Love in Zora's Domain

Chapter 13 - Starting School

Summary: More family life as the children begin their homeschooling.

It was a sunny afternoon in Zora's Domain as Mipha and Link sat holding hands while leaning against a tree by Veiled Falls and watching the activity. Sidon was playing water games with Raypha and Tidon. They were racing up and down the waterfall there, and giggling like crazy.

"It's nice to have fun with a young uncle," said Mipha. "I can see they enjoy playing with him more than with us, and he enjoys playing with them too. Soon they can make friends and play with other children too. Are you happy, sweetheart?"

"You have to ask!" said Link. "I couldn't be happier! I still wonder how I came to deserve all this, being with you, having a lovely family. I always thought I would be a loner like I used to be. You made my life complete and rich beyond words."

"As you did mine, sweetheart," said Mipha. "And beyond words certainly fits you."

"Very funny. By the way, Zelda keeps asking me to send her pictures of the children. I think it's her way of reminding me to take pictures as they grow older. But I don't mind them playing with their uncle now. We get to sit here and spend some romantic time together," said Link as he leaned over to kiss her.

"Mmmmm, that was nice," said Mipha as she returned a long kiss, then rested her head on Link's shoulder. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?"

"You don't have to tell me. Actions speak louder ... um, I mean catching is better than clicking," said Link. "And I love you, too. See? My Zora education is improving."

"Yes, that was perfect, sweetheart," said Mipha straightening up. "But you just reminded me. Speaking of education, I need to discuss something important with you, namely our children's education. In the Zora community, parents are responsible for educating their children."

"Really? I guess I never thought about it," said Link. "I'm used to having a school where parents send their children. But you're saying Zora parents educate their children?"

"Yes, by and large," said Mipha. "As you can no doubt tell from your time at the domain, we don't have organized schools. Children often follow in the same profession as their parents, so they generally learn from them. But that's not always true. For example, sometimes people offer to serve as a tutor in a certain subject matter. Someone knowledgeable in architecture, for example, may agree to tutor someone else's child who has an interest in that field. We are a community that supports each other. And, of course, with Father being the king and so busy, I had tutors much as Sidon does. But you and I are going to be Raypha's and Tidon's teachers. Are you comfortable doing that?"

"I don't know," said Link, shaking his head. "I'm not sure what I can teach them."

"You can teach them about the geography of Hyrule and the various peoples who live there. You can teach them about the history of Hyrule while I concentrate on Zora history. We will set aside mornings for instruction and afternoons for physical activity. They can play with friends or Sidon in the afternoon, for example, or go swimming with us. And weekends we all have off. If you or I have some work we need to do, the other parent will take over."

"All right, I guess," said Link a bit tentatively. "I'm willing to give it a try."

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" said Mipha as she put her arm around him. "You seem more nervous about this than facing down a Lynel."

"In a way, I am," said Link. "I was a decent student at school, but by no means one of the smartest or a scholar. I'm afraid of making mistakes and teaching them something wrong."

"Just relax," said Mipha. "We're in this together. I'll help you, and it will be fun for you, getting questions from a Zora perspective. And if you don't know something, I probably do."