Swimming Lesson
by Violetlight
Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda and all associated settings and characters belongs to Nintendo. I am borrowing their world for entertainment purposes only.
Author's Note: This story takes place in the same continuity as my other Breath of the Wild story, "Zelda's Redemption". Please give it a read!
Zora's Domain sparkled under the warm summer sun, the dappled sunbeams reflecting off the Luminous stone architecture of the Zora's home, causing the entire structure to light up. It was the perfect time, Mipha decided, to show her baby brother more of their home than he usually saw from his nursery pool. The young Zora Princess, not quite yet adolescent, held up the waterproof satchel she was wearing, so the little head peeking out of the bag could have a better look.
"… and these, Sidon, are the stairs up to Papa's throne room," she smiled as her baby brother's big, golden eyes grew wide, and he squeaked in excitement. "Aren't they big? One day, we'll climb them together."
The tiny tadpole's attention was not on the stairway for long. Neither was his sister's, as she heard a familiar, definitely not Zora "hiya!" from the lower level of the domain, followed by certainly Zora laughter. Following her brother's gaze, Mipha walked over to the balcony overlooking the rest of the domain, and peeked over the edge.
Sure enough, Link and Bazz were sparring again. The blond, 10 year old Hylian boy was holding his own against the more experienced guard captain's son, even with the disadvantage of a shorter training stick. He held it out in front of him by one end like a sword, and parried a stab from Bazz's more conventional "spear" trainer, only for the black-scaled Zora boy to spin the stick in his hand like a baton and sweep the Hylian's feet out from under him. Link landed on his backside with an "umph", and Bazz held out a friendly hand to help him up.
"You're getting better at dealing with spears, Link! Soon I bet you'll be as good with them as you are swords! Dad might even let you train with Riven, Gaddison and me!"
Link accepted his friend's hand and got up. He turned the practice "sword" over in his hand, and pointed the short end towards Bazz, as if offering the hilt. "How about you train with the 'sword' this time, and give me the 'spear'?"
"Maybe later," Bazz waved away the training stick. "The Brigade's off to swim laps around the reservoir. Being a Royal Guard's about more than just weapons training, after all. Want to come along? I know you can't swim like one of us, but it's hot out today. A swim, even a pathetic little Hylian swim, would do you good, especially after that workout."
Link shook his head. "That's okay. Mom's going to be getting off work soon anyway. I should meet her at the Inn."
"But you never come swimming with us!" Bazz whined.
"I can't, okay!"
"Alright, alright. Chill. Next time, okay?"
" … Maybe."
"Okay then. Later Linny!" Bazz laughed as he left, as Link made a face at the nickname that Kodah, a Zora girl who was quite infatuated with the Hylian, had given him.
"Big Bad Bazz the Brat!" Link yelled after him, while sticking out his tongue, about to blow a raspberry, when he heard one blown behind him."
"Sidon! Link, I wish you wouldn't teach Sidon bad manners!" Mipha scolded.
"Mipha! Sorry about that," the Hylian boy gave a sheepish smile. "Hi Sidon! Out for a walk with your big sister?" He kneeled down to satchel height, and laughed as Sidon flashed him a toothy grin.
Mipha had to smile at the pair of them, until she noticed the bruises covering Link's arms. "Hurt again," she told him off.
"It's nothing," Link shrugged. "Just a couple bruises. No big deal. Bazz sometimes just … forgets when we're sparring that I don't have scales."
"Come on, you reckless boy." Mipha grabbed Link's hand.
"Awww, Mipha. Come on! I don't need healing! Mipha!" Try as he may, Link could not escape the Zora Princess' determined grip, as she dragged him upstairs to the pools beneath the throne room, a more out of the way place than the middle of the square, to take care of those bruises.
"There. All better." Mipha admired her handiwork as the last of the round, purplish bruises reverted back to the smooth, soft pale skin Link's arm normally had, such a contrast to protective Zora scales, and so much more easily hurt. It still amazed Mipha that Hylians even considered becoming knights in the first place, when they could be so easily injured.
What Hylians lacked in durability, however, they more than made up with in courage, if Link was any indication. Usually, that was. "Link, why is it you refuse to go swimming with Bazz and the others?" Mipha asked as her magic healed the last of the brusing. "I've noticed this wasn't the first time you refused him, even though you're more than willing to get into any other trouble that 'Brigade' of his gets in."
"I … um … oh hey! Sidon's sure getting big, isn't he? Is he going to grow his legs soon, or do arms come first? I forget?" Link looked down at the tadpole happily swimming around the pool in front of him and Mipha.
"Link, don't try to change the subject."
Link looked up, to see his friend's eyes gazing into his. He looked away, embarrassed. "I … I can't … I'm sorry Mipha." He looked down again.
Mipha placed a comforting hand on his forearm. "You can't what? It's okay, you can tell me."
"I can't swim." Link said, his normally loud voice a whisper.
"P – pardon?"
"I can't swim. Mom and I, we're from the desert. There's nowhere to swim out there, so I never learned." Link looked up at his friend, who, despite Mipha's best efforts, was still staring in surprise. "Gerudo, and Hylians, I guess, aren't born knowing how to swim like Zora are, and I didn't want to remind Bazz of, well, just how different we are. Not when it took so long for him to be friends with me in the first place."
"Oh Link …" Mipha gave Link hug. After a minute or so, she leaned back, looked her Hylian friend in the eye, and said. "Well, if that's the case, I'll just have to teach you to swim then."
"You'd really do that for me? Wait …" Link raised an eyebrow. "Do you know how to teach a Hylian to swim? I mean, Zora don't have to learn to swim. Zora are hatched swimming! There's proof!" He pointed at the pool, where Sidon, on cue, did a little leap out of the water.
"Little show-off," Mipha smiled at the tadpole, as she slipped into the pool herself. Treading water, she turned to Link. "Are you coming in?"
"You want to teach me here? Isn't this a sleeping pool?"
"Only at nighttime, silly. It's shallow enough, so you'll be fine. Come on in. Don't worry, I won't let you sink."
"Okay … I guess," the Hylian boy stepped back from the pool, and pulled his dark blue tunic over his head. "What?" he asked, seeing Mipha's surprised look. "Mom will kill me if I get another outfit wet."
"It's … it's nothing." Mipha shook her head, and tried to get over her embarrassment. It's not like her own people didn't walk and swim around practically naked by Hylian standards all the time. Still inwardly scolding herself, she turned back towards Link, who was now sitting at the side of the pool, still wearing his trousers, his feet dangling in the water. A curious Sidon swam up to his toes, poked his head out of the water and gave a squeak, as if telling Link to come in.
Still unsure, but with a nod that indicated his trust in his friend, Link slipped into the water himself, holding onto the edge of the pool until he felt Mipha's arms around and under his, holding him up in the water. Cautiously, he let go of the ledge.
"There we are," Mipha assured him. "Let's try treading water first. Just imagine your feet are fins, and kick, and you should be able to keep your head above water by yourself. See how my flippers are moving?"
Link looked down into the pool. "Yeah, I see." He twisted around in Mipha's arms until the two were facing each other. Both children, Zora and Hylian, kicked their feet and flippers almost in unison with the gentle waving of the water. "I …" Link started to let go. "I think I got it!" He moved back away from Mipha, too fast, and with a panicked flailing of arms sunk beneath the surface.
Mipha dove underneath her friend and pushed him back up. As he gasped for air and spat out a mouthful of water, she gave an encouraging smile. "Slower this time …"
For the rest of the warm afternoon, into the twilight of a late summer sunset, Mipha and Link practiced, Link at swimming, Mipha at teaching, with baby Sidon circling around the pool, giving encouraging squeaks to his sister and her student, until all the two older children managed to crawl out of the pool, and collapsed into an exhausted pile, the little tadpole falling asleep suspended in the water right next to them.
"So that's where you've been." A very large, blue-scaled Zora reached down and scooped up his sleeping daughter in one massive arm, while he scooped up his son into the long-forgotten satchel with the other. King Dorephan turned to his companion. "I believe that one is yours, Mira."
The Gerudo woman nodded. "I apologize for any trouble my son may have caused, your Majesty." She scooped up her sleeping son herself.
"Nonsense. He's a good child, and Mipha and Sidon adore him. If it weren't for the importance of your work with the Gerudo Town water supply, I'd insist the two of you stay longer." Dorephan assured her.
Mira sighed. "It's really been a wonder, to be somewhere with so much water. I've learned more than I ever thought possible from the engineers who work with your dams, but I must bring those lessons back home soon. Link, however …" Mira paused.
"What is it?" Dorephan asked gently.
"He's getting too old to bring back with me. I knew this day would come, he is a voe, after all, but I didn't think it would be so soon … I'm going to have to send him to live with his father."
"He is a Hylian Knight, isn't he?"
"Yes. And the last I heard, Marcus was stationed at the Moor Garrison …"
Dorephan smiled. "That's not too far from the Domain. Perhaps that news will help Link ease into the transition a bit better, knowing his friends will be nearby."
"Looks like you'll be getting a lot more swimming lessons," Mira placed a kiss on her slumbering son's forehead, and the two parents parted ways, comforted that their children's friendship would get them through the hardships to come, as sure as the cool breeze on a summer's night.