Author's Note:
Hooooo- okay! Time to finally have Link say goodbye to his past!
I don't want to say anything else until you read this, only to warn you as usual, there's some implied nudity here. If you're a wee kid, GO AWAY OR I'LL TELL YOUR PARENTS!
I also feel I should give Queen Emily the Diligent a shoutout for her reviews! Also sweet sixteen seems like a good number to list out the people that have faved and followed. Check that out at the end of this chapter!.
You know what happens when I get all fluffy. It only means things are about to go south again! YAY VIOLENCE! haha.
Anyway! I hope you like it. I know there's a lot of typos here and there, I do my best, I promise!
On to it!
Chapter XVI
The Funeral
It didn´t take her by surprise when she found herself alone in the room the next morning. She found the thought of a tortured Link very amusing. She reveled in the warmth the sheets brought her. If the noises her stomach was making were anything to go by, it was around midday. She grudgingly got out of bed, and changed into her traveling clothes. Her ceremonial dress was already hanging over the folding screen on the other side of the room.
When she pushed the door open, she had to squint for a few seconds to adjust to the direct sunlight that was gracing her face. By the time she finally was able to see she noticed the city was bustling with people doing all sorts of things, making the last preparations for the funeral. The guards outside of the room nodded at her and that was the closest to a good morning she got from anyone until she reached the level where the throne room was.
Just outside of the throne room, there was a small plaza that overlooked the whole city, or as everyone knew it, domain. She leant against the balaustrade and saw Sidon and Link deep in conversation. Link looked almost out of character, cheerful and loud. Whereas Sidon looked very much like Link did a hundred years ago -and last night too, but she took full responsibility for that one. Sidon absentmindedly looked up and saw her, Zelda smiled at him, he returned a faint smile and waved at her. Link looked up too, she noticed he was holding a fruit on his hand, she noticed he was red in the face like she hadn´t seen him. Ever.
Both of them followed her with their eyes as she walked down the stairs. She suddenly felt very self-conscious. She had to actually remember how to properly walk. She must´ve looked like an injured lizalfos, probably.
"Morning", said Sidon. Even the little feather that adorned his crown/tiara looked a bit crestfallen.
"Good morning, Prince Sidon", she greeted him back. Even though she knew him since he was a kid, she found it hard to let go of her manners. Not with Link though.
"Good morning, Link!", she exclaimed cheerfuly. "Sleep well?", she teased.
"Good morning, Your Highness", he said in a steady voice, adding just the perfect amount of smiles and cheerfulness to not throw Sidon off. "I´m well rested, thank you". He added, almost as an afterthought. He took a bit from the fruit which she now saw was a peach. Zelda laughed openly at this.
"I´m glad! We´ve crossed half the Realm, after all", she said. Sidon had a very confused look on his face, but said nothing nevertheless.
"So, Your Grace, how goes the matter of... er- matrimony?", Zelda asked, looking for conversation.
Link threw her a look that told her what she already knew, but it was a mystery that she wanted to solve. Sidon sighed and shook his head.
"Not good, Father has selected some suitable prospects. They all come from good families, the usual, as I´m sure you know". He told her.
"I... wouldn´t", she began. "Father passed away before we even talked about the matter", she said almost with a grin, hoping that Sidon wouldn´t delve much into it.
"I-you´re right. I´m sorry, Princess. I didn´t mean to bring such memories back". He half whispered.
"So, it is all good and perfect, but I have no intention of marrying any of those zora", he added with determination. Zelda arched an eyebrow.
"I´m sorry Princess, Link. I shouldn´t be bothering you with something so silly. We have more important matters to discuss. My father has requested that we talk about your... eh- trip to Gerudo City; but that can wait until after the funeral, I guess", he finished the sentence with contempt.
"You don´t agree with your father", she said.
"No, I don´t. This is a waste of everyone´s time, and it´s just so useless. My sister is dead, and truly gone now. Link was telling me earlier about how you two saw her back in Hyrule Castle. So I don´t see the point in holding a ceremony that is a hundred years late". He gasped for breath after talking without a pause.
"I don´t know Your Grace, I guess I see what your father is doing... I have to agree with him on this matter", she said, thinking hard about her Mother and Father. Urbosa...
"I guess I just need to accept the fact that this is happening. It´s just that this other matter is like a black cloud over my head...", he trailed off. "I should go and see to it that our goron guests are comfortable enough. They get nervous as it is whenever they come visit. They can´t swim, y´know?", he added jestingly and left her and Link alone by the fountain.
"I don´t understand why Sidon is having such a hard time marrying another zora girl", Zelda told Link. Her Bubble Knight shrugged and sighed.
"He hasn´t told me any details, but I think he already loves someone else". Link said quietly.
"Oh?"
"He kept talking about how great the southern seas are, and how pretty everything there is", he paused. "Sidon´s never been to the south, as far as I know. Zoras rarely leave their waters". Zelda gasped.
"You don´t think he´s in love with a girl in Lurelin Village?", she asked with a mixture of dread and amusement.
"It´s anyone´s guess. Aside from Mipha, there´s tales of other zora princes and princesses falling in love with hylians. So I wouldn´t rule out that possibility". He said rubbing his chin.
"That or he fell in love with a water Lizalfos". He added after a moment. Zelda burst out laughing, Link mirrored her laughter. Passerby eyed them with curiosity, and a few children joined in on the laughter, not knowing the reason behind it.
Link took the peach seed and threw it with force toward one of the cliffs.
"Hopefully it finds a place to grow", he said. "You must be hungry".
"Famished", she replied with a smile.
They had spent the rest of the day walking around, browsing for new ingredients for recipes, or stocking up on arrows ("believe me we´re gonna run out of them eventually", Link warned Zelda), or just taking in the view that was Zora's Domain. He saw people from all over Hyrule, Traysi even caught up to them to say hello -though Link suspected she was there only because they were walking around town holding hands. He noticed Zelda flinched a little, but didn't let go of his hand. He felt like he was putting her in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
"SO!", Traysi half shouted in excitement. "Let's get the cat out of the bag, shall we?", Link was dreading that cat with all his heart.
"When are you two sealing the deal?", she said. Her hand darted towards her bag and took out one of her famous leather-bound notebooks.
"Er-", Link began. Scratching his neck.
"There's no deal to seal, dear", Zelda said in a false calm voice. Her grip on his hand was tightening with each passing second. The hylian investigator's eyes were pointing at their locked hands.
"We like holding hands!", Zelda burst out, storming out to the plaza, leaving Link and Treysi alone.
He wasn't going to push his luck any further. "See ya!", he called out, while trotting to catch up with Zelda. Treysi merely waved after him, only to scribble furiously after that.
"What is the matter with that woman?", Zelda scoffed.
"Well, she makes a living out of rumors, and most of them turn out to be true", he replied matter-of-factly, as a bunch of gerudo woman passed by, all of them were looking at him, laughing openly at some witty remark one of them had made. They turned their eyes to Zelda, but this time the laughter was different. She paid them no attention.
"Oh?", Zelda spun around, half smiling. Link felt his face getting red with each heartbeat.
"Er-", he had cornered himself. "Well, it´s true. Many of her rumors were true, they led me to some hidden treasures...", Zelda smile grew with each word. Her face was mischievous.
"So I'm a hidden treasure, then?", she teased.
"I... You know what? I think you are", he said. Turning her little game up on herself. She upened her eyes wide, and her mouth described a perfect 'O'. "You should see your face right now", he said holding his laughter long enough to see her process what he'd just said.
Did he just call me a hidden treasure? Does that mean he loves me? What do I do? What do I say now? We're about to attend the funeral of the only other person he ever loved. What do I do!
Zelda was in huge trouble. The sense of excitement she felt after Link almost kissed her back in Gerudo City came back to her.
Only this time, it was mingled with anxiety. They were sharing a room after all.
Link had a hard time trying to push a certain someone out of his mind, as he tried to concentrate on the speech he wanted to deliver at Mipha's funeral. He had written some drafts on the way there, but they were nothing but phrases on scraps of paper Zelda had given him. She even agreed to hear some of the lines he'd written. Encouraging him to say what he meant. Right now though, all he could think of was, how he had -in a moment of bravery- very openly flirted with Princess Zelda, it was the first time he had seen her at a loss for words. He had enjoyed the moment, but now it felt like an unsaid commitment and he got anxious whenever he relived the brief but meaningful moment.
Sidon had searched for him just a few hours after dinner, a distraction that was more than welcome.
"Link, you're my closest friend, and aside from the old zoras here, you're the person that knows me best. Since I was just barely fifty years old. I've gotta tell you something, because if I don´t I might actually just explode".
They were sitting by the pier in Rutala Dam. Sidon's unusually short legs made him look like an oversized kid. Whereas Link just looked like an insect beside him, albeit proportioned. His zora friend was fidgeting, shuffling positions, and being all around uncomfortable.
"Sidon, will you just say it? You're driving me crazy here. I beg of you", Link finally said, slightly exasperated. But mostly knowing what he was about to say.
"I'm in love with one of your kind", he blurted out, and then proceeded to look around for possible evasdroppers. "A girl from Lurelin Village", he added. Surprise surprise. Link smiled at him.
"I already knew something fishy was going on with you and this un-Sidon-like attitude", Link replied putting a hand over Sidon's back. Sidon merely huffed.
"You really went for fish jokes then", Link half laughed.
"How'd it happen?" Link was geniuinely curious.
"Remember that girl that had a pen pal for months that turned out to be this hylian?", Link sighed at the memory. He nodded.
"Well, I saw them once, it was odd. Since I know most of the realm would frown at the seemingly wrong relationship. Turns out, the guy just wanted a friend. And this little zora just wanted to know the world. But it got me thinking.", he paused as they both looked at what now was part of the scenery- Vah Ruta.
"I asked this girl if she could lend me the same letter carrier she used with her pen pal", Sidon looked nervously at Link. "She agreed and, well. I just kind of wrote an open letter", for weeks I got no answer, until one day this girl came up to me with a letter from a certain 'friend from the south', I confess I could not hide my excitement
"More weeks went by and after many letters we agreed to meet. I suggested lover's pond at first, it was obviously the wrong move, and she politely refused. But she suggested we could meet halfway from both our hometowns... " Link squinted at him for the longest minute.
"Sidon, does this Lurelin girl know you are the heir to the Zora Throne?", he asked already knowing the answer.
"She... does not", he replied in defeat. Link sighed and motioned for him to continue his story.
"As I was saying", he eyed Link anxiously, "we agreed upon that, and we finally met. Her name is Ahanna... ", he trailed off. Link began to worry, in what little zora history he knew, any relationship between a zora and another species most often than not had a sad ending. He wanted to say something, but he sensed Sidon was not done with his story.
"We met near Lanayru Promenade... you know how it tends to be a bit solitary there these days..."
He did not.
"Well, I´m basically what your people would say a 'young man', and she´s about your age... I mean- you know what I mean", Link nodded, dreading having to hear the rest of the story.
"You know this place where you can climb this one flight of stairs to get up to the bridge?", he asked tentatively.
He did.
"Well...", Sidon didn´t have to talk any further, because they both knew perfectly well what this new information meant.
"Hylia above... Hylia-", Link's heart was beating fast, this was bad... he thought. He couldn't be certain, but he doubted carnal relations between zoras and any other species was frowned upon, to say the least.
"I love her", he added in a pleading tone.
The blonde hylian was trying to make sense of his thoughts. This had political ramifications Zelda would have to know about. This was bigger than just the love of -as Sidon put it- a young man and woman.
"Sidon, have you two met again after what you just told me?", Link asked, again, dreading to hear an answer he already knew.
"Well, yes", he said. Half smiling, half frowning, Sidon wasn't stupid, he knew what this meant.
"I suppose the king doesn't know this story in full", Link asked his friend. Sidon shook his head.
"I don´t know how to tell him, it would break his heart. That, or he would disinherit me.", the hulking zora prince looked particularilly defenseless as he pronounced those words.
Hylian and zora sat there, watching the calm water reflect the setting sun. Link sighed for what seemed the umpteenth time that day.
"We should head back now. I've got a speech to say, after all", he patted Sidon on the back as he got up.
King Dorephan and Zelda were standing on the pier closest to Shatterback Point, people had gathered atop each and every one of the six peaks that surrounded Rutala Dam. Even now, the amount of people that had attended was considerable. Most of them were zora, granted. But from what she could make, people from each race had come to pay their respects. Every pier had a representative from each region. Link was standing on the other side of the artificial lake, fidgeting. The riverfolk had invented an instrument that allowed for the sound to be carried between long dinstances. It looked like a colossal conch of sorts. A very similar instrument had been placed where they were. No one was speaking particularily loud, and Zelda could make out voices fairly well, nonetheless, King Dorephan held his hands in the air to call for silence before he talked.
"One hundred years ago, a Calamity was brought upon us", he solemnly began, "too many of our friends and loved ones were taken away from us. Many old friends fought valiantly against that monster. But alas, this evil was allowed a second chance by a twisted whim of fate. We all know this story too well. Fortunately, two people standing in this very ground, were able to finally bring this monster to its doom". Many people were whispering in agreement. None cheered. Not that it was the time for doing so, Zelda thought.
"And so, we are left now with time to finally mourn our lost loved ones", King Dorephan's voice cracked a little at the last words, but he pushed on. "As you know we lost our queen many moons ago", many heads turned to where Sidon was standing. It was no secret that her mother had died while giving birth to him. The king never took it on to him, but everytime someone mentioned the queen, Sidon's name was inevitably mentioned. "The day the Calamity resurged, each one of us lost someone. For us, our beloved princess, my daughter Mipha, was taken away from us. Time has finally come to honor her". The king cleared his throat. Zelda could hear many sobs from the crowd.
"We have asked her closest friend, Link, the chosen hero of the Goddess Hylia, to give all our hearts one voice...", he extended his arm to the front, giving Link his cue.
Many images whirled wildly inside his mind: Zelda, her hair, her eyes. Mipha and her voice. FIghting against Vah Ruta, Sidon swiming swiftly and him shooting arrows. Sidon and a faceless hylian girl. King Dorephan carrying an odd looking baby... Zelda. A pink nipple...
CONCENTRATE!
"Er...", he began. and three more voices answered. The echo there was something he never got used to. He looked up, and around him, all eyes were on him. His eyes finally rested in the middle of the lake, where a pale blue vessel, carrying nothing but thousands of flowers floated peacefully. It was supposed to represent Mipha... "Er... Miph- Princess Miph- ", he stuttered. His vision was all blurry and his heart was about to get out of his chest. His eyes finally rested on the only other place that could bring him some solace.
Her eyes.
"I remember the first time I met Princess Mipha", he began, steadying himself. "I was just a kid, I didn't know anything about life, or even... death", he saw Mipha in his mind's eye. "'You're more than your looks, I see', was the first thing she ever said to me. Just as I'd beaten one of her countrymen in a tournament..." he said smiling as the memory came to him. "I must've been ten or eleven years old". Someone in the crowd yelled 'Iwas there!'
"You won't let me lie, then", he answered. Some laughed, the King was looking at him the same way his father looked at him the day Zelda had awarded him the prize for winning the tournament. He smiled back at him.
"Mipha was already very mature for her age when I met her. I know age is not as important as it is for so many of us here, but she always seemed to see herself as not ready, or not fit for the task. But I always saw something in her that permeated through each and every one of the faces I see here. Determination.
"I remember when King Bosphoramus called her from the distant castle of Hyrule, I had been living here for almost a year, as part of my training for Knighthood. She was as nervous as I am right now, but as determined as I am to do what is right for her people. I never saw her tremble or doubt whenever any of her friends or familiy were in danger. She was as resourceful as legends say she was. But more than anything she was a very dear friend to me and I loved her deeply", suddenly he could have heard a pin drop to the ground, every soul there was listening to his every word as a bear suckling honey from a beehive.
"She was my best and my oldest friend. Many of the things I now know, she taught me. I also learned from her that risking everything for the people you love is always the right thing to do", his eyes met Zelda's yet again. "The unconditional love she harbored for her country was only paralelled for the love she received in life", he felt his voice quiver and a single tear escaped from his right eye.
"I wish she could see now, that even a century later, the whole Realm came to visit her. She would probably go red in the face", he said half laughing. "But she'd probably wouldn't stop telling me how good she had felt of seeing you all here tonight...". He wiped the tear off of his face.
"May Nayru, Farore and Din soothe your soul, dear friend", he half mumbled, just so, that everyone had to cran their necks to hear him.
"Good-bye, Mipha. Princess of the proud people of the Zora", he finally said.
Nobody did anything for one minute, some people were sobbing. He couldn't see them but he could hear bits of Gerudo being spoken. Many zoras were either crestfallen and had a very sad expression about them, or had a half smile at the memories he'd brought back. Those ones, he recognized, were the eldest of them all. Counselors for the King and the Prince.
He stepped back and held his hands together as he looked longingly at the white flowered boat.
"You must be Link", the zora princess said, as he groggily opened his eyes.
"I am, your majesty!", he said almost jumping to his feet. Mipha started to laugh.
"You can call me Mipha, I haven't done anything majestic yet, little one". Link smiled at her sheepishly.
"Mipha", he corrected. Mipha smiled at him, caressing his right arm.
"Does it hurt?", she asked. She meant about earlier. How did she find out? He never asked her. He didn't even know how they had found him so deep into the forest with all those guards outside the grove. Link shook his head.
"I'm just really tired". He confessed.
"Go back to sleep, then", she pushed him gently back into bed. "Everything will be better tomorrow", her expression had been bittersweet, but he hadn't known at the time. Link never turned his head the other way, so he never saw his father sitting beside him. It was only years later that he confessed on his deathbed, he'd felt so proud of him that day.
It all went back to Zora's domain, somehow.
Having zoned out from the King's speech, he came back to his senses just in time to clap to the end of an apparently very heartfelt reminiscing, just as his' . Sidon had told Link he wasn't going to talk, he had admitted his reluctance to the funeral was just a facade to hide the deep sadness he felt whenever he thought of her sister.
Some minutes later, three royal zora guards dove into the lake from each of the remaining piers towards the boat, each one of them held a replica of Mipha's tiara, necklace and bracelets. They gently pushed the boat to the main gate of the dam, which as of now was Rutala Falls. They kissed very gently the hull of the boat as King Dorephan pronounced some words in what he took it to be Zora language. A series of very musical notes and some hissing came from his mouth and his gills. Many followed suit, as the boat dissapeared and fell into the river.
"May your kindness reach the four corners of the world, my dear, dear Mipha", he said after a while
Zelda'd never seen Link like that. He was talkative, he smiled a lot and played for a while with the little zora kids that asked for a horse ride from him. He even whined like one. But deep down she could still see the sadness and nostalgia the funeral had brought on him. It had been after all only a day since the ceremony had occured.
Later that night when she entered the room, and very silently and carefuly she changed clothes so as to not wake her very sleepy knight, she noticed how vulnerable and fragile he looked when he was asleep. As she walked closer to the bed she noticed his right arm was outstretched to her side, almost as if he had been looking for her before falling asleep. She took his hand into hers and felt him squeeze hers, unconsiously.
"I'm here", she whispered. His breathing slowed down even more. Soon Zelda had fallen asleep too, wishing with all her might that they both could find solace from the sad, the dark and the cruel. Wishing they could one day be close, together. As they were in that instant.
A/N 2:
SO! I wanted to end this chapter in a hopeful note. I think they both deserve it.
tsk-tsk, Sidon. You bad boy, going against your people's traditions... He takes after his great-great-great-great-... great-grandmother? Haha.
No villainy things happening in this chapter. It´s all Link, Zelda and Sidon here. What do you think so far?
I should adress that this story and its flashbacks were written (in my head, at least) way before we knew anything about Age of Calamity (Nov 20 can't come soon enough!), so there is going to be huge discrepancies. But nothing too out of character.
As I said in the first Autor's note, thanks to each and every one of you that have faved and followed my story, they are as follows:
GrandMajingaZetto
Gamingsoldier86
Queen Emily the Diligent
Iceyyy
Lordjaytaf
SSJGamerYT
Saberfan117
The Mysterious N
bananabusssquad
Noahbutt
F13rc3D31ty
rdiaz
nonmudera
Geisterfuchs
dash1144
lazyx1000
itachididnothingwrong
jinchuurikiKeyblader117
Thank you again so much!
