Legend of Zelda: Her Precious Possession

Dedications of a Noble Heart

Chapter 4: Dedications of a Noble Heart

At first, Link was so overcome with elation that the only thing he wanted to do for a moment was to embrace Ruto's tiny form to his chest tightly, but the reality of the situation took hold before he could act on those desires. What was Ruto even doing here? Why, of all things, was she a baby Zora? That didn't seem possible. Had something happened to her?

Not too long ago, Link encountered a situation where an innocent bystander had been magically transformed into a child by nefarious forces, almost losing his love in the process. Had the same thing happened to Ruto?

If that was the case, there was only one being in Hyrule that had the power to pull off such a feat of magic. And, if who Link hypothesized was indeed responsible, it didn't bode well. As far as history was concerned, Ganondorf's campaign for the Triforce never came to fruition, and now the Gerudo King was on trial for plotting rebellion against the ruling body of Hyrule. But, as said before, Zelda's accounts of what happened in the future were practically common knowledge now. Did Ganondorf, upon learning of the circumstances regarding his defeat in the future at Link and the Sage's hands, escaped imprisonment and was now attempting to neutralize those who were destined to become Sages by turning them into babies, so they couldn't threaten him? It was the kind of treacherous plan Link thought that a dark usurper like him would employ.

It was too crucial of a theory to not at least warrant immediate confirmation, so, despite Ruto's apparent distress, Link decided to verify it with her.

Seeing her in such a despairing state was heart wrenching for Link, but he needed to know if his worst fears were true.

"Ruto?" inquired Link, as gently as he possibly could, softly shaking the distraught Zora. "Ruto, I know you're distressed right now, but I have to know something. Was Ganondorf responsible for this? Did he do this to you?"

Ruto had grown even more despondent after Link had uttered her name, trembling in his arms, her large eyes flowing with tears as she clenched them shut. But his question was able to garner enough of her attention for her to open her eyes and focus on him again, her tears slowing slightly, her sadness momentarily overcome with surprise.

After all, one didn't bring up the subject of Ganondorf and expected it to be taken lightly, least of all from those who had experienced his evil first-hand.

And Link was theorizing that the evil man was responsible for this? Responsible for Ruto's current predicament? She focused on Link as he looked upon her expectantly, a serious look in his eyes. He really did expect that this was the result of some kind of curse from the greatest force of evil the world had ever known, but obviously had no intention of backing down from confronting the situation if his worst fear's turned out to be true.

Link's unwavering heroism brought forth a tiny bit of comfort from within her, easing her sorrow. He was willing to face down odds such as Ganondorf without a moment's hesitation, so like the Link she knew and loved. He was the Hero of Time, having fought battles across time itself, so it wasn't surprising he would suspect foul play from some nefarious parties upon seeing her like this. She couldn't blame him either, after all, her current circumstances were indeed irregular, she had to admit.

"N...n...no, Link," Ruto managed to breathe past her lingering despair as a slight smile crossed over her tearstained face for a moment. "Ganondorf is by no means responsible for this. You needn't worry about him."

That was a major weight off Link's mind; It was good to know that Ganondorf wasn't on the rise again. Maybe suspecting him from the beginning was jumping to conclusions a bit, though that didn't diminish how strange and foreboding Ruto's predicament was. But now that Link knew not to expect the worst, that left the question of what had occurred which left Ruto in such a state?