But I'm still feeling lonely, feeling so unholy
Name: Zelda, Princess Regent of Hyrule
Game: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (post game)
Age: 19
Gender: Female
Race: Hylian
Height: 5'8"
Family: Her father, the King of Hyrule, still lives. Her mother died when Zelda was a child.
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Nickname(s): Jewel (or as Linksha sometimes calls her, Jewels); Your Highness, my lady
Appearance: She is tall, slim and willowy, with waist-length brunette hair and large dark blue eyes. Although she wore traditional courtly garb on her first arrival in the strange Hyrule, she has since traded it for more utilitarian costume -- breeches, belted tunics, the occasional vest. Her large bow and quiver of Light Arrows traveled with her from her own realm and are always on her person whenever she is out; she has also acquired a supply of regular arrows for use in target practice or against lesser enemies, but can at will summon the Light Arrows to fill the quiver.
Personality: Zelda is usually proper and reserved, but always polite and gracious. Even to her enemies, she can be friendly (which may partially explain her cordial relationship with Ganon). She is a bit naive and sensitive, and her great weakness is her tendency to value others more highly than herself, a weakness which enabled Zant to overpower her easily. Pragmatic to the core, she's prepared to do whatever is necessary for her own survival and the survival and comfort of others. She is a great nurturer. As a general rule, her door is open to anyone, so long as they come in goodwill.
This, of course, is all on the surface. This was the personality she had prior to Zant's Invasion; this is the personality that she wants back, so much so that when necessary she forces herself to pretend. The reality is that the events of Twilight Princess have left the princess bitter and angry. She is ashamed of and uncomfortable with so much negativity, so she buries it. She means well, not wanting to burden other people with her pain, but this will only work for so long. In addition to the anger and frustration, she is terrified of one aspect of herself in particular; the fact that she was possessed by Ganondorf, that she was violated in so complete a fashion by her mortal enemy, haunts her. She knows it wasn't her fault, that she didn't ask for it, but she feels that she has been tainted by the experience, and privately wonders if this is the reason for her pseudo-friendship with the Ganon of this Hyrule -- can he sense the taint of evil left on her by his other self? And is the fact that she can accept his companionship proof in itself that she's more than tainted? In some part of her mind which is so dark she herself can't bear to look at it, she honestly resents the fact that she had to continue living after Ganondorf's death, because the pain has been greater than she has allowed anyone to know.
What she needs most of all is a reliable confidante who she can be sure will not be horrified by her secrets; barring that, she continues to bury her emotions. She is not comfortable actively seeking such a confidante, primarily because of her upbringing. She was taught that if the ruler is weak, Hyrule is weak, and she will go to great lengths to prevent that -- even at her own expense.
Skills: As a wielder of the Triforce of Wisdom, Zelda has an unusually high level of empathic ability. She can pick up on the emotions of people around her if she tries. It's an ability she frequently attempts to repress, not wanting to infringe on anyone's privacy, but she has that gift.
Unusual for a princess, Zelda has a wealth of domestic abilities, ranging from cooking to gardening, thanks to one of her childhood nurses. The woman had no children of her own to whom she might pass her knowledge, so with the King's blessing she took the young Zelda under her wing. As a result, the princess is capable of raising vegetables, gathering herbs, making preserves, and similar activities. Like most of the Zeldas, she is musically inclined and can play the pipes. She is a very good shot with her bow and arrows.
History: She was born nineteen years before the events of Twilight Princess, the only child of the King and Queen of Hyrule. As is the law in Hyrule, they named their daughter Zelda. Her mother died of an illness when Zelda was nine, but had been sickly for so long that the vast majority of the princess's upbringing was done by nursemaids and tutors. Her father referred to her as the crown jewel of his realm, and as Zelda had been the name of his own mother, took to calling his daughter "Jewel" as an everyday nickname.
When Zelda was seventeen, she was crowned Princess Regent of the kingdom, and became acting ruler while her father went away on religious sabbatical for his poor health, which has experienced some rejuvenation as a result. He's quite content to remain where he is and let his daughter rule in his stead, and is unaware of the events surrounding Zant's Invasion of Hyrule. He has been left blissfully ignorant of the devastation suffered by his people, and the indignities visited upon his precious daughter by Zant and, later, Ganondorf. This was Zelda's decision, to keep him uninformed, as she feared the shock of learning such dreadful news might cause him to relapse and possibly die.
That she had to surrender her freedom and her throne to save the people's lives was very difficult for Jewel, but as she says, "I was born for Hyrule and I will die for Hyrule." Later, to save the life of the dying Midna, the Twilight Princess, Zelda made the difficult but necessary choice to surrender her power, and house the Triforce of Wisdom in Midna's tiny body; this was not only to save Midna's life, but to conceal the Triforce in a safe place while Ganondorf had control of the castle. With her power gone, however, Jewel was left vulnerable to magic attack, and found her body used as a puppet by Ganondorf, forced to do battle with the hero Link against her own will. Outwardly, she shows no sign of damage from the experience; her inner scars, however, are great.
During Link's final battle against Ganondorf on Hyrule Field, Zelda assisted him through the use of her bow and Light Arrows, a gift from the goddesses. She could only watch from a distance while Link brought down their enemy, for which she fully intended to reward him with a knighthood (and possibly more, if she thought it would please him) but never got the chance. All energies following Ganondorf's defeat were directed toward trying to rebuild the kingdom's depleted resources, re-establishing contact with outside allies alienated by Zant and drawing up plans for the restoration of the ruined Hyrule Castle.
A fortnight after the Battle of Hyrule Field, Zelda found herself transported to the Hyrule of the past. She is largely taking the development in stride, reasoning that there must be a purpose to all of it and content to wait until she learns what it is. In the meantime, she has taken up residence in the abandoned Kakariko Inn, and takes a curious satisfaction in attending to her own needs for once in her life. Since moving there herself, she has opened her doors to a few other refugees from time and space, and so shares her dwelling-place with the lady knight Ashei (ashei_yeah), the scholar Shad (twilit_scholar), and the odd-Link-out, Linksha (linkshaia). If not for the night terrors and other simmering after-effects of her recent trauma, she would actually be quite happy.
A graphic illustration of the interior of her home
Relationships: Since arriving in this Hyrule, she has been befriended by her three housemates and a few others, and is on at least polite terms with almost everyone she has met. Most of the others in this Hyrule she knows of and simply has not occasioned to meet, but she tends to get along with almost everyone on at least the most basic level. She has the dubious distinction of being the only person who honestly gets along with Ganon (old_man_ganon), which has probably caused more than one person to question her sanity. This includes herself, for reasons stated elsewhere. Because of the minor proliferation of Zeldas in this Hyrule, she encourages those around her to make use of her father's nickname for her, Jewel, and thus reduce the possible confusion slightly.
For a more detailed listing of her relationships, including links to the relevant threads, click here.
OOC:
Played at: zelda_dressing
Played by: What's her name Laura
Character's theme song: "Numb" by Portishead (lyrics)