Life in Zora's Domain

Chapter 26 - Twilight Memories

Summary: A kiss is just a kiss? Maybe not. There is more to Midna's gift than meets the eye.

"Daddy's home!" shouted Midon, who was first home from school. Mila was right behind him. They both rushed to hug him. He hugged them both and gave them each a kiss.

"I missed both of you so much!" said Link. "It's nice to be home." He had returned home earlier that day from his adventure in the Twilight Realm and Gerudo desert.

"Mommy said when we're older, you can tell us about your adventures," said Midon.

"Sure, when you're older, Midon," said Link. "I would like that."

"Feels good to be missed, doesn't it?" laughed Mipha.

"Yes, but I'd rather not have to be missed," said Link. "How about after homework and dinner we play in one of the pools for a bit?"

The pools under the throne room weren't huge, but there was enough room to have some water fun with small children. The area was generally pretty empty until the evening. So, after dinner, they headed to the pool area and jumped into the water. After splashing around and playing for a bit, Mila kept finding excuses to hang onto Link.

"Daddy, hold me," said Mila.

"Of course," said Link as Mila put her arms around his neck while they were both floating upright in the pool. Then Mila laid her head on his shoulder.

"I think Daddy's little princess missed him," Mipha laughed.

"Mommy said you went to a place with no water," said Mila. "It must be terrible."

"Yes, it's called a desert, and there is very little water, mostly sand," said Link. "It is hard to live there. It gets hot in the day and cold at night. And sometimes there are storms of blowing sand. But for races that don't need so much water, it has some beauty. The sky is almost always clear, and there are large palm trees and groups of plants in places. And they have fun by racing across the sand pulled by friendly animals called Sand Seals."

"Do you have friends there?" said Mila.

"There is only one person there that I know, and she is not exactly a friend," said Link. "She was more of a friend of Princess Zelda's mother. You met her on our trip to Hyrule Castle. She is Lady Urbosa."

"I remember now," said Mila. "I spoke Gerudo to her. She was nice."

"Okay," said Mipha to the children finally. "We need to get home and to bed."

The sun was setting when they got back to their room, and a change of lighting from the painting of the Twilight Palace that Princess Midna had given him caught Link's eye. He had hung the picture near the entrance. Instead of the palace, he saw a portrait of Midna. The image was there for a moment or two and then faded. Well, that was interesting. Twili technology carried over to their paintings too. It was no coincidence that this happened at twilight. He would have to show Mipha next time.

The next day there was a Council of Elders meeting, which King Dorephan was chairing. Both Mipha and Link attended.

"The first item on the agenda is a brief report from Link regarding his mission in the Gerudo Desert," said King Dorephan. "This topic has a bearing on the next item I would like to mention. By the way, Lady Urbosa sent a very gracious thank-you note to me expressing gratitude to the Zora community for the contributions our citizen Link made to the Gerudo Desert mission's success. I'll pass it around if anyone cares to read it."

Link proceeded to give an abbreviated version of the events that transpired. There were a few questions about the Twili at the end of his remarks, most of which he couldn't answer due to a lack of knowledge. When there were no more questions, King Dorephan continued.