Chapter 16 - School Trip - Part 2

                                    

                                          
Summary: The second part of Mipha's and Link's family trip.
                          
It was a sunny and cold morning at the Tabantha Bridge Stable where Mipha, Link, Raypha, and Tidon had slept while Rivan and Gaddison alternated between resting and guard duty. You could see Divine Beast Vah Medoh clearly in the distance perched on the slender rock and facing to its right toward Hyrule Castle.
                          
After a quick breakfast, Link arranged for the rental of four horses.
                          
"I want to ride with Dad," said Raypha.
                          
"I want to ride with Dad," said Tidon.
                          
"Thank you," laughed Mipha. "Don't all of you rush to ride with me!"
                          
"Raypha asked me first, Tidon," said Link. "So, she can ride with me part of the way, and I'll take you the rest of the way. You know Mom knows her way around on horseback too. We rode together here when we took back control of Medoh."
                          
So, Link helped Raypha onto his horse, Mipha helped Tidon onto hers, Rivan helped Sidon onto his.
                          
"I'll take the lead," said Gaddison as she rode first.
                          
"Now hold onto me tightly, but please watch your nails, sweetheart, or Mom will be working on me later," said Link as Raypha sat behind him.
                          
"Don't worry, Dad," laughed Raypha. "I'll fold my hands around your waist."
                          
They started off riding slowly.
                          
"It feels funny," said Raypha. "It's like waves are pushing us up and down."
                          
"It takes some getting used to, sweetheart," said Link. "You might even be a little sore the first time you ride because your body is not used to it. But we'll go slowly, so don't worry."
                          
The first part of the journey took them west across the Great Tabantha Bridge, and they rode carefully across the structure. The cliffs of Piper Ridge were straight ahead, and the vast Tabantha canyon lay below them.
                          
"If you're afraid of heights, sweetheart, don't look down," said Link. "But if not, it's a great view."
                          
"Hylians have a funny way of saying things," laughed Raypha. "Do you mean afraid of depths? The canyon is below us, Dad. And I'm not afraid of depths."
                          
"Well, I guess Zoras look at it differently, since you relate things to water," laughed Link. "We Hylians think of it as we're above the canyon. But that's what makes life interesting."
                          
They moved slowly single file until they reached the other side of the bridge, and the grassy path opened up. They picked up the pace a bit then and headed toward the left, following the road as it curved north of the Rayne Highlands. The dormant remains of two Guardian Skywatchers, and a Guardian Stalker lay alongside the road.
                          
"Those two airborne guardians were active when Dad and I last traveled this way," said Mipha to Tidon as he held onto her. "We had to time our ride to avoid their search patterns."
                          
"I never realized how big these things are!" said Tidon as they rode past.
                          
"Yes, they were big and relentless in pursuit if they spotted you," said Mipha. "And as I hope you recall from your lessons, they were built long ago to protect the hero. But they were corrupted by evil and used against us."
                          
They continued riding through the canyon, Gaddison in front, then Mipha and Link in the middle, and Rivan with Sidon in the rear.
                          
"Now, while I concentrate on steering the horse, Prince Sidon, I'm counting on you to keep an eye out for enemies, all right?" said Rivan.
                          
Rivan knew they were safe, and Gaddison would alert them in the unlikely event they were not. But Rivan wanted Sidon to have some fun along the way, and looking out for enemies would occupy his attention and encourage him to study his surroundings.