The night Midna lost everything, an unnatural storm appeared right above the castle. Pale green lightning flashed and flickered in her window, keeping her from rest as thunder roared its reply. A bolt struck the side of the palace, causing the whole structure to shudder. The crown princess sat up and leapt out of bed, nightclothes flapping around her as she fought against the shaking tower the royal bedroom stood in.
"Guards!" she shouted as she rummaged through her closet, changing into more appropriate clothes, "Guards!". Her only reply was the unrelenting lash of rain against the stained glass windowpane overlooking what looked like a war scene.
Midna gasped as she saw dark shapes littering the pavilion outside the castle walls, lit by pale fires the lightning had caused, as well as the larger figures of the royal guards running along the walls to protect the castle. She sprinted out into the hallways quickly, thankful for her thin flats as she stepped on sharp-edged rubble outside her door. There was a yawning hole in the side of the castle wall, granting her a brief glimpse of an unidentifiable flying creature that blended into the dark night. It screeched hoarsely, circling the besieged castle.
"Princess Midna!" The princess straightened her back and adopted a cooler expression as a young private stumbled around a corner, coated in dust. His detailed helmet denoted him as a royal guard, and concealed his features entirely, with only carved eyes to show her where to look him in the eyes.
"Yes, Private?" she asked, already knowing what he would ask of her.
"Princess, you must evacuate! It is too dangerous to stay here any longer. My Princess, I was sent to escort you to the safe room. The rest of my squadron will meet us in the hall, but we must hurry!"
Midna raised an eyebrow. Safe room? The castle did not have a safe room. It was fortified heavily enough to act as its own safe room. Regardless, she never really paid much attention to the workings of the castle, and a hidden safe room was not out of the question.
"Good. I was wondering when you all would arrive. Lead on, Private," she replied calmly, despite another shudder going through the hall. He nodded once, and turned and began walking back the way he had come. The princess followed him past three turns, down a flight of stairs, and out of the tower. However, she still had doubts in her mind about his trustworthiness. A lone guard coming to protect the most important member of the nobility? While he had promised that the rest of his garrison was waiting for them, why send the obvious newbie to pick up precious cargo? And why not just all come?
The castle rumbled again, more strongly this time, and Midna paused. The Private noticed this, and stopped as well. He motioned for her to continue with him.
"We should keep-" Suddenly, the whole wall exploded inwards, obscuring everything from sight directly in front of her. Midna was thrown diagonally into the wall hard enough to knock the wind out of her lungs. She coughed and gasped through the clearing dust, struggling painfully to her feet. The flickering light of the ornate lighting lit up new pile of wall covered the ornate rug directly in front of her. She could see an arm sticking out of the rubble. A sick feeling wormed its way into her stomach. Midna knew he was dead. And if she hadn't stopped for the tremor, she would be dead as well.
Lightning flickered briefly through the hole in the wall, illuminating the room more brightly than the inscribed markings did, showing her the silhouette of her attacker. It was a massive dragon with dark armor obscuring its face and body as well as attaching to the end of its tail. Sharp blades stuck out from its wings, reflecting the lightning coldly. The piece on the end of its tail attached to what looked like a small wrecking ball, and the wild flailing of its tail made the tool dance in the air. It hovered directly in front of her, and screamed into her face. She barely saw the purple insides of its mouth before she took off running as fast as she could away from the hole in the wall and away from the private's corpse. She heard it scream behind her, and suddenly the shadows in front of her deepened as fire licked at Midna's heels.
The princess ran through the nearest door, slamming it behind her as red-hot flame flashed behind the door's safety. She was panting hard from her brief run, missing one shoe, and the hem of her robes were torn. For these reasons, she became acutely self-aware when she noticed that the room she had run into was not deserted.
Five terrified-looking maids and five palace guards looked back at her with a mixture of shock and fear. Three of the guards dropped into a hasty bow, each with an echoing "my princess" while four of the maids lowered her head in respect and said "my lady". The rest continued to stand in place in surprise, averting their gaze respectfully. She stood up straighter and prouder. So they still respected her.
"Guards, the palace is under attack by some sort of dragon. There are holes in the outer wall and there are confirmed fatalities. I request a small guard that I may escape," Midna said calmly, just like when she'd talked to the deceased private. The guards snapped into a salute, marching to the door, taking their position around the doorframe. The maids simply went into different corners of the room, demurely folding their hands in their laps, looking like statues. There was minimal lighting in the room, which turned out to be the main-floor library. It was a large room covered wall-to-wall with bookshelves and sporadically decorated with chairs and desks.
When Midna was younger, she had enjoyed to ask her father and mother about the secret passages throughout the castle, and she knew that there was a trapdoor underneath the carpeting that led to the main passages, which lead to safe houses miles away from the palace that was loaded with supplies to feed the nobility of the palace. Unfortunately, Midna had never actually found the trapdoor in this room, and didn't know where to cut the carpet. She instructed one of the maids to roam the shelves and try to find it, and she crossed over to the window.
There was a massive window on the other side of the room, though it was enchanted to look exactly like the stone wall outside. The concealing effect was ruined, however, by a balcony installed about a hundred years ago. She didn't dare open the window and walk out onto the balcony, but she pulled the heavy curtains aside slightly, trying to guess at what was happening outside. There was a sudden tremor again, and the dragon flashed passed the window, dust trailing from its tail. She opened the curtain further, straining to see it again. The guards and soldiers outside were firing at it, through the armor protecting it seemingly couldn't be pierced.
Suddenly, the dragon swooped at a nearby collection of guards, blasting them with fire. Midna averted her eyes hastily, tearing up slightly. More lives lost.
"My lady?" one of the maids asked. The Twilight Princess turned around lazily to look at her, "Are you alright?"
"Yes," she responded robotically, "I'm fine. The dragon…" Her throat burned suddenly, and she stopped herself before her voice could crack. The maid looked at her ruler sadly. She sighed quietly, turning back to the dragon's attack. The fires had been partially extinguished with magic, and a regrouping collection of soldiers hurled a volley of javelins at the dragon. As she'd expected, the javelins clattered off the thing's armor, but one of the soldiers pulled out his curved sword and swung at the dragon as it passed by, rather that dodging the wrecking ball on its tail. Midna almost laughed out loud from disbelief and shock as the sword became stuck in the chain, wrapping around the hilt and blade.
The soldier was lifted into the air, kicking and punching. The dragon screamed in outrage, whipping around in the air to rid itself of the soldier. The unfortunate Twilian wrapped his free hand around the chain to prevent his arm from being wrenched out of its socket.
"Oh my goddesses!" She jumped as one of the other maids appeared next to her, one hand flying to her mouth as Midna's own flew to her chest to calm her racing heart.
"Great Din, for the love of the golden ones, could you warn her next time you do that?" she hissed irritably. The maid had the sense to look apologetic.
"Ah! Dearest apologies, my Princess, I did not mean to startle you so! Forgive me" she said as she bowed low. Midna opened her mouth to say something in reply when she was cut off by the faint shriek of twisting metal. To the princess's absolute surprise, she found that the soldier that had been caught by the chain had been grabbed by his fellows, and were working together to tear the chain off of the dragon's tail. The dragon, too panicked to turn and blast the men with flame was beating its wings frantically to escape the men. The sound that had caught their attention was the wrenching noise that the topmost link of the silvery grey chain was emitting as it tore from its golden base. As some of the men worked to free their comrade, others beat at the dragon's back as it tried to escape. Finally, with a final squeal, the chain snapped free, and the wounded dragon shot back into the air with a final screech.
The men all shouted triumphantly as the dragon flew away, and the maid and a few of the guards joined them. While Midna did feel elated, she also couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
Midna learned to trust her instincts after that night.
Because when the dust settled and the last fire went out, he came. The princess remained in the library for another few hours reading a few of the books as the five soldiers talked with other soldiers that had come looking for them. The sick feeling of dispersing adrenaline lingered for a long time and the soldiers and maids constantly checked up on her. She let one of the maids fix up her hair, which had been flowing loosely from her head for the better part of the night, and they had brought the ruler a change of clothes. Midna was almost ready to turn in for the night when another tremor shook the castle. she looked up from her book, deeply perturbed from her earlier experience.
Three of the maids gasped, as did one of the soldiers. All of the Twilians in the room jumped to their feet and raced to the window. To Midna's horror, a horde of monsters descended through a massive hole in the castle wall. Their shrieks and howls echoed through the hallways, not at all dampened by the hanging tapestries around the castle. She heard guards cry out as well.
"Guards! Barricade the doors! Someone get the maids to safety! And for the love of our ancestors, do not panic," Midna shouted to the guards, ushering them to action. They scrambled to their positions as one of the guards ushered the five maids out the door to somewhere down the hall. She readied some of her magic as the shouts got closer to the door.
"Alright, everybody, I don't want to see any cowards. Its show time!" The princess murmured quietly. Suddenly, the noise in the hall went silent. Some of the guards relaxed in confusion, when she picked up heavy footsteps on the carpet. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. They settled directly in front of the doors, and Midna motioned for everyone to step to the side. In dramatic style, the heavy double doors leading to the library imploded inwards in a hail of shards and splinters that could have hurt anyone standing directly in front. The leading figure walked languidly into the room as monsters surged around him. Almost immediately, Midna's guards were overwhelmed and dragged off. She fired bursts of magic at the horde, killing a few in severely injuring most, but they kept coming. The figure cocked its head at her, which she barely noticed from the corner of her eye, and hissed a command in a language Midna didn't pretend to recognize. The monsters departed quickly from the room, taking the bodies of the hapless guards with them.
The helmet of the figure retracted.
"Oh my goddesses…" she whimpered under her breath. Zant. He grinned horribly wide, flicking out twin swords from his sleeves with contemptuous ease. His eyes remained locked on her face. Without speaking a word, he charged at her
The first blade sailed towards Midna's face, and she twisted to the right, letting the sword pass harmlessly past her head, though she felt the wind of its passage. Its brother flickered in for a lethal stab, and she dodged again, blasting bright beams of offensive magic at their owner. He vaulted over her head, running along the tops of the bookshelves. Midna blasted more magic missiles at his sneering, stupid face, missing him as he preformed incredible gymnastics moves with unnatural flexibility. She chased him through the rows of books, firing at him as he rag-dolled and flipped around Midna's attacks, occasionally deflecting magic back at her He never was the best at offensive magic.
Finally, he simply jumped down off of a bookshelf, letting it fall on her She attempted to dodge the shelf, but was stuck in the middle of it. It fell, pinning her to the floor around the princess's middle. The air left her lungs powerfully, and she gasped and writhed like a fish on a hook. As Midna struggled against the weight of the bookshelf, he lazily charged a golden sphere of magic in the palm of his left hand, letting it grow and illuminate the room. Midna redoubled her efforts at escape, and writhed almost completely out of the shelf when he sent the energy in her direction. She tried to dodge, but she was still held down by her right leg, which took the brunt of the energy. Tears watered in her eyes as she struggled to breathe through the pain. Midna's leg and abdomen burned like a thousand swords had been thrust through them, though the blast freed her from the bookshelf.
Midna shakily stood, regaining her balance, when another blast aimed for her face made her leap to the side again. The giant glass window of the library exploded outwards, letting rain and wind in. Unthinkingly, she ran through the window to the balcony beyond, trapping herself in her haste to escape. Another ball of golden energy sailed through the air, destroying the railing and half of the balcony just to her right.
Run, RUN, RUN! Her mind screamed at her. She couldn't. Midna was in a corner, but her every instinct screamed at her to escape from the monster of a Twili that a close server to the royal family had become. His pale yellow eyes gleamed in the semi-darkness of the Twilight realm.
"There is nowhere that you can run, Princess." his slick, half-insane voice spat out Midna's title like it was an insult that disgraced his mouth. He continued the sick rant.
"Here you are, backed into a corner like an animal seeking escape from pest control. A do-nothing, cowardly royal huddled on her balcony, hiding. You were never fit to rule." he snarled. She subconsciously tried her best to look dignified and calm before the onslaught of chaos and terror before her.
"You aren't the true ruler, Zant. As the true heir of the Twilight Realm and its people, I can easily overpower you, usurper. I have the entire army at my beck and call!" Midna screamed back at him, failing to hide the fear in her voice. He laughed and she stood ready to fight the ghastly impersonation of the man she once knew.
"Oh? Is that so? Then tell me, true ruler of the Twilight, WHY AM I STRONGER TO THE POINT OF YOU HIDING BEHIND YOUR PATHETIC ROYAL GUARD?!" he screamed at her. As she backed off, fear no longer hidden, he laughed. It was brief, but shrill and giggling. He had crossed the line into madness a long time ago. Midna was backing away, hands outstretched, hiding.
"You are nothing. You are nothing compared to my power. You never would be. You never were meant to rule. You are but a useless, self-appointed, BIG WIG-" he stopped mid-yell, eyes glowing with a horrible light. His voice became like oil, sticky and slow and dark.
"Yessss... A big-headed princess like you, is nothing but an imp, correct?" His mouth twisted into a horrible mockery of a smile.
"No... You wouldn't..." Midna said, her normally cocky and sure voice camp out as a trembling whisper. She backed away further.
"Yes, YES I WOULD, IMP!" Zant screamed as his right arm raised, as if casting a spell for a brief second.
"...no, NO!" She yelled, as if she could convince him otherwise.
His arm remained hovering for a second longer, before a twisted version of a traditional mask of the Twili came down in parts over his face, completely obscuring it. His arm finally waved through the air like he was batting away a persistent annoyance, and she fell with like he had really hit her. Midna fell through the air in pain, like she was being crushed, but before she could scream, the pain stopped.
Midna opened her eyes, her point of view from much lower down. Her arm ached badly from where she had fallen on it, and she clutched it with her other hand, groaning in pain.
Wait, was that her hand?
The markings that normally cover her body like veins now seemed much more concentrated on her arms, becoming less common around her torso. Oh goddesses, she was tiny. Midna's belly was now a grey-white, with black covering her arms and back. Her fiery orange hair was now in a ponytail behind her, like hair but...not. Midna stared up in horror at the face that did the magic that no one should ever do.
"HAHAHAHAHA!" his laugh held only cruelty and joy in her suffering, "Are you so surprised at your new form? I told you your fate, and yet you seem rather surprised. Why is that? Am I not true to my word? Oh, then you are so pathetic. Thinking I had idle threats, useless." When he finished, he laughed again, a sound so cold and cruel that she shuddered.
But fear was replaced by rage. Midna had to wipe the smirk off of his face. Summoning some magic, she willed herself to attack blindly. His laughter never abated as he threw her off the balcony. Falling, falling into the black depths, Midna was unconscious before she hit the ground. He then turned to the towns, addressing a crowd that had been witness to his first act of terror.
"A useless and wasted try by your fake ruler! And behold! The new reign of Zant, King of the Twili! May my reign never be broken! EVER!" he turned back to his throne room, not noticing a small group of normal citizens of the twilight whisk the wounded imp from the ground on which she'd landed.
On Zant's way to the throne, he had to pass through the hall of relics. He had destroyed most of them whilst fighting the guards, but one remained untouched.
The Fused Shadow Helm. And he couldn't use them.
With a snarl, he broke the Helm into four pieces, sending them around the different corners of the worlds. He snarled to himself,
"Nothing! Never! No one can halt my rule! Zant, son of the banished and disgraced, will rule. And nothing, never, and no one can stop the Era of Twilight."