The exquisite ice-blue bridges and archways of Zora's Domain still took Zelda's breath away. Her castle had been impressive, but also built primarily with defense in mind, brute force its main deterrent. The sharp, glittering towers of Zora's domain were elegant as well as functional.
The Zora had no stables, so Link and Zelda staked their horses under a small outcrop near the main bridge. As they approached the square, the guards called out to Link with an air of familiarity. Zelda gave him a brief smile. "Are they the ones that you were playing with when you broke your leg?" He nodded sheepishly.
"Who is your friend, Link?" one of them asked. Zelda looked taken aback, perhaps forgetting that she was in her traveling clothes.
"This is Princess Zelda," he answered. The guards exchanged looks, clearly confused over proper protocol.
"The King and Prince will be happy to see you, Link," one offered. "I'm sure they'll be pleased to meet the Princess as well."
The traveling pair passed through, and entered the square, where the people milling around smiled and waved at Link. Zelda walked up to the statue of Mipha, and bowed as if before a grave. "I'm sorry," she murmured.
Link put a hand on her shoulder. "King Dorephan and Prince Sidon are up there," he said, pointing to the stairway.
"All right." Zelda straightened her clothes and took a deep breath. She erased the nervousness from her face with a benign smile. "I'm ready."
They climbed the staircase to see both the King and Prince in a deep discussion with Muzu, the advisor. It was Prince Sidon who first noticed them. "Ah, Link! A pleasure to see you, as always! And you've brought a friend with you!"
King Dorephan squinted at the pair, then inclined his head slightly. "Lady Zelda! It pleases me to see you alive and well."
Link caught a smirk from Muzu, but said nothing. Zelda had told him to expect this. "King Dorephan," she returned with an equally slight incline of her head. "It warms my heart to see that after so much has changed, you remain the same as ever." She motioned toward her companion. "Link came to speak with his friend the Prince, but I am here on business."
After Link and Prince Sidon departed, Zelda walked up to the platform before the King and bowed slightly. "I've paid my respects to your daughter, and wish to express my deepest sorrow and heartfelt gratitude."
"Pft," Muzu said, just loud enough to hear.
"I know you have endured many trials of your own, Lady Zelda," the King replied solemnly. "My sorrow has been tempered by the knowledge that Mipha helped eliminate Ganon from this world. Now, let us speak of happier things."
"I too wish to look toward the future," Zelda replied. "That is the point of my journey here today. I wish to speak to you about the future of Hyrule."
"Under your domain, I suppose, Lady Zelda?" Muzu demanded, unable to stay silent any longer.
"Actually, no." Zelda fought to keep the smile from spreading across her face as both Zora were taken aback. "My style is different than my father's. And we are living in very different times."
She cleared her throat and readied the speech she had prepared on the way. "For eons, Hyrule's royal family has served as the head of this nation. It was founded by my ancestors, who went so far as to claim a Goddess among their ancestors. It was the protection of this Goddess that gave them the legitimacy of a ruling hand.
"But that protection has not been sufficient," Zelda went on, her eyes hardening ever so slightly as she spoke these words. "No one knows this better than myself. In addition, for the hundred years that I spent containing the damage that had spread across Hyrule, Hyrule had managed to get along without us – at least in terms of peaceful matters. The Hylians and other races who have managed their self-rule would, I imagine, be loath to give it up."
The King and his advisor exchanged looks. "And so…?" Dorephan prompted. "What role would Hyrule's royal family play today?"
"As an ambassador, of sorts," Zelda explained. "A uniting force among semi-independent nations. I will be frank: We do not have the resources to be rulers of this land. The old power of an empire is gone and I will not likely see it in my lifetime. It is my duty to be Hyrule's defender, as I was for the past hundred years. But in times of peace, I wish merely to help my fellow monarchs and their relations with each other; not to act in dominion over all. Besides…Link has told me all about the threat of flooding Vah Ruta posed upon his return, and how much you helped him, and your concern for the rest of Hyrule."
King Dorephan glanced at the stunned Muzu, and burst into laughter. "Your style is indeed different than your father's!" He said as he struggled to contain his mirth. "I wholeheartedly accept your proposal, Lady Zelda. We Zora will continue to assist Hyrule in any way we can."
Zelda nodded in reply. She did not disagree with everything her father had done. She still loved him, dearly, despite what he had put her through. But she also knew she would be a fool not to learn from his mistakes. The darkness in her heart was reflected in those of others that had chafed under her father's rule; it did not take much for her to see their point of view. And regardless, her broken throne could not support the weight of an entire nation anyway. Better to share the trials as well as the power.
"So, Lady Zelda, if I may be so bold," King Dorephan asked, breaking her out of her reverie. "May I ask who will accompany you on this throne of ambassadorship?" He broke into a grin. "Would it be the young man who has been your companion so far?"
"I...it would, if he would take it," Zelda stammered, not prepared for this question. "He may prefer to be more active in traveling across the land. In any case, it is his decision to make. He is my companion and knight, yes, but I would not dream of forcing him by order."
The King chuckled. "Very different indeed. I see a bright future under your vision, Lady Zelda."
"…so I said to him, if that Lynel is still there, we'll have to take care of it! I can shoot an arrow as far as any Lynel, so all I have to do is stay out of his range! And of course it can't follow me into the reservoir. A little bit of back-and-forth over time and it's done. Problem solved. So what have you been doing?" Prince Sidon suddenly demanded, finally ending his long monologue.
"I came to ask you," Link began hesitantly. "About Mipha."
The Prince's eyebrows – or rather the protruding cartilage where they would have been – shot up. "Oh? You still don't remember?"
Link frowned. Talking to Sidon was like rolling a boulder downhill; once started, he would go on for a very long time. The hard part was that initial push. "She was…very fond of me. But I don't remember…feeling that way about her. I feel bad."
"Ah." A knowing look filled the prince's eyes, and he nodded several times. Clasping his hands behind his back, he looked out over the reservoir, and Link gave an inward sigh of relief as he sensed a speech coming on. "My sister…she did love you dearly, but there were some other things wrapped up in it that neither you nor my father know about."
He nodded toward the motionless form of Vah Ruta. "Although Mipha preferred healing, she was also a capable fighter. All our people admired her…especially me." He smiled briefly. "I adored my elder sister. I wanted to be just like her. But…she was not terribly fond of me."
Sensing Link's confusion, Sidon said, "Oh, yes, Mipha was kind to everyone – didn't have a malicious bone in her body – so at first I thought her attitude toward me was just the same as any older sibling. Lots of other kids my age had it the same way – their older brothers and sisters didn't want a needy little pest following them around. So I decided that I would make myself as strong and capable as she was. And then she would have to notice me."
Prince Sidon shook his head ruefully. "I spent every moment of the day learning, training both my brain and my body. And to all that I added a third dimension – a positive attitude!" He gifted Link with one of his trademark grins. "I wanted to believe that I could do anything if I tried hard enough – and I passed that on to my people. But…" he sighed. "All the effort in the world wouldn't help me. You see, I was the problem."
He nodded at Link's quizzical expression. "Yes, I know. I myself did not find this out until after she fell in battle. It works like this…you Hylians, you inherit your rank and title through the father, correct?" Link nodded. "Yes, so it is with all the races of Hyrule…except the Gerudo, who rarely see a male among them. You see, my sister was strong and smart from the beginning, and would have inherited the throne…if I had not been hatched." The Prince shook his head. "That is how the laws of my people work. And you saw how hard it was for me to bend them…even with catastrophe barreling down upon us.
"Of course, my sister never held this against me. How could she blame me, for merely existing? But it drove a wedge between us. When our father switched from preparing her for the throne , to preparing her to be a bride, she began seeking an outlet. And she found two of them. The first one was you."
"Oh yes!" Sidon laughed as Link stared at him. "Oh, she was taken with you from the beginning. The reckless child that jumped headfirst into danger, always willing to help others without a thought to his own safety. She wanted to be that way herself, but even if she wouldn't become Queen, we still couldn't lose her to a silly risk. So she settled for living vicariously through you. And when the time came to choose a mate…well, she wanted a warrior. Still…" Here the Prince's jolly expression turned somber.
"I think my sister somehow knew that she would not live very long. So it did not matter to her that Hylians only live half as long as Zora. I think, ultimately, she believed you both would die in battle. So she started on that armor quite early. And then…"
Prince Sidon paused. "And then King Rhoam came to Zora's Domain. Himself, in person, with the young Princess. Both my father and I could see the thrill in her eyes when she laid them upon Vah Ruta. Imagine – commanding a fantastical beast of war! Oh, how she and my father argued! To her, Vah Ruta was a dream come true; to my father, a nightmare. But King Rhoam had spoken. And even my father could not deny the skill that Mipha had in piloting the creature, as if it had been built for her."
"And then…" The prince fell silent for a while, the two of them merely staring out at the silent Divine Beast. "Well, you know the rest of the story. But! Here is my point…my sister loved you dearly, but she knew it was not her fate to be with you." Prince Sidon clapped a hand on Link's shoulder. "You should not feel bad, if your heart is not with her, if it rests with another. Mipha merely wished to be with you as long as she could, to see the world through your eyes, to share in your trials." He sighed, and Link could sense just a hint of bitterness in his voice when he said, "It must be a beautiful thing, to both know and wholeheartedly accept your destiny."
Link nodded. It was a sentiment he knew all too well. "Thank you, Prince Sidon, for speaking with me."
The Prince wiped the frown off his face with a flourish. "My pleasure! Feel free to come back, my friend, especially if you want to do any of the talking!"