Link x Midna collection

Desert Secrets

By revenant_hell on ao3

Something was wrong.

Midna had known that from the start, since they first walked into this temple. Gah, of all places, why did they have to come here? She should have guessed that once Zant had stolen their pieces of Fused Shadow, this was where they'd end up...

Midna shuddered, despite the insulated warmth of the dungeon. The Arbiter's Grounds. The home of her... Ancestors. She'd hated having to reveal that to Link; it was bad enough that he had to see her humiliated when Zant tossed her aside like a doll, burning her as carelessly as one did an insect with a looking-glass. No, when it came to telling him what she was - not who, she wasn't quite ready for that, not yet - she found herself afraid. Afraid of what this stupid, foolish wolf from the countryside - one who couldn't even keep himself alive without her help, thank you - might think of her afterwards.

Link had accepted the news quietly, as he always did, a steely gleam in his eye now that he knew the truth behind this desert relic. That it was an ancient place, one where the worst of Hyrule's criminals were judged. Executed. Or worse, exiled.

Exiled. Midna had to snort. The low beginnings of the Twilight Realm, laid bare - they were nothing more than the light realm's castoffs. Well, their loss. The light worlders didn't know a good thing when it was staring them right in the face -

"Midna?" The quiet voice broke her from her thoughts. Link was staring at her, a look of soft concern on his face.

"Yeah? What is it?" She huffed, a little more harshly than she intended, cheeks burning. She hated when he looked at her like that, like she was something weak, after what had happened at Lake Hylia.

"I need to turn into a wolf," Link said patiently, clearly confused about why she wasn't looking at him. "Are you sure you're okay? After -"

"I'm fine, Link. Here," she snapped her fingers and the Twili magic rushed forth to envelop him. She felt a pang as Link let out an involuntary yelp - she'd caught him off guard with the sudden transformation. Clearly that whole... rearrangement still hurt, no matter what he'd been telling her otherwise.

"Sorry," she muttered. Link let out a soft woof and they were off again, tracking the scent of one of those stupid ghosts. Ugh. How long was this going to take?! The mirror was here somewhere, she could feel it in her bones.

They were racing through the dungeon, making quick progress, when Link suddenly stopped short. He'd transformed back into a human to do some puzzle or another, and Midna was thankful that she was lingering in his shadow - if he'd been a wolf, she'd have been thrown right off his back!

"Link, what are you doing?!" she snapped.

"...Link? What is it?" Midna repeated more quietly when he didn't immediately respond.

"I... I don't know.," Link murmured, his eyes fixed on the darkened path in front of them "There's ... There's something there." She caught the tremor in his voice despite his efforts to conceal it.

A cold chill ran down Midna's spine. Link? Afraid?! She couldn't believe it - they'd seen much worse in their short time together! Even when he'd suddenly found himself chained up in a prison transformed into some beast there was still defiance in his voice - er, bark. She'd had to force him to submit to her will, and even then, he'd resisted.

"Link..." She started softly, but then something turned around the corner.

A horrid creature lumbered down the passageway, a sword dragging along the floor behind it with a grating screech. Bandages, loose and decaying, covered its body. It had clearly once been a man, but decades, maybe centuries spent waiting in the dark had rotted away any recognizable features; instead of a face, there was nothing but a gaping jaw and malevolent glowing eyes.

The thing continued down the hall, moaning as it stumbled across the bones of those who had come before, and failed. Midna bit back a scream and risked looking away from the creature to glance at Link - he should have acted by now. Used one of those fancy sword moves (what was that latest one, some dramatic name like the Draw of Death?!). That thing should already be dead where it stood.

But Link just stood there, frozen, and with a dawning horror Midna realised that he was terrified. Link was pressed to the wall, shaking, his eyes wide and sightless.

She gave him a shove. "Stupid wolf! Now's not the time to freeze up, come on!" But Link remained unmoving, unable to tear himself away from the creature, its glowing eyes fixed on his own. Midna's pulse raced. "Link, come on! Do you see that giant sword?"

"I... I..." Link stammered, trying to pull his own fancy sword out, but his nerveless fingers couldn't grasp it. It rattled uselessly in its sheath.

A scream interrupted them. Midna jumped to see that the beast was moving fast, faster than something that broken had any right to be, and it was upon them, swinging its giant, rusted sword. Swinging it right at Link, who just stared at it blindly, hand falling defenselessly from his own weapon to hang limp by his side.

The sight of him like this scared Midna more than she'd ever care to admit. More than anything - Zant, never going back to the Twilight Realm, her subjects cursed to be monsters forever. She couldn't lose him. Not her, in some dusty, cursed prison. Not like this.

"LINK!" she shouted, and did the first thing that came to mind: seizing the power of the crystal shard. Link howled as he suddenly shrank and fell to the floor in wolf form, but above him, the blade sank harmlessly into the stone.

"Link! Come on, snap out of it!" Midna cried, smacking him across the muzzle. Link's eyes were suddenly clear, the cloudiness replaced by that familiar blue steel. He roared and without pause lunged at the monster, seizing it by the throat as he'd done so many enemies before. With a snarl, it soon lay dead across the floor, torn into pieces, its sword slowly crumbling into dust.

Gasping, Link tore at the crystal around his neck and had abrubtly returned to human form. Midna hovered around him, shouting.

"You stupid wolf, what the hell were you thinking back there? You could have been killed! If it wasn't for me, you would have been -" She broke off when she saw that he was staring at her. Nodding in... agreement?

You're... you're right, Midna," he said between gasps, wrapping his arms around himself and shuddering. "I don't ... I don't know what came over me. I couldn't move, I was completely powerless, I couldn't do anything except just stand there and watch it -"

"Hey, hey," Midna said softly, floating down to hover beside him, laying one hand comfortingly on his shoulder. From here she could see how pale he was; despite how still he held himself, he was trembling. "Link, it's okay..."

"No, no it's not," he said harshly, forcing himself to his feet. "I would have died back there, in this - this place," he spat, and she was surprised at the vitrol in his voice. "Link..." She said quietly, but he shook his head.

"I should have been better than that," he said, hand unconsciously moving to the sacred sword at his back. "They said I was... A hero. I shouldn't be afraid of anything, let alone some stupid -"

"Hey now!" Midna barked, and Link looked at her in surprise. "You 'shouldn't be afraid of anything?' Seriously?!"

"That's not what I -"

"Shut up, stupid wolf " She sighed and floated down to his eye level, cupping his chin with her hand. "Link, it's okay. You don't have to pretend in front of me." She was surprised by the gratitude in his eyes, and the way her own heart beat faster as their eyes met... even as she burned with guilt. Here she was, encouraging Link to be honest with her even as she held her own secrets close. If she played her cards right, he'd never have to know.

"Well," Midna said, abruptly cutting the moment short. "We should get back to it. You know. Whenever you feel up to it," she added hastily. She tried to ignore the way Link was smiling at her, the fear of the last encounter forgotten.

"No, I think I'm okay now. Besides, I think I know how to handle those guys if I meet them again."

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"When I'm a wolf, I'm not afraid anymore. But I guess I need your help for that," he said lightly, raising a hand to the shard at his neck.

Midna cackled. "You don't have to look so sad! Let's go." She knew they could handle the rest of this dungeon. And well, who knows what the future
holds?