Chapter 21: A Brighter Future
"Midna... Midna..."
The Twili's brow creased as someone shook her. "Link... shut up," she moaned, "It's not even morning yet."
Midna heard an amused chuckle, adding to her annoyance. Grudgingly, she opened her eyes a crack. Though the narrow slit she saw Link grinning down at her, his face glowing in the warm light of a fire. Behind him however she could only see pitch black. It took her a few moments but eventually the recent events came flooding back to her.
"What happened?" she asked, struggling to sit up before Link assisted her. "Where's Zelda?"
"I am here, Midna," said a soft voice. Midna turned to find the light princess kneeling beside her, lips shaped in a soft smile.
Midna looked around and noticed that they were still in the Well of the Accursed. "What happened to Demise?" she asked, recalling the terrible battle against the monster. The last thing she could remember was feeling a tremendous amount of pain and then nothing.
Link grinned, his teeth sparking white in the torchlight. "He's gone, got sucked up by the Well after we beat him. Fi says there's no way he's coming back."
Midna looked at him, wanting to be sure that she heard him right. "Are you serious? How did you do it? That guy was creaming us."
"Apparently Zelda helped out," he said, glancing at the princess in question. "She did something that made me feel strong again and powered up my sword. We definitely would have died if she hadn't."
Zelda shifted uncomfortably and cleared her throat. "I cannot explain it but I wanted to do something to help you both and suddenly I knew what was needed to be done. Now could one of you please tell me what in the world is going on? Where are we? Why was Hyrule Castle attacked? Link where have you been? And Midna, how are you here? I thought you destroyed the only path between our worlds. Aren't you supposed to be with your people?"
The couple looked at each other uncertainly then turned to their friend. "I'm sorry Zelda," Link began. "I wish we could answer all your questions but we're not allowed to. I promise that we'll tell you everything that we can though."
"Can we get out of here first?" Midna suggested. "This place gives me the creeps."
Zelda sighed exasperatedly then consented. "How are you feeling?" Link asked her. "Are you alright to walk? It's a long way to the exit."
The Hyrulean princess nodded at him. "I will be fine. It is strange though, somehow I feel stronger than I have ever been in my life."
"Well that's good," Link grinned, "because I don't think I'll be able to carry two beautiful girls out at the same time."
"Even if you had to, there's no way in hell that you'd leave me down here on my own," Midna commented. "I don't care if it is Zelda, if you take her first then that fight we just had will be nothing compared to what I'd do to you."
The ascent was harder than when they came down. Not only was the trek uphill but they were all weary, physically and mentally, from their previous ordeal. They heard no sinister whispering on their way, which Link was grateful for. After what felt like hours, the trio reached out of the exit. The sun lit up the sky as it began to rise above the horizon, marking the dawn of a new day.
The battle between the Peacekeepers and the Demon's Flames still raged on. A few cultists noticed movement coming from the cave entrance and pointed. They panicked that none of the three were their leader or anyone who remotely described the great Demise. More of the orange army discovered the Hero had survived with the spirit maiden standing next to him. Some dropped their weapons and surrendered. Some decided to run. Others continued to fight and were cut down without the support of their fellows. Very quickly the conflict tilted in favor of the Peacekeepers as the enemy forces scattered and fell.
"Link! Midna!" someone called out. They followed the voices to see Callum and Groose running up from different points of the battlefield. Both were splattered with blood and appeared as though they had not slept in days.
When Hero's father reached them there was no disguising the amazement and pride in his eyes. He took one look at Zelda then Midna and finally Link. Callum smiled broadly and pulled his son into a tight embrace. Link jumped a little from the spontaneous action.
"You did it," Callum whispered in his ear. "You actually did it."
Link felt his mouth twist into a smile and returned the hug. "Thanks for messing up my tunic. Do you have any idea what I have to do to get bloodstains out of this thing?" he joked.
Zelda stared at them, completely confused as to why two grown men would do such a thing. Midna leaned over and whispered something to her and the ruler of Hyrule gasped in comprehension. She looked over to the burly warrior standing to the side, noting that he was staring at her with a face as red as a beetroot. He attempted to say something but no words came out of his gaping mouth. Zelda giggled at him which made Groose blush more.
Callum released Link and turned to Zelda. "Princess Zelda, my name is Callum. I understand that you may have a lot of questions and are anxious to get home."
"I do and I am," she nodded. "It is an honor to meet the father of the Hero of Light." Zelda gave her a quick curtsy, much to the Peacekeeper's surprise.
"Well, never had that before, believe it or not," he said quietly. "Ordinarily our people are a secretive sort and we don't openly share information with others, not even royalty. However, given the circumstances I suppose you deserve some answers."
Zelda smiled politely. "That would be greatly appreciated, thank you."
As the remainder of the Peacekeeper army rounded up the cultists who surrendered and fled, Link and his friends sat down with Zelda and explained as much of their story as they necessary. The told her about the Order, about Brandon and Ghirahim's plan, about the Mirrors of Twilight, about Link and Midna becoming Peacekeepers and leaving their old lives behind, and about Zelda's role as the child of the goddess Hylia. All the while the princess listened in silence, only speaking to ask a question or to confirm that she understood something. After all was said, Zelda sighed then looked at her two friends.
"I cannot believe what you two have been through. It would seem that the Chosen Hero's role goes beyond the needs of Hyrule. I am glad that the two of you were able to find each other again and I am happy for your relationship." She turned to Callum. "I will respect your people's need for secrecy and I promise never to divulge any of what you have just told me."
The bearded man nodded his thanks. "I appreciate it, Your Highness." He gazed at the sun and how high it had risen. "Perhaps it is about time that we returned you safely to Hyrule. I will arrange an escort for you."
"Thank you," Zelda said.
Groose finally found his tongue and grinned at Link and Midna. "Well looks like we saved the world. Was that Demise guy really as powerful as you said?"
"Believe me, we sugar-coated a lot of it." Midna replied wearily. "I never want to go through that again if I can help it."
Link wrapped an arm around her waist. "I'm just glad we won in the end because now I can enjoy this." He leaned in towards Midna and planted his lips on hers in a long kiss.
Three months later...
The hinges squeaked loudly as the heavy door opened. Link shielded his sensitive eyes from the harsh light that poured into the small, dark prison cell. Keeping a hand in front of his face, he slowly got up from where he sat and approached the outside world. It took a few minutes or so for his vision to adjust after months of living in a pitch-black room. It felt great to finally stretch his legs, which had become stiff and sore from inactivity. His jailer said nothing as he led Link through various corridors. After a short while they entered a small room where someone was waiting to meet them.
"Peacekeeper Link, you're three months of solitary confinement are at an end. Have you repented for your crimes?" a familiar voice asked in a joking manner. Link grinned as he recognized Callum, though he still found it difficult to see clearly.
"Yes sir," he played along. "I am very sorry for what I have done. I will never do it again."
"Very well, in that case you are free to go." Callum gave a short laugh then placed a hand on the recently incarcerated Hero's shoulder. "It's good to have you back, son."
Link was starting to make out the toothy smile on the man's face. "It's good to be back. Is Midna out yet?" For committing treason against the Peacekeeper Order to save Callum's life, Link, Midna and Groose had all been sentenced to the same long punishment. The sentence was more trying than Link had expected. Spending so long in the dark and in complete isolation had taken its toll on his mind, though it was nothing he thought a week's worth of rest could not fix.
The senior Peacekeeper nodded. "If you're feeling up to it, I'll take you to see her." Link gave him a look to say that it was a ridiculous suggestion, of course he wanted to see her.
"What's been happening while I was in the slammer?" the Hero asked as they walked together. He had heard no news at all since his confinement so he was eager to know what he may have missed.
"Nothing major, a few riots flaring up in a few coastal cities, small civil war in the Twilight Realm between King Eddard and a group who supported Zant, a plague broke out in a kingdom overseas, can't pronounce the name of the place though. We lost a good number of agents in the battle against the Demon's Flames so we've spent a lot of the time since then recruiting. It's a slow process but we'll recover."
"And what about the Flames?" Link said. "Are they still a problem?"
"No. We tracked down most of the ones that fled and many of them had promised that they would stay out of trouble. We've given some the benefit of a doubt but we're keeping our eyes on them. A number of the other cultists are wanted for previous offences so we arranged for them to be arrested by the local law enforcement of wherever they went to hide. I think that the whole lot of them realize that their leaders are both dead, Demise is never coming back and the cult's done for good. We're not likely to have any trouble from them from now on."
"That's good to hear." The two men exited the building. Fortunately there was a cloudy overcast above them so the sun was not too bright for Link. He did not care about the sky though as his attention was focused fully on the beautiful Twili woman standing at a distance in front of him. A grin flashed on her lips as she began walking closer, building up to a brisk run, and threw her arms around him.
"Did you miss me?" he asked when they ended their kiss.
Midna smirked at him mischievously. "No. I spent the last three months being pampered day and night by incredibly hot servants. You completely slipped my mind. What was your name again?"
Link shook his head. "You're such a tease."
Midna's fingers reached up and stroked the growth of beard covering Link's face. "You've gotten hairy," she grinned. "I think it's time for a shave." He chuckled, rubbing his scratchy whiskers. Then Link felt a big hand clap him firmly on his shoulder from behind.
"Well you're a sight for so eyes." The Hero of Light turned around to see his burly friend.
"Looks like you could use some time in the sun," Link said, commenting on Groose's pale complexion and noting the crimson hair that had grown on his face..
Groose laughed. "So could you. Hey, I got something for you." He pulled of a sword still in its sheath off of his back and handed it to Link. The hilt was purple with an orange gem in the guard.
"Thought I'd grab your sword for you after I got out," Groose explained. Link took the weapon in his hands and held it up in the light. He called out mentally to Fi but nothing happened. Confused, Link tried again with no more success than the first time. Then...
"Master." Link swore out of surprise and spun around to see the spirit of the sword. "I apologize for my delayed response as well as for startling you."
A mechanical noise grew louder as Scrapper flew up behind Fi, making puffing sounds though he was incapable of breathing. "Next time could you give some warning before you dash off like that, zzzzt?"
"Forgive me for my lateness, Master Link," Fi proceeded. "During your imprisonment I spent our time apart in Scrapper's company. I was not within close proximity when I heard you summoning me." Midna smiled knowingly in the spirit's direction then turned to Link.
"So Mister Big Hero, what are you going to do now with your new-found freedom?"
In response, Link pulled her close and grinned broadly. "Well, we still have six months left before we can go on missions again so I'm going to use the time for some catching up."
Midna giggled. "And then it's back to business as usual? Getting ready to save the world from another crisis?"
"Would you rather have it any other way?" he asked.
She pretended to think about it then smirked with her trademark grin. "Not in a million years."
And... done! I hope you enjoyed The Peacekeepers. It was a pleasure to write and an even greater pleasure to receive feedback on. Thank you.