The next morning, Link was blinded by the rising sun showing its face over the East Reservoir. Not a cloud could be found in the skies above Zora's Domain, and as such, the sun proved to be a bright and powerful force this day in the Lanayru region. Perhaps it would get a little hotter than normal in the afternoon.
The groggy hero squinted his eyes tightly, awakened rapidly by the light washing over him. In an additional effort to shield his vulnerable face from the sun, he raised a hand up in front of him and held it there as he sat up in place. He figured it would be at least a couple minutes before he was able to open his eyes. Rest like he had gotten last night hadn't been available to him in the many long weeks since his initial awakening in the Shrine of Resurrection a few weeks back, and with Calamity Ganon defeated, Link finally had had an opportunity.
He wished, however, that he had gone to find a bed to sleep on earlier. After his emotional meltdown the night before regarding the tragic passing of his beloved Mipha, Link fell lazily to sleep right where he sat on Vah Ruta's trunk. The surface of the Divine Beast was cold, hard, and quite frankly, uninviting to a weary traveler looking to sleep the night away. As a result, he was stiff in almost every joint on his body, and he had a splitting headache. He would surely have to visit Marot at the Domain's general store later for some headache remedies. If he could recall, Marot was another zora with a peppy attitude that liked to sing and greet customers with loud exclamations. "Marot Mart" was the name he believed she gave the general store.
Rubbing his head, Link turned away from the sun so he could actually open his eyes. Even after doing so, several more minutes went by before the blurriness in his vision went away. His cheeks felt tender…as if they had been stained with tears the night before. It wasn't that Link had forgotten about the previous night's woes; he just had no idea it had gotten that bad. He took a deep, steady breath, absorbing the intoxicating smell of morning dew and blooming silent princess, and let out a long sigh.
Once he was able to allow himself to fully awaken, Link raised an eyebrow at what he thought was the sound of snoring. Curiously turning his body around, Link traced the sound to Prince Sidon, who was, in fact, loudly asleep on his back on the other corner of the Beast's trunk. A small line of drool hung out the side of his mouth. The shark-like tailfin that extended behind his head lay sandwiched between his body and the rigid surface of the Divine Beast. He was probably going to feel that for a while after waking up later. His right hand lay idly on his chest, while his other hand was splayed on the ground to his side.
A smile escaped Link at the sight of it. It was very kind and considerate of the zora prince to keep him company during the night after his impactful meeting with the past. Especially when doing so meant sacrificing a good night's sleep in a premium water pool with the other zoras. It appeared, however, that Sidon was sleeping just fine even without such an amenity.
Link wasn't sure if Zelda was expecting him to return to the Domain last night or not, but being that it was already morning, he figured it was too late anyway. It's not like he could've been in any danger during the night, and even if he had been, he would've sensed it and woke up. He wondered, though, if it would've been ideal for him to return to the Domain and maybe join the others for breakfast. The only alternative was continuing to linger around the Divine Beast, and unfortunately, he had to admit that being here was starting to make him feel lonely, even with the generous zora prince snoring away next to him.
Link stood himself up, and, after waiting for the dizziness to subside, he walked over to Prince Sidon, nudging him in the gills. At first, he did not wake up, so Link continued. Eventually, he was forced to place a hand on Sidon's shoulder and gently shake him awake.
When he finally awoke, he did so with a jolt, causing Link to flinch backwards a bit. The prince's eyes were wide, and he sat completely still, looking frozen and terrified as if he had been paralyzed. His breathing paused before resuming at a quickened pace. Link looked at him with concern.
His jaw quivered. "I…I can't feel my tailfin…"
At this, the tension that had built up in Link subsided, and he chuckled a bit. Standing back up, the hero extended his hand to help Sidon up off the hard floor. Just as Link had done a few minutes prior, the prince rubbed his head upon standing up, grimacing as he did so. "I'll tell you one thing, friend…I sure am no Goron…"
Link had to laugh at that. Sidon was such a good friend to him. It was just another thing the hero had to learn to appreciate, given the darkness and loneliness that often enveloped his life. It was good to know that Sidon would always be around for him.
He gestured his head in the direction of the Domain and began walking away toward the Divine Beast's body. Heeding Link's signal, Sidon began to walk behind him, still rubbing his head. Without a word needing to be said, the duo began their trek back to the waiting expanse of Zora's Domain as the sun's full body shone its light in the eastern sky.
On the way back, in the valley approaching Ruto Lake, Sidon addressed Link, who had for once been looking straight ahead instead of down at the ground. "Would it be safe to assume that you're feeling better, buddy? You're giving off much happier vibes this morning than you were last night."
Link had to admit that his outlook was doing a bit better, but he was still not, by any means, in perfect shape. He still blamed himself for many of the tragedies involving Mipha, and on top of that, after remembering fully what his life with her had been like, he longed fiercely to be able to see her again. New days bring new beginnings, however, and Link was willing to accept the possibility that good things might come for him if he'd allow it. His final answer for Sidon's question was a shrug.
Once the duo began crossing the Great Zora Bridge in the final stretch before the Domain, Link was able to clearly see the great statue of Mipha in the center of the structure up ahead. The figure was depicted gripping a mighty spear toward the ground as if it were in a battle-ready stance. Despite Link having recovered all his memories of Mipha, he could not conjure an image of the zora princess ever posing for that statue, since it had been erected in her honor after the Great Calamity. The pinpoint accuracy of zora craftsmen was never to be questioned.
The guards posted at the entrance to the Domain greeted their prince and the Hylian Champion with warm, welcoming smiles. Sidon returned the gesture with a friendly grin and an approving nod. As they passed onto the Domain's main platform, the guards resumed their vigilant watch up ahead. Link figured the Domain was probably prone to occasional thieves and Yiga scouts looking to cause trouble, so they were probably the prime targets of the guards.
The two of them turned and began ascending the curved flight of stairs that orbited around the outer edge of the Domain's main platform. Their assumption was that Zelda would be in the throne room mingling with the king. If Link knew the Hylian princess at all over his extensive history watching over her, he knew she'd probably already be wide awake, well-groomed, and full of energy by the time they got up there to see everybody. During normal times, Zelda would always be one to go to bed late and wake up early, filling every minute in between with work and dedication. Due to the blame she put on herself for the state of Hyrule after the Calamity, she was seemingly even more pressed nowadays than she was 100 years ago. She appeared to want to give back to the world for her alleged mistakes in more ways than she was physically able.
Link's absent thoughts made him realize that he had passed right by Marot and the general store on his way to the stairs and forgot to grab treatments for his headache. It was no big deal, he figured; he had shrugged off much bigger pains before. After all, no one in Hyrule was as versatile in appetite and sleep habits as he was. If his trivial little headache managed to bother him later in the day, he'd probably just eat a big meal or flop down on a bed and feel much better in no time.
Upon reaching the throne room, Link found that he was right. Zelda was in the midst of a conversation with the king that she seemed to be leading. Perhaps she was talking to him about Mipha, like she had mentioned to Link before departing for the Domain in the first place. Whenever she wasn't standing in place, she moved with a distinct swing in her step. Hearing the footsteps behind her, she paused mid-sentence, and turned around.
"Ah, here he is right now!" She exclaimed, smiling. "Good morning, Link. Tell King Dorephan more about Mipha, please, if you would."
A weak, incomprehensible noise escaped Link's throat as he was taken by surprise. Only seconds into being back in the Domain's throne room, and already he was being asked to speak about his deceased lover right to her father. It did not help that he had only just relearned of his romantic past the previous night, and he was still trying to cope with the emotional impact.
After several unpleasant seconds of stuttering from Link, his three observers looking on awkwardly, the king raised one of his hands. "It is quite alright. I am both aware of, and at ease with, Link's intimacies with my daughter. What matters to me now is that her spirit is at peace, and that we are living now the way she would've wanted. For this, I am grateful." He smiled.
Zelda raised an eyebrow in confusion upon hearing the word "intimacies" come from the king's mouth. Still facing the throne, she turned a questioning glance in Link's direction. Sensing her budding suspicion, Link looked the other way and put a hand behind his head.
"I forgot to ask, Link…" the king continued, "…have you been feeling alright? No one's seen you back here at the Domain since you arrived here yesterday at supper."
All Link could do to respond, as he had been repeatedly, was shrug. The king sat back in his throne, eyeing the silent hero with concern. Detecting a stalemate, Sidon stepped in. "He has a headache, father. I stayed with him last night on the Divine Beast, and I can speak from experience now when I say that Vah Ruta does not provide a welcoming surface for slumber. Perhaps downstairs, Marot will have a few solutions for our weary hero."
The king nodded in acknowledgement. Sidon put his hand on Link's shoulder and proceeded to guide him out of the throne room and back down the stairs. "Terribly sorry about that, friend. My father can be pretty blunt sometimes. Just be glad I was able to get you out of there when I did!"
Link wasn't complaining. He wasn't sure if Sidon actually knew about his headache or not, but either way, it was convenient that they were doing something about it and avoiding confrontation with Zelda at the same time. It came as a major surprise to him that Zelda didn't already know about his time with Mipha, being that she and Mipha conversed together privately on a regular basis before the Calamity. Don't girls like to talk about their boyfriends?
Both he and Sidon knew, however, that Zelda was not aware of the truth once she had given Link that look back in the throne room. The prince sighed. "I don't suppose it's too late to fill your princess in on your relationship with my sister?"
Both he and Link knew that Sidon knew the answer to that. Link never paid attention to Zelda's behaviors toward him in the past. His objective was to protect and serve her at all costs, but counseling was not part of the job description. As a result, he never knew how she felt about things unless she told him out loud, and even then, he didn't always listen. In addition, given his mute nature, he never exactly managed to ask her any questions. Then he went and got completely and hopelessly attached to Mipha without telling Zelda in any way. Reflecting on these points made Link begin to feel like a jerk, and Zelda's potential growing resentment was starting to seem justified.
Perhaps he was just overthinking it, though. It WAS just a raised eyebrow, after all. She might not have even had enough information to persecute him.
Link did not offer Sidon any sort of gesture to answer his question. The prince stopped walking and watched silently as Link walked right up to Marot at the general store and put a hand on his forehead to let her know what he needed. The prince wondered to himself…just how many problems could the Hylian be avoiding for himself if he would just use words?
Later that day, still fully clothed in his zora armor, Link resided in the water pool located directly under the Domain. Swimming sometimes helped Link clear his mind, as long as he wasn't doing so intensely enough to tire him out. The water glistened with a sort of purity he had not seen before in any other waters throughout the kingdom. Were the lakes around Zora's Domain ever to freeze, Link figured one would be able to see straight through the ice as if it were glass. Such was the ways of the zora people, finding only the most perfect places in Hyrule to settle and thrive.
He wondered to himself…how often had Mipha swum in this pond? He knew she liked to swim up and down Veiled Falls on sunny days, since he could now remember hanging out and watching her on the top of the cliff all the time. He also knew she liked to stretch her limbs out by swimming at the East Reservoir, as he remembered watching her do so many times on nights before…things would happen. After he recovered his memories on the Divine Beast last night, Link could suddenly remember every precious…and, to some, gross…detail of those nights.
His mind shifted to this subject. He remembered the romantic view of the lake from the bed under the awning. He remembered how tipsy the two of them would get on expensive wine using those same glasses he saw on the banister last night. He remembered how much she loved to create a romantic atmosphere for them during their most special times, using the likes of candles and rare incenses. He remembered the unique and enchanting feel of a zora against his body, especially with her gifted and exquisite form. He remembered her telling him how…he was her first. He realized, however, that she never got the chance to request that he be her last. Technically, she had gotten that wish anyway, but it was…not in the ideal way.
While reflecting upon the tragic circumstances of Mipha's death, a startling question entered Link's mind. He had spent…at least half a dozen nights or so with Mipha by the East Reservoir before the Great Calamity, and not once did he remember using any kind of…protective method. He was never sure if it really mattered, considering their differing races, but he admitted to larger miracles having occurred before. Prior to being murdered by WaterBlight Ganon in the Great Calamity, could Mipha…maybe have gotten…
"Hello." A voice stated bemusedly from behind him, abruptly interrupting his thoughts. With an awkward twist of his body in the water, he turned around to face his visitor, and saw Zelda standing on one of the horizontal beams of the Domain that protruded just out of the water. She stood with one hand on her hip, while the other hand held a small piece of parchment at her side. Link angled his body accordingly and reluctantly began to swim towards her.
Once she considered him to be within ear shot of a normal conversational volume, the princess stated her business. "Some zoras who decided to return to the Divine Beast early today reported back that they are indeed missing a number of required parts. Like I promised you last night, I made a list here of the parts we'll be needing, and I'm requesting that you travel out to Hyrule castle at the soonest opportunity to retrieve them for us." She announced, holding up the parchment for him to see.
The weary and slightly annoyed hero climbed out of the water next to Zelda and turned to face her with a tired glare on his face. He reached up and grabbed the list with one hand while simultaneously reaching out his other hand in expectation, not breaking eye contact. Knowing almost immediately what her messenger wanted, Zelda sighed, reached in her back pocket, and deposited the sheikah slate in his waiting palm.
Link had visited at least a three-digit number of shrines on his quest prior to defeating Calamity Ganon, and he swore on being banished along with him if he didn't plan on taking advantage of the resulting travel gates he had unlocked. Doing so, however, required the sheikah slate. Possessing it would essentially cut his travel time by ninety-five percent.
"You don't have to go right away, but we would prefer if you leave as soon as possible." She added. Link, having planned on leaving right away anyway, opened up the map on the slate, and inspected it for shrines he had visited in the Hyrule castle area.
Zelda, after giving the hero the sheikah slate, folded her hands in front of her and looked down at the ground sadly, struggling to find a way to ask what was on her mind next. "Um…Link, before you go, um…regarding what the king said earlier…I wanted to ask…" She took a deep breath. "…Exactly how close were you to Mipha 100 years ago?"
The princess looked back up from the ground to face Link after asking this question and was taken aback when she saw nobody there. The Hylian Champion, having not heard Zelda's earlier stutters, was already gone for the castle. She sighed and bit her bottom lip.