Sins of Darkness REWRITE || an SSB Fanfic

Chapter 16: Zelda

a/n: TW// this chapter contains descriptions of physical and psychological abuse

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They crossed Proxim Bridge, then had to dismount their horses in order to cross Big Twin Bridge safely due to construction, then they once again got on their horses and cantered through Kakariko Bridge until they were finally met with the village's iconic valley entrance. As they entered the village, they saw everyone out in the streets, hectic and searching desperately for the missing girl. Sheik let out a loud whistle, driving everyone's attention to them. Ike handed Cottla over to him, and he raised her up in the air, and all the tension the villagers had left their shoulders with a big cheer.

They all ran up to greet them, paying their respects and their thanks to the twins, and saying their greetings to Ike. Dorian, above all, was still a sobbing mess despite having his daughter in his arms as he thanked all three of them for saving his little one. After they were all done sharing their words, the village invited them down towards the chief's home so they could host a grand feast for them, not just as a thank you, but as a way to cheer up the twins.

And while Zelda was happy to be here and enjoy her time with everyone, she couldn't help the twinge of pain that grew exponentially in her chest. Sheik looked so happy here, he smiled with the others, laughed with them, hugged them. She had never seen him be so... warm before, she had always been under the assumption that he hated talking to others and being touched, yet here he was, cooking with them, dancing with them, playing with the children, conversing with the adults.

She'd love to simply call this jealousy towards the villagers, she wished that he was that way with her, afterall. But it was more than that, it was a deep sadness that clouded over her mind no matter how hard she tried to smile through it.

A small black cat hopped onto her lap, nuzzling its head against her stomach. She was surprised at first, but she was soon overwhelmed by how adorable it was and began to scratch its cute little head. It purred against her, sending all the good kinds of signals to her brain. Cats were a rare sight in Hyrule, how lucky for her to get to see one for free. She might just take this tiny one home.

It wasn't completely able to distract her from her sadness, though, even if it did make her a little happy. She looked back towards the crowd of people gathered around the cooking pot not too far from her. Sheik was there, rubbing a child's head as they clung onto him, laughing after someone said something funny, she presumed, his eyes lit up with a life she had never seen in them.

She was glad, really, that he was surrounded by people who loved him. She knew their mother, there was no way she treated him well, but at least he had the villagers as his own little piece of salvation. Thinking that, she finally figured out why her chest hurt so much, why her eyes burned, and why a part of her wanted to leave.

"Zel..." A warm hand on her own forced her to overlook those thoughts, at least for a moment, as she faced Ike. His smile truly could wash away her sadness, but it wasn't enough to erase her sorrow. "Don't worry about me or anything else, you should go be with them, they are your people too, after all."

Zelda laughed dryly. "I may be half-Sheikah, but I grew up in Castle Town, around the 'big city' folk, I'm more accustomed to that life than the one here. I rarely even visited, I don't know many of the customs or traditions of this culture. I'm not very close to the people here, I wouldn't know what to say..."

"But it's never too late to learn," Ike said, leaning closer to her. "And you can just say anything, it doesn't have to be about culture or politics or whatever, a simple 'how's your day' would be enough, don't you think?"