A note from the Hime no Argh herself–
Ack!! What else can I say but ack! I'm so, so sorry this chapter took so long to come out, but for once it's not my fault! o.o (Really!) My computer came down with a terrible virus that damaged loads of programs. Nothing was working properly. I had to wipe the hard drive clean and reinstall everything; I'm just really, really lucky I was able to save my documents beforehand. I only just got my comp working yesterday.
On the plus side I'm writing again and am well into a Chapter 28, a first for me as my stories usually don't go past twenty-five or twenty-six chapters. So expect updates more often. Sorry again for the delay, and enjoy!
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Chapter 24
A Fish Out of Water
Zelda had never been to the Zora Domain. Most people agreed it had been deserted, though some still insisted that a few Zora hid themselves inside the secret lagoon. Parcleus was descended from a tribe of saltwater Zora that had once roamed the coast of Hyrule, but there few full Zora left, only half-breeds and descendants.
Of course, that was in the future, in Zelda's time. Not here and now, in what Zelda considered the past but everyone around her knew to be the present.
Blue sought out the river snaking from the Zora Domain to Hylia Lake and followed it north, gliding so high in the sky that they were a mere speck of a shadow on the ground below. Zelda clung tightly to Blue's neck as the dragon began her descent toward the Zora Domain.
Where shall I land? the dragon inquired as they glided over the river.
Zelda had no idea, so she relayed the question to her companions. "There is an outcropping of rock above the waterfall that guards the domain of the Zora," Sheik replied.
They spotted the waterfall, a roaring, foaming rush of water cascading to the river below. Blue banked and touched down on the slippery rocks at the top of the waterfall, flapping her wings to maintain balance. Sheik slid nimbly from her back and landed catlike on a walkway carved of rock before the waterfall. "Down here," he called to the others.
"Don't make it look so easy," Nabooru called as she and Zelda climbed–more like slipped–down Blue's back and tail, landing precariously on the walkway beside Sheik. The three of them stared at the waterfall.
"That looks too strong to leap through," Zelda said worriedly. "We'd get pushed into the river. But the domain is behind it, right? How do we get there?"
In response Sheik extended his hands, holding them palm up before him. A golden glow appeared in the center of his hands, taking on form and detail as Zelda and Nabooru watched, open-mouthed. The shape solidified in his hands, and suddenly Sheik was gripping a golden lyre. With practiced fingers he stroked the strings of the finely-tuned instrument, sending a ripple of notes through the air before he deftly plucked a short, slow tune with an almost wistful sound. Suddenly the roar of the waterfall ceased to a mere trickle, and an opening in the rock wall behind it beckoned to the Zora Domain.
"Farore's mercy," Zelda whispered, mystified.
"Where did you learn that song?" Nabooru demanded suspiciously of Sheik. "Only members of the Royal Family and those of their choosing know it."
Sheik plucked a string mildly, then let the lyre go. It hovered in midair for a moment before dissolving in a stream of golden light. "We Sheikah are the shadows of the Royal Family," he said. "I know the song because I must."
Nabooru still looked suspicious, but she dutifully turned back to face the waterfall. The three of them looked at it grimly for a moment, then at each other. In unison they leapt across the gap, through the light shower of water and into the Zora Domain.
They found themselves inside a cave where blue ripples traced across the walls and a path led deeper into the cavern, toward the sound of another roaring waterfall. "Now," Nabooru said briskly, turning to Zelda, "I think the best way to go about this would be for you to assume the identity of the Queen. Goddesses know you're practically her twin."
Zelda winced. She wasn't sure she liked the idea of impersonating the mother she'd never known. "Do I have to? Impersonating royalty, that's got to be illegal. Even if she is my mother."
"Nabooru's plan is good," Sheik said decidedly. "You'll be allowed access immediately to Princess Ruto."
Nabooru was briskly tugging at Zelda's clothes, straightening wrinkles from her frayed white shirt. "It would be better if you weren't dressed like a peasant, but we'll just have to make do. Stand up tall," she ordered. "Put your shoulders back. Queens don't slouch."
"Speak slowly and deliberately," Sheik added. "Pronounce every syllable clearly."
"Understand the difference between requesting and asking," Nabooru said. "Request something as if you know you won't be denied. You may be a guest in the Zora Domain, but you're also a Queen, and entitled to see your cousin Ruto."
"Cousin?" Zelda asked, blinking.
"Members of the royal class consider one another cousins." Nabooru rolled her eyes. "You really are a peasant, aren't you?"
Zelda grinned. "No. I'm a thief."
Nabooru blinked at her, then abruptly laughed and clapped her on the shoulder. "So we've something in common after all!"
They headed deeper into the cave, toward the sound of the waterfall. Before long their path opened into an enormous cavern filled with water. Water rushed from an underground river and fell into the pool below that filled the cavern's stone basin. The rocks walls reflected the rippling of the water, and the entire cavern was lit with a mysterious blue light.
Zora were everywhere, lounging on the rocks, gossiping with their friends, swimming in the pool. Zelda, Sheik, and Nabooru attracted attention immediately; two Zora swam to the lip of the pool beside them and climbed out to inspect them.
"Your Majesty?" one of the Zora asked, sounding bewildered. Belated he and his companion bowed. "Please forgive our inhospitality. We were not expecting you."
"That's all right." Zelda looked uncertainly at Nabooru, but the sage jabbed her with a sharp elbow. "Ouch! Ahh–I'd like to see Princess Ruto, please."
"Of course, Your Majesty," exclaimed the other Zora, bowing. "We will fetch Her Highness at once." The two Zora dove back into the water and swam rapidly to a tiny island made of rock in the middle of the pool, on which a lone Zora lounged.
Nabooru nudged Zelda and nodded toward the Zora. "Princess Ruto."
Zelda watched as the two Zora messengers approached and spoke deferentially to the princess. The three Zora glanced in Zelda's direction, then the princess dove from her rock, swam to the edge of the pool, and climbed out.
Zelda silently took the measure of the Zora princess as she rose gracefully, shoulders back and chin lifted in a proud, almost haughty stance. Like the rest of the Zora she wore not an inch of clothing over her blue-tinged skin. She was taller than Zelda by an inch or so, slender and quite voluptuous. The wide fins on her arms and legs were iridescent, a kaleidoscope of shimmering colors. Not a hint of modesty showed in her blue eyes and the seductive pout of her dewy lips. She was beautiful, and she knew it. Ruto, the Sage of Water.
"Welcome, cousin," Ruto's voice was prim and proper, but she clasped Zelda's hands warmly and smiled. "This is unexpected. What brings you to the Zora Domain?" She turned to Nabooru before Zelda had a chance to answer. "Nabooru! Happy to see you!"
"The pleasure's mine, Ruto," Nabooru replied with a laugh surely reserved for Ruto's royal airs.
"Now, him..." Ruto's gaze shifted to Sheik. She frowned, placing a finger thoughtfully against her chin. "You look very familiar to me. Who are you, please?"
Sheik bowed. "I serve the Queen, Your Highness. My name is Sheik."
"May we speak with you in private, Ruto?" Nabooru requested politely. "It's very important."
"Of course!" Ruto tore her eyes from Sheik. "This way."
As the princess led them deeper into the caverns, Zelda found herself watching Sheik closely. So Ruto seemed to recognize Sheik as well–why? One thing she was certain of–Sheik wasn't a normal person. Zelda would stake her life on that.
So what was he?
Sheik caught her staring. Those fathomless crimson eyes turned to her, and for the moment their gazes locked Zelda was struck with an incredible sense of recognition–but not recognition as Ruto and Nabooru felt. She looked into his blood-red eyes and saw herself gazing back.
When Sheik smiled at her, she knew it, although his mouth was still concealed behind the mask. She had to avert her gaze.
Ruto led them to a chamber that looked very much like a throne room. Torches flickered in the corners of the stone-cut walls and a small fountain trickled around a regal throne, falling into a pool below and flowing toward the waterfall that rushed through the cavern. The princess turned to them and smiled. "Now, what may I do for you, cousin?"
Zelda glanced at Nabooru, then Sheik. "I can drop the charade now, right?"
Ruto blinked. "What charade?"
"This is gonna sound really nuts, Ruto," Nabooru interrupted hastily. "Frankly I'm not quite sure I believe it myself. But either I'm having some very weird hallucination or Zelda here is telling the truth."
Ruto frowned, staring at them. "The truth about what?"
Nabooru and Sheik looked at Zelda expectantly. "Thanks," she said dryly, then sighed. "Listen, Ruto–I'm not the Queen. I'm her daughter from the future. Two or three decades from now, the Queen will be dead and Ganondorf will be the King of Hyrule–"
"And the sages will need to band together once again to help defeat him," Nabooru said helpfully.
Ruto stared at them in silence, her expression clearly indicating that she thought them all insane.
Zelda sighed again. "I'm going to have to explain this to every sage, aren't I?"
"Probably," Nabooru said dismissively. "Look, Ruto, come with us. It's urgent, or so it seems. I'm sure we'll get some straight answers sooner or later."
Ruto lifted her chin haughtily, staring accusingly at Zelda. "No, you aren't the Queen. No wonder you dress and speak like a peasant. What manner of imposter are you?"
Zelda drew herself up indignantly. "I am my mother's daughter!"
"She is," Sheik said softly. All three turned to look at him. He was watching Zelda, his single visible eye alight with crimson fire. Zelda stared back at him, transfixed once again. "She resembles the Queen quite vividly but she is not a perfect replica. Her cheeks are rounder and her eyes wider. Her hair is more golden–her father's influence, no doubt. But I see Zelda in her eyes. She is, indeed, her mother's daughter.
"Ruto," Sheik said abruptly, turning to the princess. "You will come. You will come because a sage summons you for help and it is your duty. Appoint someone to regent your kingdom in your absence. Take the necessary precautions. When Zelda returns here, you shall be ready. It is no small favor she asks of you. She asks you to preserve the future–to preserve her world." The Sheikah nodded to the others, then turned and left the throne room, padding quietly against the stone floor. Zelda, Nabooru, and Ruto watched him go, open-mouthed.
Ruto was the first to break their stunned trance. "Tell me this," she demanded, turning her glinting eyes to Zelda. "You say you come from a future where Ganondorf is king and Zelda–your mother–is dead. If you come to the seek the sages here, what has happened to us in your time?"
Zelda flinched. She had known, somehow, that this question would come, but there was no way to prepare for it.
"Impa and Saria remain," she began. Nabooru and Ruto watched her in silence, waiting.
"They told me I had two options," Zelda said quietly. "One was to wait for the sages to awaken in my time. The other was to seek the sages in a different time. They never speak of you, but there's only one assumption to be made.
"At some point during Ganondorf's conquest of Hyrule, Nabooru, Ruto, Darunia, and Rauru all died."
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To be continued.