a thing that doesn't change with time...

[sageprincess]

Who: Zelda (OOT) and various
When: April dream event
Where: ~Dreamland~
What: Zelda has memories to share
Warnings: At least one political assassination, trauma and stuff

Six round symbols embellish the frame of this Zelda's mirror, rendered in wood and outlined with brass. It is altogether a rather simple looking thing that tells little of the world that exists beyond it, save for a golden crest some may find familiar that rests perched on top of it, not unlike a particularly watchful bird.

Peering inside, you'll find...

Comments

[sageprincess]

This... is how Hyrule fell.

[Zelda's eyes remain locked upon the forms of her caretaker and younger self even as Edelgard whirls around nearly ready to strike, almost as if in some melancholy trance. She's lived this day thousands of times within the theater of her memories, of course, but it has not released its grip upon her soul just yet.

The crashing sounds become louder and louder until some dark force breaks through the stone wall of the corridor hardly an arm's length away from the fleeing pair, blood and dark smoke staining the rubble behind them. The clamor of battle echoes through the new opening into the secret passage, shouts and screams and that awful laughter that rings in the ears for far too long, and the woman pushes herself to run even faster.]

Ganondorf's magic overpowered any kind of opposition the soldiers could offer. The castle fell within the day. All we could do was run.

[Her brow furrows and twists unpleasantly, and - with this being her memory, her mirror, and all - it's impossible to not sense the overwhelming guilt that radiates from her dream form.]

All I have been doing since... is run. I have not even stepped foot inside a castle since this day.

[Edelgard asked if she had allies and knights, and those questions always made her uncomfortable. Because any princess should have both in abundance, right? And to admit otherwise would mean admitting that she hasn't actually been a princess in a very long time.]

[unyieldingmarch]

[Edelgard's gaze hardens when she looks at the entrance, at the sight of dark power being flung about like this. Blood and gore, the stench of battle...these are things she knows well, and trigger her reflexes. She moves closer to Zelda, even knowing this is a dream, placing herself in a defensive stance between the other woman and the door.]

Because you were a lone force of resistance. Is that correct?

[Edelgard doesn't care much about Zelda's circumstances or her social standing. None of that matters. Her status as a resistance fighter working against evil is far, far more important.]

[sageprincess]

Resistance is... a strong word for what I offered.

[She doesn't think as well of herself, but then, that much was likely obvious long ago. Especially now, her shortcomings are put into such sharp contrast, she feels, against Edelgard's stalwart resolve, the inherent courage she possesses in instinctively putting herself between her and all the things that haunt her.

She ran, and she hid, and Wisdom told her it was necessary, but that doesn't mean she didn't burn with the desire to do more.]

I survived, thanks to my attendant's teachings. I tried to alleviate the suffering of those in front of me in some small way when I could. But... I was not the one who could reverse the evil that man wrought upon my country in any meaningful way.

[The fleeing pair finally emerge from the secret passage and arrive at a stable. Panicked stablehands rush to prepare horses for knights and civilians alike, and the princess' attendant - Lady Impa, one of the servants names her as he pulls down tack and saddles - hefts the girl onto the back of a white stallion before hauling herself up after her. The young Zelda clutches a pale blue, oblong object to her chest, her eyes squeezed shut in both intense fear and concentration.]

That burden... would fall upon a boy that will be remembered by history as the Hero of Time.

[unyieldingmarch]

And?

[Zelda's lack of self-confidence is evident, it has been almost since they met. But Edelgard doesn't care. She just plows onward, her voice gentle as she watches the girl and her attendant's flight from the ruined castle.]

Zelda, did you help anyone at all?

[It's a simple question, one she already knows the answer to, but she is building to something.]