Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda Twilight Princess.

The haunting in Hyrule castle

The old castle had stood empty for centuries, gathering cobwebs in the everlasting darkness. Large, bronze gates kept it locked, never to be opened. However, a few decades ago some archaeologists did venture inside to check it out, but they had never been seen since. And from that very day, the ancient Hyrule Castle had been strictly forbidden to every living soul in the kingdom.

I grasped the cold gate key in one hand and my companion's shaky arm in the other. The mystery of the castle had troubled me for too long now and I felt that it was my destiny to find out what dark secret it held between its walls. The lock was rusty and quite damp from a rain shower the night before, so I feared it would break as soon as I put the key in its place. Yet I had to take the risk, even if it meant I had to climb over the gate because it was impossible to unlock. I had to do so because something was in that god forsaken place and whatever it was, was beckoning me into its dead home.

To my surprise the lock held stable and I could push the gate open wide enough so that myself and my companion Middie, so I called her, could squeeze through. As soon as we had taken a few steps in the sky lit up and with a clang the gate locked its self behind us. We were trapped and the only way we could go was forwards.

'Oh for the love of the goddesses, what is this death-trap!?' Middie suddenly blurted, breaking the disturbing silence that hung in the air. She was panicking, I could tell.

'Don't panic Middie. Everything's going to be alright, you can trust me. Just try to keep your mind off it all and hold me tightly okay. Just listen to me and you'll be just fine. I swear.' I told her, pulling her into my arms and holding her tight for a couple of minutes. I wiped the tears off her delicate cheek and brushed my lips against hers.

'Everything's going to be alright.'

Middie was still discomforted but I explained to her that we had to go on. It was safer together that it was alone. Eventually she decided that she could manage the overwhelming experience of being in a place that was most likely haunted and we set out again. After half an hour of stumbling around in the moonlight, little there was, we came to an almighty wooden door, splattered with an awful red substance, probably blood. Middie gasped breathlessly and seized my shoulder. She had gone a ghostly white and she was stone cold to the touch. 'I can't do this Link, really I can't. I feel faint and I think the content of my stomach is trying to make an exit.' And with that she burst into tears again. I put my arm around her and kissed the top of her flame orange hair, which now stood out vibrantly against her pale skin. It was then that I remembered she suffered from necrophobia, a fear of the undead and also atephobia, a fear of old buildings. I understood completely that she had every right to be frightened, but she really had to overcome her fear, for there was no turning back now.

I pushed the door open and it fell off its hinges. It was pitch black inside so I lit my lantern and head off inside, making sure that I had a very firm grip on Middie's arm. She was whimpering softly, her ruby eyes darting around like minnows. I did feel sorry for her. The floor creaked under our feet with every step we took and with every breath, an icy cloud formed from our mouths. We ventured deeper and deeper into the advancing darkness, fearing every nook and cranny we came across. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something move. I spun 'round on the spot to see what it was and what I saw was... nothing. We continued to walk on. Then I felt something brush against my arm, sending a chill up my spine. But like before, there was nothing. We carried on walking but suddenly Middie let go of me and crashed to the floor. Something was taking her away; she was being pulled into the depths of the castle. I tried to run after her but I was paralyzed. All I could do was watch her disappear screaming 'Link! Help me! Save me! Help meeeeeeee...' and then she was gone.

My heart had shattered, the love of my life, gone. I had to go after her, I just couldn't live alone. My paralyzed condition proved moving futile but hopefully it wouldn't last too long, because Middie could easily meet the same fate as the last people who entered. To me, losing her would be a fate worse than death. The feeling was starting to come back into my legs and after another five minutes my body was fully operational and I started to tear through the castle looking for Middie. The passageways were narrow and black. I could hear a faint moaning in the distance. For a second my heart started to quicken in its beating. Was it Middie? But as I went further in it started to sound more sinister, almost deadly. My legs turned to jelly and I walked forwards until I came to a door. The moaning was coming from behind the door. It seemed to be the only way to go, so I prayed that it wasn't locked and turned the doorknob.

The door wasn't locked and I stepped inside. The moaning seemed to be coming from a large cupboard in the very centre of the room. My curiosity won over my mind and I felt I had to fling the cupboard door open and see what was moaning. So I did fling the cupboard door open. And I met an unwanted surprise. In the cupboard was none other that a putrid, ugly Re-Dead. I was glad Middie wasn't there because if there was anything she was terrified of most, it was Re-Deads. I was a bit frightened of them myself, so I backed away slowly. The Re-Dead used it's most deadly attack and let out an ear-piercing scream, petrifying me for a brief period. Then it, well, got on my back and started doing something known as 'Re-Dead rape'... this weakened me and I collapsed. I wished that I'd brought my sword but all I had was my lantern. Then I noticed the bloodied rags that hung so limply off the skeletal figure of the dreaded beast. If I could set them alight with my lantern I might be able to kill it. So I seized one of the rags and held it inside my lantern until I was sure that it was on fire. The monster seemed oblivious to the fact that I was setting it on fire until the whole Re-Dead was ablaze. Soon the corpse turned to ashes and all that was left was the giant blade. I nodded, proud of myself for such smart thinking. But my pride was interrupted by a glowing light behind me.

It turned out that the glowing light was a portal. I was still very feeble from being attacked but my confidence grew again as I thought of Middie and how this portal could be the way to find her. So I picked up the dropped Re-Dead blade and stepped onto the glowing light. The portal teleported me to a dark room that was dripping wet. I re-lit my extinguished lantern and gasped at what I saw. The wet stuff was blood and I was standing in a pool of it. The blood seemed to be coming from a figure at the far corner of the room. The figure was a female with ghastly pale skin and flame orange hair. I felt everything inside me break as I realised who it was.

I ran over to the body and scooped her up in my arms. It was Middie, my dear sweet Middie. She was all limp and dripping in scarlet blood. My eyes welled up with the tears I had been holding back for so long. I was too late. She was gone. I was holding her in my arms for what seemed like hours. It was so tempting to kiss her but I didn't dare. But it seemed that her soft, purple lips were slightly open for a reason. So I kissed her and kept my lips firm on hers. It was no use, snogging a lifeless mouth, for she couldn't feel it. But then I felt a soft hand brush my face. My eyes snapped open and to my surprise Middie was smiling at me, her ruby eyes wide open and smiling too. She was alive, no doubt about that. And I felt all the broken parts of my body heal as I swelled up with emotion. Middie opened her mouth to speak but I pressed mine against her before the words could escape her lips.

The kiss lasted an age but it was worth it. Next thing I knew, I had pushed Middie right up against a wall and was running my hands through her lush hair. She had seized me around the waist and was pulling me into her, absorbing me until I felt like I was a part of her. But eventually the kiss came to and end and left us gazing into each others eyes. 'Link.' Middie whispered 'I... I love you.' And for once I was speechless. But I knew deep down in my heart what I wanted to say. But the words just wouldn't come out. I just kissed her lightly again but it couldn't develop into a proper snog because there was something lurking behind me.

I swung myself around on the spot to find myself face to face with the most abominable thing I had ever seen. It was a skeletal figure with loose skin hanging off in a revolting manner. It's milk white eyes were popping right out of its skull and it's teeth were bent and crooked. I shot back and shoved Middie out of the way before grabbing my blade and attempting to slaughter this foul beast. But the thing caught the edge of my sword and pulled it from my grasp before swinging it at my head. After that I remember nothing...

I woke up in a cosy little room, lying in a bed with a tray of food perched on my legs. I felt my head to find that it was heavily bandaged and it hurt like hell. I thought I was alone but then Middie came walking over to the bedside and placed a soft little kiss on my lips. She was just as pale and looked a bit distraught. She looked like she hadn't brushed her hair in days and there wasn't a trace of makeup on her face. Her eyes were all red and swollen as if she'd been crying. But a smile stretched across her face and this caused one to appear on mine too. Then she suddenly burst into tears

'Oh Link I thought you were a goner for sure. If Rusl hadn't come along...'

'Rusl? Middie what happened?' I asked, coaxing her to sit down so I could comfort her.

'Well. Your sword was taken away and the thing knocked you out with it and then it went for me and I screamed really loudly then suddenly Rusl came bursting in and he killed the thing and took us home.' She said between sobs. 'You've been unconscious for three days. I... I was so worried Link. Promise me you'll never ever do that again. Swear on it Link.'

'Princess Midna.' I told her, pulling her into a tight hug 'after that, after I almost lost you forever, do you honestly think I'm ever going to wonder around a haunted building with you? Next time I'll go with Ilia.' The last sentence was supposed to be a joke but the look on Middie's face was serious 'just kidding. I'm never going anywhere near that place again. It'd hurt me and it'd hurt you. Middie, you mean more to me than anything. To lose you would be like losing all means of living. Heck, it would be losing all means of living. Because Middie...' I quickly pulled her into a kiss so I could find the courage to say the words I had been wanting to tell her for months but never could 'because... I love you.' And we held each other for the rest of the night until the dawn broke the next morning. I wasn't going mad from being hit on the head by a sword. I was in love. And no haunted castle could ever change that.

THE END