1

The ZHD escorted Prince Ralis back to his assigned quarters. All of a sudden, his guards circled him. Then he saw why.

The Princess of Twilight, the Twili Midna, leaned against the wall. She showed more leg all the time. Her black shawl's glowing runes promised that it hid secrets. And most disturbing of all was her devilish smile. Her eyes sparkled when she told him, "We think the annointed hour has come, your grace."

Ralis' eyes narrowed. On one hand, she was a demon back from hell. In the other, she ought to be trying to redeem her people. Furthermore, they were both in a palace under a triforce' protection. Ralis nodded, once and polite. "Please, join us for a nightcap, your grace."

The ZHD would have looked surprised if they weren't as disciplined. Instead, each and every one of them walked up to Midna. One openned the door to allow Ralis entrance. A pair watched each end of the hallway nearly expectantly. Another darted into the prince' quarters and back out once she had made a show of it being secure. Then all, sarcastically gracious, bid the princess to enter the room.

Midna simply smiled. She knew that a single Twili's magics had frozen their entire kingdom and cast twilight down upon it (with maybe a bit of help from Ganon). The fact that made such a show meant they feared her. Which made her more powerful in their eyes. Which made her more valuable to them.

"We don't have to use the royal 'we' if you like.", Ralis told her as she entered the room. "And that was a plural we that I just used."

"Good. I don't really like the 'miladies' every four seconds.", she told him. "And besides, it's 'my lady'."

Midna took in the Zora's quarters. There was a large pool and little else. She elegantly reclined next to the pool. The little pitter pats of flippers on tile told her Ralis was coming towards her. The teen prince vaulted over her head and entered the pool's water without a splash. A moment later his head broke the surface.

"I have to make certain of every possible custom.", he told Midna. "Princess Zelda makes a show of formality and regality."

Midna giggled. "Well, when one controls at least two triforces one can be comfortable with one's own behavior.

"Tell me, is it true that the Water Temple is kept that much better than the Forest Temple?"

"Of course.", Ralis assured her. "Our people worship the goddesses regularly."

Midna rolled onto her back. "The goddesses must pay attention to your people particularly well, then. What have they blessed you with?"

"Our waters for one.", Ralis replied.

The princess continued. "But the Hylians have their fields and their forests. The Goron have their mountains. You have your waters. The shallower of which you share with the fae."

"But certainly, with so much devotion surely one of the goddesses has blessed your people even more. Din has granted your people against all threats, without need for a Hero, right?"

"Well, no.", Ralis answered. His brow curled. Midna must be getting at something, and he didn't like what he thought it might be.

"Oh?", Midna responded too casually. "Well, Farore has granted you the ability to travel everywhere unfettered. And Nayru has made Zora science the apitome of the world."

Ralis half squinted. There's a line before offensive and silly. He was wondering which, if not both, Midna had crossed.

"I wish my people had been so blessed.", the princess told him. "But then again, we don't worship like you do. We don't spend our treasury keeping a Temple. We don't have populace so...devout."

"So we have to accept that another kingdom is granted the triforces by the goddesses. We have to spend the treasury we don't spend on temples on the people. We have to utilize easy to learn magic instead of science. Oh woe are we."

Midna rolled toward him. "Hey, do you think maybe Zelda will get a couple of Hylians to run our tourism trade? I hear they'll even hire a token Twili if we just ask nice enough.", she said through her fangs.

"We thank you for your visit, your grace.", Ralis deadpanned. "It was most...fulfilling."

Midna shrugged, stood and swept her skirt out. "We are most assuredly willing to greet any further hospitality as graciously as is permitted, your grace."

With that, she left.

The Zora that had accompannied him all came into the room. As soon as the door was locked, each slid into the pool with the boy. Ralis was somewhat perplexed when they helped him deeper into the water.

"What are you doing?", the prince asked them.

"Your majesty.", began one of the women. "We are only helping you...to relax after a strenuous day. I'm certain we can make sure you find release."

"Huh?", the prince started.

Another one of them spoke. "Princess Midna only uses her clothing to make a show of showing herself. And in her chambers, didn't Zelda entreat you to look at her as a woman?"

"Yes.", Ralis answered. "How did you know?"

"That's why only females were sent as your honor guard, your majesty.", the leader of these women told him. "Your majesty is a teenage boy. The princess' wouldn't be doing their job if they didn't seek to exploit that as women. I'm kind of surprised the fairy queen didn't come on to you. But your ministers have anticipated this. That's why a more graceful than ferocious honor guard was arranged for you. We're here to help with your natural desires."

Ralis objected. "You're my honor guard, not a harem."

One of the women floated around him, trailing an arm against his scales. "Your majesty, your wants are a matter of national security. If you were to fall for someone out of lust and not the love, the domain may be at stake. Goddess forbid, you were to wed someone who was more manipulative than loving."

"Don't worry, your majesty.", the youngest one present told him. "Some of us joined hoping for this duty. It's not some indignity to be with a handsome king."

Ralis shrugged, remembering to talk to his ministers about what other weaknesses he had that they prepared for.

"And it's prince.", he reminded the ZHD.

2

When Midna was in her assigned quarters, she drew the curtains. Then the drapes. She didn't know if Zelda was being gracious by giving her a room with view or trying to annoy her with sunlight while holding onto plausible deniability. After she checked to make sure there was no way someone outside the room could see in without enough magic for her to notice, she called out.

"You can come out now."

Shadows began to float off surfaces and into the air. Soon she was surrounded by floating darkness, people of ghostly form and no substance. Three dimensional constructs were the most Twili could exist as in 'daylight' without the aid of stone hard fushed shadow. Midna flopped on the bed, allowing her blackened shawl to come away from her brick hard, obsidian half-corset.

Midna turned her head, letting her bright orange hair spray out. "What do you have for me?", she asked a particular obtenebrated ghost.

The Twili she referred to tossed a black stone on the bed. Midna raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"And it's hard to find a bow, quiver and bolts.", he told her. "Apparently, no Hylian has one. Except for Link that was handed a who-knows-how-old relic. Or Zelda who was handed one by the four spirits protecting Hyrule."

"But I'm not a complete failure.", the shadow told her. "If you look under the bed, there might be an unwitting donation from a Moblin. It should be fiery and sharp enough to crack open a light dweller's skull at more than a few yards. Tomorrow. At the play that Zelda's arranged. From a downward angle. Despite wearing a crown, or tiara as the case may be."

"But what about you, milady?", he asked.

"Don't you worry about me doing my part.", Midna ordered. "Bad policy or no, I am princess. Which means I pull more than the lot of you."

"Let's see." Midna started ticking off fingers.

"One, got Ralis thinking that the goddesses might not be the best bet. If he loses faith I wonder who he's going to look to for some supernatural insight. Might take a while though, he's probably still in that 'I know everything' phase of puberty. Do Zora have puberty?"

"Anyway, two. Link wants to bend me over and proclaim his ever lasting love for hometown girl at the same time, he just doesn't choose to say it aloud yet. If Zelda marries him, it's going to be because she ordered him to and she can put up with a lot of adultery. I mean, a whole lot."

"Three, the Goron are about as magical as an incantation to get rain from a hurricane. Should we decide to take and shatter the mirror, even you might be able to do it.", she said with a smile and a finger pointing at another Twili.

"What do you mean should, milady?", the Twili asked. "We all know we're going to take and shatter the mirror to make our getaway, just as soon as we exact our revenge. Right?"

Midna glared at him. "I still say we have a lot to gain by playing nice. Wars are most times averted from interreliance rather than isolation."

"You did pull a big one today with the fairy queen, milady", another shadow being said. "You came across so much more lady like and pascifistic than Zelda, even the Goron were talking about it."

Midna turned her attention. "How did hiding in Gor's shadow go, by the way?"

The reply was instant. "Goron are idiot savante, if their technology is what you said it is. 'Hey bruddah, did you sit in the hot springs after the sumo match?' 'Hey bruddah, anyone who isn't a fat big mouth slob like us must be weak in body and mind. Zelda must be weak, 'cause she's purty.' 'Hey bruddah, did you go to the sumo match after sitting in the hot springs?' 'The fairy queen must be weak, cause she doesn't have my pot belly.' 'Hey bruddah, did you want to go to the sumo match or the hot springs when we get back?' 'I don't know. That's a tough call bruddah.'"

Midna waved her hands above her, as if to ward off more of the bad Goron impersonation. "Stop. Please."

The retainer continued. "On the other hand, Coron's pretty sharp. He knows which side the triforce is buttered on, and its not Death Mountain. Plus, he realizes Gorons can use allies in ways most of his kind wouldn't understand. Fortunately, he's dragged down by rocks-for-brains countrymen."

Midna changed subjects. "Anything happenning on the Zora front that I don't know?"

"That depends.", a different Twili answered. "Did you know that as soon as you left, his honor guard was trying to get Ralis into an orgy? For national security purposes, of course. I guess they don't want lovlies like you and Zelda messing with his head more than Zelda already has."

"What about you?", Midna asked another mid-air shadow. "What did Zelda talk about with that sage?"

"I don't know.", the shadow said simply.

"How could you not know?", Midna sat up. "I told you specifically to hide in her shadow. That's why I made sure my shadow joined hers, so you could get into it."

"Yeah. Then the sage came in and I hid under a table.", the retainer told her. "I was following your example, milady. Or is Link's shadow more bold a choice?"

Midna nodded. "Okay. That was intense. I guess not everyone had the chance to come back with choice gossip."

The Twili shook her head. "Oh, I got what you need milady. It seems that Princess Zelda shut down a revolution tonight."

All of the Twili turned to the one speaking. "Got your attention, do I?

"It seems that a group of 'concerned citizens' have been planning a take over for years. There was a Telma. And a Shad."

Midna cut in. "The think-tank? Those guys? But they helped Link and I save her throne."

"From Zant and Ganon.", the retainer countered. "Not a tough choice. But she called them on it. Told them exactly how she knew and everything."

"Well, at least we can cast Castle Town in a more villainous light after she executes the entire group.", another surmised.

But the other objected. "Not quite. Princess Zelda told them their hearts are in the right place and offered them jobs."

"Let's hope her heart is in the right place tomorrow.", the first retainer joked.

Midna stood up. "You idiot. I keep telling you she's more noble than anyone gives her credit for. But no. You just want to bump her off, no matter how much she can or would help us."

The other Twili nodded. "Uh, she is a ruler of light dwellers. Milady."

Another Twili spoke. "You did promise to back us on this, milady. I know you think she's your friend. And you did get them to help us detransform. But they're close enough with the goddesses to be armed with triforces. They ARE armed with the triforces. All of them by my count. We need to hit them hard, fast and as many times as possible-then flee like a fairy at Agatha's."

"Fine.", Midna spat. "But don't act like I like this. I still think you're wrong. But I'm no Zant. I'm not going to go against the will of the people."

"And we need to be extra careful.", a retainer pointed out. "If she can take down a conspiracy that's been planning for years with a few words at a party, who knows what she's really capable of. Her assassination must go off without a hitch, or we'll all be picking our fangs off the floor."