Chapter Six: Duties (Zelda)

Alright, it's not like I don't know what's going on between those two. Ilia and Link, I mean. Anyone with Hylian hearing could have heard what they were up to last night. No, I am not jealous. I'm worried. That girl has no self control. At least from what I've observed of her, anyways. The last thing we need is a knight on maternity leave. And as for Link…I fear that the wolf he once was is taking over him. Things are not looking well for my knights as of now. I almost regret my decision of knighting the two of them so hastily.

I guess you could say I like him. But it's far from love. I barely even know him. I mean, sure, he is the chosen hero, bearer of the Triforce of Courage, he saved me from Ganondorf, helped me defeat Ganondorf, freed my country from the dark malice of the tainted twilight, and restore the balance to Hyrule. And according to the townsfolk, he's apparently a champion at various attractions throughout Hyrule. Who couldn't fall for a guy like that? And he was handsome to boot. And good with a sword. But I was not in love with him.

I'm sitting here in my throne-room now as I speak. I should be out with Link and Ilia, to help search for the shards. Unfortunately, I have my duties to attend to within my palace. You know, paperwork, signing documents, validating horse-ownership licenses. Mostly boring, yet necessary work to keep the country going…but I still feel like I should be out there, fighting for a chance to restore the mirror.

It is just as much of my burden as theirs, if not more so. Ilia barely even knows what she is doing. She's only throwing herself into danger because she is clouded by love. But at least I had a connection to the Twilight. I had a connection to you, Midna.

But first I feel as though I must clarify something with you. I bet you think it's strange, how Link and I are always speaking to you in our minds. I know Link does because I can hear him. But for me to always be speaking as if it were to you, I have come to love you as a sister. I miss you, Midna, even though it has only been a short while since your departure. I can not bear to think that we may never see one another again. I hope you know that I hold your promise close to my heart for always. You said it yourself. "See you later."

A few of my guards strutted into the throne room "Your Highness," one of them began.

I looked up at him, putting my quill pen down and setting my paperwork aside. "Speak."

"We have found a very strange object in one of the knight's quarters."

"Who's quarters?"

"Sir Robert, Your Highness. He found it on his pillow beside his head this morning."

"And why did you not tell me of this sooner?"

"Your Highness, please forgive our procrastination. But we have sent the object to numerous scientists in order to run tests on it. It appears to have a high concentration of ancient magic, and even our most skilled mages can not decipher its makeup."

"Send it here, make it quick. I wish to see this object of which you speak."

With that, the knight scurried from the room as quick as his heavy armor would allow him. He quickly came back with two other knights, and a mage. The mage was holding a small, shimmering shard in his gloved hand. "Your Highness," he said.

"Is that the object you spoke of?" I asked him, straining to get a closer look at the tiny shard.

"Yes, indeed it is. Though we haven't the slightest notion as to what it is. We were wondering if, since you are wiser than we, you could shed some light on this matter?"

Finally, a break from this tiresome paperwork. I rose from my seat and walked over to the mage. I picked the shard up with my left hand, and then I began to feel a cold, chilling sensation move up my arm and diffuse into the rest of my body. I let out a small, sharp gasp as I felt the sheer power emanate from this single shard of…whatever it was a shard of. Slowly, my entire body became cold and numb. The Triforce symbol on my hand began to glow, fighting off the cold that had seeped through my body, replacing a fraction of the heat that had escaped from me.

"Your Highness?"

I lifted the shard up to my face, to get a closer look. My entire being filled with a mixture of surprise, fear, and excitement as I saw the flicker of shadow dance within the fragment. I now knew what this was…and why no one else could figure out what it was. It was a fragment of the Twilight Mirror.

I understand why you broke the mirror, I was in on the big secret with you, remember? But that does not mean that it makes sense to me. I could not hear your thoughts as you left us, but I knew your heart. You loved him just as much as Ilia does now. How could you leave him like that? Didn't you realize that he loves you? And I know that the mirror was seeped in evil, but shattering it was not going to stop it from getting out. Shattering it was only going to slow it down.

"Thank you for showing me this. I will keep it, if that is not going against any of your plans."

"Not at all, Your Highness, we brought it to you precisely so that you could keep an eye on it. We trust you over anyone else in this castle anyways, even over each other."

"Thank you. Now, if you see any more of these shards, bring them to me as soon as possible. No hesitation, no procrastination. It is of utmost importance, do you understand? If you discover one in an area, scout the vicinity for another. If no other shard is present, make haste to bring the shard in your possession to me."

"Understood, Your Highness."

"You are dismissed," I finished, politely waving them off with a flick of my wrist. They slowly left the room in single file, and in silence. I could sense their relief at the fact that I knew what the mysterious magical object was, even though I hadn't told them. And I wasn't even planning on telling them, for that matter, either.

As I placed the shard down upon my desk, the cold left my body altogether. I began to contemplate why a piece of the Mirror was inside of these castle walls. I remembered the Mirror when it was still whole…

But now that our connection has been severed, we can not fight together against the age-old evil. And what will we do when Link can not fight? In my dreams I have seen that he will become a wolf once more, only this time, he will not have you to fight upon his back. I do not know if the wolf will take over his heart, or his entire body. Either way, he will be lost to us both. He will be lost to both worlds, and the three of us who share a bond with him that is stronger than anything. Ilia has his friendship. I hold a piece of the Triforce, as does he. And you, Midna, share a bond with him stronger than Ilia and I combined. You have his love.

And I have a shard of the mirror. This means I am one step closer to finding you once more. I must wonder, however, have you found shards of the mirror in your realm as well? Are you dreaming of restoring the very portal you destroyed for the soul purpose of being reunited with Link and I one last time? I would soon find out.