"I don't like this," I muttered, as we took our first tentative steps into the water of the central grotto of Zora's Domain. Around us, dozens of Zora citizens waved, cheered, gawked and gossiped.

"Nor I," said Rustam, our Zora guide. "I am not particularly thrilled that you came here at all. I am most certainly displeased that word of your arrival—and now, our departure—has spread far and wide. And I am supremely irritated that this damnable crowd has turned up to see us off. But there is nothing to be done about it."

We waded in up to our waists. Though both Zelda and I were now wearing Zora Tunics, and thus did not need to breathe underwater, the tunics did not make the water less cold nor entering it less unpleasant. Rustam, as he had been ordered to do, was putting up with our human frailty and patiently letting us enter the water at our own pace. He was already treading water in the middle of the pool, some distance away from us.

I turned to Zelda. Something had been bothering me. I spoke to her as quietly as I could, the hum of the crowd and the waterfall leaving no chance that we would be overheard. "When King Zora saw through our ruse, why didn't you show him the Ocarina of Time? That's what convinced the Zoras we first met, it would prove our affiliation with the Royal Family."

"That's just it," she answered. "King Zora is wise—far wiser than he appears, far more than I had given him credit for. If I had brought up the Ocarina I fear he would have guessed not only that we were not diplomats, but our true identity: that I was Zelda, the Princess of Hyrule."

"But he must be aware of it. We showed it to his guards..."

"That's true, but if he has any suspicions, he can ruminate on them alone. We'll be gone. Hopefully we can awaken Ruto as a Sage and disappear, without having to come back here. I hope you don't mind my saying, but I don't like this place." She breathed out hard and bent her knees, plunging her body into the water. I did the same, and we began to swim towards the middle of the pool. "Why do you ask?"

"Only because we won't be able to talk again for quite some time, once we're underwater. At least not in any reasonable fashion."

"Right."

"Ready?" Rustam called out. We nodded. "Follow my light. We Zora can speak underwater, so listen close in case I need to tell you anything." Then he dove beneath the surface. Zelda and I followed suit, and swam towards him near the bottom of the grotto.

Already only ten or twenty feet down the light was fading. Thankfully Rustam and ourselves had been given Zora underwater lanterns: glass and metal cages full of water and small, luminous fish. Alone, each fish would have been a feeble light source, but with a dozen or more in a small space, the light was not much worse than a burning flame.

Aside from the lantern, Rustam was equipped with two belts covered in pouches, one about his waist and one traversing shoulder to hip. In these pouches were the tools of his trade, whatever those might have been—he was not inclined to discuss or show them. We had learned that this was how the Zora would carry their gear when they needed to transport it on their person: Their species cannot use human-style satchels or backpacks, thanks to their anatomy and the need for a smooth body outline for efficient swimming.

It was at this point that we would be desperate for a breath without our Zora Tunics. The sensation of being immersed in water but feeling no compulsion to breathe was somehow remarkable, in retrospect, but nothing special at the time. Wearing the Zora Tunic, being underwater and not breathing felt perfectly natural—forgettable, even. Not needing to breathe was as mundane and unnoticed as needing to breathe is on land: a rote, automatic, mindless thing.

An underwater stone archway loomed, beyond it a tunnel of pure black. These were the Zora's great asset, both in the war and in their general existence. Like a watery, subterranean highway the Zora tunnels spanned Hyrule, connecting to every lake and river. Through them, the Zora could be at once isolated and ubiquitous, appearing wherever they pleased, yet sequestered in their secretive Domain. Now we would use it to cross Hyrule and head toward Lake Hylia. Over land the journey would have taken a week or more, but the Zora assured us our trip would be but a matter of hours.

We followed Rustam into the abyss. Our glowing lights, illuminating our bodies, were all that was visible. Not even the sides of the tunnel could be seen. The last glimmer of the outside world was gone, and all directions looked the same. Without our guide, we would become utterly disoriented.

Rustam turned to speak to us. His voice was only slightly quavering and distorted by the water. "Just up ahead, the current really picks up. It will carry us along at great speed. Do not be alarmed by it. Don't try to fight it. It won't hurt you if you stay calm."

Zelda and I gave him a nod and tried to seem confident. In truth I wasn't prepared for what came next. As we swam cautiously forward I felt a feeling of almost conscious grabbing, as if I had been seized by some beast invisible to me in the darkness, and I was yanked forward. In spite of Rustam's warning it was momentarily terrifying, but the feeling of being dragged soon abated and was replaced by a dizzying sense of speed. The walls were narrower now, so that I could see both sides of the tunnel from the light of my lantern, and I could see that they were an indistinguishable blur. The water was pushing us along at an incredible rate. Ahead of us, Rustam had abandoned the graceful swimming pose of the Zora and had simply flattened himself, arms and legs splayed, against the current so that the water would push on him as much as possible—precisely the opposite of the streamlined way that Zoras usually dart through the water.

I tried to mimic his pose, and felt the water buffeting me. It was not trivial to keep myself under control, and I felt as though I was always on the verge of beginning to tumble. I was certain that if I lost control of my limbs I would start spinning madly and perhaps bash against the walls. All I could do was try to relax and trust our Zora guide's assurance that we would be safe.

Time passed as we were flushed along through the endless dark flooded tunnels. It was impossible for me to judge the passing of minutes, though I would guess that we traveled this way for several hours. Rather than fret and speculate about the trials to come, I cast my mind back across our journey, trying to relive the chronological sequence of my adventures with Zelda. I strove to remember details and recall lessons I had learned (or should have learned). I'm not sure I managed to recall anything of great importance, but it passed the time.

I had grown so used to the pressure of the swift current that it was quite a jolt when it ebbed to nearly nothing. Ahead, Rustam signaled to us and we began to swim once again under our own power. My limbs were sore from the long period of being pushed, and I was fairly tired from it. It had not been a relaxing float down a river, but a strenuous effort to stay in control the whole time. Still, there was vigor in me yet and Zelda and I were able to follow the Zora.

"We're nearly there," he said. "I will take you to the mouth of the cave, where you can see the sunlight again, and I'll point out the island. You can't miss it. Getting in is another matter, and I can't help you with that—for my safety I have not been authorized to get too close." His frank pronouncement of the lake's danger did not reassure me.

Sure enough I could soon see a dim gray light ahead, growing in size and potency as we approached. Then I could see that the glow was stronger upwards, and we were no longer within a massive tunnel, but at its mouth in the murky depths of Lake Hylia. I had imagined that I would first see Lake Hylia again in this second life as I had originally—from afar on the road that leads to Hyrule Field, a vast and glorious azure expanse laying low in its shallow valley, its gentle rippling surface glinting in the sun for as far as the eye can see. Instead, it was a cold gloom that was my reintroduction to this extraordinary place. Rustam's assertion that we would be seeing the sun was true only under a generous interpretation. The sun overhead cast only a pallid glow on us so far below the surface. From the slant of the rays, I guessed it was setting. We had been in the caverns all day.

"There." Rustam gestured ahead. His eyes must have been much keener than mine, underwater at least, for the underwater mountain that marked Sunrise Isle to be obvious to him. But I could just barely make it out, looming far ahead. Due to the topography of the lakebed, I couldn't see the ancient entrance to the flooded Water Temple that I knew lay at the base of that island. I was somewhat glad for this—the Water Temple held no pleasant memories for me, and I vaguely feared that evil might yet lurk within it.

"Go and complete your mission. Repay the trust and respect that my liege has given you, or he—and I—will see to it that you regret your betrayal."

With that, Rustam twirled about and darted back into the cave. He could not possibly swim back against the current, and I supposed that some other passageways were available for him to use, with currents running in other directions. As I thought about it, it occurred to me that the Zora had cleverly left us with very little ability to actually renege on our promised mission: there was no way that Zelda and I could navigate the lightless tunnels alone, and the only Zora who could guide us now was Ruto herself. And without her help, the only way out was through Gerudo-occupied Hyrule.

Not that I had any intention to leave without at least verifying Ruto's presence. One way or another I would try and make her a Sage, as I had the others before her. And so, nodding to Zelda, we began to swim, tucking away our luminous fish lanterns for added stealth. Compared to the amazing pace that the subterranean water currents had afforded us, it was agonizingly slow, and moreover required exertion on our part. Yet we were not in any specific hurry and didn't set a pace that would tire ourselves. The Zora Tunics negated the concept of "gasping for breath," but I was in no hurry to experience the water-breathing equivalent.

As we gradually approached the island we could see the shadows of boats passing overhead. I knew that they were Gerudo boats based on the map of the military fronts that I had seen in Death Mountain—outdated for sure by this point, but still probably mostly reliable—and I knew that we had to keep low to avoid being spotted by them. I hoped that the Gerudo sailors would be on guard for swift, sleek Zoras and not clumsy human swimmers, and that they would mistake us for some kind of marine life rather than enemies. Better still for them to not detect us at all.

Eventually the island stood before us like a submerged colossus. From this distance I could just barely see the ornate gate and arcane crystal mechanism that marked the secret entrance to the Water Temple, and I shuddered. Zelda followed me as I began to swim around the island, looking for a spot to make landfall. I took note of the fact that as we approached the island the presence of boats overhead diminished and eventually ceased. Perhaps there were war machines on the island that could keep hostile boats at bay.

As I drew nearer to the surface I could see that the island had changed dramatically from the uninhabited, barren place it had once been. Where before there had been only a strange old monument offering prayer to the sun, and a huge stately tree, there were now massive walls of stone plunging from above the waterline into the water, anchored on the slopes of the underwater mountain and garlanded with algae and weeds. There was no longer a shore as such, just a sheer, slippery wall. Obviously this was a military necessity, giving invaders nowhere to land. But it also gave us no point of ingress either.

We cautiously circled the huge edifice until eventually I spotted what I was looking for: a small gap in the otherwise impenetrable walls. It was rectangular and extended from some unknown height above about ten feet into the water. The aperture was blocked by a massive iron portcullis that reached all the way into the muddy earth. I surmised that this was a fortified port, where friendly boats could anchor provided that the sturdy gate was opened.

Zelda and I approached the portcullis, a huge checkerboard pattern of steel bars. Knowing vaguely that it was pointless, I grasped it anyway and gave it a tug. Unsurprisingly it didn't budge. But Zelda, treading water beside me, got my attention and gestured at the gate. Arms outstretched, she concentrated and a soft lavender glow radiated from her hands and from her eyes. With a muffled, ominous groan and shudder, the gate itself softly glowed, then lurched out of the muck and slowly rose. I pushed myself down along the gate rung by rung like a ladder until I was at the bottom. Soon it had risen by a foot, but I wasn't sure I could squeeze through. Nervously I waited as it inched upward, until I thought I could make it. As quickly as I could I wriggled under the barnacle-encrusted tips of the portcullis' iron bars. Then Zelda approached, maintaining concentration on her magic. She reached out one hand to me, keeping the other toward the door as though she were using her psychic strength to push it upward physically. I grasped her hand and pulled her through under the small gap. As I did this her concentration was broken and the gate slammed back down with a dull clang that reverberated through the water.

We were now in a sort of underwater paddock. The darkness was pronounced and I surmised there was a roof over our heads. Only feeble rays of light entered through the portcullis, but I was able to see numerous pillars plunging from above the water into the murk below, each crusty with shellfish and kelp. Zelda and I glanced at each other and I gave a shrug and looked to the surface. There was nowhere now to go but up, to meet our fate in this strange and foreboding place.

For the first time in hours we breached the surface and breathed in the air. It was not pleasantly scented. The damp walls of the enclosure held burning torches that only dimly illuminated the area. The pillars I had seen were supporting several piers. Docked at one of them was a small galley, its oars stowed, low to the waterline with a long, slender hull and shallow draft. A miscellany of ropes, nets, boxes, barrels and the like littered the docks. The piers emerged from a stone balcony overlooking the water, and on that balcony was a broad archway and stairs leading up. Milling around this entrance was a group of nervous-looking nautical types. They were men of Hyrule and I could see, even from a distance in poor lighting, that they were rough-looking sorts. They reminded me of the die-hards of Kakariko with whom we fought in the siege—men scarred and twisted by war but clinging on in the shadows, made ruthless and cunning by hardship to which they refused to yield.

They were clustered around a large circular cog connected to a chain. I could hear a babel of voices, equal parts angry and scared.

"The blasted mechanism must have—"

"—couldn't have raised the gate, you daft—"

"Should we sound the alarm, or—"

"No! They'll tan our backsides if we—"

"—maybe it wasn't the gate we heard—"

I looked over at Zelda and spoke softly to her. "No way we can sneak past them. Might as well make a dramatic entrance."

"What..." she began, but my plan became clear as I took out the Longshot and used my other arm to hook Zelda around the waist. Unhesitantly she grabbed my shoulders. I aimed for an overhead supporting beam near the gateway where the men were gathered, and pulled the trigger. The pointed tip exploded out of my hand and struck sure in the wood.

We flew out of the water accompanied by the jangling sound of the chain retracting. As we reached the ceiling I, with practiced hand, tweaked the Longshot in my hand to jerk the tip free from the wooden beam. Zelda slipped out of my arms but dropped gracefully down a short distance and landed before the stunned group of islanders, and I followed shortly.

A beat passed as the ruffians before us slowly took in what had happened. One of the men cried out, "Who be ye?"

Zelda calmly answered, "We're agents of Hyrule. We're here to help you."

Another moment passed. Water dripped from our clothes. Then, as one, the men drew cutlasses and daggers from their tattered belts and ratty scabbards, spreading into a semicircle and approaching warily to just outside of measure.

One of them, a middle-aged man with a bristly, graying beard and a sweat-soaked headband hiding his bald pate, spoke up in a gravelly voice. "How came you through the barricade?"

"We lifted it, briefly."

The man snorted derisively. "Ten men couldn't budge that hunk o' steel! Do ye mean to tell me..."

Another man interrupted. "How came they here? I see no boat! They came from th' bloody water, like they 'ad fish's gills!"

Zelda thought for a second and then said, "Take us to the Zora who lives here, and she can explain it to you."

Those words galvanized the group, and the second speaker, a lean young man with a narrow face and a prominent hawk-like nose, drew to within striking distance of Zelda and me, brandishing a stiletto. "They be spies! Dirty Gerudo spies! Toss 'em in the brig!"

"I wouldn't do that," I said evenly as Zelda and I stood our ground. "Just let us talk to your leaders. We don't want to bring trouble."

"Hogwash!" cried the young man. "Slit they throats, leave 'em fer the fishes."

"You said t' throw 'em in the brig!" one of the others pointed out.

"I changed me mind!" the hawk-nosed man hollered. "I don't like 'ow they's lookin' at me. No chances, no fussin' wit' the cap'ns, kill 'em quick an' dump the bodies like they was never here."

Another man piped up. He had a beat-up leather hat and a waxy mustache to go with his greasy face. "Now, now, no need for that yet, what a waste that'd be. I fancy takin' that pretty blond for a good tumble, eh?" Snickering and murmurs rippled through the group.

"Yeah," one of the ruffians said. "You can take the pretty blond...and I'll take the woman!" A roar of laughter erupted from each throat but that of the mustachioed man, who whirled around and cocked back a fist at the one who had made the joke. "I'll bash your teeth out for that, cur!"

"Hold, hold!" the older man with the bandana shouted. Zelda and I stood bemused, wondering if we were about to be afforded a chance to slip away while the whole group got into a fistfight.

"Listen!" Zelda cried, mostly getting their attention. "We're special agents of the King of Hyrule. We have proof of that, but it's not the sort that you'd understand. Let us speak to your superiors..."

"You mouthy bitch!" the man with the stiletto shouted, and he came at Zelda with the knife. "Understand this!"

Before he could get too close I grabbed him by the wrist of the hand holding the knife and pulled him hard toward me. Jerked to the side he fell off-balance and the side of his head found itself directly in the path of my other fist. As his head was rocked sideways I simply continued to pull him and he slumped to the floor, knocked out cold. It couldn't have been more perfect if I had planned it.

The knife clattered out of his hand. The other looked at us, stunned, and then with a tremendous hue and cry almost all of them charged forward. If they hadn't drawn their weapons, I would have gladly indulged them in a bare-knuckle brawl, but there was a good chance that they were out to murder us. In a flash I had drawn the Master Sword, droplets of water sheeting glimmeringly from its cold steel blade. I put its point above the back of the man I had struck down.

"No one has to die," I growled. "Take us to your leaders or take us into custody, but put your swords away or someone will."

The mob stopped short. I could see they were wavering between anger and fear. But then, just when I feared they were going to renew their assault, a strong, clear voice echoed from the stairs leading upward.

"What is all that noise?"

A few of the ruffians at the back turned to look. Descending from the staircase was Princess Ruto. I recognized her immediately (not that there were other Zora here I could mistake for her), although she was not quite exactly as I remembered her from the brief time I had known her as an adult. She was physically the same—tall and curvaceous—except for a scar across her collarbone that looked to be from a blade strike. Unlike before, and unlike any other Zora I had come across, she was dressed like a human woman, wearing a floor-length red sleeveless gown. She was also sporting a few modest pieces of jewelry. They were not as fabulous as the adornments of Zelda's royal regalia, for instance, but in this place, they were positively radiant.

"M-milady! Intruders!" spluttered one of the throng.

"So I see," Ruto said slowly, looking us over. As she noticed the clothes we were wearing, I think I saw a brief, quickly-suppressed hint of surprise—with the differences between human and Zora facial anatomy, it was hard to tell. She walked confidently towards us, though she kept the sailors between herself and us.

"They struck down Pritchard!" yelped one of the sailors, pointing at the unconscious man at my feet.

"Is he dead?" Ruto asked dryly.

"I...I don't think so, 'e just got clocked on the sidea the head."

"Hmhmhm. He probably couldn't keep his mouth shut or his temper under control."

"Well, yes, but..."

Ruto ignored them, speaking to us. "Would you like to come quietly? I'd rather this not become more disruptive than it already is."

"Sure," I said. "You're the one we're here to see."

A small, cautious smile was briefly visible on Ruto's lips. "How interesting."

"Your Highness," the man with the bandana said, "They could be spies or assassins. We should—"

"Oh, please," Ruto said with a laugh. "Spies have subtlety."

Zelda spoke up. "Do you recognize the clothes we're wearing?"

Ruto looked hard at her and was slow to answer. "...Yes. Of course." The men around her looked confused.

Zelda slowly withdrew the Ocarina of Time. "And do you recognize this?"

Ruto's eyes went wide before it was even fully revealed. She quickly composed herself, but for an instant she could not hide what she had felt.

"I do. What do you want?"

"We're here to help you."

Ruto's eyes narrowed. "What exactly do you mean?"

"We should discuss it in private," Zelda said.

Ruto glanced at the unconscious man. "You lot, see to it he isn't dead." Then, turning to us, she said, "Come with me."

"S-should we accompany you, ma'am?" asked the man in the bandana.

"No need. I'll take precautions," Ruto told him. He frowned, but obeyed, gesturing to the men. We edged around the group as they walked toward the one I had downed. They mostly avoided my gaze.

"Head up the stairs," Ruto instructed us. She followed behind, a prudent move. As we ascended I looked back and saw the sailors dousing their fallen comrade with water in an attempt to wake him.

We climbed a narrow, twisting staircase lined with torches, eventually reaching an open floor. The rooms were close with low ceilings, reminding me more of a cave than a comfortable habitation.

"That way," Ruto said. She guided us through a couple of rooms with chairs and desks littered with books, maps and parchment. Through an archway I saw what looked like a mess hall, with long benches stained with food and ale. There was also a room full of many bunk beds, mostly empty but for a couple more sailors lounging off-duty. There were a few people coming and going, who looked at us askance but didn't interfere. A few seemed to exchange knowing looks with Ruto.

We ascended again up another staircase, and on this upper level was a pigeon rookery open to the sky. It was a sort of gallery with many dozens of square holes made by the absence of bricks, spotted with much guano and littered with feathers. Most of them were empty at present, but I did spot a number of the gray birds nesting within others.

There was also a round parapet with a door permitting access. I could see crenellated walls around us and, beyond them, the glitter of the waters in the setting sun. The Gerudo boats were out there, somewhere, but between the distance, the haze, and the glare of the sun I didn't spot any. Ruto beckoned us into a room inside the tower, shut the door behind us and lit a lamp.

The room was not large but it was clean and had some semblance of luxury. The furniture was of good quality, and there was a fine rug on the floor and a few arras on the walls. A stick of fragrant incense smoldered in a holder on the sill of the only window in the room. There was a desk and a bed and two chairs. Ruto gestured for us to sit in them, and she herself sat on her bed, one leg across the other.

"So," she said, rather more serious in tone that she had been before. "Your names?"

"I am Freida, an agent of Hyrule," Zelda said. "And he is my bodyguard, Kaz."

Ruto gave a short nod, and said, "I am Ruto, princess of the Zoras. Though I suspect you knew that."

"Of course, Your Highness."

She looked us over. "Two Zora Tunics from my homeland. And the Ocarina of Time, from yours."

"That's right," Zelda said.

"That thing is priceless. They say it has magical powers. Why have you brought it here?"

Zelda inhaled through her nose. "It symbolizes the utmost importance and seriousness of our mission. We were given proof of our affiliation with the Crown of Hyrule, proof of an irrefutable sort. So that when we reached the Zora, and reached you, you would know that we are no common wastrels nor are we Gerudo spies."

Ruto considered for a bit before replying. "And what mission is that?"

Zelda and I glanced at each other. What was our mission, or rather, what of it could we tell to her? Zelda took a stab at it. "We were sent to the Zora Domain to assess the needs of the Zora people and help them resist the Gerudo."

Ruto looked off to the side briefly. "And?"

"Your father, King Zora, gave us a task. He too recognized our legitimacy and trusted us with something very important. We are to help you escape from here."

Ruto, again, tried to conceal her surprise and, I think, eagerness. "He really wants me back?"

"Is that a surprise?" I asked, perhaps somewhat impetuously.

She looked at Zelda, quizzical. "Do you give your servant leave to speak freely?"

"He is my defender and a confidant also. My equal partner."

Ruto laughed softly. Then she answered me. "Father was adamant that I do this. It was essential to my royal upbringing that I get hands-on experience as a diplomat and a liaison. I have. Has he judged my apprenticeship over?"

Zelda raised an eyebrow. "To hear him tell it, it was you who were eager for the chance to prove yourself, to exert your independence."

She scoffed. "That sounds like him, shifting the blame. I was eager to take a diplomatic post, but not here, goodness no. I wanted to go to the palace, to mingle with Hyrulian royalty. He insisted it be somewhere more accessible to Zoras, nearer the water. I guess he's realized his mistake."

"This is not the body of water I would have chosen, either," said Zelda.

"Don't get me wrong," Ruto answered. "This wasn't a futile exercise. I have learned much here. This place would be in a shambles without me. And I've grown...well, not fond of it really...I feel some sense of obligation to this hellhole. But to be sure, I could do much good back in the Zora Domain, or elsewhere, and I would be in far less danger...and I could keep such nicer company. Maybe someday I'll see you and your guard again, in Hyrule Castle, perhaps?"

Zelda glanced at me. "Perhaps."

"So you'll come with us?" I asked Ruto.

"Yes, eventually. Not now. I can't just up and leave. There are things I need to do first."

"What sort of things?"

She bristled. "Nothing you'd be interested in. Contingencies. Preparations. I have to make sure things don't crumble here the instant I'm not around to lead."

"Okay, fair enough," said Zelda. "How long?"

"A couple of days. Maybe a week. I'm expecting a few important messages that I will need to be here to receive."

"All right," Zelda said. "Whenever you're ready."

"You have my authorization to go where you please here, and use or take things you might need at your discretion. If any of the louts give you any more trouble, tell them that. They...owe me. While I'm getting ready, talk to the captains of the ships and see what you can do to help them out. Competent professionals like you are in short supply here."

"Can do," I said.

"Don't be seen fraternizing with me all the time, either. As far as they should know, you two have no special relation to me."

"What, will they be jealous?" asked Zelda.

"It'll look suspicious."

"It's already going to be suspicious that you're giving us your blessing to be here and do as we please," I pointed out.

"Exactly, so don't make it worse! Whatever you do don't blab about my escape. That should be obvious, but I'll say it anyway. They can't find out about this."

"Where I come from," Zelda said, "Diplomats can come and go as they please. They're recalled and replaced as a matter of routine."

"Well, you don't know this place," Ruto said back sharply. "It's complicated. Through my skills I've made myself indispensable to this fort, and the human leaders and I have an understanding. But don't think for a minute that I'm in control here. That I'm respected and powerful. Because looks are deceiving. I'm a hostage here."

"Your father implied as much," I said, "but I didn't quite understand—"

"Then I'll spell it out for you," Ruto said, increasingly bitter. "If the flow of supplies and intelligence from Zora agents to this place dries up, they'll cut off bits of me and send them back to father in a box. If the Zora let the Gerudo overrun this rock, I'll die."

"Are they mistreating you?"

She softened. "No, not at all. Not yet. But they could. And that's where the power lies. I'm locked in an invisible cage made by politics and war." She sighed and looked out the window. "The daughter of a king. You couldn't possibly imagine the responsibilities, the restrictions, the futility, the frustration."

Zelda looked over at me sidelong, cracking a tiny smirk. Then she looked back at Ruto. "I have some sense of it."

"So yes, I want out," Ruto said. "I'm going to get back to work. I'll let you know when I'm ready to make plans for departure. For now, go take a walk around this place. It won't take long. If you see Jeremiah again—the balding man with the bandana—explain that I cleared you. You're new recruits now. Ask him to introduce you to the captains, and do what they say."

"Thank you for this opportunity, Your Highness," said Zelda with impeccable politeness, as we stood to go. She gave a short curtsey. "We won't disappoint."

"Mmm." With that Ruto stood and showed us out and closed the door behind us. Now we were alone atop the citadel, but for the pigeons.

Rather than stay there in the lonely eyrie we went back down the stairs into the living quarters, and walked about a bit. Quickly, though, some of the residents saw that we were wandering unaccompanied and came to accost us.

We explained the situation. Inevitably, they brought in their superiors to assess our claim to Ruto's hospitality. In a matter of minutes word had spread, and a throng of men had gathered in the mess hall with us to hear what we had to say.

"I know our arrival was a tense thing," I said to the assemblage. "But we've spoken to your Zora liaison and she has given us her trust. She believes us when we say that we are agents of Hyrule, come to help you all turn the tide."

"They send two young pups to turn the tide against six dozen Gerudo galleons?" spluttered a one-eyed old salt.

I, one-eyed but young and considerably less salty, said back to him, "If I were in your position, I would take what help I could get." The old man frowned, but I could see that he saw the truth of my words.

Another piped up, saying, "So what if the Zora has gained your trust? She isn't in charge here."

Zelda fielded this complaint. "You trust her to manage your affairs. You trust her to convey your needs and wishes to her people, so that they can render you the aid you need. Trust her in this. Trust us as she has done."

"I shan't trust ye 'til I've sailed with ye!" cried another man. "'Til y've bent yer back to the oars, 'til y've held fast 'neath the Gerudo's arrows!"

"Well said and fair enough!" said I. "Trust is to be earned, not given, and trust is dearly bought among warriors such as we. So take us on! We'll show you that we deserve to be here, that we can help you."

Jeremiah, the man we had been assigned to serve under, spoke up. "Ruto's given 'em to me, and it's my decidin' how far to trust 'em. They be my crew, and I'll put them to work. None o' you dogs lay a had on 'em."

"You old blowhard! You'd let anyone on board your ship if you thought it could help you recapture your old glory!"

"It's not about me!" Jeremiah shouted back. "It's not about glory! It's about survival. Bicker all ye like, snigger at me if ye will, but I'll take their help an' take it gladly. If you dogs had 'alf the gumption these two've shown, we'd stand half a chance'a winnin' this war."

The other sailors all grumbled to each other.

"I tell you all what," I shouted over the din. "I know plenty of you aren't happy about me being here at all, with a lady under my watch, that you can't touch, by the way. In case that wasn't clear."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw the look on Zelda's face, and it told me she would relish dealing with any unwanted advances from any of these louts. Just to see the look on their faces afterward, if nothing else.

So I continued: " If any of you feel strongly about any of that, or me serving under Jeremiah, I'll take on any one of you in a fair fight. I know some of you were keen to fight me the moment I showed up, and that's fine by me. Let's clear the air. But I warn you, if your friends come at me and it turns into a brawl, don't hold me accountable for what happens then."

For a while there was silence, as though the men couldn't quite believe it. They looked at each other. Then one said quietly, to no one in particular, with not much conviction, "Miss Ruto said we weren't ta fight each other ta settle our scores."

"Oh, I should think it will be fine," Zelda said, with a sly glance at me. "I have spoken to Ruto, we have a good understanding of one another. I am sure she will understand why we're having a friendly little match here. Better to seek forgiveness than ask permission."

A ripple of agreement rather predictably spread through the men. Already they were moving the long tables and benches to better form an arena, and assembling around me. Zelda took a seat to watch me in action, showing no nervousness or hesitation falling in among the huge, smelly, boisterous sailors.

Having last fought a haunting phantom who pushed me to the brink of death in the depths of a frozen hell, I was rather looking forward to finishing the scrap from the docks earlier. As chanting, hooting, hollering, and shouts of encouragement rang out, a challenger stepped up to me and, in our stances, we began the dance.