Disclaimer: I don´t own Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess.
Okay. I´m soo sorry. It took ages, but I did it!
I was busy with remaking the first chapters and everything else, but again: sorry!
Insane. certifiably I like Nuvra, too. So I guess she´ll be appearing in the future chapters.
The Final Lament I guess... I´m not a great writer, so bear with me. I try to improve (I rewrote the first 3 chapters). I think it´s quite difficult to not be OOC while explaining MIdna´s thoughts, because first pregnancy makes you change, Link made her change. My Midna is a different Midna as in the game, as she is an after-game-Midna.
Thank you for the information. I haven´t had a child, yet and my mum was only pregnant with me. So I don´t really have the experience^^ And Twili have different pregnancy patterns, or Midna is exaggerating... I think.
Ob3s3N1nja You´ll like this chapter as it focuses on Link´s PoV
LoveZeLink I´ll try to focus on Link´s depression a little more on this chapter. Perhaps you like it.
Ranyo Malight, meee, kharmachaos, linkxmidna1, Amber44, KishuGirl101, donttouchmykyota818, updater, crazyanimefreak15, Shadow Lordl, Fraya I´m reaally sorry for not updating to make up for it I tried to make it longer and here is it!
Chapter 7 Of Changes, Link and a little of books
Link PoV
I sat on the wooden bridge leading to the Ranch. My feet were dangling in the fresh, clean water. Epona was standing near the bank drinking. Both of us were enjoying the morning-sun's rays- not too hot nor too cold. The climate in Ordon was the best. For my taste Snow Peak was way too cold, while the Gerudo Desert was way too hot. At Zora's Domain it was too humid, while in Castle Town the air was stifling and on Death Mountain too dry and thin. Sweet Home Ordon was perfect.
The children were playing a game of tag and their laughter was soothing. As was Uli's lullaby she sang to her little baby-girl: Ruth. Ruth was a little bundle of joy. The smile of the little girl could make anyone smile. When I returned I was a little surprised and sad when I saw I wasn't there at her birth. Rusl, Uli, Colin and now Ruth were like my family. I was very happy when I heard that Uli was pregnant and was looking forward to holding my younger "sibling".
At the time I returned to Ordon I was really down, because... anyway. When Uli gave me Ruth my depression seemed to fly away when she smiled at me. The other kids then had come and began to surround me and when Ilia joined too, I couldn't help but imagine this was my family. My kids running around my wife smiling. But as soon as the picture manifested it changed. Instead of the blond and brownish hair the children had reddish hair and black symbols on their skin. Their eyes changed to the colour of the Twilight and worst of all: Instead of Ilia stood Midna.
I remember becoming dizzy and shocked calls of my name. But all I could see were Midna's eyes staring right into mine. Subconciously I squeezed Ruth and she began to cry this brought me out of my stupor. Uli took Ruth carefully back and began to soothe her.
Rusl had put a hand on my shoulder and said "Link, perhaps you should rest you look exhausted."
I had just nodded and had gone back to my house. But her eyes had followed me everywhere, even in my dreams.
Even now I could see her clearly before me. Her long hair and her eyes. I missed her. My eyes began to water and looked down to hide my tears. I didn't want anyone to know of my pain. It was too personal. The exception: Epona. She felt my depression and began rubbing her snout against my face.
It felt good. I could tell Epona everything and she would be always there for me. I even had the opportunity to understand her, when I was in my wolf-form, but transforming was a risk because it was very troublesome to turn back.
Epona continued rubbing against my face and it tickled."Stop it." I laughed and pushed her gently away. "Are you up for a ride?"
Her answer was a loud enthusiastic neigh. I interpreted it as a Yes!. So I stood up and dusted off my traditional Ordonian clothing. I had put the Hero's Tunic into the chest in my basement as it wasn't fit to be worn for daily activities. Wearing the tunic was set aside for saving Hyule not herding goats. But it was quite the change as the tunic was much more comfortable, warm, save, (better-looking) and of course much more special.
I got on Epona's back, kicked her sides and together we left Ordon Village and entered Faron Woods.
The Woods were a beautiful place: I had always loved the green and the little flowers poking through the sea of green. The air was clean and seemed to have a life and free will of its own and the forest animals had already begun their concert for anyone that resided in the forest.
I stopped at the Light Spirit's fountain and filled my bottle with the water. Epona stood at the bank and drank. So I decided to wait for her and plopped down into the grass next to her. I plugged a grass stalk and played a melody that just came to my mind. It was a slow melody that reminded me of something I just couldn't place my finger on. Where had I heard this melody again? I only needed three notes and there was no pause. The melody made me feel like I accomplished something like when I helped the Zoras out of the ice or when I brought the sols to the cursed Twili. It just made me feel good. Nearly as good as running through the fields as a wolf or howling...
That was it! I had learned this melody at the last Howling Stone. After that the Hero's Shade had taught me the Great Spin.
You have mastered numerous hidden skills and now house the spirit of the true hero. He had said to me.
It had made me proud and this melody that Midna and I called the Ballad of Twilight somehow just made me feel these feelings all over again. And then all of it came back. This short melody represented everything I had experienced on my quest and of course that also included Midna.
My breath hitched as I remember the feeling I had around Midna. How could she do this to me? How could she leave me? I loved her! Even now I did.
I stood up and screamed to the sky: "I thought you loved me, too! So why? How could you!"
I waited for a response but there was nothing, only silence, even the animals had stopped their concert. I took deep breath to calm myself and felt salty tears on my cheeks, but didn't care. There was no one around who would see me like this, except Epona, but she already knew.
Furious that I got no response I punched the closest tree. But that hurt more than it did any good so I slid down the trunk and my hand drew nearer to a secluded leather pouch on my belt. Inside was the black-orange transformation trigger. Without any second thought I slipped my hand into it and triggered the transformation: my bones and joints changed and repositioned themselves, my dark fur grew and my head got longer and turned into the head of a wolf, my senses improved and I felt good- although the transformation never was pleasant I kind of welcomed the feeling now, because of the result. Freedom.
I barked a short apology to Epona and took off. I felt better now. Pehaps it was because a wolf didn't have such a variety of emotions like humans or just because I just felt good as a wolf, as being a wolf had become my second nature.
I ran through the tunnel and then to Coro, the friendly latern-man. He was really nice even to my wolf form and I usually stopped at Coro's for a little stroke, but today I rushed by and exited the Faron Province through the gate I opened so long ago. Hyrule Field lay in front of me. It was a peaceful region with no to little monsters now. Therefore people dared to travel on Hyrule field. From Castle Town to Kakariko or from the Zora's Domain to Death Mountain. I could see some groups even today. In fact one seemed to head towards Ordon, the least visited province in whole Hyrule... except maybe the Gerudo Desert or Snow Peak, those were the really secluded areas.
Anyway, my curiousity was awakened and I ran towards the group, stealthily. There was no use for them to run away since I wanted to listen to their intentions. It was rare that someone would take interest in us Ordonians, because we were a totally new province to Hyrule and some regarded us as some kind of aliens. The group, as I could see now, was a little family with a cart pulled by a horse. The man was tall and had dark hair. His clothes were a dead give-away: merchant. He sat in the cart next to what I presumed was his wife. She had long wavy brown hair that was held back by a expensive looking hair-pin. She gently caressed her slightly bigger stomach. Pregnancy, her scent told me. Next to the horse a young man was walking. I guessed he was around my age. He stroked the horse while walking next to it and lead it to Ordon's direction. The family seemed happy as they talked, laughed and smiled together.
I wanted such a family, too. But Midna took all my changes of a happy family with her beyond the shattered mirror and therefore out of my reach. It wasn't fair! She knew I loved her! I knew she loved me! Why had it have to be so complicated? Why did she have to be a princess and I a meaningless goat-herder from another realm? I wanted her beside me so badly that it hurt. I wanted...
A neight of the horse yanked me out of my thoughts. The family had come closer, close enough for the horse to sense the wolf hiding in a distance.
"Ho! Calm down, Faras. There is nothing here to be afraid of. Calm down."The boy soothed the horse while gripping the reins tightly.
The pregnant woman held onto the armrest to not fall down because the cart jerked slightly: "Ezio, make the horse stop I'm getting dizzy. The baby... Ugh."
The boy, Ezio, nodded and doubled his efforts to calm Faras. But his efforts were in vain and the woman's face began to turn into a light shade of green. To ease her pain I got out of the horse's sensing radius to make the horse calm down. It worked and Faras stopped making the cart shake.
The family decided to take a break and the man helped his wife out of the cart. Ezio tied the horse to a tree near the little lake, a pond compared to Hylia Lake. This way the horse could recover from the journey by drinking the water and eating the grass. When all of them had settled I sneaked closer to listen to the family's conversation.
"... don't know, why he got scared. There should be nothing here to be afraid of. The guard in Castle Town had said so." Ezio told his mother who seemed worried.
"Yes, darling. He assured me that these horrible monsters will never come again, thanks to the Hero and the Princess." the man comforted.
"But how do they know, Branko. Perhaps there is one or two of these monsters still roaming in Hyrule, or perhaps they have come back." the woman pointed out.
"Chiara. I will not let anything harm you or the baby. Trust me and Ezio." Branko said while placing his hand on her shoulder, then he squeezed it a little.
"I know. But what if they come back. Will we be safe?" the woman now named as Chiara asked.
"That the other reason we are leaving Castle Town. I heard while the attack Ordon was the most peaceful place there was. Probably because it's the hero's home. So if anything like that will happen again we will be safest in Ordon." Ezio explained.
They wanted to move to Ordon? No way. It's so different from Castle Town. I thought while unconsciously creeping closer to the family.
"But what if something happens and the hero or anyone won't be there to stop the monster." Chiara stated with a worried voice while looking over to her husband.
"It won't happen."
Unfortunately just at that moment I stepped on a stupid branch which resulted in a loud crack. The family and the horse looked in my direction.
"A monster!" Chiara shriked and pointed at me.
The horse went wild again and struggled against the rope to escape.
"Do not worry mum. I'll take care of this!" Ezio exclaimed and took a bow from his back. Before I could blink he already had an arrow ready.
I cursed and took off towards Faron forest. I sped up as an arrow hit the ground next to me in my immediate proximity.
As I got near to the entrance I heard behind me the boy shouting behind me: "Monster! I won't let you get away." And then I felt pain in my shoulder blade. Lucky shot. An arrow had hit me and it stung like hell while running. So I mobilised my last strength for the dash into the safe forest.
When I felt safe I slowed down and dragged myself to the Light Spirit's fountain. I needed to change back and get the arrow out. It was a painful walk as with each step the arrow dug into my flesh. When I finally arrived I felt like collapsing.
"What happened to you?" Epona asked worried.
"It's just... an arrow. Nothing to... worry about." I answered while taking deep breathes.
"It's not nothing. But first we need you to go into the spring." Epona said while trotting next to me to the spring.
Sighing I sat down in the spring and waited for Faron to show up. When I first turned into a wolf, not knowing I counldn't easily change back. I was scared, but Faron told me that he could turn me back whenever I liked, because I helped him out.
"Hero, I see you sought me again. I will grant your wish to become once again human." Faron spoke and enfulged me with a blinding light. When everything was back to normal I sat in the shallow warm water with the arrow still in my shoulder. As I reached to pull it out I heard Epona protesting.
"Shut it. It's no use. Hasn't been the first time I needed to do this. This won't hurt a bit. Don't worry." I told Epona and with a powerful pull I pulled the arrow out. I couldn't suppress a grunt. I guess having done this before doesn't ease the pain.
Epona snorted and got behind me. "Get on."
I nodded and slowly mounted her. Epona got me slowly and carefully home where I could bandage the wound. Getting up the ladder wasn't easy with only one arm and for the nth I cursed this stupid ladder. It was so troublesome to get inside after an exhausting day. Sure I looked cool but it wasn't really convenient. Perhaps I should modify the house to be a little bit more practical.
At the moment I rested on my bed and dreamed of her. I couldn't stop it, when I was alone all I could think of was her. It was torture. So I got up and jumped down in order to go easy on my shoulder and lay down beside Epona. The sounds she made distracted me enough to fall asleep.
Midna PoV
Book, books everywhere books! My head was about to explode from information, but I had to read more to find a way back!
Link PoV
I awakened to the sound of hooves and feet clapping on the ground and the squeaking of the wheels of a cart. Groggily I sat up and winced at the pain in my shoulder. It had become sore from lying on the hard floor. It was late afternoon judging from the position of the sun. I stood up and went up to Epona to see what was making the noise.
Because of what I saw my eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. It was the family: Branko, Chiara, Ezio and Faras. I had totally forgotten that the family WANTED to come here. The family had taken their old positions: Mum and Dad on the Cart. Ezio next to Faras. When I saw Ezio I had to suppress a growl. How dare he shoot me? Faras was uneasy when he sensed me. He probably smelled the scent of the wolf they encountered today in the field.
When the woman saw me her face lit up. "Finally we are here. Goody afternoon. Is this the village of Ordon?"
I nodded.
"See, mother. It's just like I said. In the hunting club I was the best in reading maps." Ezio boasted.
"It's not like you could miss it. There is a only one path leading to Ordon." I muttered under my breath. We had closed the gate that lead deeper into the forest because of the children. There was still some traces of the poison gas left.
"Young man. Could you take us to the chief." Branko asked.
I nodded again and went to the village.
"Do you think he can't talk?" the woman whispered to her husband. I rolled my eyes and walked past Sera's Sundries, the shop of Ordon.
"Don't know perhaps they don't talk to strangers." Branko whispered back.
"Everything here looks so primitive. Houses out of trees and wood? Don't these people have dignity?" Ezio whispered to his father.
I stopped. Shooting me with an arrow was one thing, but insulting my family was another. Abruptly I turned around and looked him in the eye. "Actually we do. But you don't seem to have common sense. We are different than you, but not primitive. You want to live here then get over with it." I growled angrily.
This made them shut up. I knocked at Bo's door and waited. Ilia opened and I heard Ezio gasp behind me and whisper: "How beautiful."
"Link! I'm glad to see you! Where were you the whole day? I've been looking for you and Epona! You didn't do anything that hurt her did you?" Ilia got nearer and nearer with each sentence while pushing me back with her index-finger.
When she saw the family she stopped her tantrum and faced the family: "Oh sorry. I didn't see you there. I'm Ilia, the daughter of the Mayor."
"Good afternoon, Ilia. My name is Ezio and this is my dad Branko and my mum Chiara." Ezio introduced his family. "Oh and this is Faras, our horse." I could see Ilia face light up as the horse was mentioned. Horse-Maniac.
"Actually we wanted to speak to the village chief." Branko said.
"I'll get my father." Ilia said sweetky as she entered the house again. I could hear her shouting at her dad. "Dad get out of your sumo-outfit. We got visitors!"
I chuckled at their antics. Ezio came up to me.
"So who is Epona?", Ezio asked me.
"Epona is my horse. Why?" I asked him with a cold glare.
"Pah. Can't take care of your own horse?" Ezio spat.
"I can. Ilia is just overprotective of her. I would do a better job than you." I countered.
"What about a race? In the evening? To see who has the better horse." Ezio asked. "In the hunting club I was the best in horse races."
"I don't need a stupid race to know who has the better horse. Your horse better than Epona? Dream on!" I laughed. Epona and I have been through so much. I thought of the countless encounters we had with King Bublin. I doubted there would be any better horse in Hyrule. She had so much stamina and was fast.
"You chicken! Afraid of losing?" Ezio smirked.
"No. I don't need to prove myself to a hunting-club-kid." I said and stepped away from the door as I heard Ilia and Bo coming back. The door hit Ezio on the head and I had to suppress a loud laugh. Out came a light chuckling.
"Oh godesses. I'm so sorry." Ilia comforted Ezio and made me shut up with a glare.
"It's nothing." Ezio said. Such a brave kid I thought sarcastically.
"Good afternoon. I'm sorry for the wait. I'm Bo the Mayor of our humble village. What can I do for you?" Bo asked.
"My name is Branko, I'm a merchant. This is my son Ezio, he is talented with hunting. Because the pregnancy of my wife, Chiara, we thought to move to a more peaceful and safer place to live. We decided that Ordon would be the best choice, because the Hero lives here and it not as populated as Castle Town." Branko explained.
Bo nodded and glanced at me. "Oh, yes. I understand. Ordon is a perfect home for a little child. But where will you stay?"
"Perhaps we could stay at an inn for the time being. We will pay anyone willing to help us build our own house." Branko stated.
"Ordon isn't a much frequented place. Therefore guests usually stay at one of the villager's homes." Bo crossed his arms, glanced at Ezio who threw looks at Ilia. Shook his head and looked at me. No way! I thought.
"You could stay at Link's. His basement is quite spacious." Bo stated.
"But it's really dark in there and all of my stuff is in there." I added.
"The darkness won't be a problem we could light some torches. If you would be so kind to move you stuff." Branko stated.
"That's great. Link you can put your stuff in my backroom." Bo interrupted my objection and put an arm onto my shoulder.
I winced at the unexpected pain. And of course Ilia noticed it. "Link you are hurt!" I exclaimed and hurried to my side. "Sit down." she ordered and took of the shoulder part of my Ordonian tunic. Then she saw the bloodied bandages.
When she wanted to take them off I slapped her hand away. "It's nothing."
"It was probably the monster, we saw." Chiara stated looking afraid.
"There aren't monsters in Hyrule anymore." Bo disagreed.
"My mum is right. On our way here we saw a wolf." Ezio said.
This, of course, got Bo's interest. "A wolf. What did it look like?"
"Mostly grey-black, from what I could see."
"It's that wolf again, dad. The one Hanch saw when we weren't in town. The one that stole the shield and the sword, right?" Ilia exclaimed while standing up. I put my tunic back to place.
"Stealing our stuff is acceptable but hurting people... We cannot let this monster do what it wants to do anymore." Bo said.
"I already hit it with an arrow. It's weakened. So we should hunt it down." Ezio decided.
"I don't think you should go hunt the wolf. You will never find him." I scoffed. "And he is strong even with an inju..."
"You shut up, Link! You are already hurt. Come I take you home, let them handle the hunt." Ilia ordered.
"But..."
"No buts! Come, let's go." Ilia ordered with a stern look. So I went home and let Bo, Branko and Ezio plan the hunt for... me. Troublesome.
Wow! I did it! A long chapter! And a update! I hope you liked it!