A link to the twilight
Part 4
A week passed and Link was still under the magical sleep. Ilia didn't leave his side for a second. She was sleeping beside him and talking to him all the time. She hoped that he could hear her voice and hoped that it could bring him back somehow. But what did she know about magic? Not much… Still, she liked to believe that Link could hear her, wherever he was. One morning, Rusl was going to Link's house to see how Ilia was doing. When he entered, he saw her sleeping beside the green clad hero. Rusl smiled and shook Ilia gently to wake her up.
"Oh, good morning Rusl. Link is still sleeping quietly," she said.
"You know, you should go outside for a bit. Unless you want to look as pale as him," laughed Rusl.
"Maybe you're right. You'll stay with him, won't you? Good. I'll come back later," said Ilia, walking towards the door.
"AHHHHHHH! ZELDA! HELP!" screamed Link suddenly waking up and falling back into dreamland.
Rusl and Ilia looked at each other, confused. Maybe that was the key? Ask princess Zelda's help? They tried pretty much everything else. Rusl decided to go to Hyrule castle himself to see the princess. He went out, leaving Ilia with Link. After that, she had completely changed her mind about her little break. Rusl climbed down the ladder and saw his son walking towards him.
"Is Link doing better dad?" asked the little boy, hopeful.
"I'm afraid not. We'll talk later Colin, I have something important to do," he said.
"What? Can I help you?" offered Colin.
"Thank you son but no. I'm going to Hyrule castle to inform the princess about Link's situation," said his father.
"Oh ok. I'll go help Ilia instead!" smiled Colin.
Rusl patted his son's hair and left. Colin looked at his father going away. When he couldn't see him anymore, he climbed the ladder of Link's house and entered it. Ilia was back on Link's bed. She had a sad look. The look of hopelessness.
"Oh… Hi Colin," said Ilia, hearing Colin's foot step.
"Hi Ilia. Can I watch Link with you?" asked the blond boy.
"Sure," answered Ilia, making space for Colin to sit.
Colin sat beside her and looked at Link, sadly. He wondered if his mentor was ever gonna wake up. He didn't want to ask Ilia about it, fearing the answer. It was strange for Colin to look at his hero like that. Him that was strong. Him that was brave and kind. Colin understood that even the strongest man on Hyrule could have weaknesses. He smiled and felt that his father would be proud of him.
"By the way Ilia, do you know why my father suddenly thought about asking the princess's help?" asked the boy.
"Yes. Just a little before you arrived, Link woke up for a second. He screamed the princess's name and asked for her help so your father is gone to see if she could be of assistance," she explained.
"Oh! So there's hope!" exclaimed Colin.
"Yes, I suppose," said Ilia.
"Come on Ilia, we have to tell the others!" said Colin, getting up.
"You go tell them. I must stay here," she said.
"Ok. See you later!"
--
The Twili were back to normal life. The lightning had stopped and everybody thought that the light world was back to a peaceful time. The princess was happy for them… everybody but herself. Many men came to her castle for the big proposal but she always declined them. Her heart belonged to someone else. Someone that was going to live in her memory forever. Unfortunately, her people wanted their princess to take a husband. Especially her advisors. They were always asking her why she didn't want to get married and make the lineage continue. But she was always escaping their questions by giving hazy answers. She couldn't tell them that she was in love with a light dweller! Alas, the advisors were starting to get tired of Midna's stubbornness. And today was the day. There would be no yesterday, there would be no tomorrow... today WAS the day. There was going to be no escape, no evading the issue… her answer was now! The high advisor made sure of it. They all walked to the princess's room and knocked on the door.
"Milady, we need your presence. There's an important matter that we must discuss," said the high advisor.
"Do we have to discuss it now, Marlo? I'm busy!" she replied, coldly.
"Yes, now!" he said.
Without waiting for Midna's permission, all the advisors entered the room. They found Midna sitting on a chair, looking at a picture. A picture of Link she secretly took. The advisors were stunned to find their princess looking at a dull image. Midna looked at them and quickly hid the photo of Link. Then her face turned to a more familiar look. The look of anger, unbridled fury. "What are you all doing here without my permission! Get out, all of you!" yelled Midna. All but the high advisor were starting to turn back. She was frightening them. Marlo looked at his colleagues and forbade them to leave.
"Princess, I know you've been rejecting all of my requests to discuss about marriage. But you can't keep doing this! Everybody here wants to see you married with someone worthy enough for you and carry the heir. I'm sorry but if you don't give me a rational reason to explain your declines, you'll have no choice to take a husband. Unless you want someone else to sit on your throne," said Marlo with a little smile.
"I…I can't get married," whispered Midna.
"Why? Why can't you get married? You have responsibilities towards your people!"
"What?! Like I'm gonna put a fat oaf like you on MY throne!" yelled Midna, condescending.
"You dare to refer to me, the high advisor, as a fat oaf!" he yelled back as his cheeks flushed to crimson.
From rage and, perhaps a bit from embarrassment, as his following seemed less devout and more entertained. Midna whished she could answer, as now seemed to be the moment to press her advantage, but she had no words left. She couldn't give the real answer. But if she didn't become the queen, she would lose her title. "They trapped me," she thought. Midna quickly evaluated the situation. She had no choice. She was forced to become the queen or a normal twili. What life would be better? She had to admit that she liked being the twilight princess. She liked to live comfortably and be admired. Midna suddenly thought of a law that permitted a princess to take a husband on a more political way. That meant that she would get married but only for professional issues. She calmed down and smiled to Marlo. "Forgiveness, I spoke out of anger, thinking of the fools you have brought before me. Let's have this meeting already," said Midna, leaving her room.
--
Rusl was already in Hyrule castle in front of the princess, talking about Link's actual state. Zelda was astonished by Rusl's story. She closed her eyes and felt tears coming from deep down inside. She quickly retained them, opened her eyes and took back an indecipherable look. She continued to listen to Link's unfortunate fate.
"So you see princess, Link is in a terrible situation. And what brings me here today is that he asked for your help," concluded Rusl.
"My help?" puzzled Zelda.
"He woke up for a second yesterday morning and screamed your name and asked help," explained Rusl.
"I see… I will do what I can to help the Hero," said Zelda.
"The Hero?" said Rusl, confused.
"There's no time to discuss that matter. Just return home and wait for my arrival," said Zelda.
"Very well princess. Thank you," said Rusl, leaving.
Zelda slowly sat back on her throne, thoughtful. She couldn't believe that Link had been able to enter the Library of Eternal Knowledge. Yes, Link was someone worthy enough for this place but… how did he manage to find the key to open the entrance? "The key was tears… tears of true desperation" she thought. This made Zelda wonder for a long time. Wondered why Link needed the books of this cursed place. "He must have searched a way to the twilight. But… there is no other way! Unless…" Zelda stood up and ran somewhere that only she knew the entrance.
--
Colin's father arrived home the next morning. Not everybody had a horse like Epona! When he entered the village, everybody turned their head to him. They all looked behind him to see if there was any sign of royalty. "I can see that either Ilia or Colin spread the news," he said. Colin ran to his father and asked if the princess was going to do something.
"Yes, she will be coming soon to see Link," answered Rusl.
"Then we must prepare her arrival!" exclaimed Colin.
"No, son. She's coming to help Link, not to show off," he replied.
"Oh ok," said Colin, a bit disappointed.
--
Zelda was in the room that was only known to her, thinking about what happened to Link. She was still finding very strange that Link went to the Library of eternal knowledge. Even for the reasons she thought he did… Usually, only desperate men wanted to have access to this place. Zelda sighed and made sure to remember asking why he went there. Her thoughts flew on a different subject: saving Link. She knew what to do. There's only one thing that could bring someone back from this peculiar trance. She stepped in front of a chest. She opened it and took a spell book. Zelda turned the pages until she found what she was looking for. "Let's see. This is quite dangerous for a spell that is supposed to "heal" someone" she thought. "And I'm the only who can do it…"
It took a few days for the princess to arrive at Ordon village. Rusl greeted her with all the respect that a princess deserved. Rusl had moved Link into his house. There was more space for the princess to perform whatever she was going to do. Everybody looked at her with admiration. It was quite an honour to have the princess in your little village. She had quite a throng of people following her by the time she arrived at Rusl's house. Once inside, she stopped when she saw the pale Hero lying on the bed. Zelda walked slowly to him and sat her knees on the floor beside him. She caressed his forehead and passed her hand over his body. A golden light started to shine on her hand. Rusl thought that she was probably scanning Link. Zelda passed her hand over Link many times. What the others didn't know though was that Zelda was not really scanning Link. She was looking into his heart. Not too deeply though by respect for him. Zelda learned worse than she was expecting. She knew that Link had heartache but she never thought that it was devouring him so roughly. The light stopped shining and Zelda turned her head to Rusl. "The spell to save your friend is easy to perform but remains very dangerous for the user. I have to fuse with his mind and once inside I can be trapped too. That will depend on Link. The spell is very delicate. When I'll read it while touching Link's forehead, I'll fall into the same deep sleep as him. Just make sure I don't lose contact with him at any time. This is very important," explained Zelda.
Rusl agreed and made space for Zelda to begin. She turned her head back to Link and put her hand on his forehead. She pronounced incomprehensible words for a couple minutes then she fell asleep beside Link.
Zelda appeared in Hyrule field. She looked around and saw Link hugging Midna. She smiled poorly. Then she felt the ground shaking. The earth was collapsing. Zelda looked at Link again. He was running with Midna to try to escape the holes that were appearing. Suddenly, the ground cracked under Midna's feet. She saw Link grabbing her hand but he wasn't able to hold her for long. Zelda saw Link fall on his knees and cry until he was too tired. Then all became black. The darkness didn't stay long though. All return to its original state and the couple was back in each other's arms. Zelda understood why Link couldn't wake up. He was trapped in sort of a loop of events. Her task was to help Link release that it was a dream and give confidence to him. But all she could do was talking. She couldn't interfere with Link's dream. She didn't exactly know why but the rules of the spell were clear. Zelda watched Link's dream a couple times before she decided to act. She finally made a move towards Link. He was crying Midna's death. Zelda put a hand on his shoulder. Link turned his head to her and said nothing.
"You're not alone in this world you know. Though you might think you are," said Zelda.
"How can you say that! You don't know what it's like to lose someone you love!" yelled Link at her.
"I do, though it wasn't really me that lost someone. I just felt it through her…"
"Through her? Through Midna? Yes… you gave her your life to save her," remembered Link.
"Yes. Then you two continued your journey in search of the only power that could break your curse," continued Zelda.
Link didn't reply. He sat on the grass and joined his hands to think. Zelda waited patiently, knowing this could take a while for Link to face the truth.
"I remember going in a library and studied for five years… Then this. Yes I remember falling on the sand and falling asleep. Is this a dream?" he wondered.
Zelda didn't answer. He had to figure this out on his own.
"What if… what if I'd prefer to sleep forever?" What if…"
"Would you really want to see Midna dying every time just because you are in her arms for a couple minutes?" she asked.
"I… don't know," he answered, getting up. If I wake up, I might never see her again. If I stay asleep, I can enjoy her presence forever. It has a terrible cost I agree but now I know this isn't real."
"Remember the promise you made to me? Do you really want to abandon us all?" she asked.
Link sighed. Of course he remembered. He didn't want to let them down but… he didn't want to live that again. Doing all the great things with nothing in return. "I guess that's what we call destiny," he thought. Link closed his eyes. Slowly, the world became dark. Zelda thought that the dream was resetting. But no, instead she saw Link vanish from where he was standing. Zelda started to vanish too. She wasn't sure if that was good or not. The next thing she knew was that she was in Rusl's house, sitting beside the bed where Link was. He was awake and looking at her. "Thank you," he said. Zelda smiled to him and was about to reply something when Link got up quickly and left the house without saying anything else. Everybody turned their head to Zelda, waiting for an explanation. "He just needs to be alone," she said, answering their silent question.
--
Midna was with her advisors at a round table. There was an important amount of paper on it. They were all containing different laws and rules about diverse procedures of marriage. Midna was looking through them, searching for the one that concerned her situation. The high advisor already had all the papers he needed in hand. Papers that contained laws to force marriages and some even contained methods to overthrow the royalty in the case where this one didn't take a husband. So, pretty much everybody was busy looking through all these documents in hopes of finding some loophole in Midna's favour. All except Marlo. Not that he didn't like her but she's been in the light world. Who knows how contaminated she had been. For all he knew she was more light dweller than twili now. He looked at her with an inquisitive smile. He waited patiently for her to talk since she had the right to pronounce the first word.
"High advisor, you may have the first word," started Midna.
"Thank you princess. Now, as you can observe, our people has made obvious the desire to see our princess married. After many investigations, it is clear to me that the time has come to take a forward step. According to this law which is: "In the case that the princess can't take a husband for any reason, the princess has to marry the high advisor," he read with a smile. Our beloved princess must take a husband or do as this paper says."
Everybody lifted their head. All but Midna because she was expecting this from her high advisor. Not that he ever really did anything against the realm but he was a little too intelligent for his own good. The princess asked him to pass her the paper so she could be sure of what he read was true. It was indeed unfortunately for her. But Midna wasn't worried. She had something to block this impudent character thirsty for power.
"I see high advisor. You are absolutely right," she said, making him smile even more. "But, there is nothing that prevents a princess to take a political husband! Which means that she will be married and will remain free of her lover!" she proclaimed.
"May I see that law princess?" asked Marlo almost breaking his pencil.
He read quickly and as he read, the angrier he became. She was right. How could he have forgotten this law? Why did it even exist! The high advisor recovered a calm mind and spoke.
"Very well princess. So as this law says, I, the high advisor, have to choose a husband for you. After what, the ceremony has to take place in the next three days," he said.
"Very well. This closes the meeting. Marlo, you will have the task to find someone worthy enough to share my throne," she ordered.
--
Link really wanted to be alone. He wanted to think of all that. He went back to his house but didn't go inside. He mounted Epona and left for his hideout. Once there, he sat on a cheap chair that he made and thought about his dream for a very long time. So long that he only went back outside after four days. Since he woke up, Link had terrible headaches. He felt his head pumping all the time. He didn't need that on top of his heartache. His heart seemed to have calmed down though. He knew now that Midna had loved him and hopefully still did. Link went back to his first goal. Find a way to see her again. His desire was so great that Link finally got able to forget his headaches. So today was the day. A new journey was going to begin for him and he felt happy about that. He thought of Zelda's warning about the pure evil and also what he said about being there for it. He couldn't be at two places at the same time and Midna was a priority in his heart. He promised himself to not take too long for his journey so he could be back in case something happened. Link went out of his cave, used the spinner to get back to the other side and whistled Epona. She arrived not a minute after he called her. He mounted her and went to the west. Where he was going was very far. It was on parts of Hyrule that he didn't know. He had to cross Snowpeak. "All those years in the library paid off after all," he thought. Link suddenly realized that nobody had seemed to be older when he woke up. He told himself that the library was probably the reason. Link didn't want to focus on this meaningless idea. Just before entering Snowpeak, Link stopped and decided that it was best to continue tomorrow since it was almost the night now. He didn't want to freeze in his sleep. "Good thing I thought of bringing a warm blanket for me and Epona," he thought. That way he could ride the day without freezing too much. And worse case, he had the magic armour. Link made himself a makeshift camp and fell asleep.
--
Zelda was back in her castle. The last events were troubling her. Though it only had been a dream, Zelda felt that there was more to it. Something strange, something unexpected. Unfortunately, her chancellors were giving her no time to think about it. There was always this and that to keep her busy. Zelda wondered if she was ever going to have time to analyse Link's dream. She prayed the goddesses to look after him and hoped that they would help her somehow. That's how her second vision appeared. She was not daydreaming this time. The vision was real. Three lights, one red, one green and one blue, appeared before her eyes. Zelda made a step backward. Voices started to talk in her mind. Three beautiful women voice all speaking as one.
Do not be afraid my child. The presentiments that reside within you are not to be left aside. They are the key to both worlds fate. Never forget that.
Zelda opened her eyes. Why did the goddesses always needed to make those fancy sentences to give advice? Oh well… it was better than nothing. Zelda decided to take some time to analyse what the goddesses said.
--
Midna was back in her room. She took back the picture of Link she had secretly taken. The image showed Link holding the master sword heroically. She had not believed her eyes when the master sword accepted him as its master. It was at that moment that she truly fell in love with him. She never knew someone that could risk his life for someone he barely knew without ever asking anything in return. And then, he never complained about his fate. He embraced it whether he liked it or not. So much nobility in this man. She wasn't much beside him. Her, who fled her people, who ran away from her problems. Yes, she did everything she could to restore the twilight realm but still. What if she would have stayed with her people? Would she have even met Link? It was not important. The past is the past and Midna concluded that fleeing her people was the best decision she had taken. "I met a wonderful man because of it," she thought. She was dragged out from her thoughts by a knock on the door. Midna felt Marlo's presence. She sighed and asked what he wanted.
"Milady, I found a husband for you! Please, meet me in the throne room shortly," he said.
"I'll be ready to meet him then," she replied.
"So soon?" she thought. They had their meeting about this matter just this morning! Marlo had definitely planned this since a while. She put the picture of Link in a small box and locked it. Then she prepared herself to receive this man she was probably going to marry.
Marlo was already in the throne room with the parents of the future king. He knew them for a long time and unfortunately for the princess, they were on Marlo's side. He wanted his friends to take the power so he could better control it. Still, he had to be prudent because Midna was not that stupid. She already escaped his two first plans which was marrying him or leave the throne to someone else. Marlo quickly erased the anger from his face as he saw Midna coming. Everybody made reverence to the princess. Marlo did the presentation and gave the parole to the mother of the future king.
"We are here to honour the throne of the deceased queen Sanilia and king Madin. We are here to honour their esteemed daughter with the presentation of our son: Foralin," spoke the mother.
The man, Foralin, made a move towards the princess. He kneeled a knee on the floor and made reverence again. The princess smiled. "At least he is pretty," she laughed for herself.
"Tell me, what are your expectations from this marriage?" asked the princess.
"I hope to be a good King for our people and hope to reign with nobility at your side," he answered.
"I like your attitude, Foralin. I suggest that we get to know each other a little better. In the next two days, you will spend your time in my palace with me and then I will make a decision," concluded Midna.
Foralin smiled politely and made reverence. His parents did the same and leaved their son in Midna's hand while going away with Marlo. Midna gave sign to Foralin to follow her. She took him in a luxurious living room. Everything was coloured in the tones of shadows. The couches were of a rich black, the floor was covered with bloody red carpet, the walls were white with a hint of pink and there were candlesticks hanging on the walls. There was also a table beside the facing couches. Foralin stopped for a minute to admire the beauty of the room. Midna sat on one of the couch and invited the man to do the same.
"Tell me more about you, Foralin," asked Midna.
"Well, though it might not be obvious to other people, I am very shy with new people. I think it's because my parents are always watching every step I do. They always talk in my name and sometimes they tell me what to do or say. Quite frankly, I don't think I could be a good leader." he revealed.
"Didn't you say that you hoped to reign at my side?" accused Midna.
"My parents told me to say that. But I'm an honest person. I just never had the opportunity to prove it," he sighed.
"I see…," said Midna, perplexed.
Foralin didn't seem to lie even if he said that he was an honest person. Midna studied his posture. His back was a little curved and his face was looking down. His hands were joined and so were his feet.
"Let me tell you a little bit about me," said Midna. "I am very honest and sometimes I act like I'm not caring for other people. I don't particularly like weak persons. Do you well understand that? Are you ready to take the throne?" she asked, looking in his green eyes.
"That's what my parents want me to do…"
"Forget your parents Foralin! What do YOU want?" she asked, insisting.
"I…um…don't know. I was never really allowed to think about that," he answered.
Midna sighed. Poor boy. He seemed to have been always forced to do whatever his parents wanted. But, she could break Marlo's plans by helping this young man to have confidence in himself. Then, he could really be a good king. Yes. Even though she said that the final decision was in two days, Midna had already taken it. "We have much to discuss Foralin," said Midna with a smile.
--
The next morning, Link still had headaches but was feeling good at least. After a quick breakfast, Link mounted his horse and left his little camp. Usually, Link had to pass by Zora domain to go to Snowpeak. And he knew that Epona couldn't come with him. That's why Link had another brilliant idea in his spare time. He found another way to Snowpeak. A way that Epona could come with him. That was the next direction he took. As he was approaching the land covered in snow, the air got colder. And when he was in front of the new entrance to Snowpeak, Link had to cover himself and Epona with the blankets. Link stopped and dismounted his horse. He walked in front of her and said: "The path beyond us is a dangerous one. If don't want to come with me then you're free to go," said Link to Epona. She whined and looked at the path behind Link. Epona started to walk slowly towards it and looked back at her master and whined him to come. Link smiled and petted her mane. "You're a brave horse Epona. Thank you," he said. Link mounted back on her and entered Snowpeak. The difference between the temperature before and after that Link entered was intense. Link felt cold even if he had the blanket. But this thought quickly got out of his head. He was trying to focus on the only thing that mattered to him. It took him three days to see the snow melting by the sun. As he rode, the air was warming and after a while, Link didn't have to wear his blanket. The snow was slowly turning to green. Finally, Link was surrounded by grass and trees. He stopped and dismounted Epona. He looked around to admire the beauty of this land he was discovering. He saw a giant tree to his west and noticed some yellow fruits. Link walked to it and picked up the new fruit. It looked like a big pear. Link took a bite and the fruit revealed a sweet taste. He gave some to Epona and she whined of delight. After their little snack, Link got on his horse and left the tree. He knew where he was going though he never saw where the place he was looking for was. All he had was a very old map that he read in the library. He could only rely on his memory to guide him. Link rode all day and part of the night. Epona was exhausted. Link caressed her mane. "Take a good rest my horse. Thank you for trying your best," whispered Link. He fell asleep with his sleeping bag, his head against Epona's belly. Link had a good night this time. Only his headaches were still there. The next morning, Link decided that he was gonna walk a bit for exercise. Also he didn't want to exhaust Epona right away. After a long time walking, Link saw a giant temple in the middle of nowhere. He mounted Epona and rushed to it. Once in front of it, Link stopped and dismounted his horse. He looked up and saw the ancient language of the Hylian. Link was able to translate it thanks to the library. "Temple of Tribulations," he read. He told his horse to wait and entered the temple. "I'm one step closer to accomplish my dream!" he said.