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It was a beautiful spring night. Serene in every sense of the word. A landscape of stars stretched across the horizon. Though some were drowned out by the nearby village’s light, enough glittered in the sky to paint the heavens with hundreds and hundreds of bright dots.
Mipha drew her index finger along each in the sky, drawing along the lines of a set of clustered stars that were supposed to be Naydra, The Dragon of Wisdom. A serpent that chased along the night sky with her sisters Dinraal and Farosh, dispensing wisdom to princesses of ages past.
She turned her eyes briefly to Link, who lay beside her. Like her, he was also using his finger to silently trace the constellations that made up the canvas above them.
The two of them had left the inn an hour ago, where no doubt Urbosa was probably still haggling for a better price for rooms. Revali, Daruk, Zelda, and Impa most likely would have found some sort of seating arrangement while they waited for the Gerudo Chieftain to finish her deliberations.
Not her. She opted to take a walk instead of listening to Urbosa break down the poor innkeeper, inviting Link along instead. Mipha was overjoyed when he said yes to joining her. That it would just be the two of them. Simply being together alone after months of absence was a blessing.
They shared bits of small talk as they wandered the village roads. She asked about Link’s travels with Zelda, and he about her training with Ruta and the going-ons of their home. Mundane questions that were often asked when they ever got the chance to reconvene.
Regardless, she was just glad to hear his voice again after so long.
Eventually, they had strayed towards the edge of the sleepy hamlet, finding a slope where they wordlessly laid down to stare at the night sky, listening to cricket song with eyes glued upward.
Mipha brought her hand down as she reached Dinraal’s last star, resting it on top of her chest. She could use some of that wisdom now while sharing this quiet occasion with the Hylian that had stolen her heart. If the actual Dinraal were to visit her now, maybe the great serpent could give her the knowledge on how to go about taking the next step with Link.
Or maybe Farosh could fly by and, at the very least, grant her the courage to put her webbed hand in his. It was a hope that she yearned for on nights like these. To feel his skin with her scales. To have her digits feel the smooth surface of his palms, contrasted by the callouses formed from swinging a blade. To have her fingers wrap around his own. To squeeze his hand, silently telling him that she loved him and that everything would be alright.
Her eyes turned toward Link again, who continued to stare up at the sky beside her. Starlight danced in the blue of his eyes. Orbs she found herself becoming lost in with each passing moment they were together. A love for him that she kept hidden, a secret locked away in her heart with the key firmly buried in the corner of her mind.
He noticed her watching him, turning his own head towards her.
Mipha inwardly gasped, looking away quickly. A pit of embarrassment churned in her stomach. Yet out of the corner of her eyes, she still saw him staring at her.
“Hey,” he finally said after a few moments.
Her gaze fell back onto him. “Yes?”
“Remember when we used to do this years ago?”
“Of course. How could I forget,” she replied. She could never forget. The reposeful moments she and Link stole away when he was still living in the Domain. Back then it was just two friends wanting to spend more time together at the end of a long day. Albeit alone and away from the peering eyes of the Bazz Brigade and the Domain. They’d collapse in the grass by Mikau Lake, exhausted from whatever day's activities, listening to the falls roaring in the background, and feeling the cool breeze cast on the wind. Constellation tracing followed after. They would recall the legends associated with each, making grand promises to follow the virtues of those that were named in the stars.
Link always loved to talk about the constellations of heroes and their tales. Back then, it was his dream to be a knight, akin to a hero. To protect those he cared about.
Years later he got his wish.
Though these days, Mipha felt his destiny as Hylia’s Hero was more of a curse than a blessing. His silence a testimony to the weight of Hyrule on his shoulders. Link had been dealt a bad hand. An uncaring princess he had a duty to guard, a land he was expected to save which asked of him everything and gave nothing in recompense.
Mipha clenched her teeth. She would be there for him. Regardless of what he faced, she would always have his back. She’d fight with everything for his life, his future, to protect and heal him since no one else would.
Her thoughts jumbled as Link bumped his leg into her. “You okay?” he asked.
“O-of course. Yes, I am. Sorry, I was just lost in thought.”
“What were you thinking about?”
“I-,” Mipha paused. “No. Nothing important.”
“You sure? You looked a little angry there for a moment.”
Mipha frowned.“I’m just...thinking about what’s to come.”
Link grunted in acknowledgment. They both knew the duties expected of them. The doubts they both shared of the coming Calamity with no one else.
That evening on Ruta months ago culminated in all of her doubts seeping out at once. She had to tell him then, her insecurities with the coming Calamity, with her sheer worry over his well being. Mipha wanted him to know, to make sure he knew, that she’d be there for him no matter what.
“You really intend to keep your promise?” Link asked. He was thinking the same thing.
“Yes.” she said without hesitation. “No matter what happens, I will be with you, even until a bitter end.”
Link chuckled. He actually had the audacity to chuckle.
She kicked him.
“Hey!”
“I’m serious, Link.”
Link sighed. “I know, I know. Sorry, I just...do you really think that is how our story will finish? A bitter end?”
That had caught her by surprise. “What? No. No, of course not. We will succeed.”
“But?” He left his question unsaid. There was no need for him to finish. She knew what he meant. He too held those lingering doubts she had too. He knew that there was a chance that the Calamity would succeed.
“You and I both know what we could face. I will not pretend nor expect all of us to come out unscathed. Or that we will even be able to defeat the Calamity. Nothing is guaranteed, not until Zelda unlocks her powers.”
Yes. Zelda was the lynchpin in their plan. In all of Hyrule’s salvation. Even with the Guardians, Divine Beasts, and the Master Sword, it all meant nothing if Ganon could not be sealed away again. Everything was riding on her. Something that Mipha expressed deep sympathy for the Hylian Princess. Even with her treatment of Link, and taking out her lack of progress on him. Zelda’s frustrations were not invalid. Mipha had heard the insults. ‘An heir to nothing’. ‘False princess’.
Mipha knew Zelda wanted nothing more than to spend her time researching Guardians and exploring Hyrule. But because of Hylia’s blessing running through her blood, everything had to be sacrificed to duty. More so than Mipha and Zelda’s shared position as princesses in their respective realms.
Still, Mipha wished that Zelda would come to realize her horrible treatment of Link was unbecoming of a princess and a friend.
She just hoped Urbosa talked to her about it soon. Link had enough pressure as is, and Zelda did not need to add to it by taking her own unforunate failings out on him.
“But as I promised you on Ruta,” Mipha continued, “and as I promise you now. I will protect you.”
Link watched her, eyes searching her face for...something. What, she did not know.
After a few seconds, he smiled. A warm smile. A smile she had not seen for a long time, not since their childhood.
“I’ll keep you to your promise,” he said in a low voice. A statement that only he wanted her to hear.
That was the first time he responded to her vow, wasn’t it?
Oh.
Mipha’s heart thudded in her chest and blood thundered through her ears. She stared at him, spellbound. It was scary in a way. This effect he had on her. From one moment of being so sure of herself, to becoming a melting mess the next.
Lord Jabu, give me the strength for my heart to endure my love for him.
Link turned to stare back up at the night sky, oblivious to her deteriorating composure. “Do you think they’ll tell tales of us? That will end up as constellations thousands of years like the other heroes?”
She really hadn’t thought of that. But yes, they would be heroes with their own tales should they succeed. Their quest to save Hyrule would be immortalized, or at least, recorded and told for hundreds of years to come.
Yet, Mipha knew deep down she would not have her own constellation. Link and Zelda most definitely would. They were blessed by the Goddess to save Hyrule after all. Mipha was there to play the role of support. More likely she would be forgotten into obscurity to the rest of Hyrule, only remembered for her Divine Beast.
Maybe a future Zora will name a cluster of stars after her. But as for the rest of Hyrule? No such thing would come to pass
“Yes, I do believe so,” she lied. She hoped Link didn’t hear the lump in her throat.
“If we are...” Link trailed off. She felt something brush her hand next to him. Instinctively, Mipha tried to retract it, but before she could, Link’s own hand closed around hers.
Her heart skipped a beat. She could feel it. The warmth radiating from him. The pressure as his fingers grasped her own. Her one goal of the night, succeeded by Link’s own doing.
“If we are. I hope ours are together.”
Hope. It was such a dangerous thing. And here Link was supplying it to her like water for a fish stranded on a shoreline
The way he was looking at her, he opened the door for her. To dare hope he felt the same.
“Link…?”
He shuffled closer to her, until their faces were a hairsbreadth away. His forehead bumped hers and she felt his breath on her face, tingling her scales.
“I wouldn’t want anyone else by my side.”
At that moment. There was only one thing on Mipha's mind. She wanted to kiss him. Badly
Before she could even squash that thought, nor stop herself from tilting to him, a voice called out from the distance.
“Link!? Mipha!?”
Their trance was shattered in an instant. Mipha reeled back Link quickly standing up straight, while Link clawed at the grass to sit back up.
Urbosa stepped into view, catching the two of them with chests heaving and furiously blushing on their face.
“Oh, I’m sorry, did I interrupt something?”
“N-no!” Mipha all but shouted.
Urbosa merely raised an eyebrow at her. “Uh-huh.”
“Just...just startled us is all,” Link said as he fought to stabilize his breathing.
“Really? Cause with how you two are acting I could swear you—”
“There was nothing going on,” Mipha said. “Honest.”
Urbosa merely stared at the two of them unconvinced. She then shrugged her shoulders. “Anyway, I was trying to find you to let you know that all of the rooms have been settled and accounted for.”
Link stood up. “How much?”
“A reasonable price, since I had food and drink thrown in, alcohol excluded. You’d think having royalty in their presence, they’d be more likely to host us for free, not fleece us for every rupee we have.”
“Well, they probably know King Rhoam’s, yours, and Dorephan’s coffers can afford an expensive stay.”
Urbosa smirked. “He’ll know better for the future.”
Mipha didn’t want to know Urbosa’s methods. But if she had to guess it was probably a combination of a sharp tongue and a little lightning that had helped knock the price down a fair bit.
“I wasn’t able to secure separate rooms for everyone,” Urbosa said. She then turned Mipha. “No sleeping pools either though, sorry.”
“That’s alright,” Mipha responded. “I am used to sleeping in Hylian beds.
Urbosa’s grin grew wicked.
Oh goddess. She just walked right into Urbosa’s trap.
“Oh, I am sure of that. You and Link are sharing after all.”
Link was quick to answer. “Urbosa, we can’t share a bed.”
“Whoever said anything about sharing a bed? You two are in the same room. Separate beds. Although something tells me you were hoping to have to share.”
Link let out a strangled gasp and Mipha felt her face flush even further.
“I’m going to head back to the inn now,” Mipha said quietly.
Urbosa laughed. “Good idea. We need to be well-rested for the last leg of the journey tomorrow. Just make sure you two try not to stay up and have too much fun now.”
Mipha wished that the ground would open up then and there and swallow her beneath it. Not only to escape Urbosa’s teasing but to avoid the now inevitable awkward night with Link.
With a wave, Urbosa wile headed back toward the center of the village, her laugh carrying on the winds.
Link and Mipha both stood there silently for a moment. Her heart was hammering in her chest. From that near kiss. From Urbosa’s teasing. From the prospect of having to share a room with Link after everything went down in the last minute.
“Link, I—”
“Mipha—”
They both stared at each other, then broke out into their own laughter from the sheer absurdity and disbelief.
Mipha motioned to Link. “You first.”
“Well, I just…” Link rubbed the back of his head. “It’s...um?”
Mipha stared at him. What was he trying to say?
Suddenly, Link closed the distance. And then she felt his lips on her forehead. It was brief, only a ghost of a touch as his lips brushed her scales. As quickly as he kissed her, he moved back, turning away from her.
“Let’s head back,” he said before Link briskly walked back toward the inn.
Mipha raised a hand up to where he had kissed her. Where he had kissed her. Warmth flooded her veins, and her chest bubbled.
She stared up toward the night sky, the stars their only witness to what Link had done.
It was going to be a long night and an even longer trip.
Maybe she could work up the courage to kiss him back and tell him that she’d like her own constellation alongside his as well.
That she wanted no one else by her side but him too.