#tttle

This is a fanfiction for a fanfiction called Coma Baby by BanishedOne on AO3 (tumblr: @banishfics / @banishedone). If you like a grumpy Link and really well developed, deep characters and an amazing take on the political structure of the Zora Domain, then definitely check out Coma Baby! It’s a long read and still going on, but the writing and descriptions are superb and it just means more great content.

I post memes and fics for Coma Baby on my tumblr bunnyb0b, you can chat with me any time about anything!

This bonus chapter was not beta read, so prepare for trash and mistakes lmao

"Dear Hylia, Brivere, you didn't show those new recruits any mercy!" Link laughed as they strolled through the halls of the barracks. "And I thought I was cruel."

The golden knight scoffed. "It is my firm belief that if they intend to join the guard, then they should act like it. They are the ones responsible for keeping up the wellbeing of our Domain, so I can accept nothing less than full commitment."

"Yeah, but you didn't need to make that one man cry." Link snorted.

"That is his own fault." Brivere said curtly. "If he cannot even handle a simple order from a superior, then he has no hope as a guard."

The Hylian chuckled and playfully slugged Brivere in the arm, who just rolled his golden eyes in response. "Dude, the problem is that you're WAY too intimidating." Link said with a smug grin. "The resting bitch face doesn't help either."

"I do not understand why everyone insists that I look inherently threatening." Brivere replied, lips pursing in frustration. "It is just my face. I am doing nothing to indicate otherwise."

"That's why it's called a resting-!"

Link suddenly stopped talking and whipped his head to look over his shoulder, eyes narrowing while his pointed ears twitched. Opening his mouth, Brivere tried to ask what was wrong, but was silenced when the Hylian snapped a finger up to his mouth. After a few moments of silence, Link looked back at the golden knight. "I may be wrong," the Hylian said hesitantly, "but I think I hear... crying?"

"Perhaps it is Notus, from when he couldn't handle my orders earlier." Brivere grunted.

"No, you asshole. This sounds different." Link said. Before Brivere could respond, the Hylian quickly spun around and sprinted in the opposite direction that they were previously walking at. Sighing, the golden knight lightly jogged after him, only picking up the pace when he began to hear intense screams and sobbing.

Unless Notus was severely traumatized by The Oracle Knight's instructions from that morning's trainings, something was horribly wrong.

Darting around the corner and through an entryway, Brivere found several other guards along with Link, all of them crowded in the center of the room. Wails and screams pierced the air, seemingly not coming from any of them. No one noticed his sudden entrance, as they were all completely focused on something that they were tightly surrounding.

Glancing over the guards' shoulders, Brivere caught sight of a small, black-scaled Zora girl. Tears were flooding out of her golden eyes as she smacked away any of the guards who came too close to her, screaming as if they were all Lynel's with shock arrows pointed right at her face.

"What the hell is she doing in the barracks?!" Link yelled over her screeches. The other guards quickly shrugged with wide eyes, clearly stressed and unsure of what to do. They were trained for combat, not child care, after all.

Someone entered behind Brivere and he whipped around, instinctively putting a hand on the silver scale longsword strapped onto his back. The golden knight only relaxed when he saw that it was just his prince, who was gawking at the sobbing girl. "So this was the noise! I was worried that someone was gravely injured!" Sidon cried out.

"My lord, she very well could be." Brivere said calmly. "No one can get her to stop crying and tell us what is wrong."

Cracking a wide grin, Sidon pumped a fist across his chest, showing off his signature pose. "That is alright! I can help calm her down."

As Sidon strode over to the little girl, the golden knight hesitantly fidgeted near the doorway and reached out to stop his lord. While the prince was certainly popular amongst the citizens of the Zora Domain, Brivere was uncertain if Sidon’s large stature and overwhelmingly enthusiastic personality would actually frighten the child even further.

His suspicions were confirmed when Sidon quickly plopped down in front of the girl, who was so startled by the sudden movement that she screamed. "Young one," Prince Sidon said a bit too loudly, "May you tell us what is troubling you?"

The girl paused for a second, but then a shriek ripped out of her small throat, followed by a wave of heart wrenching sobs. Panicking, Sidon smiled to reassure her that he meant no harm, but it was noticeably forced. The sharp teeth inches away from her face probably didn't help either.

"My lord," Brivere said, stepping towards the prince so that Sidon could actually hear him. "May I attempt to calm her down?"

Everyone’s head snapped to face the golden knight as they all threw their hands up to stop him from coming closer to the wailing girl.  “No!” they all yelled in unison, eyes wide in panic. Brivere arched his brow at all of them, bewildered.

Placing a hand on the golden knight's shoulder, Link shook his head. "Brivere, remember what I said earlier about how you’re kinda intimidating without meaning to?"

"I am well aware, but I am certain that even I could handle a child." Brivere scowled, not helping his case.

"I apologize, Oracle Knight." Sidon said. "But Link is right. You do have quite the reputation for appearing threatening, and for a rather good reason." The prince arched his brow at Brivere. "After all, I had to calm Notus down when I found him crying in the training ring after a lesson with you."

"But my lord-!"

Prince Sidon shook his head more firmly. "If a soldier cannot handle your intimidating presence, I doubt a child can." Everyone else nodded in agreement, making Brivere grudgingly relent and retreat back to the doorway. Link chuckled and patted the golden knight on the back while Sidon shot him an apologetic look. Brivere didn't help his own argument when he unintentionally glared back, making everyone else in the room flinch.

A sudden gut wrenching scream burst out of the little girl, making everyone's attention snap back to the child. Prince Sidon and the other guards tried everything to calm the girl down, ranging from forced, wide smiles to words of encouragement. This only made her cry harder, since they all crowded around her and barely left enough space to breathe, but no one actually realized this due to their inexperience with children.

As time went on, they all started dropping their dignity for the sake of trying to get the child to calm down, resorting to making ridiculous faces or trying to make funny, but actually cringey, comedy skits, unconvincingly laughing along to make her cheer up. Nothing worked, and for over half an hour she continued to harshly bawl, and eventually everyone slowly stopped their fruitless efforts. They all stood back, trying to wait for her to tire out, and inwardly cringed, absolutely hating the fact that they were the so-called protectors of the Zora Domain and its citizens, yet were unable to even help a child. Brivere found this to be a good opportunity to speak up.

"My lord," the golden knight said loudly over the little girl's wailing. "I am serious. May I please attempt to calm her down now?"

Sidon recoiled and looked at Link, who shrugged in response. "I mean, it's not like he can scare her more than you already have." the Hylian said. Several guards also nodded, but everyone else seemed apprehensive about letting the emotionless knight handle an over-emotional child.

Sighing, the Prince got back up and nodded, gesturing at the crying girl. Brivere walked over and everyone quickly backed up, not wanting to be too close when the little girl would throw an even worse tantrum.

To no one's surprise, the golden knight didn't seem stressed or irritated in the slightest. Brivere wore his infamous indifferent mask as he gently knelt in front of the child, who continued to scream and cry as if she hadn't even noticed him.

"Little one, may you tell me what is wrong?" Brivere urged softly, trying to compress his body as to not appear threatening and to also come at eye level with the girl. She drew her face out of her hands and stared back at the golden knight with big, watery eyes before letting out a shriek and bawled again, even louder than before, which everyone thought was impossible.

Prince Sidon shook his head. "Oracle Knight, it is alright, we will figure something else out." he said loudly over the intense sobbing.

The prince flinched when Brivere glanced over his shoulder, staring at Sidon with unamused eyes. "With all due respect my lord, I wasn't quite done yet." the golden knight said curtly before turning back to the girl.

Brivere continued to crouch as he looked at the child fondly, which may have been strange to anyone else since her contorted, tear-covered face as she heavily sobbed and wailed was anything but cute. However, she reminded the golden knight of himself when he was younger, crying over everything, completely inconsolable with nothing in the world able to calm him down.

Except for one thing.

The golden knight softly hummed, letting familiar notes vibrate in his chest. Although it had been years, he could never forget any tune that his mother used to sing for him and Estuu. This particular one was his personal favorite.

Brivere continued to hum at a gradually increasing volume until the little girl's weeps started to subside, melting into hiccups and gasps for breath. When she stopped crying altogether and was quietly staring at him in a mix of admiration and confusion, the golden knight opened his mouth and let the soothing words to the song roll off of his tongue, filling the room with a gentle tune.

 The sea, the sea

 It calls out to me

 So blue, so true

 It calls out for you too

The little girl and everyone else in the room stared at the Oracle Knight in shock and awe for both his surprising singing talent and the fact that it actually managed to console the child.

 Please come with me

 And we will visit the sea

 Step by step, hand in hand,

 We'll walk on the warm sand

Brivere leaned in, continuing to sing as he lightly bumped his crest against the little girl's, making her close her eyes and quietly hum along, albeit a bit off key. His own voice was deep and velvety, a comforting rumbling noise that gave every word of his song life, making the very air around them feel like it was dancing to the special rhythm that Brivere provided.

 Let the sea wash away

 All the troubles of yesterday

 Please, float with me dear

 As I hold you so near

Instinctively, like a child wanting their mother, the little girl slowly held her arms out, but flinched and opened her eyes when she remembered that she couldn’t just ask for comfort from a complete stranger. However, Brivere obliged, gently scooping the little girl into his muscled arms as he slowly stood up, still singing.

 Gentle wave, gentle wave

 Giving us comfort we crave,

 My dear, There is no need to roam

 For we are safe here, our home

She nestled her chin into the crook of his shoulder, sniffling as she enjoyed the feeling of the vibrating notes ringing inside his broad chest. Meanwhile, Brivere lightly bounced her in his arms as he patted her small back, swaying his body to the beat of the song that he was singing.

Everyone else in the room stared incredulously at the usually reserved Oracle Knight cradling a previously distraught child. Link snorted a bit, noticing that Brivere seemed slightly embarrassed, due to the way he was clearly trying to avoid looking anyone in the eye.

Eventually, Brivere let the tune slowly come to an end, and held out his arms so that he could look the little girl in the eyes, which were noticeably absent of tears and replaced with childlike wonder.

"Little one, do you feel better now?" he asked gently.

She nodded vigorously, bouncing in his arms. "Yes! Thank you mister knight!"

"That is good, and it is no problem. I am merely glad to be of assistance." Brivere said as he shifted to set the girl down, but she whined and hugged tightly onto his arms instead. Sighing, he held the small child close again. "Alright, I understand, young one. However, as compensation, may you please tell me why you were so upset?"

The little girl nodded against his chest. "I got into a fight with my mommy and I ran away. But then I got lost, and my mommy always said that the guards are there to help, so I tried to ask one of them here but I got so scared!" She paused, and the golden knight felt her tremble in his arms. "I'm sorry mister Knight. I just made a big mess for everyone."

Moving her into one arm, Brivere used his free hand to wipe away the tears welling up in her eyes. "Nonsense, child, there is no need to apologize. Your mother is right, the guard are here to help you."

He turned to Prince Sidon, who was still gawking at him with wide eyes, along with all of the other guards in the room. "My lord," Brivere said softly, trying not to startle the girl, "I do believe that the best course of action is to have several soldiers go around and ask if anyone is missing a child."

It took a few moments for Sidon to snap out of his daze and straighten up. "R-right..." he said, still trying to process what he just saw. The prince turned to the other guards, who were also attempting to get over their shock. "Attention!" Prince Sidon called out, making all of the soldiers jolt and stand at attention. "All guards currently not on wall duty are to search the streets for any mother missing a little girl."

Brivere looked down at the little girl, holding comfortable eye contact. "Young one, what does your mother look like?"

She hummed, trying to come up with the best answer. "My mommy is a little shorter than you, and she's got shiny black scales, and doesn't wear any jewelry except for a necklace my daddy gave her." Her eyes lit up as she bounced in his arms. "She's also very pretty!"

"Yes, she sounds beautiful, just like you.” the golden knight chuckled as he nodded. “Now, what is your name?"

The little girl giggled at the compliment. "My name is Dalila! But my mommy calls me Lila!"

"That is a very lovely name. You may call me Brivere." he replied before repeating her information to the prince, who in turn relayed it to the guards. All of them saluted in response before dispersing, leaving no one in the room but Sidon, Link, Brivere, and Dalila.

The little girl looked up at the golden knight with wide eyes. "Are you gonna search too, mister knight?"

"That depends.” Brivere hummed. “It is really up to my Lord, the prince."

Dalila squirmed in his arms until she could face Prince Sidon. The prince almost burst out laughing at the way her face adorably contorted as she glared at him. "I wanna stay with my knight!" she cried out, clinging onto the golden knight for dear life, as if afraid that someone was going to rip her away from the only source of comfort in the cold barracks.

"Do not worry young one, I had no intention of separating the two of you." Sidon chuckled. "It would be best if we just stayed put, to make the reunion with your mother easier." With that, he turned and began talking to Link, allowing Dalia to spend time with the golden knight uninterrupted.

Brivere noticed the way the little girl suddenly tensed in his arms. "Little one, is there something wrong?" he asked, looking down at her. "I thought you desired to see your mother again?"

She hesitantly nodded. "Yeah, but.... it's my fault!" Dalilia wailed. "I got mad at her because she wouldn't let me play with my friends, but that's cause I didn't do my homework, and now I made a big problem and she must be worried and m-mad, and-!" The little girl suddenly stopped rambling, trying to catch her breath.

Humming, Brivere gently rocked her in his arms, trying to calm her down before she started crying again. "I do not believe that you have much reason to worry, Lila." he said softly. "Your mother will be so overwhelmed with relief that she will completely forget about your previous fight."

Dalila grabbed onto one of his long fore fins and tugged, making Brivere look into her intense golden eyes. "Promise?" she asked firmly.

He nodded. "I promise."

Satisfied, she let go, but the golden knight sensed something else bothering her. "Is there another thing you would like to ask me?" he questioned.

Dalila paused for a few moments before hesitantly nodding. "Y-yeah... can you sing for me again?"

She was startled by the way Brivere stiffened, raising his brow. "N-no! You don't have to if you don't wanna! I'm sorry!" Dalila cried, waving her arms around.

The golden knight shook his head. "Ah, I apologize. It is not that, child. I would be glad to, I was just surprised that you wished to hear me sing again."

Link spoke up, apparently eavesdropping on their conversation the whole time. "Brivere, of course she would!" the Hylian laughed. "You’re an amazing singer, whether or not you'll actually admit it."

Nodding, the prince said, "Yes, Brivere, even in all of the time I have known you, I was never aware of such a talent." Sidon teasingly raised his brow. "Is there a reason for such secrecy?"

Brivere flushed, tilting his head away from his lovers. "No particular reason, my Lord."

"Is it because you're embarrassed about it?" Link purred, sauntering up to the golden knight with a shit eating grin. The lack of response from Brivere gave away his true answer, making the Hylian shriek with laughter.

Dalila squirmed to get Brivere's attention. "You shouldn't be embarrassed!" she pouted. "You're really super good! Where’d you learn to sing so great?"

The golden knight hesitated before sighing. "My mother was a songstress." Brivere said quietly, eyes growing distant. Sidon and Link looked over at him in concern, but were relieved to see that the golden knight looked content, clearly thinking upon a fond memory. "Perhaps I am embarrassed about my own talents because it is nothing compared to hers. She was amazing, it was as if her voice alone could calm any beast, and perhaps even the Calamity itself." A small, rare smile slipped onto his face. "My mother would sing all the time. It was the solution to any problem: boredom, sadness, celebration, anything. She could fix it all with a simple song that could move anyone's soul."

Dalila gazed up at him in awe. "She sounds amazing!" the little girl cheered. "Can I hear her sing someday?!"

Brivere caught the way his two lovers flinched, opening their mouths to explain the truth to the naïve child. Shaking his head at them, he looked back down at Dalila with a serene smile. "I am afraid not, which is a shame. I would do anything to give you the opportunity. But I do hope that you will find me to be a good substitute in the meantime?"

She excitedly nodded. "Of course! You're the bestest ever! Can you sing a song now?!"

The golden knight chuckled, bobbing his head up and down as he cleared his throat. Brivere picked a different, more upbeat song this time, remembering that his mother often sang it when they were doing chores in order to make it more enjoyable.

 Dance dance dance,

 Praise the goddess up above!

 It's our last chance,

 Please, Move with me, love!

Dalila relaxed in the golden knight's arms while his lovers fondly gazed at him, also enjoying the melody from his soothing voice. Whether or not he was aware of it, Brivere looked extremely happy and content when he sang, most likely reliving those times when his mother sang him and Estuu the same songs. Eventually he got lost in the memories, closing his eyes and singing louder and more confidently, not caring enough to hold back anymore. He gently swayed to the beat, cleanly switching between songs out of habit, just like his mother used to.

None of the four in the room had any idea how much time had passed, as all of them were completely engrossed in the notes that filled the air, settling into the comfortable atmosphere. They only snapped out of it when Brivere's voice faltered as he noticed footsteps approaching them from behind.

"LILA!" a Zora woman cried out, darting past the guards who were accompanying her.

The little girl perked up and snapped her head towards the entryway. "MOMMY!" She screamed, flailing around in Brivere's arms. Not wanting to drop her, the golden knight quickly set her down. The second her tiny feet touched the floor, Dalila rocketed away from him and shot into the arms of her mother. The woman fell onto her knees, clutching her daughter to her body, as if afraid that if she let go then the little girl would disappear again.

"Mommy I'm so sorry!" Dalila sobbed. The woman shook her head, laughing through her own tears. "No, no Lila! It's okay, sea angel, I'm just so relieved that you're safe!"

Everyone else smiled at the scene. Well, more like the golden knight smiled inwardly, as he had donned on his emotionless mask again out of habit. The tears from the mother and daughter clearly weren't of distress or sadness, so there was no need to console them or interrupt the touching reunion. Everyone present was reminded why they had joined the Zora guard in the first place, in order to protect their citizen's happiness.

Eventually, the sobs slowly died down, and the mother sniffled while looking at everyone with watery eyes and a wide grin. "T-thank you all so much, you have no idea how worried I was! Dalila always runs off, but this has to be the furthest she has gone!" She bowed her head, still clutching Dalila to her chest. "I apologize for the trouble we have caused."

Prince Sidon shook his head, along with everyone else. "Mam, it is quite alright, it was no trouble at all." Sidon’s famous grin stretched across his face as he gestured at Brivere, who raised his brow at the prince. "Although, I must say, you should really thank my Oracle Knight. None of us were able to calm down your daughter enough for her to tell us what was wrong until Brivere soothed her."

The mother whipped her head over to Brivere, tears spilling out of her eyes. "Oh my dear Hylia, thank you so much! You have no idea how grateful I am for it, my daughter gets anxiety attacks very easily so it is difficult for her to handle such stressful situations."

"It is quite alright mam, absolutely no trouble at all." Brivere said. "I am simply thankful that both of you weren’t hurt and quickly found each other again."

"Nonetheless, I am forever grateful to you." the mother said. After a pause, she shyly spoke up again. "Sir Knight, may you please tell me how you calmed her down?"

The golden Zora raised his brow at her. "Does this sort of thing happen often?"

"Actually, yes." the mother admitted as she stood up, her daughter still cradled in her tight embrace. "Dalila has really bad anxiety attacks, as I mentioned before. I'm sure you saw the way she cried and sobbed earlier. It may appear like just  another tantrum, but she can get so frightened and overwhelmed that it breaks my heart to see her like that."

She turned to her daughter, lightly rocking the little girl in her arms. "I never know what to do, and even I can't manage to calm her down. Usually I just hover around and ride it out with her. It's very upsetting, to be a mother that can't even take care of her own child."

Brivere shook his head. "Nonsense, my lady. I can tell that you care plenty enough, and Dalila cares for you too." He hesitated for a moment, but then gently laughed, startling everyone in the room except for Dalila and her mother. "Admittedly, I was able to calm her down because she reminded me of myself when I was younger. I used to cry about everything, and my mother would always sing to calm me down."

The mother perked up at this. "Ah, yes, I heard you singing from down the hall when I was escorted here! It is no surprise then that it calmed my daughter down, you really have such a beautiful voice."

"Thank you, mam." Brivere replied, slightly blushing.

Both of them awkwardly shifted in place until the mother hesitantly held eye contact with him. "I do apologize for asking this of you... but is there any way that you can teach me how to sing like that?"

She frantically took her request back when Brivere visibly flinched out of surprise, and he inwardly laughed at how similar she was to her daughter. "N-no! You don’t have to, I’m sorry! Of course, you are the Oracle Knight, and you must be so busy!" the mother babbled. "I just... admittedly, I do not have the best singing voice. I never cared enough to actually participate in choir at school."

Her eyes suddenly hardened as she stared at Brivere with determination blazing in those golden hues. "But I am willing to do anything to help my precious sea angel."

Brivere hesitated and looked at Prince Sidon, who laughed. "You definitely have my approval, Brivere." the prince said, his signature grin stretched across his face. "Anything to help our Domain's citizens. But ultimately, the choice falls onto you, whether or not you are comfortable doing so."

The golden knight nodded, looking back at the desperate mother who was cradling her child in her arms. Brivere’s eyes softened, seeing his own mother embracing him, wanting to protect him from anything, willing to do anything to accomplish this.

This is a fanfiction for a fanfiction called Coma Baby by BanishedOne on AO3 (tumblr: @banishfics / @banishedone). If you like a grumpy Link and really well developed, deep characters and an amazing take on the political structure of the Zora Domain, then definitely check out Coma Baby! It’s a long read and still going on, but the writing and descriptions are superb and it just means more great content.

I post memes and fics for Coma Baby on my tumblr bunnyb0b, you can chat with me any time about anything! All chapters are also posten on my AO3 account BunnyBob!

This bonus chapter was not beta read, so prepare for trash and mistakes lmao

Estuu ran alongside the Oracle Knight and the First Knight, all of them rushing through the winding streets of the Zora Domain towards the Undercity district. It was in one of the more run down areas of the Uppercity, and no one bothered to push out the lower class Zora who often milled about and set up their own businesses since the area was so undesirable to the upper class anyways. The two older Zora were discussing the report that had sent them all into a panic.

“What the hell do you mean there’s a fucking Lynel in the Domain?!” Betaal panted as they ran.

Brivere grunted in response. “I do not know. That is just what the report said.”

“Well then it better turn out to be a false alarm! There’s no way a damn Lynel could get into the Domain undetected! We’ve got guards posted all along our walls!”

Their argument faltered as the three knights rounded the corner, all of them instantly realizing that the First Knight Betaal couldn’t be any more wrong.

Even from this far away they could make out the humongous form of the Lynel, its tan and muscled body looming above the buildings that separated them from the market. A large head, almost obscured by its thick red mane, was peering around the rooftops, letting out a piercing roar that shook the buildings as it swung a large sword into the ground. The impact alone made it feel like another devastating earthquake had struck the Domain.

The three knights were the only ones running towards the beast as panicked citizens rushed in the opposite direction, slowing down their progress as the crowd became a stampede. Brivere and Betaal were shouting for everyone to evacuate to the barracks for shelter while Estuu could only try and block out the chaos in fear of his own sanity.

Eventually they skidded in front of the only entrance and exit to the Undercity market, a large silver archway that was dull and cracked, barely decorated with broken blue gemstones. The buildings inside were all packed together so tightly that it was practically a wall, trapping everyone inside unless they managed to make it to the archway.

They could see that the Lynel was standing in the center of the market, slamming its sword into the sides of the buildings and blocking any Undercity Zora from escaping with its huge body. Those who tried were immediately trampled under its hooves, leaving crushed bodies splattered against the pavement. Estuu whined, trying to process the havoc and keep himself calm, knowing that this absolutely wasn’t the right time to dart away and recover like he usually did.

Brivere suddenly grabbed him and Betaal by their armor and dragged them off to the side, slamming them against the wall. “What the hell Brivere!” she shouted, trying to squirm out of his grasp. “We need to help-!”

Her words were cut off as a chunk of a building was hurled at the archway, completely destroying it as it crashed into the ground where they were just standing.

“Had a vision.” Brivere grunted, disregarding how the two other knights gaped at him. “In fact, it also gave me a plan. I need you to go and gather as many soldiers as possible and rally them all at the reservoir. Estuu and I will lead the Lynel out there.”

“…Are you crazy?”

A grimace flashed across the Oracle Knight’s face. “Yes. Do not worry, the vision I had ensured that we would be able to draw the beast there unscathed.”

She hesitated, unsure if she could just leave the brothers behind, but the chorus of screams that erupted out of the market quickly made the decision for her.

“Go!” Brivere shouted, pushing her away. “If we do not arrive in an hour then you may return with reinforcements!”

“I’m only giving you half an hour!” she yelled over her shoulder as she sprinted away.

Sighing, his older brother got down onto one knee and looked Estuu in the eye. Usually the younger Zora didn’t like eye contact, and Brivere was aware of this, but both of them knew that this was a dire situation. “My Holy Knight,” he said quickly, “I need you to get up on the rooftops and cover for me. Please follow any orders that I give and I will try and use my abilities to further guide you.”

Estuu nodded and the two of them darted in opposite directions. He ducked into one of the buildings, almost losing his balance as the stairs shook under his feet when the Lynel roared. Practically flying up the steps, Estuu shot onto the rooftop and quickly snapped his bow into the hook strapped on his severed arm, aiming it at the Lynel while waiting for his brother’s command.

Not lowering the bow, Estuu watched as his brother stood on top of the large chunk of stone that had nearly crushed them earlier. He raised his silver scale longsword into the air. “LYNEL! BRING YOUR ATTENTION HERE!” the golden knight shouted, waving his weapon in the air.

Brivere’s commands were barely heard over the screams of panicked or dying Undercity citizens. The monster continued to have its back towards him, completely oblivious to his pleas. Grunting, the Oracle Knight looked directly at Estuu. “Holy Knight!” he yelled, pointing his longsword at the young Zora on the roof. “Shoot the Lynel until it faces me!”

A few Undercity Zora who had managed to get out of the market gawked at the golden knight. “Are you crazy?!” one of them shouted. “You Uppercity Zora are going to get us all killed!”

Brivere ignored them. “Holy Knight! Do it now!”

While the young Zora really didn’t want to, he had to remember that in the moment he was the Holy Knight obeying his superior, not Estuu listening to his beloved older brother. He quickly nocked an arrow and let it fly, and once it hit its target he sent a storm of arrows raining down onto the monster’s back. It roared in pain and whipped around, trying to see who dared to attack it.

Brivere waved his sword around into the air, trying to distract the beast from seeing Estuu hiding on the rooftops. “OVER HERE! I HURT YOU! NOW COME GET ME!”

Everyone stared in shock and confusion as the Lynel didn’t charge forward, instead bending its knees and lowering its palms to the ground until it was nearly flattened against the smooth stones. Its hind leg kicked back, smashing into a building right behind it.

The outcome of this event flashed in Brivere’s mind. He panicked, realizing what was about to happen.

“EVERYONE DUCK FOR COVER!” he screamed.

The Lynel suddenly burst forward, launching its large body off of its powerful limbs towards Brivere. Everyone in the vicinity dove to the ground as the Oracle Knight sprinted out of the market and into the long roads of the Zora Domain.

“HOLY KNIGHT!” his brother yelled at the top of his lungs as the Lynel galloped after him. “FOLLOW ME FROM THE ROOFTOPS AND CONTINUE TO ATTACK IT!”

He didn’t have to be told twice. Estuu immediately hopped down onto the building next to him, running across the slippery tiles and gliding across the water flowing off of the roofs. To anyone else it would have been amazing how he continued to have perfect aim as the mad chase played out, but he would have silently argued that he had had much it worse when Link taught him how to shoot on the back of Crazy Girl as she thundered across the grasslands.

Zora were definitely not made for running, and this much was evident when Brivere had nearly been crushed by the beast’s hooves alone several times. On top of that the Lynel continued to try and grab at him with one hand while the other madly swung a sword that was twice the Zora’s size.

His older brother quickly dove into one of the many waterways that flowed throughout the Domain, which were basically miniature Zora-made rivers that worked like roads where one could swim instead of walk.

Now in his element, Brivere shot ahead of the Lynel as he swam for his life, the rushing current pushing the golden Zora forward. Several times the beast would lose interest and stop to focus on cowering Zora citizens off to the side, but Estuu would quickly turn the Lynel into a pincushion and Brivere would trick the monster into thinking that he himself had done it. They repeated this process across the Domain, slowly but surely luring the beast out of the residential areas and away from the innocent Zora citizens hiding inside.

Brivere had to switch waterways a few times to catch the currents that flowed out to the reservoir the fastest. This was accomplished by diving under and launching back out of the water, flipping through the air just out of the Lynel’s grasp before splashing into another waterway. Estuu could tell that his older brother was teasing the Lynel a bit too much, judging by how the acrobatics got more and more extravagant each time.

This only made the Lynel even angrier, who was now completely focused on the golden prey that continued to mock and elude it. Even as Estuu let more and more arrows fly, the monster only let out enraged roars that shook the area around them as it tried to snatch Brivere out of the water.

Finally the reservoir peeked over the horizon, and Estuu was relieved to see the sheer amount of soldiers that had gathered. Their numbers completely filled out the stone surrounding the water as their silver weapons shined in the sunlight. Even from this far away he could make out one large red blur with a smaller blue one next to it, presumably Prince Sidon and First Knight Betaal, waiting for him and Brivere.

The only problem was that there was no waterways directly leading to the reservoir.

This design was made with the intention of keeping the dirty waterway water away from the drinking water, and while that made perfect sense Brivere still cursed to himself for the inconvenience. The waterway he was currently swimming in was leading him right to a dead end, a large wall that couldn’t be climbed over and would take an hour to walk around.

His future vison had failed to mention this predicament.

Estuu didn’t catch onto the problem until the Oracle Knight was suddenly swimming around in circles. The narrow waterway he was now trapped in became a prison as Brivere tried to weave between the Lynel’s hands that plunged into the water, trying to grab onto the golden Zora’s slippery body.

Panic began to rise in his chest as Estuu realized that there wasn’t much they could do. All of the guards were currently out at the reservoir and they were too far away to realize what was happening. Brivere was the only one who would be able to call out to them anyways, and he was currently too busy trying to not get snatched up by the Lynel.

Estuu desperately looked around them, trying to figure out a way out of this mess. By Hylia’s grace, the answer revealed itself to him when he saw the waterfall that was pouring out of a nearby pipe.

He let a rare scream rip his throat apart, the noise so alien to both of the brothers that Brivere’s head shot out of the water in fear of finding his younger brother dead. To his relief, he saw Estuu alive and well, the young Zora screeching as he jabbed his one hand towards the pipe.

“Alright, Holy Knight!” his older brother shouted in understanding. “Cover me!”

Nodding, Estuu shot the last of his arrows right into the Lynel’s face. Most of them got stuck in its bushy mane, but it was still enough to make the beast turn directly towards him and howl. The young Zora darted between rooftops, circling around the monster and making it turn away from his older brother. Brivere quickly took the opening and dragged himself out of the waterway, sprinting towards the waterfall flowing out of the pipe.

The Lynel caught a blur of gold in the corner of its eye and quickly whipped its head around to see the Oracle Knight dive into the waterfall and begin to desperately swim upwards. Roaring, it swiped at Estuu and knocked the young Zora off of his feet before he rolled over and scrambled into the nearest window. From there, Estuu watched as the Lynel turned away from him and charged at Brivere, who was near the top of the waterfall.

The Holy Knight nocked his last arrow, ready to protect his superior as the beast reached for the Oracle Knight, but luckily he didn’t need to.

Right as the Lynel’s large hand shot into the waterfall, Brivere managed to slip into the pipe. The beast let out an earth-shaking howl that shook the young knight to his core, making him clutch at his head. Fighting through the urge to curl up and self-destruct, Estuu leaned out of the window and intensely stared at the end of the pipe that flowed into the reservoir, waiting for his older brother to reappear. A few minutes of tense, complete silence followed, save for the grunts and whines of the Lynel as it tried to squeeze its large hand into the pipe, to no avail. With each second that passed, the Holy Knight felt his heart squeeze tighter in fear of losing not only his superior, but the only family that he had left.

Estuu let out a sigh of relief when Brivere shot out of the pipe.

The young Zora watched in admiration as his older brother re-oriented himself, gracefully flipping through the air to prepare for a swift dive into the water and swim away from the Lynel, allowing the other soldiers to take the beast down. Everyone gathered on the other side of the reservoir cheered in relief, knowing that the Oracle Knight had succeeded and could safely get back to them.

But he never came.

Instead, with one last deafening roar, the Lynel whipped out its gigantic bow and nocked a shock arrow.

Everyone watched in horror as the arrow launched directly into the Oracle Knight’s stomach, throwing off his momentum. He smacked into the stone pavement with a sickening crack and bounced off of the ground several times, rolling into the water right next to him before going completely limp.

“Brivere!” Prince Sidon screamed from the other side of the reservoir.

All of the soldiers lurched forward to try and grab the fallen Oracle Knight, but froze in place when the Lynel pointed more shock arrows at them while it quickly hoisted its gigantic body onto the wall, continuing to threaten them as it stood on top of the stone border. Before anyone could try and get around the monster’s aim, Brivere’s body had already begun to slowly sink into the deep water and out of sight.

Prince Sidon almost dove after him, and it took the First Knight and several other guards to hold the large Zora man back. “Let go! We need to give him medical attention!” the prince shouted, trying to wrestle himself out of their grasp.

“I am well aware!” the Undercity knight spat back. “But if we don’t take out that Lynel first, then we are going to end up losing more of our warriors! The faster we kill the beast the faster we can safely retrieve him!”

Prince Sidon reeled back to try and argue, but the First Knight silenced him by stabbing a finger to his chest. “That bastard is clearly using his body as bait.” the Undercity woman said through gritted, sharp teeth. “You should want to kill it more than anyone else here.”

After a moment of hesitation the prince nodded and raised his spear, ready to shout orders to the other soldiers in attendance. “Do not step a foot in the water! The shock arrows will harm you!” he commanded. “All archers stay back and shoot while all spearmen follow me to the beast! We will take it out from there!”

“Yes sir!” they all shouted back in unison. The army quickly split up, archers covering the spearmen as Prince Sidon led them on the pavement around the deep reservoir.

Estuu didn’t want to wait for reinforcements. He quickly darted around the Lynel’s ankles, who was thankfully preoccupied by the soldiers rushing at it to notice the tiny Zora dive into the water. He could hear Prince Sidon yell at him, commanding him to stop, but he ignored the prince as his warnings became warped by the water. Estuu used the adrenaline rushing through his body to push himself deeper and deeper into the abyss.

In that moment, he wasn’t the Holy Knight trying to search for his superior. He was Estuu, desperately trying to save the only family he had left.

Fear gripped his heart when he swam through the dark water, completely unable to see anything except for the sun shining above him. Although the light told him where he was and how deep he was going, Estuu quickly became disorientated. Water began to pump faster and faster through his gills as he began to panic. He had never swum in such a vast body of water before, especially when there was absolutely nothing in it but complete, gut wrenching darkness. The Zora Domain really only had rivers, and while the reservoir was basically a Zora-made ocean, it was not made for swimming. Also, Brivere had never taken him too far away from home before.

If they got out of this, he was going to make his older brother take him to an actual ocean one day.

A shimmer of silver metal flashed in the corner of his eye, and he quickly spun around to see a golden body gently floating inside a cloud of red water.

Blood.

Estuu shot through the water, kicking his legs with every last bit of strength in his body, the adrenaline quickly being replaced with paralyzing fear. He could barely slow himself down and almost slammed into his brother, narrowly avoiding the golden Zora by darting to the side at the last second. Quickly reorienting himself, the young Zora carefully swam next to Brivere.

Panic began to thrash around in Estuu’s chest as he looked over and gently touched his older brother’s wounds, ignoring how the small contact made his skin crawl. Brivere didn’t even move as Estuu examined him. The arrow was still deeply embedded into Brivere’s abdomen, and Estuu quickly drew it out, ignoring how the weapon burned his only hand. It wasn’t as if he could just leave it inside of his older brother, because although the electricity in the arrow had weakened, it could still cause harm.

But the damage was already done. No healer or healing potion could repair it. The skin and scales surrounding the punctured area were burnt and scarred, and the rest of Brivere’s body was covered marks that looked like lightning, shooting across his skin and scales in painful, swelling wounds. Brivere’s golden eyes were glassy and empty, mouth slightly ajar and barely twitching.

Unwanted memories flashed through Estuu’s mind at the sight of Brivere listlessly floating through the water, body completely limp and unmoving except for his gills desperately pumping for air, but beginning to slow down.

His older brother looked exactly like how their mother did when the two brothers had found her floating in their poisoned cistern.

And just like back then, Estuu was too numb to cry. To scream. To do anything but stare at the motionless body in denial, not fully registering that he was about to lose the only family member that he had left.

But this time, something inside of him snapped.

Estuu reached forward with his one hand, gently placing it on hole that was punctured into his older brother’s abdomen. He closed his eyes and remembered what Prince Sidon had told him months ago, finding now to be the best time to put what he had learned to use.

 “You wish to know how my sister used her abilities, young one?” the prince asked, raising his brow.

 Estuu nodded feverishly. He had been trying to get his abilities to reappear, but in all honesty, he didn’t know why. Was it to give himself worth? To regain his status and usefulness? To save the lives of many? To refill the gaping hole that gnawed at his chest, telling him he was incomplete, that he was missing a part of himself?

 He didn’t know. He didn’t care. He just wanted that power back, the reason completely unimportant to the young Zora.

 Prince Sidon hummed, thinking back to beloved memories of his late sister. “I do believe she told me the thought process behind it, if that would help.” When Estuu eagerly nodded, the prince continued. “Mipha always said that when she used her abilities, it helped to think about those that she loved.”

 Tilting his head, the young Zora stared back at the prince. Was that really how the late princess had done it? It seemed too simple, too naïve, too cliché to be true. Estuu had never really thought about anything when he used the ability, but that was more due to how uncomfortable it felt during the process. Every time he healed someone, it felt like part of him was being stripped away, his hands filled with a stinging, tickling sensation that always threatened to overwhelm him. He absolutely hated the feeling.

 But when he thought back on it, the one time that it had never felt like that… it was the first time he used it. When he desperately tried to bring his mother back to life, after finding her dead in their poisoned cistern.

 Prince Sidon smiled at the slight realization that dawned on Estuu’s face. “She said that thinking of those she loved… she would pour that love, that concern, into whoever she was healing. Mipha said she thought of me, but I know that she also thought of her lover, the Hylian Champion. Someone who she loved so desperately that she would do anything to keep them safe, and that genuine passion would apparently sway the goddess Hylia into helping my dear sister fulfil her desires.”

 He paused, fondly gazing at Estuu. “I wonder, young one… do you have someone like that in your life?”

The answer came in the form of a familiar green light that glowed on Estuu’s only hand, a holy aura that he hadn’t seen in a long time that illuminated the dark water around the two brothers.

The young Zora braced himself for the stinging sensation that usually followed, but it never came. Instead, Estuu felt warm, and his hand felt as light as air. The green light seeped into his older brother’s scales, bathing Brivere’s body in the same holy aura, slowly erasing the damage that the Lynel’s arrow had done. The young Zora watched in awe as the fleshy hole under his fingers began to repair itself, eventually disappearing under new, shining scales. The lightning bolts of wounds that raced through the golden knight’s skin faded until they were completely gone, as if they had never been there in the first place. His older brother’s gills began to pump faster, returning to a steady pace.

Brivere’s golden eyes fluttered open as he gasped for air, quickly whipping his head around in a panic. When all he saw was Estuu staring back at him fondly, the golden knight relaxed. But as he felt Estuu’s hand on his abdomen, Brivere looked down to see the young Zora’s hand glowing in a soft, green light.

“Estuu…?” he said, voice slightly muffled by the water. “Your… your gift has returned?”

The young Zora slowly brought his hand back to his side, nodding in shock. He couldn’t believe it either. Not only that, but that was the most effective his ability had been, and it didn’t even have the strange, overwhelming sensation that usually came with the power.

The corners of Brivere’s lips tipped up into a rare smile as the two brothers gently bobbed in the dark water. “I am so thankful, Estuu. You saved my life.” he said, fondly gazing at his only living family. “But… how were you able to do it? Why has your ability returned?”

Estuu smiled back, eyes half lidded. He pointed at Brivere, then gently placed a hand over his own heart.

Brivere’s golden eyes crinkled as his smile stretched wider. “I see.” he chuckled. “Know that I feel the same, Estuu.”

Placing a hand on the armor covering Estuu’s armor, the golden knight tilted his head. “Now that we are both safe, shall we return to the surface? I am sure that everyone is worried, especially our lord.”

Nodding, Estuu paddled behind his older brother, both of them swimming towards the sun shining above them. Brivere glanced over his shoulder, making sure that the younger Zora could keep up. Both of them moved through the water in comfortable silence, close enough for comfort, but not enough to touch. Exactly how they liked it.

Estuu was proud of himself, and the young Zora silently prayed that his mother would be proud as well, instead of being upset that he hadn’t managed to do so all those years ago. But he knew that she would be happy that this time he was finally able to use his abilities to save someone who meant everything to him.

This is a fanfiction for a fanfiction called Coma Baby by BanishedOne on AO3 (tumblr: @banishfics / @banishedone), and a continuation of the other one I wrote called Catharsis. If you like a grumpy Link and really well developed, deep characters and an amazing take on the political structure of the Zora Domain, then definitely check out Coma Baby! It’s a long read and still going on, but the writing and descriptions are superb and it just means more great content. This fic in particular is focused on my favorite character in the series, the OC Brivere. You don’t need to read the whole series to get what’s going on in this fic though, since a lot is explained in here.

I post memes and fics for Coma Baby on my tumblr, you can chat with me any time about anything! I also post all chapters on my AO3 account BunnyBob!

Huge thank you to my amazing beta reader Alina! Her tumblr and ff.net is @ipromiseitsnotanobsession. She actually does editing shit for a living and she is the one that makes sure these things aren’t trash, so

Disclaimer: In no way does this have any true ties or canon to Coma Baby unless stated otherwise. It’s really just an indulgence AU to feed my obsession for Brivere drama.

“No!” Brivere hissed, narrowing his distorted eyes behind his visor. “I refuse to go in there!”

Princess Zelda and Guard Captain Bazz sighed. Their small group had been standing on a hill that overlooked Kakariko Village for well over an hour, trying to coax the Oracle Knight into going inside of its borders.

His reluctance was completely understandable considering what he had just gone through during his capture with the Yiga Clan. Yet, the only people who possibly had even the slightest clue as to how to help the Oracle Knight’s worsening condition were within the very same village that had such strong historical ties to his kidnappers.

“Oracle Knight, it is as I said,” Princess Zelda said gently, holding her hands up to calm him down. “The Yiga Clan is just a group of crazed individuals who swore allegiance to the Calamity after being misled and tricked by Ganon. They broke off from the Sheikah clan over a century ago and that is the only thing that the two of them share. Both groups absolutely despise each other. I deeply regret that you had to go through such torture, but the fact remains that the Sheikah are our allies, and they may be the only ones who can help you.”

Breaking out of the Yiga Clan’s hideout had been nothing short of a miracle. While the Zora soldiers and the Hylian Champion were far more skilled than the Yiga, they still had to go up against dozens, if not hundreds, of Yiga Clan warriors. They had had to carry Brivere, who had passed out, while they snuck around, trying to escape by navigating the maze of hallways. The only thing that had really saved them was when Estuu had tugged Link by his tunic into a room full of bananas, and they had both started throwing them at Yiga Clan soldiers to get them to stop following their rescue group.

Thank Hylia for those banana loving mother fuckers.

After escaping, they had had to make a pit stop in a Gerudo oasis, both to get more cooling jewelry so that the Zoras didn't fry up in the desert sun and to get more health potions to heal Brivere. At first, Link had been worried when the golden knight didnt wake up, but Bazz had assured him that it was better that Brivere was out of it rather than push himself any further.

They had left Princess Zelda in Kakariko Village for safety, and so they had put Brivere on a stretcher and quickly jetted through the river system to meet her back there. He had woken up along the way but hadn’t been lucid enough to understand what was going on.

It was only when Bazz was carrying him on his back to Kakriko Village that Brivere had realized where they were and had started screaming and trying to get away. The Guard Captain had dismissed the other soldiers to tell Prince Sidon what had caused their delay, sensing that the golden knight wouldn't want to be seen in near hysterics and instead, have the chance to maintain his pride.

Which is where they were now. The only ones left in their group aside from Brivere were Princess Zelda, the Hylian Champion, the Holy Knight, and the Guard Captain. While it may have seemed completely reckless and idiotic to suddenly cut down the number of soldiers that they had, the Oracle Knight was extremely grateful for Bazz's generosity. He absolutely despised how weak he was, cutting himself no slack for being heinously tortured for nearly a day. Brivere didn't want anyone else to see him break down, and the four who remained was already pushing it.

“Do you not see how suspicious this is?!” Brivere snapped, gesturing at the Sheikah flags and banners around the village, all of them bearing the same blood red symbol of a crying eye. It was the exact same as the one his kidnappers had proudly worn, only here it was right-side up with the single tear falling the correct way.

He hated how anxious the mere sight of that wretched symbol made him. “They are practically the same insignia!”

“Technically, they are.” the princess admitted. “The symbol belonged to the Sheikah clan, and when the Yiga clan separated from them, they just turned it upside down out of pure spite and mockery. But rest assured, Kakariko Village has only recently begun to use the symbol again out of a desire to honor their history.”

“Is that supposed to make him feel better?” Link retorted with an eyebrow raised.

Brivere threw his hands up. He was just so exhausted. “Enough of this. I am going to step away and wait for you all at the bottom of the hill. If none of you follow within a few minutes, then I will proceed to head back to the Zora Domain alone.”

“You can’t!” Bazz cried out. “I have been ordered to bring you to the Sheikah’s medical attention! Prince Sidon even commanded you to get help!”

“Then we will just have to find something else. I am sorry, Guard Captain. I promise to protect you from any repercussions.” And with that, Brivere turned and walked down the hill. Estuu ran up to him and tapped a clawed finger on his beloved book, The Cursed Girl.

 Try. Try. Try.

Brivere sighed and ran a hand down his face. “Estuu, I am sorry.” he grunted. “It may have worked before, but I am too weak now. I am sorry that you have to see me so broken. Please, either come with me or don’t. It is alright if you stay, for I know that the Hylian Champion will take care of you.”

The golden knight kept walking, passing Estuu as the younger Zora stood in place. Brivere glanced over his shoulder at his younger brother. “I am sorry that I am nothing like Lorelei.” he said, voice barely above a whisper.

He absolutely hated the way his younger brother’s face fell. Link jogged up behind Estuu, leaning in to whisper something to him and patting the back of his armor. The scarlet Zora nodded before running back up to Princess Zelda and the Guard Captain. Brivere didn’t wait for Link, instead continuing to walk away as the Hylian ran up to his side.

“Do you intend to accompany me back to Prince Sidon?” the golden knight asked.

Link hesitantly shook his head. “Actually… I intend to make you go into Kakariko Village for help.”

Brivere instantly stopped and snapped his head to stare down at the sheepish Hylian. “You were the one who warned me of them in the first place, planting worry and anxiety within my mind!” the golden knight hissed. “And now, after I have gone through a horrid experience that confirmed your suspicions, you are going to just take it all back?!”

“Brivere, calm down!”

“No!” he shouted back. Brivere completely despised how hysterical he was becoming. How much of a weaker man he was reduced to. He didn’t even think it was possible to sink lower than he was before. “Why are you doing this? You should be happy that you were correct all along!”

Link grabbed onto Brivere’s long forefins, quickly pulling his face down so that his visor was practically touching the Hylian’s face. “I could never be happy if it meant that you were going to get hurt as a result!” Link yelled in his face.

Both of them panted, chests heaving in time with one another’s, trying to calm down. Finally, Link continued. “I wanted to be right so badly. But then, when we were breaking you out of the Yiga Clan hideout, I never wanted to be so wrong in my life. I wish that this had never happened, that none of this ever existed. Because then you never would have gotten hurt as a result of my carelessness.”

“Hylian Champion.” Brivere said softly. “It is not your fault. The blame lies on those who inflict pain for their own personal desires.”

Link gulped and nodded before letting go, allowing both of them to straighten up. “That is why you need to go to Kakariko Village. You nearly died, Brivere.” The Hylian’s voice became shaky, and he gulped before continuing. “I hate to admit it, but they may be the only ones who can help you, and I can’t risk putting off your safety for my own suspicions. The Sheikah are a double-edged sword; their knowledge and scientific skill can either save lives or ruin them.”

Brivere arched his brow, still forgetting that is was covered by his visor. “And what makes you so sure that I will receive the good end of that sword?”

Link stared back, determination blazing in his intense blue eyes. “Because I will be there. I promise to not leave your side for one second. I’ll make them explain any procedure they do to you and stop them if they don’t. No harm will come to you, and I won’t hesitate to kill them if they go too far. I swear to protect you for as long as I live. And that will be forever.”

The Hylian caught the hesitation that flashed across the golden knight’s face. “What?” he chuckled. “Do you not trust me anymore?”

Brivere’s lips twitched into a small smile and he shook his head. “No. I trust you.”

;

Princess Zelda and her personal knight were sitting on their knees in front of an old woman. The woman was perched on top of a mountain of red pillows while a child was bouncing around in place at the base of it. The Oracle Knight was knelt behind the Hylians, and the Holy Knight and the Guard Captain were stationed just outside the doors. With them was a nervous young woman who had had a difficult time telling them that her name was Paya. A faint sound of wind chimes could be heard in the background, accompanied with a flute that gently played a relaxing tune.

"Zeldy! It's been so long!" the little girl chirped, excitedly wriggling in place. The deadly glare that Link shot her and the one that princess Zelda shot back at him told Brivere that the child was perhaps more complex than he had initially thought.

Princess Zelda's face softened as she turned back to the small girl with a polite grin. "Yes Purah, it almost feels like it’s been one hundred years." She chuckled at her own joke while Link rolled his eyes. "I must say, you have aged quite well during all this time."

"You too Zeldy! Mine was more of an accident though. I was just trying to prolong my life so I could see you again! Failed experiment, you know?"

A cold stinging sensation began to seep into Brivere's stomach. Failed experiment? He was supposed to be seeking help from these people?

"Enough of that, Purah." The old woman said in a creaking, steady voice. "Our guests have clearly come for help."

Purah stamped her tiny feet and pouted. "That's the problem, little sis! Why don't people ever come to hang out?!"

Brivere gawked at the child from behind his visor. She was the older one?

Princess Zelda bowed her head. "I do apologize, Purah, and to you as well Impa.” The older woman nodded with a slight smile stretching on her wrinkled face. “While we stay in Kakariko Village and receive your help I promise to spend any free time catching up with you."

Jumping into the air, Purah pumped her fists and cheered. "Yay! I'm gonna hold you to that! Now, what's the problem?"

The Hylians turned to look at Brivere, who flinched slightly at the sudden attention. "This is the Oracle Knight, Brivere. He is the personal knight of Prince Sidon of the Zora Domain." Zelda explained. "We have brought him to you because of his worsening eye condition and for him to gain possible help controlling his ability to see the future."

The two Sheikah were now the startled ones. "Woah, he can see the future?!" Purah gasped. Before anyone could respond, she darted over to Brivere and snapped his visor open. He cried out in surprise and winced as the open air immediately stung his eyes.

In the blink of an eye, the girl suddenly slammed into the wall across the room. Brivere gaped at Link, who had thrown her and was now seething with anger. "Don't fucking touch him!" he spat.

Purah surprisingly got up and dusted herself off as if she had just tripped. "Oh, c’mon Linky! How are we supposed to help him if we can’t see what's wrong?"

The old woman cleared her throat and gazed at Brivere. "I do apologize for my older sister's brash actions. She is quite curious since she is a scientist, but that is no excuse for her behavior."

Brivere nodded in response, keeping his usual straight face. "It is quite alright. She meant no harm."

Link's chest was heaving as he glared at Purah. "Yeah, right."

Brivere grunted and pulled Link back, bringing him closer to his face. "Do not forget that this was your idea. Please be on your best behavior, for my sake." Sighing, the Hylian nodded and went back to sitting on his knees near Zelda.

“Now, young Zora,” the old woman crooned, “may you come closer so that I can examine your eyes?”

He nodded and got up, quickly walking between the Hylians and kneeling before the old woman, which almost put them at eye level. Brivere still had to tilt his head down as he lifted his visor so that Impa could get a better look.

Unlike Zelda, she didn’t flinch, much to his relief. His condition was the same as when the princess had taken a look at his eyes back in the throne room. However, he had noticed how much that his eyes had gotten much better ever since they had escaped the Yiga Clan hideout. But although his eyes had improved, he absolutely hated that his abusers had had anything to do with it. He would rather have the burning sting back than the mental wounds that would forever scar his mind.

Impa hummed and looked him over before gesturing for the golden knight to put the visor back on. “Fortunately, it is not so bad. I believe that it is caused by your inability to control your powers and see the future. Your mind is not ready, so it has been taking out all of the mental stress and excess magic on your eyes. And while it is somewhat stable now, I suspect that this condition could spread to the rest of your body if we do not do something.”

“Thank you for the insight, Lady Impa.” Brivere said, relieved. There was hope after all. “May I ask what you suggest we may do to try and improve my abilities, therefore my condition?”

Impa paused, muttering something to herself before gesturing for Purah to come to her. When the little girl sped over to the base of the pillow stack, they both leaned in towards each other and began to whisper in fast, hushed tones. Although Brivere was right next to them, he couldn’t catch exactly what they were saying.

Finally, they both nodded to one another, seemingly satisfied. Impa turned back to him with a kind smile. “Young man, we will need to see you use your abilities first. During this, we will try and detect exactly what the problem is and work from there. Depending on what we decide is a good solution, you may need to stay in our village for quite a while. Do you agree to these conditions?”

The golden knight nodded. “Should I try to do it now?”

“Yes, the sooner the better. Is there anything you need from us that may help?”

“No, I will be alright.” Brivere said, shaking his head. “I will just require some space so that I do not hurt anyone if something goes wrong.”

“Yay! This will be exciting!” Purah cheered. She darted around the room, moving tables and papers against the walls. Noticeably, when she teasingly pushed Zelda out of the way, she avoided coming near Link, who was still glaring her down. Everyone in the room went to stand by the stack of red pillows that Impa was sitting on top of as she gestured for Brivere to go to the middle of the room. He nodded and stood in the center, bracing himself for what was to come.

Releasing a tense sigh, he reached a clawed hand up and touched his father’s choker. The visions slammed into his mind harsher than usual, disorientating him so immediately that he instantly collapsed to the floor.

“Brivere!” Link shouted, rushing over to his side. He forced the golden hand off of the choker and cradled Brivere’s head in his lap as he tried to shake it off. “Are you alright?!”

He wanted to nod, but the golden knight knew that his friend would just be able to tell that he was lying. Instead, he just shook his head slightly and quietly cursed at himself.

Lady Impa watched with a concerned frown on her face. “Does it happen that fast every time?” she asked. “You almost passed out the second that you touched that choker. And does the choker have some sort of significance?”

Brivere sat up with Link’s help and looked over at the old woman, trying to regain his emotionless mask. He absolutely hated how quickly he had already collapsed. “Yes, the choker belonged to my late father, Prion. He was the first to have the ability to see the future, and that power was passed onto me by blood. His choker was apparently blessed by Hylia and helped strengthen his abilities. And as for the reaction time…”

His voice trailed off as he tried to force out the words that refused to come out of his throat, making a painful lump swell within it. “…No. It usually does not happen that fast. I used to hold out for at least an hour or more.”

Purah’s white eyebrows flew up. “Wow, really?! Did something happen recently to change how long you could resist it?”

Fear shot through his heart as his eyes nervously darted around the room. Link caught onto the way Brivere’s body had started to slightly tremble and spoke up in his place. “Yeah. We had a run in with the Yiga Clan. They were trying to use him for his abilities, and when we found him, he had been physically and mentally tortured for nearly a day.”

A genuinely sad whimper came from Impa. “Oh, my child… I am so sorry. We assure you that the Sheikah in this village absolutely despise those monsters.”

Brivere shook his head, trying not to let his labored breathing show. “No, it is alright. I have learned that your two clans are separate. I can cast no blame onto you, as the fault only lies with those who have inflicted pain onto me.”

“Such wise words!” Purah chirped. “But I think I know what’s wrong now.”

Everyone turned to gawk at the little girl, who was practically vibrating with energy. “Older sister, have you come to the same conclusion that I have?” Impa asked.

Purah excitedly nodded her head. “I think so!” She whipped around and pointed a small finger at Brivere, eagerly bouncing it up and down. “Your problem is that you’re too stuck in the past!” Purah suddenly shot her other hand out and snapped her tiny fingers together. “Snap!”

He stared back at her. “…I beg your pardon?”

“Yeah! Maybe that wasn’t the problem before you came here, but that’s definitely it now. You have been so conditioned to associate your ability with pain, and now the Yiga Clan, that it’s corrupted your powers! Not to get too deep, but you’ve been so focused on the past that it has prevented you from seeing the future!”

Link snarled at her. “What, is he just supposed to forget all the shit that happened to him?”

Impa shook her head. “No, Link. He just has to not let the past hold him back. It will be difficult, but it is very possible if he puts in the effort.” She turned to the golden knight with a regretful smile. “I also suspect that this may have been the case even before your heinous encounter with the Yiga Clan. Admittedly, we have done my research on you before you even came to us.”

Brivere gulped. “And what do you know about me?”

“That you have a difficult background,” the old woman said with a sad gleam in her eyes. “The son of a famous war hero who suddenly died without anyone even knowing of your existence until your mother stepped forward, claiming that she had married him on the battlefield. But with no real evidence, your family was humiliated and cast aside to the point that she committed suicide, leaving you to care for your younger brother on your own, as society had abandoned you both.”

She closed her eyes and gently shook her head. “I am sorry to bring up such tragic memories or that you even have them in the first place. Your background has imprisoned you for so long that now that you are free you don’t know what to do. The future was never even an option for you because your whole life used to be completely dictated by your past.”

Brivere let out a defeated sigh. “So what do you propose that I do?”

Purah was the one to speak up, voice suddenly serious and intense, her wide eyes immediately narrowing. “You must stay in Kakariko Village and practice using your abilities more. The goal is to try and make amends with the past that continues to haunt your every move and thought. I also suggest trying to figure out why you even want this ability in the first place, to give yourself motivation. Do you think you can do all of this?”

He looked over at Link, who smiled slightly and gave his arm a reassuring squeeze.

Closing his eyes, Brivere nodded his head. “Yes. I look forward to working with you.”

;

The first few days trying to settle down in Kakariko Village were hectic and confusing. They were probably going to be there for a while, because no one had any idea how long Brivere’s healing and practices would take. Impa and Purah had offered to try an ancient procedure that would alleviate the pain in his eyes, at least.

“Not gonna happen.” Link had growled at them, hand on his sword. They didn’t attempt to offer anything else after that.

In the meantime, they were given an empty house near the river that had been abandoned for some time. Brivere was given a few days to get used to his new environment before they actually tried anything, so they spent the time doing domestic chores like cleaning their new home or cooking meals, which was primarily done by Brivere.

True to her word, Princess Zelda spent most of her time catching up with Purah and Impa, who were so happy to see that she was alive after holding back the Calamity for so long. Eventually, she apologized to Brivere for having to suddenly leave; she needed to keep rebuilding her kingdom after accidentally abandoning it for over a century.

“It is alright, Princess Zelda.” he said to the princess as she got into a royal carriage that had come to fetch her. “I will forever be in your debt for your assistance and mercy. You may come to the Zora Domain any time to ask me of my powers to help your efforts.”

She smiled and nodded, but had a noticeably hollow look in her eyes as she glanced at Link, who was scowling at her from behind the golden knight. Princess Zelda didn’t say goodbye to her personal knight and instead ducked back into the carriage, everyone completely silent as it rolled away and out of sight.

Brivere still didn’t understand the tension between the two Hylians, but he decided not to push it as compensation for Link keeping his word to stay by him throughout this whole ordeal.

A letter had come by a Rito messenger that requested for the Guard Captain and the Holy Knight to return, as there was a sudden influx of monsters and raiders around the Zora Domain. Estuu had refused to go back, wanting to stay with his older brother, forcing Bazz to hesitantly agree to pass on the message. Before he left, the Guard Captain apologized to Brivere for everything that had happened on his watch. He was clearly sincere, and while the golden knight assured him that it was alright, he was also unsure if the Guard Captain meant the Yiga Clan encounter or the food rations incident all those years ago. Possibly even both.

Now that it was just his younger brother and his Hylian friend, Brivere couldn’t be any more satisfied than just spending days holed up in his new quaint home, with two of the few people he cared most about in the world. He and Link would often quietly talk as Estuu read the new Sheikah books available to him, and they wouldn’t do much other than cook meals or hunt. It was extremely relaxing, and Brivere was trying not to feel guilty for indulging in their company. The only thing that would have made it better was if Prince Sidon would have been there too.

But he found himself enjoying Link’s presence just as much as Sidon’s. It wasn’t as if he valued the Hylian over his prince and vice versa. The only way he could describe it was that it was just different. His companionship with Link was equally as important as his relationship with the prince. Neither was better or worse, satisfying or disappointing, or one more valuable than the other.

It was just different, yet the same altogether. And it frustrated him.

Brivere couldn’t fathom why he found himself looking at the Hylian every time they were in the same place, which was hard because they were almost always right next to each other, and he didn’t want Link to catch on and inevitably tease him for it. And, in the rare moments that they weren’t together, his mind always wandered off, thinking about what the Hylian was probably doing at that time. Both of them have been described as serious and stoic by others, but genuine laughter and smiles weren’t uncommon between the two of them. They spent the days watching over Estuu like their shared child, while also taking care of the house and each other.

He found himself thinking about the future for once. When Brivere was in the Zora Domain, he was always so busy being Prince Sidon’s knight or taking care of Estuu. And while he loved doing so, he never really had any goals for the future other than just that. He had spent years being told and thinking that he was worthless, so the future seemed to be something so distant and empty that it practically didn’t exist. His only purpose was to be the knight that would protect his prince and the older Zora that would take care of his younger brother. And for most of his life, he was content with being just that.

But as he sat there, talking to Link, with Estuu next to him reading The Cursed Girl, all of them sleepy after a good meal that he’d made and sitting next to a warm fire, he found himself thinking that he could get used to this. The only thing keeping him from wanting this to be the rest of his life was that Sidon wasn’t there to enjoy it as well.

Eventually their cozy domestic life had to slowly give way to what they were actually there for. He was surprised to feel himself hoping that he could have it again, if not now, then perhaps sometime in the future.

;

“Brivere, seriously, we can take a break.” Link said gently, handing Prion’s choker to Estuu, who was gazing at his older brother in concern.

The golden knight shook his head. “No, I can handle it.” he insisted.

Link and Estuu glanced at each other. The Hylian sighed. “Fine. Just one more time. But we aren’t going to put it on you yet, you need to prove that you can handle even touching it first.” With this, Estuu held the choker out to Brivere, who nodded and tentatively placed his hand on the smooth metal.

Fake Alon was suddenly standing over him as pain erupted all over his paralyzed body.

Brivere shouted and jerked back, nearly falling onto the floor before Link caught him. “Okay, that’s it!” the Hylian spat. “We’re taking a break and that’s final.”

He shook his head. “No, I nearly had it that time!”

“No, you nearly passed out that time!” Link shouted back. His body went rigid and he pinched the bridge of his nose he tightly shut his eyes. “Look, I know we have been at this for a week now. And I get that it might be frustrating that you haven’t made much progress yet. But you’ve already been through so much shit, you don’t need to give yourself more.”

Estuu nodded, setting the choker down in the corner of their shared room. He grabbed onto Brivere’s silver wrist cuff and whined as he tried to pull his older brother towards the door. The golden knight’s heart melted at the sweet gesture, and he sighed, nodding as he followed his little brother and Link out of the room and downstairs to the living room.

“How long do you two intend this break to last? It is important for me to practice more.” Brivere asked restlessly as he watched Link and Estuu roll out some blankets on the floor.

They both rolled their eyes and forced him to lay down with them. “As long as we need it to be.” Link grunted, shoving a book into his hands. Estuu had already cracked open The Cursed Girl as the Hylian laid back and closed his eyes.

Brivere hesitantly opened the book Link gave him, trying to focus on the words neatly printed inside. But even though his eyes were closely scanning the paragraphs and each letter loudly rang in his mind, he couldn’t recall anything that he had just read when he got a few pages in. Sighing, he set the book down and laid down next to Link, trying to close his eyes and just nap like the Hylian. But his thoughts were elsewhere, completely focused on the choker in the room just upstairs.

He awkwardly cleared his throat. “I apologize, but has it been enough time yet?”

Estuu’s golden eyes shot up from his book and glared at him.

“Brivere.” Link scowled, eyes still closed.

“…I apologize.”

His body twitched as he laid there, desperately wanting to just leave and practice his abilities a little more. Brivere could feel that he was so close to finally getting it right, to not being a disappointment to Prince Sidon and the rest of the Zora Domain, to fulfilling his role of Oracle Knight…

…To finally being as great as his father once was.

He had no idea how much time had passed as he waited for either Estuu or Link to speak up and agree to let him try again. Brivere scoffed to himself, finding it a bit hypocritical that this was supposed to be a break. If anything, he was more anxious and agitated than before. Laying here as Prince Sidon was waiting for him to return as his Oracle Knight was just a waste of all the effort that it had taken to get him to Kakariko Village in the first place.

Link’s snoring snapped him out of his downward spiral of worry. Although the Hylian was small, he certainly sounded as threatening as a Hinox when he slept. Even Estuu had nodded off, leaning against the side of the couch in their living room.

Wait.

Brivere quietly got up, carefully walking over the blankets and books scattered around his little brother and his Hylian friend. He cringed when the wooden stairs creaked beneath his feet but was relieved to find that it was quiet enough to not stir either of the sleeping people he loved below. Slowly, he crept back into the shared bedroom and found his father’s choker in the darkness, laying in the corner where Estuu had last left it. He reached out his hand, hoping to just be able to practice without waking Link or Estuu in the process.

The second his clawed finger touched the smooth metal, a bolt of pain shot up his back, as if someone had just sliced along his spine with a dagger.

Clasping a hand over his mouth, Brivere muffled a scream that thrashed around in his chest. As he waited for the waves of pain to subside, he quickly realized that this definitely wouldn’t work.

He said a silent prayer of apology to his late father before sliding his longsword under the choker, lifting it up by its straps. Carefully balancing it on the sword and trying not to touch it, Brivere carried the choker down the stairs and out the door, amazed that he hadn’t been caught yet.

Brivere rationalized his recklessness by thinking that the sooner he could gain full control of his abilities, the sooner they could leave. Estuu and Link wouldn’t have to put so much effort into someone like him. He could finally be a proper knight for Prince Sidon and protect him, protect the Zora Domain.

Because that’s all the value he could give to the world.

Brivere had no idea where he was going. It was already nighttime, and even if it hadn’t been, he wouldn’t have been able to navigate the village so well anyways. He had really only left the house to get more food for meals or to talk to Impa and Purah to report his progress, which was usually nothing. His feet just carried him wherever they felt was right, weaving his body through the trees that surrounded Kakariko Village. It took a moment for him to snap out of his daze and realize that he was far away enough to not run into anyone else.

Now out in the middle of the woods, Brivere slipped the choker off of his longsword and onto the ground with a satisfying thump. He crouched down, taking in a deep breath before hovering a trembling hand over the silver metal that shined in the moonlight from above.

He couldn’t even feel the cool metal under his fingers when they brushed against the choker. All he could sense were those Yiga Clansmen, ripping out his scales and tracing lines in his skin with daggers. A shriek ripped itself out of his throat, but he cut it off by gritting his sharpened teeth so hard that he could taste blood in his mouth.

Fighting through the visions of the past and future clashing against each other as they battled for dominance of his mind, he completely rested his hand on the choker and fought back against the darkness that instantly clouded his vision. With a vicious scream, he grabbed onto the choker with both hands and roughly forced it onto his writhing body, scratching and bruising his scales in the process.

Brivere didn’t even know if he had put the choker on correctly. Whether he had or not, he could feel the cool metal quickly burn up, a blaze of fire strapped onto his body, branding itself into him. And then he felt nothing, floating in another plane of existence altogether, watching himself thrashing on the hard dirt ground.

In this other place, all he could see was that horrendous symbol. A blinding white took over his vision, a blood red eye with a single tear falling to the heavens, a disgustingly sweet syrupy voice drowning out the thoughts in his head. Familiar stings of pain erupted in random parts of his body, slowly growing to a screeching crescendo until his whole being was buzzing in agony.

Visions of the future bombarded his mind, taking over his senses yet heightening them at the same time, making the memories of the Yiga Clan’s torture feel fresh. He could see everything and nothing, watching the world tear itself apart and build back up again, in a million different ways with an infinite number of people, over and over and over and over and-

“What the fuck are you doing?!”

A pair of hands roughly grabbed onto the choker, forcing it off of his seizing body. He panted as he stared back up at the person who had helped him, unsure if he was relieved or infuriated to see them.

Link’s icy blue eyes were ablaze as he glared down at Brivere. “What. The. Fuck.”

“Hylian Champion, I-!”

The Hylian threw the choker off to the side, grabbing onto his blond hair and angrily growling to himself. “Are you fucking insane?!” he shouted at Brivere. “Not only did you try it again against your own health, but you even went out to the middle of nowhere without telling anyone and even put it on all the way?! What is wrong with you?!”

Brivere’s distorted eyes narrowed as he slowly got up. “Nothing is wrong with me.” he growled. “We have just been wasting our time and effort with these useless breaks! I am so close!”

“Close to fucking dying!” Link screamed in his face. “Why the hell are you adamant about getting yourself killed?!”

“I am not trying to do so! If I perished, then I could not protect my lord!”

The Hylian’s blue eyes widened in disbelief and anger. “Is this what this is fucking about?” he said in an unsettlingly steady voice. “You want your abilities to work so badly just for someone else’s sake?”

“What else would they be for?!” Brivere shouted back. “Hylia gave the power to my father to protect our people! And as long as I don’t have control of it, I will not be able to carry on his legacy!”

Link jabbed a finger into the Zora’s chest, bruising some of the white scales with his strength. “Then take care of yourself first! You can’t fucking protect anyone if you’re dead!”

Both of them furiously panted inches away from each other’s faces. Link was the first to break the silence, glaring Brivere down with fiery blue eyes. “You know, I think this is why I fuckin hated you when I first met you.” he spat.

The golden knight snarled back. “And what reason would that be?”

“You’re just like I used to be. Thinking that you had no purpose in life other than being someone else’s sword and shield, made to be broken for their own protection.” Link lowered his hand and scowled at the golden knight. “At least I eventually grew out of it.”

His words hit their mark. Brivere visibly flinched, cringing at how true they rang in his heart. “…Even so, perhaps that is all I am. There is no shame in it. If I have no worth other than to be a sword, then I may as well use it to protect someone I love.”

Link angrily shook his head. “Listen to yourself. I used to think that way too, okay? I was literally referred to as the Goddess’s sword, for Hylia’s sake! All I was made to do was to live and die on this earth to protect Princess Zelda and eventually the rest of Hyrule.”

Brivere laughed incredulously. “And you call lashing out at her in anger protection?”

The Hylian shook his head, letting out a heavy sigh that made his shoulders sink. “I-okay, look. Maybe it wasn’t right of me to do so. But she left me out in the world with no help. I had to claw and fight for my life, trying to find some sense of worth in my life other than to suffer and die for the sake of people I didn’t even know. And then when I broke Zelda out, she just expected me to fall in line and obey her unquestionably, even though I couldn’t even remember her.”

Link laughed, but there was no humor in it. “All because I used to have some useless title as Knight. I didn’t get why I should have to die for someone I didn’t even care or know about, and things between us just went down from there.”

Brivere nodded. He supposed that he could understand. While it didn’t excuse Link’s vitriol towards the well-meaning princess, it at least made sense.

“But this isn’t about that.” Link said. His sharp blue eyes were slowly turning soft. “Brivere, why can’t you just accept that you are worth so much more than you think? Not just to me, but to Estuu, and to Sidon, and to so many other people?”

The golden knight let out a sarcastic chuckle. “So many other people?”

A small grin twitched on Link’s face. “You know what I mean, you asshole.”

Brivere sighed and relaxed his body. He was suddenly so tired. “You know of my past.”

The Hylian nodded, gesturing for him to elaborate. And so he did. “Quite simply… people can be ruthless. They did not hesitate to tear into a helpless woman and her son when they suspected that she could be lying, never giving her a chance to really prove herself. They did not waste a second before tormenting us to the point that my own mother thought that it would be fine to suddenly die and leave me on my own, in charge of a child no less. And I was a child too.”

He suddenly staggered forward and Link caught him, gently setting both of them into the grass. He turned his head to cradle it in the Hylian’s soft chest. “And in all honesty, I couldn’t blame her. I considered it myself, sometimes. There is no value in being the son of a lie, at least that’s what everyone else said. So, there was no worth I could give to the world anyways.”

Brivere shuddered from the memories that were forcing themselves to resurface. The lonely nights. The taunting, the mockery. Eyeing his mother’s bottle of poison and wondering how much it would take to do it. “But I couldn’t do it. No one would have been there to take care of Estuu.”

He could feel Link’s smile on his head fin. His voice was slightly muffled, as his head had leaned onto Brivere’s. “Even then, you only found your worth in keeping others alive.”

“…I suppose.”

The Hylian sighed, making the scales on the back of Brivere’s neck tingle at the sudden warm breeze. “So, is this why you want your ability so badly?”

“…Yes.” Brivere hesitantly admitted. He had never told anyone else any of this before.

But he trusted Link.

“It is as you said.” he murmured into Link’s soft tunic. It smelled nice. “I am nothing but a tool for those above me to use. No one gave me the time of day until I groveled and fought for the position of the First Knight. And even then, I was still worthless. Perhaps it is selfish of me, but this new ability of mine… I was finally given value. I was finally validated. It feels like my existence actually means something for once.”

They sat there in silence, listening to the faint sound of chimes as a gentle breeze swayed through the air. Link was the one to break the calm. “You need to work on thinking more of yourself.”

Brivere tried to shake his head, but stopped when he felt Link’s voice tremble against his head tail. “Because I think you’re worth the whole world.”

Stunned, Brivere lay against Link with his eyes open wide. “How can you say that?”

His scales shivered when Link chuckled into them. “When I was off fighting the Calamity, I wasn’t being that heroic, I admit. I didn’t give a damn about most of the people in Hyrule. They always treated me just as the Goddess’s sword, a weapon just to be broken in order to protect them. Nothing more.”

The Hylian’s rough voice suddenly went soft. “But I was thinking about the few people who treated me as a real person, as Link. They meant the world to me, so I was willing to give the world to them.”

Link tilted Brivere’s face up, making his distorted eyes focus on the soft blue ones staring back at him. “And I found myself thinking of you.” he whispered right above Brivere’s mouth.

Every time they would think about this moment later on, be it days or years later, neither of them would be able to recall who leaned in first.

When their lips touched, Brivere finally understood what the Sheikah elders had been telling him. Perhaps it was difficult to let go of the past, and perhaps it would take a long time to get over it. Possibly, he never would. But that didn’t mean that he could allow himself to stay anchored back there forever. He had to consider the future, to accept all of the good things that came to him, to believe and have hope that the horrors of the past would not be all that there was to life.

This is a fanfiction for a fanfiction called Coma Baby by BanishedOne on AO3 (tumblr: @banishfics / @banishedone), and a continuation of the other one I wrote called Catharsis. If you like a grumpy Link and really well developed, deep characters and an amazing take on the political structure of the Zora Domain, then definitely check out Coma Baby! It’s a long read and still going on, but the writing and descriptions are superb and it just means more great content. This fic in particular is focused on my favorite character in the series, the OC Brivere. You don’t need to read the whole series to get what’s going on in this fic though, since a lot is explained in here.

I post memes and fics for Coma Baby on my tumblr, you can chat with me any time about anything! I also post all chapters on my AO3 account BunnyBob!

Huge thank you to my amazing beta reader Alina! Her tumblr and ff.net is @ipromiseitsnotanobsession. She actually does editing shit for a living and she is the one that makes sure these things aren’t trash, so

Disclaimer: In no way does this have any true ties or canon to Coma Baby unless stated otherwise. It’s really just an indulgence AU to feed my obsession for Brivere drama.

Brivere tensely glided through the water with the Hylian Champion sitting on his back, legs clenched around his chest. No one was saying anything, not Link, not the other Zora guards ordered to accompany them, not even Princess Zelda as she followed them along the river on top of Crazy Girl. And although his younger brother was mute, even Estuu was unusually on edge as he swam next to Brivere.

It was obvious as to why everyone was so restless. All of them had been there when the usually gentle Prince Sidon had harshly ordered that Brivere was to go to Kakariko Village for treatment. And while none of them had personally witnessed the fight that had occurred between the Prince and the Hylian Champion when Link had dragged him off afterwards, it was obvious from the way the two of them glared at each other from across the throne room before Brivere’s departure.

Link technically wasn’t supposed to be with them anyways. Apparently, he had tried to talk Sidon out of sending the golden knight away. But because he couldn’t provide any real explanation as to why and refused to tell his secrets, Prince Sidon had quickly gotten frustrated and had ordered the Hylian off of the entourage.

He was only on Brivere’s back at the moment because he had met them near the river and claimed that he needed a ride to Kakariko Village completely by coincidence. Zelda was too tired to argue.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Princess Zelda slowed Crazy Girl down and signaled for the Zora in the water to stop. Apparently, aside from Link, Zelda was the only other person to have some control over the psychotic horse. Perhaps even Crazy Girl could sense the authoritative and holy aura that the princess always gave off.

Bazz nodded at her and quickly stopped, treading water. “Alright! On the command of the Princess we will stop here for the night!”

“Yes sir!” the soldiers chanted back. Noticeably, Estuu, Link, and Brivere were the only ones in the river who didn’t respond. One of them was mute, the other one was a Hylian and technically not under Bazz’s command, and the other was pissed.

Admittedly, Brivere was less than amused that the Guard Captain had been put in charge of the expedition along with Zelda, instead of himself. The two of them still had an awkward relationship thanks to their past interactions, with Brivere and Estuu not giving medical aid to Bazz’s now dead friend and Bazz not giving proper rations for Estuu’s sensitive dietary needs. So technically, their dickish moves evened out.

But that had been a long time ago, and they had now settled into a more professional persona when around each other. Also, Bazz was apparently a childhood friend of Link and the two of them were very close as a result.

No, the irritation lay more with Prince Sidon.

While he appreciated Sidon’s concern, Brivere was annoyed that the prince had suddenly pulled a power move and used his position to force him to go to Kakariko Village against his wishes. Prince Sidon also wasn’t listening to him or Link, absolutely stubborn and stuck on his decision. Sure, maybe they weren’t exactly providing the most precise answers, but he could at least try and sense that something wrong was going on.

“Do you need help, Oracle Knight?” one of the soldiers asked, holding a clawed hand out to Brivere. He remembered her always working in the palace, coincidentally being everywhere he was. They often had polite conversation, so he remembered her name: Alon.

He shook his head. “No, but I appreciate the offer.” he grunted as he pulled himself out of the water. That was the other thing that bothered him. When Prince Sidon had told the other guards to follow them to Kakariko Village, apparently he had made Brivere’s condition seem much worse than it actually was.

It was clear when Alon nodded but still held her arms out, hovering around Brivere as if she was afraid that he would collapse any second. He almost lashed out and smacked her hands away but then he remembered that it wasn’t her fault.

Looking over at Link, he didn’t know whose fault it was.

Sure, maybe the prince was being a bit too cautious for his liking. But they wouldn’t have even been in this mess if Link had just come forward and told Sidon about his immortality and skepticism towards the Sheikah and Princess Zelda.

Link raised an eyebrow, catching the golden knight’s stare. “Something wrong?”

“…No.” Brivere said curtly, turning to walk over to a nearby tree. He slumped up against the rough bark and slid down to sit on the dirt ground, trying to ignore how the other soldiers were glancing over at him in concern. Estuu plopped down right next to him, already cracking open his copy of The Cursed Girl.

Shrugging, the Hylian sauntered over to sit down in front of the brothers. “You know,” he said, absentmindedly dragging his fingers through the dirt, “we’d already be there by now if someone wouldn’t be so stuck up and pretentious about our transportation methods.”

Brivere sighed. He still didn’t understand the tension between Link and Zelda, and while he wanted to trust his friend, he also didn’t want to have preconceived notions about the princess without getting to know her and her side first. “It is alright. While Zora can swim fast we still tire out. Having a rest stop for the night will recover our strength to continue our journey tomorrow.”

“Yeah, but you guys are literally fish people made for the water!” Link cried out, throwing his hands into the air. “We could be resting for the night in Kakariko Village if you guys were just allowed to swim as fast as you usually do!”

“Yes, but we must accommodate for Princess Zelda.”

“She can just ride on your backs like I do! I sat on Sidon’s back while taking out Vah Ruta, for Hylia’s sake, she could easily go down a river!” Link looked back over at the Princess, who was trying to tie Crazy Girl to a tree and failing miserably. “She won’t even let Crazy Girl go wild! My lady could probably get there even before you guys could.”

Brivere tittered, trying to ease his friend’s anger. “I have no doubts of that. She nearly trampled Prince Sidon when I asked you to battle him so long ago.”

A wide smile stretched across Link’s face at the memory. “Wish she could do it again, really. Wipe the smug look off of his face.”

“Are you two going to be alright?” Brivere asked. “I heard you had quite the argument and I would hate for your side of the relationship to be in ruins because of me.”

Link sighed and aggressively raked his fingers through his blond hair. “It’s fine, you’re not the one in the wrong. I guess it’s my fault. After all, this whole situation is because of me. I still haven’t told him about the whole immortality thing yet.”

Brivere stiffened up and glanced over at his younger brother, who didn’t even look up from his book. Catching onto his apprehension, Link leaned in. “It’s fine. Estuu knows. I told him way before I told you, when you made me follow him around to see where he went when he skipped class.”

“That was years ago!” Brivere exclaimed, ogling his younger brother. Estuu flicked his golden eyes up and shrugged before returning his focus to the book in his hands.

Link laughed. “Yup. I also asked him to shoot me in the head with an arrow to test it out.” Brivere’s jaw dropped open as he scanned the Hylian’s rugged face for a scar or any trace of evidence.

“It’s fine, he didn’t actually do it.” Link admitted.

Brivere shook off the Hylian’s casual display of recklessness and silently thanked his brother for not partaking in it. He supposed that he could understand. If Link was actually immortal, there would be no harm in trying to test out its limits.

But as the three of them continued to silently sit there, doubt began to creep into his mind. He glanced over Link’s body, trying to see if there was any hint of past brushes with death. It didn’t help that the Hylian’s muscled body was covered with wounds, some of them so old that they were already faded, while others were fresh and still bleeding a little. But this was to be expected, as the Hylian was a fearsome warrior that picked a fight with anything that happened to move and sometimes even things that didn’t.

Although he had promised to trust Link, Brivere wished that he at least had some sort of undeniable proof to back up the Hylian’s claims of immortality. He did find it suspicious that he kept having visions of the Hylian dying, and unlike similar visions of watching others perish, Link would somehow just reappear and continue along the web of fate. But Brivere wasn’t certain if this was actually a sign of immortality or just a mistake due to a lack of control over his ability to see the future. And not only did Link insist that he couldn’t die, but it was also a power forced on him by crazed Sheikah scientists. Apparently it had damaged his friend both physically and psychologically until he nearly went insane.

And now they were headed to Kakariko Village to ask for help from said crazy scientists, who would be given full medical control of the golden knight’s body.

As much as Brivere wanted to believe in his Hylian friend, he silently hoped that this would be one thing that Link was wrong about.

;

Nighttime had fallen by the time they had finished setting up camp, which was really just two shoddily set up tents for the Hylians near the river where the Zora soldiers would sleep. Brivere sat by the edge of the water, silently watching his younger brother’s scarlet body bob gently beneath the surface.

It was fairly quiet at this point of the night. Most of the soldiers were already sleeping in the water, their black and blue scales shining in the moonlight. Guard Captain Bazz and a couple other guards were on the first watch shift. Princess Zelda had turned in early, and Link was not far away as he talked to Crazy Girl, which made him seem crazy as well since he was casually chatting with an angry horse.

Yet even in the calm lull, Brivere couldn’t help but feel the scales on the back of his neck prickle, as if a hand was closing around his throat. He quickly whipped around, aggressively pointing his longsword at a shadowy form approaching him from behind.

“Oracle Knight!” Alon yelped, holding up her clawed hands. “I am so sorry to disturb your peace!”

Brivere frowned and quickly retracted his blade. “No, I should be the one to apologize. You have done nothing wrong, Alon.”

A shy smile stretched across the black Zora’s face. “Ah! You remembered my name! I am so honored!”

“Of course. You have always been a dedicated soldier and you were even polite enough to hold casual conversation with me back at the palace when many others would not.”

Alon’s head tail wagged excitedly in response. “I am so honored to receive such praise from the Oracle Knight! Please, may I sit next to you if it is no trouble?”

Brivere nodded, patting the ground next to him. She quickly plopped down into the dirt, putting her legs in the water and eagerly kicking them around. Nothing about Alon stood out except for her energetic personality, which clashed against the serious way that most Zora soldiers carried themselves. Other than that, she easily blended into the crowd being of average height and body width. Even her black scales were a common color amongst most soldiers her rank.

Both of them quietly sat there for a few moments, letting the sound of gentle currents hold a conversation in their place. Finally, Alon spoke up, turning to Brivere with her golden eyes shining with curiosity.

“So!” she said. “I do not intend to be rude, but can you truly see the future?”

Brivere stared back at her in confusion. “Yes?” he replied hesitantly. “I would not have this position otherwise.”

“Sorry, sorry!” she yelped, quickly smacking a hand to her face. “I apologize! Of course, that is so obvious!” They fell into an awkward silence before she tilted her head back up again, peering at him from the corner of her eye. “I suppose that I just worded it wrong. Forgive my rudeness, I was actually just trying to ask how the process works.”

Humming, Brivere relaxed his shoulders. “It is quite hard to explain. I do not believe that I am the best person to speak of it, as I do not have full control of my ability yet.”

Her head snapped to look directly at him. “Nonsense! While you may not have full control yet, I am confident that you will eventually! In the meantime, may you tell me what it feels like?”

Brivere hesitated before giving in and responding. It was hard not to get caught up in Alon’s infectious excitement. “I suppose… the closest I can compare it to is the water, but perhaps that is due to me being a Zora and so I am be biased.” Alon giggled at this, making him ease up a little more. “It depends on how much control I have. Images will crash around in my mind, and I can either allow them to drown me or gently carry me around. Those images melt into scenes of the future. But it becomes overwhelming when they all play at the same time, lapping over each other. I am working on becoming more focused.”

Alon nodded thoughtfully, humming as her legs continued to kick in the water. “If it is not too much to ask, may you give me a demonstration?” Alon politely asked.

If it were anyone else, Brivere would have been fed up and annoyed with the conversation at this point. But Alon’s genuinely pure curiosity swayed him, and he found himself nodding slightly. “I cannot guarantee that it will immediately work. But I will try.”

The black Zora quickly nodded her head, retracting her legs from the river and curling into a ball as she quietly stared at Brivere with wide eyes. He chuckled at her childlike wonder before closing his own.

He reached a clawed hand to touch his father’s choker. Technically, any physical touch with the silver collar would send him into a downward spiral of overwhelming visions, but he wore normal armor underneath to allow him to wear it without having a mental breakdown. Brivere didn’t necessarily wear the choker to show off his title as Oracle Knight but rather because he wanted to have a piece of his father with him at all times.

As expected, the usual flurry of images crashed into his mind. No matter how many times he had done this, it never lessened in its intensity. He quickly focused on the first scene he could find, trying to soak in the information before he collapsed from the effort.

Alon flinched when Brivere’s hand suddenly shot down from the collar and his head flew back. “Are you alright?!” she exclaimed, grabbing onto his shoulders. “I am so sorry! This is my fault!” He waved her away, blinking his eyes to adjust to the darkness inside of his visor.

Pointing a clawed finger out to the river, Brivere grunted. “A red fish is going to jump out of the water over there.”

Snapping her head to where he was gesturing at, Alon stared wide-eyed at the water, waiting for something to pop out. Several moments passed as an awkward silence fell over them. She opened her mouth to ask something, but the words were caught in her throat as a bright red fish gracefully leaped out of the water and splashed back in.

“Amazing!” she cried out. “You are a gift from Hylia herself!”

Brivere flushed, unused to such praise. “…Thank you.”

She quickly turned back to him with a wide grin stretched across her face. Something about it seemed unsettling. “This is simply a miracle! Your gift will prove to be very useful! I do not understand why you waste your talents on the royal family and those Hylians!”

Brivere scowled and abruptly stood up. “Do not speak of my lord like that.” he spat, turning to walk away. Alon shot up onto her feet and ran in front of him, a crazed look in her eyes that made the smile across her face seem extremely disturbing. “You are wasting your time here! You literally have the power to predict the future, yet you continue to bow to a useless royal line because of their blood?! Princess Zelda and the rest of those Hylians have deeply mislead you!”

“I will not tolerate such slander!” Brivere snapped back. “Alon, what has gotten into-!”

The words were cut off when images suddenly slammed into his mind the second that Alon grabbed onto his wrist. “You must simply come with me!” she cried, tightening her grip. “We can show you your true potential!”

Panic. Darkness. Bananas. Pain. Shock.

Brivere roared, whipping out his sword and randomly slicing it through the air. He didn’t realize what he had done until Bazz ran over, covering the open wound on Alon’s arm with a cloth.

“What in Hylia’s name happened?!” the Guard Captain cried out.

He opened his mouth to speak, but Alon cut him off. “It is my fault, Guard Captain! I startled the Oracle Knight while he was having a vision and he accidentally lashed out!”

Bazz looked over at the golden knight with disgust. “No Alon, you are not at fault.”

Brivere stared back at the Guard Captain. “That is not what happened.”

“Then do you care to explain yourself?”

Brivere grunted, trying to keep his usual straight face. “Alon asked me to demonstrate my ability, and I obliged. Out of nowhere, she began to slander the royal family and Princess Zelda, then tried to grab me and pull me away. But when she touched me, I had a vision and…”

Bazz’s brow shot up. “And? What was the vision of?”

He cringed. “It is hard to explain. But I do know that Alon is not to be trusted.”

The Guard Captain let out a long sigh and rubbed his temple. “Oracle Knight,” he said, exasperated. “I have known Alon ever since we were children. While we were not exactly close friends, she was a pleasant acquaintance that went through the same military training as I did. She is as dedicated to the Royal Family as the rest of us.”

Brivere stepped forward, trying to convince him of the truth. “No, but she-!”

Bazz held a hand up. “It is alright, Oracle Knight. Prince Sidon warned us that this may happen. We were all well aware of your condition when we signed up for this.”

He let out an incredulous laugh. “Oh? And what is that condition?”

“The eyes, for one thing. Mental breakdowns, passing out, aggression, hallucinations, the like. You most likely just imagined the whole thing and accidentally attacked the first person who came near you, which is why we must get you to Kakariko Village immediately. Not just for your safety but for everyone else around you as well.”

Brivere glared at the other Zora. “I. Did. Not. Imagine. It.” he spat. Bazz glared back and stepped closer, making their brows nearly touch. A growl hummed in their chests as they stared directly into each other’s golden eyes, daring the other Zora to make the first retort. Alon glanced at both of them, trying to come up with something to diffuse the situation.

“What’s going on here?”

The three Zora turned to look at Link, who had suddenly appeared by their side, brow raised. “Master Link,” Bazz said, kneeling down on one knee to come to eye level. “The Oracle Knight has had an episode due to his powers and accidentally lashed out at one of our soldiers.”

“I told you that was not what occurred!” Brivere snapped. “I used my ability, yes, but she started babbling about nonsense and insulting the royal family. When she grabbed me, I had a vision. She is not to be trusted.”

Bazz rolled his golden eyes. “Yet he will not share exactly what the vision entailed, so you can see why I am a bit skeptical, Master Link.”

Link looked at both of them, and Brivere’s heart sank at the thought that his Hylian friend didn’t believe him. “Bazz, make a medical tent for her and heal her wounds.” Link said, pointing to a clearing off to the side. The Guard Captain nodded and gently led Alon away, eyeing Brivere as he left.

“Hylian Champion…” Brivere said, hesitantly. “You believe me, don’t you?

He hated how long it took for Link to barely nod his head. “Come back to my tent for tonight, Brivere.” he urged.

Anger flared up in his chest. “No. I refuse. Why did you not defend me when the Guard Captain accused me of being insane?”

“Because I knew that it wouldn’t do anything!” Link hissed back. “No one is going to believe us if we don’t have concrete evidence! I should know, Sidon would barely listen to me when I tried to get us out of this mess!”

Brivere’s mask was as cold as ever. “And what good that did. You didn’t even tell my lord about your immortality or suspicions of the Sheikah scientists! Do you not trust your own lover with such crucial information?”

Link grunted. “That’s not it. I trust Sidon whole-heartedly. He was the first person I could ever open up to and actually care about after I woke up from my coma.”

“Then why am I the only one who knows about your immortality aside from my younger brother and the Sheikah scientists who gave it to you?!” Brivere spat back.

The Hylian glanced down, suddenly interested in the mud clinging to his boots. “Look,” he said quietly. “The problem isn’t my trust in Sidon. It’s Sidon’s reckless trust in everyone else.”

Brivere arched his brow, forgetting that the gesture would be obscured by his visor. “What do you mean?”

“Admittedly, it’s one of the few flaws that I absolutely despise about him.” Link said. “He is way too trusting and nice for his own good. All you have to do is simply exist and that idiot is willing to put everything on the line just for you.”

The golden Zora nodded. It certainly was one of the more infuriating aspects of being Prince Sidon’s personal knight. He was forced to watch his beloved prince get taken advantage of by too many people who just wanted to abuse his kindness. The large red dork once even tried to get rid of a Lynel by peacefully negotiating with it.

But they both knew that they couldn’t hold that trait against the prince. If it wasn’t for Sidon’s patience and boundless love then neither of them would have ever been given the time of day, or even be dating him at the same time, no less.  

“And that’s just the problem.” the Hylian continued. “I know that if I tell him, he will believe me. But then he will believe Zelda, and then King Dorephan, and everyone else who tells him otherwise. He is too gentle to say no and too naïve to believe that there are more sinister things lurking within those you least expect. Sidon just took the offer for medical help at face value and didn’t even investigate into it further.”

Both of them stared at each other as the question that had been blazing inside of Brivere for days finally came to a roaring crescendo, becoming an inferno that threatened to burn him alive if he didn’t set it free.

“Link.” he said carefully. “What exactly made you decide to trust me so much in the first place? What makes me so different from my lord?”

Caught off guard by the sudden question and the rare use of his name from the golden knight, Link hummed as he racked his brain for answers. Finally, a shuddering sigh deflated his small form as he looked back up at Brivere. “I guess it’s just because I know that you’re just like me.”

“…How so?” Brivere asked. “May you please elaborate?”

Link grunted, raking his dirty fingers through tangles of blond hair. “You and I aren’t like Sidon. We are broken beyond repair and can barely show genuine kindness like he can.”

The golden knight tittered. “Am I supposed to take this as a compliment or something?”

A smirk stretched across the Hylian’s face. “No, asshole. I’m just trying to say that we have been fucked over so many times that we have built up a wall to keep everyone out. To stop them from hurting us and leaving our bloody corpses out for the bokoblins.”

Brivere nodded. He couldn’t argue against the truth. His own infamous emotionless mask was already all of the evidence that he needed.

“I know that we didn’t have the best start.” Link admitted. “I punched you straight off a bridge once for Hylia’s sake. But after that, I watched us slowly take down each other’s walls, brick by brick. And I like the Brivere that I found hiding underneath all of the fancy silver jewelry and armor.”

He had always waited for the perfect moment to quote Betaal’s favorite comeback. “Are you going to finish sucking my dick first or are you going to get to your point?” Brivere asked, trying to keep a straight face.

His indifferent mask cracked when Link’s blue eyes flew wide open as he gawked at the usually stern golden knight, jaw agape. Both of them let out low, muffled chuckles that exploded into full-on laughter that shook their bodies and nearly toppled them onto the ground.

“Look!” Link wheezed between gasps for air. “I’m just trying to say that trust doesn’t come easily to either of us. So I knew that if I told you my suspicions, your trust would be genuine. Your trust just like mine. It takes a lot to earn it, but once you do, it’s the strongest damn thing in the world.”

As both of them settled down, Brivere repeated his friend’s words over and over again in his mind. He couldn’t help but agree with the Hylian’s statements. The golden knight could easily count the number of people he completely trusted on Estuu’s only hand, but he knew that he would do anything for each and every one of them.

And the Hylian Champion was included in that count.

Link was the first to recover from his fit of giggles, straightening up as he patted Brivere on the arm. “Do you trust me enough to not stab you in your sleep if you sleep in my tent tonight?”

Chuckling, Brivere nodded. “I trust you.”

;

           A sickeningly white mask.

           A blood red symbol branded into its surface.

           An upside down eye.

           A single tear falling upwards.

           A shining blade, plunging into bright blue eyes.

Brivere shot up into a sitting position, breaking out into a cold sweat as he gasped for breath. A lightning bolt of pain shot through his back, as if someone had sliced into his skin along his spine. His eyes were burning in his skull as they frantically searched the inside of the canvas tent for something.

Someone.

His sudden movement woke instantly woke up Link, who grabbed onto the golden knight’s shoulder. “Brivere!” he exclaimed. “Are you okay?”

Without responding, Brivere smacked the Hylian’s hand away, scrambling to grab his silver scale longsword before bolting out of the tent. Link sat paralyzed on the cot, staring after him in confusion before his senses caught up to reality.

“Brivere!” he screamed, tossing aside the sheets to run after him.

The golden knight didn’t hear the Hylian’s shouts behind him, his senses completely taken over by something else. It felt the same as when he was asleep. His body was out of his control and it felt like he was just watching himself from afar, as if he wasn’t the golden Zora that was desperately running through the woods. He didn’t know what exactly he was looking for, but all he knew was that it needed to reveal itself immediately.

Zora soldiers that were sleeping in the river shot up at the Hylian’s shouts, ogling Brivere as he sprinted past them. Bazz’s eyes went wide as he realized where exactly the Oracle Knight was heading. “He’s going to Alon’s medical tent!” he shouted as he pulled himself out of the water. “Restrain him before he hurts her again!”

“Yes sir!” they shouted, following after the Guard Captain.

Everyone was now chasing the hysterical Oracle Knight, who was running towards the medical tent like his life depended on it. And as far as he knew, it really did.

Alon jumped in her makeshift bed as Brivere tore the feeble tent down from the trees, exposing her to the open night air. “Oracle Knight!” she yelped. “Please, what are you-!”

Brivere cut her off as he pointed his longsword to her throat, pressing its sharp edge into her scales until a little bit of blood trickled out from under them.

“I will not hesitate to kill if you do not immediately reveal yourself.” he growled.

His distorted eyes pierced into her golden ones from the slits of his visor, seeing the eerie calm that hid beneath her mask of faked fear. He was so focused on it that he completely ignored the Zora soldiers that were still rushing towards him from behind.

“Oracle Knight Brivere!” the Guard Captain shouted. “Cease this at once!”

Bazz would have tackled the wild golden knight to the ground if his Hylian friend hadn’t done that exact same thing to the black Zora first. Both of them slammed into the dirt with Link on top of him, and before Bazz could say anything, a hand was roughly pressed onto his shoulder, pinning him down. The other guards ran around them, still charging at Brivere.

“Call off the other soldiers Bazz!” Link screamed in his face.

“But the Oracle Kni-!”

Link smashed his fist into the ground next to the Guard Captain’s head. “Now, Bazz!”

The black Zora gulped. “All soldiers stand down!” he hesitantly shouted.

They all immediately stopped, looking back at the Hylian Champion, who was still holding their Guard Captain down. Even Brivere looked over his shoulder, trying to see what was going on. “But sir!” one of them yelled back. “The Oracle Knight is not in his right mind! His condition has only worsened and has corrupted him!”

Link got up from Bazz’s chest with a blazing glare, making them all flinch. “Have more faith in him!” he scowled at them. “He is one of the strongest warriors in the Zora Domain, with the ability to see the future, for Hylia’s sake!”

He then turned to focus on the golden knight ahead of them, whose sword was still drawn to the cowering woman beneath its sharp point. “Brivere!” he yelled. “Do what you believe is right! I’ll back you up!” Gratitude blossomed in the golden knight’s chest at his friend’s absolute trust.

Alon gaped at the other soldiers, who were all hesitantly twitching in place. "You guys!" she cried out, eyes wide. "The Oracle Knight has gone insane! Prince Sidon warned us of this, you have to help me! He's going to kill me!"

None of them moved, save for their eyes glancing back at the infuriated Hylian Champion that glared them all down, effectively anchoring them into the dirt. Even Bazz slowly got up, nodding at Brivere to continue.

Confidence soared through the golden knight's body as he nodded back, turning to glare down the blade at the cowering woman trapped beneath it. "Last chance." he said in a frighteningly steady voice, pushing the sword a little deeper into her throat, not enough to cause too much damage but just enough to make the threat clear as day.

He could feel the weapon in his hands tremble from how hard Alon was shaking. It almost made him reconsider his brash actions, but the way that her golden eyes were completely calm made him all the more sure that he was doing the right thing.

"Oracle Knight!" she yelped, holding her hands up. "Please, it's just me, Alon! Snap out of it!"

"I had a vision. You are not Alon."

At this, her face contorted, quickly switching from fear to amusement. "Oh." she said in a sickeningly sweet voice. It felt like syrup, disgustingly slithering around in his head. "I suppose I should have anticipated that. Then again, isn’t that your whole thing?"

Alon slowly stood up, still allowing Brivere's sword to pierce her neck as she rose. She smirked at him, staring down the blade at him as if it was just a minor inconvenience. "You think you are the one to make demands here?" she purred. "I think I'm the one in charge, really. I'll even give you a choice: either you come with me willingly or I take you by force. No matter your reply I still intend to bring you to the rest of my clan."

Brivere reeled his sword back before harshly slashing at Alon. She disappeared into a puff of smoke and reappeared behind him.

"BRIVERE!" Link screamed. The other Zora soldiers all stared in shock as Alon's body suddenly transformed into that of a smaller warrior covered in black cloth, with a white mask bearing the red symbol of an upside-down crying eye obscuring their face.

The golden Zora quickly whipped around, slicing at the imposter who simply danced away, forcing Brivere to follow them as they nimbly dodged his attacks.

"All soldiers assist and protect the Oracle Knight!" Bazz shouted.

"Yes sir!" The guards yelled back in unison, rushing forward with their silver spears pointed at the new threat. Link charged as well, drawing out his sword and screaming a ferocious battle cry.

The imposter looked back at the stampeding soldiers, and although the mask covered their face, it was obvious that they were amused. They looked back at Brivere and continued to weave between his attacks.

"Will you come with me or not?!" they gleefully shouted, ducking under his sword.

He scowled back, swinging his weapon even harder. "Never! My life lies with the royal family and Prince Sidon of the Zora Domain!"

"Then don't say I didn't warn you!"

Before Brivere could process their words, the other warrior had whipped out a shock arrow from behind their back and stabbed it into his arm.

As he felt his body seize from the electric currents, fire blazing through his veins, he could see Link and the other Zora soldiers still running at them with panic branded into their faces.

“Brivere!"

This is a fanfiction for a fanfiction called Coma Baby by BanishedOne on AO3 (tumblr: @banishfics / @banishedone), and a continuation of the other one I wrote called Catharsis. If you like a grumpy Link and really well developed, deep characters and an amazing take on the political structure of the Zora Domain, then definitely check out Coma Baby! It’s a long read and still going on, but the writing and descriptions are superb and it just means more great content. This fic in particular is focused on my favorite character in the series, the OC Brivere. You don’t need to read the whole series to get what’s going on in this fic though, since a lot is explained in here.

I post memes and fics for Coma Baby on my tumblr, you can chat with me any time about anything! I also post all chapters on my AO3 account BunnyBob!

Huge thank you to my amazing beta reader Alina! Her tumblr and ff.net is @ipromiseitsnotanobsession. She actually does editing shit for a living and she is the one that makes sure these things aren’t trash, so

Disclaimer: In no way does this have any true ties or canon to Coma Baby unless stated otherwise. It’s really just an indulgence AU to feed my obsession for Brivere drama.

It was no surprise when a letter came to the Zora Domain from Princess Zelda of the Hylians, announcing that she would arrive within two weeks to speak with the Oracle Knight.

When Brivere had first awakened his ability to see the future, many Zora in the Domain had scrambled to ask him for advice. The requests themselves varied in how reasonable they were, ranging from military officials like the First Knight Betaal wanting guidance on their next military outing to people like Bazz sheepishly asking if he had a future with another soldier named Gaddison.

(The answer, by the way, made Brivere cringe so hard that he hurriedly excused himself, saying that he had a headache. And by Hylia’s grace, he hadn’t seen the Guard Captain since.)

Admittedly, the golden knight was reluctant to use his abilities when everyone first started to come to him for advice. The situation reminded him too much of Estuu’s healing ability during the Water Blight, where people who used to not give his younger brother the time of day suddenly treated Estuu like he was a god. Zora would come to their home every day, begging for help, bringing anything from rupees to food, which was rare due to the contamination of their food supply. Both brothers quickly learned that they would not be accepted by society unless they proved to be useful, to be a tool to fulfill others’ wishes and desires.

But then Brivere started to think about what his father would have done. He had always grown up hearing about Prion’s heroism and selflessness, using his ability to see the future in order to help others and protect his beloved Domain. And while their circumstances were different, Brivere wanted to be like his father, to live up to Prion’s legacy, to prove that he truly deserved to carry on the great war hero’s memory. Plus, Brivere was surprisingly soft at heart, and found himself to be more forgiving towards those who hadn’t been so cruel towards him and his family in the past.

So, eventually, the golden knight caved in and helped out other Zora as much as he could. Brivere noticeably avoided some of his worst offenders, which were the Zora who had tormented him and his family the most over the past hundred years. Everyone quietly agreed that this was perfectly understandable, save for the Zora that he was actually avoiding, who were pretty pissed off about being ignored. But no amount of rupees or apologies would sway the golden knight with the indifferent mask, who was silently pleased to watch his past tormentors now be on their knees, begging for mercy and pleading for his help.

However, there was one problem with the increasing amount of assistance that Brivere was giving, and that was the lack of control over his abilities. This resulted in him becoming easily exhausted, especially when he put his father’s choker on. The Oracle Knight often tried to excuse the negative consequences of his powers, saying that helping other Zora, no matter how small the request, was just practice for strengthening his abilities. Estuu had already followed Brivere everywhere due to his new status as Holy Knight, but now he did it more out of concern for his older brother to make sure that he didn’t randomly collapse somewhere without anyone’s knowledge.

His sensitive condition only worsened when word of his abilities spread outside of the Domain and seeped into the rest of Hyrule. At first, it was only the occasional Rito messenger asking for the best flight route or a Gerudo wondering about the possibility of a promotion in her army, but soon dozens, if not hundreds, of travelers flocked to the Zora Domain for the sole purpose of speaking with the Oracle Knight.

Many Zora were actually happy with this, because trade had greatly increased as a result of the influx of travelers, and the Zora economy began to thrive. However, King Dorephan, Prince Sidon, and many of the other people who worked closely with Brivere worried about the impact that his ability had on him. Even Betaal was keeping her eye on the Oracle Knight, worried that he might have a mental breakdown again.

Eventually, it was agreed upon that Brivere could not use his abilities unless specifically requested by either King Dorephan or Prince Sidon themselves, despite his many protests. Even if the council or one of the higher guard officials wanted his insight, they would have to ask the royal family first. The golden knight kept assuring the others that nothing was wrong, despite his eyes still not returning back to normal. Brivere had no choice but to agree and was honestly too tired to fight back, much to Estuu’s relief.

Luckily for the Domain, trade continued, but the number of outside travelers greatly diminished when the new restriction for the Oracle Knight was officially put in place. Some still found a way around the new rule, coming before King Dorephan with the excuse of discussing politics when they really intended to speak to Brivere. The king actually didn’t mind, since the requests usually came from other rulers or leaders from around Hyrule. He sympathized with their desire to help their people thrive as that was all he wanted to do as well.

When this had first happened, it came as a surprise to everyone, especially Brivere. Riju, the Gerudo Chieftess, had announced that she wanted to create better trade routes for both of the Domains. The hot desert where the Gerudo lived was impossible to access by any Zora merchants and the Zora Domain was too far to be appealing to any Gerudo travelers. She had come with hopes to find a solution that benefitted both of their peoples.

It was quite the sight to see the Gerudo Chieftess, decked out in the extravagant gold jewelry and silk clothes that her people were famous for, dance into the throne room with her warriors following closely behind. They all swayed their hips and swung their swords to the beat of a drum hammering in the background as a woman beautifully sang a song in a foreign language.

Brivere worried that his younger brother would be bothered by the sudden change in environment, but, luckily, the way they had positioned themselves had worked in Estuu’s favor. With the addition of Oracle Knight and Holy Knight to Prince Sidon’s entourage, they had had to figure out a new way to present themselves during official meetings and court hearings. Eventually, they had settled on Sidon standing with his arms behind his back, Betaal and Brivere on either side of him with their heads slightly bowed and hands on their upright weapons standing in front of them, and Estuu kneeling to the other side of Brivere with his head bowed low.

So when the music had gotten too loud, Estuu had been able to cover his head without anyone noticing. It still worried Brivere and he could only hope that the performance wouldn’t last too long.

The display of Gerudo culture finally hinted that it was stopping when Riju wildly twirled a sword around her dancing body as the song came to a crescendo and ended as she slammed the sword’s pointed end into the ground. Her warriors all grunted out a brief war chant before falling onto one knee behind her. The Zora present for the amazing display quickly clapped, long enough to be polite but short enough to spare poor Estuu who was trembling slightly off to the side.

King Dorephan and Chieftess Riju had a lengthy talk about possible solutions to their trade route dilemma, but Brivere couldn’t help but notice that the chieftess seemed distracted, glancing around the room, clearly having something else on her mind.

Eventually, even the Zora king caught on, and he politely shifted the conversation by asking if there was something else she wished to discuss. The Gerudo Chieftess hesitated, a bit embarrassed to have been caught, but she relented and told him that while the trade situation between their Domains was troubling, she was more alarmed about the Yiga Clan presence that was threatening her kingdom. She had heard word of a Zora that could apparently see the future and hoped that she could inquire with him for possible actions that she and her people could take to protect themselves.

At this, all of the Zora in the throne room turned to Brivere, who flinched slightly. It wasn’t a surprise that someone was asking for his help, he just didn’t expect it to happen at that moment. When people had come to him before, they had been upfront about what they wanted to ask. Admittedly, he had also zoned out for most of the meeting, completely uninterested in the nuances of trade and landscapes across Hyrule.

He looked to Sidon for help only to find the prince staring back, looking just as confused as he was. King Dorephan was the one who finally gave Brivere permission to step forward, and he did so, Estuu following close behind with a paper and quill in hand. He quickly used his abilities and ended up passing out, but when he woke up hours later he was told that Riju had already left, satisfied with a new trade route and better understanding of the Yiga Clan’s plans. As compensation she had left him some rupees and a couple of interesting items from her culture, which he thought was a pretty good exchange, especially since Estuu seemed to enjoy playing with them.

After this, more and more leaders came from all around Hyrule after hearing about how well the exchange had gone. And, while King Dorephan was generous, he was still concerned for Brivere’s wellbeing and only allowed him to use his abilities if he felt well rested or if the request was urgent.

But apparently an exception was made when Princess Zelda’s letter had arrived. Usually the king would dismiss such a vague request, especially since Brivere had exhausted his abilities just two days prior for the Rito leader, Kaneli, but Zelda had a close friend of the king’s beloved daughter, Mipha, before she tragically passed in Vah Ruta.

Everyone could see how joyful King Dorephan was at just the mere announcement of Zelda’s arrival, and so, Brivere didn’t have the heart to refuse. Besides, he had his own selfish reasons to participate, since whenever Zelda went somewhere on a diplomatic mission her own personal knight would be right by her side. Link had left months ago, saying that he would find help for Brivere’s strange eye condition, but Brivere wouldn’t be surprised if the reckless Hylian had gotten distracted in the process. It wasn’t too big of a deal to him since his visor still helped him get along just fine; he was just more excited at the chance to see his friend again.

But something else bubbled inside of him as well at the thought of a reunion with Link, which he tried to push aside when he couldn’t quite explain it.

And then the day finally came.

Usually, when most leaders, royalty, or other rulers visited King Dorephan, they would bring a large entourage of knights and warriors to accompany them. This was both for their own protection and to display their Domain’s strength and power.

But when Princess Zelda arrived, the only person with her was Link. She certainly didn’t need soldiers around her to show off her strength, for it was clearly visible in the way she held her head high with confidence. And she definitely didn’t need a group of warriors for protection, for Link was his own one-man army. No one would dare to touch the princess that the Hylian Champion, who had defeated the Calamity on his own when no one else could, swore his life to protect. The two of them rode in on top of Crazy Girl, who surprisingly wasn’t crazy as she trotted into the throne room.

Sidon visibly flinched at the sight of the insane horse, remembering how she had nearly killed him when he had fought against Link a few years prior. It took all of Brivere’s willpower to not laugh at the frightened look on his prince’s face and the confused way that Betaal eyed him in concern.

King Dorephan smiled warmly at the princess. “It is a great pleasure to see you again, Zelda. I must admit that we had desired your presence earlier once we found out that you were still alive.”

“I apologize, King Dorephan.” she replied politely. “I wished to come back sooner as well. No one else has remembered me or Link, as everyone we knew perished over one hundred years ago. But I am overjoyed to know that my dear Zora friends still remember me.”

“It is alright, child. We know that you must attend to your own kingdom first. Speaking of which,” he gestured his large, finned hand towards Brivere, who straightened up. “That is your reason for visiting, yes? You wish to ask our Oracle Knight to help you with rebuilding your kingdom with his visions of the future?”

A smile gracefully slipped onto the princess’s face. “Actually, I believe that it is he who will be receiving help today.”

Everyone silently gawked at the princess, surprised. All of the other nobles and leaders who came to the Domain always asked for Brivere’s help, not the other way around. Zelda caught onto their shock and quickly spoke to clarify. “Link has returned to me, saying that his dear friend has had a strange occurrence happen to his eyes, as a result of his new ability to see the future. He was worried and asked if I could help, so I obliged, of course.” She turned to look at the golden knight with a soft gaze. “May I see it, so I have a better understanding of your situation?”

Brivere hesitated, unsure of what to do as everyone stared at him. He kept his usual blank face yet Sidon still caught the nervous way he looked at him through the slits of his visor. Clearly, he was asking what to do, but even Sidon didn’t know what to tell him.

Laughing, King Dorephan was the one to ease the tension that had suddenly built up in the throne room. “Go on, Brivere. She only wishes to help you.”

Nodding, Brivere stepped towards Princess Zelda and knelt both out of respect in order to be at eye level with her.

“Could you lift your visor, please?” she asked gently.

Brivere paused out of uncertainty. “With all due respect, Princess Zelda, it is quite disturbing. I would hate to leave a bad impression on both my and my lord’s part.”

Zelda laughed and waved his worry away with a graceful hand. “Nonsense! I held back the Calamity for a hundred years, for Hylia’s sake! Nothing could shock me now. Besides, it will only get worse if you let no one look at it to help.”

Hesitating, Brivere eventually relented and slowly raised the visor up. He flinched when Princess Zelda visibly cringed and held a dainty hand over her mouth, blue eyes opening wide. “O-oh!” she stammered. “I must admit, this is not what I was expecting.”

Brivere flushed, looking away before he could frighten her any further. His eyes were watering in the crisp air and burning at the faint sunlight that illuminated the throne room. They were just as bad as the last time he had exposed them in the barracks a few months back, if not worse. Bloodshot and pulsating, one eye was completely blacked out as golden symbols flashed and floated around his iris while the other eye had shifting rings of recurring gold, white, and purple. The skin on the upper half of his face used to be a pale blue but had faded into a darker grey, with golden freckles splashed across his cheeks.

“Please turn back to me.” she urged. If the command had been given by anyone other than royalty, Brivere would have refused, but instead he obediently gave in and tilted his face closer to hers. He winced when she placed her hands on either side of his face, turning it this way and that as she closely examined his eyes. It took every scale on his body to not glare at Link or Betaal, who he could hear quietly laughing behind him at the ridiculous display.

Princess Zelda hummed and eventually let go of his head. “You see, Oracle Knight, I have always been well-versed in everything ranging from the history of Hyrule to medical practices. But I have never quite seen something as peculiar as your situation.”

“Can you not help him then?” Link’s voice shot at her from behind. The Oracle Knight was slightly taken aback from the sudden aggression in his voice.

Zelda’s face noticeably tightened. “While I may not be personably able to, I do believe that Purah and Impa are both currently in Kakariko village and will be of some help.”

“YOU CAN’T!”

Everyone in the room snapped their heads to gawk at Link, who had become furious seemingly out of nowhere. His face was red as he panted for breath, hands balled at his sides.

Princess Zelda glared at him, but softened her gaze as she looked back at King Dorephan. “I do apologize for my personal knight’s outburst. May you allow us a moment a privacy?”

The old king nodded uncertainly in response. “Of course. You two may use any of the empty rooms in our palace. Shall we wait here for your return?”

“That would be deeply appreciated. I promise that we will not take too long.” She walked over to the door but turned with a cold stare as she realized that her knight was not already behind her.

“Link.” she said sternly. “Follow me.”

The other Hylian’s face scrunched up in frustration, but he eventually relented, stomping towards Zelda. When he passed Brivere, his head tilted up and he grabbed onto one of the Zora’s long fore fins, forcing the golden knight to lean down. “No matter what,” Link hissed in his face, soft enough so that no one else could hear, “do NOT go to Kakariko village.”

Zelda cleared her throat loudly and glared at Link, daring him to embarrass her further. He rolled his eyes and followed after her, leaving every Zora in the throne room frozen in place as Brivere continued to kneel there, rolling Link’s last warning over and over in his head.

;

“Did you know that their relationship was so…?”

“So tense?” Sidon replied.

Brivere nodded. Not quite the word he would use, but it worked well enough. “Since he is her personal knight, I suppose I expected the two of them to be extremely close. According to legend and what he has told me, they spent over a century apart and he was amazed to find that she was still alive. One would expect that he would be ecstatic to be with her again.”

Roughly two hours had passed since Princess Zelda and her personal knight had stormed out of the room. All of the other council members had complained about Hylians and how such terrible behavior before royalty was only to be expected, but their slander had apparently angered King Dorephan, who had harshly excused them. Prince Sidon and his personal knights were the only ones to remain other than the king, and they took to talking amongst themselves while King Dorephan patiently drummed his large fingers on the arm of his throne.

“It is quite a shame,” Sidon admitted, “but not everyone has such a close relationship with their personal knight. I consider myself quite blessed to get along with not one but three of the Domain’s strongest warriors and even more honored that they would dedicate their lives to serving me.”

Betaal sneered and rolled her eye. “Are you done sucking my dick yet?”

“Betaal, language.”

“Right, right, sorry, forgot that you only do that with your Oracle Knight.”

Sidon and Brivere groaned while Estuu’s tail angrily flapped against his back as a disgusted squeal vibrated in his chest.

“Oh, I apologize my lord!” Betaal laughed, giving him an over exaggerated bow. “I forgot that your Hylian boyfriend is here too! It’s not as if they have been gone for over two hours or anything.”

“Vulgarity aside, the First Knight is correct.” Brivere said. “While I do appreciate that they came all this way to help me, I am slightly frustrated that they have been keeping us waiting for so long. Not a word has come back as to what their current plans are.” Estuu nodded beside him, but the younger Zora really had no reason to complain. He had already cracked open his copy of The Cursed Girl, and Betaal was also trying to read it from over his shoulder.

A deep sigh deflated Prince Sidon’s large form. “I do apologize everyone, but my father has given his word that we will wait for their return. And I must always stay by his side, as you all must stay by mine, so it looks like we are here to suffer for as long as need be.”

“At least we’re suffering together.” Betaal grunted. “But seriously? Two hours? Who in Hylia’s name is able to argue for that long?”

Prince Sidon arched his brow. “You say that as if you are one to talk. You have picked fights with nearly every soldier in the palace and your bouts with Brivere were especially unbearable during both of your first months as my personal knights.”

Betaal and Brivere cringed at this and looked over at each other. They had only recently gotten over their tense relationship and became more casual friends, so it was completely hypocritical for the First Knight to criticize their Hylian guests.

“Perhaps we should send someone to check up on them and make sure that they are alright?” Brivere suggested.

Apparently King Dorephan was listening in on their conversation. “No,” he hummed. “That would be disrespectful. I promised my old friends some privacy and I have always been a man of my word. They came here to assist our dear Brivere, so I would appreciate if you all would stay and help decide the best course of action to help him.”

The old king winked. “Admittedly, I also desire some company.”

They all decided to move on from the controversial topic and tried to occupy themselves by doing other things. Prince Sidon distracted his father with Brivere by having meaningless conversation about relations to other kingdoms in Hyrule while Betaal snuck out and grabbed their unfinished reports along with some fish. The four of them then took turns ducking behind a pillar while someone talked to the king, reading through the papers and quietly snacking on the food she had managed to steal from the kitchens. No one commented on how she had specifically gotten fish that Estuu would be satisfied eating, since he had a particularly sensitive palette.

None of them expected to actually finish writing up the reports before the Hylian princess and her knight came back. Betaal bit back the urge to complain and just joined Estuu in the corner to read more of The Cursed Girl. Neither of them said anything when Sidon tugged Brivere behind the pillar again doing Hylia knows what.

Eventually the sun began to set, and while its soft amber light made the whole throne room glow beautifully, the few who still remained inside were completely unamused. King Dorephan had taken to slumping back in his throne, golden eyes drooping and nearly falling asleep, if it wasn’t for the prospect of his Hylian guests coming back.

Betaal had taken to just talking to Sidon and Brivere in front of the throne, completely fed up with The Cursed Girl at that point and vowing to never even look at another book again. She claimed that anyone who even brought a book to her would get decked.

Unsurprisingly, Estuu was still tucked into the corner, branding the inked words into his mind. It was completely unnecessary, since he already had the whole thing memorized and could probably just recite it all without the book if he could actually speak.

When the sky began to become dark with speckles of stars shining through, King Dorephan had apparently had enough. “Oracle Knight.” he snapped. The other four Zora in the room flinched at the edge in the usually kind king’s voice. The golden knight quickly shot up onto his feet and bowed. “Yes, your majesty?”

The old king’s eyes softened. “Oh, I do apologize, Brivere. I suppose that the unexpected disrespect from an old friend has taken its toll on me.”

He nodded. “It is alright your majesty. I completely understand.”

“I only regret that they have come with the sole purpose of helping you but have failed to do anything to show that they actually intend to do so. You have done so much already, the very least I could do is jump at any chance to relieve your suffering.”

Brivere smiled to himself. Ever since he had tried on the choker for the first time, King Dorephan had slowly started to act like the father he never got the chance to have. Although Brivere couldn’t really forgive the king’s past indecisiveness yet, he still appreciated the concern.

“May you go check up on them?” King Dorephan asked. “Perhaps your presence will remind our guests exactly why they have come here in the first place.

“Yes, your majesty.” Brivere replied as he rushed out of the room, thankful for a chance to finally leave. He chuckled to himself when he heard Betaal curse behind him for not being quite so lucky.

The Oracle Knight quickly rushed through the halls, stopping any servants or council members that he passed and asking them if they had seen the Hylian guests. To his surprise and frustration, no one knew of their location. This only made the search all the more difficult since the palace was unnecessarily large, filled with plenty of winding hallways and useless rooms.

He happened to be examining one of those rooms when a familiar voice caught his attention. “Brivere!” it hissed. The golden knight whipped around so quickly that his long forefins swung around and smacked him in the face. He ignored how ridiculous it may have looked to the blond Hylian peering around the edge of the entranceway with piercing blue eyes.

“Hylian Champion!” he exclaimed as he rushed towards him. The golden knight wanted to bombard his Hylian friend with a thousand questions but was stopped when a voice he didn’t expect to hear harshly pierced the air.

“LINK!” Zelda’s voice loudly echoed through the gemstone halls. “COME BACK HERE IMMEDIATELY!”

Brivere gawked at his Hylian friend. “Why is your princess so upset? Is something-!”

Link grabbed onto Brivere’s arm and pulled him away so quickly that his words were immediately cut off. “I’ll explain more when we get away from that crazy bitch.” he hissed.

Dumbfounded, Brivere allowed the smaller Hylian to drag him around. No matter how frustrated he got at Prince Sidon, he would never dare to slander the prince in such a vulgar manner. It completely blew his mind that Link had the audacity to do so, especially with the woman who had known him for over a century.

Neither of them said anything as Link led him in the opposite direction of Zelda’s voice, its desperate pleas and commands eventually fading away as they delved deeper and deeper into the maze of the palace. Link was only satisfied when the only thing that they could hear was each other’s heavy breathing, and he quickly pulled Brivere into an empty room. Both of them faced each other as Brivere crossed his arms, waiting for Link to explain himself.

“Look.” Link spat. “What I am about to tell you… I have never really told anyone else before. I truly believe that our friendship has evolved to the point that I completely trust you with the information I am about to share.”

Brivere nodded, not wanting to ruin this new development. “I appreciate that you have such faith in me. But why have you not told anyone else?”

The Hylian cringed. “Okay, well, actually I have.”

Trying to lighten the mood, Brivere let out a titter. “Oh, so you are lying to me now? I must say, this whole ‘trust’ thing is certainly going well so far.”

It clearly worked when Link snorted. “No, you asshole. It’s just…” his blue eyes drifted off to the side, becoming distant. “It’s only been like, maybe two other people? Technically more but they don’t really count. Whatever, it’s complicated and the exact number doesn’t matter anyways. All I know for sure is that the few people I have told this to all thought I was crazy.”

He suddenly stepped forward and pointed a finger at Brivere’s chest, pressing it into his pale scales softly enough to not hurt but hard enough to clearly communicate the threat in the gesture. “If I tell it to you, you have to promise to hear me out until the end.  You need to promise to not dismiss my fears and think that I am either insane or making it up. You need to trust me like I trust you.”

Brivere held up a clawed hand and rested it on his chest. “I promise.”

Relief washed over Link as his body loosened up, but hesitation was still clear on his face. Brivere allowed the Hylian to take a moment to gather his thoughts and gain the courage to speak about what was bothering him. His blue eyes shut tightly before flying open, filled with burning determination.

“I can’t die.” the Hylain said.

Brivere blinked back at him. “…I beg your pardon?”

“Hey, you promised!” Link snapped, face pinching up in anger.

“I fully intend to keep my word. But I do believe that it would be best if you elaborate.”

“I was getting to that,” Link said, rolling his eyes. “Anyways. The basic run down is that I’m immortal. I’ve been killed so many times that I’ve lost count. And every time it happens, no one else remembers. I don’t fully understand this whole thing yet but I do know that the power was given to me by the Sheikah to ensure that I could fulfill the prophecies and defeat the Calamity.”

His fists balled at his sides, shaking from how much he was trying to hold back the anger that was thrashing around in his chest. “But they never told me. They gave it to me when I was unconscious without thinking about how much it would fuck me up psychologically and physically. And then, when I suspected something wrong was happening, I told them and they had the nerve to just say that I was crazy.”

Brivere nodded along as realization dawned on him. “Is this why you do not wish for me to go to Kakariko Village as the princess suggests?”

He watched Link’s jaw drop as he stared back at him for an uncomfortable amount of time. “You… you believe me?” he breathed.

“Did I not just say that I would?”

 “Well yeah,” Link said, still gawking at him. “But just like that?”

He was confused now. “Do you wish for me to believe you or not?”

Link quickly nodded his head, sending blond hair flying around his face. “Yes, sorry, I just… didn’t expect it to happen so easily, I guess.”

Brivere watched Link’s body tremble in both anger and relief. He didn’t need Sidon’s empathy ability to see the fear trapped within those bright blue eyes, threatening to tear his poor friend apart from the inside out. There was no way anyone would be this shaken if they were lying.

“Link.” he said softly. The Hylian looked back at him in shock. The uptight golden knight usually had such a hard time being casual that hearing his name roll off of the Zora’s tongue was nothing short of a miracle.

Brivere stepped forward, gently squeezing Link’s shoulder. “I promise that I will not doubt you. I fully believe your story and anything else you may say. If you trust me enough to tell me these things, then please also place that trust into my sincerity.”

Link gulped and nodded. “You just can’t go to Kakariko village,” he said in a breathy whisper, clearly holding back tears. “I’m just so afraid, Brivere. And you know I fucking hate admitting that, but you are basically my closest friend at this point. I can’t even think of what they’ll do to you if they want to experiment with that special power of yours. I will not let you be broken by them like they broke me, not for as long as I live. And that will be forever.”

Humming in response, Brivere gently squeezed his Hylian friend’s muscled shoulder again as Link’s face hung low. “What can I do that will make you feel better about this situation?”

 Link snapped his head up, watery blue eyes intensely locked onto Brivere’s disturbing ones. “Zelda is going to try and convince King Dorephan and Sidon to make you go because she knows that I’m trying to talk you out of it. I have no idea why she is pushing for this so hard, and I suspect that she may be in on whatever the Sheikah are scheming.” A shuddering sigh deflated his usually confident body, and he paused before continuing.

“I need you to try and fight back. I know it is hard because you have been trained your whole life to bow to the royal family, but you need to be thinking of your own safety here. I’m so sorry to be asking this of you and for putting you in this situation in the first place. I was so desperate to get you help that I even asked Zelda, for Hylia’s sake.”

“I take it that things are tense between you two?” Brivere asked.

Link rolled his eyes. “That’s putting it lightly, but sure. It’s a long, complicated story and I don’t know if we have enough time for me to explain it.”

“In that case, I will easily accept your apology.” Brivere said. “I appreciate that you went through so much trouble to try and alleviate my pain. I will be forever grateful for your efforts, please do not forget that.”

Nodding, Link closed his eyes and hummed as his leaned his head on the golden hand still clutched onto his shoulder. Both of them stood there for a long time until Brivere gently let go, straightening up. “I do believe that I was sent to find and retrieve you,” he teased gently. “Shall we head back to the throne room? My lord is awaiting your return, Hylian Champion.”

Link let out a weak laugh. “Dude, you and I have been fucking Sidon for well over a year now. You’d think that you’d be able to drop titles by now.” The Hylain’s eyebrows suddenly arched up and wiggled. “I mean, you do it easily enough in bed, at least that’s what Sidon says.”

Brivere flushed, thankful that the visor easily hid how flustered he was by Link’s words. “You are such a terror.” he said, walking out of the room’s silver archway.

A full, genuine laugh shook Link’s body as he ran up to Brivere’s side, lightly punching him in the arm. The golden knight shook it off with a hint of a smile on his lips. Both of them continued to walk in silence as Brivere led the way through the winding halls back to the throne room. But, as the moonlight shined through cracks in the pillars that blocked them from the outside world, the golden Zora couldn’t help but eye his Hylian friend from the corner of his visor, tracing his muscled arms and trailing up to soft blond hair that slightly moved in the breeze.

Had… Link always been this pleasing to look at?

And was it just his imagination, or was the Hylian looking back at him as well?

He shook the thoughts off when the two of them had finally reached the throne room. Glancing inside from the large silver archway, they were surprised to see that many of the council members from earlier had returned. Princess Zelda was clearly speaking to all of the Zora in the throne room, but her speech faltered as all eyes fell on the two as they entered.

Brivere straightened up and tried to walk towards Sidon who was standing by King Dorephan’s side, but the red prince shook his head and gestured for him to kneel in front of the throne near Princess Zelda. Hesitantly, he did so, awkwardly stiff as he knelt beside the princess. She seemed calm and polite, but his Hylian friend’s wariness of her had Brivere on edge. This was further emphasized when Link made a point to stand on the opposite side of the golden knight, as far away from the other Hylian as possible.

Princess Zelda’s soft gaze hardened when she saw her personal knight try to use Brivere’s body as some sort of golden wall to block her out, but surprisingly she didn’t say anything about it. Instead, she shook off her frustrations and turned back to King Dorephan, finishing her earlier speech. “And that is all the information and guidance that I have on the matter. What you do with my suggestion is up to you, and I will respect any decision you may make, but I implore you to follow my advice for the sake of your Domain.”

King Dorephan hummed as he nodded his head. “Your concern is not in vain. It is abundantly clear that our Oracle Knight should seek treatment in Kakariko Village.”

Brivere felt Link stiffen next to him as everyone else in the room mumbled in agreement. He cleared his throat, remembering his promise to his friend. “I apologize, your majesty, but may I object?”

Everyone gasped in surprise. Brivere cringed, knowing that there was no logical reason to not seek help other than his friend’s baseless suspicions. But if Link would place so much trust in him, then he would trust that his friend knew something suspicious was going on.

King Dorephan sadly shook his head. “I am afraid not Brivere. We are well aware of how much you put off seeking assistance from others. You must learn how to accept help and rely on others, for strength is not found by braving the world to a breaking point.”

“Brivere.” Sidon suddenly spoke up in a trembling voice next to his father. He seemed weak, tired of watching his lover allow himself to slowly fall apart, alone. Again. “Why do you not wish to accept the support of everyone who only wish for you to be better? Please, tell me - no, us - why you do not want to go to Kakariko Village. We only want to help, why can you not believe that?”

His heart sank at the sincere concern. “Well…” he said, looking to Link for support. Even if Link feared sharing his secrets, he should know that it would be the only thing that could possibly get them out of this mess. Instead, he was shocked to see his friend desperately staring back at him, vehemently shaking his head.

Frustration blossomed in Brivere’s chest. How was he supposed to keep his word if his friend wouldn’t even share his own?

Sidon let out a short, defeated sigh. “Brivere.”

Link kept staring back at him with a pleading look in his bright blue eyes.

“I-I... um.” he mumbled, trying to come up with the most excusable answer. “I do not believe my condition is bad enough to warrant a trip to Kakariko Village. It is far away and I will not be able to protect you from there. I promise that my eyes have been getting better and the visor is working well enough to alleviate any pain.”

His heart soared when Link snapped his head to look at him in surprise, genuinely grateful that Brivere had listened to his pleas. Sidon, however, was not as impressed.

“I am not the point of concern here, Brivere!” Sidon snapped, rubbing a clawed hand on his temple as his eyes shut tight in frustration. Everyone gawked at the usually upbeat prince, who almost always donned a bright, wide smile that shouted words of encouragement.

The large red Zora slid his hand down his face before his golden eyes snapped open. “If you truly wish for me to be selfish, then so be it. The only way I will allow you to protect and serve me is if you are in peak physical condition. As crown prince, I will accept no less.”

“Sidon!” Link blurted out, lurching towards the prince. “He doesn’t have to go to Kakariko Village! I know that I have been gone for a while trying to find treatment, but I really found this good healer in-!”        

“That is it!” Sidon snapped. “Both of you will cease this nonsense immediately!”

Link and Brivere gaped at the large red Zora. In that moment it was clear that he was not their shared lover. He was Prince Sidon, commanding his Oracle Knight to obey his commands.

“Oracle Knight Brivere.” Prince Sidon said sternly. Brivere flinched at the edge in his prince’s words, anger dripping off of the freakishly calm tone of voice. “This is not up for discussion. It is clear that your condition is only getting worse, and I have made this decision out of concern for your health as you refuse to take care of your own wellbeing.”

His golden eyes narrowed. “You will follow Princess Zelda to Kakariko Village and receive treatment for your eyes, along with help controlling your abilities. Is that clear?”

Brivere gulped and stiffened when every eyen in the room was suddenly on him. He could see Link staring him down from the side of his visor, gaze pleading and desperate. His younger brother and Betaal were still awkwardly bowed beside their prince, but he could see their bodies twitching in apprehension. All of the other nobles in the throne room and Princess Zelda were boring holes into his visor, absolutely daring him to speak out against the royal family in defiance.

It was clear what the choice was. Either listen to his trusted friend’s suspicions or obey the man that he had sworn his life to protect.

Prince Sidon crossed his arms, glare hardening. “Oracle Knight! Is. That. Clear.”

With a shaky breath, Brivere made his decision.