Could everyone please stand for her royal majesty, Princess Ruto.
Feisty, headstrong, and a tad spoiled, the princess of the Zora’s is not your average damsel in distress, but then again, who is in the land of Hyrule? A tomboy in her own right, Ruto is the sole embodiment of a child who has little fear, something that our green-hatted hero can undeniably relate to.
One moment, Ruto is casually feeding her whale deity some tasty protein goodness, when suddenly, her prized heirloom is sucked into the abyss of a fishy stomach. This is not just the moment in the ever-fragile timeline of Ocarina of Time that kick-starts Link’s watery adventures, but also the moment that defines both the start of who Princess Ruto is as a child and the fish-queen she is destined to be.
Prior to Link’s arrival and after King Zora’s refusal to give up the Spiritual Stone of Water, Ganondorf had already made his presence known at Zora’s Domain by cursing Lord Jabu-Jabu with an army of monsters led by the electrifying Barinade. In addition to this comes the disappearance of the Zora’s princess, Ruto. Link journeys to Zora’s Domain to inquire about the Spiritual Stone of Water, also known as the Zora’s Sapphire, but once inside, it is revealed that the sapphire is with Ruto, whose whereabouts are currently unknown. Link investigates the princess’s sudden disappearance and in the waters of Lake Hylia finds a bottle containing a letter supposedly written by the missing royal. The letter states that she is stuck inside the guardian god, Lord Jabu-Jabu, and requires rescuing.
Learning of his daughter’s fate, King Zora grants Link access to Lord Jabu-Jabu, who swallows the boy when he presents the guardian with a delicious fish (the god loves his fish). Once inside the monster-riddled belly of Lord Jabu-Jabu, Link quickly locates Princess Ruto, who denies writing any letter and thus refuses the need for assistance, telling Link that she could care less about her father’s worry and orders him to leave. The Zora princess is on a mission to locate the precious stone she dropped within Lord Jabu-Jabu and will not leave without it, but Link, being just as driven, refuses to leave without Princess Ruto and attempts to convince her to accept his assistance. After much resistance, Ruto finally relents and orders Link to carry her so together they try to recover what has been lost.
Eventually, through tough waters, the Spiritual Stone is found resting atop a raised platform that is too high to climb. Link launches Princess Ruto onto the ledge so she can retrieve the treasured sapphire. The platform was a trap, however, and Ruto is raised into a chamber above and disappears into the void of Lord Jabu-Jabu once again. After battling the Big Octo that descends on the platform in Ruto’s place, Link follows suit to the high unknown, expecting to find the princess waiting.
With no sign of Princess Ruto, Link engages in the final battle against Barinade and, after a gallant defeat, reunites with the Zora princess once more. Clearly shaken by the ordeal, Princess Ruto hides behind her vulnerability by reprimanding Link on how long it took for him to rescue her, but she also compliments him on how “cool” he is, clearly showing a newfound fondness with flirtatious intent.
Appreciation is not Princess Ruto’s strong suit, and despite her independent nature, there is a level of hot-headedness that masks the depth of her characteristics. With the dark past of losing her mother at an early age and having no siblings to confide in, it is no wonder a wall of self-absorption was built. But walls have cracks, and Ruto’s were in the shape of the Zora’s Sapphire that was gifted to her by her late mother. The Spiritual Stone of Water served not only as a royal ritual of the species’ betrothal tradition and the very last life lesson from the late Zora Queen, but it was also the cherished possession of a child that kept her bound to the parent that was lost too soon.
The innocence of a deeply infatuating childhood crush can be a powerful one, but can you blame Princess Ruto after a rescue as heroic as hers? What happened to her in Lord Jabu-Jabu’s belly was no common occurrence, but her rescue was also far from common, so an admirable impression was bond to be made. After proving, in Princess Ruto’s eyes, that he is a worthy future husband, she gifts Link with the Zora’s Sapphire, clearly noting that she is only allowed to give the stone to the man she will marry. She believes the two are now engaged, but little does she know that destiny has a greater plan for them both.
