Life in Zora's Domain

Chapter 8 - Hyrule Castle Visit

Summary: Mipha and Link have lunch with Princess Zelda, Link has an important discussion with Dr. Purah, and then there is a dinner with King Rhoam.

Mipha, Zelda, and Link sat down together in the dining room for lunch. Mipha and Zelda were still giggling over the prank they had just pulled. Link was trying to move on from his embarrassment.

"I could try pretending I knew you were kidding," said Link, "but I guess my red face gave things away."

"It wasn't just the color of your face," said Zelda. "You should have seen your expression! I almost felt sorry for you."

"Okay, okay," said Link. "I admit you got me. Are you two going to settle down so we can eat?"

The lunch was going to be "family style," and the staff was waiting for Zelda to signal them to serve it.

"I ordered a couple of fish dishes, Mipha, including Hyrule Bass. I hope you like them," said Zelda.

"Thank you, Zelda," said Mipha.

"And Link, since living with Zoras, you must love fish now?" asked Zelda, smiling.

Mipha giggled at first, then both she and Zelda started laughing.

"He does," said Mipha. "He's passionate over fish!"

Zelda doubled over with laughter.

"I don't know what's going through your two minds right now, but I'm starving," said Link.

After their earlier prank, both Mipha and Zelda were still in that giddy mood where everything seems funny.

"Link, you are so much fun to tease!" said Zelda. "We'll lighten up on you now. Let's enjoy lunch." She signaled the staff to serve the food.

The meal was tasty, and he did enjoy the fish dishes. Eventually, the conversation came around to the reason for his visit.

"The Zora Royal Family has decided to put me to work as a roving ambassador," said Link. "I have a letter of introduction from King Dorephan I can give you after lunch to make things official. So one of my duties will be to represent the Zora people in meetings throughout Hyrule, and conversely convey any concerns others may have back to the Zora Royal Family."

"That's an excellent role for you," said Zelda. "You are on good terms with most of Hyrule's peoples and are well respected everywhere. You may need to show a little humility in front of Revali, but I think you can make that situation work too. And this new position may help improve your public speaking. So I, for one, am happy for you and am looking forward to working with you in the future."

"Thank you, Zelda," said Link. "I appreciate your kind remarks. Another reason for our visit is we would like to encourage more tourism to Zora's Domain. We feel we have some beautiful scenery and a good deal of other amenities to offer. With your permission, we would like to visit the larger villages around Hyrule and start discussions about that. We may also like to expand our advertising efforts throughout Hyrule along those lines."

"Of course, you have my permission, and I wish you good luck," said Zelda. "You're going to have some stiff competition from Lurelin Village, but you do have some things to offer that they don't, and people may want a change from there anyway."

"Great, thank you," said Link.

After finishing lunch, Link spoke up.

"If lunch is over, with your permission, I was hoping to discuss something with Dr. Purah," said Link.

"Yes, of course," said Zelda. "Unless you need Mipha with you, I would like to spend some time with her."

"No, I can see Dr. Purah alone. Is that alright with you, Mipha?" said Link.