Author's Note: This is a story inspired from my love for twilight princess and my desire to write a tale about what I think may have befallen Link after the fight is over in the years to come. I'm in college and the moment and don't know how frequently updates will be. But anyway, enough of my talking! On with the show! How you enjoy:)
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Love of the Daughter
Chapter 1
"Keep the reigns steady against your belly, otherwise she'll do what she wants, understand?"
Midna stared down at her father, his hands resting on his hips. His eyes were calm, and his face stoic, even bored. Midna found it annoying how he wasn't reacting as the mare clipped the ground, rearing back. Her hands shook, and as she yanked the reigns towards her. The horse's rearing ceased. Midna felt her heart pumping so fast that she had little time to steady herself. A bead of sweat was dripping uncomfortably down her arm. Epona flipped her tail and snorted, her ears flipping back to listen to Midna's fast breathing.
"Deep breaths, Midna."
Midna did as she was told. Her father gently took the reigns from her hand and pushed her slouching figure straight on the saddle, his hand on her belly. His comments continued.
"Don't slouch, it throws the horse's balance off."
"Yes, Papa."
"Good. Good girl, want to get down?"
"Yes."
Midna took a deep breath as her father grabbed her under her arms firmly and lifted her from the saddle.
"Don't slip!"
Midna grabbed the saddle horn as the old mare moved forward unexpectedly, and then she was on the ground and staring her father in the face. His skin shone a coppered sun color and his hair, once a brilliant shade of blond, was now moving into a blond gray. Link patted his daughter on the shoulder, the growing lines around his eyes creasing.
"You did very well today."
"I'm still scared of them."
Link smiled. "It's okay, you'll get used to it, all horses really want to do it have fun with you, can you keep that in mind?"
"Yes."
Link turned, picking up the bundle of wrapped clothes and swinging it over his shoulder. He walked over to Epona with a smooth grace that Midna envied. The mare's ears flitted to listen to him as he patted her neck and fixed the bundle to the back of the saddle. Midna watched him, her stomach hurting from hunger. A slow empty feeling was growing in a place she knew she should have felt nothing.
"Papa?"
Link turned towards her, his eyebrows raised.
"When are you going to be back home again?"
"Two days, Midna. Can you wait that long?"
"No."
Link smiled and turned back to the horse. "I'll be okay."
"Mom said you've got to stay home this week."
Link turned towards her again, sort of half frowned and then strung his left leg into the stirrup and swung over the horse, plopping into the saddle.
"I've talked with mom, it's okay. I'm late already, so I've gotta go."
Epona snorted and Midna glanced at the copse of trees next to the Ordon bridge. A cloud passed over the sun and the wind blew a pleasant, humid breeze through Midna's reddish blond hair. Midna felt the emptiness grow larger.
"Okay." She said, the meekness of her voice making her angry at herself. She wanted to shout for him to stay, but she just sat there, fidgeting and looking at the ground, and playing with the silver ring on her finger.
Her father looked on her briefly, his face portraying a cool curiosity. He pulled the black cloak on over his clothes and with a swift kick, Epona was cantering across the bridge towards the Faron Province and Link was out of sight. Midna watched as the graceful figure of him riding glided from view, his cape fluttering in the breeze.
Midna tried to ignore the uncomfortable anger, but it was too much watching him leave. She watched the fading sun beams play with the turning yellows and reds of the fall leaves. Midna closed her eyes and listened; the bullfrogs were beginning to croak at twilight at the Ordona spring, Midna decided that might be a good place to sit around before she was called back inside. Midna clenched her fists, and then grasped the nearest stone by her foot and hurtled it at the largest elm tree in the grove, it bounced off innocently into the dirt.
"Bastard!" Midna blurted out.
There was a ruckus of laughter from behind her. Midna turned to see her brother, small, skinny, his hair full of mud, pointing at her while bending over and laughing towards the ground.
"What are you laughing at?" Midna growled.
"You, you're such a gigantic dork, you can't even ride dad's horse, ha ha!"
Midna felt her face scrunch at this.
"How long were you watching you snot?!"
Rykan yanked the tip of his nose up with his index finger and began to make a vague honking, oinking sound. Midna ignored this feeble display and walked towards the spring, trying to control her steps, unclenching her hands and taking a deep breath.
"Midna! When's dad getting back?" Rykan asked as he ran after her.
"Two days he said."
"Better make that three, or four!" Rykan joked.
"Shut up."
Midna flipped off her sandals and stepped into the ankle deep water, lifting her pant legs so they wouldn't get wet. Rykan's footsteps behind her came as a warning, and soon there was a rooster tail of water splashing her in the face. Rykan lay on his back in the spring, his arms spread, and taking obvious, hostile delight in Midna's turn of mood.
Midna sat down in the sand and began to ring out her blouse, gathering her short, now wet hair into a ponytail and tying it with the leather band she had hidden away in her right back pocket. "Jerk." Midna sighed.
Rykan fluttered into the deeper part of the fountain, water trickling over the brimmed, moss covered stones. Midna rested her head on her folded arms and glared into the distance.
Rykan flipped over in the water, stripping off his shirt. "Mom said that dad is the new Trade Master! Cool huh?"
"Thrilling." Midna spat.
"She said that means I'll get to ride with him to the castle someday! Maybe we'll see Zelda!"
"Dad doesn't talk with her anymore, remember?"
Rykan appeared not to hear her, it made Midna want to throttle him. "Then we can trade meat and wool and milk and make money. But you know what I really want to be?"
Midna felt the answer coming from a mile away, her voice went flat. "No, what?"
"A knight! Like Dad!"
"Wow." Midna droned.
Rykan swam towards her. "But you can't become a knight, because you're a girl,ha ha ha!"
Midna grabbed his hair. "Shut up Rykan!"
Rykan whimpered, pawing at her arms. "Ow, stop it!"
There was a woman's voice calling in the distance, Midna dropped Rykan's face into the water to listen. Rykan pitifully spat water as he planted his hands in the sand to prop himself up.
"Don't DO that!" Rykan whined.
Midna put a gentle finger to her brothers lips, listening. The voice hollered again.
"Midna, Rykan, diner!"
Midna rose to her feet and sped off, grabbing her sandals into her hands as she did this, Rykan tripped as he plodded from the water, but he was swiftly on her heels.
"Hey, wait up!"
The sun was receding and Midna's vision was beginning to give as it became darker. She ran forward, leaping over the largest stone in the path and looked over her shoulder. Rykan struggled to keep pace with her.
"Midna, diner!" The woman's voice was more annoyed this time as she yelled.
Midna leapt over another rock, gracefully slipping through a spliced tree trunk and found herself in her mothers front yard. The old house receding into the back of the forest. Ivy covering the right side. Illia was staring at her suspiciously as she came to a halt in front of her.
"Wipe off your feet before you come in please, where's your brother?"
"Dead!" Midna grinned.
Illia pursed her lips unpleasantly. Midna heard Rykan's footfalls as he tripped through the same tree that she'd bounded over, and he came to a panting halt next to her.
"Next time, help your brother please, he's smaller then you."
"Yes ma'am."
Rykan kicked her ankle. "Hag."
Midna's flicked her brother in the arm and he squirmed and rubbed it. "Ow!"
Midna climbed the ladder up to the front door, Rykan climbing after her, both tentatively taking off their shoes as they entered and stacked them in the threshold. The house was filled with horse riding gear, maps, tools for farming, but despite the clutter, it was relatively clean, and right now, the distinct smell of meat stew had filled the cottage and it instantly helped Midna to relax.
Illia wiped her hands clean with a wet rag as she handed her children their bowls of soup and they sat down for diner. Midna found the soup's taste bland. She couldn't help watching her mother, because she had barely said anything to them all day. Yesterday had been different, she had been talkative and active all afternoon, and dad had taken her on a horse ride through the forest. Which Midna found unusual, he usually wasn't that affectionate.
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The days passed. Midna found herself standing by the Ordon bridge and in her boredom, picking apart the falling leaves from the elm trees. The gate flapped in the wind absently. Her mother had stayed quiet, only talking in small amounts at meal time to ask them how there day was or talk about how Rykan helped her bake. Rykan hadn't seem to notice her sadness too much in the last year, but Midna had seem it like a warning bell ringing madly for someone to pay attention.
It was the third morning and he wasn't back.
Midna got up and began to walk back to the house. She took a detour into the village instead as she walked. Colin was tending his fathers house and waved at her absently as she went by, then continued to hammer wooden nails into the roof. He had grown up, her dad mentioned, into a man he was proud to know, Midna often wondered what his definition of proud was. Midna found Colin's cheerful goodly guy attitude fun, but irritating at times.
"Hey Midna, hold on a second!" Midna turned around to see Colin hanging from the roof by his hands. his clumsy swinging legs ending with him half falling to the ground. He haplessly brushed himself off and jogged towards her, ruffling his dirty blond hair. "Is your dad back yet? We've got..."
"No." Midna interrupted.
"Oh." Colin looked cheerful. "How's your mom?"
Midna shrugged. Colin was looking at her strangely, he moved his head to the side and seemed to be pondering something. "Well, he should be back from the castle soon, sometimes those trading markets can keep you there a couple extra days."
Midna watched him as he scratched the back of his neck.
"Have you ever been to the castle Colin?"
"Yeah, once, when your dad got knighted, that was cool."
"Oh, neat." Midna nodded.
Colin laughed, his thickness seeming to be a shield for her passive sarcasm.
"Hey listen, your dad told me that when he gets back I was supposed to give this to you, but I thought it wouldn't be a big deal, since he's late, giving it to you now."
Midna felt her heart tense, she wasn't sure what to say. "Oh." Midna mumbled.
"He said it was important, I dunno what he meant though."
Colin reached his hand into the pouch attached to his belt and brought out a carved wooden horse, painted red and white. It looked like a stylized, miniature Epona. Midna cupped the small wooden toy in her hand, frowning.
"Thank you Colin."
Colin waved at her absently. "Aww, it's not big deal. What does it mean, anyway?"
Midna shrugged. "I'm not sure, I'm afraid of horses... maybe he thought this would help or something."
"Oh." Colin said, staring at her, he seemed confused.
Midna smiled at him to break the somewhat awkward silence that had arisen and to hide the fact that her hands were shaking just a little. "Um, I'm going to head back home, okay?"
"Okay, I'll see you later!" Colin mused, waving at her as she walked off.
"Yup." Midna said, trying to keep her steps in line. She pocketed the horse.
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Her mom was sitting in the corner with a few of the other women of the village playing cards, her face brightening and laughing as someone cracked a joke Midna didn't understand. There was a warm fire in the living room and the house was a mess. Midna thought about a fleeting memory of hearing Illia cry herself to sleep at night. Rykan hadn't known what to do, and started crying as well, so both of them had clung to each other that night, too scared to do anything for her. Midna had told him one of the ancient legends of 'Azu I the Great King of Hyrule', and his tears had stopped. It was a story that Illia would tell both of them every couple of weeks to calm there nerves and it always made her feel better.
As Midna felt that empty place hurt again, her eyes glazed a little, she wasn't sure how late it was. Midna sat down at the dining room table and watched her mother gossip and play cards. She watched the fire and stared at Rykan playing a game of catch, then hide and seek outside with some of the other kids though the small front window. Time passed and died into the twilight as it turned dark, it was boring.
Midna rested her head on the window sill, her mother and her had a brief exchange of words before Illia and Rykan went to bed. It was dark out, Midna poked the dying fire with the metal branding tools that were normally mounted on the walls, hoping maybe one of them would melt in an interesting way if she held them under the flames or coals long enough. The coals pulsed soft colors of orange and red as they died, and Midna felt it was time for her to retire as well. The oil lantern by the back door lit as she exited with a bucket to get some water from the well for putting out the fire.
Crickets cooed softly and the stars could be clearly seen through the thick nets of tree limbs. There were the few fireflies that flittered about, there luminance caught Midna off guard a few times as they turned on and off. Midna attached the bucket to the rope line over the well and swiftly began to lower it. It creaked curtly as it was lowered, the old metal joints of the pulley complaining, rusted dust floating off of them into the cool night air. Midna thought she might oil the joints tomorrow morning. She set the Lantern down beside the well and kept lowering it, curious how far down their well was, since she had never bothered to ask either of her parents.
She heard a soft splash as the bucket filled with water at the bottom. Midna held up the lantern, leaning over the well to stare down into it. She gauged that it was probably about forty feet deep, and she had to urge to go and borrow her fathers measuring tools from his study just to make sure, but the thought passed.
Midna sighed, leaning over the railing of the well and staring down into the reflecting pool, the glow of her lantern reflecting sleekly back at her from the rippling water. She wiggled the lantern around to play with the light. Midna stopped. There was a vague, weird shadow about ten feet down that she hadn't noticed before. Midna wiggled the lantern again and a shining flicker that she thought had been a trick of light reappeared for a second. Midna squinted her eyes and flickered the lantern around again. The brief flicker returned sporadically.
Midna's mind raced as she pondered about what it might be, even if it was something that Rykan had accidentally dumped down there, like one of their pieces of silverware, or an old twisted iron bar, she wanted to see what this mystery was. Midna grabbed her lantern to walk back into the house, leaving the hauled bucket of water halfway pulled up the line.
Her mind whirled, she remembered an old keepsake that her father still had that he had only showed her once, an ancient thing that she now really wanted to find, she just couldn't remember what you called it.
Midna feverishly ran to the door of her father's study, pulling the doors wide open to reveal the enthralled, but cramped room. Rows of dusty books and shelves with carpenter and riding tools lined the room walls, maps of Hyrule and the neighboring kingdoms cluttered the desks, and in the eastern corner, a huge, cast iron locked chest was propped awkwardly against the wall. He kept a spare key in the room at all times. Midna remembered him mentioning that once as well. Midna raced to the main desks by the window, parting the clutter of quills, bottled inks and books of sketches and folded, aging paper, looking for it. She ripped the drawers from the chests to either sides of the desk, finding jewelry, trinkets, measuring tools, squares, plumb bobs and old horse cropping equipment.
A false bottom, it had to be somewhere. Midna tapped the bottom of each drawer as she examined there contents, listening intently for the hollowed sound. She emptied and repacked each one with the proper materials, and then she found it, hidden away in one of the lower drawers, its off colored wood and cherry smell was pleasant and soothing. The wood clunked as she hit it, a tinging sound and thumping of something behind it made her jump. Midna dug her fingernails underneath the lid of the drawer, prying up the bottom. There was the rusted iron key sitting in a small square cubby in the wood. An ornate decorative design embroidered across the keys surface.
"Gotcha." Midna smiled.
As she struggled with the rusted key, the padlock to the cast iron chest fell away and Midna carefully, soundlessly, lifted the heavy top and set it against the wall. A stagnant smell creeped out of the chest, along with an initial fury of unpleasant, old dust. There was a thick burlap blanket covering up whatever was underneath it. Midna pulled it aside and stared, dumbfounded, at the tools and tricks that lay in perfectly wrapped and labeled sacks of burlap and linen. One read "Gale Boomerang", another, "Hero's Bow", there were a few huge things at the bottom that Midna cleared away to examine. One was a very strangely built machine that resembled the wooden tops that her dad had once carved for her and her brother out of oak scrap from when they extended the house. Another a huge weapon, a ball and chain.
"Weird." Midna heard herself say.
She cleared the smaller ones away as she looked, gently peeling back the cloth to get a glimpse of there shining, intact wonder. Then she found it... or rather, two of them, something her father had neglected to mentioned; the "Clawshots".
Midna picked one of them up carefully from it's resting place and peeled back the cloth to gaze at the clamped metal fingers on the far side. She set the unwrapped cloth back in the padlocked chest, and quickly closed and secured it.
There was a painful wonder that engulfed her as she looked around to imagine how many other secrets he'd hidden in this room. Midna took in a deep breath, tracing her fingers along the cool, smooth metal of the machine and slipped the gloved thing on over her hand.
Midna rose and grabbed her lantern, padlocking the chest and staring down at her prize. Midna closed the doors, heading back towards the well, her mind working overtime. She realized she had no idea how her father had made this thing work properly.
Midna stood outside, glaring over the side of the well, her hand in the gloved compartment of the claw shot sweating as she stared around the opening of the well to a place across from the shadowed nook in the well. Midna pointed the Clawshot upwards first, her hand gripping the inside, she pulled her fingers tightly around the smooth grip, there was a loud click and the claws spread open. Midna jumped, her whole arm shaking, she pulled down tighter on the grip, aiming the weapon at a nearby stone and pulled. There was a loud noise and the weapon shot like a bullet towards the rock, and smashed it into several large fragments, and then reeled back into it's case, the grip switch inside hurting her fingers as it clicked back into place.
"Wow... cool." Midna whispered. She waited, hoping that her mother hadn't heard the noise, or Rykan. When no noise came and no windows upstairs lit up, Midna got on her knees and leaned over the brim of the well, aiming the weapon at the shadowed nook.
With a blast of energy, the claws pounced around something and reeled back it. The tool, or whatever it was tied up in there grasp. Midna peeled back one of the claws to get a look at the small mystery. It glittered in the light as she turned it. Realizing that it was some kind of small, metal cased journal. The pages worn and ragged from use. On the front of the metal was engraved the symbol of the royal family.
Midna set her Clawshot down on the ground and grabbed for her lantern. She fingered the book nervously, and opened the cover. On the inside was her father's name written in black, weathered ink in the top left corner. Midna glanced at the first page, the first paragraph read in scribbled handwriting:
To find my serenity, I must first find the tools to let go of the past, and live in the present in a consistent and freeing way. These last few years have been the hardest of my life, I feel empty. Like a cast aside piece of trash for public amusement. Who the fuck cares about a useless knight, when I did such great things in days past?
Midna could feel her eyes widening, and she closed the book and stared at it. Her heart was beating, and reality seemed to swoon and dance before her. What is this? Midna thought meekly. She reopened the book and kept reading:
No one knows the half of me that still lives in that place of Twilight when she left this world, and it pains me as I grow. There's nothing I can do about Midna now, nothing. My beast self a memory, and Midna a growing blur as I age. Why is it so hard to live like this? Illia, a woman I respect, yet, I don't know if this is the answer. We're due to be married in a month, and my feet are getting cold, my head is in the wrong places.
Below the words trailed off into more scribbles and Midna couldn't make them out. On the bottom of the first page was a small ink drawing of a round disc with etchings on it, underneath it read: The Mirror of Twilight. Midna flipped the page, and yet more drawing, and another paragraph of calligraphic scribbles:
Twilight Princess, how I miss our friendship... Midna, when the time between day and night falls, I find myself roaming the hills near the Eldin bridge in my mind, the place of my greatest battle, our greatest moment. I hope your world is well. It's so hard, it feels wrong that I should be alive.
Midna frowned. "Wrong that you should be alive?"
The drawings were all of things that made Midna's stomach lurch. Great swatches of ink resembling beastly faces, wolves that distorted and moved and bent with the page. Midna closed the journal and found herself staring out into the darkness, crushed, confused and not sure if she could get up.
"Who's the Twilight Princess?" Midna whispered.
"Midna?" It was her mothers voice. Midna stood up, fumbling to slip the book inside of the pouch strapped to her hip. Behind her, Midna made out the silhouette of Rykan. "Dear, what are you doing out here?"
"Nothing. I got distracted by the night sounds." Midna smiled. She grabbed her lantern and the bucket full of water and quietly walked back to the house. Her mother hugged her, smiling, and went back into her room, closing the door quietly. Rykan was still standing by the door, looking at her in a calculating manner.
Midna stared back at him. He punched her in the elbow. "Liar."
Midna ignored this gesture and stalked towards the fire, measuring her steps as to not give away that her arms and fingers were trembling. Rykan followed her closely, his look was more intense. Midna put out the fire and turned towards her brother.
"Hey Rykan?"
"What?" Rykan grumbled.
"I think there's a lot we don't know about dad." Midna whispered.
Rykan pushed her shoulder. "Liar!"
"It's time to got to bed..."
"Dad's coming home tomorrow!" Rykan's voice cracked, and Midna reached out to grasp her brothers arm.
"Rykan... I want to see dad too."
There was a silence, Midna could hear him sniffle once, not seeing his face, then he briefly grasped her hand. "Jerk." He croaked.
"... I'll show you tomorrow. A secret I think dad wanted us to know."
"What secret?"
Midna paused to think. "I'm not sure what it is now, but I'll let you know when I know, okay?"
Rykan squeezed her arm again. "That's not fair, I'm allowed to know just as much as..."
Midna leaned down and hugged him. "Please just trust me right now."
Rykan seemed startled by the gesture, sighed and then wiggled from her grip, looking pissed.
"Fine... I won't let you forget it." Rykan said softly, but with an edge of annoyance.
His footsteps padded off towards his room. Midna heard the door close softly, and she leaned back to hit the back of her head against the wall, frustrated, confused and exhausted.