Early Spring Blooms

The shift in the air came suddenly, drifting across the breeze that had become warmer over the last couple of weeks. Zelda breathed in deeply, the rich, sugary smell of the newly bloomed cherry blossoms hung in the air like it had never left.

And, oh, she couldn’t the last time something had smelled something so sweet.

She turned, circling with her arms spread wide, like maybe that would sooner usher in the return of Spring faster than it came. It was always her favorite time of the year, petals drifting on the breeze, new flowers blooming at her feet, the return of little creatures from their warm, tucked away hiding places. It was perfect.

And Zelda was secretly grateful. After the Upheaval, it seemed like everywhere she looked, there was another cherry tree, a splash of color among the Hyrule landscape, clinging as it was to the chill of Winter.

It reminded her of the time she’d spent with Sonia and Rauru, millennia ago, in a time she still couldn’t comprehend. Her heart ached, a stabbing wound that never quite seemed to recover, even though she’d been back in her own time for the better part of a year.

She knew that everyone else in Hyrule was grateful for the blooms as well, because they were a sign of new beginnings, and that was something everyone desperately needed.

There was still much work to be done before Hyrule was even close to recovered from the damage Ganondorf had done. If she was being honest, Zelda felt stretched thin, like the strained, fraying strands of a rope pulling themselves apart. The work had to be done at some point, and if it was by a girl, queen to a kingdom that didn’t exist anymore, then so be it. Someone had to do it, after all.

She glanced up, the silhouette of the Great Sky Island floating over her head. It served as a reminder, most days, of what she was working for, what she was fighting for. In the same way that she had devoted herself so tirelessly in the years after the Calamity, so to would she here. The people in Hyrule relied on her for that.

It wasn’t fair of her to expect them to do this alone.

Zelda stood still, letting the wind blow over her, rush through her. It sank deep into her bones, giving herself just a moment to breathe in as deeply as her lungs would allow. She just needed a moment, didn’t she?

It was just enough, the Spring air circling deep into her chest, settling in alongside her bones as familiar to her as the beat of her heart. Winter had been dreadful, a deep, weary ache seemed to follow her wherever she went. But this was new, a new start, a fresh start, and she cherished the notion that maybe, just maybe, she could put the Upheaval behind her, could put her grief behind her and move forward.

Link would help her, she knew that much. Even when she didn’t want him to, he was always there at her side. Sometimes, Zelda thought he knew her better than she did, and maybe that was true.

He’d always looked through her. No. That wasn’t quite right.

He’d always seen her for what she was, not what other people thought she could be, or thought she should be. Zelda knew that later, he’d be waiting for her in Hateno, a vase of flowers waiting for her on the table, freshly picked blooms that would just further serve to remind her that, yes, everything would be just fine.

It always had, after all.

~ ~ ~

Hi ZA!!! This has been sitting in my drafts since before the equinox :disappointed: I wanted to post it then as this is a Spring themed little drabble but alas, life happens so here I am.

I’ve wanted to write from Zelda’s pov for a while now as she’s such a complicated character with a lot of complicated, overlapping emotions. I wanted to touch here on just how much she appreciates the return of springtime, even if I didn’t properly do that

Anyway, I hope y’all enjoy <3

#LCG

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