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sagesurvivor) wrote2023-12-25 11:58 am
sagesurvivor) wrote2023-12-25 11:58 am
songerein inbox / overflow
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no subject
But during her decades inside the seal, she has observed no such occurrence like the one Sheik is describing. Even setting aside "murder and betrayal of the King," Hyrule's government collapsed entirely after the Great Calamity. The vast majority of Hylians in power died that day, and no figures from the other clans rose up to fill the power vacuum (least of all, the Gerudo). As the surviving Hyruleans settled in the furthest reaches of the kingdom, no centralized government reemerged. And Zelda's muddled observations line up with how Link has described the kingdom.
Zelda returns her attention to Sheik and shakes her head. ]
I know of no such figure. Nor do I know of anyone who has ruled the kingdom since its downfall.
[ Her gaze flicks to Sheik's eyes. This whole "Ganondorf Dragmire" business sounds nonsensical, and yet it's the thing that Sheik keeps bringing up. But Zelda has never heard of a "king" of the Gerudo. Only women are born to the tribe and its leader fashions herself as "chief," not "king." ]
Nor do I know any "King" of the Gerudo. Before the Calamity, they were lead by Chief Urbosa.
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She persists in her ignorance and Sheik sighs, reaching up to rub at his forehead. This doesn't make any sense.]
We seem to be at an impasse. You recognize nothing from my recollections, and I recognize nothing from yours.
[And neither of them seems willing to back down and admit to being a servant of the Demon King, so. Where does that leave them, besides staring at each other in thinly veiled frustration?
What are the facts? Besides the words they've used, he hasn't seen anything familiar in this place. No Gerudo, Gorons, or Zora, not even any monsters; the tapirs were strange because he couldn't liken them to anything he'd seen in Hyrule. She approached him; does that mean she could see through the masks all along? But then what was that stuff about wanting to talk about science all about? Surely sorcery would be an easier topic for a servant of Ganondorf's to ramble on about, and one that would more easily segue into probing for information about the Triforce or the Sages, right?
She says she's Zelda, but doesn't look like her. She says she's fighting Ganon, but doesn't know Ganondorf.
How do you confirm a royal's identity?]
...
[Sheik remains quiet, lost in thought, but when he speaks again, his voice is softer, almost... nostalgic, somehow.]
... There is a song known only to the Royal Family and their closest allies and confidants. If you know it... then I'd be able to believe all you've told me is the truth.
[Ganondorf wouldn't know it. He wasn't allied long enough with the King to learn it.
... But, what if she knows it? What then? He's... almost afraid to find out.]
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It's not that Zelda doesn't believe him, though. Music has power in Hyrule, a magic of its own that has been spoken of in Hyrulean legends for eons. Songs with the power to traverse vast distances, to manipulate the weather, to control time itself. It would not surprise the princess of her ancestors knew a powerful melody of some kind and carefully guarded its secret.
But Zelda cannot think of an instance in her life when her parents shared a secret melody with her. Music lessons were part of her education as a princess, of course, but Zelda had always struggled with them. The princess showed no musical talent to speak of and no instrument or tutor ever clicked with her. But she did find it strange that her father tried so hard to get Zelda to learn music. She didn't think anything of it growing up, assuming that it was just another subject a good princess would excel at and another show of proof that Zelda was a failure of a princess. It's only been since she came to Songerein that Zelda has developed any interest in magic—all thanks to the mysterious boy with the ocarina and her friendship with Phantom.
Zelda opens her mouth to tell Sheik no, that there must be some other way to prove her identity, but the words refuse to come out. Something stops her. Although she's certain that she's never heard of what Sheik is describing, something deep inside her hums with recognition.
Instead, Zelda closes her mouth and nods grimly. ] Very well.
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Sheik wonders as the girl hesitates, watching her tense once more. He supposes it should be expected; either he's going to catch her out in her lie, or he's insulted her by doubting her claims. But even so, there's something... strange about what seems to trigger her nerves. She spoke of Ganondorf and her "Calamity" with the gravity they demanded, but now she's freezing again, like a deer in the sight of a hunter's arrow.
Why? If she isn't lying, what is she afraid of?
(If she isn't lying, what does that mean...?)
In any case, she assents, and Sheik allows her answer to hang in silence between them for a moment more, as if to give her one more chance to back down. But she doesn't. She wouldn't, after all this.
If this is a trick, at least Ganondorf got that much right.
Sheik takes a breath, lifting his fingers to his lips. And then he whistles the first few notes of a song he hasn't shared with anyone in years. Echoing through the night and the gardens below (echoing through time itself), he and the melody both wait to hear her complete it.]
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...
The princess falls silent, her expression tightening.
Where in the world did that come from? A moment ago, she had no idea what Sheik was talking about, but the instant he whistled those first notes, it was like something deep in the recesses of her mind clicked on.
A memory, one from a lifetime ago, when there was a carefree little princess who was loved and coddled by her adoring parents. A memory of nighttimes being tucked into bed, her parents singing a gentle lullaby to help her fall asleep. A memory of her mother, "helping" the Queen tinker with machines. They built something together, didn't they? It was so long ago. Her mother sang to her, didn't she?
Zelda presses one hand to her temples. How could she have forgotten? She always loved her mother's song. The Queen loved to sing that song to Zelda, to press the King to sing it as well, or to hum it while she worked. Didn't she try to sing it to Zelda while she was on her deathbed? Didn't Zelda lay awake silently at night after the Queen died, repeating the melody in her mind and reminding herself that good princesses don't cry?
A secret melody of the Royal Family...
For the first time, Zelda looks on Sheik with suspicion. How could he possibly know that song? No one knew that song. It was like it died with the Queen, like so many other things. Zelda had never even heard Urbosa sing it, and if there was any ally of the Royal Family who should know a secret song, it would be the Queen's closest friend.
Zelda keeps her lips pressed firmly in a line, holding her countenance as firm and steady as she can. Tears want to overflow from her eyes thanks to the onslaught of memories of her mother, but she holds them back. She doesn't understand what any of this means, so she waits for Sheik to break the silence. ]
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What does it mean if she knows the song?
Well, the answer to that is obvious, isn't it? After all, it's not as though there's only ever been one Princess Zelda.
The realization hits him like a brick as he stares back at Zelda, frozen like a statue. She's... emotional - angry, maybe - in this tight, restrained way that hardly befits the pride of a royal, but that only registers on the periphery of his consciousness. His eyes, flicking frantically across her face as if seeing her anew once again, reflect the chaos whirling through his mind as he turns over everything he's ever known.
She's... Zelda. Both of them are. They're... fami--
His hand still hovers in front of his face, the tanned and callused fingers of a Sheikah warrior poised as though to continue the melody. His eyes drop to it, then back to her, and then he's dropping into a kneel, that hand balled into a fist to keep it from shaking.]
For... Forgive me, your highness--! [The title stumbles out of his mouth like a toddler learning to walk, awkward and new.] I've... interrogated you unfairly, though I don't know how this is...
[Veiled by his bangs, he stares hard into the floor of the balcony. If something called "Calamity Ganon" was in their history books, he would know, he's certain of it, even as a precocious child who knew too much for their own good, that would have never escaped notice after Ganondorf's arrival to the castle. So if the past is not an option, and the present is impossible, that only leaves...]
... Please, tell me. Is it possible for this place to connect to more than one point in time?
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She's still turning all of these things over in her mind when Sheik all of the sudden kneels before her. The abrupt change in his attitude from polite to deferential catches the princess off guard. ]
It... is. [ She stumbles out the answer to his question as she tries to mentally shift gears. Even for someone as smart as Zelda, it's a lot to juggle at once, especially when she feels like she's still missing some key pieces of information. ] The magic of this dream world supersedes all laws of nature and physics. We are drawn here from innumerable worlds across time and space, or even from beyond the veil of death.
[ Zelda pauses, one of the missing pieces clicking into place. ] We hale from different eras in the history of Hyrule, don't we?
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I believe that is the case, yes.
[But he keeps his eyes down. He can hear her confusion - his heart clenches at the thought of causing it - but he can't bear to look at her yet. Not until he can get his thoughts in order; not until he's sure he can meet her gaze and not have every part of the truth spill from his lips. This may not be an illusion, but that doesn't mean it's completely safe from Ganondorf's influence. There's still the possibility of him or his servants finding their way here eventually, if they haven't already.
They'd use her first, if they got the chance. The safest thing to do for both of them would be to lie about everything and draw away from her completely, but... he already knows he'll never be able to do that. After all, even with Link, he finds himself lingering.
Honestly, he questions Nayru's judgement, sometimes.]
... In truth, I was testing you, your highness. The Hyrule I hail from... is a dangerous and unkind place. I feared this all to be some illusion created by the Demon King to destroy those plotting against him... but if that were true, you would have never known that song. [He tries, very hard, to bring his voice back to its gentle, even cadence, and mostly succeeds--] I can think of no other way to reconcile our differing versions of events. You are a Princess Zelda, if not the Princess Zelda of my era...
[--though he can't help faltering at the end.]
... even if you do seem to share a similar fate.
[Her father died, and she ran, dark pursuers nipping at her heels. He'll lose himself again if he thinks upon it too much, tempted by questions he shouldn't ask. Do they fail, then? If the royal line continues, then surely peace returns to Hyrule eventually, but...]
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[ That's the best she can muster, because this is a lot to take in.
It isn't the fact that there is another Princess Zelda that is difficult to swallow. Zelda knows this. It has long been traditional in the Royal Family of Hyrule that princesses are given the name 'Zelda.' Her mother was named 'Zelda,' and her grandmother before her, and so on through most generations of the family.
It is that Zelda's fate which deepens the princess's worry.
True, Hyrule has known periods of strife as well as periods of peace, but it's different when one is reading a historical record versus hearing it from the source. A Demon King that rules the land as a tyrant. A princess of Hyrule whose father was assassinated and was forced to flee the castle, who has not been seen in seven years. A dark and dangerous Hyrule where its citizens must be cautious in placing their trust. It sounds like a terrifying place. ]
Forgive me, but I think I need to sit down.
[ Zelda casts a glance around and finds a carved stone bench nearby, positioned at the entrance to the castle gardens. She hesitates for a moment, not sure whether she should beckon Sheik to rise, as she would a Hyrulean soldier, or if that would not be appropriate, as she is not his sovereign. ]
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Not now, while she's reeling about ancient evils instead of joyfully dancing the night away like she should.
She says she needs to sit down and finally, he dares to lift his head to watch her find her seat, only to see her hesitate instead. It takes him a moment to consider why, and when he does, well, if the atmosphere were any lighter, he would have had to laugh. Protocol is in such disarray on so many levels, and she isn't even aware of a solid third of them. What an absurd situation. The Goddesses must be laughing.
He decides for her, pulling himself upright without waiting for her command. And then he decides to eschew protocol even further by taking his godmother-granted suit jacket off and draping it around her shoulders, shielding her against the cool air.]
... I am sorry to have burdened you with this, Princess.
[He's not a knight or even a gentleman, but he is a liar, and if this is the only comfort he can offer her, then he can pretend. It might even fit her decently, save for being a little broad in the shoulders.]
If... you would prefer to be alone with your thoughts, I would understand.
[He has a hard time imagining his presence being helpful even in the best of times, and these are very not the best of times.]
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[ Without even thinking, Zelda's hand darts out and latches onto Sheik's wrist. She is suddenly possessed by the irrational certainty that, if she lets him leave, he will simply vanish into thin air, never to be seen again. ]
2/2
My apologies.
[ The look of panic that briefly overtook her expression fades into embarrassment and self consciousness over the faux pax she just committed. Zelda tucks her arm back under the jacket he kindly (gentlemanly, even), placed over her shoulders as she regards him. ]
But please do not go.
[ The princess draws in a deep breath and exhales it slowly, trying to settle all of her emotions.
While she was grappling with all of Sheik's revelations, Zelda hadn't realized how her silence was affecting him. There's a line of tension in his features, subtle but detectable by one with a sharp eye. It's not just the strangeness of their situation that is troubling him, but the way his words might have impacted her. ]
I assure you that you have not burdened me. I am simply... surprised to hear that you hail from so dark a period in Hyrule's history. [ And she feels safe in her guess that Sheik's Hyrule is sometime in her kingdom's very distant past. Otherwise how could he not know of Calamity Ganon? ]
That is, I know that Hyrule has not always been a peaceful place, but reading about periods of strife in historical records is not the same as meeting someone who has suffered those times.
[ She pauses, looking from Sheik to the stone bench nearby and back again. It is a wordless invitation—nay, expectation—that he will follow her. Then she goes to take a seat and rest her trembling legs before they give out under the weight of Sheik's experiences. ]
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(He stops seeing her, for a fleeting moment. In that instant, there's a boy in her place clad in a green like her eyes, reaching for him no less desperately before vanishing in a flash of light. And he can't stay, he knows he can't stay, it would just make everything harder in the end if he did, but that doesn't stop him from wanting--)
She releases him just as quickly, and he releases the breath that had been caught high and tight in his lungs, simply... watching her as she finally gives voice to some of her thoughts.
And she pities them, the ancestors who could only give her a world with something as vile as "Calamity Ganon" plaguing it. Would she feel the same if she knew the truth of things, he wonders? There must be a connection there - between her Calamity and his King - and it seems like she's come to the same conclusion that only one could follow the other. Certainly, she would have something different to say if she were to speak with the ancient Princess of Hyrule who allowed such tragedy to come to pass, instead of a shadow that will fade into nothing once light shines across all corners of Hyrule once more.
Sheik hesitates, jaw tight and hands balled into fists at his sides, but of course he joins her on the bench. How could he do anything else?]
... You need not pity us, your highness.
[He starts, and it almost sounds like we don't deserve it, but no, soothing her concerns is the priority right now. Fortunately, he's had quite a bit of practice convincing himself that all is not hopeless.]
The Hero lives, and has fought back much of the evil plaguing the land already. And... if you live, then surely the Princess of our time does as well, no? [As much as he burns to fill in the gaps of his knowledge between their times, it's fortunate for him that she voiced her assumption of his place in her past first, instead of having to bring it up himself. Small blessings.] Peace will return to Hyrule... for a time.
[It must. Even if he can't keep the sour taste from his mouth with the confirmation that such peace will only be temporary-- their fight... can't be for nothing.]