Ok, again, Ruto is a boy because royalty usually doesn't condone homosexuality, so to avoid that whole mess later on, for both Ruto and Zelda's sake, Ruto is male (I also believe Ruto's name sounds gender neutral).

Chapter 8: Zora's Domain

Zelda gazed in awe at the valley she saw once she and Navi stepped through the waterfall. What she saw was a valley made of stone, made blue by the reflection of the sunlight off the water that was prevalent in the valley. Many smaller waterfalls decorated the valley along with streams that both lead water in and out at a gentle pace. The local life took notice of Zelda's awe and one finally approached her after a few awkward moments, "I'd close your mouth if I were you, there are bugs that tend to fly in mouths."

Zelda immediately closed her mouth and turned toward the source of the noise, it was a humanoid with sleek looking blue skin, long fins on his arms, and black eyes. What she saw was a male zora, whom was not amused by Zelda's staring. Zelda immediately apologized, "I'm sorry, I've never seen a place like this before, I um-"

Navi interrupted Zelda; "We're here to see the king, would you please show us where he is?"

The zora nodded to them, "Of course, you must be a royal messenger to remove the waterfall entrance."

Zelda nodded, "I was sent by Prince Link-"

The zora stopped her, "No need to explain, please, follow me."

The zora led them deeper into the valley, eventually they stopped at a long staircase, "The king is up these stairs."

Zelda said her thanks and headed up the stairs to see the Zora King in great worry, mumbling to himself. Zelda and Navi looked at each other, confused, before Zelda spoke up, "Um excuse me…"

The Zora King looked up and spoke, "Oh, I'm not talking to anyone today… not until I know where Prince Ruto has gone!"

Zelda looked to Navi for an answer but she shrugged in response to her stare. They were at a loss for words, but Zelda decided to speak up hesitantly, "But we were sent…"

The Zora King ignored them. Navi was getting annoyed but they quickly noticed a zora motion for them to approach from a tunnel near them. Zelda, out of mere curiosity, walked up to the zora. It spoke, "You're not getting through to him, He fears for his only son."

Navi spoke up, "Where is Prince Ruto anyway?"

The zora smirked, "If we knew he would be back here already."

Navi crosses her arms, "Then I guess the only way we can talk to the king is to find his son."

The zora's smirk descended into a frown, "What are you going to do? You probably can't even swim!"

Zelda got annoyed, "I can swim!"

The zora motioned for them to follow, "Then prove it."

He led them to the edge of the waterfall and held out his hands towards them, "Give me 20 Rupees, preferably in fives."

Zelda, confused, obliged and dug out four blue Rupees. The zora grabbed a few more from his coin purse and threw them down into the water. Before Zelda could complain he spoke, "collect those in thirty seconds and not only you'll prove you can swim, but I'll even give you one of my scales!"

Zelda tilted her head, "Why would I want-"

Navi pulled her ear, "Because that scale can help you swim longer."

Zelda rubbed her ear after Navi let go, then nodded to the zora, "Alright,"

Zelda took a running start off the cliff and dived into the water, she then quickly swam trying to gather the rupees. After a mere twenty seconds, she had collected them all and surfaced with a victorious smirk upon her face. The zora that challenged her dived down the waterfall and met her at the base, "Impressive, for someone who's not a zora at least, and I do mean it as a compliment."

Zelda's smirk turned to a smile of delight, "I may not be the fastest, but I can still swim."

Navi smiled, "I'm actually impressed, there aren't that many bodies of water in the Kokiri woods for you to swim in."

The zora then held one of his scales in his hand, "A bet is a bet, here you go, and uh, keep those rupees too, on me."

Zelda took the scale and watched as it shimmered from the light reflected off the water toward it. She nodded and waved to the Zora she had received the scale from as he walked back to his daily life. She wasn't sure what to do with it so she turned towards Navi once again, "So um, what do I do with it?"

Navi replied simply, "Stick it on your body somewhere, some people say arms, some people say the neck…"

Zelda looked at the scale for a second and decided to attach it to her neck, at first the sensation was cold, but after seconds it felt more comfortable but still recognizable, she could tell it was there and it didn't feel like it would fall off soon or choke her. She felt it against her neck and was in awe that it stayed on it's own. Navi spoke in a victorious tone, "Now you can dive down farther!"

Zelda immediately tried it out and dove down farther, nearly reaching the bottom of the water under them.

Without warning, as Zelda dove deeper, the current that was a gentle flow soon became a heavy riptide once Zelda was deep enough. Zelda panicked as she held her breath, trying to swim her way back to the surface. It was too late, the tide sucked her into a tunnel at the bottom of the valley. Zelda couldn't fathom the speed she was going, barely able to open her eyes to even see where she was going. The only way she knew she was conscious was the feeling and sound of the current. By instinct, Zelda curled up and hoped she wouldn't hit anything. It was only a minute into the journey that her lungs were protesting against her, desperate for air. She fought against them for another half minute before the last remaining air exploded out of lungs. Her mouth grew wide, desperate for the needed air; only water came to the call. Zelda could never begin to describe what it felt to have water in her lungs. Her eyes shot wide open, her body unfolded and her hands instinctively went to her neck. She had already closed her mouth but it was far too late; she was drowning. The more she tried to cough the water out, the more flowed in. Her chest felt like it was tearing itself apart. What little vision she had started to blur. The sound and feeling of the water was starting to wane. Her eyes started to close, her mouth half opened, and her hands relaxing away from her neck. Is this it, she thought, am I going to die? Before her eyes fully closed, she saw a faint glimmer of light. She couldn't explore it though; she no longer had control over her eyes. Darkness enveloped her consciousness once more; thinking it more peaceful than last time, she accepted the darkness.

Suddenly, a pressure built up inside Zelda. The darkness was still around her, but she had the need to cough badly. She let the feeling out and felt all the water flow out of her in one, huge cough. Zelda curled, still coughing heavily and eyes closed. The pain was gone; air was back. In her breaths, she heard sounds of relief from murky voices. Then the cold hit her, she shivered a couple times then felt a think cloth over her wet clothes. She stopped shaking and opened her eyes. Sunlight? Grass? Where was she? Zelda tilted her head upwards, away from the grass and her legs. She saw a group of three zoras around her, all wearing armor she remembered seeing on the guards back in the valley. Her eyes shot the rest of the way open, remembering what had happened. As that happened, the male zora to her left spoke, "Don't push yourself,"
He then gently pushed her down onto her side, "You're fine now."

The female zora to the front of her sternly questioned her, "What were you doing diving near the riptide? You could have died if that fairy didn't say anything."

Fairy? Did Navi save her? Zelda frowned; Navi must be extremely worried and cross with her. She looked to her left, now seeing the expansive Lake Hylia. Any other time she would look at the lake in awe and wonder; however, she felt no such feelings when disappointment washed over her. Emotion drained from Zelda's face, not wishing to divulge her painful feelings. The female zora sounded less stern, "I see,"

The female zora paused and turned her words towards her three comrades whom surrounded Zelda, "We'll let her rest. She's not in a talkative mood."

The other two zoras gave a sound of approval and stood up. One by one, Zelda saw them dive into the waters of the lake. The male zora that talked to her earlier surfaced and looked toward the female zora, "Luta, are you staying with her?"

The female zora let out a confirming noise, "I'll join in the search again once she's recovered more."

The male dove once again, leaving Zelda alone with the female zora, Luta. Luta repositioned herself to Zelda's backside, which faced away from the lake. She spoke in a strict, yet understanding tone to Zelda, "I understand, you're disappointed in yourself for this experience."
Zelda tensed up, still on her side and looking towards the lake as Luta continued, "You are a newcomer and did not know of the riptide current at the bottom of the valley. You wanted to test the usefulness of the silver scale you got from one of my kin. Most of all, you are young; now is the time to make mistakes."

Tears started to well in Zelda's eyes, she weakly released a word from her mouth, "but…"

Luta gently petted Zelda's hair, "It must have been painful."

Zelda curled up as tears streamed to the side of her face. Luta continued, "These situations are why we zora are developing a way for hylians to breath water as we do."

Zelda relaxed a little, intrigued. Luta saw this and elaborated, "It's many years away from completion, but once it is complete no hylian should drown in our waters ever again."

Zelda didn't respond in any noticeable way, making Luta gently smile, "Treat this as something you've overcome, your mistakes make you stronger."

Luta raised her left arm over Zelda, showing her the full arm. Zelda's eyes widened; Luta's fin was badly damaged, bite marks ripped through the fin. Zelda sat up and faced Luta to say something but Luta's other hand quietly shushed Zelda, "Take my word for it, okay?"

Zelda looked down towards her lap and spoke quietly, "Okay…"

Luta stood up and gently descended into the lake. Zelda turned to see Luta beckoning her over. Zelda slowly made her way to the edge of the lake, leaving her backpack where she had been revived. She stood at the edge, looking down at the lake; suddenly, her knees felt weak and Zelda sat down on her legs. She gulped, arms close to her being. Her eyes were focused on the water, easily able to recall the events just passed. Luta reached and put her left hand on Zelda's right leg, "You don't have to get in,"
Zelda, now released from her trance, nodded and looked back at the water. Her shoulders relaxed as she slowly breathed in and out. Before she could fully relax, a small sparkle caught her eye. She squinted and leaned forward, seeing it coming from the water. Zelda blinked and thought aloud, "What is that?"

Luta gazed in the direction Zelda was looking and saw the sparkle, "I'll go see."

Luta dived down, quickly retrieving the source of the sparkle from the lake floor. She surfaced with a bottle in her hand, "the nerve of some people, it's a glass bottle."
Zelda noticed something inside, "What's in it?"

Luta sat on the grass next to Zelda and opened the corked bottle. Inside, a piece of parchment with no stationary was found. Luta's eyes grew wide as she examined the note, "This is from Prince Ruto!"

Zelda nearly shouted, "The missing prince?"

Luta rubbed her ears before speaking, "Yes… inside Lord Jabu-Jabu?! I must get this to the king!"

Zelda grasped Luta's hand before Luta had the chance to dive into the water. Luta looked back at Zelda and saw she was serious, "I got to get back too. Navi's there and I have to get the Spiritual Stone before it's too late!"

Luta was confused for a moment, "The spiritu- never mind. The valley is very far from here on foot, the only quick way is the waterway you fell into."

Zelda tensed up as instinctively she grasped Luta tightly, she'd have to go back in so soon? Could she even survive the trip back? Luta took hold of both Zelda's hands, "You'll be fine; there's a cavern about halfway through the tunnel where you can get air. I should be able to reach it before it gets painful."

After Zelda grabbed her backpack, Luta gently led her into the waters of the lake. Zelda hesitated greatly, but was coaxed in but Luta and by thinking about Navi. Luta helped Zelda wrap her arms around Luta's waist. Luta looked back at Zelda, "Now hold on tight, eyes closed, and deep breath."

Zelda gasped in air deeply before Luta dived into the tunnel again. With her eyes closed, Zelda could only feel the current around them. It pushed against them, trying to push them back into the lake. She felt it weaker than them moving forward, she felt Luta constantly moving, both her appendages and fins. These movements somehow calmed Zelda, she hugged Luta tighter. The calmness quickly ended when she started to feel the increased pressure from her lungs running out of air. The fear of her previous experience started to flow back in, her body became tense and started to curl inwards. She then could feel them going faster than before, but still tried to fight the pressure that was quickly turning towards pain. A half minute later, she felt air. She quickly breathed in and out a few times. She heard Luta's voice, "It'll take over a minute to get back, hold it in a little longer than that."

In between breaths Zelda replied, "Ok…"

She breathed in and Luta dived once again, going faster than before. Zelda found herself more at ease this time, even as the pressure in her chest started to build. At least this time she wasn't alone; the feel of another being here in the water. She thought this to be so.

After the longest minute of her life, light peeked through her eyelids. She turned towards it, knowing it was almost over. Within seconds she felt air; she gasped as they surfaced, nearly coughing. Even before she opened her eyes she heard a familiar voice ring, "You're ok!"
She opened her eyes to be face to face with Navi once again. Zelda beamed before She felt herself drop off of Luta's back. She quickly stayed at the surface while seeing Luta slowly swim to the shore. She called out to Luta, "Hey! Where are you going?"
Luta turned back, the bottled message in hand, "I must get this to the king immediately."

Zelda swam after her, "I'm coming too!"
Navi spoke up, "Did you find a clue about Prince Ruto?"

Zelda let out an affirming noise as she reached land, "Apperently the note says something about a Lord Jabu-Jabu… "

Navi sat on Zelda's shoulder, seemingly worried, "Lord Jabu-Jabu…"
Zelda hurried after Luta despite her wet clothes.