Part of Your Realm: A Twilight Princess Fanfic

What Lurks Within

*Palace of Twilight*

"Have you discovered where the truth lies?" Midna sauntered back and forth. Her distant gaze told you that she was pensively reevaluating her own answer. Because there was no right or wrong answer to this assignment, it somehow made everything worse.

She didn't badger you for a response. She simply stalked calmly in front of the beguiling mirror, which she had yet to explain. You couldn't find the words necessary to explain your answer. You wished you could pull apart your chest and reveal your raw, aching heart. The image alone would suffice for your homework assignment. In fact, it might even earn you accolades.

You cleared your throat, trying to buy yourself time to gather your thoughts. The idea of saying Link's name was more painful than swallowing shards of glass.

"Judging from my encounters within the Realm of Light, I'd say that the truth lies within the light." You felt yourself falter. Midna appeared in front of you, tapping a finger directly where your already wounded heart lay. "You have been in the light too long. Do you forget who you are? Who I am? Do not speak to me with silly little lies." The pressure of Midna's fingertip began to push harder against your chest.

"Speak to me from here."

Your voice cracked. "Even if... I should cry?"

"Crying would only be a further testament to your truth."

You inhaled, shutting your eyes. You foolishly thought maybe your eyelids would act as shields against the harassment of tears. "The truth lies within the shadows. But not the shadows that we as Twili know. They lie within the shadows of our hearts." You looked at Midna, a rogue tear trickled down your cheek. "I have discovered this because of my own shadow. My own heart. Within the light, they goad you to talk about what is within your heart. Yet you'll find that not many divulge what is within their own. They work, they get married and have kids... they live day in and day out, completing the same miniscule tasks. Eating, drinking, and other indulgences. I truly thought the Interlopers had robbed us of that. That debauchery. Yet the inhabitants there are no different than we are. Even my own father succumbed to his lust for power and stole the throne from you, Princess Midna. "A sob was lodged in your throat at what you knew you were going to say next.

"The betrayal that befell you, has also befallen me. I am suffering a betrayal of the heart."

"You fell in love with the Hero of Twilight, didn't you?"

You ignored Midna's question, continuing your diatribe. "How can a man such as the Hero of Twilight be any different than my father? How can a man who does this to a heart be any better than a man who usurps a throne? A kingdom? Both are selfish actions. Both are-"

"Motivated by love." Midna's hand rested on the small of your back as she began to gently guide you towards the chipped mirror. "So then, perhaps it would be presumptuous of me to say, but don't you think the truth lies within our shadows. In the light, they only see the body you inhabit. Yours is particularly beautiful. I'm sure that was mentioned quite a bit to you there. But the truth always lies within our hearts. What is most unfortunate is that the truth is not always just. Not always fair. For Zant, the truth he sought within his heart was the right to the throne. As for the hero..." Midna continued to steer you toward the mirror.

"Y/N, follow me. There is something I would like you to see."

You treaded silently beside Midna as she gathered you in front of the mirror. The murky swirls of cloudiness that you thought were dust began to vaporize. As they evaporated from the face of the mirror, an image was being revealed to you.