some description of torture below ! skip this chapter if you're sensitive to mild gore, folks
after staring at her for a few more lingering moments, one of the yiga members began to grin.
"a mighty fine cloak you have, princess."
he punctuated her title with feigned respect, his words drawling with condescending mockery. despite his tone, his statement relating to her— technically link's— cloak, was sincere.
she kept a silent disposition, pushing through the unease that quickly enveloped her; raising her chin ever so slightly. this was the first time one of the yiga soldiers had spoken directly to her throughout their entire journey, which was more of a relief than anything. this was not a good sign.
he raised himself from his cross-legged sitting position, stepping closer to zelda.
"it seems as if it had been upgraded by the great fairies as well— how splendid!" he stepped closer before crouching down in front of her, curling his arm behind her head to try and slide the cloak off. she knew what his intentions were before he spoke or made any further move, and she grimaced in response.
"it is such a cold night; wouldn't it be unfair if you were to have such protection while we do not?" it was a rhetorical question on his part, and he smirked before beginning to tug on the cloak.
zelda, while quiet, could hardly contain her seething rage. she already knew how often link used this cloak— it was light, yet gave both defense in battle and protection against any unexpected weather. not just that; great fairies were rare, very few hyrulians ever saw one, in person, in their entire lifetime. yet, he managed to have them upgrade his armor, multiple times. she wasn't going to let this go without a fight, or at least a struggle.
as she felt the cloak begin to shift, she began to struggle against her ropes to no avail. with no other options left, brashness overtook her. she tilted her head ever so slightly before slamming her cranium against the yiga soldier's own. hard. her vision spun as she pulled away, looking up at the man with a rebellious flare she did not carry before.
unfortunately, as her eyes met with his— her expression fell as quickly as it had arrived. his nose was bleeding, and the former amusement in his eyes was replaced with unbridled fury. oh no. this was an err that zelda would pay for.
expression hardening, he disregarded the cloak before turning to his comrades. having witnessed the scene, the others already knew what to do. they got onto their feet with vigor— seemingly eager for whatever they were planning to punish her with. swallowing hard, zelda cursed herself for not thinking straight earlier. so much for going by unnoticed— apparently, she was much too foolish for that.
she was quickly grabbed by the shoulders, dropped into a laying position. her own overwhelming consternation distracted her from the uncomfortable position her arms were beneath her bodice. she already knew whatever they were planning to do was going to be much worse than whatever discomfort she felt at the moment.
while one of the men approached her from behind, the blademaster soon loomed directly over her. zelda could feel the distress crashing upon her in waves. her shoulders and knees were pinned to the ground by the spare yiga's firm hands. she had no way to move. all she could do was quiver and watch as her fate played before her very own eyes.
taking grip of the fabric of her silk nightgown, he tore it straight down the middle with ease; as if it was only a sheet of parchment. her eyes flew to his, silently pleading with him not to do the unspeakable to her. he didn't acknowledge her teary gaze whatsoever.
she soon realized his goal wasn't to rape her; instead, he unsheathed the dreaded sickle. zelda felt bile rise in her throat. swallowing it down, she shut her eyes and prayed for mercy. she couldn't fight. she couldn't defend herself. she couldn't escape. she couldn't do anything. in the end, praying and begging for salvation was the only thing she could do. even then, her prayers had always gone unanswered. this time would be no different. she was useless. how was she supposed to save her kingdom from the ruinous state it was currently in if she couldn't even save herself?
he lowered it deliberately towards the lower middle of her abdomen, and zelda suddenly empathized with poor frogs she had dissected when she was little. what would link think if he found her with her innards splayed for all to see? he'd be traumatized. she hoped he wouldn't blame himself when he found her. after all, it was her fault that she had gotten kidnapped in the first place. she was still so stupid and helpless, and now she was paying the price.
a gasp escaped zelda's lips as he dipped the weapon, slowly puncturing the outer skin of her stomach. if he was planning to kill her this slowly, she knew it would surely be an excruciating death.
tears welled in her eyes as he cut further into her flesh, he dragged the sickle to the left of her; creating a curved, bloody line. she reasoned it wasn't deep enough to puncture any organs, but it was painful to experience nonetheless. he seemed purposeful and sadistic in his mutilating actions, leaving some unknown shape in his sickle's path.
zelda opened her mouth to scream as he lifted the weapon once more, plunging it into her again seconds later. the onlooking yiga quickly covered her mouth to silence her, wary of her screams echoing against the canyon walls.
"shut it— we have to teach you a lesson. you shouldn't act like an impudent, disrespectful little girl. it seems as if 100 years had taught you nothing. you're lucky we captured you; you would've brought hyrule into ruin again with your incompetence."
his words were nothing compared to the sting of the sickle. she ignored his snide comments, too focused on the mauling she was currently experiencing.
the seconds passed like hours as he whittled away at her body. the tears ran freely down zelda's cheeks, the only sound emitted from her were muffled cries against the yiga's cold, unwavering hand.
eventually, he pulled away and sheathed his bloodied weapon while the other retreated his suffocating hand. it was finally finished. zelda willed herself to look down. she felt lightheaded, unable to stop her body from trembling with residue terror. it took a few moments to register within her that he had carved the yiga symbol into her skin; marking her permanently.
she felt violated. and dirtied.
soiled.
this was a blemish that cut deeper than skin or flesh. this was a mark upon her soul. an omen in which she would never be truly free from ganon, or his followers. this was a clear, bleeding sign that his blight would stay sheltered within her; never truly purged. she was filthy.
had she deserved this? maybe she had. maybe the yiga was right in his assumptions about her. she had killed hundreds of innocents after failing to seal ganon the first time. maybe she was worse than ganon. after all, her citizens had looked to her for safety and she had let all of them down. not to mention the fate of her father and champions.
she didn't make an effort to move or cry after they had fully backed away— she had successfully retreated into herself. a small piece of her had broke. they left her there while they huddled close to their campfire. she was still in her mental haze throughout the night; her battered body left cold, alone, and bleeding.
before sunrise, they tied her once more to the back of their steed before making their way to the yiga hideout— the final destination.