read it and weep; ZELINK ONESHOTS

Broken

prompt: honestly i just saw the word "broken" and was like "okay it's angst time let's go", i didn't even check a definition

universe: majora's mask/ocarina of time

date: july 6, 2020

:-:

The first words he said to her were, "I was in Termina longer than three days, Your Highness."

He then walked off to someplace she would not question, distinctly fairy-less. Familiar, warm blue light of a guardian fairy was replaced with the slick royal blue of an ocarina pressed into her hands and cold, sad eyes, blue as the ocean, an ocean that belonged to this poor boy who just wanted his friend back.

She let her eyelids slide closed for just a touch longer than a blink. She parted her lips ever-so-slightly to release a sad breath of air, a solemn sign that made the surrounding guards shift uncomfortably, because, wise as their Grace may be, she was still just a child, and children shouldn't have to release sighs so sad that they made grown men wonder how such a small thing could hold so many regrets.

How such a young girl sighed something so sorrowful that it made men thrice as old as her wonder how she kept so composed, so sane under the pressure of a sadness that was surely only a portion of what she was truly experiencing, because a sigh could never truly express all of what someone felt, and what had already been shared with the guards was enough to distract them from the constant grief and mourning they had brought back with them from war.

Like how a knife wound distracted you from a paper cut.

They all had enough nightmares, enough sleepless nights to know that war and it's horrors were nothing to sneeze at, but this child's mere sigh left them grateful to have what little sleep they did have, because she surely got none.

Come to think of it, her bright blue eyes had been dulled lately, dulled with deep emotions no one dare pull out, and weighed down with purple bags that undoubtedly carried so many secrets inside of them. The guards shifted once more and stilled in respect for the Princess.

She only smiled sadly at them and dismissed them, asking them to please get some rest, you all look so tired. She truly did worry for them, for the staff who worked and worked at the palace until they could vividly describe the differences between all the individual bricks making up the walls in the castle.

The guards shuffled out of the courtyard and did not mention how she needed the rest much more than them.

The young royal glanced back out the window into the throne room and recalled when there were two children at that window, not just one person who merely masqueraded as a child. She recalled how her hand brushed up against his as they pressed themselves up against the wall, breathing heavily with terror after blue pools of innocence and goodness and naivety with golden pits of horror and darkness and oh Hylia he knew, he knew and he was going to ruin their plans and Hyrule would fall and—

She also recalled how she stood in that very throne room and watched her father collapse alongside her kingdom in a puddle of red betrayal. She recalled how there was no satisfaction in being right.

Zelda swallowed down bile and left the courtyard to go find Link. She didn't like sitting at that window as much as she used to, anymore.

:-:

Her footsteps echoed down tiled halls as she walked with poise and grace, shoving memories that shouldn't even be memories anymore down deep inside her, inside the ocarina that was still in her hands. She hadn't expected to wake up several years earlier than she should have, memories intact, but she wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

That was merely a week ago, but it felt like ages. She was so tired.

Her footsteps halted suddenly as her pointed ears twitched. She turned to an old door just a couple of steps away from where she was, picking up the sound of muffled sobbing. Her heart broke a little more as she took those few steps and rested her hand on the round doorknob, twisting slowly.

It creaked open to reveal her Hero with his head buried in his arms, which in turn were resting on his knees. A single cerulean eye poked out from its hiding place as he lifted his head ever-so-slightly, looking to see who had discovered him. Zelda shut the door behind her and he buried his head even farther, unwilling to look at her again.

The Princess knew better than to ask any questions, or offer any words of empty comfort. She knew she was hardly in a position to do so herself, but Link was so much worse off, and he needed something substantial right now. Not just "are you okay?" or "it'll get better soon.".

Zelda was no fool and she was no liar, so she simply sat down beside him, uncaring of the dust that now surely coated the back of her dress. She ignored Link's muffled and broken "don't, the floor is dirty, I'm fine." (the words of a fool, a liar) and instead just sat there. Silent. Comforting. A simple presence, not touching but simply there.

The young girl didn't touch him until he raised his head from his now-damp arms and instead buried it in the crook of her neck, wetting the cloth of her dress. She moved her arms to circle his back, faintly noting his sword and shield were on the floor next to where he was before. Close enough to grab in an emergency.

His body shook as he sobbed into her warmth, and she rubbed circles into the green tunic alongside his mutters of "three days, it's the dawn of the third day but I need to save them all, I need to save them, please, there's not enough time.".

She herself shed a single tear when she realized, no, it had not been only three days for him. It had been ages, and she bitterly wondered what the hell kind of childhood this was, thought of how she couldn't even give her beloved a simple moment of rest and peace and quiet and happiness.

She couldn't give him things she only dreamed of, though, so she threaded her fingers through his golden hair and whispered sweet nothings into his ear until his choked sobs and crazed muttering petered out into nothing. Erratic breathing evened out in the face of sleep, and Zelda felt herself not far behind.

She was sad and broken and tired, but so was he. And slowly but surely, they were piecing together the fragments of their broken selves, the Princess and the Hero, together.

Zelda let her eyes slip close and had one last thought, the sleepy notion that she felt the most whole in his arms, and wondered if he felt the same.

(Spoiler alert: he did.)

:-:

don't ask what this is because boy oh boy I could not tell you.

I just saw the opportunity for angst and I took it, oops. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! Have a nice day/night!

((ps: this isn't proofread or anything because, uh, I didn't feel like it, but I'm sure I'll go back through later [laughs nervously].))