As the days went by Link became more comfortable in his position. He attended council meetings, helped coordinate projects, met with representatives of the various races who had business with the Zora kingdom, and he did a little combat training for anyone interested. The latter was more of a sidelight but helped him keep in shape. He balanced that with personal time with Mipha and family time with Sidon.

Two anniversaries were coming up in the next few weeks: the one-year victory celebration was in two weeks, and a month after that was their wedding anniversary. Was it a year already? The time had gone fast. The victory celebration was a little confusing. In his head, of course, he had fought Ganon twice, though, in reality, only the second time happened.

For the victory celebration, each community was having its own party to honor their Champion. As Hyrule Hero, Link was invited to all of them, but he could only attend one, and that would be the Zora party. He owed each invitation a response though, and he sat down to compose his replies.

He started with the Goron invitation. The letter began with the customary wording that he was cordially invited to attend, etc., etc. But Daruk had written a personal note at the end.

"Hey little guy, I know you're a Zora now so probably can't attend. But I hope you're in the neighborhood sometime, and we can get together. Best wishes to Mipha. Oh, and if you do come, don't forget to bring plenty of elixirs! Your friend, Daruk."

He wrote a friendly note to Daruk in reply saying that he missed his big buddy and hoped he would get a chance to visit soon.

The next invitation was from the Gerudo. He was a little sorry to miss this celebration. It would be the one day the Gerudo opened Gerudo Town to males, so he could legally enter there. Again there was a personal note at the bottom of the form letter, this time from Urbosa.

"Dear Link, I know you will be celebrating with your wife and family in Zora's Domain, but wanted you to know that you are always welcome here. We can meet at the Kara Kara Bazaar if you visit. Give my love to Mipha. Sincerely, Urbosa."

He wrote a personal note back.

"Dear Urbosa, Thank you for the invitation, and I am sorry I cannot attend since I will be in Zora's Domain. As someone who knows my true story, you know I have fond memories of Gerudo Town and regret this one opportunity to enter it legally! Please enjoy the celebration, and I hope we can see each other soon. Mipha sends her love. Sincerely, Link."

Next was the Rito invitation. As expected there was no personal note at the end of this one. He wished Revali could put aside their differences and move on. In any case, he would do the right thing and write a personal note back.

"Dear Revali, Thank you for the invitation. As you know, I will be unable to attend since I am now a member of the Zora community. However, I hope I can visit Rito Village at some point. I would be grateful for any archery pointers you could give me since you are recognized as the greatest archer in all of Hyrule. Best wishes, Link."

Well, he did his best to break the ice. We'll see, he thought. The final invitation was from Hyrule Castle. Again there was the usual form letter, but Princess Zelda had written a personal note at the end.

"Dear Link, I know you will be attending the Zora celebration with Mipha and her family, but I wanted to express my thanks for all you did for Hyrule and repeat you are always welcome here. We miss you and hope you can find an opportunity to visit soon. Please give my love to Mipha and enjoy the celebration with your family. Your dearest friend, Zelda."

He wrote his reply.

"Dear Zelda, Thank you for your invitation and kind words. As you know, I will be attending the celebration in Zora's Domain. But you and I both know we could not have been victorious without each other, and you will be in my thoughts as we celebrate our victory. I look forward to seeing you whenever I have the chance. I always enjoy our visits: who else brings you so much laughter when teasing! Mipha sends her love, and we both hope to see you soon. Your friend and most loyal subject, Link."

Yes, he remembered he was still a Hylian subject too.

That took care of the victory celebration invitations. Now he needed to work on the other more personal anniversary.

As it turned out the next item on his agenda was a meeting with a Gerudo representative named Kyra. They met and introduced themselves, then sat down. They discussed a few things of importance. One was the Gerudo's work containing the Yiga Clan, something he had a keen personal interest in. Kyra said they were doing their best to monitor the Yiga Clan hideout and any Yiga comings and goings. But it was difficult to track them because of their technology and teleportation ability. Next, they discussed tourism. The Zora could not visit the desert climate where the Gerudo lived, so tourism there was out of the question. Link thought perhaps some Gerudo might want to visit the Domain to enjoy some variety of scenery. It didn't rain as much in the Domain as, for example, Lurelin Village, and he knew some Gerudo who visited Lurelin quickly grew tired of the rain. Anyway, after the business part of their discussion was over Link had a personal request.

"Kyra, I wonder if I could ask a favor of you. My one year wedding anniversary is coming up, and I would like to get something nice. I know you have an excellent jewelry shop back home called Starlight Memories. I wonder, if I described what I needed and gave you the funds, would you do me the favor of purchasing it and having it sent here?" said Link.

Kyra looked at him with a funny expression.

"I certainly don't mind doing you a favor," she said. "But can I ask how you know about Starlight Memories? Males are forbidden to enter Gerudo Town."

He smiled. "It's a long story and probably wouldn't interest you," Link said. "But I have it on good authority it's an excellent jewelry shop."

"Alright, what would you like?" said Kyra.

He wanted a pendant with three perfect sapphires in a gold setting in the form of the Zora symbol and attached to a beautiful gold chain. He supplied Kyra with a picture.

When time permitted, Link had been harvesting Luminous Stones around the area and selling them as well as some other items he no longer needed. So he had accumulated a tidy sum of rupees by now.

"Here are 5,000 rupees," he said. "Please negotiate a good price and keep the rest as your commission."

"I will negotiate an excellent price for you," said Kyra. "But I do not need any commission. I am happy to do a favor for the Hero of Hyrule and friend of Chief Urbosa and will return any change along with the jewelry. When do you need this?"

"No later than six weeks," said Link.

"I will be sure to get it to you by then if I have to hire a Rito to fly it here," said Kyra.

"Thank you," said Link. "Have a safe journey home and give my regards to Chief Urbosa if you get the chance."

He hoped that would take care of the second anniversary and Mipha would like the gift. What do you get a princess, after all?

During the next two weeks, many people in the Domain were busy making preparations for the party. King Dorephan had declared that day a holiday. Mipha as Zora Champion would be the guest of honor, but she told the organizers Link should share the honor with her. He felt uncomfortable with that and wished she would leave him off, but she insisted. And he would not like to be in the shoes of anyone who suggested otherwise! Mipha was kind and gentle by nature, but had a temper too and was not hesitant to remind anyone who needed reminding of her position in the Zora hierarchy.

Finally, the day of the celebration came. King Dorephan gave a short speech reminding the audience of the heroic efforts of Princess Zelda, Link, and all of the Champions. He said how proud he was in particular of his daughter Mipha's role and how fortunate they were to have the Hero of Hyrule as part of their family now. The crowd applauded at all the right places. Now, King Dorephan said, let's all have a good time and enjoy the party. Fortunately, that was all the speeches.

Zoras loved music, and there was plenty of it.

"Lady Mipha, would you do me the honor of the next dance?" said Link.

"Let me check my dance card to see if I can squeeze you in," said Mipha. "It looks like I might have room."

They danced together for the first time since their wedding reception and kept dancing until they were both too tired. Zoras knew how to party, Link thought, and he wished they would do it more often.

Besides music and dancing, there was entertainment as well. One was a waterfall race to see who could swim up the fastest. Another was a diving competition. And there was also a speed swimming competition. He enjoyed watching how skilled the Zoras were at all those things. Sidon was busy running around with friends from school, and they hoped he wouldn't cause any mischief. But it was just a fun day to relax and let off some steam together. The party went late into the evening, and by the end, everyone went home happy but exhausted. There would be no early risers next morning.