((A/N: Still in the "Summarization of events" stage, unfortunately... This chapter is all stuff you already knew. Next chapter, I start actually making up stuff. I'm satisfied with this though... Poor Link, poor Midna..))
The sun beat down on the scorched stone of the Mirror chamber. Vultures flew overhead, cawing, as they scanned the desert for carrion. One dove, talons flashing in the bright sun, and began to feast on a bloated warthog corpse, a remnant of the great Bulbin tribe that had once lived in the shadow of Arbiter's Grounds.
The vulture shrieked and cocked its head to one side. Its primitive animal brain sensed a disturbance in the air currents. It looked up, scanning the skies hastily for danger or food, just in time to see a dark hole, obsidian and endless, open in the sky. Dark matter, made of the same material as the hole, whirled out like malevolent snowflakes and formed into three people. The vulture nodded, clucked, and went back to its gruesome meal.
Link
Link stood, looking at the scorched landscape, at the Mirror of Twilight, at princess Zelda, anywhere but his other companion, Midna. His eyes ached, they always did if he did not look upon her for too long. How could he tell her, a twilight being, that he, a being of light, could not, would not, part with her?
It was her homeland, her realm, that he was asking her to give up... for him. He couldn't do it.
The day broke as evil was banished. The light spirits echoed their jubilation to the skies as Hyrule cheered as one. But Link had eyes for only Midna. Midna as she was supposed to look, not as the imp that Zant had forced her to become.
"What? Say something!" she demanded, looking... impishly at him and smiling at his awe. "Am I so beautiful that you've no words left?"
That, Link thought, was the perfect way to summarize the problem.
The party fidgeted uncomfortably. The silence stretched out... Finally, when Link was finally beginning to allow hope to seep through the miasmic cloud that covered his vision of the future, Midna spoke, tones ringing clear to the silent void.
"Well...," she began, not meeting anyone's eyes, "I guess this is farewell, huh?"
Zelda nodded serenely, biting her lip with sadness. Although they had not known each other for very long periods of time, Midna and Zelda had shared a body and were closer than they liked to admit. Link could not bring himself to even look at her, it was taking all his effort to not break down right there.
"Light and shadow can't mix, as we all know," continued Midna, stifling a sob, "But never forget that there's a world bound to this one."
"Shadow and light are two sides of the same coin," said Zelda, raising her delicate chin. "One cannot exist without the other."
Those words nearly killed Link right there, they echoed through his brain and he wanted to weep.
"I know now the reason the goddesses left the Mirror of Twilight in this world," said Zelda, trying to be positive, "They left it because it was their design that we should meet. Yes. That is what I believe."
And their design that we should be torn away?, thought Link, but he still said nothing.
"Zelda...," said Midna, at last, "Your words are kind and your heart is true. If all in Hyrule are like you...," with a vain attempt at her previous way of speech, "then maybe you'll do all right."
Midna finally cast her gaze on Link. He could feel Zelda's eyes boring into him, had she guessed? Perhaps. He forced himself to meet her gaze.
"Thank you...," she breathed. It was all that needed to be said.
There was a hum and a crackle of energy. The Mirror of Twilight opened and the dimensional rift spun, bringing promise of a twilit landscape.
"Well," said Midna awkwardly, "The princess spoke truly. As long as that mirror's around, we could meet again..."
Link's heart leapt at the possibility. They could see each other. This didn't have to be good-bye. He smiled and, for the first time, looking at Midna didn't bring pain.
We will meet again. I can feel it.
Midna slowly mounted the platform and stood in front of the Twilight Gate.
"Link..."
But Link had been struck dumb.
"I..."
"I love you, Midna," whispered Link, finally saying the words. He didn't say them loud enough for either woman to hear, however.
Midna was crying now, silver tears trickling down her beautiful face. "...See you later..."
And a tear, a single, glistening tear, slid from her face and drifted towards the Mirror of Twilight. They touched.
With a sharp crack, like the shattering of ice, the mirror cracked. Cracks began to run down its frame faster and faster. The tunnel flickered. Link gasped in shock. Was Midna choosing him over her entire world? It was a dream come true.
But, with a final, anguished cry, Midna dove through the portal. The Mirror of Twilight, blessed by the Sages, what Link had worked so hard to reconstruct, fell to the ground, shining dust. The portal snapped shut.
And all of Link's hopes had shattered with the mirror.
Midna
Midna breathed in and out, preparing herself for what she had to do.
It was, of course, the correct thing to do... but did correct always mean right?
Could she leave this land behind? No, of course she could. The question was, could she leave Link behind?
A foolish farmboy. An unwitting tool. A brave warrior. A child with a destiny. A chosen Hero. A wielder of the Master Sword.
A friend. More.
Midna realized it right there, that the unthinkable had happened. She was in love with Link. And that only made it more difficult to do what she was about to do. Besides, why would Link ever feel the same way? She had both used and abused him, and been spiteful on more than one occasion. Besides, she had been an imp most of the journey. She doubted Link liked imps.
But there had been that one expression on his face, as her true form was restored by the hallowed spirits... She had thought it joy, such as what you might feel for a friend who had found something they had lost. Was it... something else entirely?
She broke the silence, as she would soon break something else. The irony was not lost on her as she spoke.
"Well...," she said, unable to look at her friends. Yes, even Zelda had become something more than a nuisance lately. "I guess this is farewell, huh?"
Yes. It is farewell. Goodbye. Forever.
"Light and shadow can't mix, as we all know," she said, hating herself for what she had just said. Light and shadow. Her and Link. It HAD to be possible! "But never forget there's a world bound to this one... or me." This last part was said so quietly, even she wasn't sure she had said it.
Zelda's voice rang out, clear and crisp. "I know now the reason the goddesses left the Mirror of Twilight in this world. They left it because it was their design that we should meet. Yes. That is what I believe."
Midna barely heard a word Zelda was saying, as she had just realized that Link hadn't said a word, or even looked at her. Silence reigned once more.
"Zelda...," said Midna, finally, "Your words are kind and your heart is true. If all in Hyrule are like you...," and she said this with Link in mind, hoping to instill in him some memories of their adventures, "Then maybe you'll do all right."
Midna looked directly at Link and his gaze shot up. Their eyes locked. What surprised her was the look in his eyes, like she was betraying him. If he felt that way, she hated to think how he'd feel once she'd done what she had to do... to preserve the balance.
She opened her mouth to tell him everything, why it had to be like this, why she couldn't stay, why he couldn't leave, that she loved him... but all that came out was "Thank you..." She hoped it was enough.
She called on the power of the mirror and felt, rather than saw, it open to the Twilight Realm. She slowly mounted the steps.
"Well...," she said, hating herself for her heavy tongue. "The princess spoke truly. As long as that mirror's around, we could meet again..." Link's look of happiness sent pangs into her heart, icicles that were aimed to kill.
"Link...," she said, trying to bring the words to her tongue.
She tried again. "I..."
Link said something then, but she was too far to hear it. She was to even be denied Link's last words.
She was suddenly crying. "...See you later...," she gasped, and then she visualized the shape of the mirror. She commanded it to break, to be destroyed.
A tear swam slowly through the air like a whale through the sea, slipped by Zelda's ear, and then landed on the mirror.
Jump through!, commanded her pragmatic half, but her other half stayed put. She could wait here. She could let the mirror crack, break, be destroyed. She could be stuck here forever. She could live with Link. He could introduce her to the Ordanites, his fellow hicks. She could perhaps marry him, and live to a ripe old age as Hyrule prospered...
A cry erupted from Midna's throat, one last sob as her tears stopped. One foot did not obey her, but the other was enough. She kicked off from the platform and fell into the portal.
The funny thing was, as the portal closed behind her, she felt no jubilation that she had done her duty as Twilight Queen.
There was only sadness.
