AN: I'm estimating that a Zora, ages one Hylian year for every five Zora years, so that a 100-year-old Zora is the equivalent of a 20-year-old Hylian and a 300-year-old Zora is the equivalent of a 60-year-old Hylian. Mipha is the equivalent of Link and Zelda (17) so she is in her late 80s.

Zora's Domain

Mipha's second Zora date had gone no better than her first. This time it was a green-scaled food merchant named Ettu map Mikau, who had been more sociable than Art Secro but whose unhealthy and disgusting eating habits had repulsed Mipha. She was about to despair of finding a viable alternative to Revali when she went on her date with Fronk map Toto, a black-scaled male who was studying carpentry.

The dinner section of their date had been brief but so much the better. That left more time for conversation afterward. Mipha got to observe firsthand a sculpture he was helping his 250-year-old master, Dento, build a sculpture of the Zora Earth Sage Laruto.

"Not quite as famous as our patron Sage, Princess Ruto, but still a significant figure in our history, as she was the last Zora Sage in Hyrule before the Great Flood."

Mipha gazed at the exquisite stonework. The Sage had a large headpiece at the beginning of her cranial fin, armbands, and a billowing robe. In her hands she held a harp who strings were filed so delicately as to look like they really were the fine strings of a musical instrument.

"This is great work, Fronk. I'm assuming your master did the harp?" Mipha touched the statue's hands just below the harp, which was as high as she could reach.

"Well, yes. He only let me hew the rough spaces and file the excess material, except for the harp strings. Only an expert could file the harp strings as neatly as he did. Do you see how thin they are? I'm not that good…yet."

"But you did the spaces between the fingers?"

"Yes," he said, proudly smiling, before muttering, "Under my master's supervision of course."

She looked him in the eye and smiled, "Of course." She turned her attention back from the artist to the art, specifically the impressions of folds in the Sage's robe.

"Even though it's made of stone, I can almost see folds."

"All a simple matter of filing down one section more than its neighbors, or less," Fronk said.

"You say it's simple, but I'm impressed," Mipha cast her gaze back to the artist.

"Thank you, Princess. I did most of the work on the folds myself," he smiled in a way that reminded her of her brother.

She felt compelled to return the smile. Of her three Zora dates, this one was turning out to be the most successful. Only one thing was bothering her.

"Fronk?"

"Yes, Princess?"

Mipha closed her eyes and swallowed. That was the very issue.

"Could you call me, 'Mipha?'"

Fronk was silent for a minute and Mipha could see the reluctance on his face.

"You mean, in public?"

"No, just between us. I get tired of hearing my rank all the time." The only time she had ever let one of her suitors get away with calling her "Princess" was when Revali called her that and it was a mix between keeping up their ruse and playfulness, thinly disguised as sarcasm, on his part, as was his use of "Dear."

"But," Fronk said slowly, "You are the princess. I would feel as though I'm disrespecting you."

How could Mipha explain this?

"I know, but I need you to see me as more than just a duty or obligation, as an actual Zora."

Fronk looked at her, arching his forehead just above his eyes. Was he confused?

"I'm being vague, aren't I?" Mipha said after weighing her words for a minute.

"I think I get it," Fronk said. "What you mean is that you are reminded of your duty to the Domain all the time. When people say 'Princess', you're reminded that there is a big social divide between me and most Zora of the Domain. You are never around anyone who can see you as distinct from your position. Am I close?"

Mipha smiled in recognition. "That's it exactly."

Fronk nodded. "Very well. Now let me explain my position to you."

Mipha felt her heart sink as Fronk went over the reasons why he felt that he had to address her as princess.

"We were brought up in very different worlds. You know many social graces that would take me a lifetime to master." He saw her head droop and realized he had said the wrong thing. "Don't get me wrong," he said, quickly, waving his hands in a circular motion reminiscent of shaking one's head, "I'd gladly take a lifetime…but I feel like we are not there yet."

Mipha stood in silence as she pondered his words. From the romantic perspective she was disappointed, but Fronk had just provided valuable insight into how her subjects saw her, and why it would be so difficult to find love with one of them. It would, in Fronk's words, "take a lifetime" to bridge that social gulf. To his credit, Fronk said that he would be willing to wait a lifetime, but could Mipha say the same?

"Thank you for your honesty, Fronk," she said. Some of her disappointment came across in the somewhat uneasy breaths she released as she spoke. "You did say you'd be willing to wait a lifetime, and I appreciate that, but I need to hear someone my own age just call me 'Mipha' right now."

When she said that, she realized just how few people there were of outside of her family that called her by her first name. She could name only five: Link, Zelda, Daruk, Urbossa, and Revali—none of whom were her subjects, and one of whom was arguably her sovereign.

"I'm sorry," Fronk said. "Right now, I can only call you 'Princess Mipha.' I can use just your first name to distinguish you from other Princesses in the third-person for reference, but not when addressing you directly," he closed his eyes and looked away. "I know that you would like to hear just 'Mipha' from me right now, Princess, but I can't do that yet."

Mipha just looked at the back of Fronk's head which was still facing her. She then realized that such a relationship would be unfair to him to. He had the same need for equality that she did.

She approached him from the side and cupped his hand in hers. "I'm sorry, Fronk. You are a very thoughtful Zora, and you deserve someone who can make you happy now. I can't do that for you though."

With that, he nodded, and they parted.

Three Zora dates now and still no matches. Mipha should have been feeling encouraged—after all, she had made a connection with Fronk, and definitely made a new friend. If only her rank hadn't come between them…and therein lay the source of her discouragement. Rank would come between her and any Zora suitor except the princes of the Zora settlements in Labrynna, Holodrum, or New Hyrule—and Mipha had no interest in moving overseas. It was beginning to look like Revali was her only option when she met date number four, a tall pleasant faced blue scaled Zora sitting at a table outside a tea stand in one of the busier intersection of the domain.

He stood and motioned for her to take the empty chair at opposite him. Unlike her other dates, he didn't pull it out for her.

He extended his open palm toward her and said, smiling "Hi. My name is Kayden map Evan."

She then realized he wanted her to shake his hand. It was a bit odd for her. A princess is not normally greeted by shaking her hand...and she found such a brazen disrespectful attitude refreshing! She wanted to be seen as young female Zora like any other and not a princess.

"Mipha virkh Dorephan," she smiled back, returning the handshake as she took her seat.

"So, I gathered," Kayden said, smiling. "Want something to drink?"

"Yes, I quite believe I would." When she said this, Kayden stood up again and gestured for Mipha to join him.

She followed him to the tea stand and watched him as he ordered a mint tea for ten green rupees.

"And what would you like?" he asked her.

So far, she had not paid for food or drink on any of her dates. She had forgot to bring her coin purse in Rito Village and all the males had insisted on paying for her in Zora's Domain. She dared to hope Kayden would let her pay her own way.

"How much for a green tea?" She asked the vendor.

"It costs the same, Your Highness," he cast a disapproving glance at Kayden as Mipha produced the cash herself.

When they had their drinks, they returned to their seats.

"Thank you for letting me pay for it myself," she said while they were walking.

"I talked to Fronk before we met," he said. When they were seated again, he said, "He told me you didn't like being treated like a princess, so I figured I would treat you to a few hours as a normal girl."

"That was very thoughtful of you both."

Mipha could tell this date was going to be a success.

Nearly a month had past since Mipha's first visit to Rito Village, and she was scheduled for another. Revali was not looking forward to because he knew it would leave both with a torrent of conflicting emotions.

She and Princess Zelda were the only two females close to his own age he respected. He was twenty-eight Rito years old, which gave just eleven more solar years of life experience than the seventeen-year-old Hylian Princess or the eighty-six-year-old Zora Princess as Rito and Hylians aged at the same speed.

But in addition to being a female Revali respected, Mipha was a friend whose company Revali truly enjoyed, and while he did not want to build a romance from that—and he could clearly see the first sparks of romance every time he and Mipha were alone together long enough. And while he saw Human-Zorakin interspecies as doomed to failure, three internal romances between the two branches of the Zorakin had occurred before with the Goddesses' blessing. Could Mipha and Revali be the fourth?

Revali did not want that—so why did he want to be around Mipha again so much? It could just be friendship—no, he never felt the same way around Mipha that he had felt around anyone else—it went beyond friendship—and he hated that. At least, he wanted to hate that. He actually enjoyed it, and for that he loathed himself, because he knew he could only disappoint her in the end. He had to find a way to end this for her sake. He had already resigned himself to the fact that he wouldn't be happy with either outcome, but he was determined that she would be happy with hers.

Today was the day he had agreed to meet Mipha at the gate of Zora's Domain and fly her to Lanayru Tower and then to Rito Village.

When Mipha approached she had a wide smile on her face, which intrigued Revali as he leaned against one of the pillars supporting the gate.

"You seem to be in a cheerful mood," Revali said. "Anything I should know?"

"Out of you and five Zora suitors, I'm down to you and one Zora suitor, Kayden map Evan."

"What made this Kayden stand out?"

Mipha smiled. "Of all the males in the three dates before him and one after, he was the only one to call me 'Mipha' instead of 'Your Highness'."

"That's setting the bar pretty low. If I were of the mind to date one of my rabid Rito fangirls I would insist they just call me 'Revali' and not 'Master Revali' or 'Champion Revali.' But if he is the only one who treats you like a person and not a title, then he's the one worth keeping. You like being around him?"

"Well…" Mipha gulped. She did like being around Kayden, but she also liked being around Revali. "I like him, but I also like you too."

Revali, shook his head and put his arms on Mipha's shoulders. "Mipha, you could have a future with him," Revali closed his eyes and slowly moved his cheek to hers. He then pulled back just as quickly.

Now Mipha pulled back with a disappointed look on her face.

"I'm sorry," Revali said, "I don't know what came over me."

"Why? It's not like you kissed me. I'm sorry you feel that you can't even hug me."

"Because this..." Revali swept his fand back and forth in the space between them, "….won't last."

"I thought that was up to us," Mipha said.

"Come on," Revali said. "Let's get to Rito Village and get this over. I like you too much han to really get involved with you."

Revali's words mad Mipha shed a few tears on the inside. She wanted to give Revali a fair chance, but he just didn't want to take it. Oh well, at least she still had Kayden.