Hi, guys! This weekend, I kinda added a little change of pace here and worked on this short story, Good Boy! It's not very long... or impressive. But, this story is a fanfiction for Link and Midna from The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess. This is one of my favorite videogames, and I've always thought that the friendship between Link and Midna was pretty cool.
Anyway, this is from Midna's perspective, taking place after the events of the Lakebed Temple and Midna's Desperate Hour, after Zelda sacrifices herself to save Midna. Basically, this is just my interpretation of what Midna may have gone through internally after all of this took place.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Zelda.
Good Boy
He was staring at me again.
Those eyes were black holes, pulling me in farther and farther the longer we sat across from one another on the moist, uneven ground. He was perceptive, especially in the form he currently took. He had the body and the senses of a beast. He knew that I was uncomfortable. And yet he continued to stare.
I wasn't sure how much longer I would be able to handle this.
"Are you gonna go to sleep or what?" I snapped. "We have a long day ahead of us."
Our destination was miles away, within the deepest part of Faron Woods. Not only would it take us an entire day to travel there from our current location, but once we made it that far, I hadn't the slightest idea where we were headed. Zelda hadn't given us any straightforward directions. Therefore, we couldn't afford any unnecessary detours or interruptions. There was far too much at stake. We had to return Link to his human form as quickly as possible, or else we would never be able to put an end to all this madness.
Already, someone has paid the ultimate sacrifice for my mistakes.
Link put his head down with a heavy sigh, and looked around for a moment, as if in an attempt to find something else upon which to rest his thoughtful gaze. But soon enough, his eyes wandered in my direction once again, and were met immediately with my glare.
"Go to sleep, you idiot!" I hissed at him. Stop. Just stop.
I knew that he wanted to say something. He was wishing that he was human again so that he could speak to me. This beastly form limited him greatly as far as what his vocal chords could accomplish. All he could do was growl and bark and make annoying whiny sounds.
I folded my arms across my chest. "I know what you're thinking," I said coldly. "But you're wrong. I never asked for this, okay? She was supposed to fix you. You'd be human again already if it were up to me. It's not my fault she decided to... to throw her life away like that..."
Link remained silent, (not that I expected a response to begin with) but very soon I started to wish that I had never said a word. Why did I allow him to force me into situations like this? I was the one in charge, here. I was not only the one who asked the questions, but I was the one who gave the orders. He was just supposed to be quiet and do as I told him.
But he never said anything, genius.
I cringed. No... he didn't have to say anything. Even after such a short time spent together, he already knew all my weaknesses.
Link made a soft whine and shook his head roughly. I wasn't inclined to imagine what he would say if he could speak. In truth, it was difficult to admit, even to myself, that I almost wished that he could speak, so that he could tell me everything I wanted to hear.
It's not your fault, Midna. You don't have to be upset. I'll do whatever it takes to defeat Zant and save your people.
Ridiculous. There was no way he was thinking that. Although, knowing him, he would be too kind and good-natured to say otherwise.
But when I looked into his eyes, I knew that I didn't deserve it. For the things I had done, I didn't deserve his kindness. And I most certainly hadn't deserved Zelda's sacrifice. I had manipulated and used Link for my advantage, and was still doing so now. And I had been cold and cruel to Zelda. I hadn't cared one bit about the realm of light. When I broke Link out of that prison cell, I had only thought of myself and my own realm. If this world had been destroyed, I wouldn't have cared, as long as I was able to defeat Zant and return to my normal self.
What sort of person did that make me?
Selfish.
Selfish, wicked, cruel.
It made me no different from my own enemy, the one I despised most. It was not the proper way to make a negotiation. It was not how a warrior made alliances. It was not how a princess ruled her people.
I gazed at my furry, noble companion. Oh, the things we take for granted. His kindness being one of them. I'd thought it foolish at first... but no... he was never really so foolish, after all. He'd always known he was a tool, from the very beginning. He had allowed himself to be, purposely, because he knew it was the only chance he had. But that was his one mistake. He didn't need me. Maybe at first, just to push him in the right direction. But if I had died last night on his back on the way to meet Zelda, he would have found his way just fine on his own. I wasn't Link's only chance. Link was my only chance.
Okay.
In that moment, I made my decision. From this point forward, there would be no more deceit, no more manipulation. This wasn't just about me. This wasn't just about Link. This was about the fate of the world... both of our worlds.
I made eye contact with him, so that he knew I met business. "I'm not going to apologize," I said absolutely. "What's done is done. Now that Zant has the last of the fused shadows, we have no choice but to find another way. We can't let Zelda's sacrifice be for nothing, got it? We're gonna need to stick together until all this is over. But just so you know, nothing's changed. I still call the shots."
In response, Link let out another exhausted sigh. But then, he shifted his position from where he was laying down and stood up on all fours. His paws were mostly silent on the soft grass aside from the gentle clanking of the broken chain on his front leg as he slowly walked over to where I sat. And instead of stopping beside me, he moved behind me and plopped down on the ground.
I half-turned and asked, "What are you doing?"
As he laid his head down in between his front paws, he just watched me expectantly.
It took a moment before I realized his intention. "Oh..." I murmured. "Yeah... I guess it's going to be chilly tonight..." And then I turned around and leaned back to rest the back of my head against his torso. I gazed up at the sky. It was that time again... twilight in this world. The light was fading quickly. And, soon, total darkness would cover all of Hyrule.
Until morning.
By the patterns of Link's breathing, I could tell that he had already fallen asleep. I gently rolled over onto my side and patted the top of his head. "Oh, Link," I whispered. "You are such a good boy. Maybe I'll just have to take care of you for a little while longer. Hehe..."
