The Undestined Hero

Chapter 7: The Journey

Mipha trailed the road leading to Mount Lanayru, Daruk and Revali bringing up the front, with Faron and Princess Zelda in the middle, and Mipha and Urbosa in the rear. As she walked, her eyes repeatedly flitted toward Faron, her thoughts teasing her with the memory of that hug she and Faron had shared. The image prompted a now familiar warmth to flood through her, and she forced her gaze away from Faron for what must have been the hundredth time, silently wishing she had returned that hug.

"Something on your mind?" Urbosa asked suddenly.

"What?" Mipha squeaked in surprise, "Oh, no...I mean—"

Urbosa placed a quieting hand on her shoulder, her sharp green eyes casting toward Faron with a frighteningly knowing glance. She slowed her pace, pulling Mipha back with her so the distance between them and the others grew. When she appeared satisfied that they were mostly out of earshot, she settled back into a regular stride.

"I think I know what's going on here," she said.

Mipha felt a jolt of panic, trying to stammer out a protest, but Urbosa simply smiled.

"You don't need to confirm it," she assured, "But there's hardly any point in denying it."

The Zora forced herself to relax. Urbosa was right; trying to hide the truth from someone as shrewd as the Gerudo Champion was pointless. Her gaze inevitably wandered back to Faron.

"You haven't told her yet, have you?" Urbosa asked quietly.

Mipha felt a twinge of sadness. She'd been unable to confess her feelings aloud to herself, much less to Faron.

"We still don't know much about her, Mipha."

Her spirits further sank at the reminder. She thought of the tunic she'd been painstakingly handcrafting now hidden away in her travel belongings. Perhaps it was all simply a foolish attempt to indulge in a fantasy.
She didn't know if Faron would even return her feelings...

"Once Calamity Ganon is gone," Urbosa said, gazing off into the distance, "We'll all have a bright future ahead of us. But we shouldn't let thoughts of the future distract us from the present."

Urbosa is right, Mipha thought, her sadness deepening still, My thoughts have been selfish. I must endeavor to do better.

Then came that gentle touch on her shoulder again, Urbosa's smile returning along with it.

"Nonetheless," the Gerudo said, "I'm happy you've found something to look forward to. And you'll have plenty of opportunity to learn more about her. Fighting alongside someone can teach us a lot about them."

"Yes," Mipha agreed, recalling the battle near Zora's Domain, "It can."

Faron was starting to regret accepting Urbosa's advice on growing accustomed to carrying a shield. The escutcheon on her back was beginning to feel like it weighed a solid ton. She squinted at the gradually sinking sun, voicing silent thanks that they were almost at the foot of the mountain. Once they reached it, they could set up camp and rest for the night. Then in the morning, she and her charge would continue up the mountain to the spring.

Faron wished it could just be over. What could praying in a puddle do anyway? The King was out of his mind if he thought this would help. But waiting on ancient heroes and equally ancient powers seemed to be his go-to, and Faron knew well enough that there was no sense in trying to speak against it. Furthermore, that wasn't the only thing that had been bothering her throughout this trip.

Revali.

She had to make amends somehow, she knew that. But the Rito had made it abundantly clear he wasn't willing to even acknowledge her existence, much less talk about the recent incident between them. So she simply stewed on the matter, her mood growing worse with each tiring step.