The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Queen

Sweet Dreams

Link didn't recognize where in the Twilight Palace he was, so he started to wander. He'd mapped out part of the maze in his mind. If he could find that part, maybe he could figure out where to go. He passed a door, deep red in color with tarnished silver decoration. This door felt familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.

He opened the door silently, glad when he heard no creak. Just the almost inaudible sound of steady breathing from someone deep in sleep. Link stepped inside. The room was cold as the ice of Snowpeak and dark as deep in the lakebed temple. It took his eyes a little while to adjust to the shadows, but when they did he could see that he was in a sitting room. The same sitting room he'd been in when he first awoke back in the Twilight Realm. That's why he recognized the door, because he'd been here before. He looked around, expecting to see Con sleeping in a corner or perhaps a Twili dozing on the couch. He didn't see anyone, but a door to his left was slightly ajar.

Link slipped inside. This room was a kitchen. Small yellow lights dimly lit the gray tiles with hypnotic rays. A stone cup and the abandoned plate of deathly spicy meat rested on a gray counter. Link checked this room for Con or a Twili, but found no one. The breathing had gotten louder, occasionally punctuated by a soft snore. He walked through the next open door on his left, knowing what he'd find yet going in anyway.

In this room, the darkness was expelled by soft orange lights hung from the ceiling. It made the room look haunted, forbidden. Link promised the lights he wouldn't be there long and the harshness seemed to melt away.

There was a bed in the center of the room, flush against the back wall. The blankets were pushed down and some had fallen to the floor, like someone had forgotten or hadn't bothered to make the bed properly. Laying sideways on the bed was Midna. Her clothes crumpled against her skin, her hands balled into fist and held close to her chest. Her hair was sprawled out on a pillow like lava creeping down a mountain. Her eyes were closed and a dreamy lost expression filled her face. She looked so calm and peaceful. And cold. Link bent down and grabbed a thick heavy blanket. He draped it slowly over her sleeping form. Then he kissed her gently on a frozen cheek.

She stirred and called out his name, but he'd already left the room. He left all three rooms, returning to the hallway. Returning to the red and silver door. He laid down against the wall. Arms underneath his head like a pillow, he closed his eyes and fell asleep. It was the first time in a long time they both slept without the plague of nightmares.