Life in Zora's Domain - Part Two

Chapter 28 - Like Father Like Daughter

Summary: Astra returns to Zora's Domain and meets with King Dorephan and Prince Sidon. While there, Astra partly explains her origin, and Sidon recalls Link's last day visiting the domain. Meanwhile, Paya's husband, Talan, infiltrates the Yiga Clan hideout, but things go differently than planned.

It was a dark, cloudless evening at Zora's Domain, and the moonless sky was sprinkled with bright stars. The domain's majestic architecture glowed a soft shade of blue and looked even more impressive than in the daytime, leading many tourists to spend the night there to see it. Cold, clear water flowed from one level to the next, and this was an ideal time for sleeping to the soothing sound of splashing water. But three people were instead keeping late hours tonight.

Astra had used Zelda's Sheikah Slate to travel to Zora's Domain via the Ne'ez Yohma Shrine and was having dinner with King Dorephan and Prince Sidon in the throne room. The dinner ended hours earlier, but the conversation lasted into the night. The chief topic of the evening had been Mipha, of course. Astra shared stories of Mipha from the victory timeline, while King Dorephan told stories of Mipha from when she was a young girl, a period in Mipha's life that overlapped both timelines.

"And my sister did that entirely on her own?" asked Sidon. "She traveled far out to sea to explore a lost Zora temple?"

"Yes, and successfully navigated through the structure and found the artifact hidden there that was needed, an item called the Lens of Truth," said Astra.

"Amazing!" said Sidon. "That took courage. There are some dangerous creatures in the sea."

"But it sounds just like Mipha," said King Dorephan, nodding and smiling. "From a young age, she was adventurous. And she worked hard to live up to whatever was expected of her, pushing herself to the limit."

"And she pushed me to the limit too!" said Sidon. "But were her actions well-received upon her return?"

"Everyone was very proud of her, of course, as she showed once again she was a true Champion," said Astra. "But as you can imagine, her family had been worried sick about her safety, taking on such a dangerous mission entirely on her own. In the end, I think it brought Mipha and Link even closer together, as they agreed to accompany each other on any future adventures. The whole family was happy to hear that, for both their sakes."

"I could well understand that," said Sidon, nodding his head.

Sidon waited a moment, then continued.

"I wonder if you could clarify something, Astra, but refuse if you feel you cannot," said Sidon. "I know Her Majesty, Queen Zelda, wishes some of what happened to you to remain a secret, at least for now. But can you not explain to us how you came to be Link's daughter if he was faithfully married to Mipha?"

Astra thought for a moment, then spoke.

"I will tell you what I can, based on what I learned from my father's journal, but still respecting Her Majesty's wishes," said Astra. "His journal takes several chapters to cover what happened, but the short answer is that Link was put under a spell cast by a powerful witch that tricked him into believing his life with Mipha existed only in his imagination."

"How is that even possible?" Sidon asked.

"As you know, my father's mind was already damaged, having once lost his memory. This witch used her magic to make it seem that Link's time travel failed by returning him to the Temple of Time at the instant he departed. To all appearances, he never left. My father insisted that the time travel had succeeded, and he had been living a life with Mipha. He did his best to convince everyone he wasn't delusional. But of course, he could prove none of it."