The Hand That Heals: A TOTK Oneshot

The Hand That Heals

You were one of the contaminated ones.

The Hylians didn't use words like 'infected' or 'diseased.' Not that those words were much better. No matter what the title was for your malady, they all hurt just the same.

But something about the word 'contaminated' made you feel stark and hopeless.

Incurable.

Infections and diseases often have cures. Something that is tarnished, something that is ruined, is not salvaged; it is just disposed of.

And that's exactly what you felt like.

Soiled.

Tainted.

Disposable.

Trash.

Which is why you disposed of yourself within the pockets of decaying earth that lay beneath
Hyrule's bedrock known as the depths.

It was your way of throwing yourself away before mobs of frightened citizens attempted to.

The depths were no place for the robust and bright-eyed. Or the 'uncontaminated.'

It wasn't all bad being exiled deep below in the cold and musty undergrounds. Especially since most of Hyrule had been thrown into peril by recent devastating events.

First there was the rise of the highly contagious 'gloom'. Followed by the princess and her loyal knight, who had both mysteriously vanished.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, was the coup being held by the restless Demon King known as Ganondorf.

Yes, you decided the healthy could have their surface; you were quite content existing in isolation, where the only threat was that of you and your gloom germs.

Living in the depths proved challenging for a mere mortal. Your circadian rhythm has been destroyed thanks to the lack of sunlight. Supplies were scarce, causing you to forage  whatever you could find. Mostly mushrooms and glowing cave fish, but hey, fish have omega-3's, right?

The biggest challenge was the constant darkness- a darkness unparalleled to anything you've ever encountered before. Not even the glum of a thick and clouded wilderness or a quiet, uninhabited basement could compare.

You'd never known what it meant to be in the dark before your time in the depths.

They held a darkness that consumed you, making you question if you truly were even alive. Making you question if you ever even were. Part of you grew to appreciate what little the depths revealed, such as the unforgiving side effects of the gloom and how it mutilated you.

The depths did more than just shield you and your contamination from the healthy residents of Hyrule; they protected you from the trauma of what you had become.

But every now and then, when you threw a bright bloom seed or lit a fire, there was a remorseless glow that revealed the way the gloom was devouring you. It only took a single glance at your wiry fingers and the bedizen of ashen knuckles that led to the fungal tint of your nail beds, to be reminded.

You couldn't even begin to imagine the abomination that was now your face.

Before the gloom, you were considered to be beautiful, at least to some. You had thick h/c locks that, if shaved, could easily coat the heads of 50 dolls. Your e/c eyes were striking against your s/c complexion, garnering you an abundance of compliments throughout your life. You had a thicker body, a well-fed one. Your hips were wide thanks to the cheesecake slices you graciously never skipped when offered. But now, thanks to the slim pickings of the depths, your body has taken on a lanky, frail appearance.