Everyone at Hyrule Castle was relieved when their hero returned home, but were stunned when they learned about what had happened to him. They listened in horror as the entire experience was recounted, with Link highly uncomfortable speaking to so many people, let alone about such a terrible ordeal. Without question, he skipped over many of the more gruesome details, even if he had a feeling he may need to cover them some day. After all, while the Yiga's forces had been seriously hit by the rescue mission, the fact that they were able to pull off what they did in the first place was deeply troubling.

While most were happy, however, King Rhoam was less than pleased with his daughter. Zelda expected and was prepared for some degree of this, but much to her surprise, it turned out that her father was far more angry that she disobeyed orders than that she helped save Link.

“Father, I understand that I went against your orders, but think of what would have happened otherwise. We would have lost Link, you must see that.”

“I do, Zelda. But in the process, I almost lost you. It is mere luck that you’re still with us now. You cannot partake in such foolishness, regardless of the results in this single instance.”

The king was not budging. All he could see was the worst that could have happened and what might have become of her. He was far too paranoid to look beyond that or see that there was more to her than just going along with the plan laid out before her.

To the point where she was sentenced to remain in the castle for a full two weeks, guarded every hour of the day to ensure she stayed in place this time. Link himself was often one of the guards assigned to this duty, making things uncomfortable between them when both wanted Zelda to have her freedom back, but Link knew he had to follow the king’s demands. He would try to cheer her up whenever he was around, but little did he know that simply being in her presence when she knew his heart was taken only ended up rubbing salt in the wound, let alone when he was being so considerate of her.

Hylia bless him for trying, though, Zelda thought miserably.

But something made it all even worse. Zelda thought back on her rescue journey; specifically, she recalled that surging sensation seeming to come from within her. It not only felt like light itself was flowing inside of her, but it also had given her deeply-rooted gut instincts that could swear were coming from Hylia herself, every single one of which proved accurate. It was at night while she waited for the rescuing army to return that she began to wonder if, at long last, her powers were beginning to awaken. How or why was beyond her, but she felt it all the same.

And yet, once they returned to the castle, that surging had left her. She could no longer get it relit, not even a spark. As she sat miserable in her room, trapped there in her punishment, she spent countless hours trying her best to get it back, but it never came.

This was the final straw to break her down. Having her heart crushed and then being heavily punished for her efforts were bad enough. But now to feel that she had been close to finally unlocking the tools to her destiny, only to fall right back to square one, made her feel even more small and empty.

It all felt so unfair.

---

The reactions of the Zoras to their princess coming home were more exclusively celebratory than that of Hyrule Castle.

Mipha had Link accompany her, both to serve as an escort and because they wanted to share another certain bit of news involving them. And Link looked on delightfully as the gigantic king scooped his daughter up in her arms, with young Sidon piling on top of the reunion.

“You had the entire guard in a frenzy, dear Mipha!” King Dorephan declared. “What in the world happened to you?”

“It shall take time to – ugh! – explain,” Mipha croaked out, nearly smothered in the overpowering hug.

It was clear by how shakily she returned home that Mipha had been put through a very dire situation. Initially, many Zoras believed that she had been injured and washed away by a fight with the Lynel they ended up spotting on Ploymus Mountain, needing to spend her time slowly recovering before coming back. While that was partially true, they had no idea what that fight ended up putting her through afterwards.

But the princess didn’t wish to answer every question just yet. "I will tell you everything in due time, Father," she said when out of the embrace. She was now holding Sidon in her arms as he squeezed her chest as tightly as possible, no less happy to have her back. "But now, I just want to cherish being home.” She brought a kiss to the top of her sibling’s head, relishing in the warmth of the family she had been struggling to believe she would ever see again.

"Hmmm ... very well,” Dorephan agreed. “However, we will certainly celebrate tonight! A feast to honor Lady Mipha’s return!"

He then turned to Link, who had been a silent observer to the emotional reunion. "As well as the return of you, my boy. Many of us were nearly as concerned for your safety.”

Link smiled subtly but warmly at that, his heart grateful as he realized just how much these Zora sometimes treated him as one of their own. Even now, with the way Dorephan looked at him. If Link didn’t know any better, he would swear that the king considered him part of his family.

Maybe, Link thought, now he had that chance after all.

“But I trust that you and Mipha did whatever you could for each other out there, as any true friend would.”

Link simply nodded, expression still happy.

Mipha then put her brother down and walked over to the Hylian. "I assure you, Father, he did … In fact …"

Now was the moment, she felt. The two of them had nothing to hide, and had agreed that whatever pushback their new relationship received from either the Zoras or the Hylians, whatever it meant for her future reign as queen, they were prepared to face it and keep together.

And so, Mipha looped an arm around his and leaned into him gingerly as she said, “You'll find that through it all, we came out more than … friends.”

The king's face did a double take, quick to catch on as to what his daughter was insinuating. Sidon cocked his head in confusion, obviously not old enough to have the same realization. Link and Mipha could only look on as he absorbed the news, hand-in-hand as they waited for some reaction. Link found himself looking up sheepishly, feeling somewhat awkward to be now known by his majesty as his daughter’s significant other, yet still comforted by his love’s touch.

Thankfully, that anxiety he felt was somewhat mitigated when Dorephan’s face lit up in pleasant surprise. When he fully recovered himself, he leaned down to tower over the two. “Well, well … I must admit the timing is rather unexpected, but Mipha, I was wondering what had taken you so long!” he said with a hearty laugh.

His daughter rolled her eyes at that, having put up with enough teasing on his behalf over the matter. It was a surprise to Link, however, who thought to himself, So long?

“I suppose this is yet another cause for celebration!” the king said joyfully. “That is … if you both are willing to make this known to the whole domain.”

Having talked the matter through, their response was quick. They merely looked to one another, nodded, and Mipha stated, “Yes father. I will be proud to.” She gently pressed her lips to the Hylian’s cheek to support her statement, mildly flustering the boy.

“Very good,” Dorephan said. “And don’t worry about anyone who takes the news poorly. I assure you they will have me to answer to,” he added proudly.

“However, Link ... Let me make something clear to your right now.”

The large being’s face was now contorted in warning, his voice was suddenly imposing, intimidating, and displeased. And nothing amused Mipha more than seeing the great, powerful hero shrivel up underneath the oversized Zora, frightened by him out of all the countless dangers he'd faced as a knight.

But then the king's tone and face then returned to their pleasant, upbeat state as before. "I could not think of someone better suited for my daughter."

The Hylian visibly deflated in relief, with Mipha lightly massaging his shoulders playfully. You'll soon grow used to my father's playful nature, she thought.

Sidon may not have fully understood the situation, but couldn’t mistake the delight in everyone’s voices directed towards Link. The happiness proved contagious as he went up to Link and hugged the Hylian’s leg. Link was unable to resist the soft laughter that came from such an adorable sight, and reached down to lift the little Zora into his arms.

"Hey there, bud," he said softly.

Sidon responded with a giant grin aimed up at him, and Mipha's heart welled at the sight. Link and Sidon had always gotten along, but it was only now that she was able to look at the two and see how strong their bond could become going forward. Link was surprisingly a natural with children, and Sidon looked more than happy to be on the receiving end of this gift.

Yes, in spite of him not being of their species, Link would fit into her family just fine.

---

That was three months ago. Now, Mipha stood on a grassy field a few miles out from her domain. Against a tree trunk lay her bag, and stored inside it was something very precious. Something she'd spent many days and nights slaving away at, wanting - needing - it to be just right. It was that item that she wanted to meet Link here for today.

Since they finally came together, their relationship had been flourishing. They both had worked out their shyness towards romantic gestures, and in doing so showed all but the stingiest of skeptics how well they went together. Soon, Mipha had become convinced that she was ready to take one of the biggest steps in a Zora princess's life. A step that showed just how much of her existence she wanted to share with the love of her life. She didn't know what he'd say, but if she'd learned anything lately, it was that one only attained one's desires by making moves like this.

In the midst of her contemplations, she was surprised to find herself suddenly swept off the ground.

"Oh!" she cried out, having not heard the Hylian in question sneaking behind her to scoop her up into his arms. With her being so light and him so strong, she was nearly weightless to him. Ironic how years ago, Link was a small child that Mipha could pick up with ease. Now, it was the reverse case. And both were very much okay with it.

Link now held her by the back of the thighs, leaning in for a kiss. This playful, affectionate side to Link was one she felt privileged to be in on. Not to say that it was a complete opposite to how he now carried himself to others. On the contrary, she was noticing him be more open in general, a bit more vocal and trying less to hide every single emotion he felt. He had by no means become an extrovert, still generally reserved and soft-spoken, but there was a noticeable difference that she was happy to see. Nonetheless, the bulk of his outward affections were reserved for her.

The kiss broke off and Link grinned at her cheekily. "You summoned, milady?" he quipped, causing the Zora princess to giggle.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Why yes, I do require a strong, handsome knight to assist me at the moment," she played along with the silliness. The feeling in her gut as he held her right now told Mipha that this was, indeed, the right time to make her full intentions known to him.

The Zora walked past Link and went to her bag, picking it up and returning to him with it. Her hands clasped at it tightly; while she had faith in what Link's answer to her proposal would be, she couldn't help but still feel understandably nervous.

"Link," she began. "These three months have been the most wonderful of my entire life."

The Hylian lovingly took her hand in his. "Mine too," he said softly.

"And as they've gone on ... I've thought about us," Mipha continued. "About where our future could go. A-and I don't know if you're aware, but there is a tradition among Zora princesses."

Link waited, patiently, as his love gathered herself.

“Do … do you remember that night, wh-when I asked to do some … er, some measurements of you for some Zora-style clothing?”

A knowing smirk crossed Link’s features. He did indeed remember, specifically because said measurements involved him stripping down for the Zora to get the most accurate recordings possible. As she went across his bare body, it had taken much of her self-control to forego her measuring in favor of exploring him in a … different way.

“I may recall something like that,” Link said knowingly.

Mipha’s laugh was airy. She needed a moment to keep her breathing steady, and Link was left in anticipation of her next words.

The Zora began to unzip her bag. This was it. This was the moment she'd waited for ...

But she only got a little of it open when the ground suddenly began shaking violently. Mipha dropped her bag and stumbled forward, with Link able to catch her but struggling to keep standing himself. It was identical to an earthquake, but this was far more severe than either of them had ever experienced.

The two of them looked at each other with great worry, as they both heard lightning crashing in the far distance.

---

The Legend of Zelda franchise, the image used, and all characters and settings portrayed (except named Yiga members), all belong to Nintendo.

Originally uploaded on May 15, 2020.

---

Okay, so for a shortened epilogue, there's probably a lot to unwrap here. Starting off with how Zelda is still stuck right back where she started after everything. Including unlocking her powers, which I don't know how many people got that that's what I was going for with her in her earlier chapters. Then we have Link being introduced as Mipha's new love, kind of shortly but hopefully sweetly (I was thinking about further addressing what their lack of childbearing abilities would mean for Mipha's future reign, but it wasn't really brought up almost anywhere else in the story and so I didn't want to just toss it in right at the end).

And lastly ... yeah, that ending. Because I'm just so incapable of letting these two end things on a totally positive note, aren't I? Or maybe I'm not. Maybe it's just some freakish earthquake and storm after all. Or even if it is what you're all thinking it is, will things play out the exact same way with the different developments? Whatever the future holds for Link and Mipha, at the very least they were able to cross that sacred line from friends to lovers, something that no catastrophe or apocalypse can undo.

Anyways … it's done. This long, long story that I first posted in October of last year, is now finally finished. I'm not entirely sure why I decided to have this of all setups be the sprawling epic. It's partially because of how much a Zelda fan I am, partially because I love both the main characters/captives and didn't want to rob them of any quality scenes, partially because I wanted to see if I could pull it off ... there's a lot that went behind it. And it was tiring very often. To be going back to the same story for so many months, knowing that it was taking time away from other characters in other situations I could be doing, while a proportionately small amount of watchers found much appeal in it ... it was tough to keep it going.

But with that said, those who did read the story, those who did fave it, whether on the old account or this one, and especially those who did leave their thoughts on it ... I really can't express through words how grateful I am that you guys did that. To think that this hunk of fiction was worth reading alone, not to mention leaving, in some cases, very lovely and detailed comments, is mind-blowing to me. If it weren't for you select few, I wouldn't have had half the drive I did to get this thing to the end.

I specifically want to call out The-Aries-Knight , who from the beginning has left very strong, very insightful, and very honest feedback all the way through and one of the main motivators through the all of it. Watching him react to the whole journey and seeing it progress was one of the best parts of writing it. Dude, you're awesome, and really helped pull me through this!

I think it's easy to see why I needed to rest up on writing for a bit. This was kind of the end of a phase in my writing career, after all. But now that I'm almost back in form, I'll be getting to work on those Lion King stories at last. They'll be much, much shorter, so don't worry about that. In fact, I think I'll be focusing on shorter fics for a while, ones that aren't so heavy on the plot. I still have Siege of Ga'hoole to finish, and I'm not swearing off longer stories altogether. But I think you can get why I'd want to shift gears for now.

Again, thank you to everyone who has read, faved, and/or commented on this story all the way through. You guys are awesome, and I hope you like how it all turned out.