The Legend of Midna Chapter 2

The Legend of Midna

Chapter 2

Cries of pain and anger filled Link's ears as he surveyed the Palace of Twilight with growing horror. The place had become a battlefield; sections of the once majestic palace had been blasted away, while dead bodies of the Twili lined the walkways. Suppressing his horror and nausea for the time being, Link unsheathed his sword and shield. Ignoring the multiple skirmishes that raged to his right, he raced into the palace, a single thought driving him onwards: find Midna.

---

Midna twirled her three Fused Shadows. Calling upon their magic, she sent three purple fireballs hurtling at the armored knight slowly advancing upon her throne. She howled with rage as they bounced his armor, failing to make even the slightest dent. Laughing, the knight picked her up and threw her against the far wall. Midna forced herself to her feet despite the burning pain that racked her body, the Fused Shadows swirling around her body protectively. Bolts of lightning lanced from the three fragments, glancing off the knight's armor harmlessly. How is he doing this? wondered Midna, fighting her rising panic. The magic of my ancestors can't be reflected by mere armor!  

"Now, you're probably wondering how I'm resisting that powerful magic of yours, aren't you, little princess?" said the knight mockingly as he pointed his gargantuan sword at her. For once, she remained silent;  there was no point in insulting an opponent who clearly had an advantage over her. The knight tapped his armor. "I, Orthos, the Twilit Fury, am wearing magic armor. Isn't it nice? It nullifies any magic attack you throw at me." Orthos lowered his sword. "I have to hand it to you, Princess Midna, you put up a good fight. But you can't win. Give up, and I'll make your death quick. Resist, and -" He never finished his sentence as several lethal shards of debris hurtled toward him. He batted them away effortlessly and raised his sword once more. "Well, I guess I have your answer then!" Raising his sword, the knight slashed at her, missing her by a hair as she dived out of the way. Bringing the power of the Fused Shadows to bear, she summoned a large phantom lance, aiming it at Orthos.

"Strike," whispered Midna. It impaled him in his chest; drained by her continuous use of magic, the princess fell to her knees, keeping her eyes locked on the unmoving knight. Though she had been raised with the knowledge that the magic of the Fused Shadows was powerful, she had only recently found out that using their power rapidly sapped her strength. Please be dead, she pleaded silently. Whatever hope she had that the battle was finished went up in flames as Orthos shattered the sword with a lazy flick of his wrist. Midna struggled to stand as the knight meandered over to her, savoring his victory. "It's been fun, but I'm afraid I have other people to slay; namely, those annoying council members." As Orthos raised his sword to deal the fatal blow, an arrow whizzed out of the shadows, striking the knight on his exposed back. Roaring with pain and anger, he whirled around to find a man clad in green standing at the entrance, sword and shield in hand.

"Leave her alone. If you have any business with her, you can take it up with me."

Midna's amber eyes widened as she heard the voice. It can't be! She strained to see past Orthos' gigantic figure, but to no avail. The knight wrenched the arrow out of his back, wincing slightly. "Well, well. Someone wants to play hero; I'll enjoy cutting you down limb by limb!"

As the two circled each other and her rescuer came into view, Midna gasped. It's Link! But how...?

Link was a whirlwind of motion as he dodged the knight's first swing, rolling around to strike at his unprotected back. Orthos yelped and swung his blade again, its razor sharp edge burying itself in the hero's shield. Tugging it free of the broadsword, Link smashed his shield against the Twilit Fury's face and jumped skywards, knocking off his helmet with a single blow. As the Hero of Twilight touched the ground, Orthos swung with surprising speed at Link's head. He watched, stunned, as the Hylian shield shattered to pieces under Orthos' sword. After countless battles, it was hard to believe that his faithful shield had finally been destroyed. Rolling under Orthos' next swing, Link slashed at his armor, slowly but surely carving pieces off. The battle raged on; Link could never remember how long they fought for, locked in mortal combat. Neither one could get a clear hit on the other until at last, with a terrible thud, the last piece of Orthos' armor fell to the ground.

"You're... good," panted Orthos. "But I am the Twilit Fury; I LIVE on pain! I'm just getting started, and you're already tired!" he crowed. As much as the Hero of Twilight hated to admit it, he was right; despite his formidable stamina, he was already near exhaustion. His Ordon sword had numerous cracks throughout the blade; whole sections were falling off now. Tossing his sword aside, Link unstrapped his bow from his back, taking careful aim - when Orthos simply vanished.

"I don't think so," whispered a voice behind him. Relying solely on instinct, the Hylian rolled to his left, Orthos' massive blade crushing the tiles where he had stood only seconds before. "I have to thank you for removing that armor for me; now that the Princess can't use her magic, it's next to useless. I'd rather have the full advantage of my speed!" As Link began to turn around Orthos smashed into him with his shoulder, sending him flying into the far wall. Before the fallen hero could get up the Twilit Fury was next to him, kicking him mercilessly with one iron boot. In desperation Link pulled out a clawshot and grappled to the other end of the room, coughing up blood.

He's too fast for him, and I can't do anything to help! thought Midna, clenching her fists in frustration. She watched helplessly as Link was thrown and kicked around like a rag doll. The hero rolled to a stop next to the throne, Orthos slowly approaching him.

I won't die here; not after I've finally gotten to see Midna again! thought Link, staggering to his feet. There was only one trick that could work now; if he failed, he was as good as dead. Attaching bombs to the end of his arrows, he made it look as if he were going to fire them.

"You're persistent, 'hero'; just die!" sneered his foe, using his blinding speed to position himself behind the Hylian. Orthos swung his sword - only to have it meet empty air. "What?!" Despite the searing pain wracking his body, Link had rolled behind him. Bomb arrows in hand, he stabbed the Twilit Fury in the back, stumbling away as Orthos let out a howl.

"No. You die," said Link quietly as Orthos exploded, his body consumed by purple flames that flared once - then vanished, leaving no trace that he was there except for the gigantic sword stuck into the ground.
  
The Hero of Twilight, battered and bruised, turned to look at Midna - and fell to the ground as everything went black.

"Link!"

----

"You know the rules, Princess! Those from the Light Realm who make it here must be put to death!"

"He saved my life, High Chancellor Balore; I don't care what the rules are, but he will not be executed, and that's final!"

Balore sighed, rubbing his forehead. They were in the council chamber of the Twilight Palace, where 13 chancellors and the current ruler decided over new laws. None of the other 12 chancellors had been able to make the council meeting, preferring instead to hide in their safe rooms lest another battle erupted. "Princess Midna, you know I will do everything in my power to have the rules upheld," said the High Chancellor, a hint of steel in his voice.

"And I'm telling you to let it slide for once!" Midna glared at him.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot. The execution will be held two days from now, unless..." Balore paused. "Perhaps you have a better idea?"

The princess hurriedly came up with a plan. It was shaky at best, but she had utter faith in Link's skills. "How about this, then; he fights for his life in an arena battle?"

He chuckled. "You just sentenced him to a public death!"

And that's where you're wrong, thought Midna, barely keeping a smug smile off her face.

"Very well, Princess; I'll arrange the God of War to personally oversee his execution. And now, if you'll excuse me, I have other matters I must attend to." Balore stood up to go; as one of the tallest Twili, his head nearly touched the ceiling.

"As do I," she retorted. Without a second glance she flung open the door and slammed it shut behind her, stomping up to her rooms. He watched her go, a troubled expression on his face.

"Since when have you cared so much about those of the light, Midna?"

----

Hours later, Midna sat in a chair by her sleeping hero, brushing a few stray strands of hair off his face. "You always try too hard," she told the sleeping Link. She couldn't forget the last time she had seen him; it had been a memory that had haunted her every waking moment since her arrival in the Twilight Realm.

“Link…I…” Every bone in her body wanted to tell him; to express her feelings after all their time together. But she knew it wouldn't be fair to tell him something so heartfelt, only to leave him forever.

"See you later.” Finally, she let her tears flow free. The Mirror of Twilight shattered, and she turned to go back home.

Midna sighed. It had been too difficult for her to say the words then, and it was even more difficult for her to say them now in light of what she would ask him to do when he awoke. How can I tell him I love him and then ask him to go home and never see me again? It wasn't right. She stiffened and watched as Link stirred and opened his eyes.

"It's about time you woke up; I thought you were going to sleep forever!" she said, hiding her feelings behind her words. For the first time in months an honest smile crept onto Link's face.

"It's good to see you, Midna." Link sat up, ignoring the pain that raced up and down his body.

"I did say I'd see you later," said Midna playfully.

"Yeah. I guess you did." Neither of them spoke for a while, each content to watch the other, until at last Link said, "You're wondering how I got here."

She nodded. Quickly he related the events to her, leaving out his feelings and conversation with Zelda. Midna shook her head. "I don't know what to say; I've never heard of this happening before." She was pacing now, occasionally stopping to look out the window. "I'm sure there's some way we could send you back to the Light Realm..."

Link blinked. "I'm not going back."

The princess stared at him in disbelief. What?

"I'm staying here," he continued. "With you."

That shook Midna out of her stupor. Could he...? No. He can't have... Clearing her throat, she said, "Light and shadow can't mix, Link; you know that."

But Link was shaking his head. "We don't know that for sure."

Ignoring his comment and the hinted message behind it, she said, "What about Ilia? Zelda? Rusl? Colin? They need you there, Link." And I need you here, Midna added mentally, unable to say the words out loud. Link winced as she said each name but shook his head.

"They can manage without me." Link folded his arms across his chest.

She blinked. He's being awfully stubborn. If I didn't know better, I'd say that... he loves me... "You have a life there, Link, and -"

At this he burst into laughter, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"What's so funny?" she asked, irritated, as Link gasped for air.

"I don't have a life there, Midna; not anymore. My life..." He had come to stand next to her, looking into her eyes. "Is here. With you." Before she could say anything else he pulled her close and kissed her.

Midna blinked, shocked, then returned the kiss, simply enjoying the moment.

"I love you, Midna," said Link as they parted to catch their breaths.

And suddenly twilight was shining brightly, the world itself had turned upside down; the seemingly impossible had become a reality. Link loved her. Not Ilia, not Zelda, but her and her alone. Belatedly she realized that Link had stepped away, his gaze trained on the marble tile beneath him. He probably thinks I don't love him, she realized. I haven't said a word... which means that an apology is coming in -

"Midna, I'm sorry, I -"

But the princess held a finger to his lips. "Don't be."

Link looked up at her, hope burning brightly in his eyes.

Finish that sentence of yours! screamed part of her. "Link... I... love you, too." She sighed with relief; after four months of torture the words were finally out in the open. "But there's a problem, Link; an old law that says anyone from the Light Realm will be executed."

"What?!"

"Wait! I managed to argue you out of that, but you're going to have to fight your way out of an arena battle." She kissed him softly. "I know you can do it, Link."

He nodded at first; not a single person or enemy - including Ganondorf himself - had ever managed to best him in a sword duel. Then he remembered his broken weapons. "I could, if I had a sword and shield..." he remarked, silently mourning the loss of two of his most faithful weapons. The Ordon sword and Hylian shield had carried him through most of his adventure; it pained him to think that they had finally kicked the bucket.

"I knew you'd say that." She reached into a treasure chest, pulling out an obsidian blade and shining shield. Link looked them over, marveling at their perfection. The blade was made of black steel, polished until it had a sinister gleam. Set on the crosspiece was the image of a wolf; small triangular marks - Link assumed they were bite marks - were engraved into the pommel. The shield was silver; runes had been carved into the polished surface. The image of a wolf had been imprinted in the center, reminding the hero of the power that dwelled within him. "These are the Sacred Beast Shield and Sword." Midna paused, looking at the floor. "They were my father's."

"Midna..." he began, but she shook her head.
"Take them." This, more than anything, proved to Link that she trusted him absolutely. He took the sword and shield from her reverently, placing them on his back.

"And..." She reached into the chest again, pulling out a set of clothes. "Here. I wove these myself; they're spelled so that they will resist sword cuts and magic attacks." Midna turned away as he tried them on. As he finished, Midna turned around to admire her handiwork. The outfit was an exact copy of his Hero's Tunic, except it was dyed black; there was even a matching black hat. Red runes had been woven into the white undergarments; Link could only guess what they meant. She nodded approvingly as a loud explosion rocked the palace.

"What's going on out there?" asked Link, but the princess was shaking her head.

"I can't tell you, not now. After you win in the arena," she promised, and kissed him again. "Rest, Link. You'll need it tomorrow." As he settled down to sleep, she could only wonder what would become of them.

Link... don't you dare die on me.