Link x Midna collection

Reflections

By AHeartForStories on ao3

If there was one place in Hyrule where Link and Midna could just sit and take a moment, it was Lake Hylia. It was peaceful and although there were zoras present, they were mostly patrolling the Lakebed Temple down below. They would not be catching the two of them here.

There was also Fyer, the Hylian man that owned the canon attraction on the lake, but as he rarely left his little floating platform, Link and Midna were still safe.

After returning from the Arbiter's Grounds, the duo felt in need of just a couple of hours to themselves. No fighting, no monsters, no shadow beasts or putting their lives in peril. They just wanted an hour or two to sit around and do nothing. Maybe a day.

Surely Hyrule wouldn't fall any lower than it already had at the beginning of their quest while they took one day to recover?

They'd spent so long in that dark, dusty place with no light that didn't come from Link's lantern and with enemies even dustier than the place they were in. In there, they'd lost track of time, which didn't help how suffocating it felt to be there.

On top of that, besides finding out that the Mirror of Twilight they had been searching for was broken into four pieces, the sages at the top of the colosseum-like place told them that their true foe after all this time was Ganondorf, the thief king who had attempted to take Hyrule for himself once before.

So it felt right to take a moment for themselves to simply relax and let everything sink in.

They were on a narrow beach. Link lied on his back, cap pulled completely over his eyes to shield them against the Summer sun, fingers intertwined on his stomach. His gear was off and his sword and shield lied on the ground. They were still within arm's reach, should he need them. Midna sat in the sand next to him, absentmindedly drawing abstract figures in the ground.

It was nice to take it easy for a little while, to not have to worry about being attacked or solve some sort of puzzle in a race against time. Though they did both jump at the softest of noises.

Midna gazed up to look toward the water. She wasn't particularly interested in taking a dip, she didn't feel like doing anything at the moment. Link was right to get some extra shut-eye with this free time they had for the day, with how little sleep either one of them got.

Getting up and floating over to the water, Midna couldn't help but take a look at her reflection. The lake was clear and remained undisturbed at their little spot. The fish and ducks were elsewhere for the moment and that allowed the water to reflect everything nearly perfectly.

Hands clasped together, Midna looked down at herself, like she'd done so many times since being able to live in the world of light without the need to hide in shadows. Any and all reflective surfaces they could possibly come across, Midna had taken a peek of herself in each one.

Link hadn't been annoyed in the slightest, even though it had most certainly lengthened their time inside the Arbiter's Grounds. Though they never talked about why Midna felt the need to look, she felt like Link still understood. He let her, if foes weren't there to ruin her moment.

The truth was, she hadn't really looked at herself much ever since Zant transformed her into this little hideous imp.

She looked like a child, a little brat, nothing like the regal woman she knew herself to be.

In the beginning, it was hard to look at her reflection. It still was, but at least, she didn't startle anymore every time she saw herself.

There was movement behind her, Link was getting up, having noticed her staring at herself in the lake.

"Are you okay?" He asked, coming to stand in the water next to her, his boots left on the beach and his leggings rolled up as he didn't feel like running around in wet clothes.

Ripples in the lake's surface distorted her view, but once it stilled, Midna was no longer alone and suddenly she didn't mind the little imp anymore.

Maybe her reflection wasn't so bad, after all. Link was in it. And hopefully, after they defeated Zant and Ganondorf, Zelda would be in it, too.

"I'm fine," Midna told him and proceeded to prove it to him by splashing water right in his face. Except she did it with the hand she formed out of her hair, causing his clothes to get soaked despite his wishes to keep them dry for once.

Link sputtered and stumbled back, having been taken completely off guard by the surprise attack. He looked down at himself, at his clothing that was now quite a bit heavier. His hair down and sticking to his face, he glared at Midna.

"Oh, you're on."