Chapter 7: Homecoming

Link is finally able to see Midna again, and this seems like the end of his problems... but the Gods think otherwise.

"Link...?"

Blue eyes met red ones. Her cloak flapped in the beginning wind.

The shock in Link's face was unmistakable. The agony in his eyes. His trembling hands.

What could either of them say, what could either of them do?

In her face, he distinguished, recollected and picked out her kindness and gentleness. Link saw sassiness, strength.

Under the light of the clouds, of the dawning day, Link felt a familiar tingle in his stomach

Under the light of the clouds, of the dawning day, Midna reached her hand out to touch his face, softly, and he leaned his cheek into her caress, wanting more. It felt so nice...

"LINK..." "I found you," Link muttered, mustering a small smile.

"How..."

He threw himself forward and hugged her tightly, like a child with their mother. They stood together, here in the beginning. But suddenly, Link began to go limp and collapsed in her arms, but Midna's grip on him was tight, didn't let him drop.

She looked down at him and found him looking up into her eyes, azure eyes almost surprising her. She'd forgotten how blue they were...

Midna cradled the boy, like the times he had to her as an imp. Emotion began to crease her eyebrows, taking over her shock and... relief. The emotion began to scare Link. 

"Oh, Link... No..."

Wait... what did she mean?

"You can't come back. I can never come back."

He began to shake and quiver even more, as she stroked his pointed ear softly. "Why, Link?"

"What?" Link gasped in disbelief.

"I destroyed the Mirror for a reason. So there would be no second Zant."

Link then began to realize... What exactly had he done? Just for himself? Well, it had been Midna too, but what of her kingdom? Well... no one said she had to leave it, but he'd imagined they'd go back adventuring in Hyrule. But... but... How selfish had that been! There was her kingdom, her life! What if she hadn't wanted to come back... And now... Evil could be stronger with the Mirror fixed.

But somewhere, deep down, he knew what he'd done... was right. Somehow, for some reason...

But before he could tell Midna this, four vessels of light rose from the floor, glowing... The... Gods?

As they shone and began to reshape into creatures, arms and tails grew out, and then there were four Gods, and Link felt small under their gaze. Did they come to hear to tell the two they approved? Or...

"O, Hero of Hyrule..." they began, and Link suddenly wondered why they had not addressed Midna to. Was it because she had no fault in this, or was it because they still held a grudge against Twilight, associating it with evil, and just refuse to say she was a hero also?

"Why did you fix the Mirror? Light and Twilight do not belong together... they are on one side of a coin, but not together. Together, it only spreads havoc and darkness."

Bewilderment struck Link. Then how were he and Midna able to be together in the past? That was Ganondorf and Zant's doing before they were together, and it's not like it got even worse.

He suddenly had the urge to be defiant.

"You know that nearly a year ago, YOU saved Hyrule. This world will weep under unbalance, chaos and destruction. Fix this. Return O Twilight Princess and never come back. There is no choice. If you do not, it will all end in tragedy."

Midna watched from beside Link, as he took his own stance, her ruby eyes afraid and shocked.

"That can't be right," Link frowned.

The world stiffened.

"If we could be together then, well, there's nothing wrong with it now. We're not trying to take control of Hyrule, or destroy anything," he tried to say, gesturing, but he began to feel guilty about the danger around the Mirror was making him reckless.

The Gods looked down at Link, and he felt the heat of their glare. "This is your final warning, or there will be loss."

And without warning or farewell, they broke into shards of light, and their fragments fell into the coming morning air.

The two stood there and tore their gaze from where the Gods once floated. They glanced at one another.

"Now what?" Midna whispered as if they were still listening, panic clear in her eyes.

"Midna... I..."

"Link... my KINGDOM..."

But... she was thinking about it. 

Oh, how she was thinking about it. 

In fact... she knew it was wrong... impossible...

But she had been... been PRAYING for something like this to happen. To finally see Link. Escape. She liked running her kingdom... she really did. But she'd love running it with... Link by her side.

But... everything was happening, so fast.

She just... appeared here. Almost as if it was her fate. Destiny. Was it? But there were so many questions! How did Link fix the Mirror? Didn't he know what he could cause? WHY?

Sure, she had her deputy who had vowed to her he would take over if she died, became ill, retired, needed a break, or just... left. LEFT.

Great! Now there was no way on the good green earth that she could say no.

She'd be leaving her kingdom again. But she'd be finding happiness. Midna knew she wasn't saying goodbye forever.

This would be an opportunity for her happiness...

Would they be okay? But most importantly... Link was in possible danger.

She was too afraid, if she left now, they'd break the Mirror once again... Hurt Link... She had to stay for now... make sure he was safe until she could... return back home.

The Mirror would be safe, and she had an army now. They'd beaten evil before, and they could again. No one even said if there would be more.

As she realized her heart had made her permanent decision but, she was trying to get her brain to ignore it, she tilted her head to the sky and sighed. But seeing the light, Hyrule sky again, seeing Link again, she got choked up. 

She turned away from him, hands clasped around her abdomen and she puffed a sigh yet again, now looking at the floor. 

Link bit his lip. This was not how he wanted their reunion to go. But... in the past, he never wanted to meet Midna, or rid the Twilight.

But, now she was here. 

And that thought alone made him smile.

In the much serious moment, he was trying not to smile thinking of him and Midna being in their partnership once again, but then he realized he was being selfish and he faced Midna again.

This... it was going by too fast. And wasn't this his fault? He hated to face it but... She was going to have to leave. But would she break the Mirror again? But something in Link's mind told him that wasn't an option. Then what was going to happen? Had he messed up too bad, this time?

His gaze stared at her, and she was still looking upwards, but then dipped her head back again. Link felt a mixture of emotions as he observed her wine red eyes were lamenting... tears filling them up. He was worried, sad and scared.

"Oh, Link," she suddenly jolted forward and held him in an extremely constricted and unyielding hug. It was the best feeling he'd ever had. He buried his face in his shoulder and held her, as shockingly... a tear fell on his shoulder and he realized she was crying. God, no. What had he done?

"I'm so... sorry... I-I had to go... I thought I'd... never see- see you again," she hiccuped uncharacteristically. How long had she been holding this back, he wondered and his heart ached.

He held her tighter, but much too soon she pulled away, and the air of September 1st blew over him, carrying the smallest hint of a chill. Link watched the princess's face carefully as she shamefully wiped a few tears away. She made eye contact with him, realizing he was staring, and to his relief, she smirked and rolled her ruby eyes.

"Link, I'm fine," Midna said in a cheeky note. But in a marginally liable mutter, she said- "Please stop staring."

The more sassy note calmed him, but his heart was aching more painfully then his body after defeating Ganondorf while watching the cobalt woman embarrsingly wipe her face. But there was so much grace there, that he'd never seen with anyone else.

After a moment's time, she looked back up at him and smiled at him, a true smile. He didn't know what to say. He stared, shocked, bewildered.

No longer making eye contact with him, she said, "Well, don't just stand there like a dolt, Mr. Endangered Hero! We have work to do."

A small noise escaped his throat, and she stood up like the Midna he knew. The weird noises he was making began to finally form into the words, the question he'd been meaning to ask.

"Wait- what work?"

She smiled once more. "We have to find a way to protect you." 

Link stared eyebrows eye. "Protect- me?" 

The princess scoffed. "I don't trust the Gods, and neither do you. They won't want you around, even if you were the Hero, with the way you spoke to them. They were defensive, obviously worried about... you realizing... something. Maybe the fact we know Light and Twilight are safe together. All light beings pretty much have a grudge on us Twilight beings."

His bright blue orbs started staring again, trying to take this all in... It wasn't easy. Holy crap, Midna was in front of him! But he could see her about to playfully insult him as he was blubbering again. He reminded himself to put his words together, and SPEAK. 

"Wait, so what do we do?"

Wait... wait, wait, wait... hold the metaphorical phone. Wait, what are phones?

Okay, does that mean Midna was... staying? At least for a... a while?

"I was thinking we could go talk to your Princess about it," she said jokingly. "Prince." 

Link frowned and blushed for the wrong reason. Little did ANYONE in the entire WORLD know, he wasn't... He wasn't in love with Zelda. There was so much gossip, it was awful. But, everyone in Ordona didn't believe it thankfully, but they did believe something ELSE. 

"Oh," he began, trying to make eye contact with the seemingly unwilling Twilit. But as he tried to he noticed there was something... strange in her eyes... something...

Umbrageous...?

Why was he thinking big words?

"Midna, I haven't seen Zelda since you left."

Midna's eyes widened, and for the first time in a minute or so, she made eye contact with him. "Wait, you HAVEN'T?"

He awkwardly shook his head.

"Link, what have you been doing?"

He frowned, eyes wide. "Uh, so should we go see Zelda then?" 

Midna shrugged, but she was still staring at him, suspiciously. "Uh, I guess so." 

But Link then remembered something. "Wait, how are we gonna-"

With a familiar hissing noise, imp Midna was grinning at him, a familiar one fang poking out. "Yeah, Zant was stupid. I can switch. Just recently learned it..."

She said and both of her visible eyes lowered to stare at something, and he followed them. 

"I believe you have my helmet?"

"Uh-" he began to stutter once again, and she took it from him, and stared at the broken mask, edging her fingers on the sharp marks, and he held his breath, willing her not to cut her minuscule fingers, as there was a strange look in her eyes. But she quickly put it on her head, and Link felt nostalgia overpower him. She hovered over to him, and laid her forehead on his, and smiled, tiny hands on his cheeks.

Link and Midna were back again.

Author's Note

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