Wrangle on Mt.Ploymus
!Link. Zora's Domain

There used to be an ancient myth in Hyrule, and it went something like this:

Many call the terrain of Hyrule home.

But the most fearsome are the Lynel, who roam.

Din, with her power of crude flame,

Nayru, with her shining wisdom and acclaim,

and Farore, whose valiant courage has garnered fame;

together, with their forces as one,

They banish the evil beast up high on Mt.ploymus,

where Hylia, with her golden harp, proclaims its reign of terror is forever undone.

As a knight of one hundred years, I can promise- no, I can swear- on the land of Hyrule itself, no being has ever managed to put the fear of the goddess in me like a Lynel.

Not even Ganon.

Crafted in the image of the centaur, their upper body consists of formidable brawn, while their lower half propels them forward with a horse's four cylinders of power.

To put it simply, if I trained every day for twenty-five years, I would accumulate maybe half of the muscle mass of a Lynel.

But I don't have twenty-five years.

I don't even have twenty-five minutes.

I swore I would never set foot on an acre of land near Mt.Ploymus again.

But love has a habit of making you do crazy things.

I must admit, however, that fighting a Lynel was never on my list.

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Sidon put another sugar cube into your tea glass. "So, you see, once Fronk completes the final repairs to some of the beams and the stairs, we would love to host an event within the domain. Why, I just had Mipha's statue polished. Could you tell, Link?"

He swirled his tea, his hands too large for the dainty flatware that graced the table. Once he deemed the sugar dissolved to his liking, he lifted the porcelain to his lips and made an obnoxious slurp.

You glanced over at Link, who inattentively sat, constructing a jenga tower with the bones sucked dry from his sanke carp. You lightly kicked Link beneath the table.

He shot you a look from above his carp bone tower. "Link, Sidon asked you a question."

"Hey now, Y/N, it's alright! Link has had a long journey; he must be exhausted. And how could I be so silly to plan an extravaganza when the moon is crashing into earth?" Sidon made himself laugh. You couldn't help but succumb to the vibrant sound of it, laughing along with him.

From beside you, Link was making faces.

Wasn't Sidon his best friend? Why was he acting so unmannered? Surely, he couldn't be jealous of a fish.

Could he?

"Tell me, Y/N, how did you meet Link?"

You sipped your tea, allowing it to lull you into a false sense of calm. If circumstances were different, you could see yourself coming to Zora's Domain just to hang out. The history that had steeped so richly within every surface, much like the Hyrule herb in your tea, delivered quite a distinguishing look to the domain. You couldn't help but drink it all in.

Zora's Domain was lush thanks to the hints of steely blues that transformed it into an amalgamation of tenebrosity and romance. Clouds veiled with a touch of gloom bathed the domain but did little to hide the intricate carvings that sliced each pillar, column, and post. At the center of the domain sat a grand statue of champion Mipha. A Zora with a raw hand of talent used their scalpel to their highest ability, as Mipha's face was so intricately carved.

You only had to look at it once to feel a compelling sense of loss, even though you had never met the Zora champion herself. It was also no mystery that Sidon and Mipha were siblings, as the allure of Sidon's face was so perfectly encapsulated in Mipha's statue.

"I work at the Ancient Akkala Tech Lab, assisting Hateno with guardian restoration. Link came in one day to attend a routine check-in with the queen, and we formed a...friendship."

Link dropped his spoon into his teacup, and the jarring clank made you jump in your seat.

His eyes rested on you for a moment, a slight furrow of agitation in his brows. "Whoops, forgive me; I didn't mean to make you jump, friend." Sidon wasn't tuned in enough to hear the snideness in Link's tone.

But you were. And you wanted to know what the hell his problem was.

"I just love stories of fate and friendship. Did Link ever tell you how we met?" Sidon grabbed a piece of the carp from his plate, dangling its meaty flesh into his mouth. His razored teeth glimmered with saliva as he ravaged it.

Then he dabbed his mouth with a napkin. He may be a fish, but he was always a gentleman first.

After a few more polite dabs of any fish guts that may be around the prince's mouth, he continued. "Well, I suppose I should start with my sister, Mipha. Link used to come and play with the Zora's even as a young child. He loved to swim. He possesses the soul of the hero, but I refuse to believe he wasn't a Zora in a previous life." Sidon clapped Link on the back with another roar of a laugh.

You recalled Link flopping around in the pond and seizing the porgy when you first went to Hateno. He certainly had an undisclosed glee during that moment. It was more than just the seas that brought that out in him. It was the wild.

"Well, Mipha was an excellent swimmer and diver. She taught me after all. I think Link's love of the vast seas is what cemented Mipha's own love for him."

You looked at Link, bewildered. A piece of carp was lodged into Link's throat as he began to cough.

"If Mipha survived, and she saw that Link fit that armor, there is no doubt in my mind they would be wed. And Link was the first Hylian who ever kissed a Zora."

"Kissed?" Your cheeks began to flame with anger.

Sidon grinned. "I know what you're thinking, Y/N. We do possess these sharp teeth compared to the flat ones of a Hylian. It was the talk of the domain; I even remember it despite being a child. Link skinned his knees while diving, Mipha healed him, and Link kiss-"

Link slammed the table with his fists. "That is NOT what happened!"

"Tell me more about this engagement armor, Sidon." You folded your arms, staring at Link. Your gaze shot a laser more lethal than a guardian's into his skull. He retreated back to his seat.

"Ah, this is a Zora tradition. A princess will make a special armor of our scales for her beloved. The armor should fit like a glove, much like the tight scaly skin we Zora possess. When I met Link, I hardly recognized him. It was as I brought him back to Zora's domain that I took him to my father, who recalled him instantly. The armor Mipha made all those years ago fit Link as though it were a second skin, and so in tradition, they would be wed today. Had she not left us, of course." Sidon's eyes seemed to moisten at the last part.

"Interesting. Link will have to tell me more about this story one day." Your voice dripped with venom. Link kept his head down, a guilty third party in what felt like a parent-teacher discussion.

Just how many princesses was this man promised to?

You stood, scooting away from the table. "Sidon, forgive me; may I be dismissed?"

"Ah, of course, get some rest, and we can recap our strategy with Vah Ruta!" Sidon stood, bowing at you. He turned toward Link, his winsome grin gracing his face. "Say, Link, all this talk has me wanting to go diving! What do you say?"

"Well, I-"

"Swell!" Once again, like a sack of mushrooms, Link was hoisted over Sidon's mighty shoulder. The Zora prince paraded away, with a rebellious Link latched on to him.

Not before leaving you with a friendly warning. "Ah, Y/N, feel free to peruse all the sights Zora's domain has to offer. But whatever you do, please stay away from Mt.Ploymus."

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A sea of brightshell crabs teetered by you as you took a crisp walk around the domain.

The glimmer of blue shells that housed the crabs reminded you of Link's eyes.

Link. The overtly jealous knight whose double standards left you dumbfounded.

You knew how he felt about you, but then why did you suddenly feel so insecure? Was it even about the kiss that was before your time? Or the fact everyone got to experience an era of peace where they could enjoy him in a way you never could?

The Hero of Time had to save Hyrule from Ganondorf and was thrust back into his timeline without a 'goodbye.' And now you and Link are reunited, but at what cost? A blood moon was hurling itself toward Hyrule.

You passed by a dilapidated sign. Chunks of its splintered wood were missing. You paid it no mind, breezing by as you continued making sense of your thoughts.

What if this was Hylia's way of rebelling against a fate where you and Link end up together? A fate of free will?

Maybe if he were with Zelda, none of this would be happening.

What if your ill-timed love was merely divine retribution?

You thought of the calamity and the Link who existed before it. A careless adolescent who loved to ride the waves and apparently kiss Zora princesses. The pompous knight who trained day in and day out with only the motive of being better than his own father. A novice warrior with a shimmer of hope in his young eyes.

Yes, you weren't jealous of Zelda or Mipha. You were jealous they got to see a glimpse of him raw and unfiltered. They had been blessed enough to live in an abundant Hyrule with a not traumatized Link.

The man you've been begging to see.

You looked at your feet. Blades of grass were being swept in the direction away from you. You lifted your head to feel a chilly wind throwing your hair over your shoulders.

The wind was coming in one direction, yet the trees and grass were blowing in another. Goosebumps began to nip up your arms.

Something was wrong.

You surveyed your surroundings. A tree up ahead had a few rogue arrows sticking out of it. Overhead, sandwiched between clouds, a heron cried out.

Where had you wandered off to? Alarm gripped at you as you remembered Sidon's parting.

Stay away from Mt.Ploymus.

Then you thought of the battered sign that you couldn't read.

You clasped your hands over your mouth. An ill feeling bubbled inside of your stomach as you realized what the sign must have said.

An elongated growl, guttural and gruff, filtered through the silence of the mountain. It sounded far away. But not far enough.

The wind continued to slap against your face while the leaves in the trees blew in the opposing direction.

You rotated your head slowly, your eyes meeting yet another tree marked with arrows.

Then another.

Until your eyes landed on an unrecognizable creature. So tall was this beast, its shadow was a dark flame threatening to consume the entirety of the ground.

All your thoughts of Link were eroded by the sound of a shriek.

In what little time it took you to scream, it took even less for the Lynel to charge forth.

One slice from its scythe would create a tsunami of your blood that would drown Mt.Ploymus.

All because you were jealous over a fish.

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Link burst through the surface of the water, flipping his wet locks behind him.

He couldn't decline Sidon's request, and at least if he was with him, he wasn't making Y/N swoon.

Gazing at his reflection, Link was perplexed by the feelings swirling inside of him. Had he always been so jealous? So territorial?

Link started when the face staring back at him wasn't his own.

For a brief moment, it was the fierce deity mask, then it morphed into a distorted version of him, with short bangs divided by a middle part and thick, dispirited-looking brows. The image seemed to call to him.

"Link! She needs you!"

He slapped the water's surface, splashing droplets everywhere and shattering the strange replica of himself. Sidon swam towards him.

"You alright, Link? You look like you saw a ghost."

"No, just the lack of sleep getting to me."

"Ah, well, thank you for diving with me. You must be exhausted." Sidon flexed, showing off his astronomical muscles, which he imagined were the pride of the Zora, more so than Vah Ruta.

"I want to go find Y/N. Make sure she's alright." Link was whisked off before he could follow her. He felt stupid. Here he was getting jealous over Sidon doting on her when he himself had a past that Y/N didn't exist in.

What was wrong with him lately?

A troubled Zora stood over the edge of the bridge, leaning on the railing and shouting in alarm. "Prince Sidon! Link! There have been reports of another Hylian who may have gone to Mt.Ploymus!"

Sidon thrust himself through the waters, his body a weightless instrument made for the rhythm of its tides and ripples. He found the nearest waterfall and rode it up toward where the Zora civilian stood.

"Sidon!" Link called. "It's ok! Y/N can be scattered sometimes, but if she saw the sign and heard your warning, she wouldn't be so careless as to disobey."

The civilian whispered. "Well... there isn't actually a sign."

Sidon's eyes shot open. Their usual friendly twinkle now burned the color of bile. His rage was contained but visible. "What is the meaning of this? That mountain is to be clearly dressed in signage, so Hylians and Zora alike do not wander up there!"

"Um, we had a wood shortage, and with the lack of visitors to the domain, we kind of ... used some of the wood."

"You did what?!"

Link arrived in between them. "There's no sign? I must go to her! That Lynel, if she encounters it, she'll never make it." Link ran forward, his bare feet sliding with panic amongst the domain's sleek tile floor.

"Link!" Sidon hollered, "I can't let you go alone! I'll come save your friend too!"

Link grabbed his sword and shield, strapping them onto his soaked body. "There's no time. I must go to her."

He ran forward, but not before stopping and turning to look at Sidon, unable to resist setting the record straight. "Sidon, Y/N, isn't my friend. She's my girlfriend."

He told Zelda how he felt. Now, it was Sidon's turn.

Once he took care of the Lynel on Mt.Ploymus, he'd have to let Y/N know too.

Edited:11/14/2023