Winds of Desperation - Vaati x Female Reader (BotW AU)

Forgiveness and Growth

The sword's voice somehow lulled me into a deep sleep.

Somehow, I know what I saw wasn't just a dream this time either.

I found myself in what seemed like a castle, but it was above the clouds. It looked... familiar, somehow...

I was not afraid to fall over the edge, and my feet moved around on their own. That is when I ran into him. His figure was tiny, but he carried himself in a dignified and noble way. There was something almost ethereal about him; his long, white beard reached all the way to the floor, and his green tunic was long enough that it covered his feet. I somehow knew that he had been waiting for me.

"It has been a long time, Link." His voice was exactly the same as it had been in my previous dream, except this time he spoke with a more dignified turn.

"...Are you Ezlo?" I already knew the answer, yet I needed to make sure.

"As if you really need to ask, child..." he looked to the clouds down below. "Come. There is much to talk about, but I am afraid there is not enough time."

I sat on the edge of the construction next to him, with my feet hanging over the sky. It felt as natural as if there had been solid ground under me. "I saw Vaati's past," I said. "While he was your apprentice, I mean."

Ezlo nodded. "...Vaati was a serious and reserved boy. He was quite timid, but full of ambition... Quite the impulsive child, too. However, beneath what appeared to be the opposite of what any Picori around him was, there  lay a wild child with an unparalleled talent for magic, as well as remarkable intelligence and passion." He looked into the distance. "I... wanted to turn him into the perfect successor, I suppose..."

"But perfection is not what people should strive for, Ezlo." I knew a certain someone who was always pushing herself to be the perfect daughter, the perfect oracle, the perfect ruler... "Besides... You never achieved perfection yourself, yet you expected a child to do so?"

Ezlo stayed quiet for a moment. "...I will never know exactly where I went wrong. He certainly was not born evil... Or at least it is very unlikely... However, it was my responsibility to set him straight before he... snapped."

"Do you believe Vaati became evil?"

"Perhaps... What I do know is that he became enchanted—no, obsessed—with the evil in the hearts of men... You see, Link... Vaati loved humans more than anyone I ever knew. I remember he was quite fond of your family as well." There was a certain warmth in his eyes. "...But soon, his love and curiosity drove him to dive into the most horrid depths of human observation... Soon, his ambitions grew bigger and bigger... His desires began to take over him, you see."

"...Perhaps ambitions are a good thing, Ezlo."

I heard him chuckle warmly. "You see, that was the main difference between you two. Vaati was... well, he was much like your dear Zelda, in a way. He would not dare question anything I said. And I... Well, being in absolute control was good for me... But perhaps it was not for the best." He seemed to smile faintly after that. "However... After the... incident... He became more like your other princess. Unafraid. Brash... And much like her, I think he felt like he had something to prove..."

"...So it's true then? The man traveling with Zelda's sister is—"

"For goodness's sake, Link! Had you not figured it out?"

So it was true.

"...So that is why it felt like he knew me from somewhere..."

Ezlo nodded slowly. "Knowing him, he must truly resent you for what happened all those lifetimes ago. Even if you remember none of it yourself. Even now, I am well aware that he will never be able to forgive me." He paused again. "However... He... has grown. So, perhaps, just maybe... Perhaps one day you two may find it in your hearts to forgive one another."