The idea for this came to me a few months ago while I was replaying Twilight Princess. Midna is one of my favorite fictional characters of all time, and I identify a lot with her.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda series, Twilight Princess, or any recognizable characters.

Midna found that it was getting harder and harder to breathe with each passing moment. The darkness, darkness she loved so much, was clouding her vision. The end was near, so near, for her and yet she didn't mind. She had done all she could. The rest… well, it was all up to Link and Zelda. She felt guilty as she took another ragged breath and looked up at Link and Zelda from her position on the stone floor of the tallest tower in Hyrule Castle. Link and Zelda looked back at her. Link looked at her with the closest thing to concern that could be shown on the face of a wolf; Zelda looked morbid. Midna could tell she was contemplating something, but what that something was, Midna didn't know.

Although she would never admit it out loud, Midna had become quite fond of this strange light world and the people who inhabited it. She had become most fond of the hero she ordered around and the serene princess who watched over the land from her tower. Honestly, she only wanted what was right for them. The only thought on her mind was how to remove the curse on Link. Everything else was second. Sighing, she closed her eyes and accepted defeat. She could feel everything slipping away. The light was getting dimmer, the sounds becoming further away. Yes… it wouldn't be long. Soon, nothing would hurt anymore.

Before she went, though, she had to make sure Link knew where the Mirror of Twilight was. It was their last hope of saving both their worlds. She didn't know what Link and Zelda would do once they got there, but she knew they would figure it out; they were smart enough. Mustering the last of her strength, Midna asked Zelda to tell Link where to find it. The answer Midna received, however, was a gasp and a realization from the young princess of Hyrule.

Suddenly, she felt warm. Zelda had taken a hold of her hand and Midna felt power surging through her veins. It wasn't the dark power she was used to, however. It was a power made of pure light and love, a power that could only come from someone as pure as Zelda. Instead of hurting like most light did with her, it felt warm, wonderful. She knew exactly what was happening, and she knew there was no way to stop it. Midna called out to Link to at least try and stop Zelda from doing this, but it was all in vain. The transfer was complete. All the haze disappeared from Midna's vision as she floated to the ground. Zelda was gone.

Midna floated to the ground and stared silently at the spot where Zelda had been only seconds before. A nudge and a whine from the blue-eyed beast beside her reminded her that she still had things to do. Finding a cure for Link's condition came first. She jumped onto Link's back and the two exited the castle, Midna lost in thought all the way.

As Link ran down the stone steps of the tower and began making a series of complicated jumps across the castle rooftops, one question lingered in Midna's mind: why? Why had Zelda done this? Why had she given her life for someone who did nothing but insult and snark at her constantly? Why was she here and Zelda gone? Why her? She hadn't wanted Zelda's sacrifice. The young woman didn't deserve to give her life like that, so… abruptly. She had so much to live for… whereas Midna… Midna had nothing to lose. She had already hit rock bottom, had lost everything: her form, her title, her home… it was all usurped by Zant (how fitting then, that he was called the Usurper King). Surely she didn't deserve a place in life anymore.

But Zelda… Zelda deserved to live, deserved to thrive. She had done nothing wrong; she was merely a selfless young woman caught in the wrong kingdom at the wrong time, and she certainly didn't deserve to die just for an angry former princess seeking revenge. The fact that Zelda had done something so selfless for someone like Midna… it shook Midna to the core. She hadn't even wanted to live after seeing all of her hard work snatched back by Zant like that. It was simply a testament to how utterly powerless she was in this repulsive form.

But… if Zelda had sacrificed herself so selflessly, the last thing Midna wanted to was to make Zelda's sacrifice one in vain. She was going to bring down Zant and save not only her world, but Zelda's as well. Zelda deserved at least that much, if not more. Midna urged Link onward, to Faron Woods, the location of the one thing that would cure Link's curse. She looked up at the sky, noting that they were already outside, and that the sun was rising.

Midna winced as the sunlight hit her face. She had expected searing pain, but none came. Instead, she felt pleasantly warm. Perhaps Zelda's essence mixed with her own allowed her to survive in the light. The shadows she cast from the sunlight were fascinating to her. Never before had she been in light so bright and emerged unharmed.

The sunrise, in a way, saddened her. She knew that the only reason she was even sitting here on Link's back watching it was because Zelda was dead; dead, for her sake. Never before had someone shown her such kindness. These people… they accepted her without a single protest. Goddess knows how horrible she had been to Link, and yet he never objected. He took her sarcasm with great stride, and in fact, found her amusing. She was so used to fake people and plots against her; such was the life of a princess. You learned not to trust anyone but yourself when you lived a life like that, always looking over your shoulder. And yet, these two people completely shattered her perspective on life and people. They taught her that yes, selflessness did indeed exist.

A rumble shook Midna from her train of thought. She looked back to see Hyrule Castle encased in a barrier made of pure twilight energy. Seeing this sent a large dose of rage though her system, and she felt that this rage was not just her own. She was definitely mad about the whole situation, but Zelda, still alive somewhere within Midna's essence, was absolutely enraged at seeing her home encased like that.

Midna certainly was angry, to say the least; angry that she had let Zant win the upper hand, angry that one of the only two people in the world who cared for her was now dead, and angry that the peaceful twilight of her world was being used for evil.

As she pressed forward, clouds gathered and it began to rain once again. It was almost fitting in a sickening, grief-striking way, Midna realized. The kingdom was crying for the loss of its princess; a princess who, in Midna's opinion, deserved to live more than her. But Zelda was dead, and it was Zant that killed her by nearly killing Midna. The next time she saw Zant, Midna swore to herself, there was no holding back. She'd kill him with her bare hands if it came to that.

But somehow, she knew that senseless violence would get her nowhere. It was all for naught anyway.

No matter what Midna did, Zelda was never coming back. And it was all her fault.