Chapter 32: To Reward Them Both
It took Zelda a moment to remember where she was.
Water burbling in the background.
The tang of river moss in the humid air.
The flexibility of the mattress fitting to the outline of her back.
And a distinct fishy smell.
Zelda tried not to breathe in the fish smell too deeply, turning her head to press her nose into the pillow. She opened her eyes.
Link was lying two beds down from her in the otherwise empty inn.
Zelda jolted upright, swaying on the water mattress as she fought to get off. Not even having removed her boots before bed, she ran to his bedside, searching quickly for a pulse.
The strong beating of his heart could be felt in his neck against her fingers, and she breathed a sigh of relief, peering at Link more closely.
It appeared to be late morning, the sun filtering through storm clouds, the light gray and scattered. What light did make it into the room cast itself on this side of the inn, outlining the sleeping Link. His chest rose softly, evenly, and his face was peaceful, stress and pain lines absent. As well as all the cuts he had received from the collarbone up.
Zelda inhaled quickly. Did that mean?
Someone had dressed him in a light blue tunic, Zora symbols stitched into it, over his trousers which had dried. Zelda, looking around to make sure they were still alone, lifted the bottom of the tunic up above his waistline, searching for the angry, gaping wound on his left side.
It was gone.
As if it had never even existed.
Not even a scar to mark where the knife had entered.
In wonderment, Zelda skimmed her fingers lightly over the smooth skin.
"Princess?"
Flushing, Zelda immediately pulled her hand away from Link, doing her best to cover his exposed abdomen before turning around. "Mipha! Um, I was just checking on how Link was."
Mipha stood a few feet away with a tray of varying fish meats and berries overspilling in the bowls holding them. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise at Zelda's flurried composure, but a smile broke out instantly.
"Oh, he is doing much better." Mipha stepped lightly to Link's bedside, setting down the tray on a stand next to the headboard. Her eyes crinkled as she gazed down at Link's sleeping form. "I was able to heal him completely."
"I. I am so glad." Zelda relaxed from the earlier embarrassment, calmness settling over her at this news. "I was quite worried."
Mipha placed her hand over Link's. "As was I." She looked up at Zelda. "It was very close. If I had been delayed in seeing him any longer, I don't know if he would have made it…. So, thank you, Princess." Mipha's eyes shimmered. "Because of you, he is still alive."
It unsettled Zelda, the way Mipha thanked her. As if Mipha was responsible for Link's well-being. Since Link was Zelda's personal knight, his well-being should be in Zelda's care. But…she had basically done nothing but ordered everyone else around to get Link here. Zelda had been completely useless. She was the one who had gotten Link hurt in the first place, dragging him out to the cursed spring, another failed attempt, being the target of the Yiga, and then not even being able to do anything to save herself or him.
Zelda stared down at her outspread hands. Just more proof of how useless she was without her powers. She was in no place to argue with Mipha or accept any thanks.
She spoke past the lump in her throat. "I should be the one thanking you, Mipha. Truly." Zelda forced herself to meet the Zora Princess's gaze. "Your healing abilities are invaluable and with such care, you have tended to our Hylian Champion. I, as well as all of Hyrule, thanks you."
Mipha bashfully averted her eyes back to Link. In a low voice Zelda barely heard, Mipha murmured, "I would have healed him no matter the time or cost."
Zelda saw the situation distinctly, as if she were a third person watching the scene: her standing there while Mipha looked down at Link in a very obvious, besotted way. Even through the guilt in her heart for causing this, Zelda felt a deep sadness, as if she were standing on the opposite side of a gulf from Mipha and Link, intruding on years of them growing up together, of them becoming friends, possibly more than just friends. And here Zelda was, the lone princess watching on this private moment from afar, no one else by her side.
Before her emotions could escape, Zelda cleared her throat, announcing tightly, "Since I see he is alright, I am going to go take care of some things."
Mipha glanced up once, smiling gently. "Certainly, Princess. I shall watch over him until he wakes." With that, the Zora Princess waved at the innkeeper who had appeared during Zelda and Mipha's conversation, and motioned for a stool.
Zelda turned away quickly, catching one last look at Link, his eyes still blissfully closed.
He was safe. He was well. And now she could leave.
Where Zelda was going, she didn't know. She didn't care.
These hot feelings inside scalded, burning her from the inside out. The pain hurt more than any physical wound she had received within the past 24 hours. Knowing Link was fine, all Zelda's attention on keeping him alive was turning into something else. Something unbearable and painful.
"Princess Zelda, you are awake!"
Lakely appeared beside Zelda, spear in one hand and a wide smile on his face. Which shortly disappeared as Zelda kept walking. He jogged to keep up."Your Highness? Is something the matter?"
Yes. "No. Nothing is the matter. I just wished to take a stroll around the Domain."
"Very good, Princess. I shall accompany you."
Zelda stopped. "I wish to be alone right now."
Lakely shifted uncomfortably, raising one finned arm behind his head. "Um. I would like to grant your request, but I have–*cough* been given orders to stay by your side while the Hylian Champion–,"
"Very well," Zelda cut him off abruptly. "I would like to change into my clothes that were drying. Do you know where they are? And my bag?"
Lakely's face brightened at being useful. "Yes, Princess. I shall fetch them for you at once." He motioned to a Zora guard nearby relaying the orders.
She grimaced. Zelda had been hoping the errand would deter him long enough for her to get away. Exhaling, she leaned against a pillar, waiting while Lakely stood nearby humming softly.
Her gaze turned to the overcast sky. The rain had stopped from last night, but thick, dark clouds on the horizon promised another downpour. Zelda looked over the edge of the railing on the main platform of Zora's Domain. The lake was higher than when she had last been here, covering the small island she had rested on after her dive.
The reservoir must be full, Zelda thought. As her gaze followed the flow of water, she saw once the water went down the waterfall, it turned more into a swift current than a stagnant pool as it usually was. If Zora's Domain ever flooded, it would flood most of Hyrule as well.
"How long has it been raining here?" Zelda asked, still scoping the lake below.
"It has been raining on and off for about a week now, Princess. The rainfall is good for the freshwater, but it has been a hamper on our fishing. The fish have been placed farther downstream, where the current is quicker." Lakely hummed a low note. "I'll admit, it hasn't rained this much in a while."
A foreboding sign? Zelda brushed that notion away. She was just being silly. The Lanayru Wetland region was known for its well…wetness. It wasn't a sign from the fates that ominous tidings were to come. Zelda was being paranoid, and she knew it. The Yiga had unsettled her in more ways than one.
No matter how hard you fight, Zaarol's promise echoed, you will not stop the return of Calamity Ganon.
Zelda shivered, blaming it on the breeze picking up as the storm clouds grew closer.
Lakely's humming paused. "Thank you, Corlas," he said in greeting to the fellow guard who had returned. Corlas held out a bag to Zelda. Zelda accepted the pack, flipping through the contents. Her clothes were inside, dry and folded. As well as everything she had crammed, including Link's torn tunic.
"Thank you. I shall change quickly and then would like to head to one of the waterfalls. Somewhere I can sit."
"It shall be done," Lakely said, smiling.
For most of the afternoon, Zelda sat at the bottom of Veiled Falls, next to the small pool the water fell into, mending Link's tunic as she gazed over Zora's Domain.
From this vantage point, Zelda could only see the giant stone fish that served as King Dorephan's throne room and the two other waterfalls across the way; no one in Zora's Domain would be able to see her from this position. And to her delight, she had found an ancient platform which signified that once active, could be used to uncover a shrine nearby. Even though Zelda had no hope of its activation, the sight of the ancient technology in this unsuspecting place brought a smile to her face.
Lakely had settled himself on the other side of the falls, occasionally scooping up fleet-lotus seeds and Sneaky River snails he scavenged along the edges of the pool. He didn't talk to Zelda and the pounding of the waterfall hitting the surface of the shallow basin masked his incessant humming, a fact which made Zelda extremely grateful.
She planned to only stay at the falls long enough to finish the quick mending of Link's tunic, but something about the thrusting of the needle through the fabric and the light roaring of the waterfall brought a calmness to her flustered thoughts. She slowed her pace, relaxing into a steady rhythm. Weaving the needle in and out of the material, Zelda didn't have to think about the way Mipha had looked at Link, or how Link would react when he woke up, or when he would wake up, or what would happen next since her most recent failed supplication at the Spring of Power. All of it was being pounded away with the water or hidden in a stitched seam. For once, Zelda could just be in the moment, sewing, a skill she often forgot she enjoyed.
It was with some pride, as she touched the white design on the blue fabric backdrop, that Zelda remembered designing and lacing together each Champion's accessory. Daruk and Mipha with sashes, Revali with his scarf, and Urbosa with her skirt. Each piece the same length and width, but pertaining to the Champion's fashion aptitude, the pieces were worn differently. Except for Link's.
Zelda tugged on the last stitch, tying a knot in it before holding it up for inspection. She had been given orders to design his as a tunic. All of the Hyrule knights looked the same in their armor and that wasn't to be the fate anymore for the Hero of Hyrule. A sash or scarf wouldn't have been enough over his attire. No, it was to be his attire.
The corner of Zelda's mouth lifted slightly. To her annoyance, she'd had to spend more time on Link's than anyone else's, resenting him the whole time as she worked day and night on the tunic in time for the Champion ceremony.
Zelda gently lowered the repaired tunic into her lap, folding it as neatly as possible. Her hand smoothed over the wrinkles within the design of the Master Sword, eye searching critically for any rip or flaw she had missed.
The tunic was the same as before. If only with some mended scars.
Shooting Lakely a glance to make sure he was occupied with fishing something in the pond, Zelda brought the tunic to her face, pressing her nose into it.
Wild brush and roasted Chickaloo tree nuts.
She smiled involuntarily.
Delicately, Zelda placed the outfit into her pack, snapping the top shut. She didn't need the spray from the waterfall or the rain getting her recent work wet. Zelda glanced towards the sky. Which was a real possibility with the position of the clouds hovering over Zora's Domain. It wouldn't be long till their heavy burden unloaded onto the land below.
Lakely straightened as Zelda strolled over to him. "Are you finished here, Princess?" He was friendly as usual, not seemingly bored or annoyed by sitting for hours at the bottom of the falls.
"Yes. I am ready to return now. I would like to see how my knight is doing."
"Certainly!" Lakely dipped down, scooping up his seeds and snails in one arm while the other held his spear. "These shall make great additions to the feast tonight," he said cheerily, starting off down the hill.
"Feast?" Zelda asked in confusion, almost tripping over a small rock hidden in the grass.
They wove their way down the pass leading to the bridge crossing to Zora's Domain.
Lakely whistled in between his reply. "Yes. Princess Mipha announced a celebration for the recovery of the Hylian Champion. Corlas alerted me to it before we left. It has been a while since we've had a celebration, so everyone is quite excited."
Zelda's steps faltered. She wouldn't say what she felt was excitement. When had this been decided? While Zelda had been sleeping?
It wasn't as if Link didn't deserve to have a party for being alive. But to have Mipha being the one in charge and organizing the feast…as if her hold on him was so sure, so intimate. Since it was Zora's Domain and Mipha was the princess it was her right to do as she pleased.
It just bothered Zelda that this was what came to Mipha's mind first and foremost.
Celebrating Link's recovery.
No. Celebrating Link.
The notion twisted something in Zelda's stomach.
He wasn't even awake yet. Or maybe he had awoken. Zelda wouldn't know though because she'd chosen to sit way out here next to the falls, working on something she could have easily worked on while sitting by his bedside, waiting for him to open his eyes.
But she had left Mipha to do that instead. Why?
They reached the main landing of Zora's Domain, Zora's hurrying to and fro with baskets of food in their arms, voices clamoring for more bright-eyed crabs or more tables to be set up. There was a buzz of anticipation in the air, contagious judging on how everyone had stopped what they were doing hours ago to join in with the preparations. The inn lay just across the open court where the tables for the feast already lay arrayed with smoking seafood on trays. One Zora passed right by Lakely and Zelda, the heady scent of bass smothered in wildberry jelly drifting behind.
Normally, the smell of the food would be enticing to Zelda. But all she felt was nauseous.
Where was Mipha? Where was Link? Still in the inn? Smiling at each other as Link thanked Mipha for saving his life while the ungrateful Princess of Hyrule was off on some foolhardy errand, not even sticking around to say 'thank you' to him for saving her life?
Zelda fingered her bag, picturing the mended tunic inside. Anything she said to him would be silly. She'd gotten him almost killed after all. And Mipha would be there, overshadowing any conversation she would have with Link, ready to whisk him away.
The main entrance was directly behind Zelda. Leading away from Zora's Domain. Away from the Zora's. And away from what Zelda did not want to confront just now.
"Lakely." Her curt tone had him turning around in a hurry. "I need to use the restroom. Badly."
"Uh, of course, Your Highness. I shall escort you there."
Zelda pointed straight across the court. "Isn't that its location?"
"Yes," Lakely began. He reached out a hand for Zelda's bag. "Shall I hold this for you? We will head there right–,"
"I would much prefer a female Zora to come with me and wait for me." Zelda shoved the bag into his extended hand. "There is a tunic for the Hylian Champion in there. Deliver it to him for me please."
Lakely's brow went up. "But, Your Highness, I shall only be right outside. You shall have the privacy you ne–,"
Fed up with this conversation, Zelda exclaimed, "I am on my female cycle and would prefer having a female nearby to procure me the items I need." Three Zora ambling by froze, heads swinging in their direction.
At once, Lakely's pale skin grew deeper in color. "Oh, uh," he stuttered, shifting uncomfortably. "Of c-course, P-Princess. You go ahead and I shall have someone bring you the items you need at once. A-and, I shall deliver this." He raised the bag, the bag swinging wildly. "Immediately." He rushed off, looking too relieved to be doing so.
Wasting no time, Zelda swung around, shooting a polite look at the guards who thankfully didn't stop her. She forced herself to walk until she got to the end of the main bridge, out of sight of anyone else. Then she was running.
Luto's Crossing was the highest bridge among the three that one had to travel to Zora's Domain. It was also the closest one Zelda came across after running the curvy seesaw path, out of breath and drained from the exercise.
She still wasn't sure her body had recovered from the attack last night. It protested sorely as she trudged up the incline and the few hours of sleep she'd snatched hadn't been near enough.
Oh well.
Oh well, oh well, oh well, Zelda huffed, staring through the railing of Luto's Crossing to Zora's Domain in the distance. Its luminance made it the most radiant feature among the cliffs surrounding it and also the most difficult to ignore. Even now, she imagined the jovial Zoras, drinks sloshing in goblets, clapping and dancing, the atmosphere lively and pleasurable. Mipha smiling with Link on her arm, the two of them enjoying the revelry meant for him, its meaning more than just a simple friendly gesture.
Zelda felt bile rise in her throat, and looked away, putting Zora's Domain to her back. The cliffs on the other side were better to gaze upon anyway.
She knew she was being delirious, crazy. But the thoughts wouldn't stop coming and her insides wouldn't stop churning. Seeing Link almost die had stirred something within her that refused to retreat. She clenched her hands frustratingly, glaring at the cliffs beyond the bridge.
"Oh! I didn't know anyone else was traveling ahead of me."
Zelda twisted in surprise.
A Hylian traveler stood at the opposite end of the long bridge. His clothes were dusty and brown, common among long-distance journeyers. Yet, by the peculiar look he spared Zelda, showed he wasn't nearly as worn out as he appeared to be.
The traveler started forward, footsteps clipping across the stones as he drew closer to Zelda. When she only watched him advance, the Hylian continued. "You must have been here for some time. I rested for a while not far from where one enters the Domain this morning before the trek up here, but saw no one else." He peered in the direction of Zora's Domain, grinning. "Long ways to get here, but worth every effort, agreed?"
Zelda didn't want to do small talk. In fact, she wanted to do nothing more than pretend she was deaf and hope the Hylian caught on. Unfortunately, he seemed determined to talk her ear off.
"This is my first time seeing the Zora's homeland. Quite the sight. Nothing like where I come from. I wonder how long it took them to carve everything? Do you know? Is this your first time here as well?
Zelda sighed quietly.
"No. I've been a few times. We arrived last night."
"We?" As the traveler drew closer, she took in his wide expressionless eyes as something crossed them. "Wait…Are you Princess Zelda?"
The triforce emblem on her shirt gave her away far too easily. Smoothing her features into more of a royalness-look, Zelda smiled faintly. "Yes. But while out of the castle, I prefer to just be known as any other traveler on a journey," motioning him to stop his bow before he even began.
The Hylian straightened. "I understand, Princess." He looked around. "But, wouldn't her Highness still have some guards nearby? It's not safe on these paths lately. Why just the other night I was attacked by a monster with sharp teeth."
Bokoblin, no doubt, Zelda mused for a second before pushing it away, uncaring. "Yes. I am well attended. I just wanted some time to myself for a few minutes."
The Hylian studied her curiously. "Are you well, Princess?"
The question startled Zelda. For a nosy, annoying traveler, he was quite insightful. She turned back to look at Zora's Domain, the luminescent stones of the buildings glowing against the dark, gray sky.
Why did it matter what she said to this fellow Hylian? Zelda felt burdened down more than she liked and with no one she trusted enough to talk to, it might be nice to talk to someone she would never see again. "I don't really know how I'm feeling, lately."
To her surprise, the Hylian barked out a short chortle. "Something we have in common then." He leaned his arms across the railing, braiding his fingers together as he faced the Domain. The Hylian sighed. "It's the reason I'm here in fact. Looking for peace."
His demeanor was so different from his earlier pestering, Zelda wondered if his overt-friendliness was more of an act and this was his true self. His tone touched some soft part behind the annoyance of him bothering Zelda, and she glanced at him briefly. "What is your name?"
The Hylian's cornermost edge of his lip turned upward. "Gryllikh."
Gryllikh. An uncommon name, but Zelda had heard stranger names. Like Gaiy.
"That sounds more Sheikah than Hylian," she noted.
Gryllikh's smile deepened. "You are as astute as they say, Princess. Indeed, I was given a Sheikah name as a babe; my father was Sheikah while my mother was Hylian."
"How did your parents meet?" It was a conversation Zelda didn't really care about the answers, but liked having not to think if she was being truthful. Keeping this Hylian talking would help delay the inevitable: returning to the happy party below.
Gryllikh answered easily, as if he liked telling his story. "She went to Kakariko to learn how to grow fortified pumpkins. My father grew up in Kakariko Village. The rest of the story leads to their union and the birth of two children. However, I do not have memories of Kakariko Village."
"Why is that?"
"Our family left before my mother conceived. My father was tired of living in the village and my mother was happy to oblige him as long as they lived in the Hylian countryside. With my father only knowing a life in the village, he took up a job as a hire for help anywhere in Hyrule. It was a hard job, but it was the only way he could provide a living. Father taught my brother and I his trade, forever instilling in us the desire to travel, never staying long in one place."
Zelda listened half-heartedly while eyeing the sky. The clouds had snuck up on them, hanging above and ready to release their soggy package at any time.
Gryllikh's voice lowered, catching Zelda's attention.
"Then one time, he disappeared for months, nearly a year before we saw him again. My mother worried he had died. But then he showed up on our doorstep as if nothing had happened." He paused, remembering. "He then told her they had to leave, move somewhere else. She refused to leave, and he refused to stay, so they parted ways and I haven't seen him since. My mother raised us until she died. But I heard rumors that he went back to Kakariko Village. Back to the only place he could be safe."
Zelda's brow furrowed, looking closely at Gryllikh. "Safe…?From what?"
Gryllikh blinked once, eyes tightening at the edges. "I didn't know he was running until later and by then, it was too late. The Yiga clan killed our mother."
A chill raced down Zelda's spine. The Yiga. Again. Words, when they came, sounded small in her own ears. "Is this why you are seeking peace?"
Gryllikh laughed, the sound dissonant. "She passed several years ago, when my brother and I were teenagers. No…This is not what bothers me." His laugh faded, the emptiness disconcerting.
The clouds, finally drooping over the basin full and stuffed, liberated themselves and the rain began falling fast and heavy across Zora's Domain. It immediately soaked through Zelda's clothes, drenching her and making it hard to see farther than a few feet ahead.
I should be returning now, she thought, taking a step back the way she had come. But Gryllikh showed no signs of moving. The rain rolled down his face into his unblinking eyes.
"My brother died recently, and he has been all I've ever had. The only constant in my life through it all." Gryllikh's features hardened, eyes narrowing as he glared at the opulence of Zora's Domain. "After my father left us, the coward that he was," Gryllikh bit out bitterly. "We took it upon us to take care of ourselves and our mother. It was dangerous, but together, my brother and I survived. We learned more about the world and found our place in it. For once, we weren't castoffs or wanderers. We had a purpose, a reason to live. And we carried it out gladly."
Zelda shifted at the change of tone in his voice. She suddenly realized that she was all alone with this stranger. Far away from anyone else. The rain cascaded violently. It was a mistake to come here by myself.
Gryllikh's voice went lower, deeper. "It was from attempting to fulfill this purpose that my brother lost his life."
His face went blank, turning his gaze slowly to Zelda.
"He was slain before he could fulfill it." Gryllikh fingered something in front of him. Zelda couldn't see what it was. "But I intend to finish what he started." He faced her fully then, eyes flat as he finally showed Zelda what was in his hands.
It took a moment to process it. This scene. That knife. A hilt that looked so, so familiar until Zelda could finally place it.
The Yiga in Shadow Pass. The one that nearly killed her. This was his other knife…Zaarol. And this…Zelda swallowed hard as she took an automatic step back. This was the broken-knee-capped member. His voice had hinted at it, but with a mask on, the voice had been muffled and his features camouflaged.
Gryllikh was Zaarol's brother.
"I see you finally connected the dots, Princess." Gryllikh's smile was humorless. "I wanted you to know, to see you recognize who I was before I kill you." His face darkened. "Like how your bastard of a knight killed my brother."
Her mouth opened. And closed. Terror holding her hostage.
Gryllikh stared coldly at her. "I had hoped to end that stupid Champion's life. Thought I did. But my brethren alerted me that you departed the citadel with him still alive. Both of you," Gryllikh growled, "still alive and if you are here in Zora's Domain, then it means he will live…But you will not, Princess."
He rose up to his full height, knife spinning into his hand. "You shouldn't have come here alone," he whispered.
Zelda turned to run but he was there, blocking her escape. Backpedaling, she stepped away from him, hitting the opposing railing with her back. Darting a quick look over the edge showed they had to be over one-hundred feet above the water.
Something pressed into her chest, and Zelda whipped her head back to Gryllikh pinning the knife point into her sternum. It felt sharp and with just a little more pressure, she knew he would break through her shirt and past her skin.
It was desperation. A desperate hope that someone would come, someone would arrive to save her, that made Zelda finally speak. "Was everything you said true then?"
Gryllikh, demonic now with the rain cascading through his soaked hair, face openly hateful, leaned into Zelda's face, breath hot and vile.
"Except for one thing. When the Yiga came for us, my brother and I chose to join them. But to be accepted we had to perform one act of loyalty. My mother did die by the Yiga…but she died by my hand."
Horror curled in the pit of Zelda's stomach, her eyes widening.
"So, you see," Gryllikh pressed down harder on the knife point, Zelda gasping. "I will do anything for my brethren, anything for the rise of Calamity Ganon. Taking your life means nothing to me."
The pressure suddenly disappeared as Gryllikh drew the knife back, preparing to plunge it into Zelda's chest.
"This is for the return of Calamity Ganon. But make no mistake. This is also for my brother," he hissed. "To reward them both!"
Everything slowed in painful, defining detail as the knife descended, melding into a silver streak through the air, killing blow inescapable.
The cold metal of the railing against her back and fingers,
The wetness of her clothing plastered against her clammy skin.
Her last breath fogging the air.
Breathless shouting.
An arrow striking Gryllikh at the base of his skull.
His eyes flashing open in shock.
The knife grazing her shoulder as Gryllikh's body slumped onto hers.
Zelda's gaze raising ever so slightly past it at figures racing towards them.
Mipha, spear in hand, mouth open in alarm.
Lakely, Zelda's bag in one hand, cheerful expression frozen in shock.
And.
Link.
Beautiful Link.
Awake and Whole.
Sprinting towards Zelda, arm out, fingers stretched to their limit—
Wearing his restored Champion tunic.
Horror in his eyes.
...Before Zelda stumbled backwards with Gryllikh's weight, plummeting over the slippery railing and into the riotous waters below.