escordvi | log 🌻 in the absence of sunshine

Entry tags:

darin altway,
zelda

log 🌻 in the absence of sunshine

Who: Zelda and Darin
Status: Closed
Where: Zelda's apartment on Eltrut
What: (Backdated to August 15) The aftermath of their fight with Ganondorf the previous night.
Warnings: Major injury, probably some PTSD, and other such warnings that come with hurt/comfort threads (edit: now with themes of self sacrifice, self loathing, and some surprise UST 🌶️)

[ These past twenty-four hours have been the longest, slowest hours Zelda has had to wait through in a very long time. After her century sealing Calamity Ganon, the princess has developed patience in spades-- in stark contrast to how she was before the Calamity. But now, that patience seems to have evaporated and she feels just like that girl she once was, standing impatiently for hours in the Goddess's springs straining to hear Her voice. Time passes with agonizing slowness, and each hour that Darin does not wake feels somehow slower than the last.

Zelda has seen firsthand how quickly his injuries heal, no matter how severe. When she rescued him from the ocean after his fight with Garuda, it took less than an hour for his broken bones to heal. So although the severity of the injuries he sustained from their fight with Ganondorf were deeply upsetting to Zelda, she expected him to heal through the worst of them before the following dawn.

But that wasn't the case. When dawn came, not only did his injuries barely look any better, but he hadn't hadn't regained consciousness. Dawn turned to day to afternoon to dusk and to night again and still Darin did not wake.

Throughout those long, long hours, there was nothing Zelda could do but wait. Wait and try to treat his wounds as she would anyone else's. She cleaned and bandaged his injuries as best she could, and at least that helped set her mind slightly at ease. She didn't know why this was taking so long, but she could care for him through that time. Goddess knows she had done so for Link countless times in the past.

But first aid only went as far as normal wounds. It was all but useless for treating Gloom burns. Usually, the cure for Gloom sickness was sunlight; Gloom faded away in the light and a person's vitality returned over time. Zelda had never seen Gloom burns before she and Link found the corpse of the Demon King below Hyrule Castle. She had an idea how to treat them-- a poultice made of sundelions might work like a concentrated salve of sunlight. But there are no sundelions in this world and the process for trying to fish for them through the rift was tricky and time consuming. And even if it wasn't, Zelda couldn't risk leaving Darin alone. If something happened... If she wasn't here...

These are the thoughts that have gone round and round in her mind all day, interspersed among memories of that fight with Ganondorf. Everything he said. Everything he did. How even the combined efforts of Darin, Ranma, and Zelda were barely enough to injure him at all. She couldn't get these thoughts out of her head.

Now it's nighttime again. Zelda has barely eaten and she has staunchly avoided sleep-- not just because Darin is on her bed, but because if something were to happen and she was not here beside him.... Well, she wasn't willing to risk that. But after twenty four sleepless hours, even anxiety isn't strong enough to keep her awake. The princess finally nods off sometime in the middle of the night, sitting in her chair at the bedside and leaning against the edge of the bed, her head against his shoulder so that, if he shifts, the movement will wake her. ]

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[For twenty four hours, Darin's consciousness fades in and out like a weakened heartbeat. Injuries were one thing— Darin was no stranger to grievous and ill-advised wounds. But the gloom. The gloom was a different beast altogether.]

[Thanks to his resilience, Darin's never known what it felt like to be sick. Infections, poisons, none of these ever seemed to find purchase with him. His immune system is just as robust and seemingly limitless as his stamina. But Ganondorf's gloom, this concentrated malice seeped into him and there...there it found something to hold onto. Something powerful that willingly drew it in and fed on it. And so, for much of those twenty four hours, Darin would occasionally writhe and groan in pain. His body shone and glistened with sweat as if he were trying to burn out an incredible, raging fever. And while his wounds were healing, the cost in stamina to do so was staggeringly high.]

[He's settled for the last few hours. Long enough for Zelda to begin to doze. But as consciousness starts to return, so to do the manifestations of his mind. He sees Ganondorf attacking Zelda. He sees the Demon King shift and become his own brother. He feels them— two persons overlapping, reach into his chest. To his heart and start to seize it. Pull it out. Taint it into this black, monstrous thing.]

[The last thing he hears is a cacophony of laughter and roaring rage that has him cry out as his eyes snap open. Hopefully Zelda moves enough because he bolts upright, frantically searching, fight or flight response kicked in.]

Where?? What?? What is—

[He tries to jump to his feet, but the pain in his chest from the jagged wound splitting his torso from shoulder to stomach burns like black-hot fire and he doubles over, swearing loudly.]

[ The moment Zelda feels even a twinge of movement, she jerks upright, fast enough to be out of the way as Darin also jolts awake. She's up before she's even fully awake, so for a moment, she doesn't understand what is happening. But fortunately, her tired brain is quick to catch up with the situation.

Zelda leaps to her feet and rushes to his side, placing her hand on his shoulder (careful to avoid his injuries). ]

It's all right, it's all right. [ She says in a reassuring voice, moving so that she is in his field of vision. ] He's gone. We're not aboard his ship anymore. We're in my home. We're safe.

What...Why are we...?

[His last memories of the fight are a blur. A series of flashes and white hot rage seared in adrenaline and vitriol. He was fighting Ganondorf. He and Ranma both were. And then...they weren't? Zelda...did something? That's where the thread of his memory starts to fray.]

R..Ranma? Where's Ranma? And the victims? Ganondorf...Did we...?

[No, they couldn't have beaten him.]

[His mind is racing and reeling and his chest hurts so godsdamned much. He clutches at the wound, his mind snapping back further by almost twenty years.]

[He's felt this pain before. Across his back. A wound that took ages to heal and left him his only scar.]

T...Tell me what happened. I remember...I remember getting cut...Ganondorf was going to kill you and...

[He jumped in the way. Made a bold declaration. And then the fight kicked off in earnest.]

Everything's a blur after that...

[ Zelda reaches out, trying to pull his hand away from the wound on his chest. She has cleaned it twice in the past twenty four hours, treated it with different ointments, bandaged and rebandaged it until it finally closed. There's a fresh bandage covering it now-- as well as others in different places across his arms and torso. The torn remains of his shirt and jacket are in a basket on the far side of the room. ]

Slow down, it's all right. [ She repeats, trying to coax him to calm down. ]

You leapt in front of me and Ganondorf cut you down instead of me. [ She doesn't think she needs to tell him that the long slash across his chest is from Ganondorf's blade. ] But even after that, you kept fighting. You and Ranma both. I tried to call you back, but you wouldn't listen. Neither would Ranma. You both continued to throw yourselves at Ganondorf, even though you were sorely outmatched. If I hadn't intervened, you surely would have died.

[ Her expression tightens, turning guilty. ] I used the Purah Pad to teleport the three of us here to my home. The travel medallion is only powerful enough to transport three people at once. I... I had to leave the prisoners behind.

["Even though you were sorely outmatched."]

[Zelda can see Darin's muscles tense and his blue hair visibly ruffle like the feathers of a bird.]

We could have won. I could have stopped him, Zelda. Why did you call us back?? I wasn't giving it my all yet! I could have given more! I shouldn't have held back from the start!

[It's gradual but it's there: the shift in blame. From Zelda forcing them to disengage and escape to the blame falling on himself. He wasn't strong enough. He wasn't fighting hard enough. He held back and it was his weakness that allowed Ganondorf to keep fighting.]

[He makes an attempt to stand. To put his feet on the floor underneath him. But as he rises, he loses his balance and begins to stumble, wincing in pain and letting a pained sound escape his lips.]

You should have left me! I could have finished him! If I just cut loose completely he wouldn't have stood a chance! You could have saved the prisoners!

[He would have died. Without question. If he poured more of his considerable strength into his attacks he would have broken apart and there would be nothing left of him.]

Edited 2024-08-31 17:50 (UTC)

[ Zelda presses her lips into a thin line. She expected this argument-- it's just like the one Ranma gave her, the indignant protest that he still had more fight in him, that they could have beaten Ganondorf.

Zelda is no fighter, but she's been in enough losing battles to recognize one when she sees it. Ranma and Darin, they're both just like Link-- the only way they'll stop fighting is if they're dead. And no matter how selfish it was, Zelda was not willing to let them die to defeat Ganondorf.

The moment she sees Darin start to rise, Zelda is at his side-- initially, with the intention of stopping him from standing, but then to try to catch him as he stumbles. She knows she isn't strong enough to support his weight, but that won't stop her from trying anyway.

She shakes her head roughly, agitation building in her voice. ] Darin, if I had left you, you would have died-- if not by Ganondorf's hand, then by your own! You were tearing yourself apart with your own power!

Oh who cares?!

[The words leave his mouth before he even has a chance to think on them. Even as he manages to right himself with Zelda's help. Knees knocking, he wobbles to-and-fro as all of his angry energy searches for a place to direct itself.]

Who cares if I take him out along with me?! First of all, knowing my godsdamned luck, I'd survive since apparently I was the resilient twin! And second of all, if I can do one good thing with my life and sacrifice it to rid this world and your world of that monster then at least I should have the power to do it!

[He twists and he clutches at the bandaged wound on his chest again. Blood starts to stain the bandage as his wound reopens a bit.]

At least that way I'd be ridding the world of two Demon Kings. Can't really get a better record than that, right??

[His complexes are on full display. Survivor's guilt about being the "resilient twin." Anger at himself for not being strong enough to face down Ganondorf. Fear of how much Ganondorf reminded him of Dromas. The ever pervasive feeling of never being enough. Not being worth anything.]

[The way he sees it, Darin had a chance to do something good for once. To be someone worthwhile. He failed to stop Garuda. He failed to stop Ganondorf. All he ever does is get saved when he's the one with power.]

["You see, power granted from any otherworldly being will always be more than a human can fathom, and always more than we can take without proper training.

Not only that—you're relying on other people to deal with your problems."]

[Cid's words rush back into his mind. Twice now Zelda's saved him from his own stupidity. Twice now she's had to mend him and watch over him and what the hell has he even done for her other than be a headache?!]

[He turns as if he wants to strike the wall or the floor. To direct this anger and destructive energy that's coloring his mindset at something. Somewhere deep in his mind the intrusive thoughts of destruction begin to rattle around. Oh how he wants to break something. And that flaring pain in his chest isn't making the impulse go away.]

[But he stops himself. Zelda can see it in his movements. He halts whatever impulse he might have had and for her, it might be hard to tell why. But for Darin, it's because he realizes this is Zelda's apartment. Had it been his...well...]

I would have survived. It's what I do.

[Denial. It's all he has right now.]

Edited 2024-08-31 20:08 (UTC)

[ "Who cares?"

"Who cares?"

For a moment, Zelda is so stunned that she forgets she's trying to keep Darin from aggravating that wound. She can only stare at him, frozen in place, listening as he pours out all this anger and guilt and self destruction. She knows he's like this, that he has no fear of sacrificing his life to save others because he does not see any value in himself. He almost did this same things months ago, against the ghost that took the form of his brother.

But remembering that from months ago is nothing compared to hearing it right now, in this moment, in a voice dripping with vitriol, after twenty four frought hours of worrying that he would never wake. It's like a block of ice dropping in her stomach. She feels like she's going to be sick. Twenty four hours caring for him and worrying over him and praying that he would pull through on his own because there was nothing else Zelda could do for him. And the minute he wakes, he yells at her that she should have left him to die, that his sacrifice would rid the world not only of the threat of Ganondorf, but of the threat of Darin as well.

Zelda begins to tremble-- not with fear, not with sadness, but with anger. After everything that's happened between them, after promising just two weeks ago that he would not leave her again, he lambastes her for saving him. 'Who cares?' he says.

'Who cares?' ]

How... how dare you... [ Her voice is barely above a whisper, shaking as she tries to hold back her building fury.

Tries and fails. Zelda's voice rises as she speaks, anger sparking in her tone. ] How dare you try to throw your life away? And-- and how dare you try to lie and claim that you would have survived? You wouldn't! You were going to die there and you know that!

Well, excuuuuuuuse me, Princess! I wasn't aware that your goddess given powers granted you the power of clairvoyance too!

[He staggers a step away from her so that he can properly face her, on his own two (wobbling) feet. Somewhere, deep in his heart, he knows he should apologize. He doesn't know how long he's been out but he can tell from the way Zelda carries herself, the hitch in her voice...she was probably worried sick about him. And he should be thankful for that.]

[But all he can think of right now are his own failures. His own self-absorbed loathing for himself and that, once again, he just wasn't enough.]

[The only way he'll ever be enough is if he lets go. If he gets angry.]

And I wasn't lying! You damn well know I hate that! But what matters—what's supposed to matter are the people who couldn't save themselves! The ones that Ganondorf still has! Didn't they teach you that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few in Princess school or something?!

[ Zelda flinches as he steps away from her, holding back the urge to step forward and support him. She can feel her anger boiling inside her, but right there beside it is all her worry and care for him. He shouldn't be up and out of bed like this; he's going to hurt himself and reopen his wounds and just because he doesn't care about that doesn't mean that Zelda doesn't. ]

Of course I know that! I have spent the last five years weighing my every decision for Hyrule on that scale! I knew exactly what I was doing when I made the decision to save you and Ranma over Ganondorf's prisoners-- saving two people who were still alive instead of throwing their lives away for others that may have already been lost.

[ She shakes her head roughly. ]

And even if I had known for certain that they were alive, I would have chosen you anyway! Don't you dare try to reprimand me for caring about you!

[Why? Why? Why the hell was he so important?!]

[He reaches up and clutches at his own head, Gloom burns causing his biceps to ache as if they were rotting. It feels like there's something inside of him telling him that she's wrong but he's too worked up to rationalize the cognitive dissonance.]

Why??

[He finally hisses the question out.]

I don't get it! All I do is cause problems for you! From the start we've butted heads! I've pushed you away! You keep coming back! I could have done something good for you and this damn world and you wouldn't let me! Why?! Is it because I'm not this Link guy?!

[He remembers how she spoke about this fabled 'Link' who saved her. Who stopped the Calamity and freed her from her seal. He barely knows anything about him but he's grasping for straws. Something to fuel his anger, to justify being wrong and so she can let him go.]

[Even if that's not what he wants.]

What the hell can I offer you other than what I tried to do?!

Am I not good enough?!

[ She flinches again, this time at the mention of Link's name, but still she holds her ground. Immediately, she flashes back to the Calamity, to Link, ragged and bloody, still trying to stand between Zelda and the Guardians. He was bound and determined to spend his last breath protecting her and Zelda couldn't bear the possibility. She couldn't bear for Link to die for her, just as everyone else had died for her. Her father, her Champions, her people. She couldn't lose Link too.

It's like that same scene played out in front of her last night too. Only this time, it wasn't Link trying to throw his life away from her, but Darin. And Zelda knew, just like she knew during the Calamity, that if she didn't do something, he would die.

So she did. ]

"Good enough?" Do you truly believe that you are only "good enough" to die?

[ Zelda isn't normally the kind of person who answers anger with anger, but she can't seem to calm herself. The harder Darin fights against her, the hotter her blood boils. ]

Do not stand there and offer me your death, because I will not accept it. You promised you would not leave me alone!

[Darin forces a laugh. Of course she'd bring up the promise he made. And the problem is, she's right. But something about the way she carries herself in that moment— that regal air with which he denies his sacrifice stokes that fire right back up into an blazing inferno.]

[He never would have thought Zelda to have a commanding presence but she is proving him wrong in spades in this moment.]

[So, he offers a sweeping, mocking bow. One that draws a growl of pain as another portion of the wound on his torso reopens.]

That's a shame Your Highness, because that's the best thing I can offer you. But of course it wouldn't be enough either. But don't stand there and act like you wouldn't be fine without me! Please, someone like you? You can make friends with anyone. Hell, you made friends with me! I'd serve a purpose and you'd get to enjoy your time here without the shadow of that bastard looming over you!

The hell did you expect me to do, anyway?? He tried to kill you! You were terrified! What, am I supposed to just stand down and hope that your hero shows up and saves the godsdamned day?!

I'M TIRED OF WATCHING PEOPLE I CARE ABOUT GET HURT TOO, ZELDA!

Edited 2024-09-01 00:49 (UTC)

[ Zelda clenches her hands into fists, digging her nails into her palms to keep herself in her place as she watches him tear open his own wounds just to spite her.

How dare he say these things? How dare he act like he can be so easily replaced? How dare he make assumptions about her? He presumes to know what she wants? What would be good enough for her?

And why, why, does he keep bringing up Link?

...

All right. If he's going to treat her like a princess, then fine. She can behave like a princess.

Drawing herself up to her full height, Zelda fixes him with a sharp glare. Although she's visibly shaking, she displays not a hint of fear. ]

Darin Altway, sit down.

[ Her tone is low and measured, drawing on every ounce of authority she can muster. Zelda has been angry with Darin before, but she has never tried to command him like this. She has never looked on him with such fury burning behind her green eyes.

She forces herself to hold back everything she wants to say, demanding with her eyes, her stature, that he obey her first. ]

[That makes his eyebrow arch and the mocking grin fades from his face. He's only known Zelda for a few months but he's never seen her take such a commanding stance. She's always been kind, cordial, and sweet. Practically a flower blooming on a battlefield. Not to say she was weak by any means. After all, she'd managed to temper Darin more often than he'd care to admit.]

[He straightens up, wincing, and he starts to move towards her bed.]

[But then he stops, turning back towards her, her bloodstained bed behind him. He couldn't place it, but there was something about seeing Zelda like this that set his own heart aflame. His was strong and passionate. She wasn't bound by decorum or appearances. This was honest anger and hadn't they promised to be honest with one another?]

[And so he grins and throws his arms out wide.]

The Demon King didn't make me kneel, Princess.

So why don't you make me?

[ Zelda does not smile. Her eyes narrow. This is not what she wants to do. She hates trying to command him like this, as though he were her servant. No, she isn't treating him like a servant-- Zelda would never be this cold to anyone in her service.

She feels like she's treating him like her enemy.

But what choice does she have? He fights her as though she were his enemy. Reminding him that she is his friend hasn't been working. He refuses to listen to her. He spits her care back at her as though it were venom. ]

Very well.

[ Zelda reaches inward towards her sealing power. The effort makes her heart throb in pain. She pushed herself to her limits last night and she hasn't rested since. She has nothing left to give.

But she has been here before. She knows this pain. Years she spent with this pain, scraping the last dregs of her power to hold back Calamity Ganon just a little bit longer. She just had to last until Link awoke. She could make it that long. She had to.

So although it hurts, Zelda barely shows little more than a pained wince. Her secret stone glows under her shirt as she draws out her power and manifests it into those same golden cords she used to bind Ganondorf last night. With a flick of her hand, she tosses them at Darin, the cords wrapping around his wrists and ankles like glowing bracelets.

Then, she curls her fingers back into her palm and pulls. The bindings respond to her call, pushing Darin down and forcing him to his knees. ]

[At full strength Darin might have had a chance at resisting the light cords. He would have thrashed and probably broken several things in Zelda's apartment (that he would later fix in apology). But as weak as he is, he struggles meekly before snapping down to his knees, a grunt and hiss of pain spitting from his mouth as he twists his body.]

[Panting, he looks up at Zelda from behind his bangs, sweat still trickling down his face.]

[And he just grins that stupid grin of his again.]

S...See? You don't need me...

You're stronger than Ganondorf, Zelda. You made me do what he couldn't.

[ Zelda clenches her jaw, forcing herself not to react to the pain she is inflicting on Darin. It makes her sick, the sight of her divine power shackling him and bending him to her will. This is not how her sealing power should be used. This is how Ganondorf would use it, and that thought alone is nearly enough to make her free him.

Her nails dig deeper into her palms, hard enough to puncture skin. The pain pulls her back just enough. ]

You still don't understand, do you? [ The resignation in her voice is heavy. ] After all this time, you still can't see it.

[ Zelda hangs her head, finally allowing a sliver of emotion to show through on her face. Disappointment. ]

I thought, after that day at the forge, that you finally understood. That you finally accepted the fact that I genuinely care for you... for all of you. [ A pointed glare, brief and fleeting. ] I thought, finally, that was the end of this- this- [ She gestures at him in frustration as she searches for the right word. ] --I don't know, this way you fight me tooth and nail, as if you hate me.

[ She sighs in frustration. ] That day, you asked me what I want. I told you, but it seems as though you have forgotten, so allow me to remind you:

[ Zelda briefly turns and walks away to fetch something from the end table beside her bed. Then she returns to him, waking her shellphone from its sleep and tossing it on the floor in front of him. There is a familiar picture on its screen. ]

I want this.

And I cannot have it without you.

[Darin's head slumps forward as his eyes falls to the floor— to the shellphone in front of him but he doesn't need to look at it to know what she's showing him. It's the photo— their photo. A moment in time where neither of them had any care or worry and gods what he wouldn't do to have that moment back.]

[His arms are slumped at his sides. All of the fight has left him because somehow, that disappointed look Zelda gave him was truly the worst look he's ever seen. It's a look that shunts him back years. A look from people who looked down on him, disappointed that he'd survived.]

[That he was wrong every respect of the word. His thinking. His mannerisms.]

[His life. His existence.]

I do understand...

[The rage has left his voice, replaced by agony— raw and unfiltered. It's hardly more than a pained whisper, a pain both physical and emotional.]

You think I don't want this...? Zelda, the time I've spent with you has been...

...I wake up every morning and I think to myself "I can't wait to see Zelda today."

That even if it's cloudy and grey my day's gonna be filled with Sunshine.

And Ganondorf [He practically spits the name.] almost stole that from me. Stole you from me. Every word he uttered cut into you and the look in your eyes...

Zelda...he stole the sun. And I wanted to tear heaven down to get it back...

[He swallows the lump in his throat but his voice is choking up.]

And when he was bearing down on you, it's like I was a child again. It was like the night I lost my father and my brother. The night I ran and survived where Dromas didn't. He threw himself in the way. He took the strike that should have killed me...

[His voice cracks and he grits his teeth to tamper down the raw emotion.]

I didn't want to lose someone else either, Zelda...my inaction, my cowardice gets everyone I care about killed...!

I didn't—!

[His words catch in his throat and he lowers his head again as he shakes his.]

...Nevermind. You're right.

...I'm sorry.

[ She sees how the anger has left him and dismisses the shackles with a wave of her hand. (She never wants to see those awful things again.)

As Darin speaks, Zelda slowly sinks to her knees in front of him. All the harshness melts out of her form and her expression softens into sympathy. It hurts to hear this pain in his voice, but it's proof, along with his words, that he does understand.

The feelings he shares, it's almost uncanny how similar they are to hers. She knows that same joy, that excitement when she wakes and knows they will get to spend the day together. She knows that anger, that terror when she almost lost him to Ganondorf. And she knows that fear, that nightmarish memory of the way everyone she loved died because of her failure.

The raw emotion in his voice tugs at her heart, and Zelda finds herself suddenly reaching out to cup his cheek, to remind him with the warmth of her touch that he didn't lose her.

And then something... shifts. His emotions, his honesty, it's as though he suddenly pulls them all back and tucks them away somewhere she can't reach. A wall goes up, and all he leaves behind an empty capitulation.

Worry forms in her brow and she tilts her head to try to see his face. ]

You didn't what? [ Zelda prods gently, trying to coax him back from wherever he has withdrawn to. ]

[He's exhausted. The Gloom is still working its way through his system and sweat is pouring down his face. For a moment, he averts his gaze...but slowly, his green eyes meet hers and he's lost all over again.]

[She'll find the hand cupping his cheek is warm and wet, but not from sweat. It's pain. He's lost so many people and he blames himself for every. Single. One. He couldn't lose her too. He'd rather cast himself into the abyss knowing she would be safe without him.]

[When he speaks, his voice is broken. It's sharp like broken glass.]

I didn't want to lose you. I lost my brother because I ran. Acteon gave himself up to free me from being imprisoned. I didn't want to lose the first friend I ever had to some monster.

B-But...But you don't know what it's like, Zelda. You think I don't want this? Gods, Zelda how could I not...?

But my entire life I've been told I was wrong. Do you think it's easy to accept that someone might finally think I'm right?

I'm sorry...okay?

I'm sorry for fighting you. For...being me.

But how could you understand...? I'm sure everyone in Hyrule loves you. Who wouldn't?? You're kind and compassionate, beautiful and thoughtful...

I'm...broken. I don't know how to be loved. You tell me that you want me and it just seems...wrong somehow. It doesn't make sense.

[He shakes his head. He doesn't have the energy for anything else. Everything just hurts and gods above he'd say anything to just make it right, right now. Zelda's hurt enough. He doesn't want to be the source of it. He doesn't want to see that disappointment in her eyes anymore.]

[He'll be wrong if it means making things right.]

[ It feels as if her heart is being squeezed in her chest as she listens to him. This pain, this sadness, it goes all the way to the very core of his being. It's not that he's broken, it's that he's... well, he's backwards... in the way a Guardian is backwards when it walks left despite being programmed to walk right. It's as if he's been wired incorrectly-- or rewired, perhaps, after the attack that claimed the lives of his brother and father. ]

I am sorry. I do not mean for my care to cause you such strife. [ Zelda rubs her thumb against his cheek, wiping away what feels like might be tears. ] But I do not believe that you are broken.

[ A momentary pause as she considers her words. ] I will not claim to have suffered as much as you have in your life, but I do, to some extent, understand how you feel.

Before the Calamity, while I was still trying to awaken my sealing power, there were many in Hyrule who condemned me as a failure. "Heir to a throne of nothing," my father said they called me. No matter how I trained, I could not fulfill my duty as Princess of Hyrule, and inevitably, my failure cost my people their lives.

When I woke after a century sealed away, I was sick with fear at the thought of meeting the survivors of my kingdom. I was certain they would hate me, as their ancestors had-- and rightfully so, I thought. It was because of me that Hyrule fell to ruin. I thought to renounce my claim to the throne in penance.

It took me a long time to believe them when they said they wanted me to remain their princess.

[ She shifts her hand, beckoning Darin to look up at her and meet her gaze. ] I will continue to remind you that I want you for as long as it takes until you believe me.

Edited 2024-09-01 05:56 (UTC)

[Darin's heart twists and sinks as he hears Zelda's tale. He'd really assumed so much about Zelda...that she was this perfect princess. That his biases and experiences with nobility have colored every experience he's had with her.]

[But that doesn't change the fact that he's pushed away someone who might stand the best chance at understanding his pain.]

[He leans into her touch and brings his own calloused hand up to hers, pressing her hand into his cheek. And when he looks at her, there's a hint of hope mixed with fear.]

Yeah...? Will you remind me every day...? Won't that get annoying...?

[ Zelda can feel the change in Darin before he even speaks. As his hand covers hers, she lets out a soft sigh of relief, a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

She lightly shakes her head, a little smile blooming on her lips. ] Not at all.

[ Zelda leans forward, softly touching her forehead to his. ] I will remind you every day, every hour, if that is what it takes.

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