Chapter 18 - Diary Entry
Summary: The children spend the day with their Grandfather. Mipha and Link visit Ruta, and Link finds Mipha's diary there, prompting some reminiscing.
Link opened his eyes to sunlight, looked puzzled for an instant, then smiled as he remembered he was home. It felt funny to be waking up at home after so many days on the road. Link turned to look for Mipha in the slumber pool beside him, but she wasn't there. He was alone, probably from sleeping late, Staminoka Bass or not. He got up, dried off, and dressed as he listened for voices. But the house was quiet, and when he reached the kitchen, he found a note from Mipha on the table that explained why.
Good morning, sweetheart!
You were in a deep sleep (lovely expression), and I didn't want to wake you. Father was eager to learn about our trip, so I took the children to see him. Talking about our journey with him may help them decide what to write about. Anyway, enjoy a fresh Hyrule Bass in the kitchen.
Loved last night and love you! Be with you soon.
Link smiled. He loved last night too! Then he began preparing the fish for breakfast. He had noticed their Sheikah Slate lying on the table beside Mipha's note, and he thought this might be an opportune time to back up their pictures to a Guidance Stone, something Zelda had mentioned could be done. They had taken some pictures on their trip, and he would hate to lose them. When he finished cooking his fish, he sat down to eat and began working with the Sheikah Slate between bites.
There was a small message from Purah that popped up when he pressed the rune to back up pictures, and it explained what to do.
Press the picture rune to bring up a list of pictures.
Select individual images or press "All" to select all of them
Then press the small rune on the lower left labeled "Backup"
Let the process finish. A message will notify you when it is complete.
The speed of the process will depend upon signal strength, which will depend upon nearness to a Sheikah Tower
My assistant Nanna successfully followed these instructions. If she can do it, so can you!
That seemed straightforward enough. But was it just him, or did Purah always have an attitude about her assistants? Link pressed the picture rune and then saw an enormous collection of pictures. Mipha must have taken many more than he did. There was a picture of him riding with Raypha across the Tabantha Great Bridge. Raypha looked so cute sitting behind him with her arms wrapped around him. They were both staring down at the canyon below when Mipha must have taken the picture. Or had Gaddison or Rivan taken it? He scrolled down, and there were pictures of various family members shield surfing.
Then Link realized he had better not get too engrossed going through the pictures, or he would be here all morning. There was time enough for that later. He followed Purah's instructions, selected 'All,' and then set the Sheikah Slate down to let it finish.
He had just finished the fish and was cleaning up in preparation to join Mipha when he heard the door open.
"Oh, good, you're awake!" said Mipha as she came over to him, and they kissed. "Father wants us to leave the children in his care all day today to make up for lost time with them. He told me he had already cleared his day of meetings, so I had to agree. And our dear children were thrilled to play with Sidon and delay their writing assignments. Anyway, this means we have the day to ourselves, sweetheart. Isn't that wonderful?"
"Sweet! Yes, it is."
"Well, ourselves and Ruta," Mipha added. "We need to pay her a visit."
"That's fine. Oh, I'm backing up our pictures to a Guidance Stone. You took quite a few, didn't you?"
"I couldn't rely entirely on you to remember, dear," laughed Mipha. "I also asked Gaddison to take some pictures, and I'm interested in how they turned out."
"Great! Maybe we can go through them together later," said Link as he finished washing his dish.
"And be sure to send some pictures of the children to Zelda, or she will issue another royal command for your arrest on a charge of neglecting her," laughed Mipha.
"Yes, of course. You can help me choose which ones."
"If you've finished, we should go. We don't want to hurt Ruta's feelings by keeping her waiting much longer," said Mipha.
"I'm ready," said Link as he took her hand. "I'll armor my ego on the way there."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I won't let anything Ruta says about me bother me," said Link.
"Oh, come on!" laughed Mipha as she squeezed his hand. "She likes you, dear."
It was a short walk from Mikau Lake to the northwest pier of East Reservoir Lake, and Ruta bellowed when they arrived.
"See, she misses us!" said Mipha with a smile.
Link was sure Ruta missed Mipha but had learned not to say anything that might trigger an argument, so he kept quiet. Mipha was quite excited and pulled Link along through the water to save time. After reaching Ruta, she lowered the entrance, letting them board.
"It's good to be back together," said Mipha as she patted Ruta affectionately, and then they walked to the large room below and to the right that housed the main control unit. Their feet splashed in the shallow water as they approached the pedestal and the large containment structure that glowed blue with ancient energy.
"This will take a little while," said Mipha as she examined the mechanism. "I want to check several things."
"Fine, I'll just walk around and stretch my legs," said Link.
Link understood that making sure Ruta was in good working order had become a habit with Mipha, even though the need for Ruta's power seemed unlikely now. Perhaps it resulted from the closeness that had developed between them during her training that she cared for Ruta's well being much like you would care for a loyal horse. Or perhaps her training created within her a desire to leave the enormous mechanism in excellent condition for a future pilot whenever that would be.
Link made his way around the room while Mipha continued to work on the control unit. There was not much to see here as sunlight streamed through the openings in the wall and reflected off the water covering the floor. But then he noticed something partially hidden behind part of the structure. He walked over and saw that it was a book, then picked it up.
"Well, that's that," said Mipha as she gently patted the control unit. "You're in perfect condition, Ruta!"
Ruta bellowed once more, and then Mipha looked around for Link.
"What's this?" Link asked, holding up the book in his hand.
"What are you doing with that?" said Mipha as she walked over to him. "That's my diary."
"You keep your diary here inside Ruta?" said Link.
"Yes, to keep it private," said Mipha as she held her hand out for him to give it to her.
"Can I read it? We're married now, you know, and we shouldn't have any secrets from each other," said Link. "I mean, I would let you read my diary."
"If you had one, you mean," laughed Mipha. "Your journal is not the same thing. And by the way, that's what we call an empty wave."
"It's a hollow gesture in Hylian," laughed Link. "But seriously, you won't let me read any of it? How about just one small part?"
"What are you so curious about, dear? You can simply ask me things, you know."
"Well, I'm curious about what you were thinking at the time, you know, when you wrote it," said Link. "It's not the same thing telling me something now."
"I'm not saying I agree, but what part of my diary are you so keen to read?"
"The part where you fell in love with me," said Link.
"I was fond of you for a long time," said Mipha.
"I mean when you first felt romantic love for me or first wrote about it."
"Why do you want to know this now?" Mipha asked.
"It doesn't matter, of course," said Link. "I'm crazy in love with you and always will be. I just wondered."
Mipha considered for a moment.
"Okay, I will let you read that part if you promise to tell me the same thing about yourself," said Mipha. "But I have a feeling you can't tell me."
"Well, I admit that won't be easy," said Link. "I mean, I remember when I first became infatuated with you. It was during that visit after I reached puberty, and I was so quiet. But I don't know exactly when that grew into a more mature 'deeply in love with you' emotion. I guess it happened during or after one of my visits as we spent more time together as adolescents."
"See what I mean?" said Mipha.
"But can I read that part of your diary now, sweetheart? I'll understand if you say no, of course, like at Alicia's party when you didn't want me to know something."
"Fine," said Mipha. "Let me find the right page for you."
Mipha took the book from Link, opened it, flipped through some pages, then handed it back opened to a specific page.
"It starts here," said Mipha, pointing. "And don't you dare say anything sarcastic afterward!"
"I promise," said Link as he began reading aloud.
Link came to visit me. It had been ages. I told him the Lynel of Ploymus Mountain has been terrorizing everyone lately. When I said that, he started walking toward the mountain without a word. Spellbound, I followed him there. When we were almost there, he told me to turn back. He insisted he would be fine on his own. I stubbornly stayed. While I argued, the Lynel attacked us from behind! I was sure we had met our end. How silly of me to doubt. With a sure hand and a fierce gleam in his eye, Link unsheathed the sword that seals the darkness and defeated our foe. His swordsmanship was swift and graceful. I was fascinated by the beauty of his movements. Though I should have been terrified, I could not help but feel safe in the presence of my dear friend. His kindness and determination to help those in need… His strength and skill… My heart is drawn to his.
"You can skip to this part now," said Mipha, pointing further ahead.
Since our time together on Ploymus Mountain, thoughts of Link flood my mind. I think of him often and worry that he will stay well. Father must have noticed my mood change, and that I had difficulty sleeping since he finally asked me what was wrong. It was then that I shared with him my feelings for Link. He smiled, saying he wished Mother was here to advise me on such matters of the heart. But he said I must realize how powerful love is. Love can bring you the greatest joy in life, but it can also break your heart and leave you in misery. He then asked me about Link's feelings for me and had Link ever shared them. I told him I believed Link had feelings for me but was not sure how deep they ran. Link is shy, and on the quiet side, I said, not prone to expressing how he feels. Father grew silent then, as I am sure that was not the answer he wished to hear. I know Father does not want to see my heart broken should Link not return my feelings. But I went on to say that I must follow my heart wherever it leads me, whether to joy or misery. That is the person I am. Father reached out and hugged me then, kissed me on the forehead, and said he would pray all goes as my heart desires. I will now gather the materials for the special armor I wish to give to Link and begin working on it. I don't mind doing this, though I wish I knew for sure I was not alone in love. But I genuinely believe in my heart I am not.
"I think that about covers what you asked about," said Mipha, stopping Link at that point.
"Yes, thanks, sweetheart, it certainly does," said Link, and then he leaned forward for them to kiss.
"By the time we slew the Lynel, I was in love with you," said Link after they broke their kiss. "That was the problem, in a way. I cared so much about being with you I was too afraid of losing you as a friend by crossing a line with you if you didn't feel the same way I did. I guess I lacked courage…which is rather ironic in my case."
"It's easy now, knowing how we both felt, to look back and say we should have done this or that sooner," said Mipha as she caressed his cheek and took back the book. "It was the same thing that held us both back: we both feared rejection so much it froze us. Anyway, has that satisfied your curiosity, dear? I guess I'll have to find a new hiding spot for my diary now."
"No, no, you don't, sweetheart," laughed Link. "I wouldn't dare try to sneak into Ruta to read it, even if she would let me. She would probably submerge and flood me out if I tried. It's perfectly safe where it is. I give you my word."
They kissed once more, then Mipha returned her diary to her hiding spot.
"Shall we go then, sweetheart?" Mipha asked. "We still have the afternoon, and I like that we have a day to ourselves after so many days traveling in a group."
"You took the words out of my mouth," said Link.
"And that's not easy, pulling words out of you," laughed Mipha.
"Very funny," laughed Link. "At least I can say I love you."
"And I love you, too," said Mipha. "Let's have some fun swimming up waterfalls together. Remember when you told me at Aquame Lake that you wished you could do that?"
"Yes, now that you mention it," said Link. "And you said you wished that too. Wow, was I ever slow!"
"I was a bit too subtle, and your mind was elsewhere then," laughed Mipha, taking his hand. "Come on, sweetheart. We have the day to ourselves."
"And we don't have to spend all of it swimming up waterfalls, right?"
"Is there anything more fun than that?" Mipha said as she gave him her cutest smile.