Winds of Desperation - Vaati x Female Reader (BotW AU)

These Things Called 'Feelings'

She felt them all at once.

Anger.

Grief.

Fear.

Betrayal.

And yet, she had to fire that arrow. She had to fire that arrow into the skull of the woman who held the dagger high and ready to plunge it into Vaati's back.

Poor Marlene... Dear Marlene...

Her grief and her madness consumed her to the bitter end.

Marlene's skull cracked at the same moment that [Y/n]'s back hit the pillar behind her, accompanied by the fierce gale of wind that took the air out of her lungs.

Vaati came out unscathed.

Because only someone trained by the Rito could have managed to land such a clean shot.

Just like her son, Marlene perished at the hands of [Y/n]. Whereas Hizuki perished by means of retribution, Marlene did so only so that Vaati would survive.

...As for [Y/n]...

In those last moments before her consciousness faded, Teba's voice resounded in her memory...

To sacrifice a life in order to save a loved one; perhaps you will understand the meaning behind that someday.

***

They say beings who have lived more lifetimes than one can imagine eventually lose the ability to cry.

Tonight, I realized that those are nothing but lies.

***

A thunderstorm unlike any other befell Kakariko Village that night.

I was summoned by Lady Impa after a stranger showed up carrying a wounded girl in his arms.

Her granddaughter, Paya, was trembling in fear, the poor child... and yet, she was doing all she could to help among the sudden chaos. Neither she nor the young man left the wounded girl's side.

After assessing her injuries and questioning the young man as to what had transpired, Lady Impa sent me and the other scouts to search the place where the events had occurred. We were told that a hoard of monsters had ravaged the ruins, but this...

I didn't expect to encounter Marlene's corpse like this.

In the years before I left the clan, she had always looked so jovial, so full of life...

What remained... it was a horrible sight. Even without that arrow coming out of her skull, she was barely recognizable anymore.

What happened to her during those years, I wonder...?

***

Hours turned into days, and the rain continued. It had been a cacophony of lightning and thunder at first, but now, it had subsided into constant, monotone showers, with occasional gusts of wind howling in the distance.

It was ironic, almost, since it seemed to mirror the Wind Mage's emotions.

Slow and gentle footsteps approached the door, until the door slid open. He didn't bother to look. It didn't make much of a difference.

"...I know how worried you must be about your friend, but I assure you that she's recovering slowly and steadily." Impa's words seemed almost too reassuring.

"She was my responsibility." Vaati spat bitterly. "...She's still my responsibility."

And I'm the one responsible for her current state.