Chapter 1
Prince Sidon's head vibrated against a cold, unforgiving metal floor. He groaned and blinked several times as sunlight pierced his slitted eyes. Awareness seeped through the fog that clouded his thoughts. The world around, separated from him by barred cage walls, passed by slowly. He recognized the coniferous trees, fern plants, and other foliage as those found in the Zora's Domain. Yet, he couldn't quite place where exactly in the Domain he was. Without a body of water or the path of luminous stone markers, it was impossible for him to tell. Nor could he fathom why his hands were shackled together in his lap or why the top of his long, red shark-tailed crest zinged with throbbing pain as he shifted to sit up.
He was in a prison cart pulled by a white-mained, black horse. An armored man walked along next to Sidon. Except for his height and rounded ears, he looked Hylian. Sidon was no expert, of course. Like with Zoras, there could be variations amongst the frail looking (but incredibly strong) allies. But why would they imprison the Prince of Zoras? Did they not know who he was? Even if they thought him a regular Zora, there was no need to cage him like some sort of animal.
"Excuse me," Prince Sidon called to the man. "Can you tell me what is going on? Or why I am like this?" He held up his hands and shook them so the chains of the shackles rattled.
No response. The man made no indication that he had heard the prince speak.
Sidon was tempted to ask again, but a roar rang through the air. Trailing behind them was a whole line of prison carts. At least four others. The source of roar came from a massive bear with wiry, bluish black fur. It flung its body at the cage's wall, panting heavily, drool dripping from its snarling mouth. There were other creatures as well: keeses, large and small blue chuchus, and a rock octorock.
Sidon's mouth dropped. Why was someone collecting such creature?
"I need answers," Sidon demanded from the man. "Please, I need to know why I am here."
Once again the man ignored him.
The cart jolted, and Sidon felt it come to a stop. Someone grumbled from ahead, followed by boots clopping against the dirt road, and a stout man appeared. He wore black slacks, a white button-up shirt, and a brown silk vest. A massive hooked nose centered between two beady, dark eyes. His lips curled into a sly smile, revealing his crooked, yellow teeth.
"About time you woke up," he drawled, nasally accent strong. "Thought for a moment we killed you."
Sidon gasped. He recognized this man!
Earlier that day, the prince had been patrolling the western Lanayru Wetlands alone. His father had always advised bringing along a knight or a couple of guards, but Sidon was quite confident with his fighting skills, especially with a spear, and was a much faster and stronger swimmer than any other Zora he knew. A blessing his size brought him. If he came across enemies to strong for him to take on, he could easily retreat to the city via river. He never had issues with travelling alone.
That is until a gentleman in a silk vest asked Sidon for directions.
The prince was more than glad to offer the man assistance to a nearby inn. He had suggested that the man visit his city, as well, for the inn there had waterbeds. And just as he explained how to get through Zora's Domain, something hard had struck the back of his head. Sidon didn't remember anything after that.
"You look confused," the man smirked.
Sidon shook the shock from his system. He threw the man a glare. "What do you want from me?" he demanded.
"You monsters are my ticket to a hefty fortune," the man said. "The name's Jebb, by the way. You and I will get to know each other very well over the next few weeks."
"Where are we going?"
"To an auction house in the kingdom north of Hyrule."
"We are to be sold?" Sidon felt the blood drain from his face.
"Like I said, for a steep price. Don't worry. You won't be a slave. Rather, these people are collectors. You'll just be a toy displayed on a shelf."
"I am not a monster. Haven't you seen a Zora before?" Sidon asked.
"Can't say that I have," the man, Jebb, rubbed his chin, pretending to be deep in thought. "Doesn't matter, though. You're a glorified shark on legs. I think that classifies you as a monster."
"You are mistaken. Zoras are intelligent beings. We are a civilization just like the Hylians, Gerudos, Gorons, and Ritos."
Jebb shrugged. "Alright, let's say you're not a monster. I'm still going to auction you off. And if we come across any other lone Hyrule 'intelligent being,' we'll be sure to capture and sell them as well. Where we are from, you're all monsters," he said.
"That's disgusting!" Sidon spat.
Jebb rolled his eyes. His yellow smile never left his face. "You just behave well, and there'll be no issues," he said.
"There will be issues for you-and major consequences. Once my men find me, you will not be forgiven for your crimes."
"Your men, huh?" the man snorted.
"I am the Prince of the Zora's Domain. When they discover I am missing, my father-King Dorephan-will send search parties out for me. He will not be pleased when he finds out you imprisoned his son and planned to auction him off."
Jebb was quiet for a moment, before he nodded his head. "You're right, we won't auction you off," he said.
Sidon felt his shoulders relax a bit.
"We'll do something better." He rubbed his hands together with glee, like a child gazing upon a plethora of honey candy. "Your daddy's probably loaded with more money than anyone at the auction can offer. We'll hold you for ransom!"
"I-I-" He was a prince! He was supposed to negotiate himself out of these situations. Yet, Sidon found himself speechless.
Jebb and his men were lower than scum. A ransom was an act of war. No doubt his father would react violently to the people who kidnapped his only living child. Sidon feared for not only Jebb's fate but also the level of lock down that the prince will face once he returns home. He would be lucky if his father let him leave the city again!
"We'll stay clear of lakes and rivers. That's where your kind lurks, right?" Jebb turned and sauntered ahead. After a moment, the carts were moving once more.
Sidon cursed and threw his body against the bars. He knew it was pointless. If a bear couldn't break out of its confides, how could the prince? But he couldn't just call it quits and not give a fighting chance. He continued to ram the bars and yank at his shackles until his shoulders were bruised and wrists blistered and bloody. By then, the sun had fallen behind distant mountains, and the caravan was amidst twilight.
Someone must have realized the prince was missing by now. Sidon sighed and slumped to his side. He prayed that the other Zora would find him soon. And that they were safe about it. They would search for their prince throughout the night, when the lands were laced with enemies and danger, and the risk of injuries and, to Sidon's dismay, fatalities was far greater. The last thing the prince wanted was for his loyal people to meet their demise as a result of Jebb's greed. In fact, the thought angered him.
He would rest for the night. But as soon as the sun ascended the sky, he would double his efforts to escape.
Sidon felt a wave of exhaustion sweep his frame. He closed his eyes, and sleep overtook his body.
###
Two days. Two bloody days passed, and Sidon had just about given up hope. His stomach gurgled constantly, and his leg muscles were stiff from lack of use. The worst of his discomfort came from his skin. Without a constant source of water, his scales had become dry and flaky. His normal bright red appearance was muted. Sidon was actually surprised at how fast his body succumbed to dehydration. It only proved how vulnerable he was out of water.
As much as he hated to, Sidon mentioned to his captors the importance of water for Zora's health. That he would not make the trip if he didn't have some kind of exposure. Jebb and the others took it to heart, but only just barely. They either passed Sidon waterskin, instructing that he pour it over himself, or splash him through the bars of his prison cart with a bucket. Their treatment of the prince was downright degrading and hardly compensation for a creature that lived in the water.
Out of the Zora's Domain, the air was much drier. There were less feathery pine trees and more oak and birch. The grass was much taller, with patches of wildflowers here and there, and crickets chirped noisily all around.
On the third night of his capture, Sidon gave up his attempt to break free and slouched in the corner of his cart. He ignored the tough bread and salted fish tossed onto the floor between his feet. He knew he should eat and conserve strength for a possible (unlikely) escape, but a bout of homesickness caused heart to clench and stomach to churn. It was silly. He spent weeks away from his city at times and never experienced homesickness of this magnitude. Maybe he felt so strongly because he didn't know when he would return to his home-see his father, Muzu, or his sister's statue again.
He shifted and gazed at his captors who sat around a roaring campfire. There were ten men, including Jebb, each with their armor and weaponry laid out in the tall grass beside them. They listened with rapt attention as Jebb babbled some outrageous story of him taking on a horde of bokoblins in his youth. Sidon snorted. He doubted the man even knew how to properly hold a sword.
Shouts erupted from a nearby cluster of trees. The five men who Jebb sent out to scout earlier were yelling for help as they dragged something large and struggling in a net. Whatever they caught thrashed against the bodies that held him down. They had opened the netting just enough to reveal the head of a Lizalfos. It opened its mouth to use its whip-like tongue, but someone quickly muzzled it with a leather belt.
"Hurry and put it with the Zora!" Jebb commanded and kicked the monster's side.
"Should we bind its arms?" one man asked.
Jebb nodded. "And make sure it is bound to the corner opposite of the zora. Don't want it hurting my prize trophy," he said.
They heaved the Lizalfos over to Sidon's cart. One man fiddled with a set of keys and jabbed one into the cage's lock.
Sidon straightened. An idea sprung into his head. As soon as the door opened, he could force his way out, easily over power his captors during their time of confusion, and make for an escape. He would have to outrun the men, which he doubted he could do despite being double their height, but perhaps the Lizalfos would cause just enough distraction to-
The cackling sound of a electricity brought Sidon out of his thoughts. An arrow, spitting out tiny bolts of lightening, pointed at his chest. Jebb smirked behind a bow.
"Don't you even think about it," the man hissed.
Eyes never leaving the shock arrow, Sidon returned to his earlier position. He hadn't realized it, but at some point during his musings, he had crouched on all fours and tensed as if ready to pounce. Damn! He was oblivious to his own actions.
The men were quick to haul the Lizalfos inside. They looped shackles through a bar on the opposite end of Sidon and clipped the monster's wristed to them before completely removing the netting. The Lizalfos lashed a foot out, but the men dodged it easily. The door to the prison was once again closed and locked. Jebb retracted the shock arrow and grinned wildly at the Lizalfos.
"Good one, boys!" he congratulated the men around him. "Luck is on our side tonight." Then he patted the bars. "Play nicely, now." He said to Sidon.
They returned to their fire.
Sidon was left to watch the Lizalfos fight desperately to break free. Now more than ever, the prince needed to find a way out.
A/N: Thank you so much for reading my fanfiction! This will be a part of a much larger piece. I don't know how often I will be posting for PSAPA because of school. Hopefully, I will post a chapter every other week (maybe even sooner). I apologize for any misspelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes.