Sidon supposed that now that Link and he were officially aware of their love for one another things would be easier. It wasn't for either of them. Link was still Link and the constant worry that he was worthless and a horrible leader and hero was as present as before. His nightmares would still show the same heroes of his past always telling him the exact same thing. However he did the healthy thing this time around and tried to explain his feelings to Sidon instead of bottling them up and trying to forget them like before. A nice long talk with Sidon always had Link feeling a bit better than ever and made him more confident. Sidon was always good at making Link feel like a million rupees.
Sidon was beginning to doubt himself, however. Every time Link woke up in the middle of the night frantically looking out the window to stare up at the sky, every time Link would space out as Sidon read about a different Hero, every time Link would sit in his throne and look absolutely miserable or every time Link stare at the Master Sword with tears brimming his eyes, Sidon would be there. He would always help Link regain his confidence in himself as he'd offer up every single compliment he had. Sidon would always, without fail, lift Link's spirits. This is what scared the Zora Prince. Before they had officially begun planning the new ceremony of a Zora Prince offering gifts to his loved one, Sidon had confidence in himself that he could always make Link confident in himself. Now he began doubting that. What if one day when Link is feeling miserable he just can't lift the Hylian's Spirits? What if the compliments that leave his lips turn stale and Link is forever stuck in that pit of despair?
No. No that wouldn't happen. Sidon was sure of it. He had brought his problems to Link and Link immediately shot that down. No way Sidon would ever fail to make Link happy. The Hylian King made it very clear that Sidon was perhaps the one person that managed to keep him happy after so many discouraging events. But Sidon couldn't help but believe that maybe he was wrong. Maybe he would eventually lose his magic touch. When those thoughts began filling his head others joined in as well. What if Sidon wasn't the one meant for Link? What if it was perhaps Zelda? Hyrule's History has made it very clear that the Princess and the Knight are meant to be. Maybe Link is just too lonely to admit he doesn't love Sidon in that way. Maybe he doesn't want to lose a friend like that. Maybe Sidon doesn't deserve Link.
Those thoughts were disgusting and Sidon was disgusted with himself for thinking such horrible things but he couldn't help it. As he and Link would sit on the floor in the secret library, compiling a list of guests for the ceremony he couldn't help but think that Link didn't want this. After months of planning and preparation for the ceremony it was rapidly approaching and Sidon's doubt only grew. Just a week before the event he had enough.
"Excuse me," Sidon stopped a soldier strolling through the castle hallway, "I would like five- no, six. I would like six available members of the Royal Guard ready to escort me to the Faron Region. Make sure none of them are Zora and make sure all of them are very well prepared for possible lightning. Most importantly, if the King asks what it is that's going on simply tell him I'm leaving on business. No need to cause needless worry." The solider nodded and hurried off to find the needed Royal Guardsman that Sidon needed.
The Zora Prince admitted to himself that this was a bit reckless and dangerous but he needed answers and some kind of comfort. The Spring of Courage, where the Goddess of Courage stayed, was where he was heading. Why this specific spring to pray in? It was obvious, he had questions about Link and himself. Who better to ask than the Goddess responsible for Link's divine courage? Hopefully he would actually get some sort of answer as opposed to the silence he always received from the Goddess statue in the Zora's Domain.
He snuck into Link's room and quickly opened up his closet. Goddess, Link had so many outfits and accessories. Climbing outfit, fireproof outfit, his Vai outfit, Zora armor, some sort of dark outfit that had a mask of his face and so much more. Sidon didn't know anyone else that had as many clothes as Link. Finally after opening some small drawers Sidon found the topaz earrings he was looking for. It wouldn't protect him too much but it'd be good enough. He clipped the earrings to his neck jewelry (the closer to his head the better) and walked out. He was ready.
-
Sidon had left Link a note saying he was leaving out on business and he would return as soon as possible. He fully intended on returning before the ceremony and had his escorts run the horses at top speed. Sidon felt bad but he was going to make it up to the poor animals once they returned to Hyrule Castle. A nice long break and a barrel full of apples is what Sidon learned Link felt to be an appropriate reward for the horse's hard work. Perhaps a nice basket of carrots as well.
They arrived at the spring two days after leaving. Sidon was surprised at how fast they got there but when you travel nonstop it was possible. The Royal Guard had managed to take down every enemy in their path and were currently scouting the area just in case. Sidon stepped out of his carriage and looked to the ancient spring. Light shined on the old Goddess statue, giving it a rather holy look. He gulped and walked down the stone path into the water and to the statue. The Zora Prince knelt down in front of the statue and shut his eyes tightly. This was it.
"O great Goddess Farore, Goddess of Courage, I come before you as a lost soul. My mind has been corrupted and I need your great guidance to show me the light once more." Silence. Sidon gulped and continued. "Link, the hero chosen by the Goddess Hylia, is the one I have been longing to...marry. However is it fate? Do you and the other Goddesses give your blessing to this marriage? Does..." Sidon stared down at his reflection in the crystal clear water and sighed. "Does my dear sister give her blessing? Is she up there with you all in the Sacred Realm? Is she happy, I wonder. Is she upset? Does she loathe me for what I am doing? Am I even the one for Link? Perhaps you have different plans for the Hero of Hyrule..."
"Prince of the Zora People..." an angelic voice rang out. Sidon jumped and looked around. The voice seemed to be coming from no where yet everywhere all at once. "Your prayers have been heard. Answers shall be given. I, Farore, will give you what you seek." The ground rumbled and the wind picks up a great deal. Something nearby roared loudly and before Sidon knew it he saw the great dragon Farosh flying out of the sky. He had only seen Farosh once before, when Link was carried to Zora's Domain by the dragon itself, and he was as terrified this time as he was the last. "No real harm shall be done to you, Zora Prince." What? Sidon was about to question what that meant but a lightning ball struck him, throwing him into unconsciousness.
-
"The Hero of the Wild has gone through many hardships." A loud distorted voice rang out. Sidon couldn't see anything other than himself. Everything around him was pitch black. "However, a hero cannot be a hero without enduring pain and proving he is worthy of the courage we granted him." Sidon blinked and upon opening his eyes the darkness changed to something a bit scarier. He was at Fort Hateno on that fateful night over a hundred years ago. Fire, guardians, weapons, bodies all around him. Sidon couldn't look anywhere without being horrified. Then he saw him: Link. He was quite obviously already ready to collapse and die but he fought bravely, defending the still living Princess Zelda. Sidon couldn't move or speak but, oh, how he wanted to run over and throw himself in between that guardian and his Hylian love.
"Your doubts are justified and we will offer you a choice, Zora Prince." The scene changed at Sidon was back in the dark nothingness. "Given how different the circumstances are with this hero's life and how much more involved we have become in his life we are allowing you to choose your fate with him as opposed to the one we had already planned. You believe you are not worthy of this hero's affection, you believe this hero would be better off without you. We will show you how this hero has been handling and coping with the life we have given him then you can decide for yourself whether or not this hero needs you in his life." Sidon gulped but nodded. He supposed the Goddesses were answering his prayers but they didn't have to be so...creepy and mysterious about it. Sidon would've been fine with with a simple answer...
The darkness changed and Sidon was standing besides Link. He tore his eyes away from the Hylian only to see a sight much more painful. Mipha's spirit stood in front of Link, floating just above the water gracefully. Oh, they were in Vah Ruta. Link looked he was about to cry and Sidon couldn't tell if it was from the many open wounds he had or from seeing Mipha. The late Zora Princess took a few steps forward and blessed Link with her healing power, within a second he was healed but the tears were still there. Link took a few small steps forward and reached out to her hesitantly but light enveloped him and before he knew it he was being removed from the Divine Beast.
As Sidon watched himself take Link's hands in his own and thank him in front of the many other Zora he noticed the smallest hint of guilt in the Hylian's eyes. Sidon didn't know how he missed it before. The scene changed and now it was dark. Sidon and Link were standing in front of Mipha's statue and Link was hesitantly signing out what he saw in Vah Ruta to Sidon. Sidon saw his own features change as Link explained to him what he saw, but then the other Sidon waved the worry and guilt away and reassured Link that nothing that had happened to Mipha was his fault. Mipha held no ill will and neither would Sidon and his father. Link smiled.
The scene changed and Sidon saw several things seemingly at once. Link was fighting, fighting for his life and the lives of the dead Champions. In one second Sidon saw Link deliver the final blow to the terrible monster that haunted Vah Medoh. In another second Sidon saw Link being cornered to the very edge of the Divine Beast Vah Rudania, one single push and he'd be ashes. In another second Sidon saw Link sprinting as fast as he could to avoid lightning strikes. He wasn't fast enough and he was hit.
The scene changed again and Sidon was seeing many things at once yet again. Link fighting (and losing) a fight against a Lynel, which Sidon recognized as the one on Ploymous Mountain. Then he was being chased by two Guardians, both shooting lasers that just barely missed him. Next was Link collapsing in the snow, Sidon couldn't tell if it was from exhaustion or from starvation. Sidon was shown more scenes where Link was attacking or being attacked, shown points in Link's life where he was on the brink of death but he continued to fight. Sidon understood that the Hylian Champion had a tough journey but oh my goddess, this was horrible. He stared in horror at everything thing he was shown, he couldn't close his eyes or run away. All he could do was watch.
"The Hero of the Wild has faced many challenging tasks as he worked to free the spirits of those piloting the Divine Beasts as well as protecting those living in Hyrule and regaining his own memories." In the darkness an ear piercing roar echoed. The darkness rippled and suddenly a giant and horribly grotesque beast was in front of him. Link was jumping around and avoiding all kinds of attacks, his eyes were fierce and the grip on his sword could break a bone with how tight it was. "This time around, the evil that haunts your world was stronger and more unstable than before. However the hero handled him well." The scene changed again and Sidon was right in the middle of Hyrule field where another giant monster was running wild. "It wasn't until the one with the Goddess blood sealed the evil away did his true challenges start." Link seemed to be flying in the air as he shot one brilliantly golden arrow to the horrible beast. Zelda appeared and sealed the Calamity that tortured Hyrule for a century away. It was done.
"Certain risks were taken with how Ganon would be dealt with this time around and sadly, more lives were lost than necessary." Link was holding onto Zelda as she spoke and tried to climb onto his horse. He was crying and shaking his head, denying what he knew would happen. "We are not cruel Goddesses, we never intended for things to unfold the way they did, however certain things were inevitable. However we do try to fix the problems we have caused. This is why you are a part of this hero's life."
"So...you're saying I was only put here on this earth for him?" Sidon whispered as he saw Link break down after learning of Zelda's passing.
"While we have placed the chosen hero on this earth for a reason along with the Princess, that is not the case for you. We have all made it so your fates are intertwined but your true goal in life isn't simply being there for the hero. As said, we are not cruel. We would not force such a thing on anyone who didn't want this." The scene changed and Sidon saw himself with Link in Hyrule Castle's secret library. "Our intention for you was to be there as a friend for Link, the feelings you have developed for him are entirely your own the way the feelings of the others we have assigned to the hero was their own."
"You've done this before then? Had people be there for Link?" More people appeared, Sidon recognized them as the previous heroes of Hyrule. One of the heroes had a fairy with him, another had a girl who looked vaguely like Princess Zelda, another had two people; a girl with short hair but most definitely wasn't a princess and a...weird goblin looking woman with orange hair and strange, luminescent green markings all over her body. Heroes who Sidon had never seen before appeared next. A young boy with a conductor's baton in hand stood next to what looked like his younger sister and a pirate girl, now a group of boys (three of them to be precise) with multicolored hair stood arm in arm, next to that group of boys was another group (of four this time) locked arm in arm as well, finally a boy sitting in an orchard of apple trees with the princess at his side.
"We've made mistakes in the past regarding the hero, for a long time we saw him as a weapon and only a weapon for our own." The heroes and their loved ones vanished and were replaced by a small boy on a horse in the woods. staring up at something in the sky. Sidon took a moment to to recognize the thing was, in fact, the evil mask that tried to kill everyone with the moon. "We never knew that us not stepping in would...cause disaster for the one we needed the most." The boy was replaced with a gruesome looking zombie wearing destroyed armor and covered in vines. "The Hero of Time. He was forgotten by Hyrule and all those he loved. He was a young boy when he set out to defeat Ganondorf, when he warmed the Princess of Ganon's plans he set out to find the fairy he had become close with. However all those who knew him and of his victory had erased him from their minds. He was alone and when he died he stayed on this earth as a spirit to train the next hero, The Hero of Twilight, to become unforgettable so he would not have to live a life as lonely as the one of his ancestor."
"Long ago when the Goddess Hylia fought alongside the Chosen Hero she made a silent promise to make sure no one would forget of his heroism. We three have tried our hardest to keep that promise as he is reborn time and time again but even Goddesses are not perfect." Sidon looked down at his feet, unsure of what to say. "Dear child, although we will not try to force you to stay in the fate we hoped you'd follow, we will say one thing: the Hero of the Wild is not as fortunate as the ones before him. He has no family, his closest friends have perished, and he knows nothing of himself. However through the many hardships he has faced, the courage he has has kept him going and the love he shares for this land its people have made him strong. However these things have taken him only so far. Zora Prince, had it not been for your never ending support in his battles and your unconditional love for this hero he would have never had the true strength to finish off the Calamity. Had it not been for the Hero of the Wind's friendship with the legendary pirate and secret Princess then Ganondort would have of plunged his home into despair. Had it not been for the Hero of Twilight's friendship with the Princess of the Twili and his love for a childhood friend then Hyrule would've been corrupted by the shadows. Had it not been for The Chosen Hero's love of his land and Hylia's love of him then none of this- of any of you- would be here. Do you understand, Zora Prince?"
Sidon let out a deep sigh. At the moment he was more confused than when he first arrived at the Spring of Courage. When he asked the Goddess for advice on whether or not he was the one for Link. Now the Goddess (Goddesses?) were telling him he had a choice in whether or not he'd stay with Link as fate had intended. Yeah, Sidon was as confused ever.
There was silence as Sidon tried to figure out the things the Goddesses had presented him with. They showed him how Link had fought bravely and how he had been thrown into his life as a King. They showed him a select few times where the two of them were together. They explained how every hero has the same doubts and issues and every time there is someone there to care for him. In this case Sidon was that person but his feelings were his own and not artificial ones placed in him by the Goddesses (this was where most of his confusion came from). He didn't understand whether the Goddesses were implying if his friendship was real or his love for Link was real...
Oh, it seemed they had answered his prayers.
Sidon asked for clarification on whether or not he was right for Link, whether or not the Goddesses had different plans for him. Through some rather complicated visuals and explanations they showed Sidon what he wanted. They showed him an answer that Sidon already knew was the right one but he just needed some sort of confirmation. The Zora Prince smiled slightly and looked up, although there was nothing and no one around, he still smiled.
"I thank you all for helping me. Had it not been for your clarification I...I would have made a very bad decision. Thanks to you all I can live the life I was obviously meant for."
"Our job is not finished. We intend on answering all of your prayers." Sidon tilted his head in confusion and then remembered.
Mipha.
He was standing on Divine Beast Vah Ruta's trunk, looking over to Zora's Domain. Sidon didn't know what he was doing there.
"Hello Sidon." It was like a spear had pierced his heart. The soft and gentle voice came from behind him and tears instantly blurred his vision. Sidon turned around slowly to see his sister standing there. She was just as he remembered her. She smiled as Sidon began sobbing like a small child. When he hugged her she giggled and told him it was alright, no need for tears. She soothed him, humming an old lullaby Sidon hadn't heard in a hundred years. The Zora Prince was crouched over and sobbing into his sister's chest, blubbering out incoherent words but he didn't care. All he cared about was seeing her again.
"It's been quite some time, I know. My, how big you've gotten. You must tower over nearly every Zora." Mipha spoke softly when Sidon finally began to calm down, he was kneeling and hunched over so he could properly hug her. "I'm glad the Goddesses have granted us this time together. I've missed you and father since the day I died." Sidon whimpered and tried to respond but couldn't form the words. "I'm quite proud of you, you know. You helped appease Ruta! You were unstoppable in the water!" Sidon smiled and let go of her slightly to look up at her face. "You're going to make an excellent King one day."
"Th-Thank you...Mipha." Sidon's voice was shaky and was threatened to be cut off by another round of sobbing. He stood slowly, no longer hugging her but he held onto her hands tightly. "I've missed you too. Everyone has...Muzu still isn't over it in fact." Mipha nodded grimly. "But he is learning...to be less spiteful towards Link...he's not blaming him for your death at least."
"That's good, I'm glad things are working out." Mipha smiled warmly and Sidon felt like crying again. "Speaking of Link, I believe your proposal in a week or so, correct?" Sidon looked away in shame and nodded. "How exciting! I'm actually surprised Muzu allowed you to create a new tradition, he's always too attached to the old Zora way but to be quite honest I didn't like the fact that they excluded the princes. It didn't seem fair at all." Sidon nodded, staying silent. Mipha frowned and took a step into his line of vision. "I understand that you may feel like I'm upset at you for this but believe me when I say I'm not."
"I know...but dear sister he is the one your heart belonged to...he is your childhood friend. He was supposed to be the one you married once the Calamity was defeated and here I am planning on marrying him and disgracing you."
"The only one disgracing me right now is that mindset you have. Sidon while I am upset that I will never live the life I wanted I am glad Link has found someone who he trusts enough to open up to in such ways he wouldn't with me. I'm glad you found someone who will always be by your side and protect you from anything, even if that anything is your own thoughts."
They spent the rest of their time together talking, reminiscing. Sidon cried a total of twenty times throughout his time with Mipha and Mipha would comfort him every time. Mipha talked about her time in the afterlife, how much time she's spent with the other champions. Sidon talked about his adventures with Link. When Sidon's time was done he gave Mipha one tight hug and whispered how much he loved her. When he opened his eyes Sidon was lying on the ground and staring up at the sky. All he heard was ringing but he saw the Royal Guards from earlier screaming at one another and trying to get him to stand up. He turned his head to the side to look at the smiling Goddess statue and whispered out a quiet thank you.
-
"Where did you go?" Link was signing frantically as Sidon slowly walked through the Castle Town. He knew the Goddess said he would be in no real pain or harm or whatever from the electricity but falling onto the stone ground did hurt. "I've been worried sick and now I'm hearing that you got hurt. What happened?" Sidon tried to wave Link's worry aside but Link persisted. "What happened? I deserve to know."
"Oh nothing much. I just made a small trip to Lurelin Village in preparation for the ceremony. Nothing too extreme." He wasn't lying. After his...conversation at the Spring of Courage Sidon went to the village nearby. He had invited a local that Link seemed fond of, it turns out he tried to run away from his village to escape the fishing fate in store for him. Link said he would always save the poor guy from a silver bokoblin but he always kept his spirits up and Link liked that. "All I did was fall by the way, not like I went out to defeat an Octorok like before." Link hesitantly accepted this answer and took the Zora's hand to led him into the castle.
The ceremony was approximately two days away. Tomorrow Sidon would go back to his home and prepare himself, then on the day of the actual event Link would go. He was going to leave both Robbie and Purah in charge of the castle and basically the Kingdom, both the scientists insisted that they didn't mind and that they'd much rather celebrate the wedding instead. Link wasn't going to argue with them.
When Sidon was sitting on his bed, relaxing after his very emotionally exhausting, Link plopped down besides him and hugged him tightly. He's been doing this a lot lately. Sidon didn't mind. Link just needed to feel for himself to make sure Sidon was real and this wasn't part of some hyper-realistic dream. The Zora Prince wrapped one arm around his Hylian love and looked down at him with a smile on his face. They would be engaged soon and now he knew that there was nothing to be worried about.