It should have felt strange to have Zelda refuse to leave even after she should by all means have awakened to see the reality around her, but as the week progressed, Zelda remaining at her side, Midna found that she began to feel less and less surprised each time she would turn around to see that Zelda was still there next to her, that it was all not a dream. Still, it did not mean that part of her was not convinced that she was dreaming as she sat on the deck of the Shadow with Zelda that Saturday morning, Zelda having convinced her to eat her breakfast with her out there.
"You were right," Midna admitted halfway through the bowl of porridge, "there was something different about not having to eat inside a dusty cabin every day."
Zelda laughed, a light, melodic sound that felt like it fit right in with the rising sun that painted the sky red outside, and leant over towards her, a teasing glint in her eyes as she poked her in the side. "Well, what can I say—I am just that great at finding the best places to enjoy these meals!"
As Midna smiled at her, Zelda threw her hair back over her shoulder, a lock having almost made its way past her, into the porridge. Then, the smile faltering a bit, she glanced back over her shoulder, out towards the sky that seemed to have been cut by a knife with the way the red colour and the jagged top of the mountain range in the distance, the one that had once kept the Twilight Realm safe, came together to give off the appearance of a bleeding cut.
"Midna…" Zelda hesitated, her voice becoming lighter, unsure, "do you think that Link is all right? I mean, I know that you told me that this is common and all, but I just can't help but wonder… that, well, he should have been home yesterday, and now he has had an entire night to make his way home if it was a case of him having got lost somewhere. I cannot help but wonder if he is going to be fine."
The laugh that had been about to make its way up her throat died instantly, Midna's smile freezing on her lips. Staring down into her bowl, she forced herself not to let the fact that Zelda's questions reflected the thoughts that had whirled through her head those last few hours show. It was going to be fine, she had to believe that. Granted, Link might never have stayed out so late; even when it had been the latest, he had always made sure to return before it would be so dark that he would not be able to navigate, to find his way home. And that was not even to mention how he had been supposed to only go out and look through the traps to see if they might have caught a rabbit, going a route that all of them would have been able to walk in their sleep. It would be fine. She knew Link; she had to trust that he would know what to do if anything went wrong.
Trying her best to sound like she believed what she was saying, Midna looked back up. With a smile that felt like it was about to split her face in half with how hollow it was, she nodded. "Of course he will be all right. He has probably just made a wrong turn somewhere and is now trying his best to figure out how he messed up so much. I am telling you, in a few hours, he will be back here, and then the two of us will get a front row seat to listen to Ilia try to hide the fact that she could not eat out of sheer worry for him by pretending that she is angry that he did not get home in time."
But, rather than looking relieved and returning to her meal, Zelda simply stared down at the ground. Midna could have kicked herself. Of course that was what she would do, of course. Why had she even felt the need to mention Ilia at all? She should have known better. With how much time Zelda and Ilia had spent together, not even to mention the fact that Midna had been well aware of the fact that, when they had to take the ship out for missions, Zelda stayed with Ilia, she should have been able to tell herself that making her note the fact that they had not seen Ilia since dinner the previous day when she had simply poked a bit at the meat and chunk of bread for a bit before announcing that she really was not hungry and would bring it all back to Uli so that they might save it for another day would only serve to make Zelda even more concerned.
"Zelda…" Midna said, pausing as she found herself struggling to think of the words that would be enough to explain what she was thinking. Placing the bowl on the handrail next to her, the metallic clatter telling her that it was barely balancing on top of the narrow piece of wood, she pushed herself closer towards her, hesitating for a moment before she reached out to place her hand on her arm, hoping that it would help to assure Zelda that she trusted Link to be able to take care of himself, "I am sure—no, I know that everything is going to be just fine. I promise you, by this time tomorrow, we will all be laughing as Link tells us the story of how he forgot about the difference between left and right and found out too late that he had been supposed to head in the opposite direction. Just you wait; I know it is what has happened. I—"
The sound of someone trying to yell something, their voice interrupted by what sounded like ragged breathing cut in, making Midna fall silent as both she and Zelda jumped to their feet, turning around to lean out over the handrail to look towards the entrance to the base. Her breakfast completely forgotten, Midna felt how her heart sped up, how she almost instinctively moved over towards Zelda, preparing herself for the moment where she might have to throw both of them to the ground to escape the attack. If it was the king, if he had sent soldiers out to capture them, Midna doubted that there was anything she could do that would not just be a desperate attempt to delay the inevitable for another couple of seconds, but she would at least have to try. Anything would be better than having to spend what would then hopefully be her last couple of hours knowing that she had allowed Ganondorf to catch her without a fight, to bring an end to the kind of fragile freedom they had established within the base, to get his daughter back despite the promise Midna had made to not send her back.
From the way Zelda had frozen in place, her shaking hand being the only thing that showed that she had not been turned into stone, Midna was sure that she was thinking about the same thing, the fact that they would both be ready to give their lives if that was what it would take to protect the base and the people in it.
Midna readied herself. She would not let it come to that. As long as she was still able to do something, she would make sure that Zelda would not have to fight. After all, even though she might have been able to convince Midna to bring her back to the base, Midna was not naïve enough to believe that she could persuade the king's soldiers not to attack and kill them all simply by smiling at them and looking every bit like a young and desperate woman who just wanted to learn more.
Midna was not sure for how long they stood there. With the adrenaline rushing through her, it felt like each second was slowed down, progressing so slowly that it gave her the chance to notice everything, to look at the gate and wonder if she might be able to lower it before the attackers would be there, and still finding herself unable to move, knowing full well that even if it had not been a matter of seconds before the attack might begin, she could not do it. Rusl's voice echoed in her ears, but no matter how much Midna tried to focus on it, tried to listen to his advice, she could not hear what he said, the sound being drowned out by the blood flowing through her veins, supplying every muscle with oxygen.
Finally, the cry was repeated, this time louder and clearer, although it was still obvious from the muffled sound of the wind above it that the person screaming was still quite far away from the entrance. Whoever the people outside the base were, they were moving closer towards them, but from the sound of the cry, Midna was sure that, if the wind was in their favour, they would have at least a couple of minutes left before the people would have been able to traverse the last bit of difficult terrain, moving up the mountain to reach the entrance..
"Help! Someone, help me!"
Exchanging a quick glance with Zelda, Midna made a decision, and, reaching out to place her hand on Zelda's arm, she nodded towards the entrance. "Stay here," she whispered, "I will go see who it is. Don't worry; I will be back in a minute, just wait for me here."
"But—"
Even with most of her protest disappearing before Zelda even got the chance to finish the sentence, Midna still knew what she would have said. It was not only stupid to go out to meet the people alone, it was downright foolish. If anything went wrong, if it really was a clever ploy, a way for the king's soldiers to fool them into showing themselves, Midna would be alone. She would not have to listen to Zelda to know what the consequences of that might be. All the times they had attacked the ships that had been under protection of Hyrulean soldiers, it had been obvious how the only thing keeping the soldiers from using their far more advanced weaponry, the muskets on their backs and the guns at their sides, had been the fact that, once they were already among them, fighting by using the element of surprise and their numbers to their advantage, they would not be able to shoot at them without also risking the life of any soldier who might be unfortunate enough to be close to one of the pirates. But if she stood there outside, poking her head out from within the base, she would be the perfect target.
Still, Midna tried to push the fear that began to wake in her stomach away, telling herself that, with her hair colour, she at least had the benefit that she would be able to blend in with the sky behind her more easily than Zelda might have been able to.
With one last look back at Zelda—if things went wrong, she wanted to be able to remember this moment—Midna forced herself to move over to the rope ladder, not thinking about everything that might happen now. The most likely outcome of all of this was that she had just imagined things. With the wind tearing through the forest outside, their place up on the mountain amplifying every noise, it would not be so hard to believe that that might be the case. Even if she had never experienced something that sounded so much like actual words before, Midna had to believe that it might be the case. She had to.
Outside, the world was covered in a solid layer of snow, the brightness as the rays of the sun hit the surface almost making Midna struggle to keep her eyes open. Hoping that it would be enough to offer her a distraction if the worst thing was to happen, she leant out, casting a quick glance towards the path to her right. Then she saw it.
With his green tunic soaked with melted water and the snow that had yet to melt completely almost shining in his hair, Link looked exactly as exhausted as Midna would have expected from someone who had been forced to spend the night in the forest. But that was not the reason for why she struggled to breathe for a moment, having to remind herself of how to continue to push air into her lungs.
Link was not alone. Next to him, having an arm around Link was a man whom Midna had never seen before. He looked even worse than Link, exhaustion and desperation making his face look almost empty, and yet, it was apparent how he was the one of the two to make sure that they would continue to move forwards, taking long steps as he pulled Link along with him, refusing to let go of him.
With how his face lit up, Midna knew the exact moment where he spotted her standing up there. Turning around to yell something at Link, the wind stealing the words away from her, the man quickened his pace a little, something Midna would not have thought possible just moments before.
"Help!" he must have put all his energy into yelling the words, for despite how the wind pulled at her hair and her clothes, howling in her ears, Midna could still hear the man as he continued. "I am begging you, I need your help!"
It was stupid. It was so incredibly stupid, but for some reason, Midna found herself moving away from the entrance to the base. Without turning around to make sure that someone knew where she was, she hurried along the path, almost falling over a loose rock in front of her.
"Yes?" she screamed, making it over to the man. "Tell me, what do you need my help for?"
But it would appear that he had truly used the last bit of his strength trying to call out for her, for the man only nodded, his eyes becoming unfocused as he struggled to continue to move. Midna barely had time to reach out to grab his arm the moment before he would have fallen over, dragging Link down with him.
Slinging his arm over her neck and trying to help Link move them both the last couple of metres they had left between themselves and the base, Midna looked over at Link. "Who is he?"
Link only shook his head. "I don't know. I found him in the forest, rambling about two sisters he had left behind, about how he had to get help as they would die soon if he did not." the way Link's face turned into a pained grimace told her more than he ever would have been able to, but it did not keep Link from gesturing towards himself, struggling to find the air to add. "I—can I tell you about it once we make it into the base?"
"Of course." Midna did not know where her calm reaction came from, why she did not demand an explanation now, why she was willing to help Link move a man neither of them knew into the base, giving away the location of the only safe space away to someone who, for all they knew, could very well be one of Ganondorf's spies. But she could not let go of him, not when it was so apparent that Link had struggled for hours to get back to the base with him, not when the man had begged for her help. "Just—there is only a few metres left."
They made it through the entrance, Link immediately collapsing, sitting down on the floor.
Once she was left all alone to hold the man, Midna found that she did not have the strength to do so. Maybe she would have felt guilty for how she had to let go of him, letting him fall to the floor in a heap of limbs that looked like it was nothing but a miracle that had made him able to get through the forest and up the mountain with Link, but seeing as even the last couple of metres had required all her strength to get through, she found it difficult to truly feel sorry for him. At least he was alive. In the multiple scenarios playing out in her head, the ways that would explain why he was here, there were plenty of other people who had not been that lucky.
It was the sound of quick footsteps against the stone below them that told Midna that Zelda had not listened to her, and had instead come over to join them.
"Are you all right?" Zelda almost yelled the question, kneeling down next to the man.
Just as Midna had opened her mouth to let Zelda know that she doubted the man was in any condition to answer the question, he seemed to find a hidden source of strength.
Pushing himself off the floor, he shook his head, the motion seeming unsure. "Yes," he whispered with a hoarse voice, "but the others, they…" he let the sentence trail off, a distant look in his eyes.
Perhaps she should have given him time to continue on his own, but as Midna looked over towards where Link was slowly beginning to stir again, pressing a hand against his head, and realised how much he must have hurried to get the man back home to them, she knew that they might not have the time for that. So, although she could tell how all that stood between the man and passing out was the fact that he had yet to receive a confirmation that they would help him, Midna moved towards him, making sure that it was clear that she wanted an answer now as she looked at him. "Who? Are there other people out there?"
"Yes," the man breathed, "the king, we had heard that he would take the ranch—something about their parents being rebels, I don't know," he shook his head, coming dangerously close to falling asleep before he looked back up again, his gaze becoming clearer for a second, "but we ran. And somewhere along the path into the forest, we got separated."
"Do you know where they are? Where are you from?" the idea forming in her head was nothing short of idiotic, but as Midna felt Zelda turn to look over at her, she knew that it was too late to stop now. Her momentum called for her to continue.
"Clock Town. They must be somewhere along the edge of the forest, close to Milk Road. Please, I told them we would be safe in the forest. If anything happens to them—"
"They will be fine." Midna was not sure what had happened to her, why she was standing up, walking over to kneel down next to where Link had finally seemed to regain consciousness. "I promise that I will make sure that they are all right. Link." she looked down at him, hoping that he would be able to know everything she wanted to say but could not say out loud as long as the man was sitting right next to them, still panicking about the two he had left behind, from the look in her eyes.
It appeared to be the case, for, with a sense of agility Midna would not have expected to see from someone who had been lying on the floor mere minutes ago, Link got back up. He did not even have to accept her offer to help him, gently pushing the outstretched hand away as he too looked over at the man.
"Yes. Don't worry; we will go out to find them now. Milk Road." Link mumbled the word, looking over at Midna. "It should only be, what—about four hours away?" when Midna nodded, hoping that no one would notice how her shaking hands made it obvious that she doubted if they would even have that much time, if the rest of the group the man had spoken about would be able to remain hidden from the king's soldiers for so long, Link turned back towards the man. "I promise you that we will do our best. If everything works out, we should be back here with them in just eight hours, so don't worry…?" Link raised a brow.
"Grog," the man—Grog—whispered, "and their names are Cremia and Romani."
Link nodded. "Well then, Grog, we will try our best to have Cremia and Romani back here in time for dinner. Don't worry, it will be fine."
But it did not seem that Grog understood them, not with how he looked content to just lie there, mumbling something that Midna could not understand.
So, rather than trying to get more information from a man who had clearly been through too much already for it to have been technically possible for him to still be awake, she turned towards Zelda. "Will you…?" she nodded towards Grog, hoping that Zelda understood the meaning of that.
Zelda frowned, the displeased expression on her face letting Midna know that she had understood it. "I had hoped that I might be able to—to perhaps come with you." Zelda let out a loud sigh, seemingly knowing what the answer to such an idea would be already, as she turned back towards Grog and nodded. "But if you need me to make sure that he will be all right, then I will do that."
"Thank you. Just bring him to Uli—I am sure that she will know what to do. If anyone asks about where Link and I am, can you try to assure them that everything will be all right?" already as she asked, Midna could not help but wonder if it was even necessary. From everything she had ever seen Zelda do, there was hardly any need for her to ask her to be optimistic against all odds.
But then again, perhaps there was, for Zelda's reluctant smile faltered in an instant, instead being replaced with a fearful look. "Wait," she asked, reaching out towards Midna, almost letting go of Grog in the process, "is… is there a chance that you might not be all right after all?"
The truth would have been to look at her and tell Zelda that no matter how cautious Midna might be, she could never guarantee anything, that, even if she stayed within the mountain, she would not be able to promise that the next moment would not be the moment where Ganondorf had finally found them and arrived to make sure that they would not be allowed to remain alive, able to perhaps one day oppose him. But as she opened her mouth, all Midna could think about was the maid, the way she had looked up at her, making it seem almost like Midna's mere presence was enough to give hope to the people around her. If that was the case, if she had that kind of power simply because it had been part of her family's past, who would Midna be if she did not at least attempt to use it to soften the worried look in Zelda's eyes? She did not know the answer to that question, but even then, Midna knew that she would have to try.
"No." she shook her head, reaching out to take Link's hand, signalling to him that now was not the moment to mention how she was lying. "No, of course not. It's just—well, you saw yourself how we were both quick to worry about Link even when he was perfectly fine. I would prefer if we could keep something like that from happening while we are gone as well. So just… tell them that we will be fine. Besides, it is just Milk Road. Clock Town is not exactly Hyrule Castle, so I doubt that we will have any problems out there." she was rambling, Midna could hear it, hear how every word was really only making it more and more obvious how she was lying.
Maybe Zelda was just eager to believe her. That, or she saw the way Midna was already filled with an anxious sense of energy, how her hands shook as the fact that, with each second they were wasting here, Cremia and Romani had to remain hidden for another second, dawned on her, and reached the conclusion that the best thing she could do now was not to argue with her, but rather making sure that they would be able to leave immediately.
"Very well, then." Zelda reached out, pulling Grog to his feet. His head rolled to the side, but he did make a little sound as he moved along with her, dragging his feet over the floor as Zelda slowly began to make her way over to the side of the hangar, only pausing for a moment as she passed Midna, sending her a tiny smile. "I will do that. Just… please, Midna, try to be careful."
Midna waited until Zelda had continued before she answered. "I will." the word was barely audible, and she doubted that Zelda had even heard it. For some reason, it just felt easier that way, knowing that she had not made a promise to her that Midna knew she might not be able to keep.
Turning around, trying to keep herself from thinking about what the maid would have said if she could see her now, if she could see who the rebel she might have envisioned her as really was, Midna sent a glance towards Link.
He looked like he needed to hurry to his room to get a chance to sleep for hours. Soaked in water and with his teeth clattering, it could not have been more clear that the last thing he needed right now was for her to drag him along on some mission to rescue two girls they did not even know, two girls who might very well have been caught in the time it had taken for Grog and Link to make it back to the base, making it so that they might arrive to find that the soldiers had prepared a trap for them.
Thankfully, Link brought an end to the silence, freeing Midna from having to ask the question she already knew he would say yes to without stopping to worry about his own safety for even a moment. Somehow managing to stand up a bit straighter, almost enough to trick her into thinking that he had not just been awake for over twenty-four hours, Link took a deep breath and motioned towards the Shadow. "So," he said, "I think we might have promised Grog that we would have them back in time for dinner, so we should probably hurry a bit."
She wanted to protest, to tell Link that she would be able to take care of the situation on her own. Midna supposed that the fact that she did not do any of that, instead following along after Link, climbing up onto the deck after him, was simply yet another sign that both Zelda and the maid had been wrong about her, but in that moment she was too relieved that she would not have to face the situation on her own, that Link would come with her, to truly feel guilty about it.
By the time they had prepared the ship, both of them working quickly without ever putting the reason for it, the fact that they did not want to have to explain to anyone what they were doing, into words, the sun had risen to hang above the Eldin Mountains, almost like it wanted to show them where the town Grog, Cremia, and Romani had fled from was.
They did not give themselves a moment to regret their decision, already knowing that, the more they would delay the journey, the more dangerous it would seem. Instead, they took to the skies.
As the mountain became smaller below them, Midna steering the ship upwards, over the clouds that soon kept her from being able to see it at all, Midna was at once glad that it was so and ashamed that such a little thing could have an effect on her. If the sky had still been the colour of blood, fire, and destruction, it would have felt too much like they were travelling towards the same sight of ruin that had been all that had been left of Ordon Village when they had found it all those years ago. Now, Midna could at least try to tell herself that she was not about to repeat that, that she would not land to instantly have to fight to keep back the bile as the smell of burning flesh would hit her.
However, try as she might, Midna was not able to convince herself that she did not worry, that her mind did not return to the memory of Ordon Village each time she let her thoughts wander even a little. She was not sure if her expression had made what she was thinking about clear, but as Link came over to stand next to her, she could not help but feel like that was the case, especially as Link looked over at her for several minutes without ever saying anything.
Finally, he cleared his throat. Looking directly ahead, almost like he did not want to meet her gaze in that moment, he spoke. "I just thought that you should know about how I met Grog." Midna remained silent, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with the sentiment, something Link seemed to decide to view as her agreeing with him, as he continued. "I met him in the forest. He was frantic, running around in circles. It took ages to convince him that I was not a Hyrulean soldier, that I really did only want to help him, but, somehow, I must have been able to convince him that he could trust me."
Link said it like it was some kind of great mystery. Midna drew her brows together, struggling to understand the reasons for that. Was Link not aware of the fact that, should he ever want to do so, he would easily be able to convince everyone in the base to follow him and leave her behind? Despite how she knew that their feelings of gratitude seemed to be evenly split between herself and Link, Midna was not dumb enough to think that it would not change the moment she and Link would openly disagree with one another. If that ever were to happen, everyone would surely follow Link, simply because he was able to smile when other people wanted him to, able to read a situation and then act the way he had to to make everyone follow him. Except that he was not even trying. That was perhaps what hurt the most, the fact that Midna had to live with the fact that, should Link ever really think about leaving, she would be left all alone when everyone else would follow him as well, and know that it was all her fault, that, if just she had been better at controlling her anger, she might be able to be as kind as he was.
It was not until Link fell silent, looking over at her with an expectant look, that Midna realised that he had just asked her a question.
Hoping that she was not blushing as much as the warm feeling in her cheeks would indicate, Midna adopted an apologetic expression. "I am sorry, I think I was a bit distracted there. Will you please repeat what you said?"
For a moment, it seemed almost like Link would ask her why she had been so distracted, and Midna felt her stomach drop to the ground in those few seconds, but then he nodded, turning away from her again. "Of course. I was just wondering about how he was able to make his way over the Eldin Mountains. I mean, I get that he was trying to lead them to safety in the forest, but I can't see any reason that would explain why they would not have stayed in on the other side of the mountain range. For him to have made his way across, it would mean that he moved out into the open, running along the narrow path up the mountain even though everyone can see that there is nowhere to hide there." Link hesitated, clearly unsure of whether or not he should continue, and although Midna was already sure about what he was about to say, she remained silent, not wanting to interrupt him when he looked back up and, shaking his head slightly, continued. "The only reason for doing that that I can think of is that there is a base here, but… he should not have been able to know about it."
The question that remained between them was obvious. Could there be another reason for why Grog had been willing to take that risk, to put himself into a position where he might very well have been captured by Ganondorf's soldiers, something that would not imply that the safety of their base could have been compromised, that someone did know about them after all? Instantly, the maid's words about how there were plenty of people out there who did not believe in the lie about the queen's death echoed in Midna's ears. If that was true, if there really were people out there who thought that, was it really so difficult to believe that their base might not be as secret as Midna had assumed? She had burnt the book with the map of the military structures of the Twilight Realm, not trusting herself enough to keep it, destroying what little she had left of her past to ensure that they would be safe, the relief of knowing that they would be able to have a home now drowning out the sadness as the ashes were taken by the wind. Had all of that been for nothing?
She was crying. Midna could see how the tears made the world around her blurry, and although she knew that it would hardly be the first time Link would see her like that, right then, she could not even begin to imagine having to face the horror that trying to explain the reason for her tears to him would be. So, hastily wiping the tears away, she nodded towards the cabin below them. "Link, I don't have any theories that would be able to explain that, but don't you think it would be better if you had got even just a couple of hours of sleep before we land? I am not saying that there will be a battle, but, between you and me, I think we both know that what I told Zelda might not have been the entire truth. And if the worst thing should happen, I would prefer to have you fully rested, less likely to accidentally hit me." she let her voice rise, but even then, Midna could hear how obvious it was that she was simply making excuses, trying to get Link out of the way.
Link placed his hand on top of hers, clearly knowing the real reason for why she so suddenly began to worry about his wellbeing. "Are you sure you will be all right out here?" he did not have to specify just what he meant; his tone of voice took care of that all on its own.
"Yes." Midna nodded, trying to convince herself that she was not lying, not directly at least. "I will be fine, don't worry about me."
Despite that, Link still stayed for a few minutes more before he at last turned around and left. Midna heard the door close, and then, finally knowing that she was alone, she allowed her thoughts to fly freely.
The maid. Midna had tried and tried again to forget about what she had said, the little emblem, and how she had been the reason they had made it back to the ship in time, but she continued to return to her thoughts. It was ridiculous to think that it might be true, that the people she had talked about were more than just a handful of young people who had yet to learn that the best way to stay alive was to stay silent. Really, the fact that she was not able to banish all thoughts about it from her mind should have alerted her to the fact that she had begun to let Zelda's stubborn insistence that they could change the world through sheer determination alone affect her.
Except, Rusl had said the same. Midna felt the rough surface of the rudder press against her skin, a few splinters digging into her hands as she tried to recall what he had told her. It felt like an eternity ago that she had last talked with him, and now, she was here, carefully digging through the chest, careful to not let any other thing escape. Even just trying to remember him was stupid, considering the fact that, should it come to a battle, Midna could hardly afford being distracted by thoughts about what she should have done differently, and still, she did not stop, did not slow down. He had said that he trusted Zelda, hadn't he? Midna was almost sure of it; it was something so inexplicably like Rusl, to believe in a person Midna could not see any reason to trust. He had been right about Zelda. In the end, his judgement of her had been more correct than Midna's.
The conclusion she reached was as terrifying as it was obvious. If he had been able to correctly predict that they could trust Zelda, could it be that he had also been right about his observations about how there were things people would sacrifice their lives for? He had said himself that he would not hesitate to sacrifice his life if that was what it would take, so could it be that there might be other people out there who shared that opinion, the courage to look at themselves and decide that, compared with the cause, they were worth less?
It was both inspiring and so much weight added to her already tired shoulders that Midna felt like screaming. If she was correct, and the more she thought about it, the more certain Midna was that that was really the case, it would mean that she was some kind of symbol for the people the maid had referred to. They would look to her if they ever decided to do something, to let the words become actions and rise up against the king. And then where would Midna be?
She only had to remember how she had been pulled through the air, unable to do anything but to watch as Rusl was captured to know what the answer to that question was. She would be far away, too preoccupied with herself and the few people she had room for in her heart to be willing to risk her life for a cause she already knew was hopeless. Midna had shown that both with Rusl, with Zelda, with everyone really. They wanted a leader, and she would not be able to give it to them, not as long as she knew that all that would ever come from an attempt at openly going against the king was blood and destruction. It would not work, and although Midna supposed that she should have been willing to do more to, if nothing else, preserve the memory of Rusl, ensuring that everything he had talked about back when she had hissed at him and told him that she would not mourn him, would not remain nothing but a fantasy of a world that could never be, but she could not bring herself to forget about the fact that doing so would be the same as signing the death warrant of everyone in the base. For although Rusl might have been strong enough to not give up the location of their fortress, Midna doubted that she would be able to do the same.
With how the thoughts continued to appear, it was almost a relief to see how the clouds slowly began to become sparser beneath the ship, allowing Midna to look down as they passed the Eldin Mountains. It should not have changed anything to fly over them, not when the border between Hyrule and the Twilight Realm now only existed in the memory of those who believed that they could achieve the distinction again, and yet, Midna felt how her heartbeat sped up, her breathing becoming a bit quicker, almost like her body responded to the fact that they had just crossed the border by preparing itself for a battle.
Hoping that she was worrying over nothing, Midna landed the ship in a small glade among the trees, only a few hundred metres away from the edge of the forest.
Link must have been watching from through the porthole, for the moment Midna set foot on the deck, he was already there, closing the door behind him.
"Where do you think they are?" he asked, walking over to stand next to her at the handrail.
"I don't know." Midna looked out at the landscape, trying to figure out where she would try to hide if she had been the one on the run from the king's guards. "But they have to be close by, or at least they have been if I understood Grog correctly."
Link did not answer, but she hadn't expected him to.
For a moment, they both simply looked out at the forest and the meadow they could see just outside, the two separated by a wide road, two deep wheel tracks making sure that they knew how it had earned itself the name of Milk Road. And then Midna saw it.
"There!" she whispered, almost afraid that the trees around them would grow ears and tell the king's soldiers what she was saying if she did not try to stay quiet. "Right over there!" pointing towards the tree sitting on a little hill towards the front of the meadow, right where it met the road, Midna tried her best to direct Link's attention towards the little hiding place the tree's roots created. With its location, the way the tree leant over the road, it was almost like a cave. The more Midna looked at it, the more it seemed obvious to her that for two people on the run, someone who had just been forced to give up their ranch, it would be the perfect place to hide, close to the meadow, the forest, and the road they were bound to find familiar.
It seemed that Link agreed with her, for, without another word, he turned around and began to walk over towards the rope ladder.
Midna barely had time to reach out, stopping him moments before he would have begun to climb down onto the ground. "Wait, Link, we have to plan this," she hissed, "we promised Grog that they would be all right, so we need to figure out how to do this."
That caught his attention, and, with a look on his face that clearly told her that he had not even thought about the dangers that simply sprinting over towards the tree might create both for themselves and for Cremia and Romani, he stopped halfway through the motion of reaching out to grab the ladder. "I did not even think about that," he said, the words sounding like they were meant more for himself than for her, "Farore, Midna, I was about to just run over there."
"Yes, I know, you were tired and didn't think about it. Now, what we do actually have to worry about is just how we can convince them that we are not some kind of spies. I mean, assuming that they are still here and that they have not been caught yet, they are not stupid. They will know better than to trust anyone, not even to mention the fact that we don't know if the soldiers are following them or not. For all we know, they might be right around the corner, waiting for these two to reveal themselves, giving away their position."
"What should we do?"
"Easy," Midna said, hoping that by faking confidence, she might be able to fool herself into thinking that it really might be easy, "you will stay here, and then I will go over to talk with them." instantly, she could see how Link prepared himself to object to the plan. If she was being honest, Midna could not say that she blamed him for that. Even though Link would never say so to her, they both knew that he would have a much better chance of being able to calm down Cremia and Romani, of being able to figure out the right things to tell the two who had by now had to hide from the Hyrulean forces for at least a day. He would be able to convince them in an instant, would be able to tell them how they would be able to offer them safety and security if they came back home with them. But as Midna looked at Link, staring directly into his eyes like that alone would be able to convince him, she knew that she had to do this, and so, she continued. "Link. You and I both know that you are the better person of the two of us. If you go out there, you would have them back here in a minute. But—" she shook her head, forcing herself to keep back the tears, "it will be dangerous, and if anything happens, I would prefer for you to be back here, close to the ship. That way, you would be able to escape if anything went wrong."
She did not have to mention Rusl's name. Even just by looking at Link, she could tell that they were both recalling where they had been in that moment.
"But…" Link said, speaking slowly, almost like she was not already aware of what he was thinking, "what if anything happens? Then you would be out there. What will you do then?"
"Then I will feel completely safe knowing that you are back here, ready to provide cover for us as we sprint back to the ship." she could see how he was still not convinced, that Link would still insist on risking his own life rather than hers. Reaching out to take his hand felt manipulative, but it was all she could do in that moment, giving Link's hand a squeeze and hoping that it would be enough to let him know that she had to do this. "Link, listen… if anything happens, I promise you that I will try my best to make it back here alive. Besides, I would only have to reach the ship to be safe since the rope ladder faces away from the road." her voice trembled a little, and Midna knew that she was not fooling anyone, not even herself. If she got to the ship, she would still have to wait for both Cremia and Romani to climb up the rope ladder, before she too would be able to join them, and even then, they would still have to lose the king's ships before they would be able to return home to the base.
She could see all of that and more reflected in Link's eyes, but, finally, he nodded at her, clenching his jaw. "If you have to do it, I doubt I would be able to stop you. Just promise me that you will be careful."
And that was what it was really about, was it not? The fact that Midna knew that she owed everyone who had ever been blind enough to look at her and see someone worth risking their life for this much. Rusl, the maid, the servants, they all deserved more than for her to brush their sacrifices aside with a weak excuse that she had never asked for any of it. She had to do it. Midna had to be the one risking her life to make sure that they would be able to keep the hasty promise she had made to Grog.
The mossy ground beneath her softened the sound of her footsteps as Midna made her way around the ship, but by the time she reached the Milk Road, she already knew that she would not be granted the same kind of secrecy there. Each and every step disrupted the tiny stones beneath her feet.
But perhaps she really did have quite a bit of luck left over from the times when Ilia had told her she would pray for her, for, somehow, she was able to reach the meadow without her fears of a soldier jumping out from behind the oak tree in front of her coming true. However, as she stood there in front of what she had determined to be the most likely hiding place along the part of the road that ran close to the mountains and the forest, a small, irrational part of her could not help but wonder if this was really less terrifying than a soldier. At least she would know what to do if the soldier were to appear. It was more difficult to shoot the sense of dread that was filling more and more of her stomach as the seconds passed.
Finally deciding that she would never be ready, Midna leant closer to the tree, keeping herself from pushing the long blades of grass that partly covered the little cave aside, and, trying her best to make her voice warm and welcoming, she began. "Hello? Is there anyone there? Cremia? Romani? Don't be afraid—I was sent here by Grog. He begged me to help you."
She did not receive an answer. Of course not. Either Cremia and Romani would have answered anyone who claimed to be there to help them, in which case Midna knew better than to think that they would still be there, or they were trying their best not to breathe, not to make a single sound that might give away the fact that they were hiding mere metres away from her. Midna could only hope that it was the latter.
But, as much as she wanted to remain hopeful, Midna could hear how an edge of frustration made its way into her voice as she continued. "I promise you that I am not here to harm you. In fact, if the soldiers were to find us now, I think that they would chase me rather than you." the sound that escaped from her sounded like a laugh, but Midna knew that it had nothing to do with actual joy and instead everything to do with the absurdity of the situation, the fact that she was standing here, trying to convince what might very well just be a tree that it was a good thing that she had to fight the instinct to simply barge in there and force them to come back out with her, dragging both Cremia and Romani back to the ship with her to make sure that they would be long gone by the time the soldiers might possibly figure out where the two of them had gone.
Trying again, Midna leant a little bit closer, almost like it would make them more likely to trust her that she was sitting closer and closer to the entrance to the little cave. "Truly, I only wish to help. Or, well, I suppose it would not be a good idea to try to lie right now, so I should probably be honest and admit that I am mostly here because so many people seem to think that this is what I should do, to try to act like I might be some kind of hero. But even though I would call myself a thousand other things before I would even consider using that word to describe myself, if that is who you want me to be, I will be a hero right now. Please, just let me help you, and then I will escort you back to my ship. It is waiting for us just about a hundred metres away and once we have made sure that the soldiers are not following us, we can go back to a place where the king will not be able to find us that easily. Just… let me help you."
There was a sound from within the cave, something that was unmistakably the sound of one of the two trying to move towards Midna, only for the other to try to keep her back, hushed whispers letting Midna know that they really were there.
Despite the fact that she was perfectly aware of how she and Link had not actually saved them yet, Midna could not keep the smile off her lips. So they had not travelled out there for nothing, the two were really there.
It was that realisation that gave her the courage to continue, her voice becoming a bit louder, a little bit warmer, as she almost felt how she came closer to her goal. Soon, very soon, she might be able to convince them to join her. Then, they would only have to make it back to the ship and everything would be all right.
"I can hear that you are there." deciding that it would not help her to pretend that it was not the case, Midna reached out towards the grass. "And I am going to move this grass a little, but if you don't want to come with me, I will not try to force you. All I am asking is for you to consider it. From what Grog told me, you have been through a lot. We understand that. Plenty of us have been through a lot as well. You can find people who will be able to relate if you come with me." letting out a breath, Midna finally moved the grass aside to allow her to look into the cave.
The first thing she noticed was how she was not looking at two adults like she had expected to find when Grog had first fallen to the floor, talking about how he had fled along with two others, how they had had a farm. No, the girl sitting with her arm around the other looked like she could barely be older than Midna, perhaps even a bit younger, and the little one looked like she was barely seven years old, although Midna supposed that the fact that she was clinging to the other's arm, trying to hide herself, might also have made her appear even younger.
However, before Midna got the chance to even open her mouth to once more try to explain to them how she was just there because Grog had asked for her help, the older girl let out a little gasp. Even in the darkness of the cave, it was apparent how her eyes widened as she mumbled something to herself.
"Uh," she said, clearing her throat as she looked up at Midna, "I—"
"Don't fear." if Midna had been able to, she would have held up her hands, showing how she had left her gun hanging at her hips, but with how she was already trying her best not to hit her head against the roof of the cave, she decided against it. "I am only here to help you. If you want me to, that is."
"Oh." the older girl said, and for a moment, Midna was sure that she would decline the offer for help, insisting on spending her last hours out here, but then she cast a glance towards the younger girl, a look of determination making her look much older in the span of only a few seconds as she once more met Midna's gaze. "And you promise us that you are not here to try to trick us into going with you so that you can bring us to the king?"
"I promise. Even if I wanted to, I think the king would be more interested in capturing me, so doing that would be really dumb of me."
Midna could not read the look in the girl's eyes, but at last, she nodded, gesturing towards the other. "Come, Romani. This nice woman is here to help us, just as I told you she would be."
"What do you—"
The sound of rumbling brought an end to the question, Midna's blood becoming ice as her entire body leapt into action immediately. She almost did not realise what was going on around her, only knowing that they had to move now, right now, if they did not want to be caught off-guard, allowing the Hyrulean soldiers to surround them, making it impossible for them to reach the ship.
"Go." the word was quiet, but as neither Cremia nor Romani reacted, only looking up at her with fear making their eyes shine, Midna reached out to grab Cremia's arm, all but dragging both her and Romani out of the cave, gesturing towards the forest. "There! Just past the first few rows of trees, in a glade, you will find the ship. Go there—another person from the base will be ready to help you!" she pushed them forward, hoping that Cremia would realise the danger they were in, that she would be able to focus on getting Romani to safety, freeing Midna from having to follow along.
But although Cremia nodded once, clearly able to understand her, she remained where she was, instead searching for Midna's hand as she began to speak, almost like she wanted for all of them to run at once. Opening her mouth, Cremia took a step towards Midna, walking in the exact opposite direction of where Midna wanted her to go. "But then what about you?"
"I will be fine. I just have to buy you and Romani here enough time for you to climb up the rope ladder." seeing how Cremia had still not stopped trying to grab her hand, Midna decided that she would have to try again to make up for the way she could not keep her voice from trembling, giving away the fact that she was not as confident as she tried to make it seem. "If I go with you, I will surely die, and so might both you and your sister." Cremia let out a sound that sounded like it had been caught halfway between a sob and a gasp. Midna should have felt guilty, but right in that moment, she was just relieved to see that she had guessed correctly, both in regards to their relation to each other, but also by determining the only argument that would make Cremia leave. Gesturing wildly in the direction of the ship, Midna tore her arm away from Cremia, letting her hand rest on her gun to signal that it was time to run now. "Go! I have to buy us enough time, if not, they will make it over to the ship before we will all have had time to climb up the ladder! Go now!"
This time, Midna knew better than to wait to confirm that Cremia and Romani had finally understood the severity of the situation, so, without wasting another second, she twirled around and hurried towards what limited amount of cover the meadow had to offer to her.
The bark felt rough beneath her fingers as she pressed her shoulder against the tree, dragging her gun out and aiming towards the other end of the field where a formation of rocks kept her from being able to see where Clock Town should be jutting out against the horizon. As long as she stayed there and made sure that the soldiers would not get the opportunity to follow Milk Road around the meadow, she might be able to buy Cremia and Romani enough time, allowing her to, if nothing else, be able to find comfort in the fact that she might have repaid the forces of the universe for what Rusl had done for her. If this was where she would either die or be captured, she would make sure that she would at least not be brought in without a fight. No. The second the soldiers would begin to come, rushing forward to try to capture Cremia and Romani, the two sisters currently sprinting towards the edge of the forest, Midna risking turning away from the tree for a moment to see how they were almost halfway there already, she would do everything within her power to ensure that they would be able to cover the last few metres as well.
It was in that moment that the troops turned around the corner and began to make their way over the meadow.
Forcing herself to keep her breath even, controlled, finding comfort in the feeling of air passing in and out, Midna aimed at the person closest to her, knowing just what the reaction would be once she pulled the trigger, how it would make them know for a fact that there was someone there, shooting at them. Then she shot, feeling how the gun was thrown backwards as the sound echoed in her ears.
She did not pause to note whether she had hit, the yells coming from across the meadow, carried by the wind, telling her that they had heard her, and perhaps even felt the bullet. Instead, Midna hurried to aim towards the other end of what was beginning to feel too much like a wall of troops to her and pulled the trigger again, the gun jumping in her hand as she tried to force herself to become used to the feeling after having been able to make do without having to use the weapon for so long. It would have been better if she had been able to make it without it now as well, but as Midna forced herself not to drop her only means of defence, knowing all too well that the only reason the soldiers had not already figured out that she was only one person, that they could easily swarm her and catch her simply by virtue of being almost fifty times as many as her, was that they had not expected for anyone to be there, ready to shoot at them. From the sight that met her as she dared to take a look, only watching for a fraction of a second before she leant back behind the tree, her heart beating madly in her chest, they were slowly beginning to figure it out. She might have ten seconds, perhaps twenty if she was lucky, before they would all come running towards her, and once that happened, Midna did not need anyone there to inform her that she would not be able to stand a chance against actual soldiers from the Hyrulean army, not when she was only one person with a gun that could only fire six times before she had to sit down to reload it.
She had already fired two times, and now, she only had three bullets left for the soldiers.
As much as Midna tried to convince herself that she was only happy to have acted, that she had done what was right by deciding to put herself at risk to give Cremia and Romani the chance to escape, in that moment, she only wished that she had accepted Link's offer and let him go to get Cremia and Romani instead. If she had done that, they might all be back on the ship by now, ready to leave this place. Or, a voice that sounded too much like Zelda's for Midna to be able to ignore it as easily as she might have ignored herself echoed in her mind, Link would be caught out here instead of her. It was that thought that made the difference. If nothing else, at least the fact that she was currently standing with nothing but a tree between herself and the attackers kept Link from having to be in the same situation.
That was what gave her the courage—though Midna wanted to think of it as stupidity—to form one last, desperate plan. Closing her eyes, Midna hoped that Link would remember what she had told him about how she trusted him to cover her, that Cremia and Romani had reached the ship by now, making it so that Midna would only have to grip the bottom step of the rope ladder before Link would be able to let the ship leave the ground, trusting Midna to be able to climb up on her own. Then, she turned away from the tree and began to sprint towards the forest.
Despite how she was doing her best to run in a straight line, hoping that, by keeping the tree behind her, it might give her a tiny bit of cover, she could hear from the yells that the soldiers had spotted her. The sound of bullets flying through the air, pushed forwards by the explosions echoing behind her only confirmed that. But although Midna was well aware of the fact that, if things did not change soon, she would not stand a chance, she would never be able to reach the ship before one of the bullets would hit its mark simply by pure chance and luck, she did not slow down. At least she could collapse a few metres closer to the ship, give the soldiers a bit more work before they would finally be able to return home to Hyrule Castle to let Ganondorf know that they had caught her. And so, even with her lungs burning, desperation and fear fuelling her, allowing her to run even faster, ignoring everything else, Midna continued to sprint, not trusting herself not to slow down if she let her mind wander to wonder exactly why she was doing this when it was obvious that she was only delaying the inevitably.
There was a scream behind her, and for a split second, Midna found herself wondering if the soldiers had perhaps been stupid enough to try to spread out, if they had let go of the formation that had kept them safe from each other's muskets. But she had hardly arrived at the conclusion that she could not afford to look back to try to confirm it, when she glanced up, barely able to catch a glimpse of the ship through the leaves of the forest.
A smile that was so misplaced in the situation that Midna knew that she was about to faint tucked at her lips as she saw how Link was standing on the deck of the ship, hidden from view both by the handrail, the colour of his tunic, and the trees in front of him, until Midna was sure that, had she not known what to look for, she would not have seen him. As she looked at him, Link reloaded his gun, the sound of gunfire and the increasingly panicked yells behind her telling Midna that the reason for the decreasing amount of bullets around her had not simply been that the soldiers sent to retrieve two girls from a ranch might not have been prepared to find themselves in an actual battle, but rather that they were busy trying to defend themselves from the new threat that Link was as he sat up there, calm and prepared to kill if that was what it would take to keep them safe.
Somehow, the realisation that she had not been left to fend for herself gave her the last bit of energy she needed, and, her lungs feeling like they were about to give up on her, Midna reached the edge of the forest the next moment. Just a few metres more, then she would have trees around her, giving her even more things to shield her from the bullets.
That was when she felt it. Something warm brushed past her, and the next moment, white-hot pain overtook her arm, the pain shooting up from somewhere just above her elbow, reaching what felt like every last particle in her body, making her brain unable to focus on anything but the feeling of how something wet seeped into the sleeve of her blouse. She should not look down. Midna knew that, and yet, as she found herself struggling to bite back a pained scream, she knew that she was not nearly strong enough to ignore the pull of having to know what had happened. Already, the area where the pain had first hit was feeling numb. Midna was not optimistic enough to believe that that was a good sign.
Stumbling forward, Midna could tell how the feeling of something warm dripping from her sleeve, the way her arm had stopped obeying her, had brought an end to her momentum, making it so that she struggled to even take a step forward. She was so close to the ship, it was right there, not even ten metres away. Midna only had to get around it, and then she would be safe from the bullets. But already, she knew that she would not have the strength to pull herself back up onto the deck, not with her arm feeling like it had disappeared to instead be replaced with pure pain that was making her mind become increasingly cloudy as the time slipped out of her hands.
They would have to leave without her. As much as she did not want to admit it, Midna knew that it was the truth. It was the only way to keep the soldiers from being able to hold onto the ladder, sneaking onto the ship to figure out where the base was. Still, no amounts of trying to convince herself that she was prepared for that to happen, that she had accepted it, would ever have been enough to fool Midna into not being aware of the fact that, despite how she had truly believed that she had known the risks, right then, she only wished that she could change what had happened, make it so that she had not insisted on having Cremia and Romani run ahead.
She took another unsure step forwards, but her boot must have been caught on a root sticking out of the ground, for the next thing Midna knew, the world tipped around her, and she continued her path forward, hitting the ground with what to her felt like a crash as loud as when the ship had once not been able to avoid scratching against the tip of Eldin Mountain.
"Midna!"
Link's yell came from somewhere far away. Midna was not sure if she had really heard it, or if she had perhaps just made it up, her brain tricking her into hearing what she wanted to hear, trying to give her a sense of calmness, trying to trick her into believing that there might still be hope. She hoped not. She was going to either die or be captured here, and as such, she would do her best not to give the king the satisfaction of knowing that she had been scared.
Maybe that was what drove her to, against her better judgement, turn her head to the side to try to catch a glance of the damage the bullet had inflicted. Instantly, bile rose in her throat, filling her mouth with the bitter taste of defeat, as she looked at the mess that was her right arm.
The sleeve was torn open, revealing how the bullet had just barely hit her arm. Keeping back a sob, Midna could not help but wonder if they had planned for it to end like that, if perhaps the soldiers had had orders not to harm her so much that they would not be able to hide it later. It felt a little too lucky if that had not been the case, the way the bullet had missed the bone by centimetres, instead drawing a short stripe where blood was already dropping to the ground from the wound. If they had just hit her, then she would not be here, trying to come to terms with the fact that they might very well have received orders to bring her in alive, something that was even worse than simply having to die. Alive meant that she could be used as a puppet, that she might give up the location of the base in the end, that Ganondorf might be able to claim that he had singlehandedly saved the lost princess who had, in return, validated his claim to the throne of the Twilight Realm.
Footsteps were coming closer to her, and Midna hid her face in the moss beneath her. If nothing else, she would make sure that they would not get the victory of seeing that she was close to tears. As she felt the ground shake beneath her, she tried to think of anything that might be able to save her now. Her gun. Where was her gun?
Trying to remember what had happened when she had fallen, Midna recalled the feeling of the cold metal slipping out of her hand, how it had flown through the air. It had to be close by, just a few metres to her right. If she could reach it, she would still have three bullets left to try to hit the soldier.
But Midna would not have needed the voice in her head to tell her that it was hopeless. She was not able to look up, much less able to reach out to grab the gun with her numb arm, not when the soldier was only metres away from her.
"Midna," someone said from above her, and it took a few seconds of wondering if Ganondorf had really told all of his soldiers her name, if he had explained to them exactly who she was, before Midna realised that she was listening to Link call out for her, that she was not making it all up, as the sound of moss having to give way to a pair of heavy boots reached her, letting her know that Link had knelt down next to her.
She tried to respond. Midna really did, but right then, she could not imagine forcing the words out of her throat, much less actually finding the strength to lift her head to look at him, instead remaining where she was and hoping that Link would not disappear in a moment to reveal that she had just made it all up.
It was selfish. She knew that. After all, by now, Link should have left a long time ago. He should have realised that she was lost and turned around to ensure that the soldiers would not be able to capture him as well. And yet, as she heard Link try to hide a gasp when he reached out to attempt to grab her arm, Midna could not bring herself to actually wanting him gone.
Seemingly realising that she would not be able to get back up on her own, Link reached out to touch her good shoulder, rolling her over on the ground until she looked up at the grey, brown and blue vista that was the trees against the sky.
"Midna, I am going to lift you up now. Just try to relax, everything will be fine."
It sounded so much like what she had tried to convince Zelda would be the case that Midna could not even find the energy to ask Link what he meant, how he was planning to make it all become all right when the soldiers should have reached them a long time ago.
As cautious as Link tried to be, it was not enough to keep him from brushing against her right arm as he lifted her up. Biting down into her tongue, Midna tried her best not to show how all thoughts about what he was doing, why he was not back up on the ship, behind the rudder, had to give way to instead allow the pain to fill everything, painting the world red.
"It will be all right," Link repeated, and as the trees began to move around her, Midna realised that they were moving, the ship soon coming into view, letting her know that, somehow, even though the soldiers should have been able to aim at them a thousand times in the time it had taken for Link to get to her, they might be able to make it.
"Link," she forced herself to say, doing her best to ignore the way her voice was barely more than a whisper as she tried her best to tell him that he should leave her behind and run back to the ship himself to ensure that the soldier would not catch them both.
Midna had not even finished trying to force out the word before she felt how the world slipped away from her, the red becoming black as the pain turned into the blissful feeling of knowing that she was about to pass out. Not even Link's panicked whisper was enough to keep her in the moment. It did not matter. Even if she had stayed awake, she would still not have been able to climb up the rope ladder; she would still have to be left behind. This way, at least there was a tiny chance that she might be able to die on her own before the soldiers would come back.
She wanted to say that she smiled, but even then, Midna was not naïve enough to think that the last, half-finished thought that went through her mind, was not her desperately wishing that she had acted differently, that she had done anything that would have been enough to change the fact that she knew that she would not be saved in the end.