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Turn left. Turn right. Go forward, and stumble into a dead end. Try again.
Link didn’t know how long he had been inside this maze, but he feared of slowly going crazy.
Don’t get him wrong, he greatly enjoyed all the puzzles the shrines usually offered, but this Lomei Labyrinth Island, north of Akkala, was testing his limits. The only sounds he could hear were his footsteps on the stone ground, and some guardian noises, where he had already had the displeasure of turning a corner and directly stumbling into one.
He thought using the map from his Sheikah slate would help him to cheat his way through, but whoever designed this place really put their heart into it. While analysing the map, all of them seemed to lead to nowhere, which forced him to use his own senses to proceed.
Basically the problem started there, because sometimes he didn’t know if he was repeating a previous path or not. His sense of guidance and location was messed up in this place, and he had been there for far too long.
That was why it was a challenge for the chosen hero, wasn’t it? He scoffed at the thought.
At that moment, he just felt like complaining because, unfortunately, he hadn't yet completed his whole guardian set. Some guardian pieces were quite rare to find as materials, and he spent a part of his money on the fairy he found in the region.
In any case, back to walking. At least the path was mostly empty.
After a few more hours walking with a pause to eat, he finally found the sanctuary and a peculiar hole on the ground near the place. For now, he decided to ignore it and entered the shrine to get his reward. Besides the usual spiritual orb, there was also a chest with an interesting tribal piece of armor. Once happy to finally have concluded this place, he went to see what was on the ground outside.
He got closer to the hole, sensing some wind current from it. It seemed deep, and he couldn’t figure out what it had in there.
Well, there was only one way to find out, wasn’t there?
He fell towards it, using his paraglider to land safely, but instantly regretted having jumped.
There were guardians. Multiples of it.
As soon as he landed, he quickly hid towards a huge stone pillar and observed the place by only peaking out with his face, glad that none started to aim at him once he stepped into this place.
The area was huge and dark, and in the middle of it, it had an interesting chest surrounded by guardians. He couldn’t tell which ones were only inactive, or were actually ruined.
Ok, he could do that. They weren’t even moving. He just needed to avoid waking them all up at once and putting himself at a disadvantage.
Well, now that he was thinking about it, one thing that could give him some advantage was the tough elixir. Decided, he opened his Sheikah Slate and grabbed the potion and gathered his courage to drink it all in one gulp as best as he could. The taste was as always horrible of those elixirs, but at least his defense would be buffed for some time. Just in case.
He got this. He wouldn't commit his past mistakes, he couldn’t.
With a deep breath, he grabbed his bow and aimed to the closest one to test it.
No reaction. This one wouldn’t be a problem, it seemed deactivated.
Then, he aimed to the second closest one, and the guardian was activated, immediately shooting in a random direction as a reaction.
He left the stone pillar he was hiding, and approached the guardian just enough for it to sensor him and aim at him.
With practiced hands, he gripped his shield and patiently waited for the attack to parry.
Success. His left hand remained his dominant hand, even though he had received traditional knight training and had to learn how to wield a weapon with his right hand. During times like these, it was good to have a shield on his left, because his precision and strength in redirecting the attack back to the guardian proved extremely useful– although very risky.
This situation continued until he confronted them one by one, running away from the shooting when necessary, and only breaking a few shields in the process. His accuracy in redirecting attacks was good overall, which helped him avoid breaking his other weapons by direct fighting.
That was it, until the last one appeared. His parry wasn’t precise, which led his shield to break again.
He quickly grabbed another one from his slate inventory, but he made another mistake. The guardian advanced fast at the last second, and consequently, his reaction time ended up not being enough. The shot almost hit him.
A cold dread spread through his stomach as he feared the worst. However, his years of practice engraved in his muscles helped him to remain focused and guarantee his victory. He couldn’t give any more advantages to the enemy.
With that settled, he grabbed his bow from his back and aimed it at the guardian’s eye. This simple shot was precise and critical enough to startle it for a while. With changed tactics, he got closer to the machine in front of him as fast as he could, while grabbing his ancient battle axe. He did that before the guardian recovered from the stun and started to charge another attack. His first close ranged attack was focused on its legs, since its movement was the most annoying and unpredictable part. The guardian tried to get away from him to aim with its remaining legs, but he didn’t let it.
With one cut after another, the guardian finally stumbled, exposing the part underneath. He used all of his remaining energy to hit as hard as he could, until the machine finally exploded.
It was finally over.
He stretched his arms upwards and screamed to the subterranean void, letting his last energies and the accumulated stress from all these hours in this Labyrinth win over and release it all. He won the challenge and succeeded all alone. He proved himself again that he was indeed the hero.
Once the silence from the abandoned place resurfaced, no longer echoing his scream, he remembered that he had another reward for all this hard work.
He walked towards the chest and eagerly opened it, already hoping to find a good shield, after having broken some of them with all this fight. Instead, he found a diamond circlet. The reward surprised him, seeing a piece so beautiful and shiny, although seemingly old and also–
Hold on a second.
Why did it look so familiar to the one he already had, that he had bought in Gerudo Town? Actually, he was wearing it right now because of this place. He quickly removed the one from his head, and compared both pieces.
They were identical.
…How was that possible? Wasn’t this place basically untouched? How had Isha made a perfect copy of a diamond circlet from a possible relic?
Still perplexed by it, he checked the status of the one he had just found. It was also guardian resistant, which made sense, probably because of the diamond. But, again, identical, even in status. The only difference was that one was not blessed by the fairies.
He groaned, having a bittersweet taste in his mouth with this discovery. After a few seconds of staring at both pieces again in his hands, he wore his circlet back on his head and stored the new one in his inventory, with a destination now in mind.
He chose one close stable on his slate and teleported, happy to never have another reason to come back to this place. He went straight to find Beedle, who was sitting next to the stable with his incredibly huge beetle backpack.
“Wow, we met again, Link! We must have been married in a past life!” Beedle smiled, already grabbing his trading surface. Link snorted with the comment. “Say, what brings you this time?”
‘How much would you pay for this circlet?’ Once done signing, he grabbed the piece he just found and offered it to his favorite seller.
“Oh, it’s beautiful! What a treasure it is!” Beedle examined the piece carefully, becoming silent in the process for a long moment. “I would say…. 670 Rupees! Is that ok?”
…Only 670 Rupees for a diamond circlet? He usually sold brute diamonds for 500!
His dissatisfied frown must have been obvious, because Beetle soon started to explain himself. “You see, although this piece is beautiful, the circlet overall looks neglected, as if it had been abandoned. Do you see this?” Beedle began to gently poke the diamond, showing how it moved. He got closer to see the pointed out areas. “The quality of the stone setting is also compromised. This means that it creates the risk of the diamond coming loose, which also contributes to the price reduction. Overall, it needs to be restored. That’s why I can’t offer a higher price.”
Honestly, these shown damages weren’t that obvious to him, but it was not like he had trained seller eyes either.
Besides, it made sense that an abandoned chest in the middle of nowhere would leave its contents in rough shape. It wasn't the first time he'd encountered such a thing.
‘Thank you, I think I’ll keep it.’
“Oh, you changed your mind? Ok!” Beedle handed the piece back to Link right next. “Anything else?”
‘That was it. See you.’ He waved goodbye once he stored the piece and began to walk aimlessly, lost in thoughts, and feeling the weariness returning.
He really thought it would be worth more. He remembered paying a small fortune for his diamond piece, thrilled at the time to have found a guardian resistant piece. He hadn't even known something like that could exist before.
Now he regretted having explored that horrible Labyrinth so late. He didn’t mind that the circlet was a bit damaged or old, the defense status remained. He would have saved something around two-thirds of his house’s worth. It seemed unfair to sell this old piece now for only 670 Rupees.
Ok… so what were his options?
He could bless this circlet by the fairies to make the item more special and sell it later for a higher price, but he would need to use rough diamonds for that, and since they were quite rare to find, he preferred to use them for something more meaningful.
He could also just go to Isha, and ask her to restore it, and then sell it for a better price and without spending his diamonds, but he was still feeling reluctant overall. He had put so much effort to defeat all those guardians, that it felt wrong to sell the reward so easily– but on the other hand, it was also pointless to have a copied version of it, so what else could he do…
…
Some tall, charming and royal red Zora instantly came into his mind.
Zoras loved some gems, didn’t they? Their Domain was literally filled with Luminous stones, and he never saw Sidon without jewelry.
A grin started to sprout on his face, pleased to have found a better use to the piece. But first, some rest.
The Domain was as always a stunning place to visit, especially now that Vah Ruta was defeated and the region was not constantly under heavy rain and soaking his clothes. The sky was beautiful and clouds-free, perfect to give a gift, honestly.
Unfortunately, asking Isha to restore the piece turned out to be more expensive than he would have liked, costing almost the price of a new jewel. He could easily say now that he had become poor and would need to sell many of his monster parts.
He explained to Isha that he intended to give it as a gift to a big Zora, which made her smirk for some reason. But, as always, she did an excellent job, adapting the piece into a bracelet, as it wouldn’t fit on Sidon’s head with its original purpose.
But it was fine. This time he didn’t mind the price because he wanted to do something nice for Sidon.
Sidon was his first and best friend since he awakened with no memories of his past, and honestly, he had also become a fortress for him.
During his long mission of saving the world, Sidon always welcomed him with open arms when he passed by. At first, he was reluctant, as he believed it was all because he had saved the Domain. But after some time, he realized it was because Sidon truly considered him a friend.
Their time together sharing stories and talking –or rather, letting Sidon do most of the talking– was what strengthened their bond over time, and also encouraged him to face his destiny.
He genuinely had someone cheering for him and ready to listen to his struggles. He didn’t need to be the champion of Hyrule when he was with Sidon. Or even, he could complain about its weight sometimes. He could simply be Link around him, and usually his quirkiness guaranteed a genuine laugh from his friend.
He didn’t feel alone anymore all thanks to him.
So yeah, this whole diamond piece seemed much more valuable to him now, and he felt like this was the least he could do to show his gratitude, since words weren’t his forte.
Once he left the Ne’ez Yohma shrine area, he began to look for Sidon. At this hour, his friend would be walking around the Domain to talk with the locals.
He used the stars to reach the other Plaza, and there he found the tall Zora, seemingly distracted while talking to Bazz. It didn’t look like they were discussing something important by their relaxed postures.
And so he quickly changed his clothes by the Slate to his stealth set, and used Sidon’s height to his advantage, hiding perfectly and moving almost soundless as he approached.
“–Thanks to it, our fishing will be plentiful this year.”
“It’s marvelous, isn’t it? Our festivals will shine once again, full of exceptional dishe– AHGH!” Sidon let out an embarrassing squeal when Link jumped onto his back and clung to it like a little monkey. “Bazz! Help! Something is–!” Sidon immediately tried to remove whatever was on his back, forcing his arms behind and touching Link’s legs and body to identify and remove the intruder. He quickly recognized who could ever do such a thing.
“Link? Is it you?” Not being able to hold himself back anymore, Link exploded in giggles, sliding down the back until touching the ground.
“It is truly you!” The tall Zora turned to look at him, and was apart from finding it amusing and wanting to feign irritation just for show. However, he was incapable of not smiling at the small Hylian. “You truly got me on this one. I missed you, my friend!”
Link waved his hand to properly greet him, and moved a bit to be able to see Bazz and greet the captain guard. Bazz laughed with the whole thing, but greeted him as well.
“I’ll leave you and Master Link alone. In any case, I must return to my patrol. Thank you for the conversation, Prince Sidon.” And with that said, Bazz nodded and walked away. Both of them were watching him go for a few seconds.
“So, what brings you this time, my friend? Has something occurred?”
‘Can we go to our usual spot?’ He signed. By ‘usual spot’, he meant Lulu Lake. It was the place they liked to stay when they wanted to be themselves, while also not being far away from the Domain in case something ever happens.
Sidon nodded and smiled, and soon they headed to the lake. To get there, he needed to wear his Zora armor and they had to swim all the way up the waterfall from Mikau Lake, where a small competition always took place to see who was the fastest swimmer. Naturally, he never managed to beat Sidon to this day, but he didn’t mind at all.
Part of him thought Sidon just wanted to show off, which was a funny thought.
Once they arrived there however, his mind suddenly went blank. He couldn’t just offer the jewelry, right?
‘I have something for you.’ He signed after they reached the lake, grabbing Sidon’s attention. Oh, maybe he needed to explain it before. ‘I went to Lomei Labyrinth Island a few days ago. It’s a weird guardian place in the north of Akkala.’
“Oh, Link–” Sidon already began to show signs of worry, knowing how Link’s adventures tend to end with life threatening experiences. But this time, Link gave a reassuring smile, calming the prince.
‘I’m not injured, don’t worry. Anyway, in the end, I found a chest, and inside I found something that I think you should have.’ He grabbed the Sheikah Slate and selected the diamond bracelet, soon offering it to the Zora.
Sidon gasped, widening his eyes. Besides this reaction, he seemed speechless for a moment, which for some reason was making Link nervous. Sidon wasn’t really the quiet type.
‘Is it too much?’ He tried to sign as best as he could while holding it with one hand.
“NO! I-I mean, yes! I just– I wasn’t expecting this. I never thought you would– it’s beautiful, Link.” The prince slowly kneeled closer, making their heights more equal, and gently grabbed the piece. “Truly, you have no idea how happy this makes me.”
Was Sidon…blushing? He never thought this would be possible. The light blue coloring on his cheeks was oddly endearing. But most of all, all the unexpected stuttering and the pointy-teeth smile was doing weird things to him. He decided to ignore it, though.
‘This piece was meant to be a circlet, but it wouldn’t fit you, so I went to Gerudo Town to adapt it since I know a talented jeweler there.’ He tried to escape the intense glare by grabbing his slate again, selecting his own piece and wearing it on his head. ‘See? Now we match.’
The prince's stare only intensified, and his blush seemed to take on new shades of blue. His own heart was racing now, unfamiliar with the tension between them. With Sidon kneeling, his gaze was closer– which also meant there was nowhere to hide.
Link looked away, feeling oddly exposed. He should say something.
‘You know, you are very important to me. And I appreciate all the time we spend together. I thought giving you this would show it better, since I’m not good at words. I hope it’s enough.’ He finally managed to stare back at the Zora.
Sidon looked at him with the most loving gaze he had ever seen, as if he was his entire world. He didn’t know what to do with such a stare, but he definitely felt like melting right then and there. He had no idea his friend would like his gift so much, but it was truly making him question himself why he was feeling this way.
“It’s more than enough, my dear.” Sidon smiled, wearing the bracelet on the right wrist. “Though as you may know, diamonds are usually a post-wedding gesture for the Zoras,” the prince continued, voice rich with amusement and warmth, “and you should court me first. I'd prefer to not skip straight to the altar– not that I’d want to refuse you. You Hylians like to wear matching jewelry for marriage as well, don’t you? I never thought you would be so straight forward.”
Sidon kept talking, but his mind had gone completely blank.
…
What?
Marriage?
Courtship?
He jumped from where he was, feeling his own cheeks burn and his heart pounding against his chest.
Did he just accidentally propose to Sidon? And Sidon somehow accepted it? What?!
He quickly panicked, signing as fast as he could while wanting to disappear with the amount of embarrassment he was feeling with this whole misunderstanding. ‘I didn't mean to! I didn’t know it had this meaning! I just thought you would like it!’ He tried to explain. If he could talk right now, he would definitely stutter and crack his voice.
“...Oh.”
The silence that came after was almost unbearable. He truly felt like pulling out his Slate again to select any shrine, just to get out of this place as fast as possible. But he couldn’t. He shouldn’t.
Seconds felt like minutes for a moment. When he finally gathered the courage to glance again at Sidon, he saw his friend seemed to have his mind running as well.
“I see… I shouldn’t have assumed, it was presumptuous of me.” Sidon said, standing up again. His voice sounded so distant. So different from what he knew of his friend.
‘It’s my fault. I think my phrasing was ambiguous… I’m sorry.’ He signed, feeling his own stomach heavy. He needed to clear things up, but somehow again his words didn’t seem well enough. He didn’t want things to go this way, but he was also feeling like he was ignoring the huge elephant in the room right now, so he had to ask before the opportunity left.
‘If it were true…. did you really mean it? What you said before?’ He took a deep, but quick breath, trying to calm himself, with his hands trembling. He needed to confirm what he just heard. ‘Would you truly accept if I courted you?’
Sidon seemed equally affected by all of this, but this time, he didn’t take long to reply.
“...Yes, I would. For some time, I’ve been holding feelings for you. But regrettably I never gathered the courage to confess to you. But please be assured, that regardless of what I feel, it won’t affect our friendship. The affection I have for you goes beyond the need for my feelings to be reciprocated.”
Sidon smiled, but they had been close for a while now. He knew that it was the trained, formal smile that Sidon sometimes wore. The same smile he used to comfort his Zora people in moments of uncertainty, while faking and hiding his own feelings.
He didn’t want that. This all felt wrong. He wanted Sidon to be true to him and not hold back. He wanted to hear his full and loud laugh, and see that look again. The one he just got as if he was the best thing that ever happened to him.
Now he understood why his heart had been racing crazy before. Honestly, it was not even the first time it happened as well, but he just never gave a deep thought to it. He never had a reason to name it.
Not until now.
So after a moment, he signed. ‘What kind of gift would be proper to start courting a Zora prince?’
The big, dazzling smile he received afterwards only served to confirm his own feelings.
Fin.