Between the Lines || Link x Mipha

Chapter 45: Hidden Curse

Even with the break of dawn, the people of Tarrey Town were already bustling about. Children and teenagers hurried to school, adults old and young hurried off to their work, and tourists happily strolled through the welcoming town. Alivia was nestled in the library in her and Gyan's house. She was sat at the desk, which was piled high with an assortment of books. Her fingers mindlessly flipped the page to the book she was reading, and she let out an exhausted sigh as she read the meaningless words.

"Mama, Tucker says that bweakfast is weady!!" Anya skipped into the library, still wearing her pajamas.

"I'll be right there, sweetheart," Alivia turned one more page and glanced over at her daughter. "Has your father woken up yet?"

"Yep! Tucker—Tucker screamed real loud into his ear. Dada's in the kitchen now."

"Oh good! You go in there with him. I'll just be another quick second."

"Okay! Dada, mama is coming!" Anya ran out of the room.

Alivia let out another sigh as she closed the book. She stood up from her chair and stepped back over to her bookcases. She tapped her finger to her chin and squinted at the spines of the book, trying to read every title.

"Ugh, I know we must've had one at the castle," she grumbled and turned back toward her stacks of books. "There has to be a book like it somewhere."

"Alivia, come here!" Gyan's voice sounded from afar. She relaxed her shoulders and walked over to the kitchen. A smile pursed her lips as Anya patted the wooden dining table. Gyan gestured to the plate across from him. "Tucker made mushroom omelets for us."

"Except it—it just made a normal omelet for me cause I—I don't like mushrooms," Anya chimed.

"That's great!" Alivia sat down and smiled at the little square guardian. It chimed a chipper tone and hopped onto the table, hoping to see if they would all approve of its cooking skills. Alivia took a single bite and gave a nod of approval, "Amazing as always, Tucker!"

Gyan cut up Anya's omelet before eating his. He took a bite and directed his attention towards his wife, "So, I see that you didn't let yourself sleep in."

"I couldn't. There's just too much work to be done," Alivia said, her fork grazing over the omelet.

"Have you found anything yet?"

"Nothing. It irks me so much! I know for sure that we had a book like it at the castle! I mean, we had basically every book imaginable in the castle library. Yes, we have a lot here, but it's just not the same."

"I guess we can't rely solely on ourselves then. Maybe we should see if Kakariko has anything? If Astor casted that curse, surely the Sheikah would have something to counter it—assuming it is Sheikah magic."

"Hey...what if we ask Mipha? She's lived longer than any of us. I'm sure she has some sort of knowledge of a book about prophetic magic."

"I don't think so. Yes, the Zora can live for hundreds of years, but that doesn't mean that they know all that stuff. Wasn't everything about Astor new to everyone?"

"Hm, I guess you're right, but we still shouldn't rule her out. She may know someone who can help us find the answers."

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

"I'm sorry, Alivia. I'm not sure that I can help much," Mipha poured some warm honey tea into a cup and handed it over to the Hylian Princess. Alivia frowned and looked down in defeat. "I've read practically every book we have in our libraries here. As far as I'm aware, there's not a single thing that mentions breaking curses."