Chapter Text
To say that Sidon was upset about the death of his husband, Link, the Hero of Hyrule, would be an understatement.
The beautiful sunny day that was just outside the bedroom did not match with the feeling that King Sidon had in his heart. The giant red Zora was curled up on a large water bed, a huge untouched plate of food near him, and clutching a small (by comparison) tunic to his chest. The same tunic that his husband wore when he defeated Calamity Ganon all those years ago.
Sidon must have inhaled the tunic’s scent at least a hundred times in the four days since Link’s death, and he was already getting a mild panic attack when he noticed that the familiar scent that he loved so much was starting to fade.
Of course, the tunic itself was no substitute for the real thing.
He brings the item closer to his face and takes a deep breath. It hurt him so much that his spouse was no longer around. Despite him ‘preparing’ for such thing to happen within the next decade or so, Link dying was sudden. The Hylian didn’t appear to be sick, and as far as he could tell, Link was as healthy as he ever was, considering his age. Excluding the century that he was asleep in the chamber, Link was 148, and had spent 126 of those years with him. If it weren’t for the shrines extending his life, Sidon would have most likely lost him at least 50 or more years ago.
His heart ached the more he observed around their room. Near the bedroom door was one of Link’s favorite blankets that the hero had placed there, likely as a reminder to get it washed. A Hylian-sized reading chair was by the open window, with a small stack of papers and a feather ink pen resting on the seat cushion. The legendary Master Sword was still hanging on the wall, and although he knows it truly wasn’t alive, the sword seemed to have lost its “soul”. The king’s eyes rest on a wooden bookcase that was near the legendary weapon, and a smile forms on his face.
The Zora remembered when his dear Link spent nearly an entire day making that bookcase, and he was very fond of it. Sidon would describe its appearance as “simple, but impressive”. Five long rows, and not counting the four long legs that lifted it from the ground, the bookcase was large enough that Link could stand right next to or lay down on it, and it would still be bigger than him. The Hylian even made sure that, if need be, Sidon would be able to grab a book from even the lowest shelf without bending too far down, which the Zora appreciated. Despite how “odd” it looked next to the other furniture made of shiny gems and stone, especially with how Link decided that the bookcase would look best as its natural wood color, it still managed to fit in with the décor. In a way, the bookcase always reminded Sidon of Link, and how seemingly “out of place” the Hylian initially looked living in a domain that was mostly filled with Zora those first few years he lived in the kingdom. As the years went by, more and more non-Zora began to make their home in the Domain as well, so Link eventually blended in…or as much as possible, considering he was the consort or "second king".
Resting his head back onto the bed, Sidon looks at the open window. Right now, he wished that it was all just a bad dream, but he knows that he’s awake. No matter how powerful, dreams do not last for four days.
He hears the door to the bedroom slowly open from behind, but he didn’t need to turn his head to see who came in. Familiar footsteps grow closer to the bed, and he faintly feels the bed shift in weight as a soft and sad voice speaks to him.
“…Father, please.”
A small tanned hand touches Sidon’s back.
“…You need to eat. It’s…not good to starve yourself like this.”
His eyes closed, Sidon curls slightly more into a ball. Ignoring the loud grumbling sounds coming from his stomach, he speaks to his youngest daughter, Tweedia, with a voice that she can barely hear.
“…I know…”
Despite the sounds that his stomach made, the Zora just didn’t have the energy or willpower to eat. For his family’s sake, along with the kingdom, he knows that he should. But…his heart wouldn’t allow it. He knows the palace chefs are excellent cooks, and he truly mean no offense by not eating the plates they would send his way, but it hurt that he’d never again look forward to the days when his husband would surprise him with “I just felt like cooking for everyone today” meals. He knows that the kitchen staff are hurting just as bad, since they too would look forward to those days when Link would show up in the kitchen to help in any way that he can. There would even be times when they’d give each other ‘cooking lessons’, and the food results of those days were to a benefit of everyone in the palace. If there was at least one dish that the kitchen staff, and truthfully a vast majority of the people in the Domain, just couldn’t seem to like, it would be the infamous Monster Cake. For some odd reason, the Hylian grew to have quite a fondness for the odd ‘dessert’, as Sidon would personally hesitate to call it as such.
Despite that, he would gladly eat an entire sea’s worth of Monster Cake if he would be able to see his husband again.
The king’s stomach growls again, and his long head-tail twitches as he winces at how loud the rumble was. Moving closer to Sidon, his daughter uses her hand to gently squeeze Sidon’s back.
“Everyone is getting worried about you, father. They haven’t seen you in days.”
The Gerudo slightly moved her hand on Sidon’s back, and frowns. Tweedia disliked how dry her father’s back felt. It told her that Sidon hasn’t been in a body of water for the last few days. It also bothered her that his red markings looked dull and faded, not like the usual bright and darker color that he usually was. The princess lifts her hand, not surprised at the few scales that had attached themselves to her palm. She may not have been in the family for her entire life, but in all the years she’s been a part of their family, Dia has never seen her father so depressed like this. Even when grandfather Dorephan passed away a few years ago, Sidon’s sorrow didn’t compare to the way he was acting now.
Then again, during that time, Link was there to help him get through it. But now…
The princess feels horrible, even though this situation was certainly not her fault. She was staying the night at her boyfriend’s home and was still asleep when they had heard a loud knocking on the door early that morning. After rushing to the door, opening it to see her older sister Suhanan standing there, Tweedia began to crack a joke of “No, Lorelei didn’t hurt me or anything, so please don’t kill him Suha-” before she realized that the Zora looked quite distraught… and trying so hard, but failing, not to let any tears fall from her eyes. At that moment, she just knew what had happened.
Link’s death was such a shock. She understood that it was a natural death, but her dad seemed to be completely healthy with no major signs of fatigue or illness. He certainly looked to be just fine the previous day, when she quietly talked to him in private, nervously asking if he could show her how to make a Zora Armor. Such a request naturally led to more questions (“Tweedia…you feel that he’s…’The One’?”) and things she never knew about her parents (“What? You mean Father gave you the necklace and the Zora Armor?”), but Link had told her that he would do all he can to help make it the best Zora Armor that she, a Gerudo without a single scale on her body, could give to her (hopefully) future fiancée.
The more she thought about it, the more she realized that it was the last time she saw her dad alive. If only she knew what would happen the following day, she wouldn’t have quickly rushed out of the room in excitement to spend some time with her beloved.
She’s been trying to keep the thought out of her mind, but a part of her is fearing that Link wouldn’t be the only parent she’d lose this week…
Gently patting his back, his daughter talks before quietly getting off the bed.
“I’ll be back soon.”
The sounds of footsteps moving away the bed told the king that Dia was leaving the room. Even though his daughter softly closed the door behind her, the room was quiet enough to where he can hear everything directly outside. Unless his hearing has started to fail him, he recognizes one of them as Bazz.
“Is he still not eating?”
“No. He barely even touched this plate. I don’t think my father has eaten in four days.”
“What?!”
“…Bazz, I’m so worried. If he keeps this up…I-I don’t want to lose him, too.”
Hearing the sorrow in his daughter’s voice made him feel guilty. It was bad enough that his daughters had to reassure the rest of the domain, and to an extent the rest of Hyrule, that Sidon was still alive. Following the announcement that Link had indeed passed away, no one had seen the Zora king in the succeeding days, save for a very small amount of people. With how close the married couple were, some of them began to suspect that Sidon had died of a broken heart.
Another voice, belonging to an older female, speaks out. Sidon is pretty sure that it belongs to Kodah.
“Tweedia, it will be okay. Please don’t cry.”
A few moment later, he hears his daughter trying to hold back from crying.
“I…I’m trying, but…”
He then heard a set of footsteps approaching them, and no matter how formal the tone of her voice was, he can recognize that Zora’s voice anywhere.
“I take it that Father still won’t eat anything?”
“N-No. Oh, Suha…what are we going to do?”
“I don’t know, Dia…but we will think of something.”
A few moment later, the king hears a bunch of footsteps moving away from the door, and then silence. The small group must have left, likely to try and figure out some way to coax him out. He’s not sure if Bazz, Kodah, and his daughters knew that he listened to their conversation, but he doubted it.
Sidon truly wished that he could just get up, go outside of the bedroom, and tell everyone that he is fine, and not to worry about him anymore. That everything will be okay. However, he lacks the energy and will to do such a thing. It’s very easy for him to cheer others up when they are down or in distress, but when it comes to his own sorrows? It’s not that simple.
The Zora king can’t help but relive that morning, again and again.
Of course, the sunlight had to hit him directly in his eyes. On his day off, no less.
Slowly opening his eyes, Sidon groaned as he opened his mouth to yawn. He began to move his arms, but quickly realized that something was laying on his left arm. Specifically, someone. Sidon nearly forgot that his husband fell asleep in his arms some hours ago as he hummed a lullaby.
The sight caused Sidon to smile. As much of an early bird his husband can be, occasionally Link will decide to sleep in and get some extra rest. Even in his old age, it wasn’t uncommon for Link to be one of the first people walking around in the palace during the morning hours. Perhaps Link was too comfortable to get out of bed just yet. He also felt cold, but considering that the window was still open, Sidon assumed that it must have been “too much cool air” in the room.
Even knowing that Link understood his situation, Sidon still felt guilty about having to take care of so many royal duties in the last seven days. In some ways, the King’s job was a never-ending one. Although he made it a point to spend some amount of time with Link each day before going to bed, it still bothered him that he barely saw his husband in the past week. In his mind, Sidon vowed to make it up to him while they spend the day at Toto Lake. Maybe he could even ask Link if they should spend their anniversary next month at Hateno or Lurelin. A week or two away from the kingdom would do them both some good – Sidon can ‘pretend’ to be a regular Zora, and Link will be able to travel somewhere that wasn’t in the Lanayru region. Link won’t say it, but Sidon can just tell that his small husband was itching to get out of their kingdom.
Leaning down a bit, Sidon brushed aside a few stray hairs from Link’s face and placed a soft kiss on his forehead. As he removed his lips, Sidon noticed that his husband’s forehead felt cold.
…Too cold.
He also realized that even for someone that was in a deep sleep, Link didn’t appear to be moving.
Sidon’s eyes widened in an instant, and he gently shaked the Hylian in his arms.
“Link?”
The small hero didn’t respond, and that caused Sidon’s heartbeat to increase in speed. He repeated the action with a bit more force.
"…Hey Link. W-Wake up.”
As Link stayed completely still, water began to form in Sidon’s eyes and his head tail started to sway in panic. Trying to calm himself down, he took a breath and checked his husband’s neck for a pulse. His clawed fingers shaking, the Zora king spoke to himself.
“No no, h-he’s just... in deep sleep right now. Yes, he must have been very tired last night, especially because of me keeping him awake. “
The longer Sidon’s fingers rest on Link’s neck, the more they trembled.
“Silly me. I’m getting so scared over nothing. My fingers won’t stop shaking, so of course I can’t feel his p-p-pulse…”
He slowly removed his fingers, and looked at his soulmate, the water in his eyes causing his vision to blur.
“No…no no, please… Link, wake up.”
The king lowered his head to rest on top of Link’s chest, holding his breath in an attempt not to miss the sound of a heartbeat or any sign that his beloved was alive. Sidon held it in for about 30 seconds before he had to take a breath.
Nothing. He couldn’t hear or feel a heartbeat.
More tears flow from Sidon’s eyes as he raised his head to look at Link. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around his husband’s body, sat up in their large bed, and moved Link to where his head rested under Sidon’s chin. As his large hands began to grip the body in his arms, it was at this point that Sidon couldn’t deny it any longer.
His Link. His husband… was dead.
Tightly holding Link’s body close to him, Sidon lifted his head up and let out a loud moan. One filled with extreme sorrow, and powerful enough to be heard and felt throughout the entire palace.
The sight that the nearby guards arrived to, upon opening the room doors that morning, was a depressing one. Their king, sobbing his heart out as he cried into his husband’s lifeless body. Link was held so tightly that there were bruises forming on his skin. Suha had ran into the room a few seconds after the guards did, and after trying to stay as calm as possible, left moments later to get Dia.
With how close everyone in the Domain were, it didn’t take long for the residents to murmur about the news that their beloved ‘second king’ was gone. Later that day, with both of his daughters by his side and with a wavering tone to his voice, Sidon publicly told everyone in Zora’s Domain that Link had indeed passed away during the night. In hindsight, the king was amazed that he went through the entire announcement without breaking down in a waterfall of tears, even if he had spent most of that morning and afternoon crying his eyes out. When it came time to discuss plans for the funeral, it was a different story.
Although the Zora king had reassured his daughters that he would be fine in going through with the funeral plans, smile and all, it began to hit him that he didn’t know anything about what Link would want to happen. As much as they didn’t like to talk about it, Sidon felt in hindsight that he and Link should have at least discussed a few things when it came to a funeral. He had no idea if his husband would even want to be buried. Would he prefer to be cremated? Should the funeral be done with Zora traditions in mind, or with how things are typically done for Hylians? Was it better to have the ceremony be a ‘private’ or public event? The more he thought about it, the more the tears came right back, and they had temporarily put the funeral plans on hold.
Link’s body was currently being prepared for the funeral, and the Zora had been inside his… no, their bedroom ever since that day he broke down. He barely had the will to even leave the bed, and it felt like ages since he stepped foot out of the room. If it weren’t the natural need to use the bathroom, Sidon likely would have completely stayed in the bed for days.
At a time like this, Sidon was relieved that Suha was taking care of any royal duties that needed to be completed during this time. Even in a period like this when pretty much the entire kingdom was in mourning, some things still had to be taken care of. It was just like his oldest child to put herself in that position, without hesitation. Of all the traits that she gained from Link, it was this one that Sidon liked the most. However, the king knows Suhanan enough that no matter how much she’ll try to remain poker-faced about the situation, she can only keep that up for so long.
Although he has been somewhat refusing to eat anything since…that morning, Sidon did appreciate his youngest daughter trying to spend some time with him these last couple of days. Truthfully, he felt guilty that Dia was spending so much of her time checking on him, instead of being with her boyfriend. A part of him also felt that Suha would rather be on her trip instead of covering for him, and she seemed to be quite excited about being at the Rito Village for a few days.
In true fashion, word indeed travels fast in Hyrule. It had been barely two days after Link’s death that condolences, flowers, and various offers of support were starting to arrive at the Zora Domain. While in his room, Sidon had overheard some of the guards mentioning that the small statue of Link that was in the plaza was starting to overflow with so many “gifts” and had half-jokingly considered if they should start guarding the statue. Despite the huge sorrow in his heart, it truly touched Sidon that so many people, in such a short amount of time, sent condolences and even visited the Domain to pay their respects. If there was any proof needed that Link was still important to the residents of Hyrule after all these years, this certainly was it.
For someone who saved the world, and the one person who had any right to be in “permanent retirement” due to that, Link kept himself busy with doing various things throughout the domain. Assisting in repairing the structures and buildings, occasionally helping the store owners with selling their products, and he could even be seen running random errands for the various residents of the kingdom. His actions had surprised quite a few people, but everyone had appreciated all his help. Even in his final years alive, Link would still try to help the Domain in any way he could, even though he had spent a lot more time in the palace than years prior.
The first days that Link had passed, the Zora Domain itself was almost at a standstill. The “calm but excited” atmosphere that the kingdom was known for had changed to one of deep sorrow. The residents of the domain were grieving, and just about every business had shut down for the first two days.
The only ones who ‘worked’ throughout the days were the kingdom guards, but even then, it was half-hearted as best. They kept an eye out for any suspicious activity as usual, but the thought of losing their “second king” stayed in the back of their minds. All the guards had already liked Link before he was a regular visitor to the domain, but their affection for the hero really grew after he officially became part of the Royal Zora family. It wasn’t too uncommon that Link would somewhat randomly join the guards in their morning training, and it was an event that everyone looked forward to. For the longest time, the Domain constantly talked about the time when during the “Changing of the Guard” competition that was held every 5 years, Link made a surprise appearance as a judge…and later as the “secret final boss” of sorts to the lucky warrior who was in 1st place.
Although he could think of the moment as amusing now, Sidon did panic when, upon his return from an important meeting at Hyrule Castle, he noticed the long cut on Link’s cheek when the hero met up with him in their palace. The Hylian promised him that he didn’t get into a fight with Bokoblins or worse, it was from the competition earlier that day, and that he also had to assure the young warrior that had accidentally caused the wound that he would not be banished from Lanayru by King Sidon for cutting his husband’s face.
Letting out a sigh, the Zora turns his head to look at the ceiling of the room, frowning as his mind wanders back to his final night with Link. Sidon knew that something was bothering his husband that evening. The Hylian wasn’t saying it directly, but something in the Zora’s gut just told him. However, he figured that Link would eventually tell him, like he always did. If not later that night, then certainly in the morning before they were to spend the rest of the day at Toto Lake.
He could have sworn that, for a moment, he saw an odd glow around Link’s form while they were talking. What a fool Sidon was for thinking that it was the moon’s light that had peeked into their room those hours ago.
In a small way, the fact that Link said the words “I love you”, on top of how troubled he looked should have been the biggest “warning”. It’s not that Link had never said those three words to him. Compared to Sidon’s own “style” of affection, Link wasn’t much with actual verbal dialogue. The Hylian is more of a ‘actions speak louder than words’ kind of person when it came to how he personally showed Sidon, and to an extent their daughters, how much he cared about them. Surprising his family with a large apple pie that he baked an hour before dinner time, bringing home a bunch of souvenirs each time he came back from a trip, the ways that Link would spoil Sidon when the Zora would have the day off…
Honestly, Sidon could count on both hands the times that his husband, be it verbally or with sign language, state to him that he loved him outside of an anniversary or in an intimate setting. Despite that fact, it didn’t really bother him. It just made each time that Link would say “I love you” all the more special to him. The Zora king didn’t need to hear those words constantly to know how important he was to Link. Every “I love you” that came from Link was treasured, no matter how big or small it was. If he had to choose, the time when Link confessed his feelings to him would be Sidon’s favorite “I love you” of them all.
The shark king rubs his face against the pillow his head was resting on and lets out a small sigh. All these years later, and he still couldn’t believe that it was he that the legendary hero was in love with. A tiny smile forms on his lips as he looks at the tunic in his hands, but it only lasts for a few moments.
Dare he admit, a small part of him was quite angry about Link not saying anything about him dying that night. Sidon tried not to think about how hurt he was about it, but the feeling still lingered in his heart.
Before the king knew it, the room was dark, and the sky outside was covered in stars. He had only noticed when Dia came back into the room for a brief time to try and get her father to eat again. The princess left after ten minutes, exchanging the old plate of food with a new one, and promising to be back in the morning with Suha.
The food in front of him looked so good, too. Five large Hylian bass, two giant seasoned crabs laying over a generous portion of steamed rice, and a variety of the juiciest fruits and vegetables. If he didn’t have a lack of appetite, that entire plate would be gone in less than a minute. When it came to his food preferences, his people knew him well.
His back facing the open window, he pulls the plate closer to him. The delicious scent floods his nose, but he still can’t bring himself to eat anything. Sidon starts to play around with the food with one of his fingers, and half-smiles at the plate.
“Heh, if only Link could see me now. He’d scold for me for not eating it.”
The king was so focused on the plate in-front of him that he fails to notice a soft light appearing and fading behind him. His ears pick up the sound of a voice.
“Sidon, don’t be rude. Eat that plate of food. The chefs worked hard to make it for you.”
The voice sounds like it was real, and Sidon lets out a soft laugh before speaking to himself.
“How pathetic am I? I’m now starting to imagine Link’s voice.”
“…It’s not pathetic, Sidon. I’m here.”
After a few moments, Sidon’s eye widened. He slowly turns to look around the room, trying to locate the source of that voice. And there it was.
Standing near the huge open window, was Link. He appears to be partially transparent. but mostly visible, and physically looks like the same age that he defeated Ganon. Despite the shark king himself having the item right in his reach, the ghost appears to be wearing the same Champion Tunic that he was known for.
Link’s eyes appeared to have a shine to them, but Sidon can’t tell if’s because his husband being a ghost, or if Link had cried before appearing in front of him.
The ghost appears to be a little nervous, but Link gives the king a smile as he talks to him.
“Hey…Sidon.”