Delicate [Sidon x Injured!Hylian!Reader]

“Come with me.”

Cool rain pattered softly against your face, and the small waves of the lake gently licked the tips of your fingers as the storm swelled in its rage and majesty. At the mercy of the wind, the green grass wicked aggressively against your body as it cradled your form. Despite the intense throbbing within the festering wound of your leg, despite the horrific ache grasping your head as a furious monster ready to tear apart its prey, despite the tempest bellowing against your broken frame, numbness washed over you as a wild sea wave engulfs the tiny pebbles of the beach.

The tears once shed became lost with the rain, like moments lost in time.

The agony causing you to run, the betrayal, all vanished as a speck of dust in the wind.

In comparison to the turmoil you endured the majority of your pathetic life, this vacuum of emptiness was utterly divine.

Maybe if you just closed your eyes, you could lose yourself within this void, and never be hurt again...

“Please,” came the voice again, jolting you from your half-conscious state. “Can you not hear me?”

All you mustered for a reply was a thin whimper.

Pools of deep gold pulled you into their soft currents as the magnificent form stretched out his strong arm to you. The front of his head shadowed his facial features, adding an aura of menace to his piercing eyes. The jewels adorning his chest, shoulders, and neck sparkled brightly with each strike of lightning. With his enormous, crimson stature, it was no wonder so many cowered at the mere presence of the Zora Prince.

After your lashes brushed away the water from your lenses, your eyes adjusted, and you further craned your neck to see him. All of a sudden, after a quick breath of relief, a wide, toothy smile appeared across his mouth, nearly ruining his almost terrifying demeanor.

Your heart leapt at the sight. Ah, yes, that was the Sidon you knew. Whether wide-eyed youngling or crowned prince and skilled warrior, that bubbling of cheer and brightness adorned him throughout the years. It was what made him who he was, the reason you cherished him so.

It was the escape you craved - no, needed - from the black hole threatening to rip you to shreds.

Slowly, he approached you, water from the lake and rain dripping from his fins and clothes. Your neck screamed with a sharp pain as you strained to gaze up and follow his motions. In attempt to keep as close to your level as possible, he knelt upon the sand of the shore which allowed his body to shield you just a bit from the rolling waves and battering rain.

As if handling a wounded chick, he carefully grasped your hand, now covered in purple and blue, meticulously keeping your damaged digits in the white, padded area of his skin instead of the sharp, red scales.

Somehow, despite the hot swelling in your cheek, the corners of your mouth twitched into a crooked smile.

Suddenly, the light in his face dimmed as he scanned your features: the gaunt caverns beneath your reddened eyes, the scratches and bruises embedded into your skin.

How tiny and delicate you seemed to him, so weak and fragile, something even a guppy could eat alive.

To endure such torture for so long and yet survive, to run this far into this horrific weather just to escape from the hellhole you called your home.

Perhaps he underestimated your strength.

Taking his free hand, and lightly brushing his thumb across your brow, unscathed by any wound, he muttered with a voice smooth as silk,

“Little one, have you not endured enough?”

The comment caused your eyes to shift from his. Be it shame or nerves, you failed to recognize. Nonetheless, how pleasant it was to enjoy some loving contact, especially from someone you esteemed so highly.

He drew himself nearer, his warm breath brushed against your cheek as he whispered,

“Come with me to Zora’s Domain. What is there for you here, now that you are in this state?”

Swallowing the hard lump in your burning throat, you attempted to speak but a low rumble of thunder drowned out any sound that might have seeped out.

He grimaced the more he watched you suffer. Now, taking you by the shoulders, he adjusted your  head into his lap, a far better option than the hard ground. Almost instinctively, you inched yourself closer to him.

Ever since your childhood, he witnessed you wearing nothing but a smile. Even if your heart grew heavy or your body nearly broken, you smiled through it, injuries and all.

And here you were, trudging your way to the gates of death, and a smile still rested on your lips.

The answer was all too clear.

No longer could he stand this.

Inserting his arm within the crook of your knees and holding your quivering back steady, he lifted you, weighing almost nothing to him, from the muddied ground. Too weary were you to care one way or another.

Besides, it proved pointless to argue against a prince.

“You have denied me far too long, my dear,” he said, with a hint of both disdain and humor. “You will reside within the halls of my domain, be it your desire or no. Are we clear?”

You simply nodded too busy enjoying the sensation of his cool skin against your still pulsating cheek.

“The storm still rampages. The journey will prove arduous, but it can be done.”

You hummed upon feeling the vibrations rumble in his chest. Before you could close your eyes and fall perfectly limp, you sensed your arms and legs being manipulated around his neck and waist.

“Hold on, little one,” he said while beginning his descent into the water. “I will hasten to the best of my ability.”

Your chin nestled into his neck, you sighed as you felt the cool waters lap beat against you, yet you sensed even a hint of fear attempting to claw at your heart.

How could you be fearful with his protection surrounding you?

Despite the untamed violence of this weather devil, you felt yourself float away into darkness.



A pale, cool toned light surrounding large, intricate white structures was the first thing you noticed upon waking from a deep slumber. The thunder once crashing quieted down to rolling rumbles, and the rain though lingering calmed to a steady rhythm, pattering against the flowing river cradling the Domain. The aching in your body diminished, even the gashes on your cheek and leg, as they had been carefully wrapped and bandaged. Resting on your trembling arms, the cool bed of grass beneath your palms, you rose deliberately from your bed, eyes still burning and head foggy and disoriented. You managed to recall faint traces of the moments before your arrival here, but they vanished instantly like a breath in the wind.

Sidon’s image remained imprinted to the forefront of your mind, so at the very least, you knew this was his doing.

Just as you very feebly positioned yourself to rise, a voice full of cheer called out your name.

Despite jolting a bit from the sudden loudness, instinctively a grin spread across your cheeks. Sidon hurried his way up the stairs to your little corridor, isolated and peaceful. All that melancholy he displayed previously was tossed away, and he was once again his ebullient self.

“Ah! I see you have awakened!” he spread open his arms with exuberance. “At long last, I welcome you to the pride of my people, Zora’s Domain!”

“And how lovely it is,” you replied and rubbed your arms. “At least, the little I’ve seen.”

Kneeling before you, he took your hand into his, and his eyes glittered brighter than the finest gold.

“Come, you must permit me to show you the wonder of this place! There is so much to see!”

You released a tired laugh and placed your free hand atop his.

“I would love to, but-”

“Do you require more time to think on it?”

“Well, I-”

“Ah, surely, that was enough! Come! Let us be off!”

“Wait, wait!” you waved your hand frantically as he more or less yanked you to your feet.

In reaction to the sudden pressure of your body weight against it, your knee sent a jolt of pain up your leg, triggering a cry to rip from your throat. Sidon’s mouth dropped, and he fell to the ground as did you, leveling his gaze with yours.

“Oh! How foolish of me to forget!”

“No, no, please, I’ll be alright.”

Eyes full of worry, he took you by the shoulders and adjusted you back in your bed.

“Nonetheless, I simply forgot my manners and completely disregarded your needs,” solemnly, he   bowed his head, the fin drooping over his shoulder. “I beg your forgiveness.”

Somehow, you gulped down the giggle tickling your throat. The notion of ever being angry with him seemed impossible. With a sigh, you pat the crown of his head.

“No harm was done,” you assured him. “All I require is a little more rest.”

He raised his eyes, brows still furrowed with concern.

“You are positive?”

“Mmhmm,” you patted a spot next to him. “But, your company would be a delightful addition.”

He granted you a toothy grin and took your offer straight away, both your backs pressed against the wall. You sat in silence, absorbing the peace, taking in the fresh, clean air. Never had you experienced serenity of this caliber. No anxiety suffocating you. No erratic palpitations of your pulse beating throughout your body. No constant swirling thoughts of panic and worry.

Just you and Sidon listening to the rain against the rush of the river.

Your eyelids started to droop, weighed down by sleep. Your body swayed ever so lightly as moving to the tempo of the breeze.

“Little one,” Sidon almost whispered. “You appear so exhausted. Do you-Ah-!”

Before he could finish his inquiry, your head fell against his arm. He blinked and observed your condition: eyes closed, breathing slow. How quickly you fell asleep, a further indicator that this was a better option than running here, there, and everywhere, all over the Domain.

A little laugh escaped his lips. Instead of pushing you away or laying you down in your bed, he carefully placed your head into his lap allowing you to curl comfortably and nestle up against him. With a touch lighter than a feather’s, he traced the pad of his index finger around the silky areas on face, unscathed by injury, then through the locks of your hair. It warmed his heart to finally see you here, safe and far from harm’s cruel jaws, even more that you resided here with him.

While he loved your unswerving strength and courage to stand against the ferocious hurricane of life, he could now oversee and protect you as you so well deserved.

Too him, you were far more delicate and precious than a pink pearl hidden within the oceans depth.

And never again would he take it for granted.