Haunting Shadow of the Past

Part 7

Perhaps it was the soft patter of rain or the unnerving dream he just had but Link found himself awake during the early hours of the morning. Unable to go back to sleep he rolled out of bed and stretched. His whole body ached from the fact that he had worn his sword and shield while he slept forcing him to sleep in an awkward position. Link looked around the quiet domain and took a deep breath. The air was so fresh and the place was so quiet. The young children that had been running around and laughing during the day were asleep along with their parents, besides the patter of rain the place was silent.

Link walked out of the sleeping area and looked up at the sky. Rain fell on his face and if Link relaxed it almost seemed like the sky was falling. This was a relaxing change of pace compared to the past few days of stress. He looked around and took in the beauty of Zora's Domain during a rainstorm. That's when he noticed Princess Mipha sitting on the edge of the fountain, her back was to him.

Link walked. "Mind if I join you?" He asked the Zora Princess.

Mipha jumped and quickly turned to look at Link. She was tense but as soon as she saw who it was she relaxed. "Of course." she said with a small smile. Link nodded before sitting down next to her. They sat in silence for several moments before Mipha broke the silence. "Beautiful isn't it?"

Link looked at Mipha and then looked away. "It is."

"I never got around to asking earlier," she turned to look at Link, "how have you been?"

Link shrugged. "I've been alright."

Mipha nodded. "It's been so long since I last saw you, I'm sure a lot of things have changed in your life. Obviously you have gotten older but that can't be the only change in your life."

"Well I've been revealed to be the chosen one."

Mipha shook her head. "I don't mean that, I mean things that are just your personal life. Changes that solely affect you, not all of Hyrule. It truly is amazing that you retrieved the sword that seals the darkness but I want to know what has changed for you personally. I can tell something happened, something that really impacted your life."

Link was caught off guard, nobody had ever really asked him that before, nobody had cared enough. Link searched for what to say before letting out a sigh. "Nothing... nothing happened. Except for getting the Master Sword."

"Oh." Mipha whispered, she sounded disappointed. There was another awkward pause but then Mipha started talking about some of the things that had been happening at Zora's domain for the past few years. She talked about when they discovered the Divine Beast, Vah Ruta, and how she liked to imagine what it would be like to pilot it.

Link found that he really liked listening to Mipha and often found himself asking follow up questions just to keep her talking. He learned that she had been taking it upon herself to take care of Sidon since her father was busy ruling over the domain and keeping it safe. She talked about how she had been helping him learn to swim up waterfalls and how much she enjoyed seeing him smile. Before long the rain had started to slow down and the soft glow of morning started to appear.

"Oh dear," Mipha gasped when some sunlight started creeping across Zora's Domain, "have we really been talking all night?"

"I guess we have." Link said placing his hands on the edge of the fountain. He accidentally placed one of his hands on top of Mipha's and he tensed up. He quickly pulled it away and he felt his face grow warm. Was he blushing? Why was he blushing? He looked at Mipha and saw that she was blushing too. "I-I'm so sorry." Link stammered. Why was he so nervous all the sudden?

Mipha looked at Link and gave him a small smile. "It's alright." The two sat there for a minute looking at each other before Link quickly turned to look at the sunset. He hoped Mipha hadn't noticed the fact that he had been blushing. She herself had been blushing as well so maybe she was too worried about that to notice him.

Eventually Link cleared his throat and stood up. "I-I should probably head back to the castle."

Mipha's eyes widened slightly and she opened her mouth then closed it then opened it again. "If you really must go so soon."

Link frowned slightly, he felt so bad just leaving. "Unfortunately I need to be heading back, I was only given a few days to relax and I need to talk with my father about a few things."

Mipha nodded and gave a small smile. "I understand. Be safe on your way home." Link nodded then turned to walk back down the long bridge. 

Happy (late) 45th anniversary of Legend of Zelda everyone!!