"Dragons," Muzu began as he read from an old book, "are servants to the Goddesses. Their names; Farosh, Dinraal, and Naydra, have been molded after the names of the Goddess of Power, Wisdom, and Courage." The elder Zora licked his finger and turned the page. "They are to protect the springs, and in some technical way, the goddesses themselves. It is said that they do not make themselves known to anyone other than those who are worthy. Worthy here meaning hand picked by the Goddesses themselves. However the dragons can be seen by the common villager if the dragon needed or wanted to be seen."
Sidon listened to Muzu drone on about dragons, not that Sidon was really complaining. He had asked the elder Zora to dig up some book on dragons after their encounter with one. The gigantic dragon circled above the Domain for a while. Once Sidon went up to the main square to see what the commotion was about, the beast flew lower. Everyone was terrified, including Sidon, but once the Zora prince saw what the dragon held in one giant hand he stayed put. The dragon then dropped an unconscious Link a few feet in front of him before flying away and disappearing into the clouds. At that moment Sidon had immediatly arranged for Dento to temporarily close his shop so they could set up a curtain and give Link a small and isolated room while he rested. But Sidon was a bit afraid that Link wouldn't wake up...
"Aha," Muzu pointed at the page and read, "The Dragon Farosh is the protector of the Spring of Courage and servant of the Goddess Farore. He protects using his ability to blast balls of electricity to any foe however he is calm in nature. He would not ever dare to harm an innocent animal or person." Sidon looked down at the still unconscious Link and frowned. Was it possible that the dragon had attacked? Or maybe he electrocuted Link for a specific reason?
"Prince Sidon," Another Zora poked her head in, "I have the elixir you requested. I also made arrangements for the construction of a small living space to be created on the water down below. It should take us no more than one week to create." Sidon tore his eyes away from Link and smiled warmly.
"Thank you, my dear. I want to make sure our special guest feels as comfortable as possible while recovering from...whatever happened to him. Thank you and I will pay for all the needed supplies later this evening." The Zora woman smiled before leaving.
"Sidon," Muzu set the book down and walked over to examine Link, "You seem far too- and pardon me for being blunt- far too invested in this Hylian. Now you know that I do respect him and I no longer loathe him but I don't see why you won't just let him be. He is a King now. He should be able to take care of himself, especially after what he's done to survive." Sidon rolled his eyes, he was kind of expecting this from the old Zora.
"Muzu, as I've explained before, Link is our guest and my dear friend. Any negative talk of time will result in some sort of negative consequence. Please do not make me tell my father of this."
"Now now Sidon, I'm merely saying he is a King. Technically the King of all Kings. He has to be out there making beneficial decisions on Hyrule's behalf. He cannot be running amok in the mountains or getting himself into trouble and you certainly cannot be making special food deliveries to him in villages too far for you to go alone. He needs to take responsibility of himself and of Hyrule."
"And he will." Sidon stood up and crossed his arms over his chest. "You must understand he lost a friend and the one he was supposed to protect, it has taken quite a toll on him the way losing Mipha did a number on you." Muzu grumbled and turned around, beginning to slowly walk out the makeshift room.
"Just make sure this whole ordeal doesn't turns into something more. This Domain has lost one of our treasured members of the royal court to a Hylian, we don't need to lose two to the same Hylian."
- - -
When Link woke up he still felt the electricity coursing through his body however it was bearable. He sat up slowly, the smell of fish finally hitting him. He was in the Zora's Domain. It took him a minute to gather his strength but when he did he stood up and looked around. It looked like he was in Dento's repair shop but there was a curtain there for some odd reason. Link stepped out into the night.
Everyone was asleep so there was hardly anyone out and about. Sidon was one of the few that was awake. His back was turned to Link and he instead was staring out at the horizon. Link stopped, not moving forward. Farore had said she was leading him to someone that would guide him and Farosh had brought him here. Even a little ChuChu could put two and two together.
"Link," Sidon smiled and turned to his friend as he walked up to him, "I have been waiting for you to wake up. I was worried that perhaps the Hearty Elixir I had given you didn't work." Link shrugged and stood by the Zora, staring out at the horizon as well. "The Great Dragon Farosh carried you here. Why? I have no idea. I was planning on asking you but I'd rather not put any kind of strain on you." Link nodded, mentally thanking Sidon. He really didn't want to tell him that apparently the Goddesses saw him as the perfect guide for Link. "I have made arrangements for a living space to be created just under the Domain. Technically above, the "real" Zora Domain is underwater, this one is mostly so we can interact with others."
"No thank you," Link signed out, "I'm heading back to Hateno Village before the sun rises. I don't mean to be rude but I have a home there, the Zora Domain isn't for me." Sidon glanced at his friend from the corner of his eye.
"When we were younger you loved it here though. You always claimed you'd one day live here permanently, now I'm not saying you have to live here forever but please stay for a bit. It would benefit you greatly." Link shook his head.
"Again, no thanks."
"Pardon my tone Link but I have to urge you to stay. Or at the very least allow me to accompany you on your way to your home. I don't want to come off as over protective or over invested in you but you- I would like to that you are well. " Link kept his eyes straight forward and his expression stoic, in his mind, however, he was groaning and rolling his eyes. Although...if Sidon was the guide Farore had supposedly assigned to him then he really had no choice. The Goddess did this all for a reason and who was he to say no when they were only giving him the help he pleaded for.
"Let's go then. Today, before sunup. It's always best to go before the sun rises so you get hours without any skeletal monsters jumping out the ground." Sidon gulped slightly but nodded.
"We can leave in an hour. We can swim down the river and get out of the domain faster that way." Sidon suggested and Link nodded. The tall Zora Prince turned around and hurriedly walked to the nearest mini-waterfall before jumping down into the water below.
- - -
He had to admit, he was excited. Sidon hardly left the domain and now he was out adventuring with the the greatest legend in all of Hyrule's history. It was probably the most exciting thing to ever happen to him. Although Link being silent (more silent than usual that is) did put a damper on things. It didn't help that whenever Sidon did attempt to strike up a conversation with his friend Link merely responded in terse manner and continued along his quiet way. More than once did Sidon want to stamp his foot, cross his arms, and complain that Link was being rude but the prince controlled himself.
When night fell on the two of them they were lucky enough to have found a fully formed, but extremely run over with moss and other gross things, abandoned house. They were able to settle in there for the night. The fireplace in the house was clogged with debris so they made a fire in the middle of the room with some wood they found inside. Link had prepared Sidon some roasted crab and made himself some seared steak.
"Link, my dear friend, may I ask you something?" Link nodded and took a bite from his food. "Do you plan on...do you plan on fulfilling your role as King? I don't mean to ask to upset you. I just don't...I can see this is whole ordeal is eating you alive. No normal person decides run away to the coldest corner of Hyrule on a whim." Link took another bite of his food, wiping his mouth before responding.
"I'll be King, don't worry."
"No, that- that isn't an acceptable answer!" Sidon huffed. "Link I truly am sorry but you are acting childish. I understand, I do. You lost someone important to you and you're now having great responsibility thrown upon you. I went through this when Mipha died. I wouldn't leave the water for days and when I did I often ended up on the sunnier spots of the grassy hills behind my home and nearly drying out. I was a wreck and on top of that I was now officially next in line for the throne. I was a young Zora and I had felt the pain of losing my sister and my best friend to the same foe. I...I admit it most likely isn't my place to say this but Link, you must gather yourself and fix whatever damage was done. You will never be able to fulfill the promise you made to the Princess if you never even try to start."
There was silence between the two, the only real noise was the crackling of the fire between them. Sidon...had a point. Sidon had a point and Link felt like an absolute pile of garbage. He knew what he had been doing to himself and to the kingdom, he simply chose to ignore it. He tried to ignore it even more now that he had an actual path in front of him, showing him where to go in life. He prayed to the Goddesses for guidance and here he was, trying to act like it wasn't there simply because he was still scared.
"You're right." Link signed, his hand gestures dances as shadows on the walls of the house. "You're absolutely right. But I can't do this. I'm..." Link paused, trying to find the right word. "I'm a weapon of the Goddesses. I'm not a King. I'm a Knight. I trained my whole life to be a fighter and only a fighter." He unsheathed his sword, setting it on the ground between them. "This sword is forever bound to my soul because I fight. Because I fight for Hyrule and keep it safe. It isn't bound to me because I'm a King, it's because I'm a knight." Link lowered his hands and picked up the sword, looking at it solemnly.
"I understand." Sidon rested one giant hand on top of Link's free hand. "I can help you but only if you allow me too. Please Link, just let me be your friend again." Link kept his gaze on the sword but the tears forming on the corner of his eyes was a dead give away that he had heard every word. The Hylian clenched his hand into a fist, nodding as he did. Sidon smiled and gave Link a gentle and loving squeeze.