Chapter 4: Zora's Domain

Link woke up in a strange place. He was in a small room made of rock. It was another cavern. He could hear echoes from around the corner of the room he was in. Something was wrong.

He noticed he was inside a shell of some kind. It was a transparent fiery red color and it formed a dome around him. He reached his hand out to touch the shell.

"OWW," Link yelled holding his hand.

His hand was burning hot. Link saw that his hand was red. The ground he was sitting on felt cold so he pressed his hand against it. It helped a little bit. Link squinted his eyes and grinded his teeth. He had never felt so much pain before. Link looked towards the doorway of the room he was in to see a figure walking towards him.

The eyes of the creature reflected off the light the shell around Link projected. As it got closer Link saw a half man; half fish...thing walk to him. It stopped and stared at Link through the red dome.

"Who are you," the fish man asked.

"My name is Link, I come from the forest," he answered it.

"What is your business here," the fish man asked next.

"I don't know where 'here' is," Link said looking into the fish man's dark eyes.

The fish man continued to stare at Link.

"Okay all I remember is being dragged by the river somewhere. I ended up here I guess," Link said to it.

"Why did you have those," the fish man asked Link as he pointed towards Link's sword and shield.

"They are for protection. I'm on a journey to Hyrule Castle," Link said to the creature.

With that the fish man turned around and left Link alone in the room again.

This was surely a strange race to Link. They were blue and white in the skin. There were fins between their arms and torsos. They looked like their bodies were meant for life under water. They seemed like the complete opposite of the gorons. They were civilized and could speak the language of Hyrule. They seemed a lot smarter, too.

Another one of the fish men came in with the one that questioned Link.

"Where do you come from child," the other fish man asked.

"I'm from Kokiri forest," Link answered.

"I've never heard of this forest before," the fish man said.

"It's south of the mountains," Link told him, "I mean no harm."

"You have traveled across the mountains," the fish man asked?

"Yes, I fell from the mountains into a river and I passed out, and somehow I ended up here," Link told them.

Both fish men looked at each other, and then walked away again. They came back with a rod of some kind. The one with the rod walked up to Link and touched the shell with the end of the rod and the shell disappeared. They both grabbed Link by his arms and dragged him out into the main cavern. Link thought the cavern was absolutely beautiful, but that was the last thing on his mind.

He was dragged up some stairs. At the top of the stairs he could see two torches burning. When the two fish men brought Link to the top of the stairs Link saw a humungous fish man sitting directly across from him on a ledge. He had gold and jewels on his body. He also wore a royal red cape. Link guessed he was the king.

The two fish men made Link stand on a platform in the middle of the room.

"Who is this intruder," the giant fish asked.

"My name is Link."

"What is your business in Zora's Domain," the fish asked next.

"I've already told these guys, I ended up here on accident. If you let me go I'll leave quietly," Link said to the fish.

"We can't do that. Prove to me you are not a spy," the fish man asked.

He looked around the room to see some fish men soldiers standing around with spears and full armor on. Link felt a little scared.

Link told the giant fish man his story.

The giant fish man summoned one of his soldiers towards him. They talked in each other's ear for a while. The soldier walked away back to his position.

"Link, I have come to the conclusion you are not a spy," the giant fish said.

"Thank you, king..."

"The name is King Zora. I am king of the Zora's and this is my city; Zora's Domain."

"I don't mean to be rude," Link said to King Zora, "but I need to get to Hyrule Castle."

"I'm afraid I can't help you there child. Us Zora's cannot leave the Domain, it is forbidden," King Zora said.

"I don't know where I am. I just need someone who can guide me back to Hyrule field," Link told him.

"I will guide him," came a voice from behind Link.

Link turned to see a young girl zora.

"Princess Ruto," the king said, "of all people; you cannot leave this cave."

"I think that decision is up to Lord Jabu Jabu, not you," the girl said.

The kind was speechless.

"F-f-f fine, if Jabu Jabu says you can go, then you can go," the king said.

"Who is Lord Jabu Jabu," asked Link.

Everyone in the room looked at Link.

"He is our prophet and Master of the Zoras," the king told Link.

Link looked at a giant fish the zoras called Jabu Jabu. He saw all the zoras bow to the fish and pray to it when they entered the private lake the fish lived in. They called this lake Zora's Fountain.

The fish was about the size of a house. It didn't make any motion at all except for a few twitches.

"This is your prophet," asked Link to Princess Ruto in disbelief.

"Yes, Lord Jabu Jabu has been around much longer than we have," the princess answered.

"How are you going to ask for permission to leave," Link asked her.
"Like this," the princess said.

The princess walked up to the fish and looked it right in the eyes. She started humming a melody. The whole crowd watching with Link bowed their heads when Ruto started to sing. Princess Ruto put her hand on the fish's giant lips and said something silently. He fish then chomped twice. The whole crowd started to murmur and talk.

"What happened," Link asked a Zora standing next to him.

"Lord Jabu Jabu has agreed to let Princess Ruto guide you home," the Zora answered.

Link thought the fish was taking chomps at the Princess like it wanted to eat her. But he wasn't going to question the Zora's ways so he kept quiet.

The crowd moved back into the King's chamber.

"Alright, everyone settle down," the King said.

The room got quieter slowly and the king began to speak.

"Lord Jabu Jabu has given my daughter permission to go outside of Zora's Domain," the king announced, "Lord Jabu Jabu must be obeyed."

The crowd started talking yet again.

"My daughter is indeed brave ladies and gentlemen. This will be the first time a Zora has been to Hyrule Field since our ancestors came here," the king announced, "and I support her one hundred percent."

"Thank you, father," the princess said to King Zora.

The princess then walked up to Link and asked when he wanted to go.

"I need to be going right now," Link told her.

"Okay just grab your things and we can go," she said to Link.

Link and Princess Ruto were walking down to the river from Zora's Domain.

"That really took some guts to pull off back there," Link said to Princess Ruto.

"Yeah, I like this kind of stuff. I really wanted to see the outside world," she answered.

"I know what you mean," Link said.

"You do," Ruto responded.

"I am also the first of my kind to leave where I came from. Life out here is a lot different than in the forest," he told her.

"Looks like we have something in common," Ruto said to Link.

Link told her all about the Gorons and everything he had been through so far.

"Wow," she said, "That sounds like you are in for a ride, huh."

"Yes," he said.

"Do you miss her," she asked Link.

"Who?"

"The girl who gave you that ocarina, I saw she carved her name in the back of it," Princess Ruto told Link.

"Saria; yes I do miss her," Link said as he lowered his head.

Both of them finally made it too the river.

"Okay are you ready," Princess Ruto asked Link.

"Ready for what," Link asked.

"Just hold on to my shoulders and take a deep breath," she told him.

Link obeyed. It looked like she was giving him a piggy back ride.

"Here we go," she yelled before she jumped in the water.

Link was shocked. He didn't want to go back in the water. He closed his eyes and realized Princess Ruto was swimming against the current. She was really moving, too.

She started to swim close to the surface of the water so Link could stick his head out and look around. Link looked around. It was turning into dusk. He noticed the trees were flying by very fast. He couldn't believe how fast she was going; against the current, too!

Link finally saw the mountains he fell off of. Waiting by a tree was Navi! She had waited for him this entire time. Princess Ruto swam up to Navi and jumped ashore next to the fairy that was in shock.

"LINK," Navi yelled!!!

"NAVI," Link yelled.

"I've been waiting for you right here," Navi told him, "I thought you were dead. If you were alive I knew you would come back here."

"Well, I'm glad you stayed Navi," Link told her.

"Who is she," Navi asked indicating Princess Ruto.

"She is Princess Ruto, princess of the Zoras," Link answered.

"Hello," Ruto said to Navi.

"It seems like I missed a lot," Navi said.

"I'll tell you all about it on the road," Link said.

"I'm glad I could help you Link," Ruto said.

"Thanks for everything princess," Link said to her.

"I hope we meet again," Ruto said to Link.

"I hope so, too. Hopefully not as a prisoner next time," Link said.

"Okay, I've missed a lot apparently. A PRISONER? How did that happen?" Navi asked.

"It's a very long story," Link answered.

Princess Ruto walked up to Link and held out her hand with something in it.

"What is this," Link said looking at her hand.

"I want you to have it," Ruto said.

She opened her hand and showed Link a beautiful blue crystal.

"Wow," said Navi in aw.

Link was speechless.

"I am only supposed to give this out to the one I love," the princess said to Link.

Link just looked at her.
"T-thanks," Link said in disbelief.

"Please come back and visit us after all this is done," she asked Link.

"Yeah, sure," Link answered.

"I better get back before my father gets worried," she said.

She waved goodbye and jumped in the river.

Link and Navi were silent for the next thirty minutes while they walked towards their destination.