Midna awoke to a cold, empty tent. She shivered and bundled herself in her hoodie, then peeked out in search of Zach. The night sky bore enough stars to light up the ground in a faint blue glow, not that Midna needed it to find Zach.

He sat atop that tower again, his shoulders slouched and his head low.

Midna stuffed her hands in her pockets and made her way to him. She chose to walk, both to give him a chance to see her coming and to give herself a chance to figure out what to say.

The grass was nice and soft on her feet, at least. The cool air kissed at her skin, and the chirps of various insects filled her with a sense of calm belonging. Exiled she may be, but Hyrule's natural wonders welcomed her all the same.

Perhaps that was due in part to the fact that she was descended from former residents of Hyrule itself. Zach had... her, and only her. She was the only person in the world who had any idea what he was going through, what he had sacrificed to get this far.

Midna grasped the first rung of the tower ladder and paused. What was she going to say? Was there even anything to say?

She ascended anyway. The words would come to her, right? Her parents always knew what to say in diplomatic meetings, always had the right words at the right time. Midna would know what to say, right?

When she reached the top, when she saw Zach and felt the waves of anger and hurt in his mind, anything she could have said died in her throat.

Instead, she settled in beside him, wrapped an arm around his waist, and rested her head on his shoulder. Tracing patterns on his back, she took deep breaths and let her eyes drift shut.

Slowly, he settled his arm over Midna's shoulders, unintentionally pulling her closer. Her cheek brushed against his chest and the desperate thrumming of his heart woke her back up. She looked up at his face, saw the tears running down his cheeks, and reached up to brush them away.

He caught her hand, his own trembling. His thumb traced along the Twili scripture on the back of her hand.

An icy hot shudder ran down Midna's spine; glass shards of guilt and shame stabbed into her, each one splintering into thousands of tiny needles' worth of memories that were not hers, a life she had not lived.

The fury of being wronged even in the slightest of fashions, the blood-boiling rage of being disrespected by those who were obviously inferior! How dare they mock and belittle me! I'm SMARTER! STRONGER! BETTER IN EVERY WAY!

Because if I'm truly not better than them, that means I'm worse... and if I'm worse, then what's the point? If that is what being better looks like, why be better? And if this isn't what being better looks like... what does?

And if I only try to be better to prove a point, am I really better? Can I be a hero with an ulterior motive? Doing the right thing... if I do it just because I was told to, does that still make it right?

The kind of person I am... the person I have always been... I can't just turn my personality around... even one step at a time, would that be enough before I...

Why the fuck did they ever tell kids 'Be Yourself'? Did they never think of what would happen when being yourself is a very bad thing to do? For the people who are fundamentally broken, what happens to them? Their 'self' could be murderers, thieves, and other kinds of evil! Should they be themselves?! Or do they deserve to die?

Because if that's the case... that explains me...

After all, if I can't change myself, what does that make me? Hero, or villain?

Midna's fingers gently curled around Zach's hand. She brought it down and pressed her lips to it. In that moment between awake and asleep, their spirits met. Light and dark, human and Twili, it did not matter. She knew she was safe with him, and hoped he felt safe with her.

I didn't get any sleep that night. Midna did, thankfully. With the Silver Gauntlets, she barely weighed anything as I carried her down the tower and to our tent.

I thought for sure I woke her up when I set her down on the mat and brushed a lock of hair from her face.

Yes, I wanted to kiss her cheek. Yes, I wanted to hold her and keep her warm. Yes, I wanted to tell her...

But I didn't. Why? Because I wanted to, and that makes it selfish. Therefore, I shouldn't do it. Besides, it would be creepy. She was asleep, after all.

I did give her an extra blanket since she was shivering so much. I couldn't sleep and I knew I would wake her by tossing and turning all night, so I left her alone.

I watched the night sky slowly become the day sky, and just for nostalgia's sake, I played Lake Hylia's theme on my phone. While I listened, I paced the edge of the islet. My reflection stared back at me. It didn't look familiar anymore.

It was hard enough trying to recognize my reflection, but it was damn near impossible trying to understand Midna's perception of me. The fool! Didn't she know she was wasting her time with me? I was a dead man, and if not dead, then her eventual killer. She saw a good man, but I did bad things! You can't do bad things and be a good person! It didn't make sense! Good people do good things and if they do bad things, it was clearly unintentional. When I did bad things, I meant them...

The habitual anger returned, but for the first time in a long time, it didn't have the same energy. It was weak, tired. Every step was heavier and slower than the last until I stopped at the water's edge and sank to my knees.

A tiny part of me yearned to scream at the world, but everything else asked it why.

What was the point?

What was the point in anything?

I wasn't there to be anyone's hero. I was just a placeholder, a placebo. A fake. Everything about me was irrelevant... whether I became a hero or villain ultimately didn't matter. Nothing I did mattered.

Well, they mattered to Midna though I can't imagine why.

She had awakened by now, sitting up in the tent and stretching her arms. Her face poked out of the tent and smiled at me.

I smiled back, albeit weakly. Midna invited me back into the tent and rummaged through my satchel. By the time I was back in and seated on the floor, she had retrieved breakfast.

We ate in silence, though my appetite was sorely lacking. The food tasted blander than usual. Midna made no comment, though she did ask if I got any sleep.

I shook my head, my shoulders already tensed up in preparation for being scolded.

Midna moved forward and gave me a hug instead. I managed to return it but with less energy.

Ten minutes later, I dressed in my hero... usual outfit and put away the tent. I made my way to that cannon guy, only to find that the building on which he stood did not have a cannon. It had a gondola instead. The cannon guy, Fyer, stood around the corner from the walkway, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

With a resigned shrug, I walked up to the clownish man with the freaky stare and said, "Excuse me, sir."

"Hurrrm?" He looked up at me and tilted his head. "Hey, buddy, have you heard? There's like a temple or something at the bottom of this lake."

"Yeah, I've heard."

Fyer chuckled and looked back to the lake. "They put on such airs with all their rituals and fancy temple hoo-ha... Then they just disappear..."

"Actually, they were frozen in a block of ice. That's why the water level dropped."

"You're funny, I should buy that joke off you. And what's with putting that temple so deep that humans can't swim there?! I swear, those Zoras..."

"Sir..."

Slowly, he turned back to me. "Oh... Are you a costumer?" I nodded and he immediately stood straighter, clapping his hands together. "Heh heh! You are ONE lucky fella, fella! The HEIGHT of excitement—"

"Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt you but I'm in a hurry."

Fyer blinked at me before stuffing his hands back in his pockets. "Bah, you young'ns and your hurrying." We walked back to the gondola entrance and he held out one hand. "Ten rupees'll get you up to Hyrule Field, wanna give it a shot?"

I dug around in my satchel and found that red rupee the Postman gave me. "Keep the change."

"I'll put it towards your next ride." Fyer rang a bell, which was met by another ringing bell up above at the opposite end of the gondola cable. "All aboard!" I entered the gondola and Fyer started it up with a large hand crank on the side of the building.

The gondola was slow as all hell, which made sense considering it was being operated by Fyer on a single hand crank. I rested against the railing, letting my head lightly bob to the constant crank crank crank of the gondola's movement.

Midna popped up and smiled at me. "At least the view is pretty." She took in a deep breath and hummed. "The air smells different here."

"Smells like rain," I said, glancing up at the clouds brewing over Hyrule Field. "Can you believe that the last Fused Shadow is right there, at the bottom of the lake?"

"I can feel it," she said as she sat on the railing. "What's this temple like?"

"Wet and dark," I said with a shudder. "Not sure how much like the game it'll be, though."

Midna shrugged. "Can't hurt to consider the possibilities."

"There's a central chamber," I began, "and the main goal in the game is to alter the water flow to access a door in the middle, which opens into a massive chamber below. Inside is a massive—and I mean massive—armored eel that can only be hurt by hitting its one eye until it dies."

"What is with all the eyes?" Midna asked with a laugh. "That big plant had a giant eye, the jewel in Fyrus' Fused Shadow had an eye, and now this thing has an eye."

"If they weren't in the original game, I would have thought it was a dig at me. One eye and all."

Midna shuddered herself and said, "I'll make sure you don't get blinded by anything again. I'm sure you're sick to death of it."

"Very much so, but I hope you don't blame yourself."

"I do for that shadow insect in the village."

"Meh."

"You don't blame me for it? I did kind of rush you out of there."

"Of course you did, we were facing a desiccated corpse that shouldn't have been there in the first place."

"Do you know why things are so different?"

"Not a clue," I said. "Evil Future Me faced the exact same challenges, so I just assume the game got details wrong."

"I suppose that tends to happen when an event is retold; details always get changed around. What about getting the Zora Prince to Kakariko?"

"In the game, he gets put on a caravan that goes from the west exit of Castle Town, across that bridge right there, down and around Southern Hyrule Field, and finally into Kakariko from the southern entrance." I turned around and leaned my back against the railing. "But that was only possible thanks to Link getting a key from King Bulbin that opened the gates, since the bridge on the east side of Castle Town is gone and the Bridge of Eldin was removed after Link crossed it."

"Where is the Bridge of Eldin?"

"It's up north, where we would have gone if we hadn't detoured using the Kakariko bridge to get to Castle Town. If we had crossed it, I'm pretty sure the bridge would have been removed, if it isn't gone anyway."

Midna shook her head. "I think it's still there. I've noticed that things tend not to happen until you and I arrive on the scene. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing."

"Meh. The main point here is that going anywhere but north isn't an option."

"Why is that?"

"The path the game went is of no use because the bridge in Kakariko Gorge is gone."

"Oh, shoot! I forgot about that."

"The Gorons can build them another one once they're done fixing up the village. Anyway, that route is not an option. There's no bridge east of Castle Town so that isn't an option. The only way is to go from the west exit and then up through Northern Hyrule Field, across the Bridge of Eldin, through that plateau, and then into Kakariko from the north."

Midna bumped my shoulder and said, "Good thing we cleared out those nasties on the plateau, then."

"Yeah."

"Zach, I know you're still upset about that spirit but... Is there anything I can do to help you?"

A moment passed. I looked at her and asked, "Why do you think I'm a good man?"

Midna rested her hands behind her head. "Easy. You're courageous and willing to do anything to help people."

"Then you're not seeing the whole picture."

"If you're talking about your temper, I've seen plenty of it."

I sighed. "No, you've seen me lash out at monsters. You haven't seen what I do to people."

"And just what do you do? We got into a fight ourselves, what could be worse than that?"

I looked away, tilting my head to the sky. "You know how I know a lot about what's happening here? I... the Goddesses sent me to that village in the forest and the village took me in. I had time to tell them what was going to happen but I didn't."

"Oh, Zach, that was just a mistake. Things like that happen."

"It was a mistake," I agreed, "at first. But that day when I was herding goats, I was about to tell the mayor about everything that was going to happen."

"Uh-huh..."

"I walked right up to that door, held my hand up to knock, and then I heard them talking about me."

A chill ran down my spine as Midna realized what happened. "I was there. I was inside listening in because I was curious."

"The second I heard them call me evil..." I wiped my eye and let my shoulders sag. "I turned right around and walked away. I willingly withheld information from them just because they said a few unkind words. If I had told them, maybe the kids would be safe still."

"That's..." Midna took a deep breath and floated in front of me. "That's not a good thing, you're right. You did something awful, Zach. Did they know you knew?"

"Ilia, the ranch girl," I said. "When the attack started, I said that it was happening sooner than I thought."

"Uh oh, you phrased it like that."

"What does that have to do with it?"

"That makes it sound like you were in on it."

"But I wasn't."

"I know that but it sure sounds like you had a hand in it."

"But I didn't!"

"I know! Just... look, you made a bad decision. You have to find the courage to own up to it."

"Eh, won't have to," I said. "Ilia has amnesia, she wouldn't remember what I said."

Midna folded her arms over her chest. "It's up to you whether you want to tell them or not. I won't say a thing."

The gondola finally arrived at the top of the cliff and so Midna dove into my shadow. I stepped off and went inside the building, where that other guy with the clownish getup was waiting.

"Well, hi there!" he declared in a strong country accent. "Welcome to Falbi and Fyer's Gondolavaganza! Thank you for riding with us here today! Come back soon, partner!"

"Thanks. Have a good day."

"You as well, partner!"

I smiled a little as I exited onto Hyrule Field. "Nice guy."

Midna once again popped out of my shadow and made to speak, but she interrupted herself with a squeak. I looked over at her and noticed her cheek was wet.

"Are you crying?" I asked in disbelief. Behind her, I saw a flash of lightning.

She glared at me and said, "No! Something hit me in the face, fell right out of the─" Another rain drop fell into her hair. "There it is again!" Then the thunder boomed, forcing a gasp from Midna.

I chuckled at her. "It's just rain, Midna." I should have sought shelter, but I didn't want to waste time looking out for myself when that Zora Prince needed saving. I kept walking even as my clothes grew heavy with water weight. The sky was very dark and it was pouring down rain.

"I've never seen rain before," Midna whispered as she floated beside me, her shadowy form even harder to see if not for her glowing eye. "What is it?"

"It's drops of water that fall from the sky."

She looked at me in surprise. "That's water? It-it just falls like that?" When I nodded, she reached out and caught a few droplets in her glowing hand. "It never rains in the Twilight Realm..." She slowly emerged from the shadows, letting her face catch more raindrops. "This feels... nice."

"It's just rain, Midna," I said as I kept moving.

Midna sighed and waved me off. "I've never seen rain." She closed her eyes and slowly spun in the rain. "It's... very relaxing..."

"It is, as long as you don't sleep out here."

She smiled a little. "I wasn't thinking of that. This is just a new experience for me."

I thought it over. This really was Midna's first time in the rain, wasn't it? Her face came into view and she had... one of the most peaceful and content smiles that I have seen before or since. My shoulders sagged with shame as I looked at her, still spinning, still smiling.

Midna deserved better than me. Hell, Hyrule deserved better than me. I wanted to be better, I really did, but—

And that is exactly why I shouldn't! Fucking narcissist like me expecting the world to give me what I want the second I want it?! What a joke!

Fucking presumptuous jackass! What I wanted was irrelevant! If I wanted to be better, I should have been better from the start!

"Hey, we can refill our bottles with this!" Midna dug into my satchel, snatched up some bottles, and held them up with a laugh. "Mmm, fresh!"

I gave her a half-smile. She was enjoying herself out here, feeling the rain on her skin and hoodie... Wait a minute! "Midna, you're soaking your clothes."

"I'm aware," she said. "I can dry it out later."

We kept walking until I encountered a Bulblin at a junction between this section of Hyrule Field and the one just west of Castle Town.

I drew my sword but it felt much, much heavier than ever. I tried to attack but everything in me just... didn't want to. Even as the Bulblin waddled up to me and swung its club, I could only limply dodge. It caught me in the leg but my usual hyper-angry response never came. I just felt pain and a mild annoyance at the Bulblin.

When I did retaliate, it was just a quick stab to the Bulblin's neck. I left it to bleed out and went on my way, my sword dragging behind me.

"Zach, are you okay?" Midna asked.

"Yeah, I'm just tired," I said automatically. "Worried about you."

"Me?"

"Just that if you stayed out in the rain too long, you could get sick."

"Zach, you... Please don't let what that spirit said affect your fighting."

"I...!" I halted and took several deep breaths. I looked at Midna, whose skin was dotted in raindrops. Her eyes kept wandering all over me, but when she noticed me looking at her, she looked back. "I'm sorry. You're right, I'm not myself right now. I'm trying to keep it together."

Midna wrapped her arms around my shoulders—drenching my back even more with her water-logged sleeves—and whispered, "Believe in your strengths, Zach."

I didn't return the hug. She pulled back and floated to the ground. "Aren't you going to go back into my shadow?"

"Nah," she said. "It's dark enough that I can stay out, so I will."

"You could get sick."

"So could you."

We stared at each other for a long while. Knowing I wasn't going to win, I shrugged. "Your funeral."

It was still raining by the time we reached Castle Town. It hadn't slowed down at all but the space between flashes of lightning and their subsequent thunder was getting smaller.

Midna flew ahead and stood by the town gate. "Okay, let's get you ready for the hustle and bustle of—Oh."

I walked right by her. "Thanks but I'm good."

"If you're sure." She dove into my shadow and I pushed the heavy wooden gate open.

Four spears greeted me. "HALT!"

I held up my hands but did not so much as blink.

The closest guard, a short portly man, shivered in his boots. "Wh-who are you?"

"Who wants to know?" I asked.

"You can only enter if you identify yourself," said another guard, this one taller and thinner. "Who are you?"

"Good question." I cleared my throat and lowered my hands. "I'm Zach."

All four guards took a step back. "You're Zach?"

"Pretty sure, yeah. Why?"

"ZACH!" I peeked over the guards and found two grinning Gorons gunning for me. They made their way through the guards and lifted me up onto their shoulders. "Ha ha! You made it, Boss!"

"Yep, sure did." I let them carry me from the gate all the way to Telma's bar. On the way, I saw the townspeople staring at me with mixed faces of curiosity and suspicion. The line to the Temple of Time had not gotten any smaller. If anything, it was longer.

Once I touched down, I walked into the bar and was greeted by a cantankerous old man crying out, "That is a Zora child! That is beyond my expertise!" He turned to leave, his gigantic glasses showing tiny eyes that blinked up at me. "Hmmmph!"

"What's up, doc?"

"Bah! Don't bother me again!" With that, the doctor slammed the door behind him.

"Charming," I muttered as I turned to face the group. "Kid needs to go to Kakariko. Renado can heal him up."

Everyone stared at me: Telma and her cat; Auru, Shad, and Ashei; the doctor by the Zora prince, and finally Ilia.

Having that kind of attention flooded me with anxiety, but the worst part was that none of them looked particularly happy. In fact, they looked downright angry.

"Everyone, this is Zach!" Roko declared, slamming his hand down on my shoulder. "He's the brave fella who saved our mountain!"

"It wasn't just me," I grumbled as I rubbed my new bruise.

"Hey, I consented to you getting the credit," Midna replied. "Roll with it."

"Zach?" Ilia asked. She walked up to me and looked me up and down. "Zach..." After a moment, she reached back and slapped me across the face.

The shock of it alone woke me the hell up. "Not sure I deserved that."

"How dare you show your face here!" Ilia jabbed her finger into my chest. "My father took you in, gave you everything he could, and you betrayed us!"

"Oh shit," I muttered, "she remembers."

"Don't say that out loud!" Midna hissed.

Too late. Ilia slapped me even harder. "How dare you! I trusted you, we trusted you! We gave you my best friend's home and you sold us out to those monsters!"

At that, my fists clenched tight. "That's not true!"

Gorko and Roko scratched their rocky heads. "Boss here saved us."

"From a problem he caused," Ilia said.

"I didn't cause it," I mumbled. "I didn't have anything to do with it."

"Get out!" she bellowed. "Get out and don't come back, you... you villain!"

"Zach, don't let her treat you like this," Midna said. "Stand up for yourself!"

"Why?"

"Why? Because she's wrong! Think of all you've been through, what we've been through together."

"What about them?"

"No, don't let Lanayru taint your mind. Your deeds matter, Zach."

"I'm sorry but... doesn't feel like it."

I turned right around and took one step out the door when a very young voice cried out, "Doggy!"

Everyone moved aside to reveal little Princess Jun. She left the Zora Prince and walked right up to me, her cheeks bulging in a smile at me. "I missed you, Doggy! Why aren't you a doggy anymore?"

I could only stare at her with everyone else staring at me. "Uh... hi..."

She hopped in place, her arms stretching for me. "Up! Up!"

"..." Slowly, I bent down and let her wrap her arms around my neck. Supporting her weight, I stood back up and walked to a nearby table. Everyone kept staring but they seemed to relax once I sat down. They went about their business, mostly talking in the back room over a map. Gorko and Roko plopped down beside me.

"Doggy, you're all wet!"

"Uh, yeah, I was out in the rain."

"Why were you out in the rain all by yourself?"

"Oh, I wasn't by myself. I had a... guardian angel with me."

Princess Jun smiled wide as she bounced on my knee. "Is she pretty?"

"Very much so," I replied. "How have you been, Princess?"

"I miss Mommy and Daddy," Jun said with a pout. "But Miss Ilia is very nice. She's like a sister!"

"Hm."

Someone tapped my shoulder. I turned and then quickly turned away when I saw Telma's open blouse right in my face. "So, what's this I hear about you bringing monsters to Ordon?"

"I didn't bring them," I said as calmly as possible. "I knew about them but I didn't have time to set up a local militia."

"Mhmm." Telma set her hands on her hips and then gestured at my Goron companions. "These two say you've been fighting monsters up on Death Mountain. That true as well?"

I had to fight very hard not to point at the scars on my face. "Yes, it's true. I've fought Lizalfos, ReDeads, Bulblins, even possessed Gorons."

"And King Dodongo himself," Gorko said with an ear-to-ear grin. "Boss here's got an iron spirit!"

Telma looked me over and finally said, "Then you wouldn't be opposed to accompanying us to Kakariko."

"I was planning to come with you anyway."

"Inadvisable!" one of the guards proclaimed. "Too dangerous!" He and the other guards raised their spears in salute to Ilia. "But we can't turn a blind eye to a pretty girl in need, either. Yes, we'd better escort you! Am I right, boys?!"

They hooted and shook their spears, and it was all I could do not to roll my eyes. Luckily, Telma spoke for me. "Well, isn't that nice? To reach Kakariko, we'll have to cross two plains that are infested by dangerous beasts. But we'll be safe now!"

As she spoke, each guard slowly stopped their posturing until they were dead silent. In seconds, they deserted, leaving the short chubby one behind before he too scurried out of the bar.

"The Hyrulean Guard, ladies and gentlemen," I said with a mocking salute.

"Cowards!" Telma barked. "Don't EVER show your faces here again!"

"Don't forget Zach," Ilia muttered.

"Honey," Telma said. "I haven't met this young man before but he's staying put while the guards that are meant to protect us just ran off. You wanna turn him away too?"

Ilia said nothing. She just turned and walked behind the bar, taking her anger out on a glass with a damp rag.

"I don't think I like her," Midna said.

"She's going through a hard time," I replied.

"Excuse me but she really isn't. Here we are, soaking wet and chilled to the bone, having fought against giant monsters and who else knows what, and she's mad because of things outside your control! That's rude!"

"I'm used to it."

Telma rubbed her temples and said to me, "Honey, you look like you need some sleep. Lucky you happened to come when you did, I got one room left. You go on and use it."

"It's the middle of the day," I said. "We need to get ready to take Prince Ralis to Kakariko."

The bartender nodded. "Join the discussion, then. When you're ready, the room will be waiting for you."

I set Princess Jun down and told her to keep the prince company. She thankfully obeyed, allowing me to go to the back room.

Ashei spoke first, her finger pointed to the east side of Castle Town on the map. "Bridge is out. Gonna have to go south."

I jumped in and explained the situation about the bridge to Kakariko. Eventually, we settled on the plan to take Ralis up through North Hyrule Field. "So, when do we leave?"

"Slow down," Telma said. "We're not nearly ready to leave yet. Gotta clear it with the Captain."

"Captain?" I asked. "What captain?"

"Captain Keeta of the Royal Guard," Ilia said with a snap. "You didn't know that?"

I tried not to glare at her as I shook my head. "I'm not omniscient. Why do we have to clear it with him?"

"Things have changed since the dark monsters came," said Shad, adjusting his glasses on his nose. "Prince Daltus has ordered for all citizens to be kept in the city, no one in or out without his or the Captain's say so."

"Didn't stop me," I said.

"When he finds out, you'll wish it did."

I shrugged. "Until then, what do we do?"

Telma chuckled and said, "I know the Captain. I'll speak with him, get him to clear us for the journey. Shouldn't take more than a day to get everything ready."

"So... what do we do until then?"

"I want to get nice and dry," Midna said. "Let's go to that room."

Without much else to say or do, I bid everyone farewell. Telma escorted me up the stairs to a room at the end of the hall. "You need anything, you let me know."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" I asked.

She chuckled. "Honey, in times like these, we can't afford to turn away allies. You know your way around a sword, that's good enough for me."

"I don't have any money to pay you back."

"Consider your help as payment. We're going through dangerous territory, after all. Free room and board sounds fair to me."

"I guess."

"Get some rest, we'll see you in the morning."

Once I was inside, Midna jumped to the bed and spread out with a glorious sigh. "Much better," she said, smiling.

"Hm." I turned away as she removed her waterlogged hoodie. She was an imp but she still deserved privacy. I threw off my vest and chainmail, sighing in relief at the drop in weight. Once I was changed into dry clothes, I handed her a towel. "Was it worth it?"

She flashed me a grin. "Totally." Then she surprised me: She reached down and patted the spot next to her. "Come sit with me. I won't bite."

"Hard."

"Heh, not what I meant."

I plopped down next to her as she dried her hair. "So, what's on your mind?"

"A lot," she said. "Not your fault, of course. I just want some companionship."

"And what exactly does that entail?" She wrapped the towel over her shoulders and leaned against me. I immediately leaned away. "Whoa, that's a little intimate, don't you think?"

Midna blinked at me. "I'm just sitting next to you, Zach. Take it from me, you need to loosen up."

"Uh-huh..." I eventually sat up straight. Midna leaned on me again, looping her arm around mine. We watched the rain fall outside the nearby window but I couldn't focus on that to save my life. "I just... this seems..."

"Relax, I'm not trying to steal a kiss from you."

My cheeks burned up. "I-I didn't think you would."

Midna giggled. "I've been around my share of suitors, Zach. I know an attraction when I see one."

"Sorry," I muttered as I tried to pull away. "I should go—"

"Please stay." I turned to her but she didn't look me in the eye. "Call me selfish but I want some affection. Normally, I would have Burak or Mother comb my hair but that's not an option right now."

"Did you want me to brush your hair?"

She shrugged. "If you want to. Right now, I just want to feel close to someone. I... I need to feel like my world won't turn upside-down on me again. I think we both need that right now."

Truth be told, I did want to touch her hair. It looked so warm and soft. And she wanted some degree of normalcy in her crazy life, so... Ever so slowly, I lifted my free hand and ran a finger through a lock of glowing orange hair. "Wow, it really is warm and soft."

Midna smiled and said, "Thank you. Your hair is nice and soft as well." We sat in silence for a short while; Midna leaned on me while I gently stroked her hair. She took in a deep breath and let it out slow. "I like the smell of rain. It's so... fresh, y'know?"

"I like standing in the rain."

"Me too. I look forward to next time."

"Next time?"

"Sure!" Midna laughed. "This is my first time in Hyrule, after all. I'm going to have lots of new experiences and it would be nice to have a friend there with me."

I raised an eyebrow. "I thought I was just your pet."

"I'm still on the fence."

"Gee, thanks."

"Eee hee! Don't worry, I've had worse friends."

"One-eyed friends?"

"Actually, yes," Midna said with a nod. "I know a few people from Castle Hinox that I'm proud to call my friends."

"Hinox?!" I pulled away and gaped at her. "There are Hinox in the Twilight Realm?!"

Midna blinked up at me. "Uh, yeah? You didn't know that?"

"Not at all! That... that's very new information for me."

"Yay, I'm not the only one blindsided by all this."

I had to chuckle at that. "I've been blindsided too."

"Literally in some cases."

"Yep." I sputtered my lips and leaned back, using my arms to prop myself up. "So, Hinox in the Twilight Realm. Got any Lynels or Gohma there too?"

Midna nodded and said, "Yeah, both."

"BOTH?!"

"Yeah. The House of Gohma is the other rival tribe in my realm after Castle Hinox. Lynels aren't organized enough to constitute their own tribe but aren't friendly enough to work with any of us."

I shuddered at the thought of it. "Well, I hope you feel better about not knowing anything about Hyrule, because that was a huge wake-up call for me."

"How much of the Twilight Realm is in the game?"

"Not much. There's just the palace floating in a void, that's about it."

Midna gawked at me. "That's it?! I'm gonna be so mad if my home looks like that when I get back!"

"So it doesn't float in an endless sky?"

"NO!"

"Okay! Jeez, I didn't do it!"

"I know, I know." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you. Let me collect myself." She took several deep breaths, letting them out slowly. "Okay. No, my home is not meant to be floating in the sky. It and the other tribes surround the Duzakh."

"What the hell's the Duzakh?"

Midna chuckled. "Exactly."

"What?"

"It's Hell. Our worst criminals are sentenced there, where they are judged by Ahriman and either devoured or tortured for all eternity."

I gulped. "That's, heh, pretty hellish."

Midna pulled the towel tighter around herself. "It is. Once you go in, you can never get out. Ever. Even Lynels steer clear of it." We sat in silence once again. The rain was still going hard but with the dark clouds covering the sun, there wasn't much to see anymore.

"Topic change?" I asked.

"Yes, please."

"Shit, you called my bluff. I didn't have a topic in mind."

Midna laughed and then yawned with a stretch. "Well, there's nothing for us to do. How about a movie?"

"Okay." I made myself comfortable but that effort was for naught when Midna rested her head on my chest. "So, what movie would you, uh, like?"

She yawned again and waved her hand carelessly. "Something nice and relaxing."

"You're going to fall asleep."

"So are you," she muttered, her breathing getting slower and slower. "You were up all night. Rest now, my hero."

Instead of a movie, I decided to put on some music. Midna was right; I was absolutely exhausted from all that happened in the last day or so. I was out the moment I pressed play.