Author's Note: This is a birthday present for Midna Hytwilian. I won't tell you what she's turning, but today's her birthday - the 13th of January - and I wrote her this story as a present! So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Midna!
Keep in mind that it isn't strictly finished yet and while I will update as often as I can, it may not be as often as you'd like it to be... It won't be as bad as my other fics, though. I PROMISE to finish this one. ^_^ Anyway. Enjoy!

Variet Wall

Prologue

Zelda sat in a private garden, trying to relax in its serenity. She took a deep breath. She was worried about the increasing monster attacks on the road; no one had died yet but the reports said their numbers were rising more and more. They hadn't been this bad since the Twili invasion a year ago.

"Princess?" asked a familiar voice.

She smiled. "General Roudolf. How are things?"

The General was older than her by a few years and wore light chain mail even though he was not in battle. He had short, brown hair, and looked at her with kind, blue eyes that beamed from a thin face with a strong jaw.

"Well, the attacks are increasing and the soldiers are restless. They know something's coming." He stepped towards her. "But I did not find you to discuss them." His voice was strong and commanding, but not overbearing.

"Then what did you wish to discuss?" Zelda asked, smiling at her comfort in his company.

He glanced for a moment at the ground. "I am leaving with your chosen regiment today, to discover the cause of these attacks." He met her gaze. "I am concerned."

"How so?"

"I am concerned that you chose me to lead these men not for my skill, but for -"

Zelda stood up. "Do you not trust me, Roudolf?" she asked sternly.

"Of course I trust you, Princess," he answered unwaveringly. His hand found hers, and he stepped closer. "I love you."

"Then trust me in all respects." She held his other hand. "I chose you to lead those men because it is you who is best suited. My decision was not wavered neither by your eagerness to return to the field nor my feelings for you."

He nodded. "I apologize for questioning you, Highness."

"Do not be, for now you have learned a lesson. As you trust me, I trust you to lead those men in your mission, no matter what may happen." She brought his hands closer to her face. "And I will miss you," she added softly.

"And I you."

They shared a short but passionate kiss, then Zelda wished him farewell before leaving the garden. He stood for a moment, then joined the preparations to leave.

It was late in the night. After a long day, the soldiers had finally made their way to the passes high in the mountains, where the monsters were said to come from. They had set up camp, and some soldiers were now going to bed. Most of them were playing cards, laughing jauntily, and talking loudly. He didn't mind; they had secured a perimeter so far that even these sounds couldn't aggravate the monsters that dwelled here.

Roudolf turned to his tent, a boon granted to him by virtue of being the General. He would be one to retire now, to better prepare himself for the following morning, as well as grant the soldiers the feeling that hey were not being watched.

Once inside, he removed his chain mail (a thing he wore more for comfort than protection) and turned to his cot. He stopped short and drew breath.

Standing before him was a man, wearing all black, with unusually pale skin and piercing blue eyes. His black hair stuck out in all directions, and his teeth... his teeth were ground sharp.

"Who are you?" Roudolf asked, surreptitiously gripping his sword from where he'd laid it to rest against the canvas of the tent. "How did you get in here?"

The man looked over him slowly, like a hunter might size up his quarry. Then he suddenly disappeared, replaced by a cloud of dark, murky smoke. Roudolf dropped his sword in shock. The smoke lunged for him, and he stumbled to the canvas wall. He couldn't see or hear anything, his heart beating frantically; unable to make any noise, he gasped for air but only inhaled thick, choking dark smoke.

After Link's great adventure, he'd turned with relief back to Ordon, hoping to find simplicity and relaxation in its familiarity. Of course, this hadn't happened; once he returned the kids (except for Malo, who had sent a note back explaining his need to remain and look after his new enterprise), everyone had wanted to know all about his travels. Rusl and Mayor Bo had gotten them to back off and let him rest, but months had passed and even they were curious even though they didn't want to admit it.

He'd told a few stories, mostly things he knew Rusl was already aware of: investigating the Yeti in Zora's Domain and saving the Gorons in the Goron Mines. He glossed over most of them, turning a fight against a giant rock monster into the dissipation of a minor diplomatic problem. Maybe he was modest, or maybe he didn't want to relive the stories.

He sat in front of his home, his feet resting on the top rung of his ladder. It was warm down here in the Ordona Province, and he could easily wear his old rancher's tunic, but this new green one was comfortable and more familiar to him.

That was another constant question. The townspeople asked him where he got the clothes, and he'd replied 'somewhere in Castle Town'. He could tell they didn't quite believe him, especially Rusl, Mayor Bo and the kids, who had actually been to Castle Town and seen the styles there, but he managed to avoid these conversations for the most part.

Epona snorted, pawing at the ground. He'd unsaddled her instantly upon his return and saw that keeping the saddle on her that long had injured her back - it had blisters and rashes and was even bleeding in some places. Ilia and Uli had put together a healing solution for her (after giving him a good talking-to), but she had taken a while to heal.

Yes, he was adjusting. Slowly.

He sighed and climbed down the ladder. He didn't have the Hyrulian shield with him, but carried the Ordon sword he'd adopted from Rusl in a sheath on his back. All his other belongings had mysteriously appeared in his home, but he'd chucked them in the basement. While useful on his travels, the Ball and Chain, for instance, did nothing for him here.

"How is she?" Ilia asked as she walked up the path to Link's home.

He looked back at Epona. "Great," he said. "She might be ready for ranching soon. Not today, though."

She nodded understandingly. "You going to help out Fado anyway?" she asked.

Link looked around his little clearing. "Actually, I was headed to Ordon Spring," he said honestly. "Did you want to come with me?"

She smiled. "Sure," she said.

They turned and walked in comfortable silence for a few moments. Link was always comfortable when it was just him and Ilia, and even recalled telling her, on a similar moment as this, about the City in the Sky and the Lakebed Temple, just to make her smile.

In spite of this, Link didn't find Ilia romantically attractive; she felt strongly like his sister, and he loved her accordingly.

"Why did you go out there?" she asked. "I mean, after you found us. Why didn't you come straight home, or stay with us?"

Link looked up at the blue sky as they walked, and decided to answer. "I needed to help Rusl and Ashei and the others." He looked back at her.

"Why? And all these adventures you went on, why did you do them alone?"

"Oh, I wasn't alone," he said as a reflex, then wished he didn't. All this time he'd been careful not to mention Midna.

They arrived at the spring, and Ilia raised her eyebrows at him. "You weren't?" she asked incredulously.

He sat down before the water and looked at his hands, which sat on his lap. "No," he answered defeatedly.

When he didn't continue, Ilia kneeled next to him. "Well?" she prompted.

Link glanced at her. "Look, she was..." How could he explain his time with Midna? "You wouldn't understand."

"I'm your best friend, Link. Try me."

"She helped me," he started, and hesitated. "You know, nudged me in the right direction when I got off-track. She even... saved my life." He thought about his aided escape from prison, and how she'd helped him when Zant had turned him into a wolf.

Ilia bit back a caustic remark as she looked into his eyes. "Why is this hard for you to talk about?" she asked.

Link opened his mouth to reply, then realized he lacked an answer. Was this merely a tough subject because he had to avoid telling her about the Twili, or was it something else? For some reason, the adventures he and Midna shared seemed to need to stay that way - between him and Midna.

"You love her, don't you?"

He looked across at her. "Of course not," he said immediately.

She lifted an eyebrow at him.

He looked into the spring water and realized that he'd been holding back from fully acclimating to his old hometown because of how much he missed Midna. He missed her laugh, he missed her sarcastic and witty remarks, he missed the way she'd roll her eyes at him and tell him when he was being stupid. He hadn't realized this before because technically Midna hadn't died, and he'd been focused on keeping her a secret from the town. But now he knew he needed her back.

"Am I right?" she asked.

Link looked into Ilia's eyes silently. Now that he knew he missed her, the empty feeling it caused seemed to dominate his heart. It was familiar and he realized it had been there the whole time, but now that he was aware of it, it threatened to eat him whole.

"That's what I'm missing," he whispered.

She appeared vaguely hurt for a moment, then fixed her determined gaze on Link. "You should go find her," she said.

He opened his mouth, then closed it. He felt compelled to do just that. In fact, he couldn't think of a future where he didn't.

"Link, everyone knows something's wrong. I think it would be better if you tried to find her and couldn't than if you just didn't try."

Link leaned back on the sand and looked up at the green treetop skyline, smiling to himself, a small smile. "You're right," he said, hope warming his heart. He was going to go on an adventure again.