Author's note: Here it is! Chapter one! I hope you enjoy it, 'cause I spent a lot of time trying to make sure it was perfect. Don't forget to tell me what you think of it!

Chapter One

Nellie lay wide awake on the cot in her private tent in the Hylian and Twili camp on the border between Hyrule and Holodrum. She could hear the quiet voices a few tents away, some voices speaking in Hylian, some in the language of the Twili, Soolsetur. It was early dawn, judging by the light through the rough canvas. She had woken from a nightmare, one that she seemed to be having a lot since the beginning of the Twili's involvement in the war.

It was the same dream every time: she was running through a maze, trying to get to one place, only to be deterred by monsters and villains that roamed the corridors of the maze. She somehow managed to get past them, only to suddenly reach her destination and find her family and friends sprawled on the ground dead.

With a sigh, the Twilight Princess got up. She had collapsed on her cot in her chain mail the night before – something she regretted doing now, as she was very sore – so all she had to do was buckle her sword on and throw a cloak over her shoulders. Once ready, she exited the tent. The sun had not even shown itself above the horizon yet, but Nellie didn't care. She loved this time of day, something she thought she inherited from her father.

It was amazing, she realized, how great her father was. All her life she had grown up with stories of the famous Hero of Twilight, who was the Sacred Beast to her people the Twili. She and her brothers looked up to the mysterious Hero, never realizing that all those stories of him and his companion were actually of their parents, Link and Midna. Nellie had found out when she saw the letter from Queen Zelda addressing Link as the Hero. She could barely believe it, until she saw him pull the legendary Master Sword from the Pedestal of Time. Then reality came crashing down and she realized just how true the stories were.

There, before here, had been the Hero she admired. Her own father.

Even now, in this military camp, it was sometimes hard to believe. But when she saw the Master Sword, and the green tunic and hat befitting the Heroes of Hyrule, she could, indeed, believe.

"Everything alright, your Highness?" one of the guards standing attention outside her tent asked as the Princess emerged.

"Yes, thank you," Nellie replied, smiling at the guard. She stepped along the path, her boots barely making any noise on the trampled grass, passing a few of the other Twili women who had enlisted as sorceresses to help win the war.

Nellie herself wanted to join the fighting because she wanted to defend the home of her friends in the Light World, as well as her home in the Twilight Realm. She shook her head, thinking of Andrew's teasing voice as he mentioned the name of the Crown Prince of Hyrule, Matt, when Nellie had explained why she wanted to fight. Andrew suspected something between the two, but Nellie denied it immediately – and quite emotionally – only causing her brother to laugh while Nico looked on with confusion.

But after three full months of war, Nellie had grown even closer to Matt, who had accompanied his father on the war front. She smiled as she thought of him, walking through the early morning mists. But her happiness was wiped away when she thought of her nightmare once more.

She rounded a corner, her eyes glued to the ground as she cut behind a soldier's tent near the command tent. She felt someone's hands on her shoulders, and looked up to see Matt grinning at her.

"Watch where you're going, Nel," he said teasingly, a grin on his face, taking his hands off her shoulders. "You almost ran into me."

Nellie rolled her eyes at the nickname. "How many times have I asked you not to call me that?"

"You can tell me a hundred times and I won't stop...Nel." He grinned wider, raising his eyebrows as he said her nickname.

"Oh, shut up. It's too early for this."

"Then why are you up?"

Nellie hesitated, then countered with the same question. "Why are you up?"

Matt sighed. "My arm was bothering me again," he muttered. Earlier that week there had been a skirmish with the Holodrum soldiers. Matt had blocked a strike from an enemy's sword on his shield, but the curve of the weapon had caused a deep gash on the Crown Prince's arm, despite the protective shield. Even now, Nellie could see the white bandage on his arm, slightly stained red. "What about you?" Matt asked again. "Why are you up?"

"Just a bad dream is all," Nellie said. Matt nodded, absently rubbing his wounded arm. After a moment of silence he spoke up again.

"Apparently some message was brought here around midnight. My father and yours have been discussing it ever since.."

"How do you know?"

"One of the guards told me. I've been debating for the past half hour whether or not to go in."

"But why hesitate?"

Matt shrugged. He gestured toward the command tent a few yards away, and Nellie could hear the sound of strained voices. She nodded mutely, but walked over to the entrance of the tent and listened. Matt joined her.

"...Don't know how they found us," Matthew was saying wearily. There was the sound of a fist pounding on the table, making the eavesdropping seventeen-year-olds jump in surprise. "Goddesses, they have enough troops to wipe us off the face of the planet, and we can't even decide what to do!"

There was a heavy sigh coming from Link. "We could just move the camp, gather our forces, and be ready for anything."

"Yes, but you said you were waiting for a letter from Midna."

"I can always send a messenger to the Palace and let them know of our new location."

The two men were quiet, and in that silence that followed, Nellie heard the sound of someone arriving via warping. There was another sigh from inside the command tent.

"If we gather all of our forces..." Link began.

"It still won't be enough. Two years of war have depleted Hyrule's army, and even with a draft."

"Ah, but you forget, there are still Twili forces back home."

"You're saying you'll call a draft for your armies?"

"Possibly. Not sure how they'd react to it. The Twili have always been sensitive with a light-dweller for a king. "

Footsteps on the grass behind the two royal teens brought their attention away from the conversation. They turned and saw a tall Twili messenger walking up to them. He bowed to Nellie first then gave a respectful nod in Matt's direction. "Your Majesties?" the messenger called to the two kings inside the tent.

Within a few moments, the tent flap was moved aside by Link, looking weary and downtrodden. He raised an questioning eyebrow at Nellie and Matt before focusing his attention on the Twili. "Yes, Traavis?"

"I have a message for your Majesty, from the Queen." Traavis held out a letter, which Link took, his face showing unhidden joy.

"Thank you, Traavis. I will let you know when I have a reply ready."

"Of course, your Majesty." The Twili bowed and warped away. Link looked at the letter for a moment before glancing up at Matt and Nellie. "What are you two doing up?" he asked, motioning for them to follow him back into the tent.

"Couldn't sleep," Nellie and Matt replied at the same time, following the Twilight King. The tent had a large but portable table in the center, covered in a large map of the Hyrule-Holodrum border. Someone had taken charcoal and marked the location of their camp and a rather large number near the camp. Several chairs were around the table. One of them was occupied by Matt's father, who was staring at the map, his eyes narrowed in calculation.

Matthew looked up as Link took a seat. He frowned. "Matt, when was the last time you changed that bandage?"

"Umm...yesterday? I think," Matt replied.

"Go change it. Now."

Matt sighed, got up from the chair he had just settled into and left the tent. Matthew sighed, studying the map. He glanced at Link for a moment before he returned his gaze to the map. "Are you going to open it or just stare at it?" There was laughter in the Hylian King's voice.

"Just enjoying the writing," Link said. Matthew laughed lightly.

Nellie looked over his shoulder and noted the neat careful handwriting. "It's from Mother?"

"Yup," Link replied. He turned the letter over and broke the seal, unfolding the papers. Instead of finding one letter, there were two – one for Link, and one for Nellie. "Here." Link handed Nellie her letter. The Twilight Princess sat down in a chair next to her father, and began to read. Matthew was silent, knowing how important letters from home were. He, too, read every letter he got from Zelda with enthusiasm and eagerness. So, instead of saying anything, he studied the map once more.

After a few minutes, Matt returned, a fresh bandage on his arm. The Crown Prince sat down in a chair, his gaze going from Nellie to Link and back. He met his father's gaze and sighed. He wished he would get a letter from home, even though they had just received one recently.

With a sigh, Link finished his letter. He laid the papers on the table, re-reading the first few lines once more.

"Everything good back home?" Matthew asked.

"For the most part," Link replied, looking up. "Nico's sick again. Sixth time since we left."

"Poor boy."

"We can't figure out why he gets ill so often. He's a normal child in every other aspect." Except, Link wanted to say, the fact that Nico had been born two months early. In a fierce encounter with an evil Twili before Nico was born, Midna had been badly injured, as had Nico. Had Midna not taken a red potion to heal her wounds so soon afterward, the child would have not survived the pregnancy. Every time Link thought of this, he sent up a prayer of thanks to the goddesses for his family's safety, that his son and wife were alive and well.

And yet, the effects of that near-death experience were noticeable. Nico was born too early, and he was often ill. Midna and Link wore themselves out trying to care for the child when he was younger, and they had thought they trumped the many colds he always got, until Link and Nellie left for the war. Any improvement on the child's health went downhill, and, just a week into the fighting, Nico was sick once more.

Link sighed, and looked out the slightly open tent flap. The sun was just sparkling over the horizon, and he could see the rays creeping across the ground, lighting everything they touched. Should he ever follow those new rays of sunlight back to the source, traveling east across the land, he would reach the Mirror of Twilight, through which was home.

Midna stared at the luminous light beyond the Palace of Twilight that was the portal into the Light World. Often, when she couldn't sleep, she would come out to this balcony and watch the Twilight grow lighter – but only just. She would stare at the portal and wish that she were by her husband's side, or that he and Nellie were home safe and sound. It was a fond wish, no doubt, but she knew it couldn't happen now. They were in the middle of war, and unless some miracle happened and peace was restored, Link and Nellie wouldn't be home for a while.

"Mother?"

Midna turned and saw her sons in the doorway. "Why are you awake?" she asked with concern, but she noticed Nico was trying not to shiver.

"Nico said he wasn't feeling too good," Andrew replied, cutting off his brother before he got a chance to speak. Midna walked over and knelt next to Nico, placing a hand on the small boy's forehead.

"You've got a fever," Midna said, and stood. Nico sighed with annoyance. "Come and lie down. I'll see if I can get you some medicine."

Nico grudgingly obeyed, sitting on the edge of the bed and looking down at the floor. His strawberry blond hair fell into his crimson eyes, yet he didn't seem to mind, as he seemed completely out of his usual self. Andrew went out to the balcony, staring up at the purple sky of the Twilight Realm.

After wrapping a blanket around Nico's shivering form, Midna went out into the hallway and asked one of the guards to fetch the doctor. "Mother, I'm fine!" Nico protested from the bedroom as Midna came back in.

"I'm sure you are," the Twilight Queen replied as she sat down next to her youngest son. "But I'm still worried, alright?"

Nico sighed in reply, pulling the blanket tighter around himself. Midna wrapped an arm around his shoulders and he leaned toward her. "I miss Father and Nellie," he said quietly.

"I do, too," Midna whispered, holding her son close. She glanced out to the balcony where Andrew was standing. How he had begged to go to war with Nellie and Link. But he was too young to go to war, too young to see the gruesome outcomes of battle. It was not the place for a young Prince. Midna hadn't wanted Nellie to go either, but the Princess was of age and it was her choice.

A knock on the door to the bedchamber brought Midna out of her thoughts. "Your Majesty?" came the muffled voice of the doctor through the door.

"Come in, Otis," Midna called. The doctor entered and bowed, shutting the door behind him. "Thank you so much for coming so early," Midna continued.

"It was no trouble," Otis replied. "I was already awake. How may I be of service?"

"Nico's feeling a bit ill," Midna said. "Again."

"I'm fine," Nico protested once more. He had been sick so many times during his short life. He was tired of it. But there was nothing he could do. So, instead, he did what his mother told him, and sat still as Doctor Otis quickly confirmed that, yes, he was indeed ill once more.

"There is a bug going around the village and palace – a rather bad cold," Otis told Midna.
"Some of the children have been catching it. It's no surprise that the Prince caught it."

"Why do I get sick so much?" Nico asked quietly, something he had never asked before.

"We don't know." Otis paused with a slight sigh. "I wish I could tell you, Prince. But for now, as always, just get lots of rest and-"

"I know," Nico interrupted. Then he muttered as he saw his mother give him a stern look, "Sorry."

The doctor chuckled a bit. "That's quite alright, Prince. I know you know the drill by know. It's a doctor's duty to remind their patient's nevertheless." With those words, Otis turned to Midna. "I shall have some medicine brought up as soon as possible. It will lessen his fever."

Midna stood. "Thank you, Otis. Your services are much appreciated."

Otis bowed. "You're welcome, my Queen." He took his leave, shutting the door softly behind him. Midna turned to look at Nico, and found that her youngest was curled up under the blanket on Link's vacant side of the bed. The Prince was sound asleep, faster than Midna had ever seen him fall asleep before, which was saying something, seeing as the boy had always refused to sleep since he was a child, even when he was sick. She tucked an extra blanket over him and watched him for a moment.

The child was getting weaker. He was sick six times in half as many months. There was barely any time for him to recover before the next illness hit him. Luckily they had all been colds, nothing huge, but Midna knew that worse illnesses could eventually effect him, like the pneumonia Andrew and Nellie had gotten during the Time of the Stolen.

Closing her eyes, Midna sent up a silent prayer to the goddesses. Please, save my child.