Chapter 12 is here, thanks for your support everyone!
"So... you're certain of this information?"
"Yes Lady Nabooru, all reports from our spies have confirmed it."
"And is there any chance they would change their plans?"
"None your ladyship."
"Excellent, we've waited for this day for so long, and this is finally our opportunity. Those Hylians will never be the wiser..." Nabooru chuckled darkly.
"It's sooo hooot!" Aviel groaned as she, Link and Nemisa were all lounging around in the main living area of the palace. She turned her arms into bird wings in an attempt to fan herself off, before changing her arms back to normal a few seconds later, "Forget it, even my feathers are too warm, and all I'm doing is just blowing hot air at myself..."
"I thought you guys were used to the desert heat..." Link groaned, laying on the table.
"Normally we do, but this is the hottest day of the year." Nemisa wiped her forehead, "Not even we Gerudo can do our usual tasks this day..."
"Any suggestions on what we can do to cool off...?" Aviel asked.
"Dunno, it'd be great if we could find a place where it's not so-" Link's words were immodestly cut off as he realized something, "Wait, I know where we can go!"
"So you guys wanna hang out in my livestock barn?." Togau asked, holding a bag of animal feed on one shoulder while wiping her head down with a damp cloth.
"Yes," Link nodded, "You mentioned before your barn is weather controlled to protect the animals right? Could we just stay here for a while?"
"We'd be willing to do chores to earn our right to stay here." Nemisa said bowing.
"Well shucks, I don't mind that much, but-" Togau muttered, but was interrupted by Aviel.
"Yay!" squealed Aviel, running towards the barn, "Finally relief from this heat!"
"The thing is actually..." Togau started before Aviel ran into the barn.
Almost immediately, Aviel was launched out and skidded to the ground by Link and Nemisa's feet.
"W-What was that?!" Link exclaimed.
"That... smell..." groaned Aviel.
"Sorry guys, I was experimentin' with a new kind of animal feed, and I guess it didn't really...uh, agree with them if you get what I'm saying..." Togau set down her bag and walked up to the group, rubbing the back of her head.
"Ugggh..." Aviel groaned, covering her nose, "It's so bad it actually blasted me out of there..."
"I imagine this intense heat isn't making the stench any better." pointed out Nemisa, even she was plugged her nose.
"There's got to be something el- Wait!" Link suddenly exclaimed, "I got it! I have another idea!"
"Ah, our beloved king has come to greet us on this accursed day?" Kesuta said with a grin.
"You... bless us with your arrival... I could at least say..." Korume gasped out in exhaustion.
Link and the group had decided to meet with the town mystic twins at their tent, where they saw the fire elemental Kesuta was no worse for wear, but the ice elemental Korume on the other hand wasn't doing so well.
"Forgive me for... my presence... my lord..." Korume said, "But I don't take this heat very well..."
"Extreme heat affects her magic," explained Kesuta, "Since our power is still young, we're a bit vulnerable to more extreme temperatures."
"Well there goes that plan." Link sighed.
"If not even an ice elemental like Korume can handle this weather, how can any of us?" Aviel shouted.
"And how come you're not sweatin' in this heat?!" asked Togau to Kesuta.
"I can handle extreme heat just fine as a fire elemental, though extreme cold can be too much for even me." Kesuta shrugged.
"Alright then, teach us fire magic!" Togau said.
"Yeah, we'll work hard!" Aviel nodded desperately.
"Wouldn't training with fire make things worse for you?" Link asked.
"Eehh, I'm not much a scholar." Kesuta said sweatdropping, "And our powers in particular come from our bloodline."
"Awww!" shouted Aviel and Togau in unison.
"Can we just all go somewhere else less crowded?" Korume muttered with her face on the floor.
With their ideas foiled, Link, Aviel, Nemisa, Togau, Kesuta and Korume found themselves all lounging in the palace, trying to fight off the temperature.
"Anyone else feeling worse...?" muttered Aviel.
"It's only getting hotter as it approaches midday." groaned Nemisa.
"Ugh... grrr... That's it!" shouted Togau, as she started to pull off her vest, exposing her chest.
"T-Togau, what are you doing?!" Link exclaimed, covering his eyes, "Cover yourself up!"
"Ta hell with modestly, it's too hot fer it!" Togau said throwing her vest aside, exposing her chest to everyone, "Aah, much better!"
"Hey, good idea Togau!" Aviel said, pulling off her top and pants.
"Why didn't I think of that?" Korume muttered, undoing her garments.
"Hey, wait a minute, all of you!" shouted Nemisa in protest of the stripping girls, "You're in the presence of your highness!"
"I don't think he minds much." grinned Kesuta, who was now stripped down as well.
"Wait, why did you strip?!" exclaimed Nemisa, "I thought you said you were resistant to heat?"
"Whoever said I was too warm?" Kesuta grinned mischievously, scooting over to Link, who was trying his hardest to not gawk at everyone.
"You know the heat's already bad." protested Link, "That's the last thing we should be thinking about!"
"Okay then?" Aviel said, looking to Link and Nemisa, "You two strip as well!"
"Why us?!" exclaimed Nemisa in frustration.
"Yeah, just looking at the two of you in those clothes is making us hotter!" Togau said, reaching out at Nemisa.
"We'll undress our lordship!" Kesuta said with glee, as she and Aviel went to pulling off Link's clothes.
"Everyone please shut up..." groaned Korume, with her face pressed against the table, having removed her outfit didn't do much for her situation.
"Unhand me or I'll clobber you!" Nemisa shouted to Togau.
"This heat is making everyone lose their senses!" exclaimed Link, who was trying to fight off Kesuta pulling off his pants while Aviel just managed o pull off Link's shirt.
"Everyone!" shouted a new voice; it was Nabooru, pushing up the doors to the living quarters, "I've found the answer to our proble-"
She paused and looked around, seeing Link, Aviel, Nemisa, Togau, Kesuta and Korume. Most of them were stripped nude, and whoever wasn't nude was in the process of being stripped down themselves.
"... … ...never mind, I'll come back later." Nabooru said closing the door.
"Save us!" Link and Nemisa both shouted to Nabooru.
"So I've figured out a solution to this heat problem." Nabooru said, having sat everyone down (and got them back into their clothes), "My spies have given me vital information that will save ourselves from this heat."
"Sounds good," sighed Link, "What do we do?"
"It's simple! Everyone pack your things, for the rest of the day, we and the people of the town are all going to Lake Hylia!" Nabooru stated.
"Wait, seriously?!" Link exclaimed.
"Yahoo! We're going to the lake!" Aviel cheered.
"But what about the law?" Link asked, "Isn't Lake Hylia considered Hylian soil?"
"Yes, but that's why my spies have been investigating." Nabooru explained, "They've told me that the guards that usually watch the Lake Hylia area are going to not be at their posts, as they have a last minute assignment at the castle to do, and there will be no replacements!"
"So we won't get caught? Sounds great!" Togau said.
"I... suppose we could do this." Nemisa muttered.
"Well, I guess as long as we don't get in trouble then I got no problem with it." Link nodded.
"Yay! We got our king's approval!" Aviel squealed, hugging Link, "Let's go!"
"Calm blue skies..."
"White sandy shores..."
"Tranquil waters..."
"We made it to the lake!" shouted Nabooru as she, Link, Aviel, Nemisa, Togau, Kesuta, Korume, Dr. Sarami and a good majority of the residents of Gerudo Town found themselves standing out at the shore of Lake Hylia. Various sights they could see include the Lakeside Laboratory a giant tree on an island in the middle of the lake, and a fishing attraction on the side, the last of which was closed.
"The lake air feels so nice..." sighed Aviel, spreading her arms out, "Okay, let's go swimming!" she said, stripping off her outfit to show off a two piece swimsuit she had on under it, then turning her arms to wings to fly off to the lake before shooting right down into the water, before coming up for air and turning to the group.
"Everyone, the water's great!" she shouted, waving an arm.
While most of the girls in their group cheered out and ran off to the water, a few of the older ones worked to set up the umbrellas, towels and food they had prepared for the trip, before running off for the water themselves.
Link and Nabooru meanwhile stood and watched as the Gerudo all played in the lake.
"This was a great idea Nabooru." Link grinned. "The girls definitely deserve something like this, even if it means breaking the law a bit."
"Indeed, they all work so hard rebuilding our society, so I try to find ways to reward them for their work." she smirked slightly and added, "Speaking of which, you're probably happy to see so many women in swimsuits."
"Geez, you really think I'm like that?" Link asked annoyed.
"Hello Nabs, hello Link!" said a familiar voice, "You're keeping your ultraviolet radiation exposure in check, correct?"
Link turned to see it was Dr. Sarami, who was clad in her typical long white vest, but noticed she wore a rather revealing black two-piece swimsuit under it that showed off her voluptuous figure.
"Y-You going in too, Sarami?" Link asked, trying to keep his eyes off her swimsuit.
"Oh, I'm not the swimming type myself." smiled Sarami, amused to seeing Link's reaction to her, "I'm going to go pay a quick visit to the Lakeside Laboratory and meet a friend there."
"Well come back when you're done." Link said, "You deserve to relax as much as anyone here."
"Thank you..." she said with a light blush, before walking off to the lab.
"I think at times you really are like that." Nabooru gave a delayed answer along with a smirk.
"Ah heh heh..." Link grinned sheepishly
"Aren't you going swimming too, Nemisa?" Link asked his bodyguard, sticking an umbrella into the sand after laying out towels.
"...I'm fine, the cooler temperature is enough for me..." Nemisa said, looking to the side.
Link paused, looking at her for a bit. He noticed despite her words, she'd take small glances out towards the lake, with a longing look in her eyes
He then sported a mischievous grin and lunged out, grabbed Nemisa around her waist, and ran with her towards the lake.
"What?! Let go of me you idiot!" shouted Nemisa, too surprised by his attack to react to it.
"You asked for it!" Link shouted, as he spun her around to build up velocity, before he hurled Nemisa into the air and she splashed down into the water. Some of the girls around the vicinity laughed out loud as Nemisa emerged up from the water scowling.
"Why'd you do that?!" shouted Nemisa clenching her fist.
"Aw come on Nemisa," snickered Link, "This is a day for us to unwind and have some fun!"
"So you coming in too Link?" Aviel asked excitedly.
"Yeah, come on your highness!" shouted one of the other girls.
"Just get yer cute butt in here Link!" Togau exclaimed.
"Alright, alright, hold on." Link said, removing his shoes and shirt, causing many of the Gerudo to squeal out at Link's athletic physique. Even Aviel herself, used to seeing him like that often when she'd wake him up in the morning, found herself looking more intently at him.
Nemisa's face meanwhile turned so bright red at the sight of Link shirtless again that she dunked her head into the water, not sure if it was just to cool off her head or hide her embarrassment more.
"Too hot for you?" snickered Togau to Nemisa.
Nemisa rose her head out from the water, back to being her calm and collected self, though still going out of her way trying not to look directly at Link.
"I'm just fine, thank you." she said.
Aviel, Togau and the other girls looked to each other, grinning, before they brought up their hands and splashed Nemisa with water.
"Gack! You little-!" Nemisa shouted before she got hit by a particularly big splash made from Aviel's wings, "Now that's just cheating!"
Soon even the battle-hardened Nemisa found herself splashing at the girls. While she tried her hardest to retain a straight face, she couldn't help but grin ever so slightly as she did.
"Heh," Link snickered to himself, "Glad to see she's enjoying herself after all."
It was then that a big splash of water hit Link directly, created by the girls all combining their attacks. Link stood there with an annoyed grin, dripping wet, as the urge to fight back rose inside him,
"That's it!" he shouted, as he himself ran into the water and started splashing at the squealing girls.
Time passed, and everyone felt truly relaxed.
While the girls were enjoying their time in the water, Sarami herself had taken to sitting back on a towel, protected by her umbrella, while reading a book. She took a glance up at Link and the girls, and smiled warmly, before licking her finger and flipping the page of her story.
Even Togau's right-hand animals Imra and Oseg were enjoying their time. Oseg the pig was laying half submerged in shallow water, while Imra the cucco was floating around on the surface of the water not unlike a duck.
"Fuhuhuhu!" cackled Korume as she waved arms left and right, conjuring ice around the water, creating blocks and even sculptures with her magic, "I feel so refreshed in this cool water... it's exhilarating!"
"Speak for yourself sister!" Kesuta shouted from the beach, she was sitting on a towel hugging her legs with a grumpy look on her face.
"Don't you wish to join us dear sister...?" Korume chuckled.
"Oh shut it, you know I can't handle water!" Kesuta scowled.
"Perhaps I'll go see our dear king..." Korume chuckled darkly, creating a walkway of ice to cross the water towards where Link and the others were.
"Just melt already!" Kesuta shouted to her sister in annoyance.
Link meanwhile was floating on his back in the water, staring up into the sky, as his mind focused on their situation, listening fondly to the screaming and laughing girls in the distance. He heard a splashing sound as he looked to see Nabooru coming up to him.
"Hey there," she grinned, Link couldn't help but look intently at the two-piece swimsuit she wore, "Having a good time, Link?"
"Y-Yeah.." Link said, looking to the side.
"Oh come off it with the shyness, you've seen all of me for months." she giggled, bringing her arms around him in a hug.
"I guess, it's just um... a different type of sensation I suppose.." Link trailed off, not sure how to describe it. Nabooru grinned and let of him before laying back on the water herself.
"Aah, the water is truly perfect." Nabooru said, "I've been waiting for a day like this."
"This is really nice. Honestly, it'd be ideal if the girls could come out here more often.." Link said, then frowned, "But the law keeps them from it, I hate that they have to risk breaking rules like this just do something so many Hylians would take for granted."
"I definitely agree, but there isn't really much we can do." Nabooru said, "I've tried to have an audience with the king to negotiate some leniency with the law, but I keep getting denied replies."
"Do you think there's anything I could do about it?" Link asked.
"Hm, maybe." Nabooru nodded, "But I don't think it would be a good idea at the moment if they knew we have a king again. After everything with the war, some within the Hylian Parliament are probably already chomping at the bit to find an excuse to go after us, and finding out we have a new king, or even just one in-training, might set them off too much for our own good."
"I guess..." sighed Link, "Maybe if we had more allies on our side that have better relations to the Hylians things would work better for us. It's times like this I wish I could talk to Princess Zelda."
"Yes, ironic that you're probably one of the people closest to the princess, yet you're the last person we want the Parliament finding out about." Nabooru commented, "And then there's the engagement..."
"E-Engagement?!" exclaimed Link, splashing in the water from what he heard. Nabooru say.
"Yes, Princess Zelda from what my spies have told me is being engaged to a prince from the land of Fargent to the north." she said, "Though I have my doubts it's anything to do with love, and more then likely a means of establishing land and trade between the both nations."
"I... see.." Link said, he knew it wasn't his place to speak on the princess' situation, but there was a part of it that still nagged at him. His thoughts drifted to that time in the dark future, when he met her as an adult for the first time, and the sadness in her eyes over what had happened...
"Link, are you okay...?" Nabooru asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm... fine." Link nodded, he forced a smile and said, "Come on, we're not here to dwell on our problems, let's go meet up with the girls."
"...okay." Nabooru nodded, and the two went on their way.
Unknown to the two however, a dark figure was under the water, watching them intently...
"Hey Nemisa, heads up!" Togau shouted, hurling a large air-filled ball right at the martial arts Gerudo, who simply turned and caught it without hesitation.
"What on earth is this?" she asked, squeezing it slightly.
"It's called a beach ball, I got it from the caravan back when we did that big trade!" Togau said, "It's a rubber ball filled with air to make it bouncy and floaty!"
"Hey Nemisa, hit it this way!" Aviel said, flapping her wings.
"Hit it, huh...?" Nemisa muttered, she threw the ball up a bit, then punched it with such force that it flew straight at Aviel and bashed her upside the head, sending the young Gerudo backwards into the water. "Oops."
"Not that hard!" exclaimed Aviel in anger, as the ball itself fell into the water quite a distance away.
"It's okay, I got it guys." Link waved, and swam off.
He soon approached the beach ball, which was bobbing on the surface of the deeper water. Just as he was about to grab it however, the ball was suddenly pulled into the water. Link looked around in confusion to see what could had happened. He peered into the water, but couldn't make out anything.
"What the heck...?" Link muttered, until the ball suddenly hit him in the back of the head. He quickly turned around to see nothing there. He scratched the back his head in confusion, before reaching to grab the ball, when a sudden burst of water came up in front of him, splashing him heavily. When the water went away, he saw something all too familiar to him.
"Hey Link, what's the hold u- HUH?" Aviel asked, swimming up to Link, only to see what it was in front him as well.
It was a female creature with many humanoid characteristics, but many fish and amphibian like traits as well. Her skin was mostly a light blue, with some whiter and darker blue parts. Her head was somewhat bulbous in size, but sported a graceful thin-lined face, with bright eyes, a small nose and a smile, and her arms and legs had fins that waved naturally in the water.
"A zora?" Aviel asked, recognizing the species of the creature in front of them.
"Wait, is that you, Ruto?!" Link exclaimed.
"Link my husband, I'm so glad to see you!" Ruto smiled brightly, then lunged forward and hugged him.
"Wait, you know this lady?" Aviel asked.
"Hmm?" Ruto took a look at Aviel, "And who are you, little one?"
"Who you calling little?!" exclaimed Aviel.
"I... think we need to talk.." Link said.
"Oh my!" gasped Ruto, "I heard rumors that the Gerudo might have chosen a new king, but I didn't think it would be you, Link!"
Link and Ruto, along with Nabooru, Aviel, Nemisa, Togau and Sarami were all gathered on the beach to eat lunch and discuss the situation with Ruto.
"Well to be honest I'm not really king yet." Link said, "I'm kinda just in-training, and I haven't decided yet."
"Ah, I see." Ruto said with a bit of relief in her tone.
"Um, it's not likely that the Hylians know of these rumors, is there Princess Ruto?" Nabooru asked, somewhat concerned.
"Not to my knowledge." Ruto said in thought, "It's mostly between us zora."
"So how long have ya known Link for, Ms. Princess?" Togau asked.
"Oh, since he was ten actually." she smiled, "He was such a cute boy back then, almost as adorable as I was!."
"I wish I could have seen him myself!" Aviel said.
"Yes, I would had loved to hug him at that age." giggled Sarami, "I'm so jealous of you Nabs, knowing him for so long."
"Wait, how close are you to Link, Lady Nabooru?" Ruto said annoyed.
"I work as his adviser." Nabooru explained, then gave a gentle smile, "And we're... just friends."
Link wasn't sure what to say himself, it was a bit awkward.
"...okay... I'll just leave it as that for now..." Ruto said, still clearly bothered.
The group spent their time talking about what Link and his friends had been through during his time at Gerudo Town, while Ruto spoke about how she and Link came to meet.
"Link saved you from a monster inside a fish's stomach?! That's so cool!" Aviel said.
"Ya sound like ya were pretty tough as a munchkin too." Togau grinned to Link, jabbing him in the arm.
"Yes, it's because of what happened that day that I knew Link would become my husband. That's why I gave him the Zora's Sapphire." Ruto smiled, referring to the stone that Link needed in his quest to defeat Ganondorf.
"Oh yeah, you mentioned that before.." Aviel said, she turned to Link with bright eyes, "Does that mean you're going to marry Ruto and have lots of little fishie kids?!"
"Uh... that's um..." Link turned red, he looked to Nabooru who just smirked lightly.
"Oh that'd be splendid!" squealed Sarami, taking Ruto's hands, "I'd babysit them all as much as you want!"
"Um... t-thank you..." Ruto said, rather surprised at the girl's welcoming manners.
"Hey Ruto, did you want to spend the day with us?" Aviel asked with a big smile
"Well, I..." Ruto's choice was silenced as Aviel and Togau took her by the hand and helped her up, dragging her off to the water. She looked frantically behind her shoulder to Link, before resigning to the girl's invitation. "Ahh, wait!"
"Those two have taken a quick liking to her." grinned Nabooru.
"Ugh, I don't know if this is a good idea." Nemisa said, "What if she reports what we're doing to the Hylian Parliament?"
"I don't think Ruto would do that." Link said, "She may come off snooty, but she's a good person."
"So good you'd consider marrying her, right?" grinned Nabooru.
"I... don't know about that." Link said, "We're friends and all, but I don't think it would work out..."
"Hmm, really?" Nabooru asked, "I think it would be a pretty good idea."
"Wait, seriously?" exclaimed Link, "Why do you say that?"
"As of right now, we Gerudo are almost all alone in this land." Nabooru said, "Aside from some caravans and travelers, we have very few allies. Most people fear us and others look down on us, especially after the war and the law that was put in place. Having allies like the zoras would be a huge help to us in the long term, especially if you were to marry their princess and bear children together."
"But... she's... not exactly my species and-" Link trailed off.
"What's wrong with that?" Nabooru asked, "We Gerudo are technically not the same as Hylians either."
"Yeah, for Gerudo I understand... but... would that even work in a zora's case?" Link asked.
"Zora are a rather interesting species," Sarami brought up, "While it's biologically impossible for a male zora to properly mate with a female human, the exact opposite isn't true. It's entirely possible for a female zora to have children with a male human."
"Is that so?" Link asked.
"Yes, in fact some zora women prefer human men as mates because they find the mating process itself much easier, produces better results in birth rate... and from what I've been told, a lot more sensual..." she said with a wink.
"I... kind of feel pity for the male zoras." Nemisa said sweatdropping.
"But that's not my biggest problem with this." Link said, "I'm more concerned with Ruto's feelings."
"Her feelings?" Nemisa asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I've known Ruto for a long time now, and I highly doubt she'd be fine with the idea of me marrying not just her, but with others. You guys may be accustomed to the idea of the king having a harem, but others like Ruto probably wouldn't be on board with it..."
"Perhaps then, you should just ask her." Nabooru said, "You might be surprised."
"Yeah... I should." Link said nervously.
"Alright you all, I'm going off to go see Link." Ruto said, a bit exhausted from Aviel, Togau and the other girls playdate with her.
"Okay!" shouted Aviel, then turned to Togau, "Hey Togau, send the ball at me!"
Ruto watched as Aviel got beaned in the face by the ball, and falling backwards into the water.
"They're certainly strange ones..." Ruto sighed, as she swam towards the shore. "And they seem pretty smitten with Link... I wonder if he would..."
She gulped a bit.
"He... he wouldn't do something like that, would he?" she muttered.
She eventually found Link, sitting at a small cliffside, watching out at the lake. She took a deep breath and causally strolled up to him to greet him.
"Hello there husband." she smiled, sitting down beside Link, he looked like he had been distracted with something, but looked to her and smiled gently.
"Hey Ruto, are you enjoying yourself?" he asked.
"I suppose, those girls are nice, but can be a bit of a workout."
"Ha ha, don't I know that!" Link agreed.
"They're all quite fond of you." she said, resting her head on her wrist, "Just who are they to you?"
"I... I'm not completely sure yet." Link said, "When I first went to the town all I knew of the Gerudo was they were thieves and warriors, but when I actually got there..." he paused, "Well when I got there Nemisa beat me to a pulp, but they all turned out to be really good people, they're all just working together to build their society, a real one."
"Yes, you mentioned Lady Nabooru was responsible for that?"
"Mm-hmm, she really worked hard to not so much restore their lives, but rebuild it into something new, and I really admire what she's done."
"I was surprised myself." Ruto said, "They are indeed different from what my instructors told me about Ganondorf's people."
"So, um... that reminds me... Can I just ask you a little favor?" Link asked, "Can you not tell anyone about what we're doing here? They really needed this day to relax from the heat, even if they're on Hylian land."
"I..." Ruto started, then went into deep thought. "Of... of course not." Ruto nodded, making a small smile, "My lips are sealed."
"Thanks for that." Link said, turning and giving her a hug.
Ruto was on Cloud Nine at that moment, relishing in the embrace. He had never actually hugged her before, despite them being engaged, and it felt so good for her to be pressed against his bare athletic body. Her arms slowly draped around him in reaction and hugged him back.
Link meanwhile felt a strange sensation through his own self, Ruto's body was sleek and cool, dripping with water, and it felt... nice, and soothing. Her gentle arms were wrapped around his body, and her fins delicately tickled his back.
For the longest time he was always uncertain about Ruto's marriage proposal, when he was younger, the idea of him marrying a fish woman just seemed outright bizarre, but now after all these years, he found it feeling not so strange...
But then he remembered the major problem with all this.
"Ruto..." Link started, breaking the hug, but keeping his hands on her sides. "Do.. you still mean it when you said you wanted to marry me?"
"Of course!" Ruto said proudly, "I wouldn't pick anyone else but you!"
"Well, the thing is... are you aware of the tradition of the Gerudo King taking wives?" Link started, feeling a bit awkward about bringing this up.
"Yes, but what do you mean by tha-" that was when Ruto recalled what she had been taught in that regard, "Oh... OH!" she gasped out, covering her mouth.
"Yeah, I didn't even know about this until just recently myself, but Nabooru told me it was tradition for the king of the Gerudo to have multiple wives. She said it was especially important now with the Gerudo's population decline."
"Ah yes, I almost forgot about that.." Ruto realized, she couldn't help but pity the Gerudo at that moment for what they had been going through.
"You recall what I told you about me being the one who got Ganondorf arrested? Well, I feel responsible for what happened to the Gerudo after what happened, and when I saw them all and how much they had suffered, I knew I had to at least do something to help them." he said.
"Yes, you've always been like that, haven't you?" Ruto smiled lightly.
"If I do decide to become the Gerudo King, I'll be probably taking many wives, and having children with them... " Ruto couldn't help but notice Link was a little nervous as he spoke, "In fact, Nabooru has taken me in that way quite a number of times over the past months, teaching me about being with women..."
"O-Oh my..." Ruto gasped with a blush.
"The point I'm getting to, is that if you're not comfortable with the idea of me having more girls then just you as a wife, I would understand if you wish to call off the marriage. I can then just give you back the Zora's Sapphire, and that way you can give it to a man you truly can love for just yourself..." Link said.
He felt guilty about having to ask this of her, especially after she was kind enough to keep the this vacation with the Gerudo secret, but he knew he couldn't keep avoiding the issue with Ruto.
"Link..." Ruto started softly, "Do you remember the words I said when I gave you the Zora's Sapphire all those years ago?"
"Yeah," Link nodded, "You said your mother gave it you..."
"...and that I should give it to the man I choose to marry." nodded Ruto, "Link, when I gave you that sapphire, it wasn't a spontaneous choice on my part. I saw not just the valor and strength you had, but your heart as well. You saved both me and Lord Jabu Jabu., and I couldn't help but fall in love with you."
She leaned back and looked into the sky, "My father has attempted for years to introduce me to both zora and even human princes, but I turned down all of them, because there was only one man who I picked as my husband, and nothing will change that."
Link wasn't sure what to say in response.
"But for now, I... need to think..." Ruto said standing up, "I respect your honesty Link, and... um," she paused, "I-I'm going to get back to see the girls now." With that, she stood at the edge of the small cliff and leaped off with a graceful dive into the water to go swim off and meet up with the girls.
Link himself just sat there and hung his head down.
Ruto meanwhile was back with the Gerudo girls. She was helping one of the younger ones with a minor swimming lesson.
"That's it, keep kicking your feet." Ruto said, holding the girl by her hands as she moved through the water.
"Thanks so much for this Princess Ruto." the girl said, "We don't get many opportunists to be in the water like this, so I never learned to swim."
"Think nothing of it." smirked Ruto, "Consider it an honor to be taught by an illustrious zora such as myself!"
Afterwards, Ruto let the girl go off to practice herself, she contemplated what Link had told her about the way of the Gerudo, and how he was considering becoming their king, and the idea of him having a harem of wives.
It bothered her to say the least, the idea of sharing Link with so many other women, just the idea that he had been sleeping with Lady Nabooru had shocked and bothered her.
Her mind then wandered to the promise he asked of her, to not tell anyone about what the Gerudo were doing here. Technically, they were indeed breaking the law of the Hylian Parliament by being here at the lake, and if she decided to report what was going on, they would likely show no mercy to the Gerudo for doing something like this...
"Maybe if I did that... Link would be left to..." she muttered.
"Hi Ruto!" shouted a voice, "Having fun?"
She shook herself out of her disturbing thoughts and looked to see Aviel standing there before her, smiling brightly.
"I suppose so." Ruto nodded, but then paused, "Wait, why do you address me so casually, do you not know you stand before the zora princess?" she asked, sticking her nose up snobbishly.
"Hee hee, cause you're going to marry Link, right?" Aviel asked, "That means you're a member of our family, so you're like a sister to me!"
"A sister...?!" Ruto asked in surprise.
"She's right ya know." grinned Togau, swimming up to them, "We Gerudo are a close-knit bunch, and if you do marry Link, that makes you our family too. I was pretty surprised when I learned Link was engaged with a zora, but I can see yer a nice lady, if a bit stuck-up, and I think you'll fit in with us fine!"
"I... uh, thank you?" Ruto said, at a loss for most words.
"Now comeon fishlips," Togau snickered, spinning her beach ball on her finger, "Let's hit the ball around again!"
"Fishlips?!" exclaimed Ruto in a huff, "How dare you!" as she slapped the water, splashing Togau.
"Okay, it's on now!" Togau said splashing Ruto back, but the fish woman didn't even flinch
"Ha, water does nothing to me!" smirked Ruto.
"Then we need another weapon, Aviel deploy the wings!" Togau stated.
It was then that Aviel lunged at Ruto from behind and started tickling her with her feathery wings.
"Ahahahaha!" Ruto found herself laughed uncontrollably, "You little. How dare yo- haahah!"
The three of them were playing for what seemed like forever. As Ruto dunked Aviel underwater for a second, she reflected on what the two of them told her, and what Link said before.
'A... family huh...?'
She then felt a tinge of guilt, as her thoughts went back to the idea of reporting the Gerudo's trespassing situation. Now the more she thought about it, the harder it was for her to even consider.
"Goddesses, what am I thinking...? If these girls are really like family to Link.. and if I reported them, I'd be taking them away from him, and he'd probably hate me for it...' She paused, 'But would I really be comfortable with him if he...?'
"Hey Ruto, you okay?" asked Aviel with a worried look in her eyes.
"Huh? Oh, I-I'm fine." Ruto said nervously, her thoughts started to drift back to before.
'I wonder... if maybe I could possibly...'
It was at that moment however, Ruto felt a strange motion in the water. It seemed to be pushing against her, but not like typical waves or ripples, this had much more force to it, and it was then she realized what this could possibly be.
"Oh no..."
Cliffhanger! Hope you enjoyed this one like always. I'm not sure how people feel about the Link/Ruto pairing, I recall back when OoT first came out people were pretty grossed out by an inter-species romance like this, but I feel times have changed since then, and with the monstergirl fad going around as of late I think people are a bit more open to it now. The question is how will Ruto take to the Gerudo, and what is this new threat that looms under the waters? The next part will be coming soon!