Seashells | BotW

Chapter 10 -

T.w.
Stabbing
Violence
Mentions of Death
Guilt

3rd person POV

King Dorphan congratulated Link, and he had given Link a treasure that was deeply valued by the Zora people. He was told it would be in a chest.

Link walked over to the small chest on the ground next to him. He reached down to open it, but Muzu stopped him by pressing down against the top of the chest.

"King Dorphan, if I may.." he began. "I don't believe such a beloved treasure should be given to a Hylian such as him," he scowled. King Dorphan hummed deeply.

"And why do you feel this way, Muzu?" He asked. "After all, Link is the Hylian Champion chosen to fight off the Calamity. I believe such an item would be useful to him." Muzu scoffed.

"Yes, but need I remind you that he alone is the cause of Lady Mipha's fate?" Link frowned. He hated the guilt that came with that title. The Hylian who caused Mipha's death. He hated it. He wished it would stop.

"Muzu!" Sidon chimed it. "I do not believe that my sister's death was entirely Link's fault. In fact, I don't believe Link was with her. She was stationed inside of Ruta, was she not?" Muzu growled.

"Muzu, I didn't do anything to Mipha-" Link's sentence was quickly cut short by Muzu pressing his spear against his throat and pushing him to the ground. The cold metal spearhead stung Link's skin.

"You keep her name out of your mouth!" Muzu yelled. He pressed the spear harder against Link's throat, almost breaking the skin on his neck. Link strained and grabbed Muzu's spear, trying to push him off of him.

"I- I don't remember much about her," Link groaned out, "but I've never intentionally hurt someone I've been with!" Muzu growled at him, raised his spear high above his head, and slammed it downwards. Link was barely able to move out of the way and avoid being stabbed.

"Muzu.." King Dorphan boomed. "Why do you behave this way?"

"Because, King Dorphan, this Hylian is-" Muzu was quickly interrupted by a quiet, bold voice.

"No, Muzu," Link said. "I'm not the cause of Mipha's death, so don't even say it. She wasn't with me. And there was no way for me to protect her, even if she was. If I wasn't able to save myself from death, how was I supposed to save Mipha!?" Muzu pointed his spear at Link's throat again, stopping suddenly when the spearhead was barely an inch away from his skin. Link didn't flinch.

"You dare speak to an elder that way!?" Muzu yelled. "You will always be inferior to me, no matter what you do." Link smirked.

"What, me?" He asked smugly. "Or Hylians?" Muzu growled. "Need I remind you that a Hylian is currently the only thing keeping Calamity Ganon at bay? That a Hylian calmed Vah Ruta? That Hylians are the only reason the Calamity hasn't completely taken over Hyrule?"

"That a Hylian couldn't save Lady Mipha?" Muzu countered.

"That Lady Mipha couldn't even save the love of her life?" Link said boldly. Muzu yelled loudly and raised his spear again, stabbing it into Link's leg.

"You will never speak of Lady Mipha that way again!" He screamed at Link, who was groaning in pain on the floor. Sidon stepped in and pulled Muzu away from the wounded Hylian. Muzu let go of his spear, leaving it sustained in Link's flesh.

"Muzu!" Sidon yelled at him. "How yould you do such a thing to Link?" Bazz sat next to Link and helped him bandage his leg. The spearhead had moved around in his leg, making the wound larger and deeper than it normally would have been. Bazz was almost afraid that, even if the bleeding stopped, it would likely open up again in the future if it was put through too much strain.

"King Dorphan," Muzu said, ignoring Sidon, Link and Bazz. "I have been meaning to speak with you about something for quite some time." Dorphan hummed hesitantly.

"Very well..." he spoke. Muzu cleared his throat. Not like it did anything for his voice.

"I have been speaking with the other elders for a while, and we have come up with a new law." He spoke with an unhealthy amount of pride in his voice. "We have decided it would be best to ban Hylians from entering the Zora's Domain." Dorphan gasped quietly.

"And why have you decided this?" Dorphan asked. Sidon wanted to speak up, but, for the first time in his life, he was afraid of Muzu in that moment.

"Well, Hylians seem to bring only bad things to us," Muzu explained. "For example, Lady Mipha's death." Bazz quickly covered Link's mouth before he said anything. He wouldn't risk Muzu hurting Link any more than he already had. Link grumbled softly. "And, we Zora can fend for ourselves without their aid. Seggin was more than capable enough to tame that Divine Beast, Ruta."

"Then why didn't he- !?" Bazz covered Link's mouth again. Muzu scoffed at Link.

"And," he continued. "The Hylians don't belong here, anyway. They have the rest of Hyrule to inhabit; why must they be here, of all places?" Dorphan hummed softly.

"If I may, father?" Sidon chimed it politely.

"You may," King Dorphan responded.

"Thank you," Sidon smiled. "The Hylian Champion has taken refuge here because he has been very busy calming Ruta. If anything, he may be an even stronger warrior than all of us Zora combined!" He looked over at Muzu. "No Hylian has intentionally harmed any of us. In fact, I believe a young Hylian actually saved a member of Zora royalty hundreds, maybe thousands of years before this Hyrulian land even existed! They've never wished harm on us, nor have they brought any kind of damage to our lovely Domain!" Muzu scoffed.

"And how do you use this to cast aside Lady Mipha's death?" Muzu asked him.

"I was not casting my sister's death aside, Muzu," Sidon explained. "I said nothing of the sort. I miss my sister dearly; you know this." Muzu scoffed.

"Continue, Sidon," King Dorphan said to him. Sidon nodded firmly.

"Muzu, you say that Seggin could have appeased Vah Ruta alone, yes?" Muzu nodded. "So you believe he could take on that Lynel on Ploymus Mountain? That would be much easier of a task, would it not?" Muzu's smile disappeared. "You also say that Hylians don't belong here. If no Hylians come here, they cannot share their stories of the world outside of the Domain. They also cannot sell us their wares. Hylians are the only reason we have a store here, Muzu. They being us Arrows and Rock Salt, and they buy our fish." Muzu scoffed.

"King Dorphan?" Muzu asked. "Your thoughts on this?" Dorphan hesitated for a moment before responding.

"Muzu, your defenses for keeping Hylians out of the Domain is overturned," he spoke out. Muzu gasped softly.

"What does that mean?" Link asked Bazz quietly.

"It means his argument isn't as strong as Sidon's, and Sidon won," Bazz explained quietly to Link.

"Muzu." King Dorphan boomed again. "You are excused from this throne room." Muzu calmed down and looked up at King Dorphan.

"..sir?" He asked, his voice shaking.

"Out. Now." Muzu scoffed and left the room, scowling at Link as he passed him.

"I did it, Link," Sidon smiled at the Champion as he sat down on the floor next to him. Link smiled weakly and hugged Sidon tightly.

"Thank you, Sidon. Thank you so much."