Between the Lines || Link x Mipha

Chapter 52: The King of Hyrule

The morning sun peeked through the window. It shined onto Aven's face. The broken king opened his eyes, the vibrancy and life in them now bleak and dull. The bed creaked as he rolled himself out of bed. He placed his hand on the night stand and studied the small photo of him and his family. His arm wrapped around Zelda, her hand wrapped around him. Their free hands rested on young Alivia's shoulders. He looked away from the photo and gently set it face down.

The floorboards hinged and creaked as he gently stepped down the stairs to his kitchen. As he reached the base step, he noticed his triforce necklace hanging proudly on the coat rack. He took it off of the rack and held it close to his chest as he reached for a box full of forgotten knickknacks. He let the necklace slip into the box, and he traveled over to the counter. He cut a thin piece of bread and spread butter on it, not even having the energy and patience to let it toast in the oven. He took a bite of the bland slice and sighed, already too exhausted to eat.

A small knock came from his door, and as he turned towards it, a thin piece of paper, followed by several more, was slid under the door. He dragged his feet over to the mail and fumbled with them as he picked them up. His eyes scanned over the names, plenty of high ranking officials giving him their condolences. He traveled over to his trash bin and threw all of them away except for one. The one he didn't throw away was a letter from Mipha. His heart ached as he knew that she had no idea. Gyan had said that he would not tell Daruk or Mipha, at least not yet. He gave Aven the permission, however, to tell them if he wished.

Aven slowly opened the letter and read through the elegant handwriting:

Dear Aven,

I hope this finds you in good health. It has been quite some time since I have seen you. I just wanted to make sure that all was well. You never showed to Urbosa's funeral, and I assumed it was because of the remembrance to Zelda. Please do know that I am here if you need me. I know how awful it is to lose someone. It is a pain that never truly leaves you...

Aven didn't even finish the letter before he crumpled it up. He held in the tears burning in his throat. The guilt filled him full. He did not want to tell anyone. He wanted to hope that the death of his daughter would fall into obscurity. He wanted people to forget about it. He wanted to forget about it. Although, he knew how furious Alivia would be. The Champions were a big part of her life. They were like her aunts and uncles. He knew that Mipha and Daruk would be heartbroken to be hearing of Alivia's death so late. They were devastated at hearing Urbosa's death. He would hate to bring them the same pain. At the same time, Valik and Liana had no idea either. They were some of her best friends. He knew how petrified they would be. He needed to save them at least a little bit of pain. Better now than later.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Mipha reread Urbosa's words to herself over and over again. She tried to find comfort in them, but instead they only made her realize more and more how her best friend was gone. It made her angry. She hated falling into these ruts over and over. She wished that she could just avoid them, but somehow no matter how hard she tried, she failed. What made her feel so overwhelmed was that she wasn't just reminiscing over her Gerudo friend, it was also for Revali and Link. Three people that she had grown so close to are now gone. Of course at least one of them is coming back, but would he even come back in her lifetime?

A quick knock came from her door, and she hurried over to open it. It was Bazz. He informed her that Aven was waiting for her in the throne room, and she promptly hurried over.

The throne room was like a portal of gloom. As soon as Mipha stepped through the threshold, she felt that something was not right. Something grim had happened. The Zora princess quickly addressed her father and the other council in the room before acknowledging the Hylian king.