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It was raining.
That was the first thing Zelda took notice of. She couldn’t feel it, yet she saw it, heard it plitter on the wet grass. That’s right, it was grassy. That was new. Where was she? Gradually, more and more details were apparent, yet everything was visible as though through a veil. There was something wrong, yet Zelda couldn’t put her finger on what that was. A feeling. Worry. She didn’t know what it was about the situation that made her worried, it just did.
It hit her.
This was Ploymus Mountain. What was she doing here? How did she get here?
Without making an effort to move, all of a sudden she was moving up to the peak, toward Shatterback Point. It was like she was floating. As she moved upward, the rain continued to fall, seemingly going right through her. A fox quickly ran past, disappearing into the foggy distance. Wait. Was that really fog? She tried to turn around, but to no avail. The feeling of worry grew as she continued to be pulled upward to the peak. Almost there, she felt an acrid smell weaving up through the air. It was quiet. Too quiet, almost. She got up to the peak, and all she could see was the fog she’d seen the fox disappear into. No. This wasn’t fog. It was smoke. As the rain did what it could to quell the fog, where it parted she could see Zora’s Domain down below. Only she couldn’t. Where Zora’s Domain should have been, she could only see carnage. Fire, persevering through the rain, taking over the entire settlement. She could feel the worry morphing into panic. Suddenly, behind her, the clang of metal against stone. Startled, she turned, now freed from the force that had held her. What she saw was a Lynel, back toward her, bigger than any Lynel she’d ever seen before. It gleamed like gold as the rainwater ran down its back. Her heart pounded so loud now, she was almost afraid it’d hear her and turn to attack. It didn’t, however, as it was locked in to something else, trying to strike it down. No. Not something - someone. It was hard to see from this angle, but the Lynel was fighting someone, and it was raining down attack after attack, the clanging of its weapon loud against the numb pittering of rain. Zelda could hear a cry of pain, that light voice so familiar. A splash of water shot up at the Lynel, followed by a flurry of red - Mipha? Well, who else could it be? After Mipha’s splashing attack, for a moment it looked like she had the upper hand. It didn’t last, as the Lynel leapt into the air, evading Mipha’s attacks and letting loose a barrage of shock arrows. She was hit by one, then another. She was struggling to stand. The Lynel reared back and slammed its front hooves into the ground, getting ready to charge. Without thinking, Zelda started running. Right at the Lynel. She knew she wouldn’t make it, she couldn’t shield Mipha, but she had to try. She had to. Time seemed to slow as she ran, the Lynel inching ever closer to Mipha. Right as the Lynel was about to collide with her, Mipha looked back at Zelda, for the first time noticing the other girl was there. She reached out a hand, Zelda reaching for her as well. Zelda tried to scream. To do anything. Too late. Her entire consciousness flashed white.
“Mipha!-” Zelda bolted upright in bed, heart pounding out of her chest, her breathing erratic. She hadn’t had a nightmare this bad since.. She couldn’t even remember the last time it was like this. The rain beat down on her window, rattling the glass ever so slightly with every drop that landed on it. Her heart showed no sign of slowing down, her thoughts racing a mile a minute. “What if that was a vision? A premonition? What if that’s happening right now?” she whispered to herself, hands shaking. “What if Mipha’s…?” she couldn’t bear to finish that thought. Couldn’t bear the thought of someone so dear to her being gone with nothing she could do, not again. “I have to do something!” she continued after a moment. “I have to go see her. I have to.” At that, she got up off the bed, and started moving to get dressed. A simple tunic, some trousers, boots and a cloak to keep her warm in the rain. She grabbed the Sheikah slate and hung it from her belt, and exited her chambers.
There was one last thing before going. Link. She knew he’d help, but in the middle of the night like this? Well, it couldn’t hurt to try. Taking a moment to calm down in the hall outside her chambers, she then started walking toward where she knew Link slept. In a moment, Zelda was at the knights’ hall, where the knights who lived farther from the castle could sleep if they so wished. Link mostly stayed here, having come from Hateno Village. She knocked softly on the door, hoping someone was awake to hear. A few seconds later one of the knights opened the door. “I’m terribly sorry, I hope I didn’t wake you up,” Zelda started. “It’s just that I need to see Link for something, it’s urgent.” It looked like it was taking the knight a few moments to catch up with her. “Oh, your highness. It’s alright, you didn’t wake me, I was up,” he said, pausing for a moment. “I’ll go let Link know you’re looking for him.” “Thank you,” she replied with a nod, letting the knight go. She turned around, putting her back to the wall.
After a minute or two of waiting, the door opened again and Link emerged. You wanted to see me? he signed. “Yes, would you go with me to Zora’s Domain? Now?” when it took him a moment to answer, Zelda continued. “I realise it’s late, or early, well it’s the middle of the night, but I really just need to get there right now. I kind of had a nightmare, and I just want to know that Mipha’s fine. I’m sorry you don’t need to go with me but I think it could be good to have company since it’s late and dark and rainy and-” Hey, it’s alright, I’ll go. “You will? Oh, thank you,” she sighed. Just give me two minutes, I’ll be out soon. Link flashed a thumbs up at Zelda, and vanished behind the door again.
Link wasn’t lying, it didn’t take him long to be ready to depart. He was trained as a knight, so this wasn’t his first surprise nightly mission. If you could call it a mission, really. Before Zelda even had time to think about whether it was a good idea to leave for Zora’s Domain in the middle of the night, Link opened the door again and stepped out. “Are you ready?” she asked, almost surprised at his speed. He nodded, signing I’m always ready to leave at a moment's notice. Shall we? “All right. We ought to go by horseback, I think. Let’s go,” she replied, already taking off toward the stables. As she started walking, Link caught her hand. It’s much quicker this way, follow me. At this, she only nodded, and let him lead the way to the stables.
They made their way there much sooner than Zelda had expected, as Link took a few turns down smaller corridors she’d never realised went all the way through. They stepped out through a side door, and they were right at the stables. It was so dark outside, the moon hidden behind the thick layer of clouds in the sky, rain still falling from them in heavy droplets. Wait here under the awning, I’ll get the horses, Link signed, and without waiting for a response, quietly opened the stable door and disappeared in. Once again, Zelda waited, and once again, Link was quick to return. He had Zelda’s horse with him, as well as one of the knights’ horses. He helped Zelda up on her horse, and hopped on to his own horse as well. They set off toward the gates at a steady trot, the night air silent but for the sounds of their horses’ hooves on the stone path. They reached the main gates leading to Castle Town not long after. The two guards on duty let them pass without much fuss, after noticing Link was with Zelda and carried his sword on his back. Castle Town was so empty, it was eerie to see a town always so alive so quiet in the rainy night.
Once out of town, the two sped up. They’d take the road east, across Hylia River on Orsedd Bridge, past Crenel Peak and Thims Bridge, past Zelo Pond and up along the Zora River. It oughtn’t take more than a few hours at most by horseback, so they’d be at Zora’s Domain by dawn. In the darkness, dawn seemed so far away.
The rain made it hard to see well, and it was colder than Zelda had anticipated. She could barely see far past her horse’s head, only making out the silhouettes of trees and rocks well enough to know where the road led. Link rode alongside her, keeping pace with her. They rode in silence, Zelda’s mind too preoccupied in keeping her thoughts on hoping Mipha and Zora’s Domain would be there when they arrived to even think about talking, and Link’s focus going to keeping the horses on the road and the pace up.
As they neared the first trees before Inogo Bridge, lightning struck nearby, startling Zelda’s horse and making it shake its head back a bit. “Shh, it’s alright,” she said, patting her horse on the side of its neck lightly. It seemed to calm down a tad, but was still a bit more tense than before. Another bolt of lightning struck, even nearer this time. Her horse bucked more wildly now, nearly throwing her off. Little she did could calm the horse now, as the thunder got louder and flashes more frequent. Link stopped his horse, also trying to help calm Zelda’s horse. As he let his guard down for just a moment, an octorok shot a rock at him, hitting him in the leg. He quickly got out his bow and shot an arrow at the octorok, but eliminating it only opened a window for a band of lizalfos to ambush them. Everything happened in a blur, giving Zelda no time to react as one lizalfos spat at her horse, sending it into an even wilder panic. Another lizalfos hopped around to her side, seemingly zeroing her in as its target, and a third one attacked Link with its jagged weapon. Zelda was surrounded and nearly defenseless herself, and before she knew what was happening she was thrown off her horse. She landed roughly on her left side, head hitting the ground a split second after her shoulder, everything going dark.
***
“...probably be alright.” … “Yes, we’re lucky you got here on time. I will make sure she has everything necessary.” Zelda’s surroundings were slowly becoming clearer. She was laying somewhere soft, and she could hear a soft voice discuss something with someone. “Maybe, you could see to it that King Rhoam knows about the situation and that it’s handled?” the soft voice went on, followed by the sound of footsteps walking away. Slowly, Zelda opened her eyes to see a blue canopy above her. “Zelda! You are awake, thank Hylia,” she heard, turning her gaze toward the voice. “Mipha..” was all she managed, reaching her hand up to the other girl, who was sitting on the edge of the bed Zelda was laid in. Mipha took Zelda’s outstretched hand in hers. “Yes, I’m here. How are you feeling? You had us so worried, you know,” she said, her hands cool around Zelda’s. At that Zelda registered the pain in her head first, then her left shoulder. “A bit beaten up, but I’ll be fine, I think” she said, her voice still weak. “I’m just glad to see you’re alright, Mipha. I was so worried, I thought something had happened.” She could feel her eyes tearing up a little out of pure relief that her nightmare had been nothing more than a bad dream. “Did something happen?” Mipha asked, bringing one hand up to Zelda’s face to brush aside a stray lock of hair. “I.. I had a bad dream. I realise it sounds silly now, to rush out in the middle of the night because of a nightmare, but I had to make sure you were alright. I couldn’t live with myself if it was a vision and not just a dream and I didn’t do anything. To have someone I cherish be.. gone.. and there being nothing I could do about it, not again. Not after my mother..” she paused for a moment, interrupting herself in that sentence. “Mipha, I care about you, so much, I couldn’t bear it if something happened to you and I didn’t help.” A lone tear rolled down her cheek. Mipha smiled so softly, sweetly. She brushed away the tear on Zelda’s cheek, her hand lingering for a few moments. “I assure you, I’m all right,” she said. “I’m honoured you think so highly of me, to come out here in the rainy night isn’t a little feat. I’d do the same for you in a heartbeat, I hope you know that, dear princess.” Zelda blushed lightly at the nickname. “You would..?” she asked, voice barely more than a whisper. “Of course,” Mipha said, “I would cross oceans of fire and lightning for you.” Zelda carefully pushed herself up to a sitting position, weaving her arms around Mipha, pulling her into a tight embrace. For a moment, they said nothing, only holding on to each other. “Zelda,” Mipha whispered. “You need to rest. Some sleep will do you good. I’ll get you a glass of water, alright? Wait here just a moment, I’ll be right back with you soon.” “Alright,” Zelda answered, reluctantly letting go of Mipha. Mipha got up and walked off with a light step and Zelda laid back down. Mipha was only gone a minute, but it felt like an eternity to Zelda. As she came back, she handed Zelda the promised glass of water, sitting back down. Zelda emptied the glass, not having realised until then she’d been quite thirsty.
“Mipha?” she said, a question in her voice. “Yes?” “Will you stay with me?” “Of course.” Zelda scooted over a little, making room for Mipha next to her. Mipha laid down, facing Zelda. Holding Mipha’s hands in hers now, Zelda drifted off to a peaceful sleep.
“I’ll always stay with you, princess, my dearest,” Mipha whispered once Zelda was asleep, sealing the words with a light kiss to the other girl’s forehead.