I was listening to sad Zelda music and so this was born.
Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda ;-;
"The Wind… It is blowing…"
She could still hear his voice.
She could still see the life leave his eyes.
She could still see the stone take over his body.
She could still see his death.
And she helped make it possible.
True, he was evil. And he probably would've killed her if he had the chance. But he was still alive. He still had dreams, memories, a purpose.
And she had killed him.
Well, she supposed Link had technically killed him. But she had definitely helped.
It was something that haunted her quite often. Of course, it was the right thing to do, and it's what her mother would have wanted, but still. She had killed a man.
There was something about the ancient land that scared her. She didn't find it beautiful. Only sad.
Her ancestors had once lived in that castle. People had come to and fro, living normal lives. Perhaps the Princess had prayed in the room that Tetra had stayed in, or maybe she came down there at midnight to sort out her thoughts.
People had walked along that path. People had ridden their horses across that field, joked with their friends, gone shopping in the town.
And now it was gone. Buried underwater. Along with the King she had grown to care for, and the warrior she had helped to kill.
She didn't like this feeling.
She was used to being Tetra, sailing on the seas, rolling her eyes at Gonzo and getting excited at finding 50 rupees.
But now she was Zelda. As much as she requested that she wasn't called by that name, she was strangely proud of it. She was the Princess of an ancient and beautiful kingdom.
Maybe what upset her so much was that she didn't actually know anything about it. She knew that her ancestors lived there, she knew one was called Zelda, she knew something about a Hero and something about a great evil.
But that was it.
She wanted to know more, she wanted to know exactly what happened between the hero and the land, she wanted to know the Princess's feelings, she wanted to know if it was a girl that lived in the ruins of a house she had seen, or if it was a soldier. She wanted to know if there was a store that sold fruit, or a store that sold flowers, or maybe a store that sold chocolate and nothing else.
It frustrated her.
Did the people know their land would be flooded? Or was it just randomly buried one day? Why didn't the Hero come back? Did a little girl skip down the same path she was dragged down? What about other villages? How big was this place, exactly?
Tetra sighed and threw a lone piece of wood into the ocean. Where had that landed, she wondered? Did it land over the castle, or did it land over a place where a girl had once stopped to feed her horse?
It was sunrise, now. She'd spent all night staring into the ocean and questioning things.
She seemed to be doing that a lot recently.
Her hair tumbled down her back as she pulled the pins out. It helped her feel a bit more… Zelda-like. She didn't get to keep the dress, so her hair was really the only reminder she had.
It was a shame.
She would have liked to keep the dress. Not because she'd ever wear it, but because it was a reminder. It was a piece of fabric that had been lovingly crafted for the Princess of Hyrule. It was a piece of the history she was so intrigued by.
She drummed her fingers on the side of the ship and gazed out over the ocean. It stretched as far as she could see. What was beneath it? Was her ship currently hovering over the desert that Ganondorf had spoken of, or was it over a spot where the 'Hero' had stopped to take a rest?
"Are you alright?"
She gasped a little as she was snapped out of her thoughts by none other than her hero. Not the ancient and mystical Hero of Time. No, the slightly clumsy and caring Hero of Winds.
"I'm fine." She replied, "just… thinking."
"About Hyrule?"
"Got it in one." She laughed meekly, turning to face him. "It's all I seem to think about now."
"Same here." He said softly, resting his head on her shoulder. She was a little surprised by this sudden act of affection, but she didn't push him away. In fact, she welcomed him closer.
They both looked over the ocean together. It was a comfortable sort of silence, only broken by the occasional seagull and the gentle rush of a wave against the side of the ship.
"You have your hair down." He said suddenly, "It looks nice."
"I thought Zelda would like it." She replied. "It's… It's all I've got left of her."
"Yeah."
"It's not fair." She choked out, "A few months ago my biggest worry was if we needed to restock on water supplies or not. Now, I've got to find an entire new land and start a new Kingdom. And I still have the old one to worry about."
"Yeah." He said again, quieter.
She looked down at the boy who fit so comfortably in her arms. He'd had it worse.
At least she was used to change.
He, however, had lived on the same island his whole life, living peacefully with his Grandma, sister, and at some point, his parents. Then one day, he was forced to wield a sword, kill creatures, and save the lives of everyone he knew. He had to battle the most powerful dark wizard of all time.
It was perhaps the strange mood in the air, but she suddenly said, "How did your parents die?"
He stiffened.
"It- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" She began, but he cut her off.
"No, it's fine. Uh, I don't talk about it often, but, um, I guess I should tell you."
"No, really, you don't have to-"
"No, honestly. I want to." He smiled, sitting up and facing her, "I haven't told many people, but you've told me enough about you. So I guess I kind of owe you.
Well, it happened when I was 8. Aryll was 2. She doesn't remember much about them, so I try and tell her a lot. But it's not the same, you know? Anyway, they were going to Windfall on a trip. I'm- I'm not sure why. I think they needed to buy something? But there was… a storm. And uh, they didn't survive. Obviously. I get rather sad about it sometimes, but it's in the past, I guess. And I still have Grandma. So I can't really complain. A lot of people have had it worse."
"It must've been nice. To know them, I mean. Well, for 8 years, anyway." She hesitated a moment, "I never knew my father. And my mum died when I was like, 5. I guess… I guess that's why I want to know more about Zelda. The ancient one, I mean, not me. Because she's… she's family. Yeah, she's a dead princess, but I have her blood, right?"
He smiled knowingly and gently took her hand, "It's getting late. The crew'll be out here soon. You should get some sleep."
"…Can we come back tonight?"
"Yeah. We can come back tonight."
