literature

The Hour of Twilight-Chapter 1

Deviation Actions

PrincessTwili's avatar
Published:
1.8K Views

Literature Text

Chapter 1-Come, Robin! To the Twilight!

“The princess is back!” They called, each spreading the news from one to another. “Zant is gone, Ganondorf dead!” A chorus of cheers rose from the crowd of Twili as I walked numbly to the throne.
Home.
I was finally home, a place I had wished to return since Zant had cursed me, so why did I regret it? Why did I wish to be back in the world of Light? Why did I so bitterly hate myself for shattering the Mirror?
I had asked myself this since my return journey, tried to convince myself that this was where I belonged, as Twilight Princess, princess of my people.
Why did I miss him so much?
I couldn’t close my eyes, couldn’t sleep, for every time I did, his surprised and heartbroken expression flashed beneath my lids. The expression that he had wore when he realized that he would never see me again, would never have a sassy imp sitting on his back or a human Twili at his side. I remembered how his crystalline, ice-blue eyes had been shining with tears, as I pushed my own at the Mirror, cracking it to the point of no return.
“Princess?” A voice yanked my from my reverie. I looked over, to find one of my advisors at my side. “Would you like to go to your room? I am sure that you are tired after such a long journey. The people are heartened to know that they have such a brave and dedicated ruler, the lengths that you went to…” His words faded from my ears as I stumbled dazedly to my room, collapsing on the bed and sobbing.
“Link…” I whispered again and again, putting all of my love and sadness into the word. I could imagine where he was now, at Ordon, probably rounding up goats or playing with the village children, maybe even talking to Ilia. That particular thought made me furious every time I though about it; Link deserved someone better than her, who had lost her memory and not even remembered him for awhile. Then he saved her and she gives him nothing more than a horse charm and her “love”. Stupid village girl, stupid, stupid girl. I thought angrily, punching the metallic walls of my room. They rippled and gave for a moment, then flowed back into their original position.
I looked up at the tapestry hanging on the opposite wall of my room, a picture of one of the most memorable battles in our history.
It was a weaving of Ganondorf commanding an army of shadow creatures, pointing at a brightness on the horizon. That point of light was the Chosen Hero, coming to meet Ganon and his army, alone with nothing but a sword. What happened next--as I had been educated--was that he had tried to make peace with Ganondorf, but was struck down. The Goddesses had used the moment before he was destroyed to grant him their power, and with it he arose, again trying to make peace.
Ganondorf had refused, and so they had fought. The Chosen Hero had killed all but Ganon single-handedly, and then had engaged in mortal combat with his enemy. He struck down Ganondorf again and again until his strength was almost depleted. The Chosen Hero had raised his sword above his head, almost killing him, but he hesitated. Seizing his chance, Ganon jumped up and attacked him, stabbing him in the chest. The Chosen Hero had collapsed to his knees, and--in the split second before he passed into the realm of the Goddesses--Ganondorf had stolen his power.
With the Triforce now resting on his own hand, he had proceeded to take over the world with Shadow, not Twilight, as many had believed.
Twilight was, and is, darkness and light, good and evil. Night, or Shadow, is inky darkness, with not a spark of hope or light.
“Link…” I moaned again, burying my face in the pillow. “I’m sorry, so sorry. I love you.” I whispered, feeling tears roll down my cheeks. I regretted everything that I hadn’t said to him, including the fondness I had grown to posses over our journeys.
Slowly I fell into sleep, though it was troubled. My dreams were filled with the one I love, in both of his forms, of the Chosen Hero that had been reborn over the generations, each one failing to kill Ganondorf. But this one had. This was the one that I had met and helped, and this was the one that had prevailed.
Link.
~Link~
I leaned low over Epona, urging her to go faster, to take me away from Zelda, from the shattered Mirror. She had left me, she had let one single tear show, and then she had gone, back to her home. I didn’t know if I was happy or not. If Midna was happy, then of course I was as well, but I wished that I could have joined her. I could have stopped her. I could have grabbed her arm or jumped into the portal with her, or at least told her that I loved her. Anything. I thought furiously, jumping off Epona as she blew to a halt in front of the forest. “Thanks, girl.” I said softly, stroking her muzzle. I couldn’t bear to go back to Ordon, to see Ilia again and be begged to recount my story by the village children.
I couldn’t bear to talk about Midna again, to pretend that I barely knew her, that we were simply acquaintances. Beth would probably want to know if I had fallen in love with Princess Zelda or something, and I wouldn’t be able to say “No, I fell in love with Princess Midna.” But then again, I wouldn’t be able to stand saying “Yes.”
I walked aimlessly, until I found myself next to a river. I stared into it for a second, and was extremely surprised to see Midna, crying. She was laying on a black bed, in a room with shimmering, jet-black walls, not unlike the wall of Twilight I had encountered before. There was a tapestry on one wall of a scene I couldn’t recognize, and two swords crossed over each other with a shield in between on the opposite wall, bearing the royal family Crest.
Midna sobbed, and turned over.
I gasped when I saw her face, for it was beautiful even when it was covered in tears. She sobbed again, then went quiet, rolling over again and staring at the tapestry.
“Link…” Midna whispered, and then darkness covered the reflection. Angry , I slapped the water, but nothing happened. I tried walking away, and then walking back and staring into it again, but that didn’t work either.
I’m going to see you again, my Midna. I thought. I will get to you if it kills me.
“Come on, Epona. We’re going back to Ordon.” I called to my horse, who flared her nostrils and whinnied.
I figured that if I spent a week or so in Ordon, it would be acceptable to leave again. I was planning to go to Zelda and ask her if there was any way to get back to the Twilight realm. If there was, I would go to whatever lengths to reach it, and if she was absolutely sure that there wasn’t…I didn’t know if life was worth living without hope.
We reached Ordon soon enough, but I couldn’t help but think that it would be so much faster if Midna were here with her ability to warp. My breath hitched in my throat when I thought of this, of Midna. I steeled myself and rode into my home, a home that didn’t feel like it used to. Nothing was the same anymore.
“Link!” Ilia screamed, running up to me and hugging me as soon as I got off Epona. I stiffened for a moment, then hugged her back, trying to make it as friendly and non-romantic as possible.
“Link! Where’ve you been, huh? You find any more monkeys?” Talo asked, referring to the monkey that had gotten him into so much trouble, and that had eventually led me to the Forest Temple, where I had found the first Fused Shadow for Midna.
“I’ll tell you all later.” I said, smiling at him and all the other children, who were staring up at me in awe. Ilia laughed, then turned to me with a sly grin.
“Come on. Let’s go to the spring; we can talk privately there.” She said flirtatiously, then took my hand and pulled me into Ordon Woods. I allowed her, but there was a storm of emotions inside. Part of me, however small, wanted to pretend that I liked her too, so that I wouldn’t hurt her feelings. The considerably larger part of me wanted to yank my hand out of hers and say that my heart belongs to Midna and only Midna, and that she had best move on.
We got to the Ordon Spring, and Ilia sat down on a rock, bringing me down next to her.
“I’ve missed you so much.” She said quietly.
“It’s only been a month or two since we last saw each other.” I said indifferently, referring to when I had gotten her memory back for her.
“It seems like years.” She said, with a little too much emotion for my taste. “Link?”
“Yes?” I was wary of what she wanted to say to me.
“Can I tell you something?”
“Sure.” Ilia took a deep breath, then looked down, doing a good imitation of shyness, though I knew her too well to think that she really was being timid.
“…I love you, Link. I’ve loved you since we were thirteen.”
“Ilia, listen to me.” I said after a pause. “I love you, too. You’re my best friend, and I love you like a sister. You’ve always been like family to me, but I don’t love you like…that.”
“Why not?” Ilia asked indignantly.
“Because you are like family! That would be weird, and besides…” I trailed off.
“Besides what? What is it?” She was angry now.
“I already love someone.”
“Who?! Who can you love more than a girl you’ve known for sixteen years?!”
“How many times must I tell you? Because that girl that I have known almost all my life might as well be my sibling. Midna, on the other hand…” I trailed off again, lost in my thoughts about her.
I had to get to the Twilight.
“What’s so special about Midna? I’ll bet that she’s a forked tongued snake.” Ilia said scathingly.
“Don’t you dare talk about her that way. She gave up everything for the safety of our world and her people. Besides, you don’t even know her.” I snapped back. Ilia’s eyes narrowed, and then she got up and stalked out of the spring. I put my head in my hands when she was gone. “Ordona?” I asked the spirit of the spring, my voice muffled by my hands.
“Yes?” She asked in a light, feathery voice.
“Is there a way to get back to the Twilight?”
“I know why it is you ask, Link. I must only warn you to be careful: love can make your feet go in a completely different direction than you wish them to, sometimes away from those that would bring you greatest happiness.” I pondered her words for a moment, trying to contain the mounting excitement I felt inside. So there was a way back in!
“I understand. What must I do?” I asked, barely keeping my voice from quivering.
“Go to the princess of Hyrule. She will aid you from there.” Ordona was talking about Zelda, the one who had helped me in defeating Ganondorf in his third form, the Rider, by using her Light Arrows.
I nodded, already making plans.

The seventh day of my return to Ordon, I packed up, planning to leave early in the morning. I had warned the village already that I would be leaving, and most of them had reluctantly accepted it.
Except Ilia, of course. Through her, the already hesitant children were begging me not to leave, but Beth and Colin shut up when I said “I’m going to rescue my true love.” They were both big enough fans of fairy tales that they now thought that I was even more noble than before, which was fine with me. Both were still reluctant for me to go, but now they just wanted to come with me, as opposed to simply not wanting me to leave them. Talo, Malo, and Ilia were bigger problems, as Talo and Malo thought that I left enough times already, and Ilia was just plain angry at me.
“Why can’t you just be happy, Link?!” She asked me furiously. “Why can’t you learn to live with what you’ve got?” I was on my last nerve, between worrying about Midna and Ilia snapping at me every time she saw me.
“Because I know that there’s more! I love her Ilia, and not like I love you. I have told you that, and my thoughts are not going to change.”
“But--” She took a breath to begin ranting at me for the sixth time, but I cut her off.
“You don’t know! You have no idea what she means to me! I swore to myself that I would get her back, and I’m going to uphold that promise!” I roared, angrily strapping my pack to my back. Then, in a slightly softer tone, “I need to go, Ilia. It’s not a choice.” Ilia looked like she wanted to punch me, but I turned and walked off.
Within days, I was within view of the castle, and excitement sped my feet up. I got there in about a half-hour, but then came the problem of getting Zelda’s attention. I asked the guards when she would be available, and they said hours at least. Discouraged, I asked them if they would ask her, and they agreed, one muttering to himself “Never works. Idiots think that they’re famous, the Chosen Hero or something. Ha! I wish I could tell my kids that…” His words trailed off as he entered the throne room. A second later, Zelda’s voice rang out.
“What in Hyrule are you waiting for?! Let him in, let him in!” Thankfully not questioning her orders, the soldiers bustled out and shepherded me in. “Link! What brings you here?” Zelda asked when I was in and everyone else was out.
“Princess--” I began to say, but Zelda held up a hand.
“Please, Zelda. You bow to none but the Goddesses.” She said serenely. I nodded my thanks.
“Zelda, I have asked Ordona about this, so I know it to be true, and she hinted that you knew more of…of getting back into the Twilight.” Zelda raised her eyebrows, but otherwise didn’t question my motives
“I do. I must ask, though, before I tell you. Are you sure that this is the correct path? Think carefully before answering, Hero.” I nodded and did my best to ponder her words, but my thoughts kept drifting back to Midna and what she was doing. Finally, when I could think no more, I answered Zelda.
“I believe I am.” She nodded.
“I will trust you. Be warned, however. Few who go into the Twilight can come back out without another’s help. If I were to leave, be killed, injured, or anything that would deem me incapable, you will be stuck there. Do you still wish to go?” This time I didn’t hesitate in answering.
“I do.”
Zelda hesitated, but nodded, her eyes softening to the eyes of the Princess that had sacrificed herself to save my Midna, to the ones that had been just as disbelieving and furious as I had been when Ganondorf had shattered Midna’s Fused Shadow crown in his hand.
I remembered the strength that had filled me, the rage that had boiled through my veins when I felt like I could fight no more. I remembered the warmth of Midna’s tiny frame in my arms after she had made the castle accessible, not three hours prior to the final battle. I remembered the coldness and reserve in her eyes after the tear had slid down her cheek and the mirror was cracked beyond repair.
“Link?” Zelda asked softly. I looked up at her, and nodded.
“What must I do?”
Zelda instructed me to go to the Hidden Village and talk to Impaz, who would guide me from there.
“If you wish…” she said hesitantly. “I can warp you there.” Zelda was clearly worried about what this would remind me of, and with good reason. My breath caught in my throat, and I merely nodded, as the spinning sensation of being warped nearly brought tears to my eyes.
I landed nimbly right in front of Impaz’s house, the old woman that had way too many cats and had taken care of Ilia when her memory had been lost. I began to knock, only to see a gloved hand with archery guards on it extending in front of me. I flexed my fingers, and the gloved hand copied. My eyes traveled up my arm, seeing a long-sleeved tan shirt underneath a short green tunic.
“Thank you, Zelda,” I whispered, then said a silent prayer to the Goddesses for giving me back my Hero’s Tunic.
I knocked at the door, and the shriveled old woman opened it immediately, her twenty-something cats meowing and coming out to curl themselves around my ankles.  
“Why, it’s Link!” she exclaimed, standing aside to let me in. “How are you?” I shrugged, trying to be impassive.
“Actually…I was wondering if you knew of a way to get back into the Twilight. My old…companion…shattered the Mirror, you know,” I said hesitantly, but she clapped her hands.
“Ah, yes. I thought so.” Impaz turned and rummaged around in her house, while I shook my head in confusion when her back was to me. “Aha!” she exclaimed, coming up with a small orb in one hand, shadow swirling in it’s depths. “Here,” she said, carefully wrapping the sphere up in a cloth and handing it to me. It was around the size of my fist, but much heavier than it looked.
“What must I do?” I asked for the second time that day, and Impaz led me outside.
“Go back to Zelda and give this to her. She will guide you the rest of the way.”
“That’s funny,” I muttered as I was walking away, Impaz having instructed me to warp using the little ball. “Zelda told me the same thing about you.”
I warped back to the castle and explained everything to Zelda, whose brow creased, though she took the magic from me.
“Very well,” Zelda murmured, then threw it onto the ground violently, where it shattered, and it’s pieces were sucked into a black void. She gestured. “There you go. I will guard it, should you wish to return. In the meantime,”--Zelda smiled--”enjoy yourself.”
I nodded and stepped into the void, again feeling the sensation that I never really got used to, of warping, and I landed lithely in a small courtyard, right in front of the palace.

~Midna~
“P-princess?” A young Twili boy asked. I looked up wearily from my dagger, with which I had been creating spells to strengthen it, killing time.
“Yes?” My voice sounded strange, even to me, as if I had seen much more than I ever wanted to.
“There is a…visitor. From the Light World.” My head snapped up, and I abruptly stood, my imagination feeding my fantasies like kindle to a fire, thinking of Link. Of course, it couldn’t possibly be him, but I knew that if I didn’t hope, he was as good as dead. I followed the young boy out, and took my place on the intricately carved throne, waiting.
The sound of boots came from the entrance chamber, along with a glowing light that I had begun to miss so much. I hadn’t realized how fond I had become of the Light World…or perhaps it was just it’s inhabitants…one inhabitant, to be exact.
I shook myself, and kept waiting.
A boy, looking around my age, walked carefully into the throne room. He had hair like the wheat fields in the World of Light, and eyes like the light blue lakes that were absent in this world. He was wearing a green tunic, just like the Chosen Hero in the tapestry on my wall, and a sword with a purple hilt was strapped to his back…
It couldn’t be.
“Link!” I almost shrieked, throwing myself off the throne and into his arms. He laughed, even as the guards gasped and murmured to each other how unladylike I was being, throwing myself at a complete stranger.
“It is courtesy for me to bow to you before this, you know that?” Link murmured, chuckling. I rolled my eyes.
“Oh, what do you know about Twili customs? I greet everyone like this,” I said sarcastically, and he laughed.
“And here I was feeling I was so special!” He faked sadness, and I chortled and hugged him again.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered, and he held me tighter.
“There’s nothing to apologize for. I’m here now, so are you.”
“But I never should’ve--” I began, but he cut me off.
“Midna.” I could see how his eyes lit up as he said my name, however serious he was. “Must I say it again?” I shook my head, and then remembered something. I grinned and pulled him back to a room behind the throne, taking an object carefully wrapped in silk and unveiling it, being careful not to touch it where the silk wasn’t around it. Link gasped.
“Is that…?” he asked, reaching a hand up and gently curling his fingers around it, also being careful not to touch. I nodded.
“Do you miss being a beast?” I asked, grinning slyly.
“I have to say I do,” Link replied. “Do you mind?” I shook my head, and he lightly touched the Shadow magic, dropping to all fours and transforming into a wolf. I grinned, and touched it as well, reverting back to my imp form.
“Tada!” I exclaimed, and Wolf-Link barked, his tail wagging as I settled onto his back comfortably. He ran around the small room, finally transforming back into a human as I simultaneously did the same, rolling off his furry back.
Link was beaming as his fur disappeared, and caught me up in his arms.
“Actually, I have been missing that,” he teased, catching a strand of my red hair and tucking it behind my ear. “And you look quite pretty like this, with your hair loose.” I giggled, much the same way that I used to when I wanted to tell him something if he was in wolf-form.
He led me back to the throne room, one hand on the small of my back, and educated me on what was happening in Ordon. “Ilia’s a bit angry at me, for obvious reasons. I know her, though. She’ll come around, she always does,” he said amongst other things, but I felt the familiar anger in the pit of my stomach when he spoke of her, even if he was indifferent about it.
I led him to my room where we could talk privately, and sat in his lap as I explained about the Twilight World, or what he didn’t know about it.
Both of us were content to sit there forever, but that was before my older brother came.
“Awwww! Little Middy has a boyfriend!” he teased, chortling.
“Get out Faladir,” I snarled.
“I can’t be happy for my little sister?” he asked innocently.
“Sure. You have no right to tease me, though, when you yourself have no love life to speak of,” I growled, which shut him up for a moment.
“So…what’s your name, Light-freak?” he asked Link. I snarled, but Link shook his head at me.
“Link. Or you can call me Light-freak. I’m proud of both,” he retorted, and Faladir narrowed his eyes.
“Witty, huh? You wouldn’t last a second in a fight with me,” he growled, and Link merely smiled.
“What are you willing to bet?” he asked slyly, and Faladir looked taken aback, though he recovered quickly.
“My sister. I win, you leave with your tail between your legs.” Link snorted laughed at this, since Faladir didn’t know that he actually could leave with his tail between his legs. “You win, I lay off and never tease you two again.”
Link considered for a moment, and then nodded.
“It’s a deal.”
Come, Robin! To the Batcave!

Just making sure you got the chapter title =D
This is probably going to be relatively short, but writer's block (on my other story), is good for a couple reasons, one of them being that you can work on other stories. (Mostly fanfics)
YAY!!!! LINK X MIDNA ROMANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I usually hold back on the romance, but not anymore! Actually...I'm still holding back a lot XD

And sorry Ilia! I like you, and I approve of Ilia X Link, but I started this story back when I hated you. Sorry!
© 2009 - 2024 PrincessTwili
Comments34
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
silver356's avatar
I ALMOST cried.