Chapter 21: A Political Battle
"This is unbelievable," Midna exclaimed, standing before the royal council. She could barely contain the fury boiling inside of her. "I am the rightful and only heir to the throne. To deny my entitlement is practically treason."
"Not true," Meltoc replied calmly, if not a little smugly as well. "There are others who have legal claim, and Warik is one of them. As long as we see fit, he has as much right to serve as king as you do."
Midna was seething, but did everything she could to keep it off her face. It had been bad enough to hear that her title as queen had been voided in the past five years. But to learn that her claim was being completely ignored now even after she had returned was too much. She understood the need to place someone of royal blood in power to avoid anarchy, but that was only when a direct descendant was unavailable to take the position. The one who had taken her place, Warik, was only loosely related by blood. He was Midna's second cousin from his mother's side, or something like that, and to say that he had equal claim to her was absolutely ridiculous. And to add to Midna's aggravation, Warik was, in actual fact, the head councilor's weasel of a son. She had a strong feeling this was no coincidence.
"The council can only decide that when the previous ruler is unable to rule and has no children or siblings," she argued. "I'm here now, so by our laws a replacement is no longer needed."
"A replacement can also be appointed if there are no direct heirs deemed suitable for rule," Meltoc contested. "And I'm afraid that you fail the qualify as 'suitable'."
"The light-dwellers forced us into this prison world," Warik added from the head of the conference table, sitting lazily in his seat as if he owned the place. "The fact that you willingly brought them to our doorstep is a disgrace. That is what I would call treason."
Midna glared at him. "Our ancestor's exile was their own doing, not the people of the Light Realm's. And the shadow wolves are not our enemies, they are more like us than you would believe. I taught them our magic, I taught them our ways. For years, they experienced first-hand the level of rejection our ancestors suffered in their own world. Each of them chose to follow me back to our realm on their own free will so that they may become part of our society. None of them are a threat to the twili, and their loyalty to me is unquestionable."
The head councilor held his hands together with the fingertips touching. "It appears you have grown quite fond of these outsiders. I find it hardly surprising that you would abandon our people in favor of their company."
"My absence was not within my control. I apologize that it has been so long since I left our realm, but I did it in order to save the twili from Zant and it has taken me this long to find my way back." Midna spoke more evenly this time. She had let the council think that she had been actively searching for a means to restore the Mirror of Twilight, which had been destroyed before she could return. There was no way in hell she was going to confess that Link was responsible for that incident, nor that she had chosen to stay with him over her people.
"Ah yes," Meltoc said. "You have claimed to have vanquished the usurper, and have provided ample reason for us to believe you..." This had been done by Midna bringing Link to the meeting, explaining his role as the hero and the sacred beast of twili legend. She had even gone so far to prove her point by transforming Link, who promptly jumped onto the table snarling and scaring the living twilight out of the councilors. "But I fail to understand why you returned to the world of light after you had succeeded. Any troubles there are of no concern to us."
Bringing her hand to her forehead, Midna sighed in exasperation. She had nearly forgotten how painful such discussions could be. "As I have already explained, Zant was only a puppet controlled by a greater evil. Ganondorf was the true threat and would have tried to enslave our people again if he wasn't stopped. That was why I had to return to Hyrule; to fight him and protect the Twilight Realm." 'As well as to save Zelda and find a way to break the curse on my body,' she added to herself. "What part of any of that makes me seem unfit to lead the twili?"
"Do you really think that the people will follow you after fraternizing with the light-dwellers?" Meltoc leaned in, suddenly becoming more direct. "Are we to expect that they'll accept having one as their king?"
"I don't think any of them will care after the most recent two have made them suffer," Midna snapped. "I walked among the civilians before I came to this session and saw the sorry state they were in. There are many sitting out in the streets, entire families who are hungry and miserable. I had to send my own doctor to treat some of the sick ones because no one else was doing it." In truth, she probably couldn't have stopped Gwyneth from doing so if she tried. "How is it that you fools have allowed them to live like this for so long?"
A good majority of the councilors hung their heads in shame. Some of them had been doing so since the meeting started and refused to look the princess in the eye. Meltoc and his son were not so abashed. Hell, they looked more self-righteous than before. "The war with the Light Realm has had a severe impact on our resources," the head councilor explained. "If our tribe is to recover and progress, hard decisions have to be made."
Midna's brow twitched angrily. "You mean by giving everything to the wealthy and starving the rest? How can you expect the twili to truly recover unless it's as a whole? A ruler's responsibility is to all their subjects equally."
"And you would know about 'a ruler's responsibility' then?" Warik replied with unconcealed arrogance. "You, who lost the kingdom so shortly after your coronation and let your subjects be turned into mindless beasts? At least I don't run from my obligations."
She took a step forward. 'No, you just sit on your ass and ignore them.' She would have said the words, too, if Link had not grabbed her by the shoulder to stop her. Being reminded that he was there with her helped to calm her down.
The false king smiled at her restrained fury. "Fear not, Lady Midna," the fact that he deliberately failed to call her by her proper title irked her further, "if your concern for our race, common folk and all, is so great, we are more than willing to offer you a seat on the council. I'm sure your spouse and base-born children would appreciate that far more than you squandering your time with your band of outsiders."
'HOW DARE YOU!' "My husband and I married under the legal requirements of our tribe," Midna stated through gritted teeth. "That makes my son and daughter the lawful heirs to my throne. Even with hylian blood, they have far more right to act as king or queen than you do."
Warik's smirk was replaced by a wicked sneer. "How unfortunate, it seems as though the vacancy has now closed."
Midna desperately glanced around the chamber. How could the other councilors just sit there and let this happen? The way they bowed their heads, the fidgeting hands, the fleeting nervous glances at either her or the king and head councilor, it made Midna wonder. Even though a king was the highest authority, his decisions could be challenged if the majority of the council had valid reason to do so, and Midna standing there couldn't have been more rock-solid. What if they were being blackmailed to withhold their support, to keep them in line? If that was the case then she was as good as defeated, unless of course there was a way to circumvent their power. The gears in her mind spun until an idea came to the princess.
"Warik, I challenge you to single-combat for leadership over the twili," she declared strongly. Dueling challenges were among one of the few customs in twili culture that were still sacred. Two parties would battle it out until only one was left standing. On extremely rare occasions, a challenge was used to resolve disputes between rivalling siblings for the crown. And because Midna was royalty, there was no way that the council was allowed to intervene. On the contrary, some of them looked the most lively they'd been when she finished speaking. Their eyes lit up at what she believed were sparks of hope.
She was pleased to see both Warik and his father scowling, the former more so than the latter. From what little she knew of the new usurper during her childhood, Warik was proud above anything else. He could lawfully refuse the challenge, but to do so would make him appear as a coward, even more so if he were to decline to a woman. He was caught between a hammer and an anvil, and Midna was all too eager to swing downwards.
To his credit, Warik smiled in good grace. "Very well, Midna. But remember that magic is forbidden during the duel, meaning non-enchanted weapons only. Also, we each are entitled to choose a champion to represent us, and I choose the Headsman as mine. Who will fight in your steed, princess?"
Link made to volunteer but Midna spoke first. "No one. I will fight for myself." The hero turned to her in shock, as did everyone else in the room. Warik was the first to recover as his smirked widened even further.
"Then it's decided. The challenge will take place in forty-eight hours from now," he said. "Good luck to you, princess. You will need it." Shortly afterwards the meeting was adjourned. Walking down the corridor outside, Link dragged Midna to the side.
"What are you thinking?" he hissed. His eyes blazed with disbelief and horror.
She met his gaze calm but firmly. "Link, this is the only way I can take back my kingdom and help the twili before Warik brings them to ruin. If he has the council wrapped around his grubby, little finger then I have no other choice."
"I understand that much, but why did you volunteer to fight? What if you die?" His eyes bore into her with such intense fear and anger that it stung. "Let me fight in your place. You don't have to do this yourself."
"Yes, Link, I do. My people have suffered for so long because I was never there for them when they needed me. I have to prove to them that I am a strong leader, that I can protect them. That's why I have to win this challenge on my own, for their sake.
He held her by the arms and squeezed. "Midna, when I married you I promised I would protect you from harm. Please don't make me stand by and watch you risk your life like this. Roma and Remus need their mother," he bowed his head to hide the tears that threatened to flow, "and I need you..."
She cupped his cheek and lifted it so that they were in eye contact once more. "I know. I love you, Link, and I appreciate everything that you've done for me until now. But if I want to win back the twili's trust in me then I can't have you fight all my battles."
"I can't lose you," he whispered in a shuddering breath. She wiped a rogue tear away with her thumb.
"You won't," she assured him with a small smile. "Don't worry about me. I had the best teacher in the world. I can do this." She leaned forward and kissed him lightly. Link was silent for a long time as dealt with the fierce debate inside of him.
"Okay," he said at last. She could hear the reluctance is his quiet voice. Then at a louder volume he asked, "So what about this Headsman person representing Warik? Will he be a problem?"
Midna frowned at the name. "He's the royal executioner since my father's time; a real nasty piece of work. I'll tell you more later, but right now I'm going to need your help with some extra training."
The arena was packed to the brim with twili, every seat taken in the multiple rows around the circular field. Despite the attendance, the noise was reduced to incomprehensible mutterings, and few had a genuine reason to cheer other than for the chance to see blood spilt in the upcoming battle. Midna frowned at that minority, but the rest she understood their lack of enthusiasm. Those individuals were the ones whose lives were made harder by the usurper king, but were too afraid to cheer against him. More of them doubted that she could succeed and provide the salvation they yearned for. The most encouragement the Twilight Princess could get was from her shadow wolves, who huddled in their own section in the stands.
Midna looked out to the field and watched her opponent make his entrance. The Headsman was abnormally large and muscular for a twili, reaching more than a head and a half taller than her, and nearly three times as wide. In his hand he carried a cruel greatsword with a razor edge. Midna stared at the blade and thought of the countless lives that it had ended. She didn't know the man's true name since nobody ever used it, but it was for the best she thought. The role of an executioner was a solemn one for the killings the person was required to carry out, however the Headsman was a ruthless sort who took pleasure in such an act. If Midna was forced to fight someone to the death, she was glad it was someone as deplorable and malicious as him. Killing was still killing, but at least the world would be that much more benevolent without the foul twili.
Taking a heavy breath to steel her nerves, Midna turned to her family and kissed her children for what she hoped wouldn't be the last time. Then she kissed her husband on the lips. When they parted, Link whispered to her. "Come back to me alive." She promised she would, then left him to walk towards the center of the arena.
While the Headsman was clad head-to-toe in black armor, Midna wore no plating on any part of her body. If that greatsword made contact, no form of non-magical protection would save her. Besides, Midna was more comfortable with the freedom of movement that a suit of armor would have hindered. She took into account the advantages and downfalls of her adversary's size and weaponry, already devising several tactics that would aid her. Link had done well to teach this vital skill to her. Midna drew her thin zora sword and lowered it with the point aimed to the ground. She could see her opponent's eyes through the holes in his helm, as well as the lack of confliction or mercy within them. This man would kill her just the same as any man he had before. And he would enjoy it.
'King' Warik lounged in a grand chair at the top of the stands, accompanied by a pair of servants with trays of edibles in hand. Close by stood his personal guard, whose expressions were less composed than that of their master's. Warik raised a lazy hand to signal the start of the duel. A set of eight black spears then descended from the air in a ring around the combatants. As red energy connected the pillars, Midna grumbled to herself. If she had to fight for her life and inheritance, it might as well be in a cage match. She spread out her feet and waited.
The Headsman didn't hesitate to launch the first strike. Midna darted past him to evade the incoming downward hit, quickly slashing at the straps on the giant twili's chest plate as she passed by. Many gasped in surprise that the slender princess had been able not only survive, but to land the first blow. The Headsman was more shocked as he turned around as fast as his heavy armor allowed. He glared at her more warily than before as Midna faced him fully.
She angled her blade and feinted to the side. Her opponent took the bait and swung in the opposite direction, only to miss as Midna backtracked out of the massive sword's path. She immediately took advantage of the executioner's moment of vulnerability and sliced through the straps on his other side then one of the shoulder straps. The Headsman roared in annoyance and threw out a gauntlet-clad arm at where she stood. Midna grunted as she was knocked off her feet. She rolled as she landed and had avoided serious injury, but her sword had flown from her hand and spun a few feet away from her.
The damaged chest plate hung precariously off of its last fastening, but still covered too much of the Headsman's body to help Midna. Fortunately for her, the man didn't benefit from the swinging metal either and tore it off unceremoniously. Underneath he wore a vest of chainmail that would have glistened if there had been sufficient light to reflect. Midna could hear Ilia and her other friends chanting her name, as well as some brave souls sitting throughout the stands. The fire they ignited within her gave Midna the strength to find her feet.
The first priority was to retrieve her weapon, so she made a beeline for it. The Headsman anticipated her action and charged to meet her with an overhead swing. He was somewhat faster now without his breastplate and Midna knew that slowing down for a moment could cost her greatly. As she neared her sword, Midna dived into a roll and snatched the blade up as she passed by. Without breaking her stride, she kept running as the Headsman's greatsword smashed into the ground. Chips of stone and steel flew from the impact, and Midna was forever glad she had not been there half a second later.
At a safe enough distance, she turned around and faced her opponent again. He leered at her with hate. The brutish twili didn't appreciate someone making a mockery of him, especially a slim girl with only a toothpick to fight with. He howled in anger and pursued her with his sword swinging madly whenever she was near within range. After a few terrifying close calls, one even grazing her left cheek and drawing blood, Midna discovered to her dismay that the man had become accustomed to her fighting style and had the speed to keep her from darting around him. She would have no chance with a head-on attack, so she kept retreating while raking her brain for a new plan. In the stands, Link held his breath as he watched with nothing but fear and desperate hope in his blue eyes. He prayed for her life to each of the goddesses. 'Don't let her die... Please, don't let her die...'
Somehow amidst the chaos that riddled her overtaxed mind, an idea came to Midna just as she narrowly dodged another vicious slash. The idea was beyond reckless and would likely get her killed. But hey, she thought, Link taken many suicidal risks when he was pushed against the wall. Better to die by fate in a final gambit than like a cornered animal. As best as she was able, Midna envisioned what she was about to do. It wouldn't be that much different to one of her special sword techniques, but she only had one chance at it.
Steeling herself, she dashed right towards her foe. He was surprised by the sudden change in behavior, but was ready to cleave her head clean off from her shoulders. Midna waited until the right moment and dived between the Headsman's legs. She rolled onto her feet, spun quickly around and drove the point of her sword right through the other twili's chainmail. Red blood leaked from the fatal wound as the tapered point emerged out from his stomach. The Headsman made a gurgling noise as his weapon dropped from his weakened grasp. He fell to his knees then collapsed face first onto the ground. The arena was silent for a timeless moment. No one, not even Midna herself, could believe what they were seeing.
Then a roar of cheering burst through the quiet like water from a floodgate. People applauded and twili stood to shake their fists in celebration. As soon as the barrier spears had disappeared, Link hastily warped to stand before Midna and pulled her in the firmest, most heartfelt embrace he could manage. Midna felt an age older once the exhaustion from the duel kicked in and gratefully leaned into his supportive hold. He kissed her, rocked her, and whispered to her unintelligibly in his relief.
Moments later, the rest of the shadow wolves came and surrounded the couple from all sides, praising Midna for her victory. Ilia appeared beside her with Remus and Roma in her arms. Link felt embarrassed for forgetting about them a minute ago and eagerly took one of the twins. Midna took the other and embraced her family to her heart's content. An angry yell made her turn to the stand where Warik glared down at her with pure fury. He stood with his shoulders hunched aggressively, his fists clenched with whitened knuckles. Midna smirked at him with renewed confidence.
"You should have picked someone else to fight for you, Warik," she taunted. She pointed at him with a finger. "We had a deal and I won. Now you hold up your end of the bargain."
Warik was livid. He shook his head madly. "No! It's impossible! There's no way you could have won. You have to have cheated somehow!"
Link stepped forward and glowered at the man. "Face it, Warik. It's over."
The twili refused to listen as he jabbed a finger in Midna's direction. "Kill them!" he screamed at his guards. "Kill them all!"
In an instant, the shadow wolves formed a protective ring around Link and Midna with weapons raised and spells charged. No attack came as the soldiers around them hesitated, none moving a muscle.
"What are you doing?" Warik roared at them. He turned to the closest man. "I gave you an order. Kill them!"
"We're willing to give our lives for your queen," Chris called to the twili people, his hands glowing with dark light. "What will you do?"
The soldiers glanced at one another. Then one by one they turned to face the furious lord glaring at them with a mix of rage and bewilderment.
"I'll make you suffer for this," he spat at the twili, "all of you."
Meltoc approached his son and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Warik, enough. There's nothing more you can do."
Warik shoved him away violently. "Be quiet, you spineless old codger," he snarled. "If these traitors won't do as I say, I'll put the princess down myself!"
He raised his hands and conjured a sphere of shadow magic. It grew and radiated with power as he fed the spell. Link quickly handed Midna their son and shielded them all behind his body. Just as Warik was about to unleash the ball of energy, a small object hurtled through the air and embedded itself in the mad twili's chest. The magic dissipated instantly as Warik lowered his hands to the bloody knife protruding out of him. With a choking sound, his legs gave way and he collapsed dead on the steps. Link and Midna looked behind them and saw Ilia with a glimmer of accomplishment in her stare. One of the sheaths on her belt was empty.
Chris shook his head and wrapped an arm around Ilia's shoulders. "You are absolutely deadly," he grinned. She returned the expression as he kissed her on the cheek.
"Come on, Remus. We're running out of time," Link said irritably to his son, who bounced around with far too much energy for his father's liking. When he finally managed to get the small boy to stand still for longer than three seconds he repeated his question. "Now which of these are you going to wear?"
He held up two small robes, one black with bright green patterns and the other a dark navy blue with white patterns. The child examined the two garments and raised a tiny little finger to his chin. After a long moment, he pointed to the black robe. "That one!" he announced in a high, cheerful voice.
Link discarded the spare garment in relief and helped the young prince into his outfit. Remus was still squirming as his father tied the piece together. The boy was just as hyperactive as he was, Link thought wearily. A knock on the open door made both turn to see Midna standing in the doorway, holding Roma in one arm. The queen was dressed in an open black robe with the hood raised under her wiry crown. Her daughter wore a more modest dress of the same color, but didn't seem happy to have her sandy hair tied up in a ponytail and worked her little hands to undo it.
"Are you two ready yet?" Midna asked with a grin. "Hurry up. Everyone's waiting for us."
Link gave her a tired smile. "Yes, we're ready. Finally." He took Remus' hand and together, the royal family made their way out from their chambers. As they walked down the dark stoned corridors with their glowing inscriptions along the walls, servants and other members of staff bowed with pleasant smiles. The king and queen returned their greetings as they continued on.
After a relatively short walk, the family passed through a set of doors and were welcomed by a room full of humans. The shadow wolves interrupted their conversations and greeted their friends with warm grins. Ilia and Chris were the first to come up and embrace the monarchs. The appointed lord and lady both wore rich dark-colored robes with councilor badges on the left breast of each. The pair had done much to aid Link and Midna in restoring the kingdom in recent years. With Meltoc having stepped down after his son's death, their work was made far more efficient. In Ilia's arm was newborn Raechl with her eyes closed. Ana pushed through next and gave Link a firm hug. She looked so much more confident now than they day they had first met and her smile had never been brighter.
Next Link shook hands with Rion as Midna exchanged a hug with Hazel. The royal blacksmith dressed more casually than his colleagues at the palace forge would have, but simplicity had always been one of the man's core values. The children of both sets of parents greeted one another before running off meet up with the other kids. Link doubted they would hear from them for a while, and if they did it would certainly involve some sort of mischief. But he trusted Ana and Julie to act responsibly and keep the other youngsters in check.
One by one, Link said hello to each of his old friends; Devan and Margaret with their two-year-old son; Liam sharing a drink with brothers Donnel and Ozcar; Nate clad in his soldier's armor and a young twili woman in his arm, saluting his king and queen with a cheeky grin; as well as many others. These days they were spread out living their own lives, fulfilling their individual duties and fancies. Often three or four of them would gather in one place to share a couple of hours time, but it was only rarely at this time of year did the human tribe all come together to reunite. And when they did, it was always a memorable experience.
After accepting a drink from a passing servant, Link was pleased to bump into Gwyneth and her lover Marcus standing beside saw each other seldom since the healer had taken up study at the Royal University of Medicine. From everything Link heard, the woman was thrilled to be there and jabbered non-stop about her time at the college. He learned that the scholars there had taken quite an interest in Gwyneth's prior knowledge, particularly the unique practices from the world of light where magic was scarce but sickness was still plenty. It seemed that half her time was spent teaching as much as learning. He was happy for her.
Link swept his gaze around the room. Each person looked happy and well, which was better than he hoped. Assimilating with life in the Twilight Realm and the local community hadn't gone without its hitches, but eventually most of the twili had grown to accept the human minority. They worked together, talked together, laughed together, and it was a beautiful sight to see. No more was there fear, distrust or hate; or at least not so much that it wasn't a manageable problem. With a smile on his face, Link could say this with complete confidence:
Life was good.
And here we stand at the end of the road again. I can't believe we're already done with another story. I loved this and I'm glad that many of you have loved it as well.
Unfortunately you won't be hearing much from me while I work on my next big story. Given the circumstances, I will be using a buffer system when publishing the chapters. If I have a certain number of chapters in stock and I have not had anything more to add then I will post. I am not holding chapters hostage, but I am making sure that the chapters are as good as they can be before I release them.
Until then, thank you for reading.