A/N: Wow. If I was expecting something, it wasn't unanimously glowing reviews. You guys are really awesome. If there is anything you want to say to me, leave it in a review. Rest assured, I read each and every one of them. Anyways, you might be wondering why this somewhat short chapter took so long to get up. Imagine the worst possible 3 days you can think of. That's a rough idea on what they've been like for me. If there is any huge dip in quality, please just chalk it up to that.

I also noticed that 3 asterisks I use to separate sections don't appear on this site, making it quite a confusing read. I've switched to using a centered --- to seperate the sections, but I'd still like to know why asterisks don't appear.

Obviously, Hyrule in this fic is far bigger than it is in the game. It'd be horrible to write something where the main character could walk across the land in 20 minutes or less.

Towards the Twilight

Chapter 2

The sun was just beginning to appear over the horizon when Link reached the Hyrule Field. The ride through the Faron Woods had been rather uneventful. Without anyone to lead them, most of the monsters had turned on each other, effectively wiping themselves out.

Hyrule Field had gone through much the same thing. With few monsters roaming the land, people had quickly begun to travel more often. Before anyone knew it, several villages had begun to spring up at the crossroads.

Link marveled at how fast Hyrule seemed to recover. Just over three months before, the nation had been all but destroyed. It's king dead, its people scattered. Now, it seemed stronger than it had ever been.

Urging Epona forward, Link continued forward towards Castle Town.

---

Any hopes Link might have had of getting into Castle Town unnoticed were quickly dashed. He was not even halfway to the city when he was spotted by a group of merchants. They quickly ran towards him, hoping to get a glimpse of the famous hero. Link pretended not to notice them and rode on.

Things only became worse as Link got closer to the city. Children from the newly established farms rushed out to see their hero. Not wanting to disappoint the children, Link was forced to put on several impromptu shows.

By the time Link reached the gates of Castle Town, the sun was already high in the sky. He took a deep breath and entered the city, knowing that in just a little while he might be one step closer to finding his lost friend.

Castle town itself was much the same as it had ever been. The streets were still crowded with men and women doing their daily shopping. Thankfully, most people were much to busy to spare Link a second glance.

As Link turned north towards the castle, his mind once again wandered to memories of Midna.

---

"L-Link… please, hurry."

Link could hear Midna's voice getting weaker; her breaths had quickly become slow and labored. As he emerged from the Castle waterways, only one thought filled his head: Find Zelda.

He bolted across the rooftops, hoping desperately that the Princess could do something to save Midna.

---

The confrontation with Zant that day had been the first time Link had felt anything for Midna. Up until then, she had treated him little better than one would treat a servant. Worse than how one would treat a servant, come to think of it. Yet for some reason which he still couldn't explain, Link had felt the need to protect her.

"Welcome, Hero. It is an honor to have you back at the castle."

The voice of a guard jolted Link back to attention. He had somehow reached the castle gates without realizing it.

"May I ask what brings you to the castle on this fine day?" the guard continued.

"I need to see Zelda," Link answered.

If the guard was upset at the lack of Zelda's title, as many of the castle guards would be, he did not show it.

"The Princess will be alerted to your presence immediately. In the meantime, I suggest you wait inside."

Link followed the guard through the gate towards the castle. Aside from the newly-erected statue of Link (which he pretended not to be aware of), the castle looked much the same as it had before Ganon's attack. The damage had been quickly repaired; work had begun before Link had returned to Ordon.

The two stopped as they came to the Entrance Hall. As with the rest of Hyrule, there was very little sign that this very room had been under attack just over three months previous.

"Now, if you would be so kind as to wait here, I will go fetch the Princess," he said.

"That won't be necessary."

Princess Zelda stepped out from the far side of the room, where she had been partially hidden behind a staircase.

"I will take Link from here," she said to the guard. "Return at once to the gates."

The guard managed a weak 'Yes, Your Highness' before scurrying out the door. Without a word, Zelda turned around and started walking towards the towers. Link quickly followed behind her.

---

"I know why it is that you are here," said Zelda.

They were in Zelda's private quarters, a place that Link was not at all comfortable with. The room brought back too many painful memories. She motioned for him to sit down and went to stand by the window.

"Little has changed from the last time you asked me," she continued. "I do not know of any way into her world."

"In all honesty Princess, I didn't expect that you would," Link answered.

"Then why is it you have come here?"

"While you may not know the way, perhaps you know of others who do. Do you?"

At this, Zelda turned around to face Link, a faint smile on her face.

"I just might," she answered.

Link's excitement managed to get the best of him. He jumped up from Zelda's bed where he had been sitting, almost knocking the Princess over in the process.

"Who are they? Tell me where I can find them!" Link was almost shouting.

"You should already know, Link."

Link was thoroughly confused at this. Certainly the Princess knew better than to assume such things. If he knew of a person more knowledgeable about the Twilight Realm than Zelda, he would surely have gone to them first.

"Tell me, Link, who have spent more time near the Twilight than any other in this world?" Zelda asked.

"You don't mean…?"

Zelda nodded and turned back towards the window.

"The Sages."

---

Ending A/N: An odd chapter to write. No matter what I did, I couldn't break 500 words. When I finally did break it, I hit word count to realize I had more than doubled that. Hopefully, I'll have another chapter up soon. School is starting on Monday though, so I might not have too much time to write.

This story is also un-beta'd. If you have above average skills with the English Language and would like to beta this story, give me a message. I am unable to pay or anything like that, but you'd at least get to read the story a bit early.