Homeward Bound | Legend of Zelda

Chapter 11 - Faith of the Crown Prince

Sidon has loved.

Sidon has lost. 

He's embraced the warmth of the people he cared for the most. 

He's watched as they walked away for the last time. 

He prays to the Goddesses he keeps belief in.

He curses the names of those he felt betrayed by.

He laughs. He smiles. He wears the crown of prince with pride. 

He cries. He hurts. He's almost tossed his crown into the depths of East Reservoir Lake.

He knows passion, happiness, and hope in the same way he knows anger, hatred, and grief.

In his one-hundred and thirty-five years of existence, Sidon has known plenty of emotions. Some he understood, some that confused him. He knew he loved his sister, his father, his people. He knew that love, could recognise it whenever one of the Zora expressed their gratitude to him, their admiration, their respect. What he couldn't understand was the harrowing feeling in his chest when his sister didn't come home after fighting the Calamity. His body felt heavy, his hobbies no longer interested him, and his smile escaped his face for weeks. 

He was too young to understand what it meant to mourn, but the older he got the more those feelings made sense. As the decades passed it became easier to know that she wouldn't be waiting in the castle for him after training, that they wouldn't share a meal again, that she wasn't in a room just down the hall. 

It became easier, and that was perhaps the worst part of it all. 

But then he saw Link walking across the Great Zora Bridge. 

His chest fluttered with muted recognition; something barely there, but a spark nonetheless. The Hylian man was like a silhouette in the back of his mind. A distant memory still obscured, yet here he was in the flesh. Sidon didn't know what to make of that. 

When the man grew closer, the smaller boy from earlier trailing after him still, he shook the confusing feelings off. He could sort through them later, right now he needed to be a prince.

Link came to a stop at the end of the bridge, gazing up at Sidon behind his damp bangs. His hair had been tied up since he'd seen him last. It suited him, but the feeling of familiarity grew more intense the longer he stared. 

"I've been waiting for you, Link!" He called, his classic smile adorning his face. "Welcome! Behold the pride of my people, Zora's Domain! Now I shall introduce you to the king." Sidon turned to lead the way to the throne room, but a small hand caught on his wrist and pulled him back with surprising strength. 

"Wait."

Sidon's eyes widened slightly, and he waved back the guards advancing on Link, weapons drawn to protect their future ruler.

"Is everything alright, Link?" He asked, wondering whether he should pry the hand from his arm lest too many of his people see. He wouldn't want them to get the wrong idea of the Hylian, with his grip so tightly around their prince's wrist. 

"I- I'm sorry." The hero cleared his throat, straightening his posture and looking Sidon right in the eye. "I didn't introduce myself properly. I am Link." He dipped into a low bow, his weapons clicking against each other on his back. "I'm going to defeat the Calamity. It's an honour to meet you."

When he stood back up he found Sidon staring at him, jaw slack. 

"Calamity Ganon, you say?" The Zora mused. "Well then. That is rather brave of you, Link. I think it best if you speak to my father. I only have faint memories of The Great Calamity. He will be able to provide guidance of greater quality that myself. Please, follow." He turned to leave again, and this time Link didn't stop him.