Sidon was able to leisurely sit in the small pond just outside of Link's home in Hateno Village, course most of the top half of his body was exposed thus defeating the whole purpose of actually sitting in the pond but whatever. For once he was a bit annoyed by his height. At least some of his body was able to rest in the refreshing water.
"So," Bolson, a construction worker and friend of Link's sat by the pond and and enjoyed the sun, "You're the Prince of the Zora?"
"Yes I am. You can call me Sidon, I know many people often refer to me as "your highness" or "prince" but I prefer to be called by my name." Bolson chuckled and nodded.
"So Sidon, how are you and Link getting along? Admittedly you two seem like such an odd pair. You seem so calm and collected, plus you're a prince. Link is, well, odd. When I first met him he seemed extremely irrational. The kid nearly bought that piece of junk house for fifty thousand rupees. But I went easy on him and sold it to him for 3,000 rupees and thirty bundles of wood." Bolson plucked a flower from the ground and tucked it behind his ear. "He seems to love it here though. Spends as much of his free time here as he possibly can. But enough about that, I'd like to know why the esteemed Prince of the Zora is accompanying a traveler like Link.
Sidon was staring at the house, just barely looking through the window. He couldn't see in very clearly but he imagined his friend was inside most likely polishing the collection of Champion's weapons he had hung up on the walls or maybe cooking a meal or maybe taking another nap. Sidon sighed and turned back to Bolson.
"I'm planning on convincing him to journey to Hyrule Castle. Perhaps we could fix it up a bit and get- perhaps we could fix it up... That castle was Hyrule's most impressive piece piece after all..." Bolson laughed.
"No offense your highness but you and Link can't do all THAT on your own. But you know who can?" Sidon looked at him curiously, already having some idea as to what the other would say. "I can! If you'd like we can restore Hyrule Castle to its former glory and charge 60% less than what we would charge for a project that big." Sidon's shark tail, the one on the back of his head, began wagging just a bit.
"Yes! What a wonderful idea!!" Sidon was grinning widely. There were practically stars in his eyes. Now all he really had to do was convince Link to go to the castle without making it seem like he was trying to force Link into fully being a King. That...probably would start a bit of an argument.
"Buuuuut It'd take us a little while to actually get to the castle. We have some part of our construction crew out in Tarrey Town so it'll take a couple of weeks to get over to the castle and begin the reconstruction."
"That's alright!" Sidon sat up straighter and leaned over, taking one of Bolson's hands in his and shaking it. "Thank you so very much! You have no idea what it means to me! The Zora will forever be in debt to you!" Bolson laughed, blushing just a bit from the sudden contact with the handsome Zora.
"Please, if anything this is more for me than the kingdom." Bolson winked. "When I was a young boy I always dreamed of going into Hyrule Castle and doing work for it. Like building a new fountain or garden. And I always longed to see it in it's true glory. But since it's been taken over by that monstrosity all my life I never could and never believed I would. But now I have the marvelous opportunity to, all thanks to you!" Sidon smiled. The two chit-chatted for a while before Link walked out and announced it was now time for Sidon and himself to hit the road. Bolson and the Zora said goodbye (and Sidon slipped him a portion of the payment for the cost of reconstructing the castle) before the Hylian and the Zora walked down the path and out the village.
Link had honestly no clue where to go, he never really did. Usually he followed the way the winds flew and right now there were none. No problem, they would just follow the path and everything would be a-okay. They walked in a comfortable silence, Sidon admired every single flower and small animal he saw and Link kept an eye out for any suspicious characters.
Every so often Sidon would glance at his friend. He didn't want to start anything with him but he had to eventually tell Link what he had done. Sidon cleared his throat, which automatically caught Link's attention.
"I'd like for you to know something. Something I did. Now it isn't anything bad but it may be something you may find slightly upsetting." Link raised an eyebrow, motioning for Sidon to continue. "I have hired that friend of yours, Bolson, to rebuild Hyrule Castle. He said it would take a couple of weeks to actually begin the reconstruction but I have full faith in him." Link nodded, not seeming the slightest bit annoyed.
"Bolson's Construction Company is great. I'm pretty sure they'll be fully capable to rebuild Hyrule Castle to its formal glory. Maybe they'll make it even better." Link smiled at Sidon who was actually a bit shocked at the reaction, more so the smile.
"Y-Yes. I thought so as well." Sidon looked around for a second, trying to think of something else to talk about right now that Link was in a jovial mood. "Where are we travelling to next? Any specific region? Gerudo Town perhaps? Maybe the Rito Village?" Link shrugged.
"I don't think we're going anywhere particular. You see, my favorite part about travelling when I was going from one destination to the other was just walking. Going on a path and seeing where that led me. I loved that. I loved sitting on a hill and knowing that even though I had a huge responsibility hanging over my head and I had to go to the next Divine Beast or whatever I still had the freedom to explore and experience things and make discoveries. Maybe that's what we'll do, maybe you and I could just explore. You can help me with...being a King and I can show you the world through my eyes."
"That..." Sidon had a slight blush on his cheeks. Sometimes Link had such an incredible way with words it just made even the simplest things sound pleasant. "That sounds quite lovely. I would love to see everything the way you do."
~
Three days of nothing but pure walking and exploring took up Sidon and Link's time. Neither of them complained though, the beautiful nature was more than enough to keep them distracted from the long walks. At night was when the two sat around the campfire and spoke to one another about themselves. The fourth night was no different. It was raining but they found an old and broken house- or more a wall with about a quarter of a roof still attached. Sidon loved the rain now that Vah Ruta didn't torment him and his people with it. He found it to be calming and a great way for him to be out and about with the feeling that he was submerged underwater. The fire crackled between the two of them as they stared out at the grassy hills in front of them. Link, to much of Sidon's surprise, hunted and killed a bull. the bull saw him and instantly ran him over a good two times but that didn't discourage Link. Now they were feasting on the rich meat from the bull earlier.
Link stared up at the sky, examining the rain clouds. It didn't seem like they would go away any time soon. He glanced at Sidon who was currently playing with a frog that had come out during this weather. The Hylian felt a sense of happiness wash over him. He liked this, he liked Sidon's company. The Zora seemed so interested in everything Link had to say and he seemed to be more than patient with him when he went through his short moods of cold silence. He didn't feel like he deserved someone like Sidon yet Farore believed he did. Sidon accidentally let the little frog jump too far from his reach and was left without a little companion. Link caught Sidon's eye and he took this opportunity to reluctantly thank him.
"I'd like to say thanks. To you. For this." Link paused to gather his words. "I usually feel bad whenever I see you. I'm always reminded that your sister is dead because of my incompetence and it's the worst feeling. I never really understood why but you still managed to have some shred of faith in me I didn't deserve it and when most of your people didn't want anything to do with me." Sidon stopped Link, gently pushing his hands down onto the ground, before he spoke.
"I no longer want to hear- or more see- you talking so negatively about yourself. My faith in you is probably extremely bias based on the fact that even after all the years I have looked up to you and saw you as a God among Goddesses. However I won't argue that my bias opinion turned out to be completely true in the end." Sidon smiled. "A part of being King, you know, is having confidence in yourself. I understand that right now you don't have the best confidence but believe me, when it is the time for you to step into Hyrule Castle as King and not a warrior, you will know you will be able to do this."
Link was staring down at his lap, trying his hardest to fight the urge to smile. In the end he succumbed and the smile spread across his face. Oh how Sidon loved the smile, it was a thing so rare it made him feel like the richest person in all the kingdom when he saw it. The two spent the rest of the night talking. Link continued asking Sidon questions about their time together when they were younger and Sidon more than happily told him the many stories he shared, not forgetting a single one.
When the camp fire died down and the moon was nearly at its peak Link stood up and stretched. They had made sure to stop by a small pond when the rain was coming down and now Sidon was going to use that pond as a small bed. Link had the Master Sword in his hand and told Sidon to get some rest, reassuring the prince he would protect him all night long from any sort of danger. As Sidon closed his eyes and began drifting away to a peaceful sleep he wondered if it would be acceptable for a male Zora to create Zora armor for the husband he wanted.