A heatwave arrived to my town about a week ago. On one of those hot days, I thought back to when I was a small child, happily playing in the kiddie pool in the backyward of the house I grew up in. The pool is no longer in the shed where we used to store it and, besides, it would only look ridiculous if I were to try fit into it today. Still, I couldn’t help but imagine how nice it would be to more or less live in cool water on hot summer days like the ones I’ve recently experienced. My thoughts wandered to the elegant Zora and their home, Zora’s Domain, which surely must feel like an oasis when the temperature rises. I thought how nice it would be to be a Zora, merrily swimming along rivers and up a waterfall. But then I was thinking, why settle on being an ordinary Zora when I could have my own pool of water, like Queen Oren had in A Link Between Worlds?
Oren had the luxury to have her own, private pool of water but, despite being the Queen of Zoras, she didn’t have it very easy. When Link meets her for the first time, I have a feeling that she wishes she was anywhere else but in the tub. She’s easily visible for all her fellow Zora to see which normally wouldn’t be a problem but she is, embarissingly, stuck in the pool. You see, Queen Oren never had an issue to move freely in her pool before but something has gone terribly wrong. The Zora Underlings standing around her are panicking when they see what state she is in, and they’re worried for a good reason. When Link steps into Zora’s Domain and listens to what the Zora Underlings are worrying over, he’ll hear that a finless thief has managed to steal Queen Oren’s smooth gem. Without it, she can’t contain her power and will bloat up like a sponge soaks up water.
The serene and peaceful atmosphere that is so often associated with Zora’s Domain is not present, and the feeling of desperation has taken over instead. Queen Oren looks absolutely furious as she keeps growing in size against her will, and I can understand her. Growing what looks like three times larger than what you usually are in a very short time sounds like an absolute nightmare, and then add the humiliation of being helpless in front of people who look up to you on top of that. I can’t say that I envy her, even if she owns a pool I so desire to submerge myself in.
Luckily for Queen Oren, she doesn’t have to stay in this state for much longer. Link might have a good guess on who this “finless” thief might be and will soon return to the Domain with her smooth gem. The pool’s water changes color when the gem is placed in it and, finally, the Zora Underlings and their Queen can take a breath of relief. Like the ideal image of a queen, Oren is kind and will express her gratitude for her Hero’s unexpected help by gifting him a pair of Zora’s Flippers. With the Flippers on his feet, Link can swim in lakes and rivers, but Oren warns him about her Zoras lurking in these waters. She may be their Queen but she has yet to find a way to persuade her Underlings to not attack any passersby.
With her old shape back, Queen Oren and an Underling will leave the Domain and swim in the rivers instead. Perhaps the luxurious pool felt too small after the brief catastrophy, perhaps just looking at it gave her bad memories, or perhaps the weather was so nice that it would be a shame to not spend it outdoors. Either way, happy to swim freely in Hyrule’s waters, she speeds up faster than her Underling can manage to keep up with. They get separated, and if Oren’s life wasn’t dramatic enough already, she will soon encounter the evil sorcerer Yuga. Yuga knows that Oren isn’t just a Queen but that she’s also one of the Seven Sages and that he’ll need her to revive Ganon. Without any witnesses around, Queen Oren gets kidnapped as Yuga traps her as a painting.
Since no one knows where Yuga has taken her, Oren can do nothing but wait for Link to find her in the depths of Lorule’s Swamp Palace and free her from the painting. When he’s done that, Link has rescued Oren from her misfortunes twice and the gratitude she felt the first time he helped her is nothing compared to what she feels now. They both enter the Chamber of Sages but, unfortunately, the Chamber is quite sparse when it comes to storage to keep rewards for lads in green outfits so she can’t give Link anything as thanks this time. However, when all the Seven Sages are freed from their portraits, she will bestow Link something much greater than the Zora’s Flippers with the help of her fellow Sages. Something that shines in gold, has pointy edges and will be of great use to save Hyrule, Lorule and Princess Zelda.
While Link is busy going on heroic adventures, Oren waits in the Chamber of Sages until it’s safe to return to the Zoras, who surely must be worried sick about their missing Queen. Once Link has saved Hyrule and its counterpart Lorule, Queen Oren is finally back in Zora’s Domain with her Underlings dancing of joy, and she’s once again in her personal pool. Perhaps she will stay in there for a while, soak in her people’s admiration and let herself be treated like the royalty she is. I know I would after such a dramatic experience but, unfortunately, I’m only a mere human living a very calm and ordinary life. I may not have a pool to swim in, but I do live relatively close to a few beaches. The next time I go to one, perhaps I will pretend to be a Zora. Or even a very royal one.
