Dusk and Scars

Chapter 3: A Wolf in Endless Winter

The queen leaned into her consort, wrapping her arms around his neck and trailing her hands over his chest. Midna gave Link a playful nibble on the ear. Link smiled broadly. They turned to each other face to face.

"Such a pretty smile," Midna said, cupping his cheek. "You've been doing it a lot lately."

Link responded with a soft laugh.

"Do you have any idea how nice it is to see you smile?"

"Link?" Midna called, ascending the spiral steps. She'd spent the morning in a cabinet meeting. It had not been necessary for the prince to take part and she'd let him sleep in. Currently, he was in none of the normal areas of the palace. Midna, however, had an idea of where he might be.

Loud coughing caught her attention, confirming her suspicion. She continued to climb the steps. It had been some months since the assassination attempt. Link had yet to fully recover. The arrow had pierced his lung. Twili magic and technology had kept him alive, and even so, it was amazing that he'd survived. His lung had been left weak and he'd been subject to pneumonia and other complications. He'd been feeling better, at least physically, all the time, but currently had a lingering deep-chest cough from a cold he'd caught.

The lingering illness would be enough to lower anyone's spirits, but Link had been… he just hadn't been right lately. When they'd finally gotten to have a proper wedding night, he smiled a lot then, but, not long after that day, he'd stopped smiling. Midna had asked if she'd displeased him, but it wasn't that. He just couldn't bring himself to smile. The wearing apathy he'd been suffering had been precisely what she'd feared for him the day she'd shattered the Twilight Mirror. It was why she'd wanted to leave him in Hyrule… she did not want this to happen to him. According to Twili history, a great depression and apathy had settled over their ancestors soon after their arrival in the Realm. It had taken them long to adjust. They'd lost all ambition, all spark. Some of them, according to the tales, had even gone so far as to take their own lives.

Midna knew that Link was too strong for that. His heart was much too strong and stubborn for suicide, but still, he was suffering and there was no telling when he'd adjust. His body was beginning to make adjustments to the environment of the Twilight Realm. His skin had never regained its color after he'd been shot. Instead, it had remained pale and now had a blue tinge, like her skin. None of his skin had turned black, however, and it remained free of the patterns that most Twili naturally bore. Most of his hair was still dirty-blond, but it was streaked with silver. It was only sensible that it would turn that color and not the typical Twili-red since he'd been born with light-colored hair, rather than redheaded.

"Link," the Twilit Queen said as she entered the topmost room of the Center Tower. Her prince stood quite still, with his back to her. He was dressed in his armor. Special, form-fitting body armor had been crafted for him through the finest Twilit magic by the royal armorers. It covered him ankles-to-neck, hugging his every muscle and moving with them as he moved. It was black and sleek, and Sols and Goddesses did Midna think he looked good in it. Link was wearing the armor and nothing over it. Midna silently cursed him for making her weak in the knees when she wanted to speak with him seriously. Link wore this armor often, although usually under pants and a cloak. It had been made for him as a precaution after the attempt on his life. The court considered him to be in more danger than their queen was – because of his status as a foreigner, as a being from the realm of light.

Link turned to her and nodded.

"I had a feeling you'd be up here, looking at it."

"Yeah."

Midna stood beside her prince and gently put a hand upon his shoulder. Before them, struck into a stone pedestal, was the Master Sword. It glowed with the light of the Sols, even as it rested.

"I suppose she'll make it back to Hyrule someday, somehow," Link said, "When she is needed again."

There were many spells cast on the lower floors of this tower to protect this place from evil. Unauthorized intruders would find themselves caught in one of many traps. Midna could come here and Link could come here – any time they wanted. Link preferred to carry his old Ordon sword now. The Master Sword was a sacred blade, only to be wielded in the direst of times. As Link had said, she preferred to rest. Midna wondered why he always referred to the Blade of Evil's Bane as a "she." Funny, that.

"You shouldn't linger on the past like this, Link," Midna sighed. "You always seem sadder when you're up here and you haven't exactly been a party of late."

"I was in my element back then," he said. "I was needed. I protected people."

"You are needed here. You're a prince now."

"I may have been a peasant then, but… I really was more useful, wasn't I? I still don't know enough about this realm to be of much use here. You have the full sovereignty, as it should be. These are your people. You know what you're doing. As it is, half the people are against me – and maybe they're right. I don't really know what I'm doing."

"You've been talking with Xeras again, haven't you?"

"Yes," Link answered, "This morning, when you were with the Council."

"We should have him executed. Finally, please, Link. I keep telling you that a man like that should be gotten rid of."

As it turned out, Link's would-be assassin was not alone in his quest to kill the young prince. One of Midna's minor guards, a man named Xeras, had partnered with him and had helped him smuggle the bow onto the grounds. When the investigation had turned up the truth about him, Midna had wanted him executed right away, but Link convinced her to stay her hand. Since it was his life that had almost been taken, he insisted that the fate of Xeras be in his hands. Xeras was now in the royal dungeon, in a dank little room, chained to the wall and given basic care. He was free from torture and Link went down into the dungeon to talk with him from beyond the bars of his cell from time to time (in his armor and flanked by loyalist guards, of course).

"You know I can't kill anything unless it's in the heat of battle," Link said. "I could take care of Ganondorf that way and we took care of Zant together, when they were immediate threats… but even when I dealt with monsters, I couldn't do anything unless they were charging me, or unless I had somebody to rescue or protect. Xeras is a pathetic man. We may be well within our rights to execute him, but I feel it would be… dishonorable…somehow."

"He's a threat to your life!" insisted Midna. "He tried to kill you. I cannot forgive that."

Link set his gaze ahead at the Master Sword, a hard look in his eyes. "He was just an accomplice. Trust me, when it comes to acting on his own, that man doesn't have the guts. He fears me. He fears us. I was a Hero, Midna. I did… I do… just what has to be done. Death doesn't have to be done to him."

Midna sighed heavily and shook her head. "You still think you can change his mind, don't you? You think you can get a man who tried to kill you to embrace the new rule you represent? Link, you are seriously naive."

"As I've said before, it's just that I don't want to create a martyr for a stupid cause. The others like him out there, the ones splitting the kingdom… if they see us execute that man, they'll think we are tyrants. It could give them cause for revolution – unnecessary, bloody, stupid revolution."

"We should show strength."

"We should show compassion."

Link and Midna were now facing each other, glaring at one another. Link looked down. "Just give me more time, Midna," he whispered. "I think I can break him, show him that light isn't evil, and he, in turn, can show others. I think I am making progress. He's already stopped calling me an 'it."

"Ah, Link…" Midna said, suddenly hugging him. "You really are just too brave for your own good."

Link separated from her, looking down. The tips of his ears drooped slightly. This happened to Hylians when they aged, but could also happen to young Hylians when they were sick or sad. Link coughed again and grabbed his side. Midna reached for him. "Easy, easy," she said as she pounded on his back to loosen the junk in his lungs.

He regained his composure. "Thanks," he said, wincing.

"You might be too sick right now for what I had in mind for you," Midna lamented.

Link looked up. "What you had planned for me?" he asked.

"You were discussed at the cabinet meeting this morning," Midna said frankly. "Word has come by post regarding the town of Nocturne."

"Nocturne?" Link asked, "Isn't it way out there in the south? A bit like Ordon was to Hyrule proper…"

"Yes," Midna replied, "It is one of our farming communities. They are having a monster-problem. You've seen some of the lingering evil influences out on your rides around here and have been taking care of them quite well. It seems that quite a few malevolent creatures have gathered in the south. The mayor of Nocturne has requested my help. I think it would be a good idea to send you. This is something you have a lot of experience in and the people of that city can get a good look at you defending them and being a responsible ruler. It will give them the chance to see you for the Hero that you are. They'll be able to see that you care – firsthand. I was going to have Ryll accompany you as a translator. You're getting good at Twili, but you're not fluent yet."

"I can go," Link said with a light cough. "This cough isn't too bad. I'm sure I'm almost over it."

"Good," Midna said, "I think this will be good for Nocturne and good for you. You'll take Maur as a steed, right? He seems to be your favorite."

"Yeah. He's the most obedient one in the stable, though he's not quite like Epona – it must be the wolf in him. I don't think I'm ever going to get used to that… riding horses that are part wolf, you know, since I was one."

"Just remember tug him on the ears real hard if he gives you trouble. It's the only thing they listen to."

"I miss Epona. I hope she's okay."

"I'm sure Zelda took her to the royal stables or sent her off to that Ilia girl back in your home village. I'm sure she has a lot of status as the Hero's steed. They might even breed her and sell the foals for a high price."

Link turned to look out a window, leaning his arms upon the sill. "It's kind of like winter every day," he said.

"Huh?" Midna asked. "It's not cold. The weather is more or less stable. In fact, it's been warm lately."

"I mean… the low levels of light. It's like a cloudy day every day – like a winter sky, only more orange."

"I thought you liked it."

"I do, but…"

"You need the light," Midna finished for him.

"In the wintertime, in Hyrule, during long winters, the cloudy skies and short days for months on end would make people gloomy. I never liked the wintertime. It reminds me of sad things."

"The epidemic when you were a little kid," Midna said, looking down at Link and rubbing his back.

"I lost my parents… my best friend… and I almost died. I never was the same after that winter. I can't stop thinking about it, lately… or of other sad things – like what we found in Kakariko Village, of poor Queen Rutella… those kinds of things."

"You may not feel like it, Mr. Important Hero," Midna said, "but you are helping to heal the Twilight Realm. Go to Nocturne. You'll be useful and it should raise your spirits."

Link set out with his translator at his side for Nocturne, upon yet another quest for his twilight princess. When two months had passed without his return to the Twilight Palace, Midna grew worried. The post brought no word of him or of events in Nocturne. Against the wishes of Daan, her Captain of the Guard, she marshaled an escort and rode to Nocturne herself.

Along the way, she heard rumors of a fearful beast that roamed the forest around the town. The forest was thick in the area, the trees mostly of a coniferous variety, and they were all various shades of gray. The forest and the fields were painted in monotone, which accentuated the sky's fire. People bowed to Midna and to her entourage when she entered the town. Farmers in the fields immediately stopped what they were doing to bend their knees. Villagers told her that they did not know what had happened to Prince Link, but that fewer malevolent creatures were coming down into their fields of late. Some suspected that the crazy light being had set up a camp somewhere in the woods around their great mountain. Midna headed up the mountain.

She stopped dead in her tracks when she came upon something along a mountain trail. She halted her steed before a thick tree. Suspended from a sturdy branch was a large, round cage. It resembled a giant bird cage, made of iron. There was a person inside it her arm draped through a space between two of the bars. She looked up, squinting her eyes. She spoke, and her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Lady Midna?"

"Ryll?" Midna asked. She turned to her escort before mustering up some shadow magic, gathering it down the length of her arm, and aiming a ball of it to the chain holding the cage. At the same time, she mustered her hair into a giant hand to gently lower the cage to the ground. Her men and women cut the cage open and pulled Ryll out. The poor woman was dirty and as limp as a rag doll. Midna knelt beside her and held her hand as one of her men gave her water.

"What happened?" Midna insisted.

"From the start…" Ryll groaned. "Been surviving on rain water. The mayor… and some with him… the mayor… ha-had… a reserve of shadow crystals. Am-ambushed as soon as we went into his office…"

"Easy. What happened to Link? Where is Link?"

"Mayor wants the throne. He's marshalling forces. Not a kind man… He must be stopped."

"We'll take care of it, Ryll, I assure you. Where is Link?"

Ryll looked up at Midna sadly. "I do not know if the prince still lives. He got turned into the sacred wolf. Mayor had him dragged away to his basement. Been hearing… lots of… howling… on the mountain lately…"

"Take care of her," Midna ordered before slapping herself back onto her steed like a sack of bricks, earning a growl from said steed. She spurred her mount off into the forest, further up the mountain.

"My lady!" Daan called after her. She rode even faster.

She looked for tracks and for silvery-white wolf hairs. If there were any rebels in these woods, she had no fear of them. She felt her personal magic to be sufficient to take care of any threat. That kind of power was something that those not born to the throne and not chosen by the Twilit Gods could ever claim.

She heard growling and dismounted gently. She tied her animal to a tree and proceeded toward the snarling noises on foot, cautious. Midna listened to her feet rustling the fallen leaves on the forest floor and tried to slow her approach. Then she saw, through a pair of trees, a large green-black and white wolf fighting with and tearing a snapping black carnivorous plant out of the ground. The canine's jaws snapped loose the stem and the monster-plant fell limp and died. The wolf turned and looked at her. Immediately, his hackles raised and he emitted a low growl.

Midna crouched down slightly. This was definitely the right wolf. He had that unique bit of patterning on his forehead and she knew of no other wolf that would bother to kill a plant like that. His eyes were that clear dark blue she'd recognize anywhere, set in the face of any kind of creature.

"Link," she said. "Ssh. It's me, Midna."

Link screwed up his face and snarled at her. She noticed various wounds on him, scabbed over. One on his legs had a cut that was oozing gelatinous dark blood. A few patches of hair were missing on him. She approached him and he merely growled more darkly.

"Don't you recognize me? I'm your wife. I'm cute little Midna. Link, stop snarling at me. It's really getting annoying."

Link shifted his paws in the dirt, making like he was about to run. Midna came closer.

Suddenly, he sprang on her, snorting and snarling. He clamped his jaws into her left shoulder. Midna screamed in pain and surprise. She fell back and fell to her knees. She squeezed her arms around the wolf tightly and held him, even as his teeth were digging into her. She brought her hair around to hold him in place as she stroked his face and ears.

"Sssh," she said. "It's alright. It's just me… Midna." She ignored her pain, trying to calm him. She felt a little bloody patch on the side of his head. "I don't know what happened to you, Link, but it's alright now. I'm not here to hurt you. Sssh, now."

She rocked back and forth until the wolf loosened his jaws. *Midna?* he asked, reaching out with his spirit.

Midna's escort arrived and formed a circle around her, watching their queen rocking back and forth with the wolf in her arms. Link calmed down and passed out with her holding him.

Link was taken back to the Twilight Palace where the holy energies of the Master Sword and the light of the Sols restored him to his Hylian form. He spent three days wafting in and out of consciousness until he woke up screaming and afterward was able to tell his story.

He and Ryll had arrived in Nocturne after two days of riding. They were invited into the mayor's house to sit down and to speak about the town's problems. Link had felt quite secure, for the man had seemed to him like he wanted to sit down and speak intelligently. It was then that the mayor had shouted an order to his personal guardsmen. They grabbed Ryll while the mayor drew a bottle from his robes, un-corked it, and doused Link with its contents.

Those contents happened to be shadow crystals, residue from the reign of Zant that the mayor of Nocturne had carefully hidden for his own purposes. Ryll was clubbed over the head and dragged away, while Link was transformed into a wolf and clubbed over the head before he could assess what was going on and properly fight back. He awoke later in a large cage in a dark place. (Midna's investigation turned up the cage in the mayor's basement). Link had been tortured by the mayor's personal guards. They'd wielded spears that emitted electricity and magical energy that they'd poked through the bars. He'd also hurt himself in wild frenzy trying to get free. Link had suffered many days of this before they'd assessed him weak enough to leave alone to die.

Rain had seeped in through the basement, leaving a soft patch of earth for Link to dig his way free. He fled to the woods, not aware of who he was or what he was supposed to be, for the torture had taken a great toll on him. His animal impulses had taken over and he lived as a wolf. Link told Midna that he had a great drive toward killing the monsters that were on the mountain, even though they were unfit for him to eat. He was very contrite about having hurt her. He had trouble remembering everything that had happened to him, but he could tell her that he had been very confused and had felt, upon seeing her, a great fear, an impulse telling him that people were dangerous – something he'd gained courtesy the mayor of Nocturne and his men.

As for the would-be usurper and his small cabal of followers (most of the town of Nocturne was innocent, and unaware of his machinations) – the dungeons of the Twilight Palace had many more prisoners to keep Xeras company. The mayor himself was not among them, for upon seeing Midna in her power and fury, he'd swiftly taken his own life to avoid the pain he was sure she'd put him in.

Ryll made a full recovery under the care of the physicians at the palace, as did Link. Life In the kingdom began to settle. Link remained with his depression and apathy for a long time, but slowly… and surely… with Midna's help, he began smiling again.