Hello! I'm back again with a new chapter :3 To those of you who asked: I had an amazing birthday! I got a WiiU, and some games for it :) My boyfriend gave me the LoZ manga collection, my friend Miniver gave me a bracelet with Link's hearts (his health) on it, and my friends Lizzie and Aislinn both painted me Zelda paintings on canvas! My friends know what I love :3

Anyway, I have some adorable reviewers to thank! Massive huggles for PrincesscharmingKnight, ButterflyBabyBlue, Amethyst 269, 8Black-star8, Bleachshowlover1, TheBlueAlienRobotZombie, MasterShortPantsx3, sslamajama97, LEva114, Hanyoualchemist1, Guest, Joyma, Neez, Franne, CreCra, zeldalover272, and burning book!

Thank you to Princess Zelda-figure skater for beta reading!

FESTIVAL OF HYLIA

Chapter Four - Fairy Lights

Midna's POV:

"Try on the pink one next!" I call out.

I can here Zelda grumbling and sighing on the other side of the privacy partition. "Are you sure?" she asks. "I think the pink one makes me look really young."

"Trust me!" I reply, "pink suits you. All you have to do is try it, if you don't like it, you can wear something else."

She falters for a few moments, before she eventually sighs. "Fine, I'll try it on."

I smile to myself as I lean back against one of the tepees support beams. My fingers tug at the long, rough grass out of habit. I've been sat here for a good twenty or so minutes while Zelda tries on all the costumes that she's made. According to Sheikah tradition, everyone under the age of eighteen who's attending the festival should dress up. They have to wear costumes that one of the old legendary characters wore. It's a matter of honour, I believe, something to do with keeping the old legends alive.

Zelda's previous dress, a blue pinafore, is thrown up over the privacy partition. Its arms dangle uselessly against the fabric as she hums to herself, changing into her new outfit. I promised Zelda that I'd help her pick out her costume in time for the Festival seeing as she helped me chose mine. I've made a long traditional Twili robe and two pieces that are made to look like the Twilight Princess. Sheik said he reckoned it would be the perfect character for me.

Although we Twili don't usually dress like legendary characters, I thought it would be fun. Instead, my family always set out prayer circles of candles outside our campervan. We burn incense and sit in the long grass singing old hymns and praying to Hylia in thanks for our protection. If I'm honest with you, it's really a rather boring tradition. I'm going to see if I can get away without doing it this year, though I doubt it knowing my parents.

"How's it going Zellie?" I ask.

"I'm still putting it on," she mumbles thoughtfully. "The buttons are fiddly."

Zelda's decided to dress up like one of the princesses, though we can't decide which one. We thought about the Princess from the Twilight legends, though I said it wouldn't work with her hair colour. So now, we're trying a dress from the legend of the Hero of Time. We both tried our best to convince Sheik to dress like one of the legendary heroes, though he wasn't that keen on it. He said that he wanted to dress up as a Sheikah, and the heroes were always Hylian. In the end, he settled on being the Sheikah warrior from the Time legends, the Princess' disguise.

"Tah-dah!" Zelda squeals as she makes her way around the partition. Her arms are spread out either side of her as she performs a quick spin. Her long golden hair flies out around her like a halo and she's beaming like a little kid. I have to say that the colour of the dress really suits her complexion. It's a baby pink colour, and the dress is made of silky smooth satin. Golden shoulder plates rest where her hair falls, and smooth pink gloves adorn her arms.

I smile. "It's cute, though I'm not too sure about the fitting."

"Yeah," she mumbles, "I don't think it's quite right either."

I think for a few moments. "Maybe you're betting trying on the white dress."

She frowns, spinning around to look at the white dress that hangs off the partition. "Really?" she asks, "the white one? Won't I kind of look like a bride?"

I laugh. "No! Not if we give you the right jewellery! Now go, try it on!"

"Fiiine," she sighs, grabbing the white dress and plodding back around to the other side of the privacy partition.

"Oh Zelda," I laugh. "What would you do without me?"

Just at that moment, the fabric door of the tepee is rolled up and a pool of light spills into the space. The sudden change in the light makes me blink a couple of times. A warm spring breeze blows through the small doorway, bringing the smell of grass and blossom with it. I smile… I do love a nice warm breeze. Sheik makes his way through the doorway, giving me a big grin in greeting as he rolls the doorway back down. In his hand he holds a bright red apple with a few bites taken from it.

"Hey Mid," he says, "what are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too Sheik!" I tease. "I'm helping Zellie to pick out a dress for the festival."

"Sweet," he replies, before tossing the apple into the air and catching it in his palm. I take a few moments to study his appearance. Today he's wearing a pair of straight faded jeans. There's a hole in the right knee and the hems are all scuffed around his heels, but he doesn't seem to care. He also sports a fitted t-shirt, blue in colour, that nicely hugs the muscles on his abdomen. His tanned and toned arms flex and coil as he begins tossing the apple from palm to palm. He's starting to show off, throwing it underneath his leg, catching it behind his back, and balancing it on his head. His blond hair flops around his bright eyes as he focuses all his attention on the apple.

I laugh aloud. "What are you doing?"

"Just a trick," he says, his voice half mumbled through concentration.

He bounces it off his ankles, elbows, and shoulders as easily as if it were a hacky sack. His lips are set firm in pure concentration as his muscles set to work keeping the apple up in the air. I must admit that he's putting on quite a show! His bare feet shuffle through the long grass, toes coiled as he tries to balance in motion. Occasionally, you can hear the odd grunt or sigh from him as he pulls off riskier moves.

"Hey Sheik," I say.

"Yeah…" he breathes.

"Why aren't you wearing any shoes?" I ask.

"Oh," he says, bringing the little performance to an abrupt end by catching the apple in his palm. "I like the feel of grass under my feet."

"Fair enough," I laugh as he makes his way over and sits down beside me. He holds the apple up to his lips, taking another bite.

He turns to me lazily, still chomping his mouthful as he speaks. "So how've you been?" he asks.

I shrug, "y'know, same old same old. My parents still aren't totally happy that you're here, but there's nothing that they can do!"

Sheik nods in agreement. He knows all too well what my parents are like. To put it nicely, they're traditional. They follow the laws of the old Twili tribe and expect me and my brother Zant to do the same. We have to visit the three Twili spiritual temples at least once a year. We have to wear tribal earrings, and we have to sing a hymn of faith on the first night of every month. Most Twili travellers these days disregard the old traditions as outdated or irrelevant. Unfortunately, my parents don't feel the same way.

And it extends further than just the things we must do. They try to restrict me in my own life. In the old texts, it speaks of how it was the Hylians and the Sheikahs who forced the Twili through the mirror of Twilight. They're blamed for the war between light and dark. As a result, Twili aren't meant to socialise with such people. My parents have never really approved of my friendship with Sheik and Zelda.

But I don't agree at all. Sheik and Zelda are two of my best friends in the world, and I couldn't imagine life without them. I first met them when Zelda and I were nine, and Sheik was ten. We were all visiting Lake Hylia for the annual sun celebration. It was right in the heat of summer, one of those scorching hot days where it feels like you're being baked alive. I was taking a dip in Lake Hylia to cool off, and I met this girl called Zelda. She was too afraid to go in the water, and I saw a boy trying to throw her in from one of the bridges. He scooped her right up in his arms and tossed her into the depths, before bombing after her.

Zelda was so upset that she decided she didn't want to play with the boy any more. She swam right over to me and gave me this great big smile. She introduced herself, as did I, and we swam off together. We found a shaded spot that was tucked away from the rest of the shore. It was only accessible by swimming around the rocks so we knew that no one would find us. We stayed there, hidden away, playing games, building sandcastles and splashing in the shallows.

It must have been about two hours later when someone finally found us. The boy that I saw Zelda playing with earlier was headed right towards our little hideaway in his orange swimming trunks. His blond hair was damp and plastered to his head, making him look a little like a seal. He eventually reached the sand, running over to us. He was out of breath, and wore a worried look on his young face.

"Zelda!" he exclaimed. "I'm so glad I found you! Mum's been worried sick!" He then turned to me. "So have your parents. They described you to me and I said you went off to play with Zel. They seemed really upset. You both have to come back, now!"

I was scolded something awful that night, for both running off and mingling with Sheikah. We ended up leaving the Lake before the celebrations had even begun because my parents were so fuming. I thought that was the end of my friendship with Zelda, though that wasn't the case. I met the boy again about a month later at the summer solstice in the Gerudo Valley. He recognised me instantly and introduced himself by name, which didn't help. Of course, that boy was Sheik.

He grabbed me by the hand and took me over to his tepee. I saw his mum, Impa making bracelets out of black thread and wooden beads along with little Zellie. The young blonde jumped to her feet as soon as she saw me and gave me a big hug. That's when I clicked who Sheik was. I spent the whole afternoon in the tepee threading bracelets with my new friends, much to the dismay of my parents.

I've seen them on many occasions since then, and over time, my parents got used to our friendship. To this day, they still don't approve of my socialisation with Sheikah and Hylians, but they know that they can't stop me. Zant always teases me rotten about it, but I've learnt to block him out. The way that I see it, the old laws are just bitter and resentful. I've found no reason for me to object to Sheikah and Hylians myself, so why should I let age old history get in the way of my friends?

"Well, what do you think?" Zelda's nervous voice brings me back to the present.

I snap my gaze to her, studying her appearance. She's dressed in a long, glorious white dress. The goddess crest is formed out of lace around the neckline, just below her collar bone. Long sleeves sweep down either side of her in wide, flowing satin, making her almost appear to glide through the tepee. The skirt ruffles around her bare ankles as she comes to a steady stop in front of us. She smiles nervously, awaiting a response.

"Zelda…" I breathe, "I don't think I've ever seen you look so… so…"

"What?" she asks, concern falling over her expression.

"You look beautiful Zel', really." Sheik interrupts, climbing to his feet and pulling her into a tight hug.

"Are you sure?" she asks.

"Positive," he replies.

I smile. "I think we've found the dress for the festival!"

Soft, acoustic music drifts through the tepee as Sheik sits in the middle of the space, gently playing his ukulele. Expert fingers pluck and pull and tease the strings of the small instrument as he mouths the words to himself. His body sways gently back and forth to the rhythm of the music, blond hair flopping about his bright eyes. The tune seems a little familiar, though I can't quite seem to pinpoint where I've heard it before.

"What's that you're playing?" I ask.

He looks up at me, smiling contentedly. "It's I'm Yours," he says, continuing to play with minimal effort.

"Ahh ok," I say "that's by Jason Mraz, right?"

"That's the one," Sheik replies, turning his attention back to his ukulele.

Zelda smiles, rolling her eyes as she continues to work. She's stringing fairy lights all around the top of the tepee. She starts at the edge, and then works her way towards the centre in a spiral shape. It's a tradition of Impa's, something that I've seen her do on many occasions. She prides herself on decorating her tepee to optimum fascination for big festivals. See, Impa hand makes jewellery and sells them at events like these. She worked herself up quite a reputation among travelling communities, and people have begun to expect certain standards of her. She uses nice quality woods and threads so that the bracelets will last a long time. She also hand makes each and every one of them.

Then, when festival time draws near, she sets up a special tepee. Within it, she strings fairy lights all over the ceiling to eliminate the space. She then sets up large wooden poles running through the tepee at just above head level which she hangs the bracelets from. People can then walk around the space, looking up to admire all the bracelets before finally choosing one to buy. It's quite a sight to see once it's all ready to go.

I turn to look at Sheik again, watching as he gently fingers the strings of the instrument. His eyes are closed as a small smile spreads across his lips. There's something about Sheik when he's near to a musical instrument…. It's like it sets him on fire. He can play ukulele, guitar, bongos, steel drums, and even a harp. He'll put on a show at any given opportunity, and to me, that's amazing. He has the ability to instantaneously pick up and instrument, and put on a performance. He relishes in applause, yet he's just as happy to play quietly with his friends. It's entertaining, surprising, and somehow compelling.

"Hey Midna, when you're done staring at Sheik, could you give me a hand?" Zelda asks.

I suddenly snap my attention away, blushing violently. I'm not the only one; Sheik's cheeks are turning crimson and his ukulele playing is begging to pick up pace. I try to shrug it off and put it behind me as I clamber to my feet and make my way over to Zelda. She stands on a wooden step ladder. In one hand she holds a string of golden fairy lights, in the other a ball of garden string. She's tied up the lights to the wooden beams at a few points around the tepee already.

"You take this…" Zelda murmurs, handing me the string of lights. "If you pin all the lights into place before I tie them up, it would be a big help! There are thumb tacks in the front pocket of Sheik's blue bag."

"No problem," I smile, setting to work.

Sheik's ukulele playing is brought to a quick stop as he frowns. "Is the solar panel in place outside? You know the lights won't work without it."

"I've been here for eight years Sheik," she reminds him, "I know what I'm doing."

He rolls his eyes, resuming his playing as we set to work with the fairy lights. It's tricky work. I have to go get a second step ladder from the back of Impa's truck half way through because I can't reach high enough. I've pricked myself a couple of times, and my thumbs are aching heavily as I push all the tiny pins into the wooden beams. Zelda follows quite a way behind me, tying them up with special knots. After about twenty minutes, I've tacked all the lights into place and Zelda's a third of the way done with her tying.

"You know Sheik," Zelda says, jaw clenched in concentration. "You could give us a hand rather than playing that baby guitar."

Sheik frowns. "I've told you this a million times Zel', it's a ukulele, not a baby guitar."

Zelda laughs, "I know! I just like to say it to wind you up!"

"Fine," he sighs, setting his little wooden instrument down next to one of his bags and wandering over to the ladder that I was just using. His bare feet pad against the wood of each step as he clambers higher and higher. I watch his scarlet eyes scan the string of lights that now cover the ceiling. His brow furrows in thought and he reaches up one sun kissed arm towards the lights. He's stretching as far as he possible can. Idiotically enough, he won't take the simple solution and just step up the ladder.

"Hmm… this hasn't been tacked in properly," he mumbles.

Sheik reaches farther and farther up on his tip toes, stretching to reach that loose end. His fingers eventually manage to grasp the final light, but it's already too late. He's lost his balance, causing the ladder to wobble dangerously. Moments later, it crashes down to the ground with a monumentally loud cracking noise. Sheik, yelps in surprise, grabbing the string of lights and dropping. He lands rather unceremoniously on his backside right between the legs of his ladder, but that's not the end of it. He's dragged all the fairy lights down with him. There's a collection of popping and pricking noises as the pins all jump from their secure spots and the lights clatter down to the ground. Zelda and I both cover our heads without hands, desperate to avoid falling pins. Sheik yells out as the lights fall on top of him, tangling him up in a mess of wires.

"FOR THE LOVE OF FARORE, SHEIK!" Zelda screeches, somehow still atop her ladder.

"Ok, calm down," I say. "Is anyone hurt?"

"I think I've bruised my ass…" Sheik mumbles, wriggling under the collection of lights.

"Right," Zelda says, hands on hips. "You're fine."

"Yeah, yeah," he groans, "just get me out of here!"

I carefully pick a path through the tangled mess of lights and wires that cover the ground as I make my way over to the middle of the tepee. Zelda does the same, and we both arrive to find Sheik buried beneath the lights. His limbs are all tangled in wires and between the ladder rungs. He wriggles around, trying to rid himself of his own confinement as Zelda and I try to hold back our giggles. This isn't really a sight you see every day.

"You know," I say, tapping Zelda on the arm, "I think we should leave Sheik to sort all this out. It's his mess, he should clean it up!"

She laughs, giving me a wink. "I like the way you think Middie! Come on."

We bother laugh, linking our arms and picking a path towards the exit of the tepee. Sheik grumbles annoyed, incoherent phrases that we chose to ignore as we saunter over towards doorway. We make our way out into the warm spring sunshine, failing to hold back the giggles any longer. Our laughter rings through the open air as we collapse onto the lush green grass, clutching our aching bellies.

"Sometimes, Sheik just makes my day," I smile, turning to my best friend. "Come on Zellie," I say. "Let's go check out how the festival preparation is coming along!"