Although the words he chose were friendly, Midna could tell from the way Hanch gripped onto the edge of the table, his knuckles turning white, that he would have chosen a harsher way to explain his opinions had it not been for how he, like the rest of them, had already realised that it would not help him.

"All I am saying is that we are fooling ourselves if we think that we can trust her! I am telling you this right now, the moment she gets the chance, that girl is going to leave, and where do you think she is going to go then? Exactly, directly back to her father to tell him where we are; she is going to be the reason everyone within this mountain is going to die! I say that we keep her here and make sure she will not get the chance to leave!"

"But if she stays, not only will we give her even more of an opportunity to learn more about us, providing the king with exactly the knowledge he will need to be able to find us, we also only barely have enough food to be able to get us through the winter!" Jaggle cut in, his arguments causing murmurs to spread around the table. "What I suggest is that we take her to a town far away from here. Then, she will not be able to tell the king where we are."

Midna was barely able to bite back a sigh as she leant back in her chair while listening to how the murmurs became yells as the discussion once more reached a sound level that was far too high for any of them to feel comfortable in the meeting room. At least Rusl looked just as annoyed as she felt when Midna looked over towards the end of the table to gauge whether or not they would be able to reach an agreement today or if they would have to delay the task of figuring out what to do. Across from her, she could see Link's empty chair, and although she knew how the reason for that was that he was still in the infirmary after having eating a piece of rotten meat, she could not help but feel jealous. Anything would have to be better than having to sit here and pretend that they were actually making progress when it had turned into a competition of who could shout the loudest only a minute after she had presented the issue to the rest of their makeshift council.

At last, it seemed that those around her had also grown tired of listening to Hanch's attempts at getting a word in between Jaggle's rants about how they were running out of food and that another person in the base would be the difference between survival and death, for Uli stood up, clearing her throat to catch their attention. "Thank you, Jaggle, for worrying about the current state of the larder, but seeing as I have spent the last several months here in the base, asking myself the exact same question every day, I can assure you that we will not starve just because we have another mouth to feed." placing a hand on her stomach, Uli sent him an icy glare, and it seemed that Jaggle finally caught onto the meaning of her words as she added onto the barely hidden accusation. "I would never allow the situation to reach a point where I would not know if I would be able to feed my children, so trust me when I tell you that I feel confident enough to personally recommend letting the girl stay here."

Mumbling something about how he had not meant it like that, Jaggle sank back into his chair, the moment of silence that followed giving Rusl the chance to begin to speak.

"Let us all remember that we only want to ensure that everyone in this base will be able to live. Now, with that in mind, we need to figure out which of our options will be the one that will do most to allow us to reach this goal. From what I have heard so far today, it seems that we can either allow the princess to stay and be prepared for her to remain here for an indefinite period of time or take her to a town as quickly as possible to ensure that she will not be able to tell her father anything about our location." Rusl let his gaze travel through the room, resting on each of them for a second. "Is that not correct?" when he was met with a mumbled yes from most of them, Midna making sure to sit up a bit straighter and speaking clearly, Rusl nodded to himself. "I will not deny that there are risks associated with each of these options. If she stays, we will have to constantly live with the risk that she might have lied when telling Midna about her reasons for coming here and that each second she spends will us will only provide Ganondorf with even more knowledge about us, and if we let her go now, there is still a risk that she would be able to identify the area based on what she could see through the porthole in Midna's cabin." at the mention of her name, Midna could tell how half the room turned to look at her, something that only became even more evident as Rusl gestured towards her. "Midna, can you tell us again what you thought about her explanation? Do you trust her?"

At once incredibly aware of how everyone in the room was waiting for her to answer the question, waiting for the moment where she would either provide them with a reason to attack her or more evidence to act as an argument, Midna rose. "I wouldn't say that I trust her per se," she said, noting how Jaggle leant in over the table, looking like he could not wait to hear what she would say next, "but her reasons for coming here and the explanation she gave as to how she had been able to sneak onto the ship—it was one of the most naïve things I have ever heard in my life, but it did not feel like she was trying to lie to me, only that she is unbelievably stubborn and unable to realise when she has made a mistake."

"So what you are saying is that we should let some girl who does not seem to be able to be even slightly discreet stay here with us and then simply hope that she will not give away the location?" once more, it was Jaggle who saw his chance to join the discussion again. "Even if we pretend that she would not try her best to lead her father to us, how would you be able to guarantee that she would not accidentally let them know that we are here?" Jaggle looked back over at Rusl. "We both know that her father will try his best to find her—she is a princess after all. It was bad enough when he was just after her," Midna closed her eyes as the attention of everyone in the room once more turned back to rest on her, "but now, we are going to be caught, all because some princess decided that she was tired of life at court."

Although Jaggle's last argument was met with the sound of general agreement, it did not seem like it was enough to make Rusl lose heart, as he simply pointed towards Jaggle. "Exactly! She is the second in line to the Hyrulean throne. Even if Ganondorf finds out that we are here, he wouldn't dare to attack us while his daughter was still with us."

"That sounds an awful lot like kidnapping," Fado observed. As they all turned to look at him, he quickly moved his feet away from the table to look over at Rusl, a crease appearing between his eyebrows as he gestured towards him. "I am sorry, but I just can't help but feel like we would only act exactly like the pirates Ganondorf says we are if we try to keep her here to make sure he won't attack us."

"Not if she has chosen to be here." and just like that, Midna could see how the rest the room began nodding along to Rusl's words as he continued. "Look, I also want to see a world where we would all be able to do want we want to and where we would not even have to think about how having the princess close to us would provide us with an advantage in the event that her father would try to attack us, but that is the world we are living in right now, so we have to grow used to the fact that, sometimes, we have to dirty our hands if we want to keep people alive. However, that is not the case right now, given how the princess came to us of her own free will. No one here asked her to throw away her freedom to instead sneak onto the Shadow, in fact, with what I have heard so far, I would dare to say that most of us would have preferred for her to have stayed with her guards." scattered murmurs forced Rusl to pause for a moment. "So, what I propose is this: we let her stay here. For now, we will not have to worry about a situation where she will want to leave, so I suggest that we simply lean back and see what happens. Who knows, although she is not the direct heir to the throne right now, as the princess of Hyrule, she is still a valuable piece in the game, more than enough to make up for any food she could ever eat. Is that not right, Jaggle?"

As the attention of everyone in the room once more fell on Jaggle, Midna almost felt sorry for him. With how he kept staring down at the table, a look of annoyance in his eyes, it could hardly have been more obvious what he thought of that plan. However, he still forced out a mumble, voicing his opinion, that perhaps Rusl was right, he just did not want for any of the issues that might arise as a consequences of going through with the plan to ever become his responsibility.

"And I will not let them become that," Rusl responded, a smile spreading across his face as he no doubt saw how he had almost reached victory, "however, before we decide what to do, I feel like Midna, as the person who found and interrogated the princess, should also get to share her opinion."

Midna could feel how her heart skipped a beat as the sounds of fabric rustling and chairs scraping over the stone floor informed her of how everyone turned to look at her. Making sure that her voice would not break halfway through, she coughed into her sleeve, giving herself a second to collect her thoughts before she did as Rusl had asked her to. "I think," she began, speaking as slowly as she could without revealing how she had hoped that she would be able to hide and let the others make a decision, "that the princess is naïve, wilfully blind to the world around her, and so determined to believe that we are some kind of rebel group with our own rules and a will to fight for the innocents to the extent where it was enough to make her head directly into what should have appeared to be a dangerous situation for her. However, she did seem to understand that once we had brought her back home to our base, she would not be able to leave, so I doubt we would have to worry about her trying to return home to her father." for some reason, even though Midna could still see the apprehensive look the princess had sent her when first asked for her reasons for not wanting to return to Hyrule Castle as she closed her eyes, it did not feel right to share that with the rest of the room, leaving her to think of something else. "But if it is a worry that will be enough to keep some of you from feeling comfortable letting her stay, I will make my ship available as a compromise. There are empty rooms below deck, and while they are not up to the standard of Hyrule Castle, they should be enough for her. If we lock the door, it would be enough to keep her from being able to escape, even if she wanted to." out of the corner of her eye, Midna could see how Fado had rested his chin against his hand, having his elbow propped up on the table.

She could not blame him for that. No matter how many times she tried to tell herself that, really, they were only doing what they had to do to protect themselves, that the princess had had every chance to stay on her own ship rather than hiding in their storeroom try to make it so that they would not find her until they had landed inside their base, it was not quite enough to silence the voice telling her that they were nearing the point where they would become exactly what Ganondorf had always claimed that they were: pirates and kidnappers.

The thought that perhaps that had been the plan from the beginning, that maybe the princess had been sent as the first step of a plan to give the citizens of Hyrule another reason not to trust, them appeared in her mind, making itself heard above everything else, but for once, it was easy to silence it. Not only had Midna not seen anything while talking with the princess that would act as evidence that she might be a good enough actress for Ganondorf to give her such a responsibility, there was also something undefinable about her behaviour that made Midna sure that, while naïve and misguided, her reasons for giving them the burden they were now discussing were not a part of some greater plan.

It was Rusl who cut through the noise of people arguing about her points. Glancing over at her, he barely needed to look over at Jaggle to silence him before he had got the chance to return to the subject of food, leaving the silent room ready for Rusl to speak once more. "So that is what you think? You think that she should stay?"

"Yes. I think she should stay. Not only would sending her away mean risking that she would still be able to remember the location of this mountain, but with her place within the royal family, this could be our chance to find out more about Ganondorf, to figure out how to avoid capture."

"Then it is settled then." Rusl shot a look at the people around the table. "Does anyone want to object to this plan?"

As she saw how no one, not even Jaggle spoke up, Midna forced herself to look down at the table, making sure that her expression did not reveal any of her thoughts. It was just like the last meeting and the one before that. Every time she would share her opinions, the rest of the council would end up agreeing with her, no matter how much time they had spent arguing over the subject before. Was it not for how she knew that everyone would deny it, most likely by trying to claim that she had convinced them with her arguments, she might have tried to order them to disagree with her, but already, Midna knew that it would be futile.

Clapping his hands, Rusl rose from his chair. "Then it is settled. The princess will stay inside one of the rooms in the ship. Midna, will you inform her of our decision?"

"Yes."

"Great. Now, let us close the meeting."

Midna was the first out of the door, all but running to make sure she would not have to face any questions from the rest of the council. Not for the first time during those last few hours that had been filled with discussions about what they should do with the princess, she found herself wishing that Link had been there with her. Although she was more than just aware of how they would most likely still have listened to her even if Link had argued against her points, it would have been nice to have someone in there who would not be afraid to disagree with her.

Her feet seemed to take her to her ship almost without Midna thinking about it, and before she had even got the chance to think about what she would say to the princess, she had turned the key and stepped into her cabin.

The princess had been sitting on the chair, but a she looked up and saw Midna, she soon pushed herself up. Even when she was standing, Midna was still at least a head taller than her, something she tried to focus on rather than how the princess took a step towards her, almost like she expected for her to have come to escort her away from the ship.

Making sure not to make eye contact, Midna gestured towards the floor below them. "They decided to let you stay—"

Immediately, she could see how a relieved smile made the princess's eyes look almost like they were shining, a little of the tense atmosphere disappearing from the air between them as she tried to catch her gaze. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet. The only reason they made that decision was because we agreed to keep you within one of the rooms below the deck of this ship." Midna shrugged, hoping that the princess would understand that she truly could not care less about what some spoilt princess might think about the prospect of that. "I only came here to tell you that and to lead you to your new room."

"Of course." the princess nodded. "I understand that completely."

Although Midna knew that she should have expected for it to happen, the way the annoyance filled her almost managed to take her by surprise, making her snap at the princess. "This is not a matter of whether or not you understand. We decided that you will have to stay there, so that is what you will do. What you think about this plan does not concern us."

Across from her, the princess drew back, her gaze falling to the floor. "I see. I am sorry."

"Don't—" Midna bit back a groan, "just… follow me."

They made their way back outside without saying another word, Midna making sure not to think about the way the princess looked around her as they crossed the deck and let the stairs lead them into the dusty hallway beneath it, almost like she wanted to get a chance to take in as much of the base as she could before she would have to head inside again. It was not her problem that she had chosen to come with them. If she wanted to stroll through a flowery meadow, she should have stayed in the castle. At least that was what Midna told herself as she threw open the first door to her right, only stopping for a moment to gesture for the princess to enter the room.

If she was disappointed at the sight that met her, the princess hid it well. Midna had to admit that as she watched her cross the threshold, making her way over to the bed that had been pushed up against the wall that separated the room from the next with the same elegance as if she had been in a castle and not in a room that was small enough for her to reach the bed within five steps.

"We will make sure to food sent in here for you," Midna told her, doing her best to ignore how the princess turned around to look at her with an expression in her eyes that once more made her doubt whether or not she had been too quick to judge her intellect, "if there is anything you would like to ask for, you can tell us then, but let me warn you in advance that we do not have silk bedsheets or eiderdowns."

Midna did not miss how the princess reached out to pat the quilt with her hand for a moment before she directed her attention back towards her again, nodding once. "Of course."

Debating whether or not it had been meant as an insult, Midna decided that even if it had, getting to hear the door clang shut would be more satisfying than staying there to talk with her, so, only casting one last glance at the princess, she closed the door, pausing to make sure that it was properly locked, before letting the key fall into her pocket as she backed away from the door, willing her thoughts to remain within the reach of her crumbling sense of control. It was not worth her time to let the princess occupy her thoughts even more than she already had, and Midna knew exactly what she could do to make sure she had a distraction.

The hallway that took her deeper into the mountain had once felt like it was far longer than what the constraints of the mountain itself should have permitted for it to be, but by now, Midna knew that it was only due to how the floor sloped slightly below her feet, a sign that whoever had first built the fortress had tried their best to make it so that the sick soldiers would not be able to infect the rest. Perhaps it had been needed once, back when the Twilight Realm had had a proper military rather than having the Hyrulean soldiers pretend that they were not simply waiting for the opportunity for them their worth to arise, allowing them to return back home to the light, but for as long as Midna had lived in the base, the walk to the infirmary had only made an already sour mood turn even worse with every door she had to open. The Twilight Realm deserved better than what it had got, she knew that. Although the servants had made it sound like it had once been kingdom just like Hyrule, when Midna would look down at it from above, she found it difficult to believe that the land that lay within the shadows of the Eldin Mountains had ever been more than what it now was: a place it seemed that most of the soldiers she sometimes saw during their patrols through the forests around the base could not wait to get away from, talking about how much they looked forward to the moment where they would be able to return to the capital so loudly that it alerted her to their presence ages before they would perhaps otherwise have been able to spot her.

Slamming the door to the infirmary open with perhaps a bit more force than what was strictly necessary, Midna forced herself to take a deep breath while walking over to where Ilia had fallen asleep in the chair next to Link's bed. Being angry and losing her composure would not help them at all. Indeed, it would only make it more likely that she would follow in her mother's footsteps and make the same mistakes as she had done. The Twilight Realm had been lost years ago, the sooner she accepted that, the more determined she could be in her quest to cause Ganondorf as much pain as possible.

Link must have been able to guess what she was thinking about as she went to pull another chair over to his bedside, for he sent her a little smile, barely raising his head from the pillow. "Did you finish the meeting or did you finally snap and yell at someone?" he asked.

The sound that escaped her sounded like the halfway point between a laugh and a sigh. "One of these days, I might actually do it, you know. However, it was not today, although they really tried their best to make it happen. You should have seen it; it was just a never-ending discussion about food, power, and safety, with all of them refusing to try to say something new, instead repeating the same arguments over and over again. But, of course, the moment Rusl asks me about my opinion, they all turn around and agree with me, suddenly pretending that they were not arguing against the idea mere minutes before."

"Well, what was the verdict then?"

"She is going to stay with us. Right now, we will not have to worry about us keeping her here against her will, so we decided to let that topic wait until it will become relevant." Midna could already imagine how exhausting that discussion would be. Hopefully, the princess would remain a naïve fool for a long time. "I just took her to one of the empty rooms in the ships—we ended up reaching an agreement, but it required for us to have a way to make sure that she would not be able to leave even if she wanted to."

"Wait a moment, you let her stay in one of the rooms? The ones below deck? Midna…" Link pushed himself up to rest on his elbows, the sound of the bed creaking below him making Ilia mumble something in her sleep. As he looked back over at her, Midna could already see what he was about to say written across his face, the crease between his eyebrows only making it even more obvious, and yet, she could not find the energy to interrupt him, instead letting him continue, "are you sure… are you sure that it is a good idea? I mean, I understand the reasons for us having to take precautions, but—"

Avoiding his gaze, Midna forced herself not to take her frustrations out on the frayed edge of the bedsheet. "I didn't really have much of a choice. We had to make sure that we could lock the door, so it was the ship or one of the cells. And despite how much I would like to see her realise that this base is nothing like Hyrule Castle, well, the cells are damp and cold—not exactly a place for a princess, especially when we have to take the fact into account that letting her suffer would be the same as proving Ganondorf right."

"Of course, I can see that, it is just…" a single glare from her was all it took for Link to clear his throat and change the topic of conversation, "so, how is she? I fear that Rusl forgot about his promise to come see me, because I haven't really heard much about her since yesterday."

Keeping her gaze fixed on a spot directly next to his head, Midna made sure to sound nonchalant. "All things considered, I suppose it could be worse. She is one of the most naïve persons I have ever had the displeasure of meeting. It almost feels like she is not living in the same world as the rest of us with how she seems so sure that everything here is great and that we are somehow these heroes who have found each other due to our shared goal of making the world a better place." Midna snorted. "Can you believe it? She was so sure that I had this huge speech planed, explaining why I found her father's rule unjust, almost waiting for me to tell her that I was grateful for how she had decided to listen to me. When I told her that we were just trying to survive, she almost looked disappointed, but then again, I suppose survival is an easy thing when you are living within Hyrule Castle."

She had expected for Link to agree with her. After all, although she was aware of how having spent years of his life listening to the envoys from the capital sing the king's praises, there had to be a limit to how much of it he could take.

But, to Midna's surprise, rather than nodding along, Link looked down, almost like he was trying to figure out what to say. It wasn't until she had halfway decided to ask for a response that he finally tilted his head to the side and looked up at her. "But is it really that bad?"

"That she is perhaps the most naïve person I have ever met?" Midna could almost not believe what she was hearing. What was happening to the world around her, first the princess having appeared aboard her ship, and now this? It almost felt like some kind of grand secret that everyone but her knew about. "Yes, I would say it is." when Link still did not look convinced, she leant in, hoping that it was all just another strange reaction to the bad meat. "Look, refusing to accept that the world is not just, that there is no reward for being kind, is bad and it is what will get us all killed if we aren't careful."

"Yes, I am not trying to argue against that. It is just… well, what if it is just her having hope for the future? Is that really a problem?"

Midna's response was at the tip of her tongue in an instant. "When it is naïveté, then yes, it really is a problem."

However, it appeared that Link was not willing to let go of the issue just yet. In fact, it seemed that he was only finding more energy, pushing himself up into a sitting position. "But this could be our chance. Think about it, Midna, she is the second in line to the throne. Do you know how much she could help us if we only make her join our cause? She would be able to do far more than any of us can ever hope to achieve as long as we are just sitting around out here, attacking ships to survive."

"We are not trying to do anything!" for a moment, Midna could feel the façade slip away from her, a quiet kind of white-hot anger spreading through her veins. "If you want to risk your life trying to kill both the king and the crown prince then you can go right ahead and do that, but do not try to twist what we are doing into that, for that is not what we promised each other! This base, all of this," her wild gesture, trying to encompass everything, from the hangar to the cells, was almost enough to make her knock over the glass of water on the table next to them, but at the last moment, Midna was able to catch herself, trying to regain control of her voice as she continued, "this is us trying to stay alive. We attack the ships to stay alive and to take back what is rightfully ours, not as some part of a greater plan to overthrow the king. If that is something you want, then feel free to leave, I won't try to stop you, but don't think that I will let you drag me down with you. Although you might still not have realised this, some of us know that any attempt at what you are planning is only going to lead everyone involved to their deaths!"

It was the sound of Ilia moving slightly that brought Midna back to her senses. Looking over at her, Midna could already feel how the anger was beginning to lose its grip on her again, instead being replaced with the crushing sense of knowing that, sooner or later, she would have to apologise for her outburst.

"Midna…" Link reached out for her hand, and although the worried tone to his words made her feel even worse than if he had yelled at her as well, she let him take it, "I know that. I wasn't trying to convince you to do anything. All I wanted was to tell you that perhaps having Princess Zelda here will not only be a burden. However," the glance to the side revealed what he was about to say, and, oh, why could she not have covered her ears, forcing herself not to listen, why did she have to subject herself to looking down at him as he added, "although I know that you are just doing what you think is best for everyone… people are growing more and more restless with each passing day. It is not just enough for them to survive anymore, Midna, they want to live, they want to be able to leave this mountain without having to constantly be alert to make sure that they will not be spotted by the patrols. They need hope, and if you can't give it to them," Link shook his head, "I fear that they will leave when spring arrives."

The way his gaze came to rest on Ilia sent the same kind of icy fear that might have filled her if she had jumped into the river in the middle of winter washing in over Midna. He could not mean that, he could not seriously mean that he had discussed leaving her here all alone. But although she tried her best to dispel the idea, the horrible truth was that it made so much sense that she could not deny it, not with all the times she had seen Link and Ilia share hushed conversations, the way Ilia had seemed to spend all of her time working on Epona.

Epona.

Her mind was spinning as all the pieces slid into place. Of course that was why she was working on the ship all the time, it had never been her way of trying her best to help them, it had always been a way for her to know that, should she decide that life within the base was too restricting, too safe, she would be able to leave with Link.

Despite how hard she fought against it, Midna could feel how the tears made her eyes sting at the thought of Link and Ilia leaving. She should have been prepared for it, should have known that, sooner or later, no matter how intelligent those around her seemed, they still carried the hope that they would be the ones to do what no one else had been able to do before them, truly believing that they alone could bring an end to Ganondorf's rule.

As she spoke, Midna could hear how her voice trembled. "If it is hope that people want, then they will have to find it elsewhere. I am only trying to keep as many people alive as possible. I thought you wanted the same thing, but now, I can see that I was wrong, so I wish you and Ilia the best of luck with your plan. You are going to need it for you will not survive your own stupidity for long, but I suppose that that is not my problem anymore. Goodbye."

At least Ilia's presence brought her one hidden gift as it kept Link from being able to continue the conversation when Midna turned around and left the room, walking as quickly as she possibly could without outright running to hide how her shoulders were shaking.

By the time, the moment for her to bring the princess her dinner, a single glance at the mirror on the wall inside her cabin was enough to confirm what Midna already knew deep down: that her eyes were still red and puffy, a sight that was sure to let the princess know that she had been crying. But there was nothing she could do about it other than hoping that perhaps the naïveté the princess had displayed so far would be enough to make her believe that it was simply due to her having cried about all the people she had yet to save, so, with a heavy sigh escaping her, Midna began to make her way over to the door, mentally trying to convince herself that attempting to delay the inevitable would not help her.

"I have your dinner here, Your Royal Highness," Midna said as she pushed open the door with her foot, voice dripping with sarcasm, "would it please the princess to enjoy it in here, or would she perhaps prefer sitting in the courtyard while the birds chirp around her?"

At least it seemed that she noticed the sarcasm dripping from every word. Midna supposed it should have been a relief to see that the princess was at least not completely incapable of understanding that she was not some courageous leader of the rebellion, but for some reason, seeing how she avoided meeting her gaze only made her feel empty.

Placing the plate onto the table, Midna tried her best to push the feeling away, not to allow it to affect her, pushing its way into her mind. It was not her fault; if the princess did not like being here, she could just have stayed on her own ship. Then she would be at home in the castle, surrounded by servants ready to bring her everything she could ever need, rather than standing here, listening to Midna trying her best to pretend that she was all right and not constantly hearing Link tell her how he had considered leaving her all alone again over and over inside her head.

Maybe it was the frustration over the fact that she was not even able to make the princess snap at her the way she had snapped at Link that made her just that little bit more annoyed than she would otherwise have been. Perhaps it would have happened no matter what. No matter the explanation, reality was, that as Midna looked over to see how the princess looked at the plate, not entirely able to hide her reaction to the meal, the disappointment with how it consisted only of a chunk of bread, a few carrots, and a slice of meat that Uli had made sure to inspect once more after Link had been sent to the infirmary, the same kind of anger that had made her storm away from Link, the one she knew was unjust, rose up inside of her.

"Oh, I am sorry, Princess, I know that this must be unlike anything you were used to eating. But let me tell you one thing, this is not the castle. We do not have the ability to serve a six-course menu at every meal like you are used to. We only just have enough to make it through the winter, and since we had not expected for you to come here as well, this," she gestured towards the plate, "is already making it so that we will have to be careful if we do not wish to starve."

The fact that, really, most of their problems had not been caused by having to feed one more, but rather by the fact that the lamb shank that Rusl had brought home earlier that month had rotten, pushed against her anger, but Midna made sure not to let it show on her face, instead staring at the princess, almost hoping that this would be what finally made her unable to take it anymore, to finally accept that she had not just joined a group of heroes, and that she was actually stuck inside this room with someone who would not even try to act like she did not find her mere presence an insult.

But it seemed that even now, even as Midna threw accusations at her that by all means were unjust, the princess simply accepted it, looking down at the floor as she bowed her head. "I am sorry; I did not think to realise that. Forgive me."

There was something in her tone of voice, something Midna could not quite define, that sent a shiver down her back, the way the princess had mumbled the words when she had first said that she had her reasons for not wanting to return to Hyrule Castle echoing in her ears. As much as she would have liked to deny it, Midna knew that it was that little moment where she could almost see through the etiquette that made her let out a sigh, feeling how the anger evaporated in an instant. "You have nothing to apologise for. Truth to be told, I also find that a poor imitation of a meal, but it is all we have to offer right now."

It seemed that her moment of weakness somehow made Zelda believe that this was it, that she had reached into her core and found the righteous rebel she had set out to find when she had first sneaked onto her ship, for she looked up at her, her brows drawn together in a worried expression. "Is it really true? Do you starve?"

And just like that, Midna could feel how the familiar anger at how she dared to come here, making them bring her back home and feed her, only to then turn around and try to insult them with her pity, returned. Drawing back so quickly that she barely managed not to stumble into the wall, she let her voice drop to a growl. "Not right now we don't, so just focus on yourself and eat your dinner!"

Pretending that she did not see the hurt look on the princess face, Midna turned around and left the room, making sure to slam the door behind her and letting the keys rattle for a moment just to make sure that the princess had got the message. But for some reason, as she slipped the keys back into her pocket, she did not feel good about it, the rush of adrenaline that should have filled her after finally getting a moment to take out her frustration on someone refusing to wash over her and granting her a moment of a feeling that might be anything but the horrible hollow sense of loss.

Resisting the urge to lock herself in her cabin to avoid having to face anyone, Midna made it back onto the deck, finding comfort in her decision to set out to find Rusl. Although she doubted it, there was a risk that Link might have told him about his plans of leaving her, and if that was the case, she had to make sure that she would get to him first to convince him to stay.

Letting the mission in front of her give her more energy, Midna banished the princess from her thoughts as she let herself fall the last metre from the rope ladder and onto the floor. She could make it become all right again, she just had to remain in control.