Hey Everyone! It's been over a year, I think, since my last story or update. Well, I just got myself a new laptop and I'm ready to get back into the swing of things! So I decided to write a little one shot I came up with in honor of Twilight Princess HD (which I think is a completely unnecessary remake, but whatever). Anyways, here you go! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda. All rights belong to Nintendo.
She was gone.
Gone forever.
Back to the land of Twilight.
Never to be seen again
Link and Zelda stared at the shattered mirror that had only moments before held the gate between the worlds of Light and Shadow. They were frozen in disbelief, shattered just like the mirror. The silence permeated the air, echoing in their ears as the pair tried desperately to absorb what had just happened.
Link felt a cold emptiness. He couldn't believe it; She had left them. Left him. Abandoned him without a warning, or even a proper goodbye. He wasn't even sure if what he had seen was real, or just a horrible nightmare. But no matter how much he wished it, no matter how deeply he tried to awaken from it, he couldn't.
Midna was gone.
He felt a dull throb in his chest, a slow, but all the more agonizing ache growing within him. His heart felt like it had stopped. Maybe it had; she had stolen his heart, after all. In the span of a few months, not even a year, the sarcastic little imp had become precious to him: they had been through countless battles and bitter hardships. They trusted one another. They cared for one another. They understood one another. And through it all they had gained an unshakeable bond, a friendship forged in the fires of conflict.
And that friendship eventually grew into love.
Yes, Link couldn't hide it any longer – he had fallen hopelessly in love with Midna. He had been foolish enough, naïve enough to fall in love with the Twilight Princess, one whom he could never hope to be with, even if she returned his feelings. He had allowed his heart to break along with that mirror by growing attached to one from another world, bound to her duty just as he was bound to his.
Light and Shadow cannot coexist. Midna had told him that once, but he had hoped that he could change things – that by defeating Zant and killing Ganondorf, they could finally be free of the hatred between their people. That they could be together.
Was he really wrong? Had he simply been too naïve and blinded by love to see that there was no way that their worlds could remain connected? Was their love really a lost cause? Were Light and Shadow truly so incompatible?
Link finally broke the silence with a growl of anguish. Zelda flinched slightly at the abrupt noise, giving him a confused glance.
Link couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. He felt a great weight crushing him, suffocating him. He let out another strangled growl, this time barely managing to keep himself from breaking. "This isn't fair," he hissed, his voice a broken and quivering whisper.
After a moment, the emotional dam within him burst, and a flood of anger, hurt, confusion, grief, and anguish spilled out of him.
"This isn't fair!" He repeated furiously, collapsing in front of the broken mirror, pounding the ground with his fist.
He couldn't accept it. He had already proven that Light and Shadow could live together in peace, hadn't he? Their love for one another was proof that Light and Shadow could coexist. She had to have known that.
"This isn't how it's supposed to be!"
Then why? Why did she abandon him? They could've made it work, they could've repair their people's relations, formed a new peace between the people of Hyrule and the people of the Twilight Realm. They had done the impossible before, so why couldn't they do it this time?
As he let his tears of heartache spill, trembling, he felt a soft, gentle touch on his shoulder. Snapping his head around, he found Zelda kneeling next to him, her hand on his shoulder and a calm, sympathetic look on her face.
"This had to be done, Link," Zelda stated gently, though her soft tone did little to sooth Link's pain. "I know how you feel, believe me, but –"
"No you don't!" Link harshly cut her off, pushing her hand off his shoulder. He knew he was probably being rude and callous towards her, but he cared very little for politeness and rationality at the moment. "You have no idea how I feel. No idea what we went through together!"
How could the princess even hope to understand his feelings? Midna was just some stranger from another world to her, a pawn she could use to reclaim her kingdom.
"You didn't fight alongside her, or travel alongside her, or discover the ends of the earth alongside her!"
She was detached, emotionless, stonehearted; she seemed almost robotic, her gaze boring into his as she continued to give him that forced look of sympathy. Her calm, composed attitude throughout this whole event spoke to just how little the princess knew about emotions.
The princess knew nothing of his pain.
"Midna may have been just some tool in your political games, but she was my friend, my companion!" Link threw the words at her coldly, his words fueled by irrational emotions. "I loved her, so don't claim to know how I feel!"
Zelda opened her mouth to interrupt him, to retort with something of her own, but Link wouldn't let her.
His next words were the most venomous and cruelest yet, and even as they left his tongue he felt the sour taste they left and instantly regretted them.
"You didn't lose the love of your life – you lost a chess piece."
Zelda gaped at him in silent shock, her mouth open and her eyes as wide as saucers. For a moment Link regained some sense and realized the heartlessness of his words. He felt a pang of guilt in his chest and immediately regretted his words, but before he could apologize, or even say another word, Zelda slapped him across the face, her calm façade cracking as she gave the coldest, most insulted scowl he had ever seen.
As much as the sting of the slap had hurt, the burning look of anger on the princess' face hit him even harder.
"You think I thought of Midna as only a tool?" Zelda whispered, her voice almost breaking as she struggled to keep it level. "That I only saw her as a pawn? A means to an end?" Her voice grew steadily louder and less restrained.
"How DARE you?!" she suddenly snapped, finally losing control of her temper. "You think this doesn't hurt me? That I never cared for Midna? That I just used her to get what I wanted?!"
It was startling for Link to see the Princess, whom he had only ever seen calm and composed, suddenly so intense and outraged. Her once calm and dignified mask was now replaced a burning scowl, her eyes were filled with emotion, and it looked as though she was simultaneously ready to scream in anger and burst into tears.
It was as though the composed, emotionless mask she had been wearing for so long had cracked under all the pressure, and Link's outburst had finally broken that mask, allowing all of the pent up emotions to explode out of her.
"I did care for her, Link, far more than you know. She was more than a puppet, more than some faceless peon for me to use." Zelda's voice broke, and Link could see tears cascading down her cheeks, even as her storm of emotions raged unabated. "You think you understood her? You think you knew her?!" Zelda spat the words like venom. "I knew her far better than you ever could, Link!"
Link blinked, suddenly both offended and confused. "I – "
Zelda cut him off before the words could even escape his lips "Don't you dare say you understood her better than me! I know what she had to go through, what sacrifices she had to make! I know what it's like to sacrifice everything for your people, to wear that face of false courage and strength, to be willing to do anything for your people, even if that means going against everything you believe in."
Zelda let the words flood out of her, wishing she could restrain them but unable to do so. Every word was like a blow to Link, as if she were battering him with words. If his own outburst had been bad, hers was much more vicious.
"I know what it's like to be a princess, so I knew her more than you ever could. She was the only person who could understand me, and I was the only one could understand her. She was my friend, maybe my only friend. You loved her Link, I know… but I loved her too." Zelda's voice quivered at the last word, as if just speaking had brought her pain, and instantly she broke down.
She collapsed next to Link in front of the mirror, letting her tears fall freely after what felt like a lifetime of repression. It was a sobering sight for Link, to see have seen such a drastic and wild array of emotions from the princess who was normally so in control. The princess of Hyrule, the strong-willed, wise, selfless leader of their entire kingdom was a sobbing, emotional wreck right next to him, and he had been the one to push her to that.
"Pr-princess," Link stuttered hesitantly, fearing he might set her off once more. "I… I'm sorry. I didn't realize… I didn't know just how much Midna meant to you." He sat next to her in uncomfortable silence, before awkward wrapping his arm around her shoulder.
She didn't make any objection to his touch, so he continued to embrace her, comforting her as her sobs slowly weakened and she slowly calmed herself.
For several long moments, Zelda seemed as though she hadn't heard him, sniffling as she struggled to stifled her sobbing. However, before long she turned to face him, her eyes puffy and red, her makeup smeared by her tears.
"I apologize, Link," she started slowly, attempting to regain some composure to her voice, but if anything her voice sounded more broken than ever. "I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you, it wasn't fair of me." She tried for a smile, but it only came out as a weak grimace, and Link could tell she was forcing herself not to burst into tears once again.
Link shook his head. "I should be the one apologizing, Princess," he began, giving her the same comforting look she had given him only minutes ago when he had broken down. "I was harsh and unfair to you. I should never had said any of those cruel words."
Zelda smiled weakly, gratitude evident in her eyes as she let out an exhausted sigh. She stared up at the broken mirror pensively, and Link followed suit. They sat there, silent but understanding one another – they were comrades in misery, both nursing the same heartache. But together they felt connected, hopeful – they could lean on each other for support, and the pain they felt would heal eventually.
The silence that enveloped them was comfortable, and they were slowly feeling their pain wash away, little by little – through their extreme outbursts, they felt their pain receding, like smoke on the horizon. They had become comfortably numb.
I kind of like how this story turned out - I think I still need to work on dialogue a bit, but overall I liked writing this story, especially in regards to fleshing out both Link and Zelda. Zelda in particular always kind of bothered me in Twilight Princess because she never showed any emotion, any personality, or any weakness; she was completely emotionless and I felt that robbed her character of a lot of personality and development. So I like writing (and reading, of course) any story that adds to her character. Plus making her have an emotional breakdown was really fun.
Anyway, let me know what you thought of the story, how I can improve my writing, or if you have an ideas for one shots you'd like me to do. Or if you just want to review to make me feel better. That works too (I need the boost to my self esteem, humor me).
Until next time, I bid you all a hearty farewell!
~The Supreme~
PS: If anyone got the reference to Pink Floyd at the end, thumbs up to you guys.