Having been walking for hours now, Link paused for a moment to catch his breath. It was getting late - judging by how dark it was, it must have been around 9pm in the evening, and aside from the darkness it was also growing colder by the minute.
It was not safe to travel in the dark between the towns and villages because with the Mirror of Twilight being a gateway, it meant that the goblins were back roaming Hyrule Field and Eldin Province. Their best move was to set up camp for the night and get moving as soon as dawn came.
"I think it's time to camp out for the night. It's not safe to continue through the night. Let's get a fire started and camp here for the night since we know that no goblins will come here." Link informed Midna, who had stopped right behind him.
"You sure about this Link?" Midna looked suspiciously around, not trusting their surroundings.
"Yes I'm sure" He confirmed.
A little reluctant at first, Midna gave in after thinking about it for a short moment.
"Well lets make a camp fire and a sleeping place, Link could you gather some leaves and sticks?" She asked, beginning to clear away some of the stones that were in the way of their base.
Link nodded and began looking around for the needed materials. When he returned, he saw that Midna had already made a decent enough sleeping place for them and had even gathered some food to cook over the campfire.
"That should be enough, though I couldn't find any flint to get a fire going with" He told his trusty companion.
He had searched as much as possible despite the darkness and unfortunately most of the leaves were soggy and ripped from the rain or just too crusty.
"Well that shouldn't be a problem. I have an idea" Midna informed him that with only a little movement of her index finger, made the leaves and sticks that Link had gathered in flames.
He could only stare at her and the now crackling fire in amazement and wonder how the Hell he had ever gotten by before without her. Sure, he had worked with other companions like Navi, but none of them could compare to Midna. She was the most helpful and interesting person to travel with and he was grateful to have her on this journey with him once again.
"Don't look so surprised." She smiled as they sat down and began to cook their food.
Curiosity getting the better of her, Midna could not help but to ask Link the one question that had been nagging her mind for the whole day since she had arrived in Castle Town.
"Link... Is it true that your engaged... to Zelda?" She asked.
Link got nervous. He could see Midna's devilish yet flirty smile. It was the look that, during their previous adventure together, he had become accustomed to. He was aware of what it had meant of course, he would have to be pretty stupid not to know, but it had made him nervous because he did not want to do anything on this journey to jeopardise what he shared with the Princess.. or his friendship with the giddy little imp. He was Zelda's valiant Knight after all, the one who had protected her wherever she went and her soon to be husband. Midna just also happened to be his best friend in the whole world. She was the only one aside from the Princess, who did not judge him or look down on him as a little loser boy with limited abilities.
"Yes, we are. Who... Who told you?" He struggled to question. He was frightened that she might not like the changes that had occurred since their last encounter.
"Isn't that obvious?... The king told me when I arrived in Castle Town." She answered truthfully.
Of course this news had taken her by surprise and she felt a little disappointed, but she was also happy. She was happy because her best friend had finally gotten what he deserved, and because the Princess had finally seen his worth.
Link stared at the flames, he was lost in thought, but was not ignoring Midna. Deep down he had always known that she felt something for him, but he never dared to bring it up in any of their conversations. By now he was used to loads of females fawning, fighting and swooning over him. He had encountered many of them over his hundreds of adventures... but Midna was someone that he did not want to get hurt. He loved the Princess, but he wanted to make sure that the giddy little imp found her happiness too.
Settling down ready to get some sleep before the long day that was ahead of them, they talked a little more. Catching up with each other and working out what would come next, after this fight was over - but never quite coming to a conclusion on that subject before getting sleepy.
As his eyes were growing heavy, and his mind drifting away into the abyss, he heard Midna speak to him in her more softer tone that she used when tired.
"Link... I missed our adventure together. I'm glad your with me in this." She admitted with a little yawn before she drifted off to the land of nod.
Although she was already fast asleep, and Link knew this, he decided to speak back anyway.
"I missed you too." He whispered into the cold night air before he fell into a deep slumber.
Awaking to the sound of their campfire crackling and fizzing out, as well as the raw daylight that cut into his eyes like razor blades, Link sat up and looked over at his companion, who was still sleeping peacefully.
Link got on his feet, and looked around to see if any goblins were nearby. Fortunately, there was not one to be found.
"Huh? Daylight already?... I just had this good dream." Midna yawned softly to break out of her dreamy state, and rose to her feet.
"Well we should get going right Link?" She questioned, now wide awake.
Link nodded and so they began walking in the direction that they knew would lead them to Ordon village.
"Thats the woods right?" Midna stared at Links map and pointed to a certain location on it.
Every adventure he had been on, he always carried a map just incase they got lost - though by now he knew Hyrule like the back of his hand.
"Yep." He confirmed, and so they headed in that direction.
The next few miles were spent with little to no talking. Link couldn't deny that things had been a little awkward this morning, since their conversation last night. He wasn't angry with her for how she felt, but he just didn't know what to say and was waiting for her to start a conversation first.
She didn't speak either, not because she was hurt over this news of Link's engagement, because she wasn't. She was quite happy for him. It was more about her own life though. Back in the Twilight Realm, she was lonely and had no close friends. Of course, she had her kingdom, but she couldn't help but feel the need for something more than that.
"Looks familiar doesnt it Link?" Midna spoke for the first time since waking up.
He smiled as the memories he has of his home village came flooding back through his mind. Each one was different and most of them were of the friendly villagers that he had spent most of his early days helping out.
"Yeah, I havent been here since I delivered the sword back to Colin's father." He responded, still smiling in awe at being back in a place that he loved. Of course he loved Hyrule Castle, but there was just something about this place that brought a feeling of nostalgia.
Soon they came to the bridge that was the border between Faron woods and the Ordon region and crossed it.
When they made it to the spirit fountain, Link stopped walking as he began to reflect upon a happy memory he had shared there with Ilia, back when she had first introduced him to Epona and had allowed him to take the beautiful horse on his travels on the condition that he took care of her.
"Huh?What is it Link?" Midna asked curiously.
"What? Oh, Nothing... I just had..." He was about to tell her, but trailed off without finishing his sentence.
"A flashback?" Midna questioned, with her hand close to his. The support team they had built was endless between the two.
"Yes. A flashback. Nothing more." He concluded and continued walking with Midna following not far behind.
Arriving at Link's house that he used to live in before he moved to Castle Town, things looked exactly how he had been remembering them. His house remained untouched by the rest of the villagers despite his permission for them to use it if they needed. It made him wonder what the rest of the village looked like these days.
He hoped that nothing had changed for the worse. This village meant something to him that he could not quite explain to anyone else as he wouldn't be able to word it in a way that they would understand.
It was a good thing that with Midna, he didn't have to. She had a way of seeing into his soul and always commented on anything that she believed was interesting. It was one of the reasons why he favoured her over every other companion he had travelled with, except for the Princess of course.
