One More Chance (Link X Mipha)

Chapter 2: Reflection

The next morning, Link was blinded by the rising sun showing its face over the East Reservoir. Not a cloud could be found in the skies above Zora's Domain, and as such, the sun proved to be a bright and powerful force this day in the Lanayru region. Perhaps it would get a little hotter than normal in the afternoon.

The groggy hero squinted his eyes tightly, awakened rapidly by the light washing over him. In an additional effort to shield his vulnerable face from the sun, he raised a hand up in front of him and held it there as he sat up in place. He figured it would be at least a couple minutes before he was able to open his eyes. Rest like he had gotten last night hadn't been available to him in the many long weeks since his initial awakening in the Shrine of Resurrection a few weeks back, and with Calamity Ganon defeated, Link finally had had an opportunity.

He wished, however, that he had gone to find a bed to sleep on earlier. After his emotional meltdown the night before regarding the tragic passing of his beloved Mipha, Link fell lazily to sleep right where he sat on Vah Ruta's trunk. The surface of the Divine Beast was cold, hard, and quite frankly, uninviting to a weary traveler looking to sleep the night away. As a result, he was stiff in almost every joint on his body, and he had a splitting headache. He would surely have to visit Marot at the Domain's general store later for some headache remedies. If he could recall, Marot was another zora with a peppy attitude that liked to sing and greet customers with loud exclamations. "Marot Mart" was the name he believed she gave the general store.

Rubbing his head, Link turned away from the sun so he could actually open his eyes. Even after doing so, several more minutes went by before the blurriness in his vision went away. His cheeks felt tender...as if they had been stained with tears the night before. It wasn't that Link had forgotten about the previous night's woes; he just had no idea it had gotten that bad. He took a deep, steady breath, absorbing the intoxicating smell of morning dew and blooming silent princess, and let out a long sigh.

Once he was able to allow himself to fully awaken, Link raised an eyebrow at what he thought was the sound of snoring. Curiously turning his body around, Link traced the sound to Prince Sidon, who was, in fact, loudly asleep on his back on the other corner of the Beast's trunk. A small line of drool hung out the side of his mouth. The shark-like tailfin that extended behind his head lay sandwiched between his body and the rigid surface of the Divine Beast. He was probably going to feel that for a while after waking up later. His right hand lay idly on his chest, while his other hand was splayed on the ground to his side.

A smile escaped Link at the sight of it. It was very kind and considerate of the zora prince to keep him company during the night after his impactful meeting with the past. Especially when doing so meant sacrificing a good night's sleep in a premium water pool with the other zoras. It appeared, however, that Sidon was sleeping just fine even without such an amenity.

Link wasn't sure if Zelda was expecting him to return to the Domain last night or not, but being that it was already morning, he figured it was too late anyway. It's not like he could've been in any danger during the night, and even if he had been, he would've sensed it and woke up. He wondered, though, if it would've been ideal for him to return to the Domain and maybe join the others for breakfast. The only alternative was continuing to linger around the Divine Beast, and unfortunately, he had to admit that being here was starting to make him feel lonely, even with the generous zora prince snoring away next to him.

Link stood himself up, and, after waiting for the dizziness to subside, he walked over to Prince Sidon, nudging him in the gills. At first, he did not wake up, so Link continued. Eventually, he was forced to place a hand on Sidon's shoulder and gently shake him awake.