Rise of the Goddess

Chapter Six - Miko

Zariah's face fell, "So you've been hiding?"

"I haven't been hiding—"

"Yeah you have, you've hidden away from the world," she said, "Why?"

"At this point, I've already been gone for so long,"

"You know I thought you were dead," Miko froze immediately at her words, she continued, "I couldn't think of a single possibility for you going missing like this, I thought either you had gotten lost somewhere or you were dead. But no, you were just hiding. And you didn't think for a moment that Aadil would want to know you were alive? He's been asking, he's held out hope for this long and you've been here this entire time?"

Miko found feeling somewhere in between anger and longing and pain.

"I don't need to hear any more excuses," Zariah said before he could speak up, "I just want to know, what are you going to do now?"

"What?"

"You can't expect me to keep this a secret, I'm telling my mother and father, and next time I see Aadil I'm telling him too,"

"Zariah, please—"

"You've been away for too long,"

"I'm not ready to face them,"

He said the words and he knew they were true, and he knew that by saying them he was practically declaring himself a coward. Zariah's face softened, her head fell, she held her hands together.

"Miko, Hyrule might be in danger, and if things are as bad as I think they are, you might not have a choice," he felt his heart stop, what? "A while ago my mother fell sick, she's been getting a lot worse recently. Me and Aadil started investigating it, kind of, and Aadil got attacked at the old Yiga Clan Hideout in the Gerudo Desert. I keep having these... these visions, and every single one seems to suggest that there's something more to it all," she looked up at him again, "If this really is as bad as these visions keep suggesting, Hyrule might be in the most danger it's been in since—"

"Since Bahuma,"

He noticed her flinch horribly at his name.

"Yeah,"

What she said seemed to flush out all of his cowardly excuses and reasons, the attack so long ago, it all became pointless. He was an idiot, he wasn't surprised, he was used to being an idiot. But now, he would have to step up. He was a Champion, he was one of Hyrule's heroes, he was the — abdicated — Prince of the Zora, and he had a duty to act as such.

And then there was Aadil. He still remembered meeting him for the first time, it hadn't felt like too long ago. All it took was a few encounters with the Chief of the Gerudo and Miko knew that he loved him, truly loved him. He abdicated the throne for him, to be able to spend his life with him. And now here he was, hiding in the middle of a jungle, ashamed to hear his name. He knew his feelings hadn't gone away, but now it was only ever coupled with shame.

He would go to Hyrule with Zariah, he would help in the fight.

"I've been an idiot," he said finally,

Zariah smiled, "It's about time you finally saw that,"

Miko straightened up, "Alright, I'm going to help," he said, "I'll go back to Hyrule Castle with you, I'll tell everyone myself,"

Her smile widened, "I can't tell you how happy I am to hear that,"

"So when do we go?"

It turned out they left immediately. Zariah led him to where she and her guard had left their horses nearby, she and her guard took her horse and left Miko with the guards. It was weird riding a horse, he'd never really done it before. He usually just traveled up rivers, but he rode along with them this once.