Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Link couldn’t help the huge grin on his face. The sight before him was just too precious for words, even the signed kind.

Sidon was holding a brand new Sheikah Slate in his hands, eyes the widest they could get and his mouth open in awe. His gills were fluttering rapidly in excitement, and even his tail was wagging back and forth like it just didn't know what to do with itself. He was so utterly flabbergasted that all of his princely manners had vanished completely, leaving him a gawking dork that Link wanted to cherish in his memories forever.

“I- really- for me?” Sidon stuttered, apparently unable to believe his luck and barely able to tear his eyes away from the device to look at Link in disbelief. “Shouldn’t… Shouldn’t the first one go to Queen Zelda, seeing how the original one was hers before you got it?”

Link shook his head, a smug grin on his lips.

‘She is too busy to make much use of it, so she can wait for the next one’, he signed, ‘Purah is making more now that she’s figured out how.’

Sidon nodded dumbly, glanced at his new Slate again, then finally broke into a huge smile and grabbed Link into a one-armed hug. Link laughed breathlessly, and patted Sidon’s bicep.

“Thank you! Thank you so very much!” Sidon exclaimed, nuzzling Link’s hair with his crest and mussing it halfway loose from its hair tie. “I will make use of this to the utmost of my ability!”

Link knew what would happen next, and waited for it with a small smile. Any moment now.

Sidon suddenly ceased his affections, freezing in place. Then he slowly pulled away from Link and gave him a sheepish look.

“It just occurred to me that I have no idea how to use this”, Sidon said with an awkward little chuckle. ”Do you suppose you could teach me?”

Link’s smile widened, and he brought his hands up to sign.

‘I don’t know’, he signed with a mischievous look, ‘I had to learn on my own and managed just fine.’

Sidon looked shocked for a moment, then caught on to Link’s expression. He chuckled again and shook his head exasperatedly.

“I seem to recall that you received instructions as well”, he said, “but I’ll bite. Would you, my most talented and incredible friend, please teach me?”

Link blushed at the compliments; he had only wanted a ‘please’ or just to see Sidon’s shocked face. But compliments were always nice too, so he wasn’t complaining. He nodded quickly before Sidon decided to lay it on even thicker, which he didn’t think he could handle as gracefully.

Sidon smiled again. “Splendid! May we begin right away, before my duties catch up to me?”

Right, he had another surprise for his friend. Link gave him an excited smile.

‘About that’, he signed, ‘I already asked your father the King before coming to see you, and he agreed to me taking you out on an adventure to unlock the most useful ability of the slate: the warping.’

Sidon gave him a blank look for a moment, before his face brightened in recognition.

“You mean when you appear in the shrine or disappear in a blue light!”

Link nodded. ‘Exactly. You need to register shrines and other warping points into your slate to be able to do the same. It’s very convenient when you need to get somewhere quickly.’

Sidon looked beside himself with anticipation.

“So we’re going out of the Domain to register the points? Father agreed? Are we… Are we leaving right away?”

The Zora was practically vibrating on the spot, waiting for Link’s confirmation.

Link nodded, which was the only thing he had the time to do before Sidon became a red blur of activity, frantically searching for things he wanted to take with him and asking Link for suggestions.

The Hylian could only laugh. This adventure was bound to be interesting and fun.

Chapter Text

Link was really pleased with their progress so far: they had left the Domain after registering Ne’ez Yohma shrine, dropped by the Veiled Falls for Dagah Keek shrine, gotten to Soh Kofi very fast thanks to Sidon’s swimming speed, and made it to the Lanaryu Tower just before nightfall. It was much quicker than Link had actually anticipated; had they walked they would have had to call it a night somewhere past the natural tunnel after the Bank of Wishes, but apparently the Zora route, aka the river, sped the way considerably.

“I’ve been outside of the Domain before, but only in places easily accessible via the water routes”, Sidon said conversationally as they climbed up the tower. “And not very far ever since the octorok incident, which was decades ago. My father didn’t want to risk me getting into more trouble in places too far away to send help to quickly. I’m the crown prince, after all, and it’s my duty to not die young, or at least that's how he puts it.”

Link just nodded, unable to sign while climbing. He could understand where King Dorephan was coming from, even if he felt a faint pang of regret thinking that it was because of Mipha’s death that Sidon was restricted so. If Mipha was still alive she would be the crown princess and future queen, leaving Sidon with a lot less responsibilities on his shoulders. But at least Sidon could explore the world now, with Ganon gone and Link by his side to protect him. He could almost feel Mipha smiling down at them at the thought, and that made his heart considerably lighter.

They made it to the top, and Sidon promptly placed his slate on the pedestal, having already learned the drill from the three shrines they had registered on the way. He watched in fascination as the drop of condensed information splashed on the device, then looked at Link with a delighted smile.

“Did you see that? The shrines didn’t do that!”

Link nodded with an indulgent smile, like he hadn’t seen this a dozen times before during his grand adventure; it was brand new to Sidon, so he wasn't about to rain on his parade.

After a moment of humouring his friend, Link walked over to the edge of the tower, humming in contemplation while surveying the area, despite the darkness of the falling night. They could go either north or south if they wanted to be logical about this and do a full circle. But which to pick? It wasn’t like Sidon could go to Death Mountain, but Akkala would be an excellent place to begin. Then again, Hateno Village was south of here and Link was dying to show Sidon his home…

“Scouting our route?” Sidon asked as he walked up to his friend, and grinned wide at the view. “Oh, how marvelous! I think I can see Shatterback Point from here! Too bad the Upland Zorana mountains block the view to the Domain. Oh, Hyrule Castle is right over there!”

Link chuckled, and let Sidon ooh and ahh his fill before patting his arm to get his attention.

‘Any preferences for our route?’

Sidon nodded, and turned to look at the Castle again.

“I think we should follow the river north and visit the Castle”, he said, and pointed at the river in question. “While Akkala would probably be nice to visit, I think getting a warp point to the Castle is a higher priority, even if we don’t have an explicit deadline for our travels. Akkala is near enough to the Domain that I can go visit it later on my own if I have to, and Death Mountain lives up to its name for us Zora. I can’t go anywhere near it. So it’d be much more efficient to skip them for now.”

Link nodded, accepting this as their plan. Sidon had clearly been thinking about it on their way here, which Link appreciated.

‘Now that that’s decided, it’s time to test the warping’, Link signed, causing Sidon’s eyes to widen. ‘Climbing down from here is a hassle and we don’t want to spend the night up here, so we may as well warp back to Soh Kofi shrine, which also gets us back to the road.’

Sidon looked very impressed and excited. To be fair, that was his usual look around Link, but it was still fun to see.

“Smart thinking! I wouldn’t have thought of that. It goes to show that you're more used to this than I am!”

Link wasn’t going to ruin Sidon’s awe by mentioning that normally he just paraglided down from the towers. He preferred looking like an expert, so instead, he took out his slate and showed Sidon which shrine he meant, even if it was a little obvious.

Sidon took out his slate too and crouched next to Link to compare them. He then blinked and looked delighted again.

“I have a map now! Oh, of course I do, that was the point of getting up here, but it’s still amazing to actually see the results.”

Sidon’s constant enthusiasm about everything was downright adorable, like always. Link gave him a furtive glance, a fond smile playing on his lips. Then he shook the wistful thoughts out of his head, and started signing instructions.

-----

They traveled leisurely by Sheh Rata shrine and through the Trilby Plain with very little issues. The roads were much safer nowadays with newly trained Hyrulian guards patrolling them and taking care of any monsters that got too close, not to mention the lack of blood moon meaning any slain monsters stayed dead. Link almost missed the excitement of never knowing when a bokoblin or a moblin showed up, but a much bigger part of him was glad that he could concentrate on having fun with Sidon instead of constantly worrying about the Zora Prince’s safety.

‘Mirro Shaz shrine is across the Pico Pond’, Link signed, even though his eyes were trained on the stable at the fork of the road ahead. He liked camping just fine, but he always looked forward to sleeping in an actual bed when given the chance. Not that it would feel that luxurious just yet, considering that they had only spent one night outdoors so far. He idly wondered if Sidon would book a room as well or if he’d rather sleep submerged in the pond…

“So this is the Pico Pond?” Sidon asked with a contemplative look, “Does that make the woods ahead the Minish Woods?”

‘Minshi Woods’, Link corrected.

“Hmm? Ah, our maps call it the Minish Woods. I suppose Hylians use a different name, or have changed it over time. Your kind makes changes so often it’s hard for us Zora to keep track of all of it, being long-lived and thus slow adapting as we are, much to my regret…”

‘Swim or go around?’ Link asked, stopping at the edge of the pond. The weather was nice and calm today, so the pond reflected his visage back to him perfectly. He took note of the lack of octroroks in the water, which was a very pleasant thing; he hated being suddenly hit by flying rocks.

“Let’s go around so you can sign”, Sidon said, piquing Link’s interest. It wasn't often that Sidon opted to not get in the water when given the chance.

They continued walking along the edge of the lake, Link looking at Sidon questioningly.

Sidon smiled. “I see you’re expecting a story? How observant of you.”

Sidon looked at the lake again, eyes idly tracking the delicious looking fish in it; it had been a while since they ate, as they planned to do so at the stable.

“When I was young, the elders told me stories of little people called the Minish or the Picori”, he said, and chuckled, “They were said to be the size of insects, but as intelligent as the Zora. They lived absolutely everywhere in Hyrule, hidden by their small size, but if you wanted a chance to actually see them, you’d have to come here, where their largest settlement was somewhere in the woods. However, they would only show themselves to children, who were small enough to pay attention to such tiny creatures.”

Link smiled, charmed by the story. He wondered if Hylians had such tales passed down, or if the story was of purely Zora origin. He wouldn’t know as he hadn’t recalled most of his life, much less the little things. He doubted he ever would recover everything, and wasn’t too sorry about it most of the time; his life had seemed stressful, and almost everyone from his past was dead and thus not around to be frustrated by his lack of memories of them. Besides, he liked who he was now, and too much knowledge of who he was before might change him. But he digressed.

‘Did you ever see any?’ he asked, since Sidon seemed to be waiting for prompting. He was proven right straight away.

“Unfortunately I was never taken here as a child, so no”, Sidon said wistfully, “I planned to visit once I was big enough to be allowed to travel, but then never got around to it, and eventually forgot about it. Perhaps we can look around tomorrow, once we reach the woods? We may not be children, and perhaps the Picori aren’t real, but at least I’ll get to keep a promise to my younger self.”

Link nodded, not minding the idea at all. If nothing else, they would probably find some mushrooms and nuts while they were at it, so it’d be useful regardless.

Sidon smiled softly. “Thank you.”

They walked in comfortable silence, minds preoccupied, until they reached the shrine. Link stayed back to toss a glance towards the stable they’d be heading to as soon as this was over with, while Sidon took out his slate and touched it to the pedestal, as per usual. Then he made a surprised noise, which caused Link to look at him questioningly. Sidon was staring at his slate.

Link frowned, and took a step closer at the same moment Sidon turned towards him, the slate held up and a clawed finger pointing at something on the screen.

“Say, what is-”

Sidon’s claw touched the screen, and he disappeared in an instant.

Link blinked stupidly, unable to process what had happened. His brain helpfully supplied him with “the blue light signifying warping wasn’t there, so that's out” after a moment, which kick-started him again.

“Sidon!” Link yelled, looking around frantically, as if Sidon had just somehow moved to another nearby spot too quickly for him to have registered. However, the Zora was nowhere to be seen. Sidon was large and red and usually also very vocal, so the lack of his presence nearby was instantly obvious, despite the momentary denial on Link's part.

Link found himself panicking before he could help it.

He had managed to lose his best friend two days into their adventure. Sidon had disappeared. He was traveling with Link but now he was gone. Link hadn’t been able to keep him safe.

His heartbeat picked up in a way that no enemy had caused in a long time. His breathing grew ragged, and it became hard to think.

No. Don’t do that. Concentrate. Calm.

Link closed his eyes and took a big, shaky breath.

Think. Zelda liked to say that there was always a cause to things – nothing happened without a cause. If there was a ripple in the water, it was because something dropped into it or something breached the surface. If the grass moved, it was the wind or there was something hidden in it. So if Sidon disappeared, something caused it.

What had happened before it?

Link opened his eyes and looked at the pedestal of the shrine. He had already activated it ages ago, but he still walked up to it and touched his slate on it. Then he looked at the slate.

And blinked.

There was a new icon flashing in the rune screen, between Cryonis and the camera. It was some kind of floppy, green triangle. The explanation text underneath only said “Error, corrupted data. Contact Slateri”, which wasn’t very informative.

However, this had to have been what made Sidon vanish, so there was nothing to it: Link tapped the icon.

And the world promptly shot upwards.

Chapter Text

Link looked around him with wide eyes. Where was he? It looked like some kind of temple ruins or something as there was stone floor and rocks everywhere, and no plant life in sight. Though if that was what it was, the ruins were absolutely huge; the view looked the same as far as his eyes could see, with the exception of a ridiculously tall wall a little bit ahead of him. The wall was so tall that Link couldn't see where it ended and the sky began. It was a little unnerving if he thought about it for too long, so he didn't.

He turned around to see if the desolation continued behind him as well, and his eyes caught a flash of red. Red, like Sidon. It was moving too. His heartbeat picked up, and he broke into a run towards it, not even letting himself consider the possibility of it being a plain red moblin instead of his friend.

To his huge relief he could soon see that it was, indeed, Sidon.

Sidon seemed to hear the approaching footsteps, too, as he instantly turned around, taking a fighting stance. Said stance dropped the moment he saw who was running towards him, and a smile and open arms replaced it.

“Link! I’m so glad you’re here!” he said, and scooped the tiny Hylian up the moment he was close enough. Link hugged him back, beyond relieved to have found him this easily, and presumably unharmed too. At least one thing was going right about their current predicament.

Sidon pulled back to look at Link after a moment, most likely verifying that he was alright, then carefully set him down. Link let him, despite the urge to keep on clinging for the foreseeable future, just to make sure he didn't disappear on him again.

“Was… this supposed to happen?” Sidon asked, moving his arm in an arch to include all of their surroundings into ‘this’. From the look on his face, he seemed to already know the answer; regardless, Link shook his head.

‘No, this hasn’t happened to me before, and I’ve been to that shrine a few times’, he signed, and took out his slate to take another look at the new addition that got them into this mess.

The green triangle-ish icon had gone gray and lifeless, which wasn’t a very good sign. It still prompted him to “contact Slateri” underneath, but that wasn’t very helpful either, as he didn’t have a single clue who, or even what, this Slateri was.

Link looked up at Sidon to see that he, too, was looking at his own slate.

“Is your triangle icon gray too?” Sidon asked as soon as he noticed Link staring. At Link’s nod, he continued, “I rather think it's a bad sign. Should we try tapping them anyway? See what happens?”

Link wasn’t feeling too optimistic about it, but gave another nod. It was worth a shot, and hopefully wouldn't make things worse, at least.

Sidon counted to three out loud, and they tapped their icons simultaneously. Nothing happened, as expected. Wherever they were, they weren’t getting back the same way. It would have been too easy, wouldn't it?

Thankfully that wasn’t the only way. They could just warp back to the shrine, or if Sidon’s slate somehow failed to register it thanks to whatever happened, they could just go back to Sheh Rata instead. They would only lose about four or five hours but still make it to the stable before nightfall. Sheh Rata was right next to the river, so Sidon could fish himself a meal there, too.

Link got the map screen open… and stared. According to the map they were still at Mirro Shaz shrine. He moved the map around a bit in disbelief, hoping against hope to fix the error by making a show of using the map, but nothing changed about their displayed location. The map insisted that they were at Mirro Shaz, by the Pico Pond.

Wordlessly he showed the map to Sidon, who checked his own, only to find it black. Of course, they hadn't visited the local tower yet. However, the map did label the shrine as Mirro Shaz, and the Lanayru region was where it was supposed to be in comparison.

“Well then”, Sidon said after a moment of worried silence, “I suppose we’ll just pick a direction and start walking? With any luck we might find someone who could tell us what is going on. Or we could warp elsewhere to see if it works?”

Link shrugged and then nodded towards a random direction. He was starting to feel adventurous now that they were somewhere he hadn’t seen before, so he didn’t want to lose the opportunity to explore by warping to safety just yet. After all, since the new icon wasn't working there was a good chance they wouldn't be able to return here if they left, wherever “here” was. They could have warping to another shrine as a back-up plan if they got more lost or tired. Who knew, maybe they’d find a new shrine or treasure here?

Sidon stared at the chosen direction, then looked at his slate again in contemplation. Finally he put it away and gave Link a smile.

“Fine with me. I do, for once, have unlimited time for exploring so I might as well capitalize on that. Lead on, my adventurous friend.”

-----

Link estimated that it had taken them a little less than an hour to leave the stone floored area and climb down a wall to arrive to an extremely rocky terrain. Or pebble-y was more like it; all of the ground consisted of endless amount of pebbles that were strangely even in size. Link had never seen anything like it.

“Link?” Sidon asked, making Link stop examining the ground and look at his companion instead. “I didn’t want to waste breath talking while we were climbing, but now is a good opportunity to speak up. I smell a large body water in the direction we're going to. I think that’s a good sign, if for no other reason than the opportunity to fish. I must admit I’m starved.”

Link smiled and nodded. Water was always a good find, both as a source of hydration and food, and as a potential place for meeting other people after the same things. Of course, it also often meant enemies, but they could handle that.

Link let Sidon lead the way from there, and very soon they could actually see vast amounts of blue ahead. They eagerly picked up the pace and soon enough reached the shore.

Sidon’s phrase “a large body of water” didn’t do this place justice; Link had been to the sea a few times, and this place rivaled it in sheer size. He couldn’t see the opposite shore, or anything else beyond endless amounts of blue. Maybe this was the sea? In that case their maps were definitely lying. It didn't smell salty, though, and there were no seagulls...

“Aah, finally water!” Sidon said with a huge smile, then turned to Link. “Do you mind if I take a dip? I could catch us dinner.”

Link gave a vague “go ahead” kind of gesture and watched Sidon dive with his usual theatrics, then took out his slate to check the map. Definitely still broken: according to the map they had only taken a short walk away from the shrine and reached the Pico Pond. That couldn't be right by any means, as it took a few minutes at most to walk from the shrine to the Pond, and the two of them had just wasted nearly an hour. Link shook his head and instead walked over to the nearby rock face and got the campfire started by its base. They might not be staying here for the night, but that was no reason to camp out in the open when there were other options.

-----

Eventually Link had a merry fire going and had dug out a few food items from his backpack to go with the fish, but there was no sign of Sidon. It was a little strange as usually Sidon caught fish right quick unless he specifically mentioned that he’d take a good soak too, which was necessary if they had been traveling on land under the glaring sun for a few hours. He hadn't said he would do that, though; Link distinctly remembered Sidon’s words being “take a dip” and “catch dinner”, which would imply a short trip, which this was not. It was starting to make Link anxious, but there was little he’d be able to do unless Sidon was above water, which he wasn’t as far as Link could see. He squinted towards the water, eyes tracking the waves for any sign of a big red shark, but to no avail.

Then there was a sound on his right, somewhat behind him.

“Oh, I thought the smoke would be from a campfire! Hi there!”

Link shot up and turned around, just barely refraining from unsheathing his sword too out of habit; the words and tone were friendly, so the only hostile option was a Yiga, which he could sort out after greeting the stranger, if necessary. The Yiga always liked to try and make small talk or possibly sell him something before they attacked, and they even went as far as to tip him off to their hostility, too, by saying silly phrases like “After I have your head!” or something. They were very bad at assassination attempts, honestly.

However, it only took one glance to know that the person was definitely not a Yiga.

Link stared.

Before him was a person who looked unlike anyone Link had seen before. He… or she? …They had a pointy face, ears longer than even Link’s own, large and dark eyes, and they were wearing strange clothes that looked like they were made out of enormous leaves. Well, the tunic or dress at least; the pointy red hat looked like cloth… And was that a huge feather decoration or a tail that was poking out behind them? They weren't wearing any shoes either.

The creature stared back at him with equal awe.

“Are you… a Hylian?” they asked.

Chapter Text

Link stared at the creature, person, standing before him, trying to process everything. He was getting a distinct sense of déjà vu from the start of the conversation he was about to engage in. Hadn’t someone else asked him about his Hylian-ness too, a long time ago? Regardless, he nodded.

‘Forgive my rudeness, but what are you?’ he signed in return, trying very hard to quit his staring.

The person tilted their head in confusion, their large eyes looking from his hands to his face.

“Umm, what was that gesturing just now? Are you alright?” they asked, frowning in concern.

No. Not this again. Granted, it had been a long while since the last time he had to deal with someone not understanding him, but damn it, he had been so ready to never go through it again!

Just in case, he tried signing again, this time slower and very exaggeratedly.

‘Do you understand me?’

The person looked just as baffled as before as they looked at his hands, then comprehension dawned on their face and they slowly shook their head, looking apologetic.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand your hand-speak”, they said. Not the response Link had been hoping for, but at least better than ‘why do you keep waving your hands like an idiot?’ he sometimes got. Or the good old 'did you hit you head or something?'

Link sighed in frustration and chewed on his bottom lip. Alright. He really needed some answers, so it was time for desperate measures. Maybe… maybe his voice wouldn’t fail him this time? Since there was only one person here? He did sometimes manage to speak with complete strangers. Not that he could really remember many times, but he was decidedly not thinking about that. He just had to concentrate and believe that this would work. It had to.

He took a deep breath and determinedly opened his mouth to speak, but felt his throat close up the moment he tried to get any words out. He swallowed and tried again, but, predictably, the results were the same. No words, only a feeling of pressure around his throat and chest, and his heart beating way too quickly.

Just like always.

He could scream. Except he literally couldn’t, at the moment, even if he wanted to. It was very frustrating and made him want to hit something or possibly cry.

The strange person waved their hands frantically, looking more worried than before.

“It’s alright! No need to try to force yourself. If you can’t speak, then you can’t, and that’s fine. I’ll just… ask you yes or no questions?”

Except it wasn’t fine because technically Link could speak. Under certain circumstances. Sometimes. Damn it.

Where the hell was Sidon when he was needed?

“Umm”, the person said, and Link forcefully brought himself out of his funk to pay attention. He may be unable to speak, but he could and should listen and save his problems for later. “Are you traveling alone?”

Speaking of Sidon. Link shook his head and gestured towards the water.

The person looked relieved for all of one second, then glanced towards the water and back at Link with horror written all over their face.

“They’re in the pond?” they asked, voice tinged with distress. Link nodded warily. “Why are- no, you can’t answer that one. Are you aware there’s a lot of fish right by the shore?”

That sounded like the opposite of a problem to Link, who shrugged, confused. This seemed to make the person even more distressed.

“You don’t- waitwaitwait”, they said, shaking their head and looking at Link with a new understanding. “Are you… Are you aware that you’ve shrunk?”

…Shrunk? What did they mean with that? Sure, Link was short and that wasn’t fun, but…

“You’re currently the size of a Minish. That is, roughly as big as… an acorn”, the person explained, looking at him imploringly, willing him to understand the problem.

The size of an acorn? Wait, Minish? Sidon mentioned-

Wait. Size of an acorn. Acorns are considerably smaller than fish. Hylian Basses, among most others, ate smaller fish.

Sidon was currently a smaller fish.

Link broke into a full run towards the water, trying to catch a glimpse of red anywhere and ignoring the shouts from the Minish behind him.

He took out his bow, the only thing that could even potentially be of any use in this situation, and scanned the water desperately. No Sidon in sight. Should he dive in? No, the fish would be faster than him. Damn, he left his Zora armor in the campsite with most of his things, although chances were it wouldn't have made a difference.

Okay, if he was Sidon, what would he do? Fight the fish? Sidon wasn’t stupid; that would be the last resort. Also, if he had won he would be back by now, and if he had lost... Link wasn't going to consider that one. Try to out-swim it? Possibly, but if that had worked he would already be back. Hide? Hide where? The bottom was probably too far, and even so getting back up from there would be risky with fish all around him. What else was in the water to hide in? Rocks. He could hide between rocks big enough to reach the surface, or almost do so. Were there any rocks in sight?

Link scanned the surface of the water with keen eyes.

There.

Link ran, again ignoring the shouts behind him.

It took way too long to reach the spot on the shore that was closest to the rocks, but Link could immediately see he was in the right place: he could see the water rippling unnaturally, meaning that something was trashing just below the surface. Hopefully a fish trying to squeeze itself somewhere, and not Sidon wrestling with one.

Now the only question was, how was he supposed to help? He couldn’t swim there to act as bait, he would just get in trouble himself. Cryonis wouldn't be of any use when the fish was likely bigger than the ice cube would be. He couldn't throw his bombs that far, and he might hurt Sidon even if he could do that. He couldn’t aim his puny little arrows to something he couldn’t see, especially with Sidon there. He needed a bait…

He gasped out loud, and patted his pockets. Yes, he had a staminella mushroom there, like he always did in case he needed a boost in a pinch. But only one…

He turned to look at the babbling Minish he had ignored until now, and held a finger to his lips in a universal sign for “shut up”. Thankfully, it worked. Link turned towards the water again, nocked an arrow, and shot. It landed way short of his target, as he had rather expected, thanks to details like the smallest gust of wind suddenly making a huge difference to his tiny arrow’s course. He shot another one, now much closer. He kept shooting until he had his desired spot down so that he wouldn’t miss it when it counted, even with the added weight of the mushroom. With any luck, Sidon had also noticed the arrows by now and would know to act when the opening was given.

It was very stressful to know that much of his plan relied on luck, but he had had worse. At least this time he didn’t need to set himself on fire or anything.

He took a deep, calming breath, mustering up all the zen he could manage. Then he pierced the mushroom with an arrow, nocked said arrow, and let it fly without giving himself any time to lose his cool or second-guess his plan.

The arrow flew straight where he wanted it to, plunking into the water and under the surface, if only briefly. Link watched with bated breath as the arrow and the bait resurfaced, and were soon followed by an absolutely huge fish that chomped them right up. Behind it, the water rippled promisingly, but Link couldn’t see beneath the surface from all the way up the shore, so he could only wait.

Anxiously.

Especially so when the fish disappeared beneath the surface again after maybe a second. Did fish need to chew their food? Hopefully yes.

Just in case, Link fired another couple of arrows with the hope that they would keep the fish distracted now that it was close enough to the surface to maybe notice them. He wasn't sure if it was working or not, but at least it was something to do besides waiting uselessly. If only he could shoot a lighting arrow there without the very real possibility of accidentally killing Sidon along with the fish.

As a side note, he couldn’t believe that he was actually in a position where he’d need a lightning arrow to kill a damned fish.

He was finally brought out of his mechanical repetitive shooting and incredulous thoughts by the Minish, who he had honestly forgotten about, shouting and pointing into the water. Link looked into the pointed direction, and to his utmost relief saw a red blur swim towards the shore with impressive speed. He put away his bow and ran to the spot Sidon was heading to, just in time to see the Zora breach the water with a little less flips and overall flashiness than usual; just simple utilitarian jump out of the dangerous waters.

As soon as Sidon was standing steadily, Link jumped into his arms, or at least against his chest, and wrapped both his arms and feet firmly around his friend in a full on octopus hug. Sidon “oofed” and took a staggering step back, but then caught on to the situation and chuckled breathlessly, nudged Link’s legs lower so they weren’t squishing his gills, and returned the hug with equal enthusiasm.

“Oh Link, I’m so happy to see you!” he said, and nuzzled the top of Link’s head with his dripping crest. Link was going to be soaked from the hug, but didn't exactly care. “I wondered if I would be stuck there all night with how persistent the giant fish was being. Of course it was partly my own fault, I had to provoke it a few times to keep the smaller fish from being able to squeeze themselves into my hideout in its stead. In any case, your intervention was very timely and appreciated. I hope I didn’t cause too much worry?”

Link just nodded against Sidon’s chest, not even sure what kind of answer it was supposed to be, exactly. It didn't matter; all that mattered was that Sidon was safe and with him.

Suddenly, Sidon stiffened.

“Oh! I didn't realize we had company”, he said, sounding a little awkward. His hold on Link loosened, which was probably his cue to let go, but Link didn't plan to do that anytime soon. It’s not like he could talk to the Minish anyway.

After a beat, Sidon seemed to realize his predicament and apparently just accepted it for now, judging from the small sigh.

“Pardon the… awkward position I currently find myself in. I’m Prince Sidon of the Zora. Pleasure to meet you”, Sidon said, nodding to the Minish.

“You’re a Zora? Wow, I didn’t think I’d ever meet one, I was only ever told to expect Hylians or the Sheikah”, the Minish said, causing Link to turn his head to look at them curiously. The Minish then bowed. “I’m Slateri the Second of the Minish. Nice to meet you, Your Highness.”

...

Slateri, huh?

Chapter Text

Link reluctantly let his octopus hug hold of Sidon go and slid to the ground, then turned to look at the Minish who had just introduced themselves as Slateri. Slateri, as in the person their Sheikah Slates told them to contact about the error that made them unable to… un-shrink.

Link’s hands were signing away before he even remembered that it wasn’t going to be understood.

‘Are you the Slateri we’re supposed to contact about our slates?’

Slateri looked sheepish.

“I, uh, still don’t understand that, sorry”, they said, then turned to look at Sidon. “Are you able to translate, Your Highness? Oh, and could you tell me your guard’s name?”

Sidon looked bewildered, and glanced from Slateri to Link and back.

“You don’t understand sign language?” he asked, then shook his head. “Although I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, I do recall Link telling me that the Zora are the only race where everybody knows sign. Ah, his name is Link, and he’s not my guard, he’s my friend.”

Link was pretty sure he also counted as Sidon’s guard as far as King Dorephan was concerned, but that was unimportant. Sidon was probably happier not thinking of it like that anyway.

It was true, though, that Zora’s Domain was the only place in Hyrule where Link was guaranteed to be understood, no matter who he talked to. The Zora had sign as their second language, the one used underwater where sound didn’t carry the same way it did on land. Everywhere else people knowing sign was hit or miss, although there was always someone around in every settlement that knew at least the basics, such as the alphabet. Usually the inn keeper and often the owner of the general goods shop. He could only hope that the Minish had knowledgeable people in their midst as well, even if Slateri wasn’t one.

“I’m happy to act as a translator”, Sidon continued, making Link quit his musings. At Sidon’s glance at him, he repeated his question, and Sidon vocalized it.

Slateri’s expression brightened, and they clapped their hands together in glee.

“Oh, that I am! Or at least... kind of”, they said, becoming sheepish once more. “I’m not all that experienced yet, to be honest. My father, Slateri the First, is more knowledgeable. My grandma, Slateri the Late, taught him everything before she passed, but my father hasn’t yet taught me everything. Is... Is there a problem with your slate? I can still try to help, since my father isn’t here.”

For a moment there Link had been ready to label Slateri as a male, for clarity’s sake, since they shared their name with their father. But apparently they also shared their name with their grandmother, so the name seemed to be unisex. Was there even a polite way to ask someone what their gender was? ...He supposed it didn’t matter; he was merely curious but not really inconvenienced by his lack of knowledge. Besides, there were more important things to consider.

Sidon beat him to it.

“Yes, there is a problem”, he said, and took his slate out. “We were at Mirro Shaz shrine when this icon here”, he showed Slateri the slate, “appeared, and apparently shrunk us down, if I’m interpreting the situation correctly. The icon is now gray, which hasn’t happened with the other icons before, and won’t turn us back to normal. You can see the text below. Can you fix it?”

Link nodded along, looking at Slateri hopefully. Although, to be honest, he had the feeling that this wasn’t going to work. Maybe it was the whole “not experienced” bit, or just the fact that nothing in his life was ever this easy. It didn’t hurt to try, though.

Slateri took Sidon’s slate and fiddled with it for a moment, then frowned and looked at them again.

“I’m going to need my equipment to have any chance of fixing this”, they said, and handed the slate back to Sidon. Then they gestured towards the rocks Link had built their camp by; Link idly noted that he couldn’t see smoke any longer, so their fire had gone out. “My cabin isn’t far, so you should grab your belongings and come with me. If that's okay?”

Link looked at Sidon, who simultaneously looked at him. Sidon gave him a questioning look, to which Link just shrugged and nodded. Sidon smiled at him, then turned back to Slateri.

“We shall do as you suggest.”

-----

Their trip back to their camp was filled with Sidon enthusiastically asking Slateri about the Minish and Slateri answering to the best of their abilities. Apparently the Minish were, indeed, usually only seen by children because of their inherent magic turning the adult minds away. However, children were rarely seen around here, as traveling Hylians usually stopped traveling and settled down elsewhere once they had children.

Slateri knew that there were supposedly other Minish settlements all over Hyrule, but they didn’t know how the Minish there were faring nowadays. A long time ago some of the Minish had been able to travel via shrine warping just like Link did, but when the network was abruptly shut down, presumably by the Sheikah, so was long distance travel, leaving them in the dark. Now that the network had been re-activated by the hero who defeated Calamity Ganon, Slateri’s father had started fixing the Minish half of it, starting with Mirro Shaz shrine. He was currently headed towards the Lost Woods to work on the other nearby shrines. Slateri was staying in the cabin just in case some of the big folk dropped by now that the shrine was distributing the Vertical Shift rune again, which was exactly what had happened with Link and Sidon. Them being unable to shift back wasn’t supposed to happen.

Link gathered his backpack and the items he had pulled out earlier, and signaled that he was ready to move on. Sidon grabbed his satchel, and off they went.

“I was wondering about your name”, Sidon said, picking the conversation back up while they followed Slateri. “Is it common for Minish families to all share the same name? Have there only been three Slateris so far? I would have thought the slates and shrines were older than just three generations. Or are you so long-lived?”

Slateri chuckled and shot Sidon a fond look, seeming to have taken quite the liking to him already. Link could hardly blame them; Sidon was the best. If his eyes lingered on Sidon a little too long at the thought, well, it was nobody's business.

“We’re not particularly long-lived – my grandma was a little girl when the Calamity struck. My father and I have never known life without the Calamity until now”, Slateri said. “Usually Minish families have similar names, at least to start with, but our family is special and uses the same name for all the successors for this job. And there have been many, many Slateri before me. The big numbers are depressing, though, so we just recycle a few and use them as status symbols. My grandma was Slateri the First while she still lived, and I was the third. But when she passed, my father became the first. My first born will be the new Slateri the Third.”

Sidon looked impressed, but Link was mostly amused, and had a couple of questions. He poked at Sidon’s arm to get his attention.

‘To start with? And what if Slateri doesn’t have children?’ he signed.

Sidon forwarded the questions to their Minish companion.

“I have two sisters, one of whose children would take the mantle if I had none”, Slateri replied, then took a moment to think through his answer to the other question. “We Minish aren’t stuck with our birth names for our whole lives. Usually we’re named after our parents’ professions in preparation of us continuing in their footsteps when we’re old enough, but we’re not forced to do that. And if it just so happens that the son of a tailor ends up being a gardener instead, it would be unfitting for him to be named Stitcheri, so he’d change his name to something like Floweri at that point. If he changed his profession again, or got old and quit working altogether, he might change his name again to suit his new way of life. ...We Slateri don’t ever change our names after we’ve learned the trade. As far as I know there have only ever been cases of children initially being named Slateri but then not wanting to become slate technicians when they grew up. They give up on the name right away so that one of their siblings or cousins can take it instead. It’s an important job that you have to dedicate your life to, even if there hadn’t been much to do besides forwarding the knowledge until now.”

Slateri gave them a huge smile.

“I’m so glad I chose to stay Slateri!” they said enthusiastically. “With the shrines activating and you two showing up, the generations of passing forward the knowledge without much else to do is finally coming to an end! I’m sure things will get interesting and busy now. I only wish my grandma was here to see it; she always said that the Calamity was a sign that the shrines would activate again soon.”

Slateri hummed happily, a new skip to their step. Link shared a grin with Sidon; even if their situation wasn’t ideal, at least they had brought immense joy to this Minish, and it might yet spread to others. Worth it, being shrunk down.

It was shortly after this that they could see a house between huge rocks ahead of them. The house itself was also made of rocks of different sizes – probably for camouflage – that had been patched together with mud or some other similar substance. The door was a piece of bark that had been perfectly fitted into the doorway.

Slateri beckoned them forward and let them in. Sidon had to bow his head to fit through the doorway, but at least the ceiling was high enough that he didn't have to stay hunched.

The house was cozy enough. It didn’t look like it had been lived in for long, even if the house itself was obviously old. There were a couple of beds, a big table with chairs, a kitchenette, a couple of cabinets, and a bookshelf with a few ancient looking tomes and a couple of newer booklets. That was about it.

Slateri walked over to one of the cabinets.

“I’m going to need your slates, so please put them on the table”, they said as they rummaged. “In the meantime, help yourself to anything in the kitchen. If you need to heat something, I think there should be some Fire Chuchu jelly in there somewhere.”

Both Link and Sidon’s stomachs grumbled in response. Right, they had meant to eat, not get stuck between rocks hiding from a giant fish, doing a rescue operation, or follow a stranger into their house to have their slates poked at.

“Thank you for your hospitality”, Sidon said, while Link was already making a beeline to the kitchen cabinets to see what they had to offer.

There were mostly berries and mushrooms in different states: dried, pickled, jam, juice, powder. One jar said acorn flour. One bag had dried flowers and herbs, presumably tea. There was a big bag of seeds, a barrel of water, and a jar with some kind of nuts that seemed to move on their own. But that was it. No meat, and no fish. Sidon seemed to be trying very hard to not look completely crestfallen.

They would just… get him some fish later, somehow. He could make-do with other stuff for now. It would still fill his stomach.

Link fixed the three of them hot seed porridge with the acorn flour (using Chuchu jelly as a substitute for fire was interesting, and Link was glad to have learned that), served with jam, and mugs of herbal tea. Slateri worked on Sidon’s slate while Link cooked, then on Link’s the whole time they ate. Once they finished, Slateri finally gave a defeated sigh, and handed the slates back.

“I’m sorry. I’ve tried everything I know of, and I can't fix the problem.”

Chapter Text

Link stared at Slateri, hoping that he’d heard wrong. Can’t fix the problem? They were stuck?

Slateri waved their hands.

“Oh, don’t look so glum!” they said frantically. “Just because I can’t fix it doesn’t mean that my father can’t.”

Oh, right. Slateri had mentioned that their skills were inferior to their father’s. There was still hope after all. Not that Link’s world would necessarily crumble if he was to spend the rest of his life as a Minish, even if he would miss Zelda and a select group of other people terribly, but so far it seemed that Sidon’s might. Not to mention that King Dorephan would be heartbroken, thinking his only remaining child was as dead as his late elder sister.

No, staying mini wasn’t an option.

Link poked Sidon’s arm to get his attention.

‘How long will father Slateri be gone? Should we wait or go after him?’ he signed, then pointed at Slateri.

Sidon nodded, then repeated the questions out loud.

Slateri looked thoughtful.

“I suppose that depends on how long you’re willing to stay small”, they said slowly. “My father left three days ago. It takes roughly two weeks to get to the Lost Woods capital city, then he will visit the shrines, there's four of them, that'll take him at least another two weeks. Then, if the warping doesn't happen to work because of the error you have, he might take another two weeks to return. So, six weeks?"”

Sidon looked like he just died inside. Link couldn’t blame him. Spending over a month on this one thing alone was excessive, and would probably raise alarms; they hadn’t promised frequent letters to King Dorephan, but it was implied that they would send news of their progress whenever it was convenient, such as when they reached the Castle. If they vanished for a month before even reaching the Castle, the Zora as a whole would go ballistic. No, it wasn’t an option. That meant…

Link tapped Sidon’s arm again.

‘We’ll go after him. Ask Slateri for directions.’

-----

It turned out it would take roughly six hours just to reach the stable, where the closest Minish town was. Since it was already almost night, Slateri insisted that they spend the night at his place for safety; apparently Keese preyed on the Minish if they went out during nights, and there were other hazards too, although they were more common to areas outside of the beach. In Link's opinion that meant that they could have gone ahead since they’re still at the beach and thus only had one enemy, but Sidon wisely pointed out that there was nowhere to hide in the sandy, or pebble-y in their mini-state, terrain. Link could have argued that he was perfectly able to hide in plain sight if necessary, but then he looked at the violently red scales of his friend and had to agree that Sidon's hiding capabilities were abysmal. So, reluctantly, they stayed.

But first thing in the morning they left.

“Watch out for frogs and darners! Stay by the mountain!” Slateri reminded them as they left.

Link couldn’t believe that frogs and darners were something to consider dangerous now. His life just couldn’t stay normal for long, could it?

“I truly hope that we can somehow acquire fish at the stable inn”, Sidon said, once he was certain Slateri could no longer hear them. “No offense to Minish food, but it truly doesn’t keep hunger away at all.”

Link frowned at the pebbles they were walking on. He hadn’t had any issues with the food; it was largely the same as Hylian food, even if fruit was switched to berries. True, there was no meat, at least in Slateri’s pantry, but it wasn’t like Link hadn’t survived on a diet based on just mushrooms and apples for days on end before. He could definitely make do with what the forest ahead had to offer. However, it seemed that Sidon would have a problem. Now that Link thought about it, Zora always ate fish, even if they might serve other dishes on the side. So far, until they shrunk down, Sidon had always caught fresh fish for the two of them from the river they had been following. Link had assumed it was because he preferred fish over other foods and it was readily available, not because he was required to eat it.

Link glanced at Sidon, who was looking in the general direction of the Pico Pond, wistful.

How the hell was he supposed to keep someone Sidon’s size fed during the trip if he required a specific diet? Sidon ate roughly two average sized fish a meal. They could buy all the fish the Minish side of the stable inn had to offer, assuming there was one and they offered fish, but they could only carry so much. Fish also went bad pretty quickly unless it was salted stiff, which wasn’t going to be pleasant for someone who usually ate his fish raw. It was an impossible equation.

Maybe he should leave Sidon behind at the inn? He could just take Sidon’s slate with him, find Slateri the First, have the rune fixed, warp back to Mirro Shaz, go meet Sidon at the inn, and all would be well.

Hell, he could even warp right to one of the shrines in the Lost Woods and save himself the walk if he didn’t have to take Sidon with him. He could just wait for Slateri on the other end.

Link grinned, then reached up to tap at Sidon’s arm.

“Yes?” Sidon asked, looking at him.

‘I have an idea that saves us time and trouble’, he signed, pretty proud of himself for thinking it. ‘I could take your slate with me and warp into the Lost Woods to wait for Slateri the First to arrive. Then he could-’

Sidon shook his head, frowning. Link halted his signing and frowned right back at the interruption.

“Hold on. Warp there?” Sidon asked dubiously. “Pardon the assumption, but you didn’t listen to Slateri yesterday, did you?”

Link gave him a blank look, puzzled. He had listened to Slateri. ...For the most part. Slateri and Sidon had gotten really chatty as the evening went on and Link may have occasionally tuned them out when he had had enough of words.

Sidon shook his head again, this time in fond exasperation.

“Slateri told me that in order to warp when you’re small, you have to register the shrines in the Minish warp points, with the exception of the shrine where the Vertical Shift rune is received”, he explained, wrecking Link’s plan in one fell swoop. “This means that your slate doesn’t have any more Minish warping points in it that mine does. You can’t warp into the Lost Woods.”

Link pressed his lips together in dismay. So much for his genius plan, then. However, he could still do the part where he leaves Sidon at the inn and follows Slateri on his own. Though he supposed that depended entirely on whether or not they had fish available at the inn. If not, then he might as well keep Sidon with him, since there would be no difference. He’d have to see about that before deciding anything.

Mind made for now, Link kept quiet about his thoughts.

-----

Traveling on a pebble-y terrain was grueling. Link was quite used to the sand of the Gerudo Desert, and not bothered by it anymore. He was used to the snow in Hebra and other mountains, and could trudge through it without thinking about it anymore. But the pebbles, the endless, deep heaps of pebbles were new to him, and weren’t as easy to walk on as one might think; they shifted under his feet, making every step unsteady, and caused so much noise that he was constantly on guard and waiting for enemies. What Slateri had said was a six hour trip ended up taking the two of them eight hours. Even Sidon was exhausted and quiet by the time they finally saw the first sight of Minish dwellings.

“Ah, I think I can see a house ahead!” Sidon said tiredly, but excitedly, and pointed forward.

Link squinted. He could definitely see what he assumed to be the fence of the stable, and a bunch of leaves, but no house. However, if Sidon said there was a house, then there was a house.

They picked up their speed, eager to get a decent meal and rest after the damned pebbles. After a few minutes Link could also see the house; turned out he had been just short enough to be unable to see it when Sidon already had. He made a mental note to have Sidon act as a scout during the rest of their journey, Minish or not.

It didn’t take them long to reach the edge of the Minish town, and Link smiled widely at the sight of it. The whole town was hidden underneath huge leaves and flowers, and the houses matched the surroundings; the walls were wooden and the roofs were made of leaves and occasionally decorated with the same flowers growing around them, likely perfectly camouflaging them when viewed from above by the “big people”, as Slateri had put it. Some of the houses were even made entirely out of grass that was still attached to the ground, with just the top ends tied up into a teepee-like structure. At least, Link assumed those to be houses, too.

Walking and frolicking between the houses were the Minish. Most of them were Slateri’s size, some were bigger, some smaller, and Link could see both children and adults, as well as a couple of obviously elderly ones. All were dressed more or less the same, with leaf tunics and pointy cloth hats. Some had flower petals instead of leaves, and some had actual cloth tunics, but leaves were obviously the popular choice. All of their faces looked the same to Link. Had Slateri been there, he wouldn’t have been able to tell them apart from the others. Did… Did this make him a racist? Not being able to even tell men from women?

He was secretly very glad he wasn’t expected to talk out loud to them and mess anything up before his brain caught up to what his mouth was saying.

Speaking of which, the nearest few Minish stopped whatever they were doing to stare at him and Sidon with wide eyes.

“We should probably greet them before they decide we might be the enemy”, Sidon muttered, before putting on a cheerful smile and waving. “Hey there, friends! It’s a pleasure to visit your lovely village.”

The Minish looked at each other, seeming confused. They whispered to each other for a while, making Link’s own smile deflate a little, before one of them stepped forward warily.

“Pico?”

What?

“Pardon me?” Sidon asked, still smiling and polite as ever.

“Pico pico, picori?” the Minish asked.

...This wasn’t good.

Chapter Text

Link stared at the Minish for a moment, then sighed and poked at Sidon’s arm to get his attention.

‘How screwed are we?’ he signed, which made Sidon wince.

“Mind your language, please”, Sidon said, making Link roll his eyes. “Don’t despair yet, I might still be able to handle this.”

Link gave him a ‘go ahead’, then crossed his arms and waited. He took notice of the fact that the Minish hadn't exclaimed in sudden understanding at his signing either, despite the fact that they had clearly been paying attention. So that wasn't useful either; not that he had expected it to be anyway after Slateri's complete lack of understanding.

Sidon cleared his throat. “Do you speak Hylian?”

That was his plan?

The Minish looked at him uncomprehendingly, just like before. They glanced back at the others, who were working really hard on avoiding eye contact, most likely so that they couldn't be dragged into this. Link didn't blame them.

“That’s a no then”, Sidon said, then asked the same in Zora. Alright, now that was more like a plan.

It didn't work either. Sidon wasn’t done, though, and asked again in what Link recognized as Rito, even if he didn’t speak it. Still nothing. Sidon looked hesitant, then spoke again, haltingly, in what Link assumed to be Goron, judging from the cracking and throaty way it was pronounced. He had to admit that he was impressed; he hadn’t known Sidon spoke so many different languages. Had to be the decades of royal education. Too bad that didn’t work either.

Sidon started to look despairing, but cleared his throat once more and let out very familiar sounding gurgling shrieks, which made Link stare at him with wide eyes. Was Sidon… speaking Lizalfos? They had a language? They weren't just shrieking nonsense that didn't mean anything? Were they... actual people?

Whatever the case, it didn’t yield results. The Minish looked vaguely impressed at the display of so many different sounds, but clearly didn't understand any of it. Sidon sighed, and turned to look at Link again.

“I’m unable to handle this”, he said miserably. Link smiled and patted his arm comfortingly.

‘If it makes you feel better, I’m very impressed’, he signed, which brought Sidon’s beautiful smile back. At least something was working correctly.

He heard the sound of someone clearing their throat, and the both of them turned to look at the Minish. They looked determined now, and proceeded to point at the two of them, then at themselves, then towards the village.

Well, that message was very universal and clear. Link smiled and nodded, while Sidon gave a relieved laugh.

They followed the Minish, really hoping the mess could be solved by that. Somehow.

-----

It didn’t take them long to be led to the biggest building in the village. It looked very... official inside: there were drawings of same-looking Minish on the walls, a vase of flowers at every doorway, and there were half a dozen Minish running to and fro with papers in their arms. The town hall, probably.

The Minish leading them took them to one of the doors and knocked nervously. They had to wait a couple of minutes for an answer, but finally another Minish opened the door, took one look at Sidon and immediately squeaked and shut the door in their faces. The Minish with them looked sheepish and knocked again. The door was opened to a crack, the Minish inside peeked out warily, and the one with them seized the chance to talk to them before they could retreat again. After what was presumably an explanation, the Minish inside looked the two of them over, gave them a hesitant smile, and opened the door wider to invite them in.

Link and Sidon glanced at each other, feeling hopeful but apprehensive, and then stepped in. Their escort took this chance to flee the scene. Link couldn’t blame them this time either.

The Minish official cleared their throat.

“I speak little Hylian. You speak Hylian?” they asked, much to Link and Sidon’s relief.

“Yes, and I’m so very glad that there’s someone here who understands us!” Sidon said enthusiastically. “I’m Prince Sidon of the Zora, and this is Link. We’re here because--”

The Minish official looked increasingly more bewildered, and Link tapped on Sidon’s arm to stop the onslaught of words and to catch his attention.

‘Speak slower. I don’t think they understood all of that’, he signed. He was more than used to seeing that particular brand of bewilderment on peoples’ faces after they claimed to understand sign language, but apparently weren’t as good at it as they had thought. He would recognize it anywhere.

Sidon rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Ah, pardon my enthusiasm”, he said, slower this time. “I’m Sidon, the Zora Prince. This is Link. Nice to meet you.”

The Minish nodded slowly, processing the words.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Officeri, I am, uh, leader of town”, the Minish, Officeri, said. “I welcome you to Stable Town. Um, enjoy your stay?”

Their speech was very slow, had a heavy accent and, worryingly, mostly consisted of common phrases that they had probably memorized from wherever they had learned Hylian. Link dearly hoped that it wasn't all they knew.

Sidon seemed to have noticed the same, as he looked a little wary as he spoke, oh so slowly and carefully.

“Thank you, Officeri. I take it that it’s uncommon for Minish to speak Hylian?” he asked.

Officeri bit their lip in thought, then nodded. “Yes, uncommon. Not visitors in many, many years. Only learn if, uh, in office. Why Slateri not give you nut?”

Link and Sidon looked at each other in confusion. Nut? What and why? Link gestured at Sidon to ask, which he did promptly.

Officeri looked equally confused, and somewhat disappointed. “Slateri give visitors nut to speak Minish. You not see Slateri?”

“We did see Slateri but we didn’t receive any nuts”, Sidon answered, while Link took a moment to mentally berate Slateri for apparently not doing their job. He took another moment to feel regret for not using any nuts in their dinner or breakfast; at least then he could have lucked out and accidentally used the correct one.

“You don’t suppose anyone has any of those nuts in here?” Sidon asked, although he didn’t seem particularly hopeful. Link wouldn’t have even bothered with the question, himself.

“No, only Slateri”, Officeri answered after a long while of pondering. “I send, uh… messenger? To visit Slateri and ask nut. You wait and visit town? I come with you and speak?”

Link and Sidon, once more, glanced at each other in silent communication. Link didn’t particularly feel like walking back to Slateri’s house, so he would gladly accept someone else doing it. And since they didn’t speak Minish, they needed Officeri’s help if they wanted to accomplish anything while they waited. He nodded, and Sidon smiled.

“We accept, thank you very much.”

-----

After sending a messenger to Slateri, Officeri took them to what was presumably a restaurant. The both of them were happy to see food, even though Sidon had to once more make-do with not getting fish. He was much too polite and diplomatic to say anything about if after his initial inquire about fish was met with head shakes, so he just ate what he was given and managed to look content with it. Link, on the other hand, enjoyed the meal immensely; it consisted of nuts, seeds, and flower petals, and was seasoned and baked just so. He wondered if he could get the recipe once they were better able to communicate with their hosts, or if it was a trade secret.

After that Officeri led them around the town, trying their best to understand and answer Sidon’s endless stream of questions about the architecture, the culture, the clothes, and whatever else he asked about. From Officeri’s haltingly spoken explanation Link managed to piece together that the Minish had magical abilities that both allowed them to hide from big people as long as they didn’t stick out too much from their surroundings, and also made the big people subconsciously avoid any places with enough Minish in it, thus making it virtually impossible for their villages to be accidentally trampled despite the big people not noticing them. If they didn’t have that, they would only be able to live in places that big people didn’t frequent, so it was convenient and logical.

The two of them were also introduced to various Minish. Officeri’s wife, Threaderi, was a seamstress and gifted Link with Minish leafwear, which he changed into right away. For some unexplainable reason he longed for the hat to be green, but he was happy with anything when it was free; besides, he could have it dyed in Hateno if the feeling persisted. Threaderi didn’t have anything to fit Sidon, but she promised to have an outfit ready for him by tomorrow. It’s not like they could leave anytime soon anyway, not without the nut to help them understand Minish, so it was very likely they would still be here at that time. They needed to visit the stable, too, and that would likely take long.

Another Minish they met was a merchant, Scavenri. Turned out that at least the currency was still rupees even here. Link idly wondered if the Minish rupees would grow big with them, or stay as tiny shards. After all, their belongings had all shrunk with them, so there was a chance it worked the other way around too.

Scavenri had interesting wares. He apparently scavenged in the forest and by the stable for unusual goods, such as human tableware (according to him, spoons were super popular among commoners, while knives were wanted by other merchants), bird eggs (they were tough to acquire due to their size and the height of the trees), crickets (Link bought cricket legs to sample later, they looked delicious), sugar cubes (there was a long list of requests for that), occasionally mice (not today, to Link’s regret), pins, scraps of leather, ribbons (Threaderi usually bought all the cloth items he brought in), and whatever else interesting he could find. He reminded Link of Beedle, who he was quite fond of, and he made a mental note to leave him a stash of small goods somewhere once he was big again. He could easily acquire a bunch of sugar and he would bet the Minish would be ecstatic were he to leave a colourful handkerchief for their clothing use.

After Scavenri, they met Nuteri, who was in charge of the food gathering troops. She and her troop of gatherers went into the forest to collect nuts, seeds, berries and flower petals for the citizens; their expeditions typically lasted a couple of days because of the locations of the gathering spots. It was a very admirable and dangerous job because of all the bigger creatures the foods attracted. Link could see himself being a guard for these troops, were he actually a Minish. Maybe he would volunteer for it one day, just for the experience.

Then there was Buildeson who was a construction worker, and made Link wonder whether Tarrey Town had Minish in it or not. Probably not, since it was so new and even short distances were time-consuming for the Minish, and news likely traveled slowly. Apparently Buildeson was considered odd because of his chosen name, which made Link realize that he really had become Bolson Construction’s official recruiter since he hadn’t even noticed anything off; he was too consumed by the thoughts of welcoming this new ‘son’ to the family. He would… probably need to talk to someone about it. Maybe Zelda – she was good at dealing with his oddities.

After those two, they met Slateri, who-

Wait.

“Oh, Slateri!” Sidon said enthusiastically, looking about ready to scoop the panting Minish into his muscular arms. “You arrived much quicker than I would have thought physically possible, I must say I’m very impressed.”

Link only wanted to know whether or not Slateri actually brought the nuts they needed. If not, he would scream. He would scream so loudly.

Chapter Text

Slateri held up a finger, while leaning against their knees with their other hand, working to catch their breath. Link crossed his arms and waited, while his eyes searched Slateri’s person. Oh, there was a promising messenger bag. His posture became less hostile as his hopes got up, and he glanced at Sidon to see similar expression dawn on his handsome face.

After a moment or two, Slateri was finally able to speak again.

“I’m so sorry, Your Highness and Link”, they said, and Link saw the look of fond exasperation on Sidon’s face; he had tried and failed to get Slateri to drop the honorifics and just call him by his name before they left. ”I forgot to give you something important, and I went after you as soon as I realized it.”

Link nodded impatiently, and only Sidon’s look his way stopped him from thrusting his hand out in a wordless demand. The poor prince was teaming up with Zelda (or maybe they were doing it independently of one another, he didn’t know) in trying to teach him some manners, but he was rather resistant to their attempts. It wasn’t his fault that manners were one of the things he lost with his memories, and being practically mute made it easier to just demand things with gestures rather than try to be silently polite about it with someone who didn’t understand the language. But he was slowly getting better, at least when they were watching.

Slateri reached into the bag, and pulled out two of those weird moving nuts Link had seen and dismissed yesterday. Damn it, he had seen them and not asked. He was so used to weird things happening around him that he no longer bothered to question them, and now it had bitten him in the ass.

“These are Jabber Nuts, and they will enable you to understand and speak Minish”, Slateri said, and held them out. Link snatched his up before Sidon could remind him of manners. “Or well, in Link’s case just understand, I suppose.”

Link didn’t bother correcting Slateri about their assumption of total muteness on his part. It tended to just confuse things, and it was fun to watch others’ reactions when one day he was suddenly able to talk to them. Sidon’s face had been priceless.

Speaking of Sidon, he thankfully kept quiet as well. Link was pretty sure Sidon thought his ability to talk was a secret, and hadn’t told anyone about it. It was damn cute, so Link wasn’t about to correct him anytime soon.

Link pointed at his Jabber Nut, and then at his mouth questioningly. Slateri chuckled and nodded.

“Yes, you eat it and it’ll work in a few minutes”, they said, and Link promptly shoved the nut into his mouth, gave it a few chews, and swallowed. It tasted… well, nutty. Slightly spicy?

Everyone was quiet for a while, then Slateri asked, “Is it working?”

Link rolled his eyes. Maybe actually testing it would be more effective a way to find out, yeah?

“Assuming you asked that in Minish just now, then yes”, Sidon answered.

Wait... Oooh. Right, yes, that made sense. Smart. Link nodded too, when eyes landed on him questioningly.

Officeri clapped their hands together with a wide smile. “Most excellent! This will make everything much simpler for everyone. I’m glad I could be of help for you in the previous awkward situation, and that it was so neatly resolved. Now, I must thank Messengeri for-”

Officeri looked around, while Slateri looked mildly confused. Link was thrown by Officeri’s sudden perfect way of speaking after the halted Hylian from before. Magically understanding another language was weird…

“Um, Slateri? Where is Messengeri?” Officeri asked, looking like they dreaded the answer.

“Am I supposed to have met her, sir?” Slateri asked, and Link could see where this was going. He bit his lip to keep from snickering, while Sidon coughed awkwardly and politely feigned interest in the buildings around them.

Officeri closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I see. This is going to be my next headache then, isn’t it?”

He collected himself and gave Link and Sidon a slightly pinched smile. “Prince Sidon, Link. It was a pleasure to meet you and to act as your guide, but it seems that I’m needed elsewhere. Have a wonderful stay, and come see me if you need anything. Slateri, come with me.”

“Bye! Hopefully we’ll see again!” Slateri said and waved, while being almost dragged off by Officeri.

“Thank you both for your help, farewell!” Sidon said with an enthusiastic wave. Link waved as well, silently wishing Slateri luck with the trouble they seemed to be in, deserved or not.

For a moment, the two of them silently adjusted to their new situation. Then Sidon turned to him.

“Stable, right?”

Link grinned and nodded.

-----

As Officeri was obviously busy, they opted to ask Scavenri for directions to the stable, which he was happy to provide. While the trip to the stable was long, it was still a popular visiting spot so the Minish had a well-worn underground path to it that they could use. He warned them, though, that the stable itself was dangerous to navigate in, so they should to stick to the walls and the ceiling beams with the other Minish; the big people couldn’t see them and might unknowingly step on them. Nobody survived being stepped on.

With that in mind, Link and Sidon departed the town and entered the underground path. They climbed down one of the ladders marked with an arrow down, and came to the mouth of the tunnel proper.

“Wow, would you look at this!” Sidon said in awe as they stepped in.

The path had been carved deep into the earth and was fortified with thick wooden beams and ceiling. There were deep gutters on both sides of the tunnel, probably to safely guide the rainwater that inevitably got in. Glowing lanterns were hung up on the ceiling to bring light; as Link peered closer into one, he saw Electric Chuchu jelly inside. There were also a few Minish walking towards them, presumably headed to the Stable Town; they were all carrying heavy looking bags with them, probably souvenirs.

“Imagine if we had a tunnel like this between Zora’s Domain and Kakariko Village”, Sidon mused, looking fascinated. “Nobody would have to cross the dangerous mountains or do a lengthy trip around them. It would be very convenient. The Minish are ingenious!”

Link smiled. ‘They have to be if they want to survive. At least we “big people” don’t have to worry about being stepped on by anything but Hinoxes and Taluses, and they are rare enough.’

“Ah, true. Still, it’s an idea worth considering”, Sidon said, studying the beams. “Perhaps we could enlist the Gorons to help with the digging…”

Link chuckled quietly and started walking leisurely ahead without Sidon. It took a couple of minutes for the Zora to even notice he was gone, but Sidon caught up soon enough. It’s not like they could lose one another in a straight tunnel.

As they walked ahead they saw more and more Minish headed to the other direction and giving them curious glances. Or giving Sidon curious glances anyway, Link blended in well enough with his short stature and the new Minish clothes. Sidon, being tall and red and distinctly fishy looking, would never blend in. That, and he also waved cheerfully at anyone who looked at him long enough. Link hid a smile.

After roughly half an hour of walking they arrived to a chamber-like section that had tables, chairs, and barrels of water in it. There were a lot of Minish resting their feet and seizing their chance to put their luggage down for a moment.

“I would guess that this is the halfway mark”, Sidon said with a wide smile, and made his way to one of the water barrels. There were ladles and cups nearby, so it was clearly meant for common use. Sidon took a long drink, and then poured a couple of cups over himself to moisten up. Link took a drink as well, while trying to keep from laughing at the scandalized looks from the nearby Minish; they had clearly never seen a Zora before and couldn’t even begin to understand the strange ritual of drenching oneself on purpose. It was necessary for Sidon, though, as the tunnel was a little warmer than what was comfortable and had gotten worse the deeper they went. He hadn’t gotten around to soaking in the Stable Town, either. With any luck, it would get cooler again from this point on.

“Umm, excuse me?” one particularly small Minish said, looking at Sidon hesitantly. Link would estimate them to be a young adult at best, but probably no longer a child, as they hadn’t seen any in the tunnel so far. The trip was probably too long. “Why are you washing up here of all places?”

Sidon gave them a delighted smile, and turned fully towards them.

“Is that what it looks like to you?” he asked, and crouched to be more on their level. The Minish took half a step back, but looked more curious than anything else. “I’m actually just moistening my skin. I’m a Zora, which is an aquatic race, so staying on land and especially in hot places isn’t exactly ideal, and as such I need to soak every now and then. Just pouring on some water works in a pinch.”

The Minish looked awed and nodded. They were working hard on looking Sidon in the eyes, but their own eyes seemed to constantly be drawn to his tail instead. Sidon’s smile widened as he noticed this, and he turned his head a bit to showcase the tail properly. The Minish’s eyes widened, and then they actually squeaked when Sidon wagged the tail.

“Willyoudateme?” they asked, then clapped their hands over their mouth in shock and blushed scarlet. While Link felt the jealous urge to go and yank Sidon away from the infatuated Minish, he also completely understood and sympathized with them; only his inability to talk with strangers had stopped him from blurting something similar out when he first saw Sidon. Not that the sentiment had gone away at any point, but it was easier to control after he had gotten used to it.

Sidon blinked in confusion, then chuckled in delight. “Oh, I’m truly flattered, thank you. But I must decline. Not that you aren’t a very pretty lady, but I’m afraid keeping in touch would prove to be too difficult.”

...Wait, Sidon could tell this Minish was a woman? How was he able to tell, and why hadn’t he mentioned this ability before? He probably knew Slateri’s gender too.

“Oh…”, she said, and looked disappointed. “That’s too bad. If you change your mind, I live in Stable Town and my name is Wreatheri. I work at the flower decor shop. Drop by.”

“Maybe I will, but no promises”, Sidon said, and waved bye to Wreatheri as she skittered back to her… friends? Parents? Link wasn’t able to tell their ages well enough to guess.

“She was adorable”, Sidon said, and Link shrugged noncommittally.

‘Muzu will have a heart attack if you marry a Minish.’

Sidon laughed out loud, and clapped Link’s shoulder.

“You’re quite right. Tempting as that would be, I think I should at least stick to fellow big people”, he said, and gave Link’s shoulder another pat.

Link tried not to attach any… unreasonably hopeful meaning into those words. Ever since he learned of Mipha’s feelings for him, he had given up on any thoughts of pursuing Sidon, her little brother, unless Sidon himself decided to take the initiative. He didn’t think that very likely, and was mostly fine with it, but sometimes he could have sworn there was a double meaning behind the things Sidon said or did. Like now.

Sidon broke the moment by stretching, and looking into the direction they should take.

“It seems we ought to stop dawdling if we want to even reach the stable before nightfall. Shall we?”

Link nodded, and they continued their journey.

Chapter Text

They finally got out of the tunnel, just as Link was getting sick and tired of it. Now, if it had been more labyrinth-like or had the possibility of treasure or danger in it, it would have been different business. As it was, its dullness didn’t suit him long-term.

It seemed Sidon was in agreement.

“Finally. I was starting to get claustrophobic in there”, Sidon said, and took a deep breath of fresh air. Link nodded.

They climbed up the ladder, and were greeted with an endlessly tall wood wall. They both looked up, and neither was able to see the roof edge they knew to be there.

“Huh. Usually I can reach the edge of any Hylian stable roof if I just lift my hand”, Sidon said in awe. “We truly are tiny now, aren’t we?”

Link could only nod in agreement. He had known intellectually that they were the size of insects, and been aware that the pebbles were actually just sand and the tall grass and plants weren’t trees, but only now he could actually comprehend the situation fully. This endless wall was the stable, the one he had visited as a big person: where he traded goods with Beedle, slept in the comfortable bed, and ate warm meals. And now it was as tall as a mountain.

He was never going to complain about his height again when he was back to his true size.

“Oh, I can see the door. Let’s go in”, Sidon said, and Link turned to look. Just a little to their left was a Minish-sized door that camouflaged well into the wooden wall, but had a visible knob that was easy to find for people as small as they were.

Without further ado, they entered.

And were immediately met with an earthquake.

Sidon grabbed a hold of the door to keep his balance, and Link grabbed onto Sidon’s arm. The source of the disturbance was clearly visible: a big person, a Hylian based on their footwear, walked right past them with their enormous feet and devastating weight. The whole floor shook from their steps for a few seconds, until they were far enough away for the effect to be diminished.

It was… frankly frightening. Link had a moment where he pictured tons of strange ceramic stomping right next to him and whipping up sand, the smell of ozone heavy in the air and his hair standing up and crackling, while Riju screamed his name…

“Link!”

Link snapped out of it and looked up at Sidon with wide eyes, his sides heaving and the back of his neck sweaty. Sidon looked understandably worried.

“Are you quite alright?” the Zora asked, and leaned down to get a better look. Link shook his head.

‘A flashback. Vah Naboris. I’m fine’, he signed, and dug a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his neck with. Sidon looked dubious, so Link elaborated. ‘I’ve talked to Zelda about it. Don’t worry.’

Sidon’s look softened, although he looked a little sad. “If you say so. I’m glad Zelda is there for you where I cannot be.”

Link blinked. Was that… Was that how it seemed to Sidon? That he wasn’t there for Link? He lifted his hands to sign, but was interrupted by a Minish pointing and yelling at them.

“In the name of Ezlo, what is that??”

Sidon and Link both turned around in alarm to look at direction the Minish was pointing at… and saw nothing of note. Just the endlessly vast big people side of the stable. It took Link a second to realize that the Minish was actually pointing at Sidon, and when he did realize that he turned to give the rude thing a dirty look.

‘Excuse you, did you just call my friend a “that”?’ Link signed, and was met with a blank look until the Minish dismissed him completely in order to stare at Sidon with wide eyes.

This was getting really old.

“There is no need to be frightened, I’m just a friendly visitor”, Sidon said with a smile, which just made the Minish stare at his teeth and take a step back. Sidon’s smile dropped, and he scratched his tail awkwardly. “Oh dear. Well, how about we just part ways then? Which way to the-”

The Minish squeaked and ran out of the door.

This was going so well.

‘Today’s lesson: the Minish either want to date the Zora or they’re afraid for their lives around one.’

Sidon gave him a suffering look, so Link smirked and continued. ‘Was that a man or a woman? 'Cause if it was the former, then we can make even more assumptions here.’

Sidon looked baffled. “You can’t tell their sexes? I’ll admit that I couldn’t tell which one Slateri was when we first met, but after meeting a few of both sexes it became very obvious.’

Link’s smile froze. Very obvious? ‘Which one Slateri is, then?’

Now it was Sidon’s turn to smirk teasingly. “So you can’t tell. I’ll let you figure it out yourself, just so you get to exercise your perceptive skills.”

Perceptive skills, right. And nothing to do with getting back at Link for making fun of him just now, surely. Link pouted, but Sidon just laughed and began to look around.

“Since we couldn’t get directions, we better find our way on our own”, he explained, and Link nodded.

Scavenri had said to stick to the walls and the ceiling beams… Link turned towards the wall behind them and searched it with their eyes, and soon spotted two ladders their size. He poked Sidon’s side, then pointed.

‘Perceptive skills’, he signed cheekily, which got him a chuckle.

“Quite right, but I’m still not telling you”, Sidon said, and nuzzled Link’s hair with his crest. “Shall we?”

Link nodded, and they began their climb up the ladder that had an arrow up sign next to it. The other ladder had an arrow down sign next to it, so the instructions were abundantly clear.

It turned out that the way to the ceiling beams was long and grueling. There were occasionally platforms to rest on and the point where they finally at least reached the ceiling, if not the center part, had a barrel of water and a few cups on it, which they helped themselves to. Yet despite their attempt to not tarry they still took roughly an hour to reach the round, chandelier-like center part that was habitable for the Minish. It was by no means the worst climb Link had endured, but Sidon seemed tired when they were finally up.

“I have to say that I much prefer waterfalls for ascending”, he said after giving his arms a good stretch.

‘Just wait until we’re climbing mountains’, Link signed with a grin, which made Sidon give him a slightly wary look. Link didn’t plan on telling him quite yet that they didn’t necessarily have to climb any mountains unless they really wanted to, since it's not like Sidon actually needed the warp points in obscure places. Sidon was just too cute when he worried over little things to let him in on that yet. That, and he could consider this payback for withholding information from Link now.

“Oh, foreign visitors! Welcome to the Stable Inn and Restaurant!”

They both turned to look at the Minish who addressed them. They were wearing a white cloth tunic and a checkered apron, and carrying an empty tray with them. They seemed quite blasé at seeing them, contrary to the last Minish they saw.

“Good evening”, Sidon replied with a polite smile, “You seem to be a waiter, correct? We’re quite starved, could you show us to a table, please?”

“With pleasure!”

The three of them walked further in, and Link looked around. The circular ceiling beam slash chandelier was completely covered with Minish sized tables, chairs, barrels, rugs, decorations and cooking materials and equipment as far as Link could see. There were cooks using the Hylian lanterns as ovens and open fires to cook in, and waiters buzzing around to bring food or collect dishes, and of course there were customers sitting at the tables, enjoying their meals. It looked a lot homier than the big people inn, possibly because there was relatively more room to work with so the Minish had gone all out with the furniture. It was also very warm thanks to the huge lanterns.

“Here you go, a table for two. Would you like something to drink?” the waiter asked, and pulled two menus out of their large apron pocket.

‘Do you sign?’ Link asked, hoping that someone working as a waiter would know their languages. When they looked at him quizzically, he sighed and turned to Sidon. ‘I’ll take a beer or a mead, if they have either. Milk if not.’

Sidon gave him a look that tried hard to not seem like pity, but failed. At least he tried.

“Let me check the options”, he said to the waiter and opened the menu.

He stared.

Then he coughed uncomfortably.

Link frowned in confusion.

“Right then. My friend takes a beer and I’ll have water”, Sidon said, and put the menu down without checking the actual meal options. “Do you have any fish?”

The waiter wrote their drinks down, then nodded at the question. “Yes, we have Hyrule bass and staminoka bass. Oh! We even have stealthfin trout today, I recommend that one since it’s rare.”

Link had been about to open his menu to see what about it had made Sidon behave oddly, but he abandoned the mission and looked up at the good news just in time to see the ecstatic smile bloom on his friend’s face. He couldn’t help his own smile when Sidon turned towards him in excitement.

“They have fish! They have trout even!” Sidon enthused, then turned back to the mildly bemused looking waiter. “I’ll take the trout! Actually, can I have some of each? Can I have it raw? Can I buy some to take with us?”

Link chuckled quietly at the waiter’s baffled look.

“Oh, um, sure?” they said, then collected themselves. “Yes, we can make an arrangement from all the available fish, and… leave it raw. As for buying something to go, you will have to consult the vendors. They sell raw ingredients.”

“Splendid, thank you”, Sidon said, then turned to Link. “What would you like to have? Something meaty, I presume?”

Link still hadn’t gotten around to actually looking at the options, so he decided to wing it. ‘Yes, and make it whatever is the cook’s specialty or today’s recommendation or whatever. And I’ll have a surprise dessert, too.’

Sidon nodded, and then relayed the order to the waiter, who left to get it done.

Sidon smiled happily at Link. “Climbing up here was definitely worth the trouble. How much do you reckon we can carry with us? I know it won’t last the whole two weeks, but I can-”

Link waved at him to get his attention. He felt a bit guilty for doing this, but it would be cruel to let Sidon make plans that just… weren’t going to happen. Now that he knew that this place had fish available, likely on a regular basis, he had to make the call.

‘Sidon. I’m going to continue alone from here on. You should stay here where you’re safe and properly fed.’

Chapter Text

Sidon stared at Link uncomprehendingly until slowly a look of betrayal started to form on his face. Link winced in guilt.

“You’re going to leave me behind?” Sidon asked incredulously, and then frowned in anger. “Excuse me, but who gave you the authority to decide that on your own?”

Link shook his head with a grimace. He had known this wouldn’t go over well, but there were good reasons for his decision. Surely Sidon would come around.

‘This is for the best’, Link signed, ‘You said it yourself, we can’t carry around enough fish to last you the two weeks of travel. Probably not enough for two days, even. You’ll be much better off here. I can just take your slate with me, have both devices fixed and then return here to get you. Then we can get back to our planned travels.’

Sidon looked angry but he waited quietly for the whole speech to be finished, much more patient than Link would have been in his situation. It was likely a skill he had learned in order to survive meetings with a lot of different people with varying opinions that he didn’t necessarily agree with but had to hear out. Princely manners.

“Are you finished?” Sidon asked after a beat, and Link nodded warily. “Good. I disagree with every point of your plan.”

Link gave Sidon an incredulous look. Sure, he hadn’t expected this to be easy, but really, every point?

“I am perfectly capable of enduring a bit of hunger and other possible hardship”, Sidon said levelly. “I accepted that as a possibility the day we set out to travel, and I’m not planning on balking the moment something goes awry. You said we would travel together, not that we would only travel together when it’s convenient.”

Link gritted his teeth together. Yes, Sidon had a point. No, he didn’t care, he only wanted Sidon’s best and starving him was the exact opposite of that. Besides, Sidon clearly didn’t see the bigger picture.

‘There won’t be much water on the route either’, Link signed stubbornly, ‘You’d be hungry and dry and only slow me down when that starts to become an actual problem. This whole thing will be over with much quicker if I go alone.’

Sidon paused, looking hurt. But then he steeled his expression and leaned over the table menacingly, giving Link a flinty look.

“I see you’re not picky about your methods to make me stay”, he said with a low voice, which would have sent a much different chill down Link’s spine any other time, “Alright then. I didn’t want to use this against you, but you’re leaving me no choice, you stubborn Hylian.”

Link would have liked to say something about pots and kettles, but he was busy being half wary of what was going to happen next, and half enamored at Sidon’s rare assertiveness.

“Tell me, Link. How exactly are you planning on communicating with the Minish?” Sidon asked, and leaned back so he could cross his arms over his impressive chest while giving Link a cool glare.

Link’s impromptu daydreams about his best friend came to a screeching halt. His jaw dropped at Sidon’s sheer nerve. How dare he.

‘Ex-fucking-cuse you?’ he signed, taking his time to spell the first word letter by letter just so he could add in the middle part.

Sidon looked guilty for a moment before he took a deep breath and adopted an unimpressed look that looked very out of place on him.

“I am completely serious”, Sidon said, “You’ve been unable to converse with any of the Minish we’ve met so far. Are you trusting that Slateri the First just so happens to understand sign, or that you will meet someone else to translate for you? Or do you expect to be able to vocalize to one of the strangers here? It took you how long to say anything out loud to me? Was it half a year?”

Link seethed with anger, made worse by the fact that Sidon had a very valid point. But there was something Sidon was forgetting.

‘Think me completely handicapped without you, do you?’ Link signed with a glare, ‘Think again. I have struggled with my silence for a long while now, so I’ve learned how to cope. I don’t know if the Zora are familiar with them, but Hylians at least have these things called pencil and paper. You know, things that make it possible to write words even if you’re unable to say them.’

Sidon looked a combination of livid and triumphant, which was… unexpected and worrisome.

“Is that so? I had no idea of such advanced technology existing”, Sidon said with rare sarcasm, then picked up the menu that the waiter had left at their table in case they wanted to browse desserts after all. He opened it up to a random page and then carefully placed it on the table in front of Link. “Would you be so kind as to enlighten me on what the meal selection on this page is, then?”

Link glared at Sidon, but eventually his gaze dropped to the booklet before him.

He stared, his anger melting into utter confusion.

The words on the page made no sense. In fact, the letters were strange scribble that didn’t even look like writing. He grabbed the menu and turned the pages in disbelief but was met with more nonsense.

“Do you suppose the Minish are better at reading Hylian than they are at speaking it?” Sidon asked conversationally, bringing Link’s attention back to him.

…Shit.

He struggled to come up with something to say to that, whether it was to stubbornly insist on being right, to apologize, or to somehow change the subject, but he had nothing. Sidon’s expression was slowly shifting from angry triumph to sadness, and that hurt more than the anger had.

Then the waiter arrived with their drinks. Link grabbed his beer as soon as the waiter let go of the cup, and took a long drink. Once he had swallowed, he heard Sidon clear his throat awkwardly.

“Link. I’m sorry I was that harsh”, Sidon said quietly, “I acted in anger and ended up being tactless. I didn’t mean to imply that you can’t manage on your own, I merely don’t want to be left behind and I think that we’re better off staying together in this. I understand your concern, but I assure you I can manage.”

Link looked down at his beer, feeling even more wretched than before. Of course Sidon couldn’t stop at being right – he also had to go and be the bigger person by apologizing first. He sighed.

‘I’m sorry too’, he signed, then looked up at his friend, ‘I still think it’s a bad idea, but you’re right that I… probably can’t communicate with the Minish. Looks like we’re going together.’

Sidon’s expression was unreadable for a moment, then he chuckled and shook his head.

“That was probably the worst apology I’ve ever received, my friend”, he said, but looked mollified and amused regardless, “But I accept it on the condition that you won’t again try to do things for my own good without consulting me first. You’re terrible at it.”

Link blew a raspberry at him, but nodded with a relieved smile. If he was being honest he still hurt a little from Sidon using his muteness against him, but he was pretty sure Sidon felt the same about his attempt to leave him behind so they’d just have to deal with their hurts privately. And hopefully never bring this up again.

It didn’t take long for their meals to arrive after that, which Link was very happy about for multiple reasons. Not the least of them being that he was starving. He could put aside his hurt for the time being and concentrate on the now.

They dug into their foods with gusto, Sidon gushing about how good his meal was after practically every bite (after he finished chewing and swallowed, because he had actual manners). Link couldn’t blame him, and was so satisfied with his own food that he probably would have done the same if he didn’t need his hands for the eating. He wasn’t actually able to tell what meat his food was made of, but he frankly didn’t care when it was as savory as it was. There was actual rice on the side, too. The grains were huge and he only recognized them as rice because of the familiar taste.

After they finished with the main course, their desserts arrived. Link had never had wildberry curd before and he mentally declared it the best thing he had ever eaten. Although, to be fair, he said that about every dessert he ate, old or new, so maybe it didn’t count for all that much. It was too bad he wasn’t likely to be given the recipe, since restaurants almost never gave them to him no matter how much he tried to butter them up. He would just have to experiment when he had the opportunity and the ingredients to do so.

They paid for their food, gave the waiter praises to pass to the chef, and then went to the vendors to see about buying fish to go. Neither of them brought up the earlier conversation, and instead carried on like it hadn't happened and their plan had been aligned all along.

Turned out there was plenty of fish available, as one of the big people had brought in a good haul earlier that day. Sidon got very excited at the sight and wanted to buy all of it, but Link stopped him.

‘We can’t carry that much. We only have two bags with limited space’, Link signed, and Sidon looked crestfallen. Link tapped the Zora’s bicep comfortingly before continuing. ‘However, I know how to smoke what we buy so it won’t spoil for a good few days. Have you ever eaten smoked fish jerky?’

Sidon pondered his answer for a moment, then grimaced. “I recall trying it in my youth and hating it. I haven’t tried it since, so I can’t accurately judge it.”

That was enough of an answer for Link. Sidon would just have to tough it out, but it would likely still be easier than constantly starving because of a wrong diet. Maybe it’d keep him from eating more than he absolutely had to and thus make the rations last longer. He signed the sentiment to Sidon, who gave a rueful chuckle.

“That’s a silver lining, I suppose.”

They bought as much fish as they estimated they could fit in their bags, then went to book a bed space for the night, and to borrow one of the makeshift ovens. The smoking process would take a few hours, so they had no choice but to stay for the night. Granted, it was late and the route back to the town was long, so it was for the best anyway.

‘Are you okay sleeping in a place this hot?’ Link asked while setting the fish up in his improvised smoking hut with the help of a couple of Minish cooks. They were likely helping him half out of genuine desire to help and half because they wanted to learn his foreign cooking technique, but Link didn’t care as long as he got this done faster.

Sidon grimaced slightly. “To be honest, I’ll probably sleep fitfully and get up to drink and pour water on myself multiple times, but I’ll try to get some rest.”

Link hummed in thought, trying to come up with a solution. They had already asked if the Minish had bathtubs or water barrels or something they could use, but turned out they didn’t, at least not any to spare or any big enough for Sidon. They did kindly provide Sidon with a couple of bowls of water so that he at least had a decent amount nearby for his use.

“Perhaps I could soak the beddings?” Sidon mused, which made Link look at him questioningly. “It may not keep me properly damp, but it should logically slow the dehydration and certainly keep some of the heat away.”

Link smiled, partly amused but mostly just agreeing with the unorthodox solution. He nodded and got back to his work. They would just have to wait and see how things turned out in the morning.

Chapter Text

The arrival of the morning was blatantly obvious in the Minish Stable Inn: when the big people awoke and started moving around the whole place shook, and when they spoke to each other the voices were booming like thunder after the silence of the night. Link woke up with a start, his heart hammering and the Master Sword gripped tightly in his hand without any conscious action on his part. He was on his feet and ready to fight before he had the slightest recollection of where he was and why. He looked around frantically and was very confused by his surroundings – particularly the lack of enemies – for a few seconds, until his brain finally caught up with his body and reminded him of the situation at hand.

He slowly lowered the sword, unsure if he should feel foolish for overreacting or glad that his survival instincts were as sharp as ever still. He hadn’t woken up battle-ready for a while now, not since his after-Ganon crusade to make Hyrule safer for Zelda to rebuild her kingdom. He had had a break from sudden danger ever since, only finding trouble when he looked for it or in places where it was perfectly reasonable to expect it. Even his nightmares had gotten less intense and less frequent over time, diminishing his reactions to waking up from them to mere gasps and tenseness rather than jumping out of his bed with a weapon in hand. Until now.

“Link? Is something the matter?” Sidon’s sleepy voice called from behind him, making Link realize that not only had he gotten ready for a fight, he had also positioned himself to defend Sidon. That was definitely a habit from his travels with Zelda, and considering that Sidon wasn’t up and alert yet, despite Link looking like he was about to charge something, it was likely a good habit to have if he wanted to keep the Prince alive. Of course, he didn't know if Sidon's lack of reaction was because of him being unaccustomed to sleeping with one eye open, or because he had been perfectly aware of where he was and the place lacking danger. Link sighed deeply to himself to get his muscles to relax, then turned to look at Sidon who seemed mildly concerned for him.

‘No. Fine’, Link signed sloppily and lowered his sword. Sidon’s eyes followed the movement, but thankfully he didn't comment; instead he gave Link a cheerful smile that hid his obvious tiredness somewhat. Now that Link looked, he could see that Sidon’s scales looked rougher than usual and his lips were a bit chapped. He may have stared at the lips for longer than was proper because Sidon gave an awkward cough and sat up, which finally made Link avert his eyes. For now.

“Ah, yes, I probably don’t look my best right now”, Sidon said, and rubbed a hand over his chest, which produced curious faint snapping sounds thanks to the dry scales. Link almost reached out to try it for himself until he remembered that it would be both rude and a somewhat bad an idea if he didn't want to complicate things between them. “I kept waking up to keep myself hydrated to my best ability, but I must have fallen into deep slumber towards the end and now I’m dryer than ideal.”

Link nodded, and wrenched his eyes off his friend’s… scales. As in not his chest. In any case, his eyes were no longer on Sidon and instead he located the water bowls and walked over to them while Sidon stretched. One was empty but the other was almost half full. He carried the latter over to Sidon, who accepted it with a bright smile.

“So, what is our plan for the day?” Sidon asked while dipping his hands into the water, patting the wet hands against his body, and repeating the process again and again. It was hypnotic, but Link had the presence of mind to hear the question and answer it, all the while watching Sidon’s actions.

‘Eat breakfast here, go back to the town, eat there again, visit Threaderi, ask for directions to the next place, then go there. Not necessarily in that order’, he answered, then gave it more thought and added: ‘Soak you.’

Sidon chuckled. “That sounds like a good plan. I’m all for it.”

-----

Their breakfast was a quick affair, and Sidon ate as much fish as he could possibly fit in his stomach, knowing he would only be getting it smoked, dry and in small portions from then on. Well, he actually bought one last load from the vendors, which he planned to eat once they were in the city and as such it wouldn’t be an extra burden for long, but that would be the last of it.

Their trip back down was mostly uneventful; Sidon only gave a fright to a few early Minish that were on their way up, but that was it. On the floor they had another encounter with a big person stomping by, which may or may not have caused Link to dash- to calmly but quickly walk out of the door in a dignified manner. That was his story and he was sticking to it.

The tunnel was abuzz with Minish who were headed to the Inn, but it was also cooler than yesterday because the sun and the crowd hadn’t yet warmed the place up after the night. That was truly a blessing because Sidon still didn’t look his best and definitely didn’t need to have it made worse. The water treatment from the morning had helped, but he was in dire need of a long soak to actually fix the damage. It didn't make Link feel better about the forced decision to take Sidon with him to the Lost Woods, but he tried to tell himself that Sidon’s condition was mostly caused by the extra heat of the inn; he would be totally fine in a lush forest. Hopefully.

Being in the Stable Town was a much different experience now that they understood the language. Sidon still stood out like a sore thumb, but it seemed like many of the Minish had heard the news of their existence by now and were staring and whispering like any proper townsfolk, and of course conveniently gathering wherever they were sighted. Link hadn’t realized it the last time because he hadn’t know how big a population the town contained, but now it was obvious that yesterday the Minish had avoided them when they could; there were suddenly large crowds of people everywhere, unlike yesterday's relatively quiet streets. Kids kept running up to them to ask the questions the adults didn’t dare to ask, and Sidon answered them all happily and to his best ability. Nobody understood Link’s signing. He still kept trying, if only to prove Sidon wrong, but so far he had no luck.

They dropped by Threaderi’s shop to get Sidon’s leafwear, and sweet Hylia was the woman talkative now that they understood each other. She even did her best in including Link in the conversation by asking a lot of yes or no questions that he could answer by simply nodding or shaking his head. It was… considerate, Link supposed, even if he would rather have quietly escaped the onslaught of words. He wasn't fond of having long conversations with people he didn't know, especially when they didn't understand him.

Sidon looked handsome as ever in his new clothes, though. He was so tall that the usual model of leaves that go from shoulders to the floor would have looked awkward, so Threaderi had improvised and made him a short poncho-like top and a knee length skirt-like bottom. It left Sidon’s midriff bare and Link approved of it wholeheartedly. Ten out of ten, Sidon should never ever cover his stomach with anything, ever. He also got a green ribbon on the end of his tail instead of the standard triangle hat, probably because the hat wouldn't likely stay on his head. It was damn adorable. Link took a sneaky picture with his slate and made sure to save it to keep it forever.

“You look dashing, sweetie!” Threaderi said and clapped her hands in delight. “Why, if I wasn’t married I would snatch you right up!”

...That was another Minish woman fancying his… friend. Link would be disappointed if there wasn’t a Prince Sidon fan club here by the time he visited again.

“Thank you, you’re too kind!” Sidon said with a wide smile, and turned to look at Link. “What do you think, my friend?”

I would snatch you right up too and I’m in fact single, was what Link didn’t say. Instead he gave a thumbs-up and a nod, which seemed to delight Sidon immensely.

“I’m glad! And what’s better, we match now”, Sidon said happily, and nuzzled the top of Link’s head, almost dislodging his hat. Link tried his very best to appear largely unaffected and to not read too much into any of it. But inwardly he was screaming and wanted to kiss the face rubbing against his hat and tell Sidon about the Hylian custom of “a couple look”. But he didn’t. He didn't want to ruin this.

“Yes, you two look perfectly fashionable together!” Threaderi chimed in, clearly as clueless as Sidon. Then again, considering that most of the Minish wore the same kind of clothes, it wasn’t a surprise that they didn't have that particular custom in common with Hylians.

‘Can we leave before she starts talking again?’ Link asked, eager to move on from the dangerous topic and from this place. Sidon grimaced, and then looked at Threaderi and seemed like he was going to apologize for Link’s rudeness. Then he visibly realized that Threaderi was actually clueless to Link’s words and swallowed what he had been about to say. Smooth.

“Link, ah, reminded me that we have other places to be”, Sidon said, and made his excuse seem very polite, too, with his dazzling Prince Smile, “We thank you kindly for your generosity and the pleasant company. It was lovely seeing you again.”

Threaderi looked flattered and gushed a few compliments of her own as she led them out. They would, of course, always be welcome to visit her whether they bought anything or not, and she would tell her husband hi for them in case they didn't see him before they left, and so on and so forth. Link was starting to believe they would never be let go, but thankfully she didn’t do the thing where you’re trying to leave but the other person keeps on hanging by the doorway and talking despite you trying to inch away and saying the appropriate conversation enders that should clue them in on the fact that you want to leave already. She just told them bye, waved, and went back in. Yes, they could visit her again sometime, she was sensible enough. Link approved of her.

Their next stop was the public bathhouse to soak Sidon up. They had to rent out the family pool because Sidon was simply too big for any bathtub meant for a single Minish, but at least they could both fit into it comfortably, so that was fine. Link smelled like smoke and fish from working with Sidon’s rations, so it was for the best that he cleaned up too while he had the chance. That, and there was no way he was skipping the opportunity to bathe with Sidon, even if the activity had to be kept perfectly innocent.

After a good hour of soaking, and Link trying not to make it weird while inwardly enjoying it a little too much, Sidon looked good as new. The Minish who had to clean the pool would likely have an interesting experience picking up the loose scales that were left behind in abundance. Though who knew, maybe they would make a profit by selling exotic Zora scale jewelry or something if they were a resourceful person. That’d be fun to find out about the next time.

They stopped by Scavenri’s place to have lunch with him, partly because according to Sidon it would be an etiquette blunder to bring one’s own meal into a restaurant, meaning his fish, and partly because Link wanted more of the tasty grasshopper legs he had bought the last time. They also figured he’d be able to give them directions to the next place.

They were right.

“The path is well worn, so you shouldn’t have a problem following it to the next town”, Scavenri said as he pointed out the route on the map he had just sold them. “The actual problem is that you have to cross the big people road and this is the busiest part of it. They don’t frequent the woods itself, so the deeper you go the safer you are, but this part here is in constant use. Since you won’t make it to the next town today anyway, my recommendation is to go to this spot here and camp out until the nightfall and then cross safely. Mind, you shouldn’t usually travel at night, but in this case it’s actually the safer option. There aren’t many hazards on the big people road during nights, and running into a few Chuchus is definitely preferable to being stepped on.”

Link dropped his grasshopper leg on the table so he could quickly sign to Sidon: ‘Ask him about the Chuchus!’

Sidon looked baffled, but did as asked. “Link wants to inquire about the Chuchus. I… assume he means the fact that they’re rather on the large side compared to our current size?”

Link nodded, back to chewing his food while paying rapt attention.

Scavenri looked equally confused, but then shrugged. “Chuchu come in different sizes. They get bigger by absorbing each other or spare pieces of the smashed ones, but once they reach a certain size they stop paying attention to us. The worst ones are about thrice as tall as us, much like you, Prince Sidon. This close to the big people they don’t typically get to grow very big before they’re smashed again, so we have lots of… Minish sized around, you could say. They’re mighty useful though, so no complaints here.”

Link nodded thoughtfully, thinking back to the Electric Chuchu jelly lanterns in the tunnel, and the Fire Chuchu jelly that substituted actual fire in Slateri’s house. He imagined the Minish used Ice Chuchu jelly in their ice boxes, should they need them, although that kind would likely be uncommon because making it would require something to freeze it with. Maybe they had an ice arrow stored somewhere for that purpose? If not, Link could make a fortune by selling them one…

In the end Scavenri made a lot of helpful little marks on their new map, should they need shelter or food or water in the nearby parts of the woods. He also advised them to ask the food gatherer troops or his colleagues in other towns for more information as they progressed, since he had only traveled so far. Link and Sidon thanked him heartily for all the help, and finally headed out of the town and towards the forest.

Time to track down Slateri the First.

Chapter Text

The first three hours of their travel was a piece of cake, really. They followed a clear mulch-based footpath along the big people fence, and the most interesting thing to happen was seeing a few huge bugs between the enormous leaves of grass surrounding the path. Fascinating as that was, the bugs weren’t threatening or even remotely interested in them, so the excitement wasn’t very long-lasting. Sidon took a few pictures of the bugs with his slate, but that was that.

They took a snack break when they reached the point where they would be leaving the safety of the fence, and Sidon made a hilariously disgusted face at the smoked fish jerky.

“I can barely taste the fish itself underneath the flavour of smoke”, Sidon said after he swallowed. He gave the rest of the portion a sour look. “It’s so dry too, like eating sand that’s been drying right above the waterline for weeks.”

Link shrugged and tried to hold in his need to laugh at the poor Prince’s expense, especially at the very specific comparison that implied Sidon had, indeed, eaten the mentioned sand before. Perhaps as a child, or someone had pushed him into it during fighting practice, or maybe he had just estimated his swimming speed wrong and crashed into the shore. Either way a funny mental image. Instead of laughing, because he was considerate sometimes, he dug out an apple from his backpack and held it out. He signed one-handedly: ‘Nice and juicy.’

Sidon looked at the offering, then sighed and accepted it gratefully enough. He dutifully ate his nasty fish with the less nasty apple, and it seemed to go down a little better.

They continued on to the big rocks, now more like mountains, at the side of the big people road and prepared to settle into the bushes next to them to wait for the nightfall, as per Scavenri’s instructions. The road they would have to cross looked as vast as the Gerudo Desert, and rougher to traverse than the mountains Link had crossed: there were pebbles, rocks, and sticks the size of fallen trees all over the place, not to even mention the craters that were big people footprints.

However, Link wasn’t feeling patient about sitting still when there was daylight left for roughly three more hours. He peered into the direction of the stable, then towards the forest, and upon seeing nothing approaching waved to catch Sidon’s attention.

‘Maybe we should just cross now’, he signed. ‘I don’t see any big people and it wasn’t that long since we ate so I’m good to go.’

Sidon frowned at him. “I see your point, but Scavenri advised us to wait. He has traveled this path before so he ought to know what he’s talking about.”

Link had to admit to himself that listening to the locals was generally a good thing to do, but he had also found a lot of interesting places and adventures by doing the exact opposite. So he waved his hand dismissively. ‘This road isn’t much used. It only leads to the Lost Woods and nobody goes there. It’s late enough that there won’t be kids running around the stable. It’s not my first time in here either.’

Sidon looked conflicted. He glanced at the desolate road, then at the still bright sun, then at the bag by his side. He grimaced slightly, most likely considering the fact that the longer their journey took, the longer he had to endure eating the jerky. In the end it seemed that his own comfort was the most compelling argument, as he stood up and threw the bag over his shoulder with a determined look.

“Alright”, he said and joined Link at the edge of the road. “We’ll just be quick about this. Scavenri said it’ll take an hour to cross the road, and that’s with him carrying his scavenged goods and with his small Minish legs. Surely we can do this faster if we try.”

‘That’s the spirit!’ Link signed, then the two of them gave one more glance at both directions before beginning to cross the road.

The endless sea of pebbles felt even tougher to travel through this time around than it had at the beach, possibly because they had gotten used to the gentle Minish paths they had walked on all day. They had to go around a huge pothole at one point, and Sidon looked severely tempted by the puddle in the middle of it; Link had to remind him that they didn’t have the time to dally and climbing back up the pebble-y walls would be next to impossible. Sidon was obviously bummed, but had to concede the point. Link briefly worried about Sidon’s current state of hydration because of this, but his scales looked fine; out of water for hours dry, but not dehydrated dry.

It was when they were roughly at the halfway mark that their luck ran out. The ground started to tremble gently at first and it got worse by every passing second. Thundering stomps, clacking gravel, impossibly loud screeching and teeth-grinding creaking approached at an alarming pace. They turned to look towards the forest with wide eyes.

A big person with a huge donkey and an enormous cart came out of the forest and towards the stable. Fast. Too fast for them to be able to run to the safety of either side of the road, much less in this terrain.

Sand, mulch and gravel was flying around with every enormous step the big person took. Pebbles were raining from the bottoms of their boots, and one hit on the head would be fatal. The donkey had four feet with hard hooves that crushed pebbles like they were made of thin glass. The cart had four wide wheels that ground the path underneath flat.

Link was frozen on the spot, wide eyes staring at nothing.

Air tasted like ozone and the wind was whipping sand into his face as he tried to take aim while furiously calculating the effect the whirlwinds would have and electricity crackled and Riju screamed for him to return to the protective circle now-

“Link!” Sidon shouted in alarm, grabbed his arm, and pulled him into motion. Link’s brain was going in circles but he ran by instinct alone and scrambled through the tough terrain, acutely aware of the noise getting closer and louder and the earth shaking worse with each giant step. Sidon lost his footing from the quake but got up hurriedly. Link had to jump to safety when a pebble gave under his feet. Their progress was minuscule at best.

Then a giant foot stomped down behind them, making a crater into the ground and whipping sand and mulch into their eyes. Both of them fell prone from the force alone. Link could hear Sidon’s voice but was unable to make out the words in the chaotic noise all around them. He scrambled up in pure panic, but was sent back to the ground when another giant foot hit the ground. He started crawling desperately, pushing his way through the pebbles at a snail’s pace and he lost track of Sidon’s whereabouts in the struggle.

He had barely made any progress when a shadow fell over him and his eyes widened. He shot up to his feet, thanking Hylia that there wasn’t another quake happening right that second, and hurled himself recklessly to the side right in time to avoid an enormous hoof crashing into the spot he had been occupying a second ago. Pebbles broke into million pieces under the hard and heavy hoof and rained on him painfully as he scrambled backwards to get more distance. Then another hoof crashed down right behind him, just barely missing him and way too close for comfort. He hurled himself forward right before the hoof lifted up again, narrowly avoiding getting his head bashed in by its momentum.

Despite the scare, he knew he was safe now; that was the big person past him, the donkey past him, and that left just the cart. He had seen enough carts to know that it would be wider than the donkey, and thus the wheels wouldn’t be anywhere near him at this point as long as he stayed put. So he pushed his panic to the back of his mind and started looking around for Sidon, a different flavour of fear rising within his chest.

He spotted a flash of red on the ground right before the cart wheel blocked it from his vision, making Link’s heart jump out of his chest.

“SIDON!” he screamed, and started a mad scramble towards the spot, time feeling like it was standing still. The wheel passed, he saw the red thing laying on the ground unmoving, and then the next wheel rolled by, blocking the view again. He couldn’t tell if it ran over Sidon or merely passed by him. He could only pray to Hylia that it was the latter, as he hurried towards the spot, cursing every pebble in his path and every quake that made him fall.

Finally the wheel rolled away and he could see Sidon laying still while Link kept getting back up every time he lost his footing. By the time he reached Sidon the quakes were lessening as the big person got further and further away from them.

And then Sidon sat up like it was nobody’s business, obviously not crushed to death.

“That was close”, he muttered seemingly to himself. He looked like he was about to say something more but he didn’t have the time to do that before he was tackle-glomped by Link. They fell to the ground with Sidon giving an undignified yelp and Link wrapping his limbs tightly around the flailing Zora while pressing his face into his neck, not giving a single damn about the silver neck piece biting into his cheek.

“I thought you were dead!” Link cried hoarsely and pressed a relieved kiss on the uncovered spot on Sidon’s throat.

“Link- Gills-”

Link loosened the grip of his feet and moved them a bit until he heard Sidon take a deep breath, then resolutely re-fastened them on the acceptable spot. He dropped another kiss with a satisfied sigh, just so damn happy that Sidon was alive that he didn’t give Ganon’s ass about propriety. Sidon’s arms wrapped around his middle after a moment, too.

They stayed like that until both of them had caught their breaths, their hearts had stopped trying to break loose, and they could no longer hear the big person stomping in the distance.

Sidon broke the silence hesitantly. “Were you nibbling my neck just now? Ah, just checking.”

Oh, so he had noticed. Link had half-hoped he hadn’t so that he wouldn’t need to explain himself and possibly complicate things between them.

“Yes”, Link answered, not really feeling like correcting him on the act being kissing rather than nibbling, and using more words than necessary. It was semantics to him anyway now that he was caught, and Sidon just might have an explanation of his own to the suggested situation, while the actual action might raise more questions.

“Alright then”, Sidon said, “I’m assuming it isn’t a hostile gesture among Hylians?”

Link snorted, not even dignifying that with an answer.

“I figured as much. The tackling hurt considerably more anyway and I know that was out of affection, so… carry on, I suppose. I’m happy to see you mostly unhurt as well.”

…Link wasn’t going to question his luck or think too hard about his life choices or consequences when he was given a permission like that. No, he just firmly attached his lips to Sidon’s neck and gave it an actual nibble after a short moment of pure gentle pressure of lips against scales. He sighed in bliss and moved on to a different spot higher on Sidon’s neck, enjoying the jump in Sidon’s pulse at the gesture. If he was crossing some kind of a line here, it was Sidon’s own doing for giving him a permission to proceed. He was just seizing the opportunity, just like he did with most things in his life.

Link felt Sidon’s arms tighten around him, and simultaneously heard a small sound of sand and pebbles shuffling, which was presumably caused by Sidon’s arm fin dragging in the pile of dirt they were laying on.

…The pile of dirt-

Sidon stiffened, and released his hold with an awkward cough.

“Oh, it just occurred to me that we’re in the middle of the road where we almost got crushed to death just now”, Sidon said, and made a move to sit up. As much as Link didn't want to move, even he realized that staying where they were wasn’t an option, so he yielded. “We really shouldn’t spend a moment longer than necessary here.”

Link stayed quiet, mourning the loss of the beautiful moment they shared, and removed himself from Sidon’s person quickly and efficiently. He wiped the worst of the dust off of himself while Sidon stood up and did the same, then they both checked their gear to make sure nothing had gotten lost or broken. Finally they looked at each other silently, not quite sure how to proceed from there. Wherever the metaphorical ‘there’ was.

Link gave Sidon a tentative smile. ‘We should get going.’

Sidon nodded, looking relieved, and turned to walk towards their destination. “Indeed. Let’s go.”

And so the journey continued with the both of them relatively unhurt, for now at least.

Chapter Text

Their trek across the big people road was quiet. Link didn’t know what Sidon was thinking about, but his own head was filled with hope, want, regret, and guilt. Hope that maybe his feelings would be returned or at least not outright rejected. Or that maybe he would get to continue being affectionate with Sidon without negative consequences or a change in the status quo if he simply kept quiet. Want for Sidon; to get to do what they did just now and maybe even more, as much as he would be allowed to. Regret for the moment being cut short, and for the choices that had led to it in the first place. Guilt for almost getting Sidon killed just because of his impatience and inability to listen to other peoples’ advice.

Oh, and a dash of shame for the way he had once more frozen up because of his trauma of Vah Naboris. That was twice since they shrunk down. Had Sidon not gotten him to move, he may have ended up a small stain on the bottom of someone’s boot. That was frankly unacceptable for the hero who defeated Calamity Ganon. He was supposed to be tougher than that. Yes, Zelda had repeatedly told him that being traumatized by the things he went through was perfectly normal and didn’t make him weak, but in his opinion it still wasn’t acceptable to freeze in the middle of action because of it. He could be traumatized on his own time when lives weren’t at stake, thank you very much.

He sighed to himself, which apparently caught Sidon’s attention.

“For the record, I don’t blame you for what happened”, he said, and Link looked at him quizzically. “Us getting into trouble for crossing the road at daytime, despite being told not to. You may have been the one to suggest it, but I agreed to it. That makes me just as thoughtless and irresponsible. I should have tried harder to talk us both out of it.”

Sidon really was too good for him. Such a pure and innocent soul. Such a responsible prince. What had Link done to deserve his friendship?

Well, other than saved his home and people, and then the whole nation. But those details were irrelevant, nobody owed their friendship to him for those. Maybe just a few favours and possibly some money if they felt like being fair about it, which most didn’t; they usually just asked him to do more things for them. So ungrateful.

‘Okay, we both get a share of blame for that one’, Link signed with a smile, ‘But I get the bigger half because at least you gave a token effort to not be completely stupid.’

Sidon laughed heartily, which lifted most of the guilt and shame from Link’s shoulders.

They arrived to the edge of the road shortly after that, much to the relief of them both. They didn’t relax completely yet, though, as people didn’t necessarily stick to the road and as such it wasn’t quite safe yet. Scavenri had told them to camp in bushes, between large rocks, or underneath trees; anywhere the big people weren’t likely to step into or were unable to do so. There should be rocks on this side of the road, too, they just had to find them.

Sidon, being the taller one, scouted ahead as they kept on walking, and eventually they found the safety of the rocks. There was even a rudimentary camp available, likely due to a lot of Minish using the place when traveling to the Stable Town for a visit to the exotic inn. The camp consisted of a couple of long logs to sit on, a spot for campfire, and even a small teepee-like structure, presumably to keep rain in. It was really rather cozy.

“It’s so nice to see people extending each other helpful hands like this”, Sidon said with a bright smile as he took a seat on one of the logs, “They could easily just make themselves temporary camps during their travel, but that structure there is a sign of someone going out of their way to create something safe and comfortable for any passing person to use. Such a kind act.”

Link could have pointed out that the person building it may have had their own comfort in mind if they traveled this route often, but opted not to; he didn’t want to ruin Sidon’s joy. Instead he dropped his bag next to the Zora and went to check out the teepee. Turned out there was a bundle of firewood stashed in, which he immediately gathered in his arms and brought to the spot for campfire.

‘Light it?’ he signed to Sidon, and upon receiving an affirmative he went to explore the nearby area in hopes of gathering replacement wood and to see if there was anything edible around. His search rewarded him with a tree branch that he chopped into firewood with his sword, but he couldn’t find any food. He considered one plant that he thought looked like Hyrule herb, just the size of a tree, but he already had a stash of dried herbs to spice his foods with, so it would have been too much trouble for little reward. In the end he returned to the camp with just the firewood.

“Did you find anything?” Sidon asked upon his return.

Link shook his head, before depositing the wood into the teepee. He joined Sidon by the campfire.

‘The grass is so tall that it’s difficult to see very far’, he elaborated now that his hands were free. ‘The distances are long, too.’

Sidon nodded thoughtfully and dug out a packet of jerky from his bag. Link followed the example and rummaged his own bag for something to eat. As he looked at an apple, he suddenly realized that he wasn’t likely to get more of them anytime soon, considering their current size versus how big apples actually were. Not to even mention them being up impossibly tall trees. It was an alien thought as usually he could have all the apples he could possibly want just by walking into the woods and finding an apple tree to pick them from; they were absurdly common. He hummed to himself, set the apple down next to Sidon, and decided to eat something bought from the Minish instead. He should have bought more. Heck, he should have hunted down one of the bugs they saw earlier and tried if it was edible, and if it tasted as good as the grasshopper legs he bought from Scavenri.

This was Great Plateau all over again, wasn’t it? He had to learn how to survive in the wilderness the hard way, again. Except this time he also had to look after Sidon, whose diet was stricter and who had a much more dire need for water than Link did. He really had to step up his game.

Speaking of Sidon.

“Link?” Sidon asked, apparently done eating. Link looked up at him questioningly. Sidon looked a combination of bashful and curious, which was decidedly odd and put Link on edge, not knowing what to expect.

“About earlier”, Sidon continued, “I have to say that… you nibbling my neck was surprisingly pleasant. We Zora don’t typically do things like that, as our teeth are too sharp to not hurt each other. But you doing that felt very nice.”

He paused to consider how to continue, while Link felt like his face caught on fire. He had thought that he would be spared from discussing this, yet now it seemed that Sidon wasn’t done with the subject. Admittedly, he was simultaneously very flattered about Sidon’s confession.

“You have never done that before with me, despite our steadfast friendship”, Sidon said, looking at Link contemplatively and making him feel extremely self-conscious. “Is it a common custom among Hylians? A… display of affection?”

Well… It certainly wasn’t uncommon and it was definitely a display of affection, but Link really didn’t want to explain the actual nature of the gesture. He may yet have to, sooner or later, but for now he vaguely agreed with Sidon’s guess, feeling only slightly guilty.

Sidon stared at him silently for way longer than Link would have liked, then smiled. “Alright. Do you suppose you could do it again tonight, as we settle down to sleep? I rather think the earlier session ended prematurely and I would love to pick up from where it was left.”

Link couldn’t believe his pointy ears and was completely convinced that the donkey from earlier had, in fact, hit his head after all. He was not this lucky. He simply wasn’t. Earlier, when Sidon had allowed his touch, had already been pushing it. This? Simply unreal. A figment of his imagination. Sidon would soon shake him awake and he would find himself in the middle of the road with a concussion.

In the meantime, he nodded vigorously and hoped there wasn’t smoke coming out of his ears. His face was a lost cause; it would likely be red for the rest of his life. Regardless, he sent Hylia a silent thank you and mentally promised to leave her a heap of apples at the statue back in Hateno at his earliest convenience once he was big again.

“Excellent!” Sidon said happily, and grabbed his water canteen for a long drink. Link eyed it distractedly, silently thankful that the next town was supposedly only a few hours’ walk away so they could restock tomorrow. He might have to invest in an additional canteen and leave something else behind unless another solution presented itself; Sidon was drinking a lot more now that he wasn’t spending half of the trip swimming in the rivers, and one canteen wasn’t going to last him for more than two days at best. This wouldn’t have been an issue when they were big, as Link knew all the water spots by heart. Here? He had no clue.

Link finished eating and dug out his bedroll. He saw Sidon do the same and waited for him to find an acceptable spot before carrying his roll over. Their agreed system was that unless there was a relatively calm body of water for Sidon to sleep in, he would choose a spot by their campfire and then Link would sleep between him and the fire for maximum warmth and to keep the heat of the flames from directly reaching the Zora. After the effects of the night in the hot inn, the arrangement seemed exceedingly reasonable.

Link removed his weapons, the Minish leaf robe and his shoes before sitting down and watching Sidon do much the same. Once Sidon was down to his usual jewelry, he sat down with a thoughtful frown. Link was about to ask him about it when Sidon snapped his fingers with a smile, and then reached under his tail to unclasp and remove the silver neck piece. Link’s face reached new levels of red.

“This should make things easier for you, right?” Sidon asked with a bright smile and Link was certain his heart would burst any moment now.

Hylia would receive all the apples. He would bake her an apple pie. With all the apples.

He nodded vigorously, which made Sidon chuckle.

“I should lay down, then? Or is the tackle an inherent part of the process?”

No, but kissing your lips and licking your abs are absolutely necessary parts of the process, is what Link didn’t say. Instead he motioned for Sidon to lay down, cool as a cucumber. The kind of cucumber that occasionally self-combusted and was glad of his selective muteness because it meant the possible lacking filter between his brain and mouth typically wasn't an issue for him. Which was cool enough.

Actually, now that he thought about it, it wasn’t even necessary for Sidon to lay down. Link could have just sat on his lap- Wait, yes, it was absolutely necessary for Sidon to lay down if Link wanted to survive this. Never mind. This was fine.

Link resolutely pushed any distracting thoughts to the back of his mind and instead eased himself into Sidon’s waiting arms, which closed themselves tightly around him. Sidon sighed contentedly and rubbed his crest against Link’s hair, which made his heart beat faster.

Yes, he rather believed he belonged right here.

Link glanced up and found Sidon’s eyes on him. Naturally, since rubbing his head with the crest on Sidon’s forehead obviously meant his beautiful topaz eyes (Link would later vehemently deny that he used gemstones as a descriptor of another person’s eyes, like a lovesick teen girl) and perfectly kissable lips would be lowered. Sidon smiled warmly and Link tried not to stare at his lips and get any funny ideas. He managed a smile that he hoped didn’t look too nervous or lovelorn, and then Sidon lifted his chin to give Link access to his now very naked neck. Link didn’t think he had ever actually seen it not adorned with silver. And it was his to touch.

Something something apples and Hylia.

Link pulled himself higher on Sidon’s chest, pressed a tentative kiss on his neck, and got an approving hum in return. Emboldened, he nibbled on the spot, and when Sidon still seemed to be into it and nothing bad happened, he started to give enthusiastic but gentle love bites all over. The neck piece not being there most definitely made the whole process easier and more enjoyable for everyone involved. Sidon’s sharp claws dug lightly into Link’s undershirt, which Link took as a good sign as he gave a bold lick from the hollow of Sidon’s neck to the underside of his chin.

“Did you just lick my neck?” Sidon asked, sounding breathy but distinctly amused. Link couldn’t help the euphoric chuckle he gave in return, and he lifted himself to his elbows so he could look at Sidon properly.

Hylia, Sidon was beautiful. His eyes were half-lidded, he had a warm smile, and a few scales at the edges of his jaw were sticking up adorably. It took all of Link’s self-control to not dive in for a kiss.

“You look very happy”, Sidon said, and one of his hands left Link’s back in order to cradle his face. Sidon’s thumb traced Link’s bottom lip and that was frankly the best thing to have ever happened to Link. “Had I known about this before… We should do this again. Every evening, if you’re so inclined.”

Link gave a small nod, not wanting to dislodge Sidon’s thumb. His brain and heart were mushy enough that he didn’t feel the need to over think anything, didn’t have it in him to dredge up any guilt for taking advantage of Sidon’s lack of knowledge, and didn’t bother with considering any consequences any of this might have. What truly mattered was here and now, and with that in mind he buried his face into Sidon’s neck happily, and snuggled close for the rest of the night. Sidon simply held him tightly in return.

Chapter Text

Link woke up to his best friend of a mattress moving and muttering apologies for disturbing his rest. He groaned and pressed his face closer to the scaly skin. He didn’t want apologies, or to get up, he wanted to lay on Sidon forever, thank you very much. In his drowsy state he even said as much, but most of it became indecipherable, seeing how it was sleepily mumbled against the crook of Sidon’s neck.

“I’m sorry, but I didn’t quite catch that”, Sidon said, sounding way more sorry about it than the situation warranted. “Could you repeat it? I’d be aghast to miss any of your beautiful words.”

That certainly woke Link up, if only to feel guilty about not vocalizing to Sidon more often. If his words were being described as beautiful, it was a sign that Sidon heard his voice way too seldom and as such managed to glorify it in its absence. His voice was rough and sometimes gave out mid-sentence and was definitely not beautiful at all. Now that Link thought about it, perhaps he ought to speak out loud to Sidon during this trip, seeing how they were alone in the middle of nowhere for the most part. No chance of someone overhearing him and making him anxious for weeks. He could probably do it.

“I said-” he croaked, then cleared his throat and started over while also turning his head so that his face was no longer smooshed against Sidon’s neck and he could sort of see him, too. “I said that you’re comfy and I don’t want your apologies.”

Well, it wasn’t exactly what he said, but close enough.

Sidon looked ridiculously happy and gave Link’s hair a thorough nuzzling. “Thank you! You make a superb blanket, yourself. Alas, I do still need to get up. I’m parched, and I noticed that there’s morning dew on the nearby leaves of grass that I could help myself to.”

Two things. A superb blanket, really? Link would bet good rupee on Sidon being mostly uncomfortable with Link sleeping on him, since usually the Zora would sleep while being submerged in water and definitely not weighed down by anything, and Link’s body temperature was probably a bit much as well. Secondly, morning dew. Link could have slapped himself for not thinking of that. Granted, as a big person morning dew wasn’t something he used as a resource, so it was maybe understandable that he hadn’t considered it now.

Actually, third thing, how long had Sidon been up, holding Link and admiring the morning dew? The thought simultaneously made Link self-conscious and turned his stomach into butterflies.

He felt Sidon shift underneath him and finally took that as his cue to sit up, straddling Sidon’s stomach, and stretched his arms above his head. He felt Sidon’s eyes on him the whole time, and when he looked down he saw that the scales just under his friend’s jaw were sticking up and his eyes were glued to… oh, his shirt was bunched up and exposing his stomach a little. Link coughed awkwardly and smoothed the shirt down before climbing off of Sidon, blushing considerably. Now, he didn’t mind Sidon looking, quite the opposite in fact, especially if he let himself imagine his own preferred reasons for it, but there was a time and a place for everything and this was probably neither? Or maybe he was just an awkward young man with a huge crush and didn’t know how to deal.

Sidon sat up and stretched as well, then massaged the back of his neck with one hand, a grimace on his face. “Ugh, I believe I slept on a rather awkward position.”

Link’s hands immediately started a string of apologies, before Sidon interrupted him.

“It’s not your fault”, he said with a fond smile, “At least, not completely. I do admit it was your presence that made me unconsciously stay very still and not relax completely, but that’s on me. Now that I could see you sleeping like a log, I think I can be more at ease tonight.”

...Tonight? Was Sidon expecting them to sleep like that tonight as well? Possibly every night from now on? Link’s mind felt completely blank for a moment, just not processing information properly.

‘Tonight?’ his hands asked without much conscious effort on his part.

“Yes, why- Do you not want to?” Sidon asked, looking worried. He stood up, towering over Link once more.

‘No! I mean yes!’ Link signed, then abruptly remembered his earlier thought about speaking more to Sidon, and decided to continue with spoken words. “I want to. I just… didn’t expect that.”

Sidon grinned at him, all worries melting away. “Good. It wouldn’t do to lose the progress made last night.”

Wait, what?

“What progress?” he asked, but Sidon simply beamed at him like an infuriatingly mysterious hot shark jerk he was.

“We’ll find out about the particulars of that in due time, my friend”, he said, which wasn’t any less cryptic or clear anything out. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll help myself to the water Hylia has seen fit to bestow upon us.”

Link screamed internally.

-----

Sidon looked healthy today, compared to yesterday. Despite another night of less than stellar rest, he seemed chipper and didn’t look particularly tired. His scales gleamed after what amounted to a nice shower under the dewy leaves of grass, and Link had to assume that getting fish for every meal was doing Sidon wonders, despite it not being fresh or particularly tasty. All in all, Link felt a lot less worried about this trip now, at least for the time being.

As such, he could dwell on Sidon’s mysterious words without distractions as they walked. Progress, and finding particulars out later, what was that supposed to mean? Link knew what he hoped it to mean, and that was their relationship growing closer without him having to blatantly put himself out there, but it was wishful thinking to take that to be Sidon’s view, too. Maybe it had to do with Link speaking? Perhaps Sidon figured that the more comfortable and happy Link was, the more likely he was to speak out loud? He wouldn’t be half wrong. If that was what Sidon thought, then it certainly added up that he would want to… snuggle each night, since it obviously made Link happy.

Link sighed quietly, slightly disappointed at finding out a reasonable explanation so quickly, and thus having to discard the wistful alternative. But he was still more than happy with the thought of nightly cuddling. Perhaps he, too, could count that as progress on his chosen avenue.

“Link”, Sidon suddenly said with a hushed voice, instantly making Link wary.

Link looked forward, then upon finding nothing of note looked at Sidon. Sidon was looking to their left, towards the tall grass, and then glanced at Link with an excited smile. It put Link’s mind back at ease.

“A grasshopper”, Sidon said quietly, and looked towards the grass again, now unhooking his Sheikah Slate from his belt and preparing the camera rune.

Link got excited as well, though for different reasons. He had lamented not hunting the other bugs down yesterday, so now that he was presented with this change he was definitely going to grab it with both hands. He wanted to eat the thing. He already knew the legs to be delicious, so maybe some other parts would be as well. If not, then at least he would still get the legs.

He waited with Sidon until they saw it jump again, making Link aware of its whereabouts. Sidon took a picture, and Link touched his arm to catch his attention.

‘I’ll hunt it’, he signed enthusiastically, and while Sidon looked surprised, he neither did or said anything to stop him. Link took that as a permission, even if he didn’t really need one.

Link slowly and quietly approached the critter, which was now making cheerful music by rubbing its legs against its wings. Link knew that to mean his approach went unnoticed and the hopper was off-guard for now. Once he was within shooting distance, he took out his bow and nocked an arrow on it. Would shooting at its head work, like it did with everything else? It was a reasonable approach, so he he might as well try it. He aimed… and then paused.

Yes, he wanted to eat it. But another thought entered his head as he watched the powerful legs and its quadruped stance. The grasshopper was about the size of a pony, relatively speaking. Could he ride it? He had ridden all the different horses he had come across, he had given a go to deer and bears, he had calmed the Lord of the Mountain, he had mounted lynels, he had even gotten a ride from Sidon and Teba. Why wouldn’t he add a grasshopper to that list now that he was small enough for it?

He put his arrow and bow away and went directly behind the grasshopper to get closer without it noticing him. It stopped making sound at one point, and Link stayed completely still until it resumed. At least this thing was alone and as such didn't have a herd to warn it of Link's approach; it made this a lot easier than sneaking on horses typically was.

Finally he was close enough to make a mad jump and lock his arms around what passed for the critter’s neck, and his legs around its body and wings. Immediately after, the grasshopper jumped forward in fright before Link had any time to feel smug and accomplished about his catch.

…Link had not accounted for how high the thing could jump, even without the use of its wings. Because it was damn high.

He heard Sidon shout something, probably his name, but all he could do was hold on tightly so he wouldn’t drop and die. Now, the height was nowhere near Vah Medoh, but it was still considerable and likely fatal.

The grasshopper landed on a leaf and immediately jumped again. Link’s heart hammered in his chest and he squeezed tighter. However, scary as it was, the fluttery sensation in his stomach, the air on his face, and the threat of plunging into his death, not even from Vah Medoh but from riding a damn grasshopper, made him feel ridiculously exhilarated and before he even knew what was happening, he was laughing like a madman.

He closed his eyes, held on to his dear life, and laughed like this was the best ride he had ever experienced.

He had no idea how long this went on, other than the knowledge that his throat and stomach hurt from laughing and holding on was getting very difficult, but when he finally stopped being hysterical he heard Sidon shouting.

“-n’t move and brace yourself!”

Wait, what?

He instinctively took a better grip again and opened his eyes in an attempt to get a clue on what Sidon was up to, but the world was an uncontrollable and fast moving blur. The grasshopper landed once more, and for a second Link could see the red spot that was Sidon, who was holding something that glittered in the sun.

There was a whistling sound, a crunch right ahead of him, the grasshopper convulsed, and then they were dropping heavily instead of leaping back into the air. Link had the presence of mind to tuck his head flush against the grasshopper before his back was slapped repeatedly by leaves of grass as he fell past, and finally he landed painfully on the ground with the grasshopper carcass. His left leg and arm stung from taking the brunt of the hit from the landing, but at least he was alive and no longer bouncing around.

“Are you alright?” he heard, along with frantic footsteps.

He groaned and attempted to push the grasshopper’s carcass away, but didn’t get very far with that before Sidon was already helping him with it and peering at him worriedly. Link gave him a hesitant thumbs up, and slowly sat up. Moving hurt in a lot of different places, but he was reasonably sure nothing was broken. Jarred and banged up, sure, but not broken.

Sidon kneeled down next to him, hands hovering around like he wanted to do something but didn’t know what that something should be.

“Are you hurt? Is anything broken?”

Link shook his head, which made him feel slightly faint. His throat felt raw after the forceful laughter, so signing was his only option.

‘Nothing broken. Hurts a bit, but I’ll be fine. Could use water.’

Sidon produced his water skin almost instantly, and Link gratefully took a drink. It seemed Sidon had topped it off with the morning dew, as the water tasted pleasantly leafy and felt particularly soothing in his throat.

‘Thank you’, Link signed after handing the water back.

Sidon nodded, and they stayed in silence for a bit, letting their heart rates calm, and in Link’s case waiting until he hurt a little less. Then Sidon frowned at him.

“That was possibly the most moronic thing I’ve ever witnessed someone do.”

Chapter Text

Link looked up to Sidon’s angry face, feeling both guilty and instantly defensive despite knowing full well the grasshopper ride had been a mistake. He kind of shrugged sheepishly but didn’t say anything to defend himself with or to apologize. He was allowed to be reckless if he wanted to; Sidon wasn't in any position to tell him what to do.

Sidon’s eyes narrowed, and for a brief flash Link could see Mipha with the exact same expression. Huh, apparently he had pissed off her too, at some point in the past. Too bad the memory didn't elaborate on itself, although he supposed being able to focus on the here and now was probably for the best.

“Did you even stop to consider the consequences of your actions back there?” Sidon asked, voice calm and steady despite his obvious anger. It was kind of impressive. “You have seen grasshoppers before and you should know how high they can jump. And how fast they are. We were lucky that this one was content to hop in circles so I had the opportunity to shoot it, because if it had hopped away in one direction there would have been no way I would have been able to catch up to it. You would have been long gone.”

Oh. Right, Link had no idea how long he had been holding onto the rapidly moving grasshopper. Even one leap was enough to cover a distance that would take them close to ten minutes to cross on foot. In a few jumps he would have been thoroughly separated from Sidon who – Link remembered now that he considered the bigger picture – didn't have a map on him, since only Link's slate had been to the local tower to get one and he was also the one who carried the Minish maps in his bag.

Needless to say, his idea was starting to look truly moronic in hindsight, just like Sidon said. That thought was quickly chipping away at his defensiveness and boosting the guilt.

“Please, Link”, Sidon said, now looking deflated instead of angry. That was actually worse. “Don’t do that again. I know you’re amazing and you could have gotten yourself out of the pinch eventually, but I can’t stand the thought of losing you. Yesterday, when you froze…”

Sidon didn’t finish the sentence, but he didn’t have to: yesterday, when Link froze in the middle of the road right when the big person was about to walk over them and potentially crush them. They hadn’t talked about it and it clearly troubled Sidon. They should talk about it. Soon.

The guilt intensified. Maybe, just maybe, he should admit to having been wrong here. Or at least having been inconsiderate.

Link got up with a grunt and promptly wrapped his arms around the kneeling Zora.

“I’m sorry”, he rasped, his throat really not approving of the idea of talking right after all that screaming laughter. Link ignored the discomfort. “I was stupid.”

Sidon returned the embrace as soon as he got his arms un-trapped from Link’s hold.

“You were”, he agreed, and Link chuckled despite himself. “But I suppose… I should be honest with you, lest I want to be a big hypocrite. Do you remember the giant hearty bass from the Pico Pond?”

Link wondered about the change of subject, but nodded. The fish, apparently a hearty bass, that had cornered Sidon on their first day of being shrunk. ...Had they truly only been mini for about four days? It felt like a lifetime.

“The truth is, I noticed it first and I could have swam away”, Sidon admitted with a sheepish laugh, “but I decided to attack it despite its size. I thought that I could take it on, that it couldn’t be worse than the giant Octorok that I fought decades ago. I thought of the feast we could have, and...”

Sidon coughed awkwardly, and removed one hand to smooth the scales on the side of his neck. “I thought you would be impressed.”

Link stared at Sidon. He… He got into that pinch because of recklessness? Because he wanted to impress Link? As in, not accidentally or by being ambushed? Mind, Sidon’s reasonings were still better than Link’s “because I wanted to ride it”, but it was still choosing to engage in perfectly avoidable danger instead walking – or swimming – away from it like a sensible person.

Link let go of Sidon in order to free his hands for signing.

‘We’re both idiots, then.’

Sidon chuckled, and stood up. Then he held out a hand to Link.

“Not the word choice I’d go for, but accurate enough”, he said, and pulled Link up. He looked at the dead grasshopper. “At least you managed to get a meal out of your reckless little adventure, unlike me. But… shall we promise to not repeat either of our excursions?”

Link looked at the carcass, noting that the arrow had pierced right through the eye; Sidon was an excellent shot. Then he looked at the Zora in question, pondering the wisdom of promising such a thing, knowing there was no way he could keep the promise for long. Well, he would not be riding more grasshoppers anytime soon, but he knew promising only that would be obeying the letter of the law but not the spirit of it.

He sighed, and decided to cave in. Or do a compromise anyway.

‘I promise to at least try to keep any unnecessary recklessness at bay, and to discuss any actions with you whenever possible’, he signed carefully, and received a beaming grin from Sidon.

“You’d make a wonderful diplomat with some proper training, my friend”, he said, before promising the same. Oddly, Link felt much more at ease afterwards. Almost like Sidon was already safer from the promise alone. He wondered if Sidon felt the same.

‘Don’t suggest that to Zelda. I don't want to be saddled down with a job like that’, Link answered, half joking and half deadly serious.

Sidon just laughed, which wasn't necessarily reassuring.

-----

Turned out that grasshoppers consisted mostly of chitin and odd internal organs, so the back legs were the only edible part when Link was Minish size. At least they were delicious when roasted, so he was satisfied with the catch anyway. He wondered if they would taste as good when he was big again, or if the bite was too small to count for anything. He would have to give it a try.

They continued their trip after carefully comparing the map they got from Scavenri to the one on Link’s slate and deciding on their direction. They should arrive to the next Minish town in a few hours if they kept a brisk pace and stayed out of mischief. Scavenri had said the town would be a lot smaller than Stable Town, but they could at least replenish their supplies there and ask for directions or advice, if necessary.

It took Link a while to realize that Sidon was being unusually quiet. Not that he was always continuously chatty when they walked, but usually he pointed out a sight or two and occasionally talked about any random thought he decided to be worth Link’s time. Now, though, he had been silent since they left the camp. It didn’t typically take him this long to strike up a conversation, so it was suspicious and worrying.

Link discreetly looked at Sidon from the corner of his eye. He seemed troubled and deep in thought, but apparently he was disinclined to talk about his thoughts since he hadn’t said something by now.

Link had a good idea what Sidon's quiet thoughtfulness was about, so he sighed and braced himself for a difficult conversation. He cleared his throat to get Sidon’s attention, which worked like a charm, as per usual.

“Yes, Link?”

Link brought his hands up to sign, remembered he was supposed to vocalize and hesitated, but in the end decided that this was going to be tough enough as it was.

‘I need to talk to you about Vah Naboris’, he signed, and saw Sidon immediately take a very serious and attentive posture. It would seem he had guessed correctly, which was half relieving and half... uh... he really hated talking about the subject.

‘I froze earlier because of a flashback’, he signed, and looked towards their route. He supposed he had to start from the basics. ‘Vah Naboris is the Divine Beast of the Gerudo, it’s a giant quadruped creature that releases bolts of lightning with deadly accuracy. The Gerudo have an ancient heirloom that’s sole purpose is to protect them from that lightning, should they need such protection. Without it, or outside of its protective circle, you have no way to avoid the lightning if Naboris decides to aim at you.’

He glanced at Sidon, whose mouth was set in a firm line and his tail was twitching anxiously. Clearly Vah Naboris was a terrifying concept to a Zora, who were particularly weak to electricity. And that was just the beginning.

‘That heirloom, the Thunder Helm, was worn by Chief Riju, who accompanied me in a similar manner as you did when we took down Vah Ruta’, Link continued, taking Sidon’s silence as his cue to keep going. ‘Except she did not carry me, like you did. We both took separate sand seals to travel with. ...You know what seals are, right? These ones swim in the sand and you attach a leash on them and let them pull you on a shield.’

Sidon looked baffled by the thought, but nodded anyway, likely deciding to not ask any questions to make this easier for Link. Or maybe he just wanted to hear the rest more than he needed extra details.

Link was slightly disappointed at the missed chance to digress and avoid the rest of the talk for a little longer. He took a deep breath and released it to relax his rapidly tightening shoulder muscles.

‘Traveling with different seals meant that Riju was safe at all times, both by keeping her distance from Naboris and by being protected from the lightning, but I could get separated from her and enter the danger zone as needed. I just had to make sure to return to the circle before a lightning could strike’, he signed and shuddered, fingers starting to tremble lightly. He soldiered on. ‘I needed to shoot Naboris’ feet to stop it, similarly to the spots I needed to shoot to shut down Ruta. Only Naboris was stomping around instead of staying still like Ruta had been. It was hard to aim an arrow at a moving target while moving and trying to steer the seal, myself. I had to weave between the legs to even be close enough to hit them as every step it took covered considerable distance, every step shook the ground and the booming noise was deafening and if my seal took the wrong turn while I aimed it could get me under one of the massive descending feet, and there was sand whipping into my eyes and limiting the visibility while there were protruding rocks all over the place, and I was too hot from the sun and it was hard to breathe in the sandstorm, it shot lightning-’

Suddenly Sidon’s hand landed on his shoulder and effectively stopped him. Link jerked his signing to a halt and looked at his friend with wide eyes. Sidon kneeled before him and his other hand landed on Link's free shoulder.

“Link. Deep breaths”, Sidon said, voice wavering oddly.

Only then Link realized that he was breathing very shallow and very rapidly, but barely getting any air. He took in a deep, shuddering breath, and released it slowly. His head felt light. His heart was drumming. He felt like he might collapse if Sidon removed his hands. He only saw Sidon but nothing around the both of them, his eyes hyper focused on the only thing that mattered. His ears were buzzing. He kept on breathing as slowly as he could because Sidon told him to.

Sidon kept him still until Link felt relatively normal again. He had no idea how much time had passed.

“Are you alright?” Sidon asked, “I’m sorry I inadvertently reduced you to such a state. I was unable to understand the last half as your fingers shook too much, but that’s alright, I got the gist of it. You don’t need to strain yourself for my sake.”

Link lowered his gaze and shook his head. He still felt a bit disconnected from… well, everything, but he was damn well not going to give up at this point. Not after he had already suffered through the attack – as Zelda had called it – and as such it couldn't get much worse. He just needed to get a grip and tough the rest of it out.

‘Which part did you manage to understand before you no longer could?’ he asked, moving his fingers very carefully to minimize the shakiness.

Sidon was quiet for a moment and Link refused to consider the possible reasons for it.

“Alright”, Sidon said gently, sounding reluctant but letting Link make the call regardless. ”Sand seal possibly leading you... under the massive feet…”

Good, that was further along than Link had anticipated. He could work with this. Not much to go. He could do this.

He drew strength from Sidon’s hold on him and got back to his tale, doing his best to not immerse himself in it this time.

‘It was tough to see much because of the sandstorm Naboris whipped up, and it was hard to breathe’, he summarized detachedly, ‘And of course the lightning. I got hit once but Riju showed up right after and negated the electricity before it could kill me. I… I had topaz earrings, which I think helped. I think she also stopped me from being crushed, but that part is fuzzy so I’m not sure. We had to catch up to Naboris all over again. That was the closest call I’ve had with any of the Divine Beasts.’

He breathed deeply a couple of times, just to make sure he was still doing it correctly.

‘With Ruta I felt no fear’, he signed with a small smile, ‘It was the first one and I felt invincible with you by my side. You wouldn't let me drown, so there was little to fear. Those ice blocks and balls weren’t half as intimidating as the Lynel had been.’

He felt Sidon’s hold tighten for a moment, but Sidon kept quiet, listening despite probably having a lot to say. Link was thankful.

‘With Medoh I felt almost as secure. I had my paraglider and Teba was there to catch me if I were to fall, not to mention all the other Rito nearby, and there was mostly water underneath so I felt my chances at surviving a fall were decent. Teba was acting as decoy and thus was the one who had to dodge the shots anyway, so I had an easy time taking down Medoh’s defenses. Rudania was scary because if I were to drop in the lava I would be dead in an instant, but at that point it was already static so I only had to be wary of my own clumsiness. I had to shoot it from afar and avoid falling rocks to stop it, but that was pretty easy and not that dangerous, all things considered. Naboris was the only one that caused me to actively fear for my life.’

Link took a fortifying breath, glad that the tale was more of less over now.

‘The big person’s approach vividly reminded me of Naboris. It sometimes happens with Hinoxes, too, but I have always been able to shake it off on my own before it could become a problem. I don’t know why I couldn’t do it yesterday.’

He let his hands drop as a sign that he was done, and he was immediately squeezed against Sidon’s chest.

“I had no idea you had it so hard even now”, Sidon said quietly, “It’s perfectly normal and doesn’t make me think less of you. Maybe the reason why that big person affected you more is because you’re used to Hinoxes and they aren’t big enough to adequately compare to a Divine Beast? Whatever the case, I promise to come to your aid much sooner, should need arise again. Thank you for telling me, I was very worried about you.”

Link felt guilty for having worried Sidon, and slightly ashamed of the thought of possibly needing Sidon’s help for this in the future, but ultimately he leaned into his best friend’s hold gratefully.

Together they would get through this. All of this.

Chapter Text

Link and Sidon arrived to the small Minish town roughly as scheduled. Once more Sidon spotted it first, even though this town was well hidden between flowers and large leaves. To be fair, Link was preoccupied by the enormous tree the town was under; it was taller than any mountain he had ever climbed, and the trunk was wide enough to probably take hours to go around. They hadn't quite reached the actual forest yet, so they hadn't walked directly by any trees on their way here, sparse as they were. Seeing one this close on their current size was mind blowing.

The town itself was a lot more colourful than the one next to the stable, as most buildings were absolutely coated with flower petals of varying colours. The Minish, too, favoured flower clothes over the leafwear of the previous town. Link guessed it had to do with the lack of big people close-by; no need be wary of attracting too much attention with extra colours here.

This time their introduction to the locals was easier thanks to them knowing the language and possibly because of the Minish clothing they wore that indicated good relations with the Minish. Not that Sidon’s appearance didn’t scare a bunch of the people off regardless, which Link found hilarious but was also sad for Sidon who just wanted to be everyone's friend.

As a side note, nobody understood Link’s signing. It was really disheartening, but he refused to give up hope: there was still the capital city, surely someone understood him there.

“Where can we find someone who will sell us supplies?” Sidon asked one of the Minish who hadn’t ran away. Link tried to spot any indicators to tell him whether this one was a man or a woman, but failed to notice any telling features. Sidon likely knew regardless.

“Supplies? Uh, food, then?” the Minish asked and scratched their ear in what was probably contemplation. “The traveling merchant is not here today, but I suppose you could buy some directly from the gatherers, their headquarters is that big building there. Oh! Then there’s Sweeteri, she makes honey candy. She lives in the mostly yellow house over the-”

Link grabbed Sidon’s arm and started pulling him to the direction of the sweets shop.

“Link! That’s just-” Sidon started, then sighed and presumably turned to the Minish they were leaving behind, judging from the way his voice sounded more distant. Link didn’t turn to confirm that, busy dragging Sidon towards their new destination. “Thank you! You were most helpful!”

The resistance lessened as Sidon started following Link voluntarily.

“Link, that was very rude of you”, Sidon admonished.

‘Don’t care. Candy’, Link signed, already able to smell the sweet honey in the air as they neared the house. Who had time for manners when there were sweets to be had?

“You’re impossible.”

It didn’t take them long to reach the door, and Sidon hurried ahead to knock before Link could simply barge in. Link was pretty sure one was allowed to enter shops at their leisure, so he rolled his eyes and was about to pull on the handle when the door was opened from the inside.

The Minish looked exactly the same as everyone they had met so far. The scent of honey grew stronger, though, so Link didn’t lament his inability to tell the Minish apart too much. He was much too busy drooling.

“Hello”, the Minish said, looking slightly puzzled but polite anyway. “I haven’t seen you or even your kind before. Did you move into this town? Oh, or are you customers?”

“Good afternoon”, Sidon replied with a dazzling smile. “Are you Sweeteri? We’re simply visiting your lovely village and heard of a sweets shop. Would this be it?”

The Minish’s expression brightened and she opened the door wide.

“Yes, I am Sweeteri”, she said and beckoned them in. Link didn’t need to be asked twice. “Welcome to my home and shop. I’ll get the goods in a moment, please take a seat at the table.”

The house looked much the same as Slateri’s had been, except more lived-in. The furniture was worn and comfortable, and there were small flowers everywhere. Link had never even seen that kind of flowers before, likely because they were too small to notice when you were big and not specifically looking for them. The two of them sat down and waited while Sweeteri bustled into another room, Link excitedly and Sidon curiously.

“I’ve never been to a shop that is inside one’s actual home”, Sidon said in a low voice, probably afraid of being offensive. “Typically shop owners live upstairs or in the back, while the shop is set up in the first room and always ready for customers. This is fascinating. Is it a common custom among other races?”

Link shook his head, then elaborated with his hands, ‘I have seen this type of shop before, but it’s not common. I think it's beginners that work like this and eventually set up a proper shop when they have enough customers.’

Sidon nodded, eyes filled with wonder. It showed that he hadn't been able or allowed to travel very far from his home before. Link would bet that King Dorephan had counted on this adventure being an educating experience for the prince, and that had played a large part in why he had agreed to let this happen. Even if they were currently in a deep mess, at least something was going as planned.

Sweeteri appeared at that point, carrying a big woven basket with her. It appeared to be made of grass, as opposed to straw or wicker, but otherwise looked the same as any big people baskets. Well, the weaving looked slightly different from the technique Link knew, but then again so did the Zora, Rito, and Gerudo kind.

“Here we are!” she said cheerfully, set the basket down, and started to unload it. She pulled out a pouch of what were plain old hard honey candies that even Link knew how to make, another of honey taffy, then more colourful sweets that were likely candied berries or fruits, or bits of them anyway considering their size, honeyed nuts and seeds, and finally lollipops that looked delightfully chewy.

Link’s mouth watered.

‘How much for all of them?’ he asked, but Sidon shook his head.

“We can’t carry all of them if we want to fit in some actual food as well”, he said firmly.

Link pouted, but had to concede the point. He gingerly picked up a reddish candy and peered at it closely, as if he could guess what it was just from looking at it.

“That was speech?” Sweeteri asked, and then shook her head. “I’ve never seen anything like that. Are you unable to talk? Oh! Would you like to know what each candy contains?”

Link nodded eagerly, ignoring the question of his speaking ability completely. Sweeteri rattled off her selection, each one sounding more delicious than last. Turned out some of the colourful candies contained flower petals rather than curiously purple or blue berries, and Link was all for trying those out. The taffy came in different flavours as well. All in all, everything sounded good and there were way too many flavours to choose just a few from. Link didn't want to leave anything un-tasted and that was making the decision on what to get and what to not get impossibly hard.

“Could we possibly have a selection of all of them?” Sidon asked finally, apparently just as indecisive as Link, but with an actual plan to work around it. “Two of each?”

‘Let’s get a few of the Silent Princesses in a separate bag’, Link added, ‘As a souvenir to Zelda.’

“Oh, good idea! Should I pick something for my father? Hmm…”

Their final candy bag was larger than advisable, but neither of them backed down when the time came to pay for it. They would just have to eat a bunch to make room for real food. Link was all for that.

As they were about to leave, Link thought of something. He stopped and poked at Sidon’s arm to get his attention away from the candy bag.

‘Ask her how she has honey’, he signed, then elaborated as Sidon looked puzzled. ‘Bees are huge. Beehives are high up.’

Sidon’s eyes widened and he instantly whirled around to look at Sweeteri, who was packing the remaining candy back into the basket.

“Excuse me? How did you come to acquire honey? My friend here had a very good point about bees being… rather much to handle due to their size.”

Sweeteri blinked a few times, taken aback, before collecting herself and smiling. “I simply buy it from Hiveri. He lives in the next town north of here and is the one with the bee farm. It’s quite the long trip to make to get the honey, but I wouldn’t want to live that close to that nasty mud lake, so needs must. You should ask him if you’re headed that way.”

That was a lot less information than Link would have wanted, but she likely didn’t know any more than they did.

“Oh, wait”, Sweeteri suddenly said, just as they were trying to leave again. She stuck a hand into her pocket and pulled something out. She held it out for them to see: turned out it was two things, and they were some kind of stone coins, or halves of them anyway, one green and one red. The way they had been halved reminded Link of puzzle pieces, what with one of them having a deliberate looking triangular edge but the other having a square hole in the center of the halved part. They definitely looked like they should be united with a matching part, just like puzzle pieces. Sweeteri handed the green one to Link and the red one to Sidon. Link noted that his coin glowed for a second when he first touched it. He didn’t know if Sidon’s had done the same, since he only had eyes for his own piece for the crucial first seconds.

“Those are kinstones”, she explained cheerfully, “If you can find the other half and merge them together, something good will happen.”

Link and Sidon examined the coins, kinstones, curiously.

“What kind of good?” Sidon asked, and Link nodded.

Sweeteri shrugged. “I don’t know, I haven’t merged any. I got a bunch of them from Hiveri to share with my customers, and he got them from Traveri, who brought them from the capital. He said they’re some kind of an old tradition that is being brought back, and that was enough for me.”

Sweeteri was apparently very useless when it came to getting information. Was she truly so uncaring? Had she no curiosity? Link didn’t understand her at all.

“I see”, Sidon said thoughtfully, “To find the other half, must we ask around?”

“I would imagine so. They’re given to people, not left lying around”, she answered, “Though you don’t have to bother with asking anyone in this town. The ones I gave you don’t have their pairs here, I checked when I got them. It’s why I gave them to you, since you’re going to continue your journey and might meet the people with the other halves on your way. Good luck with that.”

Link and Sidon left shortly after that, minds preoccupied. They walked in the direction of the gatherers’ headquarters until Link noticed a bench and motioned for them to go take a seat. He took the candy bag that Sidon had kept on holding and opened it. He fished out two red candies that looked the same to him and handed one to Sidon, before popping the other into his own mouth. It was sweet and just melted on his tongue, a hint of strawberry coming on as soon as the outer layer of honey gave way to the prize in the middle. He would definitely visit that shop again someday.

“This is delightful, much sweeter than the fleet lotus sap we use at home”, Sidon said with a satisfied hum. Link didn’t think he had ever tried this fleet lotus sap, an oversight he would have to correct the first opportunity he got, so he just nodded.

“What do you think of the kinstones?” Sidon asked after they had enjoyed a couple of more sweets. “I think they sound marvelous, but at the same time I’m having doubts about them working as advertised. What kind of good things could happen from simply putting two halves of a coin together? Do you suppose they’re blessed?”

Link nodded before signing his thoughts. ‘Mine glowed when I touched it. Definitely blessed. I believe that they will do something.’

Sidon’s eyes widened and he dug out his kinstone curiously. It glowed briefly, but instead of looking convinced Sidon just kept looking at it expectantly.

“Mine didn’t glow”, he said, “Maybe it won’t work?”

Link was confused. Had Sidon not seen the glow? Why?

‘It glowed just now’, he signed with a puzzled frown, ‘Didn’t you see it?’

Sidon’s eyes widened and he looked at the kinstone again with squinted eyes. “It did? Are you certain? I didn’t see anything.”

Apparently Sidon really couldn’t see it. But if he couldn’t, then why could Link? Was it the norm to see it or not to see it? Link had half a mind to go back to Sweeteri and ask her, but then he realized that she probably wouldn’t know, since she cared so little about details.

‘We could ask other Minish when we talk to them?’ he suggested. ‘Whether they can see the glow or not.’

Sidon nodded with a determined look, then pocketed the curious item again.

Their pile of small side quests was growing, and the thought brought a smile to Link’s face.

It was just like his previous grand adventure. He may be small now, and that was new, but at least some things stayed the same.

Chapter Text

Link and Sidon bought supplies – mainly seeds, nuts, and dried berries – from the local gatherers and learned nothing about the kinstones from them; apparently none of them possessed any yet. Perhaps they were an even newer thing than they had realized. Well, at least they managed to advertise Sweeteri’s products and bring her more customers, judging from the excited buzz they left among the gatherers in their wake.

They continued their journey shortly after, as they wanted to make it to a known resting spot before nightfall. It was always safer to stay the night in places like that rather than in a random spot in the middle of nowhere. Besides, the gatherers told them that a Minish called Bigeri lived there and sold Hylian food to lucky travelers. Sidon immediately got hopeful about buying fresher fish, which Link wasn’t quite so optimistic about. He knew the spot from his previous travels – it was that charred remains of a house by the mud lake – and yes, it had a cooking pot for big people so it was entirely possible to find scraps of food there, but what were the chances of a traveler having been there recently enough for fresh fish to be a thing? Still, he let Sidon hope and kept his fingers crossed.

At first their path was all grass and mulch like before, but slowly it got more barren, turning into rocks and soon ash. It was oddly disconcerting; as a big person the house remains were located on a small patch of rock and the ground seemed largely fine, but in their mini state the whole place was big and eerie and absolutely lifeless. There were splotches of ash in every nook and cranny, preventing plant-life from emerging. Link was by no means a gardener, but even he knew that ash was good in small amounts but destructive when piled high. It would take a long time for the rain to wash all of it out so something could grow there. He didn’t think that particular house had been burned down by the Guardians, considering how the destruction still lingered. No, he thought the Bokoblins that had lived by the mud lake had been the more likely suspects. He had personally killed them half a dozen times when the Blood Moon had still been a thing, but the final blow that actually stuck had been delivered by the new Royal Guards. Good riddance.

In any case, at least they knew they were in the right place because of all the ash. Now they just needed to find the Minish resting spot and Bigeri.

Their travel got more difficult when they reached what was likely the front of the big person resting spot, based on the enormous craters that Link recognized as boot prints all over the place. He was reminded of the Gisa Crater, which he used to visit after each Blood Moon to take on the Talus and get some nice gemstones. That had been one of the very few positive things of the Ganon-caused phenomenon. In either case, they could either go around them, which took time, or hop down one edge and climb up the other, which took effort. After a short discussion they decided on alternating between the two.

“The gatherers said that the resting spot is at one of the charred pillars. Do you reckon we’re close?” Sidon asked after they climbed up from yet another crater.

Link caught his breath and squinted at their surroundings. He was pretty sure that big thing was the cooking pot, currently unlit, which meant that the pillar in question had to be…

‘It’s probably that’, he signed, and pointed at a tall thin object in the distance. It was getting dark, so seeing anything clearly was becoming difficult. He was still reasonably sure it couldn’t be a tree, so they headed that way and soon saw curious glowing spots at the base of the pillar. Neither of them had any clue what they could be, but they agreed that they were probably there to guide Minish travelers in the darkness.

It took a little longer yet, but they eventually saw the charred pillar and realized that it wasn’t actually charred at the base. Or rather, new planks had been hammered to each side of it, probably as a means to make it sturdier. The lights turned out to be lanterns attached to the tops of the planks. The lights inside didn’t flicker like flames, so Link assumed the lanterns to be filled with Chuchu jelly, like the ones in Stable Village. They approached the place and discovered a wooden door at one side of the pillar. Had Bigeri, or whoever made this, carved the inside of the pillar empty? Link worried about the stability of the structure, but supposed that the Minish were probably aware of how unwise the whole thing was or knew something he didn’t.

Sidon knocked eagerly. They heard shuffling inside, then the door was opened by a smiling Minish. They took one look at Link, looked puzzled, then looked up at Sidon… and shut the door in their faces with a squeak.

‘This again’, Link signed exasperatedly, while Sidon simply looked resigned and knocked again.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m a friendly traveler”, he said, carefully keeping his voice neutral.

‘Don’t give him a toothy smile anytime soon’, Link cautioned, half joking but also half serious. Sidon nodded solemnly.

The door was cracked open a little, and the Minish peered out suspiciously. “What are you? Both of you? You’re not Vaatians, are you?”

Link and Sidon looked at each other, completely confused. That was a new term.

“Er, no, we’re not”, Sidon answered slowly, then gave a friendly smile. Closed lipped one. “I’m Sidon of the Zora. This is Link of the Hylians. Long story short, we’re usually a lot bigger but we’re currently stuck at this size, and mean you Minish no harm. We simply wish to stay the night in the shelter we’ve been told about. Would this be it?”

The Minish kept staring at them warily from the cracked door for a moment longer, then nodded and opened the door further. Link quietly released the breath he had been holding.

“I’m Bigeri”, the Minish said and stepped to the side so they could enter, “This is my home that doubles as a shelter that doubles as my shop. Welcome.”

The house was indeed carved into the pillar, and generously at that; the first room alone was spacey enough to make Link double check the walls to see if there was anything of the original wood left. There wasn’t, or at least a new layer of planks had been nailed on this side as well. Perhaps there was old wood in the middle? Hopefully there was, or else the house was truly bound to come crashing around Bigeri any day now from the sheer weight and instability of the rest of the pillar above them. Speaking of which, there were stairs at the other end of the room, so this monstrosity of a house continued upwards.

The room itself looked to be a combination of a kitchen, a dining room, and a shop. At least Link assumed the jars, baskets, boxes, and bags of items on one side were sellables.

Bigeri seemed to notice where he was looking as he bustled over with a big smile almost instantly.

“I see you noticed my wares”, he said with a smile that immediately made him recognizable as a salesman; there was just that certain glint in his eyes that screamed ‘buy something!’ to Link. “You said you’re usually bigger, right? Then you probably want a piece of home to take comfort in, which I can most certainly provide!”

Yep, a salesman indeed.

Link and Sidon followed Bigeri up to the shelves and tables full of… stuff. There were lengths of colourful rope, which Link assumed to be strings of thread that had come loose from big peoples’ clothing and been ripped off and discarded. A few buttons, some big as cartwheels and others tray sized. A huge pile of off-white cloth which Link figured to be a handkerchief. An opal earring. Multiple jars of applesauce; Link was tempted to get one of those. Dried meats, which Link was definitely getting. Grains of rice that looked like they had been cooked once and then dried back up, which was slightly gross but Bigeri probably didn’t know that. Jars of dried bread crumbs, separated by their colour, as in what was likely wheat bread in one jar and what was probably rye bread in another, and so on.

No fish of any kind, though. Sidon looked disappointed and disbelieving, which made Link feel a little bad he hadn’t tried harder to keep Sidon’s hopes from getting up.

“I don’t suppose you have any fish?” Sidon asked almost immediately after Link had made his observation. No harm in trying, Link supposed sympathetically.

Bigeri shook his head. “It’s been a few days since the last big person who actually stayed. The last one just walked right by. So no fish.”

‘That’s too bad’, Link signed, and briefly glanced at Bigeri to confirm the usual brand of confusion on his face that belied the inability to understand his signs. He sighed quietly and continued, ‘I think I’ll do any possible shopping tomorrow morning. Ask him if staying here is free and how much for breakfast.’

Sidon did as asked, and afterwards Bigeri ushered them upstairs. He mentioned there were two other travelers staying tonight so they should stay quiet and not bother them.

The room upstairs was of interesting design. There were four small rooms of sorts carved into the wood side by side, with only a thin wall between each. Two of them had curtains drawn at their doorways, indicating they were in use. The remaining two contained thick and wide mattresses on their floors, a few hooks on the walls to hang clothes and items on, and tall shelves carved into the back wall, kind of like a windowsill but without the window. Link was indecisive whether they were a step up or down from the cheapest beds in the big people stables; on one hand the stables had actual beds, but on the other hand these rooms had some degree of privacy.

“Are you sure you don’t want a second room?” Bigeri asked quietly, eyeing Sidon critically. “You alone will take up all the space.”

Sidon shook his head with a smile. “No thank you. Someone else might still arrive and need the last room. We will manage.”

Link deliberately kept facing away from Bigeri, not wishing to give away the way he was blushing, dark room or not. He was pretty sure Sidon was less concerned about the potential other travelers – although that was likely still a legit concern for him – and more looking forward to the half-planned, half-promised cuddling and possible necking.

Link was one hundred percent fine with that himself.

Bigeri let them suit themselves and returned downstairs, leaving Link and Sidon to settle down in their room. Sidon’s feet stuck out from under the curtains, the room not designed for someone so tall, but Link was perfectly cozy resting on Sidon’s chest. He could most certainly get used to this, and Sidon already seemed to be, judging from how he was noticeably more relaxed this time than last night.

Link rose up to sit on Sidon’s stomach for one more thing before they could get even cozier.

‘Ask Bigeri about the Vaatians tomorrow’, he signed slowly, having to spell the strange word out for the lack of knowing the proper sign for it, if one existed.

Sidon nodded, and then placed his hands on Link’s waist, which may or may not have immediately made Link’s heart race. “I will. If that was all, I would prefer you laying down and making yourself comfortable now.”

Was that flirting? Maybe it was. Maybe Link was just interpreting it in the way he wanted to. Either way, he didn’t need to be told twice.

The quiet, content hum Sidon made, the feel of rough scales against Link’s lips, and the weight of Sidon’s hands on his back were the best lullaby he could ever ask for.

Chapter Text

Link woke up to the sound of footsteps going either up or down the stairs; it was hard to tell right after waking up. He stayed completely still and just listened for a bit to learn more without giving himself away; it was a habit from his travels that still occasionally got triggered by unexpected noises. It had actually saved him from a Yiga ambush once after the whole Ganon ordeal, so he wasn't planning on shaking it anytime soon.

Anyway, the footsteps.

The sound definitely came down from the floor above, then it stopped on Link's floor for a moment with a light appearing on the other side of the curtain, and then moved further down to the floor below. That must have been Bigeri, seeing how there had been one more set of stairs leading up and no bed for him on the two floors Link had already seen. Link had guessed the topmost floor to be Bigeri’s personal living space, and it seemed he had been right.

Satisfied with his safety and grateful for the dim light, Link stretched languidly. He looked at the sleeping form of Sidon lying under him and sat up very carefully, not wanting to jostle him too much.

He still couldn’t believe he was apparently not only allowed to, but encouraged to use Sidon as his mattress every night. He looked at the still slumbering Zora with a shy smile, taking in his perfectly relaxed features in the limited light. Sidon had a small smile on his lips even in his sleep, and Link had to use a lot of self-restraint to not lean over and kiss it. He would not sink that low; kissing someone in their sleep without some kind of a blanket permission was simply not on. They were not a couple, even if he was getting increasingly hopeful that they might be in the future.

However, he did have a blanket permission for something else and after last night he was a lot less hesitant about using the privilege.

Link carefully laid back down on Sidon’s chest and pressed a gentle kiss on the underside of his chin. He waited a second to see if Sidon woke up yet, then dropped another kiss on one side of his neck, then one to the other side. Sidon hummed and sluggishly slung an arm across Link’s back. Link smiled against Sidon’s neck and gave it one more kiss before pulling back just enough to stare at Sidon’s chin. It didn’t take long before Sidon tilted his head enough to meet Link’s eyes.

“Good morning”, he said, voice rough from sleep and a sleepy smile on his lips. Link’s heart skipped a beat or two.

“Morning”, he whispered back, only somewhat anxious about the Minish travelers who were likely still sleeping in their rooms right next to them. He was reasonably sure they wouldn’t hear him if he was quiet enough.

Sidon’s smile widened and he hugged Link – a bit roughly – in his excitement. Vocalizing to Sidon was definitely worth it every time.

“I slept really well last night”, Sidon said after he was done squeezing the breath out of Link. “I knew holding you would get easier with practice.”

Link blushed and looked away, not sure if he was embarrassed or flattered or simply both.

“...Likewise”, he whispered after a moment of consideration. He patted Sidon’s chest. “Comfy.”

Sidon squeezed him again.

-----

After getting dressed and collecting their luggage, the two of them descended the stairs and saw Bigeri making breakfast while another Minish was examining the sellables.

“Good morning, you two”, Bigeri said after glancing over his shoulder at them. “Breakfast will be done soon.”

Sidon gave back a greeting that was enthusiastic enough to cover for Link’s silence, which… was probably the point, actually. Link was grateful.

They seated themselves at the table and waited. The Minish who had been looking at the wares joined them right away, looking half wary and half curious.

“Bigeri said you used to be big people”, they said without any attempts at working up to it. “Can you tell me about the big people world?”

They were looking at Link expectantly and studiously avoiding looking at Sidon. They probably thought Link was the more approachable one. Or the less scary one.

Link gave them a big and cheerful smile and signed: ‘Hello to you, too. Nice to meet someone with even less manners than I have. I'm so proud of you.’

Sidon looked mortified, likely forgetting the Minish wouldn’t understand a word. The Minish in question looked confused. Bigeri coughed like he was trying to hide a laugh, which meant that he had definitely been watching them on the sly. All of it was glorious.

Sidon took the conversation over from there with the air of someone trying to salvage a situation – much to the confusion of the rude Minish – while Link basked in his wittiness and shoveled in his breakfast when it arrived. The other Minish traveler came down and joined them shortly after, thankfully not making a scene of any kind.

After the conversation eventually died down, Link poked at Sidon’s bicep. It was time to get to business. ‘Vaatians?’

“Ah, you’re right”, Sidon said, and turned towards Bigeri. “Excuse me, Bigeri. You mentioned something called Vaatians last night. Could you tell us more?”

All three Minish present looked collectively shocked by the question. That couldn’t mean anything good.

“You’re traveling towards the capital and nobody thought to tell you about the Vaatians?” Bigeri asked disbelievingly. He shook his head. “Alright then. Vaatians are troublemakers. They worship a historical figure called Vaati, who was said to have been a great mage who turned evil. Something like that anyway; I’m not a historian. Vaatians claim that the Minish culture is stagnated and needs to be completely uprooted. I don't know the details. I hear they practice dark magic, too. The more radical of their numbers dye their hair white and dress in purple to make a statement. They usually abandon their old names and take new ones that break the norm like… well, Vaati.”

Link wasn’t sure what to think. On one hand, these Vaatians sounded a lot like the Yiga Clan; being radicals and abandoning their peoples’ ways and causing trouble and all. On the other hand, he didn’t know enough about the situation to really judge them. They could just be rebellious youth that didn’t enjoy all the sameness the Minish had going on, and Link couldn’t blame them for that.

“Are they dangerous?” Sidon asked, and Link nodded to chorus the question.

“They can be if you engage”, Bigeri answered. “Usually they just try to steal ancient artifacts from the museum in the capital, and sometimes vandalize big people objects. If you try to stop them, they get violent. If you simply don’t mess with them the worst they’ll do is try to recruit you. I’m wary of them because of my big people oriented profession.”

Link shared a look with Sidon.

“It sounds like they just might have a problem with our very existences, don’t you think?” Sidon asked slowly.

Bigeri looked at him questioningly for a moment before it visibly dawned on him. “Oh! Yes, you might want to keep a low profile. Doesn’t, um, seem like an easy thing to do with your looks. You will probably get into trouble whether you want to or not. I'm sorry.”

‘We can handle it’, Link signed confidently. To be honest, he wasn’t against a bit of trouble; their trip had been largely hassle-free so far and it was odd.

He wasn’t sure how much force would be acceptable in this case, though. The only enemies he had fought that counted as people were the Yiga, and they tended to flee when they lost so he didn’t usually have to make a choice between killing them and sparing them. He knew killing them wasn’t frowned upon, though, so he didn't have to be careful during the fights regardless of the end results. Here? He didn’t know if dead bodies or lost limbs would be acceptable options. Would he instantly be labeled as a heartless murderer or something? He might have to ask someone. Not Bigeri, though; he didn’t seem all that knowledgeable on this subject.

Link could only hope he wouldn't have to make the choice before finding out.

“I see. Thank you”, Sidon said thoughtfully. He didn't seem to have noticed Link's signing, but Link was willing to let it slide; he was plenty preoccupied with his thoughts himself.

The rest of the meal went by quietly. Apparently the subject of Vaatians was a sobering one.

-----

Link purchased a few strips of dried meat and a jar of applesauce, and then the two of them left to continue their journey. The Minish travelers were headed to the opposite direction, so thankfully they didn't have to endure any party increases slowing their progress. Link had been low-key dreading the possibility since last night.

The walk through the last patch of ash-covered ground was uneventful, and eventually they reached grass once more. Their path went uphill, but it was far from the steepest rises Link had climbed so he wasn't particularly worried about it slowing them down. More worrying than the marginal extra effort in their walk was Sidon’s unusual silence that had been going on for long enough for Link to take notice. Sidon becoming silent was a recurring trend lately; a troubling one at that.

Link gave Sidon sidelong looks to make it clear he had noticed the issue, but he was ignored. Unnoticed. ...It was strange to not get Sidon's attention the instant he wanted it.

He was getting a bit spoiled, wasn't he?

“Sidon?” Link asked , deciding to take the initiative like an adult.

“Yes?” Sidon asked distractedly, but at least he was responding.

“What’s up? You’re quiet.”

Sidon stopped walking for a second, looking surprised. He then turned to give Link an apologetic smile and resumed walking. “My apologies for worrying you. I merely have… a few things on my mind. I could unburden myself from a couple of them if you’re willing to lend me an ear?”

Link simply nodded.

Sidon took a moment to collect his thoughts, but began talking soon enough. He looked frustrated. “I’m worried about the Vaatians. About our presence causing trouble for everyone around us. Will we put everyone who speaks with us in danger? What if we’re attacked in the middle of the city? You could likely blend in and not attract undue attention if you were alone. I, on the other hand, look too different from the Minish in every way. I will stand out everywhere we go. There is simply no way to avoid their notice like this. We're walking targets, and a potential risk for innocent people.”

Link nodded again. He could see how this would bother Sidon, since he wasn’t used to being hunted by assassins or other troublesome people.

Thankfully, Link was an expert.

‘The Yiga Clan was insistent on offing me back when Ganon was still around’, he signed automatically, before remembering to speak out loud. “They found me even when I was wearing my Gerudo disguise, and when I was practically lost within the Faron Woods. It doesn’t matter whether you stand out or try to hide if your pursuer is determined to find you. You just have to keep a sharp eye out for suspicious people so that you’re prepared for it when they act.”

Sidon looked a combination of horrified and impressed, which was rather a funny look on him.

“I completely forgot about the Yiga”, Sidon said. “I know you have mentioned being targeted by them before, but I was admittedly more worried about the scale of your task than the small details.”

Link hid a smile at the thought of how offended the Yiga would be at being labeled as “the small details”. Kohga, especially. He was probably spinning madly in his grave.

“That’s okay”, Link said, then cleared his throat uncomfortably. He really didn’t like vocalizing for entire conversations. “I doubt the Vaatians will harm the people we talk to. If they’re smart they will subtly inquire about us after we’re already gone to gain more knowledge and leave it at that. We have no real ties here and they gain nothing by threatening harm to random people we have spoken to once. Or at least as long as they have no reason to assume we have… hero complexes.”

Link gave a silent glare in the general direction of the Hyrule Castle and Zelda. He was an actual hero, he was allowed to be heroic whenever he wanted to, thankyouverymuch.

“If they do attack us in the middle of the city…” he said slowly, formulating a strategy as he spoke, “...I will keep them occupied and you make any bystanders leave. Then you stab the enemy in the back; figuratively and maybe literally.”

Sidon gave a startled laugh, which was absolutely delightful.

“I couldn’t possibly backstab anybody, but I approve of the rest of the plan”, Sidon said, and shook his head with a fond smile. “Thank you. I feel a lot better now that I got to talk to you about this.”

Link smiled back at him. He was also glad to have gotten at least one thing off of Sidon's mind. However, he remembered there being more than one thing. He elbowed Sidon's side lightly. “Other things on your mind?”

Sidon blinked rapidly, probably reeling from the subject change. Then he frowned and stared at Link. Or rather, stared at the spot where Link happened to be standing; he probably didn't even see him right then. In the end, he shook his head with smile that was only slightly off; if Link hadn’t known him as well as he did he wouldn’t have been able to tell it apart from the usual carefree one.

“Nothing pressing”, Sidon said and looked forward. “I’m hoping the solutions will come on their own and I needn’t trouble you at all. I promise to talk to you if the need arises. Please let it be for now.”

Link would be lying if he claimed he wasn’t awfully curious, but Sidon placed a hand on his shoulder and kept it there for a long time while they walked and he happily let the subject drop. He didn’t want the hand to let go, after all. He had priorities.

Chapter Text

Link was starting to regret his life choices.

They had left Bigeri’s place early in the morning with the intention of reaching the next Minish town by nightfall. Bigeri had warned them that, while possible, only seasoned travelers managed it; most people would have to call it a night by “The Flower Patch Camp” or risk fumbling around in the dark.

Link and Sidon made a good time to the first commonly used resting spot and pressed on with high hopes, encouraged by the fact that they had reached the top of the hill and no longer had to ascend. They had kept a brisk pace and had even skipped one meal in order to save time, and had made it to the Flower Patch Camp still within daylight hours. They ate a hearty meal there and departed for the last leg of their current road.

And that’s when things started going wrong.

First it was a minor nuisance of a few Chuchus. Granted, they were a lot bigger than what Link was used to, but Chuchus were simply not that dangerous in the first place, so the size made very little difference in smashing them to pieces as per usual. It wasted some of their limited time, but they still thought they had a fair chance of reaching the town before the forest got pitch black.

Then it started to rain.

At first Link thought he had accidentally dropped a bomb during the scuffle and then set it off right by some Chuchu remains. That would have explained the sudden loud noise, shrapnel of dirt and wetness hitting him from behind, and the small crater on the ground. Except the noise wasn’t loud enough, the liquid was too thin, the crater not big enough, and the force pushing him face first into the ground not strong enough.

And then another enormous raindrop hit the ground nearby and made him look up while Sidon was still fussing over him. The sky had gotten dark with clouds while they had been distracted by the enemy, and they were more or less out in the open and in the danger of being hit by what at their current size were large and heavy water bombs falling at deadly speeds.

“Sidon”, Link said and pushed himself up to his feet quickly. “We need to move. Now.”

“What?” Sidon asked, but followed Link’s lead of running towards what would hopefully turn out to be a decent shelter in the distance regardless of his confusion. “What caused-”

Another drop of water hit the ground and made Sidon startle, stop in his tracks for a second, and then get back to running with more haste.

“I see. We need shelter. Good plan.”

Link didn’t waste his breath replying. He noticed a shadow appear in his path and wisely avoided the spot right before another raindrop hit the ground with deadly force on that very spot. He stopped for a second to allow Sidon to catch up to him, then grabbed his friend’s hand and began to guide him forward. He had figured out a strategy but couldn’t know if Sidon had done the same. He wasn’t about to risk it.

They spent a frightening fifteen-ish minutes running and narrowly dodging the quickly intensifying rainfall until they finally made it to the shelter Link had seen: a huge mushroom.

Link ran face first into the stalk to stop himself from running past the shelter, and wrapped his arms around it to stop his body from collapsing. Sidon tripped past him because of their linked hands, but thankfully stayed under the mushroom’s protective hat when he let go and face-planted.

They panted from exhaustion for a good while, and eventually Link let go of the mushroom and sat down at its base. Sidon joined him soon after.

“That was… strange”, Sidon said. “I never thought I’d have to run away from rain for any reason, much less to preserve my life.”

‘Try Gerudo Desert monsoons’, Link signed. This rain had been much direr actually, since monsoons had to build themselves up for a while before they got dangerous. His point still stood, in his opinion.

“No, I’m almost certain I’d simply enjoy it unless lightning was invol-”

Like summoned by Sidon’s words, a lightning bolt struck the ground frighteningly near, splitting the sky with a flash of light and being almost immediately followed by a deep rumble.

Link’s mind was instantly elsewhere.

Smell of ozone. Sand everywhere; in his mouth, nose, eyes. Wind whipping wildly around him. Ground shaking with every enormous stomp. Screaming. His name.

Hands on his shoulders, shaking him gently. Link blinked and focused his gaze on beautiful yellow eyes full of concern and determination.

Sidon.

Link kept their eyes locked and took a deep breath. He was not in Gerudo Desert. Vah Naboris was long tamed. The lightning didn’t target him specifically. He was with Sidon.

He was alright.

‘It’s fine’, Link signed with a small smile. ‘Thanks. That was quick of you.’

Sidon searched his face for a moment, then leaned back with a smile. “No problem. I’m glad you're alright. I figured lightning might trigger that kind of reaction, so I checked. I’m very thankful you told me the full story yesterday. I wouldn’t have known to be vigilant otherwise.”

Link wouldn’t have known to watch out for it himself, to be honest. He didn’t usually freak out because of lightning, as it had never been linked solely to Vah Naboris in his mind. Mostly it made him think of the Thundra Plateau or Farosh. He supposed his reaction was a combination of mentioning Gerudo Desert just a moment before, his recent onslaught of flashbacks, and possibly his current size. Either way, he was glad Sidon had snapped him out of it before it could get bad.

He would have been screwed many times over already if he had left Sidon at the Stable Inn.

“We’re stuck here for the night, aren’t we?” Sidon asked, snapping Link out of his thoughts.

Damn, Sidon was right. There was no way they could walk in the rain and very little chance of it ceasing anytime soon. It was already late and it would be well into the night by the time the rain was done pouring down.

So much for making it to the town today. They really should have just stayed at the camping spot.

"We are", Link answered with a weary sigh. "Let's just hope this spot is high enough to not get flooded. Damn, I don't think I have enough firewood for a proper fire either."

Tonight was going to suck.

"I think it's downhill on that side, so this spot should be good", Sidon said after a moment of looking around. He set down his bag. "At least the humid air suits me just fine. That's a silver lining. We'll just bundle you up to make up for the lack of fire and I'll hold you close."

Right. Link would still get to be in Sidon's arms the whole night. It wasn't half as cold as Hebra or the nights in Gerudo Desert either. And there were no sSal creatures around anymore, much less their size.

Yeah, this wouldn't be the worst camping night after all. He could deal with it.

-----

Link woke up to footsteps. Multiple footsteps. But it didn't sound like multiple people. A monster?

He bounced up without a warning and paid no mind to Sidon's 'oof' and coughing. He grabbed his sword and turned towards the sound completely on instinct.

There was a creature the size of a dog poking its antennae all over their bags. The creature had six legs, a segmented body, and large mandibles.

An ant.

Link swung his sword at it before he could even think about it, but it simply glanced off the hard exoskeleton. Not that he had been aiming precisely or hit that hard in the first place – thinking the ant an easy foe – but it still made him pause in mild shock.

It was enough to make the ant leave post-haste, at least. That was all that really mattered.

But still, the Master Sword failed to cause any actual damage to an ant. Link made a mental note to be more careful in the future, should they need to actually battle against any chitin-covered insects. Aim for the joints and maybe pierce rather than slash if aiming for the body; that sounded like a working strategy based on what happened just now.

"I see you took care of that already", Sidon's voice said from behind him. Link turned to look and found Sidon holding his spear and abandoning his effort to sleepily stand up. The Zora smiled ruefully. "I had no idea we were being ambushed until you used me as a springboard, and by the time I recovered it was too late. My apologies for being completely useless."

Link shook his head and sheathed his sword. 'I have better hearing. And you were a good springboard.'

Sidon laughed. "That would have made for an amusing carving on my headstone. 'He failed to defend himself, but at least he was a good springboard'. My lack of reaction to anything that might have meant trouble for us is simply appalling so far. You shouldn't need to defend me. I need to do better."

Link shrugged. He was used to being the bodyguard, so he didn't particularly mind. Besides, at least Sidon was more than capable of watching his back should he need it, so Link was already more at ease than he had ever been protecting Zelda.

Sidon looked around and smiled. "Good news. It's not raining anymore. I don't know if you noticed it, but I think it rained all night long. I felt it long after I fell asleep. Look, there are still droplets dripping from our mushroom's hat."

Link looked around. Everything he could see was either shiny with a fresh water coating or muddy if it was close to the ground or the ground itself.

That… didn't look fun to travel in.

Sidon walked to the edge of the mushroom's protective circle and peered up to the sky. He grimaced.

"There are still heavy clouds in the sky", he said and looked at Link worriedly. "It will likely rain more today. We should keep an eye out for shelters at all times if we're moving."

Great. Link didn't want to waste time sitting under a mushroom the whole day, but moving would be dangerous. He had also been making a lot of poor decisions lately, so maybe they should play it safe this time?

…

'Let's go.'

-----

Wading through the mud was tedious and slow. It turned out that what passed for an annoyingly muddy trek as a big person was an absolute hell for an acorn sized person. They were up to their knees in mud at good times and up to their waist at worst. Well, Link was anyway: Sidon was tall enough that the mud only ever reached his upper thighs. Link refused the offer to be carried, though.

At one point they needed to take shelter under another mushroom for about an hour, but they continued as soon as the rain let up. They should be close to the town now and didn't fancy camping out in the rain for another night if they could help it.

As long as it wasn't currently raining, they would damn well continue onwards.

They soon reached the base of what was a steep hill at their size and were faced with another new obstacle: a puddle had formed at the base. At their size it was more like a large lake. According to their map, it shouldn't be there and as such it hadn't been accounted to the travel time.

"It'll take a long while to go around it", Sidon said conversely.

"Yep."

"If we were Minish, we would probably be desperate by now."

"Yep."

"Shall we then?" Sidon asked, and jumped into the water with a delighted smile and his usual flourish.

"Yep", Link said with an equally large smile, and hopped on.

Sidon crossed the puddle in roughly five minutes, both of them enjoying every second of it. Then they spent an extra ten minutes washing the mud off their legs, or at least that was their thinly veiled excuse to frolic in the water.

"I've dearly missed swimming", Sidon said, floating on his back with Link straddling his stomach.

"Something good came out of that rain after all", Link answered, eyes locked on the blissful and absolutely beautiful contentment on Sidon's face. The sight made his heart ache something fierce.

"Mmhmm."

The only sound for a moment was the gentle lapping of the water and the distant singing of birds. Just peace and quiet that neither of them wanted to break.

Sidon closed his eyes and sighed. His smile was sweet and soft, and Link felt completely drawn to it, like a moth to a flame. Sidon's lips were always tantalizing, but now they were simply inviting, daring Link to reach out. He would only have to lean forward to press his own lips against them. He didn't want to resist any longer, not at that moment.

"Sidon?" he asked, deciding to throw all the caution to the wind. The moment was perfect. It couldn't get better than this and throwing away the opportunity would probably count as a crime.

"Hmm?"

"May I-"

There was a sudden 'plop' sound to their right that startled them both. They looked in its direction quickly, and saw ripples in the water. Then there was another 'plop'. And another.

"Shit!" Link said, and that was all he had the time to say before Sidon tossed him haphazardly over his shoulder and swam to the shore in what was likely just seconds. Then he was unceremoniously carried like a bag of flour under the huge leaf they had left their belongings at, just in case this very thing happened.

They made it there just in time before the rainfall began in earnest and the scenery around their shelter turned into a blurry curtain of wetness.

Link stared at it glumly from the spot Sidon had set him down on.

"...What was it you wanted to ask?" Sidon asked after a long moment of gloomy silence.

Oh, right. That mood was completely gone now, that was for sure.

'Nothing', Link signed, frowning at the rain unhappily.

From the corner of his eye he saw Sidon stare at him, then look around their dingy shelter with a contemplative frown. Finally the Zora sighed with a ghost of a smile that Link might even describe as sulky.

"I see. Nothing it is."

Link had the feeling Sidon was just as mad at the rainfall as he was. The thought lifted his spirits at least slightly.

Soon, he decided. No more excuses or waiting.

Very soon.

Chapter Text

The rainfall stopped after what Link estimated to be two full hours of pouring buckets. His sour mood had evaporated during it, and the two of them had had a hearty mushroom meal while waiting for the skies to clear. He was kind of done with mushrooms after a third shroomy meal in a row; they had, after all, been hanging out under mushrooms a lot lately and had obviously used the opportunity to eat as much of their shelters as they could and had packed some more with them.

The last minutes of rainfall had been spent munching on honey candy contently.

Now that the rain was finally done for the moment, they hurriedly continued their trek.

"The town should be very close by now", Sidon said as they practically climbed the steep hill whose base they had been hanging out at.

"I'm not sure whether to be relieved or frustrated by that", Link said, smiling. "On one hand, it'll be good to finally reach the town instead of spending any more time under mushrooms or leaves. But on the other hand, the knowledge that we were so close to the town and still had to stay under a leaf for two hours…"

Sidon chuckled.

They made their way up without incidents and almost immediately after the climb Sidon spotted the town under a huge tree.

They had been maybe an hour, tops, away from it the whole time.

Link may or may not have swore a little on their way towards the town.

-----

The town was curious. Sidon had seen a few leaf houses from the distance and they had assumed that to be it, and the town to be the smallest one yet. They had been mistaken.

Turned out the houses by the tree were just the surface part of a much larger town that was mostly located underground, between and beneath the tree's massive roots. The earth this close to the mud lake was rich in clay and – according to the locals – perfect for underground dwellings.

The Minish were dressed in woven yellow-ish grass tunics and wore acorn hats on their heads. Link wagered the tunics were more durable in the long run than the leafwear from the other towns, especially if one did a lot of digging. Maybe he'd buy a set if they found the shop that sold them.

The few Minish they met directed them to a tunnel that would lead them into the underground town. Sidon eyed the entrance tunnel with a troubled look.

"It doesn't look as big as the one between Stable Town and the stable", he said worriedly. "I wonder if I will be able to walk upright."

Link hopped into the tunnel and looked around. The tunnel was wide enough for two or three Minish to walk side by side, and tall enough for Link to have more than enough headroom. However, when he raised his arms he was able to touch the ceiling without issue.

Sidon was almost twice Link's height.

'That would be a no', he signed after returning to the entrance. 'You're going to have to stay hunched to walk here.'

Sidon groaned and looked at the surface town with a slightly desperate expression. They had been told that the local inn was underground and all the houses on the surface were private dwellings. It seemed like he was contemplating just randomly knocking on a door and asking for a place to stay. Link knew he would be considering that in Sidon's position.

After a moment Sidon sighed and gestured for Link to move along. "I couldn't possibly impose on someone without at least trying the tunnels first."

Link shrugged and went further in so Sidon could come down. Sidon followed slowly, clearly reluctant.

Link had been right: Sidon had to bend his back considerably to fit in, and just looking at the angle and thinking about maintaining it for who knows how long was painful.

'We could still go back up', Link signed after a couple of minutes of watching Sidon try to adjust his posture into something workable in vain.

Sidon shook his head. That, too, looked uncomfortable; especially since it made his tail flop to one shoulder and that was sure to cause him neck pain in the long run if he didn't fix it. Thankfully he did.

"No. I can manage. Let's see what this town has to offer."

Link shrugged, again. 'It's your back.'

He made a mental note to give Sidon a back rub once they reached the inn.

-----

The tunnel was illuminated with lanterns that had Fire Chuchu jelly in them, and the ceiling continued to be low. The walls were a mixture of brown and gray and were occasionally reinforced with wood logs. The air was musty and earthy and a bit hotter than comfortable.

Sidon seemed to be suffering greatly, but he wasn't saying anything about it so neither did Link, despite his worry. He really hoped the inn had a higher ceiling and maybe even a bath of Sidon's size.

Unlike the busy tunnel back at Stable Town, this one was eerily empty and felt monotonous and endless because of it. If they hadn't been specifically directed here by a local, Link would be thinking they weren't in the right place.

After what felt like hours of walking in a never ending loop, but was probably just minutes in a simply boring tunnel, they came across something new. They arrived to a spot where the tunnel split into three, and there was a directions sign on the wall.

They eagerly approached it in hopes of figuring out the easiest way to the inn or the local shops or possible other points of interest. At this point they weren't picky about which came first.

There were helpful arrows on the sign to indicate which tunnels to take to get to specific places, but the writing was in Minish. To them, written Minish meant illegible gibberish.

'That's very helpful.'

"A simple setback", Sidon said, and stretched his neck to his best ability in the cramped space. "We can just pick a direction and then ask the locals once we run into one."

So far they hadn't met anyone in the tunnel. Link was a little skeptical.

"It's lunch hour", Sidon said, like he was reading Link's mind. "People are probably eating at their homes. Besides, this tunnel seems to only lead outside; maybe the Minish who dwell down here don't feel much of a need to go up. We will likely meet lots of people in these other tunnels."

Fair enough. Link walked up to each tunnel and listened carefully. In the left one he heard a lot of noise. In the middle one he heard a bit less noise. The right one was practically silent save for a weird scratching sound.

They chose the left tunnel.

As they advanced the noises got louder. It was clearly chatter and children's shrieks of merriment, although the sounds sounded a bit muffled. At the very least they would find people in this direction.

Soon there started being doors with plaques, presumably name tags or addresses, left and right. The noises were coming from the other sides of the doors. Link wagered they were dwellings, since they lacked any signs welcoming people in or hinting at what kind of things were being sold like shops would have.

"Do you suppose we should knock on one?" Sidon asked after they had passed countless same-looking doors and no variety had presented itself. There didn't seem to be an end to the doors; the tunnel kept going forward as far as Link's eye could see. If they were all houses and they were all occupied, the town had a huge population. He didn't particularly want to find out how huge, especially the hard way.

'Might be for the best.'

They approached the nearest door and knocked, and the chatter they'd heard from the inside quieted almost instantly. There was a pitter-patter sound, then the door was opened a little bit.

First came the smell of food that made Link realize he was hungry, then a tiny Minish peered at Sidon curiously with huge eyes.

"Hello, we're-"

"Mom!" The tiny Minish called before Sidon could finish his sentence. "There's a huge red person at our door."

They hadn't even noticed Link with their eyes glued to Sidon. He could hardly blame them: Sidon was a sight to see, especially to someone who had most likely never seen a Zora before.

Another Minish, a bigger one, walked over. They, too, stared at Sidon.

"Hello, we-"

"Beanpaste, there really is a huge red person at our door!"

Link snorted. This was getting good.

Another Minish arrived, took one look at Sidon, and shook their head. "You sure are huge and red. You need something?"

Link lost it. The laughter poured out of his mouth with zero restraint as he leaned against the speechless Sidon, gasping for breath between peals of merriment.

"There's another one!" The tiny Minish squealed. "It's not red! Or huge!"

That absolutely didn't help calm Link down. He was wheezing at this point.

"Please pardon my friend", Sidon said with a smile in his voice, and patted Link's shoulder. "Let me start over. Hello, we're travelers and we find ourselves a bit lost in these tunnels. Which way should we take to get to the inn?"

"What are you?" The tiny Minish asked, but got hushed by what Link now assumed to be their mother.

"Depends on which way you came from", 'Beanpaste' answered. "Did you walk by a three way crossroad?"

So there was more than one entrance. Link supposed he should have taken that much for granted; cave-ins would be devastatingly deadly otherwise. Still, it was nice to know.

He was starting to regain his composure and breath by then and could pay proper attention to the conversation.

"Yes, we did", Sidon said.

"Oh goody! Just go back there and take the middle tunnel", Beanpaste said with a smile. "That's the way to the town center. All the shops are there."

'What's on the right?' Link signed. He got met with questioning looks, as per usual nowadays. It was starting to really grate on his nerves. He sighed, frustrated, and repeated his inquiry to Sidon, who asked it out loud for him.

Beanpaste cringed. "Ah, you will not want to go there. Just trust me on this one. Was there anything else?"

'That's not an answer', Link signed with a frown. 'Just tells us.'

Sidon shook his head, though, and smiled at the Minish family without voicing Link's request. Link's attempt at repeating his question was flat out ignored.

"Thank you, we'll keep that in mind", he said. "We won't keep you longer. Please go back to your lunch. Thank you for the help."

"No problem! Enjoy your stay at our town."

After the door was closed, Link heard a muffled "But I wanted to know what they were!" from the other side. He sympathized with the child. With that thought, he turned to glare at Sidon as they began walking.

'Go right ahead and silence me, why don't you?' He signed, fuming. 'It's so much fun to not be understood without aid and then my only means of communication starts deciding what I get or don't get to say.'

Sidon looked taken aback. "What? I didn't mean it like that. I merely didn't want to press the subject since it didn't seem to be a welcome one. It was clear they wanted to get back to their meal quickly."

Link's glare deepened. 'It's irrelevant whether you meant it or not. You didn't want to press the subject, but I did. You don't get to decide for me.'

Sidon shook his head. "My apologies. I didn't want to be rude to the people who were helping us."

Not being rude to strangers was apparently more important than not leaving Link flailing. Link was getting really damn sick of flailing, too.

Princely fucking manners.

'The only reason you got to come with me instead of staying at the Stable Inn was because I need a translator', Link signed heatedly. 'You don't get to choose when my words are allowed just because you don't agree with me.'

Sidon stopped walking with a shocked look.

Link realized what he just said.

Shit.

'Sorry!' he signed immediately, but the damage was already done.

Sidon took a deep breath and tried to straighten his posture, only to bump his head to the low ceiling. He frowned and then visibly pretended that didn't happen, which Link was perfectly willing to go along with.

"I see", Sidon said calmly. "I thoroughly apologize for failing at my one job. I shall endeavor to do better from now on."

Link cringed. Sidon's words just brought more shame on him instead of making him feel like he won the argument.

'I didn't mean it', he signed, looking at Sidon imploringly.

Sidon's face was expressionless. "Sure. Let's go back to the crossroad."

Link watched Sidon's hunched back as the Zora started walking away from him.

Shit.

Chapter Text

The walk to the crossroad was filled with awkward silence. Awkward on Link's part anyway; Sidon just seemed silently angry, judging from the occasional twitch his tail did.

Link wanted to bash his stupid head against something. He still believed he had been within his rights to get angry at Sidon, but he had definitely screwed up at the end. True, having Sidon act as the spokesperson had been the main reason he hadn't insisted harder on Sidon staying behind, but it wasn't like they had made some kind of a deal where Sidon only got to come along on the condition that he acted as Link's translator. He more or less just volunteered to do that on the side of being the one asking for directions and such. Yes, it was thoughtless and dismissive of Sidon to suddenly withdraw his crucial help like that, but it was awful of Link to hurl an old and practically unrelated argument at him in response. They could have and should have discussed the actual problem at hand civilly without it.

Link supposed that when you got right down to it, he had reached a boiling point and Sidon had happened to be the trigger. The situation simply wasn't fair to anyone.

He sighed and jogged up to Sidon.

"Sidon?" he whispered. He wasn't sure if Sidon would even look at his signing now, but he also didn't want to be heard by others by accident. He didn't need the added problems that would come from him completely clamping up for days out of anxiety.

Sidon stopped walking and took a deep breath. "I know we need to talk about this, but I need a clearer head for that. Let's find the inn and have a bite. Then we'll talk."

Link nodded and tried to swallow his misery silently.

Sidon didn't resume walking.

"I… For the record, I truly meant that apology."

Link nodded again, only this time his heart felt just a bit lighter and the following silence in their resumed walk a little less awkward.

-----

The middle path began similarly to the left path, but the ceiling quickly started getting higher and the path wider as they approached the brightly lit cavern that was the town center. Soon enough Sidon could straighten his back and make attempts at getting rid of the kinks caused by the earlier hunching. He still couldn't stretch properly – the cavern wasn't high enough – but not having to stay hunched was loads better than nothing.

As for the town center itself, the sight of it was completely worth wandering in the cramped tunnels, at least in Link's opinion.

There were Chuchu jelly lanterns everywhere, bathing the Minish made cavern in warm light and illuminating the wondrous sculptures that were all over the place. Every shop wall had carved reliefs indicating what was being sold: what was obviously furniture shop had chairs, tables and shelves pictured around the door, while the food store had mushrooms, seeds and flowers. There wasn't a patch of wall that didn't have at least some decorative pattern on it, even if it didn't have intricate reliefs. There were occasional pillars that doubled as statues of probably famous Minish people on the more open areas of the cavern; they probably helped keep the ceiling from collapsing. And there were absolutely random clay sculptures of various sizes and subjects on every spot that someone had probably deemed too empty at some point.

It was as chaotic as it was beautiful.

"I miss Zora's Domain", Sidon muttered, staring wide-eyed at… everything, really.

Link could see where that thought came from: the Domain invested more in elegance and order than this place, but just like the cavern it had barely any undecorated spots. Of course statues and carvings reminded Sidon of home.

"I wish my father could see this", Sidon said after a moment. "Muzu would likely appreciate foreign art, too."

Now that was very easily solved. Link smiled and tapped Sidon's arm to get his attention. 'Sheikah Slate.'

Sidon stared at him uncomprehendingly for a moment, then brightened. "You're right! The camera rune!"

Link leaned against a less impressively decorated spot on a wall and watched Sidon photograph everything with a fond smile. Maybe this would make up for his earlier words a little.

Speaking of their earlier conversation, Link supposed he could locate the inn they were looking for since he was idle. It should be very easy in this particular instance: the decorated wall should give the inn away the instance he saw it. With that thought, he looked around at the shop fronts. Furniture, food, cookware, clothing, miscellaneous stuff… There. That one was obviously the inn: the wall around the door had reliefs of beds and food tables.

He tapped Sidon's arm and pointed.

"Oh, you found the inn", Sidon said with a smile and put the Slate away. "Splendid. I'll take pictures later. Let's eat."

Sidon took an enthusiastic step towards the door, but then stopped cold and looked at Link, his smile dropping. The atmosphere got tense, at least in Link's opinion.

And talk, was what Sidon left unsaid.

Link nodded warily, and together they entered the inn.

Whereas the tunnels and the cavern had been empty, the inn was buzzing with Minish. All the tables were full of Minish eating their lunches; thankfully about finished for the most part. A confused looking waiter walked up to them.

"How unusual for people to arrive late for lunch", they said. "You're obviously visitors. Here people take their meals like clockwork, so the tables are currently full. If you'll wait a bit, the fastest eaters should be done soon."

They didn't comment on Sidon's looks in any way, which at least was nice.

"Thank you", Sidon said with a polite smile. "Would you mind taking our orders while we wait so that our food will arrive quickly once were seated? We unfortunately cannot read Minish, so we would also appreciate you telling us the options."

The waiter hesitated for a moment, but eventually agreed to the unorthodox proposition. Fish was not an option, unsurprisingly, so in the end both Link and Sidon ordered frog thigh. Sidon wagered that it might actually satisfy his hunger to some extent, since frogs were occasionally part of the Zora diet – probably for a reason. It should be better than mushrooms or nuts in any case. Link simply wanted to try it to see if it tasted better than the frog-based elixirs he had drank on his travels. They were kind of gross.

A curious thing about the food selection here was that most things were glazed or marinated or outright made out of honey. It reminded Link that Hiveri supposedly lived in this town, so chances were he supplied everyone with plenty of the honey he mysteriously obtained. Finding him was the first thing Link wanted to do once they were done here.

Before that, however, came eating, renting a room, and… talking.

Unfortunately, not likely in that order.

They waited in anxious silence until a table was freed and cleaned, and they got seated.

The silence stretched on and started to get downright unbearable until finally their meals arrived and the tension got momentarily broken as both tucked in hungrily. The frog leg was actually delicious when marinated in honey and properly cooked. Maybe it was the monster parts that made elixirs so gross?

Link waited until the both of them had had a few bites before he set down his fork and looked at Sidon in resignation.

'Talk now?'

Sidon chewed and swallowed what was in his mouth before nodding. "Yes. Let's do that."

Link didn't want to be the lesser man this time, so he started whipping up signs right away before Sidon could get a word in edgewise.

'I'm really sorry for bringing up the Stable Inn earlier', he signed. 'It was unnecessary and stemmed up from my frustration with my communication situation as a whole. I shouldn't use our earlier disagreement as a leverage to have my way. Not then, and not in the future. I'm sorry.'

Sidon digested the words for a moment, much to Link's anxiety. Waiting for an answer was simply nerve-wrecking; it made him second-guess his word choices and wonder if he somehow managed to stuff his foot in his mouth again. It wouldn't have surprised him in the least.

"Does this mean you've reconsidered your original stance on the matter?" Sidon asked slowly. Link gave him a questioning look. "About keeping me around, I mean. If you didn't need a translator any longer, would you leave me behind for my own good? Oh! Apology accepted."

That was a tough question. Link was immensely relieved to be back on Sidon's good graces, but he could have done without another debate.

'Not sure', he signed honestly. 'You're doing fine now, but what of when the fish rations are gone? I worry. I can't make you go back against your will, though.'

Sidon chuckled and shook his head. "I see. I haven't changed my mind either. We have to agree to disagree, then."

The Zora sobered. "I do, however, want to come to a consensus about your communication situation, as you put it. You were absolutely right to get angry at me earlier, and I can't apologize enough for it. I'm very sorry for silencing you against your will. You were right that it doesn't matter what my opinion about a situation is; as your only means of communication, it is my duty to deliver your words for you. Even if I think you're being rude or disagree with your words, you still have the right to say them."

Link stared. It was… strange to be validated like that. No conditions about manners or anything else, no demands for him to get a grip and start talking to strangers, no anything. Just simple acceptance and apology. Even Zelda hadn't managed that; though, to be fair, she was working hard on unlearning the bad example her father been to her but still had ways to go.

His eyes may or may not have felt just a little moist, but as long as no tears were actually shed he could merrily deny it happening in order to keep his composure.

'Thank you', Link signed with a brittle smile, 'And apology accepted.'

Sidon's smile was soft and Link could have stared into his gentle eyes forever. "I'm glad. I have to admit that when you explained your selective mutism to me way back when, I didn't truly grasp it. I simply thought I was special to hear your voice but failed to understand how much your condition affects your life. Everyone in the Domain understanding sign language made it seem like a non-issue. This trip has opened my eyes. I swear I will never use your silence against you or dismiss it again."

Link ducked his head and blinked furiously, trying his hardest to not cry, damn it. He didn’t want to cry in the middle of a full inn. Not even when he was on the receiving end of such pure understanding and acceptance.

Sidon was silent for a moment, then spoke very softly: “Thank you for trusting me enough to vocalize to me so often lately. If you never talk to anyone else, that’s fine. I’ll be your voice for as long as you want me to be.”

Yeah, okay, nope, now he was definitely crying. He buried his face in a napkin and just stayed like that, now concentrating on not sobbing or hiccupping or making any other “this person is obviously crying” -noises. He may be doing happy-emotional-possibly-overwhelmed tears in public, but he was damn sure not going to draw any more attention to it than he had to!

“Do you want me to pretend that… nothing out of the ordinary is going on?” Sidon asked, sounding deliberately casual. Link signed ‘yes’ immediately, not lifting his face.

“All right. The food is truly quite delicious. You should try the honey mead as soon as you’re able. Ah, and the place is starting to empty out. I think the tunnels will be a lot busier by the time we’re done here.”

If Link wasn’t already madly in love with Sidon, he would be falling right now for the sweet, supportive, and possibly unintentionally romantic Prince. As it was, he was simply falling harder.

Chapter Text

Link eventually regained his composure, and they could finish their meal amicably. Sidon had been right: the honey mead was to die for. Link would have happily made it his plan to drink tonight away to enjoy the maximum amount of the stuff before they left, if only he didn't have other plans for the evening. That plan being finally coming clean to Sidon about his feelings, and hopefully then making out with him until the dawn. He had to be sober for it and that meant no more mead.

He would definitely come back here after their current odyssey was done, though. It would take months, but he could be patient when he wanted to be.

The fact that he now had a set deadline for his confession was not making him nervous at all, thank you very much. If he didn't actively think about it, at least. Which he didn't, because he wanted to be able to function properly and see the wonders of this town.

After they were finished with eating, they rented themselves a room and left most of their luggage there for the time being; they didn't feel like risking venturing out only to have more rain make their attempts at travel miserable, so they might as well stay here until tomorrow. Sidon also took the opportunity to sit down and stretch his abused back before their second trip to the town.

And off they were.

They visited every shop they saw, eagerly inspecting the Minish bits and bobs. It was curious how none of the shops sold any big people items, while in the previous towns they had been all over the place. Link supposed it was because they were getting deeper into the woods, which meant less big people traffic. Instead, they sold a lot pottery here; the abundance of clay was the obvious reason behind that peculiarity. The other towns had had mostly woodware, so it was a very cool change. The pottery was finely shaped and engraved with beautiful patterns and pictures, as was the custom in this town. Some items were even skillfully painted and glazed over. Zelda would absolutely love one particular set of dinner plates with intricate floral patterns that were carved in and then painted over, if only Link could afford to haul such heavy souvenirs around. Again, he would have to return here on a better time. With great reluctance he left them behind. Oddly enough, when he exited the shop and spared one last glance at the pots near the door, he felt a strong, almost primal urge to… smash them to bits. He almost returned inside to do it, but got a grip at the last second. Weird.

They entered the food shop next. The moment they stepped in Sidon came to a very abrupt halt.

"I feel… strange", he said, which instantly made Link worried. Did the frog meal disagree with Sidon? The mead? Was it the heat? The lack of humidity?

Sidon frowned and reached into his money pouch, much to Link's confusion. He rummaged around for a bit and finally pulled out the kinstone.

It was glowing brightly. Pulsing, even.

Sidon simply stared at it with a confused frown, which Link took to mean he didn't see the glow this time, either.

Then a Minish approached them, holding a similarly bright and pulsing piece of his own.

"Excuse me?" they asked timidly. "Are you perhaps feeling the same strange sensation as I am from my kinstone? Should we try merging these?"

Oh. This was interesting.

Sidon looked at the Minish in astonishment, then smiled brightly. The Minish flinched – presumably from seeing all those pointy shark teeth – but somehow refrained from fleeing like Link had half-expected.

"So that's what it was! Yes, let's do this!"

Sidon crouched down in an attempt to get to the Minish's level, but it hardly made a difference since most of Sidon's height came from his torso rather than his legs. They did manage to fit the pieces together, though.

It was a perfect fit and the halves magically merged together seamlessly. Link saw that the resulting coin had a picture of a four-leaf clover on it, but he only got to look at it for a second before the glow intensified and made it impossible to look directly at it. This time even Sidon and the Minish saw the glow, judging from the sudden squints and rapid blinking on their parts.

The now repaired coin freed itself from their grasp by lifting into the air on its own and spinning. It turned into pure light – as far as Link could observe anyway – and rose all the way into the ceiling and then went through it with a faint, and rather unfitting, ping-sound.

Link looked at Sidon, only to see him stare dazedly into nothing.

-----

Muzu exited the throne room with a sigh. The letterman had arrived but there hadn’t been any correspondence from Prince Sidon today, either. It had already been a week and King Dorephan was starting to feel restless by the complete silence from his dear son. It shouldn’t have taken the Prince and Link this long to reach either the Castle or Kakariko Village and send their first letter.

Had something happened? Muzu would have Link’s head if he found out Prince Sidon had been injured in any way.

He grumbled to himself about useless Hylian Champions and made his way to the Royal Library to pick up a few reference books for his current project. Worried or not, he had work to do.

As soon as he entered, he heard a thud of a book falling from a shelf.

“Who’s there?” he demanded, instantly wary of intruders. There weren’t a whole lot of people who were allowed here, and since he knew where the King was and the Prince wasn’t at the Domain, the list of possible allowed visitors was very short indeed.

Silence reigned and Muzu relaxed marginally. He looked around and soon spotted the fallen book. It was spread open haphazardly right next to a shelf, which meant it probably just fell on its own. Maybe it had been put back carelessly.

He grumbled to himself about careless princes and walked over to the book to pick it up. As he did, he glanced at the open page and halted.

“The Legend of the Picori” read the title of the page.

Weren’t the Minish Woods and the Pico Pond right by one of the riverside routes to the Castle? He fondly remembered Prince Sidon going on and on about visiting the area and looking for the Picori once he was big enough to travel, back when he was but a youngling.

Muzu chuckled to himself and tucked the book under his arm. He would show it to King Dorephan.

He had a very good idea what may be the reason Prince Sidon was delayed so. They needn’t be so worried after all; the Prince was stubborn and thorough and would probably comb the whole area before even considering giving up on the fairytale.

-----

Link breathed a sigh of relief when Sidon finally blinked rapidly and looked around with bewildered eyes. He was back from whatever head trip he just took.

"Wow, that was…" Sidon said, but was interrupted by the Minish.

"I have to go", they said with a big smile. "I need to buy a berry and go visit my nana. Thank you, mister! I hope you'll have some luck come your way!"

The Minish skittered off, leaving the two staring after them.

Link hadn't had the chance to ask them whether they saw the glow too or not. Damn. He looked at Sidon.

'What happened?'

Sidon shook his head, looking mystified. "I saw Muzu. A book dropped from a shelf, he picked it up, and then he looked happier. I haven't any clue what that was all about. Was it real?"

Link frowned thoughtfully. 'That Minish sure seemed to believe their vision, whatever it was. You're not missing memories as far as I know and you didn't mention seeing yourself, so it's not a recalled memory. And it's not like you can go drop a book for Muzu anytime soon, so it's probably not a hint for what you should do, either. Unless you heard a voice telling you stuff?'

"No voices except for Muzu's", Sidon said, looking at Link like he surely had all the answers. Ultimate trust. It made his heart skip a beat.

'Then my verdict is that the scene you saw happened just now', Link signed confidently. He rather thought himself an expert on this subject; what with all the visions he had had from multiple sources during his epic journey. 'It was probably important somehow, but I don't know how just yet.'

Sidon nodded enthusiastically. "I see! It's good to have a seasoned adventurer with me to tell me these things. I think I'll ask Muzu about it once we have the chance to send letters. Apparently the kinstones do work; just like you said!"

Link beamed proudly.

-----

They didn't buy any food yet; they wanted to wait and see if the frog legs kept Sidon's hunger at bay first, and then stock up if they did. They could buy frogspawn and tadpoles, too, for variety. This town's closeness to the mud lake was obvious in the food choices. Another interesting food was the fresh slugs that were sold in sizable chunks. The problem with them was that they didn't keep for long, so if he were to buy some he would have to cook it and eat it right away – at least according to the seller. He opted to try some at the inn later to save some time and hassle.

Eventually they arrived to a shop front that had reliefs of bees on it. Link was willing to bet good rupee that it was Hiveri's place. However, the door was locked and there was a note on it; in Minish, of course. That meant illegible as far as they were concerned.

They returned to the previous shop to ask the clerk about it.

"He must be at the hive", they said with a shiver, "You may want to just wait until he returns."

Link's hands were flying excitedly before the Minish even finished their sentence: 'Where is the hive?'

Sidon seemed very amused while the Minish seemed to question Link's sanity.

"I really can't recommend-", the Minish started, but gave in at Link's glare. "Fine. Okay. You know the three way crossroad? Good. Go right. Don't scream and run when you encounter the bees; just back away slowly. Also, you seem like the type to try to touch them. Don't."

Link felt mildly offended by the assumption, but he couldn't very well deny it without lying, so he supposed it was fair enough.

"Thank you for the directions and the advice", Sidon said, "I'll make sure we come back alive."

'Bold of you to assume your rationality is enough to keep my chaotic nature from getting us killed', Link signed with a wide smile once they were out of the shop.

Sidon laughed. "Oh no. I wouldn't dream of that. I'm counting on you not wishing to make a liar out of me."

Link joined in on the laughter. 'Cheating.'

They made their way back to crossroad, again, and Sidon's back was stuck on being bent once more. The second round seemed even more painful than the first, judging from the grimace on Sidon's face. He really needed that back rub later.

They took the right turn and warily made their way forward. The scratching they had heard before got louder and louder, and was joined by occasional buzzing. It was downright eerie and made the hair on the back of Link's neck stand up.

As if to balance the scary out, soon the sweet smell of honey reached their noses. It was even stronger than in Sweeteri's shop; Link got almost dizzy from it.

They turned around a corner and found themselves in another tall cavern. This one was packed with huge, hairy bumblebees that were crawling and flying all over the place like striped, six-legged bears. There was an enormous hive consisting of bulbous, brownish orange and bright yellow baskets on one end of the cavern, and pollen covered the whole place from floor to ceiling. The ceiling and the walls had tunnels that presumably led outside; there was a constant traffic of bumblebees coming in from some tunnels and going out of others.

The bumblebees were fuzzy and looked perfectly huggable; Link would bet their hair would feel soft and go great with his face.

"Link", Sidon said sternly; apparently his thoughts were plain on his face. "We were told not to touch them."

'But soft! Fuzzy!'

"Remember how you promised not to pull reckless stunts without discussing them with me first?" Sidon asked, trying and failing to hide his amusement in order to sound serious.

'Promised to try; not to always succeed. This is a discussion. Hugging a bee now, regretting it later.'

"Sweet Hylia. Link-"

"Excuse me? What are you doing in my hive?"

Link and Sidon simultaneously turned to look in the direction of the voice.

There stood a Minish who was covered from head to toe in pollen and honey. They were wearing a long sleeve work smock, a cap that went over their ears, and a pair of wooden shoes. That was the first pair of shoes Link had seen on any Minish.

This could be no-one other than Hiveri.

Chapter Text

"Greetings", Sidon said with a smile. "You must be Hiveri? I'm Prince Sidon and this is Link. Pardon us if we're not supposed to be here. We're simply curious travelers who want to see everything you Minish have to offer."

Hiveri looked impressed. "Huh. You have manners, that's rare. Yes, I'm Hiveri. I'm sorry about my rude welcome; I don't get a lot of friendly visitors here. Mostly it's kids daring each other to come see the bees, and that's a hassle."

"Children do that", Sidon said with a chuckle.

'May I hug a bee?' Link asked. He considered himself very well mannered and responsible for not sneaking off to hug a bee while Sidon was distracted. Zelda would be so proud. ...At least if he left out the part where he seriously considered the mentioned alternative course of action first.

Hiveri looked at Link's hands at the same time Sidon did, and shook his head before Sidon had the time to say Link's words out loud. "No. They don't like that. I could, however, let you pet one of the more docile types."

Link blinked. Sidon openly gaped.

'Can you understand me?' Link asked disbelievingly. Sidon didn't translate it; he was just as keen as Link to hear the answer.

"Yes", Hiveri said with a smile, "Bumblebees don't understand speech, but they're game to learning a few signs. 'Course that's thanks to generations of continuous effort on the part of Hiveri successors."

'Wait. So most Minish don't understand me, but your bees do?' Link asked, unable to get over this bizarre turn of events. It even made his excitement over finding a Minish who understood him pale in comparison.

"I wouldn't say they really understand you", Hiveri corrected. "They only know a few signs that matter, such as stop, come here, stay, turn around, and so on. You can't have a conversation with them. They can't reply anyway. They can just obey the commands, and that's how I know they understand."

That was still better than most of the Minish, so Link refused to be anything but thoroughly impressed and proud on the bumblebees' behalf.

'May I pet one?' he asked, just now able to process the earlier words and realize he had been tossed a bone. He would have loved to hug one of the fuzzies, but simply petting one was still loads better than nothing.

Hiveri chuckled. "All right. We can try. Note that the bumblebee will have the last word, so don't be hasty."

Link nodded. He was generally good with animals, so he knew to heed Hiveri's words.

They approached the hive, and Sidon apparently couldn't hold his own questions in anymore.

"How is it that you have befriended bees in the first place? I know some Hylians keep bees, but as far as I know they don't actually communicate with them. I think they… lure them away from the nest? Or possibly scare them away? Either way, they make the bees leave the nest so they can collect the honey without getting stung."

Hiveri looked stunned, and then shook his head to clear it.

"That's insane", he said, and stopped a few feet away from the hive and its busy bumblebees. He took a deep breath and then extended a hand, palm forward, towards one bee. The bee turned his way after a moment, antennae wagging. Hiveri signed for it to come to him, and the bee did. It was amazing.

"Link, was it?" he asked, and Link nodded eagerly. "You can now try to pet this one. If it pulls away or starts to vibrate its wings, stop."

Link nodded again, solemnly. He stepped forward and the bumblebee turned to regard him with its huge compound eyes. Link noted that it also had three smaller eyes on its forehead; he hadn't known about that. It's not like he had had a chance to examine a bumblebee this closely before.

'I'm a friend', he signed, 'May I touch you?'

The bee did nothing. There was a high chance it didn't understand Link's words, but Link felt better for having tried. He slowly extended his hand towards it, coming in from the side but still well within its vision; as far as he knew anyway. The bee buzzed its wings once, but then went back to doing nothing. Link considered withdrawing, but the bee showed no further signs of distress so he resumed his actions and then found his hand buried in soft fur. The bee continued to allow his touch, so he grinned and slid his fingers through the fluffy goodness.

It was awesome. It was perfect.

"Now that that is going well, let's get back to your question", Hiveri said somewhere behind Link, obviously talking to Sidon.

"It's my family's aptitude. Getting along with bees, that is", Hiveri said. Link assumed Sidon made a confused face, as Hiveri continued after a brief pause: "All Minish have some degree of magic in their use. Most don't use it much because anything beyond big people repelling, speed bursts, and other mundane stuff requires lots of training under a teacher and that's costly. However, with proper training you can discover your special aptitude for some branch of magic. For some it's an element like fire, for others it's communicating with another species, for some it's a trade skill like forging, and for some it's blessing objects. There are a lot of possibilities. Aptitudes tend to run in families – especially the properly trained ones – so most Minish have some idea what their most likely aptitudes would be if they trained. If it's something they feel would be useful, they are more motivated to train. Like I said, my family's aptitude is bees and that's why all bees accept me easily and are willing to listen to me. When I beckoned that bumblebee Link is petting to me, I first reached out with magic to get it to notice me and be willing to see what I wanted. Other Minish aren't able to do that; except for the rest of my family, of course."

"That's fascinating! I wonder if that's just a Minish thing, or if big people have it, too, but don't realize it? My sister had healing powers that manifested since young age. I wonder if I would have the same skill if I received some training in magic."

Link frowned in thought while sliding a second hand into the bumblebee's silky fur. Sidon having Mipha's Grace was a strange thought, but he supposed it wasn't an unwelcome one. Healing was a very useful skill to have, and he suspected Sidon would view it as a gift from his sister, even if it was a hereditary trait he would have had independently of Mipha. It would make him happy regardless. To have a tangible connection to his sister.

Now that Link thought about it, all of the old Champions sans himself had had a supernatural skill. Mipha's Grace, Urbosa's Fury, Daruk's Protection, Revali's Gale, even Zelda's holy power. They had all taught themselves, but that didn't make the abilities something just anyone could learn. Maybe Sidon was onto something here.

It wasn't like Link had run into any professional mages on his travels. If that had been a thing, Zelda surely would have had a mentor or five after her mother passed so she would not have lost her only teacher in her. A mage mentor would have made unlocking her power much easier, one would think, even if her power might be different due to, uh, Goddess-ness. Perhaps magery was another forgotten tradition of the past, like the Sheikah technology. Maybe the Minish could help the big people with it now that the communication route was open once again. It would be worth looking into, although not on this particular trip. Not extensively anyway. They still had their own, more immediate goals.

Link realized he had completely missed the rest of that conversation due to his own musings. Sidon and Hiveri were talking about the bees again.

Oh well. He could ask Sidon later.

Link checked the bee's mood and, upon finding it as uncaring as before, buried his face in the fur.

The next roughly three seconds were a bliss of soft – oh so soft – fluff on his face and under his palms… But then there was a distinctly angry sounding buzz combined with a curious vibration, and he was roughly yanked away from his perfect face pillow.

The bumblebee launched off instantly. Link turned to look at the person holding him by the back of his leaf dress, and saw Hiveri giving him a stern look.

"I told you not to hug it."

Link gave a sheepish smile. 'My arms weren't around it. Technically not a-' Glare. 'I'm bad at impulse control. I'm sorry.'

Hiveri glared at him for a moment longer, and then let go of him with an amused sigh. "Okay then. I understand the temptation, so I can't blame you too much. Just don't do it again."

Link saluted solemnly. Behind Hiveri, Sidon was shaking his head exasperatedly.

Link couldn't wait to tell Zelda that he had hugged a bee. She would be so jealous.

-----

They spent almost an hour in the Hive. Sidon watched Hiveri collect honey and pollen into pots, and Link got to pet another bumblebee. He didn't hug it this time, and it stayed with him for a good long while because of it. It was great.

After Hiveri was done working they walked back to his shop with him. Link carried a couple of honey pots to make up for the bee hugging. He had to exert an unreasonable amount of willpower into not randomly smashing them, for some reason. At times like these he could swear he was channeling some nutty ancestor of his or something.

The shop was similar to Sweeteri's: lots of different honey candy and honeyed nuts. But unlike Sweeteri, Hiveri also sold plain honey, flavoured honey, and pollen nuggets. Link got to try a nugget, and honestly found it kind of gross; the mouth-feel made him think of the Gerudo Desert, and sandy things weren't something he wanted in his mouth. They didn't buy anything, seeing how they still had honey candy left and hauling around pots of honey wasn't practical.

Hiveri's shop had been the last one left, so they decided to call it an early night. They went back to the inn and ate dinner. Link tried the slug, and it was quite possibly the best non-dessert he had eaten in the Minish cities. The flavour was a delight and the firm yet tender texture was superb. It was different from the sea snails he sometimes ate, and he had a feeling it was because he had bigger and stronger jaws as a big person. So it would stay a Minish specialty dish.

Sidon ate tadpole with the side of frog spawn. He had declared that the previous meal had managed to keep his hunger more or less at bay, so frog was now considered acceptable fish substitute. They would stock up on it tomorrow; the food shop had sold dried frog legs and jarred frog spawn, so they didn't even need to preserve it themselves.

After the meal they retreated into their room. Much to their delight, the staff had brought in another bed and aligned it with the end of the one that had already been in their room, making for a longer bed that could accommodate Sidon's height. Sidon lied down with a sigh and stretched his abused back with relish.

"This will be nice. Having a fitting bed is only second to sleeping in the water", he said.

Link nodded with a smile. He set down his sword and removed most of his clothes. Said clothes had honey and pollen stains on them, and he doubted they could be removed; a leaf wouldn't be able to take much of a washing. Maybe he'd get another set at the capital.

Sidon reluctantly got up to undress as well, but laid back down the instant he was unclothed. Link watched him from the corner of his eye, starting to feel a bit nervous. This was it. Or soon anyway.

First things first, though.

"Roll around", Link said quietly, "On your stomach."

Sidon gave him a questioning look, but did as asked. Link walked up to the bed and stretched his fingers, more to announce his intentions than out of any actual need to do it. Sidon chuckled and adjusted his position slightly, turning his head to its side to keep his tail off his back and out of the way.

"My posture looked about as painful as it felt, I take it?" he asked.

Link nodded seriously, and then set to work. He started with the lower back, since it was probably in the worst shape. He applied light pressure at first, getting the feel of things, and soon found that he needed considerably more force to have any chance of massaging the well defined muscles under the surprisingly tough scale barrier. But once he found the right amount of pressure, he had Sidon groaning appreciatively in a matter of moments.

"Every reckless action you've committed during our trip is hereby forgiven and forgotten", Sidon sighed, much to Link's amusement.

"I'll make sure to remind you of that, should the need arise", he replied. He had progressed almost up to Sidon's shoulders and his fingers were getting stiff from the workout. He couldn't understand how professional masseuse could do this all day. However, getting to have his hands over Sidon's vast, vast back more than made up for it. He hadn't realized just how muscular said back actually was, despite having hugged him more than his fair share.

Sidon turned his head to rest his tail on the other side – he was probably getting a bit uncomfortable with the position – and Link got started with his shoulders. He was not surprised by the muscles, or the stiffness, this time. He was well aware of the delicious musculature of Sidon's broad shoulders; he had spent plenty of time getting distracted by them at random times. Also, he had thoroughly familiarized himself with Sidon's neck for the past couple of nights, and one couldn't do that without also feeling around the shoulders said neck was attached to. And Link loved these shoulders.

Speaking of love.

Link swallowed nervously as he finished the massage. He shook the worst of the stiffness from his fingers and felt thankful about his recent progress in vocalizing to Sidon whenever they were alone; he would much rather talk than sign right now.

"I'm done", he said, and Sidon immediately stretched languidly and turned to lie on his back with a restful smile.

"Thank you very much", Sidon said, "You're truly the best."

Link nodded, and his nervousness must have shown as Sidon's smile dropped in favour of a worried frown. "Is something the matter?"

Link shrugged helplessly, and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Depends. There is something we need to talk about."

This was it.

Chapter Text

Something in Sidon's expression was off. Link had expected polite inquiry or maybe another worried frown, but Sidon looked… expectant. Like he already knew what Link wanted to talk about and was simply waiting for him to get on with it. It made Link unreasonably anxious. What if Sidon already knew and was bracing himself for unwanted news? What if he was expecting something different?

The expression softened after a moment. Link probably looked bewildered or nervous or both. He certainly felt that way.

"Please don't hesitate, Link", Sidon said, and sat up. He scooted over to sit next to Link. Was Link imagining it or was Sidon sitting unusually close to him? "You can talk to me about anything at all."

...That was very similar to what Zelda had said right before Link came out to her, and she hadn't been terribly surprised in the end. Had he come out to Sidon at any point? He thought he had, but now he wasn't sure anymore. Was that what Sidon was expecting now? Well, it hardly mattered if it turned out he hadn't come out; that detail would go more or less without saying with what he was actually going to tell, so it was a moot point now.

Yes, he was stalling.

Hylia give him strength.

"I think I'm in love with you", he said, surprising himself with how bluntly and naturally it came out. He had meant to be a bit more tactful and careful about it, but he really should have known himself better than to assume that was going to happen. Well, in for a green rupee… "I'd gotten a big crush on you the moment we met, or sometime within my first visit in the Domain anyway. It hasn't wavered during all this time – in fact, I believe it's grown steadier – and I think that's how you know it's real."

That was surprisingly easy. Shockingly so. He felt immensely relieved for having gotten it out in the open, too. Why hadn't he done this earlier?

...Oh, right. Sidon would get his say about this next. Needless to say, the nervousness came back with revenge. Why was he doing this instead of keeping quiet forever?

Link looked up at Sidon, only now realizing he had been staring at his tightly clenched hands until that moment. Damn, he should have looked deeply into Sidon's eyes during his confession. At least he thought that was how it was supposed to go; romance novels said so, and they would know best. If Sidon didn't return his feelings by the end of this conversation, he would blame it on that blunder alone. It might make him feel better about it.

Sidon looked like one of the rocks Link had used Stasis on that was one second away from its release: completely unmoving and straight backed, his lips were pressed into a tight line, and he was barely even breathing. Or alternatively he was a very handsome statue; one that would fit in perfectly in the city they were visiting. Either way, he was clearly holding something back with all his might, and Link was quickly going insane with the lack of answers. He was willing to bet that Sidon would have already said something had he gazed into his eyes during his confession, damn it.

"Does that-", Sidon started with a strangled voice, then cleared his throat and began anew. "Does that mean you're officially asking to court me?"

Link wanted to scream. That was such a non-answer! Couldn't Sidon just tell him if he had a chance before he dug himself deeper? Apparently not. Fine then. Time to take out the shovel.

"Yes", he said simply, and proceeded to literally hold his breath while waiting for the answer. There would be an answer this time, right?

For about two seconds, there was silence. Then...

"YES!" Sidon yelled, which startled the held breath out of Link. Then Sidon stood up and did a… bizarre little victory dance? He bumped his head on the ceiling, too, despite the perfectly acceptable height of the room.

Link stared; brain completely empty of any rational thought. What in the name of Hylia?

Sidon stopped his dancing and turned to beam at Link. His smile was the most radiant it had ever been and caused Link's heart to skip a beat or two. And here he had thought Sidon couldn't get any more gorgeous than he already was.

"Finally! I've been waiting for this for a while now!" Sidon said. "To be fair, I only secretly wished for it for the longest time without feeling very hopeful about it, but ever since that incident on the big people road I've been feeling increasingly more confident about it."

Wait, what? Multiple whats. Firstly, Sidon had been wishing for this and Link hadn't had a clue? Second, Sidon knew what was up this whole time? And didn't say anything? Third – or fourth; did that last one count as a separate question? – did that mean Sidon's answer was "yes"? Finally, was it normal to want to strangle your hopefully-soon-boyfriend because of their inaction despite apparently knowing about his feelings?

Link's thoughts must have been clear as day on his face, as Sidon stopped smiling and looked sheepish instead.

"You must pardon me, but I have to confess something", Sidon said, and sat down next to Link, again. This time Link was certain he was sitting particularly close; their thighs were touching. He would have felt happier about it if he wasn't already feeling nervous, confused, and kinda mad, which currently took up all of his available feelings capacity. "I've actually been aware of your intentions for a while now and I've shamelessly exploited them."

Link gave him a blank look. He was officially lost now. He was pretty sure he hadn't been exploited in any way, shape or form; anything he had done or given had been knowingly and deliberately.

"I have been playing clueless when I've, in fact, had a rough idea of what's been going on", Sidon elaborated. "It begun when we crossed the big people road and you tackled me. I admittedly didn't understand right then, but when we were looking for the camp afterwards and I had the time to think… By the time I asked for a repeat performance, I already had a conviction. I didn't know the exact meaning of your actions – I still don't – but I knew it couldn't be simple friendship. I understand there are cultural differences, but I doubt friends are so intimately tactile anywhere. And regardless of other people, the two us certainly haven't been that close before so I knew it had to be a sign. However, I feigned complete ignorance in order to give you a convenient out if you needed it, and an easy bait if you wanted it. And, of course, because I liked it and wanted you to continue. That's where I feel like I exploited your feelings; I asked you to continue for the sake of my own enjoyment while intentionally leaving you in the dark."

Link had certainly taken the bait. He had seized it with both hands, shoved it down his throat with haste, and choked on it a little while swallowing it whole. In his opinion, however, there had been no exploitation whatsoever when one wanted it as much as Link did. Or at least the exploitation had been mutual; Link had decided to pursue his own enjoyment while thinking Sidon had the wrong idea, just because he was selfish. They were equally guilty or guiltless, and that made it okay in Link's humble opinion.

"Your actions since then have more than proven my supposition correct", Sidon said, taking Link's silence for an encouragement to continue. He wasn't wrong. "It was an agony to wait for you to muster up the courage to say something, but I had no other choice. I wanted to take the initiative as soon as I was certain we felt the same, but you were once the person my sister wanted to marry. It would have been improper of me to start courting you."

Oh. Oh, damn. That's right, Mipha had prepared the Zora Armor as a proposal present. Link still didn't know what he had felt for Mipha way back when, but she had had every intention to marry him had he been amenable. That would make dating her little brother just a bit awkward, if not completely crass, now wouldn't it? Link had thought about it a bunch when his feelings were still new, but he had eventually dismissed the concern for the most part. She was dead; she didn't get to limit his love life posthumously. Especially since he didn't know if he even had returned her feelings.

It seemed things weren't as simple on Sidon's end.

"But there is a loophole", Sidon said, his smile back in place. "I'm not supposed to court you, but you have no such restrains. If you're the one approaching me, I'm free to reciprocate. So, I waited and tried to subtly encourage you. Now that you formally took the initiative, I am free to shower you with all the affection I want."

He waved his hands around as he talked, but set them down in his lap once he was done; clearly a signal for Link to take it from there and establish their relationship once and for all.

Sidon's speech certainly explained and maybe even excused his actions; although a little heads up would have been nice so that Link could have acted earlier. Hadn't Sidon said that he had "secretly wished for it for the longest time"? They could have been together for Hylia knows how long if Link had been a little more observant or Sidon had given him a clear hint to work with.

Well, he couldn't change the past. ...Except for one little thing that was more immediate and thus perfectly retconnable.

"Now that we're on the same page, I want to redo this", Link said, and stood up, cool as a cucumber. He no longer felt nervous. Already knowing his feelings were returned gave a big boost in confidence for sure.

Sidon looked hilariously confused and a bit alarmed. "What?"

Link grinned mischievously and walked over to the door. There he did a little spin and turned to face a very baffled Sidon with a serious expression.

"Sidon. There is something we need to talk about."

He waited. Sidon stared at him with incomprehension for a moment, and then slowly nodded. He didn't seem to quite know what was going on, but he was willing to play along anyway. Link loved him all the more for it. "All right. What is on your mind? You can talk to me about anything at all."

Link gave him a small smile and walked over. He sat down next to Sidon, on his previous spot, and turned to look at him. He smiled up at his friend and gently took a hold of his closest hand with both of his own and caressed the back of it with his thumbs. Sidon's eyes widened momentarily as he clearly realized what Link was up to, and then a half amused and half charmed smile rose to his lips.

This was more like it.

"I'm in love with you", Link said softly but confidently, gazing deeply into Sidon's warm eyes. "Will you allow me to court you, and be my boyfriend?"

This was the version he would tell Zelda and anyone else who asked.

"It would be an honour to be your boyfriend", Sidon answered, visibly trying to reign in his enthusiasm in order to treat this moment as seriously as Link was. "You are allowed to court me. I'm completely smitten by you already, so would you consider skipping further formalities and going straight to the part where I get to shower you with love?"

Wow. Sidon hadn't been kidding about his want or ability to take the initiative. He was apparently tired of waiting, too. Link was okay with that.

He was extremely okay with that.

Link nodded, let go of Sidon's hand, and stood up on the bed. Sidon watched curiously, hands hovering near Link; probably so that he was ready to catch him if he stumbled on his rather unsteady platform. Link took a step closer to Sidon, grabbed a tender hold of his cheeks, and kissed him right on the lips.

Link could feel Sidon flinch – presumably in surprise – before his mouth softened and hesitantly played along with the gentle movement of lips sliding against lips. Link was pretty sure Zora didn't typically kiss; that much had been implied by Sidon's earlier words on the subject of their neck kissing. He smiled for a second in simple adoration, and then dove right back into the kiss. He tilted his head slightly for better access and moved one hand to the back of Sidon's neck with a content sigh. He had been dreaming of this moment forever, and it was everything he had hoped for. Especially when Sidon wrapped his arms around Link's waist and pulled him into his lap for maximum closeness.

Everything he had hoped for and more. Completely worth the wait.

Link kissed Sidon until he had his fill, or at least enough to tide him over for a while, and reluctantly pulled back. Sidon had been a very fast learner and Link was more than satisfied with his skills, although he may be a little biased because he was thoroughly smitten with the Zora. Sidon, too, apparently found the activity to his liking; Link had to lean back further than he initially thought, as Sidon eagerly chased his lips until he noticed that Link meant to stop. He looked so put out by it, too, and it was absolutely adorable. Link kissed the pink spot under Sidon's crest in apology.

"I merely want to wash up and lay down", Link said with a big smile. "We can make out for the rest of the night after that for all I care."

Or for the rest of their lives. Either way, a few minutes break wasn't a big deal now that the first step had been taken.

The night ended up being very enjoyable indeed.

Chapter Text

Link woke up later than usual. It had a lot to do with the fact that he had spent a long time last night making out and cuddling with Sidon. Ten out of ten, he would do it again as soon as he had the opportunity; maybe even sooner.

"Good morning, my coral reef", Sidon said, and nuzzled the top of Link's head.

Okay, as lovely as the general situation was, apparently they needed to talk.

"Morning. No pet names", Link answered, and hoisted himself up to his elbows to look at Sidon. Sidon's brilliant smile dimmed the moment Link's message reached its intended destination.

"What? Why?"

"I don't like them."

Sidon looked crestfallen, and Link felt instantly guilty. Was it that important to Sidon? Ugh… All right. Maybe he could compromise. A little.

"Okay. Fine. You get one pet name and then you stick to it. I have the right to veto it", he said, and Sidon's smile was instantly back.

"Splendid! How about… my jewel?"

"No. No gemstones. Or flowers."

"I see. Little trout?"

"No little anything."

"Oh, I'm sorry. My hero?"

Link shuddered. "Absolutely not."

"I take it 'my knight' is also out, then. My warrior?"

"...Maybe."

"Oh, progress! Hmm… How about… my mighty Lynel slayer?

Link snorted. "I approve in theory, but it's a bit of a mouthful."

Sidon chuckled. "Perhaps you're right. Honey candy?"

"Maybe."

"That's two maybes already! ...Wildberry?"

Something about the 'wild' really resonated with him. He nodded decisively. Sidon beamed.

"Wildberry it is! It's a lovely pet name, too. I'll be happy to call you that", Sidon gushed, and then hugged Link a little too tightly in his enthusiasm.

Link could get used to this. And if Zelda laughed at his pet name, he would stop vocalizing to her until she was adequately sorry.

-----

Eventually the two of them packed up, ate a hearty brunch, and left the inn. They stopped by the food shop and bought as many frog legs and as much frogspawn as was reasonable, and got a green kinstone as a part of the deal. Sidon was excited to have a new one, since he had already merged his first one.

He was considerably less excited about their trip back to the cramped tunnel. They went through that part as quickly as they could to spare Sidon the back pain; it was easy now that they knew the route.

Once they were on the ground level once more, they saw they had been wise to stay in the city for the night: the hill the city was on was practically surrounded by water. It had clearly been raining the whole night, if not the whole day, and as such it would have been impossible to travel. Today, though, the sky was clear.

They should be able to reach the capital well within the day, too.

With much cheer and holding hands – which was half weird and half absolutely natural – they continued their journey.

-----

The way to the city was rather uneventful. They walked a well-worn path, swam over a few puddles – much to Sidon's delight – and stopped by a crowded camp for a meal. Said camp was hidden in a large flower patch, and was both a resting spot for travelers and a popular camping spot for the people who lived in the capital. Apparently there was a regularly scheduled mouse cart that took people to the camp and back at certain times to halve the otherwise four-hour trip, and to make crossing the big people road safer. Luck was not on their side, however, as the cart back had left a little before they arrived, so the next one was hours away and not worth waiting for. They might be able to catch the other one that went towards the Lost Woods once they reached the city, though. It was an exciting prospect.

They walked the Minish path on this side of the road and then cautiously started crossing the big people road. They had been told that it could be crossed at any time here, as big people were rare this far into the woods. They were a bit – a lot in Link's case – anxious about it, but unwilling to wait until the nightfall when they had been told it was unnecessary.

As they were nearing the city, they actually saw the mouse cart heading back to the camp. It looked more or less the same as the big people carts that were used to transport people, except there were two mice pulling it instead of horses. A Minish wearing an official looking uniform was steering it, and Link saw him do the same hand gesture Hiveri had used to communicate with his bees when the mice became restless as they were passing him and Sidon. So this person was a mage with an aptitude to mice, he figured. Neat.

It was shortly after that encounter that they were finally on the other side, and soon after that they saw the capital city ahead of them. It consisted of two parts: the inner, old city was nestled between huge rocks and partially canopied by big leaves, and the new, outer city flourished on the outside of the rocks underneath more of the same big leaves. Of course they couldn't see the inner city from their vantage point, but the outer city alone was huge. They picked up their pace eagerly.

There was an actual paved road leading to the city, with a few lantern posts lighting the way for anyone traveling after the sunset. It was downright luxurious. It got even more so once they reached the city itself: there were paved roads leading to every house and every recreational area, lanterns everywhere, decorative floral arrangements hanging from said lanterns, and most of the houses looked sturdier than the majority of the big people houses Link had seen on his travels. Some of the roads had decorative tiles every now and then. Link assumed they were made in the previous city; at least the floral patterns looked very familiar.

The local Minish surrounded them instantly.

"Are you the big people everyone talks about?"

"They say you're half-fish!"

"Wanna try merging kinstones?"

"Is it true you can summon the rain?"

"You're shorter than I thought!"

"Want to go out with me?"

"I can show you the city!"

"Can I-"

"Enough, please!" Sidon said with all his princely authority, just as Link was starting to get overwhelmed and was itching to go for his sword to resolve the situation in the quickest possible manner. Needless to say, Link forgot about the sword in favour of ogling his absurdly attractive, assertive boyfriend. Sweet Hylia.

The Minish quieted down in shock and awe. Possibly out of politeness, too.

"We're here as visitors only, and will not be granting anyone anything or answer any unsolicited questions", Sidon said, and the way he said it sounded rehearsed; he probably used the phrase a lot during whatever royal visits he did within the Domain. Link idly wondered if the "we" referred to the two of them, or if it was the royal we. Not that it really mattered. "If you could kindly show us the way to your leader, we would appreciate it."

Did Link already mention how attractive Sidon was when he took charge? Because he was damn attractive when he took charge.

The Minish looked at each other, then one stepped forward and pointed a finger towards a gap between the rocks. "Gentari's office is in the old city, in the city hall. You'll know it when you see it, or you can ask someone over there for more directions."

Sidon smiled widely, and a couple of Minish took a shocked step back. "Thank you very much."

The two of them walked past the Minish, and as soon as they were out of sight Link patted Sidon's arm.

'Lean down here', he signed, and then gave Sidon a big kiss, even daring to linger for a moment. It was the best thing ever to be able to simply do that now, and he hoped it'd never lose its thrill. He smiled widely. 'Being in command suits you.'

Sidon beamed, even if he also rubbed the back of his neck bashfully. "Thank you, Wildberry."

Link blushed a little, and chuckled. He was so in love with this man that it was absolutely ridiculous.

-----

The old city was magnificent from the very start. The rock gateway they used – there were supposedly more on the other sides – had huge full body reliefs of some impressive looking Minish on both sides. On the right was an elderly Minish with a floor-length beard and hair, full robes, and a staff with a bird's head on top. His stance spoke of power, wisdom and dignity. On the left was a younger, somehow slightly Hylian looking Minish wearing regular Hylian-style clothing, a cape, and a hat with a gem on it. Link assumed that one to be male, too, because their Hylian-like looks instinctively gave him that impression. Anyway, his stance radiated power, confidence and fearlessness.

"I wonder who they are", Sidon said with awe, craning his neck with Link to gaze at the amazing statues. Upon further inspection the reliefs looked downright ancient, just really well taken care of. Maybe they were deities? Or the people who founded this city?

'We can ask this Gentari person', Link signed, and Sidon agreed. With some reluctance they moved on. There was more to see and people to talk to, after all.

The inner city was partially carved into the surrounding rocks, with some regular buildings in the free space between the rocks. The regular buildings were more or less the same as the ones outside, so Link focused on the rocks. There were doors and windows and even balconies jutting out of the stone everywhere he looked, indicating that the rocks were hosting countless houses and possibly even shops within. He couldn't tell if just the outer layer was used or if the rocks were entirely hollowed out for the use of the Minish. The thought of the latter was mind-boggling and made his respect for the Minish rise considerably; he had thought only Gorons were stubborn enough to do that.

A hollowed out rock sounded a little dangerous, though. What if a big person sat on it? Especially someone heavy, like a Goron? Wouldn't it just... break, and crush everyone inside?

He thought about his travels within the forest as a big person but could only hazily recall seeing this particular rock before. It had felt… wholly boring and unremarkable to him, and he had passed right by it without even considering climbing on it to scout his surroundings like usual. Huh. ...Right, hadn't Slateri or someone mentioned that the Minish magically repelled big people when they convened? That would be it. He wondered if he could pay closer attention to it now that he knew, as a big person. Although it would probably scare the Minish if he were to walk too close and even more so if he looked at them directly. But he was so curious! So, to be responsible or to satisfy his curiosity? ...That was a dilemma for when it was actually relevant, though.

In the inner city all of the pavement consisted of tiles that were carved, painted, or both, and there were lamp posts everywhere. There were even more floral decorations here than there had been outside, possibly as a compensation for the lack of live greenery. Also, there were so many Minish buzzing about that Link held onto Sidon's hand tightly just to avoid getting separated in the crowd. Scouting for shops or the city hall was impossible for him in this crowd, so he hoped the much taller Zora had better luck.

"Oh, that must be it!" Sidon said enthusiastically, right on cue. He pulled Link forward, and soon enough they were in front of a building that seemed more like a set than an actual building. It was wooden and impressive and official looking, but so flat against the rock that the actual insides just had to be carved into the rock or the Minish working there had to be the skinniest people in existence.

Well, this was certainly a good way to get acquainted with this city's architecture.

They looked at each other, and let themselves in, bursting with curiosity and hoping to find a good few answers here.

Chapter Text

Link had been right: practically as soon as they opened the door to the city hall, they were face to face with a stone wall that had an opening on it. Granted, the tiny room before the tunnel had a couple of flower pots in it, as well as a map on the wall next to the tunnel opening, but that was literally all there was. The rest of the building was inside the rock and didn't bother to pretend to be anything else.

"This is… new", Sidon said, looking around with more bafflement than Link thought necessary. Hadn't the front of the building given him a warning? Maybe Link was simply more used to spotting oddities, thanks to the shrines, the Koroks, and his general curiosity. How many hidden chests or weapons would he have missed if he wasn't good at noticing things that were off? Way too many.

He walked over to the map and sighed in mild frustration: all of the helpful text in it was in Minish, unsurprisingly and quite obviously. Oh well, he hadn't really expected anything different. At least he could try to memorize the layout and avoid getting lost; the damn place was huge and labyrinth-like, according to the map. They would need all the help they could get.

Sidon joined him, easily looking over his head at the map. "I really think I want to learn to read Minish one day. It's unsettling to not understand a single written word of a language. Before this, the only commonly spoken language I was completely incapable of understanding was Gerudo, and there's a good reason for that. Namely, my being male."

Wait, Sidon had demonstrated his skills in Rito, Goron, and Lizalfos before – Link still had trouble with thinking of that one as an actual language – but did this mean he spoke Sheikah, too? Or did it not count as a "commonly spoken language", since the Sheikah were small in numbers?

"The map itself is helpful in any case", Sidon said, and grinned at Link. "We'll simply have to ask someone for further directions. Shall we?"

Link figured he'd ask about the linguistics some other time. He smiled and nodded, and then they entered the tunnel. Thankfully it was wide and tall, so this time around Sidon didn't have to crouch at all. He did have to watch his dorsal fin, but that was comparably a minor problem. As for the tunnel itself, it was curious looking; Link had seen his fair share of Goron-made tunnels, which had been made with bare Goron fists for the most part, but this one looked… smoother. Obviously it hadn't been made by Gorons, so the Minish had to have used tools like mining picks for it. But even so, the smoothness was downright unnatural. Magic? Or simply centuries or more of constant use? He couldn't even guess which one.

They walked ahead and soon there was a door on their left. It had a label on it, but that was even less useful than the map had been. Regardless, they knocked and were bid to enter.

"Excuse me?" Sidon asked politely, addressing the surprised looking Minish inside. "We are looking for someone called Gentari. Could you tell us where we ought to go? We cannot read Minish."

Link looked around curiously, and was mildly disappointed by how boring and plain the room was; it contained simply a work desk, a shelf with books and papers, and a potted plant. This Minish had exactly the kind of job Link would rather die than be shackled to.

"Chief Gentari? Down the hall, then go right, up the stairs and… uh… I think fourth door on the left? Possibly fifth. I haven't had to think about it before. I mean, I can just read the names on the doors."

Link had to give it to this Minish: after the initial surprise, they had apparently just accepted this was the reality now and rolled with it smoothly without bothering to question anything. Whether this was their personality or came with whatever their job was, Link would never know. He remained impressed regardless.

"Thank you very much!"

They followed the instructions carefully, even though at times it took all of their combined willpower to not get distracted. One impressive set of doors had Sidon convinced there had to be a library behind it, and talking him out of going there took a moment; the fact that he wouldn't be able to read a single thing helped. Some very strange noises coming from behind another door had Link curious beyond belief and Sidon had to practically drag him away from it; Link still maintained that one little peek inside wouldn't have hurt or cost them any time at all. And they were both tempted to chat up a line of Minish who were wearing colourful cloth robes; the only reason they didn't was the fact that the Minish seemed to be concentrating hard on something, and they didn't want to distract them from whatever it was. The irony of the fact that they avoided getting distracted because they didn't want to distract others wasn't lost on Link.

Eventually, they were upstairs and contemplating between the two doors the helpful Minish downstairs had mentioned. The doors weren't identical, but they also gave no hints as to what or who to expect on the other side. Link and Sidon looked at each other, shrugged, and knocked on the first one, for the lack of better options.

"Come in!"

They entered, and saw that the room was bigger than the one they had briefly visited downstairs. Each wall was covered by floor to ceiling bookshelves crammed full with books, scrolls, folders, and random old looking items. There were two work desks that were piled high with even more books and open scrolls, and behind one sat a Minish who put down a magnifier and a scroll to give the two of them their full attention. The Minish gasped, stood up, and then actually jumped over their work desk – almost toppling over a pile of books – and landed in front of the shocked pair.

"You're the big people who shrank!" the Minish yelled in excitement. "I hoped I'd get to meet you! Oh, lucky day!"

Link kind of doubted this Minish was the one they were looking for.

"I'm Histori, nice to meet you!" the Minish said, confirming Link's suspicion. "Now, please tell me- Oh, wait a second!"

Histori ran back to their desk, grabbed a notebook and a pencil, and then ran back to the pair. Link was starting to think this Minish was a few cuckoos short of a flock.

"Please tell me everything that has happened to you from the moment you shrank to this very moment", Histori said, and got ready to write.

...Right. Link elbowed Sidon, who was simply gaping in complete confusion.

'We're not telling our life stories to this person', he signed. 'Try to get some sense into this situation, please.'

Sidon collected himself, and cleared his throat. "I'm terribly sorry to disappoint you, Miss Histori, but we're looking for Gentari. We unfortunately don't have the time to regale our adventures to you right this moment."

Histori blinked rapidly a few times, then sighed in deep disappointment. "I see. There is never the time to record history as it happens. Its destiny is to always be gathered afterwards, second-hand, through the filters of time, cooled trails and witness reports. We historians always have to battle hyperbole, assumptions, and flawed points of view."

Link and Sidon looked at each other awkwardly. It seemed they had unknowingly hit a sore spot. A very strange and specific sore spot.

"We're truly sorry", Sidon said quietly, and Link had the sinking feeling they would be spending a few hours today to tell their tale after all; at some point anyway.

Speaking of their travels, Link suddenly realized something he should have found odd the moment they entered this city: how did these people know about them before they even arrived? They had been traveling rather quickly, and there had been that rain to stop anyone else from the previous city from reasonably reaching this one before them. None of their previous stops had been aware of their existence before they were there, so it wasn't likely that someone from Stable Town had been traveling ahead of them this whole time or anything. Something wasn't adding up.

"Gentari is at behind the next door", Histori said listlessly and walked over to her own door to hold it open for them.

Link looked at Sidon, but instead of getting to exchange pitying glances with him, he saw his boyfriend's expression go from thoughtful to resolute. He knew what Sidon was going to say next. Damn it.

"Wait", Sidon said, and Link just sighed quietly. "We really want to see Gentari now, but we could tell you our story later, if you'd-"

"Yes!" Histori cried, all happy and hyper again, like her small depressed moment hadn't even happened. Had she been faking it to get them to give in? "I'll wait here for you to finish talking to him and then we can record history and, oh, we should go see my sister Librari, she's in charge of both the Capital Library and the Hero Museum, I bet you would be interested in that, seeing how you're big people, and then-"

Link snapped his fingers loudly a couple of times, and was rewarded by blessed silence. He looked at Sidon. 'Gentari now. Rambling Histori later. I have a bad feeling about something.'

Sidon looked chiding at first, then surprised, and finally concerned. "I see. Pardon Link's lack of manners, but we really do need to go now. We will return soon. It was nice meeting you."

They exited before Histori could hold them up any longer. Sidon waited until the door closed behind them, and then looked at Link. "A bad feeling? What is it?"

Link frowned. 'These people were expecting us. How? Who told them?'

Sidon didn't look half as concerned as Link though the situation merited. "That's all? I don't see how that is an issue. Maybe someone traveled ahead of us or the Chief has a method of communicating with the other towns and cities."

'I doubt that. News traveling ahead of you unexpectedly is never a good thing or a coincidence. I bet it was… the Vaatians. There's probably an ambush awaiting us at some spot.'

"The Vaatians? We haven't even encountered any of them-"

'That we know of.'

"Fair. But still, what would they gain by letting everyone know? Wouldn't it be better to keep quiet so that we wouldn't suspect anything?"

That… was a good point. Link was still convinced of his newly hatched theory, but Sidon was right. Why announce their presence to everyone? What was the motive?

Sidon placed a hand on Link's shoulder. "Link. There is no use speculating right this moment. We can simply ask Gentari for insight first. Maybe he has the answers."

Another good point. Link nodded, and they knocked on the door. They were bid to enter once again, and they did.

Gentari's office was… cluttered. There were lots of shelves and desks, all piled up with papers, booklets, stamping tools, packages, and forgotten tea cups. There was a small sitting area on the left, but even the comfortable looking couches had errant papers on them.

Gentari himself was positively ancient looking. He had a long white moustache and his face was about as wrinkled as Impa's. He had a tall red hat and grey robes not dissimilar to the giant statue's at the gates. He was clearly not the same person, however.

"Oh? You're the big people the whole city is abuzz about", Gentari said, and stood up. Link could almost hear his old bones creaking, and wished the Minish had stayed seated. But no, Gentari grabbed a staff, or rather a sewing needle with a red plaited thread hanging from it, and leaned against it for support as he walked around his work desk to greet them properly. Link noticed that he had two of those feathers that were possibly tails. A status symbol, maybe? Or more grew over time?

"I'm Chief Gentari, the leader of all the Minish in the Minish Woods", he said, and bowed slightly. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Prince Sidon and Sir Link."

He even knew their names. That wasn't alarming or anything.

"We're very honoured to meet you", Sidon said with a regal nod. Link half bowed politely. "I hope we find you in good health."

Ugh, princely manners and small talk.

Gentari chuckled, and pointed to the sitting area with his needle-staff. "Very much so, thank you for your concern. Shall we get seated? I don't like to keep my guests standing."

They moved over to the sitting area and, to Link's surprise and awe, Gentari waved his staff a few times, which caused the papers to rise from the couches, form a neat pile, and levitate over to the work desk.

"That was amazing!" Sidon said, taking the words straight out of Link's mouth. "I have never seen magic like that!"

Actually, now that Sidon put it like that… Link had seen magic like that. Master Kohga and at least one of the mummified Sheikah monks had levitated objects. He felt slightly less awed, but still impressed.

"Thank you", Gentari said, and took a seat. Link was certain he heard at least one bone popping. "That is a very basic bit of magic taught at our Magic Academy. But I doubt learning about our academy is the reason for your visit. Tell me, what do you need me for?"

Straight to the point. Link already liked Gentari.

"Ah, it is actually one of our inquiries", Sidon said, "but not the most pressing. Please tell us, has Slateri the First passed by?"

Chapter Text

"Slateri the First?" Gentari asked, and seemed surprised. "Funny that you asked. He was here, and left just this morning."

...What? They had missed Slateri by mere hours? Wait, they could probably catch up to him if they hurried. He turned to look at Sidon, who looked troubled.

"I see", he said. "That is… good news. We should be able to catch up to him before he gets to the Lost Woods, then."

Why did that sound like Sidon wasn't planning to start running immediately?

'Sidon', Link signed, catching his boyfriend's attention right away. 'We should just ask our questions and leave now.'

Sidon grimaced. "I'm aware that would be the logical thing to do, as far as our main goal is concerned."

Link already knew there would be a 'but' coming. He frowned and crossed his arms, begrudgingly listening.

"But the truth is... I don't want to", Sidon confessed with a sheepish look. "Please listen. We just got here, and there is so much to see and learn in this particular city. Many interesting new concepts have piled up during our journey, and this city is the place where all the answers supposedly wait. We weren't even expecting to catch up to Slateri here; weren't we committed to going all the way to the Lost Woods Capital to find him? We're ahead of our schedule and could afford to explore one more city."

Link's frown deepened in thought. He saw Sidon's point, but at the same time he knew things never went as planned for him; if they didn't seize their chance to catch Slateri now, they likely wouldn't get another chance before the Lost Woods Capital because of his selectively rotten luck. Not that he minded adventuring and new places, but they were in a bit of a hurry here because of Sidon's royal status. They had already taken a week on a few days' journey, and missed their first chance of sending a letter to King Dorephan at the stable. Soon there would be chaos in Zora's Domain because the only heir to the throne had been too quiet for too long without any warning.

Link really didn't want King Dorephan thinking he had gone and gotten another one of his children killed; the only remaining one at that. The sooner they were big again, the better.

"You speak sign language", Gentari said suddenly; Link had already forgotten he was present in the first place. Gentari leaned towards Link with a painfully familiar gleam in his eyes. It was the look that people had when they wanted favours from Link, so he frowned before nodding; he supposed he could hear the old Minish out, if only to avoid answering Sidon's plea just yet. "Fascinating. Now, from the half of your conversation that I'm able to understand, I gather that you might want to leave immediately? I implore that you don't. Please, hear me out."

Link nodded again, reluctantly.

"Thank you. I would ask you to go visit our High Librarian, Librari. She has recently started studying sign language in preparation of teaching it to our population; at least the current generation of children. A deaf girl was born a few months ago, and she will need a teacher as well as peers who will understand her. We have not needed sign language in decades, so the art has been forgotten and needs to be learned from scratch. Librari would benefit greatly from conversing with a person who uses sign language as his primary method of communication."

Link had not expected that. Maybe he should have, since Gentari inquired about his signing before the request, but sweet Hylia. A whole generation was going to learn sign language for the benefit of one child? To be fair, Link didn't actually know how it was for Hylians or the other big people races sans the Zora, but the concept made him… emotional. This was the first time sign language turned out to be actually useful for reasons other than him not having to vocalize. He could make the difference for one little girl's education and life. ...He couldn't say no to that, now could he? Damn it.

'Fine', he signed without looking at Gentari or Sidon. 'But we'll leave first thing tomorrow.'

"Yes!" Sidon cried, and pumped his fist in the air. Link's eyes followed the flex of his bicep attentively, and he already felt better about his decision. He was a simple man with simple likes, and bulging Zora prince muscles were among the top of the list.

"I gather you're staying?" Gentari asked, and Sidon nodded happily. "Excellent. I thank you humbly. Now, you mentioned other inquiries?"

Sidon glanced at Link, who frowned again before signing 'Vaatians'. Sidon nodded, his grin vanishing.

"We came to wonder one thing just before arriving to your office", Sidon said seriously. "How is it that you knew about us before our arrival? Link has his suspicions, but I'd rather hear your explanation before jumping into conclusions."

Gentari opened his mouth to reply, then closed it with a puzzled frown. He thought quietly for a couple of seconds, then finally shook his head. "Funny, that. It's actually quite the mystery. This morning, shortly after Slateri left, a guard came to me. She told me that the whole city was talking about some big people who had been shrunk down and were on their way here. She hadn't been able to verify the truthfulness of that claim as everyone she spoke to had simply heard it from someone else. It was like nobody was the source of the rumour, yet it had spread like wildfire in the span of an hour or so. I have no idea who did it or why."

If Link hadn't been suspicious before, he certainly was now. He told Sidon as much, and now it seemed that his boyfriend agreed.

"I see. Link has a suspicion. I don't know if this is completely baseless, as we have little understanding of the group we're accusing here, but he suspects the Vaatians. We have reason to believe they would be hostile towards us, and that might somehow be enough of a motive to do something like this. Do you think it plausible?"

Gentari nodded instantly. "I don't see why not. I don't have a clue how this could benefit them, but it certainly makes more sense than a random traveler spreading something like this without making themselves the center of the attention while they're at it."

Gentari's eyebrows knit together in obvious worry, which made Link expectant. He wasn't sure whether he dreaded or hoped to be asked to solve this case simply because he was the Hero of Hyrule and always solved everyone's problems, no matter how big or small. Although he wasn't sure if the Minish actually knew about that tidbit in the first place.

"Hmm… Them being numerous enough around here to spread the rumor that fast makes me worry about them striking somewhere sometime soon", Gentari said, and Link held his breath. "Did you have any other questions? I need to speak with the captain of the guard as soon as possible, but I can spare a few more minutes for such rare guests as yourselves."

What? The captain of the guard? Link didn't need to do anything?

Sidon didn't seem confused at all, and merely nodded with a serious look. "Thank you for your hospitality. We won't take much more of your time, since it is of essence right now. We wanted to learn more about the Vaatians, but I suspect that to be a lengthy discussion?"

Gentari nodded. "You're right about that. You could ask Librari or Histori about it. She's next door towards the stairs."

"We've met. We're also interested in the kinstones and the Magic Academy."

Gentari smiled widely. "How wonderful! We're hoping to get kinstones back into the hands of the big people, so it's excellent to hear of your interest. Histori could tell you about those as well, and she could take you to visit the Magic Academy to talk with Mageri. Or if she's busy, Librari can do that instead. Ah, pardon me for simply delegating the task of answering your questions to other people."

Sidon shook his head. "No need for apologies; we understand completely. I'm the crown prince of the Zora, and as such no stranger to prioritizing and delegation. On that note, we have no more questions that aren't related to the subjects already brought up. We can ask Histori, Librari or Mageri, should the answers not come forward on their own after the initial questions."

Gentari nodded, and then stood up with as much creaking as before. Link and Sidon followed suit.

"If anything else comes to you, feel free to pay me another visit", Gentari said as he walked them to his door. "I would love to speak with you again before you leave, if you happen to have the time. I'm expecting more big people visitors now that you have discovered us, and having some knowledge of your culture and of the ways to better accommodate your people would be greatly appreciated."

"We'll keep that in mind", Sidon said with a smile. "I can't promise anything, but we'll see. I plan on visiting your cities again in the future with better time, so at least there is that to look forward to. Thank you for your help and may Hylia bless your guards in their duty."

"May Ezlo watch your steps and offer you wisdom", Gentari said, and tapped his hat a couple of times. It was a strange gesture, but even stranger was the fact that it made Link expect… something, from his own perfectly regular Minish issue cap. Nothing happened, and he was mildly disappointed. He also made a mental note to ask someone about this Ezlo person – or possibly a god – they had heard mentioned a couple of times now.

They left the room, and took the few steps required to reach Histori's door again. Link braced himself for the enthusiasm of the Minish inside before knocking.

Histori personally opened the door this time, and grinned widely at the sight of them.

"I had a feeling it might be you!" she exclaimed. "I didn't expect you back this soon but I'm certainly not complaining. Come in!"

They followed her, and Link noticed that she had cleared one of the work desks and unearthed a couple of chairs for them while they were gone. He felt almost guilty about the fact that he would have ran after Slateri the moment they were done with Gentari had Sidon not persuaded him to stay, promises to Histori be damned.

"Sit down, sit down! Now tell me everything!"

They sat, not having much of a choice. Histori had a notebook and a pencil ready, and she was almost vibrating with anticipation.

'We should ask her about the Vaatians first', Link signed to Sidon. 'It might be urgent, since Gentari suspects they might be here en masse.'

Sidon looked indecisive for a moment, then gave a guilty look at Link's hands for some reason and straightened up. He looked at Histori. "We will, but we have an urgent question of our own first. Would you-"

Histori slammed her writing tools against the table, making Link jump. She had a fierce look in her eyes.

"No", she said, stressing the word. "You promised me a story before you ran off to do more important things last time. I'm not risking the answer to your question making you run off again, without giving me my answers. I'm holding your question hostage until you answer mine. Are we clear?"

If Link didn't know better, he would have sworn she was Zelda in disguise. He officially liked her now, usually hyper or not.

Sidon glanced helplessly at Link, who gave a sheepish shrug and a nod.

"Crystal clear, ma'am", Sidon said. "Fine then, how should I begin...?"

It took them a long while to recount their adventures in the Minish lands, because Histori wanted to know absolutely everything. And by everything, Link meant an outline of every single interaction they had had with the locals, an exhaustive description of every location they had been to, and their thoughts about the Minish cuisine. Among other things; she had questions about everything. The only major things they left out were their personal issues, and she had attempted to pry into those as well; thankfully she had backed off at Link's fierce glaring and repeated 'no' signs.

But finally, after copious notes and a cup of delicious, flowery tasting Minish tea, they were done.

If they didn't have a time limit, Link would have gladly left all of their own questions for later at that point; he felt so exhausted. And he hadn't even done the actual talking, at least not directly.

"Alrighty then", Histori said, and put the notebook down at long last. "I'm satisfied. What was your inquiry?"

Sidon exchanged a relieved look with Link, even though he didn't look at all weary from all the talking. Link suspected that the princely meetings he no doubt participated in often made this interrogation a piece of cake.

"What can you tell us about the Vaatians?"

Chapter Text

Histori gasped and her eyes widened comically. "You want me to recount an important piece of recent history for you? The story of the no-doubt-interesting-historical-figures-to-be, the Vaatians?"

Link already regretted everything, even though they needed this information. It was the same feeling from when he had had to put up with that lecherous Hylian guy's flirting near Gerudo Town to get his sweet, sweet boots. Necessary, but mentally taxing.

"Yes, please", Sidon answered, polite as ever. Link was glad to have a spokesperson who could keep things smooth between them and the people they interacted with. Actually, Link was glad to have a spokesperson, period.

Histori squealed, and ran to a bookshelf. She grabbed a rolled up parchment, glanced inside of it, and then bounded back to her previous seat with it in her grasp. She cleared her throat and rolled open the parchment.

"The story of the Vaatians is a strange one. It started not long after the shrines in the Lost Woods and near the Pico Pond suddenly activated after roughly a thousand years of silence", she said, and looked briefly at her parchment. "I'll tell you more about the shrines later, if you want. But I digress. The Slateri family let everyone important – such as the town leaders – know that the shrines activating might mean that we would soon receive big people visitors, and we should start getting ready for them. By getting ready, they meant everyone in high enough political position should learn Hylian, the Jabber Nuts needed to be grown in higher numbers again, and we should reinstate the kinstone production – more about that later, too. The Slateris are very highly regarded, so the leaders got started with everything they suggested right away."

Link wondered what this all had to do with the Vaatians, but a glance at Sidon's attentive look had him hold his tongue. Or rather, his fingers.

"After the kinstone production began and the word of the big people coming spread to the civilians, Vaatians made their first appearance", Histori said, and Link nodded. Now they were getting to the point.

"A young Minish, who had the audacity to call himself Vaati – more about Vaati later – came to the town square and held a speech." Histori glanced at her notes before continuing. "He said that the big people would be our doom and we should not welcome them into our midst. We should keep ourselves separate from them and stop worshiping the trash they drop like they're gifts from the heavens. The big people should not be granted our magic via the kinstones, and should, in fact, be repelled away from our dwellings completely so that we would not have to worry about being crushed by their feet. We should rid ourselves from the big people’s influence and became our own people who don’t live in the shadows of others. That was the gist of it."

Link bit his lower lip in troubled thought. This Vaati had something of a point, which made him trickier to deal with than the Yiga Clan had been. He was not an enemy in theory – because a different political agenda wasn't a crime – but was likely to become one in practice simply because Link and Sidon were big people.

"Minish, especially youngsters, started joining his cause, and soon enough they were calling themselves Vaatians. At first it was simply a little worrisome, but harmless enough; they were more or less a club where like-minded Minish complained about the big people. But a little while ago they started vandalizing and destroying big people objects, harassing officials who are openly positive about big people, and they have tried breaking into the Hero Museum a couple of times now. The latest news has been Slateri the First telling Gentari today that his Sheikah Slate indicated something was wrong with the shrines in the Lost Woods and he had to go there to fix it. He suspected the Vaatians had sabotaged one of the shrines to prevent big people from coming. Since you’re here, obviously it didn’t work."

Oh. That was actually bad. If the Vaatians had their way, Link and Sidon would be stuck here for the rest of their lives. Nobody would know where to look for them, and even if they suspected this general area, they would probably just try to comb the Lost Woods, which wouldn't be very helpful.

How long would it take before they were declared dead and King Dorephan would start mourning his son?

“It didn’t stop us from coming, but it does stop us from leaving", Sidon said, looking serious but not at all panicked the way Link felt. Maybe he didn't see the bigger picture yet, or he was simply quicker than Link at pushing it aside. "We shrunk down by pressing an icon on our Sheikah Slates, but we cannot become big again the same manner. That’s why we’re looking for Slateri the First; we’re hoping he can fix this.”

Maybe now Sidon would understand why they had to leave right away. ...If it weren't for that little deaf girl that Link couldn't bear to leave unassisted. Damn it.

Damn Zelda and her accurate diagnosis of his hero complex. If they managed to become big again, he would have to bake her a fruit cake, tell her she was right, and then ask her to stop being right about such inconvenient things. Maybe she could go out of her way to be right about Link growing taller or something. That would be nice.

"Yes, you told me this already", Histori said, and rolled up her parchment. "Did you have any questions about the Vaatians? I don't have much more to tell since I'm not an initiate and don't have the inside information, but I can try."

'Do they have a base of operation?' Link asked instantly, thinking of the Yiga camp at Gerudo Desert. Sidon translated his question obediently.

"Two places are suspected but not confirmed", Histori said. "They seem to always be doing something in this city at random times, so they probably have a hideout here. It's also suspected that they have a larger camp in the Lost Woods, since many of the open Vaatians are Lost Woods Minish, and they do need to have a secure place to train their magic and convene safely. No clue where in there, however."

In short, the rest of their trip would be more dangerous than the first half had been. Link tried to feel properly apprehensive, but mostly he felt excited about the prospect of a real challenge; just like his grand adventure, but with admittedly lower stakes! Not to diminish King Dorephan's potential grief, but it was still less of a disaster than losing to Calamity Ganon and dooming all of Hyrule had been.

Damn, his priorities were all over the place and fluctuating, weren't they? Zelda would have a field day with this one.

"That's worrisome, since we're headed that way", Sidon said with a frown. "At least Chief Gentari is tightening the security here, so Link won't feel the urge to stay and protect everyone, as admirable as that would be."

Link could almost hear Zelda's triumphant 'Ha!' at that. He spelled out 'r-u-d-e' at Sidon, who simply shrugged at him with a half-apologetic smile.

'Ask about Vaati', Link signed to change the subject, and Sidon complied with poorly hidden amusement.

"Ooh, which one?" Histori asked, and stood up. "The current one or the historical figure? Well, to be fair, I don't know much about the current one, but I could talk for hours about the historical Vaati!"

'Cancelling my question', Link signed hurriedly, not wanting to waste their entire day here.

Sidon chuckled. "How about a very brief summary on the historical one?" The question seemed directed at both Histori and Link, so Link admitted his defeat and nodded.

"Aww, that's a shame. But okey-dokey, then!" Histori said, and sat back down. Link suspected she had been ready to fetch reference books, but didn't need them for the short version. That was promising. "Long story short, Vaati was a fledgling mage who was accepted as a pupil by our beloved Ezlo – the strongest mage in our recorded history. Vaati was highly gifted and had enormous potential, but Ezlo – being wise and experienced – saw that he needed to learn compassion, patience, and responsibility before he should be allowed to access truly powerful magic. He didn't want his pupil becoming corrupted by getting too much power at once, after all. So, Vaati's studies were kept slow and steady, with more emphasis on character growth than cultivating his magical powers, which felt underwhelming for someone like him. Vaati became dissatisfied with the pace Ezlo was allowing for his progress, believing he could easily skip ahead in his studies because of his intelligence and talent. That, and he had a secret ambition to exact revenge on big people for personal reasons as soon as he was strong enough, which was his main motive for learning magic. Eventually, in order to get to his goal faster, he stole Ezlo's experimental magical creation: the Minish Cap, which granted its wearer one wish. Any wish. In Vaati's case, the wish was to get magical powers strong enough to achieve his goals."

Link supposed he now understood why the current Vaati had named himself after this guy: they shared a dislike for big people, and taking a name like that would be a quick way to grab peoples' attention so he could achieve his goals faster.

"Ezlo caught him in the act and tried to stop him, but was turned into a living cap in order to make him harmless, and because Vaati was a fan of irony. Vaati was now powerful, but as Ezlo had feared, he lacked the qualities that a person with such vast power should have and was instantly corrupted. Now that he had had a taste of power, he wanted even more and he wanted it fast, and since he had actively been looking for an easy and quick way to have power, he already had a second target ready. He turned big people sized and went to the Hyrule Castle to look for a source of power that was rumoured to be there: the Light Force, which was sealed away in a chest with the sacred Picori Blade. That's a whole other story we're not getting into now. So, he successfully got into the castle and gained access to the chest. He broke the blade to open the chest, but instead of finding the Light Force, he released numerous monsters that had been sealed away in it. Disappointed, he turned the Hylian Princess into stone as revenge, and left to search elsewhere, not realizing that the Light Force was within the Princess the whole time.”

"A young Hylian boy, later dubbed the Hero of the Minish, was sent to ask the Minish for help in order to restore the blade and to save the Princess. Thankfully, he ran into Ezlo, and they teamed up to fix the problems. Ezlo, you see, had one trick up his hat: he could turn big people sized and back to Minish size at will, no matter his form. He could also take anyone wearing him with him. I'll let Librari tell you a juicy detail about that later! But I digress again.”

Gentari’s weird farewell of tapping his hat and wishing them Ezlo’s wisdom made a lot more sense now, given that Ezlo had apparently been a hat at some point of his life and was implied to have been worn by the Hero. Perhaps he had been a helpful well of wisdom while sitting on that poor guy’s head. The notion gave Link a weird sense of déjà-vu and, even weirder, made him think of Ritos for some reason. How curious.

“Together, Ezlo and the Hero eventually restored the blade even beyond its former glory, sought out Vaati, and defeated him. The Princess was saved, Ezlo was turned back to normal, the evil was contained with a wish from the Minish Cap and re-sealed with the sword, and Vaati was returned to Ezlo's care to learn magic the right way and to let go of his grudges towards the big people. Well, half of him was returned anyway. It's said that when the magic he gained from the Minish Cap was taken from him, he split into two beings: the Minish he had been, and a corrupted shadow of a sorcerer that was sealed into the Picori Blade. There are accounts of said sorcerer causing trouble for the big people later down the line, but the details of that are irrelevant to this tale. As for Vaati, he took a while to come around, but eventually he grew to be a powerful mage who did a lot of good for the Minish. He never learned to tolerate big people, but he never attacked them again, either. He was also one of the founders of this city, and his statue, along with Ezlo's, greets our citizens and our visitors at the gate to the Old Town."

Link thought back to the giant statues he had seen. He assumed the old and wise looking Minish had to be Ezlo, so that made the oddly Hylian looking one Vaati. Maybe his appearance had been permanently altered by the Cap when he had been split into two?

As interesting as it was, Link was acutely aware of their one day in the city dwindling. They had so much to see and do, yet they had wasted hours chatting with Histori.

"That was a fascinating story", Sidon said, completely starry-eyed. "I would love to hear more about-"

Link tapped at Sidon's bicep to get his attention. 'We don't exactly have the time for more stories unless they're related to our current goals. We want to learn about the kinstones, see the Magic Academy, talk to Librari, and see more of the city. We may not even have the time for all of that anymore.'

Sidon pouted at him, and Link was this close to abandoning their Slateri chase and simply letting Sidon get what he wanted. However, he was not Zelda's appointed knight for nothing: when he had a duty, he committed to it and didn't let himself become distracted. ...Not too often, anyway. He pointedly didn’t let himself think about the Koroks. Or the treasure chests. Or the dragons. Or the Bokoblin camps. He was occasionally very responsible, damn it!

Sidon sighed in defeat, and turned to look at Histori again. “Link just reminded me that we’re on a schedule. I plan on coming back here one day, so perhaps we can have a good long chat then?”

Histori looked equally bummed, but nodded and stood up. “I would love that. Okay then, where are you off to next? I could take you there, since this place is a bit of a maze. And if me escorting you just so happens to buy us more time to talk, well, that’s purely coincidental!”

Link snorted, and Sidon chuckled. He really liked Histori.

“We’re interested in the Magic Academy and the kinstones, we have business with Librari, and you personally recommended we visit the Hero Museum”, Sidon explained. “Which one should we set as our next goal?”

“Ooh, good picks!” Histori said enthusiastically and led them to her door. “I’ll take you to the Magic Academy first; Mageri will be right quick with explaining whatever you need to know, while Librari is guaranteed to keep you forever. Better save her for the last! And I can tell you about the kinstones on the way there, if you like?”

“That would be most appreciated.”

Chapter Text

Link took a deep breath once he was out of Histori's office; the air had gotten stuffy in there after the three of them had occupied the relatively small room for so long. He hadn't fully realized it before stepping out and being greeted with the much clearer air of the hallway. Actually, the air was strangely clear, considering that they were deep inside of a stone. Was there an actual window somewhere? Or just magic? Whatever the reason, he was glad for the relatively fresh air.

"This way", Histori said, and started walking with a brisk pace. Link and Sidon followed obediently, and Link tried to keep a track of their whereabouts as they did; he wanted to be able to find their way out, should they need to do it on their own.

"So, kinstones!" Histori said after a moment of silence. "I take it someone gave you a piece or a few? Have you merged any yet?"

"Yes, we received some while purchasing foodstuff at the previous towns", Sidon answered. "I have managed to merge one. I saw a strange vision when I did, and Link is of the opinion that what I saw actually happened or will happen in the future. Is that true?"

Histori let out an excited squee, and gave Sidon a big grin. "How fascinating! I haven't managed to find matches for my kinstones yet, but that's probably because our city is so large that running into the right Minish is improbable at my socialization rates!"

Huh. Link had pegged Histori as the type to have a lot of friends and to spend all her free time out and about, what with her being so exuberant and talkative. Maybe she was too much for others and had trouble finding friends, then?

"Regardless of my own lack of success", Histori continued, "I know how the process is supposed to go. Yes, the vision is real and it happened right at the moment you saw it. Kinstones are imbued with Minish luck magic, and their purpose is to bring happiness to the people who merge them. The kinstone's magic binds with the person who owns the piece and gets a feel for the person's needs, wants, and the near future. Then, upon merging with another piece and combining the magic, it gives the fabric of the universe a small push to make something useful for its owner to happen, and gives them a vision of it. Say that you've lost your hat; merging a kinstone is likely to reveal the location of your hat. Or you need information on something; the kinstone may give someone who possesses the knowledge an urge to visit you, or shows you who and where they are so you can go there yourself. It's small stuff, and it can't be anything impossible like rewinding the time to fix a mistake you're embarrassed about. You don't get to choose either, unless you're a mage who knows what they're doing. Whatever combination is the most useful to you at the time and the easiest to make happen is what will happen."

That sounded super useful. Why on earth had the Minish ever stopped producing kinstones? And why not just give everyone a bag of matching pieces for free use? Link tapped Sidon's arm and asked his questions.

"Good questions", Histori said, and took a moment to concentrate on going down a set of stairs before answering. "The kinstones are loaded with magic to give them their purpose, but they also require additional magic from their users to power up the actual wish fulfilling process. If you were to own both pieces and merge them on your own, the process would be very taxing on you. That's why you need two people for one whole stone and why they're not given out en masse."

That made sense. Since Histori didn't bother bringing up making ones that didn't leech power from their users, Link assumed they would be hard, if not impossible to make. Not that he knew much about magic, but it seemed logical since powering the halves up apparently took enough energy to make it unwise to merge them alone.

"As for why the production was stopped", Histori continued. "It was because delivering them to big people became difficult. Luck magic has a tendency to work better the more it's spread around. If the circulation is small, the magic withers. I'm not a mage, though, so I don't ask me about the details of that. So, when the shrines shut down and long distance travel became impossible, we could no longer spread the kinstones all around Hyrule for big people to find and power up the luck magic. They stopped working correctly, and became pointless. Now that the shrines work again and Slateri will be producing more Sheikah Slates for the Minish to travel with – and big people start visiting on their own, too, I assume – the kinstones can be made again."

Wait, Slateri could make Sheikah Slates? Purah had worked for roughly a hundred years to figure out how to make them, yet Slateri could apparently start producing them whenever? Though, to be fair, Link didn't know how long Slateri may have been working on it on his end. Or possibly the knowledge was passed down in their family, maybe even in written form with clear instructions. There was no reason why the Minish should have lost that knowledge to time the same way the Sheikah had, just because the Sheikah had.

Link had the feeling Zelda and Purah would waste no time getting here as soon as he delivered this piece of news to them. They would probably burst from the sheer excitement.

"You have mentioned the shrines shutting down a couple of times now", Sidon said, and Link focused on the conversation again. "What is that about?"

Histori stopped in front of a massive, intricately decorated door. "Isn't that the question? About a thousand years ago the local shrines simply went dormant for no apparent reason. The Slateri family couldn't get them to work, and obviously couldn't communicate with the Sheikah for answers because the shrines wouldn't work. Now that they work again, we're hoping to get some answers from the Sheikah."

Good luck with that. Link doubted the Sheikah had any answers, seeing how lost they had been with the old Sheikah technology themselves. Or maybe they did have the answers to that question in their history books, and their lack of knowledge about the technology itself was a separate issue. Thankfully that sounded like a problem for Purah, and not him.

"Anyway, we're here!" Histori said with a cheer, and opened the door.

The room was... oddly smoky. Except not the kind of smoke that came from campfires. No, this smoke was green and red and orange and smelled kind of like the incense Zelda liked in her chambers, but not quite. The smoke swirled at their feet like some kind of strange non-corporeal snakes, and Link hoped the smell wouldn't stick. Other than that, the room was very colourful: the stone walls had been painted with strange patterns of different colours and sizes, but quite obviously with some kind of an intent that eluded Link. There were dried plants hanging from the ceiling, and now Link was questioning if it was the smoke that smelled or if it came from those plants instead.

Around the room were doors that had the same patterns on them as the walls, but they were only painted with a single colour and shape for each: one had blue swirls, another had red spikes, one had orange jigjags, and so on. In the middle of the room was a large table filled with knick-knacks, among which was a large bowl of kinstones. Link felt an odd compulsion to approach it, and upon doing so suddenly saw a tiny glowing spot within it.

"Hmm? And who might you be?"

Link startled out of his trance, and looked at a Minish who had practically materialized next to him out of the blue. The Minish was wearing a red cloth robe with orange square shapes embroidered on the sleeves and the hem, and a typical Minish style red pointy cap. Their eyebrows were imposing in size.

'Link', he answered automatically, only to be met with an impressive frown. Right, this one didn't understand him. Not that he would have expected anything different, had he put any forethought to it.

"Mageri! How convenient!" Histori cried, and jumped between the two. Literally jumped, all the way from the doorway where Sidon was still standing with a baffled expression.

"Oh. It's you", Mageri said, looking unimpressed. "And you brought guests. How wonderful."

Sarcasteri would have been another fitting name for this Minish, Link thought. Though maybe they just didn't much like Histori.

"Not just any guests!" Histori said, not deterred in the least. "They're the big people everyone is talking about! This one is Link; he's a Hylian. That one is Prince Sidon; he is Zora royalty. And they want to learn about Minish magic!"

Link had been inching closer to the bowl of kinstones during the introductions, but froze when Mageri turned to regard him again.

"Really? That explains why they look so strange", Mageri said, and Link tried his best not to take offense to that – he found the Minish strange looking, too, so fair was fair. "It doesn't, however, explain your apparent need to get your hands to the kinstone bowl. Do you mind?"

Link looked at the glow in the bowl again, and dug out his own kinstone piece. It was glowing, just like he had half-expected. He held it out to Mageri, who simply looked at it like there was nothing particularly interesting about it.

"You're hoping to merge kinstones? I'm sorry, lad, but since those ones are unbound it'll be very difficult to find the one yours is reacting to", Mageri said with a shake of his head.

'I know which one it is', Link signed, which prompted Sidon to start translating for him – he had come over and attempted to trade pleasantries with Mageri to no avail while Link had been distracted. 'It glows.'

Mageri was suddenly extremely interested, judging from the fact that he promptly walked over to the bowl and upended it, scattering the kinstones all over the table with a few even rolling to the floor.

"Point it to me", they said, and gestured at the pieces. Oh, right, Link shouldn't merge them on his own so he couldn't just grab it. He located the only glowing kinstone with ease, and Mageri picked it up. It glowed even brighter, and started pulsing.

"Just so you know", Mageri said, "you seeing the glow is extraordinary. Most people can't see it. You're either a rare case who is born with it, or a certain condition is met and you gain the ability. Let's merge these and I'll find out."

Mageri chanted a few words in a language Link wasn't familiar with, and their kinstone piece's glow changed its colour subtly to a slightly more orange tint. They held the piece out to Link, who met it with his own half without hesitation.

The halves merged together seamlessly, just like Sidon's had before. Their combined glow got harsher, and Link's piece's glow colour changed to match Mageri's. The merged kinstone lifted into the air on its own, glowed even brighter, and disappeared with a 'ping'.

Link's eyes glassed over.

-----

It was dark and misty, and there were dead looking trees with frightening face-like deformities all around. Link could hear a fox yip somewhere close-by, which was shortly followed by a sound of footsteps getting closer.

The fox came into view and slunk over to one of the trees. Link noticed now that there was a patch of mushrooms clustered at the tree's roots, and the fox seemed somewhat interested in them. However, as soon as the fox's snout accidentally poked at the side of the tree next to one of the mushrooms, there sounded a sudden 'crack' that sent it packing with a whimper.

Where the fox had touched was now a tiny hole on the tree's bark. There was only darkness within from Link's viewpoint, but it led him to believe that the hole was relatively deep.

Whatever might be hidden within?

-----

Link blinked rapidly, and then squinted his eyes at the sudden brightness that came with being back at the Magic Academy.

Huh. So that's what it had been like to Sidon. How curious. It was similar to his own memory trips back in the day, but not quite the same.

Thinking back on his vision, he could recognize the place he saw as the Lost Woods. Of course he had no idea where there the exact spot he had seen was located, but he was reasonably confident he'd run into it if they were to go there. After all, that was how these kind of things tended to go in his experience.

...Since his kinstone deemed that place important to him in the near future, did that mean they would definitely go there during this trip? Was this a sign that they wouldn't be able to catch up to Slateri even if they tried?

Well, shit.

Chapter Text

"Link? What did you see?" Sidon asked, which brought Link out of his musings and back to here and now.

'Lost Woods. A cave appeared', he summarized.

Sidon looked expectant for a moment longer, but then realized nothing more was coming. "That's it? That's… a little underwhelming. Oh, maybe there's something amazing in the cave that we need to go and see for ourselves? I can see how spoiling a surprise would be worse than not seeing more."

Link smiled, opting to not share his earlier epiphany at the moment. Sidon may yet figure it out for himself, or they could talk about it later.

"I have some answers for you, although on a different subject", Mageri said, getting everyone's attention. "I mentioned earlier that you're either born with the ability to see the kinstone's glow, or you may gain it. I'm reasonably sure it's the latter in your case. Tell me, are you able to see the Koroks? The forest spirits, that is."

Link nodded. Sidon looked at him in surprise; clearly he knew something about the topic, but had been unaware of Link's ability. Well, Link had learned to not advertise it, since people at large thought him crazy for seeing things.

"That's the proof, then", Mageri said with a sagely nod. "My vision showed me the Deku Tree when I specifically asked about this. He's connected to the Koroks, so it was a very clear answer. Regardless, the ability to see Koroks – and other spirits, as well as some magic for that matter – indicates that you came very close to death, and upon survival received this special gift. It's not too rare with old people, since they're pretty likely to have heart failures and are occasionally successfully revived, but it's rare with younglings like you."

...That was disturbing, but also explained so many things, such as why King Rhoam had stuck around after his death despite not being bound by any Divine Beasts; chances were he knew of this phenomenon and trusted that Link would be able to see him and receive his help when he woke. Link had also been almost certain he hadn't been able to see the Koroks a hundred years ago, and this proved his hunch about it right.

"How come I'm unable to see any of that?" Sidon asked, looking unreasonably bummed out by not having almost died. "I brushed death once; I was swallowed whole by a giant Octorok."

Oh, right. That had happened.

"Did you believe you were dying?" Mageri asked with a raised eyebrow.

Sidon gave him a puzzled look, and then the implication visibly dawned on him. "Ah, I see. No, I didn't even consider death at the time."

"There you have it, then", Mageri answered, and turned their attention back to Link. "I would very much like to hear the details of your case, but I understand it's likely a touchy subject. So, let's discuss your reason for seeking audience with me instead."

Link pointed at Sidon. He didn't see any reason Mageri should be looking at him for this discussion, as it was mostly Sidon's business here. That, and he definitely didn't want to tell Mageri "the details of his case". Half because he didn't like talking about it, and half because he didn't want to advertise his heroism now that he was almost certain the Minish didn't know who he was.

Sidon smiled widely. "We wanted to learn more about the Minish magic! I suppose we'd be interested in seeing more performed, but on the theoretical side we'd love to hear more about the aptitudes. Hiveri from another village told me the basics, but he didn't know if, theoretically, we big people would be able to learn magic as well. I had a sister who could magically heal, so I'm curious if I'd be able to do the same with proper training."

Mageri nodded, looking at Sidon appraisingly. "I could show you some of my Academy and we can find the answer to your question along the way."

Link and Sidon both perked up. Now this was more like it!

"Yes, please!"

To the side, possibly tired of being ignored, Histori coughed deliberately, bringing everyone's attention to her.

Mageri's expression turned sour instantly, and they looked at the historian with a massive frown. "You're not invited. You're too distracting and you know it."

Ouch. That was rude, and that's something coming from Link, who was known far and wide for his lack of manners.

Histori smirked, and leaned her hip against the table in obvious challenge. "You're such a sour and no-fun guy, Mageri. Besides, I'm the good kind of distracting and you know it."

Link's eyebrows rose; this was an entirely new side to Histori, and it looked promising. Link dug a piece of honey candy from his pocket and munched on it, eyes glued at his new entertainment.

"No, I don't know it. There's only one kind of distracting, and that's bad. Any distraction is bad when you need to focus. I'm perfectly aware I'm no fun, and I won't argue about my sourness with you. Stay here or leave."

Sidon gave Link a disapproving look at his behavior, but happily accepted a candy when Link offered him one.

"Oh, I'll stay. I know you're all too happy to watch me leave, but I like to think you're also sad to see me go", Histori said with a wink, and Mageri actually blushed a little and looked away.

Oh, that was a good one. Histori looked to be fighting an uphill battle, based on Mageri's attitude, but that little victory brought Link firmly into her corner. He silently wished her good luck in her endeavor; she would need it.

"Think what you want as long as you do as asked", Mageri said, sounding a little awkward, but obviously trying his best to filter it out of his body language. He sharply turned away from Histori and walked over to the door with blue swirl patterns, and then turned around to wave impatiently at Link and Sidon. "Are you coming or not?"

They hurried to comply. Link heard a little snicker from Histori, and smirked in return.

When the door was opened a bunch of blue smoke billowed into the room. Link supposed the different coloured smoke swirls he had noted earlier had similarly come from the other rooms when people moved around. It was pretty cool, actually.

What was in the room was even cooler.

There were Minish dressed similarly to Mageri buzzing around or busily sitting at their work desks. Most were radiating blue light from their hands – and emitting a light steam of that blue smoke on the side – and applying it to something: one Minish was making water swirl rapidly in a bowl, another was holding their hands against a spear in deep concentration, one seemed to be making a potted flower sway, one was doing something with a pony-sized ladybug, one seemed to be making mist, and so on.

"Here some of my students are working on water-based magic", Mageri explained succinctly, and walked right over to the student with the ladybug without missing a beat. "Shoveli. How is the healing going? Any progress?"

Mageri certainly didn't waste any time getting to the point.

Link and Sidon looked at each other, and Link noticed Sidon was almost vibrating from sheer excitement. He gave his boyfriend an encouraging grin.

"I got the leg to stop the bleeding, but I still can't close the wound itself", Shoveli said, biting into their lip in frustration. "I don't understand; I did just fine with the worm."

Mageri shook his head in obvious disappointment. "I would normally let you figure it out on your own, but I have a demonstration in mind here. Your problem is that you're not taking into account the fact that the ladybug's leg isn't fleshy like a worm, and needs a different approach."

Shoveli's expression brightened instantly, but then became surprised when they finally noticed Link and Sidon. Mageri ignored it and simply motioned for Sidon to step closer.

"Shoveli, try again. Sidon, hold your hand over Shoveli's and feel the magic; see if it feels like your sister's. If it does, concentrate on the feeling and imagine yourself adding into it. Don't expect anything spectacular, just concentrate on achieving anything at all."

Shoveli and Sidon looked at each other with confusion and hesitation, and then Sidon smiled brightly and extended his hand.

"I'm Sidon. I'm honoured to have you as my guide. Let's work together and heal this ladybug!"

Shoveli blushed bright red and hurried to shake Sidon's much larger hand. "I- I- The honour is all mine! Gosh, I haven't been anyone's guide before. I'll do my best!"

Sidon's grin widened, and Shoveli gave a hesitant smile back. To their credit, they only glanced at Sidon's pointy teeth once.

The two of them laid their hands over the ladybug's injured leg, and closed their eyes. Both took deep, calming breaths, and then Shoveli's hand started glowing blue and lightly smoking. Sidon's eyes opened wide for a moment, before he hurriedly closed them again. A deep crease of concentration appeared on his crest, and his fingers curled slightly over Shoveli's small hand.

And then Link saw it.

It was very faint, and only on the tips of Sidon's fingers, but it was there: a white-blue glow. The exact same shade as Mipha's had been in Link's memories.

Sidon had Mipha's Grace. Or at least the potential for it.

Link smiled widely at Mageri, who glanced in his direction with a satisfied look and gave a nod.

They watched as the gash in the ladybug's leg closed over little by little until finally there was no sight of a wound ever having been there.

Sidon retracted his hand and looked at it in wonder and shock. Shoveli inspected the ladybug and then turned to grin at Sidon.

"We did it! Thank you! I think your contribution was very helpful; the whole process felt much more natural, somehow. Is healing your aptitude?"

Sidon looked at Shoveli, then at Link, and then at Mageri, clearly looking for the answer he didn't have. Mageri nodded solemnly.

"It seems like it. You haven't had one lesson in magic and you were still able to do it. That's a clear sign."

Sidon smiled widely, but then the smile slowly diminished as he turned thoughtful. He rubbed the back of his neck and grimaced.

"Not that I'm not happy to hear that, but I'm afraid that's not necessarily true", he said with a sheepish smile that turned sad way too quickly for Link's liking. "I have tried to teach myself on a few occasions over the years. I tried healing injured fish or other animals whenever I encountered one, and there were never any results. In the beginning, I actually had Muzu – he's a teacher of mine – try to guide me with the knowledge he had garnered from my sister when she still lived. My inability to do anything made him give up on it after a few sessions. What I'm trying to say is that I've actually had lessons before, and clearly healing can't be my aptitude since I never achieved anything before now. I'm glad to be capable of it and would love to learn more one day, but that's likely the extent of it."

Link fought against the urge to hug Sidon and tell him at was alright and he was perfect and Muzu was stupid for giving up on him too soon. But he realized that was largely beside the point here, so he held still.

Mageri, however, looked thoroughly unconvinced. "Really? From the sound of it, this Muzu is not a healer or a mage himself, so his teaching doesn't really count for much. Tell me about your sister instead. When and how did her powers manifest, and when did she learn to harness them?"

Sidon blinked rapidly, looking like he couldn't decide if he should take offense over the instant dismissal of his words. Or possibly on Muzu's behalf. In the end, his princely manners won and he put on a neutral face.

"Mipha learned about her healing powers when she was fifty, which is still a child in our race's aging rate. I'm told our mother got a minor injury and Mipha healed it because she felt sad about it and didn't want her hurt. She couldn't repeat the feat on purpose afterwards, but she occasionally did more accidental magic until she eventually learned to control her powers. She mastered them with the help of our maternal grandfather, whose own grandmother had been a healer as well. He wasn't one himself, but he could guide Mipha to some extent anyway because his own grandmother had tried teaching him way back when. I tried to learn the skill on my own when I was the same age, but never managed anything and eventually gave up. Until we came here, I had accepted that it had just been Mipha's skill and I couldn't learn it."

Link hadn't realized it before – largely because Sidon hadn't talked about this before – but Sidon had actually been in the same position as Zelda had been a hundred years ago: possessing a dormant skill but all the potential teachers had been dead. Mipha would have been the obvious choice, but she died when Sidon had apparently been too young to learn. Their grandfather had been another option since he had been able to train Mipha, but Sidon had once told Link about a tragic family trip to the sea that had taken both Sidon's mother and grandfather, so even if the Zora lifespan might have allowed it, fate hadn't. Kudos to Muzu for trying to step in, but unfortunately it hadn't been enough. It was tragic, really.

Mageri looked oddly triumphant. "Your speech did absolutely nothing to prove me wrong. It's very simple, actually – Mipha was a genius and you're not. I'll take you as my apprentice and prove your claim wrong."

...Wait, what?

Chapter Text

"Uh, apprentice?" Sidon asked inelegantly, looking really out of his element for once. Link couldn't blame him.

"Yes", Mageri said, and walked over to them. He held up his hand, palm up, towards Sidon. Sidon blinked at it uncomprehendingly a few times, until he finally, uncertainly, held out his own hand in a similar pose. Mageri grabbed a gentle hold of it with both of his own small hands and examined it curiously. "Like I said, your sister was a genius. It's unusual to manifest your powers in such a way when you're still a child, much less learn to control them even if you do. That's why you couldn't learn the spell when you were the same age; you certainly have the power, but you're not a genius. Like most people, you simply had to wait until the usual age to manifest your powers and now you need a competent teacher to show you how it's done. Only geniuses learn practically on their own or with haphazard guidance."

Did that make Zelda a genius? Clearly not as much of one as Mipha had apparently been, but Zelda did learn on her own in the end.

Wait. Did that make Urbosa, Daruk and Revali geniuses as well? To be fair, he didn't know if Urbosa or Daruk had had teachers, or Yunobo for that matter, but Revali certainly didn't. ...Well, it made a lot of sense that they had been chosen as Champions, if that was the case.

…He had the feeling Revali would be insufferably smug if he knew of Link's current thoughts.

"Regardless, since you're likely only interested in harnessing your aptitude – and potentially only capable of that anyway; I don't know how Zora magic works – I could take you as my personal apprentice instead of rolling you into the academy as a regular student", Mageri continued, still fiddling with Sidon's hand, and suddenly a flash of white-blue light lit the tips of Sidon's fingers. Mageri grinned widely. "Oh, such potential indeed! Hmm, Zora magic feels a bit different from Minish magic; certainly more water-oriented while ours is luck-oriented. But I can work with this. I'm not the master of this academy or carry the name of Mageri for nothing! Hah, I think I can finally justify changing my name to Archmageri when I'm done with your education!"

Sidon stared at his fingers in wonder, seemingly only half-paying attention to Mageri's words. Link, however, was wary. He tapped Sidon's arm to wrestle his attention away from the pretty lights.

'I think you need to set things straight before Mageri drags you to get fitted for a robe', he signed, but Sidon looked indecisive. That was bad. 'Sidon. You can't apprentice yourself away right now. Later, much later, yes. Now, no.'

Sidon frowned, and turned to Mageri. "Please excuse us for a moment."

He freed his hand and turned back to Link. 'This might be a one time only offer, and our trip, after we're done being small, will take months. He may have changed his mind then.'

For a moment Link was too distracted by the fact that Sidon was actually signing to him to pay attention to the actual words. But then they caught up to him and he gave Sidon a disbelieving look. 'Are you kidding me? You can't stay here now. Actually think for a second. You're letting your feelings dictate your decision.'

Sidon's frown deepened, and he looked very displeased. 'You're really not in a position to say that. What, leaving me at the stable was a perfectly fine course of action in your opinion, but me staying here and learning to heal is bad?'

Link glared. How dare he. 'You're bringing that up again, are you? Didn't you tell me it was forgiven and forgotten? Are you gonna bring up the grasshopper, too? Well, how about your own silent starvation and dehydration?'

Sidon bared his teeth, but clenched his fists tightly to, presumably, prevent himself from saying something. He halfway turned away from Link and closed his eyes, visibly trying to calm down.

Link felt slightly ashamed, but he was going to hold his ground. He was right and he knew it. ...Although Sidon did have a small point. He could stay here safely while Link continued alone. But now it was Sidon who was forgetting a teeny tiny little detail, just like Link had before.

Slateri would most likely not understand Link's signing.

He gave Sidon a moment longer to gather his calm, and then tapped his elbow. Sidon sighed, but opened his eyes and looked at him expectantly. Annoyance was still written all over his face.

'Slateri won't be able to understand me', Link signed, slowly and deliberately to emphasize his point.

Sidon stared at his fingers blankly for a second, and then gave a resigned chuckle. "Of course. You're right. I'm sorry for getting carried away. And for bringing up the past."

Link gave him a smile and patted his bicep, and then gestured towards Mageri expectantly. Sidon returned the smile with a sheepish one of his own before turning away.

"Thank you for the very generous offer, Mageri, but I must decline for the time-being", Sidon said, apparently much to Mageri's shock. "Link and I need to find a way to return to our original size in order to let our loved ones – my father the Zora King included – know we're safe. We disappeared quite unexpectedly."

Mageri seemed to be at a loss for words, but eventually shook it off and adopted a grumpy look. "Fine. I can accept that. So when do you expect you would be able to start, instead?"

Sidon exchanged a relieved look with Link. "Ah, we're actually on a rather long journey that simply got sidetracked by our accidental shrinkage. I would like to finish that first, if that is acceptable. I cannot give any exact estimation for the duration, but it will be between a few months at least and a year at most."

Link looked at Sidon with wide eyes and a big smile. He had half-expected their bigger adventure to get canceled because of the better offer, yet here Sidon was, negotiating it in. He really loved this man.

Mageri looked a lot less pleased. "A year? Hmph! Big people will probably be common by that time and I'll be up to my eyeballs in potential apprentices! I can't promise I'll have the time for you anymore."

Link rolled his eyes at the empty threat. Purah and her apprentice were the only ones capable of making more Sheikah Slates, and she had a specific list of people she was going to prioritize when she managed to get more done. The general public would have to wait for a long time, if she was ever going to venture there in the first place. A year was not going to make a difference. Not that Mageri necessarily knew that, so maybe Link should cut him some slack.

Sidon gave Link a worried glance. Oh, right, he probably didn't realize that either.

'No worries', Link signed with a knowing smile. 'It'll probably only be Zelda and Riju by then. Only Purah can make more Slates, and it's slow work.'

Sidon beamed at him and turned to Mageri again. "I have reason to believe otherwise. If you do have the time and an open spot, will you take me as your apprentice in a year?"

Mageri glared at Link like the inconvenient situation was somehow his fault, but nodded at Sidon anyway. "Fine. I will. But I expect you to be fully dedicated to your studies then. If you happen to have any Zora spell books or other information sources or magical artifacts, bring them with you so we can take a look. Teaching you will be easier if we have something of your own heritage to work with."

Sidon gave a delighted laugh, and bent on one knee to enthusiastically shake Mageri's hand. "Thank you! I will come completely prepared when I'm able! You won't regret this, Master Mageri!"

Mageri looked bewildered by the handshake, but visibly pleased at the title. He coughed, and pulled his hand away. "Good. Good. Now, I think the tour is over, since you'll return here eventually and have plenty of time to acquaintance yourself with every room then."

Both Link and Sidon's faces fell at that.

"But we-"

'I won't be-'

Mageri tsked and shook a finger at them. "My school, my rules. This way."

He briskly walked towards a door… that was not the one they had entered from. Link and Sidon exchanged a confused look, but hurried to follow.

The door had red triangles on it, and both red magic smoke and some actual smoke billowed out when it was opened. The inside was similar to the previous rooms, but in addition to desks there were fireplaces, kilns, and anvils available. The room was hot, as well. The Minish students were working on different fiery spells and also doing blacksmithing from the looks of it.

They had no time to take everything in properly before Mageri ushered them through another door and they found themselves in a greenhouse. The Minish were tending to plants that glowed, sparkled, moved or sang…

The next room had rocks being magically sculpted,and statues being magically repaired. Huh, that explained how the obviously ancient statues outside were in such a good condition Also, there was a whole mountain of inactive kinstones laying around; without magic they looked like regular coins, perfectly round and kind of dull. A Minish was sitting at a nearby desk and enchanting one of them. When they finished, the stone glowed brightly and broke into two matching pieces.

Mageri stopped in front of the next door and turned to give Sidon a calculating look. The door had yellow zigzags on it, and Link didn't need any time at all to connect the dots.

Yeah, that would be a terrible idea.

"Considering that your magic is water-based…" Mageri trailed off and gestured at the door.

Sidon shook his head vehemently. "Yes. Let's stay far away from electricity, please."

"In that case, the tour is really over", Mageri said, and led them to another door. It was blank. "There are still a few other rooms, but you can see them the next time."

Damn, now Link was really curious. Whatever could still be left? Air, maybe? Did talking to creatures have its own room? Uhh, some kind of mental powers? Whatever Zelda had, light? Darkness?

He was not about to find out and that sucked. But he supposed Sidon could tell him all about it one day, if he didn't personally drop by when Sidon came back here for his studies.

The door took them back to the first room, where Histori was sitting at the table and sorting the kinstones by their colour. She looked up when they entered, and jumped from her seat with a wide grin.

"Oh, the tour is over already?" she asked, and skipped over to them. "What's the verdict? Are we getting our first ever Zora student at the academy?"

Mageri seemed to have trouble settling on an expression. He looked annoyed for a moment, proud at the next moment, and then a strange mix of the two. "Yes to both. He will be learning healing as my apprentice in a year. Unless I'm too busy."

The last part sounded very tacked on, and cause Link to smirk.

Histori squealed. Actually squealed. And then she jumped to hug Sidon around his middle, causing him to sputter in surprise and also because she didn't know to mind his gills. Link was unfortunately very familiar with doing that.

"WE ARE MAKING HISTORY! THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!"

"My gills-"

"Ooh, we need to inform Librari! Come on!"

She hopped off of Sidon, grabbed a hold of both his and Link's wrists, and whirlwinded them out of the academy.

...Okay then.

Chapter Text

"LIBRARI, GUESS WHAT?!" Histori yelled, as she enthusiastically kicked the door to the library open.

Link and Sidon were dragged in, not really having had much of a choice in anything ever since they left the Magic Academy. Histori had pulled them down the hallways in a hurry and led them to the library without any hesitation or manners whatsoever. Really, maybe her name was actually Hysteri and Link had just misheard it.

"Histori, don't yell in the library!" A voice sounded from somewhere further in. Also yelling. Link snorted.

"COME HERE AND I'LL STOP!" Histori kept on shouting, and started pulling them in the direction of the earlier voice.

"Why are you like this?" the same voice asked, right before their group went around a book shelf and came face to face with the source.

Link knew she had to be Histori's sister, Librari. Both because of the yelling, and because Histori immediately let go of him and Sidon in order to tackle-hug her. She was wearing a green cloth tunic, a blue cape, and a ridiculously tall blue cap that was currently on the floor thanks to Histori's antics.

"Hey, sis!" Histori said with a laugh, and got a much suffering sigh in return. Librari did return the hug, though, before pushing at Histori to get her off of her.

"Yes, hi, Histori", she said, and clambered up. Histori handed her her cap, which she gingerly put back on. "So what's up with the ruckus? Did you manage to capture and interrogate Vaati or- whoa!"

She noticed Link and Sidon at that point, and her eyes went wide.

Histori let out an excited noise. "Surprise! I have the famous big people! The tall, red, and handsome one is Prince Sidon of the Zora. The more manageable sized and hella cute one is Link of the Hylians. You'll want to have a chat with him later. But guess what? Sidon is going to be Mageri's apprentice! The first ever Zora apprentice for a Minish mage!"

Link was more than a little flustered after that introduction. He certainly agreed on Sidon's behalf, and was getting used to everyone finding his boyfriend handsome, but being complimented like that himself was less common. Histori hadn't given any indication of finding him good looking before now.

He exchanged glances with Sidon, who was giving him a ridiculously pleased look. Apparently he also approved of Histori's assessment. Link blushed a little.

Histori proceeded to fill her sister in on Sidon's magical training, as well as the other news, so Link took his time to finally properly look around.

The library seemed huge from the limited vantage point Link had. Not only were there countless bookshelves, both carved into the stone walls and separate wooden ones in the middle, there was a kind of a second floor, too. It looked like a giant balcony with tables near the railing, and had floor to ceiling bookshelves on the walls. Link couldn't really see the details from his position on the lower floor, but he was pretty sure all the bookshelves on the second floor were carved on the walls. He also couldn't see the stairs, but he assumed there'd be at least one set somewhere.

Sidon had wandered over to the nearest bookshelf and was eagerly browsing the books, despite his inability to read Minish. Link idly wondered if Sidon's magical training would include Mageri teaching him to read the local language. Sidon would definitely love that.

There was a tap on his shoulder, and he turned around to see Librari smiling widely at him.

"Hello, Mister Link", she said very slowly, kind of loudly, and with exaggerated mouth movements.

Sweet Hylia in her Domain, what had he done to deserve this? Because he knew exactly what was going on and he resented it.

"I'm Librari", she continued, and then signed the same thing. It was a little clumsy and slow, but most certainly understandable. She continued signing as she spoke. "My sister told me you speak sign language and that you have agreed to help me learn it better."

Some of her signs were… strangely off, even though Link could see what they were supposed to mean. Hearing her say the same thing out loud helped in that, too.

'Hi', he signed back, and her eyes widened. 'I did agree to help. For the record, I'm not deaf, and if I was, speaking louder wouldn't help.'

She looked bewildered and clearly a little lost, so Link repeated himself, this time slower. Her eyes widened again, and she blushed scarlet.

"I'm sorry!" she said, and kind of wiggled her arms around in agitation. It was cute, so he forgave her faux pas. "I didn't mean to assume! And, oh no, of course speaking louder wouldn't work; I don't know why I did that. I'm so sorry!"

Link waved his hand at her with a smile. 'Apology accepted. Get back to signing.'

She froze, blushed some more, and then brought her hands back into place. 'Yes, sorry. Is my signing okay?'

'It's fine. Some words were off earlier. Not sure if it's you doing it wrong or if it's a Minish dialect.'

They continued talking, and it turned out that there was, indeed, a Minish dialect. It made sense, since the big people and the Minish had been separate from each other for centuries. Sidon joined their conversation after a while, which was very helpful whenever Librari didn't know a sign Link used as Sidon could say it out loud for her and save Link the effort of spelling it, and his Zora style signing kept her on her toes. Histori disappeared at some point and returned with a boxed dinner, which they relocated to eat at one of the tables. Then she fetched the Minish sign language books and a blank book so that she could record the differences whenever they occurred.

It was fun and Link felt proud of himself for being so useful with a talent that had mostly been a pain in the ass during this trip. But the whole endeavor was also horribly exhausting, and he was more than ready to book a room at an inn and retire for the night by the time Librari realized she should close the library for the night.

Sweet Hylia, they had been at it for hours.

'Thank you so much for the help', Librari said with so much sincerity that Link was sure it added a few years into his lifespan. 'You don't understand how important this is to me.'

'Happy to help', Link signed with a pleased grin. 'Anything for the kids.'

'How can I ever repay this?' she asked, and while it was clearly rhetorical, Link did actually have an answer to it.

They had, after all, accidentally skipped one part of their plan for the day when they got completely swept away with the signing lesson.

'Show us the Hero Museum tomorrow morning', he said, and Sidon gasped with stars in his eyes.

"Yes, please!" Sidon chorused, and looked like a kid presented with a whole bag of honey candy.

That was largely the reason Link didn't simply suggest to skip it in favour of leaving nice and early; Sidon was just too precious when he was excited.

Librari looked a little taken aback with Sidon's happiness, but then she laughed and nodded. 'I'd be happy to! I'll open the library and the museum at eight. Come whenever you're ready.'

"We will!"

-----

Finally! Sweet quiet and blessed peace!

Link flopped on their family sized bed and stretched languidly. Their room was the largest and the most luxurious one available, and a comfortable height for even Sidon. There was a large bathroom with a pool sized tub in it, which their host had filled with hot water while the two of them had eaten a light supper at the nearby restaurant.

Link had had a baked caterpillar with the side of sunflower seeds and wild violet petals, and it had been amazing. Sidon had eaten an expensive dish of boiled newt tail and acorn mash, with a side of ant eggs. He had enjoyed it, but was guiltily digging out some frogspawn from his bag to fill his stomach properly. There hadn't been anything aquatic or semi-aquatic or any kind of water-related dishes on the menu that could have even theoretically done the job for Sidon – the newt had been the most promising sounding option, but obviously it had been a miss. Figuring out what worked for Sidon besides fish was tricky.

Link hoped there would be something in the market square they had spotted on their way back. It would be a fine mess if Sidon ran out of proper food and starved again.

Link relaxed while Sidon ate, and was then brought out of his reverie by the sound of Sidon's jewelry clinking as he removed them. He sat up on the bed.

"May I join you in the bath?" he asked, and wiggled his eyebrows. Damn, this was going to be the first bath they had together as boyfriends, which meant Link no longer had to worry about making things weird; he was simply allowed to look and touch as much as he wanted to. Excellent!

Sidon looked at him and chuckled.

"Of course, Wildberry", he answered, and walked over to drop a kiss on Link's lips. Link had taught him well.

He was sure he had a dopey smile on his face as he peeled off his Minish issue leafwear and jogged after Sidon, who was already headed to the bath.

They slid into the water that was equally slightly displeasing for them both: Sidon thought it too warm and Link too cool. It was a decent compromise.

Sidon submerged completely for a while to give his entire body the soaking it required, and then settled on laying on his back with his head tail hanging over the edge of the tub. The tub wasn't as big as Link knew he preferred, but it was adequate by the standards he had while they were tiny. At least he fit in properly.

Link climbed on Sidon's lap and got to scratching loose scales off his chest. There weren't nearly as many of them as there had been back at the Stable Town, as Sidon had done a better job of staying hydrated lately. That, and Link was snuggling up to him and rubbing at his scales on a nightly basis.

Mind, Link scratching at Sidon's chest had actually a lot less to do with the scales and more to do with touching his ripped muscles, but it was the end results that mattered. Sidon certainly wasn't complaining or calling him out on it.

"Mmm… Do my shoulders", Sidon said, sounding very relaxed and content. Link was more than happy to oblige; he did love his boyfriend's broad shoulders just as much as his chest.

Content silence punctured only by the softly lapping water reigned for a good few minutes, until Sidon wanted to turn around and have Link focus on his back. Which just, sweet Hylia, yes please.

Such a nice, vast, muscular back, and Link got to touch it as much as he wanted to.

"Hmm, Link?" Sidon asked. Link made a generally questioning noise to show he was listening. "It was really thoughtful of you to ask Librari to show us the museum tomorrow. I know you wanted to leave as soon as we awoke and I had agreed to it, so I truly appreciate you changing the plans."

Link kissed the back of Sidon's neck.

"You matter more than a few hours do", he said matter-of-factly.

Sidon gave a laugh that sounded both pleased and surprised, and was one of the best sounds Link had ever heard.

"I will add 'very romantic' to the long list of your good qualities, my Wildberry", Sidon said with a very fond sounding voice and damn it, why did his face have to be unavailable at this angle because that tone really made Link want to kiss him silly!

Also, apparently that had been romantic. Huh. Well, he could certainly do romance in that case, which was something of a relief.

He wrapped his arms snuggly around Sidon's shoulders and pressed his face against Sidon's head tail, smiling widely with a heart so full it could burst.

Chapter Text

Link and Sidon woke up nice and early, well rested and eager to face the day. They ate a hearty breakfast on a bench near the marketplace with Link taste-testing the local specialties – super expensive roasted spider leg for one – and Sidon mostly eating from his own stash, as there was nothing that would satisfy his hunger available. They hoped that the town at the entrance to the Lost Woods would have a better selection. After all, the forest there was all misty and damp, so frogs were a likely find.

After they were done eating, they headed to the library.

Librari was sorting books that had been left in the return box overnight, or had possibly been brought in this morning by the early birds. She looked up when they entered, and smiled widely.

"Good morning, Link, Sidon", she said, then blinked rapidly a few times before bonking the side of her head slightly with her fist and then proceeding to sign the same thing.

Link chuckled, and Sidon's smile widened as he answered alike.

'So, Hero Museum?' Link asked as they reached the counter. He noticed a couple of thick pamphlets that were clearly about the museum on the desk; their covers had a very detailed drawing of what seemed to be a set of artifacts on a table, which was why he drew that conclusion.

Librari smiled again, and grabbed the pamphlets from the desk. She handed one to each of them. 'Yes! You can keep those pamphlets. I'll be giving you a tour and I'll explain a lot of things, but the highlights are also on those papers if you want to follow along or read them again later. Now follow me!'

Sidon and Link looked at each other as she scurried towards a door in the back. They followed her, and Sidon cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Ah, please excuse me, Librari", he said, and she turned towards him with an expectant expression. Link winced inwardly. "We appreciate your effort, but unfortunately we cannot read Minish."

She stared at him silently for a beat, and then she blushed scarlet and did her cute hand wiggle thing. "Oh no! I'm so sorry! I should have known that, since you did kind of imply it yesterday, but I just didn't catch on! Aaah, I keep doing dumb things with you two! I'm so, so sincerely sorry!"

Again, Link forgave her instantly because she was just so damn adorable when she was flustered. He was glad he didn't have to interact with her on a daily basis, because he could see himself becoming something of a bully for her, just so she would be cute like that often.

Sidon waved his hands at her with a grimace. "No, it's alright! We don't mind! We'll simply listen to you attentively so we'll remember it all!"

Okay, what was better than one flustered cutiepie? Two flustered cutiepies. Though of course Link would take Sidon over Librari any day.

Eventually his show ended, and a meek Librari led them to the museum proper. Link looked around in amazement.

There were paintings. There were figurines. There was a pair of clawed mittens, a cane of some kind, a pair of winged shoes, a cape, as well as some other artifacts that he couldn't quite make out from his vantage point at the doorway. There was also a big statue in the middle of the room that depicted a heroic looking Hylian child holding a sword up high and wearing a cap that had a bird's head at the tip.

Link stared at it intently, something niggling at him at the very back of his mind, somewhere even beyond his lost memories. If he concentrated hard enough, he could almost hear the bird cap talking, berating him for something or another… taking unnecessary risks, riding too fast on a mine cart… And giving him advice on the next breath... he should use the Cane of Pacci to flip the Spiked Beetles around to access their vulnerable belly... He could picture the voice so clearly that it was kind of scary…

"Link?"

Link blinked a few times to get out of his trance and then turned to give a concerned looking Sidon a questioning look.

"Are you alright? You spaced out quite thoroughly."

Link smiled and nodded, then gestured towards the statue. 'A Hylian kid. Got distracted.'

Sidon gave the statue an intrigued look, but was stopped from asking further questions by Librari clapping her hands.

"Okie dokie! Let's begin the tour!" she said excitedly, and belatedly remembered to sign the same thing.

Link and Sidon lined up behind her politely, and let her do her thing.

She told them a story of a Hylian Hero who stopped the original Vaati from accidentally destroying Hyrule in his quest for power. She told them of a Hylian Princess who got turned into stone and who was the guardian of a holy power. Of a Minish archmage who got turned into a talking cap. Of a sword that got imbibed with elemental magics and could multiply its wielder and seal away evil. Of a grand adventure where the Hero and the archmage traveled all around Hyrule to collect the sacred artifacts to power up the sword. They had already heard some of it from Histori yesterday, but having the whole picture was something else.

They were shown gorgeous paintings that depicted the adventure. Amazingly detailed figurines of ancient monsters and people – said figurines were replicas of the ones the Hero had allegedly purchased during his journey for some reason. They were shown a pair of mole clawed mittens the Hero had used to dig his way through obstacles, a magical cane that flipped heavy objects upside down without breaking them, and a lantern that always burned without the need of fuel. There was a pot-like object with handles that Librari said produced a sucking wind – Link mentally likened them to the Octoroks at Death Mountain. There was a pair of winged shoes that gave their user a burst of speed, a pair of flippers that made swimming easier, and a cape that made it possible to jump across wide chasms. A pair of bracelets that made their wearer stronger, and a ring that gave a better grip for climbing. Link could have used many of those items to make his own journey a little easier.

Finally, at the end of the room on top of a fancy pedestal was a green cap. The Minish Cap. The one Ezlo had made, Vaati had stolen, and that had restored the balance in the end.

Or a very convincing, magically enhanced replica of it anyway.

"Most people honestly think this is the real deal", Librari said with a mischievous smile. "And that's what we want them to think in order to keep the real one safe. I'm only telling you this because I trust you to not tell a soul, so please keep it to yourself."

Link hoped she wouldn't make it a habit to tell this to all the big people who would visit the Minish in the future, no matter how far into the future that might be.

Speaking of visitors, his ear twitched as he picked up a quiet sound of footsteps from the direction of the door. Well, their tour was almost over so Librari could deal with the other patrons soon enough. He went back to examining the hat. It glowed faintly in a similar manner to the newly picked up kinstones, so Link assumed it had the same enchantment on it. Maybe that was because the original hat was – from what he had gathered – some sort of a wish fulfilling item as well, so having a similar spell on the fake one made it more believable?

"Where is the real one, then?" Sidon asked, and then chuckled in embarrassment. "Ah, pardon my silly question. Of course you wouldn't tell us, and we have no actual need to know."

Librari waved her hand. "No worries. All things considered, you may just need to know. It's been passed down as a priceless heirloom in Ezlo's line all this time. It's a funny coincidence, actually. You see, Ezlo's grandson was the one who-"

She got interrupted by Link pulling out his sword and whirling around to point it at the intruders who had been trying to quietly sneak behind them instead of staying in the library. It was the sneaking that made him react, and it was a good thing he did: The four intruders were pale faced, had bleached hair and wore purple clothes. Three of them had a large sack each in their hands, and the last one was holding a rod of some kind. Very obvious Vaatians, and very obviously up to no good.

"Damn! Get them!" the one with the rod said, and unleashed an ice beam at Link.

Librari screamed. Sidon jumped in front of her and readied his claws, not having the time to pull out his spear. The Vaatians with the sacks jumped forward. Link deflected the ice beam with the side of his sword, sending the ray to freeze a painting on the wall instead, but also leaving his sword frosty and heavy.

Sidon swiped at the first Vaatian who reached him, shredding the sack with his deadly claws but getting his arm trapped in the cloth tatters at the same time. Link swung his sword at the Vaatian with the rod, making the Minish jump backwards to avoid him. Librari whimpered and tried to escape from Sidon's Vaatian-free side, only to get pushed prone by Sidon's attempt to pull his arm free while snarling with bared fangs at the other Vaatians, who were hesitant to approach such a large and scary looking creature.

Link swung his sword again, but the ice on it caused him to overbalance and the Vaatian wizard dodged his strike easily enough, and promptly sent another ray of frost at him. Link narrowly dodged it, and heard a scream from behind him. He couldn't see the others from his peripheral vision anymore and couldn't afford to turn to look, so he had no idea who got hit. It hadn't sounded like Sidon, at least.

He made another swing at the Minish wizard, who was forced to parry with the rod. Except the rod didn't snap in half like Link had expected. No, it sparkled at the contact and the Master Sword started freezing over at a rapid pace, forcing Link to let go of the handle because he didn't want to risk being frozen solid himself.

Shit.

The frozen sword clattered on the floor, and the floor in its immediate vicinity froze over, trapping the sword.

Double shit.

Link dodged behind a pedestal that held a boomerang, and the pedestal froze over immediately after. He made sure to not lean against the ice block and took a risky second to look in Sidon's direction.

Librari was nowhere to be seen, but one of the Vaatians was wrestling with a filled sack, so she was probably there. The other two were harassing Sidon: one still had Sidon's right arm trapped in the shredded sack, but was also hanging on to it for dear life while Sidon ignored them completely, unbothered by such a tiny nuisance. The other Vaatian had ditched their sack and was holding a sturdy looking pole-arm and was doing an admirable job keeping Sidon too busy to help Link or Librari, and from reaching for any of his weapons.

The floor under Link's feet froze over, and he jumped hurriedly to the side. One of his boots got stuck on the ice and was left behind, also making Link stumble and crash land, slightly hurting his right shoulder.

He rolled behind another pillar just in time to avoid an icy fate. Making a split-second decision, because he needed a damn weapon that wasn't the bow secured a bit too well on his back, he gave the pillar a quick push and made whatever it held drop on the floor. The pillar was frozen a mere moment later, and ice began to spread on the floor again.

Link jumped, rolled, grabbed a stick of some kind, and got behind the Hero statue.

He examined his new weapon. It was made of light wood and it had a hook on top. The Cane of Pacci.

Link smirked.

He could work with this.

Chapter Text

The Hero statue started to freeze over. A pained grunt sounded in the air, and Link recognized the voice as Sidon's.

Hylia damn it!

Link grabbed the only boot he had left and tossed it to the right, as far as he could. An ice ray followed immediately, and Link took the opportunity to jump to the left, leaving his shelter. He locked his sight on his enemy, who was looking confusedly in the wrong direction now.

Hah, sucker! Clearly they weren't used to competent opponents.

Link pointed the Cane of Pacci at the Vaatian wizard, and the knowledge of how to use it filled his brain, like he had done this a million times before. He fired, and hit the Vaatian in the chest.

The Vaatian's tunic turned upside down, locking his arms up and blocking his entire head from view completely. The rod dropped on the floor and froze it over, making the Vaatian's shoeless feet get stuck on the ice up to their calves. The rod itself stayed on top of the ice, unaffected.

Link ran forward, slid over the frozen spot on the floor with his socked feet, and grabbed the rod with his free hand as he passed by. As soon as his feet hit solid floor, he ran in Sidon's direction.

The sack with Librari in it had been tied up and was wriggling uselessly on the floor. Two of the remaining Vaatians were attacking Sidon, whose right thigh had a dagger sticking out of it. The missing Vaatian was an unconscious heap on the base of the pedestal that had held the Minish Cap replica, which was currently on the floor next to them.

One of Sidon's attackers was the polearm user and they were still keeping Sidon busy, despite him having two arms to use now. The other one was standing to the side, wiggling their fingers.

Damn, another wizard.

Link lifted the ice rod and tried to make it work, but didn't know how to. It wasn't a Wizzrobe rod so simply swishing it in the right direction apparently wasn't enough, and his brain didn't seem to magically contain the necessary information, either. He lifted the Cane of Pacci then, and shot a beam at the wizard. Unfortunately, his aim with weapons like this wasn't as good while he was on the move, so he only turned their hat inside out and upside down.

Thankfully, it was enough to break their concentration. They yelped in surprise and grabbed their hat, most likely out of reflex.

Link took the final leap necessary and tackled them to the ground, tossing his weapons to the side as he did – he made sure the ice rod was tossed far away so that it wouldn't cause any trouble. They wrestled for a brief moment, but Link was clearly the more experienced one and overpowered the Vaatian easily. He knocked their head against the floor harshly to render them unconscious, and then scrambled up to look at Sidon's situation.

He was just in time to see Sidon's jaw snap the damn sturdy polearm into two like it was a mere twig, and then the last Vaatian was grabbed and tossed violently against a wall. They did not get up.

That was all of them. Link checked each one briefly to make sure they were still harmless – the wizard had gotten their tunic righted but was still stuck to the floor – and upon confirming it ran to Sidon.

"Link!" Sidon called when he was done doing the same check. He grabbed Link into a bear-hug as soon as he was within arm's reach.

Link returned the hug fiercely.

Sidon was okay. Mostly anyway.

"They almost ambushed us!" Sidon said, when he was done squeezing the breath out of Link. "Weren't the guards supposed to be on the lookout for Vaatians?"

Link shook his head, equally baffled. Then he heard a frantic shuffling sound, and turned to look at the sacked Librari guiltily. He had completely forgotten about her for a moment.

Sidon let him down and they both went to free her. She was breathing rapidly and her eyes were the size of saucers.

"Librari. It's alright now", Sidon said soothingly and helped her sit up. "We took care of them."

Librari shook her head, refusing to look anything but panicked. "They heard- they heard-"

"Calm down", Sidon said, and crouched down with a poorly hidden wince. Right, the dagger was still there. That needed looking at as soon as possible. "Breathe first, then-"

"They heard about the cap!"

...She was probably right. She had lowered her voice but hadn't been particularly quiet, and the Vaatians had been right behind them at the time.

Time to make sure they didn't run and go tell the others, then.

Link took the sack and turned to check on the incapacitated Vaatians. Unconscious. Unconscious. Unconscious or potentially dead. And the wizard he had grappled with at first-

Damn. There was a puddle and a sizzling scroll on the spot where the wizard had been, and Link could see the tail-end of a purple cape disappear through the door.

He took off running, not wasting time signing his intentions. He dropped the sack and grabbed a frozen boomerang off the floor on his way, not having the time to pick up either of the rods, as they weren't in his direct path, or to thaw his sword.

It would have to do.

As a side note, he needed to start carrying an additional weapon that was always within easy reach. A dagger, maybe.

He ran through the door and saw the Vaatian at the doorway that led out of the library. They stopped there for a moment and turned around, locking their eyes with Link.

They smirked, pulled some kind of a tag off their cape, and suddenly their appearance changed into that of an average Minish. Link froze on the spot in shock.

The Vaatian turned tail and ran out of library. Link cursed under his breath and followed, pushing himself to run as fast as he could.

"Help!" The Vaatian shouted as soon as Link reached the doorway. They were at the end of the hallway that had two frozen, spear carrying Minish by it. That explained the lack of guards. "Vaatians are attacking the museum!"

Damn it! And people would buy that, too; Link was the only one who knew they were lying! Or well, not lying, but certainly bending the truth.

He threw the frozen boomerang, hoping against hope to hit the Vaatian while he still saw them. It flew through the air clumsily, weighed down by the frost and unbalance because of the spot Link's hand had thawed. It clattered uselessly against a wall off to the side, not even making it to the end of the hallway.

Cursing under his breath for the second time, Link took running again, only to almost collide with two unfrozen guards who came running from around the corner the Vaatian had turned.

"Hey, watch it!" the guard he almost ran into barked, and grabbed his shoulders to keep them both upright.

This was his chance to alert them. He needed to make it quick before the Vaatian escaped. He wouldn't be able to tell them apart from the other Minish, but this guard should be easily able to.

"No, the-", he started, but then his mind registered the unfamiliar and stern face of this utter stranger, and his words stuck in his throat and made him unable to even breathe, much less talk.

No...!

No! Not now! This was important! His voice needed to work, Hylia damn it!

He coughed and tried to get the air to flow into his lungs, but his throat was completely locked up and his breathing got harder the more he thought about his urgent need to speak.

The stranger looked at him in concern, and then reached out to pat his back. "Hey, hey! Calm down! Oh no, are you having a seizure?"

No, damn it!

Link gave up on breathing and started signing rapidly. This guard needed to know. They needed to know the culprit was escaping with important information!

He was met with a bewildered look of complete cluelessness.

They didn't understand him.

Link couldn't speak or even breathe and they couldn't understand his signing.

The Vaatian was getting away and there was nothing he could do to stop them. No way to alert these people that the real problem was running away, looking the same as any Minish out there.

Link wouldn't be able to tell them apart from the bystanders even if he followed them now. Unlike Sidon, he still couldn't tell most of the Minish apart from each other.

And Sidon hadn't seen their face.

Frustrated tears gathered at the corners of his eyes, making the situation even worse.

He didn't even have his sword.

No…

He sank to his knees, much to the alarm of the Minish guard.

His vision was greying around the edges due to the lack of air. He closed his eyes, forced himself to forget about his failure, and concentrated on breathing.

No matter how bad the situation was, at the very least he would not faint. That never helped.

He blocked the guard's concerned questions out and breathed through his nose.

Just breathe.

Air. Sweet air. He forced himself to breathe slowly. Calmly. To not think.

His heart rate slowed.

The anxiety eased.

The air flowed easily into his lungs and back out.

His mind worked better.

Calmer.

Yes, he had failed. There was no helping that now.

Now. Now he needed Sidon. They needed to regroup, lick their wounds, gather their supplies, and get back to moving.

Link took one more deep breath, gathered himself, and stood up. Then he finally looked at the guard, nodded, slapped his shoulder gently, and turned to head back to the library.

Time to get his sword and his boyfriend.

-----

Upon arriving to the museum – with the guard on his heels – he took stock of the situation at hand.

Librari was talking to the other guard, who had continued on without heeding Link and their partner. A smart decision, really, as they hadn't know what the situation here was, and Link was just one guy that the other guard could easily deal with.

Sidon had stuffed two of the unconscious Vaatians into their own sacks, and was in the process of doing the same to the last one. He still had the dagger sticking from his thigh, which was half relieving because it meant he hadn't been dumb enough to take it out and bleed to death, but half worrying because the idiot was using the leg like nothing was wrong and probably making the wound worse.

The Master Sword was still frozen to the floor.

The museum itself was in disarray with ice all over the place and priceless artifacts littered on the floor.

...He had left the boomerang in the hallway. Oops.

The guard who had come with him hurried over to their partner and Librari.

Where should he even begin unraveling the mess?

He glanced at the sword, then at Sidon.

As if that was a tough choice.

He went over to Sidon and tapped his arm once his boyfriend was done tying the sack closed.

Sidon turned to him, and let out a relieved sigh and then smiled. "I'm glad to see you unharmed. Did you catch her?"

The wizard was a woman? Okay then. He plain and simply couldn't tell for the life of him.

Link shook his head regretfully. 'No. She turned into a regular Minish and ran off. Things got… complicated, and I couldn't follow.'

Sidon frowned, giving him a worried look from head to toe.

'I'm fine', Link said, and gestured at the dagger on Sidon's thigh. 'You're not. You should not be walking around and crouching and what have you. You need a medic.'

Sidon sighed, and stood up with a wince, avoiding putting too much of a strain on the injured leg. "I know. I had no choice. Librari was in no condition to secure these villains, and I couldn't risk them running off, too. I'm sure there is a healer around who can fix me right up. That apprentice of Mageri's, for example."

'I don't think he's good enough', Link said with a frown.

Sidon tried to smile at him, but it was more like a grimace. Guess the adrenaline was running out and that dagger was finally starting to really hurt. "He's better than nothing if there doesn't happen to be anyone else. But enough about me. We should talk to the guards. Librari is telling them her version of the story, but we have a lot more to add. You especially. Come on."

Sidon made a move to walk, but Link blocked his path. 'No. No more walking. I'll get them here.'

Sidon looked ready to argue for a second, but then clearly saw the wisdom in Link's words, and simply nodded. He leaned against the closest pedestal to take his weight off his leg, and Link nodded in approval before turning around to fetch the guards and Librari.

Time to try communicating with them again. At least this time he had translators available.

He couldn't wait to be big and more readily understood again, damn it.

Chapter Text

"-and then you showed up, and I was unable to tell you what was going on. You know the rest", Sidon finished translating Link's words to the guards.

The guard Link had ran into had apologized profoundly for his inability to understand Link, and seemed to still think it was his fault the Vaatian got away. Link felt sorry for him, but there was little he could do to help. At least the other one still had her head in the game, and was taking notes.

"I see. Thank you", she said as she finished writing. "Our apologies for letting things escalate like this. We were on the watch-out for Vaatians, but we didn't know they wore disguises. They have never done that before, nor have they attempted a heist during the daytime. I'm sorry you got involved."

Sidon gave a tight, somewhat pained smile and waved his hand dismissively. "We're just glad we were here to stop the situation from getting worse. Now, could I trouble you to fetch a medic, please?"

"Of course. My partner will stay here to guard you", she said, saluted, and left.

Link rubbed the bridge of his nose. Why he had thought for a second that he wouldn't have to get involved in the Vaatian business was beyond him.

'I'll see if I can't get my sword off the floor', he signed to Sidon, and stalked off, leaving him with the remaining guard and Librari. At the very least he needed to make sure he was ready if anything else suddenly came up.

He walked over to the icy patch where his sword was stuck and stared at the frozen weapon in contemplation. The ice had not melted at all during this time, so it was clearly magical and was not going to do it on its own anytime soon. Time to get creative, then. At least he had become a master of that skill during his previous adventure.

The Vaatian had used a fire spell of some kind, judging from the burnt remains of a scroll. So, he needed fire, potentially the magical kind. He had his fire arrows, but his supply was limited and he might need them later for a much more dire situation. He could start a fire, but he would need something to burn and he wasn't sure if non-magical fire would be enough anyway.

His eyes wandered around the room, and landed on the lantern of the child Hero. It was burning. Librari had said it never went out, so it was definitely magical.

Perfect.

Link went over to it and picked it up. The moment he did, he saw a vivid image of it being used to melt ice blocks, and heard the same voice from before – from his strange vision while looking at the statue – even say as much. Huh. At least it was guaranteed to work, then. As a side note, he needed to tell Zelda he was hearing voices and seeing memories again. He was pretty sure these ones weren't even his own, which was worrisome.

He shrugged the thought off for now, and took the lantern over to his sword. He held it close to the ice and concentrated, and what do you know, the ice melted instantaneously. He grinned, picked the sword up, and gave it a good shake to get most of the water off.

Finally something was working out again.

He dried the sword on his tunic and sheathed it, and then went around the room, melting each ice spot littering the place. He noted that the guard returned with another Minish, and they made a beeline to Sidon. Link paused his work to watch the healing process begin, Sidon participating like he had at the Magic Academy yesterday. Good, that was being taken care of.

By the time Sidon was healed, Link had not only melted all the ice, but had also tidied up the place to his best ability – and picked up his boots while he was at it. He wasn't usually the tidiest person, but he had needed to do something useful to keep himself too busy to dwell on his failure or to worry about Sidon.

Link put the mole mitts back on their pedestal and turned around when Sidon walked up to him with a cheerful smile. "Link! I got to practice healing again."

Link couldn't help an incredulous smile of his own. Sidon had had a dagger on his thigh and this whole disaster in general had happened, yet he was still cheerful as ever. Then again, this was one of the reasons Link had fallen for him.

'That's great', Link said, and checked the recently healed spot. A few scales were missing, exposing bare red skin, but there were no other signs of a stab wound ever having been there. 'Is it sore?'

Sidon shrugged. "A little. Nothing you need to worry about. Now, what's our next move?"

Wasn't that the question?

'We can't give chase, we won't be able to recognize the Vaatian and we don't know where she's going', Link said. 'We don't know if we were the targets or if they wanted Librari, or maybe even the cap. So we can't stay here, and just have to trust the guards to protect her better.'

That was a bitter elixir to swallow. His heroic nature didn't like it at all. But needs must.

'Our best move is to continue our journey without any delay and maybe hope to find the Vaatian hideout on our way. Histori said it was probably in the Lost Woods.'

Sidon nodded with a frown. "Sound plan, except for the part about the Vaatian hideout. I don't think we should involve ourselves any more than we have to. I sympathize with the Minish, but this is not our battle. If they wanted our help, they would ask for it, I'm certain. At the very least we should talk to Gentari and volunteer our services instead of acting on our own. That's the polite and diplomatic thing to do."

Link gave him a blank look, but said nothing. He knew Sidon was right. Probably. But he didn't like it one bit. For one, it was still a struggle for him to accept that not everything was his problem to solve, especially when he had already been attacked once. Another thing was asking for permission to act when he knew the necessary details already; it was one thing to volunteer to help in order to learn what he needed to solve the problem in question, and a completely different thing to go tell someone he was doing a thing when he didn't need more info. Zelda had tried to mold him into a proper knight again during their time together rebuilding her kingdom, but he had grown too wild during his adventure to be able to be tamed anymore. It had taken him his whole adolescent life of training to become a knight, but only a memory loss and roughly a year to unlearn all of the discipline.

He wasn't about to waste their time having an audience with Gentari.

'Fine. No looking for the Vaatians. But we can and will punch them in the face if we encounter any.'

Sidon laughed, and gave Link's shoulder an affectionate pat. "Yes, we can most certainly do that! Let's go say goodbye to Librari and ask her to apologize to Histori in our stead for not doing the same with her."

Link simply nodded.

-----

It took them a disappointingly short time to get out of the city. Even though they really had to leave, Link would be lying if he said he hadn't wanted to explore it more in-depth. It was such a big city with so many interesting shops, workshops, and sights. He had wanted to go deeper into the rock and see what it was like beyond the city hall, in the deeper depths. He had wanted to take a proper look at the outer city, since they had spent most of their time in the inner one. But oh well. Definitely next time. He'd be visiting Sidon here often during his magic studies, so maybe it was for the best that there were still sights to be seen. Sidon could probably even be his personal guide at that point.

That thought brought a smile on Link's face as they finally stepped out of the city gates and back into the road. They had been informed that they had missed the mouse cart to this direction by an hour, so it'd take them three or so hours to reach the resting spot between the cities. They might still get lucky and be able to catch one from there to hasten their way to the next city, and if their luck lasted Slateri would still be there, although Link wasn't holding his breath for that.

They walked down the well-worn Minish path, chattering away. Link made damn sure to use his voice the entire time, both because they were alone again and because he was bitter about earlier. Maybe he'd be able to speak to random people again if he just got used to vocalizing first.

The three hours went by fast. They had to make a small detour at one point because there were stray ants on the path and they weren't keen on seeing whether they'd be friendly or not, but other than that they didn't run into any trouble. A mouse cart back to the capital passed them two hours in, filled with happy looking Minish. Link couldn't help but be slightly wary until they were long gone – after all, any of them could have been disguised Vaatians. Although it was quite honestly more likely that the cart they had missed earlier had had their escapee on it, and Link wasn't sure how to feel about that.

Regardless, they arrived to the flowery resting spot in a timely manner, and were pleasantly surprised to discover what amounted to a large barbecue party. Most of the adult Minish around the resting spot – no, rather an actual camping area – were around large, lit fire-pits, holding skewers of food over them, or using the hanging pots that were fixed into rotatable metal poles for cooking their food. Once something was cooked, it was shared after the cook took the portion they wanted for themselves. It was like the entire camp was one big family, overriding the obvious actual families and cliques around.

Link and Sidon looked at each other with large smiles, and wasted no time joining everyone, bringing their more exotic offerings gathered from the previous towns and from the big people world with them.

Some of the Minish were wary, some were curious, some were plain excited, but most importantly, whatever they felt about the famous big people, nobody turned them away or left in a hurry. And food was shared enthusiastically.

Link decided that this was the highlight of their adventure and it couldn't possibly get better than this. All the food. All. The. Food. He got to taste many different things cooked by many a different Minish, and it was all in one meal. He hadn't had this large a selection to sample from since Zelda's coronation.

It was decided. He would travel all around Hyrule, collect all the different fruit, meats and herbs, and return here to do some mad food sharing the first chance he got. It was only fair. And he'd get to eat new things again.

He signed as much to Sidon as they sat on a log eating their haul. Sidon had found himself some roasted frog tongue and even a boiled chunk of sneaky river snail, miraculously enough. His stomach should be more than happy with that.

"That's an excellent idea!" Sidon said with a wide smile as soon as he had swallowed what had been in his mouth. "Perhaps we can do that together before I apprentice to Mageri? I should have my Sheikah Slate's warp catalog more than ready for some quick food gathering at that point, wouldn't you say?"

Link nodded, and leaned contentedly against his boyfriend's side as they continued eating, peaceful and unbothered by Vaatians or any other pesky troubles.

Just Link, Sidon, and good food. Simply perfect.

Chapter Text

Link grinned at Sidon, way more excited than the occasion probably deserved. He watched as a batch of Minish unloaded themselves from the mouse cart, and finally the person driving it signaled for the waiting people, Link and Sidon included, to come forward and board it.

Why yes, after they had finished eating and gotten ready to continue their journey, a helpful Minish had stopped them and informed them that the mouse cart to the next city should arrive within the next ten or so minutes. Obviously they had chosen to wait for that instead, both because it saved them a five hour walk and turned it into a two hour ride, and because of course they wanted to try the mouse cart when the opportunity was there. Link had no way of knowing for sure, but he trusted that none of the Minish they had dined with were Vaatians; surely they would have caused trouble already if they were going to. So, sitting in the cart with them for about two hours didn't feel like an awful idea this time around, unlike the ride from the Capital to here would have been.

Link and Sidon were guided to sit in the middle of the cart for balance reasons – Sidon was about three times the size of an average Minish, after all – and soon enough the cart was full and the journey began.

It was very similar to traveling on a horse cart, except for the fact that the ride was bumpier and faster, as the mice pulling the cart scurried along without the proper rhythm that horses were trained for. It was still a cool thing to experience and Zelda would no doubt want to try it.

The beginning was quiet, as both he and Sidon were preoccupied with the experience and watching the quickly passing scenery. But eventually Sidon turned to him, and to his surprise started signing.

'There's something that has been bothering me, but I don't think it should be talked about out loud', he said, and Link frowned. He had no idea what to expect.

'Okay? What is it?'

Sidon looked around, probably to check for eavesdroppers – as useless as that was – before continuing. 'Librari was telling us about the Minish Cap and Ezlo's family right when we got attacked. It seemed important, but I forgot to ask her about it before we left, so now I'm wondering what it was she was about to reveal. Do you remember her words?"

Link certainly hadn't expected this topic; he could honestly say he hadn't given a single thought to that subject in the first place. He made a "hold on" gesture and thought back to that situation. At least juggling different quests during his grand adventure had taught him to remember everything said to him really well. Hmm… They had been looking at the Cap, and Librari told them it was a fake one. The real one was with Ezlo's descendants, a family heirloom. And… And she had said that they just might need this information. Something about a funny coincidence. Then Ezlo's grandson was the one who did something, but she never got to tell them what that was.

He nodded at Sidon, and signed the main points as a reference in case he didn't remember something or remembered the details differently. Sidon nodded seriously.

'That's what I recall as well', he said, and looked around again. Really, he sucked at being sneaky while talking about sensitive subjects; it was damn good that nobody around understood sign language, because otherwise everyone and their mothers would surely eavesdrop simply out of curiosity. 'So, if the Cap's whereabouts is something we might need to know and it's a funny coincidence, what do you think it means?'

Link wasn't sure that was the part she referred to with the coincidence. In his opinion it was about Ezlo's grandson, or his line in general. She thought they needed to know that the Cap was with Ezlo's descendant. And then it was coincidental that the grandson did something. He signed his thoughts to Sidon and then tried to puzzle it out. What did the grandson do? Or rather, "was the one" who did something, he thought were her exact words. What would be a funny coincidence that presumably had something to do with-

Oh!

His eyes widened and he turned to jolt Sidon out of his own deep thoughts.

'The only thing Librari really knows about us is our current journey', he signed urgently. 'She knows our main goal is finding Slateri the First. So if the Cap's whereabouts might be important for us to know, it has to have something to do with that.'

Sidon's frown of concentration cleared into a look of understanding. 'Which means Slateris are Ezlo's descendants and have the Cap! Slateri the First probably has it on his person!'

Link nodded enthusiastically. 'Ezlo's grandson was the one who created the Vertical Shift rune for the Sheikah Slate! Ezlo could shrink and grow the Hero of that time, and the rune does exactly the same thing. It makes perfect sense.'

Sidon's grin was miles wide and he looked ecstatic at their collective deductive skills, and probably at the prospect of potentially getting to see the real Cap.

Link shared the feeling… until his thoughts came to a screeching halt as a terrible realization hit him.

They had told practically everyone they met that they were looking for Slateri the First. The news of their arrival and some details of their journey had traveled ahead them and become common knowledge among the Minish. The Vaatians had heard the same speech the two of them had just puzzled through, and one of them had gotten away. There was no reason to believe that they wouldn't reach the same conclusion he and Sidon just did.

That meant, if the Vaatians were after the Cap, Slateri the First had a big target painted on his back now. And he was headed to the Lost Woods, where the Vaatian hideout was rumored to be.

Link paled, and quickly patted Sidon's arm to get his attention again so he could share his worrisome epiphany.

Sidon's exhilaration turned into dread as fast as Link's had. 'We need to catch up to him and warn him! If he's been safe and unbothered until now, he has no reason to be on his guard. He could be ambushed easily!'

Link nodded seriously, and turned to look at the road ahead of them, wishing the mouse cart would go faster.

It looked like their leisure sightseeing trip was officially over.

-----

The two hour ride through what was basically a deep misty canyon in their current size felt much longer than that when one was very anxious to reach the destination, but finally it was over. They had reached the gate to the Lost Woods. After a week of wandering the Minish Woods, the forest scenery in the horizon felt shockingly different – where before it had been regular green trees and lush grass and pretty flowers, ahead of them was deep mist, darkness and huge dead trees. The place looked even more imposing now that everything was gigantic and Link couldn't see as far ahead as he had been able to as a big person.

He wondered if the Minish were taken back to the gate the same way the big people were if they got lost in the woods. They would absolutely have to ask someone before they entered, assuming that Slateri wasn't conveniently in this city, which he doubted. They couldn't afford to be taken back to the starting point, not with how long it took to cross any kind of a distance in their mini state. Mind, Link knew exactly how to navigate in the forest as he had done it a few times before, but it was always good to know the risks. ...And he actually didn't know if the forest would guide them the same way it did with big people, now that he thought about it. The Minish might even have their own paths or ways to travel there for all he knew. He half hoped that to be the case, as it would make their journey much easier.

The cart stopped at the edge of the Minish city, which was located at the base of the stone gate. The Minish passengers got off and wandered back to their homes or wherever, but the few people who wanted to take a ride to the camping site had to wait for the mouse cart to be prepared again. From what Link saw before he and Sidon left the area, the mouse and the driver got replaced. Well, for them it was a solid four hour drive back and forth, so that was perfectly reasonable.

Link turned his attention to the city ahead of them. Most of the buildings here resembled toadstools, or at least he really hoped they simply looked like them and weren't actually poisonous mushrooms that had houses carved into them. If that was the case, it sounded like a major health hazard. Although maybe the Minish could actually eat toadstools and it was just Hylians that got sick from them? They'd have to be careful what they ate here, in that case. Regardless, the houses were really charming in their own way.

The two of them walked further in and yes, the buildings were actual mushrooms. Did the Minish use magic keep their houses from rotting? That had to be the case, otherwise it would be simply impractical to live like this.

"The Minish here are very pretty", Sidon stage-whispered to Link, who took that as his cue to stop admiring the architecture and pay attention to the people. When he did, he couldn't help but do a double-take; not because Sidon was necessarily right about the prettiness, but because there was definitely a distinct difference he hadn't been prepared for.

About every other person was a… regular Minish, for the lack of a better word. But the rest looked different. They had roughly the same build, although maybe they were kind of… spindlier, like spiders. And their skin was a sickly shade of blue-ish white and had a different looking texture from the kind of fuzzy skin the Minish they had gotten used to had; it looked slicker, kind of like a frog or a slug or something. Their ears were shorter and their eyes seemed to glow. Now that Link thought about it, they actually looked a bit Zora-like, in a way. It certainly explained why Sidon found them pretty. Link preferred the regular kind, though.

It was weird that there were plenty of the regular Minish here, but they hadn't met a single one of this new kind in the other cities, not even in the Capital, which was both the biggest city and the one closest to this place. There hadn't been any in the camping spot, either. Was there a reason for that?

"Greetings, big people!" a voice said, and the two of them turned to look at the source of it.

The person they saw was the tallest, gangliest, and weirdest looking Minish Link had seen so far. They were one of the new kind, but to Link they looked less like a Zora and more like a blue Moblin with how long their limbs were. They were wearing a leather robe and a tall hat, which Link took to mean they were someone important – the taller the hat, the higher the position seemed to be the theme with the Minish.

The Minish smiled at them, and thrust out a hand eagerly. "My name is Misteri, and I'm the mayor of this town. Pleasure to meet you!"

Sidon took the hand and gave it an enthusiastic shake. This Minish, Misteri, was nowhere near as tall as Sidon, but they were the tallest person they had met, so for once it wasn't completely awkward and inconvenient for Sidon to shake their hand. Sidon introduced the two of them, Link shook Misteri's hand as well, and then they went right to business.

"I came here as soon as I received word of your arrival", Misteri said, looking proud of themselves, probably for their punctuality. "I would like to have an official meeting with you two, and serve you a dinner while we're at it. How about it?"

Link grinned. They had questions that this person could likely answer, and he wasn't going to say no to a free dinner!

He liked this town!

Chapter Text

Misteri led the two of them through the Toadstool Town, as it was called. The town wasn't very large, especially compared to the capital, which was the last city they had been to, but she used the little time it took for them to walk to the town hall to animatedly talk about her home. She explained how they, indeed, used magic to keep the toadstools preserved, and in some cases even alive if it was known that the building would need more space in the future – the Minish who wanted large families would start with a small house and then let it grow bigger as they had more children. It was very fascinating and practical, and Sidon looked like he wanted to stop and observe the growth with his own two eyes, as silly as that was.

Also, turned out that the local Minish were called Mist Minish, while the "regular" ones were Forest Minish. Rumor had it there were Mountain Minish around the mountains, and Field Minish in the Hyrule Fields. Misteri didn't know if there were Desert Minish in the Gerudo lands, Water Minish in the Zora Kingdom, Jungle Minish in the Faron region, and maybe some specific kind of Minish around the Hylian and Sheikah towns, but assumed it to be so. Link suddenly felt like their mini adventure was woefully inadequate now, since there was so much more to the Minish world to be seen all over Hyrule. He wanted to explore all of it one day. Maybe with Sidon, maybe with Zelda, maybe with both.

It didn't seem like he was going to be running out of adventures anytime soon. Good.

They arrived to the town hall before they could get too deep into their speculations, which may have been for the best.

Said hall was very small. In fact, it seemed more like a-

"Welcome to my home!" Misteri said, arms wide and a smile on her face. Yep, that's what Link had thought. "We don't actually have a set town hall as there really isn't that much of a need for one. It's just the home of however is in charge, and that's been me for the last few years. Make yourselves comfortable; I'll prepare the dinner!"

Link looked around at the inside of the toadstool with suspicion. There was a spot on the wall that looked like it had been repeatedly gouged with a spoon.

'Sidon. Ask her to not use toadstool in her cooking, please.'

-----

It took a while for the food to be done, but eventually they were sitting at the dinner table with bowls of some colourful risotto-like food in front of them. Link didn't care what it was as long as it was good, and it was.

"So, rumor has it that you're looking for Slateri the First", Misteri said after a few spoonfuls of food. Link really liked her directness. "If that's the case, then you missed him. He traveled through our town yesterday, and barely even stopped for lunch. Just went right through to Fog City."

That was a bummer. But at least he had been okay yesterday at lunch time. Not that he had had much to worry about at the time, as Librari's accidental information spill happened this morning. Regardless, it was good news.

"I see", Sidon said thoughtfully, stirring his food rather unenthusiastically. Link wagered it didn't do much for his hunger, then. "How long does it take to reach Fog City? We had a map with estimated travel times of the Minish Woods, but it reaches its edge here."

Misteri looked at them thoughtfully. "It takes about eight hours, and there are two camping spots on the way. You could reach the first one by tonight and stay there, if you're in a hurry. Or you could stay here and leave tomorrow morning."

Link shook his head at Sidon's inquiring look. They couldn't afford to waste time anymore. They would go to the first camping spot, maybe even shoot for the second one, depending on how long it took to travel there.

"We can't stay. We have reasons to believe Slateri might be in danger, so we have to make haste", Sidon said apologetically.

Link really hoped Misteri was someone they could actually trust, as that information could very well be the last piece the Vaatians needed to complete the picture, if they hadn't done that on their own yet.

Maybe he should have discussed this with Sidon beforehand. Damn it!

"That doesn't sound good", Misteri said, now frowning. "What is the problem?"

Link waved at Sidon to get his attention. He could still do damage control here at least.

'Don't tell her. We don't know if we can trust her to keep quiet', he signed urgently. 'She's way too ready to tell us things. She might do that with anyone who asks.'

Sidon looked indecisive. Clearly he wanted to simply trust Misteri, but Link hoped he would see the wisdom in caution. They were in deep enough of a mess as it was and should avoid actively digging deeper.

"I'm afraid we cannot tell you", Sidon finally said, and Link relaxed. "We probably shouldn't have said anything at all concerning the subject, so we would appreciate it if you could keep quiet about the worry."

Misteri didn't look happy about the request, but nodded. "Fair enough. I'll not breathe a word. About your trip…"

She stood up and made her way over to another room, leaving her unfinished dinner waiting. Link idly wondered if she had abruptly abandoned some random activity in a similar manner when she heard the news of their arrival. Judging from what he had seen of her conduct so far, he was almost certain of it.

He and Sidon ate in awkward silence while listening to the rustling of papers from the other room. Link finished his bowl and swapped with Sidon so that it looked like Sidon had eaten his meal, and in the process Link got to have seconds. Win-win.

Misteri returned shortly after, holding a large, rolled up paper. She handed it to Sidon and sat down.

"That's a new map for you", she said, and waved her spoon at it. "I wrote down the estimated times on it and drew you a recommended route through the woods, should you not meet Slateri in Fog City. I really hope you do, as the woods are really treacherous for multiple reasons. Oh! That reminds me!"

She turned to look at Link. "I noticed you're wearing shoes. Tell me, are your feet webbed?"

What? Link blinked a few times out of sheer bafflement, before shaking his head as an answer.

"In that case, you will want to purchase bog flippers before you leave the town, or at Fog City at the latest", she said with a knowing nod. "The Lost Woods are really wet and difficult to traverse for Forest Minish, whose feet aren't webbed like ours. You will save yourself a lot of time and effort by wearing the flippers."

Link had paid zero attention to the local Minish's feet and hadn't even noticed that they were, presumably, webbed. That made them even closer to the Zora in appearance than he had initially observed.

Flippers, huh. At least Sidon didn't have to attempt to find shoes his size, since his feet were, in fact, webbed. Finding a fitting pair for him would likely have been a nightmare, since his feet were much larger than that of an average Minish. Link's should be more doable.

"Thank you very much for all of this", Sidon said, smiling brightly. "Your help is truly invaluable!"

Misteri waved a hand, returning the smile. "No problem at all! I'm the mayor; being helpful is my job!"

They chatted lightly while Link and Misteri finished their meals, and then it was time for them to leave. They had flippers to buy and a city to get to as soon as possible.

-----

The town really didn't have much going for it except for the pretty houses. There was exactly one food store that sold all the necessities, and then a clothes shop where the flippers could be found among the other Minish wear. Link and Sidon visited that one first, and it turned out to be an excellent decision on their part: Link's flippers had to be made as a commission because his feet were very differently shaped compared to the Minish, so no regular flippers off the shelf fit him. They had to wait for an entire hour for the flippers to be made from the scratch, and doing their other business during that time was a lot more productive than idly waiting would have been, had they visited that shop last.

They spent most of that hour trying to find something for Sidon to eat.

The food store, predictably, didn't have any fish available. The owned told them that usually they had frog parts in their selection, but they were currently fresh out as their provider hadn't been able to catch any for a couple of days now. All they had was frogspawn, which Sidon bought. It was better than nothing.

After that they still had more than half an hour left, so they sat on a public bench and waited. They ate a few of the honey candies they still had, and were a bit bummed about the fact that they were starting to run low on those. They should have bought the entire store empty, after all, no matter how inconvenient it would have been to carry all of it around.

Link watched Sidon move a hard candy around in his mouth as they both tried new flavours. It was frankly mesmerizing and Link's attention focused maybe a little too intently on Sidon's lips because of it. Sweet Hylia. They were actually sitting completely idly for once, so Link would have absolutely loved to spend some of that time kissing Sidon silly. He was pretty sure it would make time pass very quickly indeed. Alas, neither he nor Sidon were big on public displays of affection, so that wasn't an option in the middle of a small town where they were personally The Cool New Thing. ...Maybe the camping spot they were headed to next would be nice and empty…

"Perhaps we should head back now?" Sidon asked, yanking Link out of his pleasant little daydream. Link gave him an inquiring look. "I know it hasn't been an hour yet, but maybe we'll be lucky and the flippers are done already. If not, we may as well wait there instead of here. That way we'll get them as soon as possible."

Link agreed with the plan, although it was a little uncharacteristic of Sidon to be in such a hurry to leave.

As if reading his mind, Sidon chuckled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck after standing up. "Ah, pardon my hastiness. I'm simply worried about… You know. And all the eyes I can feel on us isn't making it any easier."

That did explain it. Sidon was right about the eyes, too; Link felt like he was itching all over because of the not-so-discreet staring by the locals. It was almost worse than what it had been in the Stable Town. Like he said earlier, the two of them were the cool new thing, so everyone was watching their every more in fascination. Well, he hoped it was fascination anyway, and not someone calculating the best way to murder them. That was also an option with the Vaatians around.

'Yes, let's go', he signed, and then stretched and hopped off the bench.

They made their way back to the clothes shop, and were told to keep on waiting a little longer. Unsurprisingly.

They had a lot less eyes on them inside of the shop – none, in fact, as the shopkeeper was busy and they were currently the only customers – so it was a significant victory.

…No eyes on them...

'Sidon, pick me up', Link signed, standing in front of his boyfriend and giving a big grin.

Sidon didn't even ask him any questions, he just happily did as asked and picked Link up with his strong, muscular arms.

Had Link ever mentioned how attracted he was to Sidon's arms? Because damn, those were some nice arms. Sidon had had him at the first flex on the Inogo Bridge.

Link wrapped his legs around Sidon's torso like an Octorok, careful of his gills, and his arms around Sidon's shoulders. Once he was thoroughly lodged on his spot, he looked deep into Sidon beautiful topaz eyes – on that note, he would take his embarrassingly saccharine thoughts to his grave – and puckered his lips.

Sidon gave a soft laugh, glanced quickly towards the front door, and then at the workspace where their currently only company was still busy with Link's flippers, and finally pressed their lips together. Link closed his eyes and was more than happy to give Sidon a good helping of lips sliding against lips, little nips and nibbling from mischievous teeth, and some wandering tongue.

Now this was the best possible way to spend their spare time!

Chapter Text

Walking with the bog flippers was something that took some getting used to. They weren't true flippers in the sense of being really long and designed for fast swimming like the flippers they had seen in the Hero Museum – they were longer than Link's feet, yes, and they were wider as well, but they were somewhat wieldy on land. Their purpose was to give the bottoms of his feet a wider surface to balance his weight on, so he wouldn't sink into the muddy and swampy terrain of the Lost Woods. It should, theoretically, help him keep up a better walking speed.

In practise the flippers made him slower than usual due to him having to lift his feet higher to avoid snagging the tips on the underbrush and scooping up dirt with every step, and that was frustrating.

"I think you're steadily gaining speed, Wildberry", Sidon said encouragingly, probably perfectly able to see Link's waning will to keep this up.

They weren't even in the actual swamp yet, so the endeavor felt pointless. He was waddling like a duck and must have looked ridiculous.

"Just remember, you're doing this now so that you won't be struggling with it when the actually swampy terrain begins. I'm sure it's easier to learn how to walk with them when you don't have to fight the land as well as your feet."

Yes, that was the exact reason and it made sense. It had even been Link's own idea. He had had to use many different weapons, clothing, and tactics during his adventures, as well as travel in different terrains, and it had been a tiring experience. While he had been perfectly capable of thinking on his feet and adapting to different situations quickly, it had always been so much easier if he had had the time to familiarize himself with his equipment first. Now he was dealing with a new enemy, a new situation, a new terrain, had someone to protect with him, and had new equipment, so it was definitely smart to attempt to learn as much as he could before the situation got critical. He couldn't afford another disaster like the Hero Museum.

He was lucky that Sidon was an accomplished warrior himself, because if it had been Zelda with him at the museum…

It was better not to think about that.

"I know. Thanks", Link said, and pushed his despair and tiredness away. He would probably lose his morale again after a while, and Sidon would need to repeat his words of encouragement, but that was fine.

As long as he had his boyfriend to cheer him on, he could keep going on forever if he had to.

-----

Link hadn't been this glad to see a camping spot since that time he got lost in Gerudo Desert and finally found an oasis right as he had been considering warping away with his Slate and starting his search for the shrine over.

The very first thing he did when he reached the safe spot was plop down on the ground and pull the cursed flippers off his poor feet.

Oh sweet Hylia it was pure bliss. His feet had started aching during their last hour of walking, and he had been getting increasingly tempted to just sit down in the middle of the road and never get up again.

"That bad?" Sidon asked, and crouched down next to him to peer at his feet. "Blisters?"

Link removed his socks to check. His feet were red on the particularly sore spots, but thankfully there wasn't any actual damage anywhere – that would have made tomorrow's walk agony.

...He didn't want to think about having to walk again tomorrow.

"I'll get the fire started", Sidon said, and set his bag down next to Link. "You should just rest up and perhaps massage your feet? Ah, or I could do that when we're ready to retire for the night?"

Link smiled lovingly at his sweet, considerate, and simply perfect boyfriend. "I've got this. Or maybe we'll see about that later. Thanks."

Sidon smiled, saluted cheerfully, and then went to work.

Traveling as a duo had its perks.

-----

The next morning Link donned his bog flippers on once more, and they got back to moving. Walking was still a nuisance, but Link thought he was doing a lot better already. At least his feet didn't ache when they reached the second camping spot between the two Minish dwellings, but he did make sure to rest his feet there anyway.

The trip from the camping spot to Fog City was a lot swampier than the road had previously been, which made Link really glad he bought the flippers and familiarized himself with them yesterday – otherwise he would have spent half of the journey up to his knees in mud. His speed lowered again because of the new challenges, but at least he had a good hang on how to keep his balance while lifting his weirdly shaped and heavy feet.

Sidon, on the other hand, had no problem whatsoever with the terrain. He just kind of spread his toes further apart without any fanfare and walked on at his normal speed – or he could have done that anyway, if he wasn't adjusting his pace to Link's snail-like progress. Link tried his level best to not feel bitter about it, and simply concentrated on moving forward one slow step at a time.

It took them double the estimated time to make it to the city, and Link's poor feet were all worn out again. Sidon had even offered to carry him for the last fourth of the journey, but Link was way too stubborn to accept help like that when he was still able to walk. If his leg had been broken? Sure. If walking had actually been painful for some reason? Probably. If he had had blisters? Maybe. But not when his feet were simply achy from the effort. He wasn't in the habit of giving up when he still had fight left in him.

The sight of the city was more than welcome regardless.

Fog City was a lot bigger than the previous town had been. Not as big as the capital, but definitely the second largest Minish dwelling they had been to from the looks of it. Or perhaps third largest – Link didn't know if the underground city by the Muddy Lake had been bigger or smaller since he hadn't exactly been able to look at the whole picture, what with most of the city being hidden. But he chose to believe that Fog City was bigger anyway to make the trip feel more worthwhile.

The city was very pretty. It had toadstool houses as well as skillfully built wooden huts, and even some houses that looked like small, mossy hills with doors and windows. The city floor had been carefully paved with colourful ceramic tiles, and Link could lose the flippers thanks to that. There were some park areas near the edges of the city that had bog holes where the local kids could swim in. Sidon was instantly interested, so they spent a little while with Link sitting on a bench and resting his feet while Sidon chased the kids around the water to everyone's amusement. Link liked the city already, even if the walk there had been less than pleasant.

As much needed as the break had been, they were still on a quest and had to move on after a brief rest. They needed to see if Slateri had made it to the city safely, whether he was still around, and when he had left if he had. They also desperately needed some food for Sidon again – it was truly a constant issue. General information about any unrest in the area wouldn't go amiss either. That, and they forgot to ask Misteri whether the Lost Woods returned them to the entrance if they wandered off the path, and if the big people rules of navigating the forest applied to the Minish. They had a map, yes, but Link wasn't sure how well he'd be able to follow it without being able to cheat with the Sheikah Slate to check their whereabouts – he had forgotten how to read a map during his hundred year nap, and learning to navigate with the Slate's easy system had made following his progress on regular maps challenging to him. He hoped Sidon was better at it than he was, or else they'd have to cross their fingers and hope to not get too lost.

As they got ready to move on, Sidon asked the kids he had been playing with for directions to the city hall. They were told to "go to the marketplace and then to the right and there's a huge building there and you should talk to at least one of the Festaris there". Link found the advice more than a little dubious and confusing, but they figured they could at least go to the marketplace and work their way from there. They could look for food suitable for Sidon there, so it was useful anyway.

They walked the colourfully paved path through the Minish neighbourhoods until they reached the city central and the marketplace.

Link's jaw dropped.

The marketplace was enormous! There was a huge building-free area in what Link assumed to be the very heart of the city, and it was filled with booths, tents, and stands of all kinds. Delicious aromas wafted to Link's nose as they walked closer, and he promptly forgot all about their quest of finding the city hall. He wanted to try everything and see everything!

"Link, look!" Sidon said, bouncing with enthusiasm and pointing towards a tent made out of waxy leaves. Link did as asked and saw that it was one of the food tents, and the plaque hanging from the edge of the roof had a drawing of a fried frog on it.

They had found a Sidon-friendly food tent right away. It might not help stock up for the journey through the woods – it probably wouldn't anyway, but they could always ask – but it would most certainly fill his stomach right now.

Link shared a happy grin with his boyfriend, and they wasted no time getting to the tent, perusing the menus, ordering food, and finding seats. Sidon's stomach was growling in anticipation practically nonstop, and together they had ordered every single item on the menu to sample – they were both starving, and Sidon absolutely wasn't against carrying some leftovers with him and snacking on them later today. Frankly, he deserved a day of constant snacking after roughly a week of mostly rationing.

"Lucky, wasn't it?" Sidon asked, while arranging a napkin neatly on his lap. "I hope this means we can also find a stall that sells some preserved frog or tadpoles. Maybe even some sneaky river snail, since that Minish on the barbecue party had to have bought it somewhere. Perhaps here? Do you think they'll have actual fish here? I would trade my left arm for some Hyrule bass."

'Maybe try rupees first', Link signed with a smirk, and refrained from pointing out that the Lost Woods didn't have any rivers or lakes within its borders, so the chances of anyone having fish for sale were practically nonexistent. It didn't hurt Sidon to dream a little as long as he didn't expect too much – and he wouldn't after the last few days.

They conversed lightly and watched the buzzing marketplace around them until their food arrived. Multiple plates of it. Maybe they had overdone it just a smidgen? Oh well. Link could sample the other things the marketplace had to offer when it was dinnertime, after they were done with their actual business here.

For now, the two of them happily dug into their fried, boiled, deep fried, sauteed, pureed and grilled frog parts without a worry in the world. It was nice to have things go their way for once.

Chapter Text

"Excuse me, sir? Where can we find the city hall?"

Link looked around the nearby stalls with great interest while Sidon had a conversation with the least busy looking Minish they had spotted from the food tent they had just exited. Ah, he really wanted to forget all about their quest and simply mill around and do some souvenir shopping! Or just shopping, without necessarily needing to tack on the part about souvenirs – he liked buying things to himself the most, if he was being honest.

Everything looked so neat! From where he was standing he saw a stall that sold little braided bracelets, another that sold baskets, and one that had some kind of wooden objects that he couldn't see well from where he was. And that was just the stalls he could see! The marketplace had looked enormous from a distance, so who knew what kind of treasures he would find with a little time to explore.

"Link?"

He turned his wistful gaze away from the wood object stall and looked at his boyfriend.

"I got the directions", Sidon said, looking pleased with himself. "Shall we head that way? We need to walk right through the marketplace, so we can look around a little as we move."

Now that was more like it! He nodded with a large grin, and motioned for Sidon to lead the way.

They walked down the packed alleys between the tents and stalls, and both had their heads swiveling back and forth as they tried to take everything in while walking. There were food tents that Link was dying to get samples from, despite being more than full at the moment. There were stalls that sold different kinds of foods to stock up with, and they'd have to browse those better later. There were booths with pottery, paintings, jewelry, toys, clothes, mats, furniture, and even weapons. In fact, Link tapped on Sidon's arm to get him to stop at the last one in the list.

'I want a knife, maybe', he signed, and pushed himself through the throng of curious kids who were admiring the weapons with stars in their eyes. The Minish behind the booth looked pleased to see someone who would potentially be a real customer…

Hold on.

The Minish looked different from any of the others Link had seen so far. Their build was stockier while they were taller than the others, their skin was a little darker, and their hair, unhidden by a hat and instead bound with a bandanna, was thick and blond. They were most definitely neither a Forest Minish nor a Mist Minish.

"I'll allow staring this once, but only because I'm doing the same", the Minish said with a thick accent of some kind. "Hi, I'm Wanderi. You're the big people everyone's abuzz about."

'Link', Link signed without thinking, and was met with a politely quizzical look. Right.

"A pleasure to meet you, miss Wanderi", Sidon said, rescuing him once more. "I'm Prince Sidon, and this is Link. Is your business doing well?"

Small talk. Of course. Link tore his eyes away from the strange Minish and looked at her wares instead while keeping an ear out for the conversation. Her selection was fascinating. There were wooden spears, clubs, and quarterstaves, swords and daggers with odd green blades that Link thought might be leaves of some kind, daggers and spears with thorns as the blades, and also a few real iron weapons.

"Better than usual, actually", Wanderi said, sounding delighted. "I think it's the recent unrest. The local guards upgraded their weapons at my shop just this morning, so my so called foreign stock is pretty low now."

Link looked up from the weapons.

'Unrest? Foreign? What?' he asked Sidon, who nodded at him.

"Could you tell us more about this unrest? We arrived just today and have yet to catch the news", Sidon said.

Wanderi nodded, and idly picked up a sword to fiddle with. "I don't know much, really. Apparently there was a scuffle at the south entrance last night with some of the local punks jumping travelers. There's this new cult or gang around that's been rallying for revolution. I'm not really sure what that is about, as my wife and I just came back here last week and we're always busy for a while in the beginning. Regardless, the guards were not very well equipped to deal with something like this, so they came to my shop to purchase some good iron weapons to replace the broken wooden ones. I'm the only one selling iron around here."

The information was not as comprehensive as Link had hoped for, but it was valuable regardless. So the Vaatians had been hoping to ambush them last night? Maybe? They were up to something anyway. And the guards were somewhat incompetent, unless they actually managed to catch the culprits even with their weapons broken.

"I see", Sidon said with a frown. "That is worrisome. Was anyone hurt?"

"Not that I know. The guards didn't look too grim at least, so one should think not."

"I hope you're right." Link tapped Sidon's arm and gave him a look. Sidon smiled and shook his head in exasperation. "My impatient friend here would like to change the subject. You mentioned the iron weapons being foreign, and you don't look like a local either. Could you tell us about yourself to satisfy our curiosity?"

That was a needlessly long way to ask where she's from, but Link was starting to get used to Sidon's politeness with strangers, so he suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and simply listened.

Wanderi chuckled. "Ah, it's been a while since I've been asked that. I'm from Death Mountain, and I'm a Mountain Minish."

Now she definitely had Link's undivided attention. Death Mountain was far away for a big person, so how did a Minish travel all that way? He was also beyond ecstatic to find that his guess about other kinds of Minish existing was correct! Take that, Misteri!

"I'm curious by nature, so as soon as I was old enough to travel, I left my home to see the world", Wanderi continued, and put the weapon she's been fingering down. "I had some fun adventures, and met my wife, Lizari, in the Hyrule Fields. She's a Field Minish, and the prettiest person I've ever met. She can talk to lizards and we can travel very fast by riding those critters, so we have homes all over the place and act as traveling merchants, more or less. My iron wares are straight from Death Mountain, and are very exotic by the local standards. It's really too bad I can't bring the local wares to the mountain without them burning right up. I can bring 'em Luminous stone weapons from the Water Kingdom at least."

The Water Kingdom?

Sidon was on it immediately without Link even needing to ask. He looked excited with his head tail moving back and forth. "Would the Water Kingdom happen to be Zora's Domain? South-east from here? Past the mountains?"

Wanderi looked thoughtful. "Maybe? The direction is about right. There's Swamplands first and then you follow the river east. That sound correct?"

"Yes!" Sidon said, now bouncing up and down. He was obviously more than ecstatic to learn of Minish existing in the Domain. "What do the Minish there look like there? What are they called?"

Link eyed the weapon selection again while the others talked. There were three daggers that he could see. One was wooden, and looked pretty shabby to him – the Minish had nothing on the Koroks when it came to wooden weaponry, it seemed. Another one was made from a thorn of some kind and looked sharp all around, like a rapier. Link liked that one. The last one was made from a stiff and sharp looking leaf. It was razor-edged, but the point didn't look very convincing; the green blade was very nice looking, though. It would be a tough choice.

"There's actually two kinds there: River Minish and Underwater Minish. The River type look plenty similar to the locals, while the Underwaters look frankly a lot like fish. They can't stay on land for long, those ones. They have cities below the water, but I obviously haven't visited."

"That's amazing! Link, we have to see them!"

Link smiled indulgently. 'Sure, let's put it on the list, but I doubt I can go to the underwater cities. I don't have gills to breathe there and can't hold my breath for long at all.'

Sidon looked like he had trouble deciding whether to be disappointed by Link's statement or continue to be joyful by the news themselves. Poor thing, but at least he could visit the underwater cities, unlike Link.

Link looked back and forth between the two weapons his eye had caught. The leaf blade was pretty and very exotic in an eye-catching way, but he had to admit that the thorn one looked more effective and versatile. It was always better if you could both stab and slash. In the end he picked up the thorn dagger and waved it at Wanderi.

"Oh, you're actually buying something?" she asked with a laugh. "I thought you just came to gawk at little old me. I'm liking this turn of events!"

Money changed owners, and Link slid his new dagger to his belt.

"Hey, if you're leaving now, might I suggest you visit Lizari's stall at some point? She sells dried foodstuff and spices down that ways", Wanderi said, and gestured a direction for them. It wasn't in their way to the city hall, but Link supposed they could visit it afterwards when they did their food supply purchasing, so he nodded.

"Have fun on your travels, if we don't happen to meet again!" Sidon said with a friendly wave.

"Likewise! Stay safe!"

Link smiled and waved. He really hoped they would eventually meet again, even if not on this journey. Perhaps in the Water Kingdom or Death Mountain some day? It was a nice thought.

-----

The rest of their journey through the marketplace was uneventful. Sure, they would have liked to stop at every tent and stall, but they refrained for now and concentrated on their mission. As such, they made their way to the city hall in good time.

Link and Sidon stopped before the building in question, openly gaping. In front of them was a cluster of large toadstool houses that were connected to each other at the base, and behind those was an even larger building that looked so out of place that it was astounding. It seemed to be a smooth granite block with moss growing on the top, and it was shimmering and sparkling faintly. Link squinted at it – the aura actually looked the same as kinstones when they activated. Curious.

'Can you see shimmering?' he asked Sidon.

"Where?" Sidon returned, which was enough of an answer on its own. Definitely the same magic as kinstones, then.

Link shook his head and smiled at Sidon, who was giving him a mildly curious look. 'Building. Never mind. Let's go in?'

Sidon continued looking at him for a short moment longer, before seemingly dismissing the questions he might have had – perhaps he figured it out on his own, as he had heard Mageri's explanation just as much as Link had.

They entered the largest toadstool of the cluster, and what they saw inside left them completely floored.

There were about a dozen children of varying sizes running around, playing tag. They were all dressed in red cloth robes, which was a rarity with the Minish, so they were probably either related or it was a uniform of some kind. Could even be both.

But what was a group of unruly children doing in a city hall?

...This was the city hall, right?

One of the bigger children stopped in their tracks after noticing the two of them at the door. "Oh! Visitors!" The kid turned to look at the other children, who had absolutely not noticed anything. "Guys! GUYS! Visitors!"

All of the children stopped practically at once, and turned to stare at the two of them with big, round, blinking eyes.

It was half cute and half eerie.

Then an avalanche of children ran their way and Link had to very consciously stop himself from grabbing his sword and shield to parry a perceived potential attack.

The kids grabbed them everywhere they could: their hands were taken, Sidon's arm fins were grabbed, they had kids hanging from their leafy tunics, and one of the kids moved behind Link to push him forward while another one did the same with Sidon.

"We're Festaris! Welcome to the city hall slash the abbey slash the entrance to the Deepwood Shrine!"

...Link had so, so many questions now.

Chapter Text

Link and Sidon were man-handled through a hallway between two mushrooms into another part of the building. Whereas the first room had been vast and grand looking – and thus perfect to play tag in – the next place had a more… sacred temple kind of atmosphere. There were ornate pillars all around the place, mystical yet peaceful looking paintings hanging from the walls, and an altar against one wall. There was also a small fountain in the middle of the room.

Before the fountain stood an adult Minish dressed in the same robes as the children were. They turned around to look when the rather noisy group entered the room.

"Oh, visitors?" they asked, rather unnecessarily in Link's opinion.

"Yes! We seized them at the door!" said the kid who had spoken before – or at least Link assumed them to be the same kid; not like he could tell them apart other than by size at best. "We don't know what they want!"

The adult Minish sighed deeply, and Link couldn't help but sympathize; he got the impression that this situation was commonplace, potentially happening with every visitor even.

"I see", the adult said, managing to scrounge up an indulgent and patient smile for the kids. "Thank you for the assistance. Run back to your games."

The children cheered loudly, and abruptly let go of them to run back to the previous room. Link was very bewildered, and Sidon looked even more so.

"Pardon the children, usually we have one of the older children on door duty, but they're all on a field trip today", the adult Minish said. "My name is Festari of the Abbey. How may I be of assistance?"

Wait. The kids had also called themselves Festaris. Just how many of these people had the same name?

"I'm Prince Sidon and this is Link", Sidon said, smiling pleasantly as always. "We were told that this was the city hall and we would find the mayor here. Would that be you?"

Festari shook their head. "Unfortunately not. That would be my sister, and she's with the older children. I may still be able to assist you, depending on what your query is. I'm the spiritual leader of this city, the main guardian of the Deepwood Shrine, and have knowledge on most affairs in the city, so if you're not here for any official paperwork that require the mayor specifically, I may just be able to help."

That sounded more than good enough for Link. He tapped Sidon's arm. 'Let's roll with this one. Ask about the unrest first.'

Sidon nodded, and asked. What they got matched with Wanderi's knowledge, except Festari was able to confirm that the culprits had indeed been Vaatians, and any injuries sustained were minor on both sides of the conflict. The Vaatians had managed to ambush two traveling pairs with nobody the wiser, but their third victims had managed to scream for help. This confirmed Link's suspicion: the two of them had definitely been the intended targets. Why else would the Vaatians have targeted pairs?

"They've truly grown to be a nuisance lately", Festari said and shook their head. "They even attempted to get into the Deepwood Shrine just the other day. Thankfully their magical abilities are no match to the combined power pool of our clan, so they can't get in by sneaking past me."

So. Many. Questions. Once again, Sidon was on it without prompting.

"Deepwood Shrine? Your clan? Power pool? Could you perhaps elaborate? We promise we've no intention of spreading any sensitive information around."

Festari gave them an amused look. "I have no intention of sharing any sensitive information. One learns to pick what one shares with this many little listening ears around."

They gave a pointed look past Link's shoulder, and he heard a guilty little squeak and hurried retreating footsteps.

He saw Festari's point.

"The answers to your questions are not particularly sensitive, however", they continued. "By our clan, I mean each and every Festari living here. Our family is very large. The children here belong to me, my sister, and my three brothers. Oh, and a few are our cousins'. The power pool I mentioned refers to our family magic. Whoever in our clan becomes the guardian of the Shrine acts as the gatekeeper whose magic keeps unsolicited visitors out of the shrine, but the magic itself is powered by everyone who lives here. The more of us live here, the better protected the Shrine is. That's why our clan is large and the majority of the closely related children live here."

"Fascinating!" Sidon said, the embodiment of enthusiasm. "The Shrine itself must be a big deal then? Is it a Sheikah shrine?"

Link was all ears. He knew they were in a hurry, but if it was a Sheikah shrine…

"Sheikah?" Festari asked, blinking rapidly and tilting their head to the side. "No. That's Slateri family's business as far as I know. This is a Minish shrine and harbors the Earth Element used to power up the Picori Blade. It's not exactly needed often, but it's important to keep it safe for the future generations, in case it ever is needed again. ...Ah, you know the tale of the Picori Blade, the Hero, and Ezlo, right?"

Did Link ever! Librari and Histori had been all over that. They had neglected to mention that one of the elements was stored this close, however. ...Or Link hadn't been paying enough attention to pick that detail up.

A Minish shrine, then? It had to be very different from the Sheikah shrines. Link would bet his sword that it wouldn't be solvable with the slate, but he'd need different tools for it. Perhaps he would find them within the shrine, like he had gotten the basic functions to his slate from the first Sheikah shrines he had explored. It would be a thrilling new experience that would test him in ways that he hadn't been tested yet.

New tools!

New skills!

New strategies!

‘I want to explore’, he said to Sidon urgently.

Sidon looked at him like he had grown a second head. "Excuse me?"

'The Deepwood Shrine. I want to explore it.'

"Uh… I don't think that's a done thing here. Festari is guarding the place from people who don't have any actual business there. Isn't that right?" Sidon said, and turned towards very baffled looking Festari, who was staring at Link's hands. They clearly had no idea what was going on, which was fair since they evidently only understood half of the conversation.

"Y-yes? Unless the evil is released again, I'm not supposed to let anyone in."

Link refused to give up this easily. 'Not supposed to' didn't mean 'unable to' or 'cannot be persuaded'. It seemed, however, that he needed to convince his own boyfriend first.

‘I need to explore! It could be useful!’

"I understand, but I rather think-"

‘I must explore! It's a shrine!'

“Link! You can’t explore the shrine! This place is… uh…” Sidon looked at Festari pleadingly.

“A sacred cultural relic of our people”, Festari supplied. It seemed they had gotten over their shock at Link's signing. They looked rather amused even, like they were watching a sword fight for sports.

“A sacred cultural relic of the Minish! You cannot just go in and explore it simply because you want to. This is not an abandoned Shrine that nobody will mind you poking in. This is an important, guarded place", Sidon said sternly.

Damn it. This is why he traveled alone; nobody disagreed with his choices. Slightly fuming, he gave Sidon a mulish look. 'Translate me. I'll negotiate for myself.'

Sidon blinked rapidly, and then sighed. "Of course. But do keep in mind that we are also in a bit of a hurry, so this is a bad idea all around."

...Double damn it. He didn't want to be reminded of that. He crossed his arms and took a moment to think.

They were in a hurry, but he wanted to explore the interesting new kind of a shrine. Festari didn't seem keen on the idea, but they wouldn't be the first person whose mind Link had changed for the sake of adventure or necessity. But they really were in a hurry and exploring a shrine thoroughly would take hours, maybe even a whole day.

...He could pave the road for his future self, though. He let out a small sigh of defeat, glanced at Sidon, and then turned to Festari.

'We're in a hurry now, but do you think I could go into the shrine sometime in the future? I'm the hero who defeated Calamity Ganon and who carries the Master Sword. I have experience in shrines. Make an exception for me?'

There. He played the hero card. Surely now-

"GUYS! WE HAVE AN ACTUAL HERO HERE!"

What-

Suddenly an avalanche of children stampeded from the doorway towards them and Link tensed in a defensive pose automatically. He couldn't harm children, however, so he couldn't parry or dodge despite having plenty of time to do it. The end result was that he was literally tackled to the ground and then dog-piled by the smallest kids while the slightly bigger ones jumped and skipped around him in a weird dance, and every single kid was yelling questions at him in an incoherent cacophony of high pitched voices.

He decided that he would have preferred a camp full of Bokoblins. They were gentler.

This lasted for what felt like forever, before the adult Festari's voice boomed out. "Children! Orderly row, now! Hop to it!"

Like magic the children scrambled off of him and stood up, forming a row that went roughly from smallest to tallest, with a few exceptions. Perhaps sorted by age?

"Link, are you alright?" Sidon asked, wearing a worried frown, but the corners of his mouth twitched all the same. Clearly he was fighting a laugh at Link's expense. He extended a hand to him, and Link let him pull him up. His back felt a little sore from landing on his equipment and being squished against them, but he had had much worse.

'Ruta wasn't as rough', he replied, and Sidon finally let out a laugh.

"You're fine, then."

"Listen up, every Festari", the adult Festari said with a stern voice, looking at the row of kids. "We do not tackle people. Someone could get hurt. Apologize to Link this instance."

Most of the children looked contrite, while some were clearly not particularly sorry. However, they turned to Link as one and he received a chorus of varyingly sincere sorrys.

At least they obeyed orders – from Link's understanding that was a difficult trait to teach to children, especially a group of them. Kudos to Festari and whoever else raised them. Ah, the adults were likely all named Festari as well. Link was glad he didn't have to stick around for long because that'd get confusing really fast.

He smiled and nodded at kids, accepting their apology. One of them raised a hand immediately after, much to his confusion. What-

"You may speak, Festari the Eighth", the adult Festari said. Oh, so it was a request to speak then. ...Actually, a half-memory from his completely hazy childhood rose to the surface – they did this kind of a thing in school, didn't they? Potentially in the military sitting as well?

"Can I see the sword?" the kid asked, and now all of the children gave Link a very, very keen look, clearly equally interested.

He knew what was happening. He smiled and pulled the Master Sword out of its sheath, held it out in front of him for the kids to stare, and then did a few easy strikes with it. As expected, the children were completely captivated. Anticipating the next request, he wielded his shield and parried a few imaginary enemies. Then he took out his bow and did a heroic pose or three. Finally he bowed, and received ecstatic applause.

He had been a hero for a while, after all – he knew what his fans wanted.

What he didn't expect – especially given the scolding just a few minutes earlier – was to be tackled back to the ground as most of the kids rushed to hug him violently in their hero worship.

"Children! Didn't we just discuss this?"

This was apparently his life now.

Chapter Text

"I give you my tentative blessing to explore the shrine when you return, mister hero", Festari of the Abbey said once the children had been extracted from Link’s person and sent away. Again. This time Link wasn't actually expecting them to be truly gone; he liked to believe he learned from his mistakes most of the time. "However, we will have to have a serious talk about your conduct and carried weaponry when that time comes. I will not allow the shrine to be destroyed because of an unneeded exploration by a hero who isn't doing this for a purpose grander than simple curiosity. Are those acceptable terms for you?"

Link nodded eagerly. He didn't care if he had to carry a stick instead of a sword as long as he got to have an adventure. Besides, that was future Link's problem anyway. 'Fine by me. I will look forward to that.'

Sidon beamed at Link once he was done translating. "I'm so glad you managed to figure out a solution that works for all of us! Are you sure I shouldn't tell Zelda-"

Link shook his head vehemently. No. He wasn't going to become a diplomat of any flavour, thank you very much.

Sidon laughed. At least someone found this funny.

"Pardon me for interrupting your merriment", Festari said, waving to regain their attention. "Was there anything else you needed?"

They liked to stay strictly on business, Link had noticed. That was probably a personality requirement for raising so many children to obey reasonably well. Or maybe it had developed because of the children. Or if they had been raised in a similar manner, maybe it had been ingrained to them from childhood.

Regardless.

Sidon and Link looked at each other. Was there anything-

Ah!

'Advice about traveling in the woods through the mist. Before we forget again.'

"Yes, you're right!" Sidon said, and turned to Festari. "We have been forgetting to ask any of the locals about traversing the Lost Woods. Big p-" he halted, glanced at the doorway, and lowered his voice considerably. Hah, he clearly remembered their little eavesdropping audience. "Big people get lost in the mist easily and are magically returned to the entrance if they pick a wrong direction to go. Does it work the same for the Minish?"

Festari frowned. "I'm exceedingly glad you asked. It would have been disastrous if you went in without knowing. Yes, us Minish are returned to the north entrance of this very city if we wander too far from the path. However, the area you're allowed to travel in is very vast and it takes hours to reach any given edge that the Koroks will fetch you from. If you walk in circles, you will be lost and unable to take the shortcut back very quickly."

Link assumed the area in question was the same it was for big people. That would be a lot larger for someone Minish sized.

"Do you have a map? I could draw you a safe path to use and write down some landmarks you should see along the way so you know you're following it correctly."

"We do", Sidon said, and dug the item in question from his bag. "Mayor Misteri already drew us a path, but the landmarks sound helpful. Do you have any other advice on how to stay on the path?"

Festari took the map and walked over to a table near the door they came from. There was an open book and a pencil on it. Was it a guest book?

Link heard shuffling from the doorway as he and Sidon followed their host, and smiled. Kids.

"Yes, I do. Keep the wind on your ba- What is this?"

Festari frowned at the map, which prompted Link to peer over their shoulder at it curiously. It looked exactly the same as it did when he last saw it.

"What's wrong?" Sidon asked, following Link's example.

"This path… is very incorrect", Festari said slowly. "It doesn't lead you to the heart of the woods at all. It takes you to a very unsafe bog area."

...What?

"But…" Sidon said, eyes wide and confused. "But Misteri drew it for us herself."

A cold feeling settled in the bottom of Link's stomach and the hairs on the back of his neck rose. If Misteri drew the map, and the map lead to a completely wrong place… not only wrong, but dangerous at that…

Festari had a deep frown on their face as they turned towards the doorway. "Festari the Twelfth, come here."

There was shuffling and whispering in the hallway, and then the biggest child entered the room and stood in front of the adult Festari, giving them a wary look and shuffling their feet, while also making an attempt to not look guilty. Poor kid probably thought they were in trouble.

"What is it?" they asked, biting their lip.

"You're not in trouble", Festari said, which made the kid breathe a huge sigh of relief. "I need you to go to the edge of the marketplace and fetch a guard. Tell them I sent you."

The kid's eyes widened. There was a collective gasp in the doorway, and when Link glanced that way he saw that the rest of the kids were now blatantly in sight and staring.

"A guard?" Festari the Twelfth asked. "But why?"

"You'll no doubt find out later, but for now just go. Time might be of essence."

Link and Sidon exchanged looks, and Link could see from Sidon's stiff posture and serious look that he had gotten the memo now.

Either Misteri was a Vaatian or a Vaatian had been impersonating as her. Regardless of which one it was, it meant trouble.

-----

Festari drew them a new route on their map while they waited in tense silence. Finally, Festari the Twelfth returned with a serious looking guard, and Festari the adult explained the situation at hand. Or rather, the situation that had been, as they had no way of knowing what was going on in the neighbouring town at this moment – it had been a full day or so since they left Misteri's house and that meant anything could have happened.

Sidon looked horribly guilty the entire time. Clearly he remembered spilling more info than advisable to Misteri and was regretting it now.

Link was regretting more the fact that their hurry had just re-doubled thanks to these news. They had already resigned themselves to the thought that they couldn't linger in this city, but now it looked like they could only drop by the marketplace, fill their food supplies as quickly as possible, and then run deep into the Lost Woods like a Bokoblin chased by a Talus. No more silently agreed upon room for just a little bit of curiosity about some random thing or a teeny tiny spontaneous side quest. No, now they were on an actually strict schedule.

"Thank you for your time", Festari said and waved the guard off. Then they turned back to Sidon, who instantly fixed his mopey posture and expression into something more fitting for a prince. "There, at least the incident will be investigated now. Is there still something I can help you with?"

Link just now realized that once again he didn't need to do anything to fix a local problem other than to report it. The actual solving of the issue was left to the local authorities. Again.

Note to self, if he wanted to live a peaceful life with zero expectations on his shoulders, he could move here. The only downsides were the fact that Sidon couldn't move here with him, being the crown prince, and the issue of practically nobody understanding his signing. Well, and the fact that he kept being unable to actually accept the fact that he didn't need to fix everything personally. It was still a thought.

"Yes. You never told us how to stay on the right path in the Lost Woods", Sidon said, a polite smile on his face.

"You're right, please pardon me. You should keep the wind on your back as you walk. Carrying a torch is the easiest way to keep track of that. Of course that only makes sure you're headed to the heart of the woods; it doesn't guarantee you're staying on the path I drew you."

Link felt relieved. Some things stayed the same in both the big people world and the Minish world. He wasn't yet sure if the considerably wider path would end up a blessing or a curse, however. On one hand, less of a chance of walking into the mist and ending up back in the beginning, wasting entire days at worst. On the other hand, they could get very lost from the presumably safest path that Festari drew them. He was confident they could handle that, but it would be yet another inconvenience and cost them time, wind on their back guiding them or not.

"Thank you, we'll keep that in mind", Sidon said. "One last thing. Did Slateri the First pass through this city?"

Oh right. They had forgotten to ask about that yet. Link felt a little apprehensive because of Misteri's betrayal, but since Festari had contacted the guards and everything… That, and the Vaatians already knew they were looking for Slateri anyway.

Ugh, thinking about it was a mess right then.

"Unfortunately I don't know", came Festari's answer. "He didn't drop by the Abbey if he did. My sister would probably know, as the guards report to her if any high profile personnel enter the city, but…"

"She's not available, yes", Sidon said with a nod. "That's a shame, but it can't be helped. Thank you for all of your assistance, we really appreciate it. Now, unfortunately, we must hurry on."

"I see. You're very welcome. I look forward to seeing you again one day", Festari said, then turned to look at Link with a faintly amused smile. "I'll keep the Shrine ready for you, Mr. Hero. May Ezlo watch your steps and offer you wisdom."

They exchanged nods, and then Link and Sidon headed towards the way they came from. They made it to the hallway before they were both almost bowled over by the children once more.

"We'll show you out!"

Why had he even expected anything else?

-----

"That was rather a more exciting visit to a town hall that I had anticipated", Sidon said cheerfully as they made their way back to the buzz of the marketplace to pick up the necessary supplies.

That was an understatement, and Link said as much, which seemed to amuse Sidon greatly. Good; Link hadn't liked the earlier guilty meekness. He expected it to return later when they were alone on the road, but he would enjoy the lighter atmosphere for now.

Right now their mission was to buy as much food as they could possibly carry with them, because there would be no Minish dwellings in the Lost Woods between Fog City and the Korok Forest. The estimated travel time for a Minish who was used to the terrain and knew the route well was about two or three days, and considering how slowly Link walked with the bog flippers and the fact that they might get a little lost along the way, their estimate was from three to five days. So, they needed to be prepared for a potential five day trip with no guarantee of finding food. At least they knew there was water literally everywhere.

They walked through the marketplace, buying a few seeds here, some smoked spider jerky there, and then came across a stall that was ran by a light green skinned Minish with long and elaborately braided hay coloured hair.

This once Link could immediately tell that the Minish was female, if only because he was one hundred percent certain that this person couldn't be anyone other than Wanderi's wife, Lizari.

They didn't have the time to dally… but a little chat while they checked her wares couldn't hurt.

Chapter Text

Link and Sidon walked over to Lizari's stall, both wearing friendly smiles due to feeling like they were already acquaintanced with her simply because they had heard nice things about her. Or at least that was Link's reason; Sidon was just always polite anyway.

"Hello there", Sidon said as soon as the previous customer moved on from the stall and freed room for them.

"Hello, would you- Oh. Wow. Tall", Lizari said, giving Sidon a wide eyed look. Link snorted. Yeah, that was one way to put it.

"Thank you", Sidon said with a laugh. "I get that a lot. I'm Prince Sidon and this is Link. Are you by any chance Lizari?"

She nodded, still staring. "Yes. Is that a tail fin on your head?"

Link had to actively fight back giggles.

"It is. I'm a Zora. A big person", Sidon said, completely unbothered. "We met your wife, Wanderi, earlier."

Lizari nodded again, now visibly starting to get over her initial shock, and an excited smile bloomed on her lips. "I hope she didn't talk your ears off. ...Do you have ears?"

This conversation was bizarre. It was two conversations at once as far as Link could tell. At least two.

"I do, but not the protruding kind", Sidon answered. "Wanderi was nice. She suggested we drop by your stall to buy food supplies. What have you got?"

Smooth. Link looked at wares and noted that yes, they really did need guidance here: the table had baskets and small shelves filled to the brim with little bags and jars of finely ground, diced, sliced, or crushed things. Some things were clearly plants and some were probably meats, but they were all cut so finely that they were unrecognizable without any hints, and the labels were in Minish writing and thoroughly unhelpful.

"How sweet of her. Where do the Zora live?" Lizari asked, and then started cheerfully pointing and naming her wares while still keeping up the questioning every time Sidon answered her previous query. Link stopped paying attention to her curiosity and focused on the foods, since that was why they were actually here. Sidon could easily take care of the talking part, and quite frankly had to, since Link wouldn't be understood anyway.

Lizari had all kinds of exotic spices Link had never heard of and would have really liked to try, but now was not a good time to get a spice collection to haul around. Maybe in the future, if they met again. She had powdered vegetables, berries, and roots that would make instant meals when you just added water, and took very little space in the bag compared to how many meals you got out of them. Seeing how they were in a misty, damp forest where acquiring water was not an issue at all, they were perfect. Link bought an entire variety of those. She also had a very large selection of air dried meats, including a single jar of finely ground, dried shrimp. Sidon purchased the last item immediately, absolutely overjoyed – it was finally some real Zora food instead of the endless frogs he had been sustaining by.

All in all, having a few words with the endlessly curious and admittedly very pretty Lizari was a good time investment that totally didn't count as a side quest they didn't have the time for. Success!

...Well, at least if Link could actually separate her and Sidon now that they had bought all they were going to.

"Interesting! And the Octorok balloons can float objects? Do you suppose-"

"I see! Yes, I do think that would be possible, but how would you get down?"

"Oh, I know a guy-"

Link watched Sidon talk animatedly and really wasn't sure he had the heart to interrupt. He seemed to be getting on with Lizari like a house on fire, and unlike most of the other friendly Minish they had met, Lizari wasn't a fixed presence here – she traveled around the world with her wife, and the chances of seeing her again when Link and Sidon returned here were slim.

"-and the beanstalk was high enough to reach the clouds! Rumor has it the Deku Tree still-"

Though since Sidon was going to apprentice under Mageri for an unknown amount of time, Link supposed he had a decent chance to be here when she returned?

A traveler's life was complicated when it came to reliably meeting other travelers again.

"Link?"

Link snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at Sidon, who was frowning at him and searching his face with his eyes.

"You spaced out. Are you alright?"

What? Why wouldn't he be-

Wait. Spacing out. Ohh, Sidon probably remembered when Link did that back in the Hero Museum with the odd pseudo-memory.

Though now that Sidon mentioned it, the beanstalk story sounded vaguely familiar. Ugh, nope, no thanks. He didn't like this whole flashback thing he apparently had going on here.

Oh, and he now didn't have to worry about interrupting the conversation! How convenient.

He nodded. 'Just thinking. No worries. Maybe we should move on?'

There. Zelda would be proud of him for being this responsible.

Sidon's eyes widened and he looked at the sky. "Ah, you're right! I lost the track of time entirely."

He turned to Lizari, who was giving them a questioning look. "My apologies for cutting our information swap short, but we're actually in a bit of a hurry. It was a pleasure talking to you and I sincerely hope we will meet again when we've got more time to spare."

"Oh… What's your hur- No, no more questions", Lizari said, bumping the side of her head with a fist and laughing. "I'm sorry, I'm too curious about everything. Wanderi has to drag me away from things and people at times. I'll let you leave now, and I hope to see you again one day. Now shoo before I get started again."

They did as prompted, not keen on testing how literally she meant her words. Although Link did wonder how Wanderi, who had been plenty curious and talkative herself when they chatted, supposedly kept her wife in check when she was hardly any better herself. Hmm, maybe Wanderi's curiosity was satisfied faster? Or her chatting stamina was lower? Whatever the case, at least the two of them really went well together, as both were eager to learn new things and share their gathered knowledge with others; that meant neither was driven up the wall by the other's antics and they had a lot to talk about every day after their separate information gatherings.

Actually, that reminded him of someone…

Oh.

Link suddenly had the thought of throwing Histori into the mix to travel with these two, and he blanched. She was a force of nature – specifically a hurricane – on her own, so hooking her up with two equally curious people…

The world would not survive that.

He vowed to keep that idea firmly to himself and never put it out there for the universe to hear, just to make sure it wasn't forwarded to the Minish in question. For the greater good.

-----

"Such a shame to leave Fog City behind already", Sidon said mournfully, looking back at the gates that were rapidly getting swallowed by the mist as they ventured forward to the Lost Woods. "I bet there were many interesting places we could have seen and equally many people we could have met. Mayor Festari for one."

'We will return one day when we're not in a hurry', Link said, feeling like he had said that phrase a million times during this adventure, both out loud and in his own mind. But it was the sad truth.

Another sad truth was his poor feet having to endure the bog flippers again, just as he had gotten used to walking without them in the city. But even though Misteri had given them malicious directions on their map, she hadn't been lying about him needing the flippers to make it through the swampy terrain; just looking at the path underneath his feet made him feel like he was sinking into it. Without the flippers he'd likely be up to his armpits in muck, trying to wade forward. That, or Sidon would be carrying him, which wasn't a good solution in the long run.

He hoped to never have to do this part of their journey again. If he needed to visit the Minish cities in the Korok Forest in the future, he would just get into the Korok Forest as a big person and then shrink down, he swore to Hylia.

"You're right, of course", Sidon said, and turned to look forward into the endless mist again.

They walked in silence for a while, but Link could see from Sidon's expression that he had something on his mind and was likely to spill it as soon as he had thought it over. So he waited.

"Link?"

There it was.

"...Yes?" he asked, making the conscious decision to vocalize now that they were alone again.

"My apologies for trusting Misteri", Sidon said with a mild frown. "I really should have known better."

Link had to admit that he had been expecting this ever since he saw Sidon's guilty expression in the abbey.

"It wasn't your fault. She seemed really nice and helpful", Link said, and would have patted Sidon's arm reassuringly if it didn't take way too much extra effort with the damned flippers. As it was, he just smiled at him. "She is the mayor, so she should have been someone that could be trusted. That's just a reasonable expectation. Your only mistake was saying anything in the first place; not your choice of person to confide in."

Sidon groaned and rubbed the underside of his forehead crest. "That's not nearly as reassuring as you likely figured it to be, Wildberry. I shouldn't have said anything, regardless of who we were talking to. I would have spilled everything if you hadn't stopped me at the time, and that is a worrisome thought. One should think that my training in diplomacy would have prepared me to watch what information I disclose to individuals. Muzu would be very disappointed in me."

That was… a good point. Link could see the grumpy old manta ray's deeply seated disappointment in his mind very clearly. Oh wait, that was just Muzu's default expression. Never mind.

"I won't tell him if you don't", Link said with a mischievous grin. Sidon only gave him a small smile back, so Link wracked his brain for something actually comforting to say, while taking a sip of water from his canteen to soothe his throat in preparation for more talking. "Hey. The Vaatians were going to find out sooner or later. They heard Librari at the museum, so it was only a matter of time. Or they might be dumb enough to not put the pieces together. And… For all we know, Slateri might always be careful because of, you know, and probably knows how to take care of himself."

He wasn't sure how much he was willing to believe these things himself, but none of it was blatantly untrue. He was also aware that he may have a skewed point of view when it came to other peoples' competence in protecting themselves, what with everyone needing him to do everything for them. Then again the Minish had proven themselves to be reasonably independent and capable many times now.

Sidon looked at him with a grateful and relieved smile, which made Link stop worrying about his own conflicting beliefs. The main point was that Sidon found his words comforting and had the guilt lifted from his broad, handsome shoulders that Link may or may not want to nibble on now that he had thought about them. Maybe once they camped for the night.

"Thank you", Sidon said, and reached towards Link to gently brush his cheek with his knuckles. Link turned his head to drop a quick kiss on said knuckles, which earned him a startled little laugh. "Oh, that was cute! Regardless, I feel better now. Mistakes happen and I simply need to learn from them and not repeat them. Isn't that right?"

Link nodded, satisfied.

With one less burden with them, the two of them continued their journey.

Chapter Text

Two days.

Link and Sidon had been walking in the swampy, misty, exhausting forest for two days now.

The only reason they knew this was because their Sheikah Slates had clocks in them; otherwise they would have had to make guesses based on the frequency of their breaks and meals, because it wasn't like they could see the sun to keep track of time the usual way. And let's just say that their guesses would have been very off if they had based them on those factors, because Link needed to rest his poor feet all the damn time and he was constantly starved because of the amount of energy he expelled just by walking. This terrain was worse than snow or sand in his opinion, even though he hated walking in the desert and the snowy areas as well.

The only positive thing about this place was that Sidon was thriving. The moisture in the air did his gills and scales wonders after about two weeks of mostly traveling on land. He occasionally ran ahead of Link to spend quality time in the bog holes while Link trudged forward in his bog flippers, and then easily caught up with him again after letting him walk passed him and giving him a good long head start as well. Sidon was simply made for this terrain.

On the flip side, Link had trouble walking, breathing, seeing, hearing, AND he was sweaty at all times because of the effort and the humidity. He did his best to keep his complaints to himself, however, because there was nothing that could be done and he didn't want to ruin Sidon's joy for no good reason. Sidon had managed to walk on land for weeks with a minimum amount of complaining, and Link would be damned by Hylia herself if he couldn't do the same for a few days himself.

Additionally, Sidon was having a blast with his meals that now consisted of thick shrimp broth with tadpole bits. The only downside on said meals was the fact that they had to eat everything cold because nothing caught fire in the humid woods – they only belatedly realized that they should have bought Fire Chuchu jelly from the marketplace to use as a substitute campfire. It hadn't occurred to them because between Toadstool Town and Fog City had been actual camping spots with means to start fires and warm up. The Lost Woods had no such places, presumably because the path was less traversed and everyone had their own way through if they managed to even stay on any one path in the first place.

Oh right, because they couldn't have campfires Link was also wet and cold at all times and it was a wonder he hadn't caught the flu yet – he must not be carrying any disease starters at the moment. After all, Zelda said that the flu came from other people, not from out of nowhere, as little sense as that made. Link didn't get it, but he believed her – she was smart and very knowledgeable, so surely she knew what she was talking about.

As it was, they had gotten up, eaten cold breakfast, and started walking just a little while ago, so while Link's feet were currently fine after an entire night's rest, they had a whole day of walking ahead of them again.

Hylia help him.

"Link, look!" Sidon said enthusiastically and pointed forward to an enormous tree stump that had an odd elongated triangle on the side. From their current distance Link couldn't tell if it was painted or magicked on or what, but he knew it was supposed to be a picture of the typical Minish head wear and had likely been purposefully made. They had seen a couple of them on their way already. "We're still right on the path Festari drew for us. We're halfway there now!"

Now that was excellent news! Sidon was the one in charge of reading the map and leading them, as he actually knew how to do that with a map that didn't conveniently keep a track of your position at all times. He seemed to be able to actually somehow read the swamp around them as well to keep them on some kind of a path, and Link wasn't going to question it as long as it worked, which it seemed to do.

He could only imagine how lost he would be right now without Sidon, and it wasn't a pretty image.

"Hmm…" Sidon hummed, frowning at the map thoughtfully.

"What is it?" Link asked, assuming it couldn't be about their route, since they were firmly on it, and thus he had no idea what had his boyfriend so pensive.

Sidon looked at him, and then to their left. "It's just… This is the spot where Misteri's map would have led us astray."

Link looked sharply in the direction Sidon indicated. He couldn't really see anything except swampland and mist there, but…

That was where Misteri would have led them. A dangerous bog area, Festari had said.

But Link didn't agree with that assessment. Or at least he didn't agree that it was just dangerous terrain out there.

No, he was almost certain the Vaatian hideout was out there. Or at least an ambush or a Vaatian patrolling route or something. Enemies rarely wanted him vaguely probably dead by natural causes; they typically wanted to personally kill him or capture him or both, sometimes in that order even.

"Link?"

"Sidon", Link said, and looked at his vaguely concerned and questioning face. "I have reasons to believe that the Vaatian hideout is at the end of the path that Misteri drew us."

Sidon actually gasped in surprise and potentially shock. He looked at the map, the direction it would have led them, then the direction they were supposed to go, and then back at Link. He was frowning again, and his head tail was twitching in an uneasy manner.

"You aren't… suggesting we go there, are you?" he asked slowly, but then waved his hands to retract the question. "Actually, a more pressing question is: why didn't you tell that to Festari or the guard when we were still in the city?"

Yeah, that part would look bad, wouldn't it?

"I hadn't yet thought of it then, don't worry", Link placated. "I would have told them if I had. A whole secret hideout of enemies is a little much even for me. Trust me, been there, done that; not keen on repeating."

Sidon looked relieved for about a second before getting suspicious again. "I sense a 'but' there."

Link smiled, happy that his boyfriend knew him so well. "Yes. I'm not keen on it, but we could go anyway. I did deal with the Yiga hideout on my own, and now there's two of us. We could take them."

Sidon shook his head. "Excuse me for being bold enough to doubt your word, but I disagree. I know you're an amazing warrior and tactician – please never doubt that – but we were barely able to handle four of them, and that was in a limited space and without the terrain severely handicapping you. We're on an important mission of our own too. We could just inform the officials in the city in the Korok Forest and let them deal with the threat in good time, with a good plan, and with proper troops."

Link bristled at the word "handicap" and had to take a moment to remind himself that Sidon wasn't dismissing him, and actually had a point even. He had multiple good points, really.

Link hated it.

"We were caught by surprise in the museum", he reasoned. "But now we know what we're walking into, and we know how the Vaatians fight. And you have an advantage in this terrain. I could be your backup this time."

Sidon disagreed. Heavily. "No, we don't know what we're walking into nor do we know how the Vaatians fight! We don't know if that really is the hideout or if it's something else. We don't know how many enemies to expect. And we don't know if what we experienced in the museum is their typical style of combat or if we were dealing with new troops. The wizard seemed like a seasoned warrior, but the rest were amateurish and may not represent the troops they have in their hideout. It's too dangerous to just walk in. Besides, you as the backup is a terrible idea; you should always be in the lead because of your superior battle prowess. I know I'm a formidable warrior of my own right – and in any other company I would absolutely be in the first line of attack – but you're the hero who calmed Vah Ruta and defeated Calamity Ganon. If an attack plan relegates you to the sideline, the plan is terrible by design."

Link was speechless, and not in his usual way of being unable to vocalize. He just didn't know how to even begin rebuffing Sidon's arguments. Yes, he was the stronger warrior. Yes, he should lead any attacks. Yes, they had very little information about their enemy.

But Hylia damn it, he didn't want to just walk past a probable enemy swarm and let them continue to cause trouble for the civilians they left behind!

Yes, Princess, he had a massive hero complex.

He made a 'hold on' gesture and took a moment to think. Sidon granted it to him, only crossing his arms in wait and looking around them in poorly hidden impatience.

Sidon was adorably bad at waiting for anything outside of his own control.

"You're right", Link finally said with a nod, done with revamping his plan – he was nothing if not a quick strategist. "I can't counter your points. But I still maintain that we should go – maybe not to attack, but to scout. We could walk close to the mark in the map, then I could stay behind at an eye sight distance to watch your back so I won't blow your cover with my clumsiness in this terrain. If we run into trouble, we escape – my staying behind buys me more time to run or hide, too. We make no contact with the enemy unless they force our hand. Scouting and information gathering only. It's better than doing nothing."

He didn't like the plan, but like he said, it was better than nothing. Sidon didn't seem to realize it, but he was actually in charge while they were in the Lost Woods; Link wouldn't be able to run or sneak off on his own here, because Sidon was much more agile in this terrain. Sidon also had the map and was able to read it, so Link would potentially get lost without him anyway. In short, he had to convince Sidon to go with him or follow him towards the Korok Forest while muttering angrily to himself. If this meant compromising, then so be it.

Sidon was scowling and staring at Link, his arms slowly uncrossing. He looked around again, then in the direction of the map partly protruding from his bag. "That… would be useful for any operation the Minish guards might want to plan after we tell them of your suspicion. And scouting would prove your hypothesis either right or wrong so it's no longer just a guess."

Yes!

"And if Slateri has been captured, he will be at the Vaatian hideout or be carted towards it, so this is not even us straying from our goal if you think about it", Link added with a wide smile. Of course straying from the direct path also meant that if Slateri wasn't yet captured they might miss warning him in time, but that was a risk Link was willing to take in this specific situation – he was more used to rescuing captured people than preventing capture anyway.

Sidon nodded, a smile replacing his frown. "You're right! Scouting is very important if a rescue mission might be in the cards! Even if he isn't there now, we will be better equipped to find him later if needed! Oh Link, you're a genius! Why did I ever doubt you?"

It seemed their next stop would be the dangerous bog area!

Chapter Text

Festari hadn't been kidding about this place being a dangerous bog area, Link had to admit. There were bog holes everywhere, and Link would be swimming instead of walking if it wasn't for the bog flippers. Even Sidon had to watch his steps the deeper they went, and Link made sure to follow in his footsteps exactly – except for the times when Sidon's foot penetrated the leaf and mud floor with an audible splash and a stumble, which was Link's cue to avoid that particular spot.

The good news was, Sidon was able to pick up a footpath that was invisible to Link, but indicated a lot of use to Sidon's more experienced eye. The Vaatians were definitely here in some capacity, or at least someone visited here often. That was already information they could deliver to the authorities, which meant their side-trip was a success so far.

No actual sign of the Vaatians or anyone else, though, beside a couple of ants Link had spotted briefly at one point before they got swallowed by the mist. The two of them had stopped talking to each other half an hour ago as a precaution, and Link was as far behind from Sidon as he could be while still reliably seeing his back and being able to see any hand signals from him. Link was beginning to feel a familiar pressure in his lungs and stomach as a premonition of enemies being nearby, and he could only hope Sidon felt the same or was otherwise prepared for anything. Link's gut feeling wasn't absolutely accurate, but it had warned him plenty of times before so he was inclined to trust it and stay alert for any signs of trouble.

Speaking of alertness, Sidon stopped and lifted a palm up so Link knew to do the same. It was unfortunate that it also let any potential enemies know Sidon was being tailed – at least if they were smart enough to put two and two together – but that couldn't be helped, as it was necessary for them to have basic communication somehow.

Back to the actual situation. Why had Sidon stopped? Link couldn't see anything from his position-

Huh?

Link squinted at Sidon presumably rummaging his bag, and then something shiny was pulled out for Sidon to stare at.

A small, shiny object...

A kinstone, maybe? He didn't think Sidon had anything else that shone like that. But in Link's experience kinstones only shone like that when the matching piece was-

Link's blood ran cold.

Someone with the matching kinstone was nearby. Someone Sidon hadn't spotted yet – and wouldn't if he kept staring at his palm in confusion – and someone Link couldn't see even though he looked, because he could barely see Sidon and certainly not anything ahead of him.

Probably an ambush.

He needed to warn Sidon, but how? Sidon didn't know to look back to catch any signs from him – that was a cute little flaw in their plan that Link hoped to never make again.

He couldn't run up to Sidon to tell him either, as that would ruin their escape plan where he had a head start. He was too slow anyway.

If he shouted, he would give their location away if the enemy somehow wasn't aware of their presence yet. It would also potentially attract more enemies if the hideout was nearby instead of this just being a small ambush. He wasn't sure he could shout anyway now that he was painfully aware there was an audience.

Hylia damn it! Think, Link, think!

Maybe he could throw-

No, wait!

He grabbed his bow and a regular arrow, took a quick aim, and fired near Sidon's left foot.

Sidon jumped to the side, visibly startled, and the kinstone dropped from his grasp and disappeared into the bog like a shooting star into the ocean. Good riddance, because the Vaatians could have potentially used it to track them. Sidon's right hand was going for his spear until he presumably noted the direction the quickly sinking arrow's fletching was pointing at, and then finally looked in Link's direction.

'RUN', Link signed, or at least used their agreed upon gesture for it. He put his bow away and half turned, waiting to see Sidon do as suggested before even thinking about running himself.

And that was when he saw something peculiar: a bunch of creatures, presumably some kind of insects, appeared from the mist slightly ahead and to the left of Sidon.

Shit!

But at least Sidon started running at the same moment, so Link had to stomp down his urge to watch whether he was captured or got away, and instead turn tail as well and just trust Sidon to yell if something happened.

Running with the bog flippers really sucked as they were unwieldy, heavy, and were a different shape than Link's usual shoes, but he was apparently capable of doing it at least, probably thanks to all the practice he had gotten in during the last few days. He wasn't going fast, but any distance he could cross without Sidon having to carry him was a small victory, because it preserved Sidon's energy and his initial starting speed was much better this way.

Still, it took no time at all for Sidon to run to his side and scoop him up.

"What's chasing us?" Sidon yelled at him while Link tried to arrange himself to be as little of a burden as possible and also be able to look behind them. Too bad he wouldn't be able to use his bow as well, as he still needed his hands to hold onto Sidon – he couldn't climb on his shoulders or anything while Sidon was running and his own feet were burdened by the flippers.

"Ants! Vaatians riding them!"

And that was the bizarre truth. They were being chased by half a dozen of ant riding Vaatians, and the ants were the size of ponies in Link's estimation. They were also easily keeping up with Sidon and were likely to catch up with them soon if nothing stopped them or slowed them down. The Vaatians were mostly carrying weapons, but one was fumbling with a scroll, which was bad news.

"Six of them! At least one mage!" he told Sidon. "We're gonna need cover or a good place to fight! Soon!"

"Damn it!"

Link couldn't agree more. He tried to scout their surroundings for anything helpful, but it was all mist and looming gigantic trees.

The mage Vaatian had gotten the scroll open and was pointing a finger at them.

"Spell incoming!" Link shouted, and smacked Sidon's left shoulder when a fluttering bunch of something green was shot their way. Sidon dodged to the left as indicated and narrowly avoided what looked like sharp and glittering leaves. Or mostly avoided anyway, judging from the wince and grunt from Sidon the moment the leaves flew past – some of them must have landed a hit.

And then Link saw Sidon's bag fly behind them, its strap sliced in half and fluttering in the wind before the entire thing landed on the wet ground with a tragic splat. Their map was still peeking from underneath the flap, a cruel reminder that they were in deep, deep trouble now.

The ants, however, came to a screeching halt to inspect the object, to the visible displeasure of their Vaatian riders. For a second Link dared to feel relief, despite knowing better than that. Then, predictably enough, the mage disregarded the problem at hand and instead of trying to get their ant's attention they opened another scroll. A long vine emerged from their palm and whipped towards the two of them.

Link had about a second to think, but unlike in the hero museum, this time he had just the right tool for the job: with the speed of an expert warrior he drew his newly purchased dagger from his belt and threw it at the vine just as it made to loop around Sidon's head tail. The vine was sliced and popped out of existence in green smoke while Link's dagger disappeared into the swamp.

Too bad about the dagger, but at least it had served its purpose in Link's moment of need.

Then, as if there wasn't enough going on, Link's vision was overtaken by a mental image: a tree with mushrooms at the bottom and an approaching fox and a resulting hole in the trunk.

His kinstone's gift.

He felt a pull in his chest into its direction.

"Turn right!"

"What? Why?"

"Turn right!"

Sidon asked no more questions and simply trusted Link. Hylia bless him.

The halted Vaatians were about to be left far enough behind them to disappear into the mist when Link saw one of them pick the bag up, so it was only a matter of moments before they'd give chase again.

Hopefully those moments were going to be enough.

"Link, it's swampy!"

Sidon's speed was slowing down as his feet kept puncturing holes into the unexpected watery spots in the bog terrain. Zora feet or not, even he couldn't walk on actual thinly covered water.

"Keep going!"

Sidon grunted an affirmative, but his head kept swiveling from side to side as he took in his path and then-

"Let's swim!"

Sidon stopped for just long enough to grab Link and switch his position into piggyback style, during which Link thought he saw menacing silhouettes in the mist behind them. Then Sidon plunged to the side, where the swamp indeed had a mostly hidden bog hole that Link absolutely wouldn't have been able to recognize as one on his own.

Their speed quadrupled.

They would make it. Hopefully. If the bog hole was a big one and didn't take them too much off their course.

For a couple of glorious minutes they swam at the speed of a literal Zora. Until…

"Link, I'll dive jump."

Wait-!

Link barely had the time to gasp in a small breath of air and close his mouth before he was already underwater. He had nowhere near enough air for long bouts of diving, but he had just enough that he could hold it in while clutching onto Sidon for dear life while Sidon touched the shallow bog's bottom and shot back up. Link's breath escaped him a moment before they breached the surface, and he had a coughing fit as they sailed through the air. Sidon didn't seem to have enough momentum for his usual theatrics, so they simply jumped out of the water, landed on somewhat steady swamp land, and hit the ground running.

Link's lungs burned from the few droplets of gross tasting bog water he had inhaled and he had to resort to pointing a finger towards the direction they needed to go while he coughed said lungs out.

But finally he saw the looming shadow of a tree, and then the bunch of mushrooms.

Almost there!

He waved his finger towards the mushrooms, and Sidon obeyed. The mist clung particularly thickly to the mushrooms, but once they made it there...

"There's a cave in there!" Sidon yelled, sounding surprised.

Link pointed furiously towards it. Sidon probably didn't remember the brief explanation of Link's kinstone vision, and Link rather wanted to catch his breath in what he was hoping to be a safe place before explaining anything.

He didn't know what to expect of the tree cave, but since it was a luck magic gift, he had high hopes it at least wouldn't be dangerous. The Vaatians probably didn't know about it either, so hiding there would buy the two of them time to recuperate and they would potentially have an easily defensible bottleneck situation in the event that they were found.

Sidon ran up to the cave and stopped. It was way too small for him to fit through while standing upright.

Link tapped Sidon's shoulders urgently and was dropped down.

'Let's go!' he signed, and ducked his way into the cave. Sidon had to almost crawl to fit through, but fit he did and soon after they were in the safety of the cavern.

At long last.

Chapter Text

Whatever Link had expected, it was certainly not this. Granted, his expectations had boiled down to "please don't be an enemy nest", and technically this fit the bill, but still, what he got was so much more than just that.

What he had expected to be a small hole in a tree that would be perfect for a bit of hiding – and maybe contain a treasure chest for him to loot – turned out to be the entire tree being completely hollow inside, which was… a big space in their current size. Not only that, but there were stairs on both his left and right leading to a platform that circled presumably the entire width of the tree. There was an eerie, dim light source suspended in midair in the dead center of the chamber, giving enough light to see things like the stairs and the platform near him, but not enough to see the entire room clearly.

"I have to say I wasn't expecting this", Sidon said, echoing Link's thoughts. He was able to stand straight again – which was something of a relief – and his eyes were roaming the room, but Link noticed that he was clutching his right side, exactly where his gills were located. He tapped Sidon's arm and pointed at the worrisome display.

Sidon grimaced and lifted his hand, which revealed a few bleeding gashes. Thankfully they were small and should close up on their own soon, as it wasn't like they could wrap a bandage over Sidon's gills unless the bleeding seemed fatal. "Whatever the magic attack was, it landed a hit. But don't worry, Wildberry, my bag strap took most of the damage."

...That was even more worrisome, if Link was honest. In his mind he could still see the map peeking out of the fallen bag, and he knew the selfsame bag had also contained most of Sidon's other equipment and possessions. Such as his food.

Damn it.

Sidon only had his spear, bow, arrows, and the Sheikah Slate left, because those had been strapped either to his back or on his belt.

'Did your bag have anything irreplaceable in it?' Link asked, because even though the situation wasn't ideal for a bag rescue mission, he would still do it if necessary. The map and the food were almost worthy enough in his opinion, but it was his fault they were lost in the first place – he was attempting to not make the situation even worse with more dumb and risky decisions along the same lines that had caused the loss in the first place.

Sidon frowned, presumably mentally cataloging his possessions. Finally he shook his head, a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes on his lips. Link couldn't blame him for being unhappy with the situation. "No. I left any heirlooms at home, and the jewelry I had with me can be remade. My travel notebook for this trip was there, but I more or less recall what I had written in it. I can buy a new one in the next city and write it all anew."

…

'I will buy it. You don't have any money.'

Sidon blinked in confusion and then shock overtook his previous melancholy. "I don't! Oh, you're right, my money pouch was in there, wasn't it?"

This was probably the first time in his life that the Crown Prince of the Zora found himself rupeeless. Usually he carried enough money with him to not have to stop to consider any purchase he desired, no matter how expensive – kind of like Link himself these days.

Thank Hylia Link had a weighty purse, so this particular setback wasn't going to be a huge issue. Unlike the other parts of it.

'It's fine, I'm wealthy. That's the least of our problems', Link said, which calmed Sidon down for the most part. 'If you must, you can pay me back later. I'm more worried about the map and your food. You said we're halfway to the Korok Woods earlier; can you endure two days of unsuitable food?'

Link left out the fact that without the map their trek might take longer than that – he trusted Sidon to figure it out on his own, or he could just stay in blissful ignorance for now. They couldn't exactly help the situation anyway unless they were struck by sheer luck.

"I'm sure I can manage", Sidon said. "I don't have much of a choice, do I? I'll try to not let it get to me."

That was as good as it was going to be. In the meanwhile, they were hiding from the Vaatians in a neat looking place that Link was dying to explore now that the more pressing issues had been dealt with.

He looked up at the stairs… and sneezed.

Oh, right, he was soaking wet from the little dive and getting really cold. Not that this was anything new in these Hylia forsaken misty woods.

"Oh dear", Sidon said, and reached for his bag… which was obviously not there. A shame, as Link would have liked the nicely embroidered royal handkerchief right about now.

Link waved a hand, took off his backpack, and dug out the one towel he had on him. Thankfully he had done enough swimming and other activities that required a well proofed backpack during his journeys, so the insides of his dripping bag were perfectly dry.

"Maybe I should guard the entrance so you can undress and hang your clothes to actually dry for once?" Sidon suggested, probably eying Link's dripping attire – Link was toweling his face and hair and couldn't actually see it. "This place is dry, unlike the shelters we've assembled along the way."

Link looped the towel around his neck to keep his still damp hair from touching skin. "No", he croaked, making an attempt at vocalizing again now that his throat was finally less sore from the earlier coughing. "That'll take hours without a fire. And if the Vaatians attack, I don't want to make a choice between fighting naked or wasting time putting my clothes on."

Link would choose fighting naked, but he'd rather not have to do it.

Sidon looked unhappy with the choice, but voiced no objections – clearly he saw the wisdom in Link's words.

"Let's check this place out?" Link suggested, and pointed at the stairs on their left. "We should be able to hear it if the Vaatians come in, and we have an excellent opportunity to shoot them from up there if they do."

Sidon instantly brightened up at the idea, and eagerly followed Link's lead.

The stairs were thick wooden planks that were hammered into the wall and looked very old and foot worn, but still sturdy. There was no railing, so Link was careful with where he placed his damp bog flippers, as they really couldn't afford him falling down and getting a concussion or breaking something – they were in deep enough trouble as it was.

The platform was made of the same planks, but was thankfully reinforced with wooden pillars below to keep it steady. There was still no railing, but a platform was much safer for him to maneuver his flippers on than stairs, so Link wasn't too worried.

That, and he was very preoccupied by the pictures that had been carved into the walls, with their grooves filled with paints for better clarity.

"Are those…?" Sidon started, and Link nodded.

The pictures depicted Guardians. All kinds of them, as well as some vaguely soldier looking things that seemed to be mechanical constructs as well. The pictures were very detailed and resembled the old Sheikah drawings in Impa's house, but with a distinctly different flair that Link had seen all over their adventure in the Minish towns.

Link and Sidon walked forward, eyes glued to the pictures. After the generic Guardian pictures ended they came across a close-up of a regular Guardian… that apparently had a tiny built-in ladder going up on its side, and a vaguely Minish looking figure climbing said ladder up. There was a clearly outlined door on its head in one of the grooves that Link had always thought to be purely decorative.

The implication was clear: the Minish could enter the Guardians through secret doors that had been very specifically made for them and hidden from big people eyes. But for what reason?

The next picture was a blueprint that Link assumed to be the inside of the Guardian's head. There were several sentences of text next to various points of interest, but it was obviously enough in Minish so neither of the two could read it. The blueprint itself reminded Link of the Divine Beasts, however, so he could make a few educated guesses on what could be said there.

"They're like Minish-sized Divine Beasts", Link said out loud to mesmerized looking Sidon. "I wonder…"

Were the Guardians actually autonomous after all or were they all piloted by the Minish? Were there potentially hordes of Minish ghosts trapped in their beasts like the Champions had been? Link wracked his memory for what he had learned of the happenings over a hundred years ago for some clues.

All the Guardians they currently had around had been excavated from the ground, but most hadn't activated at all until Ganon took them over, right? But every single one of them activated at Ganon's will, so all of them had clearly been functional. If a Minish had been inside each Guardian in some form or another, wouldn't all of them have activated into their benevolent versions as soon as they were in said functional state? The Champions were able to control their Divine Beasts as ghosts even after Ganon's curse was lifted, so it seemed logical that a Minish Champion could do that too, which begged the question of why they hadn't.

The Divine Beasts stopped working once the ghosts of the Champions moved on, but the Guardians simply returned into their benevolent forms if they were still functional enough to keep going after Ganon's magic boost was gone. So if there were Minish ghosts, they hadn't moved on. But… Why would there be ghosts in the first place? The Champions stayed because they died suddenly and had unfinished business – or so Zelda speculated – so had there been-

"Link?"

Link snapped out of his musings and looked up at Sidon, who was a few steps ahead of him, half observing the next picture and half looking at Link. Said picture was depicting the blueprint of a flying Guardian.

"You were very deep in your thoughts", Sidon said, and lowered the Sheikah Slate he had been holding up – he had been taking photos of the illustrations, it seemed. "Would you care to think out loud? I'm afraid I can't make much of what I see on my own, so your insight would be the most illuminating."

Huh. Link supposed Sidon would make for a good sounding board if nothing else. He still kept forgetting that he now had a partner to share his thoughts with and didn't have to figure every mystery out on his own.

With a smile, Link narrated his musings while watching Sidon document their findings in picture form. Link was sure Zelda, Purah and Robbie would be over the moon over the pictures later.

"I see", Sidon said thoughtfully. "I have to say I find the ghost theory somewhat unlikely. I should think the ghosts would have kept the Guardians active all this time instead of letting them get buried in the ground over the millenia. Mipha's spirit kept Vah Ruta active for a hundred years, against her will as it was. She would have kept doing it until the end of time, I'm certain, if she had had to. Even if some of the alleged Minish Champions had given up eventually, I'm sure at least a few would have kept active at least long enough for their guardian to have stayed above ground. That, and the previous battle against Ganon was successful, so shouldn't any ghosts have found their peace afterwards?"

"Good points", Link said, mulling it over. "So if there aren't any ghosts and the guardians can move on their own, why would the Minish need to go inside? Do you think-"

His eyes, that had been looking in Sidon's direction as he spoke, slid over his form at the sight of the Slate's light reflecting off of something ahead of them. He craned his neck to look past Sidon and saw…

A treasure chest. No, a few of them, even.

Okay, history lesson and speculation time was officially over now.

He had his priorities, and treasures were high on the list.

Chapter Text

Link paid approximately zero attention to the rest of the pictures on the walls, making a beeline to the treasure chests resting in the midpoint of the platform, which seemed to circle right back to the beginning along the opposite wall. At least that meant their choice of which stairs to take had been more or less irrelevant and they could just complete the circle and go back down instead of going back to the beginning and climbing up another set of stairs. Less exciting, but better time-wise.

"Oh, that's a good find!" Sidon's voice said behind him, and then his footsteps followed after Link. Hah, he was more interested in treasure than the pictures as well, it seemed.

There were four chests total, each a different colour: orange, yellow, gray, and green. The orange chest had a padlock on it, the others looked unlocked.

Link was quivering in anticipation.

"I suppose we'll have to leave the orange one as it is, but how about we start with the green one?" Sidon suggested, sounding just as eager as Link felt like.

Psh, as if they'd leave the orange one untouched just because it was locked. Link was game to leave it for the last though, because it probably had the best treasure and he was all about saving the best for the last.

He walked over to the green chest and opened it – being in the dry cave had kept the hinges from rusting, which was rarely the case with the chests Link had found outdoors during his adventures, making this one delightfully easy to work with.

What was inside was… large leaves. Unwilling to believe that to be all there was to it, Link picked up the topmost one and examined it closer, which revealed that it was a typical Minish tunic instead of just a leaf. Underneath it was a red cloth cap and a pair of brown, poofy pants.

"Looks like spare clothes", Sidon said rather unnecessarily. "You could change out of your wet clothes and leave them on top of the chest to dry for the next person to find."

Now that was a good idea! Link's current set of clothes were the Minish fashion Threaderi had made for him way back in Stable Town, and they were a little bit worse for wear anyway. He could leave it behind now that he had a replacement for it.

Actually, had he thought things through he could have just changed into his old travel clothes and left the Minish wear here anyway, but hey, one can't always think of everything. He had only considered the fact that he couldn't put his wet clothes into his backpack without everything growing mold afterwards, which had pretty much made his brain conclude that he couldn't change clothes. His usual sets were enchanted and he wouldn't willingly part with them; the Minish set was not, so it was all the same to him if he left them behind and replaced them.

Without further ado, Link changed into the newly found clothes, laid his old ones to dry on top of the now empty green chest, and then moved on to the yellow one.

The moment he opened it, the smell of musty earth invaded his nostrils. Looking inside, he saw a haphazard pile of mulch.

Why was there a pile of plain mulch inside of the chest? Was it somehow special to warrant being kept safe like that? Was it magical?

Link and Sidon examined the stuff and tried to puzzle the mystery out together, but neither could see anything special about it. It was simply a pile of mulch, like one would expect to find in a… compost…

Oh.

"I think this chest used to have food in it", Link said, and closed the lid. "It'd fit the theme with the spare clothes."

"Ohh, I see!" Sidon said, snapping his fingers. "The scent must have eventually attracted insects, who made short work of the food. Link, you're a marvelous detective!"

Link grinned at his compliment happy boyfriend, not about to disabuse him of the notion of his superior detective skills, and moved on to the gray chest.

They were met with a metallic scent, and a pile of tools. They rummaged the pile together and found a screwdriver, a hammer, a bunch of screws and nails, a mallet, spare squares of some kind of metal, and then a few tools neither could name, some very tiny. Link had seen a few very similar items in Purah and Robbie's workshops. He might have seen a couple in Slateri's house too, although he had paid them no mind at the time.

"I think these are Guardian building or fixing tools", Link said, and then explained his reasoning, which boiled down to the connection between the old Sheikah tech and the pictures of the Guardians all over the walls in this room.

Presumably this place was meant for the Minish mechanic or mechanics who worked on the Guardians, who may or may not have also been Minish Champions. Or they could have only helped the Sheikah build the Guardians from the inside and the machines were not, in fact, manually ridable.

He wondered if any Minish currently alive had the answers, or if all of the information was buried in history like anything regarding the Guardians was in the big people world. Out of the people Link knew of, Histori might have some knowledge, and Slateri was another option. Another possibility was that there could exist a family who used to have this job and still passed on the information from generation to generation like the Slateri family, even though they obviously hadn't visited this place in recent times.

Sidon looked like he was itching to write their findings down, and Link felt vaguely bad about the missing journal.

Time to move on, he supposed. He turned to the last unopened chest, the orange one, and gave the padlock a look. It wasn't rusty, which was always helpful in the case of opening padlocks without a key, but it looked generally pretty flimsy.

It'd be a piece of cake.

He unsheathed his sword and swung it sharply at the padlock, destroying the obstacle with very little effort. He wouldn't recommend chipping a normal sword by striking metal with it, no matter how flimsy, but the magical Master Sword took very little damage and would repair itself over time.

Sidon exclaimed in surprise – and possibly shock – at Link's blatant disrespect for both locks and fine weapons. Or Link assumed that to be the case anyway.

As far as he knew this place had been abandoned for years, decades, centuries, perhaps even millenia. Finders keepers, and nobody was likely to have the key anyway.

He sheathed his sword again and knelt down to open the chest, heedless of Sidon's sputtering.

Inside was an orange rod. It looked similar to the Minish ice rod that one of the Vaatians had attacked them with in the Hero Museum.

A fire rod, maybe? Although the Wizzrobe rods were mostly red, not orange, and had fire motifs on them. This one was just an orange stick with a bulbous end to shoot from, just like the ice rod had been a blue stick with the same shape.

"What is that?" Sidon asked. Link shrugged.

"Potentially a fire rod, but it doesn't look the same as the ones I've seen", Link explained. He stood up and walked near to the edge of the platform, and then he swished the rod up and down, aiming at the floor below them.

Nothing happened. Just like with the Minish ice rod.

"May I try?" Sidon asked after a few more tries. Link handed him the rod, and then watched him fail to make it work.

"I had hoped it'd work if I tried to do the same concentration I did at the Magic Academy", Sidon said, and examined the rod. "I figured all magic- Oh look, Link!"

There was text near the bottom of the shaft, several short sentences. There was a chance they were the instructions on how to use the item, but… they were in Minish, like every writing in this size.

"If we can get someone to read this for us, you could use this", Sidon said enthusiastically.

Link accepted the rod back with a nod. Yes, that sounded like a sensible plan. They didn't know if the knowledge on how to use rods like this was common or not, so having a backup plan in the writing was reassuring.

For now though, Link placed the rod in his backpack. It would have been nice to use it to stay warm and dry for the rest of their journey through the Misty Woods – if it was actually a fire rod – but clearly that was too much to ask for.

"Did you want to look at the pictures some more or should we get going?" he asked.

"Oh, I'll take a few more photos!"

Well, Link could rest his feet while he waited.

-----

It didn't take long for Sidon to be done with his documentation, and then the two of them had to make a tough decision: picking a doorway to leave through, because there turned out to be two.

One way out was the doorway Link's kinstone had revealed. The pro of going out of that one was them having some idea where they were, and Sidon probably being able to trace their steps back to their safe, Festari enforced path, map or not.

The other way out was on the opposite side of the room. It was clearly a functional door, but chances were it was well hidden if one looked at the tree trunk from the outside – after all, surely this place would have been looted long before their arrival if the way in was obvious. The pro of using that one was that they'd have a far smaller chance of running into the Vaatians again on that side of the tree, because if they were still looking for the two of them they'd potentially find tracks on only one side of the tree and have no need to scout the other side further. Even if they did, they would conclude there are no tracks there and focus on the more promising side.

Basically, they could risk running into the enemy again by selecting their previous route in, or risk getting lost by selecting an unfamiliar path.

"We could let the wind direct us", Link said, eyes on the new door. "The route may not be as direct as our original one, maybe, but surely it can't be too bad either, since this seems like an important place to the Minish of the past. Important places aren't usually far off the main roads."

Except for the Springs of Courage, Power and Wisdom. Link assumed they were hard to reach on purpose, however, to test their visitors.

"Maybe", Sidon said, eyeing the way they came from. "I do suppose that's safer."

He was clearly hesitating, so Link waited and let him make up his mind. The last decision he had pushed for had led them into an ambush, so he didn't want to push this one too.

He should trust Sidon to think of anything he hadn't considered himself and point out any flaws he found to him. This time he would listen better.

Eventually, Sidon turned his eyes away from the first door's direction and looked at the second one, straightening his already perfect posture. "I do think you're right. We were outnumbered and at a disadvantage with the Vaatians, so it's in our best interest to avoid them at all cost until we have reinforcements from the city ahead. Let's venture forth."

Link tapped his boyfriend's arm, gestured for him to lean down, and gave him a kiss.

Time to face the forest again with the best spirits they could muster, and with a choice made as a team.

Chapter Text

So far their current course of action was working out well for them. The door had indeed been an actual door that led out of the Guardian Center, as Link had mentally dubbed it, and that was a relief – they had had a small worry about it being decoy or somehow not working due to age, which would have forced them to change their plans after all. Sidon had done a bit of scouting and found no tracks of any kind in the area on that side of the tree, which meant the Vaatians were either good at covering their tracks or had simply never been around. They were both willing to believe it was the latter, especially since it allowed them to keep their current plan. Lastly, they managed to figure out which way the wind was blowing towards, which gave them a clear direction to walk to.

They could only hope their current luck carried them safely to the Korok Forest, and preferably fast.

Turns out, it wasn't going to.

Link felt relatively warm and cozy for the first hour or so, before the permanent mist managed to soak through his clothes and brought the cold and discomfort back. It had been nice while it lasted, but he felt doubly miserable after the brief comfort was taken away again.

Sidon grew hungry roughly an hour later. They had eaten some of Link's food before leaving the Guardian Center, but it did little to keep Sidon's hunger away, especially since he had expended a lot of energy swimming away from the Vaatians earlier.

Link made a mental note to always, always, always keep some Sidon-friendly food in his bag from now on – as soon as he got his hands on some. No matter if they were walking next to a river or camping by a lake, he would have emergency ratios so this particular brand of disaster wouldn't happen again.

As it was, Link gave Sidon a bag of dried spider meat strips to snack on with the hopes that it'd keep the worst hunger at bay by supplementing the insufficient meals they'd have whenever Link got hungry as well.

Eventually it was time for them to camp for the night, according to the clocks in their Sheikah Slates. Sidon went to bed hungry, Link went to bed shivering, both of them slept knowing they didn't actually know where they were and how long it'd take to reach the edge of the Misty Woods.

It was honestly miserable, although neither one said it out loud.

-----

It got worse overnight.

Link woke up with a stuffy nose, a somewhat dizzy feeling, and the beginning of a headache.

He didn't know whether it had been the water they had dived in, the air in the Guardian Center, the new old clothes, or the mulch he had handled, but something had given him what was needed to make him sick. The bone-deep coldness and wetness had had an easy job doing the rest.

"Can you walk? Should I carry you?" Sidon asked, hands hovering near Link's forehead. He had been on the constant verge of testing Link's temperature from the moment Link briefed him on the signs that his illness might be getting worse – Hylians and the Zora were different enough that it was necessary to educate Sidon on Hylian flus and the symptoms while Link was still able to, just in case his condition got to the point where he couldn't instruct him anymore.

Considering that his current environment wasn't the kind that promoted healing, Link had no doubt his ailment would get worse if they didn't get out of the forest, stat.

"I'll walk for now", Link said, shouldering his backpack. "You don't have the energy to spare either. My collapsing is probably inevitable and in these conditions it doesn't really make a difference whether or not I walk when I still can. The longer I walk the more of your strength is saved until later."

Zelda was going to yell at him until his ears rang if she ever heard of this, he was aware. That was Future Link's problem.

"That makes sense…" Sidon replied hesitantly, obviously not liking the plan but having nothing better to offer.

Needless to say the next few hours were rough, as what would have been a mild flu had Link gotten immediate warmth and rest steadily got worse. He had trouble breathing through a drippy nose and was thus constantly panting instead, walking felt more like running with how much of a toll it took on him to do it, the bog flippers felt like they weighed a ton, and the headache and dizziness got worse by the minute. Link could barely see where he was going from how hard it was to concentrate on anything except his throbbing head, but he kept on following the large red blob that was his boyfriend.

He just needed to put one foot in front of the other. Keep on walking. He couldn't lag behind and slow them down despite every step feeling heavier. The longer he could walk, the more time he could buy Sidon to move forward without carrying him.

One foot in... front of…

He didn't stay conscious long enough to feel the cold, wet ground hit him when he finally collapsed.

-----

When Link briefly came to, everything felt hazy. He was still cold and wet, but somewhat warm on his front side. He was leaning against something solid, but he was also lightly jostled constantly with a steady pattern. Oh, those were probably arms that were under his butt and around his back.

It smelled like fish…

-----

The next time he regained an amount of consciousness that could be counted as being awake, he was in a seated position with a pair of strong arms around him. Sidon had shaken him until he was no longer limp, and was currently talking to him about food.

Link swallowed down the pulpy water that was carefully measured into his mouth. His taste buds didn't register a whole lot, but it was vaguely vegetable-y. Cold soup? Cold soup.

He didn't like the business of swallowing the pulps, but he assumed it was for his own good and kept it up for as long as he could tolerate it.

The petting afterwards was nice and lulled him back into full unconsciousness.

It was cold but hot.

-----

Link's cheek was pressed against something cold and wet. In fact, his entire left side was wetter than usual. Was he lying on the ground?

There were swishing sounds and Sidon's voice was muttering something in a language Link didn't understand. Probably the Zora language, all things considered. It sounded melodic and pretty.

He cracked his eyes open to the tiniest slits, eyelids too heavy to work properly. Big and red figure was swinging around an orange stick in different patterns and striking different poses.

What…

-----

Link felt actually warm. Not the feverish "hot from within" kind, but an outside source kind of warm. He felt half dry too.

...He did still feel feverish, but that wasn't a new development.

"Link?"

Oh, that was Sidon. Link lifted his right hand and nodded sloppily with his fist. He noted that he was leaning against something semi hard and his left hand was loosely curled around a rod of some kind.

"I'm very glad you're awake enough to sign. How do you feel?"

Like crap, honestly. He waggled his palm around in a "so so" gesture, because that was easier than being specific.

He finally wrenched his eyes open, and the first thing he saw was an orange glow. He turned his head a little and squinted at the source.

The Minish Fire Rod.

Sidon got it to work?

"I see you noticed the rod. Your fever got higher last evening and seeing how you told me before that you're not likely to get better if you stay cold and wet, I went and found a shelter and tried everything I could think of until I got the rod to work. I figured it's your best chance out here until we reach the Korok Forest."

Huh. Link would have to ask him about the details later. In the meanwhile he enjoyed the drying warmth bestowed upon him. He wrapped his fingers tighter around the rod and brought it closer to his body.

Warm.

-----

Each time Link woke up he was either in Sidon's arms or leaning against something, and he was always warm and mostly dry since the rod's activation. Despite the environment surrounding him, he started getting better. Once his fever broke and he was finally actually lucid, however, he noticed that now Sidon looked horrible instead.

The scales on Sidon's front side were cracking and dryer than made sense in a perpetually damp place, he had dark circles under his eyes, and his posture was flagging. Now that Link thought about it, he was pretty sure they had been taking a lot more breaks lately. In fact, they were having one right that moment, with Link in a make-shift shelter under a large mushroom, his immediate surroundings warmed up by the fire rod, and Sidon sitting just barely outside of the warmth, presumably soaking in the water in the air while he could.

Link's bag was suspiciously light despite his currently fever-weakened strength. A glance inside revealed that almost all of the food was gone.

The trouble they were in kept finding new heights.

"Sidon", he said. Sidon turned to look at him with a sorry excuse for a smile. Thankfully it brightened a little bit when he noticed Link being truly awake and aware.

The fact that he hadn't noticed the change immediately was another item on Link's list of concerns.

"Link!" he said, and crawled under the mushroom to kneel before his boyfriend. "You look better! Oh, thank Hylia, finally! I could no longer tell how your fever was progressing when you got warmer overall, so I had no idea if the rod was doing its job. I'm so glad."

Link gave him a reassuring smile. "I think the fever is gone or at least going away now."

“That’s good news. I was honestly starting to think that… that maybe we wouldn’t…” Sidon clearly didn’t want to conclude his thought, and it would have been unnecessary to put the words out in the open anyway – Link could end the sentence on his own.

That maybe they wouldn’t make it out of this forest alive.

It was… a valid concern. Sidon was going without proper food and drying his scales up with the fire rod, all the while wasting what little energy he had carrying Link. Link had been badly ill in a place where his chances of getting better had been slim until the rod had been introduced.

Without the rod, there was a very good chance his illness would have kept getting worse, potentially killing him.

His kinstone that had led them to the Guardian Center had truly turned out to be a blessing beyond measure.

“How much time has passed?” Link asked after a long stretch of silent reflection on their situation.

Sidon looked down, smile dropping.

...Not only did Sidon admit to having started losing hope, but he was behaving meekly? Link had the feeling he wasn’t going to like the answer, and his worry for Sidon redoubled.

“Four days”, was the answer. “My apologies for the little progress I’ve made; we should already be in the Korok Forest. But I… haven’t had the strength to keep up the pace, and without the map and the landmarks in it I admit to being a little lost. I don't know if I can keep going on like this.”

Link very carefully kept his first, despairing thoughts to himself. Same went for the few choice curse words he was tempted to use.

He had to be strong for Sidon now. Sidon was always strong and positive for him, and it was time to return the favour.

He had been lost before, in these selfsame woods too. If they were truly lost, they would have been taken back to the previous city. The fact that they were still surrounded by regular mist meant they were on the correct path.

On that note, they had the standing choice of purposefully walking into the wrong direction and having the Koroks escort them back to where they started. They would fail in their mission to reach Slateri before it was too late – assuming they hadn’t already – but they could recuperate, restock, alert the authorities on the location of the Vaatian hideout, and try again.

He was well acquainted with the concept of trying something again after failing at it first.

“Sidon. We can do this”, Link said, and laid the hand not holding the fire rod on Sidon’s arm. “One more day. If we can’t find the way out, we’ll get even more lost and start over from the scratch. Can you hold on for one more day?”

Sidon’s eyes searched his own for a moment, before he gave a wobbly smile and a chuckle, and laid his palm on top of Link’s hand. “For you, Wildberry, I can. Let’s do this.”

Chapter Text

Walking was tough. Not as tough as it had been right before his illness got the better of him, but his stamina was still diminished from the last dregs of said illness. The bog flippers were easy enough to walk with by now, but the tiredness persisted and he definitely shouldn't be on his feet yet, much less trekking long distances.

Link walked with his own two, heavy feet anyway, because Sidon was potentially worse off than he was now and he didn't think he could return the favour and carry Sidon, should he collapse. Mind, normally he most likely could – he was plenty strong – but not in his current, weakened state.

He honestly wasn't sure anymore if he wanted to get out of the Lost Woods the right way or if he'd prefer to give up at this point. Giving up would mean the end of walking until they regrouped and set off again, while finding the way out meant still having to walk more, hungry and ill, until they reached the Minish city in the Korok Forest. He hadn't bothered looking that far ahead in the map when they still had it, so he didn't know how long it would take to get to said city after they got out of the mist. He could only hope it was closer to hours than days.

Regardless, he walked. He carried the lit Fire Rod, he was shouldering his own backpack, and he was using his own feet to move forward, step by step, minute by minute, following the wind's direction. He kept an eye on Sidon, who was doing the same for him. They took a break where Link dug out his secret stash of acorns from the bottom of his bag and they shared them after he roasted them with the rod. They had very little food, so they only ate enough to stave off the worst of the hunger and to gain enough energy to move on again, rested for a while to do away the immediate physical tiredness, and then got up and walked some more.

And then they saw sunlight amidst the mist ahead.

"Link. Is that…?"

"It must be."

Even though he had considered the easier route once again just a moment earlier, Link found himself smiling widely.

They were almost out of the Lost Woods.

The thought of warm sunlight on his skin, the lack of mist obscuring his vision, and their destination being so close that he could almost imagine the sounds of city life gave him a huge morale boost and the strength to keep going forward and abandon their plan B.

In no time at all the mist parted and the swamp terrain gave way to sunny patches of wet grass, but also a very obvious Minish path through it. There were large lakes – puddles by big people standards – in the horizon, which meant that swimming would probably take them forward the quickest in some spots.

However, they were greeted by three pony-sized ants the moment they stepped out of the mist, so everything else had to wait.

They had seen small ant groups multiple times during their journey and had not paid any mind to the entire concept's inherent unnaturalness. However, after seeing the Vaatians riding ants before, Link found himself suddenly understanding how word of their whereabouts always seemed to precede them, despite no wanderer going past them to their knowledge.

Ants traveled in long lines, traversing their own well-worn paths routinely. They did not travel alone or in groups of one or two. Not unless someone controlled them.

Hiveri's domesticated bees. The mouse carts by the capital.

Vaatian ant riders.

"Don't let them escape!" Link shouted and drew his sword in one hand and the Sheikah Slate in the other – three against two was a bad match when the aim was to not let any of the enemies escape, and he was not about to let the Hero Museum incident repeat itself if he could help it. He had thought of a decent what-if strategy while wallowing in regret as he walked, and he was going to use it now.

The ants scattered and ran towards them, either to attack or to run past them. It didn't matter which as long as Link was directly in their path to block their attempt.

He pointed the Slate at the ant in the middle and fired a stasis beam. It froze the target on the spot and meant he had ten additional seconds before he had to deal with that one.

Next he hit the ant on his right in the mandibles with his sword, causing it to flinch back in shock.

He heard a similar noise on his left and assumed Sidon had the third ant under control.

Unlike his previous, brief fight with an ant, this time he knew what to do.

"Aim at the joints!" he yelled, and swung at his active ant's antennas when it made another move forward – he missed the target, but made it rear back again. That bought Link enough time to swiftly kick the stasised ant under the mandible with the hopes that it'd fly backwards when the stasis ended in a couple of seconds.

He lunged at his enemy again, now slicing through one leg and causing the ant to stumble, if minimally. It was enough of an opening for Link to aim a stab at its neck, which unfortunately got dodged again.

The stasis ended and the second ant did a back-flip against its will and landed upended in the dirt, legs flailing.

Link had no time to use the Slate again as his engaged enemy tried to run past him once more. He made a haphazard slash with his sword, but it just glanced off the ant's hard chitin exoskeleton and failed to make it stop its run.

Link was forced to ignore the second ant completely in his hurry to keep the first one from escaping. He whirled around, took a few running, awkward leaps – Hylia curse the bog flippers! – and then thrust the tip of his sword into the ant's bulbous behind, putting all of his weight into the stab attack.

The ant's natural armor couldn't take the Master Sword's sharpness combined with its wielder's weight, and the sword sunk through the exoskeleton into the soft insides, and all the way through its stomach and into the ground underneath as well. The ant was far from dead, but it was stuck for a moment.

Link risked a glance back and saw Sidon's ant dead, but Sidon was struggling to pull his spear out of the body, the chitin resisting any attempt to get it out by force rather than turning the head the same way it went in; Sidon had pierced straight through the neck joint, into the ant's body and through its chest, so it was quite the puzzle.

Link didn't have the time to think of a solution, however, because the second ant had gotten up and was running towards Link. Link aimed his Slate at it and put it in stasis again to buy himself more time to think, and then turned back to his original foe.

The ant was desperately trying to escape, but with one of its forelegs off and its behind stuck, it was going nowhere for now.

Link grabbed the now unlit Fire Rod from his belt and swished at the third, stasised ant.

Nothing happened.

Damn it, he should have taken the time to learn its use from Sidon!

He tossed the rod aside and readied his bow instead. Regular arrows likely wouldn't work. Frost arrows mostly bought time, which wasn't an issue anymore. He didn't have lightning arrows on him for Sidon's safety.

Fire arrow it was.

He nocked the burning arrow, aimed, waited for the stasis to end, and fired. It flew straight at the ant's forehead… and bounced off harmlessly, neither piercing the chitin or lighting the ant on fire.

Double damn it.

The arrow rolled on the ground and burnt to dust, not to be picked back up later.

Triple damn it!

He nocked an ice arrow and shot it immediately, and it too bounced off without any effect.

Quadruple-

The ant was about to charge past him, so he did the only thing he could think of on the fly: he whacked it in the mandibles with his bow. In a surprising turn of events the bow got stuck in the mandibles, so when the ant reared back Link was yanked from his feet and collided with it, and both of them landed in a heap on the ground. The ant was on its back, flailing its legs. The bow was straining, close to snapping in half while stuck in the mandibles. Link was halfway on top of the ant, holding onto the bow with both hands to keep the dangerous mandibles away from himself, while getting whacked on his back with a couple of ant legs.

He was not making progress with killing his enemy, but at least it wasn't going anywhere.

"Link, the last ant is-!"

Link swore profusely, using every Hylian swear word in his arsenal and borrowing a few he had learned from the other languages too.

"Actually no, I'll get it!"

…

Link turned his entire body as much in Sidon's direction as he could while still holding down the flailing ant, and then turned his head to the point that his neck protested, but it was worth it to see what was happening.

Sidon had abandoned his stuck spear in the body of the ant he slew, and instead he was holding the Fire Rod Link had tossed aside earlier. The ant with Link's sword in it had managed to get the sword to loosen its hold on the ground and was staggering towards the thick mist with the weapon still lodged in it's behind.

Oh great, the ant was trying to walk away with the Master Sword. Zelda would murder Link in cold blood with a rusty hair pin.

Thankfully his prince in red fish scale armor was there to save the day. Sidon pointed the rod at the ant and with zero visible effort launched a fireball, burning the enemy to a crisp immediately. The Master Sword had a soot icing afterwards, but Link wasn't worried about the weapon getting damaged – if worse came to worst, he'd let the Deku Tree repair it again and use a Savage Lynel Sword in the meanwhile.

Only one ant left to go, and Link had it under control. ...Sort of.

"Sidon, get ready!" he shouted, and wrestled the ant until he had a foothold on the ground. He wasn't sure how to get his bow-

The bow snapped in half as if on cue, so Link let go of the pieces and hurtled his body back as far as his feet could launch him. The ant scrambled to get up, but then a ball of fire flew over Link, singeing his hair, and roasted the critter on the spot.

They had done it. All three ants were dead and unable to presumably inform their master that the two of them had made it out of the Lost Woods.

Link had had a far easier time leveling entire Bokoblin camps alone than dealing with three damn ants, even with Sidon’s help. Hylia help them if Vaati decided to show up with an entire nest of ants at some point.

“Are you alright, Wildberry?”

Link accepted the help to stand up, and then embraced his boyfriend with a sigh. “Even more tired than before, but unhurt. You?”

Sidon’s hand patted the top of his head, flattening his hat. “I’m glad to hear that. Same for me.”

They stayed like that for a good long moment, just catching their breaths and gathering the strength to move on again. Link retrieved and cleaned up his sword, which was thankfully undamaged by the fire – the same couldn't be said about his broken bow, which he would have to replace as soon as possible. Sidon pushed his spear’s shaft through the dead ant instead of trying to pull the head out, which was a much more efficient way to get it out than rotating the spear and hoping for the best. Link packed up the bog flippers, able to walk with just his normal boots again now that they were out of the swamp area.

Then they were ready to embark on the last stretch of their journey. Or at least they hoped it to be the last stretch.

Chapter Text

Link loved his boots. His sweet, sturdy, trusty not-bog-flippers. He loved the sunshine. He loved having both of his hands free due to not needing to wield the fire rod at all times. But most of all, he loved being dry on his back too, instead of just his front.

It was the little pleasures in life that distracted him from hunger, exhaustion, and Sidon looking like he was ready to curl up and die if given the permission.

The two of them were walking down the Minish road, determined but weary. They had no clue how long the path to the next city was, Sidon kept looking at the puddles around them with equal amounts of hope and desperation despite knowing fish would not be an option, and Link was trying to not feel massively guilty for his suffering.

But sunshine. Boots. Hands. Dry. Yes, nice things.

"Oh, looks like the path is submerged there", Link said, louder and much more cheerful sounding than necessary. "It'll probably be faster to swim across than to go around."

Sidon's face darkened for a moment too short for Link to decipher the meaning, before a smile was pasted on haphazardly to cover whatever it was. "You're right. Let's go."

Sidon swam them across the water faster than walking would have been, but slower than Link was used to. To say Link was worried was an understatement.

Sidon seemed better for a little while after the swim, but then slowed down even more. Whereas he had had to wait for Link in the swamp terrain, now it was Link who had to hold back for him.

"Should we take a break?" Link asked.

"I… I'm not sure if it'll bring me any relief", Sidon said, face darkening again. Pure exhaustion. "If you need it, then we should, but not for my sake. I will do my best to endure."

Link shook his head. He was feeling somewhat better now – compared to being actively sick – and the only food they had left were the souvenir sweets he had for Zelda, so stopping was largely pointless as long as his feet could carry him.

So they continued. They walked, they swam across a couple of more puddles, they were both silently regretting not resetting their journey in the Lost Woods…

Then they finally saw a large rock face ahead of them. Link was willing to bet his sword on it being the Master Sword's altar, which he recalled being the base of the Minish city they were headed to.

He estimated it'd take them about an hour to get there if they didn't dally, so they gathered their remaining strength and picked up their pace, no longer worried about keeping any energy in reserve in case of trouble or in order to endure for an unknown amount of time.

Once they got closer, the dirt path turned into cobblestone, which turned into simple gray ceramic tiles. The road forked a few times, and Link assumed there were other Minish settlements at the ends of the forks. While he was curious, he was much more interested in reaching the city ahead of them. Perhaps he'd see the other places some day, when he returned here to experience the wonders of the Minish without the added burdens they carried on this journey.

They started seeing traffic too, coming and going from the road forks. Mixed groups of both regular and Mist Minish, lone travelers, families, caravans, guards…

Link tapped Sidon's arm. 'Should we speak with a guard?'

Sidon gave him a blank look, before shaking his head. "Later. Please."

'Ask for directions to the nearest inn or restaurant at least? We can get food faster that way.'

At that Sidon immediately approached a Minish in light armor. Link could see him struggling to keep up the polite act, but he still managed to have better manners than Link did at the best of times, much less when he was tired and cranky.

Directions acquired, they entered the city. There were a few woven, triangular grass houses at the edges of the stone altar, but the city itself was lodged between and underneath the large rocks surrounding the altar, and under the altar itself as well. Link had a vague recollection of Festari saying that the city surrounded the entire altar, which meant getting from one corner to another took a relatively long time. The city was divided into districts at each side of the triangle shaped altar too, so it was basically three distinct towns combined into one big, diverse city.

Between the rocks were more grass houses, and Link saw more than a few tunnels going under the rocks as well, some covered up with trapdoors and some not. The inn they were headed to was carved directly into the stone and supposedly took up the entire rock – bottom half was a restaurant and its storage room, and the upper half had rooms for travelers to stay in. The guard mentioned it was the oldest, biggest, and most famous inn in the entire city. Link assumed the prices matched the fame, and made a note to check them before staying for more than one meal – he was wealthy, but he had also splurged a lot during this journey and Sidon's money bag was lost in the swamp.

Once they were big again, he'd drop by his home with the Sheikah Slate and fill up his travel cash before they went anywhere else.

"Hey, are you the big people?" a random, plain looking Mist Minish asked out of the blue. There were so many people bustling around them that Link had more or less blocked everyone out, and hadn’t noticed that they had been approached. He sighed deeply at the interruption.

'If you're a Vaatian trying to set us up for another Hylia damned ambush, you'll have to wait until after we've eaten’, he signed irritably, and was completely unsurprised by the lack of comprehension on the stranger's face. Sidon seemed to be too tired to care about Link being rude – or for once he remembered it didn't matter here as nobody understood him – as he failed to reprimand Link.

"We are, but we are also tired from our journey and do not wish to engage in chit chat right this moment. Excuse us, but we have to be on our way", Sidon said with something like a smile on his face.

Link and Sidon turned away from the person and started to walk away, only for the stranger to reach out and grab a hold of Link's arm. "Please, I have an urgent message to deliver!"

Link had half a mind to punch this person, regardless of whether they turned out to be a Vaatian or a good guy.

"Whoever you're working for couldn't have anticipated we would arrive here at this exact moment, which means the message can wait until we're ready to receive it", Sidon snapped, no longer smiling. "Unhand my swain right this instant or we'll call the guards."

Wow. The temperature sure spiked abruptly. On a completely unrelated note, Sidon should be aggressively assertive more often. He felt like he had had this thought before, but the sentiment was worth repeating.

The Minish quickly released Link's arm and lifted their hands up in surrender. "Apologies! Of course, I'll wait. May I follow you to the inn or restaurant you're headed to and wait for you to be ready there?"

Link and Sidon looked at each other.

'Inside or outside?' Sidon signed. Hah, joke's on the Minish for not understanding now!

As for the question… if their hanger-on waited outside, they wouldn't be watched the entire time they ate, and they could sneak out from the potential back door or something if they wanted to ditch the person. On the other hand, if this person waited inside, they could keep an eye on them and not let them potentially tell more people of their whereabouts and arrange an ambush. Privacy or safety?

'Outside. I wanna eat in peace', Link decided. He had a feeling an ambush was already waiting for them, so it didn't matter at this point. Besides, their enemy was likely aware of their whereabouts by now regardless, as many eyes had watched them enter the city – as unfortunate as it was, taking care of the ants had never been a permanent solution to avoiding their enemies. He liked to think it had bought them their peaceful journey from the edge of the mist into this city at least, which wasn’t a victory to be underestimated considering how they likely wouldn’t have won another battle with their current strength.

Sidon nodded, and turned towards the antsy looking Minish again. "You may follow us, but we would appreciate you waiting outside. We want to have privacy."

The Minish looked like they wanted to argue, but then smiled instead. "That is acceptable. Please lead us forth."

Okay, Link was now about seventy percent certain this was a Vaatian. Oh joy.

The threesome walked on in awkward silence, and soon reached the place they were headed for. The exterior of the inn had two elegantly chiseled rock pillars with an awning like wooden roof on top to protect the doorway from rain, and there were windows on both sides of the door, giving anyone who was considering entering the establishment a first glimpse of what to expect – thankfully there were long curtains blocking most of the inn from view, with only a couple of the closest tables visible from the outside, so they could still have privacy as long as they didn't sit right next to the windows. On the sturdy looking wooden door was a beautifully painted placate that had fancy looking Minish words on it, along with two convincingly realistic looking food dishes on either side of the words. Link's stomach growled at the sight.

“I’ll be waiting right here”, their unwanted shadow reminded them, way too cheerfully for someone who would be waiting outside of a restaurant for what could end up being hours while the two of them ate, possibly bathed, possibly even took a nap – it all depended on how long Sidon would take to recover into his princely self, who would be aghast to let someone wait. Link, on the other hand, could happily let this Minish rot there for the rest of the day in order to avoid being dragged into any more trouble before he felt adequately rested. “Have a pleasant meal!”

“Thank you”, Sidon said, probably without even thinking about it. Link went ahead to the door and held it open for his boyfriend, as Sidon had to hunch over a little to avoid hitting his head fin on the awning. Thankfully the inside of the inn had the ceiling much higher, and Sidon could stand straight without an issue.

The inn was bustling with people and noise. There were full tables, waiters going around with delicious smelling meals and frothing tankards, and a generally nice and comfortable atmosphere that indicated a prestigious establishment. While the place was carved into cold rock, there were plush rugs on the floors and intricate tapestries on the walls to take off the hard edge. From the ceiling hung multiple lanterns lit with Fire Chuchu jelly, illuminating the place brightly with warm light.

A waiter approached them, wearing a bright smile. “Hello, and welcome to the Master’s Altar Inn and Restaurant. Are you here for a meal, or would you like to rent a room?”

“Potentially both, but for now we would like a meal, please”, Sidon said, sounding just a tad desperate, but masking it with politeness. To Link's experience eye he looked rather like he wanted to blurt out a food order immediately, but the last dregs of his manners kept him from actually doing so.

The waiter showed them to a free table – away from the windows – where Sidon immediately stopped any menus from being fetched. “We cannot read Minish. I’ll take any kind of a fish, shrimp, or frog based dish you recommend, proportional to my stature and in that order of preference, please. My companion takes any kind of a meaty dish. We’ll drink anything you think goes well with the dishes. Potential desserts can be discussed after the main course.”

The waiter looked taken aback by the very ambiguous order, but clearly they knew when to not ask further questions, because they simply wrote the order down and then went to relay it to the kitchen.

Finally, a good meal was on its way, and Link had one less thing to worry about.

Chapter Text

Steamed beetles were officially Link's favourite food. Him being starved had probably a lot to do with, but he was also certain the cooking in the inn was simply superb and worthy of praise any day. Regardless, he had a full plate of beetle shells with juicy meat within, served with toasted sunflower seeds and a side of mixed flower petal salad dressed with bright yellow sunflower oil. He had a glass of floral wine that wasn't what he'd usually go for, but it was tasty nonetheless. He would bet Zelda would love it.

Sidon had a large bowl of thick shrimp paste on what looked like rice but was too small to actually be it. He, too, had a colourful salad with oil on top on a separate plate, and a glass of something pink-ish. Link had honestly not paid much attention to the waiter's explanation after he received his own food – he had only caught the part about shrimp and had been happy with that knowledge alone. They also had a pitcher of water that Sidon had immediately drank two thirds of before they were even close to receiving their food.

The two of them had sat in awkward silence the entire wait time, as Sidon had evidently been way too grouchy from hunger to feel like having conversations, even with Link. And now? Now they were too busy stuffing their faces to talk and Link honestly preferred it that way, because he needed his hands to shovel food into his mouth. It was only after they were about half done with their plates that Sidon decided to say things other than muffled praises for the food.

"Ahh, I feel alive again", Sidon said after a deep drink from his glass. He smiled at Link, who was beyond ecstatic to see that it was a genuinely happy look now – it was much better than the bleak smiles from the Lost Woods. "I think I'll have seconds as soon as I can catch a waiter. How about you?"

Link nodded. He hoped they could drop by the marketplace for supplies later, but he would also eat until he burst now, just in case this ended up being their only meal for a while again; he had finally learnt to not take food for granted in this tiny world.

"Alright. I was also hoping to have a talk about our… guest, who is waiting for us."

Link nodded again.

"Do you truly think she is a Vaatian? She could very well be a messenger from the local mayor or perhaps even Slateri. We have nothing to go on from but her earlier words, so I think it's too early to condemn her."

Link stuffed a big forkful of food into his mouth before setting down his cutlery to sign. 'If she was working for the mayor of a city this big, she would look more professional, start with introductions, and probably hand us a missive rather than talk to us. She could be an unofficial messenger from Slateri, I'll give you that.'

Sidon frowned, and then hailed a passing waiter over to order their second servings. Link figured the action was partially meant to buy Sidon time to think, which he didn't mind in the least. He continued eating while awaiting Sidon's answer.

"You're right", Sidon said after the waiter was out of the hearing distance. "I was thinking like a Zora. We don't have official messengers, like you ought to know from back before we met."

True, Link would never forget the half a dozen or so random Zora Sidon had posted all over Lanayru Wetlands to look for promising Hylians to help them with their plight.

"I know all the other races do, so it makes sense the Minish would too – or at least it's more likely than not. However, we don't know for sure-" Sidon interrupted himself with a sudden hand slammed on the table and widened eyes. Link admittedly jumped a little and the jolt caused the food on his fork to drop back on his plate. "Wait, no, we do! Messengeri! Way back in Stable Town!"

Link's brain took a few seconds to connect the dots, but then he recalled the Minish that had been sent out by the mayor of the town to look for Slateri the Second, even if they happened to miss each other in the end. He nodded frantically at Sidon.

"That rules out the possibility of that Minish being sent by any local higher ups at least", Sidon said with a grin. "So she's either a Vaatian or sent by Slateri. That is, those are the only options we need to actually care about right now."

'Because no more side quests.'

"Precisely!"

'What are the odds Slateri would send for us?'

Both of them fell silent to ponder that possibility. Would Slateri know they wanted to meet him? Probably, because everyone seemed to be aware of their existence and at the very least Slateri himself should be interested in a meet up in order to hear more about the big people and their Sheikah Slates – it was literally his job to care. But why wouldn't he wait for them personally? Potentially because of the Vaatians, if he had somehow heard of the hunt for the Minish Cap. Then again, to Link's knowledge the people Slateri had spoken to the most within the previous cities were the local officials, which meant he was an important, respected figure himself, which in turn meant that logically he would ask the mayor or someone to send an official messenger on his behalf, were he to send an urgent message.

That all meant that the Minish waiting for them outside of the restaurant was almost certainly a Vaatian, just like Link had suspected even before logicking it out. He tapped Sidon's arm to snap him out of his musings, and explained his epiphany.

"I see. Admittedly I was arriving to a similar conclusion myself, so I do believe it's in our best interest to proceed with the assumption that she is an enemy", Sidon said with a heavy hearted sigh. "Do we confront her ourselves or call the guards?"

...Calling the guards had never even crossed Link's mind. He had only considered sneaking away or walking into the trap on purpose. He was pretty sure there was a reason why he hadn’t thought of it, but he couldn’t quite grasp said reason right at that moment, so he supposed he’d have to wait and see.

'We do need to talk to the guards regardless', he replied, and their option A was settled.

-----

A second helping and a berry based dessert later the two of them were sitting at their table with a newly arrived guard that one of the waiters had fetched for them. Sidon spent a good while explaining what the Vaatians had been up to during their journey, the likely location of their hideout, and finally their suspicion of the person waiting for them outside of the building.

However, the guard refused to arrest the Vaatian or do anything else along the same vein, and the explanation for it turned out to be the elusive, subconscious reason why Link had dismissed 'calling the guards' as a viable option: arresting someone just because they suspected her of being a Vaatian was not going to happen as long they didn't have any kind of tangible evidence of their claim. Not only that, but apparently Vaatians weren’t considered a criminal organization as a whole anyway – only a gang to keep an eye on – so even if she was one the guard’s hands would be tied as long as she did nothing wrong. The only thing the guard could do was report their findings to her superiors, and then send them backup so they could feel safe within the city's borders at least. Sidon was dissatisfied with the results – probably because as the Zora Prince he was used to things like this going his way without a question – but Link was content from simply delivering their original message and thus getting to cross that off their figurative quest list.

And maybe, perhaps, possibly he had also felt that letting the guards handle the situation without any effort from him would have been a little too cushy for his liking.

"We should hear what the potential Vaatian has to say", Sidon said after the guard left. "If they lead us into a trap, we have help nearby now. If it's something actually important, we're better off hearing it than missing it."

Link agreed, and thus their new Plan A was officially decided. They proceeded to spend half an hour just relaxing at their table and nursing mugs of mead to give their backup time to show up, and then finally got up and walked outside to meet their shadow, whether the guards were around yet or not.

"Finally!" said the Minish, who Link just assumed was their hanger-on – he still couldn't tell these people apart. "I was beginning to worry you left and I just somehow missed it!"

To be fair, that had been one of their options.

"Our apologies for the wait", Sidon replied, back to his polite self. "We were really tired and needed the rest, and for that I thank you for your patience. We will now hear your message."

Link would bet the hearing of the message involved-

"Oh, it's sensitive information. We should go somewhere less crowded first."

Called it.

'Definitely an ambush.'

'I agree', Sidon answered. 'Distract her, I'll check if we have backup.'

Link wouldn't be able to tell if the previous guard was within the crowd even if she stood right in front of him, so that was fair.

Link snapped his fingers a couple of times to get the definitely-a-Vaatian to look at him. Then he signed a load of nonsense with needlessly elaborate gestures, making sure her eyes were glued to his hands despite her lack of understanding.

"Um, I still don't understand you…"

"Ah, Link just said we understand the need for discretion and will go with you", Sidon lied smoothly, which Link assumed meant their help had arrived. "Lead us on, please."

The fact that the Vaatian honestly did so convinced Link that either she wasn't very bright, or she assumed the same from them. Though to her credit, she did weave them through a crowd at a pretty fast pace before ducking into an alley that had a similar shimmering quality to it as the Festari Abbey, so at least she was trying hard to ditch the guards that were presumably tailing them. Link doubted the success of the attempt, though, as Sidon's head towering high above the crowd at all times made it next to impossible to lose sight of him.

The alley was empty. Way too empty to be natural, considering the crowds right on the other side of the shimmering alleyway.

Link raised an eyebrow expectantly, and palmed the handle of his sword.

“Now can you tell us your message?” Sidon asked with a smile, but Link could see that he wasn't just scratching the back of his neck like he pretended to be, but was keeping his hand near his spear, ready to draw it instantly.

“Sure!” the Vaatian said cheerfully, and tugged on a tag that had definitely not been around her neck before. Predictably, as Link had seen this before in the Hero Museum, her appearance changed in an instant: from a regular looking Mist Minish to a purple-clad, pale faced, white haired Vaatian. “Vaati wants you captured and hauled to the Shrine in order to lure Slateri out. We only need one of you, so if you resist we're allowed to dispose of whichever one of you is more bothersome.”

Link smirked and drew his weapon simultaneously with Sidon. They had seen this coming and were at least somewhat rested and well fed, so one Vaatian shouldn't be an issue.

...Wait, we?

As if on cue, nine more Vaatians poofed into existence from purple smoke all around the alley.

...Link really hoped their backup had not, in fact, been successfully ditched now.

Chapter Text

Link realized quickly into the battle that they were in deep, deep trouble.

It began with the fact that three of their enemies were mages. One of them targeted Link with enthusiasm and a certain level of expertise, so he assumed they were the one that got away back at the Hero Museum. Two went after Sidon, but thankfully those ones seemed amateurish in comparison, so Sidon would probably be able to dodge their spells for the most part.

The other seven Vaatians were warriors, or at least they clearly tried their best at swordsmanship, formal training or not. A couple of them Link deemed proficient enough from a quick personal evaluation, but the rest were swinging their weapons around like they were wooden sticks. Link would know – he had swung around wooden sticks aplenty when he woke up from his hundred year old nap.

Regardless of their enemy's competency levels, there were many of them and they were still a step up from Bokoblins – at the very least the Minish were considerably more intelligent than "manages to survive somehow, against all odds, and nobody understands how or why" – so they could overwhelm the two of them by simple numbers if the battle went on for any length of time.

Where was their official guard backup that had supposedly followed them?

Link dodged a sword, jumped out of an ice spell's path, parried a sword, pushed a Vaatian warrior in front of an incoming spell to take his hit, dodged again, dropped flat, rolled, shielded, found himself backed up against a wall, rushed the weakest looking enemy to get out of the situation, parried again, dodged again…

Where was their Hylia damned backup?!

Sidon was swinging his spear around like a flail to force the Vaatian warriors to keep their distance. He had vines hanging from his shoulders, presumably from a spell that had hit its mark but hadn't been able to withstand his strength. He had blood dripping from his mouth, and Link didn't know whether it was his or an enemy's – there was nothing he could do about it, so it didn't matter right at that moment anyway. ...Unless Sidon dropped dead because of some kind of an internal injury, which he tried to keep himself from thinking too hard about.

Where was their-

Link's shoulder was suddenly in pain, and he made a hasty dodge away from the sword that had nicked it while he had been looking at Sidon instead of concentrating one hundred percent on his own fight. He parried another hit, and had to drop and roll again to avoid a spell.

His gaze landed briefly on the alleyway they had entered from, and that's when he saw it.

Their backup was there, judging from the drawn weapons the Minish standing around had, but they were looking up and down, side to side, sizing up the entryway but not actually entering.

Why? What was going on? Clearly Sidon and he needed their immediate help, so why-

Wait.

The shimmering he had noted upon their arrival.

Magic.

There was probably some kind of a magical barrier there, either preventing entry or just hiding the entrance. The Shrines always had one around the Sheikah monks until he completed the challenge, so it wasn't an impossible or even an unfamiliar concept at all.

Damn it!

Link had to do more mad dodging and took an ice spell on his hat – thankfully just the hat and not his head – before he could take a second to judge the situation again.

Sidon was much closer to the entrance than Link was, but his back was towards it, so he would have no idea what was going on back there. He didn't even know to look, or at least he didn't have the opportunity to.

If Sidon couldn't get to the backup because of his lack of knowledge of it, then could Link make it there himself? The distance was considerable, given the situation... Him bolting there would probably distract Sidon too...

...

Did he have to…

If his heart wasn't already racing from the exercise of the battle, it would have picked up speed right then. Or possibly dropped.

Could he even do it?

Ten Vaatians. Ten strangers within hearing distance.

His throat threatened to close up from just the thought.

No. He couldn't think about them.

He had to think about Sidon. Just Sidon. Only Sidon.

His boyfriend.

The man he would marry as soon as he got King Dorephan's blessing and watched Muzu have an aneurysm.

There was nobody else around that mattered. Only background noise.

He was only going to voice to Sidon.

Sidon, who he loved and was comfortable enough with to vocally talk to when they were alone.

Sidon, whose life was in active danger right now and who was the only one that could save them both.

His Sidon.

Link took a deep breath and locked his eyes on his dear, beloved Sidon, ignoring the swords and spells around him.

Sidon Sidon Sidon-

"SIDON! BARRIER BEHIND YOU BLOCKS OUR BACKUP!"

Sidon's eyes met his and they were wide and topaz coloured and beautiful.

Something hit Link's left arm and it got cold and his shield dropped with a loud clang.

"Behind you-!" Link's throat felt tight.

Sidon nodded, blood droplets dripping from his teeth, and he turned around and ran towards the entrance, where their backup was lost.

It was difficult to breathe, but Link whirled around and slashed wildly at the enemies around him in a wide sweep. He saw blood, swords, Minish people, his own breath as a cloud in the air.

He was lightheaded.

He had spoken in front of strang-

No.

He had spoken to his beloved.

He needed to refrain from thinking of anything else.

Just keep on fighting and make sure Sidon ended up okay.

That was all that mattered.

That was all he thought about until the help of the backup made the enemy line thin, dwindle, shrink to just one and then none when he finally took down the last Vaatian before him.

Then it was safe to sink down to the ground and have a bout of anxiety and irrational regret and shame while Sidon did the talking with the new strangers.

Finally time to breathe.

-----

"Link?"

Link opened his eyes and looked up from his knees. His back was against a wall and his right arm was wrapped around his legs. His sword lay by his side, still bloody because he hadn't wiped it up. His left arm was numb, but he could somewhat move it so he couldn't bring himself to care overly much yet.

Sidon crouched down in front of him, but still towered over him due to his height. He had a soft yet worried expression on his face – not quite a smile, but not a frown either. His lips were still bloody, but now the blood had dried up and looked gross. "Are you alright?"

Sidon understood him. Kind of. Enough to not panic because of his behavior anyway.

It was nice.

'Yes. Just tired now.'

"I see. Are you aware your left arm is coated in frost?"

'Fire Rod?'

Sidon activated the object in question promptly and held it near Link's arm. The arm started tingling in short order.

'Is the blood on your lips yours?'

The fingers of Sidon's free hand rose to his lips and rubbed at the crusty mess of brownish red. He looked at his now messy fingers with a sigh. “No. I had to bite an enemy that got too close.”

Link half wished he had seen that, but the less questionably interested half was glad he had missed the fright of watching Sidon be in potential peril for a moment.

"Three of the Vaatians are dead and the rest were arrested", Sidon said after a moment of silence and a bit more rubbing to get the worst of the blood off his face. "The guards could cross the barrier after they saw me jump through it. Is it still there?"

Link looked towards the alley entrance. The shimmer was still there, but it was fainter and weaker looking, so he tilted his head from side to side with a hum.

"That makes sense – one would think the commotion would have brought us an audience otherwise. It was unfortunate before when we could have used some help, but it's a blessing now."

Silence.

"I hope this doesn't sound condescending, but I'm very proud of you."

It was a little, but Link appreciated the sentiment for what it was. Besides, in the beginning of their journey Sidon would have made a much bigger deal of this and Link would have felt really uncomfortable. During the couple of weeks that Sidon had had to act as his translator and had been forced to see the true extent of Link’s… issue… he had grown much more aware of his attitude towards it and had corrected his course dramatically. He had stumbled along the way – as had Link, to be honest – but now he was at a stage where he could say something like "I'm proud of you" and Link would believe it to be sincere and coming from a place of understanding.

Link could feel a little proud of himself too as a result. He wasn’t about to start talking to strangers on the regular basis anytime soon, but now it felt like an actual possibility somewhere in the future, because he had already managed it once. Some day, with Sidon by his side every step of the way like he had been during this journey.

Link shook his arm in the hopes that it would bring an end to the pins and needles of the thawing process.

"The Vaatian who led us here mentioned Slateri needing to be lured out of a shrine. Do you know where the particular shrine might be?"

Right. That had been mentioned before the fight started. Link dug out his Sheikah Slate and gave the map a look.

The Korok Woods had four shrines, but one was considerably closer to the city than the others: Keo Ruug shrine. It had to be that one – or at least it had better be that one, because it would take days to reach any of the other ones. Honestly, it would be closer to a couple of weeks if one compared the distance between the stable and the city they were currently in and how far away the shrines were from said city; he couldn't use the map to follow their progress accurately because of their current size, but he could see the known places in it.

He told his hypothesis – wish – to Sidon, who agreed with the assessment.

"I'm admittedly tempted to get a move on right away now that we're this close to our goal and it's all but confirmed that Slateri is in trouble…"

'...But we can't afford to rush there unprepared', Link concluded, knowing what Sidon was getting at – he had been thinking the same thing after all. 'If the Vaatians feel that they need us there to "lure Slateri out", then he isn't in immediate peril. Taking a few hours to prepare isn't likely going to be a huge issue.'

"Agreed. We need food, you need a new bow, and I really want that new notebook you promised me."

'You could use a long soak too.'

"You could use at least a few hours' sleep in a warm bed to cure you of the last bits of illness."

'You could use another proper meal in a restaurant.'

"You could use a foot treatment for your tired feet."

'We could both use a medic.'

"Agreed."

They looked at each other. Sidon put out the Fire Rod. "We're not going to do all of those things, are we?"

'Absolutely not. Just supplies and maybe the medic if we can find one.'

"Agreed."

Chapter Text

The two of them exited the alley and wasted no time before grabbing the nearest local looking person – Sidon could tell from the way they were dressed and Link simply Did Not Question It at this point – and asking for directions to the shops they wanted. The Minish didn't know where to buy weapons, but they directed them to a food district, which was helpful enough.

They passed by quite a few woven grass houses and even more rock buildings before the scent in the air changed drastically to guide them the rest of the way to the place they had been told to go: between the tunnels created by the local rock houses was an alley filled to the brim with food stalls. It reminded them of the open air market of the previous city, but it was all food and packed into a cramped alley with tall gray walls.

There were so many people in it that they were forced to go with the flow on the right side and ignore the left, where people were headed to the direction they came from. The noise level of everyone talking all at once was loud enough to force Link to cover his long, sensitive Hylian ears to muffle the worst of it, which rendered him even muter than usual. It was crazy.

Every stall sold something different, but what that "something" was was often a complete mystery because of their inability to read Minish and the alley's noise level making asking more of a hassle than it was worth. One stall had small jars of what was probably spices, and another had bundles of dried herbs. One had some kind of vegetable and potentially meat skewers that Link ended up buying one of to munch on as he walked, even at the cost of his eardrums on one ear; the skewer ended up being spicy enough that he couldn't tell if some of the bits were bug meat or not even as he ate it, but it was good regardless. One stall sold what looked like potato fries but couldn't possibly be that, yet another had what was almost definitely air-dried meat chunks, and so on.

Link bought promising looking bits and pieces from a bunch of stalls by just pointing at things, holding up his fingers to tell how many he wanted, and then giving the Minish behind the stall a random amount of rupees and getting back the change, hopefully the right amount. Sidon did the same with anything that looked like frog, shrimp, frog spawn, or otherwise Zora Food-y, borrowing Link's money pouch as needed.

They had a lot of mystery food in fragile looking disposable leaf bags by the time the flow of people pushed them out of the alley and back into the main street. Link's right ear was ringing something fierce and he really hoped that the place one went to buy weapons or general supplies in this city wasn't yet another alley.

"Link, let's go over there to pack these properly", Sidon said, pointing to a direction that presumably had something useful he could spot from over the other people's heads. Link just nodded and followed, and soon saw another alley, this time equipped with tables and benches. A lot of Minish were eating there or resting after an intense shopping spree. Thankfully it was mostly quiet, as people concentrated on eating. ...Well, it was quiet compared to the previous alley anyway, and Link was happy to take even the smallest mercy.

Link placed the food bags and his backpack on a free table, and the two of them fit as much of the food as they could into the backpack. Unfortunately it wasn't all of it, as apparently Sidon had managed to forget that he no longer had his messenger bag in his possession and had bought more food than one bag could possibly contain.

"I believe purchasing a bag for me should be our first priority now", he said sheepishly as he packed the rest of his food back into one of the disposable bags. Link agreed.

A few inquiries for directions later found them walking all the way through the Southern District, as it was called, to the Western District – as in another side of the triangular pedestal of the Master Sword. It was in the opposite direction of the shrine they were supposed to be heading to soon, but the Minish they asked swore to Ezlo that it had the best general store in the city and got Sidon so excited that Link couldn't tell him no. Not that he was much inclined to anyway, as it gave them an excuse to see this side of the city too.

That, and the Minish claimed that the store could only be entered with a magic password, and there was no way Link wasn't going to check something like that out. Okay, so Sidon wasn't the only one who was excited.

They reached the end of the Southern District and turned around the corner… to be faced with essentially a completely different city that made Link do a double take.

Whereas the previous district had been cramped and gray with splashes of green, this district was full of colour. The walls of the rock houses were all decorated with colourful tiles, and the grass houses were sprinkled with flower petals and living flowers. It was spacier too. But what had Link completely thrown for a loop was the citizens: among the Minish of both the Forest and Mist kind were Koroks. Tiny, Minish sized Koroks.

"Huh, there's a lot less people and buildings here", Sidon said, looking around.

Wait... Less people and buildings? Sure, it was indeed spacier here, but... Oh.

'Can't you see them?' Link asked, fairly certain he knew the answer, but needing to know for sure.

"See what?" Sidon asked.

'The Koroks. And their homes.'

Sidon stared at him, and then looked around again, this time with wide eyes and a searching gaze that turned into disappointment soon after. "I'm afraid I only see the Minish. Are the houses in question filling the blank spaces? Ah, pardon my silliness. That spot, for example."

Link looked to where Sidon was pointing at, and nodded. What seemed to be an empty spot for Sidon occupied one of the woven grass and flower houses for Link. Surrounding it was a garden that had a bunch of saplings in it and two miniature Koroks walking around with watering cans. One of the saplings that got watered squirmed around and Link heard a faint, familiar giggle.

Could it be… that the saplings were baby Koroks? Did Koroks start as seeds and then get out of the ground Minish sized and then just… grow bigger and bigger and eventually become visible to big people who had the ability to see them?

Wait, did the Minish living here see them or not? Hadn't Mageri implied that was rare?

Link looked at the Minish around them. Many were minding their own business and not gawking around so Link couldn't draw any conclusions, some walked past the mingling Koroks without paying them any attention whatsoever – which Link presumed meant them not seeing their plant-y neighbours – but some made eye contact with the Koroks or looked at their houses or even had conversations with them. They were in the minority, but they were there.

Link suddenly felt a lot less alone and a good deal less like an insane person. The latter feeling had already been kindled when Mageri explained why he could see the Koroks when nobody else seemed to be able to, but it was one thing to hear an explanation and another to actually meet people like him.

"Is something happening or…?" Sidon asked, and Link realized he had been people gazing for an awkwardly long moment.

'Just fascinating to see Koroks here', Link said, not feeling like giving a long explanation about something that didn't really affect Sidon. Maybe sometime when they were idle and alone and needed a conversation starter. 'Let's find the shop.'

They strode along the colourful street, and Link noticed that everyone instinctively avoided collisions with the Koroks, regardless of whether they seemed to see them or not. Even Sidon sidestepped a truly tiny Korok that he could have easily stepped on without even knowing about it. Link assumed magic was at play; probably much the same kind that kept the Minish settlings from being trampled by big people.

Finally they reached the spot they had been told to find: a tall tree sapling – one could even call it a young tree – that had festive petal strings wrapped all around it. It had a door on one side of it and a wooden advertisement stand next to the door. From the stand hung a bell.

"I'm so excited!" Sidon said, giving Link a wide grin. The tail on his head wagged slightly. "So we ring the bell and state the password and then a secret door will appear, wasn't that what our guide said?"

Link looked at the bell, then at the very visible door, then at Sidon who was completely oblivious.

'Yes', he answered.

This ought to be interesting.

Sidon walked over to the stand and very carefully and reverently rang the bell. Then he cleared his throat and loudly said the password that to Link's ears sounded like complete gibberish, but that he now assumed to be the Korok language.

For a moment nothing happened. Then he heard light footsteps from behind the door and finally, as he had assumed, a Korok opened the door and peered out. They looked at Sidon, then made eye contact with him, and then looked around them – presumably checking if their party included more members – and finally shook what looked to be a tambourine at Sidon and chanted more gibberish.

Sidon gasped out loud and took a step back.

Yep, he could no doubt see the Korok now.

“You're a Korok! Link, they're a- Wait, no, pardon my rudeness!” Sidon didn't seem to know what to do with himself for a good moment, stuck firmly between his enthusiasm and manners. Link bit his lip to keep his snickers from getting too loud – not that he needed to with Sidon being very loud himself. “I am sorry for my complete lack of manners! My name is Sidon, I'm the Zora Prince. This is Link, he's my boyfriend. I've never seen a Korok before. Are you the shopkeeper?”

The Korok had no qualms about laughing at the situation, or just... laughing in general, like the Koroks were wont to do. “Yahaha! Yes, this is my Super Secret Korok Shop, open only to those who can see it! I've granted you Korok Vision for an hour, so make your shopping quick!”

“Only an hour? Link, we must hurry!” Sidon said and followed the shopkeeper inside.

Link wondered if the shopkeeper couldn't just redo the spell after the hour ended or if they just wanted the customers in and out quickly, but figured it didn't matter much – they were supposed to be in something of a hurry anyway.

As he went inside, he was met with a very wood-oriented shop. Obviously the shop itself was inside of a tree sapling that somehow stayed alive despite of it, so the walls, the floor, and the ceiling were all springy feeling, living wood. All of the furniture was either carved directly into the walls and the floor or just somehow growing out of them – the latter option seemed more likely to Link, and he couldn't even explain why. Most of the products sold were wooden too: wooden kitchenware, small wooden furniture, wooden toys, wooden weapons... everything was nicely carved and pretty, and had a distinctly different design from any of the Minish objects he had seen sold in the other shops they had visited during their journey.

Link made a note that this, too, was a place he should bring Zelda to once she had a Sheikah Slate of her own. She would love to see a Korok, even if this particular Korok wasn't as social as Hestu and seemed more inclined to ignore them while they shopped and only got interested again when it was the time to make the purchase. Link thus officially concluded the answer to his earlier musings was “get the customers in and our quickly” rather than “can't redo the spell”. Oh well, Sidon was politely wonderstruck regardless, and disinterest was still better than fleeing like some of the bigger Koroks liked to do if Link so much as looked in their direction.

Link picked up a familiar looking Forest Dweller's Bow and a sword of the same series, immediately feeling much better about their chances against the Vaatians they would no doubt be facing soon – he had felt somewhat vulnerable without a ranged weapon, and he had learned the hard lesson about only having one weapon at his disposal, so the short sword was a nice addition. Sidon found himself a new notebook, bound between wooden covers obviously, a pencil, a waterskin that looked to be made from a nutshell, and a bag that seemed to be sturdy looking Korok leaves sewn together and that fit his food and new equipment nicely.

The Minish who had directed them to this shop had definitely been correct about this being the best general store around – they had gotten everything they needed from one place and didn't need to make more stops. They were finally properly stocked up and ready to leave the city as soon as possible.

Chapter Text

Pro: they had all the equipment they needed thanks to the Super Secret Korok Shop. Said equipment was high quality too.

Con: getting Sidon to walk forward now that he could temporarily see the Koroks was like getting past a Guardian unnoticed – that is, very difficult to accomplish.

"Hello, would you- oh, never mind then, sorry!" Sidon said for the umpteenth time, trying and failing to have a conversation with a Korok without them immediately running when he addressed them directly. Link had reassured him after the first encounter that Koroks were usually skittish when perceived, so them fleeing was probably nothing personal and had little to do with him looking intimidating, which had been Sidon's immediate worry. However, Link was starting to think that maybe Sidon's eagerness to smile at them while displaying practically every single sharp tooth in his mouth and looming over them might be a factor after all, because in his personal experience at least some Koroks were the friendly type too. One should think that Koroks that were used to being seen would be less shy as well, but Sidon's fruitless attempts at conversation were painting a different picture.

Finally the Korok Vision spell ran out and Sidon assumed a crestfallen look. Link patted his arm in sympathy.

'We'll get the spell again the next time we visit and give it another shot', he promised. He resolved to tell Sidon to change his approach when that time came just to be on the safe side, and perhaps Zelda would be with them to negotiate with the Koroks first too. ...Assuming Zelda didn't scare them off with her own brand of eagerness first.

"Perhaps this was for the best anyway", Sidon said with the air of someone who was graciously accepting a compromise he didn't like. "I seemed to only have a few minutes left, and that would have cut short any conversation I managed to instigate."

Link nodded, and finally they were able to pass through the district without further delay. Link even managed to more or less ignore what seemed to be a Korok street band that was releasing green and light sparks into the air and making every plant around them sway to the music. He was starting to think that Korok magic, which was very obviously a thing, stemmed from music – Hestu had his maracas that enhanced bags to fit more items inside, the shopkeeper had a tambourine that gave people Korok Vision, Koroks in general rattled and chimed a lot when they poofed into existence, and now this band was making plants dance. He was somewhat glad Sidon hadn't seen that and gotten the chance to draw the same conclusion, because otherwise they would have gotten extremely stuck on that spot.

They turned around the corner of the triangle pedestal and arrived to the last district.

Everything was mushrooms. Every single building was a mushroom of some kind. There were toadstool houses like in the Mist Minish cities, but homes and shops could also be found in Hylian shrooms, razorshrooms, stamellas, silents, and a bunch of other mushrooms Link couldn't even name. He noticed that a lot of the mystery fungi had a skin similar to the silent shrooms, which made him assume that they, too, would glow in the dark. This district would likely look stunning during the night.

On that note, it was pretty quiet. Only a few people were up and about, and they seemed tired and sleepy. Were the people here nocturnal? Would the district be lively at night to go with the presumably glowing mushrooms?

"Ah, we have a place like this in the underwater side of Zora's Domain", Sidon said after Link shared his thoughts. "There's a cavern that's filled with luminous hydrophytes and eels that is occasionally used as a party spot by the younger Zora. Unlike this district, it's always aglow and as such doesn't require the nighttime to be utilized."

Now that was a place Link would love to see, but never be able to, because he couldn't breathe underwater or even dive very deep for the fear of his eardrums exploding. Oh well. It made him feel strangely better about missing seeing this district in all its glory, because at least he could return here in the future to witness it if he so chose.

With only a few forlorn looks at the district they didn't get to experience in the full, the duo passed through the quietville and, after asking for directions from a city guard, arrived at the eastern gate.

This was it. The last stretch of their journey would begin here.

Link's feet ached and felt wobbly again from the mere thought of leaving the city. The shoulder that had been nicked by a sword during their last battle felt hot, while his left that had taken a hit from an Ice Rod arm felt cold, despite having been thawed ages ago. Sidon's scales looked slightly dry and Link swore he could count his ribs, although that last part might just be Link's eyes seeing what his mind was expecting to be there.

This was a terrible idea.

Had he filled his quota of going through with terrible ideas on this trip yet?

His new bow and sword felt reassuring on his back and hip, and his bag was bursting with food.

Maybe...

"Link, I must question our decision to venture forth yet", Sidon said, and Link breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's take a seat, wrap your wound, and eat at least. We don't know how soon we'll be ambushed again and I'm worried about our fighting chances at the moment."

Link knew that wasn't actually enough, but it demoted their terrible decision into just an inadvisable one, and he would take it.

-----

This was still a terrible idea.

Sidon had cleaned and wrapped Link's shoulder – after an attempt to heal it with magic, which had obviously resulted in failure that neither had been surprised by – and now it no longer felt hot. He had warmed Link's left arm with the Fire Rod again, and now that felt fine too.

Link's legs, however, still trembled, despite the rest. He could hear Zelda nagging at him about illnesses making a return if one strained oneself too much immediately after feeling healthy again, and Link had gone right ahead and battled ants and Vaatians and had walked for miles anyway. Those definitely counted as straining himself too much, which was very likely resulting in Flu Junior, the son of Flu Senior. He had performed the minimum amount of "responsibility" by giving Sidon a heads up, and both had agreed to ignore the possibility and deal with the consequences as they came, hopefully after Slateri had been rescued.

Link fully acknowledged that they were both idiots, but didn't plan on correcting the course anyway.

The walk down a path out of the city was easy enough, but eventually they had to stray from it into the shrubbery towards the shrine that practically none of the Minish had much business visiting. The grass was taller than Sidon and the Deku Tree's roots blocked the path often, forcing them to either climb them or walk along them until they thinned to manageable levels or lifted off the ground enough for them to crawl through the formed tunnel to the other side. They were almost certain there had to be an easier way there that the Slateri family knew about, but well, they weren't Slateris so they had to take the hard way.

Link was pretty sure it should only take them two or three hours to reach the shrine – comparing the estimated distance to that which they had already walked elsewhere and using his Sheikah Slate as a map – but the terrain was rougher than estimated and they had to go around a lot of obstacles, which made their progress much slower than that.

At the two hour mark his legs gave out. He wasn't sure if he just tripped on a strand of tall grass or if his legs truly refused to carry him further, but regardless of the cause he fell face first into the grass and didn't think he could get back up.

"Link!" Sidon hurried to his side and helped him sit up. "Are you alright? What happened? Are you sick again? Will-"

"I'm fine", Link quickly interrupted, not wanting Sidon to alert their enemies with his steadily rising voice. "Tripped. Or legs gave out. Not sure. I think I need to rest a little."

"I'm uncertain if your legs potentially giving out qualifies as 'fine'", Sidon said with a frown, looking at Link's legs, as if they'd outwardly show signs of whatever was wrong. "Let's rest regardless."

Sidon picked him up like a sack of flour and carried him over to a rock they had passed a moment earlier. They sat down with their backs against the rock for a measly amount of cover from their enemies, should they choose to attack them now.

They dug out their water canteens and drank. Link felt about as thirsty as he did in the Gerudo Desert, which was another worrying sign.

"Are we close yet?" Sidon asked, unable to mask his worry. Link grabbed his Sheikah Slate off his hip and opened the map. It was simultaneously useful and useless, as it certainly showed them to be close to the shrine, but the accuracy of that estimate left much to be desired. Whether they were leaning against the edge of the shrine at that very moment or were still an hour's walk away due to their small size was complete guesswork.

"At least we're close by now", Sidon said with his characteristic optimism, which was slightly ruined by the worried look he gave Link again. "And the map shows us which direction we're walking towards, so we can't pick an incorrect route."

He wasn't wrong. Link wiggled his toes and then his legs, and then bent his knees up. They still felt weak, but already a bit sturdier than before. He dug out a little snack from his bag anyway, and Sidon followed his lead.

"This tastes like frog", Sidon said, which was relieving, because at least this food of his was the right kind; one of the other purchases he had tried before they left had tasted more like some kind of a bug to him, which hadn't been a positive find. He had scored some tadpoles at the time too, but he had eaten all of them already, and the rest of the foodstuff had remained a mystery for later. Sidon was eating a lot, which was a sign that he really required a good fish meal the first thing when they were big again.

After their snack break was done, Link stood up. His legs could carry him again, thank Hylia.

Sidon however over him instead of scouting for the next ten or so minutes, but Link couldn't fault him and forced himself to appreciate it instead of getting frustrated by it.

Then finally, after passing through yet another Deku Tree root tunnel, they could see the Shrine looming over them in the distance.

Well, they could see it for all of three seconds before they were ambushed.

Link's senses were too dulled from his less than perfect health to get a warning until the moment a Vaatian tried to drop on top of him from above. He managed to throw himself to the side and roll to safety, only to see that Sidon hadn't been as agile – likely half because he had been too excited about the Shrine to pay attention and half because he was so tall that the dropping distance was halved, giving him less reaction time.

Sidon was too sturdy to fall down from the weight of one surprise Minish, but said Minish slapped a blindfold on him before getting smacked down by Sidon's headtail.

"Link!" Sidon yelled, hands reaching up for the blindfold.

Link scrambled to get up, only to see more Vaatians jumping out of the tall grass all around them. Which meant the noises behind him-

Link leapt to the side like a Hylian shaped frog, managing to avoid a club to his head. He somersaulted forward to avoid more attacks until he could finally stand up and draw his sword.

When he did, he saw that the still blindfolded Sidon was surrounded by spears, swords, and magical rods, alive but incapacitated unless he desired to be skewered.

They were royally screwed.

Chapter Text

"Drop your weapons and surrender or else your friend gets it!" a Vaatian shouted at Link, Sidon held at swordpoint. All the while the other enemies were approaching him slowly, deliberately giving him time to choose his action rather than forcing him to fight.

Link's feet were walking him backwards, away from his pursuers, without a conscious thought.

"Run, don't worry about me!" Sidon shouted, and got poked by multiple weapons instantly, although none of them pierced his scales – but that could change in an instant if the Vaatian in charge so commanded.

Link wanted to fight. He wanted to destroy his enemies and save Sidon in one fell swoop. He was severely outnumbered, but he could probably still win when he was this motivated to – it wouldn't be the first time he defied the odds when he was cornered, and hopefully wouldn't be the last time either.

The problem was that if he attacked the Vaatians, they in turn would hurt Sidon, maybe even kill him.

But to run and leave Sidon behind? That wasn't an-

All of a sudden, there was an explosion and green smoke filled the area. Link heard coughing and swearing and shouting from the smoke cloud, which meant the Vaatians were equally surprised. He shielded his mouth and nose while also holding his sword at the ready, but then he was grabbed from behind. He struggled, but long vines tied his arms and sword to his torso and then he was lifted and spirited away from the scene.

-----

"I must say, I'm rather disappointed in your performance, hero", the person carrying Link said as soon as the smokescreen was well behind, panting from the exercise. "One would have thought you would know to expect an ambush since you made it this far."

Link was tentatively assuming this person wasn't a Vaatian, but he had no clue whether he was with a friend or a new enemy. He held off on struggling for the time being though, as the best he could accomplish right then was being dropped mid-run, which would only harm him and give the Vaatians time to catch up, but not really do much to whoever this was.

He was worried about Sidon, but had to assume he wouldn't be hurt when there was nothing to gain from it with Link gone. The Vaatians had wanted a hostage and had one now, so they should be moderately satisfied and not waste their hard-earned edge.

He hoped.

"Oh, my strength isn't what it used to be. It's time for you to run on your own, for we still have distance to cross before we're safe", his captor said, stopped in their tracks, and set Link down. Link mentally prepared to escape or fight if necessary as the vines unraveled, but what he saw froze him on his spot.

Before him was an elderly Forest Minish, dressed in a green robe, carrying an old looking bird-beaked staff and a Sheikah Slate on his braided belt, and wearing a green, brightly glowing cap.

Ezlo.

No. Why did his brain even think of that one first?

Slateri the First.

"I see introductions aren't necessary", Slateri said, "Now hurry up, we need to get to the shrine before little Vaati realizes I'm gone!"

Wait, what?

He could have left anytime he wanted?

"Don't just stand there, hurry up!" Slateri said, and pushed Link to take the first few steps until he caught on and began running alongside Slateri.

'I need you to explain a few things', Link signed, after doing a little wave to catch Slateri's attention.

He hoped...

"I see what you're doing, but I'm afraid I can only read the alphabet, not individual words."

That was actually better than Link had dared to expect, given his experience with the Minish world. Now he was glad he had had the Minish sign language lessons with Librari, because while he had done most of the teaching Librari had returned the favour by teaching him the Minish sign alphabet, which was somewhat different from its Hylian equivalent.

He could actually communicate with Slateri, even with Sidon gone!

Well, somewhat anyway.

'You escaped?' he spelled out slowly and laboriously, pausing whenever Slateri had to glance forward to see where he was going.

"I was never captured, if that is what you're getting at", Slateri said. "I was waiting for you at the shrine, because that was easier than outrunning the Vaatians back to the city, and a kinstone merge showed me a vision of you and the Princess being here with me."

Link stumbled in shock, but managed to get his balance back. The Princess? Was Zelda here? What was going on?

'Princess?'

"Oh, she'll be fine; Vaati wants a hostage to trade for my cap, so as long as she goes along with them and waits for your rescue they won't harm her."

What?

Link inhaled the wrong way and started coughing, forcing them to stop. He felt faint for multiple reasons.

Slateri patted his back. "There there. We're almost at the shrine, so get your coughing out now. You'll need your breath to do heroics soon. There are bad guys to fight and a Princess to save."

'Princess?' Link asked again while trying to breathe.

"I don't understand your question. I must admit though, I was surprised she wasn't a Hylian. Did someone in the royal Hyrule line marry a Zora recently?"

...What??

Wait, wait, wait. A Zora Princess that needed to be rescued? Was... Was Slateri referring to Sidon?

Was this karma for Link's inability to tell the Minish apart? This had to be karma for Link's inability to tell the Minish apart.

At least this meant that Zelda wasn't suddenly here and in trouble, so Link would take it.

"Anyway, you're no longer coughing, so hurry up!"

Slateri pushed Link back into a walk and then run, and Link was gobsmacked enough to simply comply.

As his legs ran, his mind raced. Hero? No other Minish had figured that out on their own, but Slateri had immediately known or assumed it. He had also assumed Sidon to be the Princess of Hyrule, which was less right but not that far-fetched in the grand scheme of things. How much did he know about the happenings in the big people world and how?

"Stop, we're here!" Slateri whisper-shouted, and his staff appeared horizontally in front of Link. Link didn't have the time to stop his momentum, so he bent over backwards and limboed under the staff before standing back up, flailing his arms to get his balance back. He managed it after just a moment of back and forth swaying.

"Now that was impressive, bravo!" Slateri said, then hushed himself for being too loud, presumably. He continued in a whisper, ignoring Link's glares. "The shrine is right in front of us."

Link turned his gaze to the direction the damned staff now pointed at and indeed saw an enormous, mountain sized, no, larger than any mountain stone wall. On the right it was stone as far as his eyes could see, and on the left he could see a more manageable but still high platform behind large blades of grass.

"The Minish entrance is on the ground level over there, beginning at the shining blue path", Slateri said, pointing the direction for him. "I'm taking a secret maintenance passage, but you'll need to run past the Vaatian guards and be seen by them so Vaati doesn't realize there's another way in and out. Don't fight them, just rush past them and come to the shrine so we can plan the rescue with Vaati knowing about you, so he can plan his move in turn."

Slateri had clearly spent his time waiting productively. Link wasn't sure if he liked giving up the element of surprise though.

'Surp-' he started signing, only to notice that Slateri was already gone.

That bossy, bush-bearded busybody-

Well, Link didn't have much of a choice anymore, now did he?

Although he did need to sit down, drink some water, and wipe sweat off his forehead, the back of his neck, and the small of his back. The adrenaline rush from being kidnapped and running had kept him up and moving, but now his legs felt like cooked noodles and he wasn't sure if the sweat was from running – which shouldn't leave him out of his breath like this – or if he was feverish again. He hoped it wasn't the latter. He was pretty sure it wasn't, but the fact he wasn't completely certain was worrying.

He rested until he was no longer actively sweating and until his legs felt like they could carry him again, and then got back up.

He felt faint.

Still, he had to make his move before Slateri returned and whacked him with the staff – that was what he was expecting anyway.

He took a deep breath and sneaked through the tree sized grass to take a look at what was awaiting him.

There were two spear wielding Vaatians standing next to the blue path Slateri had mentioned. Said blue path was one of those mysterious patterns decorating every shrine he had seen, which made him wonder if all of them included a Minish side accessed by following a specific pattern. He would have to investigate in the future.

For now though, he nocked an arrow on his new bow and shot it upwards and to his left. After a few seconds it dropped noisily down into the foliage, making the Vaatians turn to look. That was Link's cue to draw the Master Sword and run towards them. His diversion bought him a good few seconds to get closer before the Vaatians noticed him, scrambling to ready their spears…

And he simply swept one weapon to the side with his sword, dodged the other, and kept running past them. He heard them yelling at him or maybe each other – he didn't listen to the actual words – and then hurried footsteps started following him.

That was when his throat started to itch and he found himself fighting back a coughing fit while trying to sheathe his sword so he wouldn't drop it if his grip loosened. Knowing this to be the perfect opportunity for his enemies to attack he dodged to the side, just in time to avoid a thrown spear. The sudden movement caused him to take an unwise gulp of air, and his lungs were instantly made of sand and fire and his body began repelling them via vigorous coughing. His running slowed as his legs stopped cooperating, and finally he tripped face first into the ground, cushioning his fall with his arms the best he could. The stonework of the shrine wasn't the most pleasant surface he had fallen to, but at least it wasn't jagged rocks or a cliff, so it wasn't that bad. The only problem was his enem-

"Incoming, stay down!"

What?

A storm of green, fluttery things rushed towards him, so he ducked his head back down, letting the torrent go past him above his prone body. The Vaatians behind him yelped and crashed into something, potentially each other from the sound of it. He looked up again and saw Slateri walking towards him, the bird beaked staff pointing over Link’s head at his enemies and surrounded by an imposing green glow.

“You are not welcome to the shrine, Vaatians! Turn back now or I’ll unlock its power and force you out!”

Link got to his knees and rubbed his arms, his ears perking up at the sound of scrambling and running behind him. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the enemies retreating, which was a relief. His coughing was dwindling down too as he caught his breath.

“That’s twice already that I’ve had to save you”, Slateri muttered, shaking his head. He extended a hand at Link to help him to his feet. “You really need to start pulling your weight and be the hero you’re supposed to be. We need to do something about your cough too, otherwise it’ll be difficult for you to battle the Vaatians.”

Link had many questions and none of the patience necessary to spell them out the hard way.

“Now come on, let’s get to the shrine proper, medicate you, plan our side of the conflict, and wait for Vaati.”

Chapter Text

Link sat cross-legged on the stone floor of the Minish sized shrine. The entrance was a large stone door that could be opened with a Sheikah Slate, and the interior so far was an expertly carved and elaborately decorated tunnel with Fire Chuchu jelly lanterns on the sides. It was distinctly lacking the mystical floating rock slabs of the regular shrines, which meant the entire dungeon was on ground level, which in turn made sense considering how little space a Minish shrine logically took. His slate had gained a blacked outline of a map upon entering the shrine, so he assumed that his first job would be to find a map-granting altar somewhere nearby. ...Should he be exploring, that is, which he wasn’t going to be able to do on this trip. Damn it.

Slateri had nabbed a Fire Chuchu jelly from one of the lanterns and was boiling a pot of water with some sort of medicine mixed in, planning to fix Link’s coughing with it. If Link got to go through the inevitable tussle with the Vaatians cough-free, he swore he’d be a lot less sour about Slateri’s bossy attitude in return.

“Alright, now this needs to boil for a bit and then it’ll be ready for use”, Slateri stated after a while, packing up his supplies in a green satchel that matched his hat, just without the glowing. He turned to look at Link. “And now I believe I owe you some explanations, hero.”

Link agreed heartily. He nodded and crossed his arms.

“Where to begin? Hmm… Well, first of all, in case you didn’t know, little Vaati is after this cap here”, Slateri said, and patted the Minish Cap on his head. “He’s had his cult attempt to steal the Hero Museum’s copy to no avail, but now he’s set his eyes on this one instead thanks to the rather revealing commotion at the museum. Poor lad is under the assumption that it’ll make him as powerful as the original Vaati, which of course is false for more than one reason. He’ll propose to trade it for the Princess when he gets here, and I plan to agree with the trade to ensure her safety. Of course we’ll attack him and his troops as soon as she is safe, which is only fair because he’ll do the same anyway as soon as the cap is no longer within my immediate reach.”

That was… quite a lot of assumptions and even riskier than Link’s own plans were usually – at least he generally just risked his own life, not powerful artifacts falling into enemy hands. Although Slateri did imply Vaati wouldn’t become an almighty mage by getting the hat?

‘Fals-’

“A-aa! Telling you now would spoil my fun later”, Slateri said with a mischievous grin. Link suddenly understood Zelda’s exasperation with his own unpredictability and on the spot unexplained plans – not knowing what to expect wasn’t nearly as fun when you weren't the one in the know. Link made a mental note to try to do better by Sidon once their journey as big people commenced, should they run into danger again.

"So, about Vaati himself", Slateri continued, uncaring of Link's concerns. "I'm reasonably sure his spiel about the big people influencing the Minish too much is for the most part simply a front he could work with to gain followers who could help him gain power. As far as I know he's actually a descendant of the original Vaati and he wants recognition. Let's defeat him and capture him, and then I'll take responsibility for teaching him the error of his ways."

Oh. This was about history repeating itself, wasn't it? Histori would be thrilled to learn about it. It might actually be for the best if she got directly involved somewhere down the line anyway, just to avoid the repeat going in a bad way – if he remembered the story of the original Vaati correctly, Ezlo had tried to steer him into the right direction by practically stifling his growth, which had only caused him to get bitter and desperate. This Vaati was already bitter and desperate and really didn’t need more of that.

"Ah, your medicine is ready", Slateri said, and beckoned Link over. Link sat down next to the pot and was instructed to breathe in the green-tinted steam for the rest of the time they were in the shrine. He did as he was told: the steam smelled very bitter and somewhat minty, and made his lungs feel cool and light almost instantly. Smell aside, it was heavenly.

"Now, what else do I need to explain? Ah, of course. I know why you were looking for me, and the problem should be easy to fix now. The local shrines have been unstable ever since the kinstone production picked up, which I suspect has been the Vaatians abusing the luck magic in order to prevent the big people from arriving. I needed to get to this particular shrine, as it contains the master controls for all the local shrines. I've modified the system to account for kinstone interference, so now I just need to reinstall your Vertical Shift rune."

Link understood nothing of the last sentence, but it sounded like their height problem would be a simple matter to correct and that was good enough for him.

"I believe that's it for the immediate explanations", Slateri said with a sagely nod. "I'll save any questions about your journey for the Princess, since your speech problems make our communication rather limited at this time."

'Prince.'

"Pardon me?"

'Prince Sidon. Zora', Link spelled out painstakingly slowly, not wishing for any confusion with the Vaatians later, no matter how funny it would probably be.

"Oh, so she- he is not, in fact, the Holy Princess of Hyrule? ...Is he the Holy Prince then? I don't think that has happened before…"

'No. Not Hyrule.'

Slateri regarded him with disbelief for a good long while, then nodded. "Zora's Domain then. I see. So the Princess is a different person?"

Link nodded.

"That's a shame. I assumed she would be your travel companion and hoped to meet her. Oh well, I suppose the rumours make a lot more sense now at least."

Link didn't even want to know.

“Now then, we should-”

Suddenly there was a loud and lingering “ting” sound in the air, and Slateri’s back straightened. “That would be Vaati’s entourage entering the premises. How is your throat?”

Link breathed in the green smoke, then cleared his throat to test it out, and gave a thumbs up. He didn’t think there had been enough time to cure his sickness – if that had ever actually been in the cards in the first place – but he felt surprisingly healthy right then; his throat didn’t itch or feel sore at all, and for the first time in days his head didn’t feel any amount of dizzy. He stood up and his legs didn’t feel wobbly.

“Good, then let’s go, hero.”

-----

The Vaatians had sent one person into the pathway to the shrine to deliver them the message that Vaati was expecting them at the other end of the path. Link had to give Vaati credit where credit was due: he was smart enough to not challenge Slateri on his home turf. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to make him more intelligent than most of Link’s enemies. Granted, most of his enemies were Bokoblins and Moblins, so the competition wasn’t very tough, but it still made Vaati dangerous.

At the end of the path was a group of twelve pale faced, bleached haired, purple clad Minish, with largely unafraid looking Sidon in their midst. One of Minish, however, was dressed much more impressively than the others: on top of the purple tunic common to the Vaatians he had a deeper purple cape and a matching hat with a red gem set into its golden tiara-like trim. He looked extremely similar to the huge statue Link had seen at the entrance of the Minish Capital, which could only mean…

“Good evening, Slateri the First, Link of the Big People”, the Minish said, topping his words with a mocking bow. “My name is Vaati, and I’ve come to bring your hiding to its end.”

That sounded suitably menacing, especially when he smirked and flipped back a purplish white strand of hair like the situation was so completely under his control that he had not a care in the world.

“Yes, sure, can we get this over with?” Slateri asked, waving his staff-free hand dismissively and ruining the mood entirely. “Will you propose the trade or should I do it?”

Link heard an amused snort from the opposing group, and he could have sworn it sounded like Sidon; however, his boyfriend had a perfectly neutral poker face when Link glanced his way.

Vaati looked insulted and furious for a second, until he closed his eyes and visibly gathered his calm, before putting a smirk back on his face. “And you old people say the youth have no manners. Very well, I’ll play your game. You hand over the Cap, and I’ll release the Big People Prince. Nobody needs to be hurt today if you play it nice.”

Nice save, although filled with lies if Slateri was to be believed. That, and Link's earlier experience with the Vaatians painted a much more violent picture.

“I’ll give you the Cap”, Slateri said, straightening his back and actually putting together a convincing look of a wise old sage – the look Link had expected from the beginning, but had been disappointed until now. “But it won’t bring you happiness. There are no easy ways to true power and not all recognition is good recognition. You’ll learn this lesson today whether you want to or not.”

Link was starting to wonder if the rude, bossy old Minish he had spent time with had been replaced with another person while he wasn’t looking, because Slateri seemed a lot more dignified now.

Vaati scoffed. “We shall see about that. I want Link to bring the Cap to us. Two of my followers will bring the Prince to you and release him once the Cap is in my hands. How does that sound?”

Thoroughly unfair in Link’s opinion – that plan would leave Vaati with every advantage possible, from having the Cap in his grasp to Link alone being near the bulk of his troops and to both Sidon and Slateri being countered by the two Vaatians escorting Sidon.

“Link will bring the Cap, but it’ll be someone else’s hands that accept it at the halfway point”, Slateri countered. “Princes- Prince Sidon will be brought to the halfway point and released once the Cap changes hands.”

That was more like it.

“Not a fool, I see”, Vaati said with an almost respectful nod and another hair flip. “That’s an acceptable compromise.”

Vaati lifted a hand up and snapped his fingers, which made the two Vaatians guarding Sidon move forward with him. They walked over to Vaati’s side, one rod and one sword pointed at Sidon at all times. Sidon himself had his hands bound behind his back, but his mouth wasn’t gagged, which meant he wasn’t nearly as helpless as the Vaatians likely believed him to be – he was simply playing along. His eyes met Link’s, and he gave a grave nod.

“Concentrate on the enemies in your immediate vicinity and free your Prince”, Slateri said with a low voice as he handed Link the Minish Cap. “I’ll watch your back, so to speak, and buy you time to win your battle. Vaati himself should not attack until he has the Cap.”

Link nodded, fingers gripping the edge of the green, strangely tingly fabric. The glow on it concentrated around his fingertips, becoming almost too bright for him to look at. Was Vaati or anyone in his ranks able to see it?

Well, it didn’t matter. What mattered was trying to stop the Cap from ending up in Vaati’s head, freeing Sidon, and saving the day.

He turned to face his enemies and took the first step towards the final battle.

Chapter Text

Closer up, Sidon looked a little worse for wear. He had a fresh scratch on his left bicep, and there was a rip on the arm fin of the same arm. Link assumed he had fought back when the Vaatians initially attacked them, after Link ran. Sidon didn't have his spear or his fire rod, but his bag was still on his person. It made sense that his weapons had been taken, but Link was grateful they had let Sidon keep the rest of his belongings, because it truly would have stank to have to replace everything again.

"Hi, Wildberry", Sidon said cheerfully once Link and the Vaatians with their prisoner stopped in front of each other. "I'm so happy to see you're alright!"

Link smiled at him, then looked at the Vaatians. The swordsman stayed by Sidon, and the mage lowered their rod in order to extend a hand towards Link. "Give me the Cap."

Link deliberately hesitated, gripping the rim of the Cap and biting his lip, before flicking his eyes at Sidon in a show of being unsure. He needed Sidon to act instantly once this Vaatian touched the hat, but he had no way to convey a message, not even with eye movements; not in the presence of enemies. He could only hope Sidon was ready to act on his own.

He looked at the mage and visibly steeled himself before holding out the item-of-too-much-Hylia-damned-interest with his left hand. The Vaatian's fingers took a firm grip of shining cloth and the light underneath Link's fingers faded and migrated to the spot the Vaatian was touching.

The Cap was yanked from his grip at the same moment his right hand darted to the Master Sword's hilt and drew it.

There was an immediate pandemonium as several things happened in an instant, but it simultaneously felt like time had slowed down and everything happened in slow motion from Link's perspective.

Link swung his sword at the mage, who jumped backwards to avoid it – clearly having been expecting it – the Minish Cap clutched in their right hand. Foolish of them, because that was the hand they had been carrying the rod in earlier, which meant their presumed dominant hand was now unavailable for at least a few crucial seconds.

The sword-wielding Vaatian stabbed Sidon, who also made a hasty dodge, but not before blood was spilt as another minor scratch was added to his scaly hide.

Vaati shouted something Link’s ears failed to catch with all the other noise around him, and the rest of the Vaatians drew or otherwise readied their weapons.

Slateri shouted something Link missed as well, and he could have sworn he felt something go past him underneath his feet, his soles tingling briefly.

The next moment, time speeding up again, Link drew his other, freshly purchased sword and tossed it as high into the air in Sidon's general direction as his strength allowed. Then he rushed at the mage.

The mage grabbed their magic rod from their belt with their left hand and fired an ice spell towards Link, but their aim was so off that Link didn't even need to dodge.

Behind the mage, Vaati and his troops got tangled up in thorny vines that rose from the ground. Vaati's ice spell – no rod used from what Link could see in the split second he got to look – went up into the sky harmlessly.

Link swung his sword and the mage parried clumsily with the rod. It was enough to give the Master Sword a layer of frost and make Link flinch back to avoid a worse disaster. That in turn was enough time for the Vaatian to turn around and start running towards Vaati, the Cap in hand.

Shit!

Link ran after them, but skid to a halt when he heard an audible crunch and screaming behind him. He instinctively turned around in alarm, and saw Sidon's jaws locked on a shrieking Vaatian's shoulder. Blood was spilling down his chin in a chilling display of raw power, which was then immediately, miraculously outclassed by Sidon yanking his arms to the sides and effortlessly snapping the rope binding them. If that wasn’t already enough, Sidon’s right hand grabbed the Woodlands Sword that had landed tip down into the ground right next to him and pulled it out with one continuous motion, his bicep bulging as he swung the sword upward, pommel first, to knock the Vaatian out of his mouth and a few feet away from him with an arc of blood connecting them.

Hello, his name was Gay and he was very Link for this man and would like to please marry him hard right now, thank you.

Sidon turned around to look at him, his jaw and neck and chest covered in fresh gore that wasn’t his own, but instead of keeping his lovely, lovely topaz eyes – denial about the wording later; lovestruck now – on Link and rushing forward to sweep him off his feet, his gaze traveled past him and was followed by a pointing finger. “Link! The Cap!”

The what? Wait-

Link snapped out of his daze and whipped around, heart racing, to witness the mage he had been supposed to take care of be almost within an arm’s reach of Vaati, the Cap ready to be handed over.

Both Link and Sidon dashed after them, knowing they wouldn’t be able to make it but still trying their absolute hardest, hoping against all hope.

The Vaatians were still mostly tangled up in vines, but Vaati himself had burnt up a spot of the ground beneath his feet – was that Sidon’s Fire Rod on his belt, now peeking from behind his back? – and had stepped out of the circle of ashen branches to stand on solid ground again, arm reaching expectantly towards his running minion.

Link needed to run faster, throw something, stop it somehow!
Sidon lifted his sword up like a spear, but then presumably realized it wasn’t a spear and fumbled a step.

Vaati’s fingers curled around the Cap’s brim and with one motion flipped it around and put it on his head.

There was a bright flash of white and blue light and a shock-wave swept over everyone around Vaati, making those who weren’t held in place by thorns tumble down. Link was knocked backwards and lost his grip on his sword as he fell over, landing painfully on his butt with Sidon close by.

“I win!” Vaati yelled, holding onto the cap with two hands now, grinning widely. The air around him glimmered and sparkled and there was a whirlwind circling him, making his hair and cloak float wildly and the edges of the cap flap. "Now nothing stands between me and awesome magical prowess! The big people will never threaten our culture again, and you two will be the first ones to suffer my wrath!"

Good news: at least it seemed Vaati hadn't been lying to his followers like Slateri had assumed. Or maybe he was just good at keeping up front even during his victory gloat.

Bad news: everything else.

Vaati pointed a finger at Link, who scrambled to quickly grab his sword and get up. From the corner of his eye he saw Sidon do the same. Vaati's finger grew frosty and the air around it turned white and puffy, and then a beam of freezing magic shot forth-

Huh?

Link dodged the attack easily with a small hop to the side while Sidon didn't even necessarily need to move to evade, because the ice beam was tiny, narrow and honestly? Pretty pathetic compared to what had been shot at him before.

Vaati frowned in confusion, then pointed his finger at Link again. This time out came a beam of what Link assumed to be pure darkness from the blue-ish black colour and the void-like quality of it, but it was just a trickle as well and Link side-stepped it with ease.

He figured that he ought to take this chance to attack, but he was too enthralled by the show to put the thought into action. He wanted to see where this went.

Vaati's face twisted in fury and he brought up both of his palms.

Okay, that looked more menacing, so Link threw himself forward into a somersault to dodge under the much stronger attack, anticipating that Vaati would expect him to evade to the side again. He immediately felt cold air rush above him and freeze the tips of his hair, hat, and ears, but he avoided any real damage. He shot back to his feet right in front of his enemy, but to his shock Vaati conjured up a dark haze and dematerialized from within it.

As a result, he had to hastily parry Sidon's sword that had been about to slash at Vaati.

"Ah, my apologies!" Sidon said and disengaged.

Link nodded, then whipped his head from side to side, searching.

The Vaatians right by them were mostly out of the thorn trap by now and were clearly about to attack en masse any moment now, which was unfortunately going to have to be Link's highest priority unless something even worse came up. But where was-

"Why doesn't the Cap work?!"

Reluctant to turn his back to his enemies, but too curious and wary of Vaati to ignore him, Link spun around towards the voice.

Vaati's hands were engulfed in black energy and he threw punches at Slateri, who parried them nimbly with his staff. Slateri looked unbearably smug. "You don't deserve the power, that's why."

"LIES!" Vaati screeched and gave another enraged punch.

"Oops, you caught me!" Slateri said, amused. "That's actually the answer too."

"Link!"

Link whirled around, starting to get whiplash from doing it so often, and saw Sidon push back the first wave of melee enemies. Right, no time to watch other battles, because his own combat awaited him.

Link ran into the fray to stand by his boyfriend's side.

"The real Minish Cap isn't something I parade around, you foolish child."

Link knocked away an enemy and then jumped back, sheathing his sword and grabbing his bow instead.

"I am not a child!"

He nocked an ice arrow and shot it at the row of Vaatian mages on the other side of the slowly dying field of thorns. He quickly readied another.

"Perhaps barely not, but you do act like one. Stand down and call off your troops before I'm forced to hurt you!"

Another ice arrow was launched and froze over the still regrouping enemies. Link put the bow away and drew his sword once more.

"Stop underestimating and patronizing me, old man! Your time is over and I will begin a new era!"

Sidon was handling things fine again after a small intervention from Link, so he unhooked his shield from his arm, threw it into the middle of the thorns, took a running start and jumped on it.

"Not with magic skills like that, you won't."

Link jumped forward again, not quite making it across the thorns but close enough to only have his clothes rip a little, but without getting tangled up. He quickly dodged an ice beam from the one remaining mage, who had been trying to free their frozen companions until then.

"Once I find the real Minish Cap my powers will be more than enough! I'll get rid of you and then I'll pay your successor a visit!"

Link knocked the ice rod from the rather alarmed and tired looking mage's hands, then slashed at their arm with his sword.

The mage fell to the ground and looked at him pleadingly, clutching the wound with their unharmed hand. "I surrender!"

"I'm afraid it won't be that easy, little Vaati. No part of that plan will come to fruition."

Link glared at the mage, and then pointed his sword at the others in their icy prisons with a raised eyebrow.

"They will too, I swear!" the mage said, sounding hysterical. "Please, we don't want to die like the rest!"

"Do. Not. Patronize. Me!"

There was a mighty flash of white and blue behind Link, and he was unable to resist turning around yet again. A large area around Slateri was now frozen solid, but a perfect circle of unaffected ground surrounded his unharmed form. He was holding up his bird cane, and the beak was curiously open.

Vaati, on the other hand, was hunched over and panting. He was surrounded by inert leaves, snapped vines, and green glitter. He was no longer wearing the fake cap.

Sidon's battleground was between Link and the two mighty wizards, and his work seemed to be done. The ground was littered with fallen Vaatians, who might have been alive and unconscious or might have been dead – Link had no way to tell. He had the last Vaatian warrior held at a swordpoint, unarmed and kneeling on the ground.

Now Link could see why the enemy mage accompanying him had lost their morale.

"Your troops have fallen, Vaati. Surrender now", Slateri said, pointed the cane at the ground, and somehow thawed himself a path through the frozen ground.

"Make me!" Vaati growled, and made to stand up and step forward, but stumbled on what was possibly a vine or a thorn or perhaps even a root protruding from the ground before him. Link could swear it hadn't been there earlier.

Slateri moved faster than Link's eyes could follow, and his bird beaked cane made violent and loud contact with the back of Vaati's head. Vaati crumpled to the ground, unmoving.

...Did they just win?

Slateri bent over Vaati’s prone body to, presumably, check him over. Vaati didn’t react in any way.

Yes, they definitely won.

Link gave one last warning look at the defeated Vaatian mage – who looked very docile and in no small amount of pain – and then began making his way back to Sidon via his shield route through the thorns, a victorious smile on his lips. They were finally safe and together, and he had missed Sidon way more than the time apart honestly warranted!

"Link!" Sidon said with a wide and rather gory smile. He put away his sword to where his spear usually went on his back, completely uncaring of the kneeling Vaatian warrior by his feet, and opened his arms for Link to jump into. Link wasted no time doing just that, his arms wrapping around Sidon's neck and his legs around his waist, carefully avoiding the gills like it was second nature now.

Link clung to his boyfriend like an Octoroc and kissed him squarely on the lips. Sidon tasted bloody and fishy and a bit sweaty, but Link didn't give a single damn. He kissed Sidon with all the passion he had been holding back since the questionably hot bite attack from earlier. No, since the moment he saw him with the Vaatians. Actually, no, since the moment they got separated. Actually, it didn't matter; the point was that there was a lot of passion in Link and he was going to take it all out on this gorgeous fish prince's lips and maybe-

"Celebrating already, I see", said Slateri's voice, ruining the moment. Or well, ruining the continuation of the moment – the moment itself had been amazing and would continue to be so in Link's memories later.

Link and Sidon separated their lips, and uh… Link wasn't sure what to do with the image of Sidon's face being splattered with blood with his mouth as the epicenter, but his lips being completely clean of the gore. He'd… have to come back to that thought later. Preferably with Sidon's lips available at the time.

Reluctantly he turned to look at Slateri, who was once more wearing the now slightly tattered cap, the bird cane had its beak closed again and was strapped to his back, and he was dragging a tied up, out of count Vaati behind him on what looked to be a wooden and leaven stretcher. He was holding out a Fire Rod with his other hand.

"I can't keep this at hand with Vaati around, tied up or not", he said as Sidon freed one hand to accept the rod with a delighted smile. "I know I made defeating him look easy, but that’s because I’m experienced, not because he lacks potential. I’ll get him sorted out one way or another. Now, if you two youngsters are quite done with the public display, hand over your Sheikah Slates for a moment."

Oh, right! They had finally reached their original goal!

Sidon set Link down with no small amount of reluctance, and the two of them handed over their means to get back to their real size. Slateri unceremoniously dropped Vaati's stretcher down in order to have both of his hands free, and then tapped away at Sidon's Slate for what seemed like just a few seconds. He took another few seconds on Link's Slate, and then returned both devices. Link immediately looked at the runes display and noticed that the Vertical Shift rune was gone.

"Go over to the panel by the Shrine's entrance and hold your Slate to it", Slateri explained with a smug grin. "The rune will be installed again, this time correctly. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to round up the remaining Vaatians and take them to the city, and talk to the captain of the guard about what to do next. Your work here is done."

A pause.

"You did alright, Hero", Slateri said, bopping Link's head gently with the cane that had appeared in his hand while Link hadn’t been paying attention. Next he patted Sidon’s shoulder with it, unable to reach higher. "I'll chat with you in depth the next time you're around, Prince. May Ezlo watch your steps and offer you wisdom."

Laughing at what he likely considered an inside joke and not giving them a moment to put a word in edgewise – Sidon certainly made an attempt that was ignored completely – he turned heel and walked over to the thorny vines, his cane glowing lightly.

Link found that he was thoroughly unsurprised by the brush-off and smiled to himself; maybe he liked Slateri a little bit after all, now that he was more or less used to his manners.

He thought of another thing to smile about as he took a moment to watch Slateri magic away the plants and thaw the Vaatian mages: he was finally ready to accept the idea that he didn’t personally have to take care of every problem under the sun. He may have to do his part here and there, but perhaps… it was possible that he didn’t need to do everything. Perhaps people like Slateri could tackle the big bad evil while he just took care of the minions. Perhaps he didn’t need to stick around for the clean-up. Perhaps he didn’t need to be the one to figure out where to go from there. Perhaps he didn’t need to see what happened to the villain afterwards. Perhaps he didn't need to always be the hero.

Perhaps he could get used to it. Maybe even should.

Needing to do everything had been a weight on his shoulders from the moment King Rhoam’s ghost had appointed him the Hero to save Hyrule, and he had struggled with it the entire time he and Sidon had spent in the Minish world. But now, with this colourful adventure behind him and Sidon by his side to support him through thick and thin, he felt like the weight had been lifted.

He was ready to begin a new chapter in his life, one that was just for what he wanted for himself. He looked at Sidon with a smile.

“Let’s go. It’s time to become big again.”

Chapter Text

It smelled like breakfast.

Link looked up from the random adventure novel he had been reading and towards the door, behind which he could hear the slapping of damp webbed feet getting closer. He set the book down on the night table, pulled back the thick duvet that had been covering his legs, and got off the bed to walk over to the little table their private room had.

Just a second after Link had seated himself, the door was pulled open with gusto and Sidon entered, a skip in his step. He was carrying a tray that had a few promising bowls and cups on it, as well as a large, dripping wet fish that was still twitching a bit.

"I have returned with food and your medicine, my beloved Wildberry!" he announced, "We also received mail today, and isn't that exciting?"

Finally! They had sent missives to Zora's Domain and the Hyrule Castle practically as soon as they had made their way back from the Korok Woods to the Woodland Stable, and that had been two entire days ago. Link had lowkey expected to be swarmed by worried Zora troops the second they exited the Lost Woods, so a two day wait – the horseback postman requiring the time to make the trip being the obvious reason for the wait – had felt unreal.

Sidon plonked the tray on the table and Link spotted three envelopes tucked partially under his porridge bowl. Two were made out of the very distinct Zora wax paper and one was from Zelda's personal stationary, the royal blue variety.

"Here, drink this", Sidon said, holding out a mug of the nasty tea that Link had been forced to drink the last two days. Slateri's fume breathing treatment had suppressed his coughing for the battle, but it had returned with vengeance maybe two hours later, once they were big again. Link had been put to bed rest and medicine treatment by the innkeeper upon first sight, which, while annoying and gross, was proving to be very effective in finally actually curing him of his persistent illness. Him not being allowed to leave had the added benefit of Sidon having constant access to the Pico Pond for fresh food fitting a Zora, as well as water for soaking and swimming. Sidon already looked way better rested from spending half of every night sleeping submerged – he spent the first half cuddled up with Link and only left once he was fast asleep – and his foul mood from constant hunger was definitely gone.

Link drank down the tea with a few large gulps, appreciating the warmth in his throat and stomach and despising the bitterness immediately coating his taste buds. He quickly put the emptied mug down and attacked his breakfast to wash out the foulness. He had warm oat porridge with honey and butter, a side of fruit chunks, a slice of fresh wheat bread with cheese on top, and a tall glass of milk. A good Hylian breakfast with no bugs or flower petals or seeds – he had enjoyed those too, but home food was home food.

Sidon was crunching away at his raw Hyrule Bass that was likely just a part of his actual breakfast, most of which would have been devoured while still within the pond. Sidon had his lunch and dinner properly prepared by the inn's cook so as to not be completely impolite towards their hosts, but breakfast he opted to catch himself, and not bother with cooking it. Link assumed it had a lot to do with getting the right nutrients after three or so weeks of malnourishment. He liked to think Sidon had regained some meat on his bones, but he wasn't sure if two days of proper food would actually show, so he was probably mostly imagining it for now.

They ate without a hurry, and Sidon chattered happily about this and that between each bite – after chewing and swallowing first like a well raised Prince, of course. After finishing their meals, they grabbed their letters and settled back down on the bed, Link fitting himself snugly between Sidon's legs and leaning against his chest comfortably, the duvet covering his own feet for warmth. Sidon was somewhat cool to the touch and smelled strongly of fish, just like a healthy Zora should.

"Two of these letters are for you", Sidon said, and handed him said letters. Link hummed and took them. He set Zelda's letter aside and tore open the one from King Dorephan and/or Muzu. Turned out it was from both.

King Dorephan was glad to hear he was alright and grateful he had kept Sidon safe. He wanted to talk to him in person about his courting of the Crown Prince, worded exactly like that, which was terrifying and ominous, and Link hoped the talk could be postponed for a few weeks, months, or years, please. There was no note of official approval or disapproval to be found in the letter. Oh joy.

Muzu, on the other hand, promised to lend Link to the royal troops for target practice for endangering the heir to the throne – these two really went out of their way to use the most loaded terms possible to refer to Sidon, didn't they? – that is, after he was done with him himself for daring to lure the Prince away from respectable Zora women with his wiles. It looked like Link was well back to Muzu's ill graces, which wasn't unexpected. He'd come around, probably. At least if King Dorephan approved of the relationship. If not, Link was simply royally screwed.

"Father approves of my healing training in the Magic Academy!" Sidon yelled in excitement, and squeezed Link. "He says we need to discuss the when and for how long at a time when I return to the Domain, but he thinks it'll be good for me to learn! He says he's proud of me!"

Sidon's hold on Link got tighter with every sentence and Link simply accepted he wouldn't be breathing properly or at all for a bit. He looked up with a smile and patted Sidon's arm as a sign of being proud, but also as a notification on what was happening. Sidon released the hold with an apology and leaned down to drop a kiss on his forehead.

"Father also assured that he shall not be cutting our current trip short, although he did send a few soldiers to Hyrule Castle to check on me when we get there", Sidon continued sheepishly.

Link snorted. "To interrogate you, you mean. I guess we should be happy they weren't sent to tail us from now on."

Sidon chuckled, but his eyes betrayed some worry. "Let's hope so; we're not in the clear until we meet them and find out for certain."

Link patted Sidon’s arm again, this time comfortingly. It would be a hassle, but he had a few plans on how to ditch their potential babysitters if it came to that – they had their Sheikah Slates and the ability to warp around, for starters. Regardless, there was nothing they could do about it right now, so it was a problem for the future.

Sidon went back to his letter of considerable length, and Link opened the one from Zelda.

He got chewed out for recklessness, bad choices, and most importantly for having a fascinating adventure without her. She appreciated the Silent Princess honey candy, but forbade him from going to the Minish world again before her Sheikah Slate was finished, which should be within two months by Purah’s estimation. She included an actual list of questions she expected him to answer when he arrived at the castle, and he would come to the castle post haste or Hylia help him.

There was a post script that congratulated him for "catching the big red fish" and she expected to be his best woman at the wedding.

Link smiled at the letter fondly. He loved Zelda so much. If his heart didn't belong to Sidon he would have gladly married her instead. Maybe in another life.

It did look like he'd have to go and see her very soon, though.

He set the letter aside and nudged the strong, red arm around his chest to get it to loosen its hold. He wiggled and squirmed until he managed to turn around within the comfortable circle of Sidon's legs to properly face him. He wrapped his arms around Sidon's neck and gave him a kiss and a beaming smile.

"Let's get a move on?" he asked. "I feel better and there’s an adventure we put on hold that we can finally get back to.”

He heard the rustle of Sidon setting down his own letter somewhere off to the side, and then arms circled around him snugly once more and his boyfriend smiled back at him. “Tomorrow. You should rest one more day just to be certain you’re completely well.”

Link pouted.

Sidon kissed his nose. “We have quite used up all of our bad choices for the foreseeable future, so this is non-negotiable. To make this up to you… I believe my father tried to imply I shouldn’t tell you this, but…”

‘But?’ Link signed emphatically when the silence stretched, letting go of Sidon in order to do so and trusting him to keep him upright. He was not going to let Sidon reconsider whatever this was. Sidon laughed at the gesture, relaxing and visibly making up his mind.

“Father is pleased about our courtship. In fact, he saw it coming and was simply waiting for us to ‘get it together’, as he put it”, Sidon said with a conspiratorial look that he almost pulled off, but he was way too happy about his news to keep a wider smile from spreading on his lips. “Just don’t tell him I told you, as I believe he wants to terrorize you a little when we see him.”

Alright, those news were quite enough to make up for one more bed-ridden day, now promising to be a lot less stressful with the uncertainty off his shoulders. Link returned his arms to where they belonged – around Sidon’s neck – and made himself comfortable. They now had plenty of time for long cuddles, for a lot more kisses, for shared tasty meals, for scribbling in Sidon’s journal… For each other.

The rest of their life together, in fact. But for now they had a single, specific day to enjoy together before their next adventure began. Or resumed, he supposed.

Link leaned his head against Sidon’s broad chest and closed his eyes contentedly.

He looked forward to all of it.