Even before she had opened her eyes, Midna knew that something had happened. She could feel it, not only in the way the echo of boots hitting the ground at a rapid pace echoed through the dungeon, the ceiling above her not being enough to block out the sound of how the soldiers must be running through the courtyard right at that very moment, but also in the way she did not dare to look and receive proof that her worst fears were about to come true. If Ganondorf had somehow found out about the base, if what she could hear was the sound of his soldiers preparing an attack on the fortress, Midna did not know what she would do. The universe would probably make it easy for her, given how her position, the metal bars separating her from the rest of the world, did not exactly grant her the option of throwing herself in between her friends and the soldiers' weapons, not that it kept her from throwing herself at the bars, pulling at them, unable to deny that some part of her was hoping that she might be able to bend them if she just tried enough.

But, of course, metal would not give in to silly dreams, just as the bars did not give way as she applied all the pressure she could muster to them. She was stuck, left with no other choice than to listen and try to figure out what was happening.

At least that was what Midna had thought. Only a few minutes after she had at last let go of the metal, having to admit that she would never have been able to escape that way, the sound of footfalls grew nearer, this time coming from the stairs rather than from above.

They were going to kill her. That much was clear to Midna as she sat there, observing the way Ashei pushed herself off the floor, moving to stand up, having seemingly forgot everything about the power it gave her when she was able to let the guards underestimate her, with only a vague sense of acceptance.

In a way, she supposed that she had known that it would end like this for most of her life; it was bound to happen after all. Sooner or later, she would find herself in a situation where she could not create an escape route for herself, and it would appear that this was it for her. She had only ever had one thought, no hope, that, when that moment would come, she would not feel as alone as she did right then. Zelda was still kept within her quarters, left all alone. Perhaps, if she was going to die, Midna should have been so kind to herself that she would entertain the hopeless idea of Zelda having somehow found an escapeway for herself just to spare herself from the pain of knowing that she had not even been able to help her in the end, that she had—no matter how it had been Zelda's idea from the beginning—dragged her back to the place she had fought so hard to escape from.

But she was not even able to do that much, not now. The truth was that it would only last a couple of days, the mission to bring an end to what little sense of normalcy they had been able to pretend they could find within the base. They just had to fly over there and back again, then Zelda would have no way to escape the marriage.

Really, as Midna saw Raven enter the dungeon, she was almost grateful. At least she would not have to face the consequences of the failed plan for the rest of her life.

However, just as Midna had begun to move towards the door of the cell, wanting to at least show him that she was not afraid, Raven turned away from her, instead facing Ashei.

"It has begun." that was all he said, three little words, and yet, it had a greater effect on Ashei than anything Midna had seen during the last week.

Her eyes widened as Ashei stepped backwards, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth, all thoughts about how she was supposed to pretend to be close to death clearly forgotten about as she looked back over at Raven, tears making her eyes shiny. "Are you—are you sure?"

"Absolutely. Come, we have to get out of here immediately."

It was the sound of keys clattering that made Midna finally wake up and realise that they were going to take Ashei. Ashei, the person Zelda had trusted enough to ask her to help her with going directly against the king's wishes, Ashei, the captain Midna could thank for the fact that Rusl was still alive. She could not let that happen.

"Stop!" her scream must have taken them by surprise, for despite the fact that she was not able to produce a yell that was more than a loud whisper, Midna still saw Raven jerk, the shock making him almost drop the keys. Seeing how, although unintentionally, she had managed to get a little closer to her goal, Midna continued, for once completely indifferent to what consequences it might have for her. "I won't let you take her! You—you are the worst, most despicable person I have ever met! Where is your conscience—" Midna did not make it to the end of the sentence, but to her surprise, it was Ashei rather than Raven who interrupted her.

"Midna, stop, you don't understand," she began, "Raven, he—"

"I don't care about what reasons you may have to be willing to die!"

"Die?" Ashei frowned, for a moment looking almost like she was not sure that she had heard correctly, though it was soon replaced by a grimace that was halfway a smile, halfway a look of sadness. "No, Midna, I am not going to die. Raven, he is part of the rebellion; he is with me—with us."

Looking back and forth between them, Midna could practically feel how the effects of the lack of proper nutrition was catching up with her, making it difficult for her to focus on the question of just what she was supposed to think. But no matter what, one thing was certain; the different scenarios that might be able to explain what was happening—Ashei having finally broken, now simply accepting the fact that she would have to die, that there might possibly be an agreement she did not know about that entailed Ashei having to lie like this, or, the one that truly scared her, that she was telling her the truth—could not all be true, not at the same time.

"He is…?"

This time, Raven was the one to answer. Twirling around again, he looked down at her with a smile that seemed so kind that she was almost unable to remember why she had ever looked at him and decided that she would blame him for the fact that Zelda was gone. But only almost. As he spoke, Midna still heard the voice of the man who had been responsible for ignoring Zelda's pleas, instead taking her to her room, and no amounts of being at least a little kinder than other guards might have been would ever be able to change that. But even then, Midna found herself unable to tear her gaze away from him as he moved through the room, coming over to crouch down next to her cell, bringing himself to her level for a moment, unable to cover her ears with her hands the way she should have done to deny him the chance to lie to her. Instead, Midna listened.

"I am. I realise that you have very little reason to trust me and that I have not exactly done anything yet that should make you believe a word of what I am saying, but I assure you that I am one of you."

Above them, Midna heard a single scream, the sound, a piercing cry of pain, being so full of horror that it sent a shiver down her back. The second she looked back over at Ashei and Raven, she knew that they had heard it as well, Raven turning away from her for a second to exchange a series of glances with Ashei, clearly having a conversation that Midna was not able to understand even a single sentence of. But, in the end, Ashei must have told him not to leave them, for Raven looked back at Midna, the calm look that had otherwise been present in the lines around his eyes disappearing in an instant.

"We don't have much time. Midna, I know that I have no right to ask this much of you, but I need you to trust me right now. Only then will I be able to save you and Ashei." he reached out, extending his hand towards her, everything about the gesture letting her know that he did not want to leave the dungeon before he had made sure that she was with him, unwilling to leave without saving both her and Ashei.

It was in that moment, as Midna looked up at him and saw the way he was determined to not just help the one he claimed to be affiliated with through their shared connection with the Resistance, she almost thought she could see the same kind of determination that had been present in the maid's eyes when she had offered to help her, running away to gather supplies for her. He was the person who had tried his best to make sure that her meals would not end up on the floor, the only one who had gone to great lengths to balance the plate and bread through the space between the bars even when they had not been wide enough to really allow him to do that. And, although she knew that, if she was wrong, she would just have made a mistake there would be no way back from, Midna found herself reaching up, taking his hand.

Raven's eyes sparkled as he nodded at her, a tiny smile making its way onto his face as he began to fumble with the lock. Seconds later, the door was thrown open. After all those days, it felt almost unreal to know that she had the entire castle in front of her with nothing there to keep her from letting her feet take her wherever she would want to go other than the confusing sets of corridors and doors that almost seemed to lead into nothingness. It was a feeling that, for a moment, made Midna pause, instead watching as Raven unlocked the door to Ashei's cell as well, offering her a helpful hand as she moved, an offer Ashei was quick to refuse, even though the pained expression on her face as she took a step was enough to make it clear that she was not as unharmed as she had made it seem like, barely able to keep back a pained grimace as she placed her weight on her right leg.

But, while he did look back over at her for a second, clearly wanting for her to just accept his help, Raven did not comment on it, merely running back over to pull Midna out of the cell, placing a hand on her shoulder to keep her from falling as she stumbled forwards.

"All right," Raven said, already beginning to walk towards the stairs leading towards the upper levels of the structure, Midna and Ashei both following right behind him, "we have to get going immediately. I am not sure how far the soldiers have got, but before long, they will realise that you are gone, and when that happens, we will have to be as far away from the castle as we can possibly be."

Her mind felt like she had not slept for ages, but that did not mean that Midna was not aware of the fact that this, Raven fearing that the soldiers would come back soon, was enough to eliminate the idea of them having somehow figured out where they could find the base. It should have been a relief, or at least Midna knew that it would have been that a month ago, but now, as she looked over to see Ashei nodding at Raven, clearly aware of what was happening, it only made the worry pool in the pit of her stomach. Not daring to stop walking, to become the person who slowed them down, possibly making the difference between escape and capture, Midna turned towards Raven. "What do you mean? Why would they come back here—I thought they had found out about the location of those I know."

"No." Raven shook his head, hurrying up the stairs, two steps at a time, Midna struggling to keep up even as he grabbed her hand, helping her move faster. "No, that has not happened. This—" he paused for a moment, having to pull her up a particularly steep section of the staircase, Midna hearing her blood rushing in her ears, "this, it might actually turn out to be what will save us in the end. Somehow,—I don't know how, not yet at least—it would appear that the news of your arrival, the truth about who you are, it has spread to the town."

It should have been enough to make the world stop, making everything around her come to a sudden halt to make way for the realisation of what it all meant, but that did not happen.

Instead, they all continued to make their way up the stairs, Raven having to catch his breath in between the words. "The fights began a couple of hours ago—I think it was a baker who threw a sack of flour onto a nearby guard, unaware of the fact that there was a lit candle close to them—but now, the battles have reached a point where they are out of control. We have received orders to go out to restore order, but…" the glance between Ashei and Raven was enough to tell Midna what had happened already before Raven continued, "I doubt that it will be enough. However, it does give us the perfect cover for your escape. With all of the chaos, I doubt that they will even notice that you are gone until it is already too late for them."

"And the civilians?" the question came immediately, all traces of her imprisonment disappearing from Ashei's face. In that moment she looked almost like she was ready to give up her own chance of escaping unharmed to instead help the residents of the town.

Apparently, that was what Raven was seeing as well, or at least he made sure to shake his head at her. "They will be fine. Right now, the battle mostly takes place in the air, a few of the civilians having been able to seize control of a couple of the ships in the fleet. That is where it is truly dangerous to be right now. Nabooru has already reached the hangar—she will make sure to maintain control of it, keeping both the civilians from being able to reach the battleships to put themselves directly into the line of fire and preventing the king from gaining even more power." at that, Ashei opened her mouth, evidently to try to argue with him, but she did not even get the chance to get a single word out before Raven shook his head. "Ashei, there is nothing you can do for them right now! Remember the oath—trust that Nabooru knows what she is doing and come with me! We don't have much time, so if we do not hurry now, you will not be able to make it."

They reached the top of the stairs, Raven turning around the corner rather than continuing towards the throne room. It was not until then, as they sprinted down an unknown corridor, Midna trying her best not to slow them down, trying to focus on how Ashei was able to run as quickly as Raven even with the pain in her leg, that she remembered how they were about to leave Zelda behind in a castle that was under attack.

"Wait!" although she was not able to scream as loudly as she wanted to, not able to produce as much sound as the situation called for, it was still enough to make both Raven and Ashei stop, turning around to look at her, the need to continue running evident in how they both continued to move, Raven placing his hand on his gun, almost like he wanted to assure himself that it was still there as Midna continued, hearing the fear in her voice. "Zelda—we can't leave her behind, not now, not with the castle under attack!"

She had expected to be forced to come up with arguments to convince them to risk their lives to save her, but to Midna's relief, Ashei only sent her a confused look, stepping in front of Raven. "Midna, where do you think we are going?"

"I don't know! I just know that we cannot just leave her here!"

At that, Raven stepped between them, running the few metres that separated himself from Midna. Taking her hand, he began to lead her back over to Ashei, somehow moving even quicker than he had done before as he began to talk, the words coming quickly, almost like he was desperate to convince her not to stay there, not to slow them down. "We are! Goddesses, Midna, we have sworn to protect the princess, to give our lives for her if it comes to that—we will not leave her." they reached Ashei, continuing to sprint through the corridor, and, although she should no doubt have said something, said that she understood and was sorry, Midna was not able to find the air to force out a single word, instead allowing Raven to continue, his words clearly being meant for Ashei with how he looked over at her while he spoke. "She is still in her room. The guards outside the doors—they are our men—they should already know what has happened."

That explanation left Midna feeling almost even more confused than before, but as they turned around the corner, reaching a hallway that connected with a staircase halfway through, a set of doors marking the end of it, she knew that questions would only slow them down. So, even as she knew that she might be making a mistake by trusting Raven and his half-finished explanations, she made the choice to focus on nothing more than how that both Raven and Ashei gave away the fact that Zelda was close by with the way they both ran a little bit faster. They were so close, Midna feeling almost drunk with the joy of knowing that soon, if only Raven really knew what he was doing, they would have saved Zelda. They could leave the castle, all of them. Ganondorf would look for them, no doubt about that, especially if they took his daughter, but Raven had seemed so sure of his plan, so certain that he would not be able to reach them once they left the castle. Just a little more.

And then the dream shattered, falling to the floor as a loud bang echoed through the hallway, Midna feeling something warm fly right past her ear. The next moment, the floor disappeared from under her.

It was not until she fell forwards, barely able to bring up her arms to try to soften her fall as she rolled over the floor, making it past the staircase, that she realised what had happened, how Raven had jumped forward, closing his arms around her, throwing both of them past the opening in the wall.

A bullet. The warm thing that had flown right past her, missing her by nothing more than a couple of centimetres—it had been a bullet. All doubts Midna might have had about that disappeared the second she had another loud bang echo through the hallway, the sound closely followed by the sound of metal meeting stone, a spark hitting the wall right behind.

Sitting up, helped by the hand Raven extended towards her, Midna tried her best to regain control of her breathing, tried to make sense of what was happening. They were here, her and Raven sitting on one side of the hallway, Ashei still stuck on the other side, having thrown herself back, using the wall to shield herself from the attack.

Next to her, Midna could hear Raven whisper to himself, the shock evident in the way he was not able to keep her from hearing every word. "What the—where are the guards?"

Risking a look, Midna leapt forward, already hearing the yelp her stupidity received from Raven. For a fraction of a second, Midna stuck her head out from beyond the safety the wall created for her. She might not be able to do anything in that moment, but she was certain that she would not be able to just sit still and wait for her attacker to reach her, and so, the little moment seemed almost like the perfect compromise between the fact that she knew very well that she was risking her life by looking and the need to know what was going on. But one look was also all she needed to know exactly what was happening, enough to let her piece the rest together.

There, at the bottom of the stairs, she could see Byrne, standing with a grin on his face as he aimed his musket at her, Midna barely having time to throw herself back behind the wall before the shot echoed through the hallway. The mystery of just what had happened to the guards Raven had ordered to protect the princess had been solved by the sight of two bodies lying on the ground, having seemingly fallen from the top of stairs, or at least it seemed to be the case with how they lay next to Byrne' feet.

For a moment, the sheer desperation was almost enough to make her lose all hope, unable to see what they could possibly do to prevent what was beginning to look like the only possible ending to all of this from happening. But then Raven had pushed her back, already holding up his gun, advancing towards the stairs as he turned around to shout an order at her.

"Midna, go, get Zelda! She is right behind those doors, up in the highest room in the tower!"

"But—" they were alone, Raven only armed with a gun that looked hopelessly old next to Byrne's weapon, Ashei completely unarmed as she looked over at them. Midna should have welcomed the opportunity to just leave, to save Zelda, but right then, it felt like she had frozen over, becoming ice, unable to move at all.

However, Raven did not seem to care, simply throwing something over at her, Midna not realising that it was the bunch of keys he had sorted through in the dungeon until she had already caught it, the cold metal confirming that this was indeed happening, that she was not caught in a strange combination of a dream and a nightmare.

"Go!"

And this time, Midna obeyed. Pushing herself up, away from the carpeted floor, she sprinted towards the doors, forcing herself to ignore the sound of gunfire behind her, the increase in metallic clangs telling her that Raven had begun to answer the attack. There was nothing she could do about it now.

Inside the tower, the air was cold, almost enough to make her forget about the warmth of the bullet that had flown right past her as well as the growing sensation of fear that had followed the realisation that they would not be able to make it the tower, at least not without abandoning all hopes of being able to reach Zelda's room, Byrne no doubt having intended to follow them had Raven not stayed to defend the staircase, keeping him from being able to follow. Now, the best Midna could do was to make sure that, should it really come to that, he would not have brought that sacrifice for nothing.

Her legs ached as she sprinted up the stairs. More than once, it was nothing but pure, dumb luck that kept her from tripping over a step, her legs becoming heavier and heavier as she grew more tired, but she did not slow down. Finally, just as Midna began to feel how the lack of proper food coupled with the exhaustion made the world around her become darker, her mind struggling to cling to consciousness, the stairs stopped, Midna instead finding herself standing in front of a set of doors, the sheer size of them making them look impossible to force open.

Midna fumbled with the keys, feeling how she wasted a couple of precious seconds she could not afford to let slip out of her grasp as her icy fingers almost caused her to drop them. But, finally, she found a key that with its intricate detailing seemed to match the doors, and, whispering a quick prayer, Midna tried it.

The lock clicked, and although she wanted to stay there to just let herself breathe, thanking the goddesses for having let her guess correctly, she did not have the seconds to waste on such a thing.

Pushing the door open, the fact that it required all of her strength, Midna having to push against the floor below her, keeping her feet solidly planted, able to, for a moment, push back the fear that she would still be caught, Midna entered the room. Someone gasped, but she was not finished, not yet, so Midna forced herself to remain alert, closing the doors and pushing down the bolt.

Then she turned around, and, for a moment, she was almost able to fool herself into thinking that she might be safe already, that she might already have reached her goal.

Zelda was there. Sitting on her bed, a piece of torn fabric resting on the floor in front of her, Zelda was looking over at her, the look of pure shock letting Midna know that, much like she had to assure herself that she was really awake, that this was not just a cruel dream, Zelda had to make sure that she was not sleeping right then, almost unable to believe that they might actually be here, standing in the same room again.

And then she jumped down from the bed, almost falling in the pile of fabric in front of her, as she sprinted over to Midna, barely giving her the chance to realise what was going on, what was going to happen, before she had thrown her arms around her, pulling her so close to her that Midna did not have to ask her to know that, if the world would just allow it, Zelda would never have let go of her.

But, although Midna would have liked to stay there, standing there with Zelda crying into her hair, she knew that they were not safe yet. The faint sound of gunfire was enough to remind her of that even if she might otherwise have tried to fool herself into thinking otherwise. So, trying her best to ignore the feeling of how her heart broke as Zelda looked up at her, tears streaming down her face, Midna pushed her away, instead turning her attention towards the torn up fabric on the floor.

"Zelda…?" she gestured towards the fabric, all too aware of how she had to think of another way to leave the room, that the way she had come from would only lead to their deaths if she decided to risk it, that all of this was nothing but a way for her to momentarily distract herself from the fact that she was the only one of them who had been able to reach Zelda's room, that it was now up to her to figure out a way to escape.

"I don't know." following her line of sight, Zelda did really look like she would not be able to explain why she had begun to tear up the fabric that Midna could now see had been her bedsheet before ending its days as a bunch of torn up fabric on the floor. "It's just… they left me, and I had to do something. So I began to tear it up, hoping that I might be able to—might be able to."

And as she looked at where Zelda was looking, saw the ink that had been spilt onto the fabric, making up words, the letter being nothing like Zelda's usual elegant handwriting, but still legible, large words urging the reader to fight, something about the Twilight Princess having returned, Midna realised what she meant.

"You…"

Zelda nodded, freeing her from having to finish the sentence. "Yes, I tried to throw it out of the window. Most of them, the little pieces of fabric, they just fell into the courtyard, but I think—I think a few of them might actually have made it over the castle walls, into the town. I—I had thought that it would help you, but… well, I am not that sure anymore."

With Zelda still clinging to her arm, almost placing so much of her bodyweight onto Midna that she was not certain she would be able to stand if she let go of her, Midna moved through the room, at once afraid of the sight that would meet her once she reached the window and feeling the giddy excitement allow her to ignore the pain in her leg as she moved. That was when she saw it. The peaceful town, the sea of blue roofs, it was all gone, red flames having taken the place of the calm blue. But it was more than just that. As Midna leant out of the window, barely able to control herself enough to not give in to the temptation of leaning out just a little too far to be able to get a better idea of the situation, it was clear that the state of the town could only be described as pure chaos, the distant sound of yells and screams reaching her even as she stood up there, with what felt like an entire world separating her from both the battle and the freedom that could be found outside.

A loud crash coming from the other side of the door forced her to return to the situation as footsteps began to echo through the spiral staircase just outside the room.

"Midna?"

"Yes?" she turned back towards Zelda, trying her best not to let her own panic show on her face, not to let her see that, right then, Midna had no idea of how much time they had left before Byrne would enter the tower. "What is it?"

"We are trapped. I thought I was doing the right thing, but now—" Zelda glanced towards the window, swallowing once as she tried to keep back the tears, "now… I am not that sure anymore." another crash, this time coming closer to them, made her look back over towards the door, the fear shining in her eyes as she tightened her grip around Midna's arm. "Goddesses… we are going to die, aren't we?"

And that, the fear and the pain, was what finally made Midna tear herself away from the window, redirecting her full attention towards Zelda and the fact that, right now, the only thing that mattered to her, the only thing that should matter to her, was making sure that Zelda would not have to know what the answer to her question was beginning to look like.

"Of course not," Midna said, somewhat able to keep her voice from trembling, giving away the fact that she had no way of knowing whether she was able to make such a promise. Still, it did not keep her from reaching out, trying her best to look directly into Zelda's eyes, ignoring the way her gaze continued to flicker, almost like she was unable to stay still. "Zelda, we are going to be just fine, do you hear me? What we heard—it must have been Ashei and Raven, hurrying up the stairs. Just you wait, in a moment, they will be here with us, and then they will be able to help us figure out a way out of this room." already as she said it, Midna knew that not a single word of what she was saying could be the truth. Not only were the footfalls too loud to belong to Ashei and Raven, but the interval between them was also enough to let her know that they belonged to only one person. In truth, they were trapped inside the tower, with no way out that did not include a long fall she knew they would not be able to survive, no matter what they might do.

But, even if only for a moment, it seemed that her plan was working, Zelda looking up at her, the panic disappearing from her eyes to instead make way for relief. "Ashei?" she whispered. "Is she…?"

"She is all right. Raven came to help us both—he is with the rebellion, he is with us." forcing herself to stay focused, Midna did not wait to see Zelda's reaction, did not wait to see if she believed her. For now, the only thing that mattered was figuring out a way to get Zelda out of the tower, to get her to the escape route Raven must have prepared for her and Ashei.

The bedsheet caught her attention, Midna feeling almost like she was dreaming, like it was not real, as she stepped over to lift it up from the floor. The fabric was thick, strong. Maybe, if she just made sure to tie the knots tightly, possibly layering the fabric, it would be strong enough to support Zelda. Perhaps she could then lower her to the ground, using the window as a way to escape the room. But that was all assuming that they would be given the luxury of enough time to do all of that, to make sure that it would not rip halfway down.

Almost like the world wanted to remind her that there was no hope left, the sound of something heavy hitting the doors echoed through the room, the sudden sound making Zelda scream.

That was what made the decision for her. They would not be able to stay there, and so, even though Midna was not nearly optimistic enough to believe that her plan would be able to work, they had to try. The tiny chance there was of being able to get Zelda to the ground was better than the alternative, even if Midna did not yet know just how Zelda would be able to escape the chaos of the town.

"Zelda!" yelling her name, Midna took Zelda's hand as she began to walk towards the ruined bedsheet. To her relief, Zelda followed, no longer frozen with fear.

Instead, she continued to talk, the words coming with such speed that it almost seemed like the moment she would stop speaking would also be the second the bolt would have to give way to the repeated sounds of someone throwing their full weight onto the door. "Midna, we are going to die, we are going to die…" she continued to repeat the words, unable to even look up, having buried her head in her hands. It was not until Midna pulled at the bedsheet, tearing a long strip of fabric off, that she really woke up. But by then, it would appear that the moment of fear had also left her with enough courage to begin to move, for she let go of Midna, though it was only for a moment. The next second, Zelda had turned around, planting herself right in front of Midna, not quite interrupting her attempts at trying the bedsheet into a rope to get her to safety, but also not trying to not be in her way as she reached out for her. "If—if we are going to die, Midna, I want you to know that I lov—"

"No!" the yell was far louder than what Midna had intended for it to be, but seeing as it had the wanted effect, Zelda taking a step backwards, falling silent, it would not have been possible for Midna to say she wished she could change that, not without lying. Still, she did her best to make her voice softer as she looked over at Zelda, shaking her head. "No, please, don't say it, don't act like we are already doomed. If you give up, then I doubt that anything I might ever be able to do will be enough to save you. Later, once we have left this place behind us, I will be overjoyed to hear what you have to say, but not now." behind her, Midna could hear how the door was struggling to keep back Byrne, but she still dared to reach out, making a gesture she had thought was meant to wipe the tears away from Zelda's cheek, but soon left her with no other choice than to admit that she had just wanted to know that she had at least got this much if she would not be able to follow her. "Zelda, I need you to be yourself right now. I need you to believe in the best in everyone and every situation."

And maybe Zelda could see in her eyes that she was really asking for far more than that, for, rather than trying to argue with her, she nodded, patting the tears away with her sleeve before painting a smile onto her face. "I will try my best."

That was all Midna could have asked for, so, without wasting another precious second, she nodded and returned to the task of making the bedsheet become a rope that would be sturdy enough to support Zelda, long enough to not leave her hanging several metres above the ground. Although the fabric burnt her hands, her fingers soon aching as she fought to tie the knots a little tighter, Midna was grateful for the fact that the work did not leave them with the chance to discuss what had happened. If Zelda would have asked about Ashei and Raven, if she had put what Midna already knew into words and asked what she thought had happened to them for Byrne to have been able to follow them up into the tower, Midna was sure that she would have stopped, unable to begin again. But Zelda remained quiet, and while Midna was not able to tell whether it was to spare her from the pain of thinking about anything outside the room, or if she was just trying her best not to let herself become distracted, it was what made them able to continue working, making it so that, within only a couple of minutes, they had destroyed all traces of what the rope in front of the had once been.

"All right," Midna yelled, picking up the end of the rope, "I am going to tie this around your waist. Then, if I just make sure to tie the other end around the bedpost, and hold onto this, I should be able to lower you down to the ground."

But as she moved over to Zelda, gesturing towards her that she had to move her arms a little to let Midna make sure that she would not be able to slip out of the loop, Zelda remained where she was, simply looking over at her with a frown. "And then what about you?"

"I will figure something out." she was halfway able to believe that idea, to think that she might have time to both get Zelda and herself to safety. "No matter what, the sooner I know that you are safe, the sooner I will be able to get to safety as well."

For a moment, Midna was sure that Zelda was going to argue with her, that she might even try to insist that she would wait up here, but then another attack made the door creak, the horrible sound of wood beginning to give up accompanying it this time, and she nodded, once, with eyes that shone with determination. "Promise me that you will be safe."

"Of course."

But already as they made their way over to the window, the rope trailing after Zelda like a tail, Midna knew that she would not be able to keep that promise, not with how they would have to be lucky for the door to provide them with even a couple of minutes more. Just in the handful of seconds it took for Midna to tie the end of the rope around the bedpost, pulling at it to make sure it would be able to handle Zelda's weight, she was able to tell that she would not be given enough time to pull the rope back up, tie it around herself, and then make it down to the ground, not if she did not want to risk Byrne cutting the rope in half when she was still hanging in the air, metres above the ground, with nothing to soften her fall.

However, as Zelda stopped in front of the window, placing her hand on the window frame, Midna made sure to hide the doubts behind what she hoped was a wide smile. "It is all right; I am holding on, just step up onto the windowsill and lean out."

Zelda opened her mouth to answer, but the moment she should have heard Zelda's voice, focusing intensely to be able to remember every little thing about how she had acted during what might very well become the last moments Midna would ever share with her, Midna instead heard the loud sound of a steam engine struggling to keep an airship in the air.

It must have been apparent from looking at her that she had immediately jumped to the worst possible conclusion, for, rather than following her advice and jumping out of the window, Zelda threw herself back into the room, moving away from the window as the sound of the engine grew nearer.

It should have been the end. Midna was sure that, had it not been for the rotten luck that had followed her for most of her life, she would have died right then and there, either meeting the end of her life when Byrne would burst into the room or dying at the hands of the soldiers who should have been aboard the ship that flew down, manoeuvring around until it was as close to the window as it could come without risking puncturing the balloon above it. But it would appear that she was finally being granted enough luck to make up for the years of disasters, for, as Zelda moved back over to her, Midna seeing how the laugh that escaped her made Zelda shoot her a horrified look, almost like she was fearing for her sanity, she could not have been more grateful for the familiar look of the mismatched pieces of wood that made up the hull of Epona.

A figment of her imagination. It was all the ship should have been. But with how Zelda whispered the exact same thing that Midna was thinking, letting her grip on her hand grow a bit looser, though she did not let go of her at all, she knew that what she was seeing was really the truth. Epona was really hanging in the air outside the window, the woman standing at the rudder, waving at them, was really Ilia.

"Come!" even over the sounds of general chaos that rose up from the town below and the creak of splintering wood, Ilia's voice was still audible as she gestured for them to jump over the little distance that was still between the ship and the windowsill, promising a long fall that would end with a greeting from the ground below.

Without thinking, not even stopping to wonder what price she would have to pay for her luck, Midna moved, sprinting through the room with Zelda following along right behind her. Jumping up onto the windowsill, Midna continued out into the air, hanging there for a horrible moment before landing on the deck of Epona.

Twirling around to open her arms, she urged Zelda to follow her, for, just as she had expected, Zelda was still standing in the open window, eyeing the fall that would await her if she was not able to make the jump, the fear of falling written across her face.

"Jump!" Midna yelled the word, gesturing towards herself. "I promise you that I will catch you! Just jump, Zelda, it is just a little step, you have done that thousands of times already! A little step, then we can untie the rope and leave all of this behind us!"

Midna wanted to think that it was her promises that made Zelda jump in the end, but from Zelda's reaction, the little, alarmed yell, barely more than a whisper, and the fact that the door finally had to give way to the blows it had suffered, the bolt breaking in half, pieces of wood flying into the room as Byrne stepped over the threshold, she knew that the only reason Zelda threw herself into the air was because the alternative was able to make the fear of falling seem almost childish in comparison. Not that it mattered. In that tiny moment as Zelda leapt through the air, all that mattered was that she had to catch her, that she had promised not to let her fall.

And, as Midna pulled Zelda into an embrace, stepping backwards, away from the low handrail that was all that stood between them and a long fall, she was almost able to believe that she might have succeeded, that she still had a little bit of luck left.

Which was of course also the reason why everything went wrong the next moment.

It almost felt like the time was at once moving far slower than Midna was able to understand while also passing by at a mortifying rate, the rope that was still tied around Zelda's waist growing tighter, pulling Zelda away from her. Looking back into the room, Midna had no doubts about the reason for it, not with the way Byrne smiled at her as he tucked at the rope. Like the fool she was, Midna had not bothered to untie either end of it before jumping onto the ship, having instead forced herself to think that she would have the time to untie it once she and Zelda were safe on Epona. But now, as she struggled not to let go of Zelda, realising that the hold she had on her would not be able to last for forever, not with how both she and Zelda were being dragged towards the side of the ship, even as Midna tried her best to slow the process, she knew that she had made a mistake by underestimating Byrne.

"Ilia—" Midna screamed her name, already knowing that, given how Byrne was still armed, Ilia would not be able to leave her place behind the rudder, not if she wanted to continue the fight to move them out of the reach of his bullets.

They were pulled a little bit closer to the handrail, allowing Midna to press her feet against it. But, as she found out the next moment, where her boots would have been perfect for that exact task, providing her with a large surface to fight against the pull, now, with the tiny shoes she had been given back in Clock Town, she would only be able to buy them a few seconds at best.

It was then, just as she began to feel how the handrail creaked, protesting against the amount of force it had to withstand, that Midna saw the sun reflected in the blade of the knife that sailed down from above her, Ilia somehow managing to aim at the plank right next to her. Hitting the deck with a soft clang, the knife began to move towards the edge, but before it would have been gone forever, Midna finally woke up.

In one quick motion, she reached out, closing her hand around the handle, and began to attack the rope they had tied around Zelda's waist. Thankfully, she had not been as careful as she should probably have been considering how the plan had been for Zelda to jump out of the window, for after only a couple of slashes at the fabric, Midna was able to cut it over. The rope fell off the ship immediately, pulled towards the tower so that it hit the wall, the sudden lack of the force pulling her towards the window sending Zelda backwards, Midna moving along with her.

That was how they, as the castle finally disappeared below them, Ilia taking to the skies, found themselves lying in a heap of limbs, fabric, and dirt on the deck, for a moment unable to do anything but laugh at the sheer absurdity of it all, the fact that they were still alive.

Really, as she lay there, Midna could almost have believed that the rest of the world had disappeared.

That idea was soon brought to an end as she heard Ilia laugh at them. "Well, it is good to see that you are both all right. Considering everything you have been through, I think I will be able to wait until we are back at the base to ask you just what you did to create such a mess for yourselves." craning her neck, Midna could see Ilia shake her head although she did not even attempt to hide her wide smile as she continued. "Farore, I was so sure that if there was one I would ever have to fly out to save after they had just managed to ruin their cover within a minute of entering the castle, it would be Link, but now I can see that I should have known that you would be the first to do that."

Mostly, Midna wanted to continue to lie there, to revel in the fact that Zelda had yet to let go, her grip on her having gone from being a desperate attempt at staying on the ship rather than being pulled back towards the castle to instead feel much more like an embrace, Zelda having thrown her arm over her, her head resting on Midna's shoulder. But as she looked over at Ilia, she knew that she owed her a thankyou. Or at least that was what she thought she would give, but as she opened her mouth, Midna could hear how all that really made it out was just a stream of questions. "Ilia, how did you even know that we needed help? Is—please don't tell me that it is like this in the entire country." she did not have to specify just what she meant. From the way Ilia looked away, it was obvious that she knew exactly what Midna was referring to.

"I think it might be, or at least every single one of Shad's contacts has given us the same message, telling us how this is happening almost everywhere, people rising up to fight against the soldiers." casting a glance at the destruction beneath them, the way the flames were spreading from one house to the next, Ilia shook her head. "I know—it is terrible. Just before I left the base, I heard—goddesses, I heard that there was an all-out rebellion in the southern provinces, that the rebels rising up there had been aided by Labrynnan soldiers, providing them with both men and weapons."

"And the Twilight Realm?" it felt almost wrong to wonder about that now, to ponder the question of whether the forest around the base might have been set aflame, if she would return home to nothing but ashes, and yet, that was all Midna could think about as she looked over at Ilia, hoping for the best, but fearing for the worst.

"I don't think these uprisings have spread to the Twilight Realm just yet—at least they hadn't back when I left the base." Ilia stopped, but she did not have to say more than that for Midna to know that it would have taken Ilia more than a day, most likely two considering the ship, to reach the castle, that the same spark that had ignited the violence in Castle Town could easily set the Twilight Realm ablaze. As Ilia added to her own sentence, it could not have been more evident that she tried her best to give her just a little bit of hope. "But at least it made it so that I was able to know that something had happened since one of the few things people seemed to repeat in all the messages Shad received was how there were rumours that the true Twilight Princess was held within the castle."

It was her fault. Midna knew that it was not what Ilia had meant, that the reason Zelda looked up at her with wide eyes was not that she was blaming her for any of what was happening, but that was, nevertheless, the only conclusion she could see that was able to explain all of this.

She pushed Zelda away from her, at once unable to imagine being able to stay there, allowing anyone to be so close to her, before she had forced herself to take in the full extent of the damages. So, with Ilia's worried remarks about how she should probably step away from the sides of the ship, keeping her head down, and with Zelda attempting to reach out to take her hand, Midna made her way over to the fall that was waiting for her, standing with nothing but the low handrail that barely reached the upper half of her thigh to keep her from flying through the air, finally getting the experience of the deadly jump.

They might have been able to fly away from the castle, hanging in the air just above the town walls, but that did not lessen the impact of seeing the town she had known to be whole just a few days before in a state of total terror. From her vantage point, Midna could see the people running through the streets, so many of them heading towards the gates of the town that they cluttered together in the streets, the fires threatening to trap them. But, as much as the sight made her want to sink to the floor, close her eyes, and force herself not to see anything, it was nothing compared to the way the sky was filled with airships, the tiny replicas of lightning bolts that followed the sound of each bullet tearing through the air making it look almost like shooting stars, only, instead of being something she would look at and wish that she might one day be able to return home, these were deadly and precise. Just in the few seconds she stood there, Midna saw how one of the larger airships was hit one time too many, the balloon no longer able to hold onto enough air to keep the ship in the air, making it begin to fall to the ground, at first slowly, but then faster and faster as more air left the balloon. It hit a row of houses, the flames that had engulfed the buildings being quick to spread to the wooden hull of the ship. And all of it, every single thing that was happening, was all because of her, had been brought into existence by the mere rumour that she might be in the castle.

They must have known that she was about to do something stupid, for the next moment, Ilia was at her side, tearing her away from the edge with so much force that, despite her small frame, she still managed to make Midna fall, only able to soften her fall a little. Next to her, she could see how Zelda, eyes wide and scared, tried to move over to make sure that she was all right, but she shoved her away. She did not want sympathy, not now.

"Ilia—" Midna had thought that she would look up at her to tell her that, no matter what Ilia might try to tell her to convince her that she was not to blame for any of this, she was wrong, but the look on Ilia's face was enough to silence her before she was even able to begin.

With how her face looked almost like she was prepared to run directly into the castle and personally bring an end to the battles, Ilia was able to walk over to her, crouching down next to her without Midna trying to interrupt her even once. "No, you listen to me! A person within the castle must have told someone about you—I don't know if they would have been with or against us, but no matter what, it would not make any of what happens now your fault. Do you understand?" when Midna could only nod, unable to even imagine arguing against her, Ilia pulled her gun from its holster by her hip. "Good. In that case, this is yours. Link told me to bring it to you the moment we realised that you were in danger." she let the gun draw a long line in the air, sailing over to Midna who caught it, bringing it close to herself.

"Thank you." as she finally got her gun back, the familiar feeling of it in her hand instantly making it all seem a little less hopeless, that was really all Midna could say, sending Ilia a smile she hoped would make it clear how it was both a thankyou and an apology for having brought worries to her.

When Ilia simply shrugged at her, not looking like she wanted to speak, but also not seeming like she was angry about having had to move over to pull her backwards—maybe she never had, Midna guessed, maybe she had just been worried all this time—she turned to Zelda, extending a hand towards her, gesturing for her to take it. She did not have to wait for long, Zelda instantly letting her help her to her feet.

She stood there, next to Midna, looking almost like she was not sure if it would be wise for her to speak, but then, the next moment, it became clear that, wise or not, she would not be able to stay silent for a moment longer. "Midna, I—about what I was trying to say back in the tower—"

Zelda did not get to finish the sentence, for the next second, the horrible sound of cannons forced all three of them to return to reality, that they were still hanging in the air above a town filled with chaos, having merely flown a couple hundred metres away from the biggest of the airships. Although the cannons missed their mark, the gust of wind that followed along was still enough to make the ship tilt dangerously, Midna barely having time to follow Ilia's instructions of throwing herself down, pressing her face against the deck, pulling Zelda down along with her. From somewhere far away, she could hear Ilia sprinting back up to the rudder, see how she clung to the wood as she tried her best to move them out of reach of the cannons. However, as Midna dared to look up to catch a glimpse of which ship had decided to abandon the worst part of the battle to instead focus on them, she already knew that they would not have the luck that would be necessary to escape.

The ship was massive. That was the only word that could be used to describe the row of lines that connected the balloon to the hull of the ship. Deep down, Midna knew exactly who that ship would belong to, who would be the person aboard such a powerful weapon, but that did not keep her stomach from feeling like she had plummeted to the ground as she caught a glimpse of the crest of the Hyrulean royal family. With how it had been painted onto the side of the ship, the bright red colour of the lower half made it look almost like the airship was bleeding.

The sound of explosions was what finally made her snap out of her thoughts, at once acutely aware of the fact that, if they stayed here, it would only be a matter of time before they would be hit, before their luck would fail them and Ilia's ship would meet the same fate as the ship that had crashed into the houses to their starboard side. Midna had barely got the chance to think it, before it happened, one of the soldiers on the attacking ship seemingly realising that, rather than trying to hit three tiny figures where two of them had pressed themselves against the deck, minimizing their risk of being shot, it would be far easier to hit the balloon keeping them afloat. That, they did, bullets flying through the air moments later.

The air began to escape, carrying a horrible high-pitched sound along with it. They did not fall, not at all. The balloon was still very much keeping them in the air, but Midna could see how the other ship began to move upwards, telling them how it really was their ship that was beginning to descend. Soon, the deck of the other ship would reach the level of their deck. Then, it would hardly be a problem for the soldiers to hit them, able to simply shoot at them from above. She had to do something before that would happen.

As Midna stood up, the world spinning around her, she could almost have tricked herself into thinking that everything had gone silent. With the panic clouding her ability to think straight, giving the things around her an unreal glow, the loud sounds of gunfire and cries of pain seemed almost non-existent, like they had willingly gone silent to allow her to yell up at Ilia.

"Get us closer to their ship!" just to make sure that there could not be any doubt about what she wanted her to do, Midna pointed towards the battleship where the soldiers running around told her that they did not have more than a minute at best before they would be able to fire their cannons again, bullets continuing to fly through the air all the same.

It was clearly something Ilia agreed with her on, for she barely took her eyes off the ship, instead yelling her answer back down to her. "What! Have you lost your mind—they are going to shoot at us, not even to mention the fact that we are losing altitude!" the ship creaked, almost like it wanted to support its creator's argument, the lines that connected them to the balloon above beginning to sound like they were fighting to try to not simply snap in half. "Midna, we have nowhere to land, and with the size of the ship, we will be lucky to get even another minute in the air!"

"I know! Just—trust me, I know what I am doing!"

She could not hear what Ilia was whispering, but she also did not have to. With how she shook her head, it was clear that she was mumbling something about how Midna was going to get them all killed now. But despite her arguments against the plan, Ilia did spin the rudder, the ship obeying her commands, changing course to instead head directly towards the battleship.

Her heart felt like it was trying to escape from her chest, like it already knew that the plan could never work, that it was really just a desperate attempt to buy Ilia a little more time, giving her the chance to escape. But despite all of that, Midna plastered a smile onto her face, rolling over onto the side to look at Zelda.

"Zelda." she reached out towards her, not fully sure about what she was doing, what she was hoping for, until Zelda responded by grapping her hand. "I need you to trust me right now. What I am planning—it is not a good idea, but it is all we can do right now."

"I will."

"Good." but it was anything but good, nothing like any situation Midna would ever have wished for any of them. Still, she could not show that, not now, not when she had just convinced Zelda to risk her life for what could very well turn out to just be another in a long line of mistakes. "Then get ready. When I say so, we need to sprint towards the edge of the ship, jumping over onto their ship." pausing for a moment, waiting for the moment when Zelda would tell her that her plan would never work, Midna looked into her eyes.

But Zelda only nodded, and although it was clear from the way her gaze flickered that she was frightened at the prospect of having to jump without anything to catch her, should she fail, she did not try to tell her that she had changed her mind.

She wanted to be able to tell her that her plan would not be necessary after all. More than anything, Midna wished that she could leave Hyrule for good and never return again. But that was not an option, so instead of getting lost in the fantasies of what could have been, Midna turned her full attention towards the task at hand.

Raising her head a little from the deck, she watched as the battleship grew larger in front of them as they got closer to it, making it gradually look less and less like a ship and more and more like a castle in its own right. It was a bad plan, one of the worst Midna could even imagine, but right then, it would appear that it was nothing but the sheer stupidity of their plan that kept them alive, some of the soldiers having lowered their weapons, almost like they wanted to watch, wanted to find out if Midna was really going to continue on the course she had just yelled at Ilia to follow with the knowledge that it was most likely going to kill her soon.

The answer to that question was a clear yes. Not only would she not have been able to turn back now, Midna also knew that the moment they would try to escape, they would be lucky to make it even ten metres away without a distraction. So, as the ship dipped a little more, bringing them to the level of the deck of the other ship, a couple of metres of air and the promise of a long fall being all that separated them from the battleship, Midna tightened her grip on Zelda's hand, tried her best to memorise every little thing about that moment. If it would be her last, she would be content to know that she had at last been able to just stay there, not tearing herself away from Zelda.

"Now!" Midna yelled, already leaving the safety of Epona behind as she ran towards the side of the ship.