A/N: Heccin' Link causing problems.


Leru stood in the door to her father's study, rubbing at her tear-stained cheeks as she waited for him to notice her. She really wanted to call out but her voice wasn't really working at the moment. A mixture of fear, guilt, and shame kept her silent. And so, all she could do was stand and fidget, wishing desperately that he would take notice.

And hopefully, he wouldn't hate her.

As though hearing her unvoiced plea, her father, who had his back to her, paused. Looking over his shoulder, his roaming eyes found her. He frowned, tilting his head as he studied her. Setting down the trident he had been polishing, he turned to face her and beckoned silently.

The child nearly tripped as she ran across the room. Her father caught her, picking her up and setting her on his lap gingerly. "What's wrong?"

"I… I…" She could barely force the single syllable out before devolving into a pool of tears again. The memory of what had happened was still so fresh in her mind.

As gently as ever, her father adjusted his hold on her, swaddling her with a golden fin as he listened patiently. She gripped the fin tighter, curling up and hiding away in them for as long as she could.

When her tears finally stopped falling and she was able to speak again, Leru explained what had happened in a hushed tone, hoping that a smaller voice would help. In what way, she wasn't sure but she was rather desperate.

She and Alolu had heard a story from their grandfather concerning their father and how he had killed a Lynel. While that part had been fascinating to the two, they had latched onto the tidbit concerning a helm that had been made in his honor. Hoping to preserve it, the Zora had enshrined it in a small temple in the highlands surrounding the Domain. There it had been kept safe for quite some time.

And then, one day, a disaster struck. While her grandfather was scant with details upon hearing their questions, Leru was certain that he knew what had happened. It must have not have been a particularly unhappy memory. Whatever had happened, it was still something that angered him in some regard. Whatever it was, the temple had been partially destroyed and submerged beneath a pseudo-lake. For some reason unbeknownst to the two girls, the helm had never been recovered.

Believing that the lost treasure was in danger, Alolu had suggested that they set out immediately to recover the artifact. Leru wasn't quite as interested in the treasure as she was in the prospect of learning more about her parents, particularly her father. His reserved nature kept her from really understanding what sorts of things he had done in life. Where had he learned cooking? Why was he so quiet? Had he always been good with weapons? Why did so many people look up to him? She thought he was amazing but she wanted to know why other people thought so. What did they know that she did not?

Though she didn't herself much of an adventurer, she reasoned that the chance to learn something new and even see something she never had before outweighed the risks.

How wrong she had been.

While the temple itself had been beautiful, the entire adventure had been a bust. Leru almost felt bad for her older sister. Alolu had been so disappointed when they had discovered the empty chest. It must have been especially difficult after everything they'd had to do to get away from their aunt and uncle, as well as Gaddison. All of that and the trek up to the highlands, searching for an entrance to the temple after finding the lake and scouring what rooms remained for any signs of their father's lost treasure.

And all her sister had found was an empty chest. Leru didn't mind terribly. Sure, some part of her had been hoping to see what the helm had looked like but, at the end of the day, she didn't think it was that important to their father. Otherwise, why had he not gone to retrieve it himself?

Maybe he even had.

Of course, Alolu had argued that, if he had, he would have already let their grandfather know.

And so, the young Zora had left the temple behind with her dejected sister. As they had been swimming back to the surface, they had been caught by a rather large octorok. In the panic of trying to fight her way out of the monster's tentacles, Leru hadn't noticed her fins as her fins fanned outward. Somewhere in the thrashing, some of her stingers had punctured the creature, including the ones that her parents had taught her to always be careful of. Not long afterward, the beast had become ill. It had lost its grip on them, floundering in a vain attempt to move. Eventually, it was unable to maintain any buoyancy as it sunk into the depths of the lake. As shallow as it was, Leru could see it struggling on the lake bed before finally falling still.

Even though it was a monster and it had threatened them, it had been her fault that it had suffered so much. As the adrenaline wore off, she couldn't help but wonder what would happen if she were to accidentally sting someone she loved.

They would suffer the exact same thing. As they traveled home, she was shaken by the thought of watching that happen to her parents or sister.

Her father remained silent as she spoke from beneath his fin. As the silence wore on, she could feel her eyes burning as she imagined the look he would be giving her if she wasn't currently hiding under a golden shield.

Eventually, though, she felt a finger under her chin, inviting her to look up. Hesitantly, she looked up, expecting to see a troubled frown or disappointment. Instead, he was watching her with a blank expression. "Alolu?"

"She's okay," the child whimpered. "She went to talk to mom."

His stoicism melted away under a fond smile. "I'm glad your safe."

"But- but..."

He sat, listening patiently as she tried to splutter out all of her fears and anxiety. What if she stung them? What if they grew so terribly sick? What if they died because of her? Wouldn't people hate her? Shouldn't they?

When Leru finally wound down, her father waited a moment before speaking. He rubbed her back comfortingly as he told her that the octorok was fine, just a little sick. He told her about how she had accidentally stung him so many times that he no longer grew ill when it happened, all when she was still too young to remember. He told her about how she had also stung her mother and older sister, both of whom knew it had happened but couldn't really remember how.

He also reminded her that none of it was her fault. She had never stung anyone intentionally, and he believed wholeheartedly she never would.

Though it didn't remove the awful memory of what had happened to the octorok, the girl found herself breathing easier as she listened.

When her father was done speaking, both her mother, who looked relieved and upset, and her sister, who looked thoroughly abashed, entered the room. Her mother had hugged her fiercely and it was the first time Leru had noticed how naturally her mother avoided her barbs. She had never considered that her family must have learned the hard way to accommodate her unique condition.

And they loved her anyway, even though she had made them just as miserable as the poor creature on the lakebed.

Once her mother had released her, she had set both girls down and gave them an earful, much to their father's amusement.

And, after all of that, he had beckoned them toward a corner where a small chest sat. Opening and reaching inside, he took out a blue-scaled helm that looked much like the top of a Zora's head. With a grin, he placed it on Leru's head as he waited for them to figure out what it was.