Yay! I updated! Sorry this took so long to upload. Finals are coming up and the last half of school was really pushing me. So, try to be nice, seeing as how I hate certain portions of this chapter. Some of it is just really crappy writing, and I needed to move on because this story has been dying to get out on paper. So, I apologize ahead of time if this chapter seems a little... lacking.

Other than that, if you guys have any questions at the end, just pop in a review that I can reply to. Oh, and even if you don't have a question, send one in anyway. Your reviews are really helping, and every time I get a new one it bolsters my spirits. I know I mentioned this last time, but I can't stress how important it is. It's just good to know.

Well, without further ado, lets continue shall we?

Chapter 4: Understanding

Though winter had not set in down in Hyrule, Midna was feeling the bitter chill of the cruel Snow Peak Providence every second the wind howled with the blizzard. Her feet and hands had been numb for at least twenty minutes, and Link had been taking his good sweet time in scanning the mountain slope that would lead them to the supposed Mirror Shard that lay somewhere near the peak.

"Do you think you could take any longer?" Midna asked snidely, her face scrunching up as she gathered her limbs closer to her body, "I'm going to need you covered in fur soon, otherwise I'm going to freeze out here."

Link stopped his scouting to look at her, his fleshy, young cheeks colored rose due to the wind, "Well, I don't want to get lost. I've got to look at exactly what I'll be running over."

"Well, could you look at it a little faster?" The Imp said, shivering, "This cold is the pits."

The hero frowned a little, "Midna… you're… that cold?"

"Yes!" She instantly replied, holding her little body even closer, "I'm absolutely suffering out here. The Twilight Realm doesn't ever get cold!"

"I guess that makes the two of us," Link said, putting his hands down to warm them up.

"What do you mean by that?"

Link slowly exhaled, a white cloud flowing out of his mouth, "It never snows in Ordon either. I've never really seen snow before."

"Really? You don't seem like you're too affected by the cold."

"Well, I am wearing more than you…"

"Don't say anything more, otherwise I'm slapping your mouth shut."

"Just saying."

"Whatever."

There was another silence between them as Link continued his scouting of the frigid region, the wind and the snow deciding to fill the gap for them. Midna kept her red eye on him closely, trying to see if any form of shiver would enter his spine; she wanted to find anything resembling something akin to normal human in him. Everything they've been through so far had given her an odd opinion about the Light World… at first she thought it was riddled with cowards and spineless know-it-alls who thought they could take on the world. But Link had certainly been a different breed.

He had always been different. Always.

Different. Both of them were she guessed. She had thought a lot about this on their travels… how they were so different… but they were made the same by how they were different. If that made any sense at all. For a moment, she wondered why Link was so brave, so true, and so bold in everything he did. Her impish side was beginning to be curious, but her Princess side was the one trying to be polite so she wouldn't pry into Link's personal feelings. She wanted to keep herself from really knowing the young man… and yet, a question still bit at her; something was dying to be asked, and by goodness Midna was going to ask it when they had time. And time they had right now so she was going to ask it.

Right now.

Maybe.

"Ask him!" A little voice inside her pleaded, making her heart clench, "Ask him or you might never have a chance!"

"Ask him what?" Midna retorted with herself.

"You know what to ask him!"

"Fine…"

The imp once Princess took in a big breath, "Say Link…," she started, her voice oddly careful and almost embarrassed, "How in the world did you become so… I don't know… brave?"

It was probably the stupidest question anyone could have ever asked, and yet Midna found the words coming out of her mouth before she really had any say in the matter.

Link turned to her, one of his eyebrows raised in the now notable curious look that he so often gave her when she asked odd things, "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Midna replied, "Why are you so brave when everyone else around you isn't?"

"That's… a weird question…"

The imp turned away a little, "I know… but I'm asking it."

Midna imagined how awkward he must be feeling at the moment, and she didn't want to look at his face. But to her relief, he replied to her.

"I… I think it's a combination of things."

The Twili turned around, her expression turning into childish curiosity as she slowly floated over to the young Hero. His face looked foreign as he stared off into the distance, his expression stiff and his eyes more worn than usual. From that look, Midna could tell that she had hit a weak spot somewhere in his hero-like bravado. Not very many things did that to him, and the Imp's fire for knowledge continued to burn at her insides unceasingly until she figured out what was bothering him. Besides, if she didn't figure it out now, then Link would be in a sour mood. He was never fun to work with when he was bitter.

"Like What?" Midna prodded, floating a little closer to her blonde friend.

"…I… well, I guess Rusl had something to do with it… he taught me how to fight since the day I could pick up a sword… or a practice one at least. He said it was…," Link faltered here, his gaze no longer set on the peak of the mountain. It instead hung low, now looking at his boots.

Midna wanted to know more, "He said it was what?"

Link bit his lip, "He said he owed it to me… said it was what my father wanted. He owed it… to both of us he used to say."

"He owed it to you and your father? Why?"

Midna saw Link's chest tighten as she continued to ask questions, but for some reason he continued to answer, "My mother died when I was born, and my father was killed after I was two. I don't remember him much, other than he was the swordsman of the village. Rusl said I resembled him. Gives me an idea of how he might have looked… "

Midna then realized she had definitely hit a sore spot with the young Hero.

"Rusl… told me everything that happened when I was fifteen," Link's eyes began to frost over just like Midna's hands, his irises hardening into a memory that he probably didn't like, "My Father and Rusl were out patrolling the woods three nights away from my third birthday. There had been odd disturbances in the forest, and they were out trying to find what was going on."

"That night, there was a fight in the forest. Rusl could only describe the thing that attacked them as a monstrosity of bugs. He said it was like looking into the eye of death. "Gohma," was what dad called it. It meant, "Insect queen" in the old Hyilan tongue. Needless to say, Rusl was put in danger and my father… he…"

"He what?" Midna asked gently.

"He gave Rusl time enough to slay the beast. My father was already dead before Rusl could really do anything for him."

A long silence, but the Hero continued with the stone like expression carved into his face.

" From then on, Rusl took it upon himself to fulfill my father's wishes for me. My dad wanted me to learn how to fight, and Rusl made sure that he made me learn it. I surpassed him at fourteen. He guessed that my father was the one to blame for that. He always said Hylians were better at that sort of thing than Ordonians. Hm…"

With that, Link didn't talk anymore; his scouting was done, and all that was left to do was traverse the mountain side to find a suitable path.

Midna didn't say a word the entire trip up Snow Peak. The only sound was of a golden wolf howling to the sky as they marched on.


The dream took Midna back to the many memories Link and herself had shared. The images alone wanted to make her scream and cry out, telling herself how she was such an idiot for breaking the mirror. But she had to do it. She absolutely had to. The Light World and the Twilight Realm couldn't mix, and everything that had happened had given her enough proof that Twilight and Light did not co-exist very well.

She had been telling herself that ever since she found out she was pregnant.

Ironically enough, she had been having the vivid dreams of Link and herself ever since she found out she was pregnant.

On another note, Midna discovered she didn't like being pregnant when she found out she was pregnant.

Flattening two guards against a wall didn't help either.

"Why does fate have to be so damn cruel," She said to herself, lying in her bed early in the morning, trying to put all of her efforts into a plan that would allow her to skip all meetings she had that day. Nothing ingenious was coming to mind, other than running out of the castle to somewhere a little farther off into the Twilight; somewhere in which people couldn't follow her every second of the day. She wanted to be alone for once, and ever since the very hush-hush announcement to the Castle's inner circle, Midna had not gotten any time to herself.

The queasy feeling in her stomach wasn't helping either. Though there was a nice plate of flat bread next to her bed, she didn't feel like eating it; even though she was tired, she didn't want to go back to sleep, afraid that she would feel ever lonelier with each passing dream that always included one man: Link.

Why was Link in every blasted dream she had these past nights? She vaguely wondered if the hero had somehow discovered magic and sent his memories through the void; of course that was impossible… but everything she did with that man made the impossible quite plausible, and she immediately felt like a little defenseless imp again, staring agape at one of Link's many feats against nature that she swore was just plain luck or divine intervention.

Of course, that didn't matter. The memories of their previous adventure where barely enough to take. Because with the dreams always came the distinct vision of that night in the Sacred Grove where the Master Sword watched them do the dirty deed (though, Midna didn't think of it as dirty at all. It's what some of her council wanted her to think). She would always hear herself echo the words:

"The Hero always gets a happy ending."

The lead in her gut made her morning sickness even worse.

"It's the regret isn't it?" She said out loud to herself, "The regret that I did do something wrong and I don't want to admit it…"

She wanted to blame everyone but herself for her wrong-doings. She wanted to always point a finger at someone else other than her. She was a Queen. A symbol. She was so focused on being an advocate of all things right that sometimes she forgot she made mistakes.

"Was breaking the mirror a bad judgement?" She asked in her head, making the covers of her bed curl around her more, "Is this some sort of…punishment for my wrong doing?"

The Queen of Twilight wasn't sure if she really wanted that question answered.

However, one thing was definitely certain.

She was not going to any meetings today. She was going to have a day to herself and if anyone tried to stop her, she was going to possibly kill the person.

With that decision made, Midna took a piece of flat bread, stuffing it down her throat as she got dressed for the day in her casual attire. She wasn't going to leave out of her door; two guards were posted in front of it, and if she truly wanted to sneak out, she would have to go through her window and teleport somewhere far, far away. Far far far far away.

"So far away so I can't see this bloody castle," she repeated to herself, "So far away that I can't hear the gossip… so far away that maybe I can just touch the Light World… just a little."

She summoned her magic deep within her, the ancestors of her distant past running through her veins as she called to the source of power, desiring the need to move to a different place. She didn't give it any specifics; she wanted to get away and she knew the magic would know where to take her.

The magic listened to her plea, and did in fact teleport her far away. So far away that Midna truly didn't know where she was from the castle:

The Twilight sky moved oddly here. The clouds casted darker shadows than near the castle, and the sky itself was the color of blood. Midna had seen the color in the sky before in the Light world. It usually occurred when the sun was just about to let the moon rise. The place felt foreign to the Twilight Queen… something that didn't seem to fit right with her. Her surroundings didn't help much; Jagged rocks encompassed where she stood, their deep obsidian giving off the reflection of the red sky above. It felt like a canyon of dark mirrors, like a twisted maze ready to swallow it's runner.

The Twili could actually sense that this was near the end of her realm… a place where very few of her people ever dared go. Not because of the danger, but rather for the acute sense of horrible endlessness that one felt inside their soul. Midna could only describe it as a feeling of being hollow. She wasn't sure if this was a bad sign to be there, but she decided that at the moment she didn't really care. She got what she wanted for the time being: A peaceful moment to herself. With a resolute look at one obsidian rock that gave off her reflection, she decided to walk down the canyon of black mirrors.

Her bare feet placed themselves carefully against the rock below her. Though the ground was smooth, it was still made out of the same material as that of the canyon walls. Her eyes remained open as she searched for any broken off shards that looked lethal to her skin, but found none. She decided that she could probably think safely now that her feet weren't in danger of being cut up.

"Three and a half months," she said to herself, walking steadily in some unknown direction, "Three and a half months since I've seen you. I hope you're not a nervous wreck."

Her voice was lower for once. Now that she wasn't speaking above people, or through long hallways, she felt the need to be at a level that she could understand.

"I know you can't hear me right now… but if you could… would you be able to forgive me?"

She stopped to look at the sky, the dark clouds moving with the wind.

"I now know that it was probably wrong to destroy the mirror… but Link… I didn't want anything to happen to your world ever again. I couldn't let some freak accident on my part allow your world to be in peril. I wanted you to be at peace; I wanted you to be able to move on without me, but I guess I was too selfish to let go of you really."

"Now look where I am… I'm stuck in a realm without you, and I have your child in here to boot. Who would've thought you know? Who would have even thought this would happen when I first met you as a wolf… not me that's for sure. I wonder what your reaction would have been if I was there to say it to you… I bet you would have fainted… naw… you probably would have been so excited and yelled it out to no one in particular. Then I would be trying to shut you up."

Midna looked back down to her feet, her bright eyes slowly moving over to an obsidian wall which gave off a marred reflection due to all the spikes, cracks, and weather worn surfaces. The reflection made her look twisted.

"I… I really hope that you… that you're okay over there. Whatever you do, don't get yourself killed… always watch your back; I'm not there to watch it for you anymore after all. Oh by the Twili I want you to be happy… that's all I've ever wanted."

The Queen was giving it her all not to cry, but she couldn't hold back her eyes from leaking a few heavy tears to fall to the black ground. She looked down at her feet, feeling too ashamed to look up at the sky anymore. But when she looked into the deep colored rock, she wasn't seeing Midna as she knew herself, but her past imp self instead. With her overly large head, and disproportioned body; the rest of her face covered with the fused shadow, one yellow and red eye staring out at everything else. She was crying too… but over something completely different.

It was the completion of the memory from Snow Peak that she saw. At the time she didn't know why she cried that night after Link explained what happened to his parents, but all the same she realized it again.

"That's when I realized I was such an idiot."

And once the words left her lips, she heard it.

The most melancholy sound of harp or lyre in the distance; a strange ghost of a sound that haunted the back of Midna's mind, yet begged her to follow. The source was close by… somewhere around one of the tight corners of the obsidian canyon.

Midna's awareness snapped back into place as the music continued, and her feet began to carry her before she knew what she was doing. Her mind reeled at who could possibly be in this back water of a place at the edge of the Twilight Realm; for a moment she wondered if any of her guards or the council members found out, but she knew that was impossible. Her guards were probably still stationed at her door oblivious to her absence, and the council members where still asleep at this hour. On another note… none of them had any instrument that made that sound…

Then she realized that a harp or lyre were light world instruments. She remembered Link vaguely talking about random ugly looking things that made the most beautiful sounds Midna had ever heard. The music she heard now was reminiscent of the band that used to always play in the square of Hyrule Castle Town… but… this tune wasn't happy or joyous.

It was the sound of a deep and long forgotten shadow… a shadow that is lonely, melancholy, and full of bitterness.

A nocturne.

Her feet carried her faster.

Zelda felt fairly nervous as she sat straight in her throne, her eyes looking through a window into the vast mountains of Snow Peak Providence. Her stomach wasn't settling on breakfast well, and the news that Link had arrived in town boosted her spirits, but the prospect of having the Hero particularly angry at her was not something the impending queen of Hyrule really wanted to think about. Every time the butterflies in her gut decided to fly around, Zelda's back would become even more ridged; her image was very important to her, and she didn't want Link thinking she was afraid of the judgments that came from a retired goat herder and hero who saved the entire land from imminent doom. Link, after all, was as human as she was, and if he did bring up how annoyed he was with her, she wasn't going to leave herself open.

She hoped he had not changed too much since their last meeting. It had been three and a half months after all; who knew what Link did all by himself cooped up in his house.

The Princess sighed, her gaze still attached to the actual mountain of Snow Peak. That was why she had sent Link the letter; something was going on in those mountains, and she knew the only person capable of scouting for her was a certain Ordonian with a chip off his shoulder. She had debated sending the letter out, considering every note previous to that one was always sent back with a single reply of 'no'. This had frustrated her to no end, but now Link was coming… actually coming to see her on a subject that wasn't to be talked about openly.

Her gaze slowly drifted away from the window, and returned to look in front of her. The Holy Royal Throne Chamber had long since been repaired, the castle banners swaying in whatever breeze came through from the giant double doors guarding the exit. The statues of the Goddesses rested above her, holding the figurative Triforce Relic in their hands as they created the Earth. After the statue had been fixed, Zelda hadn't realized how much she actually missed the divine sculpture. She knew that it was there to remind her of how she must be truthful, courageous, and powerful for her country, but she felt like the Goddesses were closely watching over her and her kingdom instead of sending painful reminders of how she failed her original duties once.

She guessed that's why no one came up here anymore; not even her escort guards. No one followed her because this was the place of her first failure. This was the place where Zant forced her and her people to surrender to the tyrant that was Ganondorf… but this was also a place of triumph. Not very many people knew what took place in these hallowed halls; she still remembered the great lengths Link and Minda had taken when she was a soulless body being held hostage.

For a moment she wondered what Link thought of this place… and the next instant she regretted it because she knew what he thought of it.

This had been Midna's grave once… and she doubted Link would look at it any differently.

Midna…

Zelda's thoughts slowly turned to that fateful day just a few months prior in the Desert. The Arbiters' Grounds, the Mirror of Twilight… Midna breaking it and sending Link into a fit that she couldn't get him out of. He didn't scream, he didn't run… all he did was let one tear slip from the corner of his eye and silently panicked. Link, the hero of all of Hyrule was panicking because Midna broke a mirror. In all honesty, the idea was rather absurd when one said it out loud. It was almost like crying over spilt ranch milk… but Zelda knew better. She knew Link knew better too, but she was also privy to the matters of the Hero's heart. Link didn't say no to her requests out of vice, nor did he do it to spite the Princess herself; he did it because his health was bad. He did it because he ached a different kind of ache, and Zelda guessed he really didn't know how to handle a wound that couldn't be healed with a simple bandage and potion.

"Hopefully I can help with that… it's the least I can do," Zelda thought, slowly rising from the throne and stepping off of the gentle rise. She wanted to get closer to one of her windows, but her peace in the chamber was shattered, when one of the door s all but through itself open, and in walked a very bitter, very disgruntled hero of legend, Link.

"Link!" Zelda said, surprised. She clutched her chest for a moment, clearly not expecting Link to literally explode into the empty room, "What In the world was that entrance for?"

However, Link didn't seem to be in the mood for formalities.

"What is it Princess?" He asked in an annoyed tone, his expression etched with anger and all out dislike of being there. Zelda was actually a little scared of the young man.

She paused, regaining her composure, "Well… you certainly want that explanation… did the guards give you any trouble?"

"Your guards Kaepora and Teal are probably the most annoying pair I have ever seen or heard, and they slowed me down the whole time. Yes, I would consider they gave me trouble. What do you want Princess so I can go home?"

Zelda was not liking his tone. She could feel her face contort while trying to keep the subtle idea of smacking him out of reach. He was definitely not pleased, but that didn't mean he could treat the Princess of Hyrule like some maid ready to be saved.

"Just because you're the Hero and saved my Kingdom doesn't mean you can't show me respect Link… I'm not sorry I dragged you all the way to Castle Town, and I can only tell you that things will get worse for you if you keep that attitude up. This is not friendly advice, because I'm telling this to you as the ruler of this country. Do I make myself clear?"

Link did seem a little embarrassed after her warning, and all he could do was dart his eyes around and squeeze his fists over and over again. Zelda guessed that this was a sign of him calming down.

"I see… he really is quite troubled…"

"And in all seriousness Link," the Princess continued, "I am concerned about you not doing anything for the past few months. I also sent this letter because I'm a friend, not a fiend. Big difference."

The Hero sighed, "Forgive me if I'm a little peeved. You did kind of just send a letter that was very vague, and on top of that you sent the two most obnoxious people on the planet to my door."

The Princess smirked a little, "Ah… I see Kaepora and Teal treated you well?"

"If you call not shutting up for the entire ride here at full gallop, then yes," Link replied curtly. Zelda noticed his lips tighten as he glared at nothing in particular. The Princess only turned her smirk into a grin to prevent herself from laughing. She had to admit that sending her two most annoying guards to Link's house was a good idea.

"Come now, Link. Did you plan on staying in your house forever?" Zelda asked, planting an innocent look of concern on the tired looking Hero. Link seemed to deflate a little, his feelings of annoyance vanishing and being replaced by a look of remorse. The Princess knew she hit a sore spot with him, but it couldn't be helped.

The hero looked up at her with a subtle weight in his eyes. Zelda noticed the light didn't seem to catch them, "Did you really have to call me so soon after… after she left?"

The question sounded more hurt than offended, but Zelda couldn't really take the pain she felt in his voice, and she subconsciously turned away from him, her hands coming together in a nervous rub.

"Yes Link. I had to… this matter is urgent, and… I think it strongly involves us."

The Princess dared to turn around a little, surprised to see that one of his eyebrows were raised in slight interest. The hurt feelings were still there, but his eyes did not move from hers, obviously waiting for the news. Zelda looked away again, her gaze going through the glass to Snow Peak once more. Dark clouds were forming over the crest of the mountain, blotting out the far off scenery that made the peak look pleasantly peaceful. The Princess guessed it was going to rain shards of ice soon, and the foreboding clouds only made her anxiousness of this meeting harder to keep under control.

"Link," Zelda began unsteadily, " You are aware of Snow Peak Providence, yes? I heard you have been up there once."

"Yes, I have," Link confirmed. He sounded neutral.

The Princess took in a breath, "The issue that I called you for has to deal with that mountain. It's been… troubling me as of late."

Zelda swiftly turned around, facing Link once more who had an indifferent facial expression. She wasn't sure how a man could be listening and yet not look interested, but she continued.

"I need you to look out the window and tell me what you see."

"What, you can't just tell me?" Link chided, but his feet carried him over to the window anyway, giving a glance to her, and then putting his attention at the view of Snow Peak. He stared intently at the glass to the places beyond, squinting his eyes to focus the area at hand.

Zelda asked, "What do you see?"

Link waited a few moments before answering, "I see a blizzard coming in… nothing that special. Snow Peak always has blizzards."

"Look again," Zelda stated, and Link's eyes squinted again.

"The clouds…," Link said, his voice unsure, "They look… darker than they should be… in fact, they don't even look like natural clouds."

The Princess remained calm, "Do they remind you of anything? Anything at all?"

"They remind me of a lot of things… ," Link replied, his tone going down a little, "But… I guess I can see why this has you worried. They definitely don't look good… do you know what they are?"

Zelda sighed, "I haven't the faintest clue. They have been appearing ever since… oh… three weeks ago? I personally suspect black magic activity, but that I'd be quite surprised with that accusation, seeing as the use of black magic was banned many years ago."

"Wait," Link said, putting his hands up and waving them, "Wait, wait, wait… you're saying you have a name for these kinds of things? Like laws?"

"Well… yes," Zelda replied, "There have been laws against black magic for hundreds of years… ever since the Great Imprisoning War… when was that… nearly five hundred years go now… oh I don't know –"

"Alright you don't have to go into a history lesson."

Zelda felt oddly annoyed that she didn't get to finish, "Well, if you have something important to say later, perhaps I'll make it painfully obvious that I'm interrupting you."

Link smirked just a little, his eyes sparkling with the expression, "Oh come now Princess. I'm a Goat Herder. I have a short attention span."

"Oh stop it," The Princess said shortly, playfully hitting his shoulder as if she were annoyed with him. It felt good that they were talking this way again, even if it was on unsteady circumstances. When he smiled, she could tell a little bit of the boy did remain before the man took over. Overall he still seemed a tad melancholy, but the smirk he gave her meant that all wasn't completely lost. After a few short giggles, the seriousness of the situation came back down on them and the Princess knew it was time to move on in the conversation.

Zelda gave Link the gravest of looks as she continued, "Anyhow… the clouds; I called you here to investigate Snow Peak."

The hero faced the window once more, his eyes glued on the conversation topic, "I see… I'm guessing you didn't want to send any ordinary guy huh?"

"Dealing with dark magic Link, you never know what to expect," Zelda warned, "I couldn't risk the practically new born soldiers to get themselves killed from frost bite. Or worse."

Link raised one of his eyebrows high, "Worse?"

"Yes, worse. Oh I forgot, worse for you is if you're in the belly of a monster."

The hero actually looked a little annoyed by this statement, but his sideways smirk came back on his face, "I guess you're right about that."

Zelda smiled a little wider herself, "Of course. I'm always right."

Both tried to remain serious, but both managed to burst into laughter as the dark clouds continued to grow over Snow Peak. For Zelda, it felt good to feel light hearted before the hard days she knew were coming for all of them.

A man sat with a lyre on a smooth, dark rock, his bandaged fingers playing his chosen instrument with incredible dexterity and knowledge. His hand moved with gentle prowess, flowing with the rhythm and beat the song created; the song seemed more hopeful than sad as Midna stood there, listening to the strange tune that echoed through the canyon walls and her ears. Now that she listened to it more intently, she found it beautiful and caressing… like a lover lost to the winds but found again in a later time.

The young man himself was equally mysterious as his song; shaggy blond hair and old wrappings covered his face. Even the top of his head was protected by the same material as his shall. His body was covered by a light blue material, sticking closely to his form, probably allowing more flexible movement. His forearms had bandages around them too, attaching some form of cheap gauntlets that only seemed to be scrap pieces of metal. His shoes weren't much either; soft padding on the bottom of his soles. But the thing that stood out the most was a thin linen covering on the front of his chest; a weeping eye the color of blood, it's tear streaming all the way down to the bottom of the shall. If there were any more to his get up, Midna wouldn't have seen it. He seemed dressed for stealth and quickness. Not much else… except for him playing his lyre.

The young Queen could tell that he noticed her standing there. Regardless, he continued to play as if no one were watching him in particular. The song was nearing it's climax, hope rising and then the beautiful end in which the notes untied in an intimate embrace. Midna actually wanted to clap, but resisted the urge to do so. The man's fingers relaxed from his playing and he pulled the lyre away. His head rose in a graceful arch and his one visible eye opened, revealing a bright red iris staring down at her.

"Ah… Midna, Queen of the Twilight Realm and all that glows with the dying sun. We finally meet."

Midna walked a little closer, her own red eyes boring into his; she had the distinct feeling he wasn't fazed by her attempts at starting him down.

"Who… who are you?" Midna asked, her look growing suspicious and tense.

The stranger snapped his fingers and in an instant, his lyre vanished into thin air.

"I see you liked my song," he replied, ignoring her question, "Strange… seeing as any light worlder who hears it thinks nothing of nightmares… the Nocturne of Shadow tends to do that to the Hylian ear."

Midna painted an angry face on herself, "I asked nicely, and I won't do it again; who the hell are you and what are you doing in the Twilight?"

The stranger stood up on the rock, revealing a toned but thin body silhouetted against the darkening sun. His features crinkled under his shall, suggesting that he was smiling a little.

"Ah…," he said, "No beating around the bush then dear. Or rather your majesty. You will probably be comforted by the fact that I am not here to harm you in any way, shape, or form."

He hopped off of his rock with practiced ease, and stepped slowly toward her; his feet made no sound whatsoever – a fact in which Midna did not take comfort in.

"… My name is Sheik. I can be whatever you want me to be. Your shadow, your muse, your assassin, your body guard, your messenger… anything. However, I am not here for requests."

The Queen of the Twilight was now confused. She wondered if she looked stupid with her mouth hanging open like she knew it was, "I… then… what are you here for?"

The man now known as Sheik stepped closer to her, focused and poised. Without warning he rushed her, putting a gentle hand behind her and an even softer one on her abdomen. Midna jumped at the sudden contact, but when the stranger placed an ear to her skin, she froze.

After a few moments of him doing this he said quietly, "Ah, I see. So you really do have his child."

"Get… get off of me!" Midna suddenly quipped, attempting to swat at Sheik like a fly buzzing around her head.

Sheik quickly did as he was ordered, "Forgive me… I merely had to confirm any suspicions."

"Suspicions indeed!" Midna hollered offended and violated on so many levels, "What was all that for? How the hell did you even know! How did you get here!"

The stranger only gave her a blank and serious stare, "I believe you are asking all the wrong questions your highness. The question should not be by what means I have managed to get into your realm, but why I am here."

The Queen stopped herself from saying what she was going to say next, and instead gave Sheik a look of mild interest. He was right… why was he here?

"Then… why are you here?" she reiterated, "How long have you been here?"

With this, the stranger smiled under his shawl again.

"I have been here ever since you have come back… but that isn't the important part."

Midna scowled, "Then what is?"

Sheik's smile quickly turned serious, "The child in your womb is not safe."