Chapter 4

"All I need to know is where to start," she sighed, absently tracing in the dirt. "I guess I don't even know how to start. Why, I don't even know what to start!" she kicked at the forest ground, incensed. "All I know is that I need to find that boy...the Sheikah."

Ruto sighed, cerebrating her next move. All around her, everything seemed to slide together, reposed and serene. So why was she fated to never again exist in that movement of peace? Even the cresson mosses that paved the forest seemed to smooth the grime that made it. The sky mixed with the clouds, tinting them. She rested her head in her hands. Nothing was soothing anymore, not even the tranquility of the forests. And they used to calm her no matter how desperate a situation made itself out to be.

"I don't know w...." her voice trailed off. "Of course, Link seems to know everyone in all of Hyrule. He's traveled every plain, moved every rock, and sliced every blade of grass. Just maybe..." she pulled herself to her feet. She was already in the depths of the Lost Woods, so Link's native home was only steps away.

The forest was rumored to house youths known as the Kokiri, who were eternally young no matter how much time passed. Their minds remained childlike for the most part, and they lived as a group of children would unsupervised, if they were allowed to. But they had order as well, and their ways were well established. Still, Ruto was restive, for all new places held dangers to her.

A short, stout child ran up to her immediately, newfound curiosity gleaming in his eyes. "Who are you? Why are you here?" he asked boldly.

"My name's Ruto," she took the same tone she'd take with an infant, "Does a man named Link live here?"

"Yeah, over there in that house. He's likely out now, 'cause he always wants to have adventures and stuff like that," he grinned at her, proud of his knowledge.

"Alright, thank you," Ruto patted his head gently, making her way to the uncommon cottage that was Link's abode. Drawing back at first, she eyed the rickety ladder leading to the entrance. Cautiously, she climbed it, wincing as it creaked beneath her. She pushed back a cloth that screened the interior from outside, and strode it.

Link lay on his bed, absently reading and munching on various fruits.

"This is what heroes do in their free time?" she asked.

Link bolted upright. "I...I..." he stuttered. "Oh, hey Ruto." He collapsed back into the inviting warmth of his bed. "What are you doing here?"

"I need your help," she stated, sitting down on a small, carved chair.

"With what?" he muttered, listening with but half an ear.

"My land is still frozen," she started.

"I'm not going on another quest. I'd like to help you, but I just won't. I just can't," his voice quivered, though he tried to remain uninvolved, glued to the book.

"And I'm not asking you to. I just want you to answer me one question," she breathed, "Do you know a Sheikah?"

Link dropped the book, ceased his chewing, and stared at her. "Sheik?"

"The mysterious one. He helped me, and I must find him. Only he can help my people now. Please Link...where can I find him?" Ruto's eyes clouded with a trace of tears.

"You'll never find Sheik. I met him many times on my quest, and he spoke only in riddles, disappearing in smoke whenever I came near. I last saw him at the temple of time...and I'll never see him again. Neither will you, Ruto," Link paused, watching her tentatively, "Because Sheik is not a person, but Zelda. The Princess of Hyrule."

Ruto gaped at him, stunned. "What?"

"Her life was at risk when Ganondorf's reign began, so she had to go into hiding. That was her hiding place, that costume kept her life. And within it, she helped me to save Hyrule. She helped you as well. She helped me to defeat Ganondorf in the final battle, but faded away before I could even speak to her once more," he sighed. "I couldn't have done it without her, and I'll never see her again. Royalty and peasants don't mix. And that's what I am," he paused bitingly, "a mere peasant."

"You're no peasant," Ruto stuttered, appalled that he could even think such a thought.

"Not to you, but to everyone else in Hyrule I am. Yeah, I saved Hyrule, but no one knows it," he silenced himself for a moment, "I don't know how you'll enter the palace, but if you really want to I'm sure you'll find a way."

Ruto got to her feet, "I don't want to Link. I need to. The princess is the Zoras' last chance for salvation now."

* * * *

"I'm the Zora Princess," Ruto said through clenched teeth. "And I must speak to Zelda, it's of utmost importance."

"What's so important?" the guard yawned, abstractedly running a finger over his armor.

"I can't tell you that!" Ruto growled. How many times did she have to remind him?

"Then I can't let you inside. If you won't tell me, it can't be that important anyway."

"Are you so ignorant that you can't see the plight of all in Hyrule? Our land has been scarred forever, and only if you let me in can we begin to heal some of our wounds," Ruto's voice cracked under the pressure.

"Listen, you can't come in. That's that," he turned his back to her, interrupting or ignoring any words that flowed from her mouth in protest.

"Damn it, just let me in!" she snarled threateningly.

"N-O," he retorted, sounding out each letter.

She stomped away, silently seething with fury. Link had warned her of this, but she'd refused to believe anyone could be such a dolt! Then again, he'd also told her the only way to enter the castle would be to go up and over...

She groaned aloud, paused, smiled graciously to the guard, and slipped behind the wall. Thick vines wound over its top, so secure that she could easily climb them.

"Good thing," she complained, "I have to climb them."

Grasping a section of the vine with both hands, she pulled herself up to a narrow bank of grass running alongside the wall. There was a thin, rickety ladder that led to a guard booth below, and she lowered herself down it, landing in a small room lit only by a single flaming torch. Cautiously, she opened the door, trying to prevent the squeaking of its hinges.

"I'm over the wall," she whispered smugly. "It should be simple from now on."

* * * *

Ruto rubbed her back for the hundredth time...or was it the thousandth?

"Guards," she growled, climbing the vines with much more grace and precision then the first time, "How dare they throw out trespassers?"

She could reach the moat, but while stealing along the banks was always found by a guard. And they weren't too gentle when dealing with intruders...her head was throbbing.

"I won't be caught again I..." her sentence was left unfinished as a new thought entered her mind. "I'm a Zora," she told the moat, sliding her body into the refreshing waters.

No guards actually watched over the moat, and the current carried her directly to a small plateau of land, covered in crates and wooden planks. Ruto lightly leapt across the water, landing by an extremely restricted opening. Taking a deep breath she entered it, though it was very tight.

The main courtyard was braw, having a flowing stream bordering it. Shocked by its entirety, Ruto felt tempted to plainly sit down and take in the complete beauty that surrounded her. She shook it off, tiptoeing past a single guard who was inattentively watching the clouds.

"I guess the smart guards are all outside the castle walls," she giggled, walking obstreperously past yet another one, moments later. The garden soon became a maze of royal topiary, leading in twists and turns, rights and lefts. Ruto sighed deeply, mustering all of her courage, swallowing all of her fear, and allowing only her love for her people and land to rise to the surface and erupt. Slowly moving, she stepped into the royal courtyard.

* * * *

Never had Ruto fathomed, in her entire existence that she'd some day speak with the ruler of all Hyrule. The one who maintained order, kept the land balanced, and bravely sacrificed of herself for her people. Ruto could see the princess from where she now stood, but somehow could not move, anchored to the ground with reverence. Timidly, letting her body tremble openly, she stepped forward.

"Zelda..." she started, her every word meek and awed.

The princess spun around, her face pale and taken unawares. She tipped her head to the side, her azure eyes fleeting over the Zora before her. "What are you doing here?" she asked. Ruto opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Zelda's every word was so tentative and caring, though so short and simple.

"I need your help," her words came out as a croak.

The princess looked confused and nervous, her face creasing with worry.

"I don't want your help Zelda," Ruto said steadily, "I need Sheik's help. And I bet you're the only one who knows where I can find him."

* * * *

"I think I hurt Link by staying hidden from him. He thought we could confide in each other, and I just blurred all of his illusions by deceiving him. But what happened happened, and I can't take back what I did. Even if I could I wouldn't, because that was the only way I could keep my life and ultimately save my world," Zelda sighed.

"He just wants to thank you for what you did," Ruto replied softly, "He wants to let you know that he owes you his life, as do we all," she lowered her head.

"It was scary. I was so cut off from everything, and everyone. I was so alone. I don't ever want to be that way again, I cling to everyone I hold close, because I've lost so much," Zelda glanced at her hand, which was white from the pressure of her nails digging into her skin. "But what do you need from me? You aren't just here to listen," she turned to Ruto.

The Zora's eyes flickered as she pulled herself back into reality, "I never knew you suffered," she murmured flatly.

"In that time of tragedy," she lowered her eyes, "it was impossible not to."

Ruto touched her hand to her lips, her thoughts gathering all of these newfound events into her words, "It's not me who needs your help, really. It's the Zoras."

"I won't have any of my people hurting. If it's in my power, I'll do most anything to help them," Zelda straightened her back, regaining her polished image, "and you."

"You know that many places, many people were hurt by Ganondorf's reign of terror," Ruto began, "some were destroyed from the inside, some torn on the outside, but all were hurt. When Link saved us all, our land regained its composure, though many things were scarred eternally. One of those things harmed was the Zoras. My domain was frozen. And all of the Zora people were trapped beneath the ice. But I was spared," Ruto hesitated, "I wish I hadn't been. Because my land's still frozen. And my people are still trapped. And me, I'm still alone."

"I didn't know of your plight," the princess whispered, "I'm so sorry. I've been so oblivious to all of Hyrule's quandary."

"Don't blame yourself, for no matter what you did this would have happened. It was unavoidable," Ruto said evenly, "but I'm not sure if it's truly eternal. Princess Zelda, ruler of Hyrule and all of its territories, you are the Zoras last chance. Can you help us? Can you help me?"

Zelda rose, turning her face towards the mountains that bordered the land, "Ruto, princess of the water race, ruler of the Zoras, I believe I can."