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Welcome, traveler. How nice to see you on this fine day! A surprise too, I must say, since we don't often get visitors such as you in our Domain. It must be a special day, indeed!
So tell me, where are you from?... ah, I see. I’ve never been there, but I’ve heard it’s lovely this time of the year. Me? Well, as I’m sure you can tell, I’m not originally from here. With me lacking fins and gills and whatnot. But I’ve been calling the Domain my home for a long time now. Before that? Well, I’ve lived in too many places to count… Castle Town, Hateno, Goponga… what? Yes, Goponga. You surely know about the place! That town in the middle of Lanayru Wetlands every young couple seems to want to visit nowadays. Back when I was young, people would visit the heart-shaped lake atop Tuft Mountain, but I guess it’s normal for trends to swift every couple of decades or so. Especially if people start spreading gossip and stories around like they did…
What? Do you really don’t know about those? Well, now this is a surprise. I can’t even remember the last time some visitor didn’t swoon over that one… Huh? You want to hear it, you say? There’s not a lot to tell, I promise. No, no, really. Just a couple of idiotic fools canoodling with each other in a dark alley, nothing more than that… you still want to hear it? Fine.
Once upon a time, there was a boy and a girl who loved each other very much. One day, a jealous man forbade them to see each other again, so they just started kissing each other across an alley, until they were discovered. Something, something happened and love found a way. They lived happily ever after and now people won’t shut up about it.
The end.
What?
Why are you looking at me like that?
That's it. That's the story! They kissed and now everyone wants to go see the place.
Will you please stop frowning at me like that?
What do you mean you want to hear “the whole story”? It’s not that interesting! Thousands of lovers smooch each other all the time and you don’t see people going crazy over them!
…although, most of them don’t end up on an almost murder-
What? Now you must absolutely hear the whole thing?
Ugh. Fiiiiiine… I guess I walked into that one myself, didn’t I?
Sit down and listen, then.
Once upon a time-
Yes, we’re starting with that, got a problem with it? I thought you wanted me to tell the story, and this is how I will start it! Okay? Yes? Good!
Once upon a time, there was a little village in the middle of Lanayru Wetlands, called Goponga. It was a tranquil place, famous for being a trading spot where Hylians and Zora would live together and exchange goods with each other, and for its water canals that split the place into little islands and forced the buildings to be so close together, one could easily reach out of a window and touch their neighbor's home on the other side.
Good for meeting new friends, but not so much for having privacy, I guess…
The village was also well known for its spring festival dedicated to the goddess Nayru, which attracted all kinds of visitors and important guests from across the region and even farther places. Among them was a Zora Princess, who as the heir of the Domain was in charge of performing some of the rituals dedicated to the wisdom goddess, and a Hylian knight, whose squad was always in charge of ensuring things would run smoothly during the celebrations and everyone in attendance would be safe….
Their names? Um… let’s call them… Her Highness, the Zora, and Bob, the Hylian.
As fate would have it, Her Highness and Bob had known each other for many years, being close friends regardless of their social status and slowly, but surely, falling in love with each other. It wasn’t an easy relationship to have. Both had such big responsibilities over their shoulders, with Her Highness having to stay in the Domain to attend to her people, while Bob stayed in Castle Town serving Hyrule and its royal family. Absence only made their hearts grow fonder, however, making them cherish every second they got to spend together. Her Highness would visit Bob whenever she was appointed to travel to Hyrule Castle, and Bob spent most of his scheduled leave time in the Domain. And of course, they would also spend time during the spring festivals in Goponga, where they would be free to enjoy the different stalls, walk through the canals, and just enjoy each other’s company as much as they could until they would have to part again. They would hold hands so tightly there would be little impressions of her scales on his palms once she let go. They would hug so tightly that his armor would sometimes scratch the delicate white scales on her chest, prompting Bob to apologize and Her Highness to insist no real harm had been done. They would look into each other's eyes and cradle each other’s cheeks, fingers softly playing with fins and golden tendrils framing their faces. They would whisper the sweetest promises into each other’s ears. They would lean into each other until their lips joined in the most beautiful kiss, and Bob and Her Highness would-
… now what? What do you mean the names are ruining the story? Rude! They are perfectly fine names! You don’t need to know their real names! What are you? A reporter or something? FINE! If you really need to know, their names were Mipha and Link. Don’t you know you’re not supposed to name the characters in legends? Now you won’t be able to relate to them!... No, it’s not the same as I was doing by naming them- You know what? Forget it! Can I just continue the story?
One year, however, the princess was accompanied by a stranger from a foreign land. A green-scaled Zora hungry for power and with eyes set on making the gentle princess his. The dignitary convinced the king to escort his beloved daughter during the upcoming celebrations, where she in turn could introduce him more to the local traditions. The king’s council must have thought this a great opportunity to secure a powerful alliance and convinced both the king and the princess to take the visitor to the village. Seeing no way out of it, the princess accepted that her free time with her knight would be severely reduced that year, but was still happy to enjoy such moments as much as she could.
She should have known better. The green-scaled Zora demanded her constant company and attention at all times, never allowing her to stray away from his sight for anything other than sleep. At every second. With every step she took. Whether it was in the morning, at noon, or in the evening, the princess found herself forced to deal with the male’s presence and to politely entertain her guest. Maybe if he had been a good company, she would have felt more compliant with dealing with the whole situation… but alas, he wasn’t. She found herself constantly talked over and dismissed by him as if nothing that she had to say or show him was of importance. As if she was nothing more than a pretty adornment to hang from his arm. And so, she found herself smiling widely when she finally managed to slip away from his grasp, and right into her beloved’s arms.
The knight immediately comforted. He had been wondering why she had not come to meet him at their usual spots and had started to worry something terrible had happened to her. To say he felt relieved to learn that was not the case, even if it was clear she had not been having the most pleasant time, was an understatement.
A relief that, sadly, did not last long. As soon as his lips were about to meet hers, a shout came from behind them, and he felt someone tearing the princess away from his arms. The knight immediately found himself chest to chest with the green-scaled male, who had managed to track the princess down and found her about to kiss the blond Hylian, erupting in rage and jealousy at seeing another man about to take what he believed to be rightfully his. The dignitary threatened the knight, looked him down, and called him names, turning to show his teeth at the princess as soon as he felt her clawing at his wrist in an attempt to make him release her from his grasp. The knight had half a mind to charge against the stranger in retaliation for mishandling his friend and beloved, a sentiment he could clearly see was shared by the princess by the way her pointy teeth had begun to show and her hisses grew louder, but something gave him pause. The stranger, as disgusting and unwelcome as he was, was a guest to the Domain, protected by it until he scurried his fins back home, and both princess and knight knew there would be severe consequences were they to cause him any harm, whether he had it coming or not. Naturally, the princess knew she would get away with it with no more than a severe scolding from the council and a fake frown from her father, but she wasn’t so sure the blond would be granted the same treatment. As much as she loved him, he was still a simple knight in the eyes of the world, and would certainly receive a severe punishment if the visiting Zora were to start spreading rumors about being attacked. She was not willing to risk it. She managed to convince the other Zora to stop his rage against the Hylian knight, letting herself be dragged towards the house they were staying during the festival, sending a last longing and sad look towards her beloved knight as an apology and promise to see each other as soon as they could.
That promise seemed to turn to dust, however. The male Zora’s jealousy was so big, he forced her up the stairs and into a solitary bedroom, screaming at her that she should take some time to think about her poor behavior, and locking the door as soon as he had slammed it close.
Maybe if it had been any other damsel in distress, she would’ve sat down to cry all night long about the injustice of the situation; good thing she was not any damsel in distress. The princess immediately darted towards the window thinking her escape would be swift, only to curse once she found it to be too narrow for her fins to pass through. She tried twisting her body this way and that, and each time she thought she had found a way to free herself, she felt another pair of fins trapped behind. If she freed her shoulders, her arms would stay trapped. If her arm fins crossed the frame, her hip fins got painfully smushed. She chuffed and bit the air in frustration and started to think about the consequences of clawing her way out when a soft call from below got her attention. In the narrow alley, just under her window, the knight was looking straight up at her. The rage of the male Zora had been such that he had worried the stranger would harm his beloved, prompting the blond to quietly follow them at a distance.
Looking around for a way to help her, the knight noticed a neighboring balcony that looked towards the princess’ window, making an idea pop into his head. He bid her to be patient and immediately put himself to work. The knight looked around, asking everyone he found if they knew who the house with the balcony across the alley belonged to, finally finding the owner after a lot of tries. A bag filled with silver and golden rupees in exchange of being granted access into the house and the balcony during the remaining days of the festival was an offer enticing enough for the stunned owner to accept the weird but quite lucrative proposal, and the beautiful smile the princess gifted the word when she was met face to face with the blond knight, her golden eyes staring directly into his blue ones, and the melodic purr she let into the air as soon as his hands found hers and their lips found each other across that narrow alley were more than worthy the costly levy.
They spent the whole night talking, planning their next steps and how they would approach the situation with her father once she returned home, and exchanging caresses and kisses that reached as far as they could lean into each other. She sobbed her frustration and he growled his own, both comforting each other in any way they could and for as long as the stars shined in the sky, and when drawn started to break, she begged him to go before the arrogant green-scaled Zora dared to come find her. He promised to return the next night, and once again spend as much time as he could by her side, vowing not to let her feel alone in her temporary prison.
As it turned out, the princess had not been allowed to leave the room at all during that day, nor the next one or the one after that, but she found great comfort in sharing what little she had managed to do during her lonely days, all while the knight held her hand and placed light kisses over her fins. He told her about the things happening during the festival, including how the despicable dignitary had made some poor excuse about her not feeling well enough to attend to her duties. How had anyone managed to believe him, the blond would never know, and he found some comfort of his own when his impression of the green-scaled Zora made the princess laugh.
In hindsight, maybe he should have been more careful, for the noise ended up attracting the attention of the other male, who barged into the room to investigate. He exploded in a maniacal rage when seeing the princess and knight kissing across at the window, and charged to tear her off the blond’s grasp. He slammed the princess against the wall, growling loudly and calling her names a real gentleman would never even think of calling anyone, least of all a lady. She retaliated by slashing her sharp claws across his face, leaving bloody gashes that made him look even more savage than he was behaving. Before the violent Zora could throw a slap of his own, the knight jumped into the room and threw himself over the male, pulling on his delicate tail and giving the princess a chance to put some much-needed distance between herself and the brute, who managed to grab the knight and throw him against where she had been just a second before. The blond threw himself against Zora's body, his light armor doing little to his rival, but enough to momentarily stun him in place while the blond told the princess to get away. The green-scaled Zora turned around to try and prevent her from running, and the Hylian slammed his elbow right into the male’s delicate gills, making him whine and double in pain.
The victory did not last long. Infuriated by the pain, the male Zora slashed his claws against the knight, embedding them into the blond’s side and causing him to gasp in pain. He clutched at his side and did his best to retain his hold on the Zora while the shock and blood loss made his head swim and his sight blur. He saw claws raise in preparation to strike and finish the job and praised himself for at the very least giving his beloved the chance to escape.
The blow never came, however. Instead, he heard the brute scream in pain as the princess’s claws assaulted his sides, slashing the already wounded gills even more. Her scowl made her own rage apparent as the green-scaled male clawed her hands to make her release her unmoving hold.
She had never looked more beautiful in his eyes.
Suddenly, the door was thrown open with enough strength to break it at the hinges. A group of guards barged into the room, immediately restraining the rampaging Zora. He heard the male scream murder at them, telling everyone they did not know who they were messing with and promising retaliation against the blond knight and the princess. The knight cared little for his words. All he could think about was making sure the princess was unharmed. He breathed her name and reached for her hand, his body numb to a guard’s hands that kept pressing against his bloody side and his ears deaf to the words of another who shoved his head through the window and screamed they needed a medic. No. All he could pay attention to was the way the princess carefully caressed his face and held his hand while she promised he would be okay.
Of course he would be okay.
She was safe.
No, he did not die. Are you crazy? Do you really think Goponga would’ve become famous among idiots in love if one of them had died?! Of course not! Shut up so I can finish the story!
It might have been nothing but sheer luck or a matter of his adversary’s inexperience in battle. Some romantics would say the goddesses themselves had taken pity on him and chose to grant the two lovers a happy ending. Whatever the reason, the knight was alive. Hurt and in unmeasurable pain, but alive. Alive to meet his beloved’s eyes the next morning and to hold her hands so tightly there would be little impressions of her scales on his palms once she dared to let go. Alive to hug her so tightly he would feel the burn of the stitches getting undone on his side, prompting her to apologize and him to shrug at her and pull her back into his arms. Alive to look into her eyes and cradle her face in his hands, fingers softly playing with the fins framing her beautiful face. Alive to whisper the sweetest reassurances into her ear. Alive to lean into her until their lips joined in the most beautiful kiss.
They waited for him to recover, and then traveled hand in hand back into the Domain, both unwilling to be apart after what they had endured. The Zora king became enraged while listening to what had befallen his beloved daughter, and his ire so big that some people claimed to have been able to hear his thundering voice across the land and all the way into Hebra. He exiled the perpetrator and warned him to never return to this part of the sea, lest he wished to suffer the full weight of the king’s fury. The green-scaled male was then escorted back to his faraway land, never to be seen again. As for the knight, the king felt so grateful for the care he had shown his daughter he vowed to grant him whatever he might wish for. The blond immediately asked for the princess’ hand in marriage, earning a roaring laugh from the monarch, who joyfully granted his request.
They got married.
They loved each other.
They lived happily ever after in the Domain, and once per year they would attend the spring celebrations, where the princess would perform the rites for Nayru and the knight would protect her and those around. And then, once the sun had set and the streets and canals shined with the festival’s lights, they would enjoy each other’s company without fearing being torn apart ever again.
So now you know. Next time you go to Goponga Village, take a moment of your day to visit that alley. You’ll know which one to look for. That one surrounded by a sea of people, most of them young and in love. If you have someone close to your heart with you, grab their hand, stand right under the second floor’s window, and share a loving kiss; for they say that those who do so shall share as many years of happiness as the knight and the princes did.
How many years, you ask? Well… I don’t know. It’s been more than sixty years since me and my wife kissed there, and we’re still going strong!
Anyway, it’s getting late and she’ll be wondering what kind of trouble I’ve gotten myself into… But, hey! It’s been a pleasure to remember this story with you. I hope we can meet again someday… maybe even during the spring festival! My wife and I go there every year, after all, so you should look for me if you do attend. I’m sure you’ll spot us right away. Her on her beautiful ceremonial sash, and me on my boring knight armor. Enjoying each other’s company as much as we can before we have to part once again…
…maybe even longer than that.