Sacrifice

How long has it been now? All the days seemed to have melded together now. I can't tell when it's day or night, but I have a good guess upon the time. The guard only brings three meals, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but I rarely sleep now, only when I'm tired. Perhaps I can fix my sleep schedule soon, if that wolf is who I think it is. I haven't slept for three days, I believe, yet I'm not extremely tired.

Once again I find myself asking, 'Why did I surrender?' I knew it was to keep the people alive, but sometimes I wonder if I chose correctly. It all happened so suddenly, out of nowhere these shadow beasts attacked the town and made their way to the castle, unexpectedly. Seeing my men having no luck against such foul creatures, scared me. Perhaps it was then that I decided that the only way to win was to wait for the hero, but is he out there?

Midna spook about the wolf as if he was from the light as well. Why would he take such a form? I clear my head of these thoughts, I shouldn't dwell on them. Turning from the window, I walk over to the table at the foot of the bed to read. It was a simple book, a novel of a rancher and the troubles he faces when his mother falls ill. I've read it many times before, but still, it occupies me.

I wonder what became of my sword. Shortly after I dropped it, twilight fell and before me my men vanished into spirits. At first I thought I was to follow, but then a symbol on my right hand acted up. The Triforce protected me. The Triforce… did the wolf have a piece of it as well? I remember the legend all to well, if a man with an unbalanced heart touched the Triforce, it would break into its three parts, the part the man most desires stays while the other two find different hosts. Staring at the back of my hand, I can't help but wonder, are the pieces still scattered? I grab the book of The Legend of the Hero of Time and look at the end, an accurate account of the evil man's final words. 'As long as the Triforce of Power is in my hand, I'll come back to haunt your descendents.' If the legend were to be true, which I believe it is, then the Triforce is still in pieces.

Leaving me to wonder, which piece do I have and does the wolf really have a piece? Once again unable to read, I stand back up and head over to the window, only to notice something off. The land appears to have shrunk. At first I thought I was tired and my eyes playing tricks on me, but after rubbing my eyes, the land clearly has shrunken in size. I could no longer see Faron Woods in the twilight. So the gods did care. The Hero was out there.

Footsteps behind me alert me to another visitor besides the guard. I turn enough to see who it was. I try to hold my surprise as I spotted the King of Twilight, his mask hiding his face. I turn back to the land outside. The rain had ceased, for sometime now.

"Tell me, do you know who might be reverting my land of Twilight?" he asked. I don't answer, for I don't know myself. Just a hero, that's all I know. "Have you somehow gotten in contact with someone outside, which I highly doubt."

"You think I can do anything in my position?" I ask, I'm powerless to do anything against him.

"True, but you are the only one of the light to retain your form, so I come to you to ask." He said. I know he's right behind me, and I try not to flinch. "Incase you've seen an imp running about." He speaks of Midna, as if she's against him.

"I know naught of what you speak." I lie carefully.

"Hmm, if you say so, I shall leave you in peace." He says, and I hear him leave.

I finally shiver. His presence, feels off. I can sense a desire of something, but I can also sense something that does not belong to him, but what? So many questions that may be left unanswered. I soon find myself wobbling on my own feet, and decide it's time to rest my eyes. Carefully I lay down, not bothering with a blanket as the cloak does me well. The calming darkness soon overtakes me, and I rest at first peacefully, but nightmares return. I cannot remember them, but I know I've had them, when I wake I don't feel very rested.

So it was no different this time, as I leave the calming darkness to the harsh twilight, the black particles rising like water vapor off the lake. I have gained some rest, but not enough. I have waken in time for breakfast, as the guard enters and places the tray on my table. He leaves as quickly as he came, and I get up and eat. I write in my diary again, then ponder. The wolf fills my mind again, his confusion echoing in his eyes, and familiarity. Why would he remind me of the description of the Hero of Time with just his eyes?

Getting up I take my place at the window and stare out. My eyes are dried with tiredness, but I cannot sleep with nightmares unless I must. Hyrule is a land that has seen far more then its share of evil and heroism, and where there is times of peace, they don't last long. I guess this time is no different.

Then I sensed something. An uneasiness that shivered my soul, but not my body. My eyes widened at the sight, I had lost sight of the Eldin Lands. Either I have slept longer then it seemed, or the hero is moving quickly. I prayed that I didn't get another visit from the Twilight King, I didn't want to be in the presence of an evil that lucks in him. Not his evil, one he houses, one that felt familiar to what the Princess of Destiny of past felt when she was a child; as described in the legend.

My mouth feels dry, my lips chapped and my body cold, even in the warmth of the cloak. Although sleep threaten to overtake each time I close my eyes, I fight them back open to stay strong, for my people. If I were viewed weak, people wouldn't be happy. What I would give for some Chu Jelly.

Realizing my mind was wandering; I shake it clear and try to focus. My lack of sleep was starting to catch up again, but my rest isn't peaceful. Rubbing my arms, I lean back on the wall and once again stare at the picture of my father and mother. Both powerful yet caring, at least that's what father always said about mother. I never knew her; she died when I was still young.

Little did I realize I had slid onto the floor and fallen asleep. I had closed my eyes then opened them, at first I thought I blinked then I realized that twilight was gone, or had it. When I stood up, my spirit moved, but not my body. I glanced back at it, sitting there silently. It was then that I realize how I looked to others. I didn't care, I wondered why I had moved as such. Was this how my people saw things, nothing appeared different, there was no twilight to wander in when it was definitely there.

However, the experience vanished when I blinked spiritually. I awoke on the floor, the smell of food in the air. I glanced up in time to see the guard leaving. I didn't feel hungry, so I just sat there, and turned my attention once again outside. How I long to be out there, but this was my prison, I could not leave my own room. The Twilight King had attacked me directly when he first came, knocking me out. I awoke in here and found it kind of ironic, waking in my own room.

Finally I stand up, the stone floor bearing no comfort for my body. I walk over to the table and sit down, staring at my food. Slowly, I eat it, not bothering to enjoy it nor taste it. When I drink the cup of liquid on the tray left by the guard, I quickly spat it back into the cup. In the darkness of my room I failed to notice this was a potion, which I was allergic to. Praying what little did enter my body wouldn't be harmful, I stand up with nothing in mind to do. All of this thinking for what seems like forever surprisingly has gotten boring, for it felt as if I had nothing left to think about.

So while lost in thought, I failed to notice the vanishing of the particles that floated upward like water vapor. Outside still looked like twilight, but I didn't notice that it was only the setting sun. I only became aware of such things when it got very dark in my room, causing me to look up and see the starry sky for the first time in a while.

"It's over…" I whispered, then quietly stepped out of my room and down the stairs. I don't get far, though, when I sense something, off. Something was calling me back to my room, something…

I make haste to climb the stairs again. Perhaps it wasn't over, perhaps there was still something that had to be done. My door was more ajar then I had left it, and inside was the wolf from before, looking at something…

Rather, someone.

The wolf doesn't notice me as I bend down, only when I place the back of my hand on Midna's cheek does he notice me, looking up. I can see the concern in his eyes. What has changed between them as they traveled? Midna was not her normal coloring, something tells me something has happened, has light shined harshly on shadow? Perhaps I may never know.

"Please…" I hear her say, she lifts her hand upward weakly, and I grasp it with my own. "Please tell me, how do we break the curse on this one?" she asks weakly. So he is cursed right now. "This is the one… you need him to save your world." She struggled with her words, as I glance up at the wolf again, but Midna continued to speak. "That's why… Princess…please, you must help Link." Link, eh.

While holding Midna's hand with my left hand, I raise my right hand and track it over Link's wolf body. The Triforce Piece that I carry responds, this only happens in response to another piece. As I trace over to his head, does the Triforce of Wisdom fully response to an evil housed within him, the curse laid upon him. I don't even know how I know what piece I have, I just... know.

"What binds him is a different magic than what transformed him when he first passed the curtain of Twilight. It is an evil power." I reply sadly, but I know how to help him, it meant awakening the sword from its slumber. "Our world is one of balance... Just as there is light to drive away darkness, so, too, is there benevolence to banish evil." Who would think that I know the location of said sword. "Head for the sacred grove that lies deep within the lands guarded by the spirit Faron. There you will find the blade of evil's bane that was crafted by the wisdom of the ancient sages... the Master Sword. The Master Sword is a sacred blade that evil can never touch. Evil cloaks you like a dark veil...and that blade is the only thing that can cleave it." He stares at me with his brilliant blue eyes, full of confusion and concern. I look back at Midna before her words echo again. We were searching for the same hero, how ironic. I glance back up at him as I said my next sentence carefully. "Link... Hero sent by the goddesses... Like you, I have been granted special powers by the goddesses." I only know this because of how my Triforce Piece reacted to his, I raise my right hand so he could see the back of it. His eyes full of small realization.

"Fine... Link... You can... You can get to the woods...on your own, right?" Midna rasped weakly. She was slowly losing her fight, and I felt bad for her. "Princess... I have one last request... Can you tell him...where to find the Mirror of Twilight?"

A small gasp escaped me when she said it. I've heard about it, but its location was never given. As I stare into Midna's weakening eyes, did something inside me set in stone. With my hands once again clasped over hers, I find myself saying:

"Midna... I believe I understand now just who and what you are... Despite your mortal injuries, you act in our stead... These dark times are the result of our deeds, yet it is you who have reaped the penalty." Inside me, I prepare to move my spirit and soul, and the Triforce of Wisdom. "Accept this now, Midna. I pass it to you."

She began to move with more energy as I passed on my energy, my strength, everything that had to do with the Triforce of Wisdom that seems embodied in my soul.

"No!" she said, then to the wolf "Link, stop her!"

The wolf makes no move, for he doesn't know what was happening. I let a smile escape as her hand left mine, then all fell into that calming darkness.