Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Nintendo. I own nothing except a copy of the game and a silly imagination.
The situation with Vah Ruta and Muzu had been resolved with minimal collateral damage. Link hadn't even had to shoot anyone thanks to Mipha's impressive efforts to calm down both belligerents. He very pointedly did not let his disappointment at this show, for that way lay sleeping on the water-couch for at least a week.
Nontheless, as much as he enjoyed spending time there, he and Zelda could not stay in Zora's Domain forever. They had work to do, and if Hyrule was to be rebuilt after the Calamity, they had to keep tabs on all of it, not just one small part, no matter how pleasant. Zelda had her heart set on visiting Kakariko Village, mainly to reconnect with one of the only other living people who remembered her from the time before Ganon, Impa.
What Link didn't quite get was how she managed to swindle King Dorephan into having Sidon and Mipha accompany them. It was an impressive move by the princess that he didn't see coming. Granted, he was going to ask Mipha to accompany them anyway, and she was an old hand at travelling Hyrule at this point given all of their adventures as Champions, but Sidon was the heir to the throne (Mipha had 'graciously' relinquished her claim, seemingly as an act of charity but he understood the real reason was that keeping it would have given people more reasons to question her 'alive' story.)
Some might think that it was rather foolish of them to travel without a guard detail, but then again, the main threat in Ganon had been defeated and with him gone there really wasn't any creature left alive that Link was sure he could not beat. The others were no slouches in combat, either – well, Mipha was an extraordinary spearwoman, and he himself could vouch for Sidon's competence. (Though come to think of it, Link really had to ask him about that time he beat an Octorok the size of an island.)
Well, all of them except for Zelda at least, who, until his battle with the Calamity where she created a magical super-bow that he absolutely was not sore about not being able to keep, was still, despite all logic and reason, almost completely useless in any kind of combat situation. He would never forget the time, pre-Calamity, when she accepted an invitation by some children in Hateno village to play 'Knights and Bokoblins' with them only for it to somehow end with Link, Revali and Urbosa having to rescue her from a cave full of actual Bokoblins. He still hadn't figured out how to ask her how that chain of events had come to pass without getting shouted at, now he thought of it. Maybe he could have gotten Mipha to do it by playing the sympathy card, if that didn't involve getting Mipha to actually admit that she had died.
Regardless, they had little trouble on the road, and so it was that the party of four found themselves entering Kakariko to rampant applause from all the residents. Even Impa herself was stood waiting for them at the entrance with a smile on her face, which legitimately surprised Link as prior to that point he had been sure she actually couldn't move from that cushion she sat on in her home.
"Link, Hero of Hyrule and vanquisher of the calamity," Impa greeted them respectfully after they followed her back to her home, "Zelda, Princess of Hyrule and sealer of Ganon. We are honoured to be in your presence." She turned to the other members of their party. "Prince Sidon of the Zora. It is an unexpected pleasure."
"The pleasure is all mine, dear lady!" Sidon responded enthusiastically, "My father counts your people among our staunchest allies and I hope that will continue for decades to come!"
"I as well, even if these old bones do not live to see it," Impa agreed, then blinked as she took in the appearance of their fourth member. "Wait, is that Princess Mipha? But... you died."
"And I'm sure you can show me the body which would prove that assertion," Mipha replied pleasantly.
Impa shot Link and Zelda a confused look. "Just go with it," Zelda said resignedly.
Link had, when they first planned to set out from Zora's domain, initially been somewhat concerned about returning to Kakariko. Mainly because of Paya.
He knew the girl had something of a crush on him, and she was so damn nice and timid that he couldn't think of a way to let her down gently without feeling like a terrible person afterward, but if he didn't, and his wife was around, well… yeah. Awkward would not begin to cover it.
"So, what will you do?" Mipha asked him.
Fortunately, he had no concerns about it now.
"The situation will resolve itself," Link stated with such unshakeable confidence that Mipha accepted it without another word.
And sure enough, later that day, Paya met Sidon.
"Greetings!" Sidon said pleasantly, "I do not believe I have been introduced to your charming companion, Link!"
Paya, used to looking down when talking to Link, found herself staring directly at the extremely well-built chest of the Zora prince. Realising after a moment that Link was not going to introduce her in favour of letting her introduce herself (one of those 'getting out of your shell' things Impa made people do), she, with some effort, managed to drag her eyes upward to the curious gaze of the visiting royal.
"Uh, H-hello," she stammered out, nerves emerging in full force, "My name is P...p...pa...pa...Paya!"
"That seems rather difficult to pronounce, but I shall endeavour to do my best regardless," Sidon responded grandly, "Greetings, P...p...pa...pa...Paya!"
She resisted the urge to curl up into a ball. He had to be mocking her.
"It's just Paya," Link interjected, "She gets shy."
"Ah!" Sidon nodded, "People keep using that word around me, but I am yet to discover its meaning! Non-the-less, my apologies for the lingual mis-step!"
The apology was so earnest that she was forced to revise her earlier opinion. Apparently, he wasn't mocking her, and there actually was a person in the world who was like this.
"As recompense, please, allow me to accompany you and assist you on your errands!"
She blinked at the unexpected offer. "O-oh, no, I couldn't possibly-"
"But I insist! I can not let such a slight to a friend of Link's go unaccounted for, and on top of that, assisting you shall allow me to learn much about your wonderful culture!"
"Oh," she looked at Link for help. The problem was, Link was gone. In his place was a hastily-drawn sign saying 'Have fun'. It was actually rather impressive that he had managed to assemble it in the length of time it took for them to finish their conversation. "O-okay, then."
As the two walked away, Sidon chatting happily while Paya nodded hesitantly in places, Mipha gave Link a frown from their impromptu observation post behind a bush. "She seems like a nice girl. It doesn't feel fair for her to join the chasing pack around my brother where the chances are so slim."
"She's better off with a slim chance competing with a hundred girls for Sidon than with no chance competing with you for me," Link replied absently.
Mipha stared at him for a moment, mouth open. He raised a confused eyebrow. "What?"
"Are you sure you've never done the 'romance' thing before, dear? Because you're extraordinarily good at it."
Link blinked, but nodded. "Very sure. I went to lessons, once, if it helps, but all I really took away from that was that broken bones and surprise attacks are generally frowned upon as part of the courting process."
Mipha struggled to parse that statement. "What?"
"In Gerudo Town, romance is serious business," he nodded sagely.
"Ah," she shrugged, as though that explained everything, before her brow furrowed. "Wait, how have you been inside Gerudo town?"
Link paled. "Uh..."
Mistakes had been made.
"Look at her," Zelda hissed.
Link raised an eyebrow.
Paya was cleaning one of the shrines that sat on the ledge opposite Impa's home. Sidon was cleaning two others at once, whilst telling some story or another that the Sheikah girl was happily giggling away at. Link repressed the urge to celebrate triumphantly at the success of his plan.
Instead, he turned back to Zelda, who was simmering with unrepressed rage. "Look at them! First it's 'oh, Sidon, help me carry this food basket', then it's 'Oh, Sidon, help me clean these shrines,' then it's 'Oh, Sidon, help me clean my bedroom out' and then the next thing you know they'll be-"
"I get it," Link interjected quickly.
"I mean, what does he see in her?" Zelda rocked back and forth. Link resisted the urge to make the obvious and very crude joke that he was fairly sure would see his face meeting the palm of a hand in favour of answering constructively.
"I really don't think he's interacting with her any differently than any other person he has ever met."
"Is it because she's taller than me?" Zelda continued, "Or is it the 'shy wallflower' appeal? I must observe more closely!"
"Ah, I'm not actually a part of this conversation. Okay, then."
"Observation: Impa's granddaughter is getting far more attention from the Prince than is warranted," Zelda ranted quietly to herself as she wrote in her book, "Hypothesis: she is a she-devil seductress who steals away good men from honest, hard-working Princesses," she clenched her fist as she scribbled her last note, "Conclusion: a declaration of war is required!"
With that, she stormed off angrily, leaving a stupefied Link. He probably should have expected this. Zelda was strong-willed as they came. But what could he do? Paya, non-confrontational creature that she was, was clearly ill-equipped to defend herself against the petty rage of a jealous genius, but if he tried to help her, he'd be seen as taking a side, and he was sure that would go down fantastically well.
He was still stood there when Mipha found him half an hour later.
"Link? Is something the matter?" she asked with concern.
He turned to her, face blank.
"I think that, in my haste to solve a problem, I've unleashed something I do not fully understand," he paused, "I believe I now know how King Rhoam felt when the Guardians turned on his kingdom."
With that rather concerning bombshell dropped, he seemed to come to a realisation, adopting a thoughtful, yet somber look.
"If you need me, I'll be playing with the paraglider."
