Howdy folks, it's time for Chapter 18! This one's going to be a much lighter toned story after what happened with the last major arc. Hope you all enjoy it!
"This has been a fine mess." sighed Nabooru as she, Link and Aviel sat around the dining table for a meal, "First the slave kidnappings, now a rebellion."
"Have you heard about this Ebony Sisterhood before?" Link asked.
"Or their leader, that lady Mother Epilepsy?" Aviel brought up as well.
"I'm pretty sure they called her Mother Eclipseis." Link said sweatdropping.
"Not a clue." Nabooru pondered, "All I knew before was that a handful of our Gerudo sisters opposed my views of how to rebuild our civilization, and they left to Gerudo Fortress, that's the reason I mentioned not to go there in the invitation I sent you. They've kept to themselves over the years, but I had no idea they were so well informed and organized at this point." Nabooru let out a sigh."I'm sorry this kind of thing was put on you Link."
"It's no problem," Nemisa said, "Between us and Reirousa's team, we won against them easily."
"Yes, I'm pleased you brought our lost sisters back to town. From what I've heard the six of them are fitting in quickly." Nabooru then smirked to Link, "And Aviel told me you and Reirousa hit it off pretty well..."
"Oh did she?" Link asked, looking at Aviel annoyed, who quickly stuffed her mouth with potatoes and smiled innocently at him, with her cheeks bulged out to have an excuse not to say anything.
"Am I to assume she's a wife candidate too...?" Nabooru asked with a knowing smirk, causing Nemisa to spit out her drink.
"Do you have to be so blunt about it?!" Nemisa exclaimed to Nabooru.
"Well how about it Link?" Aviel asked excitedly.
"Ah-haha, well... I dunno, maybe?" Link said scratching his cheek, "If she's willing I suppose. We definitely became good friends, and I really admire her. We would have had a lot more trouble getting the Sand Rod without her help, ."
"Yes, thanks to that I'm going to be able to fortify our defenses around the town." Nabooru nodded.
"Plus after that I'll take the time to set up the you-know-what."
"You mean the pool?!" exclaimed Aviel, standing upright, "I've been waiting for this! I'd love to go swimming and have sister Ruto over!"
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I sent out a letter of invitation for Ruto to come over in two weeks for the celebration." Nabooru nodded, "I should have the pool finished before she gets here."
"Oh yeah!" Aviel realized, "It's almost that time of year, isn't it?!"
"Celebration? For what?" Link asked in confusion.
"Hm, right, I guess I forgot to tell you." Nabooru realized, "Two weeks from now we'll be having our Festival of The Desert Goddess. We hold it annually in honor of the goddess Aifet to ensure the well-being of our people."
"We do all kinds of fun stuff, food, games, shows, there's even tournaments for things like swordplay and archery!" Aviel said enthusiastically.
"That's pretty impressive, I'll be looking forward to it." Link nodded.
Two weeks later...
"Link, it's time to wake up!"
"Huh?"
Link suddenly found a familiar weight on his chest as he opened his eyes, looking up at Aviel sitting on him like usual in the mornings. She was even more energetic then usual today, and no wonder, what with the festival starting today.
"Morning Aviel, can you get off me now?"
"Not until you get up, you're not sleeping in today! Today's the Festival of The Desert Goddess!"
"Alright, alright, I'm up!" Link groaned.
At the dining table that morning Nabooru was greeted by Link walking in with a bird girl clinging to him.
"Aviel, I said I'm up now." Link said dryly.
"Not letting go til you go outside." Aviel stated.
"And how am I supposed to eat like this?" Link asked, eventually pulling Aviel off of him and plopping her down on her usual seat.
"Morning there, sunshine." Nabooru grinned, "Ready for today?"
"Suppose I am, is there anything I need to do for it?" Link asked, siting himself down and going to work on eating his breakfast.
"Not really, just help me give a little speech, and then you're free to do as you please." Nabooru said.
"Alright." Link nodded, he then noticed something off about the dining room, "Hey, so where's Nemisa?"
"She said she had some business to attend to this morning, she did say she'll see you both at the festival later though." Nabooru said.
"Well okay, I just hope she has a little fun at least." Link said.
After they all finished eating, Nabooru clapped her hands together. "Alright then, let's go greet the people!"
"...and so it is on this day that we all celebrate and devote ourselves to the desert goddess Aifet, so that we may continue to prosper in this new age of the Gerudo!" Nabooru said to the people of Gerudo Town, standing at the front of the palace, "And now our beloved king Link has something to say for you as well!"
Nabooru then nudged Link to get him to speak up. Link nodded, cleared his throat and stepped up front. He heard a lot of excited squeals and cheering from the crowd, a rather large contrast from when everyone had taken to him so awkwardly seven months ago. The citizens had really grown to like him, it gave him some more confidence in himself to speak.
"Hello sisters of Gerudo Town, as your future king, it's taken some time for me to adjust to life here, as well as learning to take on my role here, and in this time there's been many hardships for us... But I feel through the strife that we've been brought together closer then ever, and with that we'll become stronger then ever before!"
"Take it off!" shouted one Gerudo in the crowd, causing a few others to laugh and cheer.
"Uh, yeah." Link said sweatdropping, "Now... um, let's all celebrate and have fun, on this day of the great Desert Goddess!"
With that the people cheered out and went about their business. Link himself took a sigh of relief while Nabooru put a hand on his shoulder.
"Relax Link, you're getting better with your words, you're becoming a real hope for them all." Nabooru said smiling.
"Thanks for that." Link said, "So what are you going to do now?"
"I'm going to get some work done, and then get to working on that special project." Nabooru said, "I'm sure your lovely princess of the Zoras will take nicely to it." she winked.
"Yeah... but what about you?" Link asked, "Don't you want to do anything fun today? It is the festival after all."
"I... I should be fine." Nabooru said, "You just go on and enjoy yourself okay? You've earned it."
And with that, Nabooru strolled off into the palace. Link just stared out at her, unsure of what to say to her...
Gerudo Town was buzzing with excitement on the day of the festival, colorful banners were hung everywhere, music was playing throughout the town, while the various shops and restaurants were given a makeover in celebration of the day, and the people themselves were going around lively and loud.
"Alright, so where do you want to go first Link?!" Aviel asked, making small hops around Link as the two of them walked down the street.
"Dunno, not really familiar with what's to here, care to help me with that Ms Tour Guide?" Link asked with a grin.
"Oh of course!" Aviel straightened up, "There's some games like the hot cucco wing eating competition, the greased pig chase..."
While Aviel was excitedly pointing out all the various places to go and things to do some girls upon seeing Link, waved and whistled to him, to which he replied by waving back to them.
"...and then there's apparently going to be some really big show with a special guest tonight!" Aviel said.
"Huh, wonder what that's going to be about." Link pondered.
"Ohhohoho! It's a pleasure to see you again, my dear husband!" laughed out a familiar voice suddenly.
Link recognized the voice and turned to see that sure enough, it was his fiance Princess Ruto of the Zoras walking down the street. Alongside her was three other Zoras; a tall muscular male, a hunched over elderly male with a cane, and a green-scaled female one with two fins growing out from the back of her head.
"Hey, Ruto!" Link grinned and waved to her, "Glad you were able to make it!"
"Sister Ruto!" squealed out Aviel, running up to the Zora princess to hug her, only to be stopped by the tall male Zora, who simply glared down at her, making her back up to Link's side.
"It's okay, Zopem, she's a good girl." Ruto accursed the male zora by patting his arm, who paused and stepped away.
"Who is he?" Aviel asked, tilting her head.
"This is my bodyguard, Zopem." Ruto said, "Daddy appointed him to me after the Hylian vs Gerudo war, and he's stood by my side since."
"..." Zopem didn't say a word, but just stared down at Link and Aviel, he seemed to focus heavily on Link in particular.
"A-And the others?" Link asked, looking over at the other Zoras.
"The older gentlemen here is Oton, he's our royal ambassador, and is here to see the ways of the Gerudo as they are now." Ruto introduced him, then gestured to the green zora, "And this is Luva, she's a friend of mine from the waters of Zora Coast."
"Ahem, a pleasure to meet you Gerudo King." Oton bowed his head, "I see your people are doing well these past years."
"Oh, uh, yes of course." Link said bowing, "I'm, erm, yet to be officially coordinated as king as of this time, but I hope everything here is too your expectations Ambassador Oton, please, uh, enjoy this town as our... honored guest."
"Ga ha ha ha! No need to be so formal with me boy." laughed Oton, "I can tell you're not the type to be talking that way."
"Ah, t-thanks..." Link rubbed the back of his head. He had to admit he was nervous about the idea of delegating relations with the zora, but at least as far as Oton was concerned he could be more relaxed then he thought.
"Hmph." Zopem on the other hand didn't seem very eager to make friends with him, he just stared intently at Link.
"Hey, what's up dude?" Luva spoke up a laidback tone to Link, while sporting a mellow grin, "So you're, like, Ruto's hubby now?"
"Well we're still just engaged at this point..." Link said, feeling a small sense of happiness to admit they were to be married. Ruto seemed to agree, strolling up to Link and wrapping her arms around his neck, leaning against him, as he put his arm around her waist.
"But I'm looking forward to the day when it comes." Link added.
"Hee hee, you were right Ruto, he is pretty sweet, and cute for a Hylian." Luva giggled.
"Ohohoho, of course Luva," Ruto gave a haughty laugh, putting the back of her hand up to her chin, "Only the finest man would suit one like myself!"
Zopem didn't say a word, but Link could still feel a sense of unease from the way the Zora was looking at him, even more now that he and Ruto were holding each other.
"So I understand we have you to thank for the defeat of Morpha over at Lake Hylia." Oton said, "We couldn't be more thankful for that, the monster was a real pain in my old rear, especially when it claimed the Water Temple as it's territory."
"We don't need to hear about your old rear, Ambassador Oton." Ruto said annoyed.
"Well everyone pitched in to help us with defeating it." Link affirmed, "Including Ruto."
"Yes, yes, King Zora was pretty skeptic about the idea of allying with the Gerudo at first, but he seems to have softened about it a bit after the princess told him about how you all defeated that monster." Oton nodded.
"Oh, that reminds me!" Ruto said, she turned to Zopem and motioned to him, who handed her a bag, which she then handed to Link. "This for you, husband."
"Oh?" Link asked, taking the bag and opening it. Inside was a strange thin cylinder device with chains wrapped around in the middle and a pointed tip. "Wait, this is..."
"It's the Longshot," Ruto said, "A artifact of the Water Temple. After Morpha was defeated, the Zora were able to enter the temple to fix the damages it caused, as well as salvage lost treasures inside."
"We were going to keep it in the Zora archives, but Princess Ruto was insistent we hand it over to you." nodded Oton.
"You're sure about this?" Link asked.
"I just thought you'd get more use out of it then anything. Think of it as an... engagement gift of sorts, one more suited to your style." Ruto said smiling.
"That thing looks pretty complex, can you handle it Link?" Aviel asked.
Link paused and looked at the device, held it up into the air, and squeezed the handle, causing the pointy tip to shoot out with the chain and carrying Link with it, surprising everyone. They all moved their heads to watch Link shoot himself around the area using the device, surprising a few passersby as well, before the Longshot attached to a nearby tree allowing Link to land safely to the ground.
"Think I can handle it." Link grinned.
"Woah!" Aviel exclaimed with her jaw dropped.
"That was so... COOL!" Luva said excitedly.
"Well, you took to that pretty well!" Ruto said with wide eyes.
Link didn't really mean to show off like that, but he couldn't help himself. In reality, this wasn't the first time he held this device, at least in this time period. In the dark future, he had entered the Water Temple during his quest, and found this very device to help him throughout his journey.
'Come to think of it, when I was sent back into the past, I lost everything I had collected in the future, just like the Mirror Shield...' Link thought, 'Well this should be useful.'
"Thanks for this, Ruto." Link then said smiling.
"Ohohoho, anything for my dear husband." Ruto laughed.
"Well then, I suppose I'm going to go meet with the merchants around here to take a look at their business." Oton said, shuffling his legs off, "You have fun today, Princess."
"I think I'll go do some clothes shopping!" said Luva, "You guys know, like, a good place I could head to?"
Aviel took a second to look at Link and Ruto, sporting a small smile, and waved up her arm to Luva, "I know some places, I'll show you around as an experienced tour guide!"
"Righteous, okay then!" Luva said, "Make sure you tell me all the juicy details later, okay babe?" she added with a wink to Ruto, then strolled off with Aviel. The bird girl stopped for second, turned her head and gave Link a thumbs up, earning a soft smile and nod from her future king.
Zopem meanwhile just continued to stand there without a word, it was getting pretty awkward between the Hylian and the two Zora to say the least.
"What about him?" Link whispered to Ruto.
"It'll be fine, Zopem, I'll be good with Link today. Why don't you go off with Oton and see to his well-being? You know how his back can get when he tries to push himself too hard." Ruto assured him.
"...as you wish Princess." Zopem muttered, he looked to Link once more before turning and following after Oton.
"He's... pretty intimidating." Link said.
"Don't worry about it, he can be like that." Ruto handwaved.
"I guess... So ready to check out the festival?"
"Oh of course, but there's something I'd like to do first..."
Link found himself sitting at a bench outside of a store while he heard Ruto talking excitedly from the inside. She had been ushered in by a Gerudo merchant and she insisted Link wait outside for them. He wasn't sure what it was all about, but waited patiently like a good boy as instructed by his fiance.
"Well my husband, how do I look?" Ruto's voice brought up.
Link turned to see her, only for his jaw to drop. Ruto was dressed up in traditional Gerudo silk clothes, colored a light blue to match her scales. She wore a head cloth that was big enough to go over most of her somewhat bulbous head, with a see-through veil that covered her mouth, a top that covered her chest, but made her cleavage stand out quite well, and a cloth belt that held on her new silk see-through pants. The outfit was designed well enough that it allowed her fins to remain free to flap around like usual.
"Do you like it?" Ruto asked, doing a little twirl, causing the cloth and her fins to sway, "Lady Nabooru had it commissioned for me a couple weeks ago, it was made to help keep my body from drying out in the heat here."
"I-It's... really nice, you look great..." Link said, standing up.
He was truly honest when she said that, it was weird considering he was used to seeing her nude as Zora usually were, but the outfit gave off a different kind of feeling for him. The outfit seemed to actually accentuate her natural beauty more, and he couldn't help but feel like a lucky man to have a lady like her as his future wife.
Ruto smirked at his reaction and walked up to him, pushing his jaw back up to close it. "Naturally I would, now come along Link," she said taking his hand, "Let's seize this day for ourselves!"
"Alright then!" Link nodded.
"Ga ha ha ha!" laughed Oton as he and Zopem left a store, being seen out by the shopkeeper and her assistants, "You girls take care now!"
"Thank you for your business!" said the shopkeeper with a bow.
"I have to say, these Gerudo have changed drastically since before the war, they really know how to make an old man feel welcome!" Oton said to Zopem as they continued down the street.
"I'm not so sure myself..." Zopem muttered, "After everything that happened with the war, I'm not very comfortable of the idea of forming an alliance with this tribe. What if this attempt to rebuild themselves is just a cover to go after our Hylian allies again and free that demon king of theirs?"
"I don't think that's the case, my boy." Oton said, "Lady Nabooru went out of her way to contact me about forming an alliance. She seems to be working to keep these Gerudo from ever going back to their old ways, and she has many ways to help the Zora as well."
"Well, there's also the matter of that boy." Zopem continued, seeming to ignore Oton's remark, "He's supposed to marry the princess, but he hardly seems fit to be a king; too young and weak..." he narrowed his eyes, "And then there's the concern that as the Gerudo King he will marry multiple women, it's an insult to the dignity of our princess!"
"It should be fine, I've talked with Ruto on this, and she's already said she's comfortable sharing him with other ladies." Otom said, then laughed, "Ga ha ha ha, he's a lucky man, I'll give him that!"
"Hmph, my point is he's unfit to marry Princess Ruto in general." Zopem muttered.
"I know you worry for her my boy, but she should be fine, the two of them go back a long way." Oton said, "She told me about how before you became her bodyguard that King Link saved her and Lord Jabu Jabu from a monster, back when he was just a child at that!"
"She mentioned that to me... multiple times." Zopem responded with a sigh, "But was it not the Gerudo King Ganondorf himself who cursed Lord Jabu Jabu with that monster to claim the Zora's Sapphire? What's to say this boy taking the princess' sapphire isn't part of some plan for him to take over Hyrule the way the other king attempted?"
"Zopem, in my years as the royal ambassador, I've grown a knack for reading into people." Oton said, "And I could tell that Link is a good and noble man. Princess Ruto loves him dearly, and she's been working hard to get the Zora accepting of him, and forming an alliance with the Gerudo so that they can marry someday. You just need to learn to trust her judgment."
Zopem paused, looking at the old ambassador, and just continued following him, deep in thought.
"Judgment, huh...?"
Link and Ruto meanwhile were busy traveling down the street, Ruto was taking time to eagerly visit every store on the block, admiring the exotic Gerudo outfits and jewelry, and Link was being dragged along every step of the way, holding all the bags for her purchases.
"Just how much more stuff are you getting?" Link asked, as he tried to balance the bags he was carrying so as not to collide into anything or anyone.
Ruto paused and looked into one window, seeing some jeweled necklaces and rings on display, she stared at them wide eyed with s small bit of drool seeping out from her lips.
"...yes." Ruto said simply, before leaving Link to go into the store.
"That wasn't a 'yes or no' question!" Link exclaimed.
As Ruto went into the shop, Link just set down the bags to rest his arms. He took a look around at the area, when something caught his eye. He went over to a makeshift stand where a Gerudo merchant was selling some various things, and he took a close look at one in particular that stood out to him.
Eventually Ruto emerged out of the store somewhat annoyed, "Hmph, those were hardly anything impressive after all..." she sighed, then called out, "Oh Link, where are yooou?"
"Coming!" Link said in haste, gathering up the bags and running off to join her, as the stand merchant waved goodbye.
Soon Ruto led Link into another clothing store. She took a look over to him where she saw he had set the bags down to rest his arms, and looked over his garment of a red vest and green pants in particular.
"Hmm... excuse me, miss?" Ruto called out to the clothing store owner, "Would you be able to do custom wear here for a man?"
"For the king? Oh yes, Princess, it would be an honor!" the seamstress and store owner said cheerfully, taking off a ruler tape hanging from her shoulders. "First we'll need his measurements!"
"Uh oh." Link realized.
He soon found himself standing upright with his arms stretched out left and right, while Ruto and the store owner were getting his measurements over.
"So lets go with a green and gold vest, black with red lines for the sleeves..." Ruto muttered, looking over Link's body, "Oh, and make sure the vest is made to be worn open so he can show off that chiseled chest of his..."
"Mm-hmm, how about back here then?" asked the seamstress.
"Hey, watch where you're moving that tape!" Link snapped.
Link's protest went ignored, and he sighed, looking out the window at a Gerudo mother with her child.
The daughter stared at Link, before asking her mother, "Mommy, why are those ladies dressing up the king?"
"Because men don't know how to dress themselves, honey." the mother said, as the two past by.
"...and we'll make the pants red with some black there and there... hey, quit fidgeting." Ruto scolded Link, tugging on his pants to make him stand still.
"We done yet?" Link asked.
"That will do." nodded Ruto, she told the seamstress "I'll pay for it upfront and you just have it sent to the palace as soon as it's done."
"Splendid!" the seamstress said, cupping her hands together brightly.
Link and Ruto soon left the store afterwards, Link was a bit confused about just what happened. "So what was that you were sizing me for anyway?" he asked.
"Why your new king's garments my husband, I want you to look good on our wedding day after all!" Ruto said cheerfully.
"Our.. wedding..." Link said, finding himself blushing red at the thought of the day.
"You think that's nice, you should see what I picked for my dress." she smiled, kissing him on the cheek. He couldn't help but wonder about how she'll look in a wedding dress, but those thoughts were cut off when he realized a sensation in his stomach, and it wasn't fluttering butterflies of love or anything corny like that.
"Hey, you getting hungry?" Link asked Ruto, "I know a restaurant you might like here."
"Oh, of course!" Ruto said.
Link escorted Ruto to a familiar little restaurant he had been to many times now, the same one whee he went on his tour of the town with Aviel.
"So what can I get ya two?" asked the waitress. Link turned to the Gerudo and quickly recognized her.
"Sovan?" Link inquired, recognizing the head of Reirousa's Sandstorm Viper gang, "You're working here now?"
"Yup, got the job pretty quick." she grinned, "Thanks again for bringing the boss and us here, it's great to be able to make food for everyone, and especially to get paid for it!"
Link was glad to see Reirousa and her gang were starting to fit in the way they were. He went ahead and introduced Ruto to Sovan, while she got to work on cooking their meal order.
"So Link saved you from the belly of a large creature? Not the first time he's done something like that!" Ruto laughed.
"Hey Link, sister Ruto!" exclaimed Aviel as she came into the restaurant with Luva, "You guys eatin' here too?"
"Nah, we're just here for the free water." Link said in a cheeky tone.
"So how are you liking the town, Luva?" Ruto asked.
"It's dry as hell, but I'm having fun! Thanks for bringin' me here Ruto!" Luva said.
By that time, Sovan dished out Link and Ruto's orders and went to taking Aviel and Luva's. Naturally their order included two bowls of shaved ice. As Link and Ruto ate, the zora princess took a look at Link's food and grinned slightly.
"Oh husbaaand..." she said in a singsong voice, she closed her eyes and opened her mouth, "Can I have a taste of your food?"
"What food?" Link asked. Ruto opened her eye in curiosity only to see Link had already finished his food and he was wiping the remnants off his face.
"You're such a glutton!" Ruto exclaimed, folding her arms and looking away with a pout, leaving Link confused.
"Sovan, I'm here for the sandwiches I ordered to go!" announced a new voice.
"Sure, they're right here!" Sovan called out, gesturing to a bag on a nearby table.
"Huh, hey it's Nemisa!" Aviel exclaimed. The Gerudo warrior seemingly ignored Aviel and walked past her
"Oh! Nemisa, greetings!" Ruto spoke up.
"...hello Princess, an honor to see you again." Nemisa nodded with a slight bow.
"Where've you been all day, Nemisa?" Link asked.
"I've... been busy." Nemisa said.
"Well why don't you sit and eat with us then, Nemisa?" Ruto asked with a pleasant smile, patting an empty spot on their table.
"...I... can't. I still have much to do." Nemisa said, but then added, "...perhaps I'll take a rain check on that offer though."
"Oh, okay..." Ruto said, the group watched as Nemisa went out the door with her order, "I wish I could just sit her down and have a friendly chat with her." Ruto sighed, "I really admire her for how she saved you from drowning back at Lake Hylia."
"Yeah, I really want to do something for her to brighten her spirits..." he said concerned.
"Here comes your order!" Sovan called out, walking from the kitchen area to hand Aviel and Luva their meals, as well as the two bowls of shaved ice. She suddenly stumbled a bit though, causing the food tray to trip, and spilled one of the bowls of shaved ice on the ground.
"Ah shit," Sovan said, as she moved her arm to try to balance the plates, but one bowl started to tip. "Ah shit!" she repeated with more panic in her tone.
"Woah, be careful Sovan!" Aviel exclaimed, as she and Luva got up to help her balance her tray, but they both slipped on the shaved ice and collided into Sovan, making her knock over the other shaved ice bowl.
"Ppphbbtt!" Ruto snorted out giggling at the two's clumsiness.
"Hey, are you two alright?" Link asked, he got up himself to try and help them, only slip on the ice himself, and fall forward into Aviel and Luva and impacted into the ground.
"Ooowww..." groaned Luva, "Like, how the hell did that happen?!" she then saw one of Link's hands was groping her chest mounds, ""H-Hey dude, watch where you're grabbing!" she shouted a red face.
"Been a while since something like this happened..." Aviel said with swirling eyes.
"Mmph..." Link muttered, his face buried in Aviel's chest.
"Whoops." Sovan said rubbing the back of head, "Uh, no charge for that I guess..."
"Ahahaha, you guys are too much!" Ruto meanwhile was holding her sides and laughing so hard there were tears in her eyes.
"Is this the place?" asked a new voice, making everyone stop as Ambassador Oton and Ruto's bodyguard Zopem both come into the restaurant, "Hey we finally found it! Good thing too, I'm famished!"
"Let's just make this a quick," said Zopem, "I feel I should get back to find out how Princess Ruto is doi-" he stopped when he saw the scene in the restaurant.
Link was laying on top of both Aviel and Luva, his face buried in Aviel's chest while his hand was laying on Luva's chest, with their faces flushed bright red.
He then looked up at Ruto who had just stopped laughing before they came in, and he saw her staring back at him blankly, with tears going down her face.
"You... you... BASTARD!" Zopem shouted in anger, quickly grabbing Link from the ground and holding him up, slamming him into a wall, "You DARE hurt Princess Ruto like this?!"
"Wait, it's not what you thi-" Link was slammed against the wall again by Zopem, the Zora's powerful arm choking Link.
"You put yourself on a high pedestal, and fool around with women while Princess Ruto watches and weeps?! You have no right to call yourself her fiance!" Zopem shouted.
"Zopem, stop this!" shouted Ruto, "Link did nothing wrong!'
"Zopem you fool, calm yourself!" exclaimed Oton frantically, "Release the Gerudo king, or this should lead to an international incident!"
Aviel quickly aiming her crossbow at Zopem's shoulder, "Hold it! As the king's bodyguard, I demand that you unhand him, or else!" she shouted sternly.
"...fine." Zopem narrowed his eyes and let go of Link, dropping him to the ground.
"Look this whole thing is a misunderstanding." Ruto said crossly, "This was just an accident."
"She's right." Link said, rubbing his throat and going back over to Ruto, "I swear to you, that the two of us are bound together now, and I would never do anything to hurt her."
"That's right!" Aviel shouted, waving her bird wings, "He and sister Ruto love each other!"
"Really now?" Zopem asked. He closed his eyes and contemplated this thoughts. "Judgment..." the zora bodyguard then muttered to himself.
"Huh?" Link asked.
"I've decided... that you need to prove how true you are to her." Zopem said, "If you wish to marry our Princess Ruto, I demand that you must prove your wrath to us Zora!"
"What?!" Link asked, "How do I do that?"
"A competition." he said, "You will face me on the field of battle!"
"Oh dear..." sighed Oton, "I might have said something wrong to him..."
"This can't be happening,..." Ruto groaned.
"Ugh... my shaved ice..." sobbed Aviel, looking down at the melting remains of her treat.
Well I didn't say there wasn't going to be some conflict, look forward to Chapter 19 soon!