Chapter 9

"And now I wait," Ruto sighed, absently catching snowflakes in her hand, and then swirling them about until they melted. Jabu-Jabu continued to behave in this new, offbeat, possibly even outre manner. Simply lying there, a distinct song echoing from inside him, rumbling and squirming about as it trilled its cacophony across the ice land. It hurt her ears, even made her feel sick inside, but she had to listen, and she had to stay there.

And so the days passed.

Some slow, some quick, all alone.

She began to notice subtle cracks in the ice as time wore on. Finally, she slipped because the ice was covered in a thin layer of water. Ultimately, she was able to clearly see every Zora beneath the translucent substance. They all looked...

"Scared," said Ruto, completing her thoughts aloud. "Just like I was. Like I still am."

* * * *

For some reason Ruto kept herself hidden all day. All night. For the next morning. She was not yet ready to reveal herself to her people. She didn't know why. Guilt, she thought.

They were all free. They were no longer trapped, and though she longed to do so many things, she refused to even see them. Not until one week had gone to pass. Not until she had enough time to think.

* * * *

Ruto slipped out from the cavern where she'd been for what seemed like forever. As the turmoil has finally ended, she felt as if a piece of her was missing eternally, and never would it return. She felt empty. Hollow. The light was so hopeless...

"Ruto? Is that you?"

A distinct, masculine, and all to familiar voice.

She whirled around, "yes, Farrell. It's me," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I haven't seen you...I mean, my mind's blank but, I," he began to stutter under her scrutinizing gaze.

"It's alright. I understand." Her voice was soft, and unmistakably benign and sweet.

"You...do?" he asked.

"More then you'll ever know. And I'll never be angry if you try to stop me from leaving here again. I'm never leaving again." With her newfound experiences, her suffering, her hurt, she'd lost her youthful curiosity, and in a sense her longing for fun and adventure. She only wanted to be safe, to read her path...

"Thanks."

"No problem," Farrel muttered, obviously confused.

She sat down on the shore, taking in the hypnotic effect of the tide. Never had it been so pure to watch, and she relished every movement.

"Where have you been for the past week?" Farrel said sullenly.

"Here, there, around," she replied absently.

"Do you know what's happened here over the past...well, I have no idea how long?" his words came our hurriedly, all huddling together.

"No, Farrel," she lied, "no one will ever know what happened."

"I have the strangest feeling that something happened," he murmured, pressing onwards.

"Nothing occurred. You're being over imaginative," Ruto spun her words hastily, not heeding how ridiculous it must have sounded to call Farrel imaginative. She pulled him down to her level. "Listen, I mean it when I thank you. Okay?"

"Yeah, sure Ruto."

"Can I ask something of you?" her voice was barely audible now, it was so laden with regrets.

"Of course," for once he seemed speechless.

" Don't forget me. Tell everyone not to forget me. And tell them that I won't forget them. Never," her tone became tinted with remorse, and she turned away, her eyes stinging.

"Why?" Farrel choked out.

"Just because. It's important." And with that, she stood up and walked away.

At the edge of the river she paused, spun on her heels and looked back. Mist everywhere, serene. Softening the grasses the carpeted the river banks. Stars slowly spinning into view. She sighed.

"I won't ever forget any of 'em," she whispered, "and I won't ever forget this night."

And never again would she see Zoras River. Never again would she see the Zoras.

* * * *

She was ready to give up her life as she knew it. Ready to move on. She'd lived through hurt, hatred, humiliation. And it had scarred her.

She would never be able to heal those scars, even if she tried to. The most powerful of all magic would not cure her hidden pain, and would not bring it to the surface.

Resigned to her ultimate fate, Ruto felt her body being lifted up in a light. She parted her lips, feeling her every word soaring through the skies that had always been out of her reach.

And nothing was impossible.

Nothing was far away.

And most of all, nothing was to be feared.



*~The End~*