And the Clouds Parted

by FlowerOwl

To Midna, the world is a set of dichotomies, divided into the Twilight Realm, a world relegated to the shadows and history, and Hyrule, a world where the sun is reflected by the glint of weaponry. The world is divided into twos, but as the princess of Hyrule enters into her life, bringing the harsh sun along, the lines between them begin to blur.

18. Chapter 18

Pain. The warm feeling of the little pangs letting her know that she had not merely imagined everything that had happened.

That was the first thing Midna noticed when she woke up again, for a moment refusing to open her eyes, unwilling to give her captors the joy of knowing that she was still alive. If she could just get to her gun, then she would be able to remove the smile on their faces, but she was not able to make herself believe that they would not have predicted how that would be her first thought upon waking up, that they might actually be stupid enough to not have made certain that she would never be able to get her hands on anything that she might be able to use as a weapon.

So instead, Midna tried to force herself to relax, to not give in to the temptation of panicking and letting her rising heartrate tell the king that she was still alive.

She was lying on a soft surface, a mattress, but, as she tried to find more signs of just where in the castle she was, if she had been taken directly to the dungeons or if Ganondorf might have been desperate enough to keep her alive to have her taken to some kind of hospital wing, wanting to ensure that she would not be able to find any way of escaping him, that she might not be able to create a situation where the wound could become infected, Midna noted that the mattress was much softer than what she would have expected for them to give her.

Next to her, someone was breathing softly, almost like they were trying their best not to wake her up. Midna knew that it was a soldier, that or some kind of nurse employed by Ganondorf, specifically chosen to tend to her because they would remain loyal to him no matter what, and yet, she was not able to not feel some kind of connection to the person, already knowing that she would not be able to fight them, not with how they seemed to at least try to be careful as they reached out to pull up her sleeve, touching her arm.

Midna had prepared herself for the pain, tried to make sure that she would not give away the fact that she was awake by gasping, but as they moved a piece of cloth around, the fabric brushing past the point where the bullet had just barely missed its mark, she was surprised to feel how there was only a trace of the pain she had expected left, only a sense of mild discomfort.

In the end, that was why she could not keep her eyes closed anymore, the fact that she had expected for the exact opposite to happen, for her to have to force herself not to let out a pained yell. Or at least that was the first thought that came to her. Midna did honestly not know the reason, but the next second, as she opened her eyes, she was unable to ponder the real answer anymore, instead having to blink a couple of times to understand what she was seeing.

She was not in a cell. Nor was she lying in a room that looked like it could have fit in with the splendour of Hyrule Castle. No, as Midna opened her eyes, she found herself staring up at the solid rock that was the roof of the infirmary. Somehow, she must have made it home.

Barely even a second after she had realised that she might actually have survived, that she might not have been captured after all, Midna looked to the right and found herself unable to do anything other than staring at the person sitting there.

Leaning in over her, wrapping a bandage around her arm, a look of pure focus on her face, Zelda looked almost like she had done this for her entire life, her brows pulled downwards, a little crease appearing between them as she mumbled something to herself before looking back up at her.

By the time Midna realised that she had forgot everything about her plan of trying to hide the fact that she was still alive, it was already too late. Zelda's eyes had become wide, a thousand different emotions passing over her face in the span of a single second, relief and joy seeming to win in the end, as she opened her mouth, almost like she wanted to say something, only to be unable to do anything other than smile at her.

"Midna," Zelda finally forced out, glancing between Midna's face and her arm where the bandage was still only lying as a piece of cloth loosely wrapped around her arm, nothing keeping it from possibly falling to the floor if Midna were to move even a little, "You—you—"

"Yeah." her voice sounded hoarse, almost as tired and exhausted as Midna felt, but she still continued. How would she ever have been able to do anything other than that when Zelda was looking down at her like she might honestly be ecstatic to see that she had survived? "I made it." then, doubting for a second if she was perhaps only making everything even worse, Midna sent her a tiny smirk, already sensing how even that little grimace was almost enough to make her want to fall back against the flat pillow under her head and sleep for ages. "Just as I said I would."

For a moment, Midna was not sure if Zelda was going to cry or hit her while telling her that it was not funny, that she did not want to listen to Midna make fun of the fact that she had almost died, that she should have died, but then, she shook her head, clearly unable to believe what she was hearing.

"You are unbelievable," Zelda said, failing to sound annoyed, the way the tears were beginning to stream down her cheeks already making sure that no one would have believed her if she claimed to actually be offended that Midna would try to joke about how close she had come to dying, "we were so worried about you when Link got back here."

Instantly, the laughter died in her chest as the memory of how she had seen Link's face, looking eerily pale against the sky above him when he had lifted her up, whispering something about her having to hold on for just a little bit longer.

Trying to turn her head to the side, Midna hoped that he would be there, making it so that she would not have to find him to let him know that she was all right.

Zelda must have been able to guess what she was trying to do, for she shook her head before reaching out to press a hand against Midna's shoulder, easily able to push her back down. "He is not here. Not because he did not try, though. But after he had broken down for the second time, rambling about how he should have been quicker to come to your aid, Ilia decided that his presence here would not help any of us. Before you ask—yes, he is perfectly fine. Terrified that you would not make it and shaken, yes, but unharmed. As are Cremia and Romani."

She had almost forgot about the two sisters. Trying her best to hide the fact that her cheeks had to have become bright red as the realisation that she was so easily able to forget about the very reason she was there in the first place, Midna tried her best to act like she had just been about to ask Zelda where they were, clearing her throat to buy herself a little more time. "Do you—" her voice failed her, but this time, Midna had almost expected for that to happen and was able to quickly continue, "do you know what happened?"

From the look Zelda sent her, the way she raised a brow, it was apparent that she was trying to determine whether Midna really did not remember or is she was merely trying to make her explain something she already knew. Seemingly deciding that the former was true, Zelda let out a little sigh. "We only know what Link told us, so please excuse me if I have got anything wrong."

"I will."

The little smile that Zelda sent her was enough for Midna to know that she had not expected for her to respond, but as it made the world seem a little bit better, made her feel less like she had just tried to convince herself that she might have to try to find a way to escape from Hyrule Castle, Midna did not care. All that mattered was that Zelda was smiling because of her.

"All right. Well, from what Link told us, you insisted on going to convince Cremia and Romani to come back with you on your own, making him stay back on the ship." Zelda paused, but even then, the question was obvious from the way she was looking at her.

Midna tried to nod, only for the attempt at moving giving her a rude reminder that, even if she should have felt worse than this, it was still not entirely pleasant to try to move, making her lie still again. "I did," she mumbled, trying not to try to think about how the look in Zelda's eyes changed, becoming warmer, as she continued. She had not done it to know that Zelda would be proud of her, and so, Midna did not stop to note that Zelda was smiling at her like she might have done something truly heroic, like she might have done the right thing for the first time in her life, instead of hiding herself, acting like the coward she had been since the very first time she had left Hateno Village, "you see, I knew that Link would be able to help them over the side of the ship, so it just made more sense for him to remain aboard the ship, even if he would also undoubtedly have been better than me at convincing them to come back home with us."

"Funny that you should say that." Zelda's eyes sparkled as she leant closer towards her, the movement almost making Midna's heart skip a beat. "That was not exactly the impression we got from them."

"No?" Midna did not even have to pretend to be surprised; her body took care of that all on its own. "Well, I am sure that they might also need a bit more time to realise that they would rather have followed Link."

She could tell how the joy in Zelda's eyes dimmed a bit as she brushed aside her attempts at assuring her that she had been successful. It should not have hurt as much as it did, not when Midna had little reason to care about what Zelda might think about her, but for a reason she could not explain, Midna found that it did indeed matter to her, that she wanted to make sure that Zelda would be given another reason to smile.

Knowing exactly how she was trying to look for something she could use to distract both herself and Zelda from her mistake, Midna glanced towards the door, trying to figure out if she could hear anyone in the corridor outside before she looked back up at Zelda. "Actually, now that I mention it—do you know how long I have been unconscious for?"

Instantly, Midna knew that she might not want to know the answer, the way Zelda bit her lip, averting her gaze, instantly betraying her attempt at keeping it a secret, until even Zelda was not optimistic enough to think that she could find a way to not have to answer the question. With a loud sigh, Zelda reached out to take her hand, before she, looking at a point just above Midna's eyes, whispered the answer. "Link landed the ship a few hours before dinner, and by then, he said that you had been unconscious for the entirety of the journey home, so I suppose that you have been unconscious for about… ten hours or so."

Midna tried to count back, her brain protesting against the strain she put it under. "So right now, it is about ten in the evening?" she looked up at Zelda. "Is that right?"

"It is."

Oh. Midna knew that she should have tried to comfort Zelda who looked like she was seconds away from bursting into tears, but in that moment, all she could feel was the overwhelming sense of relief that came from knowing that she had not lost days and weeks. It was only a few hours. She had tried worse things than that before.

However, it soon became apparent that Zelda would not have agreed with her assessment of the severity of the situation, for she gripped her hand, shaking her head as she began to talk, her voice trembling, giving away how the shiny look in her eyes was not just something Midna was imagining. "I—Midna, I am so sorry about everything. I should have done more—I should have insisted on going with you."

"What?" the sheer surprise of that being the conclusion Zelda had arrived at was enough to push away anything else, leaving Midna unable to do anything other than letting out a short laugh, halfway convinced that Zelda was trying to cheer her up, saying the absolute last thing Midna would have wanted to try to make her feel better.

However, the next moment, Midna had no choice but to realise how that had not been the case after all, as Zelda looked down at the floor, her cheeks becoming redder and redder with every second.

With a sinking feeling in her chest, Midna realised that it had not been an attempt at making her laugh, Zelda had really meant it. Still, as she thought about the kind of panic that had filled her when she had run from the soldiers, tried to picture what it would have been like to know that Zelda was there with her, that she had brought her into such a dangerous situation, Midna knew that the only thing that would have made it even more horrible than it had already been would have been knowing that Zelda might also be brought home to the castle she had been so eager to leave that she had sneaked her way onto a pirate ship.

As Zelda began to move away from her, the tears in her eyes making sure that Midna knew exactly how much she had messed up, the only thing Midna could do was to reach out for her hand, hoping that she would not have to beg Zelda to stay, to listen to her. But even then, Midna knew that if that was what it would take for her to be given a chance to explain, she would do it without hesitating for even a second. "Wait, Zelda, you—I misunderstood. I am sorry."

And, finally, Zelda did stop. Sitting back down in the chair, she frowned slightly, almost like she wanted to make sure that Midna knew that such a vague excuse without an explanation would not be enough.

Struggling to find the words, Midna gestured towards her, hoping that Zelda would be able to understand what she was trying to say as she stuttered her way through the first couple of words. "You—I—look, as I am sure you are already aware of," Midna said, gesturing towards the bandage, "we were attacked. I had known that there was a risk of that happening, I had thought that I would be prepared for it, but—" shaking her head, Midna forced herself not to cry. It would be bad enough if one of them began to cry; she had to stay calm and collected, if nothing else, then to make sure that she would not waste the opportunity to explain, "it was nothing like what I would ever have imagined it to be. But do you know what the only thing that was able to give me a little bit of comfort as I truly thought that I was going to die was?" when Zelda remained silent, not making any motion to answer the question, but also not trying to leave either, Midna continued. "It was the fact that Cremia and Romani might at least be able to make it back to the base. But if you had been there with me, I would not even have been able to think about that. All that would have mattered to me then would have been the fact that I had promised you that you would not have to go back to Hyrule Castle and that I was about to find myself in a situation where I would not be able to keep that promise anymore. Please, Zelda, that was all I meant with the laugh."

And, at last, Zelda's expression became soft again, the crease between her brows growing a bit less noticeable. But it still did not disappear, and as Zelda leant back in the chair, Midna already knew that the conversation was not over yet.

"You told me," Zelda said, glancing over at Midna, "you said that everything would be fine."

"Because that was what I believed." it was only halfway a lie, Midna decided. She might not have been as optimistic as Zelda, but even then, she had not expected for there to be quite that many soldiers. "I thought that it would just be a matter of hurrying to find the two before the soldiers, I did not expect for them to try to attack me. But, from what I can see, everything might be all right after all." she motioned towards the bandage, hoping that it would be enough to try to bring the conversation back to Zelda. As she saw how the muscles moved around Zelda's mouth, Midna knew that it was working, and so, she continued. "I had no idea that you were able to do all of this."

"I had hoped I would never have to use it." Zelda shrugged. "But I suppose that all those years of having to listen to some old man talking about plants and why we had to make sure that we had a steady supply of all of them to make sure that we would be able to produce medicine were finally able to help me."

"Do you mean that…?"

Finally, Midna could see the joy begin to return to Zelda's smile, her face almost seeming a bit brighter as she bowed her head. "Yes. It really was not that complicated—it was just a matter of knowing which plants had been used in which of the different kinds of medicine you had brought home and then figuring out how to combine them to obtain the desired effects. As I said, it wasn't that complicated."

"Not for you perhaps, but I still consider it a miracle that you were here to help me."

Brushing a strand of hair back in place behind her ears, Zelda hid a smile behind her hand. "It was nothing really. I am sure that Uli would have been able to do the same."

"Perhaps, but I am still happy that it was you."

Midna looked up at Zelda. How had she been able to live for this long without ever noticing the little hint of red that was hidden within the brown colour of her hair? Even with the flickering light, it could still not have been more obvious to Midna that as she sat there, having just been about to bandage her arm, anyone who might enter the room would be bound to cast one look at Zelda and mistake her for one of the goddesses. Nayru, perhaps. If Midna remembered correctly, Ilia had mentioned something about how she would plead with the goddess of wisdom to make sure that they would return home safely and without any wounds.

It was not until Zelda's expression changed, becoming unsure, that Midna realised she was starring.

Turning away from Zelda, hoping that she had not made her thoughts obvious, Midna cleared her throat, forcing her voice to not shake, to just be normal as she changed the subject. "Zelda, do you know where Uli is?"

With a sound that told Midna that she was just as eager to change the topic of the conversation as she was, Zelda nodded. "Yes. When you first got back, Cremia and Romani were quite shaken, especially Romani—not that it was not understandable, I mean, those poor things, to have just had to flee from the soldiers only to watch as Link brought you back up onto the ship." Zelda shook her head, and in that moment, she was able to make it sound almost like she had been living in the base with them for her entire life. "It took ages before Uli was even able to get Romani to talk, and even then, she was still hiding behind Cremia. But, no matter what, Uli decided that it would be best if she took them over to decide which of the empty rooms they would like to live in—to get them away from the crowd of people who had gathered to look at what had happened, you know?"

Midna nodded. It sounded like the perfectly logical thing to do, so of course Uli would have done that. "Yes, I suppose that would make sense. But they are all right—or, well, as all right as we can expect them to be after everything they have been through, correct?."

"Actually," Zelda said, sending her a smile that Midna did not know what to make of, "you can ask them about that yourself—or at least you can ask Cremia."

"What do you mean?"

"She asked if she could talk with you the moment she realised that she was safe. You will not believe how many times Uli had to repeat to her that she would not be able to do anything to help you right now and that her sister would need her before Cremia finally agreed to leave your bedside. She kept talking about how she wanted to thank you for saving her and her sister."

She had been there. Midna would not say that she could not understand why—if their situations had been reversed, if someone had found her when she had been lost and alone, she would surely have done the same—but that did not remove the feeling of it all being unreal, that Zelda had to have misunderstood something, for why would Cremia want to come to talk with her, much less be concerned about whether or not she would make it when Midna had been the reason for how they had almost been caught?

But as she looked up at Zelda, Midna could already tell that voicing her doubts about it would only lead to the sadness returning to Zelda's eyes. And, as much as she would have liked to figure out what had happened while she had been asleep, what they had told Cremia to convince her that there was any need for her to bother to visit Midna, she knew that the last thing she wanted to do right then was to make Zelda upset again. So, swallowing back the questions about what had happened for Cremia to misunderstand what had happened like that, Midna made sure to send Zelda a carefully rehearsed look of surprise. "Oh," she said, hoping that her voice was not too high, a little too surprised for it to be convincing, "why?"

Zelda only laughed, reaching out to push against her shoulder, barely stopping herself in time to send a guilty look towards the bandaged wound. "Because you kept the soldiers at bay and gave them enough time to reach the ship, of course."

Oh. Although her mind was still clouded, Midna could remember having yelled to Cremia that she had to run, that she would stay to buy them the time they would need. But that had just been a way for her to save herself; it had nothing to do with whether she cared about Cremia and Romani.

When Midna did not respond, Zelda must have assumed that she was waiting for her to continue, for she gave her hand a little squeeze. "She is waiting right outside the infirmary. Do you want me to tell her that she can go in now?"

That was the last thing Midna wanted to do, to allow Cremia to come in when she was barely awake enough to figure out just what she might have told her during their escape, much less able to figure out how she could keep Cremia from thinking that Midna had decided that she would stay at the tree because she was ready to sacrifice herself for the two.

Clinging to Zelda's hand like she alone would be able to save her, Midna did not even bother to hide the desperation in her voice as she looked up at her. "Zelda, will you stay here? Will you stay with me, I mean? I—I don't want to be alone, not right now, at least."

The look Zelda sent her told Midna all she needed to know, how Zelda was trying to figure out just why Midna could not face Cremia alone. Trying her best to put on a smile, not wanting Zelda to think that she was weak, and at once intensely aware of how that was exactly what she was with how she could not even imagine having to face another person without Zelda there next to her, Midna met her gaze.

At last, Zelda sighed. "I will stay if that is what you want me to." Midna opened her mouth to answer, but Zelda only held up her hand, signalling for her to wait for a moment. "However, I just want to make certain that you know that you did something incredibly brave when you decided to stay behind."

At that, Midna kept her mouth shut. It would have been better, more honest to tell Zelda that she had not made the decision to stay behind because she felt responsible for the fate of two girls she had never even met before that moment, that, if anything, she had picked the cowardly option by choosing to put herself in a situation where she would either succeed or at least not have to know that she had been the cause for even more people being caught, but she could not make the words leave her mouth, not when Zelda looked down at her, a fond look in her eyes, almost like she might actually believe the lie she had convinced herself was the truth in an attempt at making Midna sound like a better person than she was. Later, she knew that she would have to tell her, but for now, Midna wanted to enjoy the fact that Zelda might actually think that she was brave. For a moment Midna could almost justify keeping the truth to herself and continuing to let Zelda believe that the reason she protested against being called brave was that she was not ready to admit that that was what she had been.

"If you say so." Midna had meant for it to sound cold, so that she would at least be able to point back to that when Zelda would inevitably ask her why she had not told her the truth earlier, but the words echoed between them, sounding much warmer and friendlier than what she had intended for them to do. Although she already knew that she would not be able to save the situation, to try again, Midna still cleared her throat and tried to add anything onto the sentence, anything at all that would make the horrible fluttering feeling in her stomach disappear. "Will you go get Cremia?"

Apparently, that was not what she should have said, or at least Zelda looked away from her, still not able to hide the disappointment in her eyes. Midna knew that it should not have made her feel this way to know that she had just disappointed Zelda again—if Zelda still honestly believed that Midna was in any way good at interacting with the people around her, then it was about time that Midna messed up so badly that Zelda would no longer be able to justify it to herself—but even that knowledge did nothing to change the fact that she had to use all her mental strength not to reach out for Zelda as she let go of her hand to move away from the bed, not to apologise to her.

"Of course," Zelda said, "just wait for a moment. I think it would be best if I also tell her about… well, your condition," she gestured towards Midna, her gaze landing on the bandage, "I am not sure what Uli told her, but I suppose you would not want for her to be surprised the moment she steps into the room and sees you, right?"

Midna could not see how she could keep Cremia from receiving an unpleasant surprise, not with how she doubted she would be able to fool Cremia into thinking she was some kind of heroic rebel the way she might have convinced Zelda, but she still nodded. "Right. That would be best."

Zelda left without another word, and even as Midna turned her head to the side, trying her best to catch a glimpse of the corridor outside the infirmary, both her position and the way the door swung inwards kept her from being able to catch even a glimpse of Cremia. Closing her eyes, Midna tried her best to recall what the girls had looked like in the cave. Truth to be told, she could barely remember anything from before the moment she had seen the soldiers turn around the corner in the distance, but she still tried, attempted to picture the girls in her head. They had been scared, she knew that, even if she was not quite sure if she knew that because she remembered or simply because everyone would have been scared if they had been hiding in a tiny cave underneath a tree, unable to do anything other than hoping that the guards would not find them.

The sound of hushed mumbling reached her from outside the room, but even as Midna tried her best to focus on nothing other than the sound of Zelda whispering something, an unknown voice responding from time to time, giving up on trying to figure out just whom she could expect to see in a moment, she could not make out the individual words. Perhaps it was a sign that she should stop trying, that she should simply be content to wait for them to come back and provide her with answers to her questions, but the option of letting her head fall back down onto the pillow to look directly up at the ceiling felt a little too much like giving up for Midna to be entirely comfortable with it. Besides, from what Zelda had told her, Midna knew that Cremia expected to see her saviour, some selfless person who had been able to stand between her and her sister and the soldiers, risking her life to protect them. Even if Midna knew that she would not be able to pretend to be that for long, she could at least try not to let their first meeting after having brought them back to the base become a disappointment.

As the door squeaked on its hinges, loudly protesting against the fact that they had always prioritised the steam engines over the doors whenever they had been lucky enough to take any amount of oil, and Zelda entered the room once more, a girl with long, red hair whom Midna assumed was Cremia following along, Midna could have sworn that she felt how her heart skipped a beat, pure fear rushing through her. She did not know what to say. What if Cremia expected for her to tell her how they would be going back to fight for their ranch? Could that be why she had been so eager to talk with her? Midna doubted it, trying to remind herself of the fact that Cremia had been the person to make the decision to give up the farm in the first place, hoping that Cremia knew that she could hardly expect for anyone to want to fight for it now, but it did not keep her from both fearing and looking forwards to the moment when Cremia would finally tell her why she was there.

As Zelda sat down in her chair next to Midna's bed, Cremia pulling a chair over from one of the other beds, placing it next to Zelda's, Midna tried her best to force a smile onto her face. If nothing else, she could at least pretend that she was not nervous.

"So," she said, trying her best to keep her voice from shaking, "Zelda told me that you wanted to talk with me." she lifted a brow, hoping that Cremia would be able to understand.

Luckily, it seemed that Cremia did indeed understand, for, pushing her hair back behind her shoulders, she bowed her head, making trying to get control over her hair a waste of time as it fell forwards immediately, creating a curtain in front of her face as she mumbled something that was barely audible. As Cremia sat up straight again, Midna was shocked to see the tears lining her eyes, how her lower lip trembled as she shook her head.

"I just wanted to thank you. You—had you not shown up when you did, I honestly don't know what we would have done, but then you appeared, telling us that there was a place where we could be safe. For that, I cannot thank you enough."

"It was nothing." she had to convince her right now that trying to make her out to be some kind of hero would only lead to tears, and so, Midna forced herself to ignore the look Zelda sent her. It wasn't about her right now. For now, it was about Cremia.

But it seemed that Cremia had already spent too much time in the company of Uli, or maybe it was really Zelda she had spent too much time talking to, for she simply let out a sound that sounded almost like a muffled laugh, shooting Midna a disbelieving look. "No, it really wasn't. I understand that you would not try to brag about it, but it really wasn't nothing. If you had not found us, stayed to convince us to come with you, and then bought us enough time to make it back to the ship... I doubt that we would have made it. But I also have to apologise to you." although Midna did not say anything, having already learnt her lesson about how it would probably be better to let Cremia say everything she wanted to tell her and then try to explain to her how she had misunderstood everything afterwards, it must have been obvious what she wanted to say from the expression on her face, for Cremia forced back a sob as she reached out, almost taking her hand, but stopping herself at the last moment. "If we had come with you the first time you told us about how you were there to help, if we had been just a little bit faster, then you would not have had to stay behind. Then you would not have had to defend us, and you would not have been shot."

It was then that Midna realised what all the stolen glances had been about, why Cremia had reached out towards her, only to stop herself. The bandage. Of course. As Midna forced herself to turn her head a little, just enough to look down at her arm and tried to bite back a cry as pain shot up through her neck, she could see how a bit of blood had already seeped into the fabric, staining it red. What could she say to convince Cremia that she did not have to treat her like a hero, did not have to look at her like she was something fragile that Cremia might have broken?

She was saved from having to actually figure out an answer to that question by Zelda.

Casting a glance at Midna that, although brief, was still enough for Midna to see how Zelda looked like she was ecstatic to find someone whom she might still be able to convince that she had been right about Midna from the very beginning, Zelda turned towards Cremia. "Cremia, may I ask about what happened for you to decide to flee your home?" while Midna might not be able to look at Zelda, she could still easily imagine the way Zelda's expression would reflect the way she froze for a moment, clearly realising that she might just have overstepped her boundaries as she attempted to smooth things out. "I mean, only if you want to. I know that the question might be a bit… too much, but I just can't help but wonder… what happened to force you to leave the ranch?"

As Zelda spoke, Midna could almost hear the princess in her words, the way Zelda tried her best to understand what was going on. Except for the fact that that was not the princess Midna had first met aboard the royal ship. No, the more Midna tried to figure out what to think about the fact that Zelda had leant over to come closer to Cremia, the more obvious it was that this was only Zelda. There was nothing left of the princess of Hyrule.

However, she had barely made that realisation, when another thought struck her, Midna struggling to hide the way it instantly made her look back and forth between Cremia and Zelda, her heart beating so quickly in her chest that she was certain they must be able to hear it. Did Cremia know? Had anyone told her about Zelda, how she was not just merely some other girl Midna had saved? Right then, Midna was not even sure what answer she hoped for, if she honestly believed that she might make it so that they would never have to find out, if she believed she could keep up the pretence. Deep down, she was aware of the fact that if Cremia and Romani were to stay, they would have to know, they could not continue to keep it secret, not with everyone around the two of them knowing, but still, as Midna looked over at Cremia and saw the way she moved her hands as she talked about some ranch she had inherited from her parents, Zelda nodding at all the right moments, cocking her head and letting out a little sigh as Cremia reached the point where she told about how the king had sent his soldiers to seize the ranch when they had been unable to pay their taxes after he had raised them for the fourth year in a row, she knew that she did not want to be the one to tell her.

"At first, I didn't think that they would actually do it." Cremia shook her head, staring directly down at where she was wringing her hands in her lap. "I had tried to explain that the winter had been harsher than we had expected for it to be, that if they would just give us until the harvest, then we would have more than enough to pay them. I thought that they had accepted that. But then, one day as I came in from milking the cows, Romani told me that they had been there, that they had tried to take the cows, telling her that it would be payment for how much time they had already given me."

"And then what happened?" Zelda moved, reaching out to place her hand on Cremia's shoulder. It should not have mattered at all to Midna, not when she was listening to Cremia explain what had led up to her and her sister having to flee their home, and yet, she struggled to make herself focus as Cremia continued.

"I thought that would be the end of it, that, since they had not actually come into the barn, they had decided to leave us be. But then, only a little week after that, Anju, my friend from town, told me that she had overheard the mayor talking about how he had received an order from the king to bring in Romani. Anju is engaged to his soon, you see," Cremia added, "Kafei Dotour. I don't know if it is true or if the soldiers were just lying to create even more trouble for us, but they claimed that Romani had tried to shoot them with her bow and arrow. I—I would like to say that I know that it cannot be true, but, to tell the truth, it could easily be nothing but the truth. Romani—it would not be the first time she thought that the task of protecting the cows could ever be her problem. But that was the moment where I knew that I would not be able to stay. If they had just taken the ranch, then that would be one thing, but if they would have tried to take my sister—I could not risk that."

"But how did you know where to go?" Zelda's voice was low, and Midna only realised that the reason for that was the same as the reason for why she looked like she was only a few seconds away from tears as she turned around to, for a moment, look at her.

"Grog." Cremia said the name like it would be able to explain everything, and maybe it would have if they knew Grog as anyone but the man Link had brought back to the base. Seemingly realising that none of them had a chance of knowing what she was talking about, Cremia continued, taking a deep breath, clearly trying her best to not begin to cry right then and there. "I—I knew that I would have to tell him about what had happened, with how the soldiers would probably also seize his little cucco shack, not caring that it was not really part of the ranch, or at least not something that belonged to us. But rather than being angry or disappointed or anything like that, he simply told me that we would have to make our way across the mountains, that he had heard rumours about how other people had gone that way to escape from the king."

It felt like her stomach had disappeared, a thousand kilos of stone taking its place. There were other people who had tried to find them. In that moment, even the horror of listening to Cremia, of having to recognise the fact that, even if it seemed that most people regarded them as some kind of lie about safety, a place that might not actually exist, it still meant that some people out there had to know about them, seemed almost insignificant in comparison to the fact that it would appear that there were plenty of other people who had tried to make it through the forest, walking with nothing other than the hope of being able to find some kind of safe haven to give them strength.

Already, Midna knew that she would not have to look over at Zelda to know that they were both thinking about the same thing, how Grog was the first person they had ever found, the only one who had made it close enough to the mountain and had been lucky enough for Link to have been outside, looking for any animal that might have been caught in one of their traps. How many other people had either never made it across the mountains, instead being caught by the king's soldiers or indeed made it into the deep forest that surrounded the mountain, only to find that it was almost impossible to fight against the elements and the wild animals?

"Cremia…" Midna began, feeling that she had to say something, that she had to acknowledge the fact that, to Cremia, it would undoubtedly look like they were responsible for every person who had ever died during the attempt at finding them, "I—I am sorry. We should have done more, I know, but—"

"What are you talking about?" Cremia smiled at her, and although Midna wanted the smile to be fake so badly that it almost hurt, giving her the chance to deny it all, to just think that Cremia was unable to see what was really happening, how they had remained inside the mountain, leaving everyone outside to fend for themselves, she could not see even the tiniest glimpse of insincerity. "Midna, we are just grateful that you did find us. Not even to mention how you offered to let us stay here. If you had not done that, well," she shrugged, "I wouldn't know what we would have done."

Before Midna got the time to even open her mouth, much less to figure out what she wanted to say, Zelda had cut in. "We are glad that it did not have to come to that. I am sure that everyone here is happy that you and your sister are here with us now as well."

"Thank you." Cremia beamed at Zelda, and for a moment, it felt almost like Midna could just as well have left the room with how they almost seemed to forget about her completely, Cremia leaning closer towards Zelda. "We are happy to be here as well."

Rather than saying anything, Zelda simple smiled.

She should not have cared about it. Whom Zelda decided to smile at while reaching out towards them really was not something Midna had to worry about. That was what she tried to tell herself, but the more she looked over at the two of them, the more she found herself staring up at Cremia, trying to gauge whether or not she knew the truth, the more Midna could feel the words pressing against her will not to say it and risk ruining everything. In the end, one of them had to give in, and, although she hated to admit it, Midna had known that it would be her will right from the very beginning.

"If you are going to stay here, you should probably have someone show you the base," Midna said, making one last, desperate attempt to push back the feelings that rose in her chest, before she had to admit defeat, "I am sure that Zelda would be ready to help another newcomer."

The reaction was instantaneous, Zelda freezing, pulling her hand back, away from Cremia, almost like she had been burnt, while Cremia simply sent her a confused look.

"Oh, do you mean that Zelda is like me?" she asked, her voice rising just a little bit on the last word, making Midna already regret how she had not been able to just stay quiet and let the two of them chat about everything and nothing right next to her.

But now, it would not be possible to achieve that, and so, she looked over at Zelda, trying her best to let her see that she was sorry for what she had done, that she already knew that she had overreacted, been petty, and unable to see when she was about to ruin the situation.

Maybe Zelda saw it. Midna would not have known, for the next moment, Zelda had turned away from her again, almost like she could not stand looking at her right then. Although Midna knew that it was what she deserved, it did nothing to lessen the feeling of having just been kicked in the stomach as she realised how it might very well have only been the second time during all the months Zelda had stayed with them that she had seen her act that way around her.

"I…" Zelda began, hesitating, searching for words, "in a way, but also… not exactly. I did not come here the same way that you did."

"Oh." Cremia raised a brow, a look of confusion spreading across her face. "What do you mean?"

"I—actually," Zelda said, interrupting herself, "could we maybe talk about this outside the infirmary? I am sure that Midna needs to rest, and we should try our best not to disturb her."

Midna did not miss the sharp tone, the way Zelda turned around to ensure that her bandage was properly fastened without looking at her, but she did not say anything. After all, it was what she deserved after the way she had just acted. However, even as she tried to convince herself that she had no reason to feel sad, that she should just learn from what had happened and try to become a better, less petty person, she would have lied if she had tried to claim that she did not have to hold herself back from yelling out, calling Zelda's name as the door closed with a soft thud behind them.

But she didn't. Rather than doing anything, acting in a way she knew very well she had no right to after having just forced Zelda to tell Cremia the truth, Midna simply rolled over, ignoring the pain that came with doing so, so that she could cry to herself, knowing that, if anyone were to enter the room, they would only see her back at first, giving her a moment to hide the fact that, even now, she was still unable to know how to act.

Cremia had just come in to say thankyou to her. And yet, here Midna was, crying, because she had had to blurt out the fact that Zelda was not just some random peasant girl, all because she had watched the two of them clearly beginning to bond over what they perceived to be a shared past.

It really was pathetic. Midna knew that, but it was still not enough to keep her from curling up on the bed, crying until she was finally able to fall asleep.