A/N: This is Light Connection: Reconstructed.
If you haven't read before, I have a note in the original story about what is going on with this. Long story short, I'm revamping the original Light Connection story, and this story is the result.
Read and review please! :)
Hope you like it.
-Bri24
"Am I so beautiful that you've no words left?" The words sounded distorted as if being heard while underwater. Link could see Midna's face to his left, but also to his right. Her imp form filled his vision first, taking in the bulky helmet, prominent eyes, and devious smile. Link looked to his right and was once again astonished at the beauty of Midna's true form. Brilliant orange hair, smooth skin with a tinge of blue that he was dying to touch, and eyes, astonishing red eyes that held a look of sadness. Eyes that were now filling with tears. Midna caught one of them and flicked it towards where he was standing, and with that, he was falling backwards, Midna's face cracking just like the Mirror of Twilight.
Link woke with a start, clammy from the cold sweat that broke out on his skin. He glanced out the window, only seeing a dark veil of violet sky that was filled with bright stars. After Midna left, a deep hole wedged its way into Link's chest, ripping and tearing with every breath he took. He had never believed in loving someone until he fell for her. Running through the memories everyday was enough to condemn him to a life of misery.
Nightmares kept Link awake at night, and floating thoughts made his head ache during the day. Hallucinations struck him once in a while, catching him off guard and tearing the hole through his chest even wider.
The memories came like clockwork. When he first woke up at seven in the morning, the mirror shattering was all that filled Link's vision. At ten in the morning, Link re-lived Midna helpless and dying on his back as he rushed through the castle's sewers. At noon, he met Midna for the first time again, remembering the wicked look in her eyes. At five, he remembered learning that Midna was the Twilight Princess and not just a woman starving for power. When the sun would start to set at seven, he saw Midna's true form, the late afternoon sun causing her blood red eyes to glow magically, and her skin to glimmer softly. When night fell, and Link was tucked away in bed, Midna's last words still rung in his head as if spoken yesterday. "Link, I..." She had started, before falling silent for a moment. "See you later..."
Today was the three month anniversary of the Mirror of Twilight breaking, and stealing Midna away from Link forever. Link drifted out of his bed like a ghost, slipping on a cream coloured tunic before heading out the door. The sky was still pitch black as he fumbled his way down the ladder. Link hadn't noticed it was raining until his foot caught on a wet patch of grass and he slipped falling face first into the soggy earth. Link sighed, feeling sorry for himself, and rolled onto his back, gazing once again at the starry sky. A burst of light sailing across the sky caught his attention. A shooting star.
"I wish that Midna was here with me right now," he whispered, "The real Midna."
Link waited a few moments, silently praying at the sky. When his wishes were ignored, Link sighed once more, leaning his soaking body to the left, and quickly jumped to his feet when he saw there was a pair of ruby eyes laying next to him.
"What do you want with me?" Link snapped.
"You said that you wanted me here," Midna giggled, amused.
"I said I wanted the real Midna," he responded, "Not you again."
The hallucination of Midna danced around Link in a circle. "Eee hee! Is there any difference now, Link?"
"You're not her, and you never will be," Link growled.
"Oh but I am. I'm the exact same thing." The imposter leaned closer to Link's angry frame, "Don't I smell exactly the same?"
Midna had a number of different scents, all forming a system of absolute sweetness. His hallucination did too.
"And you can't tell me that our bodies are different either," Midna's phantom purred, twirling her lithe arms, and swinging her slim hips. Midna's true form wasn't what Link was used to seeing, but the hallucination always played to his hormonal instincts.
"Our voices are a perfect match, too." Midna hummed in his ear, tauntingly. She floated up the ladder and perched her slim frame on the edge.
"Don't you want me, Link?" She pouted, swinging her long legs back and forth like a metronome.
"You're not her, leave me alone!" Link yelled, picking up a rock and throwing it.
It went straight through her, and the phantom disappeared into thin air. Link quickly mounted Epona and set off to town, not bothering to change out of his still damp clothes. That wasn't the first time he had encountered a surprise like that. The hallucinations did come every few weeks, but today, she was more confident and upfront than ever before, and it scared Link.
He wanted to be done with all the ghosts and sadness and memories. He wanted his old life back. Not the one where he herded goats in a small, safe town. Link wanted the life where he was out facing a new adventure everyday, saving the world with Midna. He wanted the excitment and thrill back. Now life was boring, and there was nothing left to look forward to.
Link arrived at the ranch right when the sun peeked out of the horizon.
"Hey, Link, you're up here mighty early!" Fado exclaimed when Link halted to a stop beside him.
"Yeah, thought I'd get ahead on the days work," Link smiled half-heartedly.
"Well let's get on 'er then so you can get out of here quickly." Fado waved, beckoning Link to begin.
The goats were easy to tame today, all of them obedient and calm. Link was in and out within twenty minutes.
"Thanks for the help, Link!" Fado smiled, too cheery for Link's permanently rainy mood.
Link led Epona back into Ordon, hoping to get through without having to converse with anyone in town. Unfortunately, Rusl caught his eye and waved him over to where he was sharpening swords in front of his house with Colin.
"Good morning, Link. Awake early, I see!" Rusl noted.
"Getting ahead on the days work," he said, telling Rusl the same story as Fado. "Why aren't you guys doing this in the house?"
"Uli's got a bad flu, and her fever is heating up like a fire." Rusl explained, "Colin, why don't you see if your mother needs anything?" Colin nodded, and headed into the small house.
Rusl focused on Link, eyeing him warily. "I've been meaning to talk to you for some time now. You're different, Link, what happened to you?"
Link winced at his choice of wording. What happened? Midna is what happened. The Mirror of Twilight is what happened. Love is what happened.
"Nothing, Rusl, I swear I'm fine." Link answered, aware of the harshness in his tone.
Rusl frowned, but nodded. "If you ever need anything or anyone, you know I'm here, right?"
"I know," Link tried out a genuine smile.
"Have you talked to Princess Zelda since you've been back?" Rusl asked.
"No. I haven't seen her in three months," Link answered truthfully.
Link was aware of Zelda's presence, looming over him carefully, cautiously.
"Link..." she started, but fell silent quickly.
He picked up a shard of the mirror, holding it up and watching the light bounce off.
"If light and shadow can't mix, why is it doing it right now?" Link asked.
"You know that it's not the same thing," she replied, her tone soft.
"But it is," Link threw the piece at the ground, watching it shatter into a million more pieces. "And she threw it all away... But for what?"
"I don't know, Link, I'm sure she had a reason for her actions," Zelda said.
"It's not fair," he answered, aware that he sounded like a five year old boy.
"You saved the world, Link, light and twilight, be happy. Be proud of yourself," she urged.
"How can I be happy when I have no reason to be anymore? She's gone, Zelda. And she's not coming back." Link rubbed his eyes, his hand coming away wet.
"You love her." Zelda said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement.
Any other day, Link would have denied it, but his emotions were flowing in the heat of the moment.
"So you just realized it now? Of course I love her, why else would I have helped her save the Twilight Realm too?" Link exclaimed.
"I don't need this," he continued, "If she's not coming back, neither am I."
Link took off, ignoring Zelda's protests behind him.
He let the tears pour freely now, not caring that it was degrading his manliness. The sadness and regret came full force, overflowing and drowning him. As his anger faded, he instantly felt terrible about his harshness with Zelda, yet couldn't make himself return and apologize.
It took Link one day to return back to Ordon, and another thirteen to leave his house. There was a black wall that surrounded him that made doing anything impossible. He couldn't leave his bed or eat, let alone tell anybody that he was home. His silence was not ignored though. Someone knew that Link had made it back to Ordon, because on the fourteenth day, there was a loud pounding knock on his small wooden door. When he neglected to open it, he heard Bo's booming voice from outside.
"Link, I know you're in there, open this door right now!"
He knew better than to disobey Bo, who was a father figure to him. Link trudged to the door, squinting at the harsh sunlight.
"You look like hell, boy," Bo noted, squeezing through the small opening. "What's going on, why didn't you tell anyone you were back?"
"I don't know," he muttered.
"Here I am thinking 'Gee, I sure hope Link's doing well out on his quest' when I get a concerned letter from the princess herself, asking about your well-being since you've been back in Ordon. Do you want to tell me why that is?" Bo frowned, his tone disapproving.
"I'm fine, Bo, I just got back," Link matched his tone.
"Don't you even think about lying to me, boy, I know you've been in here for two weeks now. Princess Zelda mentioned it in the letter." Bo noted.
Link sighed, "I don't know what to tell you. I'll get back to my old life if that's what you want."
"No, you're coming to stay with me for a while," he ordered, "We need to get some food and sleep into you."
After many objections from Link and threats from Bo, he finally agreed to stay with him for a while. Bo wasn't the nosy type, so when Link said he didn't want to talk about what was wrong, Bo respected it. As Link reintegrated himself into his old life, things started to return to normal, on the outside at least. Link's insides were tortured, but he appeared fine physically, and wanted to keep it that way.
"Well, you maybe you can talk things through with her, get whatever it is off your chest." Rusl said, still concerned.
Colin came bounding out of the house, another person with too much energy for Link. "She said she just wants to sleep," Colin said. "Hey, Link, are you gonna stay here and help?"
"I would love to, Colin, but I have some cleaning up to do myself," Link lied.
"Oh," his face fell, "Well come back soon, okay?"
"Okay," Link nodded, turning Epona around and trotting back to his small treetop house, returning to one more day of emptiness.
Midna sat in bed, although it must have been close to noon. She refused to leave her room today, just like a stubborn teenage girl. She was still getting used to her old body, even though it had been three months. Midna examined her skinny arms and long fingers, flexing them to test their workability. She had missed the feeling of long hair on her back and her tall, lean body, but still would given it all up to be back in the light world again, even if meant returning to her imp form.
"God, Midna, you're so stupid," she smacked her forehead.
Everyday she was filled with regret, and shame for what she did to the mirror. It was the most selfish thing Midna could have done, contradicting the goddesses wishes. Surely, there was a spot reserved in hell for her now.
There was no one in the Twilight Realm for her anymore. Her parents were dead, half of the Twili had been murdered by Zant, and the community was being reconstructed by a bunch of brainless council members who needed Midna's opinion on every last decision. What was she thinking, breaking the mirror? Link was the only good thing in her life. She loved him like a brother, a best friend and a partner all at once. And she just threw it away carelessly. Even if she was able to return to Hyrule, there was no way Link would ever forgive her, or speak to her again.
Midna knew depression well. It was something that ruled her after both her parents passed. The black hole of sadness was a forcefield that wouldn't release her. Yet, when the depression hit her this time, it was nothing compared to before.
This time, it was a wave that overcame her every morning. This time, it wasn't sadness that hit. This time, it was the pain of losing Link, someone that she loved so dearly, so passionately. This time, it was regret.
Everyday she returned to the same memory, sitting on her mother's bed as a young girl only twelve years old, as she told her story upon story, and answered all of Midna's childish questions.
"Mom, do I have to be the queen when I grow up?" Midna whined,
"Yes, honey, you're next in line, and you will be the best ruler that the Twilight Realm has ever seen," her mother smiled, patting Midna's orange locks.
"But I don't wanna be. That means that I have to marry a boy, and boys are all stupid." Midna frowned.
"I thought the same thing before I grew up, Midna, and then I met your father," Midna's mother explained, "He made me forget everything I had thought before, and convinced me as well as all of the Twilight Realm, that he would be the best husband for me."
"Do you love him?" she asked.
Her mother laughed, "Of course I love him! I love him just as much as I love you. We're a family, Midna, and we always will be no matter what happens."
She started to braid Midna's long hair, "One day when you turn into the beautiful young woman that I know you will be, there will be someone who will capture your heart as well. When that day comes, you'll know just what it feels like to love with your entire being. And he will love you, cherish you and fight for you, until the day that you die. You'll be the most beautiful woman in the world to him, and he will never look at another girl the same way after he meets you, Midna."
Midna grinned, "Maybe being a queen won't be that bad."
Midna's mother returned the smile, "I promise that you'll love it. It's getting late sweetheart, we should get to sleep."
It was only two months later, that Midna's mother and father died together in combat when a riot broke out in the Twilight Realm. Midna was still too young to be given the crown for another four years. For those four years, the Twilight Realm was without a true leader, ruled by the council until Midna was of age.
The day she turned sixteen, Midna's birthday present was a crown to call her own and instruction to find a king that was suitable to the council's wishes. When Zant offered to fill the position, Midna, as well as the council flat out rejected, Zant went on a rampage that led to Midna ending up as an imp in the light world with Link. That was the day their journey to save the world began.
Midna had only half-heartedly believed her mother's words until she met Link. After realizing Link was the one she was in love with, her mother's words rung loud and clear, as if spoken yesterday.
"One day when you turn into the beautiful young woman that I know you will be, there will be someone who will capture your heart as well. When that day comes, you'll know just what it feels like to love with your entire being."
Midna had never pinpointed an exact moment when it happened, but there was that one special day when she woke up, and it hit her.
"Stupid, stupid, absolutely stupid," Midna smacked her forehead once more, another wave of regret tumbling over her.
Something Zant had spat at her rose in her mind. "No matter how much you may desire otherwise, you will never be more than a shadow in their world. You cannot consort with their kind!"
The memory caused Midna's eyes to water now. He was right. There was no way she would ever fit in Link's world. He deserved someone who could love him without any restraint, a normal girl with white skin and pointed ears. A Hylian. Not some freak from the dark side of the world. She must be kidding herself, thinking that Link would ever want to be with someone like her.
There was a shy knock on the door, and she heard a timid voice call out, "Princess Midna? Your presence is requested."
Midna rolled her eyes, wiping the tears off her cheeks before she whipped the door open. "Why, what do they need?"
The small Twili girl cowered under Midna's tall frame. She backed off a bit, feeling guilty about her rainy mood.
"They want your opinion on decorations for your engagement ball," the girl stated.
"They're not seriously still doing that, are they?" Midna screeched.
"Um...Yes...Well...That's what they said..." the girl stammered.
After her return, the council had requested Midna find a husband, and soon. After she dodged the request for a month, the Head of Council, Baldric, slammed his fist down and said if Midna didn't do something about the situation, he would.
"What's your name?" she returned her attention to the girl.
"Alice," she squeaked.
Her words made Midna freeze. "Alice was my mother's name."
Alice blushed. "I know. I was named after her. My mother said had the biggest heart in the whole Twilight Realm, and was the most generous and kind ruler of her time."
"It's a beautiful name," Midna smiled. "Let's go see what the council wants to force me into now."