A/N: I'm sorry this took so long. I've had driver's ed. daily and I've had a bout of bad anxiety and I haven't been in a good mood to write. And also diabetes issues. And I lost my girlfriend (please don't assume I'm a guy though...), who is also my editor/reviewer before I post. But I'm finally glad I got to the point in my plot where things started going uphill (maybe if a few of you just waited a little bit you would find out I do good things for these two and you wouldn't call me harsh or heartless). Sorry, I just. A lot of what I'm told (that I'm brutal, heartless, harsh) really gets to me and now just writing this story gives me stress. I do have a tendency to write darker themes. That's just me. If you don't like it, you don't have to read it.

Now, I like constructive criticism. Not just criticism. Anything that will help my writing improve, great, shoot. Like, for example, in ROAF, somebody suggested that my word choice was a bit too modern for the time period that the story is written in. That's great. That's the stuff I like. Not the "wow you're too harsh to these characters where's your heart". I do not tolerate that. Sorry.

Well, onto another chapter.


Link and Midna stood in the small balcony overhead the courtroom. Khina stood in the center of the room, turned towards the small jury, giving her testimony. The trials were different in arrangement than those in the light realm, but worked just as efficient. The head doctor was cuffed to a chair, a dead, stale, expression masking his face. Link sneered at him and held onto Midna tighter. In response, she only squeezed his hand in reassurance.

"I had heard him." Khina pointed at the doctor while facing the jury, looking into each and every one of their eyes. "He and the head councilman. He gave away confidential information that he is only supposed to share with his patient. His patient, our Queen, Midna. He gave away the information of her pregnancy to the man who was all against it, and willing to do anything to end it." She lowered her finger from the direction of the doctor. "That, that was his first action of treason," Khina hissed loud enough for the jury to hear.

The jury was comprised up of, luckily, the younger crowd of twili. As Link had witnessed before, they younger generation was rather opening. They were rather accepting compared to the older ages. Link had hope in them that the verdict would fall in their favor. And, he was quite confident that it would. Looking up from the court room floor, he saw in a parallel balcony the council. The day after the head councilman was put to death, Midna had dispersed the former parliament. Together, they chose the twelve new delegates from the twili they had met in previous days.

The new council got along with Link and Midna perfectly; hey were willing to accept new ideas. Their own ideas were for the better, anyways. And, they stood with Link, Midna, and Khina in the case that unfolded below them. Looking back down at the floor, Link watched Khina's movements closely.

She paced backwards, her faced cringed and tight. But, she whipped around, a confident glare in her eyes. "Do you know what else this man did?" Khina paused, glaring over at the doctor, whose tough look began to falter. "First, let me give you some background information. He and I, we are the only two doctors in the palace. He, having a higher rank than I, though I'm still a top-class physician. He and I are the only two allowed into the storage cabinet where we hold all the medicine."

"You know what I found missing? Several vials of hyfanephrine, drawn from the toxic plant known as hyfanis. It's a drug rarely used, except in certain circumstances, to terminate pregnancies early on. We've only used it on mothers who wish to not have a child, or if bearing a child is dangerous to them." Khina's lips sealed with the words on the last sentence. Her head dropped, but rose with watery eyes and quivering lips. "But you know who didn't want to lose their child? Queen Midna. She and King Link never approved of this. The doctor logged this medicine out of our supply, but did not list a specific patient."

"But I figured it out. By asking several guards around, I learned that this doctor had conspired with the head councilman. The doctor had pulled out a large enough dose of hyfanephrine which would end up terminating the Queen's expectancy by mixing it in her food, unknowingly to her, during the last traditional meeting of the King, Queen, and parliament." Khina clenched her fists by her sides while slowly speaking every word with a crisp hatred.

Taking a breath, her head tilted toward the ground. "Late that night, King Link came running to me. It was really late. Most other Twili were sleeping. He had told me there was something wrong with Midna. Immediately, I knew what it was." Sighing, she felt Link's gaze drift away from the back of her head.

Link had let go of Midna and retreated back in the balcony, leaving his wife to look back at him. He rested himself against the wall. Midna had noticed his skin turned a pale shade, and she sighed. She knew he felt bad about that night, despite it almost being a month since it happened. She knew he didn't want to hear about how he killed the head councilman. Midna knew that he felt guilty over that moment, although the man deserved what was given to him.

Walking away from the balcony's edge, Midna placed herself next to Link. "Wolfy, you don't have to listen. You can step out for a few minutes. I don't mind."

Raising his head, Link's previously distressed frown turned rather neutral. "You haven't called me that in a while."

Shrugging her shoulders and smirking, Midna grinned a little. "Well, things have been… stressful. I usually want to take things quite seriously when things are tight. It just makes me a little less worried about my kingdom, you see? And things are getting back on track now, and soon enough… we'll be able to make the most of our lives like we intended to."

With a small upward curve to his lips, Link nodded his head, returning his posture and standing straight up.

Turning her head, Midna picked up the last words of Khina's testimony before the overseer spoke. "Will the jury please step aside to reach a verdict; all testimonies and questionings have been concluded."

Grinning back at Link, Midna whispered, "Well, now they've finished that part. We can just wait here now. For the verdict. Although it's rather obvious."

Link nodded in agreement and returned to the edge of the balcony with Midna, watching below as the jury left their seats, going to a private room to discuss the evidence. Knowing that the discussion could take time, chairs had been brought in for Link and Midna.

Taking their rightful seats, Link looked over at Midna several times. She seemed so calm compared to him, she just stared out into the courtroom, her eyes tracing against the designs in the stone which made up the hall. Link, however, he could only admire her while he was internally wording something he'd been meaning to ask.

"Hey Mids," Link mumbled, slightly, looking over at Midna with a pout face and wide eyes. "Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot, wolf boy." Midna smirked, glancing over at Link while crossing her leg.

"I know it's only been around a month," Link softly spoke, his eyes looking away for a split second. "But when do you think we can try again? It's not like there's anybody wanting to stop us now. The only ones that wanted to stop up are dead and about to go to jail."

Midna chuckled for a small second and looked over at Link, whose face was covered in a red hue. "I was actually thinking we could try tonight. I think I'd be ready for it." Her eyes half lidded, she raised her brows at her husband, which only made his face even redder.

"Tonight?"

"Mhm." Midna leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. "And you have to top. Just this once."

"I've never done that before Mids," Link stuttered with his words. His eyes moved from up at Midna's eyes, down to his hands, and repeated the pattern continuously.

Midna only shrugged her shoulders and glanced at Link from the corner of her eye, a coy grin on her lips. "Well, Wolfy, you have to do it eventually. Usually, it's the other way around. But you don't top and I don't get it but ya know, we'll see to that later, wolf boy."

His mouth hanging slightly open, Link raised one brow and his lips formed a lopsided grin. He leaned in toward Midna to speak again, but in a much more private tone, until he was stopped by the reformed jury. They all walked in from the small room. The discussion over the verdict was rather short, it was said. The jury took their places back in their seats. Link and Midna stood from theirs and approached the edge of the balcony.

The doctor was dragged out to the center of the courtroom, a guard behind him gripping him by his handcuffs. Khina stood beside him, arms folded behind her back and a glare from the side of her eye directed toward the man next to her.

"May the jury proceed with the verdict," the judge stately spoke, crisp and loud enough for the whole court to hear.

The lead member of the jury stood, a paper in her hands. "Your honor, the defendant is found guilty of treason towards the King and Queen."

At instant, Link and Midna's faces lit up. They wrapped each other in their arms, Link buried his face into her shoulder while Midna rested hers atop his.

"And the punishment?" The judge continued.

"Public execution to be performed by the king."

At that moment, Link's eyes shot wide and he pulled himself away from Midna in a frantic step. He gripped the handrail of the balcony and steadied himself while he watched the many eyes in the court look up at him. Midna grabbed as his arm, while facing down at the court with a grin on her face. As soon as the court had their amusement, their eyes wandered off as the felon was dragged out of the court.

As soon as they weren't the focal point of the room, Midna dragged Link back into the balcony, resting him in the chairs that remained there. Across his face was a widespread panic. His eyes were wide and his skin was flushed. Midna took his hands in hers and looked at him dead in the eye.

"Link, I know you don't want to have to end somebody else's life…" she trailed off as her voice got softer. "But, this is law now. And think of it as the punishment for killing what would have been our son or daughter. And legally, it is. He has committed a crime against us that he cannot pay back. It wasn't money nor power. It was life. And he'll receive the punishment he deserves."

Taking a breath, Midna calmed herself for a second. "I know you didn't want to have to have to do any more of this business after Zant and Ganondorf were gone. I know it kinda messed you up. I know you kinda stress about it. I know that you won't admit to a few nightmares but I've seen your restless sleep. Link, just this once… and it's over. You won't have to do it again. On my word."

Taking several deep breaths, Link dipped his head slightly, acknowledging Midna's promise. As Midna stood and offered her hands to him, Link took them. As he stood, Midna pulled him tight to her, reaching her head down and pecked his forehead, leaving his face to redden as he stared up at her.

"You still get as red as a rose when I kiss you although we've done much worse by now." Midna smirked. "That's adorable, wolf boy."

With a blush spreading across his face, a small grin appeared on Link's lips as he wrapped his arm around Midna's waist as they exited from the small balcony.

"Ay wolfy," Midna whispered. "I feel like we should hold off on trying it again until we get this mess cleared up."

"Besides, I'm not feeling too great now," she continued on.


As the sols grew lighter, the "morning" hours of the twilit realm surfaced to the atmosphere. Midna took in a deep breath as she did her hair up over her robes. She watched in her mirror as Link slowly tied his gowns together. She saw the color drain from his face as the time grew near.

Staying silent, Link stepped across their room and grabbed the blade which took the former councilman's life, toying with the hilt in his hand before looking back at Midna. "We need to go."

Midna could only stare at Link's deadpan expression. With the rather antiqued attire, the tired look under his eyes, and his firm grip on the blade in his hand – he looked prepared, but also deeply uncertain. She only sighed and walked up to him, linking her arm with his and strode toward the execution hall. It hadn't been used in years. But, Midna heard from a distance that many Twili were showing up to see the public execution.

Entering the hall, Midna saw that center stage, the head doctor was chained by his hands to be stretched up while his feet were weighted to the ground. Link took a gulp at the sight. By what Midna had said, he would have to take the blade and cut open his abdomen, and then decapitate him once he had pleased enough on the man's suffering.

He just wanted to end the man's life. He didn't want to see his guts and the gore that was associated with his suffering. Link knew the blood that kept piling up on his hands wouldn't stop, even as much as he wanted it to, it never would. Ever.

Reaching the center of the room, Link stood behind the man who hung helplessly. Midna had to stand back. She wasn't the one deemed to be the executioner – she couldn't help. She only watched from afar as a guard spoke to her husband.

"Sir." The man in uniform approached Link. "We will begin in several minutes. Make sure the blade is cleansed and that you are prepared."

With a nod, Link turned away from the guard and began to pace in small circles. He felt many eyes and many stares burn into his skin. Maybe he wouldn't have been as bad if the execution wasn't public. As much as he hated the man who was soon to die, he couldn't bear to find it reasonable in his heart to publicly execute him.

A ringing in his ears drowned the masses of voices which flooded the execution hall. With a deep breath, Link tightened his grip on the hilt of his blade; his hearing returning in time to pick up that it was time to begin. Taking several strides to stand in front of the criminal, Link shot him a sneer before preparing the blade to swing across the man's stomach.

"Any last words?" Link hissed, his voice shaky from how nervous he was.

The twili's eyes flickered up at Link with a malicious glow. "Any child you have will be an abominable mutt." The force he used to speak splattered a small amount of his spit into the air.

Eyes widening at instant, Link's arm immediately jerked the blade across the twili's stomach; his insides spilling out before him. As Link took a step back from the bloody mess that splattered on the floor, the Twili cried out vociferously from the agonizing pain as his head dropped.

Link only stood a few steps back from the man. His eyes were wide, mouth gaping open; his stance was wide, skin was pale, and his left arm was stretched out – the blade dripping with blood pointed at the felon. With each breath, his body shook. But, the audience was dead silent. For once, Link heard his rough, hoarse breaths, as well as the whining from the dying twili.

"How long should I make you suffer?" Link seethed, furrowing his brows and clenching his jaw shut. He felt his muscles tighten as he became more agitated watching the twili play a grim chuckle.

"It will be a mutt…" the twili wheezed, unable to hold his head up. With a small cough, blood began to trickle out from his lips. Another sputter of blood and the twili grumbled almost inaudibly, "A god damn mutt and its light dwelling father…"

Baring his clenched teeth, Link lunged forward, taking his left arm across his chest, and then swung it forcefully back to its origin, forcing the blade to cut right through the twili's neck. His head fell to the ground with a thud.

Link stood still, his body still tense, eyes closed, while his heart raced. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes and took a few steps back, staring down at the pool of blood mixed with the twili's insides and his head. As soon as he lifted his head, the onlookers shouted and yelled.

Midna gazed around at the hall full on onlookers, her eyes wide with their excitement. And then she picked up on the chant that quickly spread across the crowd.

"Justice for the Queen! Justice for the King!" The chant was boomed by the many attenders of the execution.

Midna turned her head immediately toward Link, a grin wide on her face. However, he didn't catch her look. His eyes were fixed on the puddle of blood at his feet. He was unmoved. It was like the chanting around him didn't faze him.

Lifting her skirt a bit off the ground, Midna ran out to the platform where Link stood and approached him from behind. Quietly and quickly, she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into his neck. Underneath her, she felt him jump and grab at her hands.

"Midna!" he shrieked a little. He took her hands and lifted them from his shoulders, and then turned to face her. "What… what are you…doing…" His voice trailed off as soon as he recognized the words the onlookers repeated over.

Link turned and looked up at the audience. He saw most of them chanting. A grin began to grow on his face. Almost immediately, Link turned back to Midna and wrapped his arms around her. And, surprisingly to her, lifted her a few inches off the ground and met her lips with his. At the moment, neither Link nor Midna focused on their surroundings. It was a moment of ecstasy – the noise faded out and became a light static, and time felt like it had stopped.

As soon as they broke apart, the reality set in again. The noise returned and the sense of time continued. Once she was back on her feet, Midna took Link's right hand in her left, stood beside him and faced the crowd. With an affirmative grin, she lifted their conjoined arms up to the onlookers as symbol of victory. After lowering their hands, Link and Midna began to leave the hall, allowing the guards to clean up the mess of spilled blood.

A step had been made.


It had been a week since the execution. The council was in session. Link and Midna sat in their respective thrones as the parliament piled into their own desks. Once all twelve were present and seated, Link stood from his throne and approached the head councilwoman's desk.

"Sir Link, what's the matter?" the young twili asked.

"Do you recall the set of rules the former council had set in place a few months before their dispersal?" Link raised a brow, resting one of his hands on the woman's desk.

With a quick nod, the woman knitted her hands together in front of her. "Yes! In our first private session with just the council members we saw this and rid of them immediately. They were just too restricting on our King and Queen. And they would prevent an heir to the throne, which also wouldn't end well."

Eyes widening and a grin forming on his face, Link nodded his head. "Ah, thank you. It is well appreciated." And with a swift spin on the balls of his feet, Link returned back to his throne. After he was seated, the head councilwoman stood to start the session.

"Good morning to all!" The woman cheerfully greeted everybody in the room. "To start today's meeting, I would first like to inform the Queen and King of something that some citizens have noticed."

Scrunching her brows, Midna sat at the edge of her seat. She didn't have a clue as to what had been happening, and it concerned her, as she didn't want anything to go wrong with her kingdom. "What's going on?"

The delegate took a deep breath and exhaled. "Some citizens have been hinted to that the former council members, along with Zant's non-violent followers are creating a small group for themselves."

"We have all of his violent followers locked up, though, correct?" Midna raised her chin up, revealing her rather serious expression.
"Yes, your highness."

"Good. I could care less if this group is formed and they discuss their disagreements with our ruling," Midna sighed. "But, if they start to create actions out of this. Not rallying or protesting, but, rather, violent actions, they need to be sent to prison. Preferably the one on the lone floating island, with the rest of Zant's followers."

"We'll keep an eye on it, your highness." The councilwoman nodded. "And, one of our guards by the portal has received a message for you two from Princess Zelda of Hyrule."

Immediately after hearing the name, Link jumped to the end of his seat. "What did it say?"

"Her message did not give away what she needed to speak with you two about, but, she does request your presence as soon as possible. Apparently there are important matters she needs to speak with you two about."

Turning towards Midna, Link raised his brows. "When can we head out? If Zelda is asking us about something it's most likely serious."

Glancing over at Link, Midna blinked once. "We will head out the day after tomorrow. I must prepare things in my own palace before we leave the realm for a few days." Refocusing her attention back to the delegates before her, she calmly spoke. "When we're gone, please keep security high in the palace until it is confirmed we're back. I'm sure it will only be a day or two, but I don't want any infiltrations that could prove harmful."

With a nod, the councilwoman grinned. "Of course, your highness."

Midna smiled and crossed her legs. "Is this all we have to discuss today? Is there anything else of importance until next week?" When the councilwoman shook her head, Midna grinned enough to show her teeth. "Ah, good. You're all dismissed. Thank you for your time."

Almost in synch, all the council members stood and dipped their heads, and then proceeded to exit in an orderly fashion. Once they were all out of the hall, the door was closed and locked behind them, leaving Link and Midna alone in the room.

"Link," Midna whispered. "What was going on with Zelda before we left the realm? If she won't give away the information she needs us for before we get there, it's probably something of serious matter."

Taking a moment to think, Link shrugged his shoulders. "I know she was looking for a suitor. She was told she had to marry, and from what I remember Eric telling me… she wasn't exactly the happiest about finding a spouse."

"Well, she is rather an independent woman." Midna pointed out. "She probably knows her judgement is better than any spouse's that she could find."

"Zelda just wants the best for Hyrule," Link sighed. "But, if there is no 'king' figure, I'm afraid much of the public won't be so accepting. Men in castle town irk me so much. Bar fights everywhere, according to Telma. Screaming at their wives. Leaving their wives whilst in a drunken mess. They're rude and probably would downgrade Zelda with their harsh words."

"She wouldn't personally be bothered, but other people would be," Midna stated, resting her chin in her hand, looking over at Link. "And if she loses support that will be bad. If her support goes down, the citizens may not want the Twilight Portal to be accessible like she and I plan to make it. And if it's not accessible, we may lose contact with her. Which would also be bad. We'd lose a trading partner, too."

"I just… I hope everything's okay over there…" Link mumbled.

Lifting her head up, Midna's expression warmed up and became rather welcoming. "I assure you, Link, it will be. Hyrule will be just fine."

With a nod, Midna and Link stood from their thrones and exited the hall. As they made their typical way back to their own areas, Link reached for her hand and entangled his fingers with hers.

"Hey, Mids, can we go for a walk? Outside the castle?" Link looked over at her with his eyebrows raised.

Meeting her eyes with Link's, her lips formed an upward curve. "Sure, wolfy. Why not?"

Changing their path, Midna led them outside to the palace garden. Out in the garden, Link opened the small fence and the two let themselves out. Hands intertwined, Link led Midna along a worn path, stopping at a small pond.

Link stopped and stared at the water. It looked different that of Hyrule. It had a different glow to it, although it was the same in every other way. "The water looks like the sky in the hours of midnight," Link mumbled to Midna, catching her attention. "I remember when I was young and on my own, Rusl would check on me sometimes. And if I wasn't in my home, he knew I was at the spring, staring up at the sky. The stars were so pretty and the moon shone so brightly. It was a gorgeous scene."

Grinning wholeheartedly, Midna looked down at Link, tightening her hold on his hand. "So what did you want to talk to me about? I know you. You wouldn't do something like this unless you wanted to talk about something."

Looking up at Midna with what would be considered a puppy face, Link's face turned bright red. "Well I… uh…" Link swallowed and took a deep breath; his eyes flickered away for only a second. "I asked Khina if it would be possible to still have a baby after the miscarriage, because I know, for the people in Hyrule at least, it's really hard to and… and she told me that twili are different than Hylians. And she also said that because it was induced by the medicine that was given, that it wasn't natural, that it won't affect the chances of having a baby." His voice trailed off as he looked to the ground.

"Ah. So you want to try again?" Midna smirked, raising one brow. "Or do you just wanna… you know… play around?"

As soon as he heard the tone in her voice, Link's face filled completely with a rosy hue, his expression shaking a bit. "…Maybe," he softly spoke."

"Then, that's what you'll get, hehe." Midna tightened her grip on his hand and began to run off toward the palace, practically dragging Link behind her.