A/N: this is kind of a ventfic, i guess. i haven't been feeling great lately, both physically and emotionally, so... yeah. have an angsty, overwhelmed toon link drabble

The King opened his eyes as he heard footsteps, and turned to see Link walking toward him. As usual, this probably meant he had finished what he needed to do in the dungeon. He opened his mouth to speak, but faltered when he noticed how the boy looked.

His clothes were torn, and... was that blood on them? Hopefully not his own. He was covered in dirt, crying, and stumbling, looking as if he was about to fall over. Daphnes had never seen the boy in such a condition before. "...are you alright?"

Link shook his head 'no' and climbed into the boat, curling up and hugging himself as he continued crying. The King could see him trembling and shaking. Obviously he truly wasn't alright...

"I-it's all just too much," Link whimpered.

Turning his neck as much as he could, he looked at the boy. "If I may ask... what is 'too much'?"

"Everything!" Link sobbed, looking up. "All of this! I n-never wanted this! I just wanted a normal, happy birthday, and th-then my sister got taken a-and I got dragged into all of this, and... I'm scared. I don't like... I don't like doing this. I hate it."

Daphnes was silent for a moment, lost in thought. "...all of this must be scary to you," He spoke up eventually.

"M-more like terrifying," Link hid his face in his knees. "Fighting these m-monsters and going through all these d-dungeons and stuff... I hate it. Every time I go into one, I know that I c-could die in there. It's terrifying. B-but I don't have a choice, do I? ...sometimes I wonder h-how I'm even still alive."

Before Daphnes could respond, he felt Link wrap his arms around his neck. He allowed the boy to do so; it was the most he could do to comfort him, in this form. He wished he could hug the poor child back...

"All I want... all I ever wanted... a normal life with Aryll and my g-grandma on Outset Island..." Link mumbled. "I'm supposed to be the hero, right? ...but I don't feel like it. I'm not brave... I'm a scared kid. All I want is to be safe at home. I wish none of th-this had ever happened to m-me."

Daphnes wished there was something that could be done for the boy. Everything he was saying made the King rethink things... he never doubted the choices of the Goddesses, but it seemed wrong, now that he really thought about it, to place this burden on a boy so young.

"...perhaps we should take a break and visit Outset?" He suggested. He hoped that returning to his home island and seeing his grandma again would cheer him up, even slightly.

Link nodded, wiping his eyes. "...yeah. Yeah, I wanna..."

"Well then... what are we waiting for?" the King said, "Let's get sailing."