Life in Zora's Domain

Chapter 162 - Personal History

Summary: Link's daughter Mila visits the Hyrule Castle Library to conduct some research. Zelda visits Zora's Domain after her trip to the Akkala Citadel, then makes some plans with Mipha and Link. Everyone does some reminiscing.

It was a rainy early morning in Zora's Domain as Link's older daughter Mila prepared to depart for the Hyrule Castle Library.

"Have a safe trip, sweetheart," said Mipha as she hugged Mila goodbye. "And please concentrate on your own work. Our interest in the former Hylian hero is just curiosity."

"I will, Mom, but I'll still stir up what I can about him," said Mila. "You know me. I'm always eager to learn. Now I should go if I don't want to miss the ferry."

Mila made her way to the ferry stop and boarded the ferry to Hyrule Castle, as did two other Zoras, who nodded hello. She took a window seat and watched as the ferry pulled away from the pier and the shore glided by. The river ferries traveled more slowly than the fast sea-going craft, and it gave you a chance to enjoy the view if you liked. She could have swum to Hyrule Castle, of course, as it wasn't a bad swim, and the water was clear and refreshing. But the ferry was relaxing and a natural alternative to travel by road for non-Zoras.

Mila was prone to reminiscing, and she thought back to when she used to travel this route as a child with her family and the races she and Midon would have along the way. She often won to Midon's utter annoyance. Then, as the ferry passed the tall Lanayru Sheikah Tower, it brought back another memory that made her smile. She recalled the day that Dr. Purah's team finally activated those towers. It set off Tila's Tab in class, a backlog of North Hyrule messages finally making their presence known with a loud alarm. Tila was so embarrassed over interrupting the lecture, but everyone else was curious about her device. She, Tila, and Midon were all in the same class at school back then when Tila spent a month visiting the Domain. That was when she and Tila first became friends, though not right away. She had been a little jealous of Tila at first. Anyway, Tila's visit back then caused a wave of envy throughout the Domain, and not just from Tila's many admirers. Everyone wished they could have a Tab like hers to chat with friends, listen to music, and so on. Now everyone did.

The ferry continued north, and the road along the eastern riverbank was empty on this rainy early morning, the scenery unspoiled. The land along the western shore was even less developed and covered in green moss. Near the water's edge at one spot stood the remains of an old Bokoblin dwelling, a broken skull-shaped rock outcropping. Mila was glad Queen Zelda had insisted on preserving some of these ancient remains. It was important not to forget the past.

The ferry followed the river north, going under the Helmhead Bridge and past the Rauru Settlement on the east and Hyrule Forest Park on the west. Again, there was no activity to be seen at either location on this wet early morning. The ferry would usually stop next at the Woodland Service Area. But this morning, nobody was boarding or exiting there, so the ferry continued onward into the Castle moat, finally stopping at the docks at the north end of Hyrule Castle. The next stop would be the Ancient Tech Lab, but this was a convenient stop for Mila, and she left the ferry there. A short flight of steps from the docks led straight to the library, where a Hylian woman named Alana who worked there was expecting her.

"Welcome, Princess Mila," said Alana. "I know you are eager to start work, so let me show you where we store the materials that you said you are interested in."

Mila had been eager to begin work on the latest Hyrule invasion history and wanted some background information. Her mother had also asked her to look up what she could learn about a past Hyrule hero chronicled under the subject "Oracle of Ages" and "Link's Awakening."

"Thank you for showing me where to find the material, Alana," said Mila after Alana had pointed out all the relevant locations. "I've been here before, but the library is quite extensive."