Well i finished chapter 3! I didn't quite receive as many views as i hoped, but I'm just glad it was a good one! This chapter is more longer, as i promise the chapters would be more lengthy for those good readers out there! And just some side notes 1) There are animals in the twilight realm, but i will leave it up to the reader as to what they imagine them to be! More chapters will be up soon! Enjoy, don't forget to review!
Chapter 3: Hope
"Link!"
The hero silently slept.
"C'mon you lazy bum! How can the Hero of Hyrule be late for his own ceremony?"
No response.
Collin swiftly entered Link's home, climbed up his ladder, and cannon-balled onto his stomach.
"C'mon Link, your ceremony is today! And I convinced my dad to cut me some slack with the yard work today, so I'm not missing this for anything!"
Grunting, Link woke up, looking hazy and uninterested.
"Here you go!" Said the young boy as he handed Link his Hero's Tunic and Equipment "Get dressed!"
Collin quickly left Link's home to give him privacy to change into his gear. Immediately his eyes shot open.
"Collin's right! The Royal Ceremony! And I don't even have a speech! Ugh the Princess will kill me!"
Link quickly slipped into his clothes, attached his armor and equipment, and ran out the door. Meeting Epona outside, Link swiftly mounted Epona, and kicked her sides beckoning her into the right direction. The breeze was what he needed to wake him up. He could be literally dead, and the cool breeze would always wake him up.
"Epona, any ideas on a good speech?"
Epona let out a neigh as her powerful legs projected them both forward. He knew she couldn't give her opinion, but if she could say something it would most likely sound what Midna would used to do as she bossed him around.
"Ugh, Link you're never focused! Can you pay attention and get your head out of your rear end for once?"
"Midna…" he said to himself.
As Epona arrived, Link was escorted into the castle to meet with Zelda before the ceremony.
"Link! There you are! I was beginning to think that you were not going to show up!" She threw her arms around him.
"Well, you know me, always making a grand entrance" he nervously said.
"So do you know what you are going to say to the people? The crowd is rather uneasy and anxious!" She smiled
Link was never the nervous type. He dove into many holes, entered many evil places, and overcame darkness itself without thinking. Yet, the roar of the happy audience, and a whole kingdom looking at him made him want to jump out of his skin.
"Yes princess, in fact, I worked all night on it!" he sheepishly said.
"I expected nothing less from the man that saved my country! Goodness, it's almost time! Are you ready?"
Taking a huge gulp from struggling to swallow due to nervousness, Link walked out in front of what seemed like an endless multitude of people along with Zelda.
"Good morning good citizens of Hyrule, I know you're all very eager, so without further adieu, let's hear it for Link!"
The roar of the crowd nearly perforated his eardrums, seeing the people clap and jump for joy. He nervously made his way to the podium and waved to everyone in the audience.
Dead silence.
"Uh, hello everyone" He nervously let out a smile.
Link felt like he was going to faint. "I thought I could make this up on the spot! I had no idea there would be so many people! For Din's sake, make something come to me!" He thought to himself.
The crowd eagerly and curiously looked at him.
"I would like to thank everyone for coming today, you're very generous. I couldn't have done all of this alone, without your support, as well as aid from our Princess herself, and…"
Link's mind went blank. He couldn't carry on the speech anymore, his lips utterly refused to liberate words from his mouth. He couldn't give his total thanks, because the most important, most memorable part of his journey wasn't there. The part of his journey that helped him escape from the Castle's prison cells, and brought him all the way to the Dark Lord. The part that he missed, even when she was bossing him around, the part he loved desperately.
Midna.
Unwilling to continue on with this speech he deemed as a lie, he sprinted away from the Princess, the crowd, the guards, until he heard nothing but the sound of his own breath slowly dying. As he reached a tree nearby the castle, he sat down, and hoped nobody was following him.
Footsteps were heard.
"Link…"
Link immediately bolted up, and was about to sprint, until a hand caught his shoulder.
"Link, what happened?" Zelda gently asked him.
The hero remained silent.
"It's her isn't it? Midna?"
Link couldn't lift his head to look the princess in the eye, just let tears fall to the floor.
Lifting his chin "Link, I know that you miss her, I miss her very much as well. I really was not expecting things to turn out the way that they did. I felt very close to her, like a sister that I never had. But she needed to return to her home to take her place as ruler of the Twili"
He quickly cleared his face. He couldn't show that to Princess Zelda there was just no way could he let anyone see him like this.
"Link, you're a very valiant warrior, an excellent swordsman, and a good soul, but I feel that deep down your heart is not all as it should be, and I know why. You want Midna to return to our land of Hyrule to see her again"
Zelda made her way closer to Link.
"Do you remember that at one time, Midna's heart and my heart were connected?"
Link's eyes widened.
"I felt everything that she did, and she felt what I was feeling. We vicariously glanced at each other's souls, and saw everything we harbor within. Do you know what I felt?"
Link shook his head.
"The anger and malice she felt toward Zant ursurping the throne from her, and how she wanted to take revenge on him, for her people's sake. The strain on her body when the fused shadows activated, breaking the barrier to the castle, but above all…"
Link leaned closer.
"…her love for you"
Link's face completely drained. He felt his heart race, and felt like he had just sprouted wings, and wanted to fly to the heavens and back. He hadn't felt this way in months, but even stronger.
"Midna truly loved you, Link. I know you felt the same way too. I know that even hours after she had left, you stayed, and tried to find every piece of the mirror to assemble it back together again, your hands say it all" glancing at his fingers with healing cuts.
"Is there another way into the Realm of Twilight?" Link asked, praying for hope.
"I'm sorry, I don't have the answer to that question, but I know where we can" Zelda lit up.
Link's eyes shot open and smiled"Where? Surely you could take me there princess!"
"The answers lie within the library under the castle. There are special books that were to remain a secret in case of enemy invasion, books containing the castles secrets, history, and even books containing…certain information that involves what you seek"
"What information?" Link asked as both of them sat down in unison.
"Well, as we both know, Midna shattered the Mirror of Twilight in Arbiters Grounds. However, didn't it ever seem strange that Zant never once used the Mirror to come to this world? He had another method, didn't he? Good or evil, he had a way and it worked, and as I recall, you and I possess the Triforce shards of wisdom, and courage, do we not?" Zelda said as she lifted her hand as it radiated bright yellow.
Link looked at his hand, and his hand began emanating the same glow as Zelda's hand.
"My idea is, we search the library, and look into the history of the Interlopers dark magic and hopefully, we may find a way to construct another Mirror to enter the Twilight Realm, or perhaps find another method, using the power of the goddesses on our hands.
Link was utterly speechless. Zelda was very intelligent indeed, she must have given this some thought, he thought to himself as he stared in amazement and awe.
Zelda immediately got up, and offered her hand to Link.
"Come! Let's go the library now, and see what we can find!"
Link grabbed her hand, pulled himself up, and both made their way towards the Castles hidden library.