Hero by Heart

Chapter 15

As soon as Zelda had secured her and Link a bed at the inn, she dropped her gear on hers. The two beds were way too close to each other for her liking, but she decided they would only be sleeping, so it didn't really matter.
She walked back out into the Domain and looked around at the beautiful creation. Whoever had made this was seriously talented.
The statue of Mipha in the centre of everything caught her eye again, as it had on her way to the throne room.
It still hurt to think of her, of the kind heart and sweet smile that fitted her so well. The Zora had not really been her best friend, but she did admire her for her unprejudiced kindness in every situation.
The Zora Princess had been unlike anyone else, always gentle and willing to help anybody. Her healing power was quite helpful too, fitting her personality perfectly.
Zelda had been jealous of her more than once. Not only did she have a power she actually know how to control, but it was useful too. The amount of times Zelda had seen her use it was endless.
She had also been jealous of her automatic connection to Link. Their bond had been so natural, so deep. Zelda had never understood it and would probably never feel it.
She would watch the two of them interact with a tight feeling in her chest, jealous of how close they were. Whenever Link got injured she tried to help, but his first choice would always be Mipha.
Zelda wandered up the path on her right, deep in thought. It was a gentle winding slope with water running down it, reaching just above her ankles.
She thought of how confused she had always felt around the Zora Princess. On one hand she really liked her, with her warm personality and soft voice, but on the other hand she hated her connection with Link.
He was her appointed knight, her companion everywhere they went, and yet his relationship with Mipha was often better than theirs.
     With her mind elsewhere, her feet led her over the path, until she stumbled upon a Zora, standing on a circular platform and watching out over the world below.
     She had wanted to meet other Zora here, which was why she had gone for this walk, but it still made her a little anxious.
     She was used to feeling like she was an important person whenever she arrived somewhere, everybody dropping their business to attend her needs. But after one hundred years it seemed like people had forgotten about her.
     She no longer turned heads everywhere she came, but instead had to watch Link receive all the attention and admiration, while she disappeared to the background.
     She didn't mind the lack of attention, not at all. She felt like she could finally go her own way, without having to explain her actions to everyone. She did however feel weird when meeting new people.
     Wherever they went, everybody seemed to know Link personally. They all greeted him enthusiastically and thanked him for everything he did.
     She did think he deserved the reward and gratitude, but it just felt weird to her. Nobody seemed to even notice her.
     Arriving here, in the Domain, it had been the first time she was the first to be greeted. Sidon and his father remembered their etiquette and kindly welcomed her, long before addressing Link.
     It was how it should be according to normal interactions with royalty, which reassured her. This was what she knew, what she was comfortable with.
     Every time she got overshadowed by Links presence she felt completely out of her element, unsure of what to do. Was that what he had always felt like?
     She doubted that. He used to be silent and content in his role on the background. He was already struggling enough with his destiny and the burden it brought him, without standing in the spotlight. She knew he never felt like he was missing out and gladly let her take the attention.
     Losing his memory seemed to have changed this though. He seemed comfortable and relaxed while talking to people, knowing almost everyone. He talked to them animatedly and laughed easily, so unlike his past self.
     Zelda liked to watch him interact, secretly proud of his development. He finally seemed free of his burden and could truly be himself, letting out the best part of him.
     She had always liked that part, which she had only discovered long after they met. It took her a long time to get him to open up, but when he did there was so much depth and beauty in his personality.
     Even though she liked to see him be himself, be free and happy and have contact with others, she couldn't help but feel overshadowed by it now. It was like the roles had reversed.
     Being locked up for a century had left her unfamiliar to the world and its ways, to the people and to the surroundings. She now was the quiet one, trying to adjust to this new world, while Link was out there doing most of the talking.
     That was why she wanted to meet people without him. She wanted to see for herself that she was still able to make a connection, to open up to people.
     She wanted to be the first one they saw and talked to, without anyone else catching their attention. Would she even be interesting enough for others? They would probably not recognise her.
As she stepped onto the small plateau she noticed the male Zora standing there, with black scales covering his body. The fins on his arms were light blue with yellow like every other Zora and he held a typical Zora Spear.
As she approached he looked up at the sound of her splashing footsteps. A smile appeared on his face as he lifted his spear in greeting, nodding his head once. 'Princess Zelda! It is great to see you.'
     Zelda smiled back and raised her own hand in greeting. 'Hello,' she cocked her head, trying to estimate if she knew him.
     His smile didn't waver as he realised she didn't recognise him. 'I'm Bazz. We have met before, over one hundred years ago, so I don't blame you for not remembering me. You, on the other hand, have not changed at all.'
     The Zora raised his hand for her to shake and looked at her with exaggerated ceremony, half bowing. His big grin made the effect a little less, but it still amused Zelda.
     She shook his hand solemnly and introduced herself, despite the fact that he already knew her.
     'If you don't mind me asking,' she started, 'how exactly have we met before? Maybe I can recall some details if you help me a bit.'
     The Zora nodded and returned to look out over the Domain. 'I am a good friend of Prince Sidon. When we were young we always played together with our little group.'
     He glanced over his shoulder at her. 'We were still very young back when you visited, so I don't think you had a lot of attention for these little noisy boys.'
     He laughed to make sure he didn't mean it in a bad way and that he didn't blame her, before continuing. 'You occasionally talked to Sidon a little, but we were often around and I reckon we were just being annoying.'
     Zelda frowned, vaguely remembering those days when she was in the Domain. She never really interacted much with the Zora children, only Sidon from time to time, because he was Mipha's little brother.
     She did however remember he would often run around with about three or four others and cause a lot of commotion. It sometimes bothered her how loud the children were, but most of the time she could laugh about it.
     'You were always so kind to us,' Bazz continued. 'It was no miracle that most boys secretly had a little crush on you.' He winked at her.
     Zelda laughed and went to stand beside him, crossing her arms as she watched over the world below.
     'I remember a day where Rivan said he would ask you out, full of confidence. We all just laughed at him, because he would never have the guts to do that.'
     Zelda tried to remember those days and now could picture Sidon with his little band of Zora. One of them had dark scales and a mischievous look in his eyes. That had faded a little over time, but Bazz didn't seem to have changed much.
     She now also remembered the day when another little Zora boy came to her with all dignity he could gather and had asked her to have a playdate with him.
     She smiled fondly at the memory of the great courage it must have cost him to ask her, and the way he had been nervous and shyly looking up at her.
      'He did do that, you know,' she said to Bazz, who raised his eyebrows high in disbelief.
      'No way!' He exclaimed. 'He kept insisting he had done it, but no one ever believed him. He was always so shy and quiet, we didn't think he would dare.'
     Zelda laughed and shook her head. 'No, he did. I felt so bad for refusing him, he was just so sweet.'
     'Well, I think we all owe the man an apology,' Bazz chuckled.
     'I wonder if he resented me for that,' Zelda added, a frown on her face.
     The Zora next to her quickly shook his head. 'No way. He was always so enthusiastic about you, full of admiration and he would not hear a single bad word about you. I wouldn't be surprised if he secretly still has a crush on you, despite the fact that he has a daughter now.'
     Zelda laughed again, curious to meet this little boy that had now grown into a man with his own family.
     'When you disappeared from this kingdom, he was truly devastated, the poor guy,' Bazz said, looking at her sideways to gauge her reaction.
     She raised her eyebrows, but her mind was wandering off, back to the day she had left for the castle and to everything she had left behind.
      Zelda shook the thoughts from her head and grinned at the Zora. 'I would love to meet him. Do you know where I could find him?'
     Nodding, Bazz raised a hand to point towards the Great Bridge. 'He is mostly standing guard at the entrance there, alongside his daughter. I think you would have the best chance if you start there.'
     Zelda nodded, but remained standing there. It was nice to talk to someone, to bring up old memories. It felt so natural with him, like she hadn't changed at all. It was refreshing.
For a while she remained there, simply talking to the Zora. They first brought back some of their shared memories, but there weren't that many. They then continued about the Zora and their way of living.
Zelda found that not much had changed since she was last here. That wasn't that strange, considering these people lived so long. The same Zora she had known still lived, setting an example for the younger ones.
Eventually they moved on to the Royal Family of the Zora and how Mipha's death had affected them.
Zelda felt the usual sadness press down on her, combined with an enormous guilt and pity. She had caused these people so much grieve. All because she had not been able to unleash her Sealing Power.
She learned how Sidon and his father had mourned, retreating from society for a while. Sidon had been the first to make his appearance again, but according to Bazz he had changed.
He was no longer the little boy that ran around the Domain. He was now a grown man, prince and heir to the throne. In one swift stroke, he had received an immense amount of responsibility.
Bazz told her that the little prince had turned away from his friends, that he sought out solitude whenever he could. A light seemed to have gone out in his eyes, replaced by a fierceness to protect his people.
Zelda felt a pang of hurt shoot through her chest. That little boy she had known did not deserve that. He should have gotten the happy and carefree youth that fitted his character.
'But he seemed so cheerful when we arrived. Was that all fake then?' She asked him.
Bazz shook his head. 'No, he slowly learned to cope with the loss. At first he pushed us away and we didn't know how to act, since we were all just children. but eventually we decided we had had enough of his behaviour and that he needed us.'
'He needed friends to surround him, to give him happiness again. He should know that he was never alone and even though his life had changed so much, we would never leave him.'
'So we started forcing ourselves onto him. We would drag him with us and invade his rooms when he fled. We would follow him wherever he went.'
Bazz laughed at the memories. 'He hated it so much. He kept yelling at us to leave him alone, he would even run away from us and hide somewhere he thought we wouldn't find him, but we always did.'
'Eventually he seemed to relax a little more and accepted that he wouldn't get rid of us. He started to join us from his own accord and even seemed to like it.' Bazz smiled fondly at the memories.
     'He slowly became a happy young kid again, playing and laughing, as he temporarily forgot about his sorrows. He always remembered them eventually, but it was good to see the old Sidon again.'
     Bazz smiled a little and glanced over at Zelda. 'He learned to appreciate the world again. It was like he finally realised he still had his own life to live.'
     'He has never truly been the same, but he was more mature, more responsible and he learned how to be an heir. I think he needed that to truly grow. If you see him now he is a great person, happy and easygoing. Right?' Bazz raised an eyebrow at her, gauging her reaction.
     Zelda nodded. What she had seen of him until now was a kind, enthusiastic and extroverted young man. She imagined it was hard for anyone not to like him.
     She told Bazz and saw a big smile appear on his face. It was obvious the two had a strong bond. She imagined it must have been a big hit for him too, when he saw Sidon change so much.
     'You are still good friends I suppose?' She said, while smiling fondly.
     Bazz nodded. 'When he finally let us back in we were all inseparable. He taught us so much, basically learning us how to be mature.
     'We were always together, him, me, Rivan and Gaddison. That has faded a little over time, but we remain close. We all became part of the Zora Guard because of our training with Link.'
     Zelda quirked her eyebrow at that. She knew he had often played with Zora children when visiting the Domain, but apparently he had even left an impression.
     The mention of Link reminded her of her duties again. She looked up at the sky and realised it was getting quite late. She should prepare for dinner with the Royal Family.
     'It has been really great catching up with you, Bazz,' she said. 'But I have to get ready for dinner. Maybe we will meet again soon.'
     Bazz nodded and smiled. 'It was great talking to you, Princess. You can come find me anytime.' He turned and placed a hand on her shoulder, while winking. 'Enjoy your dinner.'
     Zelda chuckled and nodded, thanking him before she started her way down again over the watery slopes. Hopefully this was going to be as pleasant as their initial welcome.