Tears of a Broken Kingdom

Chapter Twenty-eight ~ The Broken Kingdom

Zelda didn't like the expressions the scout group had held when they'd returned from Zora's Domain, the way they held their heads to the floor, distraught etched on their features. It meant something was wrong.

It was also suspicious no Zora's had returned with them, and Zelda drew in a short shaky breath before addressing them.

"So... what did you see at the Domain?"

They considered her question, the blood on their skin noticeable, although they weren't injured. It was from the river.

"... Your Majesty,"

One had spoken up, his voice laced with anxious energy.

What had they seen?

"I'm sorry for what I'm about to say, Your Majesty. A-all the Zoras- they're all dead."

"Dead?!" She couldn't stop her immediate response, her eyes wide in shock.

It didn't seem real, unable to sink in. The loss of so many... all of them... gone. Extinct, she supposed. That was too much to process.

They stood there in silence, the scouts let her struggle with it in her head. Eventually they left, talking together in hushed voices.

Zelda stayed in her spot, dumbfounded at the news. She was almost too shocked to fully register the pain she felt. They were gone. This was all her fault...

It had been the blood... Zoras needed water, even more so than any of the other races. That was what had killed them.

Zelda felt so helpless, she was trying so hard to help and yet some people of Hyrule were still dying and she hadn't done anything to help. Some people were still beyond her grasp, and she didn't know what to do.

The word seemed to spread quickly around the camp, which lowered the morale, dread settled again over the people.

It had been a horrid sight apparently, corpses everywhere, some had even been impaled on the stalagmites, to quicken the inevitable. While she wished she had been there, Zelda was also relieved she hadn't seen the tragedy. It made it easier to cope, if only a little. But she still felt the tears in her eyes.

>*<

Despite the dreary news, it was one of the nicest days they'd had since the destruction. It was cold and clear, the sky a soft, pale blue with wispy clouds.

It was another busy day, Zelda had just come to except the work and the exhaustion that accompanied it, further  delving into the kind of tiredness that went to her core, no amount of sleep seemed to fix that.

But Ashton seemed rested though, fine and healthy, and that was all Zelda needed to know. It didn't really matter how she felt, she had more important things to worry about after all.

Zelda let herself move from the spot, stretching out her fingers as she did so. They seem to cramp up often now, but it was okay.

Zelda would send out more scouts, see how the Kokiri were faring, the Gerudo too perhaps, maybe the ranch... anywhere.

If it really was her kingdom now, however broken it was, she wanted to help the people as much as she could. She'd already failed.

"I'd like there to be scouts sent to the forest as well as other areas. It's been almost a month since the eruption... if the destruction has spread..."

"You think it's gone there too, right?"

Zelda nodded, ignoring the scolds the other scouts whispered at him for interrupting.