Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places

A Legend of Zelda: Age of Calamity Fanfic

By Emperor K. Rool

Zora's Domain

It had been nearly three months since Link and Princess Zelda had sealed the Calamity; three months since her brother's future self had gone back to his own time; and yet to Mipha it seemed as if life in Zora's domain, or indeed, all Hyrule, would ever return to normal. The things that had happened would not soon be forgotten—least importantly but most obviously, the technical breakthroughs. The last Mipha had heard, Purah was hard at work reverse engineering backups for the Sheikah Slate to distribute to each of Hyrule's provinces. In time the Sheikah Slates combined with the technology of the Sheikah Towers would make travel between any two points on Hyrule's map nearly instantaneous. Mipha had more important things to concern herself with. Three months after the battle, she had yet to tell Link how she truly felt or present him with her handcrafted Zora armor. In fact, she had hardly seen much of Link at all since then. And in all the times she'd seen him recently, he'd been with her, Princess Zelda. Mipha was not prone to bouts of jealousy, but she could not help but notice how close Link and the princess had become. She hoped very much that the princess found happiness with someone—only she'd prefer it not to be with her someone. She had known Link for 10 years since he was a juvenile human boy of seven and she an adolescent Zora of seventy. They had taken their first steps toward adulthood in each other's company, and Mipha was sure that if anyone was ever meant to be a couple, it was the two of them.

The well of emotions inside her would spill over. She had to see Link now. As she stared at the artificial waterfall on the upper level of the Domain pouring torrents of water back into the natural lake upon which all the Domain—including the bridge upon which she now was standing—was constructed, she heard the unmistakable sound of booted human footfalls. She dared to hope…she turned…and there he was!

"Link!"

The knight rarely spoke. He nodded to Mipha in acknowledgement of her meeting and smiled.

As she returned the smile, his countenance changed. He looked away and closed his eyes painfully for a moment.

Link was obviously in some sort of discomfort.

"Link, what's wrong?" A touch of concerned entered Mipha's voice.

"Mipha…" Link rarely spoke, so now that he was speaking, Mipha gave him her undivided attention.

"It's about us."

The dam of her heart broke, and her emotions poured forth. She knew she should be listening, but she had to speak.

"Link, if I don't tell you now, it will be too late! I love—"

He held up his hand beside his face, palm facing her. She took the cue to let him speak.

She noticed that his eyes were still closed, and that he had not taken any steps to be closer to her since she had first seen him, the body length of two adult Hylians away.

"It already is." He swallowed and was silent for a moment. "Mipha," he nodded, "You are my friend, and always will be…" he swallowed again.

She knew heartbreak came next.

"…But I love Zelda."

The worst had happened.

"Yes, Link," Mipha said, putting on a brave face. "I understand," It wasn't the truth of course.

How could I understand? she thought to herself.

Link opened his eyes but turned his head away.

"I'm sorry," he said before walking away.

Mipha turned back to face the waterfall, letting its roar obscure her sobbing.

She held herself together for a moment after Link had left, then the tears flowed.

How could you be such a fool, Mipha? She thought to herself, as she tried to wipe a tear from her eyes. You always let him know he was such a good friend…and that was just the problem. She had thought friendship had been enough to grow into love for them both…and it had for her, but it had always been her alone who saw anything more. She thought back to the deepest moments of her attraction to Link, When she first thought she might love him, she had said nothing for fear of ruining their friendship. Then when the fight against the Calamity had brought them back together…her heart had throbbed for the golden-haired Hylian knight who wield his sword against Moblins with such ease, but she had spent more time talking about training with Daruk to impress Link than spending time with him. Meanwhile, their respective duties as pilot of Vah Ruta and bodyguard to Princess Zelda had kept them apart as much as their mutual duties as champions had brought them together. Part of that had been unavoidable. They had had separate duties after all, but she spent what time they could have been together in either training or constructing his Zora armor…time that Zelda had taken to get to know him, and that Link had taken to get to know Zelda. Of she felt bitterness toward the Hylian princess in that moment, but she knew that if were to really be fair, Zelda had never set out to steal Link from her, nor had Link set out to be with Zelda. It had just…happened. And if Mipha were truly honest with herself, it had never happened between Link and herself. She was attracted to Link, and had been ever since he entered adolescence, and she clearly had strong feelings for him, but she didn't know his daily struggles, nor did he know hers—and she had never asked—what were his feelings for her? Today she had learned all too painfully that she was his friend, his close friend, but, sadly, no more. She was disappointed with what Link and Zelda had done, but she could not be angry with them. The only person she could be angry with was herself. She had waited too late to tell Link. Thus, he had never really been hers to lose.

So why was she so angry with Link and Zelda when the blame was her own?

Mipha spent the last two hours feeling numb and desensitized to her surroundings. She did not know how long she had been walking when a familiar voice said, "Mipha, what's wrong?"

Suddenly, Mipha realized that she was on the platform of her father's throne room. The voice had come from her father, Dorephan, the massive king of the Zora.

Mipha returned to her senses and noted the concern on her father's face. She also noticed her toddler brother, Sidon, happily frolicking in the throne room's fountain.

She sat down on the floor and looked at her father.

"Troubles of the heart. I don't think I shall be finishing Link's Zora armor." A fresh tear escaped, and she turned her head. "He and Princess Zelda are…" Mipha could not finish the sentence.

"So that was why he came in person," Dorephan said.

Mipha was confused.

"Why else would he be here, Father?"

"He delivered the backup Sheikah slate we've been expecting to me and announced that Princess Zelda is hosting a feast at Hyrule Castle for the leaders of Hyrule's peoples on the nineteenth of Nayru. We are supposed to travel by Sheikah tower. If you do not want to attend…"

"No," Mipha said. No matter how she felt she knew her duty. "As the Princess of the Zora I shall be expected to attend."

"I am proud of your devotion to your duty, my daughter. If you want to talk about it…" he gestured with his hand inviting her to say something whenever she felt like it.

"That's alright, Father," she responded. "I must accept that Link and I were not meant to be." She closed her eyes and rose to her feet. "This is not the end. It is the beginning. Link was not meant to be mine. I must learn from how I lost him and find someone who is."

Rito Village

A messenger had just delivered a Sheikah slate to Elder Komali, inviting the leaders of the Rito to attend a feast for Hyrule's leaders that Princess Zelda was hosting at Hyrule Castle. As the Champion of the Rito, Revali would be expected to attend. The purpose was to celebrate the rediscovered technology of the Sheikah towers that made travel between any two points in Hyrule instantaneous.

Revali supposed it was a worthwhile celebration, though there had been a lot of celebrations recently—to mark the defeat of Calamity Ganon; the Champions, Princess, and Impa only celebration to mark Terrako's reconstruction—it was all getting to be a little excessive.

Celebrating the defeat of Calamity Ganon was a momentous occasion for all Hyrule, Revali admitted, and it had certainly warranted massive celebrations throughout the kingdom. Revali could also understand Zelda's need to celebrate Terrako's return. She had a bond with the little bucket of bolts that had saved the kingdom, and Revali was glad that the tiny guardian was alive, though he would only break the character of the stoic icy warrior to express his own affection for the gizmo for a few seconds at a time, and then rarely. Zelda had shown good judgment in keeping that party small. But this celebration over a new way to travel…what was so special about that? Sure, it would revolutionize travel in Hyrule once everyone had Sheikah slates and could teleport from tower to tower, but other than making travel time shorter and allowing news to spread faster, what was the significance?

Revali had never been one for overly elaborate ceremonies. The feast in which Link and the four pilots were named champions seemed entirely unnecessary and even unwise to him. They had been in the middle of a war after all!

Big celebrations were just not the Rito way. Revali supposed that was because of the Rito's home in the frigid, mountainous Hebra province, were winters were especially harsh, not much grew, and nothing went to waste. If not for the feathers covering their bodies, the Rito would be plagued by temperatures that could easily kill any other being in Hyrule except a Goron. Somehow, Revali doubted that improved travel would mean more visitors to Rito village, so what exactly, other than faster news from the capital were the Rito gaining from the rediscovered technology?

If Revali had his way, he would spend all day at the flight range practicing his archery and flying skills. He knew that no one would break his records for at least a hundred years, thanks to Teba. Still, he could not allow himself to grow complacent. The only thing he would ever allow to impede his abilities would be inevitable old age, which was, thankfully, a long way away. He would not let anything slow him down-which paradoxically might be why it was a good idea to get out of Rito Village for a time.

He had seen the way the females had looked at him ever since he mastered his Gale and became the Rito's—no, Hyurle's—greatest warrior. These looks had only gotten more frequent after he became Vah Medoh's pilot.

As flattered as Revali was by his attention from the opposite sex, he ultimately knew where a relationship would lead—to marriage and chicks. Raising chicks was the one thing Revali believed was beyond his ability.

He had not had the best relationship with his own father and was not keen to repeat the experience. He had been relieved when he learned that unlike the other pilots, he had direct blood connection to his successor. Sidon was Mipha's brother, and Yunobo and Riju had been the great and great-great-grandchildren of Daruk and Urbosa respectively. He felt reassured in the existence of Teba that he did not need descendants to carry on his legacy.

That said, his decision to never take a wife had seriously cut into his abilities to socialize with Rito females, something he regrated.

He could have great respect for a female who was not interested in him romantically. Sometimes he could concede that Urbosa was a better warrior than himself, and he had a small but growing admiration for Mipha.

Mipha, the closest thing to a female Rito friend I have.

Millenia ago the Rito's earliest ancestors had been Zora, but in the era of the Great Sea, when the ancestors of the modern Zora had been able to remain away from the sea in fresh water, Revali's ancestors were trapped on islands with salt water all around. Thus, the Golden Goddesses transformed these Zora into the first Rito, beings that glided on the wind rather than on the river's currents, hence the saying that "Every Rito is a Zora, but not all Zora are Rito."

As for Mipha herself, she was the opposite of Revali: gentle where he was abrasive, plagued by self-doubt, where he was brimming with confidence.

They also had very different views about a certain Hylian Champion. Mipha worshiped the ground he walked on, in a rather pathetic and hopeless manner. Revali could barely tolerate him.

If love could turn Mipha from a skilled warrior into a drooling idiot, Revali was grateful that he had sworn off the emotion. He would never allow it to claim him. Yes, he would go to Zelda's stupid travel celebration, where there would be few female Rito around, and he would be in defensive mode. Everyone who did not know him would think he was a jerk. Yes, nothing could go wrong that way.