[Not difficult enough to spare any of them a second thought, he thinks to say, the unfair words sharp and acrid on his tongue. At least Impa had told him where she was going that day she set off for the Shadow Temple. At least the Princess of Destiny will apologize for her actions before she bids the Hero of Time her final goodbye. He does know the burden of duty, and he knows all too well how sharply it can cut any and all who draw near.
But her question catches him before he can breathe a word, his eyes widening in bemusement before—]
... Ha.
[Even he is surprised by the bark of a noise that escapes him (it's not a laugh, not really; it's too flat, too angry and bitter to be one), lifting a hand to brush his bangs away from his face as he recovers his composure. The shift in his disposition that follows is subtle, but likely still noticeable to one who has spent as much time in his presence as Zelda. While perhaps there had been some truth to the resentment he had regarded her with a moment prior, there was still an artifice to it—an act he had been playing to fulfill his goal of getting her to leave. They are not the whole of his feelings towards her, and she knows as much.
But now? As the conversation shifts to the princess they rarely speak so directly about?]
"My" princess is a craven weakling who cannot even show her face to the ones cleaning up after her.
[The complete and utter contempt that infuses his every word rivals that which he holds for the Demon King himself. It may even exceed it, perhaps.
His head cants back, eyes settling on the crystal floating above them, though at Zelda's distance it may seem as though he's only looking to the heavens for whatever answers or absolution they can offer. The clouds outside only grow darker.]
There is... no duty that she is capable of fulfilling. [Then, a sigh, the remorse he had greeted Zelda with once again overtaking him for just a moment.] ... Hyrule would be better served by you in her place.
[Has that not been proven? In all the ways their legends align, is there a single point where she has not been stronger, wiser, more capable than him in every way? Even in the times she cannot succeed, she at least manages to mitigate the damage to her people somehow. What can he say he's done, really, in comparison?]
no subject
But her question catches him before he can breathe a word, his eyes widening in bemusement before—]
... Ha.
[Even he is surprised by the bark of a noise that escapes him (it's not a laugh, not really; it's too flat, too angry and bitter to be one), lifting a hand to brush his bangs away from his face as he recovers his composure. The shift in his disposition that follows is subtle, but likely still noticeable to one who has spent as much time in his presence as Zelda. While perhaps there had been some truth to the resentment he had regarded her with a moment prior, there was still an artifice to it—an act he had been playing to fulfill his goal of getting her to leave. They are not the whole of his feelings towards her, and she knows as much.
But now? As the conversation shifts to the princess they rarely speak so directly about?]
"My" princess is a craven weakling who cannot even show her face to the ones cleaning up after her.
[The complete and utter contempt that infuses his every word rivals that which he holds for the Demon King himself. It may even exceed it, perhaps.
His head cants back, eyes settling on the crystal floating above them, though at Zelda's distance it may seem as though he's only looking to the heavens for whatever answers or absolution they can offer. The clouds outside only grow darker.]
There is... no duty that she is capable of fulfilling. [Then, a sigh, the remorse he had greeted Zelda with once again overtaking him for just a moment.] ... Hyrule would be better served by you in her place.
[Has that not been proven? In all the ways their legends align, is there a single point where she has not been stronger, wiser, more capable than him in every way? Even in the times she cannot succeed, she at least manages to mitigate the damage to her people somehow. What can he say he's done, really, in comparison?]