Chapter Twenty-One

As Dezaia fell forward onto her face, her right hand holding the Triforce started to radiate a perfect, pure white. The twins stared in amazement with their mouths agape. They looked at each other, and then Aleera and Neyleen saw that their own Triforces were bright white. Neyleen gasped, realizing something important just happened.

"The Triforce!" She cried, throwing her right hand in her sister's face. "It's complete."

And it was indeed, Aleera saw: Instead of just Neyleen's piece glowing, the whole Triforce was. Dezaia's feat of bravery and insight of killing the Twili brought the Triforce pieces together again. It's been centuries since this last happened. The twins sat there for a while, simply staring in disbelief at Neyleen's hand.

"Wait-Dezaia!" Aleera yelled, snapping her head back to the unconscious Gerudo.

Her chest rose rapidly, almost violently. Her red hair was loose, but it looked smoother and more bright than harsh. She changed, the girls could tell. Neyleen stood up and bent down to pull Dezaia up. She beckoned her sister to help with a sharp nod of her head. Aleera took charge and simply, also rather effortlessly, threw the lifeless Dezaia over her shoulder. Neyleen reached for Dezaia's right hand, which was enveloped with light, and she almost released it immediately.

"She's burning up-!"

"Hurry, we gotta get back to the palace."

And off they went. Aleera ran as fast as they could manage with Dezaia on her back, relying totally on Neyleen to lead them there as soon as possible. They dashed out of the late Zant's palace. When they stepped outside, the palace crumbled down behind them. This insane man's rule of tyranny was over forever.

The girls could tell that Zant's magic was fading away. As they ran, they saw that the twisted and misshapen forms of darkness were gone. There were out cold Twili all along the road. When Zant was killed, his spell over them broke. The Twili people were no longer the vile Shadow Beasts now. They were finally free of this maniacal grasp. The grey sky even looked brighter, and the Twilight Realm was welcomed back into normalcy. Still, the girls couldn't wait to leave.

They finally made it to the palace grounds, and just in time. The palace was back to normal and brought back to its brilliance, but neither girl was focusing on the newly restored palace. Aleera fell to her knees, causing Dezaia to roll off her and onto the ground. The girl panted deeply, her back covered in a new layer of sweat. It soaked through her tunic, leaving a dark stain all down her back. Neyleen grabbed Dezaia's arm, but she drew back with a yelp. Thin wisps of steam could be seen radiating off Dezaia's body.

"You did it!" A voice shouted.

Neyleen looked up to see Brynn running towards them. She smiled at them, but it vanished at the sight of the girls. Her eyes fell on Dezaia, and then she looked at Aleera, who was trying to free herself of her tunic. Brynn waved a hand at the princess, and Aleera instantly felt cool. She released a breath before standing up gingerly. Brynn pushed Neyleen away, inspecting Dezaia. The Winter Mage put a hand on the Gerudo's forehead. Brynn winced, but didn't remove her hand. Instead, she pushed harder on Dezaia. The queen let loose a slight moan of relief, her eyes twitching a bit.

"I need to tend her right now." Brynn said sharply, her eyes not leaving Dezaia as she stood. "Can you bring her-?"

"And die of heat stroke? Sorry, but I got her here." Aleera answered just as harshly. "Can't you do some crazy magic and-?"

"Is Midna all right?" interrupted Neyleen.

"The princess is alive and well." answered Brynn as she lifted her hands, lifting Dezaia with her power. "She felt a great pressure get lifted, and then she was fine. Come on, quickly."

Both twins let a shaky, but happy, breath loose before following Brynn back into the palace with Dezaia floating ahead of them. Her head lolled around, and her eyes started to open. Neyleen gasped, and Brynn sped up, veering away from the throne room. The girls followed, but Brynn turned sharply with her hand up at a door.

"No. You can't stay," Brynn ordered. "Go to the throne room. Midna insisted on seeing you as soon as you arrived." Her face softened a little. "And someone else is very anxious to see you, too."

King Link of Hyrule never wanted to leave this Chamber of the Sages, but alas he was not a sage. He didn't want to depart from this place where his wife resided. He'd never see her again. But, even now, Zelda was sending him away. She kissed his forehead tenderly, her hands on his shoulders.

"I love you," She murmured. "But this is not your time. We will be together again, I promise."

Link wasn't able to respond. His throat was constricted with sorrow and unshed tears. Zelda stroked back his hair lovingly, sending a shiver down his spine. She withdrew her touch with a sigh.

"Go now, my love."

He looked one more time into her pure blue eyes before she sent him away. Link reached out to her as the scene faded, mouthing her name wordlessly. He closed his eyes, a single tear escaping the lids. His feet gave out under him as he arrived wherever Zelda sent him. With a cry, he fell to his knees, wrapping his arms around himself. And he cried, but it was a short set of tears because he heard someone whisper his name.

"Link?" Her voice was trembling and unbelieving.

He heard faint footsteps that stopped short of him. Slowly, Link raised his head and found himself face-to-face with the Twilight Princess. And his breath was taken from him in that instant. Surprisingly, his heart swelled with not love, but a great happiness. Midna's face broke into a smile, and she offered him a hand. Link smiled back and allowed himself to be pulled up into her embrace.

"I didn't think I'd ever see you again, Link," Midna told him.

"I know the feeling." He replied, prying out of her hold.

A look of offence flashed across her face, but Midna quickly concealed it. She smiled again and actually looked at him: She thought he didn't change a bit. He still had those sparkling, wonderful blue eyes. And his golden locks of hair had no streaks of white or grey. His face was flawless still, except for a few scars here and there. He was still so beautiful to her.

Link frowned slightly as if he knew what she was thinking. He took her thin, slender hands into his own callused and rough hands. He sighed before speaking.

"Midna…"

"I know, Link." She whispered, actually knowing what he was thinking. "Your heart is not mine to have."

She withdrew her hands and gave a soft grin. Link took them again, rather forcefully. Midna started, but didn't take her hands back.

"I do love you, truly," He told her sincerely. "But like a sister, like a sister that I never had."

Midna blinked, not sure how she felt about that, but she took that. She smiled once more at him, a gesture of acceptance. Link grinned, and she, still holding one of his hands, took him up the dais. She snapped her fingers and another throne materialized next to her's. She curtsied and motioned to the throne. Link laughed and bowed, taking a seat. Midna sat down, too, crossing her legs. She put her elbows on the armrest facing Link, resting her chin on her hands.

"So tell me," Midna started. "What's been going on?"

Puzzled and a bit hurt, Aleera and Neyleen watched Brynn take Dezaia into the room. The door closed in front of them, and they stared at it for a few seconds before Aleera looked to her sister.

"Who could possibly be here?" She asked as they walked back towards the throne room.

Neyleen only shrugged as she opened the door to the room. Aleera screamed, startling her sister, and sprinted into the room and up the dais at lightning speed. Neyleen brought a finger to her temple, but soon saw why her sister reacted that way. She mimicked her sister, screaming and running up the dais.

"Father!" The twins cried simultaneously.

Too emotional for words, Link simply threw his arms around his daughters. He closed his eyes and started to cry. Aleera and Neyleen did the same, tears alright streaming down their dusty cheeks, leaving faint trails of clean skin. Link pulled back and gave them each a kiss on noses. They laughed softly, relieved and overjoyed. He looked down at their hands, and Link's eyes grew huge. Slowly, he reached down and took Aleera's hand. The Triforce was still a brilliant white, blinking dimly. He stared mutely at her hand in incredulity.

"We did it, daddy," Aleera whispered, and he looked back up at his daughters. "We did it,"

Link's face broke into a smile, and he grabbed his girls again, surprising all of them by swinging them both around. He put them back down, laughing happily. The girls ogled at him for a little bit before joining his laughter.

"I knew you would," Link said, but he paused and his face clouded. "We…both did."

The girls' laughter, too, cut short at the mention of their mother. They frowned, but Neyleen bounced back. She took her father's hand, somewhat forcing a smile. No words needed to be said; Link understood. His lips gradually turned upward till he gave a full smile.

"We all knew you could do it," Midna piped up from behind.

They all turned to princess, who looked like her normal self. Her long, radiant orange hair was hanging free behind her, and her yellow-red eyes were bright. She now wore new black robes, nothing too fancy, but with the glorious and interesting glowing blue designs. She bowed her head slightly, a smile on her beautiful face.

"I want to thank you personally," the Twili continued. "Without you," She gestured about the newly restored room. "None of this, none it, would be here. I…I wouldn't be here. Thank you, so much."

Midna curtsied, but was cut short by an embrace from both Aleera and Neyleen. She started and stood rigid for a few seconds, but she sighed and returned the hug. Link crept up the dais and also entered the hold. Breaking away, Midna snapped her fingers and two more chairs appeared near the thrones. She sat down and motioned for them all to do the same. Link took his previous seat with Neyleen on his right and Aleera on his left. They took his hands.

"Father, how did you get here?" Neyleen started. "I thought we sent you to…"

"You did," Link said quickly. "And I thank you very much. I needed that," He cleared his throat before continuing. "I was in the chamber for a while, and then Z-zelda sent me here. She didn't tell me where I was being teleported, but she did say I'd see her again."

Link titled his head and grinned. Neyleen stroked his hand, trying to hide her doubt. Aleera exchanged a glance with her twin, and they both decided to not say anything.

"I wasn't even told that Link would be coming," took over Midna. "It was a great surprise to see him. I just wish Zelda hadn't waited so long to send you. To send any of you." She swiftly added. "If she has such power, I'm rather offended that you haven't visited before."

"She knew better," Aleera murmured. "It wouldn't have been a good idea," She glanced at her father. "She knew when the right time was."

Midna nodded, and a rather awkward silence filled the air. A little time passed before Midna cleared her throat. She adjusted her legs and placed her hands in her lap.

"Well, I'm sure you two have a lot to tell us," the Twilight Princess said. "Go on; tell us of your fantastic adventure."

Hours and hours passed as the girls retold their Tale of the Triforce. Aleera told most of the story, over exaggerating at times, of course, and flailing her arms about to add to the atmosphere. Neyleen stepped in when the story got out of line and corrected her twin with a grin. Aleera would roll her eyes and brushed her sister off before resuming. Both Link and Midna listened intently without interruption except for a gasp, laugh, or exclamation.

When the Twilit sun started to set, Midna summoned a servant to bring provisions, as well as beverages. The servant hurried off, and he reappeared seconds later with a large tray of assorted food. Midna told them that she tried to get food from their realm, or at least make it resemble what they're used to, but it still looked different and odd to the Hylians. Out of politeness, all three of them tasted the exotic food. And it wasn't too bad, actually.

After goblets of water were passed around, Aleera picked back up on their story. When they reached the part of first encountering Dezaia and Alec, Aleera's voice trailed off. Neyleen continued for her sister, and Link did not question his daughter but only gave her a worried glance. He took her hand reassuringly before looking back to Neyleen. She carried on the story for quite some time before Aleera jumped back in.

Before long, their account was finished. Link smiled, telling them that it reminded him of his "hero days" and his longing for them. Midna said it was surely a great adventure when the main doors opened. All four of their heads turned to see Brynn come shuffling towards them. She stopped at the dais and curtsied.

"Majesties," She greeted warmly. "Queen Dezaia is asking for your presence."

Neyleen and Aleera nearly forgot about Dezaia and how she was practically on fire. They rose and excused themselves. Link kissed their hands before they went down the dais. Brynn turned back around and led them out the throne room. She silently brought them to the same room from before and opened the door.