Princess Out of Water
Chapter 4: Wonderful Water, Wonderful Company
Chapter 3
Word Count: 1.7k
Summary: You finally get to absorb yourself in water again, but someone disturbs your peace. Thanks to Sidon, your day turns out better than you could have ever expected
Content & Warnings: Swimming, subtle identity reveal, bonding, pining, falling in love (long-term)
For the first time in forever, you can breathe.
You are weightless, endless, one with your surroundings as they are with you. The pool of water absorbs you almost entirely, leaving only your face to peak through as you float on your back. It ripples through the fabric of your shift and soaks into your hair. Beside you, the cascade of a waterfall caresses you with the most soothing of music; putting you under a deep trance.
This is what you love most about Zora’s Domain, undoubtedly.
The rest of it is nearly just as wonderful. You spent your morning meeting many of its citizens, learning about their lifestyles, and tasting new cuisine eagerly prepared for you. They very much enjoyed your enthusiasm at the samples of fish and snails, and you very much enjoyed eating the samples themselves. Everything about their culture enthralled you. It was a good thing you got along so well—and not a very surprising thing at that.
As the sun continued to rise into Hyrule’s sky, however, you longed for water’s touch upon your skin. So, instead of merely retiring to your chamber, you slinked over to one of several bridges and crossed onto land. It took only a little time to find the fated pond. The waterfall had guided you.
Since then, hours may have passed, and you would never know. You are put under a spell every time you interact with water, whether it be swimming in it, looking upon it, or simply just thinking of it.
And for you, you are always thinking of it.
Now more than ever, you are drowning in the sensations. For nearly a month, you were stranded in a desert with not an oasis in sight, all because you happened to get injured on a singular outing. Your thirst became unbearable. You could only travel outside to the castle grounds, and your one reprieve was the fountains in the garden, but they amounted to a few droplets of rain. You needed an ocean.
One day, you would like to visit the ocean. For now though, you are content in the waterfall’s tail. It is perfectly pleasant, and perfectly suitable for your needs.
Muffled footsteps intrude on your peace. They are not urgent, but calm and measured. Someone is here.
Sighing to yourself, you desperately hope it isn’t your uncle, and you rise to kneel on the surface of rock beneath you. Water trickles off your hair like its own little waterfall; rippling around you and disturbing the lily pads. You find a welcome sight at the pond’s edge.
Sidon looks as regal as the day you formally met—and just as dashing as the day you actually met—with his silver jewelry and ruffled cravat. Posture straight and head held high, he carries himself the proper way a prince should. He doesn’t speak, but he is blatantly watching you.
His gaze isn’t transfixed on your face, though.
It’s transfixed on your arm.
Looking below your left shoulder, you see what he sees: A scar. Thick and straight and freshly healed, it harkens back to events from a month ago. The sleeves of yesterday’s dress were long, reaching your wrists, and today’s dress is currently draped across a nearby rock. Only in your shift is the scar exposed. It is no longer a wound, but it was a wound he bandaged with his own two hands.
You break the silence first.
“Have you come to escort me back to Zora’s Domain?”
He is snapped from his trance. “No, My Lady! I was simply concerned and went to check on you.”
That’s a first for you. Not a single person has ever understood your necessity. “Thank you.” You dip your head. “I am doing just fine.”
You think he is about to step away, but he doesn’t. His expression is hard to read. “It’s not exactly a river, but we have a reservoir lake nearby. My Lady might find it more pleasing than a pond.”
You figure out the emotion—uncertainty. But for what reason he’s uncertain, you cannot tell.
You rise from the water and feel it rush out beneath you as you walk out of the pond. Your shift drags down and drips heavily. You keep your head held high as you go to retrieve your dress.
“Allow me!” Sidon says, getting there first and draping it over his arm.
Your hands intertwine behind your back, and you politely look up at him in all your unladylike state. “Please be my escort again, Sidon,” you request.
He bows his head. “My pleasure.”
Soft grass is crushed beneath your feet as you find yourself walking next to him. Trees pass by, frogs croak, and leaves rustle along the way. The nature in Lanayru is beautiful.
You come upon the blue wall of a dam, and to the side is a zigzagging staircase climbing all the way up. It will take some time to reach the top. Sidon appears more than happy to make conversation during the expedition. He says to you, “Tell me of your days at Hyrule Castle! What interests occupy your time?”
“Well,” you nod once, also happy to return conversation, “my studies keep me busy. I do a lot of reading, but mostly for academic purposes. Etiquette, calligraphy, singing, dancing, embroidery, history, the court, all that and many more things I have to learn as a noble. It is quite exhausting.”
Sidon shakes his head kindly and says, “That’s not what I meant. I would like to know about your real interests. The things you enjoy!”
“Well,” you smile to yourself, “I love water, but you may have known that already.”
Sidon smiles too. “I may have had an idea.”
You continue on. “I love swimming. I love being near bodies of water. One day, I would love to visit the ocean.”
He looks astonished. “You’ve never been there?”
Sorrow washes over you as you turn on a platform to another set of stairs. “No, I haven’t. This is the farthest I’ve ever travelled from home. My parents like keeping me close.”
The silence is punctuated by the water dripping from your shift. Soon, it will dry again, and you’ll be left in a desert.
“If I’m ever given the opportunity, I will take you there.”
Your pace stutters and he catches your elbow. His touch is smooth, yet sturdy, but that’s not what has your heart’s attention. “You really mean it?”
“Of course! I would never have said it if I didn’t.”
Before you can properly thank him, you reach the top of the stairs, and a paradise spreads out before you.
Running forward, you’re absolutely gleeful and covering your mouth in awe. “It is beautiful, Sidon!” you call back to him, still unable to comprehend how much water you’re seeing. It sparkles like a fine gem in the afternoon sun. A deep, blue sapphire. In its center, far beyond what you can swim to, a giant beast of ancient machinery resides in wait. “Is that Vah Ruto?”
It resembles the illustrations you’ve seen of elephants. With a sturdy body, large ears, and a long trunk that stretches over its head, you can see the power this divine wonder holds as a weapon against the Calamity.
“Yes, it is!” Sidon reaches you and lays your dress on the blue stone platform to keep dry. “You may have already known this, but Mipha is its pilot!” His sharp-toothed smile gleams bright. “She’s my pride and joy!”
“I understand why you would be proud.” You watch the beast together. “My cousin carries the blood of the goddess. She will be one of the fated two to seal Calamity Ganon away.”
You don’t get to spend time with Zelda as much as you used to, but she’s often busy with her research. And when she’s not researching, she’s being pushed into duties she isn’t prone to want. In many ways, she is like you: lacking freedom.
At least you get true forms of reprieve from time-to-time.
“Well, what are you waiting for?”
Confused, you look up at a grinning Sidon. He takes off for the reservoir and gracefully dives right in. You laugh and do the same.
The water is cold—delightfully so. It seeps into your bones in an instant and smothers you in depths of blue. You break the surface with a gasp; spraying crystal droplets everywhere. Sidon is laughing—it’s a laugh that makes your heart lurch—and you blink the water from your eyes to find him.
You kick your legs to wade the same as him, and come to be surprised he is at eye-level with you. It makes sense, you suppose. You just didn’t expect to see his face like this. The silver jewelry wrapped over his head shines from both water and sun, and similar pieces flash from his arms beneath the water.
Without a word, he is suddenly closer than you would expect. A gentle hand breaks the water’s surface to hold your upper arm. His thumb grazes your scar.
“I’m glad to see your wound is all healed,” he speaks softly. It is unlike any manner you have ever heard before, from both the time he saved you and the time you’ve spent together thus far. His clawed thumb continues to gently rub back and forth. “I hope it didn’t hurt too much.”
You cast your gaze down to the side. “It did not.” You speak with politeness; this time to conceal your feelings. “Thanks to your bravery, I suffered less than I otherwise would have.”
He wades closer. The currents he creates brush against your legs. “But you still suffered.” His touch slides to your hand to raise it and interlock your fingers. “They never let you back out to the river again, did they?”
Once again, he has understood you better than anyone ever has.
“No,” you whisper, still not meeting his gaze. “They didn’t.”
Your hand is abruptly tugged as he swims away to deeper waters. Gasping, your surprise melts into exhilaration as you experience how fast he is pulling you. Your legs kick, but they do not compare to how far his fins can take him.
“Well then!” Sidon angles his head back to look at you; water spraying around him. “Let’s make use of lost time, shall we?”
Your melancholy is effortlessly lifted. Tightening your grip, you smile back at him. You have learned many things today, but if you are sure of anything, it is that Zora’s Domain may not be the only thing you end up falling in love with.
