CHAPTER 10
Link thought that he'd been surprised before, but he was utterly foxed now. Ruto had the power to transform herself into a baby Zora, and had done so willingly? What in Din's fire had she been thinking – and how was she, in this condition, to perform her duties as a Sage?
The perturbed expression on his face must've given his thoughts away, because Ruto was quick to elaborate. "I didn't. . . . . . . . .I didn't mean for this to happen," she explained. "When I told you that I was the Water-Sage, I neglected to mention that I was. . . . . . . . .a meager portion of the Ruto that you knew. A portion that's. . . . . . . . .that's always loved you."
"I don't – I don't understand, Ruto," he interrupted, regaining his voice. "How have you done this to yourself, if you didn't mean to?"
Ruto slowly blinked in obvious shame and despair, then continued:
"For seven years, I anticipated our coming-of-age and fantasized about the gallant man that you'd grow to become. By the time of my awakening, I'd planned our wedding to the letter. . . . . . . . .but, alas, it would seem that the gods had other plans for us, after all.
"For some time after Ganondorf was sealed, I devoted myself to my duties as a Sage – or, at least, I tried to. No matter what I did, though, I couldn't deter the desire in my heart. . . . . . . . .so. . . . . . . . .once the pain became utterly unbearable, I. . . . . . . . .I used my powers as a Sage to. . . . . . . . ."
She turned away, clenching her eyes shut and swallowing. "To banish my love. . . . . . . . .once and for all. . . . . . . . .from my heart."
Link's heart sank into the deepest recesses of his stomach. Ruto. . . . . . . . .Ruto had. . . . . . . . .cast aside her love for him? How? How had she managed such a thing? How could she – but, then again, what right had he to question her choice?
"Rauru warned us that using our powers for such purposes could have unforeseen consequences," she concluded, settling at the bottom of her bottle and curling up into a ball. "Would that I'd heeded those words. . . . . . . . .and. . . . . . . . .to think that, of. . . . . . . . .all people, you. . . . . . . . ."
She started to weep again, unable to finish the thought. Link couldn't help but stroke her bottle, in (what he hoped was) a soothing manner. "And this. . . . . . . . .?" he prompted, indicating the infantile body in which she was currently trapped.
Ruto sighed solemnly. "This," she replied, "is what I attempted to cast away, Link. This is the part of me that loves you. . . . . . . . .that's always loved you."