#divine gemstones zelda | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

botw-oneshots-and-other-bs · 3 years

Text

The Divine Beast

A/N: Everything in this story time-wise or travel I have spent doing in the game so it could be as accurate as possible. The photo above and on other Chapters of this story - when they are posted are drawn by the lovely @coconut-mocha.

Chapter 1 - To Hyrule Castle

Darkness, 10,000 years passed with nothing but darkness to show for it. Not a dream to be had besides the replaying of memories until they became nothing more than a distorted, distant lie. The feelings of happiness, anger, sadness, and love all sunk into the void of her mind as Alyss lay motionless, frozen in time, on a stone slab in a cold, damp cave. Visions of a familiar darkness, a sick and malicious darkness, filled her mind destroying anything she ever held dear. Villages and homes she used to recognize became desolated and desecrated by this malicious evil as faces – both new and old – were distorted to the point Alyss couldn’t recognize them anymore.

After years of torment at the hands of an unknown evil Alyss found herself standing in the middle of Hyrule Field. She watched as the guardians she vaguely remembered turned and wrought havoc upon all of the Kingdom. She watched as people grabbed their families and tried to escape, the last of the Hylian race trying to save itself from total annihilation. She heard the torturous beeps of the guardian’s laser beams, she heard the screams of the desolation around her, yet when she tried to call out to those around her to warn them she found that her voice was silent. She was powerless to do anything but sit and watch as Hyrule ceased to exist and a large cloud of malice followed a beast around Hyrule Castle. Alyss felt terror strike from her head to her feet at the beast’s enormous, blood curdling roar. She watched as a guardian seemingly aimed it’s beam at her, unsure of whether or not the beam was meant for something behind her. She closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable. After a few moments of nothing happening Alyss opened her eyes, but instead of a guardian all she saw when her eyes focused on the darkness was damp cave walls.

The cool damp air of the cave ravaged her body as Alyss tried to suck oxygen into her screaming lungs. Panic slowly left her body as the soft sounds of a village going about it’s daily life and the loud roaring of a waterfall caressed her ears reminding her that everything was okay. Very carefully this girl pushed herself up by her hands, testing her ability to move after what felt like a really long nap. Thanking Hylia that her muscles had not degenerated, Alyss sat up and looked around.

There wasn’t much to see in the small damp cave she resided in for Hylia knows how long except a small chest. Swinging her legs over the edge slowly she tested her leg's strength by slowly standing up. Once she was comfortable with standing Alyss took her first step of the past 10,000 years and – only losing her balance a couple of times – she made it to the chest. There she found some gemstones, rupees, and a brittle scroll. None of this interested Alyss so shutting the chest she made her way down the hall of the cave. It wasn’t long until the smallest rays of sunlight pierced the darkness Alyss had lived in all those years, and it wasn’t long after that that she found herself staring into a wall of an angry – yet peaceful – waterfall.

This new sensation scared her enough to force her backwards where she stepped on her soft, tangled hair and fell to the hard and unforgiving ground. After taking a moment to regain her equilibrium Alyss performed a once over on her body. Only when she was comfortable there were no cuts or bleeding she stood back up and continued on. Being very careful not to touch the falling water, Alyss looked over the edge of the waterfall to see nothing but a large pool of water. Looking back, she found herself wondering if she could return back to the stone slab she woke up on and go back to sleep, but with a shake of her head she turned back to the water, took a deep breath, and dived straight in.

The chill of the water embraced her body like a hug as she plunged into the depths of the waterfall’s basin. Alyss found herself swimming away from the waterfall without fully realizing what she was doing. It turns out that her survival instincts hadn’t completely dissipated and she had some form of basic survival knowledge. Her thoughts were cut short when her lungs screamed for oxygen as intensely as they had when she first awakened on the stone slab, and she found herself pushing herself towards the surface. When she broke the water, she found herself staring at a gigantic wall of stone supporting a large house made out of a dark wood. Alyss looked around for options but it was either follow the river and see where it took her or climb the gigantic stone wall and she wasn’t too keen on climbing right now.

Moving her arms under the water was a struggle the further she got from her starting point, and it took a good bit of willpower to keep pushing, but eventually she came upon land. Pulling herself up onto the shore slowly she sputtered for air and tried to catch her breath. As the top half of her body laid on the warm and welcoming grass of the land Alyss scanned the small village. It was peaceful and quaint. Children ran about freely, playing without a care, while others tended to their gardens, livestock, and other duties. In a way it made Alyss want to start crying, but before she could humor that emotion her vision started going blurry making it hard to see the figure that blocked out her view of the sun as she passed out.

The moon was at its peak in the sky by the time Alyss woke back up. This time she did not lay on a hard slab of stone in her torn and frayed clothes, but instead she woke up in a robe made of thin purple cloth on a soft bed of straw. Opening her eyes just enough to see in the candle lit room of the small, one roomed, hut Alyss saw a petite framed woman with long silver hair sitting next to the only table in the home. She had the clothes Alyss was wearing before in her small, fragile looking hands and was seemingly working to fix them. Alyss rolled her head back to the middle of the pillow she rested on and stared at the ceiling trying to piece together something, anything, of what happened to put her in this situation. Only bits and pieces came to her mind, most of them in the form of feelings, of Princess Zelda ordering for her to be locked away.

‘Guess they thought I’d never wake up…’ she thought to herself bitterly but before any more thoughts could be had a weak voice called out to her.

“Oh, you’re awake! I am happy to see you are alright.” Alyss watched as the younger woman put down her needle, thread, and the fabric to stand up and walk slowly over to the bed. “When the town guards found you passed out in the town’s lake they brought you to me to make sure you were alright before assuming the worst.” The fragile sounding woman reached over to the end of the bed and grabbed a worn cloth full of what Alyss assumed to be water. Wringing it out and placing it upon Alyss’s forehead to wipe away sweat or clean her face, Alyss did not know, before continuing. “I am the town healer, my name is Lasie. Might I know your name?”

Alyss turned to look at the woman named Lasie. At the moment her purple eyes met Lasie’s golden ones something inside of her felt like it clicked. She didn’t know what it was but the feeling was not a pleasant one as the fire-like pain that shot through her skull forced her hand up to try and make the pain stop. This, of course, worried the town healer as she hadn’t seen any kind of cause for this young woman’s head to hurt so suddenly.

“I’m sorry. Please, rest while you can,” she stood up and bowed to Alyss. “My questions are not of concern for I have already sent word to Lady Impa about your discovery. Please save your strength until they arrive.” Before Alyss could respond with anything, Lasie had run out the door into the night to do only Hylia knows what. This was somewhat of a relief to Alyss as the departure of the town healer made her headache lessen to a small, dull thud.

Alyss wasted no time once Lasie left in standing up and heading out the door into the cool night air. It was silent compared to the hustle and bustle of earlier that day and for that Alyss was kind of thankful. Taking a few methodical steps, she made her way to a railing and looked out over the town. The railing had a direct view of the large house in front of the waterfall she found herself behind when she woke up. The moon was directly located above the waterfalls and just looking at it’s silver beauty took Alyss’s breath away. She hadn’t seen the moon in Hylia knows how long and the sight literally brought tears to her eyes.

“It’s a beautiful night isn’t it?” A man spoke beside her, making Alyss jump and quickly wipe away the lone tears that had fallen. Her head snapped to the side and looked at him inquisitively. She had not seen someone that bore the logo of the Sheikah in quite some time and the sight of another Sheikah made her smile. “That’s a beautiful smile you have there. It almost rivals the sight of the full moon.” The man spoke gently, making his way closer to Alyss.

Letting her guard down for a second the young woman turned to look back at the luxurious moon, nodding as she agreed with him. Little did she know that the young man reached behind his back to a curved dagger he kept hidden. The beauty of the moon lured Alyss to it, completely unaware that someone was about to end her life.

“You know what else is beautiful,” the man continued in that same dulcet tone he had the entire time he was talking to her as he placed the dagger firmly into his right hand. Lifting it up slowly and silently, his gaze became one of sickening happiness at the event that was about to occur. Before Alyss could ask what or turn around he continued in a much more desperate tone, “the praise that Master Kogha will give me one he learns that I have wiped out the myth of the fifth Divine Beast!”

In the flash of an eye the curved dagger was flying towards the neck of the young woman. Everything that happened next occurred in slow motion to her. She turned just enough to spot an arrow running it’s way into the hand of the man behind her causing him to scream out in pain and drop the dagger. Turning completely around, Alyss saw five horses galloping down the slope of the hill, people had started to emerge from their huts to see what the commotion was, but all Alyss saw was a young man dressed as knight cutting down the man who had tried to assassinate Alyss.

The rest of the company dismounted their horses and ran up to Alyss as she stared at the lifeless, blood-stained body of the man who tried to slay her. Her eyes were wide and her legs started to quake from the shock of the events. Her legs started to give out on her, but Alyss felt a pair of strong arms reach out and grab her, holding her up enough to help her get to a nearby bench where she could sit down. “Are you ok?” The person who kept her from falling asked.

Alyss looked up slowly so her purple eyes could meet his… goggles? Looking up past his goggles she saw a large poof of hair on top of the man’s head which wasn’t as nearly weird to her as the double axe shape on the back of his head. It wasn’t until the man was saying “yoo-hoo” and waving his hand in front of her face jovially that she shook herself out of her stupor and nodded.

“Oh Robbie, leave the poor girl alone,” a high and happy female voice sounded from the other side of the man named Robbie. “she’s obviously been through enough!” A young woman with a magenta streak on the right side of her head popped up from behind the man and threw an arm around his shoulders. Once the woman got a good look at Alyss she tilted her head in confusion. “Hang on…” she took a step closer to Alyss to where she was practically in her face and put her fingers under her chin. “I’ve never seen you around here before. You’re very clearly a Sheikah as Robbie, my sister, and I, but I would remember a Sheikah with purple eyes. How odd…”

“Can you tell us your name?” Robbie questioned standing up and crossing one arm over his body and letting the other rest on it so he could also hold his chin with his fingers. This seemed to have gathered the attention of the other three members of their party. Alyss watched as they all turned to look at her, but there was one group member in particular that immediately made her blood boil.

Jumping to her feet, she backed as far away as she could from Zelda and pointed a shaking finger at her face. “Traitor!” She cried out in a small, crackly voice that sounded as though it hadn’t been used in a millennium. She didn’t stop backing up until she stepped on her hair and whipped her head backwards causing her to let out a shriek and fall to the ground.

Everyone standing witness to the scene felt the tense air about them when Link, the short knight, jumped forward in case he needed to protect the princess. They looked to Princess Zelda to see what she would do in this case only to see that Zelda was smiling. She pushed past Link and approached the girl on the ground who was trying to escape again. “Why do you state that I am a traitor?” She asked, standing over her.

Princess Zelda wasn’t trying to be intimidating, but from Alyss’s perspective the Princess looked as menacing as she did before she shut her away in that cave. “Get away from me,” she growled, some purple smog escaping her nostrils as she breathed out. This caught the attention of everyone but nobody said anything about it. No one dared to breathe too loud. Alyss watched with threatening eyes and an increasing breathing rate as the Princess leaned down to her level. This time, Alyss was not playing. Her ingrained fear and hatred for this woman was too much. “I said get AWAY,” she screamed at her. The skin around her eyes started to seemingly break. The texture had turned into a reptilian type of scale while her breathing turned more and more purple by the second. By the time Zelda had stood back up and allowed Link to drag her away from the woman, Alyss was emitting enough smog to engulf her body.

Her eyes focused on Zelda behind Link for a bit until she was content that the Princess would not advance further, only then did she allow her head to fall. Silver hair hiding her face as the purple smog started to evaporate and disappear from around her. “Don’t touch me Princess Zelda,” she whispered, shocking everyone that she knew her name. “The face of the one who locked me in that hell is not one I will ever forget.” Slowly raising her head to look at the Princess, Alyss felt herself starting to crack. The pain, the torment, the loneliness that she felt all those years with nothing but bad memories replaying in her head, like a broken record, had started to seep through.

Impa slowly approached Alyss making sure her actions were known by the woman. “Please come with us. We can take you to the castle and try to figure out where to go from here.” She paused when Alyss looked at her quickly. Impa knew she had to be cautious from this moment on. “Let us take you to the castle," she started back. "We have been working on recovering the Divine Beasts and Guardians to fight Calamity Ganon, so I’m sure we can figure something out to help you.”

Alyss furrowed her eyebrows and stood up slowly. “Recovering the Divine Beasts and Guardians? What do you mean recovering?” She looked down at the hair that graced her heels, the robe she was in and how tattered her previous clothes were. In remembering that scroll that looked as though it would break if someone touched it the pieces started to click into place. Slowly she looked back up and at each and every one of the people in front of her in horror. “How… How long was I gone?”

Princess Zelda, despite Link trying to push her back behind him, stepped forward just enough to make it known that she was about to speak. Despite the earlier aggression, this woman intrigued her and she wanted – no needed – to know more about her. “What is the last thing you remember before I placed you into your proverbial hell?”

Alyss took a good look at the Princess before responding to the Princess’s question, “we were preparing to attack Calamity Ganon. I was created to help in that purpose, but…” Alyss looked away unable to face the memories that caused her deep slumber, but in making eye contact with Robbie she forced herself to continue. “… I malfunctioned. The Princess sealed me away and focused her attention on the other Divine Beasts.” Clenching her fists to her chest, Alyss closed her eyes, “I failed.”

Robbie slowly approached Alyss and held his hand out for her to take. The night had started to turn into early morning and with the long ride from Hateno Village to Kakariko Village everyone was tired. “It’s been a long night for everyone here and I think some rest would do everyone here good.” He smiled welcomingly at Alyss trying to help her feel more at ease with their company and show that they aren’t hostile.

It took a minute but eventually Alyss’s small hand met Robbie’s larger one to show him that she trusted him enough to take her somewhere to rest. Robbie beamed as he looked at the rest of the company, “well let’s get to it then!”

The sun was high in the sky before anyone woke up the next day but Alyss was the absolute last to rise from her slumber. When she had risen she saw that the clothes she had been wearing the previous day were laid out for her on a nearby table with a note that mentioned they were from Lasie. Making a mental note to herself to thank her at a later date, Alyss looked at the clothes laid out for her. The white robe she had been wearing when she left the cavern had been repaired and fashioned to look more like modern Sheikah clothes by adding a dark red ribbon along the hem and open v neck collar. Red ribbons adorned the sleeves of her newly repaired robe while the sleeves themselves were open from the shoulder to the red ribbon.

Alyss picked up the turtleneck, tank top, tunic and changed into it quickly before anyone walked back into the open room. Slipping on the matching blue fingerless gloves Alyss slipped the freshly repaired robe over her head and grabbed the thigh high socks lying underneath it. Sitting on the bed Alyss placed her foot on the nearby table, thanking Hylia that her blue tunic was shorts instead of a skirt, and slid the black thigh-high up her leg slowly so as to not rip the gentle fabric. When she was done pulling it up her leg she laid back on the bed for a second to contemplate whether she actually wanted to go through the process again with the white thigh-high. During her thought process, the door to the inn opened up to reveal Robbie.

Alyss turned her head to the side to properly look at him and saw that he had his arms crossed over his chest and a light smile gracing his face. “Good morning sunshine, need some help with the other stocking?” When Alyss shook her head no and sat up to start sliding the other stocking up her other leg she could feel Robbie’s eyes on her as he continued talking. “Well, in any case, Impa would like me to take you to her.” He walked closer to Alyss and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “I know you’re scared but please try to be accepting of the situation. You can’t exactly go back in time to the past but remember you're not alone.” He smiled a warm smile when Alyss looked up at him in surprise and continued, “now come on. Let’s go see Impa.”

It didn’t take long for Alyss and Robbie to meet with Impa as the house she resided in overnight was not far away from the town’s inn. Impa and Purah made it a point to help Alyss shape her hair while teaching her how to put it up the way that the Sheikah do. By the time the women were finished with her hair Alyss had been fully updated on the events of the past few years. It was a lot of overwhelming information for the Sheikah and she didn’t know where to begin on processing it. All she felt was a major storm cloud looming in her heart threatening to spill over and drown her in sadness.

Alyss didn’t really put up much of a fight after last night in doing what the Princess and her friends said to do. She was an outcast in this world so she might as well roll with it. Alyss mounted the horse she was given by the current Sheikah leader and headed out of Kakariko Village to Hyrule Castle with the rest of the company. The ride out of Kakariko Village and through the country gave Alyss time to think about everything that had changed since she was put into that cavern. Kakariko Village rang a bell in her mind but she couldn’t shake the feeling that it was vastly different when she lived there with her parents versus the version she saw today, yet if anyone asked her how it looked or where it was located she wouldn’t be able to say for sure. The same went for the country around the trail they followed. None of it looked familiar and the unfamiliarity of the land did nothing to quell Alyss’s feeling of being an outcast in this world.

The company traveled in silence with Impa, Purah, and Robbie leading and Princess Zelda and Link behind her. The moon had started to rise, but no one was quite tired yet since they had slept in so late from the previous night’s events. Once again Alyss found herself staring at the only piece of home she could find. The silver beauty of the nearly full moon made her wish that she could pick up and fly off into the sky away from this foreign world she was doomed to live in. It wasn’t until the moon was high in the sky that the company decided to stop and rest for the evening. Everyone unmounted their horse’s before leading them to a safe area of the field to graze and sleep for the night.

Alyss laid out the soft blankets she was given to create a sort of bed and sighed. She didn’t notice that as she let her hair down to be more comfortable she was approached by none other than the knight himself. Not turning to face him, Alyss moved her blankets back and sat down underneath them, rubbing her face with her hands.

Link watched as she settled into her makeshift cot before setting the plate of food he had made in front of her. Alyss stared at the bowl of pumpkin stew in front of her flabbergasted. She looked up to see that the knight had already turned to join the others by the fire where they were talking and laughing with one another. A quick moment of contemplation ran through her mind as she tried to make up her mind on how she wanted to act. Did she want to be the person who shunned people she barely knew, or did she want to try and make the best of a bad situation and use these people to help her figure stuff out?

With a small sigh and a quick glance at the moon, Alyss grabbed the bowl of pumpkin stew and stood up. The smell of the stew hit her nostrils almost immediately which made her stomach growl loudly. Apparently sleeping in a cave for goddess knows how many years would make you famished. Forgetting all about the knight nearby who was watching her put the bowl to her lips with secret satisfaction, Alyss took a large mouthful of the creamy soup. The soup was the perfect balance of fortified pumpkin, goat butter, milk, and wheat and it brought back memories of her time with the beloved Rito friends she had. The thought was bittersweet as she thought back on the times she would sing with them in their choirs, enjoy their cooking, and the way that her friends would allow her to ride on their backs to the hot springs where they would relax their cares away. These thoughts, mixed with the pumpkin stew, made her heart ache for moments like that again.

Licking the excess soup off of her lips, Alyss looked up to the company of friends gathered by the warm fire. Ever so slowly she walked up to the fire and cleared her throat, catching the attention of everyone there. “Can I join you,” she asked hesitantly as her eyes drifted back towards her feet. In looking at the ground Alyss didn’t notice everyone at the fire smile happily at her question.

“We would be delighted to have you join us,” Princess Zelda said in a cheery tone of voice. She motioned for Alyss to take a seat in between her and Link and watched as the young woman sank to the ground staring into her bowl.

“Alyss,” the Divine Beast muttered almost too quietly for anyone to hear her. Lifting her head to look Robbie and Purah in the eyes, “you asked me yesterday what my name is. It’s Alyss.”

There was a comfortable silence for a second as everyone let this new act of trust coast through their bodies, but it didn’t last long as Purah held her hands in front of her and shook them happily. “Oh my goddess does that mean you trust us?” She was looking right at Alyss who scratched the back of her head sort of awkwardly.

“Now Purah we shouldn’t scare her with questions like that. Let’s just be grateful that we now know her name, although I can’t help but feel like I’ve heard of that name somewhere…” Impa scolded her younger, more eccentric sister.

Alyss watched with wide eyes as they quickly were thrown into a heated discussion that only siblings would understand. To her sides Link and Zelda and Robbie were laughing at their antics causing her to smile for the first time in a long time. Alyss finally felt that maybe there was a small glance of hope for this world she was thrown into.

They arrived at Hyrule Castle’s town late the next day which was a relief to everyone in the company except Alyss. Alyss was riding between Link and Robbie as they led their horses at a slow pace through the town so as to not disturb the hustle and bustle of the town’s businesses. “You know,” she started off staring at the majesty of the looming castle. “The castle was only one room and as I got older it was nothing but a few more rooms connected together.”

Link turned his head to signify that he was listening, the hustle of the town not really worrying him since Hyrule Guardsmen were posted all over town to keep the peace if necessary. He was curious about her past but before he could make any sort of gesture towards her to keep her talking about it, Robbie looked over and continued the conversation. “Really? This must be a pretty big shock then to see the castle in all its glory. I wonder,” he continued. Alyss turned to him curiously as his tone had become a more serious one. “Just how old are you? The castle has been this way for thousands of years.”

The rest of the ride was silent as Alyss herself didn’t even know the answer to that question. Once back at the castle everyone dismounted and handed their horses off to the castle stable hands. The King - which Alyss had learned was named King Rhoam - had met with everyone to learn of the happenings in Kakariko Village. They told him of the Yiga Clan making an appearance, how Alyss was found, and her reaction to the Princess. King Rhoam hadn’t seemed super surprised but he definitely didn’t expect that the validity of her story was too accurate. He didn’t really ask Alyss many questions beyond where she woke up before ordering his Knights to go to the village and search the area she was found for anything that could provide an answer. In the meantime he ordered Alyss to be placed in a guest room and closely watched.

This is how Alyss found herself laying on the large, fluffy bed staring at the ceiling of her room. The room she was trapped in had many bookshelves full of books, a decent sized desk, and different odds and ends in decorations, but she was bored. There wasn’t much she could do as the books were in a language she could only partially understand and the window was too small for her to crawl through, yet large enough to let in a decent amount of light. Once the moon had appeared over the horizon, Alyss started to think about going to bed when her thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock at her bedroom door. She eyes the door before standing up and heading to it. When she opened the door, she expected to see a Hyrule Guard bringing her something, since that’s really the only visitor she has gotten over the past few days, but she was surprised to lay eyes on Robbie.

“Hello,” she said a little curtly, eyeing him up. She was a little pissed off that she was trapped in this goddess forsaken room for so long, but her curt attitude didn’t really seem to bother Robbie as he just smiled at her. “Can I help you?”

“Well, I brought you some lunch and some news,” Robbie spoke, stepping into the room and placing the silver tray down on the desk on the other wall. He turned around sassily and placed his hands on his hips to look at the woman who had moved back to laying down and staring at the ceiling. She was silent and didn’t really acknowledge him which bothered Robbie a little but he didn’t let it get to him. Moving to the other side of her bed, he sat on the edge and laid down beside her to also stare at the ceiling. “What are you looking at?”

Alyss cut her eyes at Robbie and sighed in irritation. “Can we get this over with please? I’ve been stuck in this room for days, alone, so if you don’t mind I would prefer to continue to be alone please. Thank you.” She rolled onto her side to face away from Robbie as to hide her saddened face. Unknown to literally everyone, she was having quite a hard time adjusting and being trapped in the one place she had all of her bad memories wasn’t making it any easier. Fighting back tears as her mind raced, she listened to Robbie sit up on the bed. She didn’t feel his weight leave the bed so she assumed he was looking at her. Rolling back to look at him, she was taken off guard by the fact he was removing his goggles.

“Are you alright,” he asked furrowing his eyebrows. His eyes were surprising to Alyss as they were a deep red and she was kind of expecting them to actually be his goggles at this point. When Robbie asked her this question, Alyss tried not to let her emotions get the best of her. She barely knew this man and the question was a little more personal than she wanted to get into at this point. She nodded her head and turned to face the other side of the room again.

“Ok…” Robbie said a little thrown off that she was so standoffish, but in a way he understood. She has been locked up for goddess knows how long and thrown into this strange new world. He continued cautiously, making sure to monitor her bodily expressions for any signs of discomfort. “Well, the news I have to tell you is that I have been given permission to take you home.”

Alyss turned quickly to him and glared, “excuse me?”

Robbie held his hands up in defense and backtracked realizing what he had said. “Let me explain, it’s nothing weird I promise.” Robbie continued when Alyss slowly turned her head back to its previous position. He laid back down on the bed and continued talking. “Well, some guards came back with some interesting finds. They found a chest full of ancient looking material, a curious gemstone, and a very brittle scroll.” Robbie paused for a second for Alyss to respond but when he got nothing he continued. “You see, the scroll was written about you, but it was a little hard to decipher as the ancient language was lost to us long ago. It said that you were an experiment of the Royal Court gone wrong.”

Alyss’s entire body stiffened at Robbie’s words. Her memories of her life played through her mind in a hazy, theatrical way as she listened to his recount of the letter.

“Princess, she’s awake,” a female voice called out. Alyss could hear bits and pieces of the conversation between the Princess and this other voice. The world was dark and her entire body burned. What had happened to her?

“Alyss…”

Alyss groaned and turned her head as the sunlight streaming through the room lit up the dark vision she was having. When the blurry images focused, Alyss saw a beautiful woman with long blonde hair and a long, silken, blue robe. The triforce adorned the middle of the golden belt wrapped around her waist making it no mistake that this was none other than Princess Zelda.

“Hello there, do you know who you are?”

---------------------------------

Alyss had been training all morning with Sheikah warriors to hone her new skills and test out her latest power, poisonous smog. Alyss watched as the newest hoard of Bokoblins came running at her. With a smirk, Alyss took a deep breath in and focused on connecting with her inner rage. Once the red bokoblins were close enough to touch her, Alyss exhaled hard surrounding the monsters with a dark purple smog. It didn’t take long before Alyss heard the Bokoblins make a choked screaming noise and a bunch of thudding. Opening her eyes, Alyss saw the Sheikah warriors standing there, some shocked and others recording the results. Looking down, Alyss’s eyes widened as they found themselves staring at a pile of at least thirty bokoblins dead on the ground. She noticed that with that last breath, her skin around her eyes was tight and incredibly dry feeling. Reaching up slowly she found that her once soft skin was now the skin of a reptile akin to a Lizalfos.

-----------------------------------

“You have to continue training Alyss for the good of the Kingdom” Princess Zelda hollered after the Divine Beast as the latter stormed through the Castle. “You have to aid us in sealing away Calamity Ganon!”

Alyss had been having a hard time controlling her emotions as of late during training and it scared her. Never before has she lost her ability to calm down and now here she was trying not to lose her shit at someone bumping into her. Princess Zelda came on the scene when Alyss lost control of her emotions and body, almost murdering the poor woman with her own hands that had turned to talons and the same reptilian skin she’d come to expect. When the Princess called her name, Alyss did not answer. Purple smog flowed out of almost every pore of her body as her feet left the ground, dragging the poor choking woman with her. Her hair had started to form it’s way around her body and to the top of her head as Alyss lost herself to her anger.

Zelda had managed to stop Alyss from killing the poor servant woman by summoning her sacred bow and shooting an arrow into Alyss’s shoulder blade forcing her to drop the woman. As her anger faded into pain, Alyss’s body and mind slowly changed back to normal. When Alyss came to she looked at her hands, tears starting to roll down her face at what she had almost done. “I’m a monster,” she whispered, running away to be chased by the Princess.

-----------------------------------

The four divine beasts, besides Alyss, were up and running. Vah Medoh, Vah Rudania, Vah Naboris, and Vah Ruta, they had their Champions to pilot them, and Alyss was doing well when it came to her training. She had been able to control her levitating and smog to use them sparsely outside of combat, but her guardian beam was the newest thing she had to focus on. It wasn’t until a few weeks later that the disaster that forced Zelda to seal her away would occur.

On that fateful day, Alyss stood in the small Sanctuary of the castle listening to the King ramble on and on in an update of the land. Alyss was drifting off where she sat until she heard faint noises, whispers and murmurs of terrible things to become and all the death and destruction the voice would bring. Looking to both of her sides where the other Champions sat, she saw that none of them were trying to get her attention in the slightest.

Alyss tried to shake the voice out of her head, but the more she tried to resist it, the quicker it got louder and became multiple voices, making it harder for her to ignore it. Alyss covered her ears trying to drown out the incessant whispers of doom, but soon it became too much. A loud, shrill scream erupted out of her mouth and her eyes became wide with panic, unknowingly scaring everyone in the room into a stunned silence. The Sanctuary had turned into a decrepit, broken down wreck while the bodies of everyone standing in that room littered the floor in a giant pool of blood.

Intense panic, fear, and anger at seeing her loved ones dead on the ground sent Alyss into a blind rage she couldn’t control. She couldn’t recognize the people in front of her who were still very much alive and trying to calm her down. She didn’t feel her hair grow longer and longer while two thick portions of hair floated to the top of her head to create horns. Her breathing had become more and more ragged, slowly replacing the oxygen in the room with smog. With tunnel vision, Alyss looked around at the dead people as they slowly rose up from the pools of their own blood. “Stay away,” she screamed, which let out a beam of blue light from the horns on her head which barely missed the King. She felt people using rope to grab her and push her down to the ground which she barely recognized as her Sheikah brethren doing their best to subdue her.

“Seal her away,” was the last thing she clearly heard coming from Princess Zelda before a bright white light knocked her unconscious.

--------------------------------

“Robbie,” Alyss pleaded gently for him to stop talking. She had curled up into a small ball at the memories flooding back to her, the tears which were threatening to fall out of her eyes before were now freely falling down her cheeks. Alyss didn’t have to look over to see that Robbie noticed her pained state and had sat up. “I can’t hear anymore of this. If I lose control again-” she whispered shakily, holding her unsteady hands up in front of her face disgusted as though they were covered in blood.

“Lose control again? What do you mean?” Robbie asked, placing a small supportive gesture to Alyss’s shoulder that caused her to flinch.

“I’m a monster,” she whispered, horrified.

“Nonsense,” Robbie scoffed, unable to believe that this girl they had just found could have done anything terrible enough to be called a monster. He watched as she sat up slowly. She was shaking as though she had just spent the night in the Hebra Mountains with nothing but a thin layer of clothes. Her purple eyes were wide and full of fear at whatever memory was flashing in front of them. She stared at the edge of the bed just past him and continued to torture herself. Robbie watched as her skin crinkled and turned into scales, the nails that were digging into her arms, as she held herself, turned into large talons that drew blood from her porcelain skin. He watched as her hair started to float and her eyes turned into slits. He had to hold back his excitement as he made mental notes of her sudden changes and what could have potentially caused them how he knew he had to help her.

Leaning over, Robbie grabbed Alyss’s shoulder and pulled her roughly into him. He wrapped his arms around her scaly skin, ignoring the cuts he received from it, as he gave her the only thing he could think of, a hug. Robbie felt her tense up at the sudden contact, but it wasn’t long before the open skin showing through his v-neck outfit started to feel little droplets of water. He felt her skin turn back to its former texture as she allowed herself to relax in his arms and release her emotional distress in the form of loud sobs. “I promise you’re not alone anymore,” he whispered to her, gently running his palm up and down her small, shaking back. “Come with Purah and I. Let us help you figure out what went wrong and what we can do to make it right. You’re not a monster,” he leaned back and smiled at Alyss gently.

Alyss nodded slowly as she searched Robbie’s eyes for any sign of insincerity and malice, but when she found none her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink. “Stay with me please. Don’t let me be alone,” she whispered in a plea.

Robbie smirked and threw his hand up to point into the air. “Oh yeah,” he shouted, making Alyss giggle at his eccentric and slightly ridiculous way of agreeing. Pulling the bands and sticks out of his and her hair to make both fall to their natural length, Robbie wasted no time in laying her back down cuddled up in his arms, whispering promises of a better future until she fell fast asleep.

#botw #botwxoc #botw x oc #robbie x oc #botw robbie #aoc robbie #revali x oc #revali x oc x robbie

15 notes · View notes

botwstoriesandsuch · 4 years

Text

Where Time Takes Us

Destination - Part 2

- - - - - - - - - -

The public opinion of the Royal Family had dwindled compared to previous years, though that wasn’t to say everyone was against them. In fact, the establishment of divine right and intervention was very much intact in the years prior, and most folk were supportive of the projects and developments that would supposedly protect the kingdom. However, there was a stemming internal conflict between the “solemn” princess and her would-be associates and advisors. Understand, for this time period, that faith towards leaders and figureheads was a combination of their apparent strength and confidence in their duty and labour, coupled with a bit of humanity and relatability. From first hand diary documents, we can already piece together that first half of that story. As for the latter, well...

They say the Princess hadn’t even once visited the Queen’s grave.

I think that’s when they started to lose hope.

— Excerpt from Clocks and Passages, Gerudo historian, Kemisie Patel, 14 years Pre-Awakening

- - - - - - - - - -

Her mother used to do her hair, before special ceremonies like these.

Her father, well, he would always remind her of the importance of appearances, for royalty should always look dignified and strong. Even before she could walk, he would commission thousands of dresses. Tailors would customize the cloth to her every measure, with stitches etched with gold that only a king like him could afford. Then, when it was done, he would kiss her forehead and tell her she looked stunning. Stunning. The same word for every occasion. A stunning white dress. A stunning pair of boots. A stunning blue coat. For a party. A meeting. A ball. Every time, it was stunning, stunning, stunning.

Yet her mother, she would always choose her words carefully. She would take her hand and sit her down on the bed. No matter what her dress or coat, or whatever pre-prepared style she was already in, her mother would smooth out the cloth on her back, and part the hair behind her neck. She would brush and brush and brush, then braid and braid and braid. The queen would talk of simple fairy tales, or of intriguing conversations she had that day, or of interesting new facts, or of new embarrassing anecdotes that would never cease to make her daughter laugh. The princess’ hair would transform from an elaborate mess of self-inflicted ribbons and tangles to a simple, yet elegant, crown braid.

Then her mother would ask, “Do you like it?” and every time she would say yes. Of course she liked it, because her dear mother had done it, and no one else could do it better. No bun, or tie, or ribbon, or crown would compare to the touch of her mother’s fingers, weaving together her golden hair. The two of them would get up and look in the mirror. The princess’ outfit might change, but she was never surprised by her hair. Her mother would squeeze her shoulders, and rest her chin upon her head, her only concerning being the smile on her daughter’s face. Her mother would sing more words. Lovely, charming, enchanting, beguiling. Perhaps beautiful, magnificent, exquisite, or cute.

She wasn’t talking about the dress or the hair. Her words were meant for her daughter alone.

The queen would take her daughter’s hand and they would walk towards the door. Before the princess could take a step outside the room, her mother would squeeze her hand. Her sentence would start the same. “My little bird,” she would begin, her voice as sweet as honey. The queen would hold her daughter’s hand, and whisper to her little bird. Perhaps a joke to calm the nerves, or one last assurance before a ceremony. Sometimes the words were simple, and sometimes they were complex. Nonetheless, the princess would listen to her voice and smile, before finally stepping out the door.

Her mother, she would do her hair, and sing, and speak, and whisper one last thing to her little bird, before watching the princess leave. Her mother, the Queen of Hyrule, would always speak of little things.

And then she died.

And Zelda had long forgotten all the words.

The princess stood in front of the mirror, watching the woman tend to her dress. Zelda didn’t bother to look at her reflection, it would be the same as any other time. A royal blue dress, atop a snow white blouse, and all lined with gold trim, so as to match her own golden hair. She had gotten over the initial beauty of the dress a long time ago.

So instead, she looked out the window. The day had risen, its light passing through glass panes, dousing the princess’ room with its warm, yellow light. The outline of the window’s frame and design cast shadows onto the floor, capturing Zelda’s shadow in a web of thin lines.

Outside, the view was as it was yesterday: the aged grey walls of the castle exterior, pressed against a beautiful horizon of grassy fields and weathered silver peaks. From where she stood, the window was less of a view, and more of a small painting, a tiny portal of the world affixed to a sorry stack of stone bricks. With the way the sunlight hit the glass pane, the shapes of Hyrule faded into simple colors, blurred by the walls of the bedroom and her own reflection staring back at her.

There was the Princess of Hyrule, right where she belonged.

Her emerald eyes gazed back at her. They were tired.

Suddenly, the woman finished working on something at the hem of Zelda’s dress. She stood and patted her shoulder with a smile.

“All done, Your Highness. You look stunning!”

Zelda turned to look at her through the mirror. She put on a smile and said, “Thank you, Evelyn.” The princess stepped away, walking around the room.

The woman gave a little curtsy. “Can I do anything else for you while I’m here, miss?”

Zelda started to sit on her bed, resting her legs after an hour or so of standing. She shook her head.

“It’s alright, thank you. You may go.” She gave one last soft smile, for assurances. The tailor, Evelyn, gave a curtsey, and started to pack up her sewing kit, humming to herself.

Zelda turned to the nightstand beside her bed. It was a clutter of papers, notes, and ink, although it was nothing compared to her desk on the other end of the room. Brushing them into a neat pile, the princess opened the drawer under it.

It held two things. One was a soft, velvet pillow, holding a golden diadem, woven like vines. The detailed indentations in the metal were crafted with care and precision, and the perfectly symmetrical gold bands wove towards the front, where it cradled three ruby gemstones. The diadem was meant to be an elegant headpiece, displaying the grace and power of the Hyrulean Family.

The second thing in the drawer was a stuffed horse.

Mr. Roberts was flopped on his side, his crudely made glasses askew on his snout. The horse was fluffy, a solid tan brown, with white socks and a pink nose. The yarn that made his flowing, blond mane was splayed out against the plain oak wood of the drawer.

Zelda propped him up, fixing his glasses, before patting him on his head. Mr. Roberts, afterall, was a respected keeper of the quills, who was paid with nightly cuddles. He had been in his position for nearly 16 years, a life-time partner with the princess herself. This was why he had the honor of being kept by the nightstand whenever visitors came, instead of shoved hurriedly under the bed, like all her other stuffed animals.

Her smile came and went like a breeze. Zelda sighed. She patted Mr. Roberts once more, then pushed him a bit further to the back of the drawer. The princess then took out the diadem, placing it snuggly on her head to push back her golden locks.

No braids today, as was father’s request.

At the thought of this, Zelda got to her feet.

He only said 20 minutes, right?

Let’s see… the guardian is just in the courtyard downstairs. Later, I could probably use the Champions as an excuse… they’ve been here a few hours, maybe? The ceremony is just a bit past noon… and if I use the stairs unconventionally...

Zelda’s eyes lit up for the first time all morning. Still standing by her bed, she cleared her throat and spoke swifty.

“Actually, Evelyn? Sorry, but there is one more thing.” As she spoke, she started to walk across the room towards her desk, about to begin a daring search amongst the avalanche of papers, books, fancy pens, and quills.

The woman had just about finished up packing her needles, fabric, and other tools into her small kit. She held it in one hand as she tilted her head curiously at the princess.

“Yes, Your Highness?”

“If you see my father, or anyone else due to the Champion Ceremony, just pass along a reminder that I’m not coming to the rehearsal beforehand.”

“Of course.” Evelyn observed the princess continue to hopelessly tumble through the mess of papers and books on her desk. “A busy day for you, miss?”

“Of sorts...”

Finally, she found it. Feeling the familiar brush of old leather at her fingertips, Zelda pulled out one of her journals from the wreckage of notes and ink. She really needed to find a better way to organize these things. Flipping through the pages, she found that this was indeed research journal number 27, with half of the pages still blank and ripe for the writing.

She turned to the tailor once more, clutching the journal to her chest. “If my father asks anymore questions about my whereabouts, just tell him I was delivering the Champion’s gifts myself. Otherwise, you can be sure I’ll still be at the sanctum at least 20 minutes early, just as he asked!”

The tailor hesitantly started the motion of a nod in agreement, but the princess didn’t stick around to see it finish. Zelda gave Evelyn an honest smile, before rushing out the door. The woman was left there, scratching the back of her head in concern.

Pushing open the double doors, the princess started to run through the hallway. Well, it was more of a half run, half walk. A jog if you will. It was difficult enough to walk around in heels, much less sprint across the carpet floor.

Curses, I should have brought a change of boots.

Zelda continued her journey through the corridors, hastily passing by the guards who wore slightly confused expressions under their thick helms.

Even though Zelda had left her room in a rush, as soon as she saw the drifting shadows of other Hylians at the end of the hallway, she slowed her pace. Guards were one thing, but other influential people, who might not know how to hold their tongue, was another. Turning the corner, she allowed the voice of her father and other nobility from her life to amplify.

Keep your head high. Don’t slouch. Look straight ahead. Don’t adjust your hair. Don’t attend to an itch. Don’t run. Hands folded, not crossed. Stride and be dignified. Look straight ahead. Look straight ahead.

She looked at their faces, walking through the hallway, she couldn’t help but notice the sudden quieting volume as people turned to look at her. Zelda didn’t know exactly who they were. Sons, daughters, brothers, or mothers of some nobles serving her father? It didn’t matter, she could already feel the pit in her stomach telling her that they saw right through her.

This specific corridor was basked in light, with open archways allowing the sunlight to drip through, and cast soft shadows onto the opposing wall. It was a small group of people, their clothing varying from large, simple gowns to sleek, suave coats. From the looks of it, they were just chatting amongst themselves as they enjoyed the morning breeze.

At least, they had been chatting, but now those conversations were reduced to faint whispers amongst a fragile silence.

Look straight ahead. Focus. Look straight ahead. Focus. Just...move forward.

Zelda began to walk calmly through the corridor, the noblemen and women giving curt bows and curtseys before turning back to their companions. Some continued to stare at her with blank, neutral faces, their expressions giving no indication of their emotions or opinions, which only fed Zelda’s growing anxiety.

Look straight ahead. Pay no mind. Look ahead.

The princess continued to walk. Her destination was so close, but the muttering and whispers seemed to tangle and trip her thoughts, making the journey towards the end of the hall seem like an eternity. It was as if the moment Zelda passed by them, these people took it as their cue to continue their not-so-silent conversations.

“...yeah, that’s the…...too young for…...but sixteen is a long time…”

“...spends all day with those…...His Majesty doesn’t like that…...no powers….”

“...can’t even do…..her duty…..a shame...”

Zelda took a deep breath, trying to drown out the whispers. Look ahead. Focus. Look ahead. Focus.

She snuck a quick glance at a man with curly brown hair, he seemed to tower above her when she passed him by. He cocked an eyebrow, before turning back to his partner.

Ahead. Focus. Ahead. Posture. Dignified. Strong...

“...expects us to…...and respect…...what throne will she even…”

“...inherits…...downfall…...nothing…”

“..…..she doesn’t even….so spoiled…”

“...running away…...even from simple things…”

They were just words. Simple words. Little words. Forget it forget it forget it.

Zelda finally reached the end and turned the corner, practically sprinting towards the staircase once she was alone. She didn’t even care if they could hear her echoing footsteps, she just didn’t want to be close enough to hear any laughter.

The princess pushed open a wooden door, leading her to the stairwell. Hearing it close behind her, Zelda finally allowed herself to breathe. Her shaky breaths slowly returning to normal with each passing moment.

Alone at the top of a stairwell, the princess’ short breaths echoed, and over time, they finally melded into a final, deep sigh.

“And…” Zelda clasped her hands together taking in the room, “...we’re good.”

Regaining her composure, Zelda looked down through the spiral staircase. The carefully chiseled stone walls housed intricate designs, but the railing of the stairwell was thick and smooth.

It was perfect for… “being punctual.”

An unconscious smile made its way onto Zelda’s lips, as she propped herself up onto the railing. Then, clutching the excess of her dress in her fist, the princess allowed her momentum to fall to the side, as she slid down the spiral staircase.

The faintest sound of a laugh escaped her, even though she tried to hold her tongue. The last time she did this, a guard had heard her and berated the princess for doing something so reckless. Her father would later agree, bringing up the fact that doing such an act had caused dust and grime to accumulate on the “not so pleasant area” of her dress.

Holy Hylia, just say “butt,” Father.

Yet by that point, she had become too addicted to the childlike amusement and wonder that filled her. So here she was, a few years later after that incident, doing one of the few disobedient things in her life. It was thrilling in some sense, yet on the other hand… a bit pathetic. However in those precious, precious few moments, the princess didn’t really care.

A couple dozen steps later, Zelda’s feet landed in front of the door of paradise. It was her paradise, anyhow. The wooden door had a glass pane window, housing three golden triangles that cast splashes of color onto the stone floor as the sunlight drizzled through.

Quickly attempting to brush off any dust on her dress, Zelda took another breath and walked out into her world.

It was noisy, and chaotic, and bustling, and wonderful. The playful breeze seemed to be tugging her towards the scene.

She finally let her smile show.

The bright blue sky was pierced with metal and wood, the thin brown lines of scaffolding, ladders, and ropes held Guardians and other Sheikah technology in the air. There were glows of orange and blue, blurs of grey and silver, and of course the dazzle of a familiar Sheikah red eye, painted on some of the hanging banners and on the clothing of various Sheikah.

Someone must have been burning coal again, the scent of smoke whirling towards Zelda. As the princess started walking around, she looked around, admiring the progress that the workers were making.

There was a strange charge in the air, something that mixed the feelings of lightning and excitement, and the feeling wasn’t just from her. Bustling by her, men and women alike rushed passed with beaming faces, arms full of paper and ink.

No one was whispering or standing still—serenity and silence were in the realm of myth. The air echoed with the whirr of machinery, and the occasional shouts of conversation between Sheikah kneeling under Guardians and atop the tallest scaffolding. Zelda saw how nonchalantly one man lay next to a Guardian head, seemingly ignorant to the fact that it could vaporize him at any second. She would have judged him for his recklessness, before the thought came to her that she had probably done the exact same thing several times. She snorted to herself.

Suddenly, a girl with white hair bumped into the princess’ shoulder, causing her to drop her journal. The Sheikah girl and Zelda started to exchange apologies, but not before the girl hastily grabbed onto her box of screws and metal scrapes, the contents a few half-seconds away from spilling onto the grass. Luckily, her reflexes avoided such a fate, and the girl let out a sigh of relief.

“Apologies, Princess.” The Sheikah girl attempted to give a little curtsey, but was more concerned with the well being of her materials than the quality of her manners.

“It’s alright, I’m sorry, I probably shouldn’t have stood in the middle of the path, should I?” Zelda gestured to the other scurrying Sheikah around them, before moving off to the side.

“Well, nonetheless, Your Highness, it didn’t help on my end to have my vision be impaired.” The girl used a free hand to readjust her grip on the stack of supplies that piled up past her nose.

Zelda let out an easy smile. Picking up her journal from the ground, Zelda took this opportunity to get some info without bothering any of the other busy researchers.

“Do you happen to know where they relocated that Skywatcher Guardian? The one Robbie was working on?”

“Ah right, Dr. Robbie’s latest monstrosity... The one that collapsed last night, correct? It’s by the Southeast—no wait, Southwest Waterfall. For safety reasons, I believe.” With one free hand, she made an explosion gesture with her fingers

“Kaboom!”

Zelda shook her head with a chuckle. “It’s not gonna blow up. We haven’t even installed the propellor motors, much less the power core.”

The girl raised an eyebrow, before turning back around to continue to her destination. “Oh? Well tell that to the guards.”

“What? Did someone work on it?”

The Sheikah shrugged. “I don’t know, I was working my other job in Castle Town. All I know is that the workload for the Skywatcher thing has been greatly lifted. Supposedly someone was able to give it a new surge of power. So the typical guards have been assigned, you know, to keep the potential fires in check and all that…”

Another heave of her box of supplies, and the girl started back on her path.

“Be seeing ya, Princess!” said the Sheikah girl. As she walked, she started humming some faintly familiar tavern tune.

Zelda thought to herself, gears turning in her head, as she truly started getting into a ‘researcher’s mindset,’ as her father had called it.

What did she say? Southwest Waterfall? Well, no better place to prevent fires and explosions.

With new vigor, Princess Zelda walked deeper into the realm of ancient metal.

A blur of gold and blue made its way through the courtyards. Occasionally, a wandering Sheikah would turn and greet the princess, but for the most part, they would leave the girl to her devices, literally and figuratively, as they were used to Her Highness tinkering away at the various machinery. It wasn’t like any of them cared, so long as nothing got in the way of their own work.

In a sense, it was this very mindset that truly made Zelda feel at ease. There was no beating around a sacred bush, no dance or choreography to learn, no rules to conversation, or guidelines for the way to blink. The Sheikah here just...were. They did their jobs, worked towards their task, and would generally just act like normal people.

Of course, on occasion when Zelda stopped to ask a question, their tones would change from casual to professional. A simple question like, “Is everything running smoothly?” would get responses that typically ended with, “But of course, Your Highness,” accompanied by a deep and humble bow. However, the exhausting formalities were more an issue of Sheikah attempting not to embarrass themselves, rather than something along the lines of them sucking up, or wearing a polite mask just to whisper behind her back. It was this breath of fresh air that would make the princess forever grateful for their company.

Eventually, Zelda made her way to the Skywatcher Guardian. It was easy enough to identify, given that it was a lot more...intact than usual.

Above, a sparkling waterfall rushed against stone walls, before it crashed into a large lake, where the water stilled, shimmering quietly. Surrounding the waterfall, the courtyard's green grass melded with a brick path, atop which different types of Guardians stood. Large, rotating Sentries; clambering, scurrying Stalkers; and, most notable, a single Skywatcher, laid out on its side beside the pond.

These types were still new. Robbie supposedly only got it to fly for an hour before its power began to dwindle. Yet now, the Skywatcher was humming with life. Even laid on its side, with the propellers detached, the Guardian’s head swiveled in search of an absent enemy.

It was incredible really. Just last night, it was a heap of metal and screws. Compared to then, the Guardian was not only repaired, but its functionality was restored beyond that of which Zelda and Robbie had left it.

That’s funny...that nobleman wouldn’t stop talking my ears off about how his son got a bruise when the Guardian collapsed into bits and pieces.

She shook her head, cringing at the memory of having to apologize to someone after their kid broke one of the machines essential to the protection of Hyrule.

But, at least you’re all good now. Zelda thought to herself, moving to pat the Skywatcher’s hull with a smile. Oh, you’re a beautiful one, huh? Look at all your glowing lights and chiseled design! And is that a new lens I see? Oooo and your propellers here are all polished! Wouldn’t want grime and gunk in the gears, would you? No, no you wouldn’t... You sure are a fancy little guy aren’t y—

“...Your Highness?”

Zelda jumped, her mind snapping back to reality. Whipping around, she turned to face a Hylian guard, her helm tucked under one arm. She was stoically holding a spear, but the look on her face was of thinly veiled confusion.

The princess cleared her throat, slightly sheepish. “Yes? What is it?”

The guard shifted her weight, her blonde braid falling to the side. “Well…I’ve been ordered to keep unauthorized people from touching the Guardians. We haven’t had an explosion yet, here in the Activation Zone, and I’m sure we would all like to keep it that way—”

The princess quickly held up a hand, irritation starting to form in place of the embarrassment she felt moments ago. “Wait, are you saying I’m an unauthorized person?”

“Your father said....especially and specifically for today…”

Ah. Right… Of course he would say that.

Zelda finally sighed, compliant. “Alright, I understand. Thank you. But could you tell me why exactly this one was moved here to Activation?” She took out her journal, beginning to jot down observations and notes on the Skywatcher. “Just last night, I had people complain to me for hours about its collapse, and now all of the sudden it's already being actively tested? What happened to the ‘only authorized people’ rule?”

The guard suddenly looked away, not that Zelda noticed. “Uhhh...it was worked on sometime last night and super early morning.” She played with her blonde braid, brushing it against her metal gauntlet. “That Dr. Kimura? Sh—HE was one of the head scientist guys, so it was under jurisdiction.”

Zelda nodded her head in understanding, still jotting away at the paper. Then, the princess suddenly closed her journal with a snap, clutching it to her chest. She moved a bit closer to the Guardian, angling herself to be just in front of the opening at its top, where all the mechanism and components lie.

Then, she bent her legs and started jumping up and down.

The guard’s face was full of concern and confusion. “Um...Princess…?”

“I’m not touching it! I’m just—” her eyes started to widened, as she got a better peak inside, “Ooo, that’s a new feature, what kind of properties does—” But the guard couldn’t quite hear the rest of her sentence, given that it was continuously cut off with each hop she took.

Zelda finally finished jumping, although it was from her curiosity being satisfied, and not from the guard’s efforts to stop her. The princess started again to write down notes in her journal.

“A giant ancient core! I didn’t know we had unearthed more of those. It does transfer the needed energy to the propellers faster than a standard core.” She continued hurriedly scratching away at the pages of her journal. “Smart! I honestly should have thought of it sooner. I’ll have to thank Robbie later.”

“Right…”

For the better part of an hour, Zelda continued to sit by the lake and continue her research. As irritating as it was to not be allowed to touch things, Zelda was content with the opportunity to focus on writing down her theories and thoughts. Personally, she’d have preferred some music, but, well...he wasn’t here right now. Probably off trying to keep Robbie and Purah from wreaking too much havoc.

Music aside, the princess was still much at comfort, here beside the looming Skywatcher. The rushing of the waterfall, the ambience of distant conversation, and the patter of Sheikah metal, it all culminated in a setting that made her feel right at home. Despite the entirety of the castle technically being hers, the feeling was actually something that couldn’t come often enough…

But, like seemingly every enjoyable thing in her life, it ended far too soon.

Behind her, the guard suddenly moved closer to lean down. “Your Highness.”

“Mmm?” Zelda didn’t bother to look up at her, still flipping through her pages.

“You...have a guest.”

Zelda scoffed to herself, already forming a prediction of who it might be as she got on her feet.

Father said twenty minutes early. The ceremony doesn’t start for another 38, I’m fine. If I could just show him my progress here so far, then he’ll have to—

As the princess turned to face the person in question, the words she was about to let out of her mouth suddenly caught in her throat.

Oh.

He wasn’t actually looking at her at that moment. His eyes were distant, caught up with the view of the Sanctum at the apex of the castle. His blue eyes were bright and cold, while his stupidly perfect blond hair flowed with the New Year's wind. Winter hadn’t hadn’t yet fully surrendered to the Spring, but the air was still crisp enough to warrant her to wear the long sleeve dress. Yet, the boy stood with nothing but his leather boots, pants, and a beige and grey tunic. The fact that he never shivered was just another infuriatingly perfect thing about him.

That, and the fact that he seemed to take every waking moment to show off that sword, an imposing reminder that he was better than her in every way.

Zelda cleared her throat, getting his attention. “What can I do for you, knight?” She said the last word with a tone equal to that of how one might talk to the squished remains of a spider.

The boy turned to face her, the tips of his ears slightly pink. He put up his hands in front of his chest, the sword on his back shifting with the movement. The boy gave a look towards the princess, as if asking for permission.

Ah, right. No words…

The princess couldn’t quite understand it. Five years ago, when a twelve year old Link had first found the sword, he spoke with ease. No oath of silence had stopped him from chatting it up with her and her father. He was awfully loud, especially when exclaiming to his father, Captain Leon of the royal guard, his excitement about the “cool sword” he found. In those days, Link would pester her, about the epic battle they were fated to, about the legends and Beasts and prophecy. And it was his excitement and determination that had earned her the reputation.

The lazy one. The distracted one. The powerless one, doomed to a throne of nothing. The perfect knight, and the failing heir. The gleeful boy and the silent princess.

Well, at least she wasn’t the silent one anymore.

So now those five years had passed, they had barely spoken since those days. Of course, that boy, the wielder of the Sword That Seals The Darkness, of course he would find a way to ruin her day even without opening his mouth. Finally, Zelda let out a huff, acknowledging Link.

“Hylian Sign… yes, well. I’m a bit rusty, but so long as you don’t start telling me your entire life story I should be fine. Go on.”

He nodded, his expression painfully neutral. The knight began to move his hands, bending his fingers in different motions.

‘Your father asked me to look after you, before the ceremony began. Then I could escort you there. Practice for next week when I actually…’ he paused, thinking of his next gesture, ‘when I actually start accompanying you.”’

The princess couldn’t hide her scoff. “I’m perfectly capable of finding my own way to the Sanctum, thank you very much.” She crossed her arms. “You can head there on your own, and tell the king that I’m fine. Frankly, I’m trying to enjoy my last few days of personal space.”

Zelda started the motion of spinning around and sitting back on the ground, but out of the corner of her eye she caught Link moving his hands once again.

‘I can wait here, until you’re finished, if you wish.’

She sighed, shaking her head. The princess gave a sort of halfhearted nod, as if to say “Fine, do whatever you want.” Although her distaste for the situation was made clear, given she sat back on the ground in a loud and stern demeanour.

Zelda started flipping through her journal again, trying to find where she left off. Yet, she hadn’t been writing for a full minute before she could feel it. She could feel him looking at her.

The guard was one thing, she was doing her job, and if they had something to say they would speak their mind at the princess’ command. Link, on the other hand, his stare was different. It was more similar to something like the stare she had felt in the corridor that day, although ten times worse given his eyes were guaranteed to be stoic and neutral.

Zelda wouldn’t stare him back, instead, she looked at the reflection of the lake. The water rippled slightly, the waterfall crashing in the distance. She could see the reflection of Link standing tall, and looking in the direction she was sitting. In the water, she could see his eyes. His gaze didn’t see her in the water, but the look was enough to get Zelda’s mind turning.

He thinks I’m pathetic.

Granted, he wouldn’t be the first.

Link had taken off his sword, propping it on the ground, sheath and all, as a sort of armrest. He set his elbows on the handle and continued to wait and watch. It was like some parent watching their toddler, making sure they didn’t hurt themselves. He probably thinks I’m a brat, how rich...

Although, Zelda was slightly hesitant at this theory, given that the way he was looking at her direction was so… soft. More warm than his typically glassy gaze.

Ah...

Pity.

Zelda laughed to herself. He pities the poor princess, the stupid girl who can’t figure out her destiny. The pathetic heir wasting her time with Guardians.

It all came so easy for him, it took him no time at all. What am I to him, some strange anomaly? An injured calf in the field? His destiny is held back by my struggles, and now he pities me for it. I’d like to see how he would act if he felt as useless as I.

Zelda continued to furiously scribble in her journal, but her thoughts continued to flow, one after another.

He doesn’t just pity me.

He hates me.

But on the bright side, the feelings he has for me are mutual.

Barely a minute passed, before the anxiety in Zelda’s head grew too much to bear. Was this really going to happen everyday now?

Finally, she let out a groan. In one swift motion she got to her feet, snapped her journal shut, and started marching towards the nearest entrance. Passing Link, she mumbled under her breath something slightly graphic concerning Guardians, skewers, and eyes.

Her mutters continued as she trudged towards the castle interior. She was about halfway there when she realized the only footsteps she heard were her own. Zelda turned around, finding that Link was still where he was moments ago, standing timidly, his stance hesitant to move.

“Well, are you coming?”

Link scratched the back of his head, then blinked. He picked up his sword, slung it back around him, and started to jog towards her. He was like a puppy, bounding up to their owner, only the analogy truly merged with reality given that Link seemed to be the type to only move when following orders. Spirits above, this was gonna be annoying. Zelda let out another sigh.

The two of them made their way back inside the castle. Weaving through the hallways, Zelda led the two of them up closer and closer to their destination. However, Link seemed to prefer walking five steps behind her. She tried to busy her hands, smoothing out her hair and her dress, but she couldn’t shake the swarm of thoughts in her head every time she saw the edge of Link’s shadow behind her.

Suddenly, Zelda stopped in the middle of the hall, speaking bluntly.

“If you’re really trying to live up to the knightly protection schtick, at the very least walk next to me so I don’t feel as creeped out.”

The knight blinked, then gave a nod. Once again, no reaction whatsoever. He awkwardly shuffled beside her, still with some distance between then, so that they stood at opposite ends of the width of the hall.

Zelda slumped her shoulders, but was ultimately satisfied with the situation. She continued down the hallways.

Minutes passed, then moments, then eternities. The end of each corridor couldn’t come fast enough. Although she had purposely chosen the route that ran into as little people as possible, there was a weird charge in the air given the dense silence between them.

Occasionally, she would mention something out of politeness, the typical dance of conversation. “How was your day?” and “The weather’s been weird,” and all that garbage. It didn’t help that he wasn’t much for conversation. The most he contributed to the conversation was asking why they were taking this route, as it wasn’t the quickest way to the Sanctum. Zelda gave him a blunt answer, as if to give him his own medicine, “I have an errand beforehand.”

More minutes passed, then moments, then centuries. Zelda continued to fidget with the edge of her sleeve, while Link continued his perfect silence.

The princess snuck a glance in his direction. He walked with purpose, matching her speed, but not daring to lead the way. He was watching the cycle of his steps on the floor. His face… his eyes.... It wasn't boredom. It wasn’t tiredness. He was just, blank.

She could still remember that young boy, excitedly asking her about the powers of Hylia, and glowing swords. Had he really grown out of that so quickly? Had he already managed to push down his childish ways for the sake of his duty?

Next to him, Zelda was an utter failure.

“Let me ask you something, hero. What are they going to remember you by?”

The words escaped her before she could register the noise, and the sudden sound made the boy’s posture stiffen in an instant. Link tilted his head askew in a quizzical nature.

“Me, I’ve worked my entire life to try to be something worthwhile. Today alone, I’ve worked to make my research impactful and worthwhile. I’ve had my speech for the Champion’s ceremony handcrafted to portray a desired image. My father had my dress tailor-made to something he approved of, and I work every damn day to live up to the role as the wielder of the Sealing power.”

She let out a sad sigh. “Even if it isn’t exactly the positive legacy I wanted, there is still something that people know me for.

“The solemn heir. The tired princess. Don’t you agree?”

Zelda looked at his face, trying to see some sort of reaction in his eyes.

Nothing.

She pushed further.

“Would you like another example? Well, everyone knows this tale. A young knight wanders into the woods, woods that sap your spirit and carry corpses into creeks. But instead of a fate of death, the boy found his fate in a sword, ‘for his heart was too pure to yield to the forces of evil.’ Sound about right?”

He didn’t react. The rate in which they walked slowed just barely.

“But that is just the start. The fairytale, if you will. Now, the knight becomes a truly talented and masterful swordsman. The image he gives off is of perfection and grace.” She waved her hand in an exaggerated manner. “Supposedly, that would be the end of it. That’s all we need to know.”

Then, Zelda stopped in the corridor, looking out one of the stained glass windows.

“Yet once—” she chuckled, although the laugh didn’t meet her eyes, “Once upon a time, I met a boy. He liked swords and chocolate, horses and fruit. He liked the woods, and talking, and dogs, and stories. I know because one day he and I talked, just the two of us. It was nice, but he told me something strange.”

She turned to face Link directly. “He told me he was confused. He told me he didn’t understand some of the new changes in his life. He told me he was...something along the lines of nervous.

“I told him I felt the same, for you see, the person in my life who was supposed to guide me, they were gone. This boy and I, we were in the same boat, which didn’t often happen in my life.”

She stepped closer to him, her shadows growing along the opposite wall. “I told him that if I ever found out how to stop being confused, how to figure out everything, I would tell him. And he told me the same.

“But then that boy vanished, and instead I met a knight. The perfect, dashing knight from the fairy tales…”

Zelda was less than a foot away from him now, looking at his eyes.

“...and I never spoke to that boy again. Although in a sense, I’m glad. I never found the answer he was looking for.” As she said this, she looked away, breaking her gaze.

The princess looked out the window again, while the hero continued to stare at her, unmoving. After a moment, she spoke again.

“So I ask, how should I remember you then? Who are you going to be, the knight, or the boy? I’d like to at least know that before you once again start shoving your way into my life.”

A pause, a tension in the air that could form storms, but for now it was as still as the surface of a pond. Both of them waited for an answer to appear. She could practically hear the gears turning in his head.

Finally, he raised his arms, meeting her eyes with a strange new light.

‘I plan to be whatever is needed of me.’

Another silence, but more fragile than the last. Finally, the thoughts in her head crashed together like the end of a waterfall. Zelda let out a deep sigh, before storming off down the rest of the hallway.

Perfect answer from the perfect hero. What else did I expect?

Still storming off, Zelda’s thoughts fluttered through her head. No, not just thoughts. Words. They echoed and bounced around in her head. Her words, her father’s, Link’s...words? Expressions? What do you even call them—

In her haste, Zelda nearly bumped into a large, basil green Zora. He looked down at her, puzzled, while she mumbled out apologies.

Moving past him, Zelda took in the room around her.

They had reached the main hall.

It was draped with velvet and gold, along with bright blue banners, and stained glass ceilings. More decorated that usual given today’s events. Unlike in times past, different races other than Hylians bustled across the floor. Sheikah, Rito, Zora, Gorons, Gerudo, they moved with purpose, and intent. They all knew where they were going, and where everyone else was going, up, up to the Sanctum.

Behind her, Link finally caught up. Zelda slumped her shoulders, but was ultimately glad she wouldn’t have to chase him down later. She eyed one of the ornate doors beside one of the windows, before gesturing to Link with a hand. “Well, come on then. Let’s go meet the others.”

The Sanctum is just upstairs, I’ve got 30 minutes, so 10 minutes to talk with the rest of the Champions. We’re good, we’re good...I don’t need to pay the people here any mind...

The figure of Link out of the corner of her eye pierced through her thoughts. Seeing the raised eyebrow on Link’s face as they walked, Zelda spoke in a lowly tone.

“Whatever your stance on knights and stories are, the rest of the world prefers the fairytales. They want links between the storybooks and reality, some symbol of perfection to ease their minds, to tell them that it won’t all end in failure. So come.”

Zelda paused, turning to face him directly. She looked up and down at Link’s outfit, a typical beige and grey knight’s tunic, with dark pants and boots. Then, she continued towards her destination with new vigor.

“There is something I need to give you all.”

#reblogs appreciated!#botw #breath of the wild #legend of zelda botw #loz botw #where time takes us #botw fanfiction #link #link botw #zelda #zelda botw #zelink

27 notes · View notes