CHAPTER 11

Neither of them made a sound until almost midnight.

Ruto swam clockwise around her bottle, then counter-clockwise, then clockwise once more, while Link simply sat and pondered what she'd just told him. If this was, indeed, the physical manifestation of a desperate young Sage's love for him. . . . . . . . .then –

"Link," Ruto whimpered, finally, and interrupted his musing. "Please. For your sake and mine, let me be. I'll be – I'll be fine. . . . . . . . .really. . . . . . . . ."

Link rolled his eyes and smirked perceptively. "Surely, you know me better than that. There's got to be some way to reverse this."

"Reverse – reverse what, precisely? This is no mere witchcraft, Link! I've done this to – have you – have you heard a single bloody word that I've said?"

"Of course, I have. I'm not deaf," Link retorted, standing. "But I'll be damned if you're staying in this condition much longer – especially on my account. If there's a way to return you to your rightful age, then one way or another, we're going to find it. Aren't we, Epona?"

Epona, sound asleep, completely ignored him. Link had to content himself with mimicking her, as closely as he knew how. His pathetic attempt to neigh at least brought a much-needed smile to Ruto's face – even if a feeble smile that barely lasted two seconds.

"So, let's say that I'm back to my proper age tomorrow," Ruto deliberated aloud. "What then? I'm not – I'm not the real Princess Ruto, so. . . . . . . . ."

"You're about as real as I've ever seen you be."

"Still. What purpose would it serve? I can't return to my father – he's got his own Ruto to care for and, besides, he's. . . . . . . . .well, you know how he is. I can't dwell with another Zora mother or father – they'll simply bring me back to the palace, once they learn who I am. . . . . . . . ."

Link considered her reasoning for a moment. "You can stay with me, then," he proposed. "We'd – we'll explore the world together, until we're old enough to fulfill the promise that we – that we once made to each other. There must be some corner of Hyrule, never mind the. . . . . . . . ."

"Promise?" Ruto interrupted once again.

Her obvious confusion caught him off-guard. Had she forgotten?

To remind her, he reached into his belt-bag and presented the Zora's Sapphire. The absolute shock that crossed her face told him everything that he needed to know. "You – you KEPT it?" she cried. "Why? You never had any intention of marrying me!"

"Because I didn't know what marriage was, Ruto," he explained. "The Great Deku Tree didn't get a chance to explain such things before he. . . . . . . . .before he died – Impa told me about them when I was – when we were older. But I've been thinking about it ever since, and. . . . . . . . .Ruto, I – I don't think that I would mind spending the rest of my life with you. In fact, I'd very much like that."

Ruto's body went rigid with surprise. "You. . . . . . . . .you do want to marry me?" she gasped.

"Oh, Ruto, who wouldn't want to marry you?" he replied. "You're. . . . . . . . ."

He trailed off without finishing the thought, but he scarcely needed to finish it. Ruto swam around her bottle again, counter-clockwise, in absolute glee – the first sign of genuine happiness that she'd shown in this form. Link couldn't help but giggle at the sight.

But as quickly as her gaiety had appeared, it faded away again. "But. . . . . . . . .what if," she asked apprehensively, "what if. . . . . . . . .there's no restoring me? What if. . . . . . . . .I'm stuck like this forever? I wouldn't want you to undertake a task that. . . . . . . . .that nobody could complete."

Again, she had a point. Link pondered the prospect for a moment, before deciding on a last resort: "I suppose that I'd have to raise you, then."

"What?"

"You heard me," he replied, gently picking Ruto up from the bottle. "It stands to reason that your – uh – body. . . . . . . . .will mature eventually. The normal way, I mean."

"True. . . . . . . . ." Ruto's eyes darted upwards in consideration. This point must not have occurred to her before.

"So, we'll simply have to wait until you've come of age and then marry," Link concluded, kissing her forehead. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not quite old enough to marry, either."

Ruto grinned again as Link softly rubbed his forehead against hers. He wanted to kiss her lips, but decided against it – such gestures could, and must, wait until their wedding.