911 words

"Prince Sidon!" Gaddison yells, sprinting over. "Your... your Highness... master Link, he... injured... medical wing..." she puffs, then points, but when I rush over, she stops me. "Sir, the doctors need their space. They'll tell us when we can come in."

"What happened?"

"Stabbed from behind, probably taken by surprise? He was bleeding everywhere, I'm surprised he was still alive when we found him... the blade looked like nothing I've ever seen."

Like nothing I've ever seen. I spin my gears while waiting, trying to number the countless blades I've come to known and create an image of this one. But it proves unsuccessful.

"Your Highness?" A doctor walks over from the medical wing. "You can go in now."

I dip my head and strut in. It really is a sight to see—Link is so small, so delicate and fragile, and the hospital bed dwarfs him in size. Of course, all the beds are made for Zora, a generally taller people. I sit in the empty chair next to his bed, crossing one leg over the other.

I wonder what his hair feels like, the stupid part of my brain inquires, and before I know it my hand is petting him like a cat. The hair is soft and fluffy, like one would assume a cloud feels like.

His hand gently bats mine away, eyes still closed and a slight frown adorning his lips. I don't understand how a warrior, someone who defeated the greatest evil in Hyrule, can be so... cute.

I withdraw my hand and prop my chin up with it.

I sit there for an unknown amount of time, probably hours for all I know, staring out the window or at my injured friend.

A small, warm hand uses my wrist as leverage for Link to drowsily sit up. Eyes wide, he looks around the unfamiliar room; he's been here before but only briefly, stealing glances in between closed doors. Hand clutching my wrist in a—surprisingly—painful death grip, his eyes slowly travel up to me.

He blinks several times before swinging his feet off the bed and trying to stand but ultimately failing, letting out a pained whimper.

"Yeah, you wouldn't want to move around for a little." I muse. He glares at me. "You were stabbed... do you remember? Apparently the sword was foreign, no one knew the blacksmith." Letting out a low hum, he fiddles with the sheet.

Sometimes I wish that he wasn't mute, that he could express his thoughts in different ways then groans, whines, sighs, and typical anime girl noises. He hates that analogy of mine, but I think it's witty.

He stares up at me, mouth partially open and head tilted to one side. Link lifts his hand up halfway as if to touch me, but refrains with a shake of his head.

"You know, you remind me of koi." He makes a hm? noise. "Yes, koi! The small fish that excite over nothing, swimming around lightning fast in a pond. They're always curious but never satisfy their curiosity. Those fish."

Link opens his mouth as if to say something, but closes it again with a scowl, trying yet again to stand up and this time, not failing. He walks quite well despite the previous events, slamming the door on his way out.

He's still cute, though.

I wish Sidon took me seriously. I toss him one last glare as I slam the door but even through the thick marble I hear him say:

"Still cute."

Probably to himself, but it still pisses me off. Dammit, what does he want? I saved the Domain and the entirety of Hyrule from the greatest evil to ever live, and I'm still childish and cute. For the love of Hylia! It bothers me too damn much!

I sit on the railing stopping people from plummeting into the lake below, a fatal drop to any non-Zora. Even the baby Zora could get hurt. But to be frank, I'll just teleport away with the slate, it's a long enough drop I think. I swing my feet over and sit.

It's dark out, so nobody except the guards in the distance are awake, which is perfect. I can be alone. Some might think that adventuring gets lonely, but to me it's just ample time to daydream.

"There you are! Get down, you'll hurt yourself." A large hand claps my shoulder gently. I don't move. "Are you mad at me?" I hear a snicker. "Is Link pissed that I called him cute?" I hoist myself over the other side, the dangerous side, and put my hands on my hips. "Okay okay fine. Get down... please."

I still don't budge. Maybe this is stubborn and childish, but I'm not moving unless someone picks me u—fuck.

Sidon picked me up by the underarms and dropped me on the marble tile, a satisfied look on his handsome face. "I told you to get down."

I found this trick where if I breathe the right way, I can make words. But it's not super practical since you really have to listen; it's quieter than a whisper.

"I wasn't going to jump" I manage to say after reeling in a long breath. He looks surprised at my vocalisation but then realizes it isn't my voice I'm using—just making the air into words.

"Sure you weren't. I know you; you love a thrill."

"Well fuck you" Another breath says. "And goodnight" I quickly jog away, leaving Sidon alone in the dark.