Vah Ruta let out another powerful, trumpeting roar just as Link's boots made contact with the grass off the eastern edge of Zora's Domain. He was almost sure the rain had gotten stronger since heading in this direction, signaling their increasing proximity to the Divine Beast. Upon leaving the solid stone surface of the Domain, the soggy mud hiding beneath the grass seemed to grip his ankles as he tried to walk. Looking ahead of him, he noticed the same thing happening to Mira and Noelani's feet.
The trio had passed by a Zora guard named Gaddison, who had been assigned to watch over the eastern bridge leading to the plateau just before Mikau Lake. She seemed to recognize Link from personal encounters before the Great Calamity, but unsurprisingly, Link did not share those memories. Mira and Noelani were well acquainted with her, though, having exchanged warm greetings on their way by. Link thought nothing of their brief meeting, as he figured most of the Zoras in the Domain knew each other on some sort of personal level. Nonetheless, he'd probably have to be filled in later.
With no idea of where his daughters were taking him, Link followed mindlessly as the siblings took a slight turn to the right and began heading toward the massive, stone-chiseled barricade that was situated in the rough rock of the cliffside. The smooth stone it was made of seemed identical to that of the Domain, its aqua hue seeming to glow against the surrounding rock. Something about Zora architecture just seemed...eyepopping to the curious hero.
It wasn't until they further neared the wall-like structure that Link noticed a sideways flight of stairs leading up its face. The stairway continued upwards until it reached the other side of the structure, where it turned around and continued upwards even more. The climb, he admitted, looked rather treacherous. Mira didn't seem intimidated by it, though. Wherever they were going, it must've been a place the siblings visited often. He noticed, however, that Noelani looked slightly uncomfortable.
"This large wall here is actually a dam." Mira stated as the three of them reached the base of the stairs. They stopped walking, and Mira let go of Noelani's trembling hand. "There's nothing but water behind this thick layer of stone. Vah Ruta's putting a lot of strain on it, though, and if it gives, the Domain will be, well…ruined, basically."
Link realized rather awkwardly that he had forgotten why he had been summoned to Zora's Domain in the first place. Meeting his children and getting wrapped up in his past had admittedly distracted him from his main objectives. If Calamity Ganon were to break free from Zelda's grasp tomorrow, for instance, he'd be completely unprepared. He was too far along with Mira and Noelani to turn back now, though, especially since they were helping him remember a critical part of his past. On top of that, he was beginning to feel a growing, familiar connection to them, the likes of which were giving him some comfort after the icy blast that had described his reawakening.
"We're…at…at the stairs, right?" Noelani murmured. Link noticed a bit of unease in the short Zora's expression.
"Yes, Lani, we're just standing at the base. Everything's going to be fine." Mira assured her fragile sister.
Mira looked over at Link, who raised an eyebrow at the events unfolding before him. Considering her father's broken memory, she interpreted the gesture as a silent, 'what's wrong?' She sighed.
"Yeah…you see, Lani's kind of…afraid of heights. She doesn't do well with stairs as a result, and to be honest, I don't blame her. She worries she might lose her footing and fall." The short-finned Zora explained. "We don't usually climb these stairs unless we're with Uncle Sidon, because he'll usually carry her so she doesn't have to climb herself."
"C…Could you…maybe go get Uncle Sidon for me?" Noelani asked quietly, playing with her incredibly long tailfin.
After running it through his head real fast, Link had to remind himself that Prince Sidon was, in fact, Mira and Noelani's uncle. Hearing the prince's name preceded by the word "uncle" sounded very weird to him at first, but then again, it did make sense. It also led to some other interesting family relationships that he didn't bother pondering at the moment. Even now, he was still trying to wrap his head around the information.
Regardless of this, though, he was quickly learning a lot about his daughters' personalities. The deepest parts of their character had already shown themselves to him in the Zoras' eyes, words, and actions. It was more recently, with moments like this and with Gaddison a few minutes prior, that Link was beginning to learn about their mannerisms on the surface.
An obvious one was how introverted Noelani seemed to be. She had proven in the inn earlier that she was capable of powerfully expressing her affection, but in day-to-day scenarios, she seemed quite reserved. Mira seemed to be her voice when interacting publicly. Any sentence she spoke was rare, and as a result, the ones she did speak seemed to carry a lot of significance. That was a trait she must've directly inherited from him, since he knew very well he didn't speak too much. The way she held her thigh-length tailfin in front of her, though, was adorable to him.
He glanced over at Mira, and then back to Noelani. He smirked. "…I'll do you one better."
He walked up to Noelani at the base of the stairs, who was shocked to hear her father speak for the first time in over a hundred years. After removing his gear from his back and handing it quickly to Mira, he bent forward in front of Noelani with his back facing her. He cupped his hands down by his hips. "…Hop on."
She gasped, both surprised and delighted by her father's offering. Without hesitation, the blind Zora held her hands out in front of her and stepped forward, placing her soft palms on Link's shoulders. Then, starting with her right foot, she hoisted herself up onto Link's lowered hands. Once she was elevated properly, she wrapped her legs around his torso and grappled onto his upper body with her arms. Link was now giving her a piggyback ride.
"Shall we ascend?" Noelani exclaimed with a big grin on her face. Mira couldn't help but laugh, touched at Link's generosity. Even with so little of his memory restored, he was already shaping up to be the great father she had always remembered.
The stairs weren't that steep, but they did seem to go on for an incredibly long time. Before even reaching the turnaround point, Link found that his stamina was beginning to take a hit, his lungs heaving in order to keep up with his muscles. His legs trembled with each step he climbed. Had he visited more shrines before heading to Zora's Domain, he probably would've had more endurance in carrying his blind daughter up the stairs. For a Zora as small as she was, Link had not expected Noelani to be so heavy. He thought, with a chuckle to himself, that perhaps it was due to her big heart.
He persevered, however, despite the rapidly growing pain in his thighs and chest. With Mira leading the way by a few paces, they reached the turnaround point of the long, sprawling staircase within a couple minutes. From the banister, at their current elevation, Zora's Domain came into full view in the valley below, it's sparkling beauty gracing the trio's eyes. The waterfalls behind it were blocked from view, however, by the enveloping haze of rain that surrounded the region.
Mira sighed, taking a moment to set Link's gear down, lean on the banister, and rest her head in her hands. "I really love our home. We don't leave here very often, and whenever we do, we don't go very far. I feel lucky that it's so pretty here, because if it wasn't, I'd probably start to resent being so cooped up." She chuckled.
Noelani, still attached to Link's back with her head on his shoulder, added to her sister's statement. "Yeah…I don't think we've ever traveled farther than our birthplace before."
Link's expression changed suddenly as he heard this. He glanced at Mira, who turned to meet his gaze at the same time. At this point, Link began to expect Mira to answer his questions without him having to ask them, since for some reason, she seemed to know everything he was thinking. Once again, he was right to do so.
"Yeah, Dad, that's another place I wanted to show you. Perhaps we'll go there after I show you what's atop these stairs. But anyway…Lani and I weren't hatched here in Zora's Domain. Our eggs were left quite far west of here, not too far from Hyrule Field. There's a whole story about it that we had heard from Muzu. He told us he heard the story from Mom." Mira explained.
Link was awestruck at this news. What had Mipha been doing so far away from Zora's Domain at such a...critical time? Had he been with her? Had his daughters been in any danger? His mind ran wild with questions.
"We'll go there together in a little bit, I promise. Hopefully I'll be able to help you remember anything important. For now, though, I'm really excited to show you this place!" The radiant Zora beamed, bending over to pick Link's gear back up.
Link nodded once, and Mira turned around with a swing in her step to continue climbing the rest of the stairs. He took a deep breath, preparing himself to finish the rest of the climb with his other daughter still clinging to his back. After hoisting her up further to make sure she didn't slip, he proceeded up the stairs in pursuit of Mira.
The second set of stairs wasn't as long as the first, which Link had to be thankful for. On top of that, after having had a moment to rest, his energy had returned to him enough for the rest of the climb to flow fairly easily. Overall, exercise from the added weight was probably something that would make the rest of his journey not seem as difficult, given the large amount of gear he'd have to grow accustomed to carrying.
Upon reaching the top, Link leaned backwards and gently allowed Noelani to step off of him and back onto the solid ground. Before getting to turn and exit the stairwell, he felt his blind child's arms envelop him again from behind. He heard her giggle.
"Thanks, Dad."
For the first time since his reawakening, Link felt a true, genuine smile appear on his face. An indescribable feeling of peace and warmth filled his chest, a feeling left alienated for over a hundred years. Link was still missing the majority of his memory, and yet he felt almost like he wanted nothing more than the feeling he had now, spending quality time with his long-lost daughters. What more could he possibly learn that would kindle his fatherly heart any further?
Still smiling, he took Noelani's gentle hand in his own, and the two of them stepped out from under the overhang and back into the pattering rain. They were now standing on a large platform at the top of the dam, a dock extending outward into a massive lake that was seemingly contained entirely by the mountain. Immediately to their right, nestled against the top of the stairwell at the center of the platform, was a small awning overshadowing a full-size waterbed and a collection of fine, Zora-themed beverage glasses.
Link let out a sharp gasp at the sight that had immediately appeared before him upon stepping onto the platform. There, situated out in the deepest part of the lake, was the Divine Beast…Vah Ruta. Its mechanical trunk was aimed directly in the air, spewing aimless sheets of water into the sky in unfathomable amounts. From its sides, in four distinct locations, gargantuan waterfalls of ridiculous proportions dumped even more water into the lake, the mist from the stirring liquid casting a hazy cloud over the entirety of the mountaintop. The beast's energy pockets, indicated by the giant glowing points all over its body, flashed an eye-catching shade of pinkish-violet. The huge, towering machine raised its trunk even higher into the air and released another powerful, deafening roar that echoed throughout all of eastern Hyrule. The glasses under the awning shook vigorously.
"Welcome to the Eastern Reservoir." Mira announced deeply, her words made eerie by the roar that had preceded them. The golden-eyed Zora stood with her back turned to her relatives, staring thoughtfully into the expanse of the lake where Vah Ruta dwelled. She stood on the edge of the platform at the lip of the lake, to the side of the dock that stretched farther away from the artificial shore.
Link led Noelani out to the platform's edge so they could stand next to Mira. For a few silent moments, they stared out into the horizon at the mighty Divine Beast that had been, and still was, actively terrorizing Zora's Domain. Noelani could only imagine to herself what Vah Ruta looked like, and, judging solely by sounds and by word of mouth, none of the images she could conjure up looked pleasant.
Mira sighed sadly. "You know…sometimes when I drift off to sleep at night…I wonder to myself if Mom's spirit is still trapped in that cursed thing."
Link's face lit up in surprise at her words. More questions filled his mind, as they had been doing frequently in the last several hours. And, as had been also happening frequently, Mira immediately began to answer them by explaining herself.
"I'm not sure if I already managed to remember this or not, but…Vah Ruta out there is actually how Mom died in the Great Calamity." Mira uttered, her words quiet and desolate, a stark contrast to those from earlier. "She was chosen to be a Champion and pilot that giant monster in the fight against Calamity Ganon. None of us knew her fate would take such an…unfortunate turn."
Link looked with sadness and sympathy at the lamenting Zora, his instincts telling him he'd probably be needed for comforting in the next couple minutes. He noticed Mira lowering her head and closing her eyes, her thoughts shifting entirely to the tragedies of the past century. Noelani reached over and felt around at the air for a moment before putting her hand on her sister's shoulder, once she had found it.
Mira continued, her eyes still closed. "I'll never forget the day it happened. The Hylian princess showed up with three other Champions one afternoon, asking for you and Mom. Noelani and I were used to you being gone often on lots of important missions, so I remember not feeling too worried when you had to leave again." She paused for a moment as she started to choke on a few of her words. "…But later that evening…we…we were playing with Muzu and uncle Sidon on this very platform…overlooking the lake…when the very ground beneath us suddenly shook like an earthquake. Just twenty minutes later, Mom came rushing up the stairs with her trident in her hands."
At this point, Link noticed Noelani put both her arms around Mira, who had put a hand up to her chest. Her eyes opened very slightly, allowing Link to see the onset of tears in the Zora's hazel irises. The hero bit his bottom lip, a feeling of dread falling over him as her story progressed.
"She looked so…urgent…with her trident in both hands and her blue Champion's cloth around her shoulder. We…we got so scared!" She turned her head to Link suddenly, her moist, reflective eyes looking directly into his own as she spoke. "She sounded so serious…so authoritative…..I…I had never heard anything like it from her before."
Link felt very concerned for Mira at this point. From what he had learned about her during their short time together the past evening, it seemed unlike her to be showing such powerful, negative emotions. To see the quiet, timid, fragile Noelani comforting her sister from the side without a single sign of fracture on her face was, to Link, a new angle of his children's relationship he had never seen before. Not even the holy power of the elusive Triforce could grant a bond as powerful as the one these Zoras seemed to share. Had they really even needed a caregiver?
Mira approached the end of her retelling. "Our mom, she…she ordered all of us to head back to the Domain immediately…and not to come back here until we saw her return from the East Reservoir. We barely managed to see her sprint towards the Divine Beast before Muzu quickly ushered us down the stairs."
A single tear fell from the distraught Zora's face and landed on the chiseled surface of the platform, where it immediately washed away among the rainwater from the Divine Beast. Mira looked back up at Link a second time, the whites of her eyes looking slightly pink from her mourning.
"Do you want to know something funny?" She sniffed behind her tears. "If we were still following Mom's orders, I would not have taken you up here today. She…she still hasn't come back yet, after all."
She managed a small, wheezy chuckle, which descended quickly into an onslaught of sobbing. Her head fell back towards the ground as she brought her hands up to her face to conceal her outburst. Link gave a long sigh, watching with great sadness as Noelani squeezed her crying sister in her thin, trembling arms.
Link thought the two had come to terms with their mother's death many years ago, but apparently, for Mira, that had not yet been the case, even after a hundred long years. Her words back at the Domain about having learned to move on from the tragedy…well, they had apparently been lies. He wasn't quite sure about Noelani, but he could now see clearly that Mira's demons had not yet left her.
The emotional distress she was currently displaying was, in essence, a hundred years in the making. A hundred years of living without parents, every single day. A hundred years of remembering the couple that had loved them most, united also by their love for each other. A hundred years of laying awake at night, wondering what could have been. A hundred years of asking the question…why?
Link took a few steps toward his collapsed daughter. Noelani, still holding Mira tightly from the side, looked up at him. In her blindness, she wasn't quite looking in the right direction, but he knew she was trying to share his gaze. Even still, at this moment, there were no tears in her eyes. Link had to wonder just how the young, sightless Zora was able to conceal sadness so well. Did she even feel sorrow? Was she only able to express happiness and love? What went through her mind in times like this?
Link, feeling too hurt to be able to listen to any more crying from his broken child, knelt down on one knee to help Noelani in comforting Mira. Before he could extend his arms, however, Mira threw hers around him first, her head cradling the surprised hero's neck. Noelani held her grip on her sister's waist, and the three of them shared a lasting group hug under Vah Ruta's torrential downpour.
Link felt the warmth of Mira's tears pressing against the shoulder of his tunic, a meaningful contrast to the biting cold of the rain that had already drenched it. He could hear Mira struggling to form words through her shallow, sporadic breaths. "Dad, I…I can't tell you how…g…glad I am that you're finally back. I...I love you s…so much…"
The moment never seemed to end, and to Link, that didn't seem so bad. He couldn't shake the odd feeling of déjà vu, kneeling there in the rain with a distraught soul wrapped in his arms, but at the moment, it didn't matter. He was finally fulfilling his proper role as a father, a responsibility of which he had been completely unaware just hours ago.
Link had lost track of time, but he was pretty sure it had taken fifteen minutes or so for Mira to finally calm down. She looked back and forth at Link and Noelani, a very small smile appearing on her face. Her eyes were the same color as her skin at this point, and her cheeks felt rather tender from her episode.
"Are you going to be okay?" Noelani whispered gently, stroking the top of her sister's head.
Mira nodded her head. "Y…Yeah, I should be fine. It really does help having you both here. I still just can't thank Hylia enough for allowing Dad to survive the Great Calamity."
Link smiled a bit, but he couldn't help but feel a bit guilty about Mipha. Sure, it had been the grace of Hylia for him to be alive and well today, but why did Mipha have to suffer the cruel fate? If not for himself, Mira and Noelani still deserved to at least have their mother with them during the last century.
Mira sighed. "I think I just need to go for a quick swim. Sometimes that helps me clear my head."
The still-shaky Zora stood up from the wet ground and walked calmly toward the dock at the center of the platform. Noelani, without turning around, called after her. "Just be careful of the big monster, sis! Uncle Sidon said it's electric or something!"
"I'll be fine, Lani!" Mira called back. Link watched as his daughter, poised at the edge of the dock, jumped a solid six feet into the air, twirling gracefully as she slid into the water of the East Reservoir. Such were the ways of the water-dwelling species.
With Mira gone, Link and Noelani were left alone with each other on the platform, sitting together by the water's edge on the stone's saturated surface. The sound of the pattering rain on the stone continued to fill their ears, but beyond that, everything was quiet. He was certain Noelani had inherited her social habits from him, being the silent and thoughtful character that she was. Between the two of them, then, no words were spoken.
Link studied his daughter as she glanced around in random directions, her cloudy eyes unable to focus on any specific object. He wondered if…for once…he'd have to be the one to initiate a conversation. After all, without words, he was essentially invisible to the poor Zora. If he wanted, he could stand up and tiptoe away, and she would have no idea. It also didn't help that, without Mira, he had no way to get his thoughts out without speaking them himself. So…he took a deep breath…and gave it a try.
"So…um…" He stammered. Before even having to say anything else, he noticed Noelani's face illuminate in a beaming smile. She looked in his direction with excitement, his exact position pinpointed by the sound of his voice.
"Oh, I just love it when you talk!" She squealed.
Link chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "So…Mira seemed excited to take us up here, but when she did, it only seemed to stir up bad memories." He began, his underused voice cracking several times. "…What exactly does she like about this lake?"
Noelani didn't seem to have to think about this question, as her answer came out rather quickly. "Well…why wouldn't she? This place was our childhood home!"
Link gasped in shock. "You're kidding…?"
Noelani shook her head, her smile growing wider. "Nope, it really was. Hylians like you usually live in houses with roofs over your heads, but us Zoras can settle wherever it feels comfortable. After all, we thrive in rainfall."
Link nodded in thoughtful understanding. "So, you…well, we…chose to live near Vah Ruta on the East Reservoir? Away from the Domain?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why?"
Noelani clenched her fists and shook her arms eagerly. "Ooh, am I going to get to tell you a story? How exciting! Here, let's head over to the awning just over there. I think it's behind me."
Link was delightfully impressed with how quickly Noelani had opened up to him. Up until this point, she had seemed like the kind who would bottle up all her feelings and speak only to Mira when they were alone. And, even then, she didn't seem like the kind who would speak in long phrases. Now, here she was, talking to him enthusiastically as if she were one of the girls in the Prince Sidon fan club. He was her father, after all, and opening his mouth to hold a conversation for the first time in over a century must've unlocked something in her thick shell.
The two of them stood up, and Link reached out to take her hand again. The awning was only a few paces away, but he felt it was still necessary to guide her so she didn't walk off the platform into the water or anything. Noelani couldn't get enough of being ushered around by the father she had missed so dearly over the last hundred years.
Reaching the small structure in just a couple seconds, Link looked over at the waterbed that was situated in its center and noticed that Mira had set his gear there earlier upon reaching the top of the stairs. Spread around the bed, on the surrounding miniature countertops, were a varying assortment of glossy drink cups.
The two of them stepped under the awning and into the small, dry oasis it created. Link grabbed his pile of gear and set it on the ground at the foot of the bed, not yet wanting to return the heavy items to his back.
"You know, Dad…" Noelani began, flashing a fuzzy grin. "…you were the one who shared all this information with me a hundred years ago. I think it's really cool that I get to tell it back to you like this."
Link let out a dreamy sigh, the irony of the situation tickling his mind. He opened his ears, ready to hear more about his past.
"Even before meeting you, this place had always been Mom's sanctuary. You told me she'd come here all the time when she was either lonely, upset, or overwhelmed at life. She loved staring out at the waters of the lake and going for swims in solitude, just as Mira is doing right now." Noelani explained.
Link had never actually let go of Noelani's hand after reaching the awning, and even now, as he listened to her describe Mipha and her ties to the East Reservoir, he found himself gripping her hand even tighter. "…I see."
Noelani continued. "The bed here had not always been a part of this platform. After all, when this lake was constructed thousands of years ago, it had not been intended as a place to rest." She paused again, letting Link absorb the information just as her sister had done when she explained things to him. "Well, after the Divine Beast was discovered, Mom started spending many nights out here without returning to the Domain. There was something about Vah Ruta that you said she was drawn to. Well anyway, as a result, she used her authority as a princess to order a waterbed in this very spot. She'd sleep here all the time…by herself…while everyone else slept in each other's company back at the Domain." She paused again for a quick moment, sighing. "…I never got to learn what was on her mind while she was out here all alone."
Link shrugged, his eyes fixated on the waterbed. "I'm in the same boat you are."
"Well hopefully I'm able to help you recover a memory just like my sister did at the Domain earlier." Noelani added, giggling slightly. "The parts I remember most about this place are from after you got involved in Mom's life. These are things Mom had actually talked to me about."
Link led Noelani over to the waterbed so the two of them could sit down. His interest piqued at this point, he gave his daughter his full, undivided attention. He looked directly into her cloudy eyes while she stared off at the floor, lost in her thoughts.
"She was never afraid to tell me how much she cared about you, even before your relationship got serious. She told me she would always look for ways to drag you up here by the lake so she could spend some quality time alone with you. You didn't seem to catch on right away, but eventually you opened up to her more. Despite this platform being her place of privacy and solitude, she told me she had wanted nothing more in this world than to share it with you." She sighed again, leaning over to rest her head on Link's hip. She picked up the end of her long, dangling tailfin, which had been resting just next to her thigh on the bed, and hugged it in her arms. "…I just thought that was really sweet when I heard it."
Link had to be strong, for both of their sakes. After Mira's emotional shattering a few minutes ago, he didn't want to put an even bigger burden on Noelani by having one himself. His first question to himself was…how had he managed to forget about Mipha? It sounded to him like she would've given her life for him, and now, a hundred years later, after she had done exactly that, he couldn't even remember the connection they had shared. Heck, he hadn't even remembered what she looked like before viewing the statue back in the plaza!
"Yes…" He sniffled, fighting the fluid building up in his sinuses. "…that's very sweet."
Noelani heard his sniffle, but she oddly didn't seem to suspect his emotional state. Either that, or she knew about it…and had seen it coming. She continued. "Eventually, this place became your haven. On your wedding day, Mom had an awning built over the waterbed so the two of you could be together every night, since we know that Hylians can't really sleep in the rain. Once we came along, this became the perfect place for us to be a family in peace, away from the responsibilities of the royal bloodline."
Things started making sense in Link's head as Noelani continued with her story. Having just remembered it in the plaza earlier, he thought back on his wedding day, when Mipha had announced that she would relinquish the throne. He couldn't recall when they had discussed it, but the evidence he was hearing proved that his Zoran wife had had children in mind at the time of marrying him. At this point, he was glad they had had the opportunity to do so before the Great Calamity took her life.
Noelani tried to meet Link's gaze again. "Nowadays, we still come up here time to time when Uncle Sidon is around to carry me up the stairs. It feels good to escape the world and continue being a family up here by the lake every once in a while, even without parents. We think it's what Mom would've wanted."
Link sniffled again, a small tear escaping his eye. "…I see."
"It was also here on the shore of the lake that Mom taught us how to swim. She was always the kind to push lessons at an early age. She also did it with Uncle Sidon when he was really young." Noelani giggled for a moment before her face became serious again. "We lost her to the Great Calamity before we got old enough to learn about climbing waterfalls, though. We had to learn that from Muzu."
Link put his hand to his chin and rubbed it thoughtfully. "So…" He stuttered. "…sorry to change the subject, but since Miph-" He stopped. "…well, your mother…was the princess of the Domain, how do your neighbors see you and Mira?"
Noelani bit her lip, taking a moment to think about her answer. "Well…nowadays, we're treated like any other members of Zora's Domain, because it was the wish of both Mom and ourselves. Mom didn't want us to lead a life full of pressing responsibilities, and after seeing what it was like for Uncle Sidon growing up, we came to agree with her. Back then, though, when we were very little, we were treated like the next generation of Zoran princesses. After all, we do share the royal blood of King Dorephan."
Link shook his head, his mind streamlining his thoughts in an organized manner. "That kind of reminds me of someone. The Hylian princess. She was forced in her childhood to be something she wasn't." He muttered idly. "Then again, I'm still learning a lot about her as well."
"Have you looked under the waterbed, by the way?" Noelani asked, seemingly ignoring Link's absent remark about Zelda.
Link raised an eyebrow. Under the waterbed? His curiosity piqued by his daughter's question, he stood up from the squishy mattress, and, after turning around and crouching down on the ground, he peered under the chiseled frame of the bed. A small metallic glitter caught his eye.
"What are these…?" He whispered, eyeing the thin-looking metal pieces resting on the ground under the bed. Reaching a hand into the dusty space, he pulled out what looked like…Zoran headpieces.
"I don't think you've talked to him yet since returning to the Domain, but Dento is the name of the craftsman that's behind the royal jewelry. He made those for us when we were hatched as traditional gifts for the new members of the royal family. I was told they look just like the headpiece Mom wore." She explained, still staring straight ahead as Link studied the fine pieces.
Noelani was certainly right about that. They looked exactly like Mipha's headpiece. They each had the familiar rhombus-shaped chain designs along the top that arched downward to a shining aquamarine at the forehead. Dangling down the sides where their flowing temple-fins would be, the signature symbol of Nayru was molded delicately out of fine silver. Link held one in each hand, their shapes indistinguishable from each other.
Noelani heard her father's fascinated gasps as he studied the adornments, his mind connecting them to Mipha's appearance. She shrugged. "Mira and I decide not to wear those anymore, so we keep them under the bed up here where they won't get discovered by anybody. They symbolize a status we want to avoid."
Link looked up at his daughter. "May I see you with it on?"
She laughed heartily, her hand coming up to her mouth. "Of course, Dad. Anything for you."
He took a step towards her and set the other headpiece on the bed. Then, with the other one held at the ready, he reached around the blind Zora's head and, with his rough, calloused hands, worked as gently as possible to fasten the Zoran crown to its place. Noelani closed her eyes and breathed quietly, sitting perfectly still as she let him figure the thing out.
"There…I think I got it." He murmured, swishing his hand across her left temple-fin to test the crown's fit. He backed up a few paces. "Look this way."
Noelani turned her head in the direction of Link's voice, a shy grin appearing on her face. Again, her cloudy eyes seemed to stare straight through him into the distance. He looked at her, really gazing at the sparkling headpiece that seemed to even further complete her appearance. If not for her blue eyes and light-colored skin, she'd look like a splitting image of her mother. Her abnormally long tailfin also made her stand out, but with everything else, it looked beautiful. She…looked beautiful.
"I…I don't believe it…" He stuttered.
Noelani giggled slightly. "It looks tacky, doesn't it?"
"No, not at all." He answered quickly, shaking his head. "It's just…wow."
Suddenly, the two were surprised when a familiar voice called to them from the dock. "Lani, I'm back!"
"Oh, it's Mira. We should go meet her." Noelani suggested, standing up from the bed. The Nayru-symbol ornaments on her temple-fins swayed back and forth with each of the Zora's subtle movements.
Link took her hand again, and the pair stepped eagerly out from under the awning to greet Mira, who had returned from her restorative swim.
Well…mostly restorative. Link noticed as they drew closer that Mira was walking with a slight limp in her step, her arm clutching the outer portion of her thigh. Her face was tense, grimacing as though she was in a considerable deal of pain.
Noelani, as usual, could not see this. "Did everything go well, sis? Are you feeling better?"
Mira grunted through her teeth. "I'm fine. Vah Ruta got me a little bit, but I was still able to easily swim back to shore. It was just a small spark." Noelani gasped when she heard the news, her hands clenching into fists.
"Mira, I told you to be careful!" She cried, bringing her clenched hands to her hips in a scolding manner. "What if it had been more than just 'a small spark?'"
Mira chuckled. "And I thought I was the stern one." Link also laughed a bit.
"Not when you're out there putting yourself in danger, sis. I don't ever want to see…er…witness something bad happen to you! Not on my watch!" Noelani chided, her face full of serious concern. "Now sit down on the dock here, and show me where it hurts."
Link watched the exchange going on in front of him, curious as to where it was headed. Noelani was responding very strangely to Mira's injury, her mannerism changing to one of a protective mother, rather than of a supportive sister. Again, it just seemed like a highly unusual role for her to play in their relationship. In addition, he was confused by her order for Mira to "show her where it hurts." Did Noelani have some sort of medical training she had not bothered to share with him?
He observed with genuine interest as Mira followed her sister's demand, sitting down in a cross-legged position on the dock's cold surface. She lifted her hand from her outer thigh, revealing a gnarly-looking patch of burned flesh right on the line where her skin changed from white to red. Although Link had suffered far worse injuries himself as recently as his reawakening, the wound still looked bad enough to make him grimace.
The next action, though, caused his eyes to widen in pure awe-stricken amazement. After revealing her burn to the open air, Mira took Noelani's extended hand and positioned it just above the patch. Without even needing a signal from her sister, Noelani slowly closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. Within a few seconds, her outstretched palm began to emit a powerful, cyan glow, its light pushing against the darkness of the rainy haze around them. Link watched with mesmerized shock.
Mira moaned softly as relief cascaded through her. Steadily, as the light from Noelani's palm enveloped her thigh, the scorching pain in her burned skin began to subside. Over the course of several minutes, the damaged skin layers on her thigh showed visible signs of repair, the evidence of a burn erasing entirely.
As Link watched Noelani heal her sister with some kind of mysterious magic, the headpiece he had put on her earlier twinkled in his eye. He squinted at it for a moment, taking notice of its appearance on her during her healing process. It was at that moment that, suddenly, like a switch being flipped on, a connection was made in his head, causing a spill of memories to flood his mind.
Mipha had used healing magic! She had used it to heal him countless times during his many battles with monsters and clansmen! It was some kind of goddess-given gift that she inherited from her mother, and it was her most trademark of features! He remembered her telling him on the trunk of the Divine Beast one fateful evening that she would always heal him, no matter the cost, if anyone were to ever try and do him harm. He gasped sharply when these memories hit him. Noelani had inherited Mipha's sacred healing ability!
It was also then, while watching Noelani heal Mira on the dock of East Reservoir Lake, with the traditional headpiece of the Zoran royal family on her head, that another powerful memory struck the hero. His eyes closed involuntarily again, as they had done back in the plaza, and the memory began to play through in his head.
When the enchanting glow of Mipha's hand finally subsided, Link stared down at his newly-repaired fingertip. He flexed his fingers, feeling the minor jab in his knuckle having been completely eradicated. He shook his head and scoffed.
Mipha smiled warmly. "I know it seems a little excessive for me to waste my healing powers on splinters, but I feel like it's worth it for you. I love using my abilities to take away your pain, no matter how minor it may be. Consider it…an addiction of mine."
He laughed at her remark. He found it admirable that the Zoran princess, now his wife as of the last couple days, made it her goal to keep him in tip-top shape around the clock. It must've been a tiring thing to obsess over, but she did it just for him, her motivation being nothing but his health and happiness. If the couple were ever in a freak accident, with only an ounce of her healing magic left, he would undoubtedly be the one she'd choose to save.
The two of them laid comfortably on the waterbed by East Reservoir Lake, the awning above them protecting them from the howling rainstorm that was expected to plague the Domain until the following morning. The air carried a slight chill due to the biting winds and hanging overcast. This did not bother the couple, however, as they were laying on the bed beneath a large, woven blanket that Mipha had "borrowed" from her father before the rain had started hours ago at sundown.
"I just wish I could always be with you to heal you if the time comes. Whenever you're forced away to protect Zelda, I feel threatened. I'm…I'm afraid something might happen to you when I'm not there to make it better." She quivered.
He sighed. "You needn't worry, Mipha. I promise, I'll never take on a challenge I know I can't handle."
Mipha bit her lip, her hands fiddling nervously. "But…you take on every challenge! Your courage is deserving of great commendation, my love, honest…but dear Hylia, it just makes you so reckless! How am I to know for sure you'll come back every time you leave…?"
Link looked deeply into his wife's eyes, analyzing the intensity of her concern. Her golden eyes…shimmering with a beauty that knew no bounds…reflecting nothing but an endless universe of compassion, kindness, and mortal sacrifice. She valued her own life at almost nothing, and she would be willing to move mountains for the ones she cared about. For Link, that meant throwing herself at Calamity Ganon if need be. The value he held to her…could not be expressed with any form of mortal language.
"I'll tell you how. It's because I know I will walk away from every battle I face. Recklessness is not the key to courage, nor is it a result. Courage is the ability to believe you can face the impossible. That is why I take on every challenge." He stated, a strong sense of resolve in his voice. "I would never throw myself at an enemy I know I cannot defeat. I would never risk putting you through the pain of losing me."
The love present in Mipha's face only seemed to increase with Link's powerful statement. She gazed at her Hylian husband with more love, admiration, and respect than she even knew what to do with. To be here with him, in her special place by the East Reservoir, toughing out the rain together under the freshly-built awning…it was more than she could've ever prayed for. She wished she could properly express her love to her significant other.
"You know, Link…a lot is about to change in our lives. We may be united as one in the eyes of the goddess now, but that doesn't mean our mortal duties aren't going to catch up to us soon. I've been hearing rumors that Zelda has been traveling the world recently, recruiting the chosen Champions to pilot the Divine Beasts." She paused, glaring anxiously at the lake where Vah Ruta was sitting peacefully, its blue energy pockets barely managing to show through the thick haze of the storm. "And, well…I don't know how to say this delicately, but I have a feeling I know who she's going to consult when she gets here eventually."
Link nodded thoughtfully, his eyes remaining fixated on those of his wife. "I see. So…what do you suggest we do about it?"
A strong, fiery blush developed on Mipha's face, her complexion seeming to shift dramatically. She adjusted her body under the blanket. "Well…Link…do you remember my little proposal? The one I discussed with you before giving you my Zora armor?"
Link raised an eyebrow. "Your proposal?"
Mipha reached forward with her hand to softly caress Link's cheek. She used her other hand to shyly play with her temple-fin as she waited for Link to catch on to her advances. "I know you remember, Link…"
It took him a moment to remember, but when he did, his confused expression morphed into a seductive smile. On that night, with the rain pouring down around their dry haven on the East Reservoir, Link reached out to take hold of his Zora. "You're right, I think I do remember…"
He leaned his head in and, after closing his eyes, passionately locked lips with Mipha. The entranced Zora princess followed suit with her husband, wrapping her arms around him and bringing him closer. The couple intensely caressed each other's backs, the heat of the moment quickly taking hold of them without giving any leeway. Their breathing rapidly strengthened in unison as adrenaline began filling their systems.
Mipha broke free from her lover's lips for a moment, panting heavily through her mouth. "Do…Do you think…you'd be able to…to take on this challenge?"
Link smirked, sweat already collecting on his forehead. "Precious Mipha…I know I can take on this challenge."
A wide, loving smile crossed Mipha's lips at her husband's confident answer. Subsequently, the couple wasted no time in resuming their energetic kissing and massaging. In a matter of minutes, as the storm raged on around the East Reservoir, their actions escalated until Link climbed on top of his wife under the blanket, and they began making passionate love under the awning, their moans concealed by the sounds of the rain.
Link's eyes snapped back open, his mind now overloaded with intimate thoughts of Mipha. His face had turned a bit red during his reminiscence, but he was not aware of it. When his mind had returned to reality, he noticed Mira staring directly at him, her face showing quite a bit of interest.
He noticed from looking at her that her wound had gotten fully healed, her stance having returned to normal. Noelani stood leaning up against her, her hand wrapped completely around her sister's bicep.
"Are you doing okay, Dad? Did you…remember something else about Mom?" Mira asked.
Link shrugged awkwardly, his blush slowly subsiding. "Eh…sort of."
Noelani gasped excitedly. She jumped up and down a couple times. "Ooh, what was it about this time? Tell us, tell us!"
He took a deep breath and bit his bottom lip as he tried to find a way out of his predicament.
