Malice's POV

It's Black Friday. While the others go into town to buy materialistic things with the belief that they are, in reality, saving money by spending it, Zelda forces me to go hiking with her.

"I don't mind staying by myself again," I say as she closes the door behind me. My skin is already clammy from the humidity in the air, and the ground is soft from last night's rainfall. The sky has cleared, and a refreshing breeze shakes the thick clusters of lush green leaves.

"We need some fresh air," Zelda counters. "We deserve a little break, don't you think?"

"We?" I lazily arch an eyebrow at her. "Why do you need a break? A break from what?"

"I've been balancing school and taking care of you all semester. So I haven't had much time for fun activities."

"First of all, hiking is not a fun activity. Secondly, you hung out with friends all the time. You had a fucking bonfire at the beach for your birthday, remember?"

She ignores me because she knows I'm right.

We follow a pebbled path that begins at the end of her backyard and winds its way up the mountain. I'm dressed in  cumulative hand-me-downs: Zelda's worn-out hiking boots, Mipha's gray cotton shorts, Link's old badminton club T-shirts, and that save-the-environment-crap-cap I wore on our way here. Zelda says the cap isn't necessary but I am not willing to risk getting recognized.

"The only people who know about this path are my mother and I," she claims. "And, well... it's not like my mother could tell anyone. So I think you're safe."

She lacks any sense of humor, but because I pity her, I give her half a laugh. "What if someone tracks your phone though?" I ask.

"That's more likely," she admits with a hint of bitterness. "My father used to track me."

"Zelda," I quickly stop in my tracks, "what if Ganondorf—"

"Don't worry," she interrupts with a carefree smile. "There is no signal on this side of the mountain. See?" She holds up her phone to show me a message to her friend:

*Good morning Urbosa! I tried calling you last night, I just wanted to wish you and Riju a happy Thanksgiving! Let's get together soon!*

Beneath her message, a red text reads Failed to send.

"No service. So no one can track us. You're safe," she tells me with that fairy tale grin. "Sorry if I scared you. I'm not good with sarcasm."

I could easily get back at her but there's no point. I know she means well. So I just give her a shrug. "Nah, we're cool."

She looks like she's won an oscar. All proud and in disbelief. All I said is we're cool. I don't know why that gets her so excited.

We continue up the mountain in silence. I'm over here swatting the mosquitoes and dodging spider webs while Zelda hums to herself, brushing overgrown weeds with her fingers as she passes them, as if she was the princess in some kitsch Disney movie. Maybe she thinks those plants find pleasure in her gentle touch.

Walking a few feet behind her, I begin to wonder if she's forgetting that I'm here. She looks like she's too focused on nature to notice anything that doesn't have roots.

The path is densely enclosed by shrubs and trees, leaving only small gaps to glimpse the view stretching out behind the forest. The sun is hardly reaching us either. But the way scattered sunbeams come streaming down through the high tree crowns looks kinda cool.

Zelda cautions me to walk slowly, warning that the ground might be a bit muddy and slippery in spots. Ignoring her advice, I almost dive headfirst into a large blob of dirt. She catches me two seconds too late and helps me back up. I don't say anything.

Continuing in silence once again, I flick some of the leaves she so gently brushes with her hands. Hiking is peaceful, sure, but it's also boring and my lungs are not used to the thin air, and my legs are shaking from the strain, and my back is dripping in sweat.

"How much longer are we going to hike for?" I ask when the path becomes steeper and steeper.

"We'll get there in about an hour."

"Fuck," I wheeze.

"It's worth it. You'll see."

I groan loud enough for her to make a snarky comment about me being an impatient toddler. I let her roast me. It's whatever. I don't have the lung power to insult her right now.

A few minutes later when the path becomes walkable again, Zelda starts asking me random questions to fill the silence.

"If I remember correctly, you said you were a law student, right?" she says.

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Impa is pre-law as well."

I'm surprised, and though I don't show a reaction, Zelda continues as if I had.

"I think you should re-enroll in school."

"And get killed? Ganondorf would instantly find me there. He has people working at HU, you know? Not worth the $180K of student debt for a piece of paper that makes me eligible to work as a waitress. I think I'll stick to my plan of crossing the border." As if I wasn't going to get killed there all the same... "What's your major?" I ask her back before the mood gets all weird.

"Political science and biology."

I pick up a neat stick and, with a rhythmic rasp, drag it along the trees that border the trail. "Your dad made you, didn't he?"

"Yes and no. I didn't necessarily want to study politics, but biology is actually my passion."

"What about biology intrigues you?"

She turns around with a smile so big it looks like it hurts. "Have you heard of the butterfly effect?" She asks all hyped.

"Isn't that the theory that everything has a chain reaction, sometimes so extreme that a tiny butterfly can cause a hurricane on the other side of the world?"

"Yes, very good! Now let me give you the biology version of that."

"Oh, that's really not necessary," I decline with a very clear expression of dread, but she is too excited to be stopped.

"Do you know what butterflies are before they become butterflies?"

"You mean... like a caterpillar?"

"Yes! Let's imagine a caterpillar for a moment."

"Um, okay?" Bored, I keep hitting trees with my stick.

"The caterpillar's entire goal is to keep the species going. So it lays about 100 eggs on a leaf," Zelda explains and I try to picture it. "Fast forward a few days: 100 baby caterpillars hatch and now fight for their survival. Conveniently, they begin to eat the leaves of the plant they hatched on."

"Okay," I shrug.

"But the caterpillar is not the only one trying to keep its species going. Who else has to fight for their survival now?"

"I don't know, who?"

"The plant that is getting stripped bare by the caterpillars!" Zelda stops on the trail to show me a tall, dying plant with a bunch of little holes.

"Oh shit! That's bad for the plant, huh?"

"Yes, it's very bad for the plant." Zelda continues walking. "In order to survive, the plant must adapt. Thus, it evolves into a poisonous plant that will kill anyone who eats it."

"No way, that's sick. It's like a war between plants and caterpillars. Both want to survive but only one can win!"

"Precisely. So the plant is now using chemical warfare."

I feel like I'm getting a history lesson, almost forgetting this is biology.

"So," Zelda says, "the plant has evolved to a poisonous plant and thinks it's safe from predators. But what the plant doesn't know is that the caterpillar can evolve too! What does the caterpillar evolve to? How could it adapt?"

"Maybe it could become immune to the poison," I suggest.

"That's exactly right, Malice! Excellent! The caterpillar evolves and is now able to feast on the otherwise poisonous plant. Not only that, but this smart little creature also decides to lay its eggs on the poisonous plant. Why? Because it knows that the poison kills any predators!"

"Crazy! So the caterpillar wins the war?"

"Not so fast!" Zelda shows me another leaf. This one doesn't have holes. Instead, it carries a bunch of small yellow dots. "The plant evolves again, now forming growths on their leaves that look just like the caterpillar eggs."

"How does that help the plant?" I ask.

"That's a really good question, Malice. These growths are filled with a sweet nectar that attracts ants! Ants that eat caterpillars."

"Damn!"

"So now the caterpillar will lay its 100 eggs, unaware that ants will come and eat them all."

"Wow," I say under my breath. "So what was once a plant at the verge of extinction due to caterpillars has now evolved into a fortress of poisonous leaves, fake eggs, and soldier ants, ready to kill any caterpillar that dares to come near!"

"Yes!" Zelda beams with wonder and pride in her eyes. "The rule of life is that the best adapted will always prevail. No matter your size or strength, or your enemy's size or strength. This, nature itself is the greatest butterfly effect in the history of life!"

"I see now why you are so passionate about biology."

I'm not sure what Zelda's ambitions are in life, but I think she'd make a great professor. I've always been bored in biology class, but her little butterfly lesson was actually kind of interesting. I even stopped swatting the leaves, having found a new kind of respect for nature. If she takes over her dad's school in the future, she should definitely teach some classes.

"You okay?" Zelda asks, having noticed my sudden silence.

"Giving me a lot to think about..." I mutter more to myself than to her.

When she looks over her shoulder, I lower my head, hiding my contemplative eyes beneath the visor of my cap. "Like what?" She asks.

"I don't know. If a stupid plant can survive against hundreds of caterpillars..." I shrug, unsure where I'm even going with that, but Zelda seems to understand my point.

"You are stronger than you know, Malice. You've done great at adapting and I have no doubt that you will prevail." She picks up an acorn and hands it to me with the task to hold on to it for the rest of the hike. She doesn't explain why. Maybe nature is turning her a little crazy.

I store the acorn in my pocket and follow her in silence until, some time later, the path opens up to a sunlit clearing.

"We made it," she says.

We arrive, now standing on the edge of a cliff, overlooking the vast valley below. The landscape is rich in greens and yellows, dotted with patches of wildflowers in vibrant hues of red. A river snakes through the valley, its water shimmering in the sunlight like liquid silver. And the mountains in the distance—their peaks dusted with snow despite the warmth of the season—are crisp, as if painted in close reach.

I take the cap off to wipe the pearls of sweat from my forehead. The lodge can be spotted from up here. It looks tiny.

Zelda turns to me with a triumphant smile, her eyes sparkling. "Isn't it beautiful?" she asks, her voice filled with awe. "My mother showed me this spot."

I nod. "Yeah, it's... nice I guess."

I don't think I've ever hiked before. If I have, it was probably with a shovel in one hand and a gun in the other. But even then, there was never a view like this. Never have I seen this kind of freedom sprawled out right in front of me. It feels like we've stepped into another world, one without a trace of evil.

Zelda sits down on a large rock and opens up her backpack. She pulls out two bottles of water, handing me one.

Having taken a seat beside her, we watch as a hawk soars gracefully through the sky, riding the thermal currents with effortless ease. I gulp down half of the water in one breath.

"This is my favorite spot," Zelda confesses, her voice soft and reflective. "I'd come here by myself to clear my mind. It would remind me how big the world is and how small we humans are with our silly little problems."

I glance at her, seeing a side of Zelda I can respect, even if I don't fully understand it.

As we sit in silence, I reach into my pocket and pull out the acorn she gave me earlier. I roll it between my fingers, feeling its rough texture. "Why did you give me this?" I ask, breaking the stillness.

Zelda looks at the acorn and then back at me, her expression thoughtful. "It's a reminder," she says. "A tiny seed can grow into a mighty oak. No matter how small or insignificant something may seem, it has the potential to become something great."

I nod slowly, understanding the metaphor. "It's not gonna grow if I keep it in my pocket though."

"Shall we plant it then?"

"Here?"

"Why not? The damp, fertile soil would provide an ideal environment for the acorn to sprout and grow! And up here, this little fella will get lots of sunlight!"

We both stand up and move a few feet away from the cliff's edge to a spot where the soil is dark and damp from yesterday's rain. Zelda kneels down and begins to clear away some of the leaves. I join her, using my hands to dig a small hole in the soft earth.

She digs a little hole and lets me place the acorn before she covers it with soil. "There," she says, sitting back on her heels. "Now it just needs time."

I look at the small mound of earth, wondering if it'll ever grow.

Revali's POV

The town is busier than usual. Everybody's eager to spend their money, and the stores are happy to take it. Impa and Kiroh take the lead, entering almost every store we pass. It's crowded and noisy, and somehow people always bump into me even though I'm almost always the tallest person in the store!

"Yah yah!" A freckled guy squeaks after colliding with my chest. He begins to apologize but when his eyes land on Link next to me, he instantly forgets about me. "Oh! I knew I'd see you again!" He says, but Link doesn't seem to remember him whatsoever. "I think this technically makes you my stalker. HAHAHA!"

Link, still confused, appears to contemplate whether this kid is even talking to him.

"I'm Beedle," he says, fixing the bandana around his neck. "I delivered Pizza to you and that blonde girl last year! You were in the pool!"

Link's eyes widen, his cheek turning red. I wish I had that on recording.

"I also work on campus!" Beedle continues. "At the bookstore, the coffee cart, the campus tour center, dining hall, and rec center! I see you around a lot."

Who's the stalker now?

Link nods uncomfortably. It's clear that he has no interest in talking to this coconut head.

"Could I get a selfie?" Beedle asks and takes a photo with Link before he can accept or decline.

Beetle disappears in the crowd, leaving Link to recover from the interaction. As we leave the store, Link checks his notifications and groans. "He already posted the pic and tagged me in it," Link tells me as if I cared. "Ravioli, you're in it too."

"Huh?" Angrily, I take a look at the post. He really did post their selfie with me in the background. "That's asinine..." At least he didn't tag me in it.

"Good thing Malice isn't with us," Link notes. "She would've freaked out."

I roll my eyes at him and focus my attention on something that doesn't make me want to shoot myself. Mipha. With her hand in mine, we walk slowly behind the others, distancing ourselves bit by bit.

"There are some decent deals," she tells me sweetly. "I might buy some Christmas gifts for everyone. Otherwise I will end up doing it last minute again."

Link and Impa want to check out Fin's store. 'Mountain sports and more.' No thank you. Mipha and I wait outside in the alleyway next to the shop. It's way less busy here and it gives us a chance to talk.

But we don't. The first minute is spent in awkward silence. Thoughts come rushing in and it's hard to hold on to a single one of them. I think about her and Link in the snow, yet my mind can't decide how to picture that stupid kiss. 'It did happen but not the way everyone may think,' is what Mipha told me last night. What does that even mean?

"You are still thinking about it, aren't you?" Mipha pulls me out of the depths of my mind.

I reply with a shrug, still unsure how to feel about it all. Maybe I should've pressed for the truth last night. But she told me that it's best if I don't know, and I trust her. Still, curiosity is gnawing on me every time I look at her.

Her voice comes out as a defeated breath. "Link recovered a memory at the bar. In that memory, he initiated our kiss."

My eyes widen in shock. That changes everything! This means that Mipha did not run off to kiss Link right after I asked her out on Christmas Eve! This is actually good news for me! Not so much for Zelda though...

"I can't believe Link would do that," I contemplate. "It's not that I think very highly of him, but I just didn't take him for the cheating type. I guess he wasn't officially dating Zelda back then, so it's not really cheating, but still. It's a dick move to kiss you either way. He knew I liked you."

"Revali," Mipha murmurs shyly. "Link's memory is inaccurate."

"What?"

"The way he remembers it is not how it really happened. Like I said before, I think it's best if you don't know the truth. But it's up to you."

"Please don't put that choice on me again." I run my hand through my hair as I think it over. My thoughts are a tangled mess, each one urging me in different directions.

Mipha's bright yellow eyes look up at me like warning signs. I try to listen to her caution, to convince myself that knowing might not change anything, that maybe some things are better left buried. The past is done, nothing any of us can do about it now.

But doubt creeps in, pushing me away from my resolve. I clench my jaw, wrestling with the decision.

"Tell me," I finally decide. "I need to know the truth."

I can see the conflict in her. The mixture of relief and sorrow in her expression conveys to me that she wants to be honest, to bare her soul, but she also understands the risk.

"You have to promise me something. This has to stay between us. No matter what, Link and Zelda can never find out what really happened."

"I don't understand. Why can't they know?"

"Because it would hurt them more than it would help," she replies softly. "It might ruin the trust they have and... and they might end up hating me for what I did."

"Hate you?" I ask, feeling slightly disturbed by that statement. "What did you do?"

Her head turns the other way, as if she was too ashamed to even look at me as she tells me, "Christmas Eve, when you and Link were fighting in the snow, do you remember what I said to all of you?"

I shake my head slightly from side to side. I was so focused on getting back at Link, I barely remember anything from that night. I know Mipha and Zelda intervened in the fight, but I don't remember the exact words that made us stop.

"I was so scared! You and Link were causing serious harm to one another," Mipha recalls in a tremble, "I didn't know what to do, so I... I told everyone that it was me who initiated the kiss, and that I had no idea Link and Zelda were dating, and that I was sorry! But I lied!"

"Why'd you lie about initiating the kiss?"

"That wasn't the lie," she says, tears welling up in her eyes.

I sigh, half disappointed and half relieved. Sucks for me that she kissed Link after all, but I guess I'm glad Link didn't cheat on Zelda. "Then what's the lie?" I ask confused. "You're not actually sorry?"

"I am! I'm terribly, terribly sorry," she snivels. "The lie I told that day is... that..." she's struggling to say it out loud. She doesn't have to, because I already know what she's going to say. There is only one possible option left.

"You knew Link and Zelda were dating..." I shake my head in disappointment. "Mipha, did you kiss Link even though you knew he was with Zelda?" I ask to be sure. For the first time, I'm hoping to be proven wrong. Hoping I misunderstood something. But she confirms it all with a small nod, her fists and jaw clenched in the presence of past pain. "Tell me what really happened between you two that night."

Tears stream down her face. Her breath quickens but her words remain calm. "I left the lodge to meet Link before the start of the snowboarding competition. I wanted to confess my feelings to him even though I already knew he was going to reject me."

"How'd you know?"

"Because I knew he loved Zelda... I had caught them together in his room the day prior... I wanted her to admit that they were together, but she never did. Neither did Link. Apparently everyone knew but me! I was so confused and hurt! And angry... At first, I was angry at them, but when you confessed to me in the basement, all that anger turned inward."

"What does my confession have to do with it?"

"I didn't want to love a man who's heart was already taken! I felt like the worst person on the planet, especially since it prevented me from being with you... So I decided it would be best to let go of my feelings for Link once and for all. Your confession that day gave me the courage to do so. To tell Link how I truly felt about him so I could finally get closure. Or so I thought. I thought I could just confess, get turned down, and move on. But... as I stood in front of him... I suddenly couldn't bring myself to say the words. Part of me wasn't ready to let him go... Even though I so desperately wanted to. I wanted to be able to move on. I wanted to love you just the way you... the way... the way you loved me! I'm so sorry, Revali! I never meant to hurt anyone, especially not you!"

"Yet you kissed him."

"I did! I did kiss him!" Her whole body begins to tremble as more tears stain the pebbled alley. Her skin is pale, almost ghostly, and she looks more fragile than I've ever seen her. I want to comfort her, but one thing still bugs me.

"If you kissed Link first, why does he remember initiating your guys' kiss?"

"There is no telling what went through his head that day, but judging by the way he looked at me... and the way he came closer..." Her voice cracks, and she breaks down completely, the weight of her regret crushing her.

"Hold on a second! Are you saying that..." I take a step away from her as the realization hits me. "Link was thinking about kissing you?!"

"The medical term is confabulation," she nods, wiping her tears. "It occurs when someone inaccurately recalls events by filling in gaps in their memory with fabricated or imagined information."

"So the memory Link recovered at the bar is partially based on a fantasy!"

She lowers her volume to a whisper, probably fearing the others will overhear our conversation. "It all happened so fast..."

"Do you realize what this means? Link might have kissed you if you hadn't kissed him first!"

"No, he would never do that to Zelda!" Mipha suddenly gets all defensive. "I've known him since childhood! He has always been loyal! He never once cheated in sports, he always kept his promises, and even when countless girls from our school asked him out, he remained loyal to my cousin Ruto."

"That was back in Japan, people change!"

"Maybe so, but... But Link wouldn't have kissed me that day. I'm sure."

"Then why did you put all the blame on yourself to protect him!"

"I was trying to protect myself," she confesses bitterly.

"You were trying to make Link look innocent!"

"Link is innocent!"

"You have to stop putting it all on yourself, Mipha. It takes two to tango. Even if you kissed him first, it's not like he stopped it from happening! He didn't tell you to back off! He didn't even tell you that he was dating Zelda! Did he?" She shakes her head in submission. "Then he's not innocent!"

She doesn't fight me on it. Sudden silence befalls her as she lowers her head in shame. Quietly, she asks me, "Are you mad?"

I am furious, but not at her. I'm not even angry at Link, despite some of this being his fault. I'm mostly just annoyed that this whole thing is still causing me to lose sleep so many months later. I don't have the patience to deal with this all over again, and I sure as hell am too young to be having eye bags big enough to carry groceries in! If I'm starring in another season of 'Keeping up with the Hyrules,' I want a pay raise. And maybe my own spin off series. I'd call it the 'Nothing To See Here' show. There would be NO drama.

I cross my arms and purse my lips, purposefully failing to hide my frustrations. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

I can see the pain in Mipha's eyes, the regret that has haunted her for so long. "I didn't want you to hate Link," she admits, and in a strained breath, she whispers, "Or me."

My shoulders relax and my expression softens. "How could I hate you?"

"How could you not? I did such a horrible thing! I kissed him without any regard for you or Zelda! And then I went and told her! I knew it would hurt her, yet I still smiled as I said it! What is wrong with me?!"

"You're human," I simply state. "You had just kissed your childhood crush. Of course you were smiling. You were happy."

"I am disgusted by my actions... I took advantage of Link during a moment of vulnerability! I could have just turned away and left! Why did I do such a shameful act?"

I know her well enough by now to realize that she is only nominating herself for the role of the villain so everyone else can remain innocent. Eventually, she has to understand that we all contributed to the mess. It's not fair of her to act as if she's the only one who made a mistake that day. If she had acted solely with the intent to hurt Zelda, that would be a different story. But Mipha actually tried very hard to save Zelda's relationship and make up for her mistakes.

"You did the right thing." I let out an unsteady breath, leaning against the brick wall behind me. "I talked to Zelda that night... She was so worried that Link might be better off dating you. But thanks to your actions, she chose to believe that Link never wanted to kiss you. And to be honest, maybe Link himself believed in that as well. I wouldn't be surprised if he had no clue how he felt about you. Link's pretty dense sometimes. So maybe he was just as confused as any of us. We now know that some part of Link may have had unintentional, subliminal feelings for you, but he still fought for his relationship with Zelda. And they ended up strengthening their relationship. All because of you."

Mipha gives me a nod of acceptance. "Do you think I shouldn't have told anyone about the kiss?"

"Honesty is the best policy," I say. "By telling Zelda about your kiss with Link, you might have prevented a bigger catastrophe. I hate to say it, but when your brother and Link entered the room that evening and saw Zelda having a goddamn panic attack in my arms, Link hesitated to comfort her. That bastard looked conflicted. He even briefly looked at you, as if he was considering choosing you over her. If Zelda hadn't been crying... I don't know, who knows... maybe Link would have had more time to think about it all, and maybe he would've made a different choice that night."

"Don't say that..."

"Hey, all I'm saying is that you kind of ensured that Link and Zelda still had a future together."

Not only that, but if she hadn't lied that night, then maybe we would have never started dating. Maybe Link would've told Zelda about the kiss. Maybe Zelda wouldn't have given him a second chance. Maybe Mipha would've never moved on from Link. But there is no need for saying all that. Mipha already knows it. She's been thinking about it all for a much longer time than I have.

She reaches for my hand but doesn't say anything. In shared silence, we both acknowledge that we are happy to be together. I shall never err in worrying about being Mipha's second choice again. If anything, she's Link's second choice. And that must have hurt her tremendously. I always thought Christmas Eve was the day Mipha turned me down, but in reality that was the day she chose me over Link. She could have fought for him. She could have won him over. She had a whole night to talk to him in private, to tell him she loved him, tell him that the kiss was not a mistake. But she chose not to do any of that.

"You're right," I admit in a sigh. "They can't know about this. It would crush Zelda to find out you knew about her relationship when you kissed Link."

I look at Mipha's tearstained face and her frantically moving chest as she holds her breath. Nothing hurts more than to see her like this. I cup her wet cheeks, wiping them with my thumbs.

With a bittersweet smile, I must admit, "I really can't blame Link for having a little crush on you."

"So you don't hate him?" She asks, sounding more hopeful.

"Let's just say I'm glad he didn't make a move on you. It's natural for guys to think about girls they're attracted to. What matters is how we respond to those thoughts. And, well, whatever went through Link's head that day, whether or not he wanted to kiss you, he didn't do it. Right?"

"Right."

"Then I suppose everything is fine." It would've been nice to know that she didn't kiss Link at all. But I've long accepted that it happened. I'm not hung up on that anymore. "As long as Link stays loyal to Zelda, I don't have a problem with him. At least not more than usual."

Her bottom lip quivers and I can't tell if she's laughing or crying. She quickly wraps her tiny arms around my back and pulls me closer. "I don't want to lose you!"

"Just hold on to my hand," I tell her gently, "and I will never get lost."

She clings to me, our shared pain finally finding some release.

"May I just ask you one more question? Clearly, Link doesn't know the full truth. So what exactly did you tell him at the bar?"

"He was startled and overwhelmed when he recovered the memory of our kiss. Unable to trust his own memories, he asked me who initiated it. I told him the truth; that I kissed him that day. Link asked some more questions about the events that took place that night, so I filled in the gaps for him. I assured him that he had been loyal to Zelda that day, and that neither of us wanted anything like that to ever happen again."

"How much of that is true?"

"Hopefully all of it."

"Did Link believe you?"

"Yes. He seemed tremendously relieved that he hadn't betrayed Zelda. In his eyes, he likely saw himself as a monster... He bore a haunted expression when he asked whether seeing him with Zelda troubled me."

Hesitantly, I ask, "And?"

"I said no." Mipha smiles at me, blinking the tears away. "I think of Link and Zelda as my best friends, and I am not bothered by their relationship. I am, in fact, very happy for them."

"You told him all of that?"

Mipha nods. "And he expressed the same toward us."

"That's good," I say, stroking her back.

I am tempted to ask her if she thinks Link still has any feelings for her, but even if he does, that's his business. It shouldn't affect my relationship. I mean, hundreds of people are in love with Link, yet Zelda seems to manage just fine. She appears neither jealous nor insecure about their relationship. She trusts Link, and I trust Mipha. So I really shouldn't be bothered by one guy crushing on her. She is my girlfriend, not a jewel in a room full of thieves.

"Are you okay?" I check in on her. She nods calmly against my chest. Looks like she has calmed down.

As I hold her in my arms, the weight of her secret really hits me. She carried this burden for almost a whole year, knowing that Link might've had feelings for her in the past. No wonder it took her some time to move on. The idea that his feelings for her, even if buried deep, were there, must have been torture. Yet, despite everything, she chose to let him go. She put his happiness with Zelda above her own, fighting against her own heart to do the right thing.

And Link, for all his confusion and mistakes, did the same. He stayed loyal in the end and fought for his relationship. He chose to let Mipha go. Even if he didn't show it, that must have hurt him too. So, I guess... ugh... fundamentally speaking... despite everything... Link is... a decent human being.

Doesn't mean he's off the hook! I'll be watching him! Especially now that we're all moving in together. He better not cause any more trouble.