loneliness is a common, universal experience. while the severity may vary, it is undoubtedly familiar to almost every individual.
zelda, the princess of hyrule, had grown accustomed to this loneliness at a young age, despite her life of privilege. her mother and father ruled over the kingdom, which made them, understandably, occupied with their duties for the majority of the time.
the task of raising the heiress was left to various staff members; a common upbringing for most royal children. zelda appreciated her nursemaids. they were kind, caring people, after all. but even she could sense the subtle, aching distance between her and them.
they were attentive and obliging towards her, but zelda found most of it to be disingenuous. they had families waiting for them at home, and raising zelda was nothing but a means of financial aid. despite this knowledge, zelda felt no ill will towards them. they were just doing their jobs.
however, it wasn't long before she began to avoid their company. they seemed to become more and more artificial as she grew older, or perhaps she had simply grown to prefer independence. when she wasn't studying her assigned subjects, zelda took to wandering the castle. as long as she stayed within a certain radius, they didn't seem to mind all too much.
if she was lucky, zelda would occasionally catch a glimpse of guests arriving for political purposes. sometimes it was emissaries from labrynna and holodrum coming to meet with her parents, and other times it was ambassadors from the different regions in hyrule. she found them all so fascinating. she hardly got the chance to play with other hylian children as it was, and the royal family seldom hold banquets. zelda found her parents awfully paranoid; over half of their staff consisted of guards and soldiers.
was it all necessary? at that age, zelda still thought the world around her was a pacifistic one. how wrong she was.
her caretakers, while at first cautious and mindful of her exploring, eventually slackened, and lowered their guard. zelda was, for the most part, an obedient child. yet, her curiosity was a part of her that she could never fully suppress.
she had soon grown tired of the areas she was allowed to access, she couldn't help but wish for more— however, she already knew what her nursemaids would say if she asked. chances were, they'd probably put a stop to her castle exploration as a whole if they ever caught onto the fact zelda desired more and more freedom. that's why, as much as it pained her, zelda resorted to sneaking around without permission.
she purposely avoided the busier parts of the castle, wary of being recognized and caught. instead, she often found herself in the underground portion of hyrule castle. it was nearly deserted of people; yet so intriguing. the only guards stationed there were by far the easiest to bypass due to the fact they seemed half-asleep most times. part of zelda pitied them for having such boring roles within the castle, yet even at a young age she reasoned that it was still no reason for them to be slacking off.
zelda had loved the thrill of venturing somewhere new, soon growing accustomed to going nearly dastardly lengths to get from one place to the next without being seen.
when zelda had first stepped foot into the entranceway of the prison, she had assumed it was another catacomb. the cobblestone walls and dark, echoing hallways were nearly all identical. normally, the underground rooms of hyrule castle were filled with tucked-away historical artifacts, and everyday storage.
however, zelda had seen nothing of the sort, as the entrance was blocked by a burly man and a large, metal door. zelda took note of the fact the man stationed at the entrance looked more like a soldier than a guard. he seemed to have been supplied with thicker armor, and more,,, fatal weapons. the mere thought of him using those weapons against another living being revolted her. it didn't make any sense for him to have such a differing appearance in comparison to the other guards; unless...
there definitely was something down here— something so important that it called for such caution. what could it be?
curiosity clawed at her chest, and she racked her head for some possible way to get past the guard and into that room.
keeping herself close to the wall, she backtracked her steps. searching for an unguarded door, or a window of sorts (despite the fact she knew it was highly unlikely.)
after a few minutes, she had determined the outcome. nothing. no solution. just like she had feared.
her excitement crushed, zelda began her way towards her own chambers. she couldn't help but drag her feet behind her, wondering if she'd ever have a chance to see what lay behind those doors. how was she ever supposed to rule one day if she couldn't explore her own future castle?
while the young girl was distracted, her foot caught. unable to keep her balance, small body lurched forward. the palm of her hands made harsh contact with the grimy floor beneath her, shielding her face from the fall.
cursing in old hylian under her breath, she quickly got to her feet; pleading to the goddesses above that the guard didn't hear her fall.
despite the fact the front of her dress was marred with dust, she deemed herself unhurt after surveying her foot and hands. while her gaze was focused downwards, she caught sight of what she had tripped on. a loose brick, surrounded by a small gap in the seeming impenetrable wall. other stones in the small area seemed loose as well. zelda continued to scrutinize it, her gaze trailing towards the rodent feces dotting the perimeter. this was a pathway for the mice plaguing the corridors— and maybe, just maybe, she could fit in there too.
she fell to her knees, scraping away at the loose stones with her dainty hands. ignoring the filth that was quickly dirtying her further, she kept all her attention on making the gap big enough for her to fit. this was her chance.
once deemed a reasonable size, zelda poked her head through the hole. it was a lot darker, and zelda had to continuously blink before her eyes adjusted to the dim area. there were bars lining one side of the hallway ahead of her, with torches dotting the path. while she couldn't see what was through the bars from her angle; she could've sworn she heard the jingling of chains.
she removed her head from the makeshift entrance before placing both of her arms, then her head, back into the wall. as she used her forearms to pull herself through, only her waist fit. the bottom half of her seemed to resist.
panic shot through her— the layers of clothing which her dress contained made things harder than she had anticipated. after a few more adrenaline fueled moments of straining, she managed to squeeze her entire body through the small hole.
she was officially inside the mystery chamber she had longed to explore.
excitement thrumming through her, she clumsily got to her feet before approaching what lay ahead ahead.
turning her head to peer through the bars, she took note of the bare, room-like area. all she could make out in the dim light was a basin, a chamber pot, and a human-like silhouette who's eyes were currently on her.
unnerved, zelda meekly waved at the man, her words momentarily caught in her throat. he simply grimaced and turned away. she frowned, taken aback by his blatant rudeness. she was unfamiliar with such types of interactions, and huffily turned away to continue her slow trod through the hallway.
it began to dawn on her; these people weren't like those she had known. even the downtrodden beggars she had seen from within the royal barouche seemed kinder than these men. what had happened to them? it wasn't just their blatant disregard of her presence that caught zelda off guard, they also seemed unhygienic.. and despondent. how long had they been there? they desperately needed fresh air, and to pay a visit to the castle town bathhouse.
the heavy atmosphere of her surroundings seemed to weigh on the little girl as she examined each and every enclosure-like cell. she was quickly nearing the end of the hallway.
"...are you lost, little one?"
while the voice was soft, the words seemed to pierce the air all the same. zelda spun on her heels, her eyes darting to each of the compounds in order to see who had spoken to her. inside the furthest, darkest cell, zelda caught sight of the older man who had spoken.
with a nonplussed expression, zelda stepped closer. the fact she hadn't noticed him earlier was absolutely baffling; he was huge. he had the brain capacity to ask her a question— so he must be somewhat human. however, he was nearly twice her height and overall a very intimidating figure. he was the only one who had acknowledged her presence. she was immediately suspicious.
crossing her arms, she raised her chin to stare up at him and summoned the fiercest expression she could.
"why would you care to know?"