The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time - Part Two: The Quest

Chapter Fifteen: Return to Hyrule

     Not much time had been spent within Lord Jabu-Jabu; going in it had been dusk, and now exiting the giant fish-god it was still early in the night. The events of the past couple hours, namely his encounter with the Barinade, left him exhausted but hardly tired. Princess Ruto was also in high spirits, and was no longer so in-affable as before. Quite the contrary, she was quite charming, and had pried him with questions to get to know him as they had made their way back out, and she in turn hardly kept secrets; detailing her own life within the halls of the Zora. True to what he had heard prior, she proved to be very un-ladylike in many of her exploits, which allowed for great conversation exchanging his own ventures around Kokiri Forest and the Lost Woods. She had begged for him to recount his other battles he had mentioned as well, and listened intently as he did so. He had just finished his story of battling the King Dodongo when they stepped back out into the cool night air.

     "You're incredible to have done all of that Link, you're like one of those heroes out of a fairy tale." She giggled. "And look, you even saved a princess, it's exactly like a fairy tale."

     "And what fairy tale have you heard of with a hero battling monsters inside a fish-deity?" Link asked, smiling from the compliment.

     "This one!" she laughed, jumping down the altar steps splashing into the water. She turned around to face him. "And yours is my favorite I've heard. If you have any more adventures, you'll come back and tell me, won't you?"

     "I think I can do that, Your Highness."

     "Mmm, you know what? I don't like you calling me that," She frowned, before brightening again a moment later. "Call me my name, OK?"

     "Is it OK to do that though?" Link asked, puzzled. "I wouldn't mind, but-"

     "You're worried about what everyone else would think?" she finished, shaking her head. "You're right of course, normally that would be frowned upon, but," she flashed a smile, "did you forget I'm a princess? I'll talk to my dad, then everyone will be OK with it." She jumped back up the altar steps, standing inches from him. "Please?"

     Link could feel heat rising to his cheeks, with her standing so close. It was exceptionally hard not to notice that she was far more attractive with a smile on her face. Quickly taking a step back and looking away, he nodded his affirmative.

     "If you say so...Ruto."

     "Yay!" She jumped once, giggling all he while as she leapt forward to hug him. "Thanks Link," she gave a quick, tight squeeze, and rushed away again, down the steps and to the entrance of Zora's Domain, leaving Link to recover, now thoroughly embarrassed. Never before had he met anyone, especially a girl, so forward, he wasn't quite sure what to make of it. He hoped she didn't notice, but he had a feeling she had, and had taken full advantage of it.

     Navi flew into view, snickering. "And you thought Malon was after you."

     "Oh shut it Navi, you're not helping," he blushed, which made Navi laugh outright. Ignoring her, he followed after the princess, who was waiting for him.

     "I wanted to go in together. It wouldn't do for a princess to return without her rescuer, would it?" She took his hand and they entered. Yep, she's definitely doing this on purpose. But he also had to admit, he didn't really mind it either.

     The first Zora they met were the priestesses, who cried out in joy, some rushing to meet them, others running up the path to the city proper. They lavished attention on their princess, begging for reassurances that she was quite all right, which she made sure to accentuate was in no small thanks to Link every time, to which they would then in turn praise him for his bravery. The sudden attention was almost overwhelming for him, so he kept his head down to hide his embarrassment, politely replying that it was nothing, he was glad to help, and so on. When he caught Ruto's eye, she gave a reassuring hand squeeze, a smile, and a shrug. Sorry, can't help it, she was saying. He smiled back, he understood their joy and praise, after all.