Chapter Text
“Little Champion, are you…are you upset that your brothers left you behind?” Sidon stared forward, not daring to look at the young boy.
Wind let out a long breath. He sounded so tired. “Are you upset that your sister left you behind….”
The prince’s body grew tense. “That is—that is a completely different circumstance.” With courage or perhaps anger, Sidon turned to the sailor. Ready to defend his sister’s honor. He was stopped by the sad stare of a young boy forced to grow up too quickly, a boy with eyes filled with grief that most men would never know.
“Not to me….” Wind’s voice sounded so small.
It wasn’t supposed to happen. None of this was supposed to happen…but it did. Now wind had a cruel reminder of it for the rest of his life.
That day started out like any other day with his brothers. It was normal.
Maybe that should have been his first warning sign.
The chain had left Tarrey Town midmorning and decided to make their way to the Zora Domain. Since it was the champion’s land, he had a heavy say in what way they would go. He suggested they go over the mountains. Legend thought that was stupid.
Wind can still hear the bickering.
“Are you insane? You really want us to climb over those mountains! There’s a path right there. Let’s just follow that!” Legend insisted.
“Oh, come on, vet, where’s your sense of adventure!” Hyrule had teased.
“Connected to this thing I call common sense and my will to live! We have no idea what’s up there!” The Vet made a point.
We should have listened.
“If we take the path around the mountains, that’s about three possible four days travel. Verse, if we go over the mountain, we are looking at a day, two days top.” The champion explained. It sounded good to wind. He still wasn’t used to this much walking. He wished to spare his feet from two extra days of suffering.
He should have just let them suffer.
“Besides,” the champion continued. “Any major threats on that mountain I took care of long ago. It should be safe.”
‘It should,’ they should have known better. Hylia doesn’t do should. It’s either dead or alive. Ganondorf should have been dead in wind’s time, the legendary hero had defeated him. Ganondorf should have been dead, and the legendary hero should have come back, but that’s not how it works. Wind knows that. It should be safe. Yeah, he should have known it was a lie.
He could do nothing about it, though. Time had the final say on which path the chain took. He chose to go over the mountain. Time thought he was doing the best thing for the boys.
Wind knew that. The old man couldn’t have possibly predicted what took place on that mountain, and the sailor didn’t blame him for it.
It all happened so fast. They had nearly made it to the top by evening and planned to set up camp. Fate had a different plan for them. An enormous hoard of black-blooded monsters awaited them up there. Then apparently, one of them must have pissed off someone in the heavens, or they thought the hoard of monsters wasn’t challenging enough. Because alongside the monsters, a black-blooded lynel joined them. That’s when all hell broke loose.
Steel hit steel, blood was splattered, flesh was ripped. Screams echoed into the night. Wind had lost active consciousness near the beginning of the battle. He was in survivor mode. He refused to die. He couldn’t die, he had too much to live for, and no monster was going to take him away from it. So, he fought, he fought to survive. That’s probably how he ended up so separated from the rest of the heroes. Not that he was even in the right conscious to know that before it was too late. In a desperate attempt to get the high ground. He climbed higher up the mountain, where several large rock formations littered the area. He took advantage of those getting on top of one and shooting from afar.
He always had a sneaking suspicion that Hylia didn’t particularly like him. Seeing as Tetra cursed her connection to the absence goddess, and he had to wrap chains around her to even acknowledge their existence. Forgive him for not loving her when she left his world to die. Sometimes he wondered if she abandoned him—them because Time left it behind. Sky had told the youngest hero stories about the goddess and her lost lover. How she do whatever it takes to be reunited with him one day. The sailor had wondered if the Hero of Time was the closest she had ever gotten to seeing him again. If he was the reason, she left the hero of the Winds. There was an irony to it because Time backstabbed her in the end. He fell in love with an ordinary farm girl and married her instead. He curses her name under his breath and looks away from her statues, disgusted. He do whatever it take to protect the forgotten sailor and leave the goddess to die in the darkest depths below. Maybe Hylia was jealous of the hero of the winds. What happened next convinced him.
The lynel, despite how far away it was, targeted him. Wind didn’t have time to react before a bolt a lightning struck him. It came with enough force that it shot him off the rock. Leaving the sailor paralyzed and hidden on the ground for far longer than he was comfortable with. That time became detrimental. When he was finally able to get up, he shot around the rock. Being met with a devastating sight.
A portal had appeared on the far side of the battlefield, its edges starting to shrink. Only one other hero remained on the field with him. Fighting off a lizalfos and edging his way to the portal before it closed.
An opening appeared, and the hero made a dash.
‘Don’t speak,’ his mind whispered.
Wind didn’t listen.
“Ti—TIME!”
It was a piercing scream, and it did its job. The hero of time stopped abruptly and shot back, eye filled with horror. The world seemed to still as the oldest and youngest gazed at one another. Before, reality hit back hard in the form of a lizalfos’s sword against the old man’s shield. Time pushed forward.
He was trying to get to me.
There wasn’t enough time.
Only one of us was going through that portal…I knew it couldn’t be me.
Wind reached into his bag and pulled out bomb arrows he had secretly bought back in Tarrey Town when none of his brothers were looking.
He equipped three and pulled back the string.
“Forgive me, but they need you more than me.”
He released.
The arrows hit their mark. Creating a large enough explosion to send the old man flying back into the darkness of the portal.
The sailor believed he heard his name being called as the portal closed, but he rather pretend it was his imagination. It hurt less that way.
Now he was alone.
He was alone, with a giant, black-blooded lynel. Who decided at that moment to charge right for him. He rolled out of the way, barely being hit by the beast. He wasn’t so lucky the second time. Wind turned towards the lynel, trying to regain his composure. That was a mistake, the lynel was in position to swing its sword, and it did.
Warm burning blood poured down his face. By some miracle, the swing had missed both his eyes…barely. Wind had stumbled back in pain, but he’s felt worse.
The lynel lifted its sword again, prepared to strike another blow.
Wind ducked and rolled. Scrambling, he grabbed his bow and shot a bomb arrow. He hit the lynel, giving him a second to run. His price was he enraged the beast even more.
He really was the hero of the winds because he ran as fast as them.
Reaching the top of the cliff, he stopped. The sailor was becoming lightheaded, and he was blinking blood out of his eyes. When he could finally see, he froze. In front of him was a cliffs edge, a single tree, and a sign. The same as his dreams accept now he could read.
“JUMP AT YOUR OWN RISK”
The sign seemed to scream at him. He took a second to look over the edge of the cliff. It was a very long drop. A very long drop into a possible bottomless lake, and who knows what in it.
Wind couldn’t dwell on it for too long because the lynel was back. Its rage echoed. Wind drew the phantom sword, taking a stance, despite knowing the odds.
He was hurt, slightly blinded, cornered, and had no idea how to beat one of these things. The champion had told him they were hard enough on their own. This one was seeping with black blood. However, the sailor was one thing. He wasn’t a coward. He stood his ground.
He should have taken the risk and jumped.
Wind raised the phantom swords high and sprung forward. He held his ground, backing off when needed, then taking an opening and striking. If he wasn’t cornered, he would have used the hurricane spin, but he really didn’t want to fall off the cliff.
Then it happened. He lost his footing near the cliff’s edge. He thinks a pool of his own blood and the slick rocks were to blame. It gave the lynel enough time. It hit the phantom sword with so much force it launched it out of the sailor’s hands. Sending it deep to the watery depths below.
Wind became dazed. He couldn’t believe it. His sword was gone.
Then time seemed to slow.
Winds breaths seemed so loud.
He pushed himself back.
He backflipped like he did so many times to escape.
He flipped.
The lynel swung its sword.
All the sailor heard was a loud crack, and then he heard the wind.
“Not to me….” Wind’s voice sounded so small. The sailor turned his head away from the Zora prince.
They sat on the outer rim of the Zora Domain. It was a quiet place behind the palace. A place where not many Zora came. A place where wind could just sit with Sidon and watch the waterfall.
“… I’m… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten cross. Especially since I was the one who asked such an intrusive question. Seems only fair that I answer yours.” Sidon’s shoulders fell.
The sailor looked back at his friend with a small smile. “I appreciate the thought, Si, but you don’t have to. I know your sister meant a lot. Seems rude to do that.”
They fell back into silence as they continued watching the majesty of the waterfall. The sun was starting to set, which turned the water into gold before it disappeared behind the mountains. It reminded wind so much of home. Even if the water wasn’t salty.
“I’m…sorry I said that, Si…. It’s just…they didn’t leave me behind. I—I could have been selfish and kept one…but how is that fair.” Wind pulled his knee into himself. “If anything, I left them. How can I be upset with them if it was completely out of their control? Then when one could have stayed, I decided for him, I—I.” Tears started to stream down winds cheeks and over his scar. “I’m not upset they left me behind. I’m upset about how much I miss them. It’s been a month since it happened, Sidon. I—I miss them so much, they’re my family, and I love my family more than anything, a—and I want my family Si. I want my family.” Wind broke, “I miss them, I miss them, I miss them. I miss champion’s cooking, I miss Vet’s snarky comebacks, I miss Chosen’s warm hugs. I miss Smithy’s understanding, I miss Rancher’s protection, I miss Caption’s reinsurance. I miss Traveler’s healing touch.” He whimpered and took a deep breath, “And I MISS The old man’s Love!...... I love them, Si. I love them so much. Even while apart, I love them. I want my family Sidon.”
The Zora prince moved to the sailor, lifting him up and cradling him in his arms.
“Do—do you think they will still want me after what happened.” Wind whispered.
“Yes,” Sidon stroked the child’s hair. “You are incredible little champion. It’s been a real honor to become friends with you. To take care of you. We owe your brother a great debt, and taking care of something I know he finds so precious is the least we can do….I know losing your leg has made you feel like less of a hero, but you are possibly one of the greatest heroes I’ve ever known.”
Wind, with glassy eyes, chuckled. “Not greater than Mipha, right?”
“Of course, no hero is greater in my eyes than my dearest sister. None can ever match her.” Sidon proclaimed as he stood.
“Good man.” The sailor whispered.
“Also…yes, I would say I am upset my sister left me, but like you, how could I be selfish. The kingdom needed her. I miss her, but I am still so proud of her.” Sidon shifted his hold on wind and placed him on his shoulders. “Hold out hope, little champion…I know your brothers love you, and they will do whatever it takes to find you. Until then, love them strongly even while apart.”