Tears of a Broken Kingdom

Chapter Twelve ~ By his Father's hand

Ashton hadn't taken the news well, which in all honesty didn't surprise Zelda.

Sneaking off had become like an addiction to him, and now he was at a withdrawal. When she'd told him her decision he'd glared daggers at her, his face pinched up and his breath had heaved, fighting off an outburst.

Zelda had remained strict while he fought his temper, but she was broken over it. She knew she had done the right thing but she hated how upset he was by it.

She felt like a failure.

Ashton sulked around the castle, his mood seemed to grow darker each day.

He stopped speaking except if necessary, and Zelda was painfully reminded of Link, who had stayed silent most of the time. She guessed he had just preferred to listen, she had had enough words for the both of them. 

His silence had been a gentle type, the whispers of his actions had spoken louder than words.

Ashton's silence was sharp and unsettling. It was unnatural. He had always been a quiet child, especially in his grief, but this silent treatment was something new altogether.

Zelda didn't know how to pull him out of it, she didn't even know what to say.

>*<

The time had trickled by like sand in an hourglass as Hyrule slipped more into autumn.

The pages crinkled in Zelda's fingers as she turned them slowly. She wasn't paying attention to whatever she was reading, the words all blended together. Her eyes were unfocused, and she had given up in trying to comprehend. She didn't even know what book it was... historical?

It was a cold morning in the castle, the stone walls and floor chilled from the frigid winds that had blown into town from the mountains.

Pale sunlight cut through the meager puffs of clouds. The entire world looked unsaturated, the color had been sucked out.

Zelda's gaze drifted from her book, the worn pages still open in her hand, her eyes on the world outside her cage.

It was a quiet morning so far, everything was muted and she hadn't come across any other guards so far- except of course her shadows.

It'd been reduced down to two guards, rather than four. She must've been doing a good job hiding the inner turmoil that kept trying to seize control.

Maybe soon she'd be left with none. She wasn't going to try anything anyway, and soon they'd know that.

She closed the book, she was too deep in her thoughts to keep reading, the words forgotten as her mind became overrun with thoughts.

Zelda had thought that over time the flow would stop but so far she'd been wrong. Her thoughts were a near constant stream, a quiet bombardment to her existence of half living.

A sudden disruptment of the quiet ripped her from her thoughts, like a stone dropped into a pond.

"Yes?"

The guard's eyes were wide with concern, the only sign against the stoicism of the rest of his face.

"Your Highness, something has been brought to our attention,"

"... okay? What is it?" Zelda asked, should she be worried?

"Something's been stolen from the armory."