Disclaimer: There is no COVID-19 in this AU.


The Magic Awakens

Chapter 19

The Wolf and the Imp


It took every ounce of Midna's willpower to not watch the library entrance like a furnix, even when her heart beat faster every time she heard footfall that could be Link's. If it was a light swagger with rubber soles tapping against the carpet, that could be Link, and she wanted to check if it was Link, but there was a very annoying reason as to why she couldn't do that right now.

Footfall that sounded like his drew closer than anyone, though it was slow and steady, like he was sneaking up on her. It was definitely him, but she would play along and feign apathy about his arrival. Because of the annoying reason beyond her control.

A tap on her shoulder. She turned around and was met by a sight that forced her to push back her giggles with both hands. Link's mouth was covered by Sheik's face mask, but his eyes smiled at her through Zelda's vintage glasses. His face was circled by a tightly drawn, black hoodie. Midna's annoyingly persistent laughter wouldn't let her say a proper hello, so she could only pat the seat beside her. He pulled it out, plopped into it, and slumped back with his arms crossed in an angsty matter. "I go by Ravio from now on," he said in a gruff tone. "Ravio Lee."

Midna folded her arms on the table and buried her forehead in them, her body still shaking as she tried to contain herself. Wow. Just… wow. Link's options were to either arrive as, well, Link, or arrive as someone suspicious enough to be Link.

"I'm glad to see you, Ravio Lee." She couldn't say the name with a straight face. "I should warn you though, we have a not-so-secret agent spying on us. Don't look-" His head was already over his shoulder. Zant ducked behind a comically large Atlas about four tables away.

"How do we fool him?" Link kept his voice hushed.

There was no "graceful" way to phrase her answer, so she didn't bother. "We have to look like co-workers with zero sexual tension."

Link cleared his throat. "Uh, yeah. Sure. Should be easy for us."

Midna bit back another giggle. Her face fell once she realised that she had already failed. Okay. Deep breath. Start over. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and- Dammit! Link wasn't fairing much better, wiping his clammy hands on his trousers. Posture stiff. Trying to look in every direction but Midna's. Her back shot straight. "Oh! Our notes." He nodded a bit too frantically. They dove towards their bags at the same time. Foreheads struck with a synonymous "Ow!"

Midna cringed as she rubbed the sore spot. Zant would surely have ample blackmail material by now. Did having a crush really have to be this intense? With stakes like Link getting thrown in prison and padlocks on her door? Zelda really screwed things up. No. Now was not the time for bitterness. Now was time for work. On the bright side, she wouldn't be distracted by his handsome face, or his roguish grin, or his toned arms that she so badly wanted to feel around her. Honestly, the more her family tried to keep her away from Link, the more he drew her in. Delightful irony.

Link recited the trope analysis of the presentation. "The fable takes the companion archetype and refreshes it by-"

"Excuse me," a soft voice said. It came from a teenage girl rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet. "You don't happen to be Link Harkinian?"

That fast?! He hoped the disguise hid his shock. Fortunately, Midna swooped to his rescue. "His name is Ravio," she said. "And as you can see, he was just in the middle of something before you interrupted him."

The girl squeaked an apology and scurried away. Midna's shoulders slumped a little. "Thanks," Link said.

"For being a bitch?"

"Yeah, actually," he said. "It's what we needed."

She snorted as she reached for a lock of hair, but a quick glance at Zant and she dropped her hand against the table. "Keep reciting," she urged.

Link had the easiest time memorising the script but wasn't the public speaker type. Midna found his awkwardness endearing, but she had the nagging notion that it wouldn't be enough for their top grade. Midna's charisma and improvisational skills made up for the lack of time they had to practice. "As our thesis states, the mirror is a metaphor for the cultural divide-"

A hand smacked on the table. "You're Link Harkinian?" The college guy's face hovered too close to Link's, scrutinising him.

Midna slammed her palms on the table as she stood. "No, he is not Link Harkinian. He's just some snot-nosed kid trying to get a decent grade!" Link coughed weakly to assist the illusion.

The intruder reeled back with a wrinkled nose. "I was just asking! No need to be a bitch about it."

At the b-word, Link stood. Midna planted a hand on his shoulder and forced him back down. "Leave us alone. He's not the celebrity you're rabid to meet."

The boy scoffed and walked off. Midna dropped into her seat with a huff. "You need to take some secret identity tips from Sheik," she whispered.

They went over their essay one more time to ensure that it was as polished as they could make it, and continued reciting the presentation over and over, making last-minute adjustments along the way. "How the story is passed down in Hylian and Twili culture differs," said Midna. "In my culture, it's commonly the fathers who share this fable, and no one ever tells it the same way."

"Hylians tend to favour picture book-"

"Wow. Link Harkinian is here. In the flesh!"

"For Din's sake, he's not Link!" Midna snapped.

The two girls recoiled, shooting looks of disgust Midna's way. "Don't be rude," one of them sneered.

"I'm rude?" Midna laughed coldly. "You just sprung into my friend's personal space, and I'm the rude one? Sorry to disappoint you, but you just wasted your time fawning over a random stranger."

"Is he though?" the other one questioned. "He's dressed like an airport celebrity." Link took the drawstrings of his hoodie and slowly drew them tighter.

"Random, and rather contagious, stranger," Midna asserted. Link coughed again. Not particularly convincing, but enough for the girls to finally leave.

Snickers came from behind a certain Atlas. Link kept an ear on Zant as he continued his recital. "Hylians have commodified the tale into- I think another one is on the way."

Midna glanced over at Zant who was whispering to yet another stranger while pointing at their table. Midna's focus fell back to the slideshow. Whatever. She could shoe him away like all the others.

He stopped at their table and cleared his throat. "Are you Link's girlfriend?" Midna's stylus clattered onto the table. Her cheeks flushed purple. The words "No. Fuck off." somehow evaporated in her throat.

Link, true to his heroic title, saved the day with a mock gasp. "Midna! Are you the reason why my boyfriend hasn't been answering his calls?" The line hit her like a pound in the stomach. She seized Link's notebook and hid her face behind it, trying so hard not to laugh.

The stranger blinked at Link. "He's gay?"

"He better be," Link said. "We celebrated our two-year anniversary a few months ago. Then he pulled that sword and suddenly doesn't have time for me anymore." Oh. Oh Midna was very much trapped. She couldn't open her mouth to tell this stranger to go away without releasing a cascade of laughter.

"But… heroes always fall for the princess…"

"It's 2020. The Chosen Hero is a bi icon, and apparently he's a dirty cheater as well." He shot Midna a glare, though his eyes twinkled. Midna resorted to drastic measures, which involved "accidentally" knocking her stylus on the ground so she could crawl under the table to find it.

The nosy stranger, very much confused and wrestling with his prejudices, trudged off. Once Midna was sure he was gone, she popped back up and it all burst free as she clambered back into her seat.

"I take it back. I love being an undercover celebrity," Link declared.

"Are you actually bi, though?" she asked.

"I'm curious," he said. "Probably the token straight of my household, but if the right guy comes along, who am I to say no. You?"

Midna sighed. "I want to be curious, but my parents' greatest ambition is to marry me off to some 'respectable husband'." She said the last two words in a posh voice.

The cheeky smirk beneath his mask coloured his tone. "If you marry a cop, we can't be friends."

"If I marry a cop, I want you to shoot me."

"What if I shoot the groom instead? Steal you from the alter?"

Midna laughed as she shook her head. "No way. If I let him slip that ring on my finger, I'm too far gone. Death would be mercy."

"You're never too far gone, Midna."

She held his gaze, lips slightly parted. Did he really think that of someone like her? In her periphery, Zant craned his neck around the Atlas. She coughed. "Co-workers."

Link fixed his gaze on their notes. "Co-workers," he repeated.

Trying not to flirt was like trying not to think of a purple chu chu. The harder they tried, the harder it became. The opportunities to prod and tease and banter as friends kept straying into ambiguous territory, and then they would reel themselves back again.

Zant had stopped sending fans their way, so they were making decent progress on their assignment, but the fact that he was there, watching them, kept building on Midna's nerves. Just as her parents were finally cooling off about the debate scandal...

The end of their session came far too quickly. Midna didn't want to leave the person who made her feel wanted and comfortable for the family that would punish her for it. Huh. Zant was no longer around. She gave into a bold impulse. "Can I walk you to your bike?"

It was kind of nice, Midna thought, that she could only witness his smile through his eyes. "Sure."

They had some friendly chatter along the way. Link complained about the horrible reporter he had to deal with last night, and Midna mentioned some of the hilarious Allegedly Chosen Hero memes that had popped up on CheepCheep.

"I can't believe that's what people call me," Link said. "I don't get Hero of Time or Hero of Twilight. I get Allegedly Chosen Hero."

"I think it's quite charming," she said as they rounded the hedge to Link's parking spot.

He slipped off the glasses and folded them into his pocket. "You need a ride?"

Midna smiled sadly. "Not with Zant around."

"Will you be okay?"

She scoffed. "Have a little more faith in me, would you?"

"Yeah, you're right."

This was it. Their last moment away from the prying eyes of the student body and Midna's family, before they would be forced to return to the way things were, lest old rumours resurrect (and possibly on a grander scale.)

What happened next was the most foolish yet sane thing either of them could do. They drew each other in for an embrace. Link's arms coiled around her waist. Midna draped hers around his shoulders. It should have been quick and firm, but they lingered. Her cheek rested against the top of his hoodie. His mask pressed against her collar. For a moment, it was as if those were the only barriers between them.

"Be safe," Link whispered.

"I will."

Fingertips trailed fabric as they parted. Link slipped on his helmet and settled onto his seat. It felt empty without Midna sitting there with him.

She stepped back, twirling a lock of hair around her finger, a smile gracing her lips. With a nod, he started the cycle and reversed out of the parking spot. A final wave, and he drove off. Midna watched him until he disappeared around a skyscraper, and she listened until his engine faded as well.

"You said you didn't like him." She whipped around. Zant was standing in the car park behind her, drumming his fingers against his messenger bag as if he had been there the whole time.

"Guess you're sneakier than you look," she said.

"Your presentation is gods-awful," Zant drawled, "unless your goal is to make googley eyes in front of the whole class."

"Is friendship a crime to you?"

Zant laughed coldly. "So he's your friend now? I'm surprised he even bothers to put up with someone as nasty as you." Midna's grip on her bag strap tightened. "Don't forget how you treated his sister back then. You do not deserve him." A shiver of guilt ran through her body. She could still fix things. She could still be forgiven by Zelda. She…

She had gotten her hopes up. No, that was the anxiety talking. It was Zant talking. When their rideshare rolled into the pick-up bay, Midna refused to subject herself to the mental tug-o-war any longer. She trudged to the back door and opened it. "You can find your own way home," she sneered. "I assume Mum arranged a different pick-up for you?" Midna slammed the door in his slack-jawed face.

Epic clap backs aside, she was relieved that he'd be taking the bus home instead.


Link and Zelda were right to be worried about the school's rumour mill spinning at top speed come Monday morning. Students flocked them on all sides like fans to a celebrity, shouting over each other for attention. They bombarded the twins with questions, invitations to numerous social gatherings, and even flirtatious advances. To Zelda's horror, most of the attention was flung her way.

"I am so gonna vote for you this Friday."

"You were always the best candidate."

"Have I ever mentioned how badass you were at the debate?"

"Midna's got nothing on you, Zelda."

She finally burst through the wall and barrelled through the doors. More students locked onto her as the ones from behind closed in. She whipped to her right, catching a glimpse of Midna's suggestion box before it was swallowed by more jostling bodies. It still rested on the desk under the notice board, though was horribly vandalised due to the rumour Zelda had sparked. Craning her neck over half-a-dozen shoulders, she caught a glimpse of Midna's election poster.

Midna Ozul: The System Shaker.

It takes a rebel to make real change.

Well, it was far from how Zelda would have done things, but it was a vision Midna had remained loyal to thus far. Zelda could hardly say the same for her own campaign.

Her mind was made up. If only there wasn't a dense body of students between herself and the principal's office.


Mrs Marie adjusted her glasses as she read the notices in Zelda's homeroom. They began with the usual, such as reminders to follow the dress code (Mrs Marie shot a look at Midna), adverts for study workshops in the library, and auditions for the school play. Zelda kept her head bowed and her hands folded in her lap, anticipation building towards one particular notice that had been read out every morning for the last fortnight.

"Once again, a reminder that the student council election will be held this Friday. If you have a slate, remember to download the Have Your Say app. Otherwise, collect a slip from the office and have it filled out before Friday's morning bell." Perhaps she was too late. Perhaps Mr Rauru hadn't updated the notices in time.

The teacher's eyebrows shot to the ceiling. "Oh my." She looked up, very perplexed. "Zelda, deary. It says you're no longer a candidate."

Zelda put on a false smile. "That's right. I withdrew this morning." Midna stared at her with parted lips and a furrowed brow, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't find the words.

"Why'd you do it?" Disappointment tinged Saria's tone.

"It's not something I can commit to."

"Because you're slaying dragons?" Sakon asked.

Zelda flushed. How in Din's name was she meant to answer that? "The rumours are false. I never killed a dragon."

"You were caught live on television."

"CGI has come a long way."

Ashei scoffed. "'Cause they totally animated and rendered a picto-realistic dragon in real time, yeah?"

"Isn't modern technology breath-taking?" Zelda squeaked.

"How bloody stupid do you think we are?!"

"Settle down, students," Mrs Marie commanded. "Zelda's reasons are her business and hers alone."

Saria's hand shot straight. "Please, Miss. I have a very important question for Zel."

Mrs Marie sighed. "Saria, darling, please."

"I don't mind," said Zelda. Saria was her trusted friend, after all.

The green-haired girl smiled. "Since you're not running anymore, who would you like to win?"

Zelda met the gaze of the one who had been too shocked to say a word. "I think Midna would make an excellent student council president."

Heads panned across the room. Midna shifted in her seat, still unable to say anything. The bell saved her. Students filed out of the room, and their chatter about the morning's revelation melded with the rest of the school. Zelda trailed behind, hoping to be inconspicuous, but just before she stepped out into the hall, Midna spoke up. "Why'd you really do it?"

Zelda turned around with an uneasy smile. "Doesn't seem fair that I'd win because of some divine quest, does it?" She peeled off her straps, unbuckled her bag, and handed a pink binder over. "These were all my ideas for what I'd do if I were elected. I hope you'll consider them."

Midna ran her nails over the cover. A tense silence hung between them. She opened her mouth but couldn't choke out a thank-you before Zelda ducked away. Still in disbelief about what had just happened, about what Zelda had done for her, Midna forgot to move until the second bell. She slipped the binder in her bag and sprinted down the hall. It was a good thing LLS was only two classrooms over.


"At the conclusion of the tale, the wolf and the imp's true forms had been restored," Link said. "The princess had taught the hero selfishness, so he fought for the selfish desire to live a peaceful life with his dearest friend."

"But the princess, well-read in history, had learned selflessness from the hero, and was afraid that if she pursued their happiness, they would be dooming both their worlds," Midna continued.

"She shattered the mirror, because it was the safest option, but it also denied their realms the chance for true reconciliation."

"A reconciliation that would have begun with one unlikely friendship."

The class applauded them. Mrs Twinrova's was slow and rhythmic, served with the smuggest of grins. "Well done, Mr Harkinian," she said, though she was locked on Midna. "Solid B+ for the both of you."

He had failed her. That was Link's first thought, and Mrs Twinrova surely knew it too. Why else would she announce their grade and only their grade to the entire class?

Midna's face remained stoic as she unplugged her tablet from the projector and slipped into her seat. Her insides squirmed at the mere thought of what she would have to deal with after school.

Link's hand hovered over hers, asking for permission to comfort her. She wove her fingers through his, and they stayed that way under the desk for the rest of the lesson.

When the bell rang, they knew this was the last moment of their short-lived friendship, and they knew it had to be the end of the ambiguity they had stumbled into, yet as they wandered through the halls, pretending not to know each other, they drifted towards the same destination.

The bag racks behind the gardening shed.

Link jumped and nestled himself onto the top shelf. Midna hung back, very aware that this was his territory that he had lent to her only once. He patted the spot beside him. Hesitantly, she slid herself over the wooden panels. He was the first to cut the silence. "Are you disappointed?"

"My parents will be, but I'm not." She turned to him with a coy smile. "Thanks for trying your best. I really appreciate it."

The look she gave him, combined with the light breeze nudging her hair, made the tips of his ears pink. "No problem."

She giggled lightly, and silence fell over them like a heavy blanket once more. Neither of them left though, because there were things that needed to be said but neither were allowed to say.

Midna's crossed ankles swayed back and forth. "I've been thinking lately," she said, "about my magic, and your quest, and that annoying cult. I think you were right when you said they don't want me to side against them." Bright blue veins snaked up her arms. Her hair fluttered like a candle flame. "So, I want to do just that." Glowing red eyes captivated his entire being. "The next time you go on an adventure, will you take me with you?"

Sensitive sisters, strict fathers, and sinister rumours. Midna's presence, her everything, swept it all aside if just for a fleeting moment.

"Yes."


That first scene has the same vibe as that viral video of the second-graders on a Zoom class where the teacher drops off but they know they're being recorded so they're trying so hard to behave. In my opinion, the kids do a much better job than Midlink.

So now that Midna has pledged to become more involved with the plot, but still hasn't quite made up with Zelda, what do you think will happen next?