((Disclaimer: Zelda chars not mine, everyone else is. :P ))
SAGE OF WATER ~Whilst soft-spoken Moth was instructing Impa in the ways of the Sheikah, a far harsher conversation was taking place in the Zora River. . . ~
"Stop treating me like I've only just grown my head fin!" screamed Ruto.
"I'll stop treating you like a child when you stop behaving like one!" her father roared. "You will go and feed Lord Jabu Jabu, as you have done since being able to swim. And as all other Princesses have before you!"
Ruto groaned loudly, splashed up the slope and past her father's enormous bulk. She couldn't resist tripping over his long robe on purpose, taking the opportunity to curse noisily. The King sighed and listened to his daughter disappear down the passage. As an afterthought, he bellowed, "And from this day until two months have passed, you may not leave these waters!"
Ruto stormed up the steps to the altar and flung two fish and a squid in front of the cavernous mouth of the great whale. He opened his jaws wide and swallowed them whole, resuming his sleep. Jabu Jabu slept more and more often these days. In a fit of frustration at the punishment from her father, she seized a pot and smashed it on the stones. The pot shattered, and she heard an echoing bawl from the tunnel, "Three months!" The Princess swore again, louder than before. "Four months!" from the tunnel.
"Urgh!" Ruto threw herself down and felt the hard necklace around her neck slap her on the cheek. She grabbed it and ripped the thing off, staring through angry tears at the jewel that gleamed within a coral binding. This sliver of the Zora's Sapphire was supposed to bind her to her husband. But nooo, high and mighty mister "Hero of Time" had to go and save the world, leaving her, his fiancée, stuck in this watery prison with a huge squid of a father. And to top it all, after a fling with the farm girl, he marries the Princess of Hyrule! Where in the waters did that come from?!
Still clutching the broken necklace, Ruto got up and skilfully climbed the high gate that separated the fountain of the fish Lord from the river. She leapt from the top in a neat dive and entered the river at the bottom of the waterfall with barely a splash. Who wants to stay in the damned Domain anyway?
Ruto sank underneath the water and swam strongly with the current. Moonlight glistened in each ripple. She was surprised to find an Octorok raise its slippery head as she approached, but quickly submerge.
Ruto screamed in a cloud of bubbles as strong hands gripped her shoulder and head fin and hoisted her unceremoniously from the river. She kicked and wriggled, but her attacker threw her onto the grass and held a broadsword to her throat.
"Tut tut tut, Highness. I thought you were grounded. What were his words? 'You may not leave these waters'?"
Ruto gasped in indignation, "How did you know?"
Kiren sniggered, "Sound carries in this night air, milady. I am sorry to have grabbed you so. Such rude treatment of a Princess deserves punishment, don't you think?"
"You're patronising me," spat Ruto. She was suddenly aware she wasn't wearing much. It was ritual to feed Lord Jabu Jabu stark naked.
Kiren had noticed this also.
Ruto had noticed that the Gerudo was dressed in tight clothes, had long hair like Link's, and appeared to have great skill with a blade. He also bore the mark of the Triforce on his left hand.
Kiren let the sword drop from her throat and reached out an arm to lift her up. He had removed his gloves, and her skin was cold and moist to touch.
Ruto allowed him to stand her upright, and he kept hold of her arm as they stared into each other's eyes. Kiren's an intense blue and Ruto's a watery silver.
Kiren was about to pull her closer when a furious shout rang from the waterfall, "Ruto! Where in the name of Jabu are you?"
Kiren yanked her arm and pulled her with him, through the gateway that marked boundary of the Zora River and out onto the Field. The air was cool, and chilling to Ruto's wet skin. The sensation of the grass beneath her running feet was disgusting.
Kiren led her along the river until a dark brown horse came into view near the stone bridge. The beast had been terrified into submission by the owner, and Kiren gave her a rough boost into the saddle. He leapt up behind her, grabbed the reigns, yanked the horse about and spurred the frightened stallion forwards into a gallop.
Kiren was holding Ruto in his arms! Nothing could be better!
Ruto was being held by the Gerudo! Nothing could be better!
The moon was still high as Kiren pulled the horse to a walk outside the Gerudo Valley entrance. They clattered up the red rocks and halted just before the bridge. Kiren couldn't resist whispering to the Princess, "I broke that bridge once. Do you know how old I was?" Ruto shook her head, and her head fin brushed against his chest. He smirked, "I was not even a year old."
Ruto turned, "Really?"
Kiren nodded.
The horse clopped across the bridge with wide eyes - it was afraid of heights. Only the threatening presence of its master on the saddle kept it moving at all. Kiren leapt easily from the saddle and helped the Princess down too. She shivered, although the sounds of the river running far below in the gorge comforted her a little.
Kiren poked his head inside the tent and, finding it deserted, led Ruto inside. They sat on the pile of furs and blankets and talked for a long time. When Kiren told her, with great enthusiasm exactly how he had killed Link, Ruto could not stop laughing. Kiren looked at her with a puzzled expression, "What's the matter?"
"I'm sorry, it's just." she broke into giggles again. Kiren would normally have slapped any woman who infuriated him so, but there was something about the stroppy Princess that stayed his hand. So he waited, uncharacteristically patient. Eventually her laughter subsided and she was able to speak again, "Forgive me. . . Did you know I was engaged to that arrogant blondie?"
Kiren's eyebrows made a bid to escape his brow into the heavens, "Really? But now, I guess you are single?" he said slyly.
Ruto nodded, catching his hint, and edged closer to him on the blanket. He slipped a strong arm around her shoulders and she leaned her head against his chest, running a hand through his long red hair. He ran his fingers down her cheek and tilted her head upwards towards his.
"What's your name?" she whispered in the pause between kisses.
"Kiren."
"Kiren," she repeated, savouring the syllables.
***
Kiren awoke to pale morning light streaming through the open flap of the tent. He and Ruto had fallen asleep, and her head still rested across his chest. Nothing had happened; he was slightly disappointed. The previous love of his life, Katin, was forgotten in the presence of the Zora. Her elegant form was still unclothed; he watched her as she shivered a little. With a tenderness he never knew he possessed, the Gerudo thief tugged a silk blanket across her trembling body, and her shuddering stopped. She stirred, and Kiren placed another gentle kiss on her brow. It amazed him that he, a man of such strength and power, could be so caring. He scrambled quickly out into the morning light.
Ruto's pearly eyes flickered open, and she sat up slowly. "Kiren." The Gerudo crawled over from the entrance flap where he had been sitting and sat beside her. She nuzzled into his firm body and pressed her broken necklace into his fist, "Take it. Do you promise to be mine forever, my love?"
Kiren looked from the pendant to her features and nodded, "Of course, my Princess. . ." He kissed her once more and then moved back to the doorway.
"Where are you going?"
"To the Kokiri Forest. Ruto, I need you to keep Zelda at bay. She will be looking to round up the Sages and kill me." Ruto nodded and watched longingly as Kiren swept out of the tent. She waited a suitable interval, shrugged off the blanket, exited the tent and dropped into the gorge.
She fell a long long way before the waters rose to meet her and welcomed her back into their smooth silkiness. She swam swiftly, working with the current as she had done in the River, until she came out into the vast expanse of water known as Lake Hylia.
The Princess had absolutely no intention of staying in the tent - not even for her new fiancée. Zoras were meant to be in the water, and besides, her skin wrinkled if she spent to longer time on land.
***
The forest where the Goddesses dwelt had been silent for a long while now Farore was missing. Nayru and Din had kept their vigil over the Seeing Pool, keeping watchful eyes of blue and red on the events below in Hyrule.
As Ruto leapt from the gorge edge, Nayru stood up, startled, "Din, this is getting worse. If you go for the Gerudo and try to restrain him, I'll get Ruto." Her sister nodded quickly and the two of them vanished in separate flashes of Deku Nut.
***
Ruto was about to propel herself forwards when there was a splash from behind her. She flicked herself about and saw another Zora woman in the water behind her. She was dressed in a short, close-fitting robe of saffron; a small seashell adorned her head fin. Ruto scowled, thinking she was one of her people, "What are you doing here? Did father send you to find me? Tell him I don't want to come back; I'm never coming back, okay?"
Nayru fixed the Princess in her gaze, "I am not one of your people, Ruto."
Ruto was about to blurt 'Just who are you then?' but realisation dawned, and she performed a Zora bow, only possible in the water. "Goddess of Wisdom, why have you come to me?"
"To see if I can knock some wisdom into your water-logged brain. Can you not see the Gerudo in black is an evil man? He will do worse to the Zora's Domain than Ganondorf ever did if he succeeds with his plans to take over Hyrule. And what will become of you then? Your father? Your entire race?"
Ruto looked intently into the Goddess's unflinching stare, "I don't believe you. You Goddesses think you're so high and mighty, 'Oh, lets go and try to break up the Gerudo and the Zora', 'What a funny couple', hah! Push off Nayru. Don't get involved with what is none of your business. Kiren would never betray me."
Nayru winced inwardly at the Zora's harsh words, but she kept her cool, "I would say the same to you, 'Princess'. Keep your fins out of what is way above your silly head. I would have thought a daughter of a King would know some manners; evidently being engaged to a Thief has swept them away. Watch your tongue, your highness. Soon enough it may land you in more trouble than you can swim out of."
Without waiting for a reply, Nayru dived and vanished from view, leaving a seething Ruto treading water. She screamed to the still morning air, "You are just upset about him killing Link! What use was that overconfident twit anyway? Everyone knows he used the Sages' powers to defeat Ganondorf! He was just a useless good-looking wimp!"
There was silence in the Lake - the Guay settled on the roof of the Lab left in a flapping of black wings. Ruto found herself alone amid the calm water, shaking with rage.
Nayru appeared again before her, equally furious. Ruto only had time to raise her hands to her face as the body of the Zora shone with an intense light, and then all was blackness. . .
The Zora Princess's body floated to the surface. Nayru glared at her, then gave her limp form a slight push, so it drifted towards the island at the centre of the Lake. The Goddess dived once more and sank from the lands of Hyrule, leaving an unconscious Ruto alone in the water.
***
Din managed to appear in the Field outside the Kokiri Forest just as Kiren was dismounting. "You again!" he growled, reaching for the broadsword strapped to his back. Din marched straight up to the Thief and grabbed his broken wrist roughly. He had strapped it up himself. Kiren winced very slightly. Din yanked his wrist in a nauseating twist; this time the Gerudo gave a moan of pain. His right hand closed about the sword hilt, but Din seized his fist with her free hand and shoved, and Kiren's fist connected with the back of his head.
Din rolled the unconscious Gerudo into a bush with her foot. She pulled the horse's saddle and bridle off and gave it a forceful push in the direction of the Ranch. The horse took the hint and bolted across the grass. Din thought for a few minutes, then strode over to the Thief, drew his broadsword, thrust the upper part of the blade into the grass, and threw her weight against the hilt. The blade snapped cleanly. Din vanished the piece not attached to the hilt with a complicated hand movement, and then stealthily replaced the other half back in the scabbard.
"Hah."
***
SAGE OF WATER ~Whilst soft-spoken Moth was instructing Impa in the ways of the Sheikah, a far harsher conversation was taking place in the Zora River. . . ~
"Stop treating me like I've only just grown my head fin!" screamed Ruto.
"I'll stop treating you like a child when you stop behaving like one!" her father roared. "You will go and feed Lord Jabu Jabu, as you have done since being able to swim. And as all other Princesses have before you!"
Ruto groaned loudly, splashed up the slope and past her father's enormous bulk. She couldn't resist tripping over his long robe on purpose, taking the opportunity to curse noisily. The King sighed and listened to his daughter disappear down the passage. As an afterthought, he bellowed, "And from this day until two months have passed, you may not leave these waters!"
Ruto stormed up the steps to the altar and flung two fish and a squid in front of the cavernous mouth of the great whale. He opened his jaws wide and swallowed them whole, resuming his sleep. Jabu Jabu slept more and more often these days. In a fit of frustration at the punishment from her father, she seized a pot and smashed it on the stones. The pot shattered, and she heard an echoing bawl from the tunnel, "Three months!" The Princess swore again, louder than before. "Four months!" from the tunnel.
"Urgh!" Ruto threw herself down and felt the hard necklace around her neck slap her on the cheek. She grabbed it and ripped the thing off, staring through angry tears at the jewel that gleamed within a coral binding. This sliver of the Zora's Sapphire was supposed to bind her to her husband. But nooo, high and mighty mister "Hero of Time" had to go and save the world, leaving her, his fiancée, stuck in this watery prison with a huge squid of a father. And to top it all, after a fling with the farm girl, he marries the Princess of Hyrule! Where in the waters did that come from?!
Still clutching the broken necklace, Ruto got up and skilfully climbed the high gate that separated the fountain of the fish Lord from the river. She leapt from the top in a neat dive and entered the river at the bottom of the waterfall with barely a splash. Who wants to stay in the damned Domain anyway?
Ruto sank underneath the water and swam strongly with the current. Moonlight glistened in each ripple. She was surprised to find an Octorok raise its slippery head as she approached, but quickly submerge.
Ruto screamed in a cloud of bubbles as strong hands gripped her shoulder and head fin and hoisted her unceremoniously from the river. She kicked and wriggled, but her attacker threw her onto the grass and held a broadsword to her throat.
"Tut tut tut, Highness. I thought you were grounded. What were his words? 'You may not leave these waters'?"
Ruto gasped in indignation, "How did you know?"
Kiren sniggered, "Sound carries in this night air, milady. I am sorry to have grabbed you so. Such rude treatment of a Princess deserves punishment, don't you think?"
"You're patronising me," spat Ruto. She was suddenly aware she wasn't wearing much. It was ritual to feed Lord Jabu Jabu stark naked.
Kiren had noticed this also.
Ruto had noticed that the Gerudo was dressed in tight clothes, had long hair like Link's, and appeared to have great skill with a blade. He also bore the mark of the Triforce on his left hand.
Kiren let the sword drop from her throat and reached out an arm to lift her up. He had removed his gloves, and her skin was cold and moist to touch.
Ruto allowed him to stand her upright, and he kept hold of her arm as they stared into each other's eyes. Kiren's an intense blue and Ruto's a watery silver.
Kiren was about to pull her closer when a furious shout rang from the waterfall, "Ruto! Where in the name of Jabu are you?"
Kiren yanked her arm and pulled her with him, through the gateway that marked boundary of the Zora River and out onto the Field. The air was cool, and chilling to Ruto's wet skin. The sensation of the grass beneath her running feet was disgusting.
Kiren led her along the river until a dark brown horse came into view near the stone bridge. The beast had been terrified into submission by the owner, and Kiren gave her a rough boost into the saddle. He leapt up behind her, grabbed the reigns, yanked the horse about and spurred the frightened stallion forwards into a gallop.
Kiren was holding Ruto in his arms! Nothing could be better!
Ruto was being held by the Gerudo! Nothing could be better!
The moon was still high as Kiren pulled the horse to a walk outside the Gerudo Valley entrance. They clattered up the red rocks and halted just before the bridge. Kiren couldn't resist whispering to the Princess, "I broke that bridge once. Do you know how old I was?" Ruto shook her head, and her head fin brushed against his chest. He smirked, "I was not even a year old."
Ruto turned, "Really?"
Kiren nodded.
The horse clopped across the bridge with wide eyes - it was afraid of heights. Only the threatening presence of its master on the saddle kept it moving at all. Kiren leapt easily from the saddle and helped the Princess down too. She shivered, although the sounds of the river running far below in the gorge comforted her a little.
Kiren poked his head inside the tent and, finding it deserted, led Ruto inside. They sat on the pile of furs and blankets and talked for a long time. When Kiren told her, with great enthusiasm exactly how he had killed Link, Ruto could not stop laughing. Kiren looked at her with a puzzled expression, "What's the matter?"
"I'm sorry, it's just." she broke into giggles again. Kiren would normally have slapped any woman who infuriated him so, but there was something about the stroppy Princess that stayed his hand. So he waited, uncharacteristically patient. Eventually her laughter subsided and she was able to speak again, "Forgive me. . . Did you know I was engaged to that arrogant blondie?"
Kiren's eyebrows made a bid to escape his brow into the heavens, "Really? But now, I guess you are single?" he said slyly.
Ruto nodded, catching his hint, and edged closer to him on the blanket. He slipped a strong arm around her shoulders and she leaned her head against his chest, running a hand through his long red hair. He ran his fingers down her cheek and tilted her head upwards towards his.
"What's your name?" she whispered in the pause between kisses.
"Kiren."
"Kiren," she repeated, savouring the syllables.
***
Kiren awoke to pale morning light streaming through the open flap of the tent. He and Ruto had fallen asleep, and her head still rested across his chest. Nothing had happened; he was slightly disappointed. The previous love of his life, Katin, was forgotten in the presence of the Zora. Her elegant form was still unclothed; he watched her as she shivered a little. With a tenderness he never knew he possessed, the Gerudo thief tugged a silk blanket across her trembling body, and her shuddering stopped. She stirred, and Kiren placed another gentle kiss on her brow. It amazed him that he, a man of such strength and power, could be so caring. He scrambled quickly out into the morning light.
Ruto's pearly eyes flickered open, and she sat up slowly. "Kiren." The Gerudo crawled over from the entrance flap where he had been sitting and sat beside her. She nuzzled into his firm body and pressed her broken necklace into his fist, "Take it. Do you promise to be mine forever, my love?"
Kiren looked from the pendant to her features and nodded, "Of course, my Princess. . ." He kissed her once more and then moved back to the doorway.
"Where are you going?"
"To the Kokiri Forest. Ruto, I need you to keep Zelda at bay. She will be looking to round up the Sages and kill me." Ruto nodded and watched longingly as Kiren swept out of the tent. She waited a suitable interval, shrugged off the blanket, exited the tent and dropped into the gorge.
She fell a long long way before the waters rose to meet her and welcomed her back into their smooth silkiness. She swam swiftly, working with the current as she had done in the River, until she came out into the vast expanse of water known as Lake Hylia.
The Princess had absolutely no intention of staying in the tent - not even for her new fiancée. Zoras were meant to be in the water, and besides, her skin wrinkled if she spent to longer time on land.
***
The forest where the Goddesses dwelt had been silent for a long while now Farore was missing. Nayru and Din had kept their vigil over the Seeing Pool, keeping watchful eyes of blue and red on the events below in Hyrule.
As Ruto leapt from the gorge edge, Nayru stood up, startled, "Din, this is getting worse. If you go for the Gerudo and try to restrain him, I'll get Ruto." Her sister nodded quickly and the two of them vanished in separate flashes of Deku Nut.
***
Ruto was about to propel herself forwards when there was a splash from behind her. She flicked herself about and saw another Zora woman in the water behind her. She was dressed in a short, close-fitting robe of saffron; a small seashell adorned her head fin. Ruto scowled, thinking she was one of her people, "What are you doing here? Did father send you to find me? Tell him I don't want to come back; I'm never coming back, okay?"
Nayru fixed the Princess in her gaze, "I am not one of your people, Ruto."
Ruto was about to blurt 'Just who are you then?' but realisation dawned, and she performed a Zora bow, only possible in the water. "Goddess of Wisdom, why have you come to me?"
"To see if I can knock some wisdom into your water-logged brain. Can you not see the Gerudo in black is an evil man? He will do worse to the Zora's Domain than Ganondorf ever did if he succeeds with his plans to take over Hyrule. And what will become of you then? Your father? Your entire race?"
Ruto looked intently into the Goddess's unflinching stare, "I don't believe you. You Goddesses think you're so high and mighty, 'Oh, lets go and try to break up the Gerudo and the Zora', 'What a funny couple', hah! Push off Nayru. Don't get involved with what is none of your business. Kiren would never betray me."
Nayru winced inwardly at the Zora's harsh words, but she kept her cool, "I would say the same to you, 'Princess'. Keep your fins out of what is way above your silly head. I would have thought a daughter of a King would know some manners; evidently being engaged to a Thief has swept them away. Watch your tongue, your highness. Soon enough it may land you in more trouble than you can swim out of."
Without waiting for a reply, Nayru dived and vanished from view, leaving a seething Ruto treading water. She screamed to the still morning air, "You are just upset about him killing Link! What use was that overconfident twit anyway? Everyone knows he used the Sages' powers to defeat Ganondorf! He was just a useless good-looking wimp!"
There was silence in the Lake - the Guay settled on the roof of the Lab left in a flapping of black wings. Ruto found herself alone amid the calm water, shaking with rage.
Nayru appeared again before her, equally furious. Ruto only had time to raise her hands to her face as the body of the Zora shone with an intense light, and then all was blackness. . .
The Zora Princess's body floated to the surface. Nayru glared at her, then gave her limp form a slight push, so it drifted towards the island at the centre of the Lake. The Goddess dived once more and sank from the lands of Hyrule, leaving an unconscious Ruto alone in the water.
***
Din managed to appear in the Field outside the Kokiri Forest just as Kiren was dismounting. "You again!" he growled, reaching for the broadsword strapped to his back. Din marched straight up to the Thief and grabbed his broken wrist roughly. He had strapped it up himself. Kiren winced very slightly. Din yanked his wrist in a nauseating twist; this time the Gerudo gave a moan of pain. His right hand closed about the sword hilt, but Din seized his fist with her free hand and shoved, and Kiren's fist connected with the back of his head.
Din rolled the unconscious Gerudo into a bush with her foot. She pulled the horse's saddle and bridle off and gave it a forceful push in the direction of the Ranch. The horse took the hint and bolted across the grass. Din thought for a few minutes, then strode over to the Thief, drew his broadsword, thrust the upper part of the blade into the grass, and threw her weight against the hilt. The blade snapped cleanly. Din vanished the piece not attached to the hilt with a complicated hand movement, and then stealthily replaced the other half back in the scabbard.
"Hah."
***