Author's Notes: Yes, it's been a very long time since I updated. And I'm incredibly sorry for that. I don't have any good excuses other than my own laziness and my preoccupation with other projects. However, I won't give up on this story. I promise you that I will finish it one day. For the moment, you get another chapter and my deepest apologies. I understand if you want to throw rotten fruit at me… The good news is that I did update (thank you Hourglass of Fantasies for the nudge to update) and that my writing has improved since my last update. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Link or anything else from the games. Nintendo has the honor to own it. I also don't own the quote. However, I own Celestria as well as my OCs…

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"Some remedies are worse than the disease."

~Publilius Syrus

Chapter 1: The Only Shadow

It had been nearly a month since the battle between Midna and Galathron. Life had returned to normal; or as normal the Castle Town could ever be. Of course, there was still the odd talk about Griff's death or how Galathron had been defeated. That was all normal. Everybody talked, speculating about it though other news had already covered most of the rumors surrounding that day.

Midna had found the rare moment when she wasn't being held down by the busy life of being the princess. She was using this time to walk through the lush gardens with Link by her side. A content silence rested over the two as they each enjoyed the serenity that had come to the Twilight Realm ever since Galathron had been ousted.

Midna glanced over at Link. He was watching the black and purple sky with a nostalgic expression. Guilt stabbed at Midna's stomach. It was clear to anyone that the Hylian missed the sun, the clear blue skies, and the vivid greens of life that the Light World hosted. The Twilight Realm was dampening his spirit, no matter how hard he tried to act as if he wasn't homesick.

"Link…" Midna paused to allow the boy time to look at her. "Don't you miss your home?" She knew that if she ever left the Twilight Realm for an extended period of time, she would miss it dreadfully.

Link smiled slightly. "I do a bit, but I'd rather be here with you." He was being truthful, yet Midna could see the look in his eyes as he thought of the sun warming his skin.

"I'm sorry." She had always been raised to always look people in the eye, but at the moment, she could not face Link. It was because of her that he felt that deep sickness known as homesickness. If not for her, he would be back there. Herding goats in the sun, maybe? Or riding Epona?

"Don't be. I want to stay here with you. Without you, life doesn't have the same flavor in it. It's dull." Link pressed, recalling the depressing days he had spent after she had broken the mirror. He was never going to go back to that even if the homesickness gnawed him to bits. At least Midna was here to make those bits feel better.

"Idiot." Midna hissed, a tear glistening in one eye. She easily blinked it away, just like her stoic mother had taught her to do. "Why would you choose me over your land of sun and warmth? Choose this dreary, yet beautiful realm over yours?"

"Home is where the heart is. And my heart isn't at home in the Light Realm if I can't contact you. It's not like I can go back anyway. Devincha warned us against using the amulet and the mirror is shattered. So cheer up."

Midna did not feel cheery at all, but she offered up a weak smile to Link. She had always been good at hiding her emotions, another princess lesson from her mother. Yet, Link always managed to see something more behind her clever disguises. There was only one way left for him to cheer her up.

Link, now grinning mischievously, pounced at Midna. Midna's attention had been on the cobblestone path they had been walking on, so she was caught completely off-guard. The two tumbled on to the nearby flowerbed (the gardener would be furious later), crushing all the innocent black flowers. Link had Midna pinned to the ground, the same grin still on his face. Midna wore a look of utter annoyance. Quickly, Link gave the princess a peck on her forehead, causing her to blush. He quickly got off and nearly skipped a few feet away.

He turned back to Midna. "Catch me if you can." The kiss and the taunt poked at Midna's pride.

The plan to cheer Midna had certainly worked though cheer might be the wrong word to use. Midna's annoyed look had turned to one of indignation. She pushed herself off the decimated flowerbed and began running after Link. They had abandoned all the etiquette required in court (not that Link had much anyway).

"Once I catch you, you'll pray that you were never conceived." Midna snarled at the laughing Hylian.

Link weaved though some sober shrubs with Midna following him. The two continued this chase for quite a while until Midna finally caught up with Link.

For some reason unknown to the princess, he had gradually begun slowing down. His footsteps had grown more and more leaden. She had chosen that moment to spring her attack, knocking them both into another flowerbed. To her surprise, he had toppled over quite easily and did not put up a struggle as they lay there on the crushed flowers.

At first, Midna was sure Link was fooling around and that he would try something sneaky if she fell for his trick. The princess nudged the Hylian's side, trying to tickle him into moving. No response. A small scowl flickered across her face before it was replaced by a rather scary grin. She tugged at one of his pointed ears, sure that it would cause him to holler. He had always hated it when she did that. This time, his only response was a very light groan. Then silence.

"Link…"

Midna tugged harder at his ear. Worry was beginning to fill her. What was wrong with Link? He couldn't have fainted out of fatigue. She had seen him go longer distances and still have the energy to fight off whatever ambushed them. There was no question that he was any less fit than he had been in the Light Realm. He had not gotten fat or lazy. He sparred with various guards frequently and he often explored the forest by Castle Town. There was no reason for him to have gotten so tired after such a little run.

"If you're fooling around, I swear I'll kill you." Midna murmured into his ear. She had gotten off him at this point, so that she was now sitting beside the boy. "Please Link… Get up." She wasn't aware of how dangerously close her voice was to completely breaking.

When he showed no signs of movement, Midna decided that she would have to take matters into her own hands. Carefully, the princess rolled Link over on to his back. There were a few smears of pollen on the front of his tunic as well as some stray petals. His face was also covered in flower residue. She dusted this off.

Laying a hand on his face, she found it to be colder than usual. This scared Midna. A light dweller couldn't adjust body temperatures at will. A colder body meant death. The thought chilled Midna though the rise and fall of his chest was a comforting sight. But it didn't stop her from opening her mouth and letting out a high shriek (something she never did unless circumstances really were that bad).

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Midna sat on a stool by Link's bedside. The bed was a simple cot with white blankets. It stood out harshly in a room that had black walls; customary in the Twilight Castle. There was a large window meant to provide a wonderful view for patients though it was currently shuttered. Instead a fire in the fireplace was burning brightly. The fire made the small room uncomfortably warm, but the healer had insisted upon it. There was also a small table by the bed that was currently the host of a small tray of food; scrambled eggs, a glass of water, and a cup of tea that was already becoming cold. The tray was untouched.

Link was currently sleeping. His temperature was no longer the frigid cold that it had been when Midna had touched him in the gardens. It had warmed up somewhat, so that it was now only a degree or two below the regular temperature. He was sleeping calmly enough though earlier there had been a moment when sweat had soaked his body and he had been muttering cryptic statements. Even with her excellent ears, she had been unable to discern the muddled words.

The healer, a plump Twili with frizzy, dark green hair and a pair of golden spectacles, tottered into the room. Her birth name was Valtina, but everyone knew her as Val. Val carried a clipboard in her hands and wore a white coat a few sizes too long. She wore a grim expression on her face.

"Yes?" Midna asked. She was concerned for Link, but she was positive that Val would know something about what had struck him. She was the best healer in the world. If she did not know, no one did.

Valtina began with a small sigh, which immediately dried Midna's hope. "As you know, I have limited experience with light dwellers. In fact, I have none." A look of distress flashed on to Midna's face and the princess opened her mouth. Val held up one small finger and shook it.

"Now, now, don't start weeping now, Princess. Let me finish first. I have concluded that this mysterious illness that has descended upon him is not anything any Twili would ever catch. In fact, it is a very rare condition that has not occurred for many years. Now usually this would provide a dilemma as an unknown condition is one that often leads to death." A soft cry escaped Midna's lips.

The cry was ignored by the healer. "Fortunately, I have managed to find some information about it in our library. It was a long time ago, before the split of Devincha and Gavin. A Twili ruler had managed to capture three light dwellers who had accidentally stumbled through the mirror. He was not malevolent to them though he did keep them in the Castle. They lived in luxury, yet they were never allowed to go home or anywhere out of the Castle without a guard. They never did return home or even to the Light Realm again. We have records of what the King learned from them, which I'm sure your tutors have told you about. Then they simply disappeared. I, and a large portion of the population, assumed that they had been killed for a failed escape plan.

"However, that was not the case. After some digging through texts, I found mentions of a rather interesting phenomenon. All three of the light dwellers had fallen ill. Their skin had turned cold, they suffered from fainting fits, and their sleep was disturbed by sweat and tears. Eventually they grew weaker and weaker before death struck." Val paused momentarily, allowing the words to sink into Midna's head.

Link's skin had gotten cold. He had fallen earlier today. And he had suffered in his sleep. All the symptoms seemed to add up. The same thing that had struck those unfortunate light dwellers so long ago had returned to haunt Link.

"You don't think that…" Midna's voice trailed off. Val was not one who mentioned anything frivolous. She was a Twili who only spoke about things if they were relative especially when it had something to do with her profession. She would not bring this up unless she was certain (or almost certain) that this was what was plaguing Link.

"I do." Val nodded her head gravely. "They were unsure of what had caused it, so they brought in more light dwellers to research. These light dwellers died of the same cause. However, in one case, the King took the light dweller back to the Light Realm. The light dweller had been a favorite of the King who felt that the light dweller might want to see his home before death took him. For a few days, the symptoms kept up before vanishing. That light dweller was the only one to recover.

"The condition is called the Viduata Solis though it is also referred to as the Sun Sickness. Because it is not relevant to the Twili, it is not taught at medical institutions so it is fortunate that we have these texts. Now, what the ancient healer believed was that this condition was brought on by a deprivation of the sun for the light dweller. As you know, light dwellers live in the sun. Even in the night, there is a shining object in the sky; the moon. A long period of time spent without the sun leads to catastrophe to a light dweller's body."

"So, we just have to get Link back to the Light Realm." Val nodded as Midna spoke. "How long do we have?"

A knocking on the door disturbed the conversation. A voice from the other side announced, "There is a messenger from the Kingdom of Celestria here to see you, Princess. I ordered him to stay in the throne room, but he says it's quite urgent."

Midna sighed angrily. She did not want to deal with whatever the Celestrian messenger had to say whether it was a war declaration for killing Galathron or a request to rejoin with Midna's own kingdom. She wanted to stay here to look after Link and listen to Valtina talk about the Viduata Solis.

"Umm… Princess, he followed me here." Some rather loud shouts followed between the two of them. "Should I knock him out?" The guard asked though his question was left unanswered as a loud clang sounded. This was followed by the door being shoved open.

A harried Twili stood there, panting as if he had not rested at all throughout the journey to the Twilight Castle. He wore a helmet over bright orange hair and very light armor meant for messengers. He held a small club, which he had used to knock the guard out. The crest of Celestria, a crescent moon with three dots, was on a badge worn on the messenger's right side.

"I'm sorry for barging in, but it's urgent. The people are going wild and chaos rules Celestria now that our King is dead. Please, we need your help in finding a new ruler." The words were out of his mouth before Midna could remark on his rude behavior. His head was bowed to the floor. "You killed our old King and we bless you for that as he was a wretched King. But now you must come and find our missing princess before anarchy destroys us all."

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A/N: And that's it for this chapter. I'm proud of it especially since it's been a while since I've wrote anything Zelda-related. I thought a cliffhanger was a good place to cut off at. The title is what is it is because the only downside (or shadow) of Link staying in the Twilight Realm is the Viduata Solis. Reviews are greatly appreciated. If you want, go ahead and guess as to the meaning of Viduata Solis. It does not mean Sun Sickness. If you're the first to get it right, I'll add a little note to you on my next chapter. Will Midna travel to Celestria to help restore order? And what will happen to Link? All will be revealed someday.

Twilight Phantom Dragon