Author's note: I've been away for a while and haven't updated this story in months. Rest assured I am committed to finishing it and even posting many other Zelda fanfictions I have in my brain! I've just been very busy with a number of life changes and didn't always have access to WiFi. Hope you enjoy the latest chapter. Thanks for reading!
Zora's River, 2 weeks later
"How much farther!?"
Dark glanced left at Lymira, who was shouting to be heard. He shrugged in response. "I don't know."
Water crashed down the rocky riverbed with the force of a stampede, frothing and rumbling. In this remote passage upriver, carved stubbornly from stone over eons by the raging flood, the ground trembled constantly. The high, grey cliffs reverberated the sound of the river back at them.
Ahead of them, the half dozen wagons labored on the rough and steep road, making painstakingly slow progress. Soldiers on horseback patrolled next to each one, alert to their surroundings. Behind them, Dark, Lymira, Silas and a handful of others on horseback brought up the rear.
The roar of the river finally faded when they came around a bend at the top of the hill, greeted by the impressive sight of a waterfall cascading, dropping into a deceptively calm pool of water. The traveling party rolled to a stop at the pool's edge, and the soldiers dismounted to check their supplies and water their horses. With the quieter noise of the waterfall, conversation became much easier.
Dark dismounted and untied a waterskin from his saddle bags, taking a sip before offering it to Lymira and Silas. Tipping the skin back, Lymira's eyes scanned the clearing.
"What are those?" she asked curiously, handing the waterskin back and clambering over a pile of rocks to get a closer look at the cliff face. Halfway up, etched onto a smoothed surface, were faded Zora characters surrounded by intricate designs. Silas and Dark came over to investigate.
"I've read about these," Dark said. "'The history of the noble Zora people is written in stone. For preservation, for remembrance, for honour'," he quoted, the words coming back from a distant day spent in a cramped, dusty corner, piles of books gathered at his feet.
Silas studied the stylized passage, running a hand over the delicate designs swirling around the words. "It's beautiful," he remarked. "These must be very old stories, since this road is so seldom used."
"I wonder why," Lymira snorted. She frowned at the letters. "If only I could read Zora. I wonder what it says."
Someone tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned to see Dagan gesturing at her. Lymira waited while he lifted his notebook and scribbled out a few sentences.
"It's a poem," she read when he finished. "About the nearby waterfalls and their importance to the region and the Zora people. Huh, interesting."
"You understand Zora?" Dark asked him.
Dagan nodded. Wait until you see Zora's Domain, he continued, signing. Its beauty rivals the beauty of the river.
Dark interpreted for Silas and Lymira, though his understanding of Hylian sign language was limited, while Dagan told them more about Zora culture, and the food and sights that awaited them.
The four of them wandered along the clearing, finding more pieces of Zora history imprinted on the walls, some chiseled so high up it was a mystery as to how ancient Zora had reached them.
Eventually, Lillian called for everyone to remount and continue their journey. Walking back, Dark noticed Link at the water's edge, seemingly lost in thought, before he turned and climbed back into one of the wagons. He didn't glance Dark's way.
"You could go and talk to him," Lymira said bluntly as they remounted. "It's been long enough with all this sulking. From both of you."
"I'm not sulking," Dark defended. "He's chosen not to talk to me."
It was true. Since their argument after visiting their uncle Magnus, they'd hardly even seen one another. Dark had spent his time with Silas and Lymira in Kakariko. Link had presumably been busy with the army or at the castle. The distance bothered Dark, though he hated to admit it. He'd grown used to Link's presence in his life again, after just a few short weeks. He hadn't realized that he missed having a brother.
On his other side, Silas coughed. "Does that mean you can't choose to try talking to him?"
"Don't you start, too," he grumbled.
Lymira and Silas exchanged a suspiciously conspiratorial look.
"It might help to at least reassure him you're not a psychotic murderer," she suggested. "I know your default behaviour lends itself to that description—"
Dark shot her a glare while Silas muffled a fit of giggles. "I don't know what you're talking about," he growled.
Lymira snorted. "I mean the whole tall, dark and brooding attitude you have going on. The permanent scowl you wear around the castle. People tend to make judgments. Hey, not me," she added in defense at his scathing look.
Lymira and Silas fell silent, their advice given. Dark wasn't really angry at his friends for their well-meaning prods. Either he or Link would eventually cave and approach the other. The brothers had spent too much of their lives separated to let a permanent rift form between them now. Still, it bothered him deeply that there were cracks in their bond. They kept trying to reconnect, and something always bounced them back, like they were two wrong ends of a magnet.
Not wanting to dwell on the issue, he scanned their surroundings. There were guards on the lookout to keep them safe, but he kept watch anyways. The group passed another polished stone plaque, this one at ground level, etched with yet more Zora lettering.
As a child he'd spent hours in a small bookstore in East Wall. Not only for an escape from the confines of the orphanage or a break from the life as a petty thief. Dark suspected his interest in reading the dusty old historical volumes the kindly shopkeeper let him browse freely was personal. Dark hadn't known about his own personal history then, but like all orphans, he never stopped wondering or imagining what his family might have been like.
Annoyed with himself for letting his mind wander back to family again, Dark mentally shook himself, tightening his grip on his horse's reins. He resolved to focus on the road ahead and let his past be what it was: ancient history.
Lymira reached inside her cloak and fumbled until she found the sharp edge of the letter tucked into her belt. She scratched her fingers over it, debating whether to give it another read, out here in the open.
The soaring cliffs surrounding them might have made her feel sheltered, but in her state of mind they became potential hiding places for spies and eavesdroppers. She stole another look at Silas and Dark, riding side by side a few paces ahead, conversing idly. She experienced a strange stab of guilt over keeping this from them, and she was confused herself at her secrecy. But maybe it was just her nature to be cautious and keep things to herself.
Withdrawing her hand, she thought again about the implications of the letter. The latest from Queen Anvi, or her messenger, rather, was puzzling. Lymira hadn't put much thought into what she viewed as her secondary mission, but the Queen of Labrynna hadn't been satisfied with her answers so far.
Despite Lymira's two return letters, assuring her majesty that Princess Zelda posed no threat to Labrynna and that Hyrule was indeed safe as it seemed to be, Queen Anvi's latest directive was clear.
She wanted Lymira to outright spy on the Hylian court.
Wherever else Anvi was receiving her information, they'd convinced her that Zelda and the king were not to be trusted. Lymira didn't want to involve herself in the first place. Her position as ambassador had been a convenient way to gain access in her hunt for Alatar. Anvi's vendetta hadn't crossed her mind.
As worrying as the queen's letter was, Lymira wasn't sure of her next move. Did she ignore the letter? Send back a refusal? Hand it over to Zelda?
The truth was, Lymira held little loyalty for the Labrynna ruler. The clans had always ruled themselves independently. Her only concern here was the potential for a conflict, which would be devastating for her homeland and the innocent people who lived there.
She didn't think the Hylian king would rush to war with his neighbour, but if Anvi provoked? His hand would be forced.
Calling voices heralded their arrival, drawing her attention to the front of the caravan. The rough trail they'd been following appeared to end, until she looked closer and realized the divot in the rock was actually a cavern's mouth, cleverly disguised with moss and hanging vines.
Four Zora guards wielding spears waited for them, speaking briefly with the Hylian Royal guards before turning and leading the way into the cave. Lymira's horse shied at the dimly lit tunnel. She clicked her tongue encouragingly, but it refused to budge. Seeing she'd fallen behind, Dark reined his horse to her side, reaching over to pat the mare's neck and murmur soothingly. Gripping the horse's bridle, he tugged, and Lymira's mount tentatively stepped forward.
"You're good at that," she remarked.
Half-leaned towards her, one hand still on her horse's bridle, he looked at her, a smirk curving his lips. "Impressed?" He asked.
"Humble?" She shot back, grinning.
He chuckled and pulled back, but kept his horse next to hers. As the tunnel narrowed, their pace slowed, their knees nearly brushed against each other. Lymira ignored the almost-contact, focusing on the blue-green lanterns, carved right into the stone to light the way on both sides. Each pair was unique, forming the shape of a fish, a shell, a flower, an oyster.
The Zora were famous for their artistry. Their obsession with being surrounded by beauty. Lymira supposed this Zora clan, the largest and home of King Zora, would be even more extravagant. The only Zora she'd met were from seaside villages in Labrynna—beautiful villages, but less grand, maybe.
When they reached the inside of the zoras' domain, her breath was snatched from her body.
If the tableaus decorating the cliffs outside were art, then the cavern-city of Zora's Domain was their masterpiece. The passageway ended in a wide, half-circle balcony that offered an unrivaled view of the Zoras' home. The enormous cavern was full of light, from the mosaic of natural skylights at the very top, allowing in natural beams, to the millions of refractions of said sunbeams in the waterfalls gushing from numerous cracks in the walls. Each and every one, ranging in size and power—from the gentlest stream to the thundering rush of the tallest, to their left—poured into the main basin at the bottom, where an incredible number of Zora were swimming, arcing gracefully through the water. Still more lounged or stood near the water's edge, their voices echoing in the tall space. All of them were dressed up for the occasion, wearing sparkling silver jewelry or opalescent shells of every colour that caught the light. Guards and royal attendants milled through the crowds, recognizable by the duller silver armour and spears they held, or the pale blue tunics worn by the servants.
A dozen of these servants appeared on the balcony from a secondary passageway and began dividing up the group. Zelda and Link were escorted away first, leaving a servant for each of the remaining guests. A pair of young Zora women approached Lymira, Dark and Silas.
"Follow us, please," the older one said, turning with a swish of the countless strings of pearls hanging from her neck.
The younger girl, maybe a preteen by human standards, smiled shyly at Lymira. "I'll show you to your guest room, my lady."
Lymira was about to protest—she didn't need a private room to hide in before the festivities began—but thought better of it. As an official ambassador, it would probably look uncouth for her to refuse hospitality. Besides, she needed a place to change clothes after traveling all day, and she rather doubted the Zoras would be alright with her changing in the middle of the hall.
Then again, maybe they wouldn't care, she mused, noting that Zoras tended not to wear much clothing, anyway. The passageway began to decline, taking them to the lower levels of the hidden city. Party guests dotted the halls, some of them watching curiously as they passed. One of the guests turned his head sharply, and, with a huge grin on his face, freed himself from the knot of guests he was in.
"Hey!"
Lymira, Dark and Silas came to a halt, stopping their escorts as well. The zora walked over to them, saying "I'm looking for a Hylian guy, about yea tall, dark hair, kind of a jackass look about him. Have you seen him?"
For some reason, Dark laughed. Silas snorted and shook his head. The zora walked up to Dark and grabbed him in a tight hug, accompanied with all the usual manly back-slapping and raucous laughter. Lymira arched a brow when the zora man's pale eyes landed on her—and positively glowed with delight.
"And who's this?" he purred, practically shoving Dark aside to reach for Lymira's hand. He dropped a kiss to the back of her hand, smoldering smile in place. "Hello, beauty."
Dark's hand planted itself on the zora's chest and hauled him out Lymira's personal space. "This is Lady Lymira Talen, the Labrynnan ambassador," he said, shooting the other man a clear warning look. He turned to Lymira. "This is Jeim, an old friend of mine. Don't let his charm fool you."
Lymira met Jeim's flirtatious smile with a smirk. "I would…if he had charm to speak of."
Jeim threw his head back with laughter, hands on his hips. Like most zora, he was tall and lean, with delicate fins protruding from his elbows and hips. His hips, incidentally, were holding up the only piece of clothing he wore: a short navy tunic. His skin varied from palest green to darker blue at the extremities. He also had tattoos spiraling up his calves and along his temples towards the end of his headfin. His eyes, when they met hers again, were seafoam green.
"I like a woman with a sharp tongue," he told her with a wink.
"Hers might be too much for you to compete with," Silas advised, reaching to clasp Jeim's arm in Hylian custom. "Didn't know you'd be here. Thought you hated being up north?" he added with a teasing smirk.
Jeim waved a dismissive hand. "I do. But not even I would miss a party this grand just because it's a little cold up here."
It was actually quite pleasantly warm and humid in the Domain, but Lym suspected this was due to zora heat engineering. Jeim bumped his shoulder into Dark's.
"I'll let you all get settled. But I hope you'll come find me later. And you," he said to Lym. "I hope you'll save me a dance, beauty."
Lymira smiled despite herself. "We'll see," she agreed.
With another quicksilver smile, the zora disappeared back into the mingling crowd. Silas watched him go with another chuckle.
"I think he's in love," he said to Dark.
Dark snorted. "If he proposes to you during the ceremony," he said to Lym. "I won't be surprised."
Lymira laughed. "I'll practice my tear-filled refusal. How long have you known him?"
"Years," Dark said, as they continued walking. "We met when I was traveling in the southern province. He offered me a place to stay, and I ended up staying much longer than I thought."
He and Silas exchanged a sidelong look, full of meaning she couldn't begin to decipher. They were led up a second level, and down a hallway filled with beautifully decorated doors.
"You'll be staying here, gentlemen," the zora servant announced, opening a door encrusted with orange and blue coral.
Silas and Dark disappeared into their room, leaving Lymira to claim a room a few doors down. Aside from the separate bedchamber and dressing room, there was a sitting room in the centre to relax in. There was also another balcony, this one overlooking not a pool of water but a sunken garden one level below, ringed by identical balconies. A small waterfall gushed from beneath each one, filling an aqueduct at the perimeter of this smaller, circular cavern. The water was then guided to the garden's bright aqua plants through stone spillways, designed to separate the plants into sections. From her vantage point, the colours and sections formed the image of a water lily.
Admiring the artistry, her idle thoughts flickered back to Queen Anvi's letter. Her gaze landed on the empty balcony that belonged to Dark and Silas' room. She could always show the letter to Dark. He knew his brother better than she, and presumably Princess Zelda as well. He might have a better insight on the best course of action, politics-wise.
Although from what she'd seen Dark could care less about the politics of the Hylian court, much like her, he at least knew the players. And she'd come to trust him and Silas. Which itself was an alarming thing, since Lymira didn't make friends easily and trusted people even harder.
But in this she had to admit she was out of her area of expertise. And doing nothing would come back to bite her somehow. Doing something was better than waiting, or being used as a pawn.
She would show the letter to Dark. But first, she would send a reply to the queen. If Anvi wanted a spy, she would have to look elsewhere.
Looking back at the guest room, Lymira spotted a small desk in the corner and went in search of something to write with.
Dark leaned on the balcony railing, watching water flow through the aqua garden. In a half-meditative state, it took a second longer for his ears to pick up the sound of Link's approach.
"All settled in?" his brother asked.
Dark straightened, crossing his arms over his chest. Link watched him with an expression caught between unease and hope.
"Can't say Ruto isn't a world-class host," he replied. "The servants even brought a feast to eat before the actual, you know, wedding feast." He gestured to the sitting area, with a dozen dishes laid out on the table.
Link barely glanced at it. He shifted his weight, considering his words.
"Why do you look like you're afraid I'll punch you?" Dark asked, impatient for him to get to the point. Was he here to ask him not to attend the ceremony? Had rumours about him spread to Ruto's court and he wanted to avoid the scandal?
Link frowned. "Are you thinking of punching me?"
"Not just yet."
Link resisted rolling his eyes, though it took great effort. "Can we talk like two normal brothers, or do you want to continue being an ass?"
Before Dark could even open his mouth with a smartass retort, Link shot him a glare.
"Fine." He dropped his arms and shrugged. "What did you want to say?"
"I came to tell you that I don't want to treat you the same way others do."
Dark blinked in puzzled surprise. "What?"
Link sighed and ran a hand through his hair in a familiar habit. "When you left, Dark, I honestly didn't know if you'd ever come back, and by the time I accepted that was the truth, I had other things to worry about."
Dark didn't comment. His brother had written letters to him over the years, but he hadn't shared much of his personal life. Dark suspected because he'd been carrying on a secret courtship with a certain princess at the time.
"I decided to join the army, and…well you know all this. But I felt adrift, I think. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, or how I was supposed to feel about your absence. And now you've come back, and I'm glad for that…"
When Link trailed off, Dark now shifted uncomfortably. After the timeline had been reversed, and Link returned to his original time, Dark too had found himself back in childhood, burdened with the memories of the war, the truth of his brother being alive, and the knowledge that Ganondorf was preparing for a war that would decimate Hyrule.
Even after Ganondorf's trial and execution, it had been difficult to shake the weight of his grief for Sienna and the nightmares that continued to plague him. He and Link, now reunited and inexplicably keeping hold of the memories everyone in the world had lost, save for the Sages, had decided to band together. They'd lived in Kakariko for a time, but eventually it became too much, and he'd decided to leave.
He'd told Link beforehand. Though leaving a then-15-year-old Link behind while he headed for Gerudo Desert, without giving a return date, admittedly hadn't been the best idea. Link was nearly 21 now. And in moments like these the regret of the poor older brother he was pressed in on him.
"I'm sorry I left you."
Link met his apologetic gaze. "I understand," he said simply, flooding Dark with the strangest mixture of relief and resistance. Link shouldn't forgive him for his abandonment. "I do know what it's like to need to push people away, to feel like…you need to go looking for something. When I left the forest…" Link hesitated again. "I see how people treat you, now that you're back, and I understand that. I know you hate it, Dark. I don't want to treat my only remaining family the same way. I trust the man I know."
Dark stared at Link, seeing in his eyes that he did understand. That he did see. For a long moment they seemed to communicate everything else silently, blue eyes clashing with crimson. The pure with the cursed, two sides of the same coin.
He tried a smile to alleviate the heavy mood. "I should thank the Kokiri for instilling such compassion and understanding in you."
Link's smile was less forced. Easy. "I think I learned those things from my big brother, actually."
He didn't want to cry, so he reached out and locked Link's head in his elbow instead, mussing up his pretty blond hair with the other hand. Link ducked out of the hold with a laugh.
"I was being serious!"
Dark stopped laughing to show him the same. "I know," he said. "Thank you."
Link tilted his head. "I feel like we should do more to make up."
"You wanna take a pottery class together?"
He snorted. "Not really. But in all honesty, Dark, I would ask that move forward with trust between us. Something is coming…I can't explain it, but—"
"I feel it, too," Dark admitted. "'Danger is near'. It's like there's a warning going off in my head."
"Yeah," Link agreed, frowning. "Recent events…it feels too similar to how it was before, and I don't want to worry about being blindsided by another surprise. I want to know if you're with me."
"Was there ever any doubt?" Dark shook his head when Link didn't smile at his attempt at levity. "In all seriousness, you never need to worry about that. I am always on your side, Link. And whatever mess this is, I'm not leaving until it's taken care of."
Link smiled again. "Thank you."
He turned to leave, needing to get ready before the ceremony started.
"One more thing."
Link turned back. "What is it?"
"Your older brother thinks you're going to make a very good king someday," he said, grinning.
Link plucked a grape off a nearby plate and chucked it at his head. Dark ducked just in time. "Get dressed. Or your next visit will be from Ruto, and she won't be pleased."
"I'm quaking."
Link laughed, closing the door behind him. Coming back into the room, Dark grabbed the displaced grapes and popped one in his mouth.
"How much did you hear?" He asked.
Silas appeared in the doorway of the bedchamber. "I was getting dressed," he said casually. "I heard nothing."
Dark raised his head to make a remark about him being a bad liar, and nearly choked on the grapes. Silas' chest was bare save for a collar of fish bones and seashells that covered from chin to mid-chest. It looked more like Zora armour, accentuating his wide, muscular frame. Around his waist he wore a long, coral wrap woven with sea-inspired designs.
"I found this in the closet," Silas explained defensively.
Dark rearranged his shocked expression. "How did you get that thing over your head without stabbing your eyes out?" He asked, eyeing the sharp ends of the bones.
Silas' lips curled. "It doesn't go over your head. It latches here at the side. Quite ingenious."
"I would stay away from Jeim tonight if you're going dressed like that."
Silas gave him a look. "I'm not the one Jeim has his eye on."
"Lymira can handle herself."
"I wasn't talking about Lymira."
Dark paused, a grape halfway to his mouth. Something in Silas' tone made him glance at his friend, but he was busy fiddling with the tie on his waist wrap.
He cleared his throat. "Is there a second set in the closet for me?"
Silas gestured at the room behind him, so Dark walked over and inspected for himself. Opening the doors of the wardrobe in the bedchamber, he stifled a laugh. Either Ruto had been very prepared for their visit, or this was the gods' idea of a joke.
Shaking his head, he grabbed the remaining set of Zora formal wear and dressed for the party.
When he walked out of the room a short time later, it was Silas' turn to go bug-eyed.
"Wow," his friend said. "How well does Ruto know you?" He teased. "It matches your eyes perfectly."
Dark fidgeted. The waist wrap was indeed a deep, vibrant red. It matched the necklace of red and indigo shells, woven together with the fiery orange-red crab's shell pendant. The numerous strings, overly long so they draped artfully, made him feel more tangled than anything, but he would suck it up for one night.
"I only met her once or twice," Dark grumbled to Silas. "Are you ready to go?"
Silas grinned and nodded. They walked into the hall, only for them both to be struck speechless at the sight of Lymira striding towards them.
Like them, she wore a long piece of fabric that wrapped around her body, cinched at her waist by a silver belt twisted into the shape of a seahorse. It looped around her chest, then fell back over her left shoulder. Around her arms, she sported matched silver bracers, and a large opal rested at the base of her throat, complete with matching earrings. The moon-like stones complemented her blue eye, and made her dark eye shine like onyx.
"Boys, I know I look amazing. But we're going to be late."
"Excuse us for taking a moment to bask in the brilliance." Silas laughed.
Their time-wasting was short-lived, as the two female Zora servants reappeared to show them the way. They climbed up a level, through the twisting passages, and were ushered onto a balcony where Zelda, Link and Dagan waited with a pair of Hylian guards and a pair of Zora guards.
Two levels below them, in the main cavern, a floating platform shaped like a water lily drifted in the pool. A group of Zora waited in the water nearby, their heads and shoulders only above the surface. All around the cavern, from similar balconies, guests watched and waited from all different levels.
As the sunlight seeped away, the enormous space had been lit with torches, the flames bouncing off the polished rock walls, throwing their light into every corner and illuminating the water lily like a spotlight in the centre.
Princess Ruto and her husband-to-be sat in the centre of the lily, dressed in all the finery of a Zora royal couple. The crown on Ruto's head shone like a beacon, a silver starburst encrusted with pearls, opals and sapphires, the Zora's royal stone.
The ceremony began with an underwater dance, a tribute to the newlyweds. The zoras in the water arced and dove, springing from the water with grace, sending droplets flying in every direction to catch the torches' light like liquid flames. In perfect synchronization they swam, under the water and above it, a beautiful spectacle of water and light.
Near the big waterfall, on a second floating platform, the band accompanied with a stirring, romantic melody, the lead singer's hypnotic voice—a beautiful Zora woman in a shimmering silver dress—ringing through the caverns.
Dark watched from the corner of the balcony, his attention drifting to his companions. Silas and Lymira were elbow to elbow at the railing, entranced by the performance. Dagan stood smiling at the opposite corner, unable to hear the music but able to feel the vibrations of its echo. Link, at the centre of the balcony with Zelda, wound an arm around her waist while they stood close together. Dark saw the smile spread across his future sister-in-law's face when she rested her head against his shoulder in silent response.
Weddings brought romance to peoples' minds, and a Zora wedding ceremony was evidently especially romantic. Glancing at Silas and Lymira again, Dark wondered if they would make their bond official after this. It was hard to say exactly how he felt about the possibility. He was happy for his friend, and yet regretful. It was partly due to the connection he felt for Lymira, he knew. But the voice in his head—which sounded annoyingly like Kai, his shadowy self—was accusing him of simple cowardice.
The sad part was, he was beginning to think his other self was right.
An image of Silas' reaction earlier in their guest room sprang to mind; his remark about Jeim, his refusal to meet Dark's gaze. Next to him, Lymira and Silas were now holding hands. Just as quickly, Dark banished the wishful thoughts.
As the ceremony ended, Dark made a beeline for the passage, thinking of finding wherever the spirits were being served first. Jeim was sure to be the first one there, and he needed the distraction of drinking and catching up with his friend.
A spike of foreboding slammed into him, raising the hairs on the back of his neck. Something was wrong.
It was then that the gods decided to play another trick on him.
No sooner had the feeling hit him as he turned his back, than the entire cavern was shaken by an explosion.