Moving On Chapter 11
The weight of the battle was now seeping into Link's body. The adrenalin wore off and he felt heavy, his wound stung, and the desert heat seared at his skin. He sheathed the Master Sword finally, sighing and letting his breath flee through the desert winds. Riju was not as weary as him however, she rushed over to Buliara a moment after he defeated Kaago. She looked to still be alive, barely though, maybe only minutes away from her final breath. She couldn't speak, could barely open her eyes, her windpipe was crushed. Link walked over, propping himself up with the sheathed Master sword after hoisting the sheath off his belt. He knelt beside Riju who was visibly restraining tears and holding Buliara's hand firmly. He didn't have any faries left, no miracle potions. Link wanted to save her but realistically what could he do now? Still though, out of the simple wish that he could have been of help, he held out a hand and placed it gently on Buliara's shoulder, her skin radiated heat like the desert sun. Water seeped out of his hand, sinking into her skin and into her very being, slowly her wounds began to heal, her breathing steadied and the many injuries faded into barely visible scars.
"Mipha..." He whispered under his breath. Link couldn't believe his eyes. That was certainly Mipha's grace, an ability she granted to him that he'd long since lost along with all the other champion abilities since the end of the calamity, and he'd never used it on another person before either. But there she was, alive and breathing, perfectly well. Riju looked at him with just as much shock in her eyes as there was in his.
"What... was that?" She asked in astonishment. "I don't know..." Link replied through hoarse voice. A moment passed before Link stood again, once again relying on the Master sword for balance as he hobbled a short distance away. Atop a dune with Gerudo town in view, he sat down, resting the Master sword before him and taking a minute to eat. He had a meal of salted hearty mushrooms and radishes with nut seasoning and some rice. It filled him right up and as always it somehow healed all wounds. Link never understood what made him like this, maybe something had happened in the shrine of resurrection that restored his metabolism in a slightly wrong way that made his food correlate directly into physical healing. Whatever the case, he was certainly thankful. Link yawned and stretched a bit.
His mind lingered on Mipha. How had he done that? Used her ability? The spirits of the champions had moved on after he defeated calamity Ganon and with them their abilities. Had something drawn her spirit back? He wasn't sure, there was a lot to think about. He missed her still, memories of her and what could've been weighed upon his mind at all times. He thought about how if he'd defeated the Calamity back then and saved everyone, he'd probably be sitting like this at Hyrule castle after the battle. The champions would make their way there as soon as possible, he'd confess to Mipha that he loved her, she'd confess to him... It would be perfect.
He felt a cool tear rolling down his hot cheek. That would never happen now, not with how everything turned out. She was gone, and even if by some miracle he was able to use her ability again after so long, nothing was bringing her back. He'd known that for a long time, though only recently had he begun to accept that. His mind returned to that ruby circlet. Even though he kept it safe within his pouch for so long, it still ended up broken, snapped and unusable. He didn't know why he attached that to his arrowhead in the fight before, but now it was really gone, and it had been used to help him save the world, again.
He knew he'd never forget her, and the loss would never really be easy to live with. But with all that's happened, it's been obvious to him that he needs to let go if he wants to live happily. In the words of that shade "The dead do not want your guilt." And Mipha would only ever want him to be happy. To be simply happy. That'd be nice. After all this, his third time saving Hyrule, he was certainly tired. He'd like to finally call it quits at least for a while, as much as he loved helping all the people of Hyrule and adventuring, he was only human, and he could only take so much. Before he never really liked the idea of a "quiet life" the only person he'd really feel happy with in that situation was Mipha. But maybe there was a way to be happy like that now, if he let himself...
Riju walked over and sat beside him, the sun now high in the sky casting a shallow shadow under both of them and singeing their skin. "Buliara will live, though by now Liana is long past saving but all the others though wounded will live." She said as she lowered herself down to the sand. "Thank you." She said simply. Link nodded with a light smile on his face.
"What happens now?" Link asked. "Babi is going and fetching the sand seals who've long since fled, Barta is repairing our sleds and Teake and Ploka are tending to the wounded. For now, we just wait." Riju said. "I could use a minute to ease up right now anyways." She admitted, Link seconding that. They sat in silence for a while, gazing at the endless sea of sand and withstanding the harsh heat of the sun. The golden desert filled Link's vision, it was beautiful in a way when you got past the heat, it was far simpler than the complex mountains or plains of Hyrule's other regions, but there was beauty in simplicity, besides there was far more hiding under the sands than you might think. Yes, Link could imagine himself being happy here to his own surprise. Not in the same way he would be happy if the calamity never happened but happy, nonetheless. Link leaned against Riju, sunburnt shoulder touching sunburnt shoulder, she was clearly surprised by this and turned to see him smiling as he gazed off into the distance.
Riju wanted to know what was going on inside that head of his. As always, he was a mystery to her. She was about to ask him something when he began talking out of nowhere. He spoke about the calamity, the champions and his relationship with the champion Mipha, told her about how he learned of their relationship in the first place and all the details of how he felt about what happened, how he grieved her loss, how only helping others gave him happiness and helped him keep on. All of this he just couldn't hold onto anymore; in any other circumstance she'd get mad he was dumping this all on her from nowhere but being honest she was surprised he'd held this in for so long in the first place and couldn't really be angry at him for finally giving in and letting go of it all. His tiredness also seemed to be at play here after that fight. He'd spoken so calmly but the tears rolling down his cheeks told of his true inner feelings. Riju moved her arm and wrapped it around him, hugging him to her side, showing him, she was there for him, a gesture he certainly seemed to appreciate.
"Thank you." He said as he leaned into her. She couldn't help noticing the irony here after she'd just been thanking him. They sat together in the desert sun for a while longer, finally they heard Teake call out that they had everything ready to leave now. It felt like they'd been there for hours but in reality, the sun had barely moved. The two stood up, Riju letting go of Link who leaned down to grab the Master sword before catching up. Riju walked down the dune to see Buliara strapped to a sled, and Liana's remains strapped to another, many wounded were stuck sitting at the end of sleds while slightly less wounded vai held the reigns. And there was Patricia who waited patiently for her master. Riju walked over and petted her rough coat before boarding the sled and grabbing the reigns, followed shortly by Link who sat on the back.
"Let's go home." Riju ordered, and with that, they lashed their seals and headed back the direction of Gerudo town, they were all feeling homesick at this point. Link watched the desert pass by from the back of the sled, lots of activity in his head as usual. She hoped he'd be okay, despite obviously feeling better, Riju worried about him after hearing about all those things he'd told her about. They arrived back at Gerudo town not even 20 minutes later, seemed their seals were just as homesick as they were. The soldiers were all exhausted by that point and Riju practically ordered them to go get rest as soon as possible. Teake and Babi carried Buliara to her bed and Ploka took Liana's corpse away and wrapped her body up in ritual burial fabric for the inevitable funeral that was not too long away now. Riju headed down to the shelter with a tired Link by her side and had the large stone door opened for her so she could announce to her people that the threat had been dealt with, and it was safe for them to go back to their homes now. Her announcement was met with overwhelming cheer, and she was truly happy to see the joy on their faces, as was Link. The residents of Kara Kara and the guards approached Riju, asking if they were safe to return, though she declined.
"Town's force is badly wounded after the battle and need time to rest. You may return after four days but for now we need your guard force to remain here." The guards gave an understanding nod, and though the civilians weren't too pleased they accepted and remained within the shelter until they could go home. With that, everything was sorted for now.
"So, what will you do now?" Riju turned and asked Link, who replied with a simple shrug. He was too tired to be bothered by this stage, she could understand that.
"I don't want my people to see their chief in such a disheveled state for long, so I'll retire to my room for today. Besides, I think I'm about to pass out." Riju chuckled, earning a giggle from Link too. "You can come with if you like?" She added in something of a daring offer. Link was a bit surprised at first but took her up on that offer, following her up to her room. As they walked in, Riju clumsily removed the jewelry from her hair, a waterfall of red locks trickling down her face as she removed the crown of the seven. She sighed as she laid it down upon the table beside her diary. "What a day." She mumbled. "Mmh." link hummed in agreement as he sat down by the wall, letting his muscles relax once more. Riju sat next to him, and they leaned against each other once more.
Link wasn't the best with words, his rare use of them made them feel like a second language to him. He spoke mainly through action. He leaned in a little bit closer, there was something he wanted to tell Riju. Carefully, he brought his face closer to hers, and it wasn't long before their lips came together in a satisfying kiss. And neither of them pulled away. His heart hadn't beat in such a way in a long time, the feeling brought back memories of Mipha, but he continued, he knew Mipha would be happy for him. They pulled away briefly for some air.
"I love you too." Riju said in a hushed voice, understanding the language he spoke. He smiled as he leaned in, and they kissed again. He felt so at peace at that moment. "How about we go lay down. I feel like I could fall asleep at any moment." Riju suggested once they parted again, Link nodded in agreement, feeling the same himself. The two stood up and laid down in Riju's bed, the sheets were soft and comfortable, and it wasn't long before the two were fast asleep in each other's arms.
A/N And that's two chapters in one day! Hell yeah! I really could not wait to get to this bit lol. Hope you enjoyed so far.
