CHAPTER 11

She was lost.

She was cold.

She was alone.

In the dark of the night, all she knew was that the world was a terrifying place to be.

And she could do nothing.

All she could do was sob and wail in her loneliness.

Then it all changed.

Someone took her into their arms.

There, she felt warmth again.

The hum of a song crept into her ears-one simple, but comforting.

It told her all that she needed to know…

That she was not alone.

That everything was all right.

Then a soft voice spoke her name...

"Aria?"

Aria's eyes sprang open, both at once, and she found herself gazing at the open sky above Zora's domain.

"Are you okay?"

A flood of memories coursed through her mind as she became aware of her situation. After Thya had healed her injury, she had told her of the Zoras' plight-how Hylians rarely, if ever, visited the Domain and that they were often hunted for their scales and skins, despite having been allies of the old Royal Family for generations.

She remembered feeling pity and assuring Thya that she had no ill feelings towards the Zoras in her brief time knowing them. After Thya's sincere assurance that "she knew" and telling her to not worry, the chief healer had gone off to fetch towels, instructing Aria to wait and soak in the bath until she returned.

Aria had indulged in the soothing effects of the bath and, leaning back on the edge of the pool, partly-submerged, she must have fallen asleep. Now, she was looking at the cloudy sky above. That was, until Thya came into her line of sight, mild concern visible in her vibrant, green eyes.

"I'm...I'm fine." Aria said, blinking sleep from her eyes as she turned to face Thya, who was now revealed to be holding a thick and fluffy towel, "I just dozed off. This pool, it just…"

A light laugh escaped Thya's throat. "Understandable. You aren't the first Hylian to drift off to sleep in our pools, and you won't be the last… hopefully." Thya placed the towel on the floor in front of Aria. "Dry yourself off. You should be all better now."

Thya turned to leave and when she had gone several paces, Aria checked to see if anyone was watching, then emerged from the bath and set to drying herself off. When she was satisfyingly dry, she dressed quickly and made her way to the gateway.

Thya was there, and so was her father. He had to have arrived just recently, from what conversation Aria heard. It was odd, for she had never heard Thya sound remotely enthused. Polite and gentle, definitely, but it was controlled and reserved. Yet here and now, she spoke with barely-contained excitement in her voice as she addressed her father.

"I haven't seen you in so long!" the Zora healer had said.

"Indeed," Link said with a hint of a slightly embarrassed laugh, "You've grown, Thya. A lot, really."

"Last I saw you, I had just learned to walk." Thya said, fondly, then turned to see Aria, "Aria, you never told me that this was your father!"

"In my defense," Aria said, scratching the back of her neck, "You never asked. How do you know him?"

"Well, he came here long ago and-" Thya began, but Link swiftly cut her off.

"When I was in the army, I was sent to recruit Zoras to act as both soldiers and medics." He told her, "She was only a child the last time I saw her; fresh from her creche pools and learning to walk."

Aria figured that Zoras could not go pink in the cheeks, but the look on Thya's face and the bashful giggle that escaped her throat indicated that she definitely would be if she could. "So, Sir Link, what has brought you back to the Domain after so long?" she inquired once she regained her composure.

"Are you aware of the Malice that's been spreading throughout Hyrule?" Link asked.

"Malice?" she asked, her pleasant demeanor fading by the second, "The blight that's been poisoning our rivers and infecting our fish?"

"Yes." Link answered with a nod, "Your father told me to find you, saying your brothers and sisters could help us. Can you take us to them?"

"Yes. Right away." She said, then beckoned them to follow, "I know the quickest way there, in fact. Come."

With a hurried pace that both Aria and her father had trouble keeping up with, Thya led them to the outskirts of the domain. As they approached what looked like a dock, empty and likely long-unused from the lack of people, Thya stopped at one of many shabby-looking canoes.

"You know how to use one of these?" the Zora asked and, on seeing Link nod, pointed to one of the stone walls lining the vast inland lake of Zora's Domain. "There's a cave along that wall that will lead you to the shoreline. I'll meet you there."

Thya then took a running start and dove straight into the water with strength and speed that Aria had not expected from one who looked so delicate. She disappeared under the water with a "splash" and Aria saw her swim off in the direction she had pointed in.

Link inspected the canoe, then nodded an approval. "It looks a bit shabby, but it should be fine to use." He looked to Aria, then told her, "You can get in. It's safe."

Aria looked at the boat made of finely-sanded and polished wood. It looked crude compared to what she had seen and read about in books. Cautiously, she extended a leg until her foot found solid flooring. Link joined her in the boat, seated himself across from her, then took an oar and pushed off from the dock, paddling their vessel in Thya's wake.

Thya was right. Embedded within the stone wall surrounding the lake was a cave. From a distance, one might not have noticed it and mistaken it for another cress in the surrounding stone wall. Straight in, the boat sailed, and for a brief moment, total darkness met Aria's eyes.

Then, from the gloom, there came a strange, bluish-green glow. A glance up revealed the source to be patches of strange material on the ceiling and surrounding walls. Wary to not tip over the boat, she reached out and brushed one such patch with the tips of her fingers. A strange, almost fuzzy sensation graced her touch.

Moss. That was what it reminded her of-the times she went out playing in the woods as a child and curiously prodded at it on rocks and trees. She remembered how she would turn to see her father watching, smiling at her curiosity, and how that smile felt different from how most would-a nostalgic smile, an almost sad one even.

Aria glanced at her father and what she saw made her mood dip. He had slowed and taken the time to take it all in, but he did not bear that smile. She returned to her seat in the boat, her eyes continuing to scan the patches of glowing moss.

The glow gradually faded as a brighter light from behind Aria slowly filled the cave. She turned and, sure enough, they were nearing the end of the tunnel as a horizontal sliver of blinding white light was getting larger and larger the closer they got to it.

They crossed the threshold and Aria briefly shielded her eyes until they adjusted to the sunlight. When her sight returned, what she saw took her breath away. She and her father had stopped in a pool of shallow water beneath a large outcropping of stone. Beyond the pool, however, was a sandy beach riddled by occasional boulders and the vast, endless ocean stretching outward as far as the eye could see.

When their canoe was properly stopped at the edge of the pool, Aria was quick to exit, hopping out and hurriedly jogging across the sand. Link trailed behind her at a notably less-hurried pace, keeping her within sight.

"Ah!" a familiar voice called, "Over here!"

Aria turned. Right down the shoreline and waving at them was Thya, along with four other Zoras. Both she and her father changed course, then stopped in front of their new company.

"These are my brothers and sisters-my royal brethren." Thya introduced, then gestured with a hand, "Princes-"

"Please, sister, we're capable of introducing ourselves." one of them said, flamboyantly, "What do you take us for?"

This Zora was taller than Thya, thin but bearing leanly-defined muscles, his scales fading from silver to yellow in the middle to electric-blue the closer it got to his back. His fins were short to the point that they didn't flow behind him. He was far more streamlined in appearance than his brethren, wearing the least amount of cloth or jewelry between them. In his hand was a spear, but it was not topped with a traditional blade, but rather the skull of what Aria assumed was some fish with a long, sword-like bill.

"I am Prince Marlo of the Zoras." he introduced, pride oozing from his voice as he threw back his free hand in what he probably thought was a theatrical fashion, "Pardon my sister, for though we are all grown, she still sees us as children in many ways."

Aria recoiled slightly, then looked at her father, finding some relief when he shared a similar sense of exasperation.

"Thya was just being polite. No need for theatrics." another Zora said, assuringly, his voice deeper and simpler-sounding.

This Zora was shorter than most of his siblings. He had the look of a powerfully-built man who had recently put on a good bit of weight-thick muscles beneath his arms, but a rotund belly and a somewhat-round face. His scales were green with splotches of varying other shades of similar coloration, his fins also shorter than Thya's, but more fan-shaped to the crescent-curves of Marlo's. Strapped to his back was a club-like weapon crafted from a spiky shell that looked like it came from a gigantic snail. He had a huge mouth, lined with teeth, but the smile he wore made it hard for Aria to be afraid.

The new Zora prince reached out and took Aria by the hand, shaking it vigorously. "Prince Grupa. Nice to meetcha." he said, jovially, "Marlo's always trying to show off, so try to ignore that." Aria thought she distinctly heard Marlo scoff indignantly in response. Grupa then gestured to another Zora and introduced, "Meet my sister, Koifa."

Koifa was built somewhat like Grupa-she was the shortest of her brethren and fairly plump, but not lacking in beauty or finesse to her aquatic physique or royal status. Her full, reddish lips contrasted to her white skin that was covered in orange and black patches of varying sizes. Her fins were a bit more like Thya's, longer and more flowy than her brothers, like trails of silk.

Koifa bowed to greet Aria, then stood up with a beaming smile. "The pleasure is mine." she said in a girly, bubbly voice that Aria had not expected, but welcomed the more she heard it.

Grupa gestured to the last Zora. "And last but not least is our other sister, Beytho."

Of all the Zoras gathered, Beytho was easily the tallest and most slender, but she easily had the most beautifully-colored scales in Aria's opinion-a deep, vibrant blue that faded to red the closer it got to her fins, making them look like the tresses of a crimson gown in some places and deep-red locks of hair in others. Her expression was uncomfortably-blank and her deep-green eyes fixed on Aria with silent scrutiny.

After eyeing Aria for a few seconds, Beytho's emerald eyes fell on Link and her mask faded as she seemingly glided over to him. She inclined her head in a short bow, then returned to her stance.

"You grace us with your presence, Sir Link." she greeted, her voice fairly-low and bearing the same mask on her emotions, while retaining eloquence befitting royalty, "It has been far too long."

Aria thought she heard a faint hint of venom in her voice. Not necessarily antagonistic, but skeptical at the very least.

"Pardon me asking," Link said, breaking the tension, "But wasn't there another brother?"

"Rifsha's still out in the sea." Grupa answered, "He said he'd search a little while longer. Least that's what he told me before I got back."

"Search?" Aria asked, too fast for Link to interrupt or ask himself. She saw his initial shock turn into barely-masked exasperation.

"Ya know about the Malice stuff?" Grupa asked. Aria nodded. "Well, there's one place he thinks it might all be comin' from, and it's somewhere on the seabed."

"Only one problem." Beytho piped up, and just from the deadpan tone of her voice, Aria knew she would be in for bad news before she heard what the Zora princess said next, "No Zora has seen it in a hundred years."

"But Rifsha," Thya chimed in, as though averting her sister's pessimism, "believed he found a clue. They had returned from one such search when I reached them."

Aria looked around at each Zora and, from the looks on their faces, knew the answer she'd get just as she asked. "No luck?"

All Zoras aside from Thya shook their heads, voicing their "no" in some form or another. Link looked between each of them, then approached Aria. "Would you like to learn how to properly swim?"

Aria shrugged and let herself smile. "Sure."

Link turned to Grupa. "Could you show my daughter how to swim? If we want to help, she'll have to learn fast."

Grupa saluted as he rushed to Aria's side and politely offered her his webbed hand. She took it as a gesture of trust and followed the stocky Zora to a clearer area further downshore and away from prying eyes.

Once they reached a calmer segment of sea, Grupa held something out. It looked like a necklace with a vaguely-triangular, silver object dangling from it. Aria honestly had no idea where he had gotten it because he had not been wearing it before and, aside from maybe one of the silver cuffs adorning his limbs, there was not a good place to conceal such an object.

"This," he said, placing the object in her hands, "is a Zora Scale. It'll help ya hold your breath underwater and keep your clothes dry...I think." He scratched his head in an embarrassed gesture. "Not a lot of Hylians come by, so I haven't found time to test it."

Aria turned it over a few times. It seemed way too shiny to have come from even the most regal-looking Zoras she had seen. "Did this come from a Zora?"

"Oh, no." Koifa said, shaking her head with a laugh, "It's just an enchanted piece of silver. Losing scales, to us, is…" She tapped her chin with a finger, trying to find a suitable metaphor. She then spied Aria and softly took her by the hand. "Sort of like losing one of these." She gestured to Aria's fingernail, then with her forefinger and thumb, pinched the edge and gave it the smallest fraction of a tug upward.

It was not enough to hurt, but it did make Aria's eyes go wide as she swiftly retracted her hand. She looked at her hand, then at the scale, and finally the Zoras, who had taken a sort of embarrassed amusement at her reaction.

"You've made your point." Aria said, slipping the necklace over her head and slipping it down her tunic. "Where do we start?"