Between the Lines || Link x Mipha

Chapter 13: Waltz of The Dead

"The only difference is that only one of them is coming back, and we all know that it is your Hero husband who you've been crying over for all these years!"

That sentence has been filling Mipha's mind ever since Kahliv spoke those words a week ago. No matter how much she tried to suppress it, it always came back. Perhaps it is a sign that it is true—a sign that Mipha must face, and she knew it.

In the privacy of her own room, the Zora Champion was sat at the table in the center. She rummaged through a pile of documents, skimming through them. Tired and exhausted from a long day of princess duties, she let the documents fall loosely from her hand. As she slumped back into her chair, she turned her head to the window. Moonlight spilled into the room as bright as day, and the mist from the surrounding waterfalls blurred the distant surroundings. She breathed quietly for a moment, hearing as the patter of feet from above slowly turned to none.

Taking the quietness as a sign, Mipha stood up from her chair and took off her Champion's garb, setting it onto Link's bed. She turned around to step into her pool right next to it, however, she hesitated. She turned back to Link's bed, the empty bed more and more evident to her. The exhausted princess sighed and sat on the bed, hoping that it would somehow calm her longing thoughts.

"You need to get over this," she told herself. "It's just like Kahliv said. I'm crying over nothing." She rubbed her thumb on the soft blanket. "I still miss him. That fact won't change..."

As what happens every night, she began to feel cold. It was not bad. She embraced it. It always felt familiar to her. She has never told anyone about it. She has never told anyone how the cold seems to embrace her, fill her with a sense of love and comfort. After all, it was personal.

"I wonder when you'll come back?" She breathed out "I wonder if we'll even live to see you again?"

She averted her gaze to the night stand separating her pool from his bed. On the nightstand was a picture of her and Link when Valik and Liana were just small children. It was one of her favorite photos because it was a moment of pure joy. Link having Liana on his shoulders, smiling, yet wincing as the little princess was happily yanking his hair. Valik was in the center, staring up at Liana and cheering her on. Mipha had one hand on Valik's shoulder, with the other on Link's. She was laughing. She was happy.

Mipha shuddered out a relieved breath as she felt her left cheek grow ice cold. She still stared at the photo, the happy memories flowing through her. "I remember that day," she muttered. "You and I... we couldn't get Valik to look at the camera for one picture. And Liana, my goodness she was a handful. But we still had fun. We were still happy."

All of a sudden, a memory from the same day popped into her mind. It was like something prompted her to remember it, "Of course, that was also the day when you and I had our own pictures with just the two of us."

She scooted closer to the nightstand and opened up the drawer. Several frameless photos of her and Link were in there. Some were just the basic standing still, others with a loving pose, and even some unique ones, like crossing their weapons in front of them while looking at each other. She loved every single one. She loved how in each one it was evident of how much they cared for each other.

"What I would give to go back in time; when I felt happy. It's like I'm a completely different person now. I'm distant, I'm sad, I'm... a shell." Almost immediately after her remark, she felt her lips go ice cold. Her shoulders relaxed as she basked in the frigid air, "Everything is different now that you're gone, Link. I think that's why I feel so... stuck. My joy isn't as pure as it used to be."

Soon enough, her whole body felt cold—numb even. Her eyelids felt heavy with each blink, and before she knew it, she had fallen to her side, and was rested comfortably on Link's bed.