Between the Lines || Link x Mipha

Chapter 25: Betrayal and Loyalty

Klay watched in horror as Liana was overcome by her emotions. He felt helpless watching her. He wanted to hold her hand; to hold her in a tight embrace. Tears burned his throat as her fearful cries arose.

"What an idiot!" Nadri wheezed. "She's—She's completely lost it! And look! This is the best part!"

Klay's hands shook as Liana fell back into some sort of armor stand. He shuddered out a breath as he could see her eyes return back to reality. Liana looked to the armor stand and crawled over to it, "No, no, no!" She set the stand upright and began gathering the fallen materials, but then she stopped. "All I do is screw things up."

"Liana..." Klay sighed under his breath.

"Why would he even want to marry me?" she said defeated. A small gasp escaped his mouth. Nadri only laughed harder. "I'm stupid, I'm clumsy, I-I can't even tell what's real or not! He shouldn't have to deal with me. I'll just be a burden...like I always am."

The video ended and Klay let the slate slip out of his hand. He balled up his fist and released it as he set his hand on his forehead. He stared at the final image of Liana, distressed and pained.

"She wants to marry you!" Nadri calmed her laughter. "Her! At least she's self-aware. She wouldn't make a good wife for you anyway. And about that Zora armor, look at that tacky design! Why's it so shiny? And, like, what's up with the pearls?"

"The pearls?" Klay rewinded the video back near the beginning.

He stared at the background where the Zora armor stood, now recognizing it in all its restored glory. Even from the darkened video he could tell how much love and care was put into it. The fabric was a perfect denim blue. Metal platings with beautiful swirling designs rested on the shoulders, forearms, and hips. A slim, brown leather belt connected the two hip metal plates. The sides of the torso was a darker denim blue, and almost sheer. Crushed opals lined the cuffs of the sleeves and even the cuff of the neck. Most importantly, a pearl sash draped diagonally across the body, the Zora symbol right in the center.

"Pearls are known to be symbols of wisdom, integrity, loyalty, and purity," Klay explained. "In the beginning of Liana and I's romantic relationship, I called her my pearl. It wasn't long before she started calling me her pearl."

"Hm, how touching," Nadri said unamused. "Well, what do you really think of the armor? I mean, if you gave me a hunk of junk like that I'd refuse your proposal."

Klay stared longer at the armor. He loved every detail about it. He loved how the pearls were different in both color and shine. He loved how subtle the crushed opals were along the cuffs of the arms. He loved the color of the armor; denim blue being one of his favorite colors. If Liana were here, he would tell her yes a thousand times. He would want nothing more than to be by her side forever.

"What I think of it..." he took in a deep breath and looked to Nadri. As much as he would love to argue how the armor was perfect, he knew that he should not. He had to stay on her good side. He needed to let Nadri trust him. He needed to forget himself. "It...It's not the greatest..."

"And just to make sure, you don't actually want to marry her, right?"

"Of course not," he shook his head and faked a smile. "She's in the past... I have you now."

Nadri set her hand on his and leaned closer to him, "Which reminds me. You promised me a kiss after you won the Clash."

"I did..."

Klay could feel his emotions tumbling down a whirlpool. He didn't want to allow himself to completely conform to Nadri. After all, resisting slightly has at least kept him sane throughout his time here. But now if he fully commits to his guise, he sacrifices a part of himself; he sacrifices his loyalty to Liana and gives it to Nadri.