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.

"That's fine. I would enjoy spending some time with Zelda," said Mipha.

"I wanted to let you both know that the three of us will be having dinner with my father this evening," said Zelda. "He especially wanted to congratulate you both, since he could not attend your wedding and hasn't seen you since the victory celebrations here."

"Of course," said Mipha. "We would be honored."

"Alright. I'll catch up with you both later," said Link. "And please, no more pranks!"

They all got up from the table. Mipha and Zelda wandered off together, and Link headed over to the research lab where Dr. Purah worked when she wasn't in Hateno Village.

"Hello, Dr. Purah," said Link.

"Hello, Link. I hope you're well. And I hope our meeting today will be less dramatic than last time," said Purah, thinking back to Zelda's infection.

"Yes, indeed!" Link laughed. "I wanted to speak to you about something I brought back with my notes from the other timeline. In that timeline, you were working on a Sheikah Slate rune that could reverse aging. You were also working on the opposite, an age boosting rune. You were able to get the anti-aging rune to work, but all too well: you overexposed yourself to it, and it regressed you to the body of a six-year-old girl."

"Really! That must have been interesting," she laughed. "You say you brought back information about it?"

"Yes. The pronouns are confusing, but you gave me a copy of your research notes to take back with me and share it with you. Perhaps, if you have time, you could take a look and see if they could help you develop something along those lines."

"Certainly, I will take a look at this. It would be of great benefit if we could perfect this," Purah said.

"Yes. And it would be of particular personal benefit to me. Hylians age faster than Zoras. If Mipha and I have a family, I would love to have more time with Mipha and see our children grow up together, " said Link.

"I completely understand. I'm sure King Rhoam and Princess Zelda would not mind me spending the time to research this as it would be of widespread benefit. I'll read over my notes and see what I can learn," she said. "I also have the Sheikah Slate Zelda was going to use last time."

As she spoke, Purah glanced at the top page of the notes Link had given her and saw an envelope attached to the front addressed to her. Inside was a letter which she opened, read, and started laughing.

"I see I still had a sense of humor in my old age," Purah said.

The letter began, "Dear Me, You are not as smart as I am now but hopefully smart enough. I tried to make my notes as simple as possible. Good luck!" It was signed "Dr. Purah."

"Okay, Link, leave this to me. I will start working on this," said Purah.

"Thank you," said Link. "This means the world to me."

Link spent the rest of the afternoon sightseeing. It was a pleasure to see the area in its original form, not the wasteland he remembered. Castle Town was bustling with shops and merchants. And the architecture in and around the castle itself was superb. He had no idea where Mipha and Zelda were, but soon it was time to get ready for dinner. Zelda had made the royal guest room available for them again, and he headed there to freshen up. He found Mipha already there.

"Did you have a good time with Zelda?" Link asked.

"Yes, she was very nice. We had a nice long chat, and I feel I know her a lot better now. I enjoyed it," said Mipha.

Mipha put on her royal headpiece for dinner. Link wore his Zora armor. When the time came, an attendant knocked on their door and offered to escort them to the dining room. When they arrived at the King's dining room, Zelda was already there.

"Welcome, Princess Mipha and Sir Link," said King Rhoam. "I am happy to have the chance to see you again and finally offer my congratulations and best wishes on your marriage."

Link knelt on one knee and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty." Then he rose. Mipha bowed her head and said. "Thank you, Your Majesty, and thank you for seeing us. My father sends his greetings."

"And I to him, please," said King Rhoam. "King Dorephan and I go way back together, and I have always had the greatest respect for him. Now before I start making speeches, let's all sit down and enjoy dinner."

The dinner was excellent, as was the conversation. King Rhoam's knowledge of Hyrule and its affairs was extensive. He questioned Mipha in detail about how the Zora community was faring and could he help with anything. Zelda was also very knowledgeable and was an active participant in the discussions. And Link was even more impressed by how much Mipha knew about Hyrule, and her ability to converse on equal terms with Princess Zelda and King Rhoam. It was a side of her he hadn't seen much, but it shouldn't have surprised him. Mipha often came across to those who didn't know her as shy and quiet. But in reality, once you did get to know her, you realized she was brilliant, self-confident, and extraordinarily capable. Her quietness reflected her kindness and consideration. Link recalled it was Mipha who mastered her Divine Beast faster than any of the other Champions. He ended up doing a good deal more listening than talking this evening. He had a lot to learn before he could consider himself in their league.

During a break in their conversation, King Rhoam said, "I understand that in future, Link, you will be the Zora ambassador here?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. I still have a lot to learn, but I do have an excellent teacher," Link said with a nod toward Mipha.

"Well, you are always welcome here, as Zora ambassador or otherwise. I hope you are keeping up with your combat skills in case we ever need you again," said King Rhoam.

"Well, Your Majesty, I try to keep in shape. But, frankly, I hope my skills won't ever be needed again in that way. However, if they are, I promise I will be ready. Is there something specific troubling Your Majesty?" said Link.

"No, nothing in particular. It's probably a needless worry," said King Rhoam. "But knowing that you're ready if needed makes me feel better."

The meal ended, and everyone said good-night and good-bye. Mipha and Link would be leaving the next morning for Kakariko Village. But Zelda wanted another word with them first.

"Father, I'm going to walk our guests back to their room," said Zelda. As they passed a sitting area, Zelda asked them both to sit down.

"I didn't want to discuss this in front of my father, but I am going to assign four members of the Royal Guards to accompany you on the remainder of your trip," said Zelda.

"Is that necessary?" said Link.

"Maybe not, but I would very much rather be safe than sorry. My concern is the Yiga Clan. Ganon's defeat was a bitter loss for them, and they are no doubt licking their wounds. But they would love nothing better than to take some solace by ambushing a famous Champion and the Hero of Hyrule alone on the road. They don't attack in numbers but prefer stealth and disguise, often pretending to be single travelers walking along the road. Living in Zora's Domain may have made you somewhat complacent. The Zoras guard their kingdom well, and the Yiga can't disguise themselves as Zoras so that any spies would be quickly spotted. The same goes for the Rito Village and Goron City areas. And Lurelin Village is kept very safe as well to protect their tourism. But Kakariko Village is a Sheikah outpost and has had a history of Yiga Clan infiltration. The journey to Kakariko Village takes about eight hours from here, but you can stop at the Wetland Stables along the way after four. The road between Kakariko and Hateno villages is a six-hour ride with no stables on the way. There are some isolated places along your route, so I insist on assigning you an escort. I will feel much better, knowing you are safe. At the same time, you, yourselves, should also remain vigilant," said Zelda.

"Alright," said Link. "And thank you, Zelda."

They said good night. Now Link wasn't so sure it was a good idea Mipha accompanied him on this trip. The thought she might be in danger made him feel sick. Well, it was too late now. He would have to keep his guard up from now on.