WARNING

Major spoilers for the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild ahead! Please reconsider reading this story if you are yet to finish the game. You have been warned!

A/N: I'm so sorry about the late update!

A soft friendly fluff chapter. I'm sorry for the Miphlinkers out there but I'm going to have to keep this perfectly platonic because, as you can see, in this story our little Hylian knight only loves his Hylian princess.

Divine Beast Vah Ruta roamed loudly in the waters of East Reservoir Lake, its gigantic, huge trunk moving upwards as Link gripped the edges of his seat tightly, unable to stop acting nervous at the strange feel of ancient technology. Wind rippled his hair around and partially blinded his eyes, hiding the magnificent view away from him to see while lake water wetted his champion's tunic uncomfortably.

The machine's trunk came to a halt, making Link jerk in surprise and his companion next to him, Mipha, giggle sweetly. He flashed the Zora princess a soft smile and went back to silence, staring at the horizon in the distance.

Zelda has decided to visit Zora's Domain and check on Mipha's control on her Divine Beast, which, as it turns out, was magnificent. Mipha had gained complete control over the technology, and was now piloting it with ease, just as she was showing Link right now.

"I was thinking..." at the sound of his childhood friend's warm voice, Link tilted his head to study to Zora. She was tending his swollen arm from a few days ago with her healing powers, the cool and refreshing feel of it making Link unexplainably happy. "This reminds me of the time we first met." At the mention of his childhood, Link felt a heavy pang of homesickness - his friendly house in Hateno, his precious sister, kind mother and smiling father, even that stray dog that used to come around their house every morning. Ever since he had wielded the Master Sword, however…things had been…different. Sometimes he wished he hadn't become a royal knight for Hyrule, and wanted everything to go back to how they used to be.

He still remembered the first time he met Mipha. His father was bringing him along on a trip to check in with the Zoras, a monthly event that still occurs today. Stepping gracefully down the stairs was the Zora princess, her long lashes stunning and her peculiar eyes warm and welcoming. She had greeted Link happily with all smiles and hugs, and even helped him heal an injury he had gotten, carefully and gently, her face crunched up in concern. So many years have passed since then…Link, now seventeen, was now the princess's own appointed knight, the wielder of the Master Sword himself, while Mipha didn't seem to have changed at all.

"You were just a reckless child…" affection filled Mipha's soft voice as she focused on Link's arm, "always getting yourself hurt at every turn." Link couldn't help but let out an embarrassed laugh at the fact: it was true, how young Link could never stop getting himself hurt, no matter how many times his father would tell him to be careful.

Mipha was nodding, memories flashing in her yellow eyes. "Every time, I would heal you." She smiled at her hands, shining with healing powers, floated above Link's injured arm, "Just as I'm doing right now."

A pause. Despite seeing it many times already, Link found himself staring in awe at his injury slowly being consumed by the comforting lights of Mipha's Grace, the pain lifting off of his arm. Mipha was speaking yet again, her familiar voice bringing Link back to attention. "I thought if was funny how, being a Hylian, you looked grown-up so much faster than I did."

Link tilted his head to study to Zora princess next to him. Her yellow Zora eyes were large and bright, her pupils well-developed and real to take on any monsters hiding underneath the water. Her face was embarrassed and expressive, showing just how happy she was to spend some time with Link. Her hands, red and long and graceful, held his arm in place as she slowly inspected and healed it. Then she raised her head, meeting Link's blue eyes.

"I was…" Mipha let a smile slip on her lips, "I was always willing to heal your wounds, even back then."

Link turned to look curiously as the sparkling sound of Mipha's healing powers faded out slowly. The princess seemed to have finished healing his arm: she lifted her long, Zora hands away from it as the power faded, leaving a perfectly healthy arm for Link to marvel at. It was truly incredible, what had turned out: the badly injured arm from that day on Death Mountain was gone, replaced by perfectly bruise-less skin. He turned it around in astonishment, seeing not a single trace of the injury he had before.

"So if this Calamity Ganon does, in fact, return, what can we really do? We just don't seem to know much about what we'll be up against." A sigh was heard from Mipha as Link glared sourly at the ground below. Sometimes just the mention of Calamity Ganon rattles his bones and irritates his spirits. Now he really is growing to loathe the demon, loathe the way he brought Hyrule to ruins again and again, loathe how he ruined thousands of lives. He couldn't wait to slice him into pieces, to destroy him and fight him to the death…

"But know this: that no matter how difficult this battle might get…" Link found himself staring down, sadness and fear suddenly replacing the white hot anger. It's true: it's completely possible to lose people in this upcoming war - the champions, the guardians, the Shiekahs, his princess…The thought seemed to have carved a sharp knife into Link's heart and his eyes snapped back to the Zora, making sure he's paying close attention to his childhood friend and making sure that he was distracting himself perfectly away from the idea.

"If you—if anyone ever tries to do you harm…" Mipha looked up to give Link a reassuring glance, "then I will heal you." A smile. "No matter when, or how bad he wound…I hope you know…" Her eyelids dropped in affection as she spoke, a trait of hers that Link knew too well, "that I will always protect you."

Link flashed an appreciating smile. Mipha truly is a great friend sometimes, now isn't she? …He'll make sure to keep her safe, too.

The Zora fiddled with her hands thoughtfully. "Once this whole thing is over, maybe things can go back to how they used to be when we were young."

A memory — almost like someone else's — appeared inside of Link's head. The two playing chase around the rainy Zora's Domain, Mipha's laughter fueling Link's lungs as he playfully raced down the stairs with the speed way too fast for an average Hylian child. "Link, wait up!" Mipha giggled from behind as her fins slapped against the wet floor of the Domain. "Wait for Mipha!"

Yeah…With a soft smile Link frowned, I'd like that, too.

"You know…" Mipha turned back at him, her eyes sincere and full of trust. "Perhaps we can spend some time together."

And the two smiled at each other, a blush appearing on Mipha's cheeks as she recognized that old, familiar expression on the Hylian knight's face. Link nodded encouragingly at his friend, suddenly unable to wait until this whole thing is over, when everything could go back to how they used to be when they were young.

NEXT UPDATE: October/24th

A/N: Just to make sure here, by "platonic" I mean Link is an oblivious little idiot and couldn't figure out how much Mipha wants to marry him. No offense Link. You're still my favorite guy.

Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Stay safe, stay inside, stay healthy. Have a great day~!

~ ﾐ(o*·ω·)ﾉ

Update: I'm very sorry for the constantly belated updates, but life had been really busy for me lately. There are almost way too much work on the weekends and I can barely make time to write at all, while I have my own personal projects going on at the same time. I'm sure I'll be able to finish the next chapter by next Saturday, and I truly apologize and ask for your patience this week. In short, I'll skip the update for this week since looking at my schedule now, I have no time to spare and write at all. I hope you have my words. Thank you for understanding!