Notes: Twilight Princess will forever be my favorite Zelda game; it's so beautiful in its own dark, ethereal way.
Savior
...
It was almost midnight when the door to her prison creaked open. For a minute the princess froze, wondering who it could possibly be. Except for the guards making their rounds, no one bothered to come up here except for Zant. She stood up warily from her seat at the window, fearing that he had come to mock her, as he liked to do from time to time.
But the figure that appeared cautiously in the doorway wasn't Zant. Shadows enveloped the room like a shroud and the only source of light was the dim golden glow of candles. Squinting into the darkness, the princess could make out the shape of a beastly wolf, with bowed head and matted fur. On his back was Midna, the mysterious imp she had met only a short while ago.
"Midna," she acknowledged with a nod, and turned her attention to the wolf.
He was restless and wary, keeping his distance from her with bared teeth. His eyes darted from side to side as if he expected something to suddenly come jumping out at him from the shadows. Without knowing why, Zelda felt a sudden wave of sorrow for him.
"Who's this?" she said at last.
Midna bowed mockingly. "Princess Zelda. I'm honored to be in your presence." Her lip curled in a wry smirk and Zelda tensed, not needing to be reminded of her own powerless position. In another world, she was the ruler of Hyrule, but here in the Twilight Realm, she held no authority at all, trapped as she was in Zant's prison.
"And as for this guy," the imp tugged at the wolf's ear, who snarled in response, "he's supposed to be the hero chosen by the goddesses."
At those words, Zelda drew in a sharp intake of breath.
If Midna's words were true, the shaggy-looking wolf in front of her was the chosen hero, fated to save Hyrule from the shadow invasion. But it sounded too good to be true, and the princess couldn't help but doubt. She had long since lost all reason to hope, her faith in a hero gone by then.
Drawing closer, she knelt down in front of the wolf and studied him carefully, ignoring his suspicious growls. Despite his unkempt appearance, he carried himself with a dignity she admired. And as he raised his great head to look at her, she noticed the gleam of courage and purpose in his ice blue eyes. The look of a hero, she thought to herself almost instantly.
The princess lifted her hand slowly, carefully, lest he think her an enemy. When she was satisfied he wouldn't attack, she began to stroke his regal mane gently. To her surprise, the wolf didn't growl or back away, only watched her silently.
"I guess he'll do," Midna said with a shrug. "There's no accounting for taste, though."
Zelda was too absorbed in her thoughts to reply, but suddenly she heard the distant sound of footsteps on the stairs. The wolf pricked his ears in alarm, and she jumped up hastily, dusting her skirts off.
"The guard is coming," she warned. "You'd best leave now."
Before the wolf slipped out through the doors, he looked back at her, though for only a second. Then he and Midna were gone, and the princess was alone once more.
Outside, the world lay covered in the ever-consuming twilight, and with each day Hyrule drew nearer to the end. But it was then that she first allowed herself to hope, like a trapped bird spreading its wings for the first time.
