Link ran straight to Saria's house and knocked. There was no answer so he knocked again.

"She's not home!"

Link turned around and saw Mido standing over him. Link glared and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You know, for someone as worldly as you, you sure are stupid." Mido glared.

"Nevermind, Mido." Link said and tried to leave when Mido grabbed his shoulder and threw him back into place.

"No one humiliates me in front of my friends." He growled.

Link glared and considered pulling his sword.

"I'll just have to teach you a lesson." Mido said and pulled his fist back for a strike.

Hundreds of battles taught Link to be ready for anything. He rolled out of the way, pulled his boomerang from his pack and threw it at Mido. It knocked him in the head and he fell flat on his face. The boomerang returned to Link, who stashed it and ran in the direction of the Lost Woods. Moments later he heard a very irate Mido shouting behind him.

Link disappeared into the large log tunnel with his mind racing. He had to find Saria and give her the stone. But Mido knew how to get to the Sacred Forest Meadow just as good, if not better, than he could. He could hear Mido catching up with him and he made a split decision by diving into the pool just outside of the meadow. He considered just hiding here until Mido passed but instead he swam to the bottom and went through the portal door. He emerged from the water on the other side and climbed out. He looked down into the water to see if Mido had followed and, satisfied that he was safe, he stood up. He turned around and looked up at the large waterfall that signified the start of Zora River and the entrance to Zora's Domain. He was partially dreading seeing Ruto again, but he knew that the Zora Sapphire belonged to her and her family. He sighed and walked forward to stand on the plaque in front of the waterfall. Digging around in his pack he found the Fairy Ocarina that Saria had given him. He smiled at it and brought it too his lips to play Zelda's Lullaby. As the notes filled the air, the waterfall parted revealing the hidden passageway into the Zora home. He put the Ocarina away and jumped across the gap and ran into the cave. Inside were hundreds of Zora's.

At least their not frozen…Link thought as he walked around the long path that led to King Zora's chambers. He waved to the friendly Zora's as he passed and remembered the diving games he would play with them.

At least they remember that much…

Link stopped at the foot of the long staircase and took a deep breath. Letting it out slowly he carefully traveled the length of the stairs and stopped at the top. King Zora was in the middle of a very specific argument with Ruto.

"But he promised!" She was saying.

"Ruto, you can not marry the boy. He is not even our kind."

"But I want to Daddy, and he promised!"

Link swallowed and considered running in the opposite direction until Ruto turned and locked eyes with him. Link felt a cold shiver run down his spine as her face lit up.

"See Daddy! I told you he would come back! I told you!"

Link straightened up and walked forward to stand on the platform in front of the royals.

"I'm sure he's here for another reason, Ruto." The King turned to Link and smiled down at him. "What can I do for you, my boy?"

Link suddenly felt weak to his stomach. If receiving the Zora Sapphire was agreeing to marriage, then what would returning it mean. He placed a shaky hand into his pocket and pulled out the stone.

"See Daddy! I told you he took it." Ruto said and winked at Link.

"I…I…" Link stuttered. "I just thought I would return this too you, King Zora." He said and held it out.

Ruto's face fell. "Link…you can't!" She turned and ran down the ramp and up to him. "You took it! You can't give it back."

"It's safer here with you." Link whispered to her.

Seeming to have ignored his answer she began to cry. "You can't do this to me!" She said and ran back up and out to Zora Fountian.

Link was beginning to wonder if something had gone wrong and Ruto couldn't remember what they had been through when King Zora broke his line of thought.

"I had a feeling it was all a misunderstanding. You're too young for marriage, aren't you, Link?"

Link looked up to the large fish and nodded. "Yes, Your Highness. I'm sorry I hurt her feelings."

King Zora shook his large head. "Oh, she'll get over it."

"Your Highness, would it be okay if I talked to her? Maybe to make her feel better?"

The King considered this and finally nodded. "Sure. Yes, you do that." He said and slowly moved out of the way to let him through.

Link ran up the path and after Ruto. When he emerged, he saw Lord Jabu-Jabu in his normal spot but no Ruto.

On please no…Link begged inwardly. He had nearly lost his lunch the last time he had to go inside Lord Jabu-Jabu and he did not want to do it again. He walked further into the fountain and saw Ruto sitting on the fallen tree over to the right of Lord Jabu-Jabu. Sighing with relief, Link jumped into the water and swam over to her. He climbed the tree and sat next to her in silence. She glanced over to him and then turned back to the water.

"I'm…I'm sorry." She whispered.

Link turned to her. "So you do remember."

Ruto nodded. "Yes, of course I do." She turned to him. "I was only playing out a part."

Link raised his brow. "What part?"

"The part of me, when I was younger." She turned and looked down into the water. "That and…"

Link looked at her. "…and…?"

She sighed. "And I was kinda hoping that if I acted that way, you would…" She trailed off.

Link sighed, seeing where this was going. He may be a kid now, but it didn't mean he was stupid. "You thought that act would make me like you?"

Ruto nodded. "I spent seven years waiting to marry you, Link. I thought for sure that you and I would be together forever." She turned to him. "Then you came back and…well…?"

Link blinked at her. "I'm not sure I understand what you mean."

She sighed. "I saw you with Zelda. In the Sacred Realm. I saw you." She turned back to the water. "You…You love her. Don't you?"

Link turned back to the water. He knew that when he was an adult he loved her more than anything, but now that he was a kid, his feelings were…strange. He knew he liked her, but as for the rest of it…He turned to her and nodded.

"Yeah."

Ruto nodded and a small tear fell into the water. "Before, I thought I could handle it. I mean, I was a Sage. I had other things to worry about. But…But then Zelda moved time back." She turned to him. I just thought that since there's no threat to Hyrule anymore that maybe we could…" She stopped and turned away from him. "But never mind."

Link groaned inwardly suddenly feeling much older than he was or ever had been. He stared out at the Fountain before him and felt at least a dozen emotions running through his head at once. He felt angry that he hurt Ruto. He felt relief that she understood. He felt confusion over his feelings for Zelda. And worst of all, he felt lost without her. He turned to Ruto and, after a moments hesitation, leaned over and kissed her cheek. Ruto blushed and turned to him. Link smiled.

"I'm sorry we're can't be married." He stood up. "But maybe we can be friends." He said and offered her his hand.

She smiled and nodded, taking his hand and standing. "Yes. Friends." She said and they shook.

From his pocket, he again pulled the small blue stone. He placed it in her hands and smiled. "You can take care of it better than I can. Besides," He chuckled. "We probably don't want the Spiritual Stone and the Triforce of Courage to be in the same place at the same time."

She giggled and shook her head. "No, probably not."

The two exchanged looks of friendship before Link dove off of the log and began swimming back to the shore while Ruto stared after him, clutching the stone to her chest.