The Hero Of Hyrule

Preparations for the Ceremony

News had finally spread of who exactly the leader of Hyrule was and everyone was honestly shocked. Sure, the remaining three leaders of the biggest communities in Hyrule kind of expected this but at the same time it was still a big shock. Link, the little Hylian who was often seen doing incredibly dangerous and reckless things in the name of Hylia. Link, the guy who ran around taking pictures of horses and random fruits. Link, the Champion who once tried to get inside a guardian. Link, the hero handpicked by the Goddesses who everyone saw as a goofy little traveler, was the new king of Hyrule.

Link couldn't hide from this any longer, a ceremony would be under way to commemorate the new King and rebirth of the kingdom. Sidon had been secretly sending letters to different people and pretty soon Link was waiting to be carted off to Kakariko Village. Tomorrow there would be a grand ceremony in the renewed Castle Town Square where Link would "fully address" himself as King. It was going to be a grand event and nearly if not all of Hyrule would be there. In Castle Town. Watching Link as he would accept the crown that Last King of Hyrule wore once upon a time. Link wasn't prepared for this at all.

The Hylian sighed. He was sitting on the fountain just in front of the gates of the castle. He was waiting for the carriage to come to escort him even though everyone knew damn well Link could ride his horse on over to the village. In fact, he would've preferred that over the huge fuss they were making.

"Everything is set." Sidon sat besides Link with a smile on his face. "The day is nearly here my friend. You will at long last rule us all and we will be on the path back to greatness. Aren't you excited?" Link nodded. He was excited, he wanted Hyrule to prosper but he still didn't get why it had to be him to rule it. "Once you arrive at Kakariko Village Impa will give a sort of training for tomorrow and the local tailors will create something fit for a king. And I will be back home preparing as well. My father and I are debating whether or not he should go, his old age does make it difficult, as does his size..." Link stopped and looked up at the Zora. He poked his arm, getting Sidon's attention, before he began signing.

"You're not coming with me to Kakariko Village?" Sidon shook his head.

"I'm afraid not. I have to prepare myself as the Prince and to be quite honest I miss my home. And, not to be too personal, I'd like to...pray to my sister for your sake." Sidon's smiled faltered just a bit. "I know you're anxious about the events to come and I know a part of Mipha's spirit resides in you so I'd like to make sure you're fine tomorrow." Sidon looked down at Link, who had his usual stoic expression plastered on his face to hide his true emotions. Link nodded and looked forward once more. "However, I will stay once the ceremony is over. You and I will only be apart for a day. I'm quite sure you can handle it."

"I don't think I can." Link was a blunt person. After a hundred years and losing nearly everyone he's cared for he learned he might as well be as truthful about everything as possible. Sidon tilted his head and asked Link to elaborate. "You and I have been together for..." Link thought for a second and counted on his fingers, "nearly five months. That is a long time. I've spent even more time by myself. I've spent sleepless nights filled with seemingly endless battles and a struggle to eat properly. I've had to go through so many things on my own and..." Link sighed and stood up rather quickly. He was biting his cheek and trying his hardest to keep himself together and the only way to do that was to get up and get all that energy out of himself somehow. "I suppose I'm used to you around me. I like you with me. I like...you." Link was pacing back and forth now, keeping his head down, unsure of how to really explain his feelings. "You are...you are a good person. And a lot of times I feel bad for not remembering you too well because I do like you. You're-" Link snapped and turned to Sidon. "I'm Hyrule's ray of light in dark times, but you're mine."

Sidon's face felt red and in that moment he was wondering if Zoras could even blush. His heart was pounding in his chest. He didn't quite know how to take Link's wonderfully sweet comment. Was this perhaps an awkward, romantic gesture? Or was it just Link's still awkward nature trying to describe how much Sidon's friendship meant to him. Sidon had no way to tell and, sadly, he couldn't ask. In the distance came speeding in the carriage driven by the residents of Kakariko Village. They were dressed in their traditional Sheikah outfits, its what they wore when on very important business. Sidon sat there, mouth open as he silently watched Link climb into the carriage and wave goodbye before departing down the road, back to the village.

Sidon's escorts arrived later that day. The Prince was silent the whole way back to his Domain, his mind was locked on Link and that day's conversation. At this point it wasn't so much what way Link meant what he said, it was more Sidon replaying the words in his head so a small smile would wiggle past his blank expression. It wasn't until he arrived back home did Sidon begin thinking seriously about exactly what Link meant. As he walked up the stairs to where his father was he didn't so much as glance at the statue of his sister out of guilt.

~

"Welcome, your highness." Impa chuckled and stepped away from the carriage door to give Link some room. The Hylian smiled awkwardly and clambered out. He had arrived just after the sun had set and it seemed like the whole village had been waiting for him. All eyes were on him, their new king, and suddenly Link felt sick to his stomach. "Come now child. We have a lot to do before the sun comes up and brings the new day." The crowd parted for Link and Impa, he didn't know what to do so he waved at everyone. They only stared back at him.

As the door shut behind Link he couldn't help but sigh in relief. He despised the feeling of having people looking at him and expecting something from him. That feeling made him want to detach himself from the rest of the world. Impa sat at her usual spot and motioned for Link to sit in front of her, he did. With his legs crossed he was twiddling his thumbs and looking at everything. He didn't know why he was so nervous all of the sudden.

"Now then, do you know what you're going to say tomorrow?" He shook his head. "Well, now that may be something you need to figure out. Perhaps you can mention something about your adventures and your struggles." She sipped the tea Paya had set besides her before continuing. "You needn't make your speech seem so formal you know. It's been so long since any of us has heard an official speech so I'm sure you can get away with talking about yourself." Link nodded. "I realize you don't particularly enjoy speaking. You don't do it because of all the responsibility placed on you and you won't want to do it even more now that you have a kingdom's worth of responsibility set squarely on your shoulders but...perhaps it is a good idea to speak tomorrow."

"I'll think about it." Link signed. It was clear on his face that he wasn't going to think about it and he wouldn't speak at all.

The rest of the night was filled with Impa helping Link on what was and wasn't appropriate to say. For instance, mentioning how he had met the spirit of the last King of Hyrule after waking up from his hundred year nap along with the spirits of the rest of the champions and mentioning his fight against Calamity Ganon and witnessing the power of the Goddess through Zelda first hand was appropriate. Mentioning how he once stripped almost completely naked and sheild surfed through the Hebra region to fight the Lynels to see if he would survive wasn't something the kingdom would want to hear. Neither was the fact that for a solid three days Link gave up, put on his Lizalfos mask and tried to live life as one of them.

Deep into the night they finally put a pause to their preparations. Link yawned and was about to head outside when Paya quietly said he'd be sleeping in the room upstairs. Link was about to argue but Impa gave him a stern look and he instead thanked them and went upstairs. At this point in the night Sidon would tell Link to get a nice long rest and that he wished only good dreams on his friend. Oh how Link missed his Zora companion. He sighed. Sidon had mentioned missing his home. Maybe it was time for Link to go back to living his life alone.

He shook his head and stripped off his clothes. He wasn't going to think about that now. He'd talk to Sidon about it. No- he'd pray to the Goddesses about it. They could tell him what to do. He flopped down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling for a moment before he leaned over and blew out the single candle that was giving him light. Tomorrow would be a big day.