The Legend of Zelda: The Missing Link

Chapter 22: Repent

Zelda sat on the ground in solitude, looking over the headstones surrounding her. The sun hung low in the sky, causing everything around her to glow faintly orange, and her eyes were a bit squinted to compensate for the extra light. She wanted to toss the cloak that she had around her shoulders, discard it as she had Midna in the cavern, but she would soon grow too weak from cold.

As much as Zelda tried to push away the thoughts of what had happened that day, they continued to swirl around her head. Snowpeak, Ashei, the Mines, Shad. Two practically mirrored events--someone she barely knew, throwing away their life to protect her, and both times, she had done nothing. Midna had stepped in to pull Zelda from danger, and then Zelda turned on her, left her alone in those caverns. The queen then escaped to the graveyard in Kakariko, hoping to find some sort of salvation among the deceased.

Zelda tipped her head towards the sky.

"Oh, goddesses," she spoke softly. "What have I done? My country is quickly falling into despair, and yet, I have done nothing to save it. Lives have been wasted at my hands, and I do not know if I can even be forgiven. You claim that I have been gifted with your wisdom, but.." She paused, desperate to find the right words. "I screwed up. I did not act in any of those people's best interests. I did not once step forward, I did not once attempt to save them." Tears began to well in her eyes. "I let them die!" Her words echoed in the graveyard, causing the keese to stir. "They are gone! They are dead forever! And countless others, due to my ignorance!" Now the tears were streaming freely down her face, falling from her chin onto Midna's cloak. "How could I possibly be the one to rule this country when I can't even save those right in front of me?"

Zelda took a deep breath. Her voice was almost inaudible when it returned. "What do you want me to do? How could I ever begin to... to pay for my sins?"

Midna stood soundlessly at the entrance to the graveyard, watching Zelda pray. She contemplated approaching the sobbing monarch before her. Midna thought over what had happened in the Goron Mines, how Zelda had shoved past Midna, how no response came when Midna called after her, and then was left alone in the cavern.

"Zelda..." The twilight princess stepped forward. Zelda did not respond.

"Are you okay?"

Zelda swiftly rose to her feet, swaying slightly. "Am I okay? I do not know, Midna. There are people I am supposed to be ruling dying at my hands. How could I be alright?"

Midna closed the gap between them, reaching to embrace the queen. Zelda jerked backwards.

"Zeld--"

"No! Do not come closer!" Midna was taken aback at Zelda's sudden hostility. "There is a reason I left you there in that cavern. You are no friend of mine, nor of my country."

"What the hell are you talking about, Zelda? I'm on your side! What more do you want from me?"

"You have shown no compassion! People are dying, Midna, and you do not care!" The tears persisted. "How could I possibly believe you are truly our ally? I remember you once saying you did not care in the slightest for the fate of Hyrule. You only sought to save your own land! And I am sure you only did so because you were desperate to rule it. How could you prove that now is no different?"

Zelda's words stung Midna, who quickly retaliated. "I'm not like that anymore! And I did care about my people, I just didn't care about the world of light because I didn't have a goddamn reason to. Yeah, I used to be pretty selfish. But once I saw the selflessness of you humans, when you sacrificed your physical form to save my life, something in me changed. I learned from you that every life is worth saving, not just the ones that placed the crown atop my head. And I dunno, how can I prove that I've changed?"

When Zelda, staring down at her muddy boots, did not respond, Midna continued. "When those guys died, I didn't react because..."

"'Those guys' had names." Zelda said rigidly. "Ashei and Shad. They were Hylians with lives that were ended much too soon."

Midna sighed. "Yes, Shad and Ashei. Like I was saying, I didn't react to that because, well, I didn't want to be like you."

Zelda looked up in shock. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, if I let myself get so torn up over their deaths, I would be blaming myself. I would be in a graveyard begging the gods for forgiveness, but that doesn't get me anywhere. It doesn't get you anywhere, either. Your gods are like, the all-knowing creators of the universe, right? And they gave you the tri-thingy of wisdom. They made you the queen for a reason: because you always make the right choice. Yes, people have died, but that's life. That's the way the world works and beating yourself up over it is kinda stupid."

Zelda mulled over these words, sniffling. She stumbled forward, and Midna caught her, somewhat surprised.

The two then stood in that graveyard, Zelda sobbing and Midna gently caressing the queen's long, tangled hair, for quite some time--that is, before they were interrupted.

"Who--who are you guys? Is that you, Zelda?" A young boy's voice came from the entrance to the graveyard.

Midna released Zelda and spun to face him. "That depends. Who the heck are you?"

"I'm Ralis. Prince of the Zoras."