Of Royal Blood - The Legend Of Zelda

[X] How are you holding up so far?

"I dunno..." Zelda mutters, bringing her legs up to her chin and wrapping her arms around them, "Partly relieved, in a strange way."

"Hmmm?"

She leans back, resting her head against the tree, "I've been told for years if people found out who I was I'd be in grave danger and when I finally left it proved..."

You wince, the Yiga assassin was the worse kind of confirmation.

She sighs, before shaking her head with a chuckle, "But now I guess I'm just happy I actually can talk to someone as well... me. Even in the village I... yeah."

She looks over at you, smiling, "So... thank you, Link."

You rub the back of your neck, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Well..." You begin before you notice she was holding her head in her hands.

"Aaaaagh! I still feel like a complete idiot though!"

Haha...

[X] So I guess you're the girl I used to know when I lived at the Castle with my father?

That gets her attention, Zelda's head snapping up and looking over at you, "Wha-"

"I uh... used to be friends with a girl when I lived in the castle," You try to explain, "I don't really remember but your mannerisms and everything are well..."

Zelda looks confused for a moment before she seems to recall something, "Yeah... YEAH! I remember being friends with a boy! I kinda... beat him up a lot. I mean we really roughed around as kids aha ha ha!"

At least put some effort into it...

Her brow creases as she tries to recall "Ugh if only I could remember. Could you believe the chances of that? It'd be like something out of Shrine Looter or.. I mean out of a story!"

"Yeah, why do we have such a hard time recalling this?" You ponder, rubbing your chin.

You both go silent as you consider it before the realization strikes you both like a bolt of lightning!

"Oh right!" You exclaim, bringing your fist down into your palm.

"We were both horribly traumatized as children," Zelda answers, imitating your movements.

[X] How did you survive what happened?

"So..." You begin, and Zelda lets out a long sigh, hanging her head.

"I can guess what you're going to ask me, and the truth is I don't know."

"Don't know?"

She shakes her head, "I... just woke up on a horse with the castle in the distance, Impa holding on so I don't fall off."

She rests her forehead against her knees, speaking so quietly you had to lean in to hear her.

"We were both covered in so much blood, and no matter how much I asked she refused to tell me what happened. We rode day and night through the wilds... I don't know how the horse took so long to collapse, the poor thing."

[X] Ask about her time with the Shiekah?
[X] Impa's the one who raised you, right?
[X] What have you been doing all these years?

"Then what happened?" You quietly ask, and Sheik curls up even more.

"I... don't recall. I don't recall coming to the village, or when I learned what had happened. Just... periods of lucidity, with Paya near me. The elders said I was praying every day to the goddess for those who had perished, yet how Paya and Impa described it..."

She shivers slightly, "Acting...scenes out, laughing or crying for no reason, saying or doing such disturbing things, not sleeping or eating. I'm glad that I don't recall much of it."

"Paya... stayed by my side through all of it. I fear I may have hurt her, but if she did not I may have never become myself again." Zelda says, a small smile forming.

"She introduced me to all the books the village had, to archery and history. Oh, how I fell in love with it, shooting at targets until my arms would not bend anymore..." She sighs at the fond memories, closing her eyes as she recalled happier times.

You nod, finding something she loved doing after what she went through must have been a big help.

"Who took you in?" You ask, and she snaps out of her daydreaming looking a bit embarrassed.

"Ah! Well, it was Impa. Paya's parents are always out of the village and since Impa is Aunt Purah's younger sister she took her in as well." Zelda explains, straightening up. "Impa is only a few years older than me and with her duties, it was quite hard on her. I truly admire her for how she was able to handle it."

"Duties?"

Zelda nods. "She's the guardian of our village. All the warriors report to her, and it is she who acts as the voice of the elders when they are not available. I guess she would be considered the leader of the Sheikah."

"I guess you and Paya were on your own for quite a bit then." You observe, to which Zelda nods again.

"Well, yes. But we could take care of ourselves and were quite busy. Paya would follow the rituals of the Sheikah, while I would study and cross-reference the ancient texts with more modern documents. Archaeology from the bedroom."

"You were quite a team."

Zelda grins from ear to ear. "Yep! We were unstoppable! We discovered so many things about our ancestors, and it all paid off with the discovery of the Sheikah Slate, sealed in one of the villages sacred artifacts!"

"So when did you become a teacher during all this?" You ask, folding your arms across your chest.

"Ah well, two years ago." She responds, scratching her chin. "The children were just getting old enough to learn to read and write but were left on their own for most of the day. So one day I just said to myself "Zelda, these children will grow up not learning how to read or write if something isn't done!" So I gathered them all up, cleaned my chalkboard off and started my first lesson. Every class just followed that format from there. Paya... well she doesn't do well with being the center of attention, so I mostly did it on my own."

You raise an eyebrow. "So no lesson plan, no schedule, you just start teaching them whatever?"

"I call it adaptive teaching." Zelda says with pride, chest puffed out and hands on her hips, "It's pretty innovative, isn't it?" She looks over at you, expecting praise.

"Yeah..." You say, not meeting her eyes. Still, she was the only one who bothered to teach the children.

[X] How did you leave the village? Wouldn't think the Sheikah would be keen to let you wander off.

"I snuck out during the night! All that training finally paid off!" She says cheerfully.

"No one stopped you?"

"Paya..." Zelda begins, fiddling with the hem of her shirt. "Paya helped me, she made sure a horse was ready and no one was watching. She even convinced me to go when I faltered..."

"She sounds like she really believes in you." You observe, leaning against the tree and looking up at the night sky. You kinda want to meet this Paya.

You glance over to Zelda only to see her curl up tightly, arms around her legs. "I... I fear she may have been punished for aiding my flight," She says, voice filled with worry and fear.

"Did anyone see you?" You ask, concerned.

Zelda looks up slightly, remembering something,"Impa... I saw Impa watching from a rooftop. But she... just let me go. She was even smiling. I think... I think she might have believed it was best for me."

"Well, if Impa let you go I doubt they would have treated Paya too harshly," You say, hoping it reassures her.


[X] So, any plans for the future? Like, what you want out of life?
[X] The ruins you research, are you looking for anything specific?

"So... what's the plan for the future? After you're healed?"

She sits up straight, looking at you with an expression of pure determination, "Find more shrines, discover what this Nexus is and then give the information to Paya!" She says, pumping her fists, "With her expertise, she'll decipher every mystery we learn, and the village will finally appreciate what a wonderfully talented person she is!"

You nod in agreement, "Alright, then let's find this Nexus!"

Zelda smiles broadly and nods, "Thank you, Link."

"There's uh... one thing I got to ask though."

[X] What actually gets you about what those people were saying?

Zelda's expression sours, and she curls back up into a ball.

"Sorry, if you don't want to talk about it..." You begin, but she shakes her head.

"No... no, I should explain. I guess I just... hate how everyone treats me as perfect."

"Huh?"

She sighs, "Everyday people greet me with "Your majesty," or "Your highness," or "Princess", every day they ask what the goddesses have told me, every problem they turn to me for advice even when they're the experts. They tell me I need to be more faithful, less bookish, that everything I do to help is not worth anything!" Her voice was beginning to rise, and you can't help but wonder if she had been bottling up her feelings for a long while.

"Yet then they tell me I'm going to save Hyrule, I will return to the throne and banish the empire and monsters. That people are ready to die or kill for me. That everything is dependent on me, that it is only through my prayers that crops grow or the empire doesn't find the village. In the same breath they reject everything I do, say I shouldn't teach or play games, they praise my commitment. Praise my piety and kindness! I can at the same time do no wrong and yet do everything wrong!"

She grabs her head, clutching at her golden hair, her voice taking on a manic edge "I... I don't even know if my own judgment is sound anymore and Paya... Oh Paya...."

A sob escapes from her throat, tears beginning to fall "Everyone always says 'why aren't you more like Zelda? Why are you not helping Zelda? Why do you encourage Zelda to neglect her duties? Why are you such a bad influence on Zelda? Stop drawing Zelda into your own duties!' Everything gets put on her!"

She gestures at the Stable, "And outside the village? Here I am some deified saint! Yet in the same breath I am some disfigured, moralless, corrupting woman as though my gender is somehow the issue."

She goes silent for a moment, and you put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump and turn to you. "Zelda?" You ask, voice filled with concern.

She turns away, wiping her eyes and pulling out a handkerchief to blow her nose, "S-sorry. I-I was just worried how they'll treat you when we return. But... I realize you would not let it get to you."

You grin a bit, "You want me to give them a talking too?"

She laughs, "Haha, s-sorry that image. I... I'm fine now Link. Thank you. Though I guess I should tell you something..."

[X] Chosen of the goddesses?

"I am... well, chosen by the goddesses." She explains, before scratching her head at your complete non-reaction, "Yeah, I guess that doesn't explain much. Well... I can hear spirits connected to them."

"So like... hearing Korok's running around or something?" You ask, and she giggles.

"Sorta. I... guess it's really more of a feeling. Occasionally I feel directed by the spirits and gods or can feel their presence on holy places. It's rather hard to explain actually..." She says, holding a hand up to her chin, "If anything this explanation makes it seem like I am schizophrenic."

She nods to herself, apparently figuring out the best way to explain it, "Here, let's use an actual example. When I was small my mother and father took me to one of the sacred places devoted to the old gods. The spring of power to be precise. I snuck off, and before I knew it I found myself at the springs shore, lost and scared," She smiles as she recalls, inclining her head slightly, "I thought... I heard a voice calling out to me. Telling me that I didn't need to be afraid, that everything would be alright. It only frightened me more, and I wailed. But then... I felt someone else afraid, terrified of the stranger before them. My heart leaped to them, I wanted to tell them that I would protect them from the scary voice."

She shakes her head, giggling to herself "I don't know how I didn't realize I hadn't said a word to them, but they emerged, a Fairy. It was so beautiful, and I was mesmerized. I cupped it in my hands, telling her that I would keep her safe. Then another fairy appeared, then another and another until they were swarming around me like festival lights. They danced around me in such dizzying ways that I couldn't help but join in, laughing, dancing and singing. The spring water itself was glowing and before I knew it I was in the middle of the spring, dancing on its surface like it was solid."

"Mother found me then," Zelda says, her smile becoming sad, "She rushed out to hold me, throwing me up in the air and laughing. I don't think she even noticed the faeries or that she was walking on water, she just spun me around in her arms, overjoyed to have found me. Then father and our retinue arrived and the fairies scattered, vanishing completely. Mother and I both plunged into the water, laughing and splashing at each other. From that day on, I guess, I always could feel similar presences."

You lean back against the tree, pondering what she had told you.

"That water-walking ability would be super useful." You finally say.

"I KNOW RIGHT?!" Zelda exclaims, "Sadly, I was never able to replicate it."

Wait... you just remembered fishing someone out of the castle pond, repeatedly.

Some things don't change...


[X] You do realise that you will have to tell Ganondorf who you are now right?

Zelda groans, "Do I? I mean, I am a Sheikah. Oh it'd be just like Volume three of Shrine Looter when they had to keep the secret knowledge of the sacred stones from their traveling companion who didn't know their true value! Though... Ganondorf did meet me as a child-" She pauses, staring forward with wides eyes before she lets out a roar of frustration and falls to the side, hands over her face. "He recognized me. He recognized me this entire time!! My disguise didn't work from the beginning! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!"

....

What do you do now?
[] Call it a night.
[] Ask Zelda some more questions?
-[] Write-in
[] Write-in other actions?