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Link wasn’t sure how he made it out of the Zora Domain. He couldn’t even remember if he said goodbye properly. He thinks he did. He hadn’t been stopped, after all. But the journey leaving the Domain was a blur. He walked on autopilot, mind numb and feeling a coldness spread throughout his chest.
He was in pain. His heart ached as if he’d been pierced by a blade. He could feel a thick, cloying sensation building up in his throat. He felt as if he was unable to breathe. There was a burning sting in his eyes and nose, something that hadn’t happened in a while.
With each step Link wobbled, his steps no longer sure and steady. Finally his inattentiveness caused him to step on a loose rock, slipping from it and crashing to the ground in a heap of limbs and eroded weapons. If Link cut himself he couldn’t feel it. Not past the numbness overtaking him. He lay there, staring blankly at nothing before the tears finally slipped down his cheeks.
What had he expected? It wasn’t this. It was never this. How had things turned out this way? Link didn’t know. He had no answers but he desperately wanted some. Just… Anything. Anything to placate the agony in his heart.
The Hylian wished he could feel something else. Anger maybe. Betrayal. If he was angry he wouldn’t be in pain. But how could he be angry? Yona was kind. She cared for the people in Zora’s Domain. And Sidon… Link always valued his happiness over everything. So if this made Sidon happy, of course Link would support him.
It didn’t matter that his smile had turned strained and he’d returned to signing around Sidon instead of using his voice. The one thing Link had allowed himself to do when it was just him and Sidon. But Link had felt as if he would break if he spoke. That his voice would give him away. So he locked his voice up once more and tried to ignore the confused– maybe even hurt– expression Sidon had given him. But Sidon hadn’t questioned Link’s choice, so Link never gave a reason why.
Link drew in a sharp breath of air, closing his eyes tight. He pushed himself up on his hands and knees, struggling to force down the bile he felt roiling in his stomach. What face had he made when he left? Did he smile? Did he sign a proper farewell? Or had he just booked it out as fast as he could? Link couldn’t remember. His mind was in disarray and his grasp on the world around him was slipping. He felt lost, adrift at sea. Link was drowning and he couldn’t stop.
A wrecked sob finally ripped itself from his throat. Link hunched over himself, shoulders shaking as tears began dampening the dirt beneath. He grit his teeth in an attempt to hold back more sounds, clenching his hands into fist so hard the nails bit grooves into the leather. Link couldn’t allow himself to break, not here. Not this close to the Domain. If someone just happened to walk by they’d see him in this sorry state. And either they’d come ask him what’s wrong or they’d go and tell Sidon. Link couldn’t let that happen.
So deep in his own mind, Link didn’t even notice the way the ring on Rauru’s– his hand glowed. It wasn’t till a cooling touch pressed against his cheek that Link snapped from his thoughts. His head shot up, eyes wide in surprise as he stared into the bluish face of the Sidon apparition. Right. Link had forgotten about this.
It looked at Link, eyes creased, a frown pulling down its lips. It looked… Concerned. A large thumb traced Link’s cheek and wiped away a stray tear. It tilted its head and opened its mouth as if to speak, but no sound came. Still Link could kind of guess what it was trying to ask. Apparition or no, it was still Sidon. And it was still worried for him.
All at once Link felt his will crumbling. The wall he’d begun to rebuild in order to cut off his emotions was now toppling over. Link felt a fresh wave of tears spill as he stared helplessly at the ghostly figure. He choked, words desperate to leave but being held back by a bruising force. Link shook his head, dislodging the touch on his cheek. Even if it didn’t feel as warm and as scaled as the real Sidon, it was still a version of Sidon touching him. And oh how painful the flutter of his heart was at such a simple touch.
Link raised shaky hands, signing a sloppy “ I’m fine ”. His hands were trembling far too much to be steady. And clearly the Sidon phantom did not believe him. Once more his cheek was being cupped, this time by both hands. Sidon’s mouth moved. A short, simple gesture. But he could practically hear the voice that was meant to accompany it.
‘Link’.
He looked away, unable to stare at the face of his greatest strength and his deepest pain. But in his fragile, weakened state, Link reached up and placed his hands over the specter. This wasn’t his Sidon, but it was a piece of Sidon all the same. And if Link couldn’t have the real thing… Well then he was fine with whatever scraps he could be given.