"Two days." Impa hummed as she ran her fingers through Link's hair, trying to pull out any twigs that kept mysteriously appearing. "Two days until Sidon can officially be dubbed Sidon Hyrule, Prince Consort of the Kingdom of Hyrule and you can be dubbed Link Hyrule, Prince Consort of the Zora Kingdom." The old woman plucked out a leaf before gently pouring water on Link's long locks. "It's quite funny how the Zora people don't have last names isn't it? I never understood that but I suppose it must have something to do with ancient traditions." Link nodded a little. He was not paying much attention to what Impa was saying in all honesty. In that secret room of the ancient heroes of Hyrule had found one of many books. The one he was reading seemed to offer smaller details on the former heroes. Their likes, dislikes, home life, that sort of stuff.
The Sheikah elder dragged the brush through the dirty blond hair and smiled. "Paya has commissioned for lovely new coat to be made for you for your wedding. She's really gotten invested in this entire event. To be frank I'm quite happy she hasn't taken this too hard. Her crush on you had me worried when you tasked her to help plan your wedding. But she has overcome any feelings of grief she's had. Don't tell her I said this but I have read her diary and she's confessed she likes you much better as a best friend than a spouse or anything like that. She's said that your rambunctious behavior would probably have killed her by now. Of course that's not meant to offend you." Link chuckled and set his book down for a moment to lift his hands up into the air so Impa could see and signed out his response.
"I've read her diary too- don't worry." Impa laughed quietly.
The sound of Impa's quiet hums filled the room, joined with the noise of Link turning the ancient pages of heroes long since gone. The brush ran through his tangled, somewhat dirty hair and tried it's best to clean up the messy locks. When all was said and done, Impa made Link stand up so she could take a better look. She examined her work, made him turn in a circle and nodded.
"I've done the best I could to fix the mess you call hair. But no matter how hard my frail old hands try I cannot seem to get your hair to stay neat. But I suppose those wild strands are what makes you, you." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a light blue band. "My my, your hair has grown quite a lot. It's nearly the length of your entire back. At this rate your ponytail will be as long as mine was when I was a young girl!" As she beckoned for him to kneel down so she can pull his hair into a perfect ponytail he stopped her.
"I'd like to try something new." Impa raised an eyebrow. As Link flipped to a page in his book showing the Hero of Twilight in his more casual clothes. Several messy sketches of him in different angles were quickly drawn onto the paper by whatever oracle wrote this particular section. "If you believe you can do it- or if you think it'll even look good on me- I'd like to try his hairstyle. I don't know why but it just kind of stuck to me. To be pretty honest I admire him- me?- uh, that hero."
"Hm." The Sheikah elder examined the pages and nodded slowly. "I'll go fetch some scissors and get started." Impa turned to leave but Link stopped her and pulled a pair out from a nearby drawer. Impa smiled and and took the scissors before motioning for him to sit down. "It's about time you take my advice and cut this mane of yours. It'll be a nice change and a great look dear. Just you watch." Impa glanced over at the many detailed drawings of the Twilight Hero before parting and preparing Link's hair.
-
Before any wedding of anyone in the royal Zora family a small ritual or sorts takes place. The Zora with the royal blood is the only participant and it is a long, tedious task. The ritual calls for the one to be married, Sidon the Zora Prince in this case, to do a lengthy amount of prayer. First, to Farore the Goddess of Courage. Sidon must pray to her and ask for the courage for the events that will soon take place as well as the courage to push through any negative obstacle, no matter how big or small. Next, he must pray to the Goddess Din, the Goddess of Power. His prayers to her will be ones asking for the power to keep his marriage and its bond strong forever after. Then prayers to Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom, are put into place. He will ask her to share her wisdom in times of trouble, share her wisdom in times where he is unsure of his love for his spouse or unsure of what to do to fix any sort of problems. Finally, Sidon is to pray to the previous Zora rulers. He is to ask them to protect not only himself and his kingdom, but his new spouse. He is to ask them for their blessing and forever look out for the love of his life. When all prayer is done Sidon will be presented with the ancient Zora pearls used by the previous rulers used on their own wedding days to give to whomever he's marrying. However that's not the end of it! He must stay where he is and think long and hard over the life changing decision he is making. When is he allowed to leave? When the ancient spirits of the Zora see him to be completely confident in his decision.
All silver jewelry was taken off, including the rings given to him from link to symbolize engagement in a Hylian's tradition. When the sun began rising and Divine Beast Vah Ruta began letting out her loud cries to show the start of a new day, Sidon quickly made his way to one of the many waterfalls and swam upwards. The cave in which he was to pray in was separated from the rest of the Domain as to not cause any sort of interference. Its entrance was covered by a waterfall but upon nearing it the water split into two and pulled itself to the sides, much like a curtain would when being opened, to reveal the dark inside. Sidon gulped and slowly stepped onto the flat rocks barely peaking above the surface of the water that led inside. Once he was in the waterfall returned to normal and blue flames sparked to life all around the walls. The blue lights showed a large rock in the very center of the room. The Zora Prince hesitantly continued down the rocks to the much larger one and sat cross-legged on it.
"Alright," Sidon let out a deep breath, closing his eyes and clasping his hands together in a praying gesture before placing them on the center of his chest, "my time has come."
"I am Sidon, Prince of the Zora people and next in line for the throne. I have come before you, the Three Golden Goddesses and the spirits of Zora rulers, to pray for my marriage. Link Hyrule, a man of many miracles will soon become my husband. Link Hyrule; the man that has defeated evil in this life, in his past lives, and in his next lives, the very embodiment of Farore's divine courage, the Hero of the Kingdom of Hyrule, the very King of Hyrule, will forever become a part of the Zora family tomorrow when I am to marry him. I have come to pray for him, my Domain, our marriage, and myself."
"O Farore, Goddess of Courage. You and your sisters have all tasked Link with the role of a warrior, returning to fight a never dying darkness. He has won fights and proved himself victorious. He has the very courage you created. Now I am here, asking you for a shard of that courage. I ask you for courage in my decision, please lend me that power as I wake up tomorrow and doubts begin bubbling in the deepest parts of my brain. Please lend me that power when our bond seems to be broken beyond repair and none of us has the strength to fix it, lend me that power to fix problem without doubts in my mind." The wind whistled outside and Sidon was tempted to open his eyes. He restrained himself, however. It was a tradition to have the eyes firmly shut throughout the prayer session, if you opened them and witnesses the great spirits of the Goddesses while asking for their power it was rumored that the marriage would fail tremendously. That and you would possibly die because their power is too much for a mere mortal to witness.
"O Din, Goddess of Power. I ask you for your immense power in whatever way you see fit. You hold the key to helping me keep my marriage strong, stable, for no relationship is perfect. Your aid would help keep my bond strong, and if it is already strong then it shall make it stronger. I ask you to please, please, give us the strength to continue on in our later years whenever things may seem bleak." The wind picked up and Sidon took in a shaky breath before continuing.
"O Nayru, Goddess of Wisdom. You have a strong connection to my people. Wisdom has been passed down from one Hylian princess to the next. Now Link is the one with that power. I ask you to allow us a smidgen of that power in times of great crisis. Whether it may be something as major as us on the brink of dissolving our marriage to as minor as seemingly unimportant quarrels. Allow us a piece of your wisdom when we are at each other's throats, hollering at one another. Give us the wisdom to say the correct things, right our wrongs, fix our mess." The water surrounding him was now loudly slapping against the cave's walls and the rock Sidon was on before it all stopped completely. However Sidon wasn't finished yet.
"Ancient spirits of previous Zora rulers, Zora royals, answer my call and appear before me!" Sidon, keeping his eyes closed, repositioned himself so he was kneeling instead of sitting. "I have come to pray as many of you have before me. I have to come to pray for the guidance of the Goddesses and your blessing as well as protection. Link Hyrule, Hero of the land and King of Hyrule, will be the one I marry tomorrow. I ask you all, my ancestors, to protect this man. Watch over him the way you would your own kin for soon he will forever be a part of the Zora Royal family. Give us your blessing, show me that this marriage is meant to be, show me that no doubts come from myself or from my own bloodlines." There was a deafening silence in the cave. Sidon tried his best to keep his expression as blank as possible but he was sure he looked more like he was in pain than anything else.
The sound of water moving was the only thing that he could hear after a full minute of nothing. The Zora Prince opened his eyes to see pale blue balls of light floating around him as well as another, thinner rock, in front of him with the traditional Zora pearls. Sidon smiled and stretched an arm to grab the beautiful pearls before a blue light engulfed them. When it died down the pearls were adorning a golden neck piece, similar to the one Sidon often wore. He smiled and whispered a thank you before he reached for it again. Once the beautiful piece of jewelry was safe in his hands the rock lowered itself into the water. The prayers had ended but the light blue balls of light were still there. Now came the part where Sidon really thought of his decision. The mysterious magic of this secluded cave filled it up with water and left Sidon floating alongside the blue light balls. He held the pearls close to himself as he closed his eyes again and allowed his mind to wander to various thoughts of Link.
As the Zora Prince floated in the peaceful waters of the somewhat far off cave the Zora people began packing small bags and diving into the waters of the East Reservoir to try to make the trip to Central Hyrule. Most of the domain's residents had left already and only a few remained. King Dorephan was one of the few who had not yet stood from his throne and began making the long trip to the castle. His personal guards and servants were still gathering some much needed items for himself and Sidon; jewelry, useful weapons (just in case) appropriate wedding attire, much needed food, etc. As they prepared the King was smiling softly and contently, his eyes closed and his body was relaxed.
King Dorephan believed the time would eventually come when his children married someone and became their own person. He supposed he always hoped they would remain children, Mipha and Sidon would rule side by side, as siblings. That was the plan Dorephan had in place for them. Then a strange young boy, a Hylian, had one day wandered into the Domain. He had no parents with him and no guardian either, he hadn't even come in the proper way! Some Zora found him trying to climb up the ladder up to the above-water palace. This was when Mipha took a liking to him. The two spent every second they could together whether it was exploring the grassy areas around the Domain, training with wooden weapons, or trying to fight off small ChuChus to something more relaxed such as running around the sparkling Domain and nearly tripping every adult Zora that dared cross their paths. These moments were the ones that made Dorephan realize he did not get to live out his mini-fantasy of Mipha forever being a child and be a fierce Queen. No matter though, Link seemed like a fine boy for his daughter. He wouldn't dare step on her destiny to become a qualified and formidable Queen of the Zora people. In fact, her marrying a Hylian could've boosted the relationship between the Zora and Hylians. Dorephan was content with that.
When Sidon came along and the current Queen of the Zora people died from protecting her own home from a particularly angry band of Lizalfos, Dorephan began to believe that things would never be as pleasant as he hoped. His only son would never be able to see, hear, touch, remember his own mother. Dorephan had lost the love of his wife. Mipha had lost a best friend, a parent, a role model. Things were hard but Dorephan did not give up. Once Sidon hatched from the pearly white Zora egg the air changed. While all of the Domain was overcome with grief of the loss of their Queen they changed to a somewhat happier tone when small baby Sidon first opened his gigantic yellow eyes and stared at his subjects. Mipha smiled for the first time since her mother died, as did Dorephan. Link, who hasn't visited in quite some time, began coming back regularly and spent more and more time with the Royal family. Everything seemed to be falling back into place.
A small frown flashed onto the Zora King's face as he remembered his daughter volunteering to pilot Divine Beast Vah Ruta. He remembered her bowing and promising Princess Zelda she'd fight for Hyrule until her last breath, she would be willing to die if it meant keeping her family and home safe. He remembered Mipha staying inside the Divine Beast for extended periods of time trying to control the thing. When she did return to the Domain she would collapse in exhaustion on the floor of the throne room. He remembered seeing her stressed and feeling hopeless when should just couldn't figure out how to work the damn elephant, he remembered giving his daughter a bright smile and pumping his fist into the air telling her not to give up, she would be amazing!
He remembered getting the news that the Calamity had won, Mipha was dead as were the other champions. Link included. All hope was lost.
Sidon was too young to fully grasp the fact that his sister was never coming him. When he did understand his screaming sobs were heart breaking and the pain resonated throughout the Domain. Dorephan felt helpless and much like a failure. He remembered believing that the Zora people would lose their Prince and King along with the Princess, the grief was so painful he believed Sidon and himself would die from it.
Years would pass until Sidon became unusually chipper and enthusiastic, it was all a cover-up for the pain he felt. Years would pass until he would hear rumors of a blond and confused Hylian wandering around saving everyone from any harm, looking a bit too much like the fallen hero that fought along side the princess and rest of the champions a hundred years ago. Years would pass until Sidon sent out search parties for Link. The two would meet, Sidon's heart would skip a beat from the rush of excitement he felt at seeing an old friend and the light of hope. They would defeat Vah Ruta, free the trapped soul of the Mipha and continue their friendship. Dorephan would continue to believe that neither one felt any kind of romantic feelings or more he would be oblivious to that fact- Sidon was happy to see an old friend after all! Link was glad to have a companion as opposed to being alone at all times- until one day the new Hylian King would announce that he would begin courting his son and soon a wedding would be in place.
Looking back Dorephan didn't understand why he hadn't seen the signs sooner.
"Sir," one of his servants called out quietly, "All of Sidon's and your things have been prepared. I have been informed that Sidon, however, hasn't returned from the cave. I suggest you leave first given how much...slower your pace is. I am sure that he will be able to catch up with you once he finishes up." The King sighed and opened up an eye.
"I presume you all decided among yourselves who would stay with me and who would stay with my son?" The servant nodded. "Ah, excellent. Let us be on our way then." Now came the real struggle.
Due to Dorephan's massive size and, of course, age standing up off of his throne was a challenge. His old bones and his weak knees made standing difficult but he managed. Once he was standing he now had to face...the door. With a groan he hunched over and just barely made it out. He had the doorway adjusted more than half a century ago, he knew he would grow to a massive size and just kind of guessed at how tall it should be. Now thinking about it, he should've went with his gut instinct and made the door at the most 45 feet tall instead of 30.
"Sir, I suggest you dive down into the water from here. The water below is deep enough where you won't injury yourself with the bottom." Dorephan grunted and nodded, slowly walking to the...rather short wall and peeked over to the water down below. "There are several Zora waiting down below to assist you if you cannot swim up the surface. There is no need to worry."
"Worry? Hah!" The gigantic King leaned back, his back cracking. "In my younger days I would jump from the very top of the giant fish into the water! Just because I have gained a few years and haven't been mobile doesn't mean that I've lost the one skill every Zora possesses!" The young servant of his stayed silent, not wanting to discourage her king. She stood back and held her breath as the gigantic Zora dove into the water.
As he hoped, he still had the one skill every Zora had (swimming, obviously) and made it into the water safely. A gigantic splash- well more wave - reached the top of the Zora's above water domain. When Dorephan resurfaced he was laughing and hollering. He felt like a young man again.
"Your highness!" Dorephan looked down to see one of the armor clad Zora waving at him. "We will surround you while escorting you to Hyrule Castle. We have estimated that you will arrive no later than tonight." The Zora King smiled and nodded. He turned to look up at his beautiful domain, it sparkling in the day's light, before he resubmerged himself in the water and began his journey to Hyrule Castle.
-
The very night before the wedding was quite hectic as one could imagine. Nearly all, if not all, the kingdom had made their way to Hyrule castle, Castle Town, and neighboring villages. While Link tried his best to fit literally all the kingdom in the castle he just couldn't. Luckily the residents in the neighboring villages were kind enough to let families sleep in their homes for the night. When all the homes were packed with families then they turned to the inns and when those were full, well, the remaining had no choice but to camp out in their rather small carriages. This was one of many problems for Link.
Riju spent a better part of the evening with her and the other champions (minus Sidon of course) trying to teach Link how to dance. It turns out that in all his years of knightly training he never once learned how to properly slow dance. Of course this was an outrage- this was Link's wedding and he would do it right! So the Gerudo Chief took it upon herself to teach Link how to slow dance. It took many hours and a lot of yelling, irritated sighing, and having Yunobo dance with her as an example to have Link finally be at least somewhat decent at dancing.
When all that was done and the four were resting in the Sanctum, Teba cleared his throat and mentioned Link's much shorter hair and new hair style. Link smiled and with his disgustingly raspy voice explained his reasoning. The three champions were too shocked from hearing the Hyrulean King actually speak to respond. Link laughed and laughed at his friends surprised expressions and for the rest of the night they spent their time together asking odd questions about Link's ability to speak and Link refusing to speak again with a smug smile on his face. Eventually Impa came and, like a mother telling her child and their friends that it was time to sleep, commanded all the champions to return to their rooms. They had a big day tomorrow and couldn't afford a single person accidentally falling asleep.
They bade one another good night and left, leaving Link in his room all alone. Even when Impa told Link to sleep he couldn't. So instead he got up and walked out onto his balcony. As he looked out onto the horizon of his kingdom his eyes settled on a oncoming group. It didn't take much, not even in the dark, for Link to realize who it was. He smiled as he watched the tall red figure be led into the castle. Before Link himself could be seen, however, he quickly made his way back to his bed. A silent prayer and thank you to the Three Golden Goddesses later and Link had his eyes squeezed shut trying to invite sleep in. He just couldn't wait for tomorrow.
-
White was everywhere and it was blinding.
The decorations were up, the sun was out and the sky was clear. It was a perfect day for a royal wedding. Paya was just setting up the last of the decorations and guests were already starting to fill in whatever amount of seats there were and almost all were already taken. Paya silently cursed herself for underestimating the sheer size of the entire kingdom and prayed that there would be enough room in at least Castle Town to accommodate this large amount of people for the celebratory party afterwards.
While that went on the grooms-to-be were preparing themselves. Link was pulling on the beautiful clothes specially made for this occasion; a rather long white coat with repeated stitching of the Triforce and Zora symbol on the cuffs and ends. His shirt was tucked into the usual gigantic belt that displayed the Triforce but this shirt had some rather nice pearls as buttons and, again, the Zora symbol on it. This time it was a pin made of, you guessed it, pearls that was over his heart. His jewelry consisted mostly of pearls and gold with sprinkles of emeralds (to honor the Goddess Farore of course). The whole time Link was being dressed into these rather extravagant garbs he couldn't think of how...much it is. Then again it was his wedding day, he should be sporting pearls and showing them off and yelling "I'm marrying a Zora Prince! I'm marrying a Zora Prince!"
Sidon's outfit consisted of mostly jewelry of course. The Zora people had no need for clothes, plus shiny metals and gems were far more beautiful than any cloth. The Zora Prince, however, sported a rather nice green sash with a sword stitched on. It was similar the one on Link's tunic except this sword had Farore's symbol on the blade along with a single triangle. His neck piece was made of gold and showed off the Triforce, emerald pieces decorating the area around it. His fingers were covered in rings made of pearls, his necklaces had diamonds and sapphires, his bracelets once again had the Triforce on it along with the Zora's Symbol. His crown (or headpiece) was similar to his father's, a sort of circle that rested on top of his head with some protruding parts that had held pearls in them, the only difference was that Sidon's headpiece had a nice ruby in center part.
Sidon looked stunning and those helping put all this jewelry on him fawned over how gorgeous it all looked, how gorgeous he looked. Sidon stared at his reflection, a soft smile on his face.
Paya walked in a moment later. Her hair was mostly put up in a bun for the exception of a couple strands hanging loosely in front of her face. The new style and ceremonial outfit made her look like a much younger version of Impa. She smiled and nodded. Sidon practically leapt out of his seat. It was time. The wedding was about to begin.
Rushing through the castle covered in heavy jewelry while simultaneously trying not to bump into other rushing guests or wedding helpers was quite the hassle. Paya was gripping onto Sidon's gigantic hand so tightly and running so fast he was worried he would trip more than once! Luckily he didn't and no ring, bracelet, or necklace fell off either. When he was in position Paya did one final check before running off back into the castle to make sure Link was in position. Sidon was now alone (well as alone as one could be when surrounded by Zora guards) and awaiting the start of Kass' accordion which was the Zora Prince's signal to make his way to the alter. From where he was standing he could barely get a glimpse of it. Sidon knew that Link was probably seeing the same thing but on the opposite side of course. Paya's plan was to have the two of them walk at the same time to the alter that way they see each other at the same time. It was more romantic that way, the over excited Sheikah explained.
Kass' accordion began playing and Sidon's breath stopped. He gulped and began walking, his loyal guards going at the same pace as him. The hundreds and hundreds of guests all rose and looked off at the directions where the two husbands-to-be came from. Sidon didn't dare look at anyone. He looked straight ahead and continued walking. Then he saw him, Link, and he looked like a living dream.
As cliche as it may seem Sidon would describe the next few moments of his life as this; the world around him faded away. Everything and everyone was a blur. Link was the one thing he focused on. A gigantic smile broke onto his face as the two of them continued walking to one another. Once they finally reached the alter the world came back into focus but it didn't matter. Sidon couldn't take his eyes off the most beautiful hylian in front of him.
"The History of Hyrule," Impa's voice rang out loudly as the ceremony began, "Is often one looked at in pain. Our kingdom has faced death and disaster time and time again that our past is almost always one people want to forget. However, today we make history. Today will be a day everyone will fondly remember. For today is the day the King of Hyrule and Prince of the Zora are to be wed." The guests all cheered and clapped. Impa raised a hand and the crowd died down.
"As you all know, marriage isn't to be taken lightly. Many people have come to me and asked me whether I believed Link was ready for such a large commitment. Their arguments have always been he's too young, he just woke up from the Shrine of Resurrection, he's only acting on post Calamity feelings, he is too reckless for this kind of thing, he is too wild. Link himself has come to me with these same arguments. Doubts would fill his mind as he begged me to throw some sense his way. He would say that maybe he wasn't ready for marriage, he was too wild, maybe he wasn't meant to be in such a relationship, maybe he wasn't meant to marry royalty, maybe he wasn't meant to marry at all. To all those doubts of his and all those who doubted him I have one thing to say: Do not worry. If you were too wild I'm plenty sure that the Zora Prince would have gone running long before you realized your true feelings." The crowd laughed and Sidon gave a quiet chuckle. "If you were not meant to marry then the Golden Goddesses would have struck you down the moment such a thought entered your head. If you weren't ready to marry then you would not have marched yourself into King Dorephan's throne room to announce you wished to court his son. As for the being too young I doubt that is an issue, you being over one hundred after all."
"Marriage, as I was saying, is serious. It takes the patience and energy of both people. In this case, it took the patience of our own Zora Prince. Sidon, was the first of the two to realize his true feelings. With that came a great burden: getting Link to understand how he felt and pray that our painfully oblivious hero felt the same. The Prince is patient and he waited. He was there for Link when no one else was, when no one else could be. He was there to witness our king crack under pressure. He was there to witness our hero learn the dark truths of the heroes past. He was there when nightmares took over his sleep, when paranoia filled his mind, when stress overwhelmed him. He was there to see the parts of Link no one else in the Kingdom has. He was a friend, a shoulder to cry on, a pillar of support. He gave Link all his love, all his support, all of himself, and his never ending patience is now being paid." The guests all clapped, some of them crying a bit.
"It is time for the two to exchange vows. Sidon will be the one to start." Impa stepped back and motioned for Sidon to begin speaking. The Zora nodded, cleared his throat, and began.
"Link..." Another deep breath. "Link, last night as I floated in the dark waters and thought of the obviously important decision I'm making I couldn't simply focus on the idea of marriage. I could only focus on you which may sound silly given the fact that I am marrying you but give me a moment to explain. I could only think of you and all the wonderful things I love. The way you get so confused with expressing feelings at times that you turn to having to defeat some sort of monster to show me how much you love me or doing the opposite and just blurting it out. The way you care for animals and treat them as if they were your own children! The way your eyes light up when you talk to me after a long day of exploring the home you love. The way your heart goes out to anyone you meet, the way you do anything it takes to ensure the happiness of your fellow Hylian, Zora, Rito, Gerudo, or Goron. Link, I know I have said this so many times before but you have gone through so much in your life. You have had countless battles and there is no doubt you will have countless more. But there is also no doubt you will win each and every one of them."
"When I look in those lovely blue eyes of yours I see the sky. The beauty, security, and mystery of it. I see eyes that have stared into the very face of evil. I see the tiring nights, the despair, the fear, and the power you have faced. I see the way you look at me with those beautiful blue eyes and my heart skips a beat because I know that you see me and often believe some magical and evil force will take me away and you feel the need to protect me. You would probably throw yourself into battle for me, but listen to me when I say don't do it. Not on your own at least. As of today you and I are one, if something were to threaten me, you, or the kingdom then we shall go off into battle together. We shall defeat the evil together, and we shall return victorious together." Paya walked up slowly a pillow with the neck piece Sidon was given last night resting upon it. Sidon carefully picked the beautiful thing up and turned back to Link. "Normally a Zora royal is given pearls to present to their spouse on their wedding day, however the ancient spirits of rulers since past have presented me with this lovely thing instead." The Zora knelt down and gently put the neck piece on Link. Link had tears in his eyes, he gently touched the neck piece and looked back up to Sidon with a smile.
"Now, it is time for Link to begin his vows." Sidon stood back up and waited for Paya to step up to translate what Link would say. She didn't.
"Sidon..." The Zora's eyes widened as he looked down at Link. He was sure everyone else was looking at the Hylian King the same way. "I've been alive for more years than I can count. I've lost my memories, my friends, my family. I pretty much died then was revived by a magical bath and a long nap. When I first came to I was thrown into a seemingly impossible adventure. I was afraid, more afraid than anyone could possibly imagine. Even with the courage of a goddess my knees would buckle and my hands would sweat a the first sign of danger. But I guess that all kind of changed when I first met you."
"Going up the path to the Zora's domain was terrifying. At the time I was weak and barely had any decent weapons. All the monsters were electric based and it was raining. I was sure I was a goner. But I kept thinking about you and how you suddenly...showered me in such generous compliments and encouragement and I wasn't afraid. When we went out to defeat Vah Ruta you encouraged me to stay strong as I swam up the water and shoot arrows in the sky, I wasn't afraid. When I went in and battled the disgusting monster Ganon had made, I wasn't afraid. I kept thinking of you, your kind words, your strong belief in me. You gave me the true courage to continue." Sidon smiled softly, tears running down his cheeks. Link reached over and took the Zora's hands in his own before continuing. "You've been with me through so much. You've seen me at my worst and my best. You have had first hand experience of what I go through each and every day whether that day be me going out to endure nature and battle monsters or run a kingdom with no experience at all. You've learned all about me and my past. You know all the dark secrets kept between me, the Goddesses, and the royal family and yet you still deem me a good spouse. You've taken a weapon for Hyrule that has been programmed to fight no matter what, that has no real way of dealing with emotions, that can't ever see himself as useful, and made him believe he is something extraordinary. Before waking up would be a struggle, I never wanted to do it because I hated being myself so much. But now, waking up isn't so bad when I know I have someone that is willing to help me, talk to me, work with me, and love me by my side. I can't promise that you and I will forever feel like the perfect couple and our marriage will be perfect forever. But I can promise you that together we'll fight whatever comes in our way. No matter how big, strong, difficult the obstacle or opponent may be, we'll get through it. Together."
Sidon was crying, as were most of the guests. Link's way with words were...interesting. His voice wasn't as raspy as last night but it still sounded slightly strange but even then it didn't ruin the moment. Sidon didn't know if all that Link said would be the same if he hadn't told him vocally!
"And now," Impa stepped forward as Paya walked up with the rings, "comes the final part of the ceremony." The Sheikah girl handed the two their rings. "Do you, Link, King of Hyrule and Hero of the Goddess, take Sidon, Prince of the Zora, as your lawfully wedded husband. Do you swear to the Goddess Hylia that you will forever bind yourself to him and keep him safe, be with him no matter what?"
"I do." Link smiled, tears now running down his cheeks as he placed the golden ring on Sidon's finger."
"And do you, Sidon, Prince of the Zora, take Link, King of Hyrule and Hero of the Goddess, as your lawfully wedded husband? Do you swear to the Goddess Hylia that you will forever bind yourself to him and keep him safe, be with him no matter what?"
"I do." Sidon could barely keep his voice loud enough for everyone to hear as he slowly slid the ring onto Link's finger.
"And do the two of your promise to work together as the new Kings of Hyrule as well as future rulers of the Zora Domain. Do you promise to keep the peace in our kingdom, to protect everyone, to do everything in your power to protect the land the Goddess Hylia and the Three Golden Goddesses Farore, Din, and Nayru created?"
"We do." The two said in unison. They gripped on another's hands tightly, eagerly waiting the next phrase.
"With the power bestowed upon me by the Goddesses I now pronounce the two of you husband and husband, Kings of Hyrule, future Kings of the Zora Domain. You may now kiss."
Link leapt onto Sidon and clung onto him as he kissed his husband passionately. Sidon was half expecting this and held onto his hylian husband, kissing him back and sealing their marriage. The guests cheered loudly. They stood and clapped. But neither Link nor Sidon could hear them. Everything melted away again. All that mattered in the moment was the two of them in that moment.
-
The celebratory party after the wedding went smoothly, as Paya hoped. There was plenty of food to go around and plenty of cake as well (she had ordered at least 150 cakes just to be sure, she was feeding an entire kingdom after all!). Yes, the Goddesses had blessed her and now Paya had the time to relax and enjoy the things she's been planning for months. Everyone congratulated her more than they did the newly married couple! This didn't bother either of them, however. Sidon and Link both felt like their Sheikah friend deserved the praise. They made note to properly pay her back very very soon.
The two were inseparable throughout their party. Their hands were constantly clasped in one anothers as they spoke to friends. The other three "new" champions were the first to talk to them. Teba gave Link and Sidon a big speech about marriage and how it was two halves working together. Riju congratulated them and said she expects any future daughters or even pets to be named after her. Yunobo was so happy he was still crying as he hugged the two of them. Next came the royalty or leaders, whatever they were referred to in their respective homes. Bludo bellowed out how proud he was that Link found someone he could fight evil with. Kaneli proclaimed that if the two needed the perfect place for a honeymoon, the Rito Village was always a beautiful place. Riju stopped by again to make sure Link and Sidon understood that a daughter or pet had to be named after her. King Dorephan slowly lumbered over and with tears in his eyes wished the happy couple a life full of perfection.
It was like that for the better half of the day. People went up to the two, congratulated them, gave them their wedding present and ran off to join the party. When all that was done, Link and Sidon got a moment to breathe before Riju yanked them out to have their first dance together. It was, obviously, a slow dance. The Gerudo Chief stayed nearby, dancing with Yunobo, to watch Link. As expected he wasn't perfect but it was enough to make Sidon feel like a God and make Link feel like he wasn't stumbling around.
Hours later as the sun began to set the party was still in full swing. Riju had finally returned the Sheikah Slate to Link. He had asked her to take pictures throughout the day so Pikango could later turn them into beautiful paintings. Link and Sidon went through the photographs and smiled at each one of them (Link silently praised himself for asking Purah to upgrade his Sheikah Slate to allow him to take a lot more pictures). As the two smiled and laughed at the pictures, Link looked up to Sidon's beautiful face, his own smile turning softer. The Hylian King stood up and pulled his husband away from the crowd, away from the party, and into the castle.
Link didn't speak until they had reached the very top of the castle where the Sanctum was. The two stood by the wall and looked down at the party below.
"I can't believe its happened." Link said breathlessly, still staring off at the horizon. "We got married."
"It is quite a big moment in our lives." Sidon agreed, squeezing his husbands hand. "I have to say, never in a thousand years did I think I would marry someone as divine as you." Link blushed. "May I ask why you chose to speak today? Not that I'm complaining. Your voice is magnificent."
"I'm sure you already know this but the only reason why I stopped speaking was because I was always so stressed and pressured to be perfect. To be the hero of everything. I was scared. One day it all got to me and I just couldn't get the energy to speak. Ever since then I haven't been able to talk. But now...with you all that melts away." Link smiled. There were tears in both their eyes for the about tenth time that day.
"Sidon," Link rubbed his husband's hand with his thumb, "I love you."
"I love you too, Link." Sidon whispered.
The two kissed. In each others arms they felt happier than they've ever been. They felt whole. In that moment the whole world melted away once more as the they shared an unforgettable moment.