Link and Zelda approached Zora's Domain and stopped before crossing Great Zora Bridge. Zelda closed her eyes and took a deep breath and when she opened them, Link offered his hand. Zelda took Link's Hand and they crossed the bridge. As the beautiful, blue majesty of Zora's Domain opened up before them, their eyes focused on a tall, red Zora looking at a statue of the late Champion Mipha, who was the manifestation of Zora elegance. Zelda whispered to Link,
"Is that?…Sidon?"
Link nodded. They approached Prince Sidon of Zora's Domain, but he didn't seem to notice, as he was lost in the memories of his sister, Mipha.
"Ahem" Link had to clear his throat to get his attention.
"Link!" Said Sidon very enthusiastically, "What brings you to…Could it be?"
Prince Sidon was now looking intently at Zelda and continued with the same enthusiasm.
"Princess Zelda! In the flesh! What a sight to see! Way to go Link, you sure have done Hyrule proud."
Sidon then proceeded to position his arm in his signature pose.
"There's no time to waste! Let me take you to my father, King Dorephan!"
Link and Sidon started up the stairs when Link noticed that Zelda was still looking at Mipha's statue, so he returned to her. From the top of the staircase, Sidon observed Link wipe a single tear away from Zelda's cheek and ask her something, to which she nodded yes. The two of them rejoined Sidon, not noticing his inquisitive look. Now in King Dorephan's chamber, they were well met with a resounding boom of
"Welcome," from King Dorephan, whose voice seemed to be bigger than his large body. He continued,"What a pleasure it is to see you again, princess. What may I do for you?"
"I—I mean we," Zelda looked back at Link, who nodded, "Have come to pay our respects to your daughter Mipha. Her grace, elegance and resolve to fight against Calamity Ganon will be remembered well. Additionally, we wish to ensure that the Zora's are willing to help out in rebuilding and reunifying Hyrule."
"Of course," King Dorephan replied, "you and I know better than anyone that the Zora tribe has worked in close cooperation with the royal family since before even the legendary Princess Ruto. We would be happy to help."
"That's good to hear, Thank you." Zelda smiled, which both Link and Sidon noticed. Zelda continued, " I have recently come from the Sheikah tribe, who have sworn to assist us in the reconstruction of Hyrule Castle and Hyrule Castle Town, as well as many other ruined establishments spread across Hyrule. When the time comes, I hope the Sheikah and the Zora will work together to rebuild Hyrule."
"You certainly have our word that we will assist you, I assure you. The kingdom of Hyrule was always better in unity and cohesion."
"Thank you so much for your cooperation. I hope to start soon" Zelda bowed to Dorephan, but remained.
"Is there something else?", King Dorephan asked
"Yes, I'm afraid there is," Zelda continued, "Divine Beast Vah Ruta…has stopped working. I know that it is a sacred place and I don't mean any disrespect, but I wish to investigate the situation with my knight attendant."
King Dorephan and Prince Sidon exchanged worried looks before he spoke again,
"You must understand that Vah Ruta and the surrounding area is extremely dangerous as well as being our dear Mipha's final stand. I have to admit, under normal circumstances, I wouldn't allow it. In fact, just a week ago I wouldn't allow some Zora children to play in Mikau Lake. However, these are not normal circumstances. Two trusted individuals stand before me and Vah Ruta is most definitely in need of services."
There was a long pause before he said.
"You may go"
"Thank you" Zelda bowed and walked with Link to make the long trek towards Divine Beast Vah Ruta.
"'Knight attendant' is a bit formal." said Link
"I know, Link", Zelda replied, "I was nervous."
Divine Beast Vah Ruta was still in the position it was when it struck Calamity Ganon. Zelda looked at the sheikah slate as she entered and said,
"There seems to be a problem with the main control unit in that room."
Link and Zelda entered the room that Waterblight Ganon once inhabited and inspected the unit that was now without it's distinct blue light.
"There's no signs of blight on the exterior, no cuts, no holes, no evidence of decay, it must be on the inside. According to this, there should be an access panel on the back," Zelda added.
Link went around to the back and opened the panel. He then remarked,
"Well, there's a surprise."
"What? What is it?", Zelda said as she came around. As soon as she saw what was inside she shrieked and jumped back. Link, who was both surprised and amused at her antics said,
"It's only a couple rats."
"I've always had…this um…f-f-fear of rats."
Link tried not to laugh and said with a mocking tone,
"Well, if you don't mind, I will just go ahead and set these guys free, unless, of course, you would like to do it…"
"That's okay." Zelda replied. Link left to release the rats and Zelda remained to clean out the debris. As soon as it was clear, the control unit glowed a bright blue and the rest of the Divine Beast regained it's blue lighting. Link and Zelda headed back down to the domain and told King Dorephan of their success.
As Link and Zelda began to walk out of the domain towards their next destination, they heard Sidon say,
"Wait." Sidon caught up with them and asked, "Can I speak with you alone, Link?"
Link nodded and they moved out of earshot of Zelda, who started to play with the Zora children while she waited.
"Link, I know you aren't much for words, but there is something my sister said long ago and today, for the first time, I can see that she was right. I was very young and I asked her about you and she said the words, 'I guess I will always love him, but they need each other, Sidon.' I didn't understand until now that the 'they' she was referring to was you and Zelda. Link, I saw you speak to her and you've opened up yourself because of her and Zelda…she smiled, you saw it. She hasn't done that since the last time I saw her. Look, you don't have to say anything, but I just wanted to congratulate you on finding such a special bond and…" Sidon looked towards Vah Ruta. "I know Mipha is so proud of both of you." They both looked at Zelda and Sidon said, "I'll let you continue your journey. You two are always welcome at Zora's Domain." To Sidon's surprise Link replied,
"I know."
Sidon smiled and waved as Link walked back to Zelda. As they started back across the bridge, she wanted to ask what they were talking about, but there must have been a reason why Sidon wanted to speak alone. She figured that she would ask later.