"I'm pregnant." Midna read the words aloud, as if they would somehow make more sense on her lips than they did on her eyes. The paper Zelda had written on was clutched tighter in her thin hands.
Zelda raised an eyebrow. "Midna, what did you say?"
Midna looked her over. Zelda looked thin, save for the bit of hard muscle in her arms formed from years of archery, certainly no different from how she had looked any time before.
"I said, I'm pregnant."
Zelda's eyes widened. "Midna? I… How?"
During most times, Midna would simply laugh at the sight before her. There was certainly a humorous quality to seeing Zelda, stiff and stoic, with wide eyes and her mouth turned into a half frown and half grimace. But now, she could only look at Zelda.
"I was only reading," she said, rubbing at her arm, "what you had written." Midna turned her eyes towards the ground.
There had always been something about having Zelda in the Twilight Realm, some feeling in the air that made Midna's home realm feel even more like home. Perhaps it was simply because Zelda had the power to fight the Twilight, to resist being turned into a spirit or animal. Few Hylians had that strength. But Zelda was hardly in the Twilight Realm all the time. By day, she vanished, back into her world, back to the kingdom that so desperately needed her guidance and leadership.
Was there something going on in Hyrule that Midna had not known of? A relationship that Zelda had kept hidden from her?
No, Midna thought. She shook her head. She knew the Hylian princess far better than most did, and Zelda certainly was not the type to do that. Zelda would never have gone to another behind Midna's back.
Could there have been a formal arrangement? Midna herself knew what it meant to be duty bound. Surely Zelda would treat such a marriage as purely business, but wouldn't she at least have told Midna before?
Midna's chambers, which had seemed so large before, now seemed to be pushing further inward. The dark world outside her window seemed hundreds of miles away, and the cold stone her feet stood atop spun. Zelda seemed both just out of her reach and only a few mere inches from Midna's fingertips.
"What I wrote?"
Midna nodded. She held the paper up. Earlier, Zelda had asked her to read it. She had seemed excited to give it to her then, but Midna could hardly see why, even now when she had actually read what was on it.
Zelda stepped closer. She squinted her eyes at the paper. "I never said that I was pregnant." She took the paper from Midna's hand. "I thought you seeing the words on the paper alone would be proof of what I've written."
"What?"
"I am practicing, Midna."
Midna held the paper back up to her eyes. The first words were instantly recognizable, written in a curling, determined script without a single blot of ink or slight mistake. Well, at least until Midna got to the last word. She narrowed her eyes.
"So you wrote that you're practicing?" Midna supposed she should feel relieved. All those nights she'd spent with Zelda teaching her the Twili script had been rather dull, at least compared to most of their other nights spent together.
"Of course." Zelda's eyes narrowed. "It says that on the page." She wrinkled her nose. "Is there some kind of joke going on? Could you-"
Midna's laughter echoed throughout her room.
"Midna," Zelda spoke, stepping forward, holding a hand out.
Midna didn't reply, just kept laughing. Her throat was dry and mouth and sides sore, yet she still could not stop.
"Midna?" Zelda repeated.
There was a knock at the door.
"Princess," a servant spoke, "is something wrong?" Her voice was high and a bit squeaky, instantly recognizable as the young servant girl Ilsna.
"Oh no," Midna finally spoke. She had to force back a last chuckle. "Everything is fine. Zelda and I were just having a lively discussion."
"Alright," Ilsna replied. Midna could only imagined what her face looked like behind the door. "If either of you need anything, I will be happy to help."
"Thank you," Midna called, "but your services are not needed now."
"Yes, my lady." There was a pause and then footsteps, heavy at first but then the sound began to fade the further the servant girl moved.
Once she was gone, Zelda turned on her heel and looked Midna directly in the eye. "What just happened?"
Another laugh escaped Midna's throat. "Zelda, you wrote that you were pregnant. You meant to say otherwise, but you likely confused words."
"I-" Zelda stopped before she could say anything else. She reached forward and took the paper from Midna's hands. "I did?" She held the paper up, momentarily blocking her face. When she brought it down, her face was paler and her eyes wide. "I… I made a mistake."
Midna chuckled. "You did. It's alright, I suppose. Twilit script can be confusing at times. It's so much like written Hylian and yet so different. Still, it's a good thing that I caught the mistake instead of someone else."
"Midna, I…" Where her face had been pale before, Zelda's cheeks soon turned red. "Oh, I can't believe this."
"Oh, don't get so worried." Midna laughed again, reaching out, she wrapped an arm around Zelda's waist and pulled her closer. She was warm, her body stiff for a moment before relaxing under the Twilight Princess's touch. "I have all night to help you practice your words."
Zelda nodded. "I think that would be wise." She laced her hand between Midna's own and squeezed it.