Between the Lines || Link x Mipha

Chapter 40: Callum

Valik's legs shook as he waited outside of his room. He mindlessly touched his hand to the stitches on his collarbone, reminding himself of the dreadful battle. He thought of how careless he was. How he should have been more thoughtful about Tayli's condition. How he should have left his slate with her from the beginning. How he should have made a more thorough plan with Hestu. How he should have kept Serdin in the forest instead of letting him run. How he should have fought harder when things turned dire.

A cold presence loomed over the grieving prince. He felt it's comforting embrace. While it didn't exactly help him entirely, it was still nice to have at least some form of familiarity in such an unknown situation. He wondered how things would be different with his father here. Would Serdin even be much of a threat? If everything were the same as it was now, would he have been successful in not only protecting the Domain, but his child as well?

"Prince Valik," one of the nurses opened the door, his mask still on.

Valik immediately stood up, "Is she fine?"

"The surgery was successful. We finished it only ten minutes ago. I'm sure she'll wake up any minute."

"Oh thank Hylia!" Valik covered his mouth for a moment. "What about the baby...?"

The nurse's eyes dimmed, "It was boy. We haven't studied him completely, but from our first impressions, he would have been well and healthy. It does look like he suffered through a sudden rush of pain, however. His neck and torso has streaks, almost like he was strangled violently.

The image of Tayli in pain flashed in Valik's mind, "Please, may I see?"

The nurse walked Valik in and led him to a separate examining table across from the bed that Tayli rested on. He gasped as he saw his small child. To no surprise, he seemed to look more like a Zora, but of course he had some Hylian features, like the pointy ears and the proportions of the neck and head. His burgundy scales covered most of his body, except it freckled along his face and feet—just like Valik. He was adorable. He was perfect. Valik's tears began to stream down his face as he noticed the streaks on his child's neck and torso.

"What did Serdin do to him?" Valik gently touched his finger to the lifeless face. "Th-This is awful. He was struggling for his life..."

A groggy hum came from Tayli, and everyone looked over to her. She instinctively brought her hand to her belly, and her eyes widened once she realized that her baby bump was no longer there. She gasped slightly as she remembered all that happened before the surgery.

"Tayli," Valik hurried over to his wife and carefully hugged her. "I'm so glad to see that you're okay."

Her eyes were stricken with fear, "Where's the baby? What—"

"He's right here, princess," the doctor slowly brought the dead child over to her. She immediately began to shed tears as the limp body was placed in her arms.

"My baby..." she gently caressed a finger on his head and kissed his forehead. "You—You are perfect. I-I'm so sorry I failed you."

"Tay, don't say that," Valik urged. "You did not fail him. If anyone did, it was me. I failed to protect you both..."

Tayli wanted to argue against him, but she knew it would only bring her in circles. Instead, she lovingly gazed down at her lifeless child. She studied his features. She loved his adorable face. Although she couldn't help but notice the streaks that ran along his neck and torso.

"Are these streaks natural?" She looked up to the doctor with hope, but her look faded when the doctor shook her head. "It was Serdin, wasn't it? Oh that makes so much sense," she shook as she remembered the traumatic experience. She even winced a bit as she remembered how agonizing the pain was. "I can't even begin to describe the pain that Serdin made me feel. Now I see that most of that pain came from this sweet baby. He tossed and turned inside me every which way. He was fighting for his life. If I was in so much pain, I'm sure his was worse. Oh my goodness."