Chapter 3

…Ad Interim
"…For the Meantime"

Zant's position had been that of a government official. The political structure of the Twili people was relatively simple, as they had a small population. Various islands of sorts floated throughout the realm, each governed by the leader of the head house that resided there. These leaders would meet at a regular basis every month, traveling to a different house, rotating through them all then starting back at the first. They would explain and discuss what had passed since their previous meeting to Zant, who would then organize and transfer the information to Midna, letting her make the necessary adjustments for her people's needs: food, water, supplies and the like. Letting Link take over Zant's position helped the Hero to be ingrained in the society, becoming close to each of the various houses and its inhabitants.

Midna sat in on the first few meetings, instructing Link on how to go about the formal proceedings and getting him to bond with the people. After a few months the Hero had mastered process and was able to conduct the affairs on his own.

Soon it would be a full year since they had arrived in the realm, Mirror shattered for good. The people had become quite close to Link, sometimes even forgetting the Hero was from the world of Light and not their own.

The weeks turned into months, and the days passed peacefully… for a time.

Everything seemed to move forward remarkably smooth… well, almost everything.

He was overdue by almost an entire day in transferring on the information to Midna regarding the status of her realm. It was unlike Link to be tardy. The Princess was concerned about him, and had good reason to be. In the past the Hero would go out of his way to make sure things were done on time, putting his needs second to that of others, but now…

Midna stood outside his chambers, announcing her presence.

"Link, may I enter?"

Silence.

"Link? Are you alright?" She asked troubled, he hadn't seemed like himself of late. Over the past two or so months the Hero was noticeably different somehow and it seemed he was trying to hide something. The Princess reached to place her hand on the glowing door. She respected the privacy of others for the most part, only ever disrupting it if her presence would benefit them. His lack of response disturbed her, but she decided to wait a second or so just in case. She was relieved when after a moment Link spoke.

"Yes, I'm fine. Please feel free to come in." She heard him shifting in the room. The door slid open at her touch. Link was sitting before the desk opposite the bed in his chamber. The robes the Hero wore looked uneven and the water basin by the door was near empty. The Princess figured he must have been drinking quite a lot of late.

The Twili walked to his bed. It looked as if he Link just gotten out of it and in addition to his messy robes, her reasoning was valid. She sat on the edge, the surface still warm from his presence. The Hero was focusing on what was before him, the glow of the wall illuminating the desk and its contents. He didn't look to Midna upon her arrival, unusual for him as the two always enjoyed the gaze of the other.

"How is it coming along? Anything the matter?" she asked, referring to the status of her kingdom. The Princess wanted to question his change and knew he was keeping something from her, but didn't know how to go about addressing the topic with him.

"Everything is well. Splendid actually," he responded almost stiffly, shuffling through the items on the desk, symbols of sorts for the various houses. Link still wrote dominantly in Hylian, but went to the effort of translating it to Twili to make it easier on others. Luckily the Twili script seemed to be vaguely similar to that of his native one, lessening the self-shouldered burden the Hero had put on himself.

They were silent for a while.

"Link, you know you can tell me if anything is wrong. Not just about the affairs of the kingdom. Your wellbeing is important too," she eventually spoke.

He was still at her words, seeming distant. After a short time Midna stood, contemplating leaving him to his business, but instead walked over to the Hero and stopped behind him. The Princess rested her hands on his shoulders. Link flinched at her unexpected touch. For a moment she considered pulling away, but kept her hands steady. He soon relaxed.

Neither of them spoke, or moved, simply being in silence together. Midna wondered if he'd fallen asleep sitting up, as she couldn't see his face. Nervously she leaned her head over the top of his, gently placing a kiss along the hairline of the Hero. He inhaled sharply and she quickly pulled away with his response, walking out of the room without looking back. Once the door closed behind her, Midna leaned her back against it.

She was flustered. Everything had gone so well in her realm these past months… Everything but the single matter of business that was most important to Midna. The Princess of Twilight shouldn't have gotten so worked up over something so trivial, but…

Their relationship had made it nowhere in the past year. In comparison with that, her move was far from trivial.

Midna hoped she hadn't made Link feel uncomfortable with what she had done and didn't yet know if she regretted her actions. Even though they'd been living at peace in the same world together for quite a time, the Princess still wasn't sure if what she did was right. She worried that he only wanted to be friends and nothing more.

She feared he wouldn't accept her love.

Link made sure to wait for a time after Midna left before he stood from his desk. He was shocked by her actions but quickly realized she was trying to make him feel better in a way. That or he was imagining things, and with everything on his mind, the latter didn't seem all that far-fetched.

After a few moments of standing in place and staring into nothing, the Hero shook his head to clear it and went over to his bed, siting down on the edge where the Princess had been previously. He reached under the pillow, slowly pulling out a folded piece of paper and proceeding to stare at it intently. After taking a deep and shaky breath, he opened it, looking at the familiar Hylian script his eyes had traveled across many times over the past couple of months.

Dear Link,

He began to read, tensing at the words he knew would come.

Know that your mother and I love you very much. By the time you are reading this, I will have joined her. Please don't grieve for us. We are so very sorry to put you through this, but there is something you must know…

Link stopped, the words too painful for him to continue as of now, so he proceeded to fold the letter closed once more. The Hero regretted not reading it earlier. Why he had waited until he and Midna had entered the Twilight Realm was something Link didn't fully understand. Maybe if he had summoned the courage to face the truth it held before he was separated from his home, then he might have had the chance to achieve his true meaning.

To keep the unspoken promise his parents had placed on him, fulfilling their one hidden wish.

The Hero sighed, pushing himself off the bed and walking to the corner of the room to look at the green tunic and accompanying gear that had been neatly organized, collecting dust from their lack of use. He gently slid the letter beneath the pile, hiding it once more, just as he had since the day he received it, not wanting to accept reality.

Link turned his back on his past; walking away as fragments of actuality so desperately clung to his mind, eating away at the Hero's sanity, knowing that he had failed.

Why was destiny such a heavy burden to bear?

It had been a few weeks since the Princess confronted Link about her concerns and taken their relationship one more step forward, if that was indeed the direction it had gone. Midna didn't know, as Link never made any indication for or against her actions. The Twili ruler could tell he hadn't been sleeping well, but she had only really taken note of it once he had tiredly conveyed the health of her kingdom to the Princess the day after she spoke with him about it. Midna at first thought that it was her sign of affection that drove Link to exhaustion, but soon realized it had been going on for far longer in the form of his distance from her. She was concerned that her actions might have made him worse in a way.

After paying closer attention, she noticed the appearance of the Hero was gaunt and the fatigue he tried so hard to hide was now painfully obvious. She had attempted to ask about his condition, but whenever she did so, he would reply with an excuse or change the subject, saying he was fine and to worry about more important things. It seemed no matter what she said, Midna couldn't get Link to tell her what had really been going on, as he would constantly dodge the question in one way or another. It was beginning to drive the Princess mad. She needed to know what was wrong, but didn't dare push him to tell her. She'd done enough of that on their journey together. Midna needed to back off and let him handle things the way he saw fit. He was an adult now, not the ignorant farm boy of the past.

Although she told herself that, the Princess found it to be a difficult task to let Link do as he pleased. It was this night she decided to take a walk through the palace. Midna couldn't sleep with her mind furiously occupied over the Hero's wellbeing and fear for his health. She knew he didn't want her to worry from the way he hid it, but her concern for him was a constant bother, and only ever increasing from the fact that he didn't wish to let her know.

Before she knew it, the feet of the Princess had carried her to Link's room.

She stopped in front the doorway, standing there in silence for some time, wondering just how she had managed to unconsciously make her way here. It took the Princess a moment to realize that the reason being was because she subconsciously planned on confronting him and forcing the truth out, whether Link liked it or not.

A weak smile crept up the face of the Princess. Old habits really do die hard.

It was at that moment Midna thought she heard a muffled shout through the stone before of her. The face of the Twili took on a serious expression once more. Troubled by the noise she set aside her respect for privacy, taking action to aid in stopping whatever caused the cry, and pressed her hand to the cool surface of the door. It glowed in response and slid aside a moment later. Midna inhaled sharply at what she saw.

The subtle aquamarine glow of the Twilight markings on the walls softly illuminated the room and provided a bright contrast to the eyes of the Hero who aggressively tossed and turned on his bed. His gaze settled on her ever so briefly and Midna gasped at the sight of his irises.

Link's eyes were no longer the sapphire blue of Hyrule that she had come to know over their journey: kind and soft to those he cared for but powerful and feral when they were in danger.

No, they were fiercely glowing the color of blood.

Link continued to writhe violently in his bed, arms flailing about and Twili robes falling from his upper body as he unconsciously attempted to tear them from himself.

At first Midna thought this whole event was simply part of a nightmare: his ferocious thrashing and eyes frightfully savage yet scarily familiar. She rushed to his side, grabbing his form and pulling it close to herself, ignoring the scratches and bruises she received from his nails and flying limbs.

"It's okay, it's all going to be okay," she mumbled to comfort him, but she knew that was far from the truth. After a moment he settled, his breathing still heavy, soulless eyes wide, seemingly looking through her and sending a chill deep into the very core of the Princess as she held his burning body kindly and concerned.

No matter how much she wished to deny it, Midna knew what was happening. The Princess hated herself for not taking action sooner when she had first noticed Link's distress, simply brushing it off when he told her to as to not disrespect the Hero like she had done in the world of Light. The Princess became lax from their time in the Twilight Realm together, but if nothing was done now…

Link would die.

A/N: The plot finally decided to make an appearance. (It was shy, that's all. XD) Sorry if my writing voice isn't entirely consistent throughout this story. I am trying my best to find a style that fits it. I'm used to writing one-shots, which have ended up varying a bit and an ongoing story is something I'm not used to. Anyway, from here on out it's going to get much more serious.