Chapter Text
Thin wisps of clouds sailed across blue skies. There were dozens of them, streaking the heavens with soft, pillowy white as they rolled on by into the unknown without a care in the world.
You shaded your eyes with a hand, squinting as sunlight bathed you in a blanket of heat. The bite of cold, bitter winds had temporarily abated, tempered by the loss of rainclouds looming above and giving way to the final breath of that sweet summer breeze. From here, the chill would begin to settle, clinging to the air until it covered the grass in a sheet of wintery frost.
A deep breath spilled past your lips, already missing the warmth that will surely fade after sunset later this evening, before shifting your gaze to the forest clearing to search for any sign of Link.
The blonde knight left over an hour ago to scavenge for lunch. You were usually accompanying him— the two of you were efficient together; both stealthy and had exceptional aim if you allowed yourself to brag a little— although not this time, much to your dismay. Your silver bow remained propped against the thick log beside the campfire, still clean.
Collecting dust and doing nothing, you thought, frustrated.
Grass tickled the skin of your nape as you dropped back onto the meadow, arms and legs splayed out at the sides like a starfish left to dry on wet sand. Your eyes fluttered shut. The trembling from earlier had finally ceased.
A sigh left you, unable to help the flush of ambrosia coloring your cheeks as earlier’s events repeated in your head.
You ended up trusting Link with the glider this morning, just about squeezed the ribs out of his body as you clung onto the man for dear, bloody life. Despite his insistence that gliding wasn’t necessary, that the two of you could instead take your usual route, you’d insisted on continuing with the original plan. It was a stubborn move. Unreasonable, even. But if you were going to help Link, you had to keep up.
Gliding both had and hadn't been as you’d imagined—wind howling in your ears, breath lodged deep in your throat as a hitched sob mangled its way past parted lips in a silent scream. Yet nothing had broken. No plunging to the ground at break-neck speeds, no splintered wood, and not even a single loose thread in sight. Hell, not even a single Lizalfo was near the moss-covered waters you two had landed in after finally reaching sweet, blessed earth again.
But the terror had been loud throughout the ordeal, erupting from within the curve of your chest in red hot, volcanic fury. And if it weren’t for your face buried between Link's shoulder blades, you wouldn’t have been able to hear the steady stream of reassurances that spilled from his mouth. Each word that flowed into your ears was soothing, encouraging, extinguishing the molten fear as it lapped over your heart in cool, delicate waves.
In the midst of the chaos, the tent that had already been sticking out from your bag from its sheer size had fallen out, lost forever to whatever swamp or muddy body of water it plunged into within the wetlands. It was only when you two began to set up camp after Lanayru Tower two hours after did either of you notice the missing tent.
And Link, being the gentleman that he was, offered to share his.
Your hands flew to cover your face in embarrassment, groaning.
You'd been careless, far too distracted in the moment even as you had scanned your belongings before gliding. It had been completely out of character—you, over-prepared with just about everything, practically carrying an entire store's worth of healing supplies stuffed into your near-bursting satchel—overlooking the obvious. Yet that was what happened. And you struggled to wrap your head around the reason why.
From above, a flight of doves circled the clearing. A string of coos mingled with the gentle breeze as the birds gathered together to perch on a nearby tree. With shielded eyes, you watched as a lone feather pulled away from one of their tiny bodies, floating in a lazy spiral, occasionally bobbing up as it made its silent descent. The soft, pale plume fell ever so slowly, swaying in tune with small puffs of wind as it sailed towards its destination somewhere on the grass below with maddening leisure.
No, you didn't need to ponder long to discover your answer. It was as clear as the sky above, sun beating down with blinding clarity despite your unwillingness to acknowledge it. Because in addition to the smothering fear that gripped your throat at the edge of that cliff, there was also something else, something as equally demanding, that plagued your mind. It made your toes curl, stole the breath from the caverns of your lungs as much as the prospect of gliding hundreds of meters away.
The white feather fell beside you, taking its final resting place near the crook of your neck. It laid there, bright, almost mocking in its pearlescent glow. You briefly recall reading from somewhere its meaning, but it seemed to elude you now as another memory altogether took its place.
"No, miss, the young man was talking about the one down there." He jutted a calloused thumb in the direction of the town. "Past the shops closer to the tower. It's abandoned now, but from what I heard a young family once lived in it around six years ago or so."
A quivering breath escaped you.
Suddenly, amber branches rustled to the left. The doves flapped their wings, rising from the thin branch they had only briefly occupied before flying away into the afternoon light just as a halo of messy blonde emerged from the forest. Link’s hair was tousled, leaves haphazardly studding his shoulder-length hair. Each of his hands held a separate fishing line, both of which were carrying a large fish dangling from the end.
“Sorry I took a while,” came his quiet apology. His russet pants were drenched from mid-thigh all the way to his boots. “Couldn’t find any wildlife in the forest today, so I went to the river.”
You immediately curled forward to a sitting position before pushing up to stand. Shaking your head to rid yourself of unnecessary thoughts, you offered Link a smile. “Why are you apologizing? You’re the one who went through the effort of getting us lunch.”
He placed the fish on the large pan already positioned above the flames you ignited during his absence. A loud sizzling erupted from the metal as the water clinging onto the scales kissed the searing heat, creating puffs of smoke that billowed upwards into the warm air.
“I took longer than usual,” Link muttered. Wet splotches were scattered across his linen shirt, likely from wrangling the fish out of the rapid stream. He sat on one a logs next to the campfire, not a hint of fatigue in the way his lithe body moved despite the struggle he must have had capturing their lunch.
“I mean, we usually hunt together,” you said with a co*cked brow, sitting beside him. “So that doesn’t count.”
“Were you hungry for long?”
You suppressed the urge to roll your eyes. “I'm fine, Link. I'm not gonna starve from not eating for a few hours.”
He nodded, accepting this, before another look altogether eclipsed his expression. He was looking at you carefully, scanning down your arms and settling on the slender fingers curled together a little too tightly on your lap.
“And… you’re all right now? From earlier?”
He'd been concerned upon seeing the tremble in your limbs after the two of you had landed, even voiced his worry at the paleness of your cheeks and the distant, hazy look that had settled in your eyes. And it was because of this that he suggested you stay in camp rather than hunt with him.
An argument ensued shortly after, though it had mostly been one-sided, your wounded pride unable to stand sitting around while he was off looking for food. Although it was easy enough to do, independence was something you've always valued. It was an integral part of who you were as a person after years of fending for yourself alone. But when Link gently pointed out how your aim would be affected by your condition, essentially scaring off unsuspecting prey, every barbed sentence waiting to pounce off your tongue slinked back into the shadows.
He was right. Annoying, but right.
Now, gazing up at Link with reinvigorated strength, you stretched out both arms to demonstrate their impressive stasis. The shaking from before had long ceased. “See? Good as new!”
Relief glowed across his face at the news, summoning an upward curl of his lips. "I'm glad."
Heat prickled at your skin as you watched a dimple carve into his right cheek, kindness radiant in that smile that had once been so rare, so fleeting, but now draped more effortlessly across his handsome face in recent days. A captivating smile, like the glistening sea reflecting moonlight off still waters.
The both of you sat in comfortable silence as the fish fizzled and cooked, air now pungent from the delicious smell. Link was handing you your plate when a grumble roared from your stomach, the tiny sound like the crackling of thunder in the midst of the quiet afternoon.
You sputtered, mortified, cheeks exploding in a field of crimson, feeling like a child caught sticking their hand in the cookie jar just as another smile snaked its way to his mouth.
“I knew it,” he murmured, voice twinkling with faint amusem*nt.
“Don’t give me that,” you snapped half-heartedly. Your hand snatched the plate from his grasp, a scorching swelter emanating from the thin metal. Gods above, the food smelled divine . “Next time, I’m going with you whether you like it or not.”
“You were unwell.”
“Doesn’t matter. Better than sitting around and doing nothing!”
“I’m beginning to see a pattern here.”
A laugh nearly bubbled its way past your throat. “I’m just as stubborn as you are, and you know it. Sorry, but you’re gonna have to get used to it.”
He quirked a brow. “Will I, now?”
You merely shook your head, eyes crinkling at the edges as you watched a lightness pervade his eyes. Wordlessly you both dug into your meals, chest light as the white feather that had fallen beside you.
The thin clouds that once penned blue skies were gone now. They were far in the distance, rolling with sluggish ease towards eastern Hyrule in the direction of the silver city. Zora’s Domain.
The Zora were a kind folk. Since the Second Calamity, not many travelers managed to brave the high storms ravaging the land courtesy of the very machine they’d designed to be their saving grace. For them, doom was less of an 'if' , but 'when' . For the past century, waters threatened to submerge the glorious city, raining down from all directions in endless fury. Yet the people remained resilient, holding onto hope with white-knuckled resolve like the rest of the world as it teetered on the brink of collapse. Their hardiness wasn't surprising, though, considering who ruled over the aquatic race.
Just then, the face of a familiar Zora appeared in your head. A chuckle nearly left you as you imagined the man’s sharp, toothy grin, bright and blazing as his sunshine eyes and flaming heart. Friendships were hard to maintain due to the nature of your lifestyle—always traveling, always moving, always leaving —but you supposed with a person like Sidon such things were never a concern to begin with. He accepted your coming and going with open arms, greeting and wishing you goodbye in that same exhilarating smile that hoped for safe journeys and a swift return.
Your heart ached a little from the months away from him. You couldn’t wait to see your friend again.
Warm sun rays beamed down with thick, buttery light, belly now singing with contentment as you sat with Link around the waning fire. Your plate was on the ground beside your feet, empty save for fish bones. For a moment you think that if you closed your eyes, lying down once more against soft blades of grass, you just might fall asleep here. Here, in the presence of another person you’ve slowly grown to care for. In a world that nowadays felt just a little more vibrant.
It was a strange feeling. Cozy. A hearth that burned from deep within.
You think back to a time in your life when you last felt this. And when you do, you think of earlier days, of when summer stretched forever into the horizon and the whole universe seemed to wait at your feet. When stars twinkled in the sky, connecting together to form bears and deer and other animals across an obsidian canvas. When everything felt whimsical, filled with wonder.
Had it really been this long since you’ve felt the soothing relief of companionship? And had it always felt like this? This… resplendent?
Probably , your mind concluded. It was similar enough to how you felt about Sidon, right?
"Hey."
Your eyes looked up, automatic in its path as it searched and landed on the man whose voice called upon you like a siren in the night.
A distant haze settled on Link’s expression like grey, overcast skies. “I think I will. Get used to it, to you, I mean.”
His empty plate was down beside his feet, hands clasped with both forearms resting once more on his knees. His eyes were drawn to the fire now, entranced, hypnotized by its final remaining embers. “I’ve never traveled with anyone other than Zelda, so I’m not used to being around people. To this capacity, at least.”
He felt a million miles away, lost in an ocean of memories.
“Well if it means anything, I’m on the same boat, remember?” you murmured, swinging your leg over the log so you were straddling it while facing Link. "And on the topic of being honest, I think traveling with you has been the most fun I've had in a long, long time."
The words came out more meekly than intended, almost intimate. And perhaps in a way it was. Something felt different, as though the invisible walls around your heart had shifted just a little bit.
Link was quiet for a while, splashes of pale light against midnight somber eyes as he considered this long and hard. His lips parted slightly. His chest rose and fell like the ebb and flow of water on land. Then he took a deep breath. Another. Then another.
Finally, he turned his head to the side to reveal an endless, arctic blue sea, brimming and foaming with emotions that have yet found the strength to surface. And it was breathtaking. “Thank you for being with me, then, even though you don’t have to.”
Something hot and syrupy enveloped your quickening heart, words suddenly gluing themselves to your throat.
“You don’t have to keep saying thanks, Link,” you murmured, finding it difficult to hold his gaze.
“I don’t think you understand how much you’re getting yourself into.” A pause, a soft intake of breath as though hesitating on what words to say next. “And I need you to know how grateful I am to have you.”
"No, miss, the young man was talking about the one down there." He jutted a calloused thumb in the direction of the town.
You watched the blonde knight sitting in front of you give him the faintest of nods, keenly aware that he was purposely avoiding your bewildered gaze.
”Hold onto me.”
Scarlet colored your sun-kissed cheeks. The air was suddenly too dense, too heavy with a humid haze that trapped itself in the auditorium of your chest.
A thousand words fluttered on the edge of your lips, each one ready to launch from their perch and fly away into the breeze. Instead you found yourself reaching for him, the warmth of his fingers tangling and curling with your own. They were as calloused as you remembered, rough patches marring the delicate skin, yet at the same time his touch was tender. Rich and buttery like velvet.
And when Link squeezed your hands, intertwining firmly, almost perfectly in your grasp, another wall in the labyrinth of your soul began to shift.
Bring it up , your thoughts asserted. What happened back in Hateno. Say something, anything.
From the corner of your eye, the white feather laid peacefully amidst the verdant grass, still and alone beneath the final stretch of sweet summer sun. In that moment, something in your brain clicked.
That’s right. You remembered now what it meant.
A humorless chuckle escaped you and you bit back another smile as Link’s face turned in questioning less than a foot away from you. There was a whispering ache on the left side of your sternum. It burned gently, like a nagging itch that couldn't quite be scratched. If it weren't for the deafening silence, you were doubtful you would have even noticed it. But you did. And with your attention captured, you were faced with the unnerving realization that it was something you would have to acknowledge.
Eventually.
"You're such a sap," you mumbled, a disapproving lilt to your voice.
His dimple returned, smile faint and lopsided in boyish charm. "Maybe."
-
Thunder bellowed across charged winds as another blinding strip of lightning whipped down onto mud-soaked lands.
Mild frustration embedded deep in your bones as you found yourself left alone for the second time today. As exasperating as it was, you had to admit that this time was a little different, better than the one earlier.
You watched as a curtain of heavy rainfall poured from beyond the large tree you sat under. The ice-tipped droplets battered the ground in ceaseless persistence, flowing down the slippery hillside before joining together with the stream's turbulent waters. Thanks to the thick cloud of leaves above your head, only the thinnest mist permeated through. For this you were grateful—Hylia knows how long you were going to be in this part of Hyrule in the upcoming weeks—as you weren't fond of the freezing monsoons Vah Ruta drenched upon the Zora.
To your right, the roaring storms drowned out the shrine's constant hum. Sunset orange light throbbed from the intricate lines etched into the stone surface, glowing brighter ever since Link entered its underground chamber half an hour ago.
According to Link, every shrine housed a series of puzzles, each one overseen by an ancient monk tasked to protect the power laying dormant within, and it was only when one overcame these challenges that the sacred energy relinquished and bestowed upon the person. From what you could recall from reading old texts, it is said that only the chosen champion could access these ancient shrines. There were whispers of a special gift that was granted to them by the Royal Family, an existence of an object only ever rumored to exist: the Sheikah Slate.
So as much as you wanted to step inside the shrine along with your companion, you knew deep within your heart that it wouldn't be your place to do so. It was a task solely meant, perhaps even designed for Link, and Link alone.
A pout pulled at your bottom lip. Still. It didn't make waiting feel any better.
At this, you couldn't help but laugh at the irony in your predicament. When had solitude begun to feel so foreign? It had only been a little under two months—a month and a half, maybe, you weren't so sure anymore with the days bleeding by quicker than ever before—since you've been with Link and already you were becoming accustomed to the cottony-warm presence of another. It was bizarre to think that a few weeks could have chipped away at the years' worth of carefully crafted barriers you've built around yourself enough to feel his brief absence. Yet here you were, eyes flickering to the orange light awaiting for Link to emerge from the darkness.
The change was alarming, although not entirely unpleasant. There was a metaphor for such a situation, and you immediately remember the one of the frog in boiling water. Looking back, it was difficult to pinpoint when this creeping normality began to root itself into your life. Just how deeply submerged you were in this proverbial pot was a mystery to you, ignorant to the water's insidious nature as it simmered around you over time.
You thought of the fever on your cheeks, how it scorched and burned when your arms had wrapped around Link's torso on horseback. Or the scalding awareness of his back pressed against your chest, shielding you from tempestuous winds. The heat was rising, bubbles fizzing as it began to foam and pop in slow, intensifying clarity.
And once again you were forced to ask yourself if you'd felt anything similar before. Friendships, familial bonds, anything. Surely you'd just forgotten, the emotions now likely faded and lost through the greedy hands of time. You refused to entertain anything else; the prospect of such a phenomenon was disturbing. But you couldn't help but wonder.
Wonder if you truly had walked into something else entirely, wading through unruly waters too deep to swim in.
Thankfully, these thoughts didn't get a chance to linger for long as the distant sound of footsteps squelching against damp grass reached your ears.
"Hi there!" A loud, cheery voice boomed in time with another growl of thunder. Instantly, you knew who the voice's owner was.
You were on your feet before the man could utter another word, grin already beaming across your lips as your gaze landed on the ever-familiar outline of your friend standing beside the raging river at the foot of the hill.
"Sidon!" you called out, his name drowned slightly by the sheet of pouring rain, waving with unbridled enthusiasm at the Zora prince.
Sidon's amber eyes widened upon falling on your face. His expression brightened like sunshine waves, casting a toasty light through mournful skies. A hearty laugh bellowed from deep within his belly, hands resting on his hips as though to steady himself from the force of it. "Looks like today's my lucky day! It's been ages since I last saw you! Long time no see!"
"Likewise," you echoed his laughter in blissful ease. You thanked the Gods it hadn't been one of those Lizalfos that wandered along this side of the wetlands. "You patrolling around the area again?"
"Of course!" He flashed you his signature pose, accompanied by another dazzling grin. "As the Prince, it is my duty to ensure my people's lands are safe!"
"Some things never change," you muttered under your breath, smiling. His summery disposition was such a startling contrast to the rest of Lanayru, and basking in it was always a beautiful breath of fresh, precious air.
"What was that?" his loud voice projected.
"Nothing!"
"Wait, what are you doing up there? I've checked up and down the river and right now it's clear of any monsters. Come down and say hello!"
A bewildered expression settled on your face. You raised an arm, gesturing wildly to the dreary surroundings. "What? Are you crazy?! It's pouring so hard right now, do you want me to get sick?!"
Sidon shot you a confused expression. "What happened to the umbrella I gave you?"
Your mouth parted to reply, hand automatically rising to reach behind into your knapsack before you paused. A singular memory surfaced in your head. An embarrassed smile casted itself on your lips. "I... uh... lost it."
"You what ?" Sidon exclaimed, another bout of laughter rumbling out from his chest as if this was the most amusing thing he's ever heard. "How?"
"Well..." you trailed off, sheepish as he pinned you with his curiously sharp eyes.
Your mind flashed back to around half a year ago.
-
The day had been like any other winter afternoon near the Eldin mountains— it was burning hot. Correction, there were no seasons in the Eldin region other than the devil heat gurgling from within the active volcano as it constantly seethed out lava from its conical vent. You were far from the actual volcano, of course. You were crazy, but not that crazy. But on that day you were scaling the mountain range in search of ores and gems to sell as your pouch of coins was beginning to look dismally thin.
A waterfall of sweat poured down from beside your temples as you hauled yourself up the rock face. The sun beat down mercilessly on your lithe body. Tired fingers clawed their way up from ledge to jagged ledge, taking great care where to lodge your foot in the spaces between the igneous rock while you made your way towards what appeared to be a gold ore deposit in the distance. When you finally reached the glimmering vein and mined it, every muscle in your body groaning and protesting in mind-numbing fatigue, you hadn't even had a minute to catch your breath when a series of loud croaks and snarls reached your ears.
There, around the corner from the lip of rock you stood beneath, was a camp of Moblins and Bokoblins equipped with steel bows and silver swords. The sound of your axe smashing against the ore deposit must have alarmed them—their half-eaten mutton chops scattered haphazardly across the blisteringly hot ground. Now, every single one of the monsters were running towards your direction, food entirely forgotten, the tips of their weapons glinting like diamonds beneath the sweltering light.
Instincts snapped into action. Hands grasped at the shield off your back, arm arching down to throw it against the rock beside your feet, legs leaping into the air before landing on the searing metal with a resounding thud . A gut-curling terror erupted in your belly as a razor-edged claw sliced across the apex of your shoulder, missing the delicate skin of your neck by mere inches just as the shield beneath you began to surf down the mountain.
The surge of blood pouring from the wounded flesh felt cold in comparison to the muggy temperature. All senses sharpened into cutting focus—the sun beamed brighter; your lungs felt stronger, wider; the stable far off in the distance became so painfully clear that you could almost see the innkeeper's outline behind the wooden counter napping away—save for the pain that eluded you.
Right as you escaped the clutches of the monster camp, their angered roars waning away to a faint buzzing, it dawned on you with another slap of sickening horror that you were surfing towards a cliff edge. One with a three hundred meter drop.
A quick glance at your right revealed a thin spiral of rock jutting out from the ground. It stood waist-high, its narrow base roughly the same circumference as a slender log one might find scattered across a forest floor.
Your hand reached behind at your knapsack, frantically grasping at the one item you needed before quickly swinging outward. The large, curved handle of the umbrella caught the spiral's neck, and with all the luck you’ve accumulated throughout the years funneling into that one moment, you squeezed your eyes shut just as the momentum launched you at a right angle away from the cliff in dizzying, heart-wrenching speed.
Once your body curled around the spike and back towards the shallow slope leading down to the base of the mountain, shield still strapped to your boots—thinking back, you were shocked they managed to stay on—you felt the umbrella slip through your fingers like a stick of melting butter. You hadn't dared risk a glance backwards in fear of losing balance from the rapid velocity which you carved through the rock with the barest thread of control.
Needless to say, you spent the subsequent days stressing how you were going to break it to your friend that you’d lost the silver, luminous stone-studded umbrella he’d gifted you for your birthday.
-
“... you know how easily I lose stuff,” you explained weakly, shrinking from the guilt that continued to plague your heart from losing such a precious item. “I had to use it one day when I was running away from a few monsters and it kind of, ah, fell out of my hands. Sorry.”
Sidon shook his head at your apology as though finding it utterly ridiculous, before flashing you another one of his winning smiles. Pearly white teeth glinted like a row of serrated daggers. “Don't even worry about it! Come back to Zora’s Domain with me and I’ll have them make you another!”
Your gaze shifted to the right, landing on the ancient shrine. Its cavernous entrance remained pitch black, the orange glow still pulsing around the structure signifying that the puzzle inside has yet to be completed. Strange. Link was usually finished by now.
Lightning ripped through electrically-charged winds as bold white streaked amidst a gloomy backdrop. It was soon followed by a resounding, ear-splitting boom , this time detonating with such bludgeoning force it sent a series of tremors rippling across the earth. Somewhere far away a family of birds cawed, rising to the air in sudden panic, drenched wings flapping desperately against the breeze as they sought to escape this water-logged prison. It was then it occurred to you that, besides Sidon, yourself, and the fleeing herons, there wasn't a single living thing within the immediate horizon.
Anxiety creased at your forehead as worry crashed down upon your heart. Why was Link taking so long? Was he all right?
“I can’t leave,” you replied, straining your voice to be heard above another roar of thunder. You palmed the tree beside you, steadying yourself in case another quake shook the ground beneath you again. “At least, not yet. I’m waiting for my friend."
"They don't seem like a very good friend if they're willing to keep a lady waiting." A rare frown graced his expression as he crossed his arms over his broad chest.
"It's... it's not like that," you defended.
It was unclear how much information to share to Sidon, if at all. Despite knowing the Zora for several years, it wasn’t your place to disclose any information regarding Link’s identity, much less the responsibility he bore on his shoulders. Once he emerged from the shrine, it would be up to him to decide just how much to reveal, which you suspected he had to do to some extent if he was to address the issue of Vah Ruta. But you were getting ahead of yourself.
You continued carefully, treading through a trap-infested field where the slightest slip might ricochet you to a place of no return. "He's... inside the shrine right now. I have to make sure he's safe once he comes out, Sidon. You can go ahead. I don't want to keep you."
Something flickered in his golden gaze, acute and piercing. For the first time since you've known the Zora prince, a stretch of stillness hung in the space between the two of you, the man stunned into numbed silence.
You knew of his long search for a Hylian to calm the Divine Beast wreaking havoc upon their land. It was a desperate quest, one that was decades in the making. If what the other Zora had told you was true, then Sidon has been persistently combing through the Lanayru for their people's savior from the moment he received news of his sister's death when Hyrule had fallen into ruin. But the years have done little to wear away at his hope. And now, you watched as the prince put two and two together behind that sober gaze.
With a grace entirely unexpected from his sheer size, Sidon climbed up the hillside with practiced ease until he was towering beside you. You had to crane your head up just to look at his face—goodness you stood around, what, just above his hips?!—where an iron-clad intensity now cemented itself into his handsome features.
"I'll wait with you," Sidon declared. His body leaned against the tree, its bottom branches brushing against the crown of his head as he placed a hand on his hip. "I would like to meet this Hylian. Perhaps he could help me calm Vah Ruta. Plus..."
He trailed off, a smile returning to his mouth. "I'd like to meet this person who managed to convince you to stop traveling alone."
A feverish blaze scorched across your neck. You sputtered, unable to come up with a comprehensible reply as his lips curled higher and higher into a wicked grin.
“It’s about time, too!" he laughed. "I was getting worried with you being alone and all!”
“May I remind you that I’ve been perfectly fine on my own for six years now?” Was your quick reply, though there was no edge to your tone. There never was around Sidon.
“Doesn’t change the fact that it’s dangerous out there,” he answered back, still cheerful despite the obvious disapproval in his words.
“I’ve been handling my situation just fine, Sidon,” you lifted a brow, arms folding across your chest. “And although it's a little easier now with my friend, whether or not I’m traveling with someone now doesn’t change that.”
A chuckle left him. He shook his head in clear amusem*nt before wrapping his large arms around your body in a wet embrace. You squirmed a little, quickly growing dismayed as the chilly waters seeped into the fabric of your clothes from his glistening skin. To your mounting exasperation, the Zora didn’t even seem to notice.
“Stubborn as always! Glad to have you back!”
"H-Hey! Let go! You're getting me all soaked!"
A soft hum drifted from behind. It was soon followed by a soft click of metal as the shrine's tangerine glow reflecting off the damp, shiny grass morphed into a beautiful azure hue. The shuffling of fabric and the sound of metal sheathing into its holster whispered to your right, though they were near-inaudible as pearls of hail pelted down from the heavens above. You shifted your body in what available space was given to you within Sidon’s embrace to see—
Ocean blue eyes blinked owlishly at the sight before them.
There, standing before the ancient shrine was Link. A hand clutched at his left side where his champion's tunic gave way to a large hole torn into the fabric. His blonde tresses were messy, hair tie gone as strands of muted gold cascaded down to his shoulders in a tangled mess. And across the front of his shirt were streaks of dried, mahogany blood.
A haunting chill gripped the base of your throat like a noose.
"Link!" you exclaimed, squirming out of Sidon's hold with great effort.
Grasping the crook of Link's arm, you gently pulled him away from the wailing downpour and into the dry safety beneath the canopy of leaves. You worked quickly, efficiently. Eyes frantically scanned his body for any open cuts or wounds or lacerations on his flesh, expert fingers palpated for any changes in bodily condition, ears alert and listening for any wheezing in his lungs. Anxiety pulled taut at your mind— dear Hylia, what on earth happened down there —and it wasn't until his calloused hand grabbed hold of your trembling one and squeezed it did you snap your gaze up to look at him.
"I'm okay," he murmured.
"What happened?" you asked, breathless, fire thrumming in your veins. "I thought the shrines only had puzzles. Was there a fight down there? Are you badly hurt? What—"
Link brought your hand to his side where the hole in his shirt revealed tanned skin beneath. Your fingers touched the smooth ridges of muscle, stunned as not a single wound or break in flesh could be felt. "The shrine had been a Test of Strength. There was a Guardian there, and while I was injured, the monk healed my wounds at the end."
Yet despite this, his body seemed to droop a little. The quiet, brilliant sheen normally present in his gaze faded, subdued to dim pastel hues.
Sidon pushed off the tree behind you, stepping forward to stand at your side. He struck his signature pose and grin for the second time today, unraveling some of the tension coiled so tightly around your throat. "Hello, you must be Link! Nice to finally meet this lovely lady's friend!"
"Oh yes!" you exclaimed, stress melting away as you smiled at Sidon. "Link, this is Sidon. He's the Zora prince and a friend of mine for a while now. He was keeping me company while you were in the shrine."
As though remembering once again that he and you weren't alone, Link's body stiffened. His eyes flickered back and forth to you and the Zora prince slowly, warily, analyzing the situation before him. Upon recognizing neither of you were in any particular danger, you watched as his chest expanded to accommodate a deep breath.
Rough fingers twitched before pulling away from your own.
"Hello," came his even tone. He nodded to the Zora prince in greeting.
"Pardon the intrusion, but you're a Hylian, aren't you?" Sidon inquired, large head tilting to the side in barely-concealed enthusiasm.
Link nodded again.
You looked up towards Sidon, resisting the urge to simultaneously roll your eyes and chuckle from how he was practically bursting with anticipation looking down at the blonde knight. He didn't need to verbalize his thoughts for you to know exactly what reigned among them.
Hope. And it was a long time coming.
"I was hoping perhaps you'd have a moment to talk."
