For over a year the Twilight Realm had been without a proper ruler. The people had lost all hope of their Queen returning when Zant revealed she was helping a boy on the other side. She was helping the World of Light.

By that time Midna had been gone for many months, and Zant had assumed the position of King. Grateful to have someone to lead their Realm, the Twili did not show any resistance. In their eyes, the Queen had betrayed them. They couldn't see that Zant was taking their money for himself, feeding his own greedy fantasies. The Twili's in the larger cities didn't know that the armies were forcing farmers to live in the urban areas. Zant wanted a broke, localized people to enslave.

And the people blamed Midna.

"She must answer for her crimes!"

"Midna is not fit to rule!"

"SEND HER BACK TO THE WORLD OF LIGHT!"

The mass of Twili's shouted at the walls of the palace. The guards were taken aback by how many unhappy citizens now swarmed around them, calling for the fall of their Queen. They shouted and jeered, pushing against the semi-circle of guards that protected the entrance. The usually peaceful features of the Twili's were now twisted into faces of anger and hurt. One man with a dirty and tired face grabbed the nearest guard by his collar, eyes blazing.

"Do you know what happened to me? What happened because she left?" he yelled above the din and shook the guard.

"Take your hands-" the guard tried to pry himself from the man's iron grip.

"I lost everything, everything, because they took my money! My family is starving because I have lost my job and all of my money is gone!"

The guard roughly pushed the hysteric man off him, sending him heavily to the ground. As he tumbled, the nearest people gave him a wide berth, leaving him to struggle to his feet while tripping over his baggy shirt. Once on his feet he pointed a shaking and accusing finger at the soldier in front of him.

"And do you know why I lost all my money?" asked the man in a strangely calm voice. But the slight tremors in his words gave him away. He was on the absolute edge.

The guard surveyed the man clothed in rags, unconsciously moving into a more stable and ready position. There was a large circle of spectators now, encasing both the wary guard and the swaying man. No one spoke.

"I asked you a question!"

"I don't know why you lost your money!" the guard shouted back.

"Well," the man laughed quietly. "Why am I not surprised?" he called to the audience. Spreading his arms and walking slowly around the edge of the circle he continued, "Why am I not surprised that someone so close to her doesn't care about us? Well let me tell you how I lost all my money. When Midna left her people for the other side she left us at the mercy of Zant. His soldiers burned my house, my fields, my stables."

He kept his voice deceptively quiet, like he was having a conversation with a friend. "And could I do anything, no. No, I was nothing but a way to increase Zant's wealth!" A few stern faces nodded in agreement with the man's ranting. "We were all puppets! And who could have stopped him? HER!"

With a sudden yell the man pointed dramatically at the castle wall looming in front of them. Murmuring voices agreed with him, causing all the guards to shuffle nervously. The more the ragged man shouted that the Queen could have helped them anytime she wanted, the more restless the crowd became. The riot would soon be starting again if he carried on.

The guard the man had grabbed shouted, "Quiet! That's enough!" The voices subdued slightly. "Queen Midna is not responsible for Zant's actions! She was imprisoned in a form where she was too weak to return and help-"

"You're right, she is weak."

"But she did return," he ignored the comment. "She came back after being selfless enough to help others, even if others mean the World of Light. She did not betray us!" He had to continuously raise his voice, the constant whispers growing in volume. The soldier could see this was going no where good.

A random person from the throng of people cried, "She should have put her people first! She must answer for that!"

The guard could feel real anger bubbling inside him. How dare they talk to me like that? How dare they talk about the Queen like that? Then a guard behind him spoke up, "To reach her, you'll have to go through us."

In a swift movement all the guards closed ranks around the entrance, hands ready if there was combat. Eyes on both sides narrowed.

And then silence. Silence so loud it was unbearable, yet no one dared to break it. They all knew chaos would ensue once it did.

But from the partially formed circle of angry citizens the man that had ranted muttered in a dark voice, "So be it."

The Queen was sitting, alone, in the throne room. Looking forlornly out a nearby window she sighed. The sky was its usual; black clouds occasionally breaking to reveal the pale purple underneath. Or in this case, above. She would never say this aloud, but she missed the blue sky in the World of Light. It was so...different.

Since her dethroning Midna had been forced to adapt as change came. She had to adapt herself to every situation she had faced with Link, so she was used to 'different.' Her whole life she had been resistant to change, quietly fearing the way things became different. But the Twili had realized that there was good different, she had seen that in the World of Light. The other side was she could clearly see when there was bad different. And today the bad different came in the form of her angry people.

Midna could hear the shouts of the riot. They were muffled noises, hardly recognizable from so far away, but she knew what they were none the less. This wasn't the first outburst the Twilight Ruler had dealt with. It hadn't started with riots, just the occasional angry glare from a citizen at public appearances. That in itself was strange.

Midna's people had throughout time been a peaceful race. Never fighting, always calm and quiet. But since the return of their Queen, they had become bitter and resentful. The mobs occurring more often and each time the situation got worse.

She turned her head towards a guard as he sprinted into the throne room. Hastily kneeling a respectful distance away he panted, "My Queen, there is another riot outside the palace. There is conflict and on behalf of the guard we insist you stay here where it is safe."

But Midna had already stood up. She smiled at him and shook her head slowly. Will they never learn? I have never just sat in the throne room and waited.

Not bothering to say anything she rushed past him, robes flowing behind her in waves. "My Queen!" she heard from behind. Calling over her shoulder she told the panicking guard, "You may follow me if you wish."

Soon she was at the palace entrance, the sounds of shouting very clear but still slightly muffled. Not wasting a second Midna waved her hand and the huge, black doors swung open.

The scene before her was one of mass chaos, and it broke the Queen's heart to see her people like this. Guards and civilians were beating on each other mercilessly. She saw several Twili's lying on the ground, completely motionless. The entire court yard stretched a good hundred feet before it melted into the bridge that led to the rest of the city, and every inch of it was hosting a small battle.

Her red eyes widened as she felt all the emotions around her. She was a minor empath, but could only truly feel other's emotions when there was large quantities of it. The more emotion, the better she could feel, and surrounding her was a vast accumulation of anger. It was almost tangible in the air, and it was overwhelming.

Feeling it pressing on her chest it became difficult to breathe. Spots appeared in her vision as more of the confusion and rage filled her. It wasn't right, none of it. Her people shouldn't be like this. They would destroy themselves, Midna was certain of that.

"Stop! Please stop!" she cried to the swarm of fighting people. Staggering as she stepped into the court she tried to get the attention of the Twili's. No one heeded her.

So Midna spread her arms, focused her magic into her words and shouted, "ENOUGH!"

And the entire court yard froze in place. Guards, civilians, they all had been forced to stop their attacking. Many mid step or aboutt o swing an arm. Expressions turned to stone and no one could move. An eerie silence filled the tense air.

"Stop this!" she pleaded. Their faces were still but all eyes turned as best they could to the sound of Midna's voice. She continued passionately, "Please, just stop doing this! I know why you are against me. I truly do, but I don't care about whether or not you like me. My only concern is you!"

She looked imploringly to the angry faces, "But think about this! How does fighting each other help? Just wait and think for a moment! If you won't do it for me, then do it for your loved ones. If you carry on like this you'll destroy yourselves! Think of what will happen to your own families, your community if this ends in bloodshed."

Thinking of nothing else to say, Midna turned away hurriedly with a swish of her robes before the feelings of fury could consume her.

Stalking down the hall Midna knew exactly what she needed to do. She had to solve this, whatever it was. The Queen had a feeling in her stomach, instincts Link had called it. She knew that her people were not acting angry on their own. Somehow they were being forced into the hardened Twili's they were now, and Midna blamed Zant.

The Ruler gathered the ten fastest messengers in the castle, and they all set out immediately spreading the word to council members. Queen Midna was calling an emergency meeting.

They were organizing a hunt for the source of her realm's anger.

Well here is Ch. 3! Sorry if it seems a little short, I didn't want to rush the meeting scene. And just to let you know, I'm just getting into the habit of writing again and things have been getting in the way, but that's no excuse! I will start on Ch. 4 pronto tomorrow, I've been bored in certain classes so I'll have time to start something : )

Thanks so much to all followers/reviewers/favouriteers and of course readers. It means so much to me when you give a review, so please, if you like something TELL ME! And telling me why would be great to. And of course if you think something could be improved tell me that as well, but not too harshly? I'm pretty tough when it comes to criticism but I have my limits.

Thanks again,

-Lilly