Just as Midna had predicted, the jar of honey meant that when she made her way into the larder the next day, only to be stopped by Uli who handed her a bowl of porridge with a smile before walking over to the dining hall with her, giving Midna no choice but to eat with everyone else, her breakfast was sweeter than it had been before.

Sending Uli a quick glance, Midna already knew what the reason for that was, how Uli had surely used an entire spoonful of honey just on her, perhaps even more than that.

She should have said something. It would have been the right thing to do, to tell Uli that she was perfectly fine and that they should try to save the honey for a moment where they really needed it so that they would not find themselves unable to soothe anyone's sore throat, but for some reason, the thought that Uli had been willing to waste the honey on her made her eyes sting slightly as a lump formed in her throat, making her unable to force out the words. During all the time where she had known her, she had never seen Uli waste resources like that, not even for Colin, so that she had done this, Midna could almost not understand. Looking down at her bowl of porridge, she did her best to ignore how she had to blink faster, instead focusing on how the sweetness the honey added made to the meal her feel just a tiny bit better.

Thankfully, Link arrived, swinging his legs over the bench to sit next to her, before she was finished with her bowl, saving her from having to figure out what she could say to Uli.

Still, not even the fact that she could almost feel how she tried her best to wordlessly tell him not to draw attention to her seemed to be enough to keep Link and Uli from communicating, for although they did not exchange a single word, Midna could tell that their quick glances held an entire conversation. If she had been able to focus on anything other than doing her best not to let the salty taste of tears ruin her breakfast, she might even have been able to figure out what they were saying, but as it was, Midna was content to just let them continue their wordless conversation without her.

In the end, it seemed that they had reached some kind of agreement, as Uli got up the next second, and left with a quick goodbye.

As soon as the doors to the dining hall closed behind her, Link leant in closer towards Midna, and with a voice that was barely louder than a whisper, he brought an end to the silence she had otherwise let herself descend into. "Hey, Midna, I was just thinking about something just now," he whispered, but it was not until he let out a sight that Midna realised how he had been waiting for some kind of response to that statement, but at least he did not sound offended as he continued, "have you felt lonely lately?"

The sheer surprise that followed the question was almost enough to make Midna choke on her porridge. It was nothing other than a quick cough that kept her from having to face the embarrassment of that. "No," she said, once she was fairly certain she would not risk anything by answering, "no, I have not. Why do you ask?"

Link squirmed in his seat slightly, clearly wishing that he had never asked her at all. "It is just… I realised after I had left you yesterday to go look at Epona that Ilia and I abandoned you. And, well, I wanted to apologise for that, but I also just… wanted to make sure that you were all right."

Normally, Midna might have let out a short laugh and said something to deny all of it, making sure that her tone of voice would not leave any doubts about whether or not it was a good idea to ask again. But perhaps her failure to do just that was due to how she had not really been able to sleep, or maybe it was the fact that she had still not figured out why the soldiers had allowed a piece of metal to just be right there for them to take. No matter what, fact was that she for some reason could not find the energy to put up her normal façade. Instead, she shrugged and tried to recall the way the honey had tasted. Somehow, it seemed to make it easier to find the words to form an answer without crying.

"I… I don't think so," she began, trying her best to walk the fine line between outright lying and simply attempting to do her best to protect the base and everyone in it, "I mean, I have you and Ilia, I have Rusl, Uli, and Colin—everyone in the base. So, really, why would I be lonely?" she could not quite tell if the question had been meant for Link or for herself, and bit her lip to make sure that she would not accidentally answer it.

"I don't know, I was just wondering if you weren't… distancing yourself from everyone else a little bit. I mean, you are the only one who lives alone—"

"You live alone as well," Midna countered.

At that, Link let out a little laugh, but it was evident from the way he did not look away from her for even a moment and how tense he was that it was more of a way to continue the conversation than anything else. "Yes, I do, but only sleep alone. Really, I live with everyone else the rest of the time. You, however, sleep and seem to eat most of your meals inside the cabin of the ship, and although I know that that room must mean a lot to you—"

He did not get the chance to finish the sentence, as Midna had already interrupted him, hearing how her eagerness to stop him from continuing made her voice just a bit shriller than it usually was as she fixed him with a cold glare that she was not able to keep from bleeding into her voice as she spoke up. "It has nothing to do with any of that. And, really, if there is any distance between me and everyone else, it is due to the fact that you all seem to treat me differently than everyone else, like I am some kind of royalty." the word caught in her throat, but she knew that Link had still heard it from how he reached out to place a hand on her shoulder. Those tears, if only she could tell herself to stop crying, then this conversation would be over in minutes. However, as much as she wished that the opposite had been the case, she could feel how a tear escaped from the corner of her eye.

"Hey, no one has said anything about you. I was just worried for my friend—that is all it was." Link leant in towards her, and Midna could tell how much he was hoping for it to be the moment where she would finally admit the truth.

It did make her feel guilty to known that she was letting him down, but it was still easier to handle than actually having to face any of the things he had told her, so, brushing his hand aside with a quick motion, Midna stood up. "I think I should get going now," she said, grabbing the bowl, "I have things to do and I am sure that you do as well."

She did not give him the chance to reply to that, instead hurrying out of the dining hall, for once grateful for the fact that she was the only one who seemed to prefer eating alone as the presence of the rest of their little group was no doubt what kept Link from trying to continue the conversation by simply calling out after her.

She found Ilia sitting in the exact same spot where she had found her almost every day for the past year: in front of Epona. But where the ship had once been little more than a couple of planks, a few scraps of metal, an entire wall filled with drawings of how Ilia had planned to build the ship, and calculations that Midna could barely follow taking up almost every last centimetre of space on the papers that lay scattered over the floor, as Midna brushed aside the old bedsheet Ilia had used to build a little workroom for herself in one end of the hangar, she was met with the sight of what could very well have been an actual ship. As it stood there, with the mainsail lying as a piece of carefully folded fabric on the deck and the helm now being complete, it wasn't difficult for Midna to imagine how the second ship, although much smaller than the Shadow, would be able to help them, granting them the ability to not have to decide whether or not they would head out for a mission even though it would make it impossible for them to act in time if another village was attacked each time they found themselves needing something.

However, no matter how impressive the ship was, it was not the reason for why Midna had headed towards the hangar immediately after leaving the dining hall. No, it required for her to walk around the ship, reaching the bow to finally be able to sit down on the floor and look over at where Ilia was busy drawing something on a piece of paper. From the look of it, Midna was almost entirely sure that she was attempting to figure out just how she was supposed to secure the steam engine with the resources she had at her disposal, but despite how she had spent most of her life on a ship, she soon had to admit that she was not able to understand most of the words Ilia had written next to her drawings or why half of them had seemingly been thrown aside already, the drawings and words obscured by a few angry lines.

Perhaps the amount of work Midna could see present in the discarded drawings was the reason for why she sat down fully prepared to have to wait for hours before Ilia would have time to talk with her and listen to her worries. However, she had hardly got the chance to even make herself comfortable before Ilia looked up, coming to a sudden halt in the middle of what looked like it was a series of calculations to determine the amount of weight the ship could carry, and without giving Midna a moment to tell her that she was fine, how she could wait for Ilia to finish what she was working on, she had placed the fountain pen on the ground and crawled over to sit next to her.

"So," Ilia began, moving just a tiny bit closer to Midna so that their shoulders would have touched if she had leant even slightly to the side, "from the expression on your face, I am thinking that you came here for other reasons than to admire Epona and to congratulate me on my work."

Despite how Midna had gone there determined to get some answers and not to allow herself to become distracted, a laugh escaped her. "Yes, I, uh, I came here to talk with you about something other than Epona. Not that it isn't pretty," Midna said. As she glanced at the smooth surface of the ship, she knew that it was true. Epona truly was beautiful, and for a second, she could almost imagine what the Shadow might have looked like back when it had still been used by the royal family of the Twilight Realm, back when such a thing had still existed, the idea of such a thing almost seeming to drag the rest of the sentence out of her as she added, "but I did actually have something I want to talk with you about, just, you know, to listen to what you thought about it."

She thought she had done her best to make it sound careless, but with how Ilia's smile faltered for a moment before she was able to nod and smile, Midna knew that she had not managed to achieve the intended result.

Still, she had to admit that Ilia was a much better actress than Midna would have been in the same situation, for she gestured in the direction of where most of the communal rooms in the base were located as she cocked her head. "Well, I am sure that everyone else would have been happy if you had come to finally listen to me ramble about Epona. To tell the truth I think that I have already annoyed almost everyone else, but, hey, as long as I am building a ship that will be able to help us all, I should be able to tell them about it. But, to return to you, what was it that you wanted to talk with me about?"

Midna had tried her best to figure out what she would say while making her way over to the hangar, repeating the words to herself inside her head so that she would not find herself denying that she would like to talk with someone the way she had done at breakfast, and yet, she still found that what she ended up saying was completely unlike what she had rehearsed. Gone where the carefully chosen words that would be ambiguous enough for her to be able to deny it if Ilia guessed her real reason for coming here, instead making way for what she had really wanted to ask the entire time.

"Ilia, do I seem lonely?"

From how Ilia froze for a second before looking over at her, Midna already had an idea about what the answer to her question would be, but she still stayed quiet, allowing Ilia to open and close her mouth a couple of times before she seemingly found the right words, sending her a concerned look as she responded. "If you look lonely?" the little nod Midna sent her only made Ilia raise her eyebrows, her glance flickering back towards Epona. "Why do you ask? Has anything happened?"

"No... it is just that, well, Link asked me if I was lonely while I was eating breakfast, and now I cannot help but wonder if that is something everyone here has been thinking about as well. I wouldn't like it if I began to feel like people only talked to me because they thought that I was lonely, so I just have to know if this is something a lot of people have been thinking about." already, she could hear how her voice gave the truth away, revealing how the nonchalance really was nothing but a mask.

Ilia was silent for far longer than what Midna would have liked, a thoughtful look in her eyes. It was not until Midna had halfway decided to repeat the question that she finally answered, and even then, Midna could not tell if the fact that she reached up to brush a strand of hair away from her face had been due to her hair actually being out of place or if it was simply to give herself a few seconds where Midna would not be able to see her face.

"About that," Ilia began, speaking slowly, "I don't think that a lot of people are thinking that you look lonely. I mean, Uli and Rusl have asked me a couple of times if I know why you prefer to eat inside your cabin, but it is not something many people talked about. As for whether or not I think you seem lonely, well," Ilia shot her a long glance, and Midna could not help but feel like there was something she was missing, something hidden just below the surface that she could not read, "I can't tell you whether or not you really are lonely—you are the only one who can do that—but with everything I have seen, I would say that you might be." seemingly knowing what Midna's reaction to that would be, Ilia had already reached to grab her hand long before Midna was able to push herself up from the floor. "Midna, if this is about the mission, I just want to tell you that you are the only one who thinks badly of you for it. I talked with Link about it and do you know what he said?" Ilia did not give her the chance to answer before she had already done it for her. "He told me that you were the first one to jump, that you made sure that everyone was ready. Rusl told me the same thing. As for myself, I know that all we can really hope for is for everyone to return home after a mission. You did that, you made sure everyone came home again, and that is enough."

Had it not been for how she could see Ilia's eyes grow shiny, Midna was not sure what her reaction to that would have been. Truth to be told, over the last day, she had almost been able to make herself forget about the disaster she had been during the mission, pushing it towards the back of her mind to instead make space for the fact that her stomach ached every time she thought about the hidden room and the way Ganondorf had seemingly managed to convince everyone of how they were nothing but pirates, only there to steal from the people of Hyrule the moment he knew he had succeeded. But as Ilia mentioned the failure of a mission, the guilt was quick to push through all of that, making itself heard above it.

"I know, I know," Midna mumbled, and although she tried her best, she was not able to keep a sharp edge from seeping into her voice, "no one is disappointed, they all look at me and see a leader, I know."

Of course that was not enough to convince Ilia, Midna knew that already before Ilia had tightened her grip around her hand, pulling her a bit closer towards her.

"Listen, Midna," Ilia said, letting her voice drop until it was barely more than a whisper, "everyone here owes you their life. I promise you that no matter what you might think, you really are the only who is still thinking about that mission, do you understand?" she did not let go, and at last, Midna found herself with no choice other than to nod. A satisfied look flickered over Ilia's face as she continued. "Good. Now, can you also promise me something? No matter how you might already be planning to show everyone that you can still find more coal and food than anyone else in this base, during your next mission, you will not try to do anything reckless just to prove your worth, you will not run directly into danger if you can find a way to avoid it. Will you promise me that? Will you promise that you will return home with everyone else even if it means not having found anything?"

"It seems to me like you should also make Link promise the same thing," Midna said, but the smirk felt fake and it was no wonder why. As she sat there, with Epona next to her and Ilia clutching her hand as tightly as she had done the night Midna and Link had first met her, Midna already knew that she would not be able to say no.

"I made him promise me the same thing ages ago. Back then, you seemed a bit more… I don't know, composed, so I thought that he was the only one I needed to hear repeat those words. But now… I am not so sure anymore."

The way she could hear that Ilia was not simply pretending to be concerned, that she was not only saying it because she felt obligated to care the way Midna somehow felt was the case with some of the other residents, was almost more than she could bear, so, making sure that she would not lose control of her voice, Midna nodded at her. "Of course I won't do anything stupid, you have nothing to worry about." she could feel that it was not enough the moment the last word had left her mouth, with Ilia's raised brows only confirming it, so she continued. "I just… something happened during the mission—"

Immediately, Ilia let go of her hand, jumping up from the floor. "What happened—are you hurt?" she did not give Midna a chance to answer, already moving closer, almost touching her arm to look for wounds before looking back up at her face. "Is it the ship—do you need me to look at it? Farore, it is about one of the others, isn't it?"

Normally, Midna would perhaps have brushed it all aside, trying her best not to feel annoyed, but now, as she shook her head, the relief the sight of the familiar reaction brought her was freeing. "No, no one is hurt, and the ship is perfectly fine as well. It is about…" searching for the words to explain what had happened, Midna forced herself to think back to the first thing on the ship that had given her a feeling that something was not right, "the reason I wasn't able to find anything was not that the soldiers kept me from being able to reach the storeroom—or, well, I mean, it was, but by the time I had realised that I would not be able to get past them, I did not just wait there for the others to return."

"But then what did you do?"

"Made my way over to where I thought I would find the captain's cabin. I thought that I would perhaps be able to find something in there we could use and that, if nothing else, it would provide me with a chance to slip by the guards and avoid having to fight for my life until the rest of the crew would return." Midna looked down at her hands, and although she supposed that she should not have been surprised at how she had unbuttoned the top button of her waistcoat with her nervous movements, she still had to use the excuse of looking somewhere else for a moment to provide her with the cover to button it again before continuing. "I could not find anything we might have been able to use in there. However, even then, I found a hidden passageway, and so, because I thought that it might lead into the storeroom, I decided to follow it, only it did not take me to anything I might have been able to steal. Instead it led me into a room that had seemingly been made specifically to provide someone important with a place to hide during attacks, or at least that was what it seemed like, because I met the princess in there."

At that, although Midna could see how she was trying her best not to interrupt the story, Ilia could not keep back a tiny gasp. "Princess Zelda?" she asked, "You saw Princess Zelda aboard the ship?"

"I did."

"But if you saw the princess, then how were you able to escape unharmed?" Ilia continued, for a moment seemingly forgetting all about Midna as she instead leant in over her drawings, almost like she expected to find the answer to her question hidden among the words. "She would hardly have left the castle without guards she knew would be able to protect her, and they certainly would not have allowed for some piece of metal to just be lying somewhere."

"That was what I was wondering as well!" Midna shook her head. "It simply does not make sense. But that was actually not what I had been meaning to tell you."

"No? Then what was it?"

"It was the princess, she, well, I had assumed that I was about to enter the storeroom, so I had just thrown the door open, and when I saw her, I think that we both were too surprised to say anything for a moment, but when she did, she ordered me not to harm any of the guards since they were only there because of her."

Ilia's eyes widened. "She was willing to give her life if it meant that her guards would survive?"

The answer was ready, the 'no' moments away from filling the air between them, but something made Midna pause at the last moment. As she thought about what had happened, the way the princess had taken a step forwards with so much fire present in her eyes that it had surely been warmer than the flames that were used to heat the water for the steam engine above them, there was something about it that made her consider the fact that Ilia might be correct.

"I think she might have been," Midna finally said, "but it doesn't matter now. What matters is that she accused us of being nothing more than mere pirates." Ilia sent her a confused look, prompting Midna to let out a sigh. "Come on, you know that we aren't pirates. But for some reason, even when we are alone, the royal family refuses to acknowledge the fact that they are the murderers and the thieves, instead throwing those accusations at us."

"And you think that was what Princess Zelda did?"

"I know it was. You should have seen her, she stood there like she was going to try to stop me from leaving the room, even yelling at me when I turned around and sprinted back towards the deck, like she was so sure that she could just give me an order," Midna said. However, despite how she tried her best not to leave any doubt in her voice, Ilia just drew her brows together in response, Midna barely able to conceal an annoyed sigh. "You don't think so?"

"It is not that I think that you are wrong per se, but I am just… do you think that there might be another reason?"

"Such as?"

Ilia shrugged. "I don't know. I just can't help but feel like all of this is the same situation that the steam engine was in two days ago and that we are only missing a single piece before we can figure it all out."

"That we will figure it all out is perhaps to exaggerate just a little bit," Midna reminded her, "I mean, after all, we have other things to worry about than why some spoilt princess would not be aware of the world around her—winter, for example, or Epona. Speaking of which, would you mind showing me what you have done? I am sure that I would have come to regret it if I didn't ask you."

The last part was not strictly a lie, but it was also as far from the truth as it could have been without becoming dishonest. Listening to Ilia try to explain to her exactly what she was doing before giving up and explaining it to her while using the simplest terms possible was perhaps not exactly what Midna wanted to do most in that moment, but seeing how Ilia immediately jumped to her feet, the sound of her voice drowning out most of the doubts and thoughts about the princess, the ship, and the unsuccessful mission, did make her feel a little better as she followed Ilia's instructions as to where on the deck she could stand without risk of the planks giving out below her.

By the time Midna had to leave Ilia to head towards the dining hall to eat lunch, her hands were almost completely covered in coal dust after Ilia had shown her the steam engine and how she had thought it would work, only for it to suddenly eject the coal.

Trying her best to discreetly brushing off the dust, Midna was halfway through the corridor leading towards the dining hall when she noticed the sound of someone laughing. Already before she had turned around to look towards the source of the sound, she knew who she would find. After all, she could recognise the two voices anywhere, or at least it felt like she could, and yet, as she stepped closer and opened the door into Rusl and Uli's rooms, Midna still found herself unable to find anything to say as she saw Link and Colin sitting on the floor, playing some kind of card game.

Perhaps Link had guessed the reason for why she was simply staring blankly at them, for not even a second later, he had got up from the floor to instead head over towards her. "Midna, I was actually just wondering where you were," he said, throwing an arm around her shoulders, already trying to lead her into the living room, "I was thinking if you would perhaps want to try this card game that Colin invented."

Looking back and forth between the two of them, Midna at once felt trapped between the wish to just be able to grab something to eat and then hurry back to her cabin and staying with them to not upset Colin. In the end, the way Colin smiled up at her while he reached for the pack of cards that really were only a few pieces of paper where Ilia had drawn the different numbers and symbols, and the way that she could feel how Link was asking for her to stay even as he stayed silent, waiting for her answer, won.

Forcing a smile onto her face that felt only halfway fake, Midna stepped into the room, making her way over to where Colin hurried to move to the side to let her sit next to him. "Of course I would love to try a game if Colin invented it," she said, and the look of pure joy that spread over Colin's face was almost enough to make her forget about how her cabin almost seemed to call for her to return to it.

"That's great to hear," Link exclaimed, having already returned to pick up the cards, "Colin and I were discussing the mission just now, weren't we?"

Colin looked up at her, nodding enthusiastically. "We were. My dad told me that you were the reason everyone returned home unharmed."

As she recalled exactly how little she had been able to do during the attack, Midna could not help but let out a little snort. "Oh, Colin, you know that your father likes to exaggerate things. The real reason we were all able to return home was that everyone did as they had been told to, everyone did as we had planned." ignoring the bite of the little voice that reminded her that she had not been able to stick to the plan herself, Midna accepted the cards Link was handing her before adding. "We were a single unit out there, and that was what made the difference. It wasn't about anyone somehow saving everyone, though I do admit that the idea of that being the case is flattering. But didn't your father also grab a jar of honey?" as Colin nodded, Midna gestured towards him with the cards. "Well, there you see; your father was a hero as well—we all were, but that honey is going to be good to have once it gets cold outside."

"Mum said that it would also have been nice if he could have grabbed some salt," Colin mumbled, having already returned most of his attention to the card game, "she said that something about us not having enough to pickle the meat to last us through winter."

Instantly, it felt like the temperature in the room dropped a few degrees, something Midna knew had nothing to do with how they were all hurrying to prepare for winter. With how Link looked over at her with an alarmed look on his face, she could tell that Colin was the only one in the room who neither understood what the lack of salt could mean for them nor what kind of thoughts were flying through Midna's head, but right then, she could not have cared less about what Link might have thought of the plan that was taking form in that moment.

Slowly, trying her best to make it sound like she did not have to remind herself not to panic, Midna cocked her head and looked at Colin. "Did she say that? When?" although she tried her best to keep it from happening, she could hear how her voice cracked halfway through the sentence.

It appeared that Colin had finally noticed how the atmosphere in the room had changed as well, for he placed the cards back down onto the floor as he answered her, a hint of uncertainty having made its way into his voice. "Well, uh, she didn't tell me, but I overheard her and dad talk about it last night when they thought that I was asleep. Dad said something about how he was sure that it might be the last bit of honey we would be able to get before winter and that we should be careful to save something in case we could not find more, but mum said that we should worry about salt rather than honey." Colin made a grimace. "I don't see why. Honey is better than salt even though mum says it is too sticky for me." in an instant, his eyes widened as his voice broke, seemingly realising that the conversation had never been meant to leave the room. "But don't tell them I said that! I don't think they wanted for me to hear any of that."

Midna was grateful that Link saved her from having to find an answer to that, taking over the conversation for her as he ruffled Colin's hair with a grin. "Of course we won't tell your mother about it. But, really, Colin, salt is something you can worry about when you get older. Right now, you should just focus on trying to make Midna and I understand your card game."

"What is it I hear about worrying about salt?" a voice came from the doorway, making them all spin around to look at the person who had just entered the room.

It was Uli.

Although she tried her best to at least appear to be calm, Midna could feel how her heart sped up a little, her mind already busy trying to think of a reason to leave the room before she would have to explain how their conversation had reached the subject of salt. From the way Link opened his mouth a couple of times, no sound ever leaving him, she knew that he was trying to do the same, and with Colin staring directly at the pack of cards, almost like he thought that he could make it all disappear by just thinking about something else for enough time, it seemed that she would be the one to answer Uli's question, or at least she would have to if she did not want for her to repeat it. As Uli took a step forward, her gaze moving from Colin over to Link before landing on Midna, it was clear to her that she did not want to make her repeat it.

So, taking a deep breath, Midna tried her best to piece together a sentence. "We were just discussing the mission, and, well… I just remembered that we did not manage to grab any salt, and with how it will be winter soon, I just thought that… perhaps we should plan another expedition soon to make sure that we will have enough to get us through the winter."

Truth to be told, Midna had not thought about leaving for another mission this soon. It was not responsible, not when they were still tired after the last one, Jaggle seeming like he still had still not quite realised that they had made it home alive, but as she said it, she knew that it was right. They had to get the salt, no matter what it would take, no matter the risk. And perhaps it would be her chance to finally be able to do something rather than wasting the precious minutes they had during an attack searching for a hidden door inside a cabin that only led to the very symbol of what she was fighting against.

However, it appeared that she was the only one in the room who thought so, for not only did Link look at her with a bewildered expression that let her know exactly what he thought of that plan, Uli wiped her hands against her pinafore and sighed. "Midna, I know what you are doing, but I need you to know that we will be able to make it through the winter just fine with the salt we have now. I never should have talked with Rusl about it without first making sure that we would not be heard," she said, glancing over at Colin, who responded by holding the cards closer to his face, "but I really did not want for you to worry about any of it. To be honest, the last thing we would need now is for any of you to risk your lives for a few kilos of salt. As long as we are careful, we will have more than enough salt for the winter."

Next to her, Midna could tell how Link was aching to agree with her and try to persuade her that Uli was right, that they could stay inside the base and the safety it had offered them for those past years, so she hurried to answer before he would have got the chance to do so. "I know, but would it not be nicer to not have to worry every day about whether or not we will just barely be able to make it or if we will find ourselves with nothing but rotten meat by the end of the winter? Uli, I promise you that it will be fine; you know how many times we have done this already. Not even to mention the fact that a bit of salt is not something any ship will waste any money on getting soldiers to guard. It will be a quick mission and then you will have more salt than you could ever use. Besides," making sure that she did not let even a trace of worry show on her face, Midna turned towards Colin, "I am sure that we could find some more honey. That would be nice would it not? Think about it, enough honey to make a cake, to use in the porridge, and for sore throats, all of that at the same time."

As Colin smiled at the idea, Midna knew that she had just ended the discussion. There was something almost magical about seeing how the children acted within the base, running around and playing games with each other and regarding the missions as some kind of magical adventure the older members of the base got the privilege of participating in. Really, when she looked at them and knew that the youngest of them had no memory of a life other than the one they knew in the base and how even the oldest did not seem to be able to recall more than a few glimpses of the destroyed village she and Link had met them in all those years ago, Midna could sometimes not help but envy them a bit for how they had grown up to view the mountain around them and the tonnes of rocks above their heads as a normal part of their lives.

Perhaps Uli thought of the same thing, for Midna could see how she glanced down towards her stomach for a moment, the look in her eyes letting her know how she was picturing the day where she would be able to hold the baby in her arms and find comfort in the fact that it would come to know this room as home.

Finally, Uli looked back up at her. "I trust your judgement, Midna. If you decide to go on another mission, then I will support that decision. All I am demanding in return is for you to be careful when you do."

Midna grinned at her. "When haven't I been careful?"

Shaking her head, Uli let out a little laugh. "My husband has told me about all of the tricks you like to use to avoid being captured, so, really, I could write you a list. Speaking of Rusl, Link, he actually asked me to find you. I think he wanted to discuss something with you."

Jumping to his feet, it was evident how Link had to supress a little sigh of relief that he would finally be able to leave the room. "Of course. Where is he?"

"In the larder."

Link nodded, and the next second, he had all but sprinted out of the door.

Midna already knew what Uli would say long before she had turned back to look at her, how she would try her best to convince her not to go while also having to choose her words carefully with how Colin was sitting right next to them, listening to the entire conversation, and if there was one thing she could not find the energy for right then, it would be having to listen to Uli's well-meaning attempts at making her reconsider while being unable to mention the danger they put themselves in each time they attacked the ships in the sky.

So before Uli got the chance to do more than open her mouth, Midna had already got back up as well, sending her a smile that made her feel like her cheeks would not be able to support the fake grimace for more than a couple of seconds as she too got ready to make an excuse to leave. "Well, seeing as I just remembered that I had actually meant to go eat lunch just now, I should probably also get going."

She did not give Uli the chance to ask for her to wait for a moment, instead simply turning around and hurrying out of the room the same way Link had done.