Ruto sighed again and rose from the bed, drawing Link's cloak around her as she stepped outside of the room and went out into the chilly night.

The fire had been put out hours ago when Thora and Ganristian had gone to bed. Ruto was the only one who couldn't sleep, and it felt particularly lonely this night. She sat on the hard, cool ground and stared at her emerald, which glittered in the moonlight. The thought had been gnawing at her: What if she just went off on her own to find her father? But some of the things Link had said had scared her and gave her the sense that it was much too dangerous to leave the safety of Thora and Ganristian's forest cabin.

"Don't."

Ruto's head snapped around to where the source of the voice had come from, and she saw a crimson eye staring at her, the other one hidden by abundant blonde hair. The rest of the muscular man's face was obscured by a mask. "Excuse me?" she hissed, instantly on the defensive. She took in the sight of his clothes and noticed the red symbol on his breastplate, the one she had seen on the Sheikah Stones. Somehow, it comforted her. Softening her voice, she asked, "Who are you?"

He took a single step forward and blinked at her.

Ruto's first response had been fear, but as she drank in his presence, she felt he was familiar. She wasn't sure how that was possible; they had never met.

He was rather handsome. If she were not engaged to Link in mind, body, and spirit, he might have a serious rival here…

Ruto, you are bad, she inwardly scolded herself.

She could have sworn she saw a shadow of amusement in his eye. Before she had time to consider, it was gone. He would not come any closer.

"Princess Ruto… Returning to the Zora Domain now could be fatal for you," he said. "I must caution you against acting on the feelings in your heart. They deceive you."

"You and Link must be related. Neither of you answer my questions." She stood and drew the cloak about her again, stepping toward the stranger. Perhaps this wasn't smart, but she was growing frustrated. "I asked, who are you?"

"I apologize." He closed his eye and bowed his head. "I am Sheik of the Sheikah. Link and I are… friends."

Ruto didn't trust the moment of hesitation before the word "friends," but from what she could tell, he meant her no harm.

"I don't mean to intrude, but I could feel your intent to wander."

"You could feel…? I don't even know you!"

"In another world, you do."

As much as she wanted to argue with that, to tell him he was making no sense, she felt the truth of it in her core. It was impossible.

She asked him, "What do you want?"

He considered her and drew closer. "To keep you safe. And to show you something." He held his hand out to her, some of his fingers wrapped in gauze. Ruto gave in to her curious impulse to take it. Her surroundings, including Sheik, disappeared. The cloak fell from her shoulders in the rush of motion, and she found herself submerged in a large chamber underwater, a tall pillar in the center of the room.

It reminded her of the Zora Domain, but it was not the Domain. It, too, felt familiar.

She realized why Sheik had brought her here when she spotted her father asleep on the sandy floor, leaning back against the pillar. He was only sleeping, right? She felt her heart quicken as she swam toward him.

"Please wake up, please, please," she begged, placing her hand on his face.

She managed to rouse him from sleep after a few seconds and felt relief wash through her. He blinked at her a few times before comprehension dawned in his expression. He looked so old and tired. The seven years had taken their toll on him.

"Ruto? Oh, it is you, my darling girl," King Zora yawned. "It has been so long, I feared for you. I believed I had truly lost you. It was only the hopelessness of life without you that made it seem I accepted my exile from the Domain with grace. You did it all for that Hylian. Is he dead? Is that why you have come to find me, my sweetling? Are you all alone in the world, or am I merely dreaming you as I have so many times before?"

"No, Link is still alive, and you're not dreaming," she protested. "Father, slow down. You were exiled? What has happened to you?"

He seemed almost disappointed when she told him that Link wasn't dead. "Jireto has taken over my throne. Well, truthfully, it is your throne. I am no longer for this world. Time seems to have stopped here. Some days, I do not know whether I am alive or in some sort of purgatory after death. Perhaps it is punishment for not being a good king or a good father. I should never have let you go with that boy—"

"That boy is saving Hyrule," Ruto shot back. "And he's going to make sure you get your throne back. Father, don't speak like this. You frighten me. Let's get you out of here. Something about this place isn't right."

"Where else would I go? Nowhere is safe for us. Jireto would have our heads if he found us. And… as pointless as I feel some days, I believe I have some purpose to serve here. The voice that called me here told me so."

"You could come with me. Link and I have been living with Ganristian—"

"My place is here," he said firmly.

Ruto could see it was futile to argue with him. She glanced around them at the walls of the central pillar, which were filled with different symbols, none of which she recognized. "Where are we?"

King Zora gave her a sad smile. "No. You wouldn't know this place. The Zora have grown out of touch with their spiritual roots and reasons for being. Had I been a worthy ruler, I would have made sure that never happened." He studied her face as she took in the room around them. "We are at the bottom of Lake Hylia. This used to be a place of worship for the Zora. It is now known simply as the Water Temple."

Ruto gave a shudder that had nothing to do with the temperature. "Well, it's creepy. I don't like it. I don't like it that you're alone here."

"It is my place for now."

She changed the subject. Maybe talking about other goings-on in the world could entice him to leave. "Link kept his promise. Look." She held out her hand to show King Zora the emerald ring on her finger. "We can't plan the wedding without you, though." She attempted a smile, but it faded when she saw the depth of sadness in his gaze.

"I'm sorry, sweetling. I am happy for you. Make sure you remember me on the day…"

With that, he placed his head back against the pillar and drifted back to unconsciousness.

"Wait. No, please, just stay awake a bit longer. I have so much to tell you. I've seen so much—" She shook him, harder, but he didn't rouse. "Father!"

Then she felt herself pulled back to where she had been moments ago, the cold, dry air around her providing a bitter contrast from the pleasantness of the water. Sheik was standing before her again, and she looked at him. "H-he wouldn't listen to me. He just… shut down and fell asleep in the middle of our conversation." She felt that it was Sheik's fault somehow, and yet here she was talking to him about it like he was her personal therapist.

Sheik reached out to place his hand on her shoulder. "In another world, it was you guarding that temple. King Zora doesn't realize it now, but he has taken your place there in the ultimate act of love. He will play his part in helping Link seal away Ganondorf and returning peace to Hyrule. Seeing you will help him realize why he is there. He will awaken as the Sage of Water now, thanks to you."

Ruto studied him, which seemed to make him uncomfortable as he withdrew his touch and stepped back a few paces. "How do you know so much, Sheik? Who are you, really?"

"I told you, I am a friend. Take care of yourself, Princess Ruto."

She watched as he disappeared in the flash of a deku nut.

She turned to look back toward the house, where everyone slept without the knowledge that her heart had just been broken. Sheik's intent seemed to be to give her answers, but he had left her with more questions. She wasn't buying it that he and Link were friends. They were working together to defeat Ganondorf, but it seemed like something more to it. She couldn't place her finger on what else there could be.

Before she could puzzle over it much longer, the door to the cabin opened, and Link leaned against the frame as he rubbed sleep from his eyes.

Ruto took a small degree of pity on him as she noticed how tired he still seemed. She moved toward him but folded her arms in a defensive stance. "Why aren't you in bed?" she asked.

"Why aren't you in bed? What are you doing out here?"

"I've just been to see my father." She watched as surprised recognition sparked in his eyes and added, "Sheik took me to see him."

"Oh." He seemed fully awake now. She heard him release a breath.

"Link, why didn't you tell me? Why did it take a stranger to let me know my father's fate? He's… stuck in that temple, and I tried to get him to leave, but he wouldn't. I told him about our wedding, but he still wouldn't budge."

"He can't." Link wouldn't meet her gaze.

"How do you know that? What did Sheik mean about him awakening as the Sage of Water?"

This was the part of the conversation that Link had feared. To continue avoiding it would only do more damage.

He explained to her that he had seen the version of the future where she was the Sage of Water, bound to the Water Temple, and the purpose of the sages. He told her about the ice curse that covered the Zora Domain in the other future and about Morpha. He told her about how the blue medallion in his pack was given to him by her alternate future self after he defeated Morpha, and that he supposed the ice curse and Morpha were not necessary in this world since Jireto was king of the Zora and in alliance with Ganondorf.

Silence fell between the two of them once he had finished his explanation. As they paused, Ruto noticed it had started to grow lighter outside and could see the beginnings of dawn clouds painting the sky.

"I couldn't leave the temple after giving you the medallion? I couldn't go with you?"

Link shook his head.

"Why not?"

"You had an important job to do. And as Sage, you were…"

"I was what?"

He paused again, thinking, but there was no way to soften his response. "When you become a sage, you make the ultimate sacrifice." He reached for her hand, but she pulled away. His own dropped to his side. "You die."

The Zora princess felt as though the wind had been knocked out of her. She dropped to her knees and covered her mouth as she sobbed. Link crouched next to her and wrapped his arms around her, but she did not return the embrace. She was torn. She knew she shouldn't blame him, that there was no way he could have known how the future would change, but she did. In that moment, she blamed him for it all.

"It should have been me, Link. Not him. It should have been me," she breathed against his shoulder.

Now she understood Sheik's words about her father's ultimate act of love. She had seen him die of hopelessness against that pillar, and she hadn't been able to stop it.

Link held her. It was all he could do, and it felt terribly inadequate in that moment.