Tears of Twilight, Chapter One: The Legend Begins.
Summary: After destroying the Mirror of Twilight and heading back to her realm, Midna has to recover from both sickness and a broken heart. But when a simple speech to her people goes to something completely new, Midna finds herself wishing that she just hadn't said anything about the world of Light at all...
A/N: Okay, so here's the second chapter but the first one, if you get what I mean. Heh. Sorry for the long delay; I didn't have a stable Internet connection. Anyway, go read on...um...don't mind me...I'll just sit here and watch you. O-O (HARRY POTTER!) O-O O-O O-O O-O
~Link's POV~
When I hear yelling down in my basement, I'm extremely surprised. I didn't open the door to anyone, and I'm sure I exterminated all the pests down there...
I jog over to the ladder and drop down. What I see surprises me.
"Midna? Is that really you?" I whisper. I watch as the mirror in her grasp, strangely not showing her reflection, shatters, and she goes almost completely limp. I catch her just before her head hits the ground, and see that she's still clutching the mirror's frame tightly to her chest.
"Midna...what happened?"
I decide to worry about this later, and instead I gently remove the wooden frame from her grasp, then barely manage to hold her in one arm while I climb up the ladder. I really need stairs...
~Midna's POV~
I wake up feeling warm and safe, and for a moment I forget about everything that's happened recently. Then I remember, and shoot up in the bed I'm in. Wait...bed? When did I get here? Where am I?
I then recall an extremely familiar voice whispering my name, and widen my eyes.
"Link?!" I cry, looking around wildly. I see a sheet of paper, and written on it are the words, 'Be back in a bit. Running an errand for Rusl.'
I feel my heart flutter for a few short seconds. Too soon, though, the pain comes back, not just mental but physical, too. I can tell the cuts from the mirror still haven't healed, which means I haven't been asleep for that long and Link somehow knew I would wake up. His intuition scares me sometimes.
I sit up and find my arms covered almost completely in ghostly white bandages, which are a pale pink in some places. I sigh in relief. The cuts weren't that bad, and so I should recover soon. But...
...I still can't believe the sacrifice they made for me...it just doesn't seem right. Shouldn't a queen be the one to make sacrifices for her people? But...now I'm not a queen, as there is no land for me to rule.
I'm just an ordinary Twili now: the last of them.
I absentmindedly wonder what Link's up to. Hopefully he'll get back soon...
Less that two seconds after I think this, the door opens and Link walks in, still clad in his green Hero's outfit. Something seems off about him, but I'm not really one to talk right now.
A smile lights up his face when he sees me. "Midna."
"Hi, Link," I mutter. "I told you I'd see you later."
"Yeah, I didn't doubt that. You tend to keep your promises in the strangest way possible." He clears his throat and glances towards the basement, then continues, "What...happened down there?"
I widen my eyes and shake my head frantically. "I...not now, Link. I'll tell you later."
He nods almost immediately, eyes softening. "Okay. I'll wait."
"So...what was that errand for Rusl?" I ask in an attempt to keep the silence at bay.
"I was delivering a package to Hyrule Castle. Hey, doesn't that sound familiar?" He chuckles shortly. Strangely, I think I see his face pale for a moment.
Hesitantly, I inquire, "Link, are you alright?"
He shrugs and replies, "Tired. It was a long trip, even with Epona. I was riding for at least two days straight."
"Why didn't you stop to rest?"
"It was urgent and I was late as it was. Did you know that Uli had a baby girl a couple days after you left?" Link gestures towards his door and says, "I could show you."
I frown. "Stop trying to change the subject. We're talking about you." I stand from the bed and sit Link down on it, resting the back of my hand on his forehead. Immediately I let out what can only be described as a hiss and draw back. "You're burning up! Link, you're seriously sick!"
He sighs faintly. "Midna, the doctor in Castle Town doesn't even know what it is, and he's a doctor, for Din's sake. I can't cure something that I don't know about."
"What are the symptoms?"
He looks surprised, and so I repeat myself. Finally he mutters, "Fever, headache, dizziness...you know, usual stuff. The strangest thing, though, is that sometimes my vision goes completely out and I can't see anything."
My breath hitches. "You have Hyla."
Now he looks bewildered, so I explain. "When I got back to the Twilight Realm, I was sick from a new disease that we called Hyla. At first it appeared harmless, and then, day after day, my vision was starting to go out, and my hearing was following thereafter. It could have gotten much worse, had we not found a cure. It took us forever to reach it, but it should take about five minutes for you."
"And what would this cure be?" Link asks in a deadpan.
"Pumpkin soup with goat milk."
His face harshly collides with the wooden floorboards, but apparently not for the reason I'm thinking of. Instead it's this: "You have goats?"
"They're...pretty weird, and a lot less stupid than yours, but yes, we have goats," I growl in exasperation. "The problem was pumpkins. Luckily, I had some in a traveling bag that I carried around with me everywhere, just in case you got hungry or something (which you never did). So really, you saved my life."
"Great to know. Let's get on that soup, shall we?"
After having a lunch consisting of pumpkins and goat milk (as well as some chicken...they won't notice!), Link insists on taking me to see Uli and her new daughter. At first I'm unsure, considering my strange appearance, and the fact that I can't hide in his shadow anymore. Then he assures me that they had seen stranger things, like monkeys stealing baskets.
"Fine," I agree. "But if she stares too long I reserve the right to slap someone, specifically you."
"Well, I'm used to it," Link grumbles, opening the door for me. We both climb down the ladder, or rather, Link jumps down and I float down. Really, there is no use of the ladder whatsoever. He needs stairs. Everyone else in Ordon Village has stairs...
I fiddle with my hair, twirling it around my finger while I look around the village with new eyes. Or rather, higher-up eyes. In fact, Link, beside me, is about three inches shorter, and he's pretty tall for his age. What is it, nineteen?
Rolling my eyes at myself, I hear the kids' footsteps approaching, as I have many times before from ground level. I'm reminded vaguely of Kakariko Village, and then the children of the Twili...
No, I tell myself. They no longer exist. They cannot be a part of your thoughts any longer. Midna, listen to yourself. You're going mad as it is. Hallucinating about children who have died is pointless.
I find that my hands, still twirling my hair around my fingers, have started shaking. I take a deep breath. Link probably has noticed, but I assume he imagines that I'm just nervous around these children, who are such a big part of the village.
"Link, who is this?" Beth, the tallest of the four, asks with dreamy eyes. I can't help but shoot a glare at her. I've always despised her, flirting with every boy she possibly can except Talo, Malo, and Colin. Namely, flirting with Link despite how he so obviously tries to push her away.
"She's an old friend," he replies, glancing away uncomfortably.
Beth rolls her eyes in what she seems to think is playful. I notice that her gaze keeps moving to the muscles in his arms and watching intently. When she sees me watching her every move, she jumps and follows up, "But she can't be that old of a friend if we haven't met her yet."
"I've known him for a year," I answer. "And I've heard all about you, Beth. I know you're cocky by nature, but try not to get too annoying, or I'm afraid I'll have to take disciplinary action." My eyes narrow at her, and some sort of understanding seems to go between us that none of the boys catch.
She gulps and laughs nervously, saying, "W-well, Talo, didn't you say you had something to ask Link?"
"Oh, yeah!" the brunette exclaims suddenly. "I was about to visit you and ask if you were all better, Link!"
Link laughs. "I'm okay, Talo. In fact, Midna was the one to cure me."
"Seriously?" Malo asks almost silently. He observes me with his narrowed green eyes. "She doesn't look like the doctor type."
I feel my anger flare within me, and my eyes feel like they heat up as though they're on fire. Sure enough, the kids flinch away.
"I do what I can," I hiss at them through clenched teeth. "I happened to be the only living person to even know what it is, and to have experienced it personally."
"Really? So you fainted in public like Link did?" Beth asks with a high amount of interest, earning yet another glare.
If looks could kill, Beth would no longer be with us.
As she shrinks away, I reply, "No, the moment I grew weak I was tended to by highly-qualified maids and servants who treated me with great respect."
"Why's that?" Malo drawls lazily, rolling his eyes partially.
Link replies for me. "She's the queen of another country, far away from here. That's why she took so long to get back here." I try not to wince at the word 'queen.'
"So how did you both get sick of the same thing?" Talo asks excitedly.
"We traveled together to stop Ganondorf from destroying Hyrule. We might have caught it then. Now, I'm sure you have plenty of questions, kids, but we need to get going, okay?"
"Where?"
"Why?"
"How?"
We all look over at Talo, and he mutters, "Well, maybe I want to know where you're going, why, and how you're going to get there. Maybe I just think more than those two."
We all burst out laughing. "You, Talo? Thinking more than us?" Beth cries, wiping a tear from her eye. "If anything, you act quicker than we do and think afterwards."
As the kids continue to tease each other, Link and I continue on our way to Uli's.
