Luminescence

Escaping Heaven

Midna decided to store him away in her bedroom as she went about the rest of her day, with the door sealed away and hidden from his view. Out the solitary window he discovered the room was set high up in a tower of sorts, and the nearest roof was a leap he could have probably made if he was a wolf, but as a human...yeah, no. For the first hour he searched the room for possible ways out—a nick, and hidden passage, anything. He even tried tying the sheets together into a makeshift rope, but found the material made of something slippery, like satin, and as soon as he had it in a knot it would slip out. The only thing he found of any remote help was a very narrow ledge lining the sides of the tower, but seeing it was only a good three inches wide it was only a suicide waiting to happen.

Three hours later he was sitting on the floor and leaning against the foot of the bed, bored out of his gourd, hungrier than ever, and far from at ease. His head felt weightless with it.

How could this have happened? How could Midna have let this happen to her? She was smarter than that—she had always been smarter than that. They had finally gotten back together only to have her deranged and a moon spirit hankering after him. When had he signed up for this? Oh yeah, never! But now what? He couldn't just take the Fused Shadows from her. They were as insubstantial as they were not, and if that wasn't confusing, what about his own feelings about all this?

Because it was true. He did want to be with her. And secretly he too had dreamed of a world where they could coexist—where he could be a wolf and a man at once, where he could be free and have order, where light and darkness lived side by side. Yes, the goddesses hadn't made it that way for a reason...but would it really be all that bad to get a hold of the Triforce and remake the world as they wished?

But could he even trust the new corrupted Midna? For Luna's song had revealed something about her, and whether true or not, it still said something. There was a passionate fury that had always been a part of Midna that had been amplified by the Shadows. Perhaps she had been wondering the same thing as him: why were the not-so necessarily evil still punished for the sins of their fathers? Why were they still banished to the Twilight when she had found so much to love in the light? But she couldn't just leave her home, which despite its obtuseness to the world of light still appeared beautiful and wonderful to her.

In the end, the question that itched him the most was: what if he agreed to help Midna? What would happen? And what would the consequences be?

From beneath all this, another thought lurked, just as muddling as the others.

What of Luna?

Growing stiff, he stood, stretched his legs and flipped his hands in hopes to shake off the knot in his gut. What would happen to Luna as a result of all this? Was Luna's bad choice to be with him really what started this all? Not just Midna's revolution against the goddesses? And what of that sense of confusion down in the basement when she had heard of his and Midna's kiss? Why did he still, even now, wish to run down there not just to rescue her from her silver bounds and bloody lips, but to hold her tightly in his arms? He couldn't stop thinking of the tender forgiveness in her eyes, given so willingly. Somehow, he knew, he could make as many mistakes as he wanted too, be as weak as he needed to be, be as depressed and hopeless as ever, and she would still look at him like that, like she...like she...

It made him want to hold her tight. The want to protect her overwhelmed him to the point he felt himself growing mad in the confines of Midna's room. For Luna, with her innocence and unbelievable ability to love unconditionally, demanded protection.

And remembering her ragged, dirty form dangling from the chains, with blood dripping down her front—

A tearing noise brought him out of his thoughts. He stared at the curtain in his hand. He hadn't even noticed his hand tightening. Sighing, he threw the cloth down with vigor. This was all stupid. Just completely and utterly stupid. Why hadn't he just been glad to be back home, in the peace and quiet? Maybe he jinxed himself with all that stupid moping about he did. He had been stupid. So stupid. Nothing was wrong with peace. But no, he had to go wishing to be a wolf, he had to go drawing stupid daydreams of Midna, had to somehow catch the attention of the moon...the moon...

He looked out the window to the thin ledge once more. It was suicide, but, well, he had done some pretty suicidal things in the past. Maybe—but no, he wasn't even sure where the ledge led to. It would be better if he just waited for Midna to return, and then while the door is open he could slip past. But even as he thought it he snorted. Midna, with the powers of an immortal guardian along with the Fused Shadows against him, weaponless, shirtless, shoeless—yeah, that wouldn't happen. He might as well jump out the window then and there than try to out-power or outwit Midna.

And he still wasn't entirely sure what he was to do. Before, the goal had been so obvious: banish twilight, restore the light to the spirits, rescue his friends, and stop a madman from plunging the land into darkness. But wasn't that essentially what Midna was trying to do? No, it was completely different. She just wanted her people and his to live side by side. She just wanted darkness and light to be the same, not light obliterated completely. But wouldn't that mean there would be neither light or darkness? And was that bad? Was it bad to not have darkness or light, but something in between and neither?

But Luna...always Luna, for no matter what happened she was getting the short end of the stick. No border, no guardian, and Midna was not going to be merciful to the winged girl anytime soon. Her treatment of the girl should speak enough to him of how much she had changed.

It's not my fault she's set on singing herself to death.

Surely Midna knew Luna. Anyone who knew her even in the smallest amounts would never wish to leave her in the pathetic state she was in now. No one would want to leave any living being in that state. And yet, still, it was so unclear...

Then, called forth by his distress, Luna's voice rose up from his memories like the dark flakes of the world. It sent chills up his spine, bleeding warmth back into his cold limbs. He hadn't realized he had turned so cold. Was Twilight always this strange form of chill? Not cold enough for you to notice, but cold enough to make you forget about warmth? Before he could dread her will to sing her mortal throat to shreds, he felt his heart skip a beat and lift in his chest. His mind cleared. His uneasiness vanished. In a short-lived flash of revelation, he saw what he must do. He knew what was right. As soon as her voice faded away his confusion returned, but the memory of its warmth still hummed along his veins.

His brain couldn't tell him what to do. His heart wasn't any help. But his gut told him to step outside the window and reach for the ledge.

So it was with a hundred feet of space dangling below him that he found himself, clinging to a skinny ledge by his fingertips. Not to mention he still didn't have a shirt, which he wished for furiously as he noticed his own pale skin shinning out like a beacon in the fading gold light of twilight. All someone had to do was look up and they'd see him. Oh, and he was still starving.

Not to mention that very long drop below him...

He moved quickly, shifting himself around the tower by his hands. If he gave himself too much time to think, his mind would catch up with him and make his hands sweat, which he could not afford at this point. Why did these towers have to be so bloody square?

Hang on, Luna, he thought, biting his lip in concentration, I'm coming.

ynAbC