CHAPTER 3

Ruto woke up to Nehir and Muir waiting outside her bedroom. They had maps with them and pens. As well as books ready to read about the regions. They asked about a good spot to set up and looked in the room and they spread out on a couch in her room on the other side of the bed pool. They went over the maps planning routes. At a certain point the three of them decided to take a break. They went into town again and got lunch at a cafe and decided to work in the library to see if they could get more information about certain regions they were looking at. There was a notice on the door. The library was closed tomorrow due to high tide. There was a reminder to everyone to seal what isn't waterproof. Ruto made a mental note to ask Kaito about it later. The guards took notes of anything she thought was important going through the books. At the end of the day she had several routes and places to check on that would involve a new settlement.

Kaito spent his day going over the books on trades and reviewing profits for the year. He went over everything with accounting to make sure the books were accurate. He had meant to be strategizing how to increase profit margins, possibly look into other sources for revenue, but he found himself rather distracted thinking about his day yesterday. He had felt such a joy he hadn't felt in a long time. He realized he had formed a crush on Ruto, but his confidence was shattered from his last two rejections. The zora princess seemed determined to stake a claim to her own land. Would she even be okay with her blue sea zoras potentially breeding with the lagoon ones as time went on? It wasn't going to lead to anything as crazy as feathers but their aqua blue skin would surely disappear with generations. What about the rest of the blue sea zoras? What would they decide to do? He was also 30 years older. At their age it didn't make much of a difference, but he also did initially meet her right out of the fry stage. While he hadn't seen her since, they did write letters. Since she had known him since her childhood, would she even be looking at him in that way? He was surprised at himself to be looking at her in that way, since he had known her since her early childhood. Even if she was an adult now, would she find this appropriate?

He knew he should probably ask her about it, but he also knew he needed to brace himself for rejection. He wasn't sure he was ready to handle another rejection at this point.

When he was done with work for the day found Ruto and her friends in her room, coffee in hand lounging on the furniture. She invited him in to sit with them. She then asked about high tide and how that affected things in the caves.

"Tides come and go, but once a month the tides get so high everything is flooded," he explained. "Day to day life isn't much different but some obvious differences are that nothing can be cooked, you use a different button on the wall with the water closets, as they function entirely differently, and any papers or anything else that can be dissolved in water need to be sealed away. I can seal your maps and everything in a safe in my room, if you need."

"That's not a bad idea," Ruto said. She knew her canister she was putting the maps in was waterproof, but she liked the idea of them being kept for safekeeping. She handed him the canister after packing everything away.

The king then said, "I just got word that the Marine sea zora refugees will be arriving tomorrow with high tide. Queen Mazu will be joining us as everyone settles in. I believe her youngest son, Prince Noden will be with her. I don't know if you remember them, they were also at my inauguration."

Ruto shook her head. "I know I was at your inauguration but I don't remember any of it. I just remember my dad telling me off for a long time for wandering off to go play with the sand on the beach."

Kaito smiled at that. "I remember that, I remember being amused at how determined you were to go play in the sand"

"Well when I want something I do set my mind to it" she smiled. "That's what this trip here is about after all, wanting safety for my people."

Kaito nodded, "Nice to see your determination hasn't changed, it's very endearing." He quickly changed the subject, otherwise he was worried he would start to blush."I would love it if you and your friends had dinner with me tonight. It would be nice to get to know the two people you are closest with"

Muir immediately blurted out, "Oh hell yeah!"

Which caught Kaito off guard and Ruto shot him a look of disapproval.

Muir then muttered. "Sorry.. I uhhh"

Nehir cut him off. "I believe what Muir is trying to say is we would be honored to be your dinner guests."

Kaito then laughed and Ruto smiled in relief that he didn't take Muirs reaction and language too seriously.

"Excellent," Kaito said. "I'll see you in the dining hall soon"

He then got up and left.

During Dinner he asked about their lives being assigned as her guards. Sometime before it was discovered she was the water sage but after she hit her growth spurt is when they were assigned to her.

They talked about the experiences they had, Mostly of Ruto deciding this meant she could have more freedom away from her dad to go exploring. The adventures they went on were a topic of conversation. His favorite story was stopping a mermaid from eating a Hylian and chasing it out of Hyrule.

King Kaito had asked if the two of them had considered dating each other to learn that both of the guards were gay. He then got to learn of Nehir's disappointment of Ruto never taking her on as a royal consort. He also got the flattery of Muir asking to be his. Kaito shook his head with his hands in front of him. "No, no, I don't have those kinds of cravings for my own sex thank you." He said

"Well if you change your mind, you know how to get in touch with me" Muir said with a wink.

The more he talked with them the more he liked them. They could be rough around the edges at times, but he could tell they both had good hearts, as well as Ruto's best interest in mind. He could see why she didn't just see them as her guards, but her friends.

After they dined, Nehir and Muir went back to the refugee housing. Ruto still wanted them keeping an eye on things there, so they could let her know if there were any issues or conflicts.

Knowing that Queen Mazu and Prince Noden were arriving the next day, Ruto decided to delay her scouting in order to meet them.

Queen Mazu immediately recognized Ruto the moment she saw her "Oh my, I haven't seen you since you were a wee lass. It was at Kaitos inauguration, it was. You were just barely out of the fry stage, and look at you now, all grown up. Noden do you remember?" The queen said as she turned to her youngest son.

Noden crossed his arms and had a Grumpy look on his face. "Yeah. I remember. Hard to forget the girl who threw sand in my face and made me carry her back to the caves."

The Queen laughed then turned back to Ruto, "Ah you were always a feisty one weren't you? What brings you here? Don't tell me the river zora is attacking Hyrule as well? I thought your father drove them out years ago?"

Ruto explained what was happening with the waters having a strange tannin and the feathers. The queen looked on in horror "Feathers? Zora always has variations come about alright, but what you described sounds quite bizarre. I don't blame you for wanting to get them out. Who knows what strange fate that water would have led to."

"So next I need to scout the area to find a new home for my people." Ruto said

This caused the queen to go wide eyed. "I hope you weren't planning that trip soon princess. The waters out there aren't safe. River zora everywhere. My kingdom is the only thing separating you and the nearest battlefront. You would be sniped by their scouts if you didn't find yourself facing an army. I suggest you wait until the war is over before you do such a thing."

Ruto frowned at that. She didn't want to wait. She also had water magic, how bad could these guys be?

Noden then cut in, "Plus the river zora king is some kind of powerful mage. He knows a variety of magic, including dark magic. He would have you killed if he saw you. Especially since it seems you have marine sea Zora in your blood."

He wasn't wrong. Her grandmother on her dad's side was a marine zora. She was told it was to prevent inbreeding within the royal family. The blue sea zoras were not as common in numbers that they used to be compared to some other breeds.

Marine sea zoras didn't display the fishtail on the back of their head, rather their heads were wide like a Hammerhead shark or manta ray. They were a dark navy blue color.

"If you were to go scouting." Noden continued, you would be better off sending someone with the headtail your breed is known for. You may have a lighter blue skin, but you have our head shape and would be a target. In fact the group migration is likely why you got here safely the first time."

"You really think the wetland river zora wouldn't attack a blue sea zora?" Ruto looked surprised. The wetland river zora and blue sea zora were as polar opposite as you could get. The blue sea zora were known for being the most docile breed. Wetland river zora were known for being the most territorial and aggressive. She was sure they would be attacked on site.

Noden said, "I don't know about not attack, but they wouldn't be targeted"

Ruto sternly responded "I'm not risking someone's life for the sake of my scouting trip. The river king isn't the only one who knows magic."

"Pfft" Noden said as he crossed his arms, "I doubt you are as strong as he is."

Ruto was about to say something but she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Kaitos.

He looked at her and said, "I'm sure you would be a great opponent against the river King. On that note, I think you shouldn't run into danger if you don't have to. You have been great company these past couple days, I'm happy to allow you and your people to stay until the war is over to allow for safer travels."

Ruto sighed and nodded. Kaito was right. She didn't like it, but the trip could wait, and she was also enjoying Kaitos' company.