Crowe here!
Aria here~
Hello guys, this is chapter two already! Wow, we weren't expecting for people to follow this story already in less than a day, and a few even placed this to their favourites already. The two of us were quite shocked, thank you lots for choosing to follow this story! I hope you peeps enjoy the road ahead, we have quite a lot for all of you in store.
For our first review, we're quite glad to hear that you liked it already! We hope you do like this next chapter, verifiaman. Everyone, please do leave us reviews, we won't bite! Constructive criticism is very much welcome, we're growing writers after all. -Aria
Also, we apologize if we somehow steered the characters off their personalities once in a while. We're still struggling on how to portray the characters without being too OOC. While we certainly know them, we do not think like them, thus at some moments, they would be quite OOC. We apologize for that, and we will do our best to portray these characters true to their creator, and give you the best story possible! - Crowe
It was quite a struggle for us to write this chapter, since it's the complete opposite direction of how Saito and Louise met. Yes, Saito will still appear in this fic, but perhaps not in a way you'd think of. Other elements from LoZ: BoTW will show up as well! Do look forward to it, and we'll try not to make the mistake of the elements from another universe being overwhelming. We'll do what we can to merge the two universes together without the other leaking too much.
Now, without further adieu, to the story~
Mipha
The ex-Zora looked around her surroundings in confusion, as the ringing in her ears finally settled down. She could hear a commotion, of various people gasping and speaking in a language the now redhead could not understand. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and even more so when she realized she had eyebrows when she reached up to touch her face.
I… may need to see a mirror soon… But more importantly, am I alive again?
She checked her pulse, something she did often for Hylians whenever she checked up on the injured. She could feel the blood flowing in her veins. She then pinched her… new Hylian skin, and the slight pain from it only cemented the fact.
She was alive again, for some reason, and was turned into a Hylian in the process.
She wondered what the Rito Champion would've done in her case. The Rito was certainly proud of his race, and to be turned into a Hylian must be quite an insult to his pride. Though, the whole "pride" thing was something Mipha could not understand. While she got along well with Revali, there were a few things that they disagreed on. Oddly, the things they mostly disagreed on were all about Link and his circumstances.
It was something that mildly irritated Mipha, who would often send death glares at the Rito whenever she heard him talking smack about her beloved… though, she knew she had no rights to call the Hylian Knight that.
Link…
Just the very name sends a wave of sadness through her. It was possibly something that manifested in her features, as she'd flinched when she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders. She looked up, her vision finally clearing after the bright light she was indulged in. She stared into a pair of brown eyes, filled with a lot of extreme emotions. There was panic in there, fear, and… resignation? Mipha could not understand what sent the pinkette so, but it was a sight that she could simply not stand. She had seen plenty of that expression in Zelda's face during her trials and visits to the various shrines in Hyrule. It was Urbosa who calmed the princess down during those moments… Perhaps she could do the same for this girl?
She smiled serenely at the girl, something that seemed to have stopped the pinkette in her place.
"What is wrong? Do not be afraid," she called out, as she'd reached out to the pinkette and let her magic do its piece. A bright green light enveloped her hands, and softly entered the person's life stream before her. While her magic is commonly used to heal, she could also use it to calm people down.
Though, it seemed like her magic only did the opposite.
The pinkette only seemed to panic even further, as she'd seemed to… bow her head at her? She was speaking rather quickly too, and the ex-Zora could not understand any word she said. This only worried the redhead even further.
Why did my healing not work on her? This is… strange…
The expression on MIpha's face could only be classified as "troubled". She kept her smile, but her eyes were definitely deeply shining in concern. She reached forward for the pinkette, and hugged her… surprisingly smaller frame. Despite herself, this caused the redhead to blink.
Did I… grow a few feet?
Now that she realized it, she was feeling a little sick. Everything around her seemed to be… closer than before. While she was at it, she took in the sight of her surroundings. There were a few… young looking Hylians around her that seemed to be in the same age as the pinkette before her. Though, Mipha could not estimate the age.
Time was, after all, merely trivial to her.
Their surprisingly young looks didn't surprise her though. She'd heard of Hylian Schools before from Princess Zelda during one of their tea parties. It was a hot topic of discussion in Hyrule back then, and the princess was taking opinions from her.
What did surprise her was the… plethora of colours she could see before her. Hair was coloured before her quite variously, some were in shades of blue, others were a familiar shade of blonde. Her eyes took them in one by one, though particularly stopping at a certain tan-skinned redhead.
A… Gerudo…? No… she doesn't have the features of one, but her skin and hair…
It was curious for her. Perhaps that was what Gerudos in this place looked like? She had seen various Gerudos, and some looked more Hylian than others. Wait… Now that she noticed, their ears… they were round.
Are… they Hylians? No… they're humans.
Now, Mipha's surprise only grew larger at this. She'd heard of humans before despite their elusiveness in Hyrule. They were a topic of discussion from Princess Zelda… again. At this point, Mipha idly noted that she learned quite a lot from the princess.
Wait, that isn't important right now!
She quickly scolded herself as she'd returned her attention back to the pinkette she was holding in her arms. She noted how the pinkette seemed to freeze in place. This brought a new wave of worry in Mipha.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?" she asked, flinching slightly when she heard her voice. It was… quite new, compared to her voice when she was a Zora. There was a subtle difference there, it was deeper than when she was a Zora, and perhaps lighter than Zelda's. The pinkette before her shook her head, and stared at her in confusion. She spoke to Mipha, in a language that the latter could not quite understand. This caused a slight frown on the redhead's lips as she shook her head to signify she could not understand what the pinkette was saying. The pinkette nodded idly at that, before turning to speak with a… bald adult human.
Mipha tilted her head, her frown only growing more prominent. Just where was she? As a champion, she had gone all over the continent. The place was a landscape she did not recognize, along with the buildings in the area. The clothes they wore were certainly not new to her eyes, but there was a sense of… uniqueness in them that the ex-Zora could not quite put her hands on. They also held wands on their hands, and she idly noted the… strange creatures with them.
Wait, creatures?
When her eyes landed on a blue winged lizard creature, her body tensed up. Her eyes widened in alarm, as she'd felt every instinct in her to be prepared. While the creature was certainly smaller than the three primordial spirits she had seen and read about, it still had that essence. There was no doubt about it, that the creature was a dragon.
The dragon may have noticed her reaction, as it seemed alarmed as well. The blue-haired young girl that stood beside dragon noted the exchange, and Mipha noticed how the girl's muscles tensed up around her book, and her staff. It was a sign that the girl was ready to retaliate, if ever the Zora Princess decided to attack.
Being hostile wasn't Mipha's thing; that was Revali's. When she saw that the dragon wasn't attacking, she idly noted that perhaps the dragon was peaceful by nature… or tamed by the blue-haired girl beside it. The latter idea was absolutely ludicrous, but she could just not throw that idea away, especially with how the bluenette reacted to her. She let her tension go away, though still wary in case the dragon attacked her. The last time she came into contact with one, it shot electricity at her.
It wasn't a fun experience.
Then, out of the blue, she heard laughter around her. Mipha looked around, bewildered by the situation. Why were the students laughing? She saw the Gerudo-like student talk to the pinkette, who was talking to the adult human, before her, and the pinkette looked downright embarrassed. The pinkette bit her lip, and snapped back, but the redhead only spoke more in the language Mipha could not understand. More laughter erupted after the "Gerudo's" remark.
The pinkette looked visibly frustrated… But that wasn't the only thing that Mipha noticed.
Behind the eyes clouded in anger, there was pain in there. A pain that Mipha all knew too well, a pain that she kept seeing whenever she stared into Link's eyes. She stared at the pinkette, and an image of Link superimposed itself on her. This brought a reaction out of the normally shy pacifist Zora Princess. She quickly rushed to the pinkette's aid, her trident pointed at the redhead, as everything around them quieted down. The laughter receded, and replaced with gasps of shock… and disgust that the redhead could sense from them.
The shock, she could understand. Out of all the champions, she was one who normally talked things down. If she did such a thing before them, they would be visibly shocked at her. Though, it wasn't like anyone could blame the ex-Zora. She just died after all, and her regrets of leaving Link behind and not being able were still fresh in her mind.
She just wasn't going to let it happen again, especially not when she was given a new chance at life.
She heard one of the students speak out, and she turned her attention at him. He was lavishly dressed, his chest area opened for all to view, and he carried a rose on one of his hands. When she met his angry gaze, he seemed to suddenly stop, and his jaws seemed to slacken as he stared unabashedly at the redhead.
Why… why is he staring at me like that?
At this, Mipha felt uncomfortable, and quickly tore her gaze away from the blond. It… sent a really bad sensation on her skin, as she could feel her… pores open up?
"Is this what Urbosa talked about 'having goosebumps'?" Mipha mumbled. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, and she immediately rubbed her skin with her freehand. Feeling soft skin instead of scales caused her to have a double take instead.
This… is going to take some time getting used to…
She felt a hand touch her shoulder behind her, and she turned her head to meet who it was. It was the pinkette she rushed to protect from the undoubtedly bullying from the Gerudo-like student before her.
No… She isn't a Gerudo.
Gerudos are an honourable race. They would not stop low so much to bully other people. Exchanging unpleasantries, sure, but not outright bullying.
The pinkette spoke to her, still in that language she could not understand. But through the emotions, Mipha could feel it. It was a tone mixed with hope, and perhaps longing, contained within a plethora of darker emotions, such as fear, panic, and other things. A sad smile appeared on Mipha's lips as she'd contemplated what she should do. It was obvious that they could not communicate to each other very well, and while Mipha is a master on reading other people's emotions, things could still be very different depending on the words they chose to speak.
It was something she learned under the guidance of her mentor.
She's hoping… Perhaps… she's asking me why I'm protecting her…?
It was the only reasonable explanation. Mipha wasn't one for logic, but that didn't mean she wasn't smart. She was certainly so, capable of even matching Princess Zelda with her intellect, but she lacked the curiosity that the Hylian Princess had. She let her emotions rule more than logic most of the time. Hoping she was correct, the redhead nodded.
To her fortune, it seemed like she performed the right gesture. The pinkette visibly brightened, a bright smile appeared on her lips, before her visage was replaced with panic once again. She spoke to Mipha again, still in the language she could not understand. She decoded the mixture of emotions in her voice, and she managed to pick out concern, and fear.
…
Perhaps Mipha truly needed to learn how to speak their language after all.
She pointed to where she believed her ear should be, and shook her head. This caused laughter to erupt once again, but a tap of Mipha's trident on the ground ceased it almost immediately. The pinkette before her sighed, before turning to talk with the bald man once again. The two exchanged some words, before the bald man nodded. He turned to the redhead, and waved his staff. A soft light enveloped Mipha, causing her eyes to widen slightly, and move in panic, but realized that the light wasn't doing anything. The bald man smiled at her bitterly at that.
"I'm sorry to startle you, can you understand me?"
Mipha's eyes widened at that, and a bright smile appeared on her lips. Finally! She could understand what he was saying.
"Yes, yes I can understand," she supplied, surprising herself with her enthusiasm, before she halted. While she could understand them… did that mean the same for them though?
"Ah, I can understand you now!" the pinkette next to her spoke. The Zora Princess felt relieved.
Louise
What had she done? What had she done?! She just obviously summoned a noble from far away to be her familiar! This was blasphemy! She would get expelled at this rate, but most of all…
She's going to be angry!
To her credit, Louise managed to hold back the tears that threatened to spill on her face. She had just created another failure, and now, she just dragged someone into one of them. The burning shame filled her chest, and the constricting of her throat made it hard for her to speak. She was going to get expelled at this rate, she was going to go home with zero marks of her talent, and her mother will be furious. She will not only be a failure to herself, but also to her family.
In some corner of her mind, she idly noted how well she would do as a maid instead. When the redhead was looking around confusingly, and reached a hand on her face, Louise quickly misunderstood that. She quickly knelt before the noble, grasping her shoulders out of desperation.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry to have summoned you, please forgive me for this crime. I didn't wish to summon a great noble like you, please have mercy on me," she pleaded the noble, who only looked more confused than anything. Louise watched the noble's visage turn from one of confusion into… an oddly calm and serene smile.
It was a sight that shocked Louise. An image of her elder sister Cattleya imposed itself on the noble's impossibly calm expression. She couldn't help but feel a little bit of comfort already from her. The noble before her spoke in a language she hadn't heard of before, and she watched as her arms reached up to her. Green light began glowing from her hands, and Louise felt warmth, and comfort run in her veins. However, it wasn't really that effective.
She could use magic! She truly is a noble!
She quickly pulled back, her eyes only widening more and more in fear of what the noble's family would do to her. Worse, she would need to give up her body just to appease them, but she knew her mother wouldn't let that happen. A full-scale war could potentially happen instead, and according to the features of the noble, she couldn't really tell which country.
Actually, was she even just a noble? From her stature, her attire, and her tiara… She looked more of a princess.
Dear Founder, she summoned a princess. More panic welled up in her, as her eyes stung really hard. She bit her lower lip, and prayed to the Founder to give her strength, and not to abandon her. Her pulse quickened its pace, and she swore she was breathing shortly enough to cause her to faint. Though, right now, it seemed like everything was quickly falling apart for her. She immediately bowed at the noble, and she distinctly heard the gasps of her classmates.
"I'm sorry, your Highness, I apologize for taking advantage of you, I apologize for summoning you, it wasn't in my interests to take you away from your royal family, your Highness. I apologize for my transgressions, I am a failure of a mage, and I merely wished to prove myself. I never wanted this to happen. I was desperate and-" anything else Louise wanted to say was immediately cut off as she felt a pair of arms wrap her frame.
This caused her to freeze, as she'd realized just who was hugging her. It was the very same princess that she summoned.
Why…?
Once again, she could see the image of Cattleya superimposing the redhead before her. The embrace was filled with warmth, and she swore she could feel it flowing through her body. She didn't notice anything else, as she drowned herself in the comfort being emitted by the summoned princess… Any thought that plagued her seemed to escape her mind, even the nagging of her being a failure seemed to go away momentarily. It felt like moments passed by, as she recalled her fondest memories with her sister, who always calmed her down. She was snapped out of her reminiscing, as she'd heard the concerned voice of the princess speak to her. She drew back, albeit reluctantly, as she'd stared at the princess before her.
Her yellow eyes were shining with so much concern, it made Louise feel unworthy. She shook her head at her, to tell that she couldn't understand a word she was saying.
"Why… are you comforting me?" she asked. This time, it was the princess' turn to shake her head. Understanding that this conversation wouldn't go anywhere, she just nodded at the princess' reaction. She left the embrace, despite her reluctance to remain in it, and turned her attention to her professor.
"Mr. Colbert, can I do the summoning again?" she asked, as she'd worriedly stared at the princess, who was looking in bemusement around her. Colbert shook his head at her.
"I can't let you do that," he said grimly, as he'd stared at the princess as well.
"Why?"
"This is a sacred ceremony that determines a mage's life. Redoing it would be a desecration of the ceremony. Regardless of where you'd like it or not… she has been decided to be your familiar spirit… Even though, she's a noble," Colbert mumbled the last part to himself.
It was a sentiment that Louise both shared and didn't. She was fearing for the royal family might come to her in search of their missing daughter, and might ask for her head in repentance.
She didn't want that.
"But… I've never heard of a human being taken as a familiar spirit," Louise spoke weakly. This time, laughter erupted around her, as her eyebrows furrowed, and her eyes glistened in the unshed tears.
"I remember you telling me you would summon a familiar greater than ours, and you summoned a human, albeit she's dressed for the part. This was worth it! Did you pay her to wear those clothes too?" Zerbst laughed boisterously.
She bit her lower lip at that, frustration and failure gnawed into her once again.
"I only screwed up a little!"
"A little? You screw up all the time, Louise the Zero," the redhead bit back. More laughter erupted, and Louise felt like running away. She didn't need to be reminded of her failure, not to mention she just summoned a princess of all classes. She had every part of it, every royalty in her bone, then why did these people simply regard her as a commoner in lavish clothes?
Why… Why do I have to go through this…?
Louise wanted to shout the unfairness of the world, when a blur suddenly appeared before her. She gasped when she realized the princess was standing before her, her trident raised at the Zerbst in visible challenge. It wasn't her who was stunned, the other students as well as they've quieted down. She eyed the princess standing before her, and she noticed how frail she actually looked like. Her limbs were certainly not layered with muscles, which is a wonder to Louise how she was even able to carry the heavy looking trident.
Though, the sight before her only cemented the fact she truly summoned a princess. She was carrying herself with confidence, and didn't waver in her position, despite how outnumbered she was. Louise had to admire that.
"You, you dare point your oversized fork at a noble?!" a boy called out, someone that Louise immediately recognized as Guiche. She turned her attention at him, and when she noticed the princess did as well, it was no surprise to Louise when Guiche's mouth dropped open as he'd openly admired the princess.
Honestly, it disgusted Louise for him to stare at her like that. She was a princess through and through, staring so unabashedly is a crime! She noticed the discomfort of the princess, as she quickly rubbed her arms. Perhaps, possibly to get rid of the goosebumps she was feeling. Louise couldn't blame her, if she was in the same position, she would do the same. Knowing that the situation might escalate further, the pinkette inhaled deeply.
Rule of steel… Rule of steel…
Louise steeled herself, and walked towards the princess. She placed a hand on her shoulder, gesturing her to turn around and stare at the pinkette. Her yellow eyes seemed to glow in wonder, and concern, something that Louise was captivated with.
"Are you… protecting me?" Louise asked, instead of telling the princess to calm down.
The princess stared at her in response, and with each passing second, Louise could feel her breathe shortening in anticipation. The princess seemed to contemplate her answer, which is curious since they couldn't understand each other. If Louise had to guess, the princess was probably trying to tell what she said using the emotion in Louise's voice.
In a moment of glory, she saw the princess nod her head, and smile at her altogether. Relief hastily spread through her, a smile managed to find its way to her lips as she'd glorified in the fact that the princess was protecting her… Before it died down as she'd realized in a panic that the princess might be protecting her as an order from the familiar runes…
"Are, are you alright with this? I mean… becoming my familiar?" she asked, this time rather timidly. The princess stared at her again, seemingly conflicted of how to answer, before sighing. She pointed to her ears, and shook her head, meaning she couldn't understand exactly what Louise meant.
Or, that she's deaf, but that's not possible…
Laughter erupted around them, but before it truly took a toll on Louise, she watched the princess hit the ground with the blunt end of her trident. Despite the soft noise of the soil, it echoed all over the clearing. She was truly defending Louise, but this only caused the pinkette to sigh.
She turned to Colbert once again.
"Mr. Colbert, can you please use a translation spell?"
"Hm… Yes, perhaps so we can clarify things."
The old man waved his staff, and light covered the princess like a blanket. The princess looked panicked, as she'd hurriedly moved her trident in a posture to defend herself. It was a sight that caused heavy amounts of guilt in Louise's heart. She probably thought they were attacking her, and this didn't bode well with the pinkette. She was responsible for summoning her here after all, and to be treated like that was certainly not likable. She would've complained in a similar fashion herself, perhaps with an explosion or two.
"I'm sorry to startle you, can you understand me?" Colbert called out. Louise watched as the redhead's eyes widened, and a bright smile appeared in her lips. She was taken aback with the purity of her smile, and how the expression of happiness was portrayed almost perfectly. She was so animated at the moment, and it surprised Louise.
"Yes, yes I can understand," she supplied, before she halted visibly
Does she think we couldn't understand her…?
"Ah, I can understand you now!" Louise spoke out this time. The princess was visibly relieved, as she placed a hand over her heart, and sighed.
"Thank goodness, I was wondering how I would be able to… communicate with you," she said, her voice bordering on shyness as she kept her tone more subdued this time around.
"The same could be said for me. Ah, I apologize, your Highness. I summoned you here without warning…"
"No, no, it's fine. I was just floating around anyway," she answered, her tone still soft. For some reason, she seemed to act more subdued than earlier. She was certainly assertive when she hugged her suddenly, and when she moved to defend her… I wonder what changed?
"And, uh-uhm… Please don't call me your Highness, just Mipha is alright," she said as her arms waved in slight embarrassment.
So, she is a princess, an… odd one at that.
Louise frowned grimly at that, along with Mr. Colbert. Currently, only the three of them could hear each other since the others were still far away from their current circle.
"Hey, what are you talking about, let us in!" Zerbst spoke up.
"Shut up!" Louise snapped. The redhead huffed, before crossing her arms.
"It's probably not important then, just-"
"Please, can I tell you to stop there?" the pri- Mipha asked, her tone still sweet despite the clear signs of anger present in her eyes. Since the students can now understand her, they were taken aback by the authority behind her voice, despite the softness she used to speak with them. This very surprise caused the Zerbst to open and close her mouth like a fish, and Tabitha to stare widely at Mipha.
Louise was visibly very happy to see that.
"You are just a commoner, you don't tell us what to do!" One of the students protested.
Stop, don't say that! Louise panicked. She watched as Mipha continued staring impassively. For some reason, the smile on her face, despite its serenity and calmness, looked terrifying.
"I wasn't telling you what to do," she said, before turning her attention back to the two of them. Louise eyes widened at the unspoken words, and it was a thought shared with the students.
"My apologies for my... unlikable actions. Allow me to introduce myself properly," she said, clearing her throat slightly. It was actually pretty adorable, with the small flush on her cheeks being the only factor that she was naturally shy, and she was doing this out of her comfort zone.
"I am Princess Mipha, daughter of King Dorephan, and the elder sister of Prince Sidon of the Zora's Domain in Hyrule. A pleasure to be of your acquaintance," she said politely, every word she spoke seemed to be practiced, rather than flowing out naturally of her.
It's not within her nature to boast, I see…
Louise was still panicking, that's for sure since she definitely summoned a princess. The redhead practically announced it to the two of them. She glanced at Colbert, whose eyes were wide in disbelief… as well as fear.
Ah, it looked like he was going through the same state of emotions that Louise went through.
"I-I see. It's a pleasure too, your Highne- Mipha. I am Jean Colbert. My runic name is Enjya the Flame Snake, a Square-Class fire mage. I'm currently the professor of these children," he introduced himself in a formal manner. Louise followed suit quickly.
"I am Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière, the third daughter of Duke de La Vallière and Karin the Heavy Wind. My runic name is… none…" Louise said, trailing off as she'd realized she couldn't give anything more than her name and her family bloodline. The pri- Mipha nodded at that, with all regality of a ruler… which somehow suited her a lot.
"Pleased to meet you both, Mr. Colbert, Ms. Vallière. And please, we don't have to go for formalities, I'm… actually a little uncomfortable with them," she said, shifting in her spot slightly. She turned to Louise, who was frozen in her spot.
"Are you… the one who summoned me here?" she asked. Louise could only nod. Mipha continued staring at her… before nodding.
"I see. Then… I suppose you are my master?"
Louise and Colbert blinked at that.
"Y-you're… accepting this position?" Colbert asked for Louise, who was visibly stunned. The redhead nodded.
"Yes... Is there a problem?" she asked, tilting her head. Her eyebrows furrowed cutely, as her mouths seemed to pout forwards at that.
"Th-there is! A lot of them," Colbert accidentally shouted, startling the students. To Mipha's credit, she only blinked at his outburst.
"A-ah, I apologize, your high- Mipha," Colbert corrected himself. Mipha smiled sadly at him.
"It's fine, Mr. Colbert, please, don't be afraid of me," she said. This time, it was Louise who spoke.
"Are you really fine with this? Won't your family look for you?"
Louise didn't fail to notice the brief flash of pain in her visage.
"Ah… That's…. It's a little bit… complicated, but… I won't be able to see them again."
Colbert seemed to have gotten the memo, but Louise didn't. Louise was about to ask again, when she felt Colbert's hand on her shoulders.
"I… understand. But, surely, do you mind if I report this to the palace? The… current rulers of Tristain would need to know of these… recent developments," he said, choosing his words carefully. Mipha nodded.
"I don't mind. You may go do so," she said.
"Then, Louise, finish the ritual."
"E-eh?! Truly, is it fine with you?" she asked. The princess nodded, and didn't answer any further. "O-okay then," she said, nodding to herself, and breathing deeply. The students in the surrounding seemed to finally understand what was going on, and some of the more perverted bunch called her on.
Louise blushed at that.
"i-it's an honor, your highness."
"Please, Vallière, just MIpha."
For the second time in a while, Louise smiled. "My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière," she said, pointing her wand at Mipha. "Pentagon that governs the five powers, give this female your blessing and make it my familiar spirit." Wrapping her arms behind the taller female's neck, she leaned upwards to kiss her. It was a chaste kiss, and Mipha visibly blushed at the closeness.
"Wh-wh-wh-w-hw-h-wh-w-h-wha?" Mipha asked, her face fully red now as she'd pulled away from Louise. The latter was blushing too, as she'd mumbled her answer very quickly.
"That was how to end the ritual."
Mipha really didn't understand that, but soon found herself hissing in pain.
"M-my body… Why is it hot?" she called out, as she'd dropped down to her knees. Louise quickly went over to help, keeping her from collapsing on the grass.
"A familiar's spirit rune is being carved onto you. I'm sorry, it's a painful process from what I've read," Louise answered, biting her lower lip. She felt bad for not telling her the princess that, it simply slipped her mind.
"I… see," the redhead answered, as she very visibly clenched her teeth to hold back her pain. Louise watched on worriedly, as the princess gripped her left hand which was currently glowing. Runes appeared on them, which elicited a sudden "oh" from Colbert. Once it was over, the poor princess passed out.
"Mipha!" Louise called out as the princess collapsed in her arms, the trident falling on the ground.
Mipha
"Children, I need you to be strong, okay? You don't need to be afraid; the ones coming over are merely Hylians and a Hylian child, the same as your age. Perhaps you can get along with the child," Mipha spoke to her children situated near her. They were children that Mipha completely adored, children she would go through heavens and back to protect. It was her duty to help her citizen, and they were no exception. The children nodded, still looking rather timid and shy despite the odds. One of them was clinging on Mipha's leg, and didn't wish to separate from her.
"Hmph, they have every right to be scared. These Hylians are no good for us; they will simply make use of us like before. This 'diplomatic mission' is nonsense. There must be some strings attached," her mentor, Muzu, spoke. He had his arms crossed
"Muzu, old friend, I know that we… had some difficulties with them from the past, but they wish to rectify those mistakes. We must do it as well, for the sake of peace in Hyrule," Mipha's father spoke, his voice echoing slightly in domain. He was easily larger than any other Zora, easily half the torso of a Great Fairy.
"Peace? Hmph, they're just wishing for our aid for the possible coming threat known as 'Calamity Ganon'. Preposterous, I tell you."
"Muzu," her father warned. She had never heard her father speak in such a tone before. It scared her, and it was a sentiment shared with her brother. Fortunately, her mentor took the hint and suitably shut his mouth.
Mipha sighed. They haven't even met the Hylians yet, and they were already this tense.
"Presenting to His Majesty, the Hylian Diplomats!" One of the Zoras spoke. Mipha felt the child tremble slightly, and she placed a calming hand over his head.
"Calm down, children. They won't hurt you," Mipha said, her serene smile on her lips. The children looked at her, before nodding in resolution and looked back at the coming Hylians. Once the Hylians approached near the king, they kneeled…
Except for one very particular Hylian child.
"Woah, you're so big!" the child called out, his round blue eyes sparkling as he'd stared at the kid. The Zora around them gasped in shock. The child had the audacity to call the king out as "big". Mipha was no exception from being shocked, but she also found the child… adorable. He was staring at her father with big starry eyes, the curiousness in them present for everyone to see.
"Link!" One of the soldiers whispered at him, reprimanding the boy. To his credit, he didn't look ashamed from what he just did.
"This insolent chi-" Muzu tried to reprimand the child, but Mipha's father merely laughed loudly.
"This child, I like him!" he spoke, causing even more of the Zora to widen their eyes and stare in shock. The child seemed pleased at that, as he'd quickly walked forwards. Some of the Hylians tried to move, but immediately returned to their spots. They didn't dare wish to incur the Zora King's wrath after all.
But this child, he didn't seem to care. He cheerfully walked towards the king, and held his hand out.
"I'm Link! You are?" he asked her father. Mipha looked at the exchange between the two, her father's growing grin out of amusement, and the child's troublemaking grin present on his face.
"I'm King Dorephan, Ruler of the Zora Domain. It is a pleasure to meet you, Link," he said, holding a finger out for Link to shake with his small hands. Link did so, with a huge grin before he moved his attention to her. He walked towards her, and Mipha found herself adoring the child even further when she noticed that he waddled slightly. She didn't know if it was pent-up hyperness, or if it was a quirk of his. Either way, she wanted to find out why he did such.
"I'm Link! You are?" he asked, doing the same with his hand out. A fond smile graced Mipha's lips, her yellow eyes shining in amusement.
"Mipha, the daughter of King Dorephan. These are the children of the Zora Domain, I hope you get along with them," she said, introducing herself and the children. She reached out as well, and shook his hand. When Link did the same to the child hiding behind MIpha, but the latter was shy, and hid behind her legs again.
"Child, don't be shy. Come on, it's not so bad," she said, helping the child to reach his arms out at the Hylian. To her surprise, instead of Link letting his cheerful and hyperness affect him, he stood still and waited for the child to come into contact with his hand. His smile seemed very encouraging as well.
This surprised the Zora Princess. When did he learn to do that?
Once the two shook their hands, Link grinned hugely, and went ahead to shake the hands of every other Zora child. They were certainly surprised, with only Mipha and her father looking at the child with some sort of familial care in their eyes. Though, Mipha noticed the amount of bruises and nicks all over the child's body, as well as her ruffled clothes. She grew concerned at that, and immediately questioned the Hylian diplomats… Surprising her father with her… assertiveness.
"Ah… Link here was, er… Too hyper, and ran all over the place while we were on the way here, and he, ah, found himself in a bunch of bushes, in a Lizalfos camp, and maybe rough housed with a few of the woodland creatures when we took our eyes off him for a second," one of the Hylians answered sheepishly.
…
Okay, perhaps he was just truly hyper which was why he decided to waddle than walk properly. Mipha laughed softly at that. The child was definitely a troublemaker. She walked over him, causing him to look up at her with his blue rounded eyes.
"Let me heal your injuries, oh brave one," Mipha said, finding her humour. To her credit, the child seemed to smile sheepishly at that, and stood still. Mipha reached out with her hands, healing the child with her spell…
Finally, Mipha opened her eyes. When the Zora Princess came to, she was currently lying on a bed with a pair of blankets covering her. She had to squint her eyes slightly, as she tried to see with what little light the room provided. She made out some white walls, a few wooden furniture in the room, and a closet. Sitting near to her bedside, was the pinkette she met earlier- Louise.
She liked the girl, though her… rather bold actions left Mipha slightly flustered, and couldn't exactly meet her in the eye. She could feel a bit of her blood rush into her cheeks as a reaction, and it was something she didn't like. When she was a Zora, she didn't have to deal with this… so called "blushing" that Princess Zelda became accustomed to during her… days with Link.
A heavy sigh escaped her lips, causing a certain pinkette the "eep" on the side. Though, her sudden noise also startled Mipha, as she jerked up and stared at her.
"Is… something wrong?" she asked, tilting her head.
"N-no… A-are you unsatisfied? I mean, I know my bed isn't quite sufficient to provide you for comfort, but, ah, it was the only thing I've had and-"
Mipha had to smile sadly at Louise, who was frantically telling her excuses, and promising she will do better. While, certainly, this bed was no match for her water bed back at Zora's Domain, it was still rather comfortable to lay on.
"No, no, the bed is… 'sufficient'. Please, don't treat me like royalty, I'm fine being treated normally," the redhead continued, motioning for the pinkette to calm down. Louise visibly took a few breaths in, and Mipha let it. She couldn't blame the youngster, it wasn't every day they had a princess to accommodate to.
Perhaps, this one was for life. Louise will have to get used to it.
"A-ah, I see, I'm glad, but no Princess Mipha, I can't just let down the honorifics. I'm merely a daughter of a duke, and you're a princess, your position is quite higher than mine, and-"
As Mipha stared at the blabbering mess known as Louise, she had a fond smile on her face. It reminded her of how the newborns usually acted when they first met her, and seeing Louise acting exactly like them made her relive that memory for a bit. When Louise noticed the smile on her face, she froze for a bit. The pinkette blushed deeply, as she'd turned away.
"… You enjoyed watching me make an embarrassment of myself, weren't you?"
Mipha's eyes widened, and she quickly denied that claim.
"No, no, no, no! Such act isn't me, I won't step so low, no, you simply reminded me of the younglings back at my domain…" She said, waving her hands around in slight frantic motions. Only Urbosa would've enjoyed that. Goddesses know how much Princess Zelda had to go through with her, she thought in her mind.
"I-I see… H-how young are they?"
"U-uhm… youngest was 4?"
That seemed to have made the pinkette sulk more. It was at this point when Mipha realized her mistake, and she felt like doing one of those facepalms that Revali would often do whenever Daruk and Link would do some… rather crazy things together. She spent the next few minutes, or so trying to coax the pinkette out of her slump. Now, they finally were talking.
"I'm sorry again, for acting like that Prince- Mipha," Louise said, bowing her head slightly in shame.
"Ah… It's alright, Louise," she answered back. At least she has managed to get Louise to call her Mipha without the title and honorifics. In return, she get to call Louise the same, since it was only "fair".
…
…
…
Well, the silence lasted for more than a few seconds. Neither party knew how to start the conversation. In Mipha's case, she was completely new to the area she was in, and she was certain that the place she found herself in wasn't neither in Hyrule, nor near it. She also doubted it was somewhere in the lands away from Hyrule, and perhaps not even the "Twilight Realm" she heard of from the songs of some bard during her stay in Hyrule Castle.
"A-ah! Pri-Mipha, what can you do?" she asked, her voice quivering slightly. While that was a note of concern already for Mipha, she decided to answer her question instead.
"Ah, I'm quite proficient with a trident, and a spear. I've been trained since I was capable of holding either weapons. Sometime down, I took up swordsmanship, but I'm afraid my abilities are subpar with a sword. I'm also quite capable of healing magic-"
"Healing magic?!"
Mipha flinched at this.
"Y-yes, what seems to be the matter, Valle- Louise?"
"Are you a water mage?"
"A water… mage?"
Louise nods feverently, her eyes looked bloodshot.
Scary! She's scary!
For some reason, Mipha had a feeling if she'd answered wrongly, it would end really badly for her. The sight of a visibly haggard Louise, despite her calm expression earlier, frightened her slightly.
Deep breaths… Deep breaths…
Mipha stealthily inhaled and exhaled in front of Louise… Being under the pressure like this was never her strong suit.
"No, I'm no water mage… Though, I'm a good swimmer, I'm no water mage."
Louise frowned at that, her haggard state from earlier seemed to lessen at that... Mipha sighed in her mind, happy that she dropped the topic.
"Then, how are you able to heal."
Scratch that, Mipha found herself in cold sweat.
"Uhm… I can't really explain it myself, but it's more of the ability being born in me, and I'm capable of using it anytime I want-"
The dangerous look in Louise's eyes startled her.
"Any-anytime you want… With chants…?" she asked. Mipha shook her head slowly. A second passed, then another. After four whole seconds, Louise erupted.
"How is that even possible?! No chanting healing magic without it being water magic?"
Mipha found herself in a predicament, as she spent another good hour of coaxing her master from her fit of how her familiar was able to do magic than her, and how it was unique compared to other strands of magic.
Louise
Louise felt bad, as she'd watched Mipha sleeping on the bed. For the past few hours, she had bombarded Mipha with questions on her healing magic, what were its limits, how was she capable of doing so, and such. In the end, she had to retell Brimir and the entire history of Magic. She was surprised how well the princess took it in. In return, she asked where Mipha came from.
The fond smile on Mipha's face, and as she told the stories of her homeland was a sight to behold.
Apparently, Mipha came from a land called "Hyrule", and that she was a former "Zora" who were humanoids with more features of a fish than human. Louise felt guilty, since it looked like she was uncomfortable talking about her legend, and how her homeland was plagued from a threat known as "Calamity Ganon".
The mere name of the threat caused chills to go down Louise's spine. Judging from Mipha's look when she told of the story of the threat in her homeland, she knew that the redheaded princess has lost people. There was this faraway look in her eyes, clouded in pain and yearning that it physically hurt Louise to see her like that. It didn't suit the princess, yet at the same time… It suited her. Perhaps it was the melancholic voice, or her timid attitude that strangely suited her to look… like that.
And Louise hated herself for thinking like that. Who was she to think of others like that? She was a noble, and she could not let herself think of such corrupted thoughts.
Still… with how Mipha described this "Hyrule", she wanted to go visit the place herself. The princess managed to describe it so perfectly, that, for Louise, the place sounded like a complete fantasy realm compared to her world. Even the vast Gerudo Desert sounded great for Louise, even though the princess have never really described the place as much as the others.
Perhaps it was the fact that she was once a being that relied on water to survive that she didn't really describe the place as fondly as the others.
Louise shifted slightly from her chair, sighing as she'd stared at the stack of hay sat beside her bed. She wasn't… quite expecting someone like Mipha to become her… familiar.
…
She'll need to revise that term. It felt wrong to call Mipha her familiar, despite how nicely she was being treated. She knew she was lucky. If it were any other royalty that she's summoned, she knew for a fact that her head would be demanded on a plate for stealing away the summoned royalty.
Perhaps… partner?
…
Friend…?
No, she could not be so selfish to call Mipha her friend immediately… Despite how kind she treated her, and how she coaxed her out of it, when others would've just left her…
… Perhaps, acquiantances will do. For now.
Louise sighs, before stripping down to her sleepwear, and decided to sleep on the desk for now… She'd need to ask the school for a spare bed tomorrow.
How was the chapter? Was it enlightening? Was it comforting? Let us know! We hope all of you would enjoy your day~ Signing off!
