Across the Universe

This Has Nothing To Do With The Movie

Prologue

The books that lined the library walls hushed the sharp noises from the outside world. Zelda looked around carefully, knowing it was best to look for speaking walls before entering a room. It appeared her only companions were the tiny stars outside her window. She smiled softly, and sat down at her desk, covered in old letters and the gentle glow from a single candle.

The past weeks had been hard on Zelda's aged body. After nearly fifty years on the throne, she decided it was time for her to step down as queen and let her eldest son and his wife rule. She was completely content with the decision. Life had treated her well, giving her a prosperous kingdom, a loving husband – Goddesses rest his soul, and two beautiful children and five grandchildren. But her story was coming to an end soon.

"Mother?"

Zelda looked up as her son poked his head into the room. She smiled and waved him in. "Link…" Her smile brightened as he sat in front of her. "Are you ready for your coronation tomorrow?" She knew that was a silly question, no one was every ready to take on the duties of a kingdom. But her son was strong, and she knew he would rule well.

"I hope so. Lanna's up-in-arms about it, but I suppose that's normal…" He paused as he looked at all the letters on the desk. They were all sealed with the same, green wax and crest. It wasn't the crest of his family, but the crest of the Chosen Hero. For years his mother had received these letters, and Link often wondered how his father felt about it.

"You can read them, if you want, Link." Zelda had stood up and was looking out the window at the stars. "I know they interest you." She turned back to him and smiled.

"Mother… did father know?" His face turned bright red, and the Queen laughed slightly. She pushed her son's dark brown hair out of his eyes and shook her head, still smiling.

"Do not worry. I loved your father very much, Link. But these letters are from my friend… In fact, he's the same Chosen Hero you were named after." She picked up a letter from the bottom of the stack; this one wasn't sealed with green, but a strange, black wax. The parchment it was written on even felt funny, as though it were made out of fine linen. She handed it to him. "Read it if you want to… this is the letter that started the rest of them."

Link opened the pages to the neat, beautiful calligraphy, and began to read.

Zelda –

I hope this letter gets to you. This world is strange and I'm worried things will not end well for me. No, I did not make it into Twilight. I do not know what happened, but the story that follows is the truth. You must believe me. Please… please… I need to find Link.



I love him and without him I'm not sure I will ever find my place in any world again.

Link looked up at his mother, a look of question in his eyes. Zelda smiled and took the letter back, deciding it was best he didn't read the rest of the very long letter. He needed to get sleep after all. The stacks of letters seemed endless, but nothing is infinite.

"I received my last letter a few days ago…" She wasn't quite sure why she was telling her son this. Perhaps she wanted him to hear the news and commiserate with her. "The woman who wrote this has died, and my friend, who sent me all these letters over the years, will soon follow her." She felt comfort in the sadness in her son's eyes. "Do not worry, Link. It will be peaceful. His body cannot live without the heart he left with her."

She picked up the newest letter, written in childish scrawl and stained with tears. Zelda felt her heart tense and rise into her throat. There were only a few lines.

I thought I should tell you soon. She left peacefully last night and her burial will be tomorrow. I know you cannot come, but I know you will be here in spirit. Thank you for all that you've done.

That was it. When Zelda read the news she nearly fell to the floor from weeping so hard. Life had to end sometime, but their love had been so powerful and strong, that age seemed to be nothing more than a fleeting thought. Midna's death had shook Zelda to the very center of her soul, and she knew that their amazing story had to be told to the world. Tonight, she resolved to put their words down, so all the world will know the strength and power of true love.

"I can help, mother…" Link said softly. "I know you must want to write it all down."

She smiled and patted his hand. "Thank you, Link. But this is something I need to do myself. I need to see every detail is left intact." Zelda looked at the moon again before looking her son in his eyes. "You go to bed, and I will see you in the morning."

He started for the door, but paused when he reached the light. "Let me know if you need me…" Link looked back at her, and she smiled softly.

"I will." The silence that followed seemed almost unbearable. Zelda had spent most of her life with people, and being alone still frightened her sometimes. But the solitude was what she needed to explain the fantastic story written in front of her. Zelda knew Link was nearing death as she sat at her desk, she knew his heart would be unable to find the strength to stay in the world without her by his side. It saddened her, but she knew that they would meet again.

… I know you're worried, but she will be strong. I'll find her. She'll find me.

Zelda took a deep breath as she stared at an older letter. It would be a task, but she promised herself and the legacy of Midna to bring them together. She picked up her quill and began to write:

All events in this account are true. Though fantastic, they speak the amazing words of love, determination, and faith. It all began the moment the fight between Ganondorf and The Chosen Hero, Sir Link ended…

"No!"

It was the first word Zelda had heard Link since she called him on this quest. She jumped and turned toward the husky sound. The sudden tension of loss spidered through the air and choked Zelda's heart. His hands reached out for the beautiful princess that slipped through the mirror, she glanced back at him as the mirror shattered with her in it.

"Midna!"

Zelda paused, her quill placed precariously above the parchment. That wasn't right. Link had very little to do with the wonders that followed the destruction of the mirror. Hylian Link simply fed his emotions, his desires, his dreams across the universe. Midna's story was the fantastic one. Zelda chewed on her lip for a moment before trying again.

The Mirror had shattered, that fact was certain. Midna had heard the tinkling of glass on a stone floor. She heard the painful, blunt sob from a heart she loved. It was the end of her relationship with him. She couldn't hold on to a love that didn't exist; couldn't exist. She knew that her heart would always lay with her people.

She took a deep breath and moved into the darkness in the space between Light and Twilight. It felt heavier now. As if it shifted and moved around her. Eddies of a strange wind swirled around her ankles; something was wrong. Something was horribly wrong…

"NANA!! Tetra won't give me my wooden sword!"

"He took my doll!"

Zelda sighed and looked at the parchment on the desk. Another day…

AN: This insane little piece of story was a dream I had. Although Zelda and Link and Midna weren't in it. But it was the best story I think I've ever heard? Watched? I don't know. Anyway, the next chapter will be better, I promise.

WOOHOO! 50 stories published and only half of them finished. There's something wrong with me.