[He says little more than this on the subject of this other Link, this shadow with whom he shares a soul, a spirit; whatever else he might want to know, even he can see that it hurts her to talk about. There is a sense in which Link feels adrift, now that Zelda --his Zelda, of course-- is gone. Does this girl feel something similar, the same pang of longing that lodges itself in his heart when he least expects it?
He doesn't want to cause her more hurt. She looks, in some moments, as if she has had enough of it. If she's anything like the princess who shares her name...Link is certain that she has.
Instead his mind goes to her description, another thing so eerily similar that it catches him by surprise. The islands that rose into the sky after the Uprising...these seem to be normal, in her time, and that fact alone seems like a marvel. He can see it, in his mind's eye.]
A carpet of clouds, [he says, thoughtfully. For he, too, had seen them from above, and it was Zelda herself who had parted them, snaking into the sky and revealing the land below.
His breath hitches in his throat, for a moment, as the image of her slices through his focus, tearing through his heart all over again. That beautiful, devastating creature, so magnificent and terrible-- his brave, strong princess, lost to time--
Zelda's words hit him even harder, then, in that moment. Link always works things out.
His voice is soft as he addresses this statement:] ... Not always.
[It's said almost as an afterthought, his tone even and a bit unreadable, measured precisely to keep his feelings out of it. It is a fact, in this case, a reminder that he is a version of this Hero who is defined by his own failings, who has to claw his way out of them in order to make things right. He has no idea if others who bear this destiny share in that feeling. But this time, he...he doesn't know if he can work things out.
He can see the portal in the near distance, now, coming into view around a corner. He nods toward it, leaving his last statement behind as if it's an item he's already used.]
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He doesn't want to cause her more hurt. She looks, in some moments, as if she has had enough of it. If she's anything like the princess who shares her name...Link is certain that she has.
Instead his mind goes to her description, another thing so eerily similar that it catches him by surprise. The islands that rose into the sky after the Uprising...these seem to be normal, in her time, and that fact alone seems like a marvel. He can see it, in his mind's eye.]
A carpet of clouds, [he says, thoughtfully. For he, too, had seen them from above, and it was Zelda herself who had parted them, snaking into the sky and revealing the land below.
His breath hitches in his throat, for a moment, as the image of her slices through his focus, tearing through his heart all over again. That beautiful, devastating creature, so magnificent and terrible-- his brave, strong princess, lost to time--
Zelda's words hit him even harder, then, in that moment. Link always works things out.
His voice is soft as he addresses this statement:] ... Not always.
[It's said almost as an afterthought, his tone even and a bit unreadable, measured precisely to keep his feelings out of it. It is a fact, in this case, a reminder that he is a version of this Hero who is defined by his own failings, who has to claw his way out of them in order to make things right. He has no idea if others who bear this destiny share in that feeling. But this time, he...he doesn't know if he can work things out.
He can see the portal in the near distance, now, coming into view around a corner. He nods toward it, leaving his last statement behind as if it's an item he's already used.]
There. The exit.