Part 1: The Mess I've Made

My skin burned as the icy rain pelted against my bear arms and back. The downpour matted my hair to my face and I could feel my tears begin to swell up, threatening to spill over the brim. I held a shaky breath in my lungs, trying my hardest to keep the tears captive. Don't let them fall. Don't cry. It's not strong.

Royalty doesn't falter.

My skin spread thin across my knuckles as I clenched my hands into a fist and dug them deeper into the mud. The dirt caked on thick to my palms and buried beneath my nails. My sacred triforce emblems lying delicately on my slender wrists, tainted with dirt and filth.

Don't do it. I warned myself. Don't cry

"How?" The words left my mouth before I even knew what I was saying. "How did it come to this?"

Just yesterday I was hopeful, I was surrounded by people I loved, I was safe, I was royalty…

Now, I'm disgraceful, rejected, hunted, alone and… I've lost my Kingdom.

I bent my head further as I choked back the tears that had started to cloud my vision. It was because of me and my failure to harness this sealing power that my home, the Kingdom of Hyrule, had ultimately been destroyed. The calamity had turned all of my friends, my family, the Divine beasts, the Guardians, everything against me. It even murdered my father.

And it was all my fault.

Somehow, this muddy, tarnished forest floor seemed to be where I belonged. It was the perfect home for a failure. No one would want to join me down here… Why would they?

The sound of a sword entering its sheath caught my attention and my ears perked up. I held my breath as I caught a glimpse of him gently lowering his body to the ground. He cautiously leaned in toward me and joined me in the mess I've made.

For one small moment as I raised my gaze to meet his vibrant blue eyes, I didn't feel so alone.