A Love Too Strong ( MiphLink fanfic)

Chapter 11: Thunderous Reunion

Link and Mipha stepped out of the mines and took time to suck in as much of the non-stale air as they could. Link stretched, his shoulder popped audibly.

"That shounded painful, Link. Are you still injured?" Mipha asked.

"Nah, just strained it a bit." Link answered. "Wanna head down to Nirvata Lake and take a dip, maybe catch some fish?"

"Of, course love." Mipha answered with a smile.

They slowly climbed down the slopes of the mountain until they reached the bottom. Link managed to snag a couple of rushrooms along the way and they made their way to the lake. The lake was crystal clear and the sound of the nearby waterfall coming down from Nirvata Plateau was soothing to his ears. Link removed his boots and rolled his pants up to stick his feet in the water. He noticed his Hylian tunic was badly damaged and would need it repaired. He decided while Mipha swam he would work on his sketch some more he had started at Fort Hateno. They needed a short break after the venture into the mines. It was still early.

Mipha needed to swim occasionally to keep her skin from drying out but it was also an activity she quite enjoyed. She managed to catch a couple of hearty bass too which was always a plus. They were a more rare, meatier breed of bass and they raised the natural vitality of anyone who ate them. She dove down to the bottom of the lake and saw something exciting. It was an old wooden trunk partially stuck in the muck. She pulled at it with everything she had but it wasn't coming loose. She drew her trident and used the shaft and butt to slowly loosen the chest from the mud and it eventually loosened enough she could pry it out. 

Link heard a splash and saw the wooden trunk now floating on the surface. Mipha surfaced not long after and began pushing it to the bank.

"Link, look! I wonder what's inside?" She exclaimed.

Link helped her pull it ashore.

"You found it, you get the honors." Link said to her, instructing her to open it with his hands.

As she popped the latch and tipped it to drain the water, some random objects fell out. A rusty old compass, a broken fishing rod. It must have belonged to a fisherman that lived nearby but, there was something useful still. Underneath the rusted fishing gear was what remained of a rupee wallet and inside, after they washed the mud off, was 2 shining red rupees.

"Good find, Mipha." Link smiled. "I wouldn't have even been able to make out what that was."

"Hee-hee." She giggled excitedly as she handed them to him.

Link caught something out of the corner of his eyes in the distance that interrupted his focus. It looked to be the silhoette of a man walking down the road away from Hateno Village, near Camphor Pond. Link rubbed his eyes to make sure he really saw what he was seeing. The man had the same old fishing hat, beard and waders on that the fisherman he got the boat from near Goponga village had on. 

"It's him.." Link said to her.

"Who?" Mipha responded.

"The man I got the boat from that helped me save you." Link responded, he began to run in the man's direction as Mipha attempted to keep up on foot. 

'HEY!" Link called as loudly as he could as they approached. The man saw them approaching in a fit and stopped.

"Well, now. If it isn't the young soldier from the Zora River." He said chuckling. "In a hurry again I see."

"Hey...you...I....thank.." Link was trying to talk and catch his breath at the same time.

"Slow down and catch your breath, son." The old man responded. He looked at Mipha and gave her a warm smile. If Link almost swore he noticed tears glistening on the mans cheeks.