All was quiet inside the Water Temple.  Yet it contained an uneasy 
atmosphere.  The waters of the main chamber were as smooth as glass.  
They 
had never before been more tranquil.

The waters told a terrible lie.

On the top floor of the Temple, there was a door.  Strange carvings 
marked 
it as an exit.  But the door led to a hole filled with water.  A tunnel 
was 
in the water, which led to the outside world of Hyrule.

A figure, clearly humanoid but definitely not human, stood in the 
tunnel.  
Princess Ruto of the Zoras walked in the water and lifted herself to 
the 
door with the strange marks.  Her fins fluttered in the air to dry 
herself.

"Brrrrrrr.  The water is freezing here.  Almost like.....like..."

And then Ruto couldn't bear it anymore.  She raised her iridescent 
hands to 
her eyes and wept.  Tears streamed down her face and became lost as 
they 
rippled the Water Temple's many pools.

"How am I ever going to find my way around this place?" she thought.

"Hmmmm......what would Link do?"

Seven years had passed since she became engaged to a young, forest boy 
named 
Link, who had saved her from being digested in the belly of Lord 
Jabu-Jabu.  
She still remembered his blonde hair, his impressive sword skills, and 
his 
fierce, determined, eyes.

"Oh how I miss those eyes."

But now Link was gone and she had to fight this creature alone.  The 
being 
living in the Temple who was responsible for the tense uneasiness that 
she 
felt that destroyed her home, the only family she ever knew and her 
father.

"No!"

"They are not dead!  I won't let them die!"

Ruto scanned what was in front of her.  The main chamber of the Temple 
was 
huge!  It had three floors, each with doors leading in all directions.  
Her 
violet eyes turned her face towards the door she had just entered.  She 
could see Lake Hylia on the other side.

Or at least what was left of Lake Hylia.

Ruto almost cried again, but her hatred for this thing kept the tears 
from 
bursting forth.  A small bit of her tomboyish, independent nature still 
remained from her childhood.  This boosted her confidence that she 
would 
succeed.....with or without Link or Sheik or anyone else.

"I will fight that creature or die trying!" she vowed.

Ruto looked down.  The water level was only up to the second floor.  
The 
fall wouldn't kill me.  That is for sure.  She took a few steps back, 
did a 
running leap off the ledge.........

* * * * * * * * * *

.........and did a perfect swan dive into the crystal clear waters of 
Zora's 
Domain.  It gave her a certain thrill to play her favorite game since 
childhood, "Diving for Rupees".  One by one she napped rupees.  Her 
slender 
body cut through the water, giving her great control and speed.

Finally, she grabbed the last gem and burst through the surface of the 
water.  She arched her back into a midair dolphin jump to show off for 
the 
owner of the game, who was watching the entire show with great 
admiration 
for the princess.

"I'm done!" Ruto called out to the top of the waterfall as she climbed 
out 
of the water.

The other Zora laughed.  "Congrats, Ruto.  I think that was a new 
personal 
best for time."

"Wow!  She's got everything.  She's got get swimming skills, she's 
royalty, 
she's very beautiful and has a great personality that has matured a lot 
since her childhood," he murmured to himself.

"I wonder why she has never found a boyfriend?"

Ruto smiled at her triumph.  "Hey, Ceran!" she challenged the Zora on 
the 
waterfall.  " I bet you can't do any better!"

Ceran laughed at her challenge.  "Ha!  Just watch me!"

Ruto waved her hand and scattered the rupees she had caught over the 
water 
for Ceran to capture.  Each one fell into the water with a delicate 
splash 
and sank to the bottom.

"All set, Ceran?"

The other Zora answered with a loud "Yee-Hah!" and jumped off the 
falls.  
Ceran performed his trademark "cannon ball", turning his body into a 
rolled-up position.  He slid cleanly into the water and reached a depth 
lower than the distance Ruto's dive took her.  From the ledge, Ruto saw 
him 
stay curled in a ball at the bottom of the pool.

"Wait," she realized.  "Why isn't he moving to catch the rupees?"

"Ceran?" she called out.  "Ceran?" she said again, this time a little 
louder.

"Why isn't he moving?!"

"Ceran?  Ceran!" she cried out.  "He's not moving!"

Ruto's first thought was that he had hit his head on a rock.  She 
rushed 
into the water to try and save him.  As soon as her foot touched the 
surface 
of the pool, a sharp spasm of pain shot through her entire body.  She 
gave a 
shout that held more surprise than pain.  The water was so cold!  Ceran 
had 
jumped into a pool that was almost frozen!  He was in shock from the 
sudden 
chill and couldn't move.  Ruto, still shivering, quickly ran out of the 
water.  "What am I gonna do?"

Fortunately, several Zoras had heard her shouting for Ceran and rushed 
over 
to help.  One of them was smart enough to bring a net used to catch 
fish at 
the bottom of deep pools.  They dropped the net in the water and tried 
to 
catch the motionless Ceran.  After a few tries, the Zoras managed to 
snag 
his leg.  Slowly they pulled the net to the surface.

Suddenly, the net refused to budge.  The Zoras grunted and pulled but 
nothing seemed to work.  The pool was freezing before their very eyes 
and 
both the net and Ceran were frozen in the ice.  Ruto jumped onto the 
water 
and ran across to the net.  Her weight almost caused the forming ice to 
break under her feet for it cracked wherever she stepped.  She ran to 
the 
frozen ropes, pounded a fist into the ice.  It cracked but not by much.  
She 
pounded and stomped again and again until the ropes of the net came 
loose.  
Then she joined the other Zoras in pulling Ceran, and the block of ice 
he 
was encased in, to land.

"You guys try and get him out of that ice.  I'm going to tell my 
father," 
she told the Zoras who helped her.  Again she stepped out onto the ice.  
This time it was thicker and didn't crack under her weight.  The air is 
colder too, Ruto realized.  She climbed up the ladder on the opposite 
side 
and ran up the stair to King Zora's chamber.

"The water is frozen here too!"

Then she looked up at her father's throne.........

* * * * * * * * * *

.........and screamed as a tektite jumped down from the room above her.  
The 
creature was one of the ugliest things she had ever seen.  Its four 
powerful 
spider legs propelled it across the room and it's single red eye glared 
angrily at her.  But Ruto held her ground.  If she couldn't fight a 
tektite 
how would she manage to destroy the source of the evil in the Temple?

Ruto took up a defensive position and bared her teeth at the thing.  
She 
aimed a swipe at the blue spider but it leaped out of the way.  She 
aimed 
another swipe.  This one grazed the tough armor if the spider.  It 
skittered 
backwards for a few seconds, then threw itself at her full force.  
Ruto's 
leg shot out in true Zoran martial arts fashion.  Her blow connected 
with 
the tektite in mid-air and hit the red eye.  The creature let out a 
deep 
whine and fell apart in a cloud of blue smoke.

The victor smirked and walked over to examine the pots the tektite was 
guarding.  She broke one against the wall.  A few bombs fell out of the 
rubble and rolled out on the floor.   Leaving the pieces in the floor, 
Ruto 
picked up the bombs for later use.  With that, she went back the way 
she had 
came.......

* * * * * * * * * *

........and returned down the stairs, still shaken by what she saw.  
When 
she reached the main pool of Zora's Domain, she covered her mouth in a 
gasp 
as her eyes met another awful sight.

The Domain was now completely frozen over.  The waterfall she had dived 
off 
of moments before was now a large ice pillar.  Icicles hung all over 
from 
the ceiling.  But the worst part was that all the Zoras had 
disappeared.  
Ruto scanned the main pool.  Maybe they were buried underneath.  Few a 
long 
time, she could only stand there in shock.  She didn't even notice the 
shadow approach her.

"They are not here, Ruto," said a calm voice behind her.

Ruto whirled around and came face to face with a young man.  He wore a 
blue 
bodysuit with frayed white cloth around his neck that also covered his 
stomach.  On the white was an odd symbol that resembled an eye.  His 
face 
was also wrapped in tattered, white clothes.  The only parts of his 
face 
Ruto could see where his blonde hair and eyes.

Blonde hair!

Ruto almost had her hopes too high for her to handle when she realized 
that 
the eyes were not the same.  This man had red eyes while Link's where 
more 
of a royal purple.  Plus these eyes lacked the fierce look that she 
loved.  
These were calm and contained more wisdom than the determined courage 
of 
Link's.

Something about them still seemed familiar to her though.....

"Where are they?" said Ruto, trying to hide her surprise.  "Who are you 
and 
how do you know me?"

The man nodded with understanding for her concern.  "My name is Sheik.  
I am 
one of the few Sheikahs left.....besides one other."

The Sheikahs!  Ruto knew that the Sheikahs were protectors of Hyrule's 
Royal 
Family.  She had visited Hyrule Castle on an ambassadorial trip with 
her 
father years before the Gerudo King, Ganondorf, attacked the castle.  
She 
also knew that they held mysterious power in their blood.

"That would explain why he knows my name," reasoned Ruto, who also had 
some 
small skill in mind reading.

"Now I suppose you are wondering where your fellow Zoras have gone to?" 
asked Sheik.  "I've taken them to a place where they will be safe."

"Safe?" questioned Ruto.  "Safe from what?"  She was definitely 
becoming 
more and more confused with these strange events.   The main pool 
freezing, 
the disappearance of the Zoras and her father.......

"Come with me first," replied Sheik.  "You must go to your people 
before I 
tell you what has happened."

"Show me the way."

Sheik quickly walked up the stairs and back into King Zora's chamber.  
He 
stopped in front of the throne.

"Awful, isn't it," said Ruto from behind him.  Together they looked on 
the 
king.  He was encased in some kind of red shell.

"Red ice," muttered Sheik.  "Very powerful stuff.  At least he's not 
dead.  
I find some hope in that."

Ruto ran up the stairs to her father's throne.  "He's not dead.  That 
takes 
a load off of my mind.  Red ice?  Never heard of it."  She extended a 
hand 
to examine it.

"Stop, Ruto!  Don't touch the ice."

Too late.

Ruto gasped as she quickly drew her hand away.  "That burns!"

Sheik sighed and shook his head.  "Red ice is not natural.  It is 
actually 
solid fire.  It doesn't freeze, it burns."

"And my father is burning inside of it?" exclaimed Ruto.

"Not exactly," said Sheik.  "If you look closely you can see that he's 
breathing.  See?  He is imprisoned in it as if he were in a cage."

"How do you melt this....this stuff?  If it is actually fire, than it 
can't 
melt."

"Magic ice can only be melted with magic fire," answered Sheik.  "We 
can get 
cold fire at the same place where the Zoras are located.  Let's go."

Sheik ran past the King and out onto Zora's Fountain.  Ruto quickly 
followed 
him into the moonlight.  This place hasn't frozen yet.  True, the 
fountain 
was still water, but a heavy snow fell on the two travelers.  Together 
they 
went past the platform where Jabu-Jabu once sat.

"Jabu-Jabu?  He's gone too?"

Sheik led Ruto to the top of the platform, which was now covered with 
ice.  
He pointed down into the water.  "Look down there."

Ruto peered down into the water.  Because of the night, she thought she 
could only see rocks at the bottom.  One very large set of rocks jutted 
out 
of the other formations in an unusual way.  Ruto looked harder at the 
strange rocks.  They seemed to be more like dark crystals than rock.

"Something is inside that crystal.  Something big!  Oh no!"

She turned to Sheik in disbelief.  Sheik could only nod solemnly.  
"Come, 
Ruto."  He jumped into the water and swam to an iceberg.  Ruto followed 
and 
climbed onto the iceberg as well.

"See that cave over there?" asked Sheik pointing to the western portion 
of 
the fountain where the entrance to a cave gaped open like a mouth.

"Yes?" Ruto replied.

"Jump across the icebergs and enter the cave.  The Zoras are inside.  
Go 
find them and I'll catch up to you.

Ruto nodded.  She drew in a deep breath..........

* * * * * * * * * *

.......and jumped onto the small pillar of water.  To her surprise, it 
held 
her weight.  Ruto took out one her bombs from the battle with the 
tektite, 
lit it and threw it at the crystal switch at the opposite end of the 
room.  
The bomb exploded, activating the crystal.  The pillar she was standing 
on 
began to rise up like an elevator to the floor above her.  Ruto quickly 
jumped off the pillar before it sank back to the bottom.  The only 
thing in 
this room was a door.  So Ruto opened it.

"I'm back in the main chamber again."  Ruto was now in some kind of 
alcove 
overlooking the central chamber of the Water Temple.  On the wall was 
carved 
a picture of the Triforce.  Beneath the picture, a passage was carved.  
Ruto 
read it aloud.

"Those who wish to open the gate on the far heights, play the song 
passed 
down by the Royal Family."

Ruto knew that song well.  It was a necessity to enter Zora's Domain.  
But 
she had no instrument to play it on.  "Maybe if I sing it," thought 
Ruto.  
She hummed a few notes to the song.  All it took were six notes.  The 
Triforce symbol began to glow as the water began to rise up to the top 
floor.

"That's it!  There must be three of these signs, one for each of the 
three 
floors.  Since the highest level is found at the top floor, the lowest 
must 
be at the bottom."

Ruto dived back into the water and made her way to the lowest levels of 
the 
Water Temple.  She planted her feet on the sandy Temple floor and ran 
around 
the center pillar, looking for a good route to take.  Four doors lead 
in 
four different directions.

"I'll try the door with the torches."

So she passed through the......

* * * * * * * * * *

.........door and walked in, armed with a bottle of blue fire in her 
hand.

"I found them!"

To her surprise the room contained a small, square, but very deep pool.  
Swimming inside the pool was a large amount of Zoras.

"Hey, Ruto!"

"Ceran!  You're ok," said Ruto happily.  "How did you all get here?"

Another Zora spoke up.  "A strange man appeared in the Domain while you 
were 
with you father.  He waved his hands in the air, and blinded us with a 
strange light.  When we could see again, we found ourselves is this 
room.  
It's a little small but at least it's warmer in here than out there."

"Good job Sheik!" she cheered in her mind.

The Zora was right though.  Ruto had noticed some ice as she first 
started 
to explore the cave.  But as she went deeper in, the ice began to show 
up 
less and less.  This room didn't have any ice in it at all.  It didn't 
even 
feel cold.  Ruto happily jumped in with water with other Zoras.

"It is small in here.  But it's also very deep.  I wonder how deep this 
pool 
is?"

Ruto dove down into the water.  She swam deeper and deeper.  Suddenly 
another Zora zipped past her, sending her spinning out of control in 
the 
water.

"Hey, Ruto!  I'll race you to the bottom!" called Ceran.

Ruto laughed.  "You're on!"

The others thought this was a cool idea so they followed the duo from 
behind 
to watch the race.  The two Zoras sped down to the floor of the pool 
with 
the others trailing behind.  They raced past other Zoras, rocks, and 
crystals.

Crystals!

Ruto came to a dead halt and swam to a cluster of crystals growing on 
the 
wall.  The others continued to follow Ceran to the bottom while she 
examined 
them.  She touched one, dropped her bottle and screamed.

"Those aren't crystals!  It's ice!"

"The pool is freezing!" she cried out in desperation to the Zoras at 
the 
bottom.  Already some of them were motionless at the floor.  The rest 
were 
trying to swim frantically to the surface.  One by one they stopped 
moving 
and sank to the bottom.  Suddenly, Ruto was attacked with another spasm 
of 
pain as the water chilled around her.  She summoned all her strength to 
swim 
to the surface.

"Got to keep moving!  Don't stop or you'll die!"

The water completely froze around her just as her right hand burst out 
of 
the water.

"NOOOOooooooo..." Ruto tried to scream but frozen ice filled her mouth.  
She 
couldn't breathe.  Her pain was so great that she felt relieved as the 
darkness came to consume her.

She felt a warm touch on her hand and a brilliant flash that dispelled 
the 
darkness.  Immediately she collapsed on the floor.

"Thank heavens I got there in time!  You were almost dead!"

"I'm laying on a floor?  That voice!" said a voice in her head.

Ruto opened her eyes to see Sheik kneeling at her side.

"Why.....?" asked Ruto, too weak to finish her question.

"Shhhh.  Don't talk now.  I'm doing all I can to restore you to health.  
If 
you want to know where you are, you are in the Temple of Time."

Ruto looked around the large, gray room.  One the opposite side was a 
large 
stone.  Hovering above it were three gems.  She recognized one of them 
to be 
her mother's stone.

"The one I gave to Link."

The room beyond it was empty.  Nothing and no one could be found in it.

"Now you can try to stand if you want," said Sheik.

Ruto stood up and looked at Sheik in the eyes.  He could see the anger 
that 
was brewing in them.

"Sheik, no more waiting.  What has caused this curse to fall upon me 
and my 
people?"

Sheik sighed.  How was he going to tell this?  "Your Domain is closely 
linked to Lake Hylia and therefore you share the same Temple with it, 
the 
Water Temple.  The state of the Domain reflects the state of the 
Temple.  If 
the Temple is troubled, then so will be the Domain."

"But the Domain is completely frozen over!  When has that ever 
happened!?"

"This means that there is a presence in the Temple.  Something very 
evil is 
lurking there.  A monster from the looks of it.  This creature is the 
source 
of the evil in the Temple."

"Well that leaves me no choice.  Take me to the Temple."

"Ruto, I don't think you should..."

"Go to the Temple?" said Ruto angrily.  After seeing all that has 
happened 
to me he is telling me to do nothing? "How dare you try to tell me not 
to 
return it to normal and save my home.  My people.  My father."

"Okay.  You've made a point," said Sheik before Ruto got even angrier.  
"But 
be careful."

"I will.  I've gotten this far haven't I?"

"Not without help."  Those words took a moment to sink in.

"And I think you will still need help defeating this monster." said 
Sheik 
firmly.  "But if it is your wish, I will send you."

He took a small, golden harp from behind his back and began to play.  
Blue 
spots of light poured out the harp and surrounded the princess.  When 
the 
light swirled out of the window, Ruto was nowhere to be seen.

All was quiet inside the Water Temple.  Yet it contained an uneasy 
atmosphere.  The waters of the main chamber were as smooth as glass.  
They 
had never before been more tranquil.

The waters told a terrible lie.

On the top floor of the Temple, there was a door.  Strange carvings 
marked 
it as an exit.  But the door led to a hole filled with water.  A tunnel 
was 
in the water, which led to the outside world of Hyrule.

A figure, clearly humanoid but definitely not human, stood in the 
tunnel.  
Princess Ruto of the Zoras walked in the water and lifted herself to 
the 
door with the strange marks.  Her fins fluttered in the air to dry 
herself.

"Brrrrrrr.  The water is freezing here.  Almost like.....like..."

And then Ruto couldn't bear it anymore...............

* * * * * * * * * *

	A small tear formed and became lost in the water surrounding her.  
Sheik 
was right.  She needed help.  Badly needed help.  She was so upset she 
didn't hear the thud and the steady pounding of steps get closer and 
closer 
to her.

"Probably another spike trap."

Ruto slowly turned around, preparing herself for battle.  In the 
doorway 
stood, not a spike trap, but a man.  He wore a blue tunic on his body.

"Link wears green."

Iron boots on his feet.

"Those aren't Kokiri boots."

Then Ruto saw his face.  The man had blonde hair.....

"So did Sheik."

....and fierce, focused, determined eyes.

Suddenly Ruto was filled with relief.  Everything is going to be 
alright.

"Link, is that you?" she asked.

"Oh!  You are Link aren't you?"

"You've been very bad to keep me waiting these seven years."

The Beginning.......

* * * * * * * * * *
**Well, what did you think? Feel free to send me an e-mail with your 
comments. I would love to hear what you thought about this one.