Blood Moon: A Story Before the Calamity

Chapter 22

     It was the next day. Princess Zelda was going to see Urbosa of Gerudo Town. She seemed to be doing quite well as the pilot of Vah Naboris, but Zelda decided she should go pay her a visit anyway. It's been quite a while since she saw Urbosa, and she missed her comforting presence, her steady hand, her loving ferocity.

     That meant Link had the day off. He couldn't go to Gerudo Town anyway, and Urbosa was visiting Hyrule Castle to pick Zelda up. He weighed different options, then suddenly he remembered that he planned to go to Mipha today. 

     A reluctance rose inside him, then fury at himself. He hadn't been to see Mipha in so long, and he was feeling reluctant?  The least she deserved was a visit, for Hylia's sake! Link strapped on his Master Sword and laced his boots. The day was beautiful, a cloudless sky of the deepest blue, the sun spreading its radiance cheerfully. Taking Epona, he made his way to Zora's Domain, with a mess of thoughts plaguing him. He wanted to enjoy this visit. He wanted to give Mipha what she deserved. And the Golden Goddesses forbid he messed it up.

     If he knew what Mipha was planning to do during his visit, he would have turned his horse around and galloped right back to Hyrule Castle.

     When he arrived, Sidon who was playing at taking watch spotted him first. He shrieked, lost his balance on the box he was standing importantly on, and toppled down to the floor. 

     "Siiiiiiiiidooooon!" Mipha raced from the Throne Room. "What have you gotten yourself into now, you little troublemaker?" They tousled for a few moments and they emerged, panting slightly, laughing carelessly, and Mipha finally noticed Link.

     "Link!" She grinned at him, that edge of shyness returning. "There you are! Want to go see Ruta?"

     Mipha led him through the long, winding halls in the belly of the Beast. She showed him the controls that made Ruta stomp her feet or flick her ears good-naturedly. The giant waterwheel chugging along smoothly and the splashing of water created all the atmosphere Mipha needed to do what she wanted to.

     "And here's my favourite part of the Divine Beast..."

     Mipha and Link sat on the trunk of the Divine Beast, slowly rising out of the water of the Reservoir Lake and showering them with sunlight, sparking on the smooth surface of the lake. It was late afternoon, and the birds were calling to each other, crickets were chirping on the shore, life was flourishing all around them. 

     Link's sleeve was rolled up, Mipha quietly healing his wounds, turning her thoughts over in her head. He looked distant, not quite there with her. However, her mind was made up.

     "I was thinking..." She began hesitantly. "This reminds me of the time we first met."

     "You were just a reckless child," A tone of affection crept in to her voice. "always getting yourself hurt at every turn. Every time, I would heal you. Just as I am doing right now."

     "I thought it was funny how, being a Hylian, you looked grown-up so much faster than I did. I was... I was always willing to heal your wounds. Even back then."

     The light faded from Mipha's hands and Link's skin knit itself back together, completely healed. He was silently grateful that she looked at this particular arm. She didn't know he cut, and if she did, who could say what she would think of him then? 

     "So if this Calamity Ganon does, in fact, return, what can we really do?" Mipha was completely open in expressing her doubts, which Link found interesting. "We just don't seem to know much about what we are up against. But know this... No matter how difficult this battle might get, if you--- if anyone ever tries to do you harm, then I will heal you. No matter when, or how bad the wound, I hope you know... that I will always protect you."

     Mipha's hands knit together. "Once this whole thing is over, maybe things will go back to how they were when we were young. You know..." Mipha turned to meet Link's eyes, and he could read a kind of painful hope in her. "Maybe we can spend some time together."

     Mipha... The boy you know, the boy you love, he's gone.

     War had taken him. Pain had swallowed him. Trauma had drowned him. Mipha loved the heart that had once been in Link, before he faded away into this empty shell. She didn't seem to want to accept that Link wasn't the same person anymore, but only wanted the old him back. That was why Link had been reluctant to visit her all this time, preferring to stay away. She expected something of him that he just couldn't fulfil.

     "Link... there's something I want to show you."

     Very slowly, Mipha reached behind her and pulled out a piece of armor. Scales glimmered on it in the radiant afternoon sun, and it was painstakingly made, love in every single stitch, care in every single ornament. Link recognized this armor, of course. His breath hitched, and he made a strangled sound in his throat.

     "Zora armor?" Link whispered, his brain completely blank.

     "Will you accept?" So much love. Link wanted to say something, do something, but he was jammed.

     His mind suddenly became unstuck as the seconds ticked on, and began racing. The good thing to do was accept. Make her happy. Learn to give up what he would have to give up if he married her. She deserved it. She deserved everything he had to give. But...

     The word "yes" was on his tongue. But it was like it was barbed, hooking on to his throat, unwilling to be torn out, leaving behind a bloody mess he didn't want to deal with.

     Suddenly he had an idea. It would buy him time, and time was what he needed, to smooth things over and let himself breathe for a while.

     "Mipha..." He pasted a wry, warm smile onto his face. "Come on. I'm seventeen, remember? Let me have some time to decide." He rested his hand on the Zora Armor, directly above Mipha's hands. "After the Calamity, then we'll see. We're still soldiers, you know. We can't afford to do this at such a time."

     Link hated the hope in Mipha's bright, golden eyes. "Of course. Take all the time you need. I'll always be here, you know."

     When they returned to Zora's Domain, they walked in hand in hand.

     Meanwhile, in Hyrule Castle, Zelda had just returned and was getting to court. The Divine Beast was working perfectly, and Urbosa was as amazing as ever. She had even figured out more ways of attacking with Naboris than Zelda knew herself, which assured her that Urbosa was as capable as it was possible. Naboris was in good hands.

     Her father was early, as always, reading through the mountain of reports. He looked up as Zelda walked in, tired but almost glowing with happiness.

     "Zelda." He frowned. "You've been to visit the Divine Beast again, I take it?"

     Suddenly her joy drained away. "Yes, father."

     King Rhoam sighed, a crease appearing in between his brows. "How many times, Zelda? You are wasting your time! Professionals better in the field of technology than you can check on the Divine Beasts! Your responsibility is not to be discarded like a broken toy!"

     "I know!" Zelda's temper was taking control again. "I understand exactly what is at stake! However, I can't spend every second of my time doing something that is, frankly, pointless!" Zelda angrily pushed away the bitter tears welling in her eyes. "I am trying my best, father. I am offering everything I have! But I have a limit, just like everyone else! I want to feel needed! I want to feel useful, and praying takes everything away from me!"

     "Zelda, when will you learn?" The King was starting to get angry as well. "This isn't about how you 'feel', your teenage emotions. The entire Kingdom is at stake! I cannot let this continue!" He took a deep breath, eyes flashing in fury. "You are not to visit Revali and Vah Medoh. You may not leave the Castle unless you are in a prayer session or other royal business. Is that clear?"

     Zelda felt like her father had torn the breath directly from her lungs, leaving her numb and disorientated. "Yes."

     Zelda took her seat at the meeting table, staring at the reports she had written without actually seeing them. She did not react when Link took his seat behind her, did not see the stricken look underneath his calm face.