Warpaint

Chapter V: Zeal

Defeating Calamity Ganon was nothing triumphant, but a horrific necessity. When Link finally came up against the one creature which had destroyed his life, he felt nothing. He was willing to accept his own death; that he wouldn't survive, and it was simply meant to be.

Although Link had established little, he was aware of the amount placed on him. He had to destroy Ganon, he had to save the Divine Beasts, and he must save Princess Zelda. In a way, Link's entire purpose, the sole reason of his birth, was to protect and save Zelda from the Dark Lord.

Link would have gone to any extremes to ensure he completed his mission. And when he began, it was simple. Zelda. Zelda was everything. Zelda was his entire world. While he didn't really know who she was, he knew she was the very epitome of his life. Without Zelda, Link was worthless.

Yet, as his travels expanded, and as he explored different territories, met people, discovering the intense diversity of cultures within Hyrule, Link's mind shifted. It wasn't just about Zelda, but everybody who looked to him as a hero. This included civilians, the Champions, and Mipha.

It was no longer just about Zelda, but vengeance.

A vicious, patient vengeance. Link would die, just to prove to those who loved him that he would go to the ends of the earth for them.

Link has never been one man.

He carries the spirit of Hyrule; the responsibility of ensuring Hyrule's protection, which involves the Princess, but those who surround her.

And while there are legends in which Link's only priority was Zelda, plenty others read of a civilian who came to protect a Prince from another tribe; a rogue on a pirate ship; a Queen belonging to a prejudiced twilight realm; a world seconds from being eaten alive by the moon; and, here, a Zora girl who simply loved him.

It was about Zelda this time around, but it came to be so much more.

Even in death, Mipha ensured his safety, his life; her love for him was so alive, so real, so powerful, it allowed him to defeat the Calamity.

For good.

She loved him until her heart bled.

Link falls asleep instantly, soothed by Mipha; knowing she is close to him, that she isn't going anywhere. He sleeps like a child. Exhausted, bruised, and devastated.

While he rests she manages his wounds. Fortunately, most of them have healed by now, but some are still as vicious as when they were inflicted upon his body. These wounds take time, a careful, cautious nursing, and Link sleeps throughout, unaware.

He is too kind, she thinks. Too kind to be anything he would need to be if they were together. Her husband, her Prince––he couldn't live up to that. Not because he doesn't have the capabilities to do so, but because this is Link, and the last thing which should be forced on him is the demand of being ruler.

After tonight, Mipha doesn't know when they will next see one another. If at all. Her decision to agree to the proposal has been done. There isn't any looking back. There isn't time for regrets, or hesitation. She made the decision.

Yet––

It's impossible to let go.

But she has to.

She has to.

(Goddesses help her, she must.)

They were never meant to be. That was promised when she died.