Hylian Folklore: A Retelling of the Twilight Princess

A Strange Little Imp

As Link suspected, the castle doors were closed and the guards were on high alert. So he was forced to wait unit morning. He took shelter for the night in some nearby shrubs, but sleep never came. His mind was too riddled with worry for sleep. Would Impa make it to the village alive? Would he be able to find his way back inside castle town? And if he did, would he be able to save Zelda in this beast form? Every time he closed his eye he saw those black veins spreading across her ghostly pale skin.

As he lay awake, Link had noticed that the the strange yellow light that enveloped the land, hardly changed with the time of day. The sun still rose, but the sky still remained that odd honey color with black clouds. It was as if all of Hyrule was stuck in an eternal yellow haze.

Link laid there as long as he could stand it, eventually getting up and stalking around the castle, looking for some other way in. Finally, he spotted his opportunity. A wagon full of hay was making it's way to the castle. Link dashed through the tall grass and swung around to the back side of the wagon. Kicking off the ground with his new and powerful back legs, he launched himself into the back of the cart. He quickly buried himself deep into the loose hay pile, the dusty, salty smell of dried grass burning in his nose. It took everything in his power not to sneeze, and his eyes began to water as he felt the cart lurch to a stop.

"I have a load of hay to go to the royal stables," the cart driver said to the guards.

Link heard the wooden gates creak open and the cart jerked forward. He was back in Castle Town. Link had planed on jumping out as soon as he was inside, but the cart driver had said the hey was for the royal stables. This might be his only chance to get past the palace guards and into the castle itself. So Link waited quietly. The town didn't sound as lively and joyous as it had the day before. In fact, it was oddly quite. They must have been too frightened after what had happened yesterday. Again the cart rolled to a halt.

"I have an order of hay to be delivered to the royal stables," the man explained to the next set of guards.

The wagon lurched once more, entering through the gates and into the court yard. It was not long before the wagon made it's final stop at the royal stables. Link crawled to the end of the cart and poked his head out to check if the coast was clear. He slipped out as quietly as he possibly could, and dashed into the shadows of an empty stall. A stable boy with a pitchfork walked past him and started unloading the wagon. Link peeked out the open stall. There was a long row of stalls and on the far side there was a door. It looked like it was directly connected to the castle. With the sable boy occupied, Link walked out into the open and down the door. He took hold of the handle in his mouth and pulled the door open. It opened up into a long hallway, the red and gold trimmed carpet convinced Link he was on the right path. Without any hesitation he ran down the empty hall. It led him to another door and he pulled it open like he done with the door before. This one opened up into the grand entrance of the castle. A very large and open room with several balconies and an elaborate chandelier hanging over each one. The castle was quiet and looked rather neglected. Link spotted a large double door that was left wide open. The sound of his claws tapping on the marble floor echoed as he walked across the empty room. The double doors lead him into a smaller room with a stair case. At the top there was a decorative tapestry between two stained glass windows and a hall on each side. Not knowing which way to go, Link started sniffing the air. He may not know what Zelda smelled like, but he could tell which path was most used. One side was defiantly traveled more, but the other side had a very fresh trail. He decided to take the later. The trail lead him to a spiraling staircase of the central tower. It opened up at the top into a single room with beautiful stained glass windows.

There she was. Zelda was lying in a bed still under the sleeping curse. Link ran up to her and was surprised at how different she looked. Not only because of the pale skin and the black veins that were spreading even further now, but she was dressed like a princess. She was in a white gown trimmed in gold along the hem. There was an elegant tapestry witch hung from a chain laced through the sides of the royal purple bodice she wore. even the silky white gloves she wore were elaborately embroidered. Her shoulders were protected by beautifully embellished gold plated armor and a crown decorated with golden leaves was placed upon her head. He placed his marked paw on her hand. He made a silent vow that he would get her out of this somehow. His ear pitched back at the sound of approaching footsteps. With no way out except the way he had come, Link scanned the room for a place to hide. He darted under a table with a red cloth draped over it.

"Good work, Zant," Link recognized Ganondorf's voice, "You are proving to be a powerful ally."

"Thank you, you're Majesty," was Zant's reply.

They were now standing at the side of Zelda's bed, "How is the curse holding up?" Ganondorf asked looking down at his bride.

"She is a strong one," Zant said slowly, "She is trying to fight off the darkness, but she is weakening. As long as the Twilight remains, only a carrier of the Triforce can awaken her and break the curse."

Link looked at the Triforce on his paw. He wish he knew how to use it to wake her right now.

"Very good," Ganondorf said turning to face his partner, "Soon I will be the true King of Hyrule and you shall be the King of Twilight."

Zant quickly turned to the table Link was hiding under, "I sense we're being watched!"

Before Link could react, a giant hand of dark magic burst though the tablecloth and took hold of him by the throat. Link struggled to get away but the grip only tightened.

"I see your Triforce has protected you from the full effect of my powers as well," Zant said referring to Zelda's Triforce helping her to fight of the darkness that was trying to take hold of her body, "I shall not make that mistake again."

Link's vision started to blur as Zant's power tightened its grip even more. He gasped for air but none would come. Slowly his body succumbed to the darkness and his body went limp.

Link's eyes fluttered open to find himself lying on a bed of straw in a dark and damp dungeon. His front left leg shackled to the floor. His neck ached and it was painful to breath. Why did they keep him alive? They could have killed him so easily. He pushed him self to his paws and shook off the straw that clung to his coat. A tingle ran down his spine as he sensed he was not alone. He spun around to see an oddly shaped, little figure floating in the shadows.

"Hehehe..." the figure laughed. In one swift motion, flew into the light, "I found you!"

She was a strange little Imp, wearing nothing but a stone mask that covered one eye. The eye he could see, was an eerie yellow and red. Her body was short and stumpy and completely black and white. The pattern was uneven resulting in black arms, a white belly, one black leg and one white leg. Her ears, arms and legs seemed to tattooed in some kind of glowing turquoises line art. Her hair was pulled though the top of the stone mask in a ponytail and was a glowing mix of yellow and orange. Link took a few steps back and growled, his hair raised and ears pinned flat against his head.

"Well aren't you scary," she smiled, "And to think, I wanted to help you out of those chains."

Link relaxed a bit, letting his hair settle back down. Why would she want to help him?

"That's a good boy," She taunted, "I have a deal for you. One where you can return to your normal self again and save your Princess. You just need to help me get back my mirror. Do we have a deal?"

Link wondered what was so special about this mirror that she was willing to help him escape and return him to normal.

"Well, do you want to save your lady or what?" she asked sounding a bit impatient.

Deciding he really had no other choice, Link nodded in agreement.

"Good!"

Wasting no time, he watched as she created a strange purple orb and threw it at his chain. It exploded on impact, shattering his bondage. The shackle with a few links of the chain remained bound to his leg, but he was free.

"My name is Midna," She jumped on Links back and dug her heal into his side as if she were cuing a horse to walk, "Let's get going!"

Link look back her and snarled.

"Is that the way to treat someone who just freed you?" Midna scolded, "Now be a good boy and get us out of here."

Link rolled his eyes with a huff. What had he gotten himself into?