Chapter One
Ruto shivered. Her skin was covered in ice crystals, crisp and cold. But she would not leave, not if she froze to death.
"The good point of this is that I can't cry," she sniffed. She could see her every word in the frigid air, lingering, and then fading. "Because my tears all freeze before they even leave my eyes..."
She got up, making her way back to her throne. She would rule this silenced world of ice, she would make sure that no more harm became them, but when there she drew back, taken amiss by what she saw. Her father...she ran her fingers over the mysterious red ice that coated his body, imprisoning him in a cold, lifeless tomb. Her fingers became hard and numb with the coldness of the strange ice. And what of Zora's Fountain? Their oasis, to which she went when there was no where else to go. The only place where she could seek out comfort.
"Oh Nayru, let it be safe!" she prayed, her feet carrying her across the slick ice as if it was air.
Icebergs floated across the frigid waters, twirling with the movements of the tide. The pedestal that housed the sacred Lord Jabu-Jabu, was now empty. No more rushing waters, no more warm, summer rains. Snow now fell from the air, chilling her down to her very core.
"Why? What is this? How?" Ruto gasped. She paused...what was that? Voices?
The cold, lifeless walls that now surrounded the domain caused every whisper to be magnified. She heard the echoing of a voice from within...
"Not this time. Nothing else will happen," she skirted the icebergs and crawled back inside, her movements like that of a cat's. Pressing her body up against the wall, she leaned in trying to distinguish who the voice belonged to.
"What happened?" Shock. Like hers. Pain. Just like she felt. It wasn't an enemy. It couldn't be an enemy. She peered around the corner.
"This is not how I remember it. Then again nothing is how I remember it, anymore," So dejected...so lost...and so...familiar?
"Who is that?" she whispered, her curiosity growing, "They shouldn't be here, it's dangerous...I shouldn't even be here."
"Is someone there?"
Ruto pulled herself up against the wall, squeezing her eyes shut. Her breathing quickened nervously.
"I won't hurt you. Is anyone here?"
Ruto glared at the wall. Was she doomed to spend the rest of her life hiding from everyone who dared to enter her frozen kingdom? That wasn't her. Hesitantly, she began to rise, her every movement defined and careful. She broke a long, pointed icicle from the ceiling, and holding it in front of her, slipped out from behind the wall.
"Who are you?" she growled, pointing the ice sword at the intruder's back.
He whirled around, unsheathing a silver plated sword, marked with royal emblems and intricate designs. And upon seeing her dropped it, letting it clatter to the ground.
Ruto tilted her head to the side, her eyes fixed on the stranger. His clothing was not typically Hylian, and there was a cryptical air about him, as if she'd known him before.
"Answer me, or so help me I'll stab you through right now!" she threatened.
"Whoa...I'm not here to hurt you. And I'm really confused, so could you just put that down?" he asked nervously, putting his hands out in front of him.
"Who the hell are you?" Ruto advanced upon him.
"I'll tell you what," he muttered, kneeling down and taking his sword in his hands, "tell me who you are, and I'll tell you who I am." With one slick movement, he cut her weapon in half, sheathing his sword once more.
Grimacing, Ruto opened her mouth. "Ruto, the last of the Zoras." That was her title now, she was no longer a princess, for she had no one to rule.
"Ruto?" he gasped.
She squirmed under his gaze. That outfit was so known to her, she raised her head, meeting his eyes. Those eyes...she felt as if she could lose herself in them forever, of the purest azure, deep...
"Link?" she breathed.
"That's my name," he grinned at her.
"Thank goodness!" Ruto gasped. "All my people have been frozen beneath the ice, I'm the only one left and..." her voice cracked, "What do I do?"
"You've changed, Ruto," Link's eyes darted over her.
"So have you," she whispered, a sigh escaping her lips. For some reason, she felt awkward with Link, he seemed to carry a regal air about him that she didn't remember.
"How long has it been now?"
"Seven years," Ruto murmured.
"Seven years..."he echoed. "That's a long time."
"Yes."
"Listen, Ruto...I'm really sorry...about...about this," he encircled her with his arms, pulling her into a reassuring embrace.
"I never gave my people a chance. All I did was whine about the life I led. Well I'd rather have that life then the one I now have! I am completely alone! I have no one," she finished, her words bitter and unbelieving.
"We both have no one. None of my friends remember me. You didn't even remember me," Link sighed.
Ruto looked up at him, realizing for the first time how much he'd changed from the last time she'd laid eyes upon him.
"So, is our engagement still on?" she snickered. She wouldn't mind if it were, he was so comely and so...different. Always open for adventure, new ideas, he took life as it came never planning ahead...
That's what she longed for. That's what was missing from her life.
Link flashed her a grin pulling her back to reality. "I don't know about that..."
Ruto smiled back halfheartedly. "So, where have you been keeping yourself these last seven years?"
"I..." Link faltered, "I don't really know. It's a really strange story, and somehow I don't think I should tell it to anyone."
"That's alright, I'm used to not being told things," Ruto muttered, "I'm used to being left out and different."
"Ruto, don't take it that way. It's just that...it might," Link shrugged, "disturb that order of things."
"What happened here?" she suddenly asked, her voice tense.
"All I can guess is that it's Ganondorf's work."
"Ganondorf? Is he..." she pulled back nervously, "A Gerudo?"
"Yeah, he's their ruler. He's extremely powerful, he's ruining Hyrule bit by bit," Link sighed heavily.
"He has a horse?" Ruto urged on, her every word aspen.
"A massive, black warhorse," Link nodded, a slight smile crossing his face. "That's one sturdy horse. Epona could never match that."
"Then...it's all my fault," she breathed. She lowered her head, backing up steadily. "He asked me where the Zoras were and I told him! I've destroyed my civilization."
Link's eyes widened. He didn't know what to say... "Ruto, you didn't know..."
"It was all my fault! If I'd just said, over towards the west of Hyrule, my father would still be here right now!" Her pace quickened.
"You can't blame yourself," Link offered.
"I can and I will! It's all my fault!" She whirled around breaking into a run, "I've killed them all!"
"Ruto, wait..." Link implored, "It's not your fault..." he paused uncomfortably as she turned around to glare at him. "It's mine."
"Yours?" she whispered, doubtfully.
"Mine."
"How so?"
"I can't say, but trust me, you should not blame yourself."
"It's your fault," she repeated, her face tight and pale. Retracing her steps, she brought herself up to Link, "You'd better fix it."
"I didn't mean to!" Link said pointedly, "It was...a mistake. I mean, it was my fault but it wasn't...and..."
"You seem confused, but I'm not. All I know is I have no where to go, my people are ensnared in the ice, and my world is collapsing. You said it was your responsibility, so you should be the one to fix it." Ruto snapped her fingers, defining her point, and turned around. "In the meantime, I have to search for a life."
