A/N: First post in a while! I just felt like writing this week. Hope you enjoy!
Cryonis
Prince Sidon could not believe how well their escapade was going. Link's power to shatter ice with nothing but the Sheikah slate had proved not only useful but undoubtedly necessary in the fight for control of Vah Ruta, the Divine Beast of the Zora. The quiet hero seemed to dispatch the ice blocks with little to no effort, all while keeping himself steady by clinging his legs to the prince's sides.
Sidon laughed gleefully from the thrill of swimming at top speed, dodging the ice blocks that continued to be thrown their way. He wished he could see Link's face-maybe the Hero was smiling too? He hoped Link was having at least half as much fun as he was.
"Only one more-you can do it, Link!" Sidon said in his usual encouraging tone. He heard his companion hum in response. He sounded cheerful enough, Sidon thought. They approached the waterfall at the northwest corner of the beast, a direct pathway to the last glowing orb.
"Get ready…" he called over his shoulder. "All right...now! Swim upward!" He braced himself as the Hero crouched and then launched off of his back into the waterfall, displaying impeccable technique for someone so new to the powers of the Zora armor. Sidon quickly swam back from the divine beast, eager to get a better view of Link's ascent. The hero made his way up the waterfall in record time and was nocking a final shock arrow while still in midair. Sidon gave a shout of elation, and he was sure he could see Link smirking with the pleasure of this adventure. Then Sidon saw the ice blocks.
The three deadly projectiles had come seemingly out of nowhere, traveling far faster than any of their previous incarnations had. Time seemed to slow down as Link drew back the bowstring, unaware of the danger rapidly approaching. Sidon screamed an incoherent warning, but it was far too late to make any difference. One of the ice blocks slammed into Link's chest while another glanced off of his forehead. The arrow missed its target, smashing harmlessly into the side of Vah Ruta with one last fizzle of lightning energy.
Sidon stared in horror as Link began to fall straight down, either unconscious or too dazed to pull out his glider.
"Hold on, Link!" Sidon called, swimming faster than he ever had in his life.
SLAM!
Sidon ran face first into a wall of ice that had appeared between him and Vah Ruta. He shook off the pain and shock from the collision and swam for an opening around the rapidly extending wall. Too slow; the ice was appearing far faster than he could swim. He looked up just in time to see Link's body smash into the water a mere twenty feet in front of him.
"Link! NO!" the Zora prince screamed uselessly. He started punching the ice, then slicing at it with his fins. "Come on...COME ON!" he cried. He quickly gave up his fruitless assault on the wall and began swimming straight down, searching for an opening. His panic and speed increased when he saw Link sinking into the depths of the reservoir. Sidon spotted his chance at the bottom of the reservoir: a patch of loose sand beneath the ice wall. He swam toward it at top speed and executed a spin attack, digging a hole under the wall and through the sand to the other side. He grabbed a hold of Link and pressed his body safely against his chest, covering Link's head with his hands. He performed the sand-spin maneuver once more to escape the confines of Vah Ruta's ice wall, then began to swim at top speed away from the Divine Beast.
Sidon did not breach the surface of the water until they were well out of range of Vah Ruta's power for fear of facing another impenetrable ice wall. He regretted this decision when he discovered that the hero wasn't breathing.
They reached the west edge of the reservoir moments later, and Sidon laid Link's sopping wet body on the elegantly carved stone bank, careful to avoid damaging his head any further.
"Come on, Link, you need to breathe," he said, leaning over and gently tapping his companion's bloodied face. How did Hylians breathe again?
"No gills," Sidon reasoned aloud, his mind addled with panic for his friend. "Lungs. Right, Hylians have lungs. Accessed through the...nose. Or mouth? No time...Sister, help me!"
It was Mipha who had taught Sidon how to resuscitate gill-less Hylians a century ago, but, as Sidon had never had to use the technique before on a live victim, his memory of it had mostly faded. It was such a rare occasion for a Hylian to visit Zora's Domain in the first place, and in the event of such a visit the guards always kept a constant watch on the visitor, though that was more out of mistrust than any sense of protectiveness. Tears of frustration filled the corners of the prince's eyes, blurring his vision and frustrating him all the more. He blinked several times, swallowing back the inhibiting moisture as he studied Link's pale face, his eyes landing on the blueish lips that were slightly parted.
"Mouth. Yes, fill him with air through his mouth. I think…" Sidon growled at his own indecisiveness. "No time to think!" He pressed Link's jaw open and leaned down to cover the Hylian's mouth with his own.
Pinch his nose.
"Mipha?!" Was it only his memory of her voice, or had his dead sister really just spoken to him? There was no time to question it at the moment. Sidon closed Link's nose and blew a strong puff of air into his mouth. Link's chest rose, but he otherwise remained lifeless. Sidon blew another forceful breath into the Hylian's lungs, then checked his neck for a pulse. No pulse-Or had he taken it wrong? "Think fast, damn it! He's dying!"
Compress his chest. Hard.
His sister's voice again. "Yes, Mipha," Sidon responded, far beyond questioning the how and why of her sudden communication with him. He positioned his palms over Link's chest and carefully pressed down.
Harder.
He pressed again, feeling a slight give from the soft flesh and bones beneath the Zora armor-the armor that Mipha had made especially for its current wearer.
Harder, Sidon!
"But his wounds-" Sidon protested, his enormous hands trembling in their position over Link's already-bruised chest. The Hylian's body seemed so small and fragile from this angle.
You must, little brother. He will die if you do not. You must not let him die!
There was real fear and pain in that voice. Mipha was truly speaking to him, here and now. Sidon swallowed and pushed down forcefully, watching the Hero's chest visibly compress.
Yes! Just like that! Again. Create a steady rhythm. You remember how.
Sidon did remember. It was all coming back now, the sack of Hylian rice Mipha had had him practice on for lack of a better substitute,-"Two, three, four"-the smile she had tried to suppress when he accidently tore the bag open with his fins,-"Ten, eleven, twelve"-her giggle when its innards suddenly gushed out with the next forceful compression-CRACK!
Sidon gasped and pulled his hands back in tense fists with all the horror and posture of a child who had just broken a priceless family heirloom..
"His ribs...Mipha, I'm breaking his ribs! What do I-"
But the Hero was suddenly coughing. Not just coughing, vomiting. Relief rushed over Sidon like a splash of cold water, almost painful in its intensity.
Help him on his side.
The Zora's gentle hands guided Link's body to an easier position as the Hero continued to retch. Sidon winced; the water that spewed from Link's mouth and nose had a sinister, reddish hue. After several tense seconds of heaving, Link began gasping and coughing, the bloody water still spilling from his pale lips. It was another full minute before the deluge stopped and Link's breaths began to steady out into a more natural rhythm. Sidon kept what he hoped was a comforting hand on Link's back throughout the entire ordeal. As his breathing finally evened out, Link looked up to meet Sidon's eyes, his mouth slightly open, as if he had something say but it had gotten caught in his raw throat. Sidon's first instinct was to fawn over Link; to hold his hand and assure him that he was safe now and that everything was going to be all right. Instead, he forced himself to be patient for fear of overwhelming the injured hero. Link's words finally came.
"I need to try again," he rasped, struggling to sit up. "Wh-where are my bow and quiver?"
It was a hilarious joke, Sidon thought. Perfect deadpan delivery. He would have laughed out loud immediately had he not had the sneaking suspicion that Link might be serious. He searched the Hero's face for the sign of a smirk at the corners of his lips or in his eyes. Nothing. Nothing but determination, clouded slightly by exhaustion. This was no ordinary Hylian, or royal knight, for that matter. Sidon could see why his sister had loved this stubborn fool so much.
"Let's try again after you have taken some time to rest and recover from your wounds," Sidon said, smiling sadly at the fire in Link's tired eyes.
"N-No time...Mipha's there. She spoke to me and it all came back. I...I remember her. I can't leave her. Sidon, I can't leave her!" Link grabbed at Sidon's arms, feverishly pleading. Sidon returned the grasp, at once glad at the familiar contact and yet in agony at the thought of his sister's spirit trapped alone within the Divine Beast.
"Link," Sidon said, gathering his emotions. "I love and miss her too. But you are badly hurt. You nearly drowned, and your head is still bleeding." He pulled a hand out of Link's grip and gently pushed a lock of blood-soaked hair away from Link's brow to reveal a jagged, two-inch gash. Link winced at the touch, then, as if the last of his fire had finally been drained from him, his head lolled to the side and his eyes fell shut. The Zora prince gathered the Hero's slight body into his arms and stood up.
"Hold on, my friend," Sidon whispered. "I believe in you."
A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Please let me know what you thought!
-Samuel