It was the deathly silence that brought Link back from the black abyss of sleep. He was lying in the same spot where he had lost Midna, two loyal soldiers and two trusted doctors. Link pushed himself up and rubbed his tired eyes. His body ached from sleeping on the ground. The hero glanced around at what remained of the Twilight Realm. Only the entrance and the still smoldering remains of the palace existed. Link's shoulders dropped as he hung his head.
"And to think the tribe that once lived here called you their king."
Link's head snapped up. He turned around to see Ganondorf staring at the ruins.
"You," the hero growled.
Ganondorf glanced over at Link and smirked. The hero got to his feet.
"What are you going to do, hero?" the thief asked. He turned to face Link. "You look like you want to kill me."
"I killed you once, I can do it again," Link replied.
"And at the same time you would kill yourself," Ganondorf pointed out.
"As long as the world is rid of you it doesn't matter what happens to me," Link declared.
Ganondorf walked over to Link. "You're spirited for a man who just lost his wife and unborn child."
"How did you..."
"It was obvious," Ganondorf cut in. "Plus, I heard the maids talking about it."
Link didn't know what to do. He wanted nothing more than to run his sword through Ganondorf's heart...if he had one. He felt a hand close around the back of his neck. Ganondorf tightened his grip, pressing in on the pressure points in Link's neck. The hero tried to pry Ganondorf's fingers apart in an attempt to escape. However, the thief kept tightening his grip. Link bit his tongue to keep from screaming. A portal opened.
"I will see you in Hyrule," Ganondorf said.
And with that, he threw Link through the portal.
Ralis woke up to the sound of someone banging on his bedroom door.
"Your highness, you're needed in the throne room at once," a guard called.
Ralis threw back the sheets, got out of bed and hurried out of the room. He followed the guard to the throne room where he was met with an unusual sight. Seven strange creatures lay unconscious on the steps around the pool. They looked familiar. Ralis' eyes widened when he realized that they looked a lot like Midna.
"Don't just stand there. Get them to the infirmary," the Zora king ordered.
The guards dropped their weapons and began to carefully move the injured Twili to the infirmary. Ralis tried to keep calm.
If a group the twilight ended up in Zora's Domain then something must have happened to their kingdom, he reasoned. Does that mean Link and Midna are also somewhere in Hyrule? Oh, goddesses, please protect them.
Yeto and Yeta looked up at the starry sky. Snowpeak had been unnaturally calm for the past couple of days, which meant that trouble was on its way.
Yeta looked over her shoulder when she heard the sound of crunching snow.
"What is it?" Yeto asked.
"Heard something," Yeta replied.
Yeto listened. He, too, heard crunching snow. He also heard the sound of someone moaning. The Yeti got to his feet and went investigate. Yeta followed close behind him. They reached the top of the hill and saw three people huddled together in the snow.
"Odd color of humans," Yeto commented.
One of the people looked up and saw the Yeti couple.
"P-please," he stammered. "Do you know what has come of our king and queen?"
"Yeto, we must help, uh," Yeta said.
Yeto headed down the slope and picked up the three shivering strangers.
"W-we must kn-know," another spoke up. "Wh-where is qu-queen Midna and k-king Link?"
Yeta gasped. Yeto's eyes widened.
"Link?" he echoed.
"You know king Link?" the third whispered, her eyes slowly drifting shut.
Yeto held them close to his body to keep them warm.
"We help Link long ago," he explained. "Now, we help you. You come to house and have soup. Soup make you better."
"Sounds wonderful," the girl whispered, leaning into the Yeti's soft fur.
"T-try to st-stay awake, Sareal," the first man instructed.
The girl moaned, but opened her eyes nonetheless.
"How f-far is your home?" the second man asked.
"Just over hill," Yeto replied. "We sled to home."
He walked up to a lone tree and gave the trunk a firm kick. A piece of ice fell off. Yeto stepped on to the ice shard. The three Twili held on for dear life as Yeto began to slide down the mountain. Yeta followed close behind, sliding down on her stomach. If she hadn't been so tired, Sareal would have screamed whenever they jumped over a gap in the trail. The two men tried to keep her awake.
"Here we are," Yeto announced.
The Twili looked up. A large, grey-stone mansion stood before them. Yeto made his way up the stairs. He opened the door and walked inside. Being faster than her husband, Yeta was already inside and had a fire burning in the fireplace.
"You sit here with wife," Yeto told the Twili as he placed them near the fire. "I go make soup."
He stomped out of the room and headed into the kitchen. Sareal crawled up on to the chair closest to the fireplace and curled into a ball.
"May I ask what your name is, kind hostess?" one of the men asked.
"My name Yeta. Husband is Yeto. Who are you?" Yeta wanted to know.
"My name is Xerxes. And, this my brother, Zane and my sister, Sareal."
"Good to meet you," Yeta said.
"The pleasure is ours," Zane replied.
"Thank you for helping us," Sareal spoke in a soft voice.
"Where are we?" Zane asked.
"You on snowy mountain," Yeta answered. "Humans call mountain Snowpeak."
Just then, Yeto came through the doors carrying three bowls of soup. He handed the bowls to the siblings.
"Thank you," Sareal said, taking a sip of the broth. A warm shiver ran through her body. "It's delicious."
"I've never tasted anything so good," Zane added.
"Glad you like it," Yeto said.
Xerxes lowered the bowl from his lips, worry shining in his eyes. "Do you know what has become of our king and queen?" he asked the Yeti.
"No see Link since he visit," Yeto answered.
"I take it that was two years ago?" Zane guessed, taking another sip.
Yeto nodded. The brothers and sister fell silent.
"So...we're the only survivors?" Sareal breathed.
"We don't know that," Xerxes told her. "Others could have escaped."
Zane yawned, cutting off the conversation accidentally. Yeto and Yeta laughed.
"You tired. I show you to bedroom," Yeta offered.
Yeto took the empty bowls and the Twili followed Yeta up to the bedroom. Two beds occupied the large room. One was large enough to hold the Yeti couple, the second bed was big enough for two smaller people.
"I get other bed ready," Yeta explained.
She set to work on getting a second smaller bed ready for her guests. While she was setting up the bed, the siblings agreed that Xerxes and Zane would share one bed and Sareal would get the other. Yeta finished the preparations and left to let the Twili get ready for bed.
"Do you think the king and queen are safe?" Sareal asked, sitting down on her temporary bed.
"I'm sure they're fine," Xerxes replied. He didn't mention the fact that he had seen Midna fall when the cliff had given away. "Let's get some sleep. It's been a long day."
The brothers and sister crawled into bed and fell into dreamless sleep.
Kakariko slept under a starry sky. Renado walked through the quiet village as he did on many warm nights. He passed by the dormant Malo Mart and smiled at the memories that came to mind. The shaman made his way back to his sanctuary, however, he stopped when he heard a strange sound coming from the graveyard. Just then, Luda came out. It was apparent that she had heard the noise as well.
"Father, what was that?"
"Go back inside, Luda," Renado instructed.
"What do you think it is?" Luda asked.
"I do not know. But, I want you inside should whatever made that noise be dangerous."
Luda did as she was told and went back inside. Renado headed towards the graveyard. As he drew nearer, he could pick out the sound of people talking.
"Where are we?" someone asked.
"I do not find this amusing," another fumed.
"Is someone trying to tell us something?" the first wondered.
"Shh. I hear something," the second whispered.
Renado cautiously walked around the headstones. The moonlight revealed three figures. Two of them were knelt over the third.
"Is someone hurt?" the shaman asked.
"Do not come any closer," one of the kneeling figures warned.
"If your friend is injured I can help," Renado offered.
There was only silence for a while, until one of the men spoke.
"We could use a place to rest," he said.
"Certainly. My sanctuary isn't far," Renado replied.
The men picked up their fallen comrade and followed Renado back to the village. The shaman opened the door and allowed the men to go in first.
"Luda, prepare three pallets for our guests," Renado called to his daughter.
Luda quickly got the extra bedding ready. Renado watched in concern as the two men laid their friend down. Another thing that concerned him was the fact that, even in the light of the brightly burning candles, all three of them looked like shadows.
"May I ask you your names?" Renado questioned.
The man on the patient's right side answered. "My name is Raban. This is my associate, Gavin. We're doctors."
"And your friend?" Luda asked politely.
"He's the Captain of the Guard," Raban answered. "His name is Zepher."
Renado knelt down beside the unconscious soldier and gently pulled back the collar of his vest. Dark marks around his throat indicated that someone had attempted to strangle him. The burnt skin also indicated that whatever had been used to strangle him was also used to electrocute him. It was a miracle that he was still alive.
"Have you seen anyone else?" Gavin asked. "Besides us?"
"I have not," Renado answered. "Were there more of you?"
"Our kingdom was attacked," Raban spoke up. "In the chaos we lost sight of our king and queen."
Renado shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry. I haven't seen anyone besides you."
Gavin and Raban looked at each other. Was it true that they were the only survivors?
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