Had it not been for how she knew that such an idea was ridiculous, Midna would have sworn that she felt the presence of the ship long before it emerged from the sea of clouds below them. However, as she stood there, watching how the ship gradually grew in size as it emerged from the clouds, the balloon itself already being at least double the size of the Shadow, and the bright gold colours that decorated the sides of the ship glittered in the moonlight, the idea of it truly being the case slowly began to feel a little less absurd. After all, if there would ever be a ship they would be able to sense, it would have to be this one, with all the power and glamour that surrounded a ship from the royal fleet.
Perhaps someone else would have felt apprehensive at the sight of the target. Midna certainly would have stopped to wonder if they were about to head directly into their deaths just a few years ago, but now, as she felt the ship below her feet change course to stay hidden from view, she knew that the size of their target was also their biggest advantage. With the cover the balloon provided, they would be able to strike while still retaining the element of surprise. But more importantly, a ship this size meant coal, tons of coal, and provisions enough to last their base for months.
Turning around one last time and making sure not to show how her hands were shaking slightly, she tightened her grip around the gun, letting the feeling of the cold metal calm her as she faced the rest of the crew. "We have located the target!" Midna yelled, confident that the wind howling in her ears would also be enough to drown out her voice and hide it from the waiting soldiers. "Prepare yourself for the attack and do not strike before I give the order to do so! Understood?"
No one answered her, but with how Rusl immediately stepped over to her, already helping to make sure that Jaggle had fastened all the straps correctly, the rest of the crew following right behind him, Midna knew that they had all heard, understood, and, more importantly, agreed to follow her on the mission.
As she climbed up to stand on the narrow space between the relative safety the ship could provide and the fall into the world below with only her faith in the rope that would hopefully not break today but instead stop her fall in time, the familiar sense of adrenaline filling every little part of her almost seemed to make her fears about the future disappear. She could do this. They had done it before and Midna would make sure that they would all live to continue to target the king's ships another day. When she forced herself not to think about the attack from the soldiers that would no doubt await them the minute they landed on the deck and how the element of surprise would only be able to provide them with a few seconds before their opponents would remember their training and turn their weapons towards them, ready to defend the ship and the royal family whose crest they carried, Midna could almost fool herself into thinking that she was not frightened, that her heart did not beat wildly in her chest as she heard the sounds of almost twenty pairs of feet make contact with the wooden railing, a single gasp escaping one of the new members as they felt the wind threaten to push them if they did not focus on remaining upright. But she was the leader, so although part of her agreed with the man, although she knew that, rationally, what they were doing was madness, Midna simply closed her eyes and granted herself a second to let go of her fears.
She felt how her breathing slowed down, her mind becoming clearer, and by the time she opened her eyes again, Midna knew that, if she had looked up to see where Link was busy fighting the wind to stay in control of the ship, she would find him shooting her a short nod, silently telling her to continue, that she knew what she was doing. However, she did not do that. Instead, Midna bent her knees slightly, ready to jump and move as far away from the ship as possible to lower the risk of her line getting tangled up in someone else's and waited until the target was directly below them.
"Now!" Midna heard the wind catch the sound her voice, throwing it over to the side, but by then, she had already leapt into the air, leaving both the ship and the limited amount of security it could hold behind.
The feeling of falling through the air was freeing. It was more than sailing through the air, more than having to remain hidden inside the mountain. Cutting through the clouds, keeping her arms close to her body and focusing on her balance, Midna knew that what awaited her could only be one of two things: success or death. And really, despite how she knew that Link and Ilia would no doubt have told her to care about more than that, the simplicity she could find in that thought was exactly what Midna needed each and every time they would find themselves with no other choice but to take to the skies.
However, as it so often was, the moment ended far sooner than what Midna would have liked for it to do, and the next second, she felt the rope behind her tighten, her descent coming to a slow halt as she dangled in the air for a moment before locating the little button.
She fell the last metre, landing on the deck with a soft thud, but by the time the guard next to her had had time to identify the direction of the sound and turn towards her, she was no longer the only pirate on the ship.
Unable to deny the vicious feeling of glee that filled her as a panicked expression flickered across the guard's face as he seemingly realised how the pirates had been prepared for this, already heading towards the storeroom, only slightly slowed down by the soldier's attacks, Midna raised her gun and hit him with the metal handle. He barely had time to do more than gasp and close his eyes before he fell over, allowing her to continue on her path forwards.
Running across the deck, Midna could hear how the soldiers were slowly beginning to realise the situation they had found themselves in, orders about surrounding the attackers and defending the cabin flying through the air around her. She did not let it slow her down. Although they were slowly beginning to form a strategy, the surprise had still not quite worn off, giving her plenty of time to make it halfway across the ship before they even thought to direct their attention towards her.
The next second, Midna realised that her pride had blinded her, not making her realise the danger before it rose up to meet her. A guard had stepped in front of her, having seemingly appeared from out of thin air, though Midna suspected that it really had more to do with her having looked over to the starboard side of the ship to make sure that Rusl had the situation under control there.
She barely had time to avoid his attack, ducking under his arm as he aimed a spear at her. In that moment, Midna could not have been more grateful for the fact that chaos had erupted on the ship the moment they had attacked, pirates and soldiers forming one big crowd, for she was sure that it was nothing other than the risk of hitting one of his own that had kept the guard from reaching for the gun hanging by his side. Instead, she was able to barely avoid the tip of the spear, as she instead threw herself to the side and made the split-second decision to run to the right, dancing around one of the soldiers, before sprinting towards the cabin.
She would not be able to reach the storeroom, Midna knew that much. She did not even have to turn around to know from the sound of metal clanking and unknown voices yelling orders that attempting to go through the wall of soldiers was a path that was certain to lead to her own demise. But perhaps there was another way to reach her goal. After all, it would hardly be the first time she would have found a hidden passage from the cabin and into the storeroom, and with how the guards had almost seemed more concerned about protecting the cabin than anything else, Midna was sure that there was something in there of value. The real question was what it would be.
Avoiding yet another guard, Midna soon reached the door, already knowing that it would be locked long before she had even had time to touch the door handle. However, that was not something she could not handle, and after only a few kicks at the door, she could already feel how the wooden planks began to give up under the pressure of the attack. Truly, as she heard one of the planks give way, Midna could not help but wonder how it could be that, despite the pomp and style that had almost seemed to surround the ship when she had looked at it from above, now that she was down here, standing on the deck of it and trying to reach its storeroom, it felt much older than even the Shadow. But she would not complain about not having to reach for her lock picking tool and having to fend off the guards' attacks while also fighting with the lock, and as Midna moved into the room, making sure to close the door behind her to give herself as much time as possible before the soldiers outside would realise how she had slipped past them, she forced herself to focus on the mission and nothing else.
The room she found herself in was nothing like what she had expected. Of course, given the placement of it and the fact that the guards had seemed intent on protecting the entrance, Midna had assumed that she would enter the captain's cabin, see a room filled with maps, globes, and other valuables. However, even the idea she had had of the gold that would have decorated the globe paled in comparison with the room.
It was lavish. That was the only word Midna could find to describe the sight that met her, the way the bedsheets seemed to almost glow in the darkness, how a tall bookcase covered almost the entire wall next to her, filled to the brim with books with colourful spines and titles in golden twirls.
Taking another step into the room, the thought that perhaps the ship and this room in particular had been meant for someone other than the captain echoed in Midna's mind.
Still, it did not matter whose ship she had attacked as long as it ultimately belonged to the king, and so, Midna tore her gaze away from what looked like an open diary that had been left of the desk to instead search the room for a hidden passage to the storeroom. Such a thing had to exist, or at the very least, the room had to hold some kind of valuable secret for her to find. It simply had to; it was the only reason Midna could find that would explain why the guards had seemed more concerned about the risk of Midna and her pirates reaching the cabin than the much more realistic risk of them taking the ship's entire supply of coal and food.
However, although Midna made sure to inspect the walls, searching for a spot where a knock resulting in a hollow sound might give her a clue as to the presence of a secret room, she could not find the reason for the soldier's insistence on protecting the cabin. Outside, the sounds of fighting continued, the soldiers having seemingly managed to somewhat organise a counterattack if the sounds of their leader's orders and the panicked response were any indication.
She was running out of time. Before long, she would have no choice but to leave the room and to make her way back to the deck and then hope that she would be able to fasten the straps and let herself be pulled back onto the Shadow before the guards would have time to attack her, and yet, even as she felt the seconds slip away from her, Midna could not quite let go of the feeling that she was missing something, something important.
It was not until she turned around, halfway about to head back outside to help the rest of the crew fight their way back to the harnesses when they would emerge from the storeroom, that it all slid into place. The bookcase was right there in front of her, and Midna almost felt like she was being pulled towards it. Now that she had begun to ponder the possibility of there being more than just a display of wealth and knowledge behind the presence of the books, it seemed almost strange that she had not thought about it before.
Letting her hands brush against the spines of the books, Midna tried her best to figure out where she would have hid a secret, which book would contain the key to the secret of the room. Would it be the one on the subject of geography or the novel?
In the end, however, it was neither the title nor the appearance of any of the books that gave away the location of the secret. Rather, it was the warmth Midna noticed around the middle of the bookcase. The difference in temperature was not extreme, and Midna was certain that had it not been for how she was searching specifically for something that looked out of place, she would not have noticed it, but the subtle difference was enough to make her pause and inspect the area more closely.
The warmth seemed to come from somewhere behind the bookcase, around the area just a little bit lower than where her eyes would have landed if she had simply glanced at the bookcase, perhaps being the result of warm water flowing through pipes right behind the wall. Or—and Midna had a feeling that it would be the reason—it could be the result of someone not having been able to cover up a secret opening mechanism, some of the warmth from steam that fuelled it escaping into the cabin.
It barely took Midna more than half a minute to find the right book, the resistance it provided letting her know that, unlike those around it, the atlas was not meant to be read, and the next second, an entire section of the bookcase swung open, revealing a narrow passage behind it.
Casting a glance at the door behind her where the ruined lock would surely alert a soldier to the fact that she had slipped by them soon, Midna stepped into the corridor and tried her best not to allow herself to feel trapped as the door closed behind her. It was fine, she was in control, and soon, she would be in the storeroom, ready to grab as much as she could carry. At least that was what she told herself as she turned left, following the sharp turn of the passage. Although lamps lined the top of the wall to her right, flooding the passage with light, as Midna began to hurry forward, she was not quite able to distract herself with the thoughts of how she would be back on her own ship in just a couple of minutes, this time with the knowledge that she would be able to surprise everyone at home with the news of how she had found yet another secret entrance to a storeroom. There was simply something about it all that did not feel right, an uneasy feeling twisting painfully in her stomach as she held her breath, careful not to make a sound.
The floor below her began to slope slightly, the sign that she had been right about it leading to the storeroom making Midna quicken her pace while trying to keep track of time. If she had counted correctly, she only had about five minute left until she had to be back on deck, ready for Link to steer the ship upwards, or else she would be left behind.
Perhaps it was the fear of finding herself abandoned that made her forget how she had to first listen to make sure she would not be met with an unfortunate surprise before opening the door that awaited her at the end of the passageway. Midna didn't truly know the reason for why she opened the door without waiting to ensure that it would be safe, nor did it matter in that moment, as she threw open the door, fully expecting to have reached the storeroom, only to instead find herself face to face with another woman.
For a moment, all Midna could do was to stare, her mind trying its best to make sense of what she was seeing. But no matter how much she tried to force herself to realise the connection, she could not figure out what the woman in front of her was doing on the ship. With her intricate hairstyle, the lace that lined the nightgown and the deep, red colour of the shawl she had thrown over her shoulders, she looked so unlike the soldiers they had met up on the deck that Midna would not have been surprised if she was imagining things. However, even though she blinked, the woman was still there, looking at her with the same bewildered expression that Midna was sure she would find reflected in her own eyes.
It was the other woman who was the first to break the silence between them. Tilting her head to the side ever so slightly, she reached up to pull her shawl tighter around her. "Who are you?" she asked, knitting her brows. "What are you doing here?"
Midna did not get the chance to answer before the sound of a yell and the thud of someone falling over on the deck above them made both of them look up towards the ceiling. Midna could tell from the way the woman froze for a fraction of a second that she was not the only one who was at once acutely aware of what was happening.
Still, that did not prepare her for the fire that was visible in the other woman's eyes as she looked back at her, looking at once frightened and furious as the tense silence was brought to an end to instead be replaced by a voice that held the slightly melodic edge of the dialect of the capital as the woman spoke again. "You! You are a pirate, you are the reason my guards instructed me to hide!" she yelled, the accusations coming rapidly, and had it not been for how the disappointment that it seemed that this woman really was all the cabin had been hiding was still hanging above Midna, she might have bothered to feel angry.
However, in that moment, all she could do was to wonder who this woman was, what made her so important that the soldiers outside had seemingly cared more about her than whether or not they would be able to return to the capital, why there had been a hidden passage built into the ship for seemingly no other reason than to protect this stranger.
It did not appear that the fact that she was standing in front of the person responsible for planning the attack on the ship had dawned on the woman yet, for she continued, letting go of the shawl to instead plant herself in front of Midna, a sight that would perhaps have been intimidating had it not been for the fact that Midna was still standing directly in front of the door and that, even if that had not been the case, she was certain she would easily have been able to shove the woman in front of her aside. "I know the reason for why you are here, but I must inform you that I will not allow you to harm anyone on this ship. They are here because of me, so I demand that you will let them leave without any injuries."
Midna was not quite sure what it was that made her finally realise just who she had found. Perhaps it was her way of speaking, the way her upbringing had clearly been spent in the presence of several tutors, the rupees that had been spent on her education evident in the way she spoke and looked at Midna, though she supposed it could just as well have been the way she did not seem to realise that she was not in a position where she would be able to give orders, thinking that it mattered to any of them what she thought about the attack. But in that moment, she knew that she was not just standing in front of any noblewoman who had decided to leave her guards to fend for themselves while she would hide. No, she was standing in front of Princess Zelda herself.
For a second, Midna did not know whether to laugh or to cry. Here she was, having wasted so much time thinking that she might have found another entrance into the storeroom, and then the only thing she had achieved was meeting the princess and once again getting to know how the royal family seemed to believe that their status was enough for everyone to obey their every word. Now, she not only had to handle to issue of just how she would be able to make her way back out of the room, her only hope being that none of the guards had figured out that she had found the princess, for if it came to a fight, Midna knew that she would not be able to escape from the narrow passage, all she had got for her troubles had been a meeting with the princess.
However, as she looked back up at the princess and saw the expectant look in her eyes, the way her gaze had landed on the gun that hung from Midna's belt, she knew that she would have to react, give her a response. Turning around and sprinting back out of the room would be the same as giving in to the royal family after all, and so, Midna made sure to imitate the slightly nasal sound of the dialect that seemed so common among members of the court and nobility as she looked at the princess, shooting her a cold glare. "You have nothing to worry about, Your Royal Highness. Unlike the tyrant sitting on the throne of Hyrule, I am not a murderer."
The short curtsey was an afterthought more than anything else, and by the time Midna had let her expression show the princess exactly what she thought of her, she had already halfway turned around, using the adrenaline to allow herself to run far quicker than she had thought possible.
Behind her, she could her how the sounds of fabric swishing gave away the fact that the princess was trying to follow her, but Midna did not care enough to let it hinder her escape. If the princess wanted to learn what really happened when her guards told her to hide, she would be more than welcome to follow her, so she simply ignored how the princess shouted for her to slow down, demanding an explanation.
The fact that she was able to somehow make her way back to the cabin to find that it was still empty felt like it had required far more luck than what she deserved, and as she threw open the door to cross the deck, Midna made sure to keep her gun ready, halfway expecting for it to have been a part of the soldiers' strategy, a way for the them to lead her into a trap. But it seemed that they were just as busy trying to catch the rest of the crew as they had been when she had first left the fight behind to enter the cabin, for she was able to grab the harness, quickly pulling the straps around her shoulders and fastening them, without having to do more than to parry a couple of clumsy attacks from a guard who seemed like he was several years younger than her, unable to put much strength behind his movements.
Around her, Midna saw how almost everyone else had their bags filled to the brim, placing them on the little hook next to them as they danced around the guards while securing the straps. Though she tried her best, she was not able to ignore the pangs of guilt at the thought of how she seemed to be the only one who had not managed to take anything at all.
But as Rusl finally made it over to them, only barely having time to put on the harness before they were pulled away from the ship, at least the task of ignoring her aching muscles to instead curl up, making it harder for the soldiers to spot her against the dark night sky, at least Midna could find comfort in the fact that they had all made it, that all the people she had looked at fifteen minutes ago were now being pulled back up into the sky and onto the ship next to her. After all, was that not what Uli had tried to tell her, that the important thing was that they all made it back home?
Although she did not quite agree with that observation and had pointed out the fact that they would still need food and fuel even if they all made it back, it did provide her with a little comfort and Link helped her back onto the Shadow and she had to confess to him that she had returned empty-handed.
Even as she tried her best, she must not have been to completely hide the disappointment and shame, for Link pulled her into a quick hug before she got the chance to head into her cabin to finally get a chance to rest.
"Are you all right?" he asked as she loosened the straps and slipped out of the harness.
"I will be." Midna answered with a shrug. For a moment, she considered if she should tell Link about how she had met the princess, but before she got the chance to say anything, Link had already patted her shoulder and continued over towards Rusl.
Forcing a smile onto her face, Midna tried to keep her head down to avoid the risk of anyone asking her about what she had managed to grab while she made her way over to her cabin. Perhaps it was the cowardly thing to do, but it was easier than having to face the disappointment of those around her when they would see how she had not managed to bring back anything other than the story of meeting the princess.
They returned home to the base before dawn.
Although she knew that it would not be the case, as she thought about her own failure, Midna found herself almost wishing that she would be able to slip by undetected, to simply be able to stay in her cabin instead of having to face everyone around her while admitting that she had allowed herself to become distracted by the idea of finding a great secret hidden away inside a ship from the royal fleet. It would only delay the moment where she would inevitably have to admit to herself that she had not been able to fulfil her role in the mission, but with how she had only barely managed to get a few hours of sleep before Link came to her to let her know that it was her turn to steer the ship, those few hours of rest would have been nice.
Instead of getting that, Midna landed the ship inside the base, only to be met with the sight of the rest of their little group having gathered to welcome them. Normally, it would perhaps have been nice, but now, it was only the fact that Link, having seemingly noticed what she was about to do, slung an arm around her shoulders that kept her from running back into her cabin.
"It will be fine, Midna," he whispered to her as they made their way over to where Rusl was already in the process of lowering down the rope ladder to allow them to reach the floor, "no one is blaming you for anything—they are all just happy that we made it back alive."
"I know, I know. I just… I feel like I should have been able to do more, you know?" it would appear that he did not know, for Link only looked over at her, confusion apparent in the way he cocked his head, prompting her to continue. "I don't know if it is just because that is how it usually is, but I can't help but to expect that I will always be the one of us who comes home with the most food every time." even as she said it, Midna could hear how illogical the idea was, but the sound of Link chuckling next to her still warmed a little as they moved over to the side of the ship.
Swinging her legs over the handrail, Midna soon reached the ground, with Link jumping the last metre before running over to join her. Around them, Midna could hear the sounds of families reuniting, those who were either still not ready or able to come along on the missions hurrying to find their loved ones, but although she was at least a head taller than everyone around her, she could not spot the familiar sight of Ilia's blonde hair anywhere in the crowd.
Next to her, it seemed that Link had reached the same conclusion, as he took her hand to slow her down before looking up at her. "I can't see Ilia anywhere," he said, having to raise his voice as Colin let out an excited yell before running over towards Rusl, Uli following right behind him, hand on her stomach as she paused to send them a short smile, "do you think that she might not have noticed that we returned?"
"Doubting it. With that landing, I am sure that everyone in the entire base knows that we are here again. But I am sure that everyone here would be more than happy to help the two of you find each other, especially considering how much time you have spent apart from one another—"
Link grabbed her arm before she had even got the chance to turn around and pretend to walk over towards Rusl and his family. "Yes, thank you, but I don't think that it will be necessary. Let's just wait for her to come find us," he said, the words practically bleeding into one long sound.
Allowing herself a moment to shake her head at how her comment had made him blush, Midna's thoughts soon returned to a more serious matter as she glanced back towards her ship.
With the faint trace of the crest of the ancient royal family of the Twilight Realm still visible on the side of it where time and weather still had not quite been able to make the colours fade away, it should not have come as a surprise to her that the ship was larger than any of the ships they usually attacked, the ones that belonged to merchants they had seen sell to the royal family, but somehow the sight of it always managed to overwhelm her when she would look at it while standing on the ground, making it so that she had to spend a moment simply trying to take in the fact that they had to be able to continue to find fuel for the steam engine to offset the cost of yet another mission. Midna wouldn't dare to think about the consequences, of what would happen the day they would no longer be able to be lifted up into the sky to take back what was theirs. And yet, it seemed that now, after the disappointment she had been during the recent mission, she had no choice but to come to terms with the fact that she had to face the reality around her.
Midna tried her best to keep her voice from shaking as she looked back at Link, but with how he stopped smiling the instant she opened her mouth, she knew that she had not succeeded. "Do you know how much we were able to take?"
The fact that Link hesitated alone would have been enough for Midna to know that she would not like the answer, and yet, it still felt like someone had punched her in the stomach as he finally answered. "I think I heard Jaggle say that we just barely got enough coal to make up for what we used during the mission." With how be reached up to rub the back of his neck, Midna was all too aware of how there was no 'think' about that. He really had heard it. Still, she had asked to hear the truth, so as Link continued, she tried her best to keep her face somewhat neutral. "As for food, we got a little of everything—some salted meat, mushrooms, wheat, and rice. And," Link leant in, and for the first time, his eyes shone a bit as he smiled, "don't tell the children, but Rusl even managed to grab a jar of honey."
Despite her sour mood, Midna had to admit that it was quite the news. Honey. That meant meat that had laid in honey at dinner, something to soothe the children's throats once winter hit them, perhaps even a cake if they were lucky and made sure not to waste anything.
Casting a glance back towards Rusl, Midna considered walking over to thank him, but he seemed preoccupied with his family already, if how he lifted Colin up before hugging his wife was any indication. Besides, if he had wanted to tell her about the honey, Midna was sure he would have done so when he had gone over to stand next to her at the helm, looking at the stars above them for a few minutes before he handed her a little sack filled with some of the things he had managed to take. It must have been his way of trying to make her feel better, or at least that was what Midna had assumed since he had left without saying a word to her about his reasons. She had been thankful of that then and she still was, so she would not ruin it by walking over to him and begin a conversation about the mission. At least that was what Midna told herself in an attempt to deny the possibility of it all being caused by pity over how she had not even been able to grab a single bottle of milk during the mission. As much as it would no doubt have curdled within days, it would still have been better than nothing, but she had not even been able to find the bare minimum.
It was the sound of Ilia shouting Link's name that finally made Midna shake her head, pushing the dark thoughts away.
Looking up, she saw Ilia leaning over the railing that separated the walkway connecting each side of the base with each other from a two metre fall, her short hair being caught by the wind as she sprinted over towards their side of the room, taking the stairs two steps at a time. Had she looked over at Link, Midna knew that she would have witnessed every sign of fatigue disappear in an instant to instead make way for pure joy as he responded by shouting her name. As Ilia ran through the crowd between the stairs and the two of them, she made sure to take a step backwards the make way for her, something Ilia did not waste as she reached them, instead throwing her arms around Link's neck and pressing a kiss to his cheek before laughing as he spun her around.
"I wasn't sure that you had really got back already," she said as he placed her back down, the two of them still not letting go of each other, "Beth said that it probably was nothing, so it wasn't until we noticed that everyone had left that we realised that you had actually returned. Oh, and Midna, welcome back! " it seemed that was the moment where Ilia finally noticed Midna as well, for, letting go of Link, she pulled her into a tight hug that was almost enough to allow Midna to forget about how she had failed the mission by instead searching for a non-existent secret passage into the storeroom, listening to Ilia's voice through it all as it reached her, loud and excited. "How was the mission? Did anyone get hurt?" not giving them even a moment to answer, Ilia continued. "I hope not, but father told me that although you try your best not to let anything happen, we have to be prepared for anything."
"Your father is right, but don't worry, we won't let anything happen to anyone during these missions, not as long as we are still able to act," Link said, his words making Ilia let go of Midna to instead rest her head against his shoulder.
Feeling slightly out of place as she stood there, almost like she was intruding rather than simply spending time with two of her friends, Midna was almost relieved to have an excuse to interrupt them. Reaching into the pockets of the coat she had slung over her while standing at the helm, she cleared her throat, making sure she had caught their attention before she handed the little piece of metal that had been in the sack over to Ilia. "Here, I thought you might need this for Epona."
As Ilia took what to Midna looked like a metal pipe with the same amount of gentleness as Midna might have shown if she had been handling the weapons, Link shoot Midna a look, the way he raised his brows slightly along with the hint of a smile letting her know that he was aware of how she was only waiting for the opportunity to leave.
Apparently, Ilia had not noticed any of it, for she looked up at Midna with a bright smile as she shoved the metal into a pocket in her belt. "Thank you! I think it was just what I needed, actually. Did you find it aboard the ship?"
"Yes," Midna answered, deciding that there was no need to inform Ilia of how she had not actually been the one to find it, that Rusl had handed it to her, "it was lying in the storeroom, and it looked like it might once have been a part of an engine, so I decided to bring it back home, just in case you might find a use for it in your project." she would not have said that she had expected for Ilia to thank her, but even then, Midna would have lied if she tried to claim that she did not find Ilia's reaction, the way she bit her lip and stared at the piece of metal, strange. "Ilia," she tried, "is anything wrong?"
"No," Ilia said, but with how she let the word trail off while looking at the pipe with a gaze so intense that Midna would not have been surprised if it had melted in her hands it was not at all convincing, "it is just… this part, I have been searching for it for months now, and from what I remember, it is quite rare. So for it to just be lying around… well, it is a bit weird, don't you think?"
It was Link rather than Midna who answered the question.
"Perhaps," he said with a little shrug, "but if it means that you will be able to finish Epona, does it really matter? I mean, the guards were not exactly organised nor were they prepared for our attack, so I don't really think that there is anything strange about the fact that they did not keep track of their things."
But although Midna could hear how he was clearly trying his best to convince not just her and Ilia but himself as well, she had to admit that Ilia was right. A ship with a hidden passage leading into a room for the princess to hide in, but with soldiers who for the most part seemed unprepared and with spare parts lying around—there was something about it that she did not like, something that made her feel almost like she had failed to notice something.
From how Ilia did not look up from the piece of metal, Midna could see that she was not the only one who was still not convinced by Link's explanation. However, before she got the chance to think of an explanation, Ilia let out a sigh and placed the pipe in one of her pockets before shaking her head. "Probably. I might also be overthinking things; I have been working on Epona all night so I am quite tired right now. Speaking of which, would you like to go look at her?" although she looked at both of them as she asked, Midna got the feeling that the offer was meant more for Link than her, and as Ilia continued, her words only strengthened that feeling. "I just finished working on the keel, and I would like for you to see it."
"Yes, of course," Link replied, his voice filled with enthusiasm that Midna was sure wasn't only due to the ship, before he turned towards her, "What about you, Midna, would you like to come along as well?"
From the look in his eyes, it was easy to tell what he hoped her answer would be, and the knowledge that the two of them would enjoy each other's company just fine without her did make it easier for Midna to send Ilia an apologetic look as she shook her head. "No, I am sorry, but I think I need a few hours to myself. But I hope you'll find the ship interesting Link, I really do."
Ilia, for her part, was able to somewhat hide her joy as she took Link's hand and began to walk across the hangar, but as he followed along beside her, Link sent Midna a short smile, making it so that she did not have to spend too much time wondering what he might have whispered to Ilia as he leant over towards her.
So instead of doing that, Midna cast a quick glance around her. It seemed that while the three of them had been busy discussing the reasons as to how Rusl had been able to find the spare part, the others had returned to their own rooms, or had at least gone somewhere other than the hangar, for even as she leant back a little to be able to look at the area in front of the stern, she still did not see anyone. But even though she knew that she should have been happy that she would now be able to head back into her cabin without anyone asking if she was all right, Midna could not quite let go of a feeling of loneliness, the wish for someone to have been there to wait for her gnawing at her heart as she placed her foot on the lowest step of the rope ladder, forcing herself to pour every last bit of energy she might otherwise have wasted on pondering what it could mean into pulling herself up onto the ship as quickly as possible. Wondering what might have been if Ilia and Link had not grown closer, if they still shared the same friendship that had blossomed between them back when they had first met, was, after all, a waste of time, achieving nothing but keeping her awake at night. And right now, with how much her eyes hurt and how she had to pause for a moment to make sure that she would not fall over when she opened the door to her cabin, that was the last thing Midna needed.
But it seemed that she had not been able to convince her mind of that, for as she lay in her bed and waited for sleep to finally come to her, her thoughts kept circling back to the princess she had met aboard the ship, stubbornly refusing to give in to her attempts at forcing herself to forget about the display of the results of a royal upbringing filled to the brim with pampering and the belief that the king of Hyrule really was the most important person in the world.
There was something about the way she had looked at her while demanding for them to not let any harm come to the soldiers that made it feel like Midna had missed something, something important. But no matter how many times she thought she had finally reached a conclusion, the answer slipped away from her again, and before long, it seemed that the lack of sleep was finally enough to balance the need for answers, finally granting her a moment of peace.