She went to the city on a journey to search for her lost and forgotten friend.
The sky was blue, the sun shined brightly, and underneath the beautiful weather was a butcher slaughtering a goat for all the world to see. Miro Miro nearly fairy fainted when she saw the goat's life force drain from the poor animal's now opened throat. A nauseating wave washed over any fear of entering the city and revealed a sense of living beyond the force driven by guilt. She truly felt alive for the first time.
Miro Miro's first instinct upon watching the goat's final, dying heartbeats was to fly away and get out of the fabled city carved into the mountain, but she couldn't help but stare at the gore. It was hard to believe that she had never seen anything so grotesque in her hundreds of years of existence. It was common sense, no matter how shielded from the unpleasantries of the Lost Woods' vicious ecosystem, that monsters ate and killed each other, but this…
This was something entirely different. The poor goat had no choice but to anticipate its final precious heartbeats of life. Miro Miro could almost feel the strong hands clamped on the goat's jaw and the cold steel sliding across flesh. Witnessing death first hand introduced a plethora of turbulent emotions running through her head powerfully. Nearby the butcher was presumably the butcher's beautiful wife, a dainty woman who looked like she had no business skinning rabbits, but her bloodied hands flawless technique said otherwise. Miro Miro wretched in disgust as the woman exposed the bloody fresh meat for her hungry customers to see.
Discomfort brewed within her.
Her handsomely young companion, a Hylian man she met in the Lost Woods, took a deep breath of fresh air. The strong, summer sun and his gorgeous smile made his eyes almost look like they were shut. His long, greasy and grime filled hair gleamed in the sunlight, a result of many days without bathing. All along the four day journey with the merchants caravan to Hyrule Castle City, the other caravaneers kept a distance from him for his strong odor and squalid appearance. It was their loss, in Miro Miro's opinion. Her new best friend was as friendly as the children in her home and as wise as the Great Deku Tree.
"I take it you don't see death too often?" asked Rowark.
Rowark's gentle voice suddenly snapped her focus away from the carnage. "Oh, no haha," was her uneasy yet honest answer, "I guess Father has done a splendid job keeping horrifying things away from the Kokiri village. Still, I have never seen anything quite as grotesque as what I just saw."
"Worse than the Skulltula?" Rowark's reminder violently triggered the memory of the eight legged monster who was about to have Miro Miro for lunch.
"Well, that was just frightening!" Miro Miro countered fervently, "This is just… wrong? I don't know…" Was it wrong to restrain an innocent life and slaughter it? According to Father's laws back in the Kokiri Village, the killing of any animal was tantamount to murder and was punishable as so. But if that were true, then she witnessed Rowark commit mass murder.
The Lost Woods contained many dangers and even more unknown dangers. Underneath the dense, dark foliage, the territory only belonged to the strongest. Miro Miro, who had spent the better part of a century living in a village protected by the Great Deku Tree, and Rowark, who grew up in here in the city, were certainly outsiders to the Lost Woods, but that had no effect on Rowark at all.
His skills with a soldier's spear, a scout's knife, and a torch were proven again and again with each monster he slew. Not only did Rowark cut through babas, skulltulas, countless keese, and even a mighty wolfos, he nimbly danced around each of their attacks with ease. During the many days they spent trekking through the Lost Woods, Rowark made camp, built temporary shelters, and harvested non-toxic foods. Whatever his background was, he was no stranger to the forest.
Miro Miro could foresee their fun adventures together. She would marvel at his beautiful movements as he would slay monster after monster. Sure she couldn't pursue a meaningful relationship with him given their anatomical differences, him being Hylian and her being a tiny fairy, but that wouldn't stop her from getting enjoyment from looking at him or sneaking a peek while he bathed, if he ever did.
"Well, whatever, I still have not been able thank you properly for your rescue. If you had not shown up-"
"For the hundredth time!" Rowark stressed as politely as possible, "It's no problem! Thank you for, you know, getting me out of the Lost Woods! I thought I was gonna be stuck there forever!" his handsome grin let out a chuckle, "Well, I need to rejoin with my company. You're more than welcome to join me, that is, if you're up for seeing more adventures." Gut feeling told her to follow Rowark, self-named Hyrule's most handsome monster slayer.
But guilt told her to betray her feelings instead, "Thank you for the offer, but," she hesitated, enjoying the last few seconds of her imaginary future life with him, "I must continue my mission." Her romanticized imagery instantly shattered and left only the sting of regret.
"That's fine," said Rowark with disappointment, "I understand. You care much about your companion, so I could only assume that he means much to you." His words felt as warm as his radiant smile did. With him by her side, Miro Miro felt blessed to be able to feel at ease finally. Rowark was the first person Miro Miro had encountered in ages; it broke her heart to leave his side. "I shall pray for your success. May the Goddesses guide you to your lost friend. But if you're ever bored, just look for me in the Castle Barracks."
As Rowark was walking away, Miro Miro noticed that his ragtag armor was actually part of a uniform. This was made more clear when Rowark passed by a guard wearing a fresh set of armor. The difference between the two was that Rowark was missing his left shoulder pauldron and his right vambrace, and his chest piece was dangling on his shoulder and held together with one strap. The time spent in the Lost Woods, almost a whole season according to Rowark, had reduced the luster of his once shiny plates to dirt and rust. His tattered blue cape was the only thing left to show his employment to the Crown. The Lost Woods did not treat him kindly. Maybe the civilized society of Hyrule Castle City would?
When the taller, skinnier guard saw Rowark, his scraggly brown beard could not hide his unrestrained excitement in his mouth and eyes. "Rowark!?" his high pitched astonishment squeaked out, "I thought we lost you!"
A loud slap escaped from their fierce embrace, and then a laugh. They continued talking with grins stamped on their lips, but with the deafening hubbub of the city, Miro Miro had trouble eavesdropping on their conversation. It had also reminded her to respect Rowark's homecoming.
Industrious Hylians, traders and craftsmen, and livestock carrying all sorts of goods crossed in front of Miro Miro on the filthy and garbage-ridden streets. As she hovered in front of the gate's entrance, next to the butcher's shop, people crisscrossed in front of her without acknowledging her presence. Strangers of all races paid no mind to each other either as they walked through the crowded street.
Anyone who had lived in Faron Woods knew what the Deku looked like. Their flower hats, wooden flesh, bright orange eyes, and short stature were unmistakable. She never thought she would see one, let alone many, so far from the forest, but once she recalled that the Deku were famed merchants and traders, she supposed it made sense that so many would reside in a city filled with trade. None of the Deku were carrying their own merchandise, unlike the physically stronger Hylians. While the rest of the populace walked, the Deku drove horse-drawn carts to distinguish themselves from the rest of the peasants.
The Zora were the next most populous. Miro Miro stared at their sleek, muscular bodies, their moist, light blue skin, and their fins jutting from their joints. They walked uprightly and tall but stood at about the same height as the average Hylian adult. And then she noticed the reflective, black surface of their small eyes, which looked so exotic and alien to her. None of the stories about the Zora ever mentioned the unique shape of their heads: humanoid in front with a tail fin jutting out the back, nor did they ever describe the Zora wearing tunics and pants just like their Hylian neighbors did. Miro Miro could not help but marvel at their natural beauty.
Their Zola counterparts, however, were not as aesthetically pleasing. Instead of a long tail fin on their back of their head like their Zora cousins, the Zola had a round head like the Hylians did but had fins sprouting outwards from where their ears would be and on the top of their head. Thick, red lips, sharp fangs, and a flat nose were squished together on their blue, frog like faces. In contrast to the Zoras' toned bodies, the Zolas' bodies were just big and bulky. In the campfire stories, they were always the brutish bullies, and their intimidating appearance did justice to the story descriptors.
A gorgeous woman with olive skin and shoulder length, vivaciously blood red hair shopped through the butcher's merchandise. Her left hand's fingers slid through her handsome, Hylian husband's hands while her right hand firmly gripped the tiny hand of her infant daughter, who inherited every single one of her mother's Gerudo traits. When Miro Miro used to listen to Mido's tales of the fearsome desert thieves, she imagined the Gerudo to be more muscular than the mother exchanging colorful jewels for a raw and plucked cucco from the butcher.
The street that extended parallel to the gate was filled with shops and stalls as far as the eye could see, extending to both mountain cliffs that made up the city's eastern and western border. Shouts and conversations of the busy peasants overcame the busy noise of traffic. The path in front of her leading into the urban jungle had even more activity, creating an undying fear that she was going to get lost. Well, you've only been lost in the forest for a hundred and fourteen seasons, Miro Miro reminded herself. Getting lost would not stop her from finding her lost companion. She began to sift through the dense crowds as soon as Rowark disappeared into the hustle and bustle of the city.