Chapter 13 – An Unlucky Predicament?

Almost two months have passed since they started their training exercise. Since than they almost daily came to East Reservoir Lake to swim ,train ,laugh and most important spend time with each other.

In those two months they have grown more closer than they had ever been. There love grew deeper every day, and that was something that was visible for everyone. They had been seen tolling throughout the domain more and more. They have developed a feeling for the other which both of them had never truly experienced. The feeling of deep and pure affection and love.

It was evening and the night began to settle into the Domain. The shop keepers began to bring their goods inside and close for the day. The guards rotated as the night shift arrived. Children where coming home after a long day of playing. The serenity of the night began to lay its cloak over the domain.

But above the roofs of the Zoras, in the East Reservoir Lake there was still something going on. Mipha laughed as she once again escaped his grasp and dove past him. Link quickly turned around and tried grabbing her ankle, only to be met by a gust of water that she splashed in his face.

He quickly closed his eyes and tried to rub the water away while he still heard the laughing of Mipha near him. He wouldn't give up so easily as he jumped into the direction of her voice. Once again he just landed in the water, without catching her.

He didn't care how long this game had been going on already. He was driven by a feeling of determination. He would catch her definitely.

He turned slowly on the spot, looking for any sign of the whereabouts of the red Zora girl. He tried listening to the movements of the water. His senses where still sharp from his time in the wild and so he felt it at his legs as Mipha tried to sneak up from behind.

As soon as she was close enough he immediately spun around and jumped on her. Since she was standing and hadn't expected him to turn around so quick as he grabbed her in the fall before they both splashed into the water.

"Got you!" he screamed victorious as they both emerged from the water.

"I just cannot sneak up on you, can I? Even tough this is my element." Mipha joked.

Instead of answering her, Link gave her a mischievous smile which she understood in an instance. The water dripped from both of them as they stared into each others eyes before they closed in for a kiss.

"Comm on its getting late." She said as they parted. Link agreed her as they both swam back towards the pier where Link dried himself of and put his cloths back on. Mipha patently waited on the side until he was finished. Mipha locked her arm with his as they began walking back to the Domain.

A few hours had passed and the two where laying in bed by now sleeping. Or that's what Link would have liked to do. But for some reason he couldn't fall asleep. He turned over for the who knows time and stared at the ceiling. Next to him he could hear Mipha snoozing , tugged in beneath the blanket. He sighed. Maybe some fresh air would bring his mind to rest.

As careful as possible, to not wake up Mipha, he slid out of the bed and moved towards the balcony. He silently opened the door and was met by a gust of cool night air. He stepped to the railing and let his hand slide over the smooth metal rim.

He let his view slide over the Domain. He could see the lights from the Luminous stones throughout the city. Here and there he could make out a patrol through the rain that was dripping from the sky.

Apparently rain was a good omen for the Zoras. It is said to bring luck and happiness. He was watching the rain create little puddles on the streets below him as another gust of wind blew over the balcony. His body shivered , but to him the cold didn't feel uncomfortable at all. It was as if the cold air would hug him, and wash all of his disturbance away. Suddenly his mind was clear again.

He released a breath he didn't knew he was holding as his mind came to piece while he watched over the serenity of this watery city. In this moment a pair of soft arms sliding around his torso just added to the sensation of peace as a voice whispered in his ear.

"Come back inside. You'll catch a cold."

Without saying anything else Link followed Mipha who back inside. They closed the balcony doors and went back under the bed sheets.

"I am sorry that I woke you."

This time Mipha acted without saying a word as she took his head and gently hugged it to her breast. The combination of his new found peace, the movement of Miphas lungs rising and sinking with every breath and the sound of her pounding heart quickly brought Link to snooze away.

The next day started as any other day too. They got up, did their morning exercises, ate and got dressed. But this time they heard a knock on the door just before they where about to leave the room.

"Mipha, Link? May I come in?" Sidon asked from outside.

"Of course." Mipha answered.

The door opened and the giant red Zora came inside of the bedroom with a big smile on his face.

"Good Morning to you first of all. I have great news. If you would please follow me the to throne room." The Prince said.

Link and Mipha both agreed as the trio left the room and went to towards the throne room. Link and Mipha where curious what kind of news Sidon would have. They mumbled a bit to the other until they stood in front of the great door leading to the kings residence. Two Royal guards greeted them as they opened the door for them.

Inside was King Dorephan sitting on his throne , looking as calm as usual. Sidon went next to him as Link noticed three other people in the room. They where dressed in typical Sheikah uniforms and all bowed before him and Mipha as they stepped onto the platform in front of the throne.

"Good Morning Mipha and Link. Let me come straight to the point. These guests arrived here just this morning and bring an important message from Princess Zelda." Dorephan said to them.

With a hand gesture he beckoned the Sheikah to speak. One of them stepped forward a bit and bowed again.

"Princess Mipha, Master Link it is an honor to meet you. I bring a important message from Princess Zelda..." The room filled with silence as the Sheikah conveyed his message.

"Princess Zelda would like to inform you that the restauration works on Castle Hyrule have been mostly completed. With that she will now move all further operations back to Castle Hyrule and with that revive the Kingdom of Hyrule. Princess Zelda cannot continue leading the newly revived Kingdom of Hyrule as Princess and therefore will be crowned the new Queen of Hyrule.

For this reason she invites her loyal servant Link, as the last remaining figure of the old Kingdom of Hyrule, to crown her as Queen. Princess Zelda has made it very clear that you, Master Link, are the only person that can accept or deny her request.

She also invites the Royal family of Zoras Domain to visit the revival of the Kingdom of Hyrule. The Ceremony will take place in 3 days from now. She wishes you all well and hopes you can attend." With that the Sheikah ended his message.

If it weren't for the attending royalty Links mouth would have dropped to the floor. Strangely Zelda and what happens with Hyrule he had completely forgotten over the last few months. And the fact that she wanted him to crown herself Queen was just beyond him.

As Dorephan dismissed the Sheikahs and send them of to the barracks, Links legs began shaking a bit. Mipha seemed to notice this as she increased her grip on his arm, as if she wanted to support him.

The rest of the meeting went pretty fast. Although Link was physically there his mind was in a whole different place. He just answered yes when he was questioned something as his thoughts just tried to figure out what the next days would bring.

He didn't even realise that the meeting ended. He just felt someone leading him somewhere as he snapped back. Mipha had increased her grip on his arm as she had led him out of the throne room and the palace into the gardens.

"When did we...?" Link started as they sat down on a bench.

"You seemed a bit lost after the messenger told us of Zeldas plan. We discussed anything important afterwards and ended the meeting. I thought some fresh air would help you focus again." Mipha said as she as she sat besides Link and rested her head on his shoulder.

Link folded his hands in front of him as he again fell into his deep thoughts. Mipha noticed his change in expression again. He wasn't just spacing out, something was bothering him.

"Link, what is on your mind? Something is disturbing you, I can tell." she whispered to him.

At first she thought he didn't notice her question, but after around a minute he mumbled out a reply.

"Im just a bit...overwhelmed. Zelda asked specifically me to crown her. I am the only one who could accept or deny the offer. I mean Zelda should be the right person for becoming Queen...shouldn't she?" Link stuttered.

"I mean I...and then it...this could...i couldn't..." he stuttered out.

A warm and feeling on his arm snapped him back out of his thoughts. Mipha had taken hold of his arm and was looking at a bird sitting hopping around through the grass to their feet. She talked to Link while her eyes stayed fixed on the bird.

"I think you will make the right decision. And whatever it is I will support it." she said as she turned her head towards Link and gave him one of her soothing smiles.

His problems seemed to melt as he once again realised his incredible gift, to be together with the person he loves so deeply. He lowered his head and pressed his forehead against hers. They remained sitting there for a few minutes until Mipha jumped up and drew him after her.

"Common, we have the entire day free for preparations. So lets go take a swim. It should hopefully be clear to you how we will travel to Hyrule Castle." She laughed as she ran of, drawing Link after her.

"What happened to the princess who would have never even thought of doing something else than work?" Link asked her lovingly as the duo reached the pier heading into East Reservoir Lake.

"What do you mean? This is work. I will prepare you for a long trip with Zoras." Mipha answered, already having jumped into the lake while Link was still busy undressing.

He quickly followed after her and splashed in the lake. The water was surprisingly quite warm, although it was barely noon. Link swam a bit away from the pier until Miphas head bobbed out of the water in front of him.

"Grab hold of my shoulders." She said as she swam closer to him and turned around.

"First you have to get used to my speed. I will start slowly, you're ready?" Mipha said as Link grabbed her shoulders.

"Lets try it."

Mipha started swimming. Link remembered as he swam with Sidon to free Vah Ruta but this was a whole different experience. Mipha was a lot smaller than her brother and because of this wasn't as fast as him. It was still a considerable speed they reached. As they went faster Links grip on her shoulders losened and he slid of off her back and splashed into the water again.

Mipha had came around and this time Link had put his arms around her shoulders, to not again loose his grip so easily. Her tailfin laid over his left shoulder as Mipha swam of again. It worked much better this time and after a few rounds around the lake they stopped again as Mipha turned to Link, as good as she could in their current position.

"There will be a few passages on the trip where we will have to jump or dive a few times. I want to see how long you can stay underwater but if anything happens make yourself noticeable somehow, okay?"

"I promise."

With that Mipha swam of again. As she reached full speed she dove beneath the water. Link was forced to close his eyes as the rush of water hitting against him was quite uncomfortable. He drew himself a bit closer to Miphas back, which she must have misunderstood because she immediately went back to the surface and asked if everything was okay.

After Link had reassured her that he was fine Mipha dove of again. Link closed his eyes again as he drew himself closer to her back again. He tried to do as little movements as possible as Mipha cut through the water like a knife through butter. After a few minutes Links lungs began filling very uncomfortable. He still waited for one more minute until he slightly taped Mipha on the cheek. She took a short curve down and than shot upwards with all her power, jumping out of the water and a good distance into the air. Link took a deep breath before they landed back in the water.

Without using much of her strength Mipha brought them both to the floor of the lake. Link opened his eyes as he felt Mipha changing his grip on her, turning him towards her. Link gave her a sheepish smile to which she promptly replied with a kiss on his cheek. The two stayed a bit longer on the floor before Link signalled her to dive up again. Mipha gently grabbed hold of his torso and the two ascended back to the surface.

Well 13 seems to be the unlucky number since it took me too long to finish this chapter. Way longer than I would have liked it. Anyway I am working again with more motivation and backup. Thank you for the lovely Goddessnerd who now proofreads my chapters. As usual if you want to tell e something just write me a PM or a review. See ya next time