Chapter 4
Do you have a name, my friend.
Prove to me that you exist.
Your fleeting image soon may end
Retreated into shrouded mist.
Japas has been gone for a while now. The days that passed felt like a waking dream. Mikau would eat, sit through his lessons, but rarely touched his guitar. Of course, he couldn't give concerts anymore, and those that tried to question him about it were met with a zombie-like stare. There were dark blue veins in Mikau's eyes, which were rimmed purple. He couldn't sleep, and if he did, it was because he cried himself to exhaustion. Mikau's parents were worried about him, but felt that he had to accept this loss as just another part of life. Surely he would recover once he realized that.
One windy morning, there was an unexpected knock upon the door of Mikau's house. Mikau's mother went to open the door. "Mr. Sycrune! What a surprise it is to see you!" It is indeed Japas' father. He bowed deeply, but did not make eye contact.
"Good morning, Mrs. Lorecrest." He said in his usual abrupt manner. Mikau's family's last name is Lorecrest.
"Why, I thought you had moved to Labrynna, Mr. Sycrune. Please come in, it must have been a long journey." She ushered him into the living room. Mr. Lorecrest also came into the room and shut all the doors while his wife prepared some refreshments. The three adults sat down on the coral chairs situated around the space. Mikau's parents waited for Mr. Sycrune to explain his appearance here.
Mr. Sycrune took a breath. "I'm looking for Japas. He's missing." Mikau's parents exchanged shocked glances. "A few days after we arrived at Labrynna, Japas suddenly disappeared. I think he ran away. Some of his belongings and food were missing. Three thousand rupees were also taken. I thought he might have come here."
Mr. Lorecrest shook his head. "I haven't heard any word about him. And Mikau hasn't been able to get a good night's sleep since Japas moved away."
"I'm sorry." Japas' father said, but his eyes would still not meet any of their's.
Mrs. Lorecrest gave him a thin-lipped smile, trying to be polite. She is aware of how Mr. Sycrune neglegts his son, and can't really blame Japas for running away. How many times did she have to endure the discontent of her own son who in turn, was worried for Japas. She wondered why Mr. Sycrune was even going through all this trouble to look for him.
"Wait a moment!" Mr. Lorecrest suddenly said. "Did you check with the turtle handlers? If Japas came back here, he would have to ride a turtle."
Mr. Sycrune shook his head. "I asked them, but they haven't taken any passengers of that description."
"Then...could Japas have tried to swim here?! But it takes over three days for an adult Zora to swim non-stop from Labrynna to Termina!"
"That's right!" Mrs. Lorecrest gasped. "The oceans have also been unusually violent these days! Japas could easily get lost..."
"There are many large pockets of deep waters between the two countries." Mr. Lorecrest added. Deep waters are home to sharks, sea snakes and host of other predators. A Zora that enters the deep waters cannot sink to the bottom to rest unless he never wants to surface again.
"I know, I know!" Japas' father covered his face with his hands. "I have looked everywhere for him! Please, if you find him, tell me. Please..." He took his hands away and was surprised to find them damp.
Finally, Mr. Sycrune left to search elsewhere. Mikau's parents closed the door and breathed a collective sigh of relief. "Thank the Goddesses that Mikau is still asleep! He doesn't have to hear any of this." But Mikau isn't asleep. And he did hear the conversation, almost all of it. As soon as he heard Japas' name, he had been hiding behind corners and doors, catching every word the adults said.
Mikau quietly snuck back into his room. He sat on the bed for a while, fingering a piece of crab spine that hung on a cord around his neck. "I didn't even get to say goodbye." Mikau stared ahead, his eyes unfocused. The boy blinked and realized that he had been staring at his fishbone guitar the whole time. The oil on it was turning green with neglect. Mikau gingerly picked it up and used a sponge to clean the old oil off and applied a new layer of lubricant. The guitar returned to it's mustard yellow color and sparkled slightly with the new layer of oil.
The boy put the guitar back on it's shelf and wandered outside, with no particular destiniation in mind. He found himself on Zora Cape, staring northward. "Where are you, Japas?" He asked the ocean. It answered, but in murmuring whispers that Mikau couldn't quite hear. The seagulls cried out as well, but Mikau doesn't understand their language. The wind pushed the young Zora in one direction, but a moment later, pulled him in another. Mikau stood there for a while longer and gathered his courage. Then he made his decision. He leaped into the sea and swam north.
It took Mikau a good part of an hour to reach his first stop: Great Bay Temple. The temple is inaccessible during certain times of the year, due to rising tides and seasonal murky waters. But today, Mikau was able to reach it with little difficulty. The interior of the temple is a maze of turbines, gears and machinery. It probably served some other purpose in the past, but now such technologies were lost to the people. Zoras now use it as a place for prayer and worship. The sheer size of the temple made Mikau feel very small and insignificant.
Mikau had visited Great Bay Temple with his family before, when his uncle had died. Mikau didn't remember much of the sorrow and the crying, but he remembered how his mother had said that the temple had the power to control the sea. The tide had stayed low that entire day, which is very unusual. Mikau felt sure that the temple's power had changed the ocean patterns so that everyone could get home safely.
Mikau surfaced quietly, without making so much as a ripple on the water surface. Using an old flint he found, Mikau lit the four torches in the temple enterance. An eerie light lit up all but the most isoated corners of the room. The Zora positioned himself at the center of the four torches, and started to pray. He prayed that he and Japas could meet up again. Or at least recieve some reassurance that Japas is still alive. Most of all he prayed for his best friend's happiness and safety, wherever he could be. Mikau wondered if the Goddesses could hear him. Lastly, he prayed that he would come home alive from what he is about to do.
Now Mikau headed for his second destination, which is further northward. Sea beds receded as the speeding Zora swam deeper into unfamiliar territory. When he broke the surface of the water, at least five pairs of eyes immediately trained upon him, as well as a number of weapons. Mikau walked onto the rocky shore with his hands raised to show he ment no harm. The people watching him relaxed slightly when they saw that he's unarmed, alone, and only a boy. Mikau's heart was beating fast; this is the first time he's been this close to the Gerudo Fortress.
A rock wall suddenly opened in front of Mikau, out of which jumped a Gerudo pirate. She pointed a scimitar at the Zora's neck and smiled sweetly. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't tear out your throat and toss your bloody, dismembered carcass into the ocean." She said in a voice like honey.
Mikau paled and almost lost his resolve. But he held his chin high and said, "Please, I don't mean any harm. I came here out of my own free will without the knowledge of my fellow Zoras. I wish to speak to Amberize. There's something I need to ask her." Amberize is Japas' older sister, if Mikau remembered correctly. Japas has a younger sister as well, Pyrias, but she would only be ten years old around now.
"Aren't you a bit too young for girls, Zora?" Mikau blushed furiously. The female laughed and lowered her blade. But before Mikau could collapse in relief, another Gerudo appeared behind him, caught his tail and one arm, tied them together, grabbed the other arm and bound that as well. All before Mikau could even gasp. "C'mon, you can walk, can't you?" The pirate pushed Mikau ahead.
The two Gerudos led him to the inner chambers of the fortress of females. It is a place built for military efficiency. Watchtowers and arrow slots were placed so that every inch of the fortress could be watched. The living quarters often doubled as storage rooms for stolen goods. Mikau took note of every crevace, tunnel and corner he could hide himself in if the need arose. He also memorized the layout of the area the best he could so he wouldn't get lost. Although a voice in the back of his mind told him that escaping these lethal warriors would be very, very unlikely.
These Gerudo pirates were certainly not what Mikau expected out of a group of females, dispite all that he's heard about them. His experience with the opposite sex has been limited to the young Zora females which the boys would avoid at all costs. Except, of course, to throw the occational sea crawler at. But these women... they are nothing like fragile Zora girls that Mikau was so used to. The Gerudos are cold and relentless if they want to be. Their brown skin betrayed the fact that they descended from desert dwellers, who had a reputation of their own. But this group of females also have Zora ancestors, so they took to the sea. Mikau noticed that all of them had pointed noses that sat quite elegantly on their faces, and remembered how Japas has just such a nose but stuck out of him like a peg.
The society of these women seemed to be complex and completely without flaw. Mikau guessed that there is a hierarchy system; the number of jewels and color of clothes and lipstick represent the rank each one held. Or something like that, Mikau couldn't tell simply by looking at them. Each Gerudo knew her own role. They would seem relaxed, but Mikau noticed that when he passed by, fingers would stroke weapons and weight would be shifted to the balls of the feet.
"So..." Mikau said nervously, unable to bear the silence. "The weather has been quite windy recently, hm?" Goddess, that sounded so lame!
"Oh yes." One of the Gerudos replied. "It's nice, just the way we like it. Larger ships can't manuver in the wind, which makes them easier for smaller ships to board. Tell me Zora," She turned to face him. "Just what is it like in Zora Hall? Is it true that you still refuse to cook your food?"
"Huh? Well, we do eat some cooked foods. Bread and cakes can't be made without cooking. Some things, like cucco eggs, simply taste nicer when cooked." Mikau felt slightly better. He likes to talk when he's nervous.
The Gerudo laughed. "You eat eggs now? That's an improvement. I heard that you never used to touch what those 'land people' eat."
"Will you shut up? Don't talk to him." The other female snapped at her comrade. "Really, it does nobody good when you get attached to a prisoner!"
"Excuse me?? I am NOT getting 'attached' to him!...Although he is rather cute." The Gerudo looked down at Mikau with one eyebrow raised suggestively. The two of them seemed to be around the same age, but she was a good head taller than the Zora. Mikau smiled nervously at her and tried to look his 'cutest'. "Besides," She continued. "It doesn't matter if I tell him anything important. We can just kill him afterwards." Mikau's eyes grew huge. Maybe starting a conversation wasn't the best of ideas.
"Amberize!" One of the pirates suddenly called out. A Gerudo looked up from her guard duty.
"What?" Amberize answered. When they came nearer, Mikau could see that her eyes were indeed amber. She wore the traditional Gerudo outfit which consisted of baggy pants decorated with symbols and a tight-fitting, revealing top. Amberize looked like any other Gerudo, except Mikau could see that when she spoke, Zorian canines were visible between her lips. Also, the way she walked and the way her hair bounced like a tail reminded Mikau painfully of Japas.
"This Zora wants to talk to you." One of the guards pushed Mikau forward. Amberize crossed her arms, looking unimpressed.
Mikau cleared his throat. "My name is Mikau. And if I'm not mistaken, you are Japas' older sister..." At the mention of Japas, Amberize's eye twitched and she unshealthed a dagger. Mikau cringed and squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them again, he realized that his arms and tail could move freely again. Amberize had cut him free.
"Continue, Zora. Before I lose my patience." She shook her daggar at him like one would shake a finger.
"I have been Japas' friend for a long time, until recently, his father took Japas away with him to Labrynna. But he ran away... I don't know where he is, but I think he might have come back to Termina."
"He wouldn't have tried to come back here, would he?!" Amberize gasped. "Labrynna is so far away!" Her face was a mask of shock and concern, but she quickly recomposed herself. The two other Gerudo were watching. "What does this have to do with me?" She asked in a bored tone, examining her her nails.
"I thought...he might have come here. His father wouldn't have been able to find him here, and he misses you..." Mikau waited for her reaction.
The other two Gerudo were also watching Amberize closely. She didn't display any emotion, but tucked her bangs behind her ear, a motion identical to her brother's. "Look, kid. There hasn't been any Zoras within three leagues of this fortress for months, other than you. I haven't seen Japas. I haven't seen him in over four years." Then to the guards, "Throw him outside."
"Are you sure?" One of them asked. "I was hoping to kill him." She nearly pouted when she said this. Mikau gaped at her with disbelief. Gerudos are every bit as terrifying as people say they are!
Amberize looked at Mikau with an unreadable expression. "Nah. Heck, this kid's got guts to come this far. A waste of a rare male, if you ask me. Let him grow into something we can really sink our teeth into." She snapped her teeth for extra effect. The other pirates laughed as they dragged the Zora away. Mikau didn't find that the least bit funny, but at least he got away with his life.
"Oh, what was your name again? Mikau?" Amberize called out. "Don't ever come back here again. And that's not a request." The Zora gulped. That's a promise he's more than glad to keep!
Mikau was dumped unceremoniously into the sea, where he made a big splash. He swam a little distance away but surfaced again to look back at the fortress once he felt safe. None of the Gerudos paid him any attention. Then Mikau dived beneath the water and put as many miles as he could between him and the fortress of females.
Amberize and Pyrias watched the silhouette that was Mikau shrink into a dot and eventually disappear. Mikau's visit had reawakened memories of Japas in both of them, which ached like a reopened wound. Long after he had gone, Amberize still held her little sister tightly, stroking her hair while staring out over the ocean. Pyrias didn't look at the sea, but had her eyes tightly closed, fighting against the tears that wouldn't stop flowing.
End of Chapter 4
Oh, there's something I forgot to mention. The only instrument I've ever played properly was the piano. So forgive me if I get any of the technicalities of other instruments incorrect.
Do you have a name, my friend.
Prove to me that you exist.
Your fleeting image soon may end
Retreated into shrouded mist.
Japas has been gone for a while now. The days that passed felt like a waking dream. Mikau would eat, sit through his lessons, but rarely touched his guitar. Of course, he couldn't give concerts anymore, and those that tried to question him about it were met with a zombie-like stare. There were dark blue veins in Mikau's eyes, which were rimmed purple. He couldn't sleep, and if he did, it was because he cried himself to exhaustion. Mikau's parents were worried about him, but felt that he had to accept this loss as just another part of life. Surely he would recover once he realized that.
One windy morning, there was an unexpected knock upon the door of Mikau's house. Mikau's mother went to open the door. "Mr. Sycrune! What a surprise it is to see you!" It is indeed Japas' father. He bowed deeply, but did not make eye contact.
"Good morning, Mrs. Lorecrest." He said in his usual abrupt manner. Mikau's family's last name is Lorecrest.
"Why, I thought you had moved to Labrynna, Mr. Sycrune. Please come in, it must have been a long journey." She ushered him into the living room. Mr. Lorecrest also came into the room and shut all the doors while his wife prepared some refreshments. The three adults sat down on the coral chairs situated around the space. Mikau's parents waited for Mr. Sycrune to explain his appearance here.
Mr. Sycrune took a breath. "I'm looking for Japas. He's missing." Mikau's parents exchanged shocked glances. "A few days after we arrived at Labrynna, Japas suddenly disappeared. I think he ran away. Some of his belongings and food were missing. Three thousand rupees were also taken. I thought he might have come here."
Mr. Lorecrest shook his head. "I haven't heard any word about him. And Mikau hasn't been able to get a good night's sleep since Japas moved away."
"I'm sorry." Japas' father said, but his eyes would still not meet any of their's.
Mrs. Lorecrest gave him a thin-lipped smile, trying to be polite. She is aware of how Mr. Sycrune neglegts his son, and can't really blame Japas for running away. How many times did she have to endure the discontent of her own son who in turn, was worried for Japas. She wondered why Mr. Sycrune was even going through all this trouble to look for him.
"Wait a moment!" Mr. Lorecrest suddenly said. "Did you check with the turtle handlers? If Japas came back here, he would have to ride a turtle."
Mr. Sycrune shook his head. "I asked them, but they haven't taken any passengers of that description."
"Then...could Japas have tried to swim here?! But it takes over three days for an adult Zora to swim non-stop from Labrynna to Termina!"
"That's right!" Mrs. Lorecrest gasped. "The oceans have also been unusually violent these days! Japas could easily get lost..."
"There are many large pockets of deep waters between the two countries." Mr. Lorecrest added. Deep waters are home to sharks, sea snakes and host of other predators. A Zora that enters the deep waters cannot sink to the bottom to rest unless he never wants to surface again.
"I know, I know!" Japas' father covered his face with his hands. "I have looked everywhere for him! Please, if you find him, tell me. Please..." He took his hands away and was surprised to find them damp.
Finally, Mr. Sycrune left to search elsewhere. Mikau's parents closed the door and breathed a collective sigh of relief. "Thank the Goddesses that Mikau is still asleep! He doesn't have to hear any of this." But Mikau isn't asleep. And he did hear the conversation, almost all of it. As soon as he heard Japas' name, he had been hiding behind corners and doors, catching every word the adults said.
Mikau quietly snuck back into his room. He sat on the bed for a while, fingering a piece of crab spine that hung on a cord around his neck. "I didn't even get to say goodbye." Mikau stared ahead, his eyes unfocused. The boy blinked and realized that he had been staring at his fishbone guitar the whole time. The oil on it was turning green with neglect. Mikau gingerly picked it up and used a sponge to clean the old oil off and applied a new layer of lubricant. The guitar returned to it's mustard yellow color and sparkled slightly with the new layer of oil.
The boy put the guitar back on it's shelf and wandered outside, with no particular destiniation in mind. He found himself on Zora Cape, staring northward. "Where are you, Japas?" He asked the ocean. It answered, but in murmuring whispers that Mikau couldn't quite hear. The seagulls cried out as well, but Mikau doesn't understand their language. The wind pushed the young Zora in one direction, but a moment later, pulled him in another. Mikau stood there for a while longer and gathered his courage. Then he made his decision. He leaped into the sea and swam north.
It took Mikau a good part of an hour to reach his first stop: Great Bay Temple. The temple is inaccessible during certain times of the year, due to rising tides and seasonal murky waters. But today, Mikau was able to reach it with little difficulty. The interior of the temple is a maze of turbines, gears and machinery. It probably served some other purpose in the past, but now such technologies were lost to the people. Zoras now use it as a place for prayer and worship. The sheer size of the temple made Mikau feel very small and insignificant.
Mikau had visited Great Bay Temple with his family before, when his uncle had died. Mikau didn't remember much of the sorrow and the crying, but he remembered how his mother had said that the temple had the power to control the sea. The tide had stayed low that entire day, which is very unusual. Mikau felt sure that the temple's power had changed the ocean patterns so that everyone could get home safely.
Mikau surfaced quietly, without making so much as a ripple on the water surface. Using an old flint he found, Mikau lit the four torches in the temple enterance. An eerie light lit up all but the most isoated corners of the room. The Zora positioned himself at the center of the four torches, and started to pray. He prayed that he and Japas could meet up again. Or at least recieve some reassurance that Japas is still alive. Most of all he prayed for his best friend's happiness and safety, wherever he could be. Mikau wondered if the Goddesses could hear him. Lastly, he prayed that he would come home alive from what he is about to do.
Now Mikau headed for his second destination, which is further northward. Sea beds receded as the speeding Zora swam deeper into unfamiliar territory. When he broke the surface of the water, at least five pairs of eyes immediately trained upon him, as well as a number of weapons. Mikau walked onto the rocky shore with his hands raised to show he ment no harm. The people watching him relaxed slightly when they saw that he's unarmed, alone, and only a boy. Mikau's heart was beating fast; this is the first time he's been this close to the Gerudo Fortress.
A rock wall suddenly opened in front of Mikau, out of which jumped a Gerudo pirate. She pointed a scimitar at the Zora's neck and smiled sweetly. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't tear out your throat and toss your bloody, dismembered carcass into the ocean." She said in a voice like honey.
Mikau paled and almost lost his resolve. But he held his chin high and said, "Please, I don't mean any harm. I came here out of my own free will without the knowledge of my fellow Zoras. I wish to speak to Amberize. There's something I need to ask her." Amberize is Japas' older sister, if Mikau remembered correctly. Japas has a younger sister as well, Pyrias, but she would only be ten years old around now.
"Aren't you a bit too young for girls, Zora?" Mikau blushed furiously. The female laughed and lowered her blade. But before Mikau could collapse in relief, another Gerudo appeared behind him, caught his tail and one arm, tied them together, grabbed the other arm and bound that as well. All before Mikau could even gasp. "C'mon, you can walk, can't you?" The pirate pushed Mikau ahead.
The two Gerudos led him to the inner chambers of the fortress of females. It is a place built for military efficiency. Watchtowers and arrow slots were placed so that every inch of the fortress could be watched. The living quarters often doubled as storage rooms for stolen goods. Mikau took note of every crevace, tunnel and corner he could hide himself in if the need arose. He also memorized the layout of the area the best he could so he wouldn't get lost. Although a voice in the back of his mind told him that escaping these lethal warriors would be very, very unlikely.
These Gerudo pirates were certainly not what Mikau expected out of a group of females, dispite all that he's heard about them. His experience with the opposite sex has been limited to the young Zora females which the boys would avoid at all costs. Except, of course, to throw the occational sea crawler at. But these women... they are nothing like fragile Zora girls that Mikau was so used to. The Gerudos are cold and relentless if they want to be. Their brown skin betrayed the fact that they descended from desert dwellers, who had a reputation of their own. But this group of females also have Zora ancestors, so they took to the sea. Mikau noticed that all of them had pointed noses that sat quite elegantly on their faces, and remembered how Japas has just such a nose but stuck out of him like a peg.
The society of these women seemed to be complex and completely without flaw. Mikau guessed that there is a hierarchy system; the number of jewels and color of clothes and lipstick represent the rank each one held. Or something like that, Mikau couldn't tell simply by looking at them. Each Gerudo knew her own role. They would seem relaxed, but Mikau noticed that when he passed by, fingers would stroke weapons and weight would be shifted to the balls of the feet.
"So..." Mikau said nervously, unable to bear the silence. "The weather has been quite windy recently, hm?" Goddess, that sounded so lame!
"Oh yes." One of the Gerudos replied. "It's nice, just the way we like it. Larger ships can't manuver in the wind, which makes them easier for smaller ships to board. Tell me Zora," She turned to face him. "Just what is it like in Zora Hall? Is it true that you still refuse to cook your food?"
"Huh? Well, we do eat some cooked foods. Bread and cakes can't be made without cooking. Some things, like cucco eggs, simply taste nicer when cooked." Mikau felt slightly better. He likes to talk when he's nervous.
The Gerudo laughed. "You eat eggs now? That's an improvement. I heard that you never used to touch what those 'land people' eat."
"Will you shut up? Don't talk to him." The other female snapped at her comrade. "Really, it does nobody good when you get attached to a prisoner!"
"Excuse me?? I am NOT getting 'attached' to him!...Although he is rather cute." The Gerudo looked down at Mikau with one eyebrow raised suggestively. The two of them seemed to be around the same age, but she was a good head taller than the Zora. Mikau smiled nervously at her and tried to look his 'cutest'. "Besides," She continued. "It doesn't matter if I tell him anything important. We can just kill him afterwards." Mikau's eyes grew huge. Maybe starting a conversation wasn't the best of ideas.
"Amberize!" One of the pirates suddenly called out. A Gerudo looked up from her guard duty.
"What?" Amberize answered. When they came nearer, Mikau could see that her eyes were indeed amber. She wore the traditional Gerudo outfit which consisted of baggy pants decorated with symbols and a tight-fitting, revealing top. Amberize looked like any other Gerudo, except Mikau could see that when she spoke, Zorian canines were visible between her lips. Also, the way she walked and the way her hair bounced like a tail reminded Mikau painfully of Japas.
"This Zora wants to talk to you." One of the guards pushed Mikau forward. Amberize crossed her arms, looking unimpressed.
Mikau cleared his throat. "My name is Mikau. And if I'm not mistaken, you are Japas' older sister..." At the mention of Japas, Amberize's eye twitched and she unshealthed a dagger. Mikau cringed and squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them again, he realized that his arms and tail could move freely again. Amberize had cut him free.
"Continue, Zora. Before I lose my patience." She shook her daggar at him like one would shake a finger.
"I have been Japas' friend for a long time, until recently, his father took Japas away with him to Labrynna. But he ran away... I don't know where he is, but I think he might have come back to Termina."
"He wouldn't have tried to come back here, would he?!" Amberize gasped. "Labrynna is so far away!" Her face was a mask of shock and concern, but she quickly recomposed herself. The two other Gerudo were watching. "What does this have to do with me?" She asked in a bored tone, examining her her nails.
"I thought...he might have come here. His father wouldn't have been able to find him here, and he misses you..." Mikau waited for her reaction.
The other two Gerudo were also watching Amberize closely. She didn't display any emotion, but tucked her bangs behind her ear, a motion identical to her brother's. "Look, kid. There hasn't been any Zoras within three leagues of this fortress for months, other than you. I haven't seen Japas. I haven't seen him in over four years." Then to the guards, "Throw him outside."
"Are you sure?" One of them asked. "I was hoping to kill him." She nearly pouted when she said this. Mikau gaped at her with disbelief. Gerudos are every bit as terrifying as people say they are!
Amberize looked at Mikau with an unreadable expression. "Nah. Heck, this kid's got guts to come this far. A waste of a rare male, if you ask me. Let him grow into something we can really sink our teeth into." She snapped her teeth for extra effect. The other pirates laughed as they dragged the Zora away. Mikau didn't find that the least bit funny, but at least he got away with his life.
"Oh, what was your name again? Mikau?" Amberize called out. "Don't ever come back here again. And that's not a request." The Zora gulped. That's a promise he's more than glad to keep!
Mikau was dumped unceremoniously into the sea, where he made a big splash. He swam a little distance away but surfaced again to look back at the fortress once he felt safe. None of the Gerudos paid him any attention. Then Mikau dived beneath the water and put as many miles as he could between him and the fortress of females.
Amberize and Pyrias watched the silhouette that was Mikau shrink into a dot and eventually disappear. Mikau's visit had reawakened memories of Japas in both of them, which ached like a reopened wound. Long after he had gone, Amberize still held her little sister tightly, stroking her hair while staring out over the ocean. Pyrias didn't look at the sea, but had her eyes tightly closed, fighting against the tears that wouldn't stop flowing.
End of Chapter 4
Oh, there's something I forgot to mention. The only instrument I've ever played properly was the piano. So forgive me if I get any of the technicalities of other instruments incorrect.