It seemed as if that first trip out of the castle to death mountain had broken a dam of some sort and suddenly it seemed to be that either mother, father or the whole family was constantly on the move. I had already been taken on two trips out to the villages surrounding the castle in the last 3 months since our trip to death mountain and now standing here outside of the castle as the royal grooms prepared the horses and carriage we were preparing to make the trek up to the Zora domain. The trip was officially being undertaken to discuss various trade routes and other such important matters but mostly to give the Zora the same attention we had already granted the other three races and to introduce the next generation and crown princess (that's me!) to the upper crust of the Zora.
Apparently it was especially important to start establishing good relationships early with Zora. Due to their long life spans- only aging one year for every three a Hylian did- it took a longer time to build true friendships and good opinions in Zora culture, Despite the longer lifespans of Hylias compared to humans. (most Hylians could live to 120, the extremely lucky and healthy could live to 150, and reportedly a few of my ancestors has survived to the ripe old age of two hundred!) my parents had decided I was mature enough to start making diplomatic relations with the Zora. According to my mother 'you could never start too early with the Zora.
I am five. I turn six in three months and they want me to start making diplomatic relations.
I love parenting in Hyrule.
—
The road to the Zora domain is beautiful. Even I the game I had found the crystalline cliffs of the Zora domain uniquely gorgeous, but no small screened gaming console or low resolution animation could compare to the towering majesty of the Zora domain. bathed in a brilliant light as the sun reflected off of and traveled through the semi transparent blue crystal cliffs that surrounded the Zora domain, I couldn't help but wonder what they were made of? was there a geological explanation for the brilliant beauty of the Zora domain or was it just directly shaped by Devine influences? It was certainly beautiful enough to have been directly shaped by a goddess hand. My fingers itched to paint the scene despite the fact that I hadn't really held a brush since my reincarnation and I knew I Nor any other artist wouldn't be able to capture the true vibrant living and breathing beauty of the Zora domain.
Father smiled at my awed looking face, practically plastered to the carriage window. "The Zora domain is even more beautiful after nightfall. The scenery is breathtaking when lit by the moon light and luminous stones. The light reflects off of the cliffs and covers everything with a soft blue glow. I actually proposed to your mother right here in the Zora domain." His smile turned softer and he turned his gaze to mother who smiled back just as besotted with her husband as he was with her. "It was beautiful, definitely worth the wait." She turned to smile at me, mischief filling her eyes. "Your father took forever to ask me to marry him. I had actually just started looking for a skilled weaver to commission some cloth and thread to propose to him when he finally mustered up the courage." She turned her grin at father who was slightly pink. "At that point I had been dropping hints for about half a year and had been having Ila arrange our schedules so we were coincidentally both free at romantic times and places, and yet somehow your father still surprised me." I paused, something in that story was weird.
"Cloth and thread? You propose with cloth and thread?" Mother looked at me in surprise then paused. "You've never been to a wedding- You wouldn't know about marriage traditions would you? When you get married you exchange veil cloths before the goddess so when you propose you present high quality cloth and thread to your partner and ask for permission to start creating them a veil cloth." I don't know why I thought you would get married with a ring like on earth I had never seen anyone wear a wedding ring. Hyrule is a completely different culture, a different world even they would have no reason to prepose with a ring- but it's always the small things that surprise me. the little things that jar me the most.
"Veils like over your face?" I asked, smiling a little at the mental image of father with a veil on his face doing nothing to hide his impressive beard. "No they're more like heavily embroidered shawl's really i don't actually know why they're called veils." "What do you do with them? Do you just wear them when it's cold?" Mother hummed, sending a soft look at father reaching to hold his hand. "Sometimes, your father actually used his as your baby blanket." I blinked up surprised at my lightly blushing father, I didn't know all the cultural context to that but the veil/shawl sounded important. Did he really use it as my baby blanket? His voice started as a bluster but softened on the last words as he sent mother and I soft looks. "I wanted nothing less than the best for my daughter, and the veil your mother made me is the best thing I have ever owned."
The smile on my lips was entirely involuntary, the customs of this world might be different but love was universal.
"Does everyone exchange veils?" I asked tilting my head after the soft moment had passed. "No actually, Hylians are the only ones to exchange veils. The Rito give there partner a flight feather and then put them in special braids in their hair to represent that one can't fly without the other and so a piece of them is always with their partner." Father started to explain and I internally swooned at how romantic that was. Apparently Romance wasnt dead you just had to date a bird to find it. "The Gerudo propose by inviting their partner to formally meet their kin and then get married in a ceremony where they hook their arms together by the elbow and drink water together. The Gorons can declare themselves battle brothers after having gone through some sort of trial together be it physical or mental. And Zora women make their partners armor, be it a single piece or a full suit to propose and then have a month-long ceremony which revolves around the tides and the moon phase to consecrate their marriage."
The Zora armor… I had forgotten about that little detail of the story. It reminded me of the Zora champion, the much beloved by peoples inside the game and out princess Mipha pilot of the Divine beast vha Ruta. By now I had met all of the other pilots, all except Mipha and to say I wasn't curious would be a bold face lie. It would also be another lie to say that I wasn't nervous. I wanted her to like me, I wanted to make friends with someone who would understand the pressures that would come with being a princess who could maybe even advise me on how to best fulfill the time that had been given to me the role I felt entirely unworthy and unprepared for.
"The Zora have a princess right? Can you tell me about her?" I ask, fidgeting a little in my seat. "Well she's one hundred and eight years old right now-" my father started and I sputtered. "She's one hundred and eight!" I thought you said she was a kid like me!" oh my god link was like seventeen in the flashbacks and she's one hundred and eight now… was Mipha a child predator! Oh my god this recontextualizes everything. "She is songbird, the Zora age differently than Hylians do, aging about one year for every seven. She's basically fifteen." mother replied, sounding amused. Ok so not as bad as i initially thought! Thank Hylia! Still a little iffy with them meeting when link was a child and the massive age gap then and all but not necessarily predatory. I had known the Zora had lived much longer than the Hylians but I had forgotten what that entailed. It made sense that they aged differently but you dont really hear one hundred and eight and think 'oh mid teens then'.
Continuing on, my father spoke as if he hadn't been interrupted "the princess is already an adored figure in the eyes of her people for the skilled use of healing powers which she uses to operate a small free clinic after her lessons most days for an hour or two and healing of any of the major injuries the Zora soldiers get.'' I gaped astonished. "does she work under a few doctors there or…" i trailed off amazed and slightly confused, who was letting a fifteen year old treat their major injuries! Even if she is their princess! That has to be incredibly stressful for the poor girl let alone the patient, surely there's an experienced healer of some sort looking over her work. "She actually runs it alone." my mother chuckled at my astonished and slightly affronted look. "She opened it last year and she actually worked under supervision for the first few months but now she runs it entirely by herself." no wonder the Zora domain erected a life sized statue of the woman after her death! She was practically a saint! I could think of no other fifteen year old (or fifteen year old equivalent) that could operate a whole medical clinic, or would even want to. She must be incredibly dedicated to her people. It honestly worried me a little. Running a clinic on top performing her duties as a princess and lessons? That poor girl must be drowning in stress and work. It actually made me wonder about the fact that she actually was fifteen. While it wasn't entirely impossible for an incredibly dedicated girl of fifteen to be working in a clinic especially with the connections she had, that amount of stress on a hormonal teenage girl whose brain was still developing? It would be a miracle if she hadn't had a massive melt down by now from all the stress. "Does the Zora race develop mentally at a faster rate than Hylians? I don't think most Hylians are intelligent enough or mature enough at thirteen to run a medical clinic healing powers or no." There was a moment of stunned silence from my parents at the staggering hypocrisy of a five almost six year old who just asked about the differing developmental rates of two different races asking that question before they answered. "No little songbird, princess Mipha is just incredibly intelligent and mature for her age." she paused a sappy maternal smile growing on her face, " just like my own baby is" she cooed, reaching over to pinch my cheeks. I batted her hands irritably away from my face after a second or two, but still that left me wondering just how was this fifteen year old running a whole medical clinic in her free time after the rigorous lessons and duties that came with being princess.
There was a quiet hope growing in my chest.
…
Maybe it want just any old fifteen year old doing this
…
Maybe she was like me?
"announcing queen zelda Hanlon Hyrule the seventy first, her husband king rhoam bosphoramus hyrule, and crow princess zelda bosphoramus hyrule the seventy second!" "Dorephan, princess Mipha, it's a pleasure to see you again! May I introduce you to my daughter Zelda? She's been most excited to meet you." My mother gestured to me and I did my best to hide my awed expression as I curtsied to the pair. King dorephan was HUGE, massive, unreasonably big! And to think I thought horses were large! If this man tried to sit on a horse the poor things would instantly disappear under his girth! I don't even think he would notice himself crushing it when he sat!
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance" I smiled trying to hide how intimidated I was. The king chucked and nodded regally, bending down a little to get a better look at me. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, little princess. I've heard you've made quite a splash with your talents." He placed a gentle hand on Mipha's back and softly scooted her toward me, one giant hand covering her entire back. The size difference was almost comical, I have no idea how Mipha ended up so tiny when her father was literally a whale. "My own daughter herself has been making large waves of her own with her talents." He sent a beaming grin at the princess and I could see a light pink rising in the whites of her cheeks. He turned a beaming smile to my mother and father. "It seems like we have both been blessed with incredibly talented children this generation." The proud papa aura he is exuding is practically thick enough to choke on. "Speaking of children, how is little Sidon?" My mother grinned enthusiastically Ready to gush about their respective children. "He is growing so fast! Already twenty three and learning to count and walk on land." I did some quick mental math in my head, twenty three divided by seven… three prince Sidon is roughly three. god this different aging rate is hurting my head. "Oh I know! Zelda is growing so fast!" Mother gushed. "Zelda has already started to excel in her lessons! Her tutors are singing her praises!" Father preened and could feel my shoulders start to rise toward my ears. I wanted to be a turtle. Let me hide in my shell.
Princess Mipha sighed and sent a small smile toward me. "They're going to be going on like this for quite a while. Would you like for me to show you around the domain while they catch up?" "I would be much obliged." I practically slumped in relief. Mipha really was a saint.
"Oh before we start our tour, I have a quick question for you." I quired, eyes unusually intent on her face looking for the slightest change in her alien biology. "Of course, what would you like to know princess?" she asked gently. "Does the name Link mean anything to you?" There was no immediate flash of recognition or realization on her face, just a moment of confusion then serious thought. "I don't believe so, princess. Link is a Hylian and Goron name correct? Perhaps in my history lessons… Why do you ask?"
"It's nothing, just someone who I know is going to visit the Zora domain."
—
My time in the Zora domain was fantastic if disappointingly brief. The scenery and architecture was breathtaking, princess Mipha and king Doraphan were both incredibly kind despite the fact that I didn't really get the chance to know them, and I had no complaints about my time there.
Honestly I'm kinda glad that Link wasn't there yet. I don't think I'm quite ready to meet him yet.
I reflected on this, chin resting in the palm of my hand as I gazed out the carriage window at the sparse forest along the road from Zora domain.
Yes perhaps it was for the best that Link had not yet arrived at the Zora domain.
It was at that moment that I spotted him, a small Hylian boy with dirty blond hair, rough ragged clothes, and the brightest truest blue eyes that I had ever seen.
For a moment that felt like an eternity our eyes locked. I recognized him. I don't know how, but for that singular moment I knew him and I could tell that he in turn knew me as well. For a singular moment out of the carriage window my eyes locked with clear summer sky bright blue and I felt those blue, blue, BLUE eyes pierced into my soul and my own eyes pierce into his in turn.
And then the moment passed, the carriage hit a pothole and my eyes automatically slammed shut with a cry as the hand that I had been resting my chin on slipped up and slammed into my nose.
"Zelda! Are you ok!" "Song bird! are you alright!" Came the surprised cries of my parents, as I cradled my injured face. "I'm ok! I'm ok!" I replied words muffled through my hands as I tried to stem the resulting nosebleed. By the time the fussing stopped and I had pressed my mothers handkerchief to my bleeding nose, We were long past the little boy with bright blue eyes and I wasn't even sure if I really had seen him or if he was just a figment of my imagination born from wandering thoughts that had started to delve too deep into my own head.
I couldn't help but feel shaken even if I didn't know why.
—
Btw that's consecrate not consummate very similar spellings entirely different meanings
Hey guys! I had plans to post this chapter sooner but my beta got sick so this chapter is sadly unbetad apologies for any glaring errors.
Also I need thoughts I have always planned for this to be a song fic but now I'm not so sure leave me a thought in the reviews. The songs are semi plot relevant so they might end up added anyways but I still want to hear your thoughts to know if I should add back in the ones I took out in earlier chapters!
Reminder there probably won't be a December update as I'm going back over and rewriting/ combining the earlier chapters. Also I now realize what all the reviews who were saying "this isn't a self insert fanfic" ment :/ I was operating on a different fandom's meaning of self insert and didn't think to see if it differed in the Zelda fandom. Apparently you guys were thinking y/n stuff and I was thinking author insert stuff. Both self inserts but from different angles. I will be removing that from the tag and description.
Now on to reviews!
Hunter81095: thanks for the review! I hope you liked my brief portrayal of mipha! As for link as a incoming sign of doom… that … your not wrong but were not quite there yet. I found the trick to catching lizards is sneaking up on them not dashing to catch them after there running! You can also find the fireproof ones under rocks on death mountan. Now that ive helped with lizards maybe you can help with lynals ;).
Dragonmaster150: thank you! Im trying to drownd you in the fluff currently im even attempting the gargantuan task of making -gasp- king rhoam some what cute with his adoration of his wife and child. Here's hoping i'm succeeding at least a little. Also i would kill for the whole pocket magic i feel like it is the thematic opposition of the dark magic that is fake pockets on womens (and some mens clothing)
SpicyArbiter: oh my god why does she have a knife? (thanks for making me laugh!)
I Lost Civilisation I: hi! Dont think ive seen your user name before! Welcome to the story! I too am a fan of wild child antics! I'm hoping to add more to the earlier chapters with my rewrite of the early chapters!