Tears of a Broken Kingdom

Chapter Seventeen ~ The Calm Before the Storm

She had barely been granted a moment of quiet before it was forcibly ripped away, the silence before the storm.

It had only been a matter of time before the inevitable discovery of the corpses at her door, waiting in their slumped and broken positions on the floor.

They barged in before she could even react to their thunder raps on the door, shock etched into their features.

"What happened?!"

"I don't know," She lied, channeling the anxiety that lurked inside of her, pulling Link's hood more up over her neck, worried the bruises would show.

Zelda noticed how his voice had none of the usual formality the guards had. She wasn't offended, being called 'your highness' all the time got old, it was just a shock.

The guards waited for her to say more but she kept silent, biting the inside of her lip. Nervousness churned inside of her, a maelstrom in the ocean of her mind.

"So you can't tell us anything?" It almost sounded like he knew, trying to pry the truth out of her.

Zelda shook her head, trying to make it loose and hopeless, sad. Her neck ached in protest, but she ignored the feeling. She decided she'd act clueless to the events that had occurred, it was better than an attempt to spit out some form of the truth.

He nodded, muttering what sounded like an 'it's okay'. They left afterwards, the door shut softly behind them.

Regret worked it's way into her, an icy stab. Zelda knew her decision to lie had been the lesser of two evils but it still felt wrong.

She knew she had been lying a lot after Link died. She feigned being okay, she'd pushed aside her own emotions as best she had could, tried to ignore the insane things her brain made for her, but lying about this was another matter all together. Lives had been on the line this time- or rather... former lives. She had heavy guilt on her conscience.

"I can't believe it's come to this... I'm no worse than a murderer. I'm sorry I've let you down... I tried to be strong for you- and for our son."

She didn't even know why she was saying those things aloud, whatever version of him had come back to her she had killed. And even then, he was still dead. That fact hurt her most of all.

Link's death had been the beginning of it all. Everything had spiraled out of control afterwards, reality pulled out of her grasp.

None of her attempts at restoring a sense of normal had been successful, she felt worse after her efforts failed, falling deeper into the guilt.

But she had to try again. Something had to work. It felt stupid to cling onto hope, all it could do was disappoint Zelda further. But it was like this hope had wedged its way into her, a little ember beginning to spark inside her.

The sense of desperation came crashing over her, adrenaline rushed through her once again, and for the time being her exhaustion fled.

It was impulsive and naïve but Zelda was blinded from rational thoughts. The hope had reignited a fight and a drive within her. It felt so good to be filled with an energy that felt more long lasting and substantial than the anxious energy that dragged her along day after day and kept her heart beating in a nervous syncopation.

Maybe she'd been going about this all wrong. Perhaps she hadn't been focusing on the right thing.

Waiting for the future to fix itself only left her off worse. She couldn't keep waiting in her purgatory.

What she needed to do was prevent it from happening altogether. Maybe then it would be better.

Zelda's thoughts were scrambled, scrabbling for anything that could lead to his survival.

It pieced together in her head, Zelda couldn't believe she hadn't thought of it sooner. Maybe being a little more crazy was a good idea, less limitations, Zelda could do things she'd never do if she was being rational- ignoring the wisdom she possessed. It was a risk that she was willing to take.

Zelda's eyes searched near the bed, her neck as still as possible to let her agitated windpipe begin the healing process.

It was still on her nightstand, the ocarina seemed to glow a soft blue in the sunlight, a fine layer of dust had formed on its glassy surface. Zelda hadn't touched it since escaping.

But now everything was falling into place. Zelda brought the instrument to her hands, wiping off the dust. Already she could hear the notes in her head.

The only problem now was the matter of her disappearance. Going back in time meant she'd be gone from the present. She had to find somewhere to go, and that is... without guards at her heels.

She'd have to leave at night, there was less visibility in the darkness. But where to? The ocarina with her control could take her back to the desert as well as to the past, but she needed somewhere to go so she wouldn't arouse suspicion.

The best spot Zelda could think of was Death Mountain Trail. It was close enough to civilization, that being Kakariko and Goron City, and yet still wild and isolated, perfect.

The only thing left was to get there. She could feign a trip, act stable enough. Act interested in her royal duties. Say she's going to check on the condition of Kakariko, maybe to stabilize the diplomatic relations between the Hylians and Gorons.

The lie fabricated itself into an entirely believable story... more of a cover rather. She'd probably have to do what she said though, a small detour in the grand scheme her broken mind had crafted.

He might have to wait a little longer, a small ache in her heart began again. But she'd do it.

She would save Link. Somehow Zelda would. Maybe she could sacrifice herself... like she wished she had. It hurt her to think of dying in his place but to her it was a fair end for herself. To Zelda, he deserved to live more than her. She had failed to recover and that failure had led to her son being in the state he was in too.

"I will save you... don't worry."

>*<

I probably won't update on wednesday next week, or this friday (??? I might) but since it's OoT's bday today I thought it'd be a great idea to update my story where I killed off Link! 'XDDD Wowwww great idea.

Ahh anyways, I hope y'all all enjoy this cringe chap and I hope everyone in dear ole' America has a great Thanksgiving tomorrow!! ^^