Link could only stare at the dark rock looming before him. He fell to his knees in disbelief at what had just occurred. "Link…I…See you later." The words echoed in his head. Zelda looked worriedly at the young hero and placed a friendly hand on his shoulder. "We should go," she told him. Link reluctantly stood up and together they journeyed back to the kingdom of Hyrule.
…
The sun mottled the forest of Ordon and crept through Link's window. He was already awake and ready to start the day when he heard Ilia calling from outside. "Hey, sleepyhead, it's time to get going!" her voice carried up to him. Link cringed at her evermore cheerful voice. He called out to her to let her know he would be down in a moment.
It had only been a few months since the land of Hyrule had been covered in twilight, but it had seemed like yesterday that he had seen his only true friend disappear forever. Link begrudgingly grabbed his knapsack and then decided it best to grab his sword and shield, just in case. He slowly climbed down the ladder and hopped down in front of Ilia. A cheery smile was plastered on her face and he tried not to show how uncomfortable it was to him. At one point he had liked, and maybe even loved Ilia, mostly because she was the only girl his age in the village, but now things were different. Now she just seemed unbearably attached to him and he disliked how she smiled gaily all the time.
"Come on, silly, it's time to go get Epona ready for the trip!" she said excitedly. Trip? Link thought for a moment and then remembered that there was a ceremony in Castle Town in his honor; it would take them a few days to get there and he had to take a caravan of the village along as well. He used to love the idea of traveling with his friends, but his shattered soul could not simply be mended with a warm smile from a friend. No, the one thing he wanted most was gone, forever. Epona's neighing brought Link back out of his thoughts and he began to help Ilia prepare the mare for the journey.
…
Midna lay on a dark knoll of moss looking up into the twilight. As much as she usually loved the homely feeling she got from the constant darkness, today she could not pull her thoughts out of Hyrule. Link's face flickered through her mind and her heart knotted up as she remembered how she never confessed her love for him. Her own words even haunted her now and she regretted her actions more every day that passed. Yet it was her duty to the Twili that brought her back. Midna turned onto her side and curled up into a ball, softly crying to herself.
"Princess!" a voice called in the distance. Midna righted herself up and looked for the owner of the voice. One of the Twili was searching for her and as they came closer she recognized her adviser, Chijin. He was flustered and could hardly see where the Princess was, she blended in with the scenery so well. Midna didn't dare alert him of her presence; she would rather be left alone to rot in her self-loathing and self-pity than have to deal with her adviser and the council.
Unfortunately Chijin was a stubborn fool and eventually discovered her after he tripped over her shadowy figure. The poor fool was half blind so she really couldn't blame him for his clumsiness, but she was rather haughty with him for being so oblivious. "Chijin, could you not be more careful with where you step?" she scolded him.
"I am deeply sorry, Your Highness," he apologized. Chijin fixed his robes and continued with his message, "The councilmen request your presence in the castle immediately. Some royalty from another neighboring kingdom have traveled here to discuss urgent matters with you." Midna shot up as though she'd been shocked and glared in disbelief at her adviser. Visits from neighboring kingdoms were rare and could only mean one of two things: someone had taken a fancy to her and would threaten her home if she did not submit to their wishes, or they wanted a piece of land and would threaten war if she did not allow them the land. Midna sincerely hoped it was the latter.