(Sidon x Reader) The Out Of Body Experience

5: An Audience With The King

Ever since that night where her first swimming lessons began, (Y/n) would spend her nights with Sidon, feeling both comfortable in his presence and at the same time embarrassed that she didn't appear to be making any major progress in the swimming front. She would still drift slowly away, and hit the bottom of the lake. Maybe all she would ever be was a rock, maybe a rockfish if she was lucky.

(Y/n) would subtly discuss her woes with Kodah, who she made quick friends with, since she decided she would be staying at the inn permanently.

"I do not know, Kodah... It seems no matter what I do, I do not appear to be getting better, no matter how much I practice. It's times like these that really get me down... Even more so than if a monster was attacking me." (Y/n) sighed, as Kodah looked sympathetically at her.

"Oh, dear... Mastering such a difficult technique has to take some time. Not even the best of blacksmiths can make the greatest of weapons until they are at least all wrinkly. Dento couldn't make the Lightscale Trident until recently, so do not let this get you down. You are still a very talented jeweler, and a welcome addition to Zora's Domain. I have heard all the girls just raving about your pieces." Kodah smiled at (Y/n), trying to cheer her up.

Kodah thought (Y/n) was lamenting about not being able to manage a certain difficult technique for a kind of jewelry she wanted to make, when (Y/n) really was talking about her inability to swim. Upon Sidon's assistance, however, (Y/n) decided to keep this inability a secret. It seemed it would raise a lot of unwanted attention on her, and the only attention she wanted was with her store.

(Y/n) perked up. "Really?" She grinned, as Kodah nodded in confirmation. "Yes. Finley has been dressing in only your accessories recently. Apparently, she has been getting a lot of compliments from her boyfriend about her new look, especially that one belt with the little sapphires on it." Kodah giggled, which made (Y/n) beam with pride. That was what she wanted to achieve with her wares, that her customers feel beautiful with them. The making of such accessories was a tradition passed down throughout the ages, and (Y/n) was more than happy to keep her family's tradition up.

"I can only imagine what the gentleman you have your eye on would think when you craft something for him." Kodah teased, which immediately made (Y/n) tense up.

For some reason, her mind immediately went to Sidon, which made her instinctively shake her head. What was her brain thinking, immediately thinking of him? He was only her swimming instructor! Nothing more, and nothing less!

"Well, it is still a bit... early for that, don't you think? I am still getting settled in." (Y/n) sheepishly murmured, causing Kodah to giggle. "That is quite alright, dear. There is no rush, you just focus on that shop of yours, and everything will soon fall into place." She smiled, before giving her a playful wink. "Which also means you understanding what those strange dreams of yours means."

(Y/n) sighed upon recalling them. Yes, those dreams that felt far stranger than the dreams she was used to. They felt more like she was getting a glimpse into the past, a distant past that somehow always gave her a sense of deja vu.

When she returned back to the inn after her first swimming lesson with Sidon, she had another strange dream when she fell asleep...

This one... About a strange being. One she has never seen before.

What (Y/n) had seen was a strange, slender bodied being, with the biggest ears she has ever seen, standing on a wooden pole of sorts, reaching for some game he presumably hunted. It was laying atop another wooden stake at an awkward angle, and when his hand missed to grab it, he lost his footing on the pole he was standing on, and yelped as he fell into the bog below, now drenched in muck, which came at a contrast to his flowing, mainly white hair.