The proceedings went smoother than I expected. King Dorephan responded to my situation with patient understanding. He was not angry. He didn't ask about the armor, which hadn't even been finished. The elders had nothing to say either; I couldn't bring myself to meet their eyes. The heat almost radiated from them, yet they didn't speak a word. The King had probably made sure of that.

Sidon, though, was impossible to look at. His face remained blank, and he barely spoke a word to even his father. His eyes never met mine, often staring into a far off distance, somewhere no one else could ever see. His father didn't seem to notice, or perhaps he knew and ignored it. The latter spared his son the inevitable embarrassment.

Out on the ledge, the throne room behind me, the rain pattered on my back. Against the ground, drops filled puddles. I couldn't see across the lake below. My path down would have been even more treacherous than when I came in. The King had promised a scout to escort me out via the river, but seeing as that was probably meant to be Sidon's job, I doubted he would show. He was too wrecked. Now, I awaited whoever the King appointed to be my guide instead.

"Hello, Amon."

I turned around, barely hearing my name through the rain. I saw recognized her, and my heart sank.

"Hello, Ophele."

She smiled sadly at me. "I didn't expect this to happen so soon."

"I know. I'm sorry."

She gestured to the water below. "After you."

Gripping the railing, I hoisted myself over the edge. The plummet raised my stomach into my throat, my heart racing, until I crashed into the water below. Once I swam out a ways, Ophele followed behind me and resurfaced.

"Ready?"

I nodded, grabbing onto her back. Quickly, she darted across the water and scaled the falls. I clung on tightly, water flying into my face. I couldn't see for most of the way. Every once in a while, I could barely make out the turns of the river as it snaked through the rocks and hills, and soon, the skies became brighter, the rain slowing to a stop. The mouth of the river opened up toward Lanayru, and Ophele guided me silently beneath the boko bridges, toward the shore.

"Your horse is being boarded at the Lanayru stable right now. That's in the wetlands to the south."

"Yes, I remember that place," I said, standing in the shallow water. "I passed it on the way here."

"Good."

I stood on shore. Just as I was about to speak, I saw something in the water, fast-approaching.

A lizalfo. I stammered.

"Ophele!"

She nearly jumped out of the water. I stumbled backward, out of its trajectory. I fell hard on my ass. In a moment, the rush stopped.

"My Prince," Ophele breathed in relief. I struggled to stand up.

Sidon didn't even seem to notice her. He rose slowly from the water and passed her by, his eyes burning through me. I looked away. My heart rate calmed, but not enough.

For a while, no one said anything. Ophele excused herself, saying her goodbyes to me. Once she had disappeared, I looked back at him.

It was different to see him without the rain, without the luminous blue glow of Zora's Domain. Out here, in the late morning sun, Sidon was a bright vermillion and white. He was tall. He looked like he didn't belong out here.

His eyes were stern but fearful.

"Amon."

Here we went again.

What was I supposed to do? Say? My eyes found the river behind him, the trees and mountains across the stream. His voice was so sad.

"I don't understand."

"I'm not trying to hurt you."

"Oh, well that's a relief."

"Sidon. You have to understand what kind of position I'm in."

He didn't answer.

"My warrior contract isn't just some hobby I can shrug off if I fail. If I mess up, I'm screwed."

"You can't possibly think that we wouldn't have given you a place to stay, regardless of all this."

"If I want to survive, if I even want to have a purpose in this life, I need to keep moving."

"You could work for us."

"Sidon."

"I love you, Amon. Please don't do this."

"I'm only doing my job."

He looked too distraught. I wondered if he had even heard anything the King said to me. He was that hurt.

I took a deep breath. Part of me wanted to comfort him. But I didn't want to give him false hope. The other part of me wanted to give it to him straight, but that wasn't working either.

"Let's keep in contact."

His eyes raised to meet me. A bit inside me sank. It already felt like I was locking myself in. This didn't mean I would come back and marry him.

"Just to keep you in the loop with everything," I said.

His expression switched to confusion. "Everything like what?"

"I don't know. My life. My travels. I'll miss having a friend, you know."

He seemed almost shocked. I stared at him.

"Did you think I was heartless or something?" I laughed.

He was hesitant. "No, of course not."

My smile faded. I hit that wall then. That was the thing I didn't know how to explain. I didn't hit that wall often, but I knew what it was. I just didn't know how to describe it to anyone else. It was lonely.

So, I didn't try to explain.

"I'll be taking other gigs elsewhere, smaller ones I can handle better. I'll train and see if I can't get a little better at my job."

He nodded, looking only a little less numb. What was I supposed to do? The only thing I could think of doing was flirting with him. This wasn't anything personal, and now I was realizing just how bad he felt. Flirting through a letter would have been nice. But part of me knew that if I waited that long, it might be too late. He was shutting down.

"Sidon."

What was I to say? 'I love you' was a lot. I barely knew him. I said it the night before, but I say a lot to people who make me feel like that. I sighed. If he made me feel like that, then maybe it was deserved.

"I really loved everything we did."

That didn't come out the way I wanted. His empty expression didn't change.

"I really want to do that again."

He only looked at me. "What, right here?" His voice was soft, incredulous.

"None of this is coming out right, and I'm sorry. I'm not good at this sort of thing. I've never done this."

He looked away, a look of begrudging sympathy on his face. The rest of him was too hurt to try.

I sighed. I was out of things to say.

"I know this is hard. I'm sorry."

He looked me straight in the eye. All sympathy had left him.

"You didn't even say goodbye to me."

My breath caught.

"You didn't seem like you wanted to hear it."

"You're right. I didn't."

My chest sank further and further. This wasn't what I wanted. It was too late to say I loved him, even if it was true. It would sound like a desperate lie.

"I don't think you understand how I operate. I think we want the same thing, we feel the same thing, just a different way."

His eyes were brimming. His voice cracked.

"Do you love me?"

I inhaled.

"As much as I can right now."