Beauty In The Water | A Mipha and Revali Fanfiction

Uneasy Waters

Meanwhile, down in the depths of the ocean, King Dorephan of the zora let out a long, and aggravated sigh.

Standing in front of him were three zora soldiers, two of them holding tridents while the third could hold only his wits.

Hidden behind the arc of the doorway, Dorephan's daughter watched the entire exchange intently. She'd meant to ask her father something until she noticed he was preoccupied.

"You mean to tell me..." the king began, fixating his imposing gaze on the trio, "that you attacked hylian fishermen?!"

His voice was so loud it nearly shook the entire throne room. Mipha could practically feel it in the wall she had her hand lightly resting on.

The soldiers were now trembling in their fins.

The zora without a trident spoke up; it'd be rude not to answer his majesty's question.

"In all fairness, your excellency, they ran into us. Their boats were well out at sea while we were on patrol and one of them crashed into Finbar," he explained, and the other two nodded vigorously to back up his claim.

"They probably thought we were fish; we had no choice but to fight back!" Finbar exclaimed. "For all we know we could've been taken back to the mainland, fried, get turned into dinner, and—"

"Silence!" King Dorephan interrupted him, causing the throne room to tremor again.

He paused to collect himself before continuing.

"While I understand the situation, they didn't attack you first, and you shouldn't have attacked back! Do you know how high tensions are have been running between us? We've been entangled in this awful conflict for the last century!" He bellowed, following it up with another exasperated huff.

There was silence for a while, as they all waited for what the king said next.

"You three will not be going on any more patrols for the next month, and neither will you serve in the guard. You shall only be reinstated once you prove to me that you can behave yourselves appropriately," he declared.

The trio opened their mouths to protest before Dorephan interrupted them again.

"You are dismissed. Please get out of my sights this instant," he said, looking down on them with narrowed eyes.

So, rather than persisting further, all three zoras swam out of the throne room, shame on each of their faces.

Mipha watched them intently and waited until they were completely gone before making her presence known.

She swam gracefully into the center of the throne room. It took a moment or so until Dorephan noticed her, for he had brought a fin to cushion his tired face.

"Er- father?" Mipha asked, her voice not far above a whisper.

The king looked left and right before he finally directed his attention down to his daughter.

"Ah, Mipha, I didn't notice you," he chuckled, rather happily considering he'd just gotten done reprimanding members of his guard.

The young princess nodded her head and flashed him a smile back before continuing.

"What's exactly been going on? Have the hylians finally waged an attack?" She asked, worry lining her voice, to which her father shook his head.

"No, darling, they haven't. Although by now, tensions are starting to grow too close for comfort," the king confessed, readjusting himself on his throne.

"This could lead to war," he said, causing shivers to run down Mipha's tail.

"So then...what should we do to prevent it?" She asked hesitantly.

The water around them felt heavy. Dorephan could only silently shake his head.

"I'm afraid that battle might be eminent, my child, and just as you're coming of age to be wed as well. How inconvenient," he replied, making his daughter's stomach twist.

It had been awfully irritating to hear of how she was on the brink of time to be married off to who only knows.

But there was almost no point in trying to fight against it. Age old zora tradition was often difficult.

"It truly is..." Mipha answered, a solemn tone to her voice. "What has the oracle said?"

This oracle the princess spoke of was a wise old zora who lived near the edge of the reef. She provided all the guidance the people or the royal family needed, and at a time like this, they needed it now more than ever.

Dorephan let out a perplexed hum.

"She has yet to say anything. As a matter of fact, not many have seen her outside of her grotto in quite a while," he explained, causing Mipha to raise an eyebrow.

"Why's that? You'd think she'd be better willing to help us these days," she said, gently tugging on the ends of the silver cuffs on her wrists.

"I completely agree, but alas, I think the anxiety has gotten to her too," he replied.

"Perhaps you and Sidon could go talk to her."

At the mention of the princess's younger brother, a tiny red blur could be seen darting from one of the hallways and into the throne room.

Seconds later, Mipha felt her body get trapped in a tight embrace holding her hostage.

"Hello to you too, little one," she giggled, stroking his crested head as he laughed along with her.

Sidon pulled away soon enough for her to soak in his happy little face. He had two of the biggest and pearliest eyes in the whole sea, and he was sporting his usual toothy smile.

"Ah, my son," King Dorephan beamed, a proud smile lining his huge face, "why don't you and Mipha swim by the oracle's grotto later today?"

At the mention of this, the young princess could see the bubbling excitement filling her younger brother's eyes.

Mipha on the other hand, seemed nervous.

The oracle's grotto happened to be located especially close to the reef, where no zora was  allowed to cross. Not to mention it was incredibly far and surrounded by all kinds of hostile creatures.

"Are you sure, father?" She asked, gently peeling Sidon off her. "I don't know if Sidon's exactly fit to go—"

"Nonsense!" Her father reassured in his incredibly loud voice. "You're one of the domain's greatest healers and your skill with the trident is unmatched," he said.

Mipha felt a tug, this time on her wrist, and upon seeing her little brother's ecstatic gaze, she realized it'd be difficult to say no.

And either way, surely braving through some murky water and lizalfoses would be a fair exchange for no war.

"Well then, I don't why not," she replied, after gently giving Sidon's hand a squeeze and sighing.