Author's Notes: Thanks for the reviews! I have to apologize for the delay in posting this chapter. It was an incredibly tough chapter to write, probably because not a lot of exciting stuff happens here. Well, I'll let you find out on your own.

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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"Patience is waiting. Not passively waiting. That is laziness. But to keep going when the going is hard and slow- that is patience."
-- Unknown

Chapter 10: Waiting is a Boring Game

"Put him right there and tell me exactly what happened." Naeva pointed at the bed.

Midna deposited Link on the bed, taking a chair by his side. His face was covered in sweat, but this was remedied by a damp towel that Veiviser had thought to bring upstairs. She sighed. Time really was running out. She had forgotten to ask if Kamaria would be willing to use the magic of the amulet. Tomorrow she would make sure to ask, even beg, the Celestrian princess to help.

"I'm going to clean my club. Do you want me to clean off your sword Midna?" Veiviser had originally seated himself in the room, but now he stood up. His club was still bloody from the brawl.

Midna shook her head. "I'll finish cleaning later." Unlike Veiviser, Midna had quickly wiped away the blade on the grass to get rid of the blood. It would require further cleaning, but Midna had no desires to hand the precious sword over to Veiviser.

"Suit yourself. I'll clean the Master Sword too." Midna nodded, allowing Veiviser to take the Master Sword.

When Veiviser left the room, Midna recounted the tale starting from Kamaria's refusal to return all the way to the ambush. Naeva sat quietly, drinking in every detail of the story. When she was done, Naeva nodded her head.

"It looks like we've got quite the dilemma on our hands, but we'll have to hope that Livia will be able to talk some sense into Princess Kamaria." Naeva smiled kindly. "I'm sure everything will turn out alright in the end."

Midna wasn't as sure as Naeva on the subject, but she nodded her head anyway. "I hope so."

"Now we've got two other issues to address. First and foremost is what you plan to do about Link. He's getting worse, isn't he?" Midna nodded. "Well, we'll have to find some way to send him back home. Do you have any ideas?"

"I've got a plan, but I need Kamaria to do it." Midna sighed. She stared at Link. He was shifting slightly as if nightmares were haunting him.

Naeva beamed. "I don't care how much the Princess seems to have changed." Midna glanced over in surprise. "She's a good person and she won't want anyone to suffer."

"She didn't sound that kind when we spoke to her." Midna replied.

"Trust me; no one changes so completely in so little time." Midna didn't bother pointing out that it had been many years and that kids tended to change quickly as they grew. "She might not want the throne, but she'll happily aid you in sending Link to the Light Realm. Just ask her and it'll be fine."

"I'll try." Midna smiled weakly at Naeva who was still beaming.

"Our other problem is with the assassins…"

Before Naeva could say anything else, the door opened to admit Aleron into the room. His expression was as composed as always, but his eyes revealed the stress within. Midna felt guilt claw at her. They had been expecting Kamaria back soon to help fix the problems. Instead he would receive bad news that she had no desire to return.

"What assassins?" Aleron questioned sharply, not bothering in greeting anyone.

"Five assassins attacked us while we were crossing the field to get to Lunaris. We took care of them fine, but the odd thing is that one of them exploded when we tried questioning him." Midna's brow furrowed in thought as she explained the events.

Aleron scowled as he considered this. "It's likely that there's someone out there who wants you to stop your mission to find the princess. Or perhaps they simply don't want the aid of foreigners."

"Do you know anyone who could've hired them?" Midna asked. "We were going to search their bodies, but the rest of the bodies exploded as well."

"I don't know anyone who knows that type of magic." Aleron shook his head. "It appears as if we've got a powerful and mysterious foe to face."

"We'll have to hope that nothing else happens while you're here." Naeva sighed. "Maybe they've seen how strong you are and they'll give up."

"As lovely as that would be, I doubt the enemy will give up. Likely they'll send stronger forces next time." Aleron answered.

"Great," Midna sighed sarcastically. "As if we don't have enough to take care of." She looked back at Link.

Naeva caught Midna's worried stare. The Twili frowned for a few moments before smiling. "Don't worry. No one will be able to trespass into this house, so he'll be safe."

"It is a strong house." Aleron agreed. "However, if the enemy can explode bodies, there's the possibility they'll just bust the door down."

"Aleron, don't scare her." Naeva scolded quietly.

"It's okay." Midna said. "I'll be ready if they try to come in here."

Aleron changed the subject smoothly. "I assume you didn't get the princess." His tone made it sound as if he had expected just that.

"No…" Midna sighed. "She didn't want to come along, but we know where she is. We're going back there tomorrow to see if her adoptive mother has convinced her to return."

Aleron's lips pressed together tightly. "Right." He refrained from uttering any of his thoughts on the matter, all of which were pessimistic. Instead he simply turned around and walked out of the room. "I'm going to go and reinforce the door to make sure no one intrudes in the night."

Naeva sighed before smiling, "I'll go make dinner. We can't do anything with an empty stomach. Call me if you need anything."

"Thank you." Midna watched Naeva leave before turning to Link. "Oh Link… What are we going to do?"

It was a rhetorical question as Midna knew the answer to that. They would continue on with their mission. They would ask Kamaria to help in using the amulet to call Devincha and construct a portal to send Link through. And they would have to do this all while avoiding the deadly assassins who stalked them. Could life get any more difficult? Sadly the answer to that question was yes.

--

Midna had fallen into a light nap at Link's bedside after dinner. She was awoken by the sound of the door sliding up. Her red eyes flickered open to take in the sight of Veiviser.

"Hey Vei."

He had been staring at his feet as he walked, but his head jolted up at Midna's voice. A wry grin forced its way on to his face.

"Hey Middy." Midna scowled at the nickname, but decided not to reprimand him this time. Next time would spell certain disaster for the long-eared Twili. "How are you doing?"

"Fine." Midna lied. There was nothing fine about their current situation and Veiviser knew it.

"Oh… I'm fine too." Veiviser lied as well. He looked around awkwardly, chewing on his lip nervously as he considered the burning question in his mind. "It's nice outside."

"I suppose it is." Midna replied flatly with a glance at the window. Frankly, she hadn't noticed until now. How ironic that such a beautiful day could follow such dreadful events.

Despite the closing statement that Midna presented, Veiviser kept up the topic. "There hasn't been rain for a while. The sky's been covered in the loveliest shade of orange for a long time now, hasn't it?" As he spoke, he continued his lip-chewing.

"Vei." Midna halted his ramble about the weather. "Just ask your question already."

Veiviser sighed, his shoulders dropping. With some of the most pitiful eyes Midna had ever seen, he asked, "Do you think Kamy hates Lunaris and everyone in it now? Is that why she's not coming back?"

Midna wasn't surprised by the question though the type of nervousness that had been affecting Vei made it seem as if the question was an unbelievable one. She decided to go with the straight and honest approach on the issue.

"I don't know."

"That's not an answer." Veiviser refuted, a scowl taking over his face.

"Fine." Midna sighed. "This is a guess, but I don't think that's her reasoning. She said she didn't want to come back because she wanted to stay with her family in Honap."

"But they're not her family!" Veiviser frowned. "All of her family is dead… That's why we need her to take on the throne."

"Vei, you don't like them, do you?" When Veiviser didn't answer, Midna knew she was right. "It's not their fault that Kamaria doesn't want to return."

"I like Livia." Veiviser muttered, his eyes looking away from Midna.

"Orson and Lita aren't bad people. They just love Kamaria too much to let her go. And she doesn't want to leave them. Whatever you do, just don't hate them. Okay?"

"Fine," Veiviser grumbled. "Do you think Kamy will ever come back?"

"Maybe." Midna sighed. She didn't want to crush hope into the ground by saying Kamaria would never return, yet she didn't want to make a false promise of her return either.

"Can we go back now?" Veiviser looked at Midna eagerly.

Midna glanced down at Link. She didn't want to leave Link unconscious even though she trusted that Naeva would do an excellent job looking after him. How would he feel to be deserted? It would be a terrible feeling for him and even if he wouldn't display it, he would be upset inside. Waking up alone was never fun.

"Not yet. I want Link to wake up… Then we can go."

"But Link will want to go with us. I don't think he should be riding after his fall. Maybe we should just sneak away and hurry home before he wakes up."

Midna shook her head, causing Veiviser's ears to droop.

"Please." He added after a moment's silence, eyes glimmering in hope.

Midna rolled her eyes. "No. Now get out of here."

"Fine, I'll leave the lovers alone." Veiviser said crossly before leaving the room.

Midna leaned back in her chair and began a long wait for Link's eventual awakening.

--

A groggy groan from the otherwise silent body by her alerted Midna. She looked over at Link. The Hylian's hand was massaging his temple, his eyes still flickering to stay open.

"Midna?" He finally attempted to croak out a word. His eyes turned to her.

Dark circles ringed his tired blue eyes. His disheveled hair stuck out in various directions. He looked nothing like the fit hero Midna had gotten accustomed to seeing. He looked more like a sick patient, a frequent visitor to Valtina's office. But it was Link and as the fatigue was pushed away, she could still see the same fighting spirit in his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Link nodded his head and started to push himself up. Midna shoved him back down. "No." She said sternly with narrowed eyes.

Link sighed. He didn't feel like arguing just yet, that could wait for later. Information was the most important thing right now. "How long was I out? What happened? Did anyone get hurt?" Three questions flew out from his mouth and they would have been followed by more if Midna hadn't chosen to cut him off that moment.

"You've been out for about 20 hours now. We were attacked by assassins while returning to Lunaris and after killing one, you fainted due to the Viduata Solis. No one got badly injured though Veiviser did need to fix his arm up from a cut." Midna relayed in quick succession.

"Do you know who sent the assassins?" Now that the big picture had been painted, Link could settle down to listen to the details.

"Unfortunately not, but we do know two things. One is that the sender is capable of exploding their minions from afar, meaning they possess powerful magic. And the other is that they have no shortage of minions."

Link smirked, "I was wondering when all the action would start."

"Too bad you're too weak to handle it." Midna replied dryly. Link frowned at her, but didn't argue the point.

"What are we going to do now?"

"We?" Midna raised an eyebrow. "You are going to stay in bed and have Naeva feed you a good meal. Veiviser and me are going to head out and return to Honap to speak with Kamaria again."

"But-"

"No buts. You're not going to convince me to let you go anywhere in your condition, understood?" Her eyes gleamed seriously, causing Link to sigh.

While he could be stubborn enough to win most things, Midna was just as stubborn as him on some matters. This was one of those matters and no amount of persuasion would allow her to take him along. On top of that, Link had to admit that his limbs felt like jelly, pitiful and weak jelly at that matter. He wouldn't be able to make it down the stairs, let alone all the way to Honap. He would only be a bother and that was the last thing Link wanted to be.

"Fine." He groaned, obviously unhappy about the solution. However, his eyes brightened as he recalled Midna mentioning Naeva's cooking. "I suppose I'll have to build my strength up quickly. Make sure Naeva makes a lot."

Midna smiled at Link. "I will." She promised. "Bye." She turned her back to him and began walking towards the door.

"Don't I get a goodbye kiss?" Link's voice drifted back to her.

She turned around, a small smirk on her face. Link smiled innocently back at her, perfectly unaware of the torture he had just set up for himself.

"Well…" Midna wandered closer to Link. Her indecisive tone made him frown. "I don't know if I should. Excitement might not be healthy for someone who's recently fainted." She tapped her chin with her finger, pointedly staring at a spot on the ceiling. From the corner of her eyes, she watched Link's face fall.

"I'm staying right here with no arguments. I think that deserves a small kiss." Link pleaded.

"I suppose it does." Midna leaned in, pecking Link on the nose. "Bye, Link."

Link was left with a dumbfounded face. He blinked a couple of times before shaking his head. He should've expected something similar from her. It must be the Viduata Solis that had made him forget Midna's cruel teases. Midna could be so unfair sometimes.

--

"Let's go." Midna said cheerfully to Veiviser.

"Link's up?" Midna nodded her head. "Staying behind?" Again, she nodded. "Well… What are we waiting for?"

Veiviser raced after Midna, both mounting two very excited Messengers. Macha stared at them with a saddened expression, whining at her lack of a rider.

"I'm sorry Macha. Link's not coming." This caused the Messenger to whine even more. "Don't worry, he's alright. I'm just making him get some rest."

Macha let out a doleful sigh before retreating to the stable where the Messengers were resting. Her tentacles dragged on the ground, obviously disappointed that she would not be riding out today. Sleipnir gave her a call and it must have made her feel better, as she perked up immediately.

Silently and quickly, Sleipnir and Eclipse began to run towards the gate that would take them to the outside world. Citizens looked at them, but it was only a brief glance before they resumed their daily tasks. They had gotten used to the Messengers racing through the streets to leave Lunaris. However, a few noted that there were only two Messengers and that the Hero of Twilight was the one missing. It would serve as gossip later at the local bars.

Soon they were loping through the field. Midna kept her eyes wide open for any mysterious Messengers, but the only thing that caught her eye was a sole rider coming from the forest.

"Vei, there's someone over there." Midna pointed in the direction of the forest.

Veiviser's eyes narrowed as he tried to distinguish the rider's physical characteristics, but he couldn't make any details out. He shook his head. "I might have super-hearing, but my eyes are normal. Well, I suppose we can handle one assassin."

"Maybe it's not an assassin. Ever thought of that?"

Veiviser paused and grinned. "No. The thought hadn't crossed my mind. Who else would be riding out from the forest?"

"I don't know." Midna admitted. "Let's go closer and then we'll see if they're our enemy."

"Gotcha." Veiviser agreed with the plan and they began racing towards the figure.

As they neared, it was possible to see that the figure was small. The figure, gender was hard to place at this distance, was riding a Messenger and waving at them. Veiviser's heart began to beat faster. His thoughts were flashing by quickly.

Is it really… No, I can't think like that. It's probably a dwarf Twili riding around on a large Messenger. Are there dwarf Twili? I should really ask Midna sometime. What was I thinking about? …Oh yeah! The figure on the Messenger! What if it's…! Didn't I tell myself not to think about it? Don't get your hopes up. That's what Dad would say and he knows best. Or at least I think he does. Actually, I change that. He doesn't always know best, he's such a downer sometimes.

Eventually there came a point when the two heroes met with the figure. Veiviser stared intently. He could now see that it was not a dwarf Twili of any kind, but a child, a girl to be precise. The girl was dressed in a simple black tunic with a cloak much too large for her thrown over her shoulders casually. She had short red hair and distinct purple eyes.

"Kamy?!" Veiviser's eyes widened in recognition, joy, and disbelief.

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A/N: I'm going to be evil and leave it off here… I know this chapter's a lot shorter (and probably less exciting) than the ones I've been dishing out recently, but think of it as a transition chapter. This chapter marks a serious turning point where stuff will be happening in a rapid succession of events. What those events will be, well you'll just have to keep reading to find. In fact, the title of this chapter is a joke on the fact that a lot of this chapter is spent waiting and you're left waiting for the next chapter when you're done with this.

A final note before I sign off, my favorite paragraph to write in this entire chapter was Veiviser's thoughts. He's so much fun to write at times and it was fun to write down what was going on in his head.

I lied. The above wasn't the final note. This is xD. Reviews are great and they make me happy! Of course, you don't have to review, but those who do are gifted with crackers and cheese!

Twilight Phantom Dragon